The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-07-06
The Rival of Niagara.

Livingstone, the celebrated traveller in his
recent book of travels in Africa, thus describes
the most wonderful geographical discovery of
modern times:-
The Victoria Falls of the Zambesi river are
among the most remarkable curlosities of the
interior of Africa. For several miles above the
cataract the river is smooth and tranquil, flow
ing by lovely islands thickly covered with tropi-
cal vegetation. Lofty palm trees, with their
fruits in golden clusters, grow abundantly upon
the banks. Many flowers peep out near the
waters edge. But these charming islands are
soon succeeded by dangerous rapids. 1t is only
when the river is very low that they can be
passed in safety Elephants and hippopotami
are often swept over the falls, and, of course,
smashed to pulp. On entering the race or
waters the party was requested not to speak,
"as talking might impair the virtue OF medi-
cine.n There were places where the utmost
eXertions of the canoemen had to be put iOItn
to force the boat to the only safe part of the
rapid, and TO prevent 1t from sweeping broad
side on. At times it seemed as If nothing could
save the canoe from dashing headlong ae ainst
the rocks, but just at the nick OF time, the word
was passed 10 the steersman, who, with ready
pole, turned the craft little asde and it glided
swiftly past the threatened danger.
On reaching the falls a spectacle of indie scri
bable magnidcence was presented to the travel
leTs. The cataract is formed by crack across
the river, the bed OF the ZamDesi, at the place.
The lips of the crack are still quite sharp, eX-
cept about three feet of the edge over which the
river rolls. The walls go sheer down from the
lips without any projecting crag. The cleft Is
in length few yards more than the breadth OF
the Zambesi, which was found to be, by measure.
ment, little over 1860 yards, but this number
was retained TO mark the year in which the fall
was for the first time examined. The width, at
the narrowest point, was found to be eighty
| yards, and at the widest somewhat more. Into
| this chasm, twice as deep as Niagara Falls, the
Iiver a mile wide, rolls with deafening
roar, forming the Victoria cataract. 1t is
broken into several partial falls by rocks and
islands, in all making upwards of 27OO feet of
| perennial falls. The whole body OF water rolls
! cleal over quite unbroken, but after descent
of ten or more feet the entire mass suddenly
| becomes like a huge sheet of driven snow.
| Pieces of water leap from it in the form of
comets with tails streaming behind, till the
whole snowy sheet is changed into myriads of
rushing, leapng aqueous comets. The amount
! is probably exceeded by Niagara, though not In
| the months when the Zambes is in flood. This
vast body of water necessarily encloses in its
! descent large body of air, which, forced into
! the cleft to an unknown depth, rebounds and
rushes up loaded with vapor to form three or
even six columns, as if OF steam, visible at the
di5 ance of twenty-one miles. On reaching the
heieht of two hundred feet from the level of
! the river, this vapor becomes condensed into
perpetual shower of tine rain.