Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-04-12
The Falls of Niagara Surpassed in India.

Did any Of our readers ever hear OF the
Gairsoppa Falls, near uonore! If not, they
will probably read with some pleasure des-
cription which has just appeared in the Calcut-
ia papers. 1t is curious that fall six times
the depth of Niagara should remain almost I'M
known. From the village of Gairsoppa, reachd
by liver of the same name, the writer was
carried for twelve miles up the Malimunch Pass,
and reached the Falls Bungalow about three
hours and half after leaving the Pass. An
amphuheatre of woods, and river about five
hundred yards wide, rushing and boiling to
certain point, where it is lost in perpetual
mist and in an unceasing deafening roar, must
first be imagined. Leaving the Bungalow on
the Madras side of the river. and descending to
position below the river level, you work your
way carefully and tediously over the slippery
rocks until you reach a point where a rock
about twice the size of a man s body iusts over
a precipice Resting fat upon the rock, and
looking over it, you see two of the four princi-
pal falls those two are called the " Great Fall "
and " The Rocket" The one contains large
body Of water, the main body of the river, per-
haps fifty yards across, which falls massiVely
and apparently slugglshly into the chasm below,
and the other contains "a smaller body of water,
which shoots out in successive sprays over sue
cessive points of rocks. I'LL it falls into the
same chasm. This chasm is at least nine hun.
bred feet in depth-six times the depth Of the
Niagara Falls, which are abou one hundred
and fifty feet, and perhaps quarter to half a
mile in width. These are the first two falls to
be visited. Then move little below your first
position, and you will observe first turgid
boiling body Of water of greater volume than
the Rocket Fall, rushing and ste aiming down
into the same chasm this is the third fall, the
{" Roarer.' Then, carrying your eye little
further down, you will observe another fall,
the loveliest, sotest, and most graceful of all.
being broad expanse of shallow water falling
like transparent silver lace over a smooth sur
face Of polished rock into this sauna chasm =
this is " La Dame Blanche and the White
Lady of Avenel could not have been more grace
full and ethereal. And do you want to have a
faint idea of the depth of the chasm into which
these glorious waters fall (! Take out your
watch and drop as large piece of the rock Us
you can hold, from your viewing place; it will
be several seconds before yoa even lose sight o.
the piece of rock and then it will not have reached
the water at the loot of the chasm-it will only
have been lost to human sight. But you have
yet only seen one, and that not perhaps the
loveliest, and al least not the most comprehen.
sive view of the falls Pass 10 the Mysore side o.
the falls, walking first to a point where you
will see them all at glance, and then descend.
ing as near as you can to the foot of these, be
drenched by the spray, deafened by the noise,
and awe struck by the grandeur of the ccene
and by the presence of the Creator of it, in the
perpetual rainbow of many and brilliant hues
which spans the foot Of the chasm.
|