Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1870-10-13
THE RlvALOF NIAGARA.
The Great cata7as. in South America
Nearly Eight Hundred Feet Tall-A Col
rmn Of Snow White Foam.

| MIR. Richard Brown writes to the
London Times, on the Goth ult.,
In the month of April last, wa.
tcrfall of most unusual height was
discovered on the Portato, tributa.
ry of the Essequibo river, by Mr.. c.
| b. Brown of the Geological Survey
of British Guiana. Being short Of
provisions, and great distance from
his boats, Mr.. Brown was not able to
devote more than a couple Of hours
| to the examination of the falls, which,
I by hasty barometrical observations,
he found to be nearly 900 feet in
height, the breadth Of the river at the
top Of the falls being one hundred
yards, and its depth fifteen feet. On
his return to Georgetown, in conse-
quence to the strong desire expressed
by the community that careful sur
vey should be made to the falls with
ont delay, Mr.. Brown was instructed
by the government to proceed at
once to the falls tor that purpose, ac-
complained by Sir G. Young, Mr.
Charles Mitchell, and Mr.. King. The
result of their journey is embodied
in the inclosed article, published IN a
Demcrara paper OF the Sd inst,
which, perhaps, you will deem OF
! sufficient interest to insert in the
columns Of your widely circulated
journal.
Sir George Young gives the fol-
lowing detailed description OF the
cataract to Georgetown paper:
! Although am anxious that Mr..
Brown, as a discoverer OF the Great
kaietcur Fall and the director to the
success tul expedition which we We're
permitted to accompany, should have
the telling OF his own story; yet l
can understand that his friends in
Georgetown will be anxious to hear
at once Of his success. The Fall has
clear descent, according to barom-
etical observations taken simultane-
ously by Mr.. Brown at the bottom
and by my colleague, Mr.. Mitchell,
at the top, Of $50 feet. Above, the
Potaro glides smoothly in a slight
depression Of the table Of conglomer-
ate sandstone, and disappears over
the edges in 4 body which we esti-
mated at 50 yards in width, and Of
depth uncertain in the centre, but
Swallowing rapidly toward cithe
bank. When Mr.. Brown discovered
the Fall in April, the rocky ehannc
was completely covered, and the
stream must have had a width Of al
least 100 yards. At present it is di
minishing in volume; and, as the In
dians assured us, will continue to dc
so till October, when only the cen
trail and deeper portion, about one
third Of the whole, will remain
The best time, therefore, for visit
is in spring, at the end of what ap
pears to be the rainy season OF this
elevated tract.
| GAS we saw the Fall l csnnot i'm
agine anything more beautiful. The
central portion, which is never dry
forms small horseshoe or re-cnter
ing angle, and the water in this par
preserves its consistency for shor
i distance from the ledge. But every
where else, and here also, at a few
feet from the top, all semblance o
water disappears; it breaks up, o
blossoms, into fine foam or spray
which descends in the well know
rocket. like forms oi the Staubbach an,
similar waterfalls, but multiplied
thousand times, into a small darl
pool, over semi-circular curtain o
precipice deeply followed by the &C
ton of the spray. The cavern be
hind the Fall is the home of, thous
ands of swallows, which Issue from
it in the morning, and may be see
returning in their multitudes at nigh,
The fall itself is one vast dcscendin;
column Of fine. drvlooking, snow
white substance, bearing reseml
lance, in color and consistency. to tn
snow of an avalanche, but surpassin,
all avalanches, l have seen, in size
and in the beautyof the forms tax
Ell by the material OF the tall.-
(, Rainbows Of great splcndor wer
observed; one from the front Of III
! fall in the morning, one from til
summit in the afternoon; but thi
| last reverted, forming colore
loop or ring, into which the Who'll
e mass seemed to precipitatc itself an
e disappear, aud dart out underneatl
! black and foaming, at the gorge an
outlet OF the pool.
"Wc spent eleven days in asccnt
I ing the Esscqnlbo, which was heav
I III flood. and detained us double IL
!, time anticipated. Five days brougl
1 us from Tumatumari, the loves
Fall OH the Potaro, to the Patamor