Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-09-29
NIAGARA'S RIVAL.


to surrender, and that may in all proba
bility occur in the course Of o few days
NIAGARA'S RIVAL.
ica-Nearly Eight Hundred Feet
faII-A Column of snow-whife
Foam.
Mr. Richard Brown writes to the Lon
don Times: In the month Of April last
a waterfall of most unusual hight was
discovered on the Potaro, a tributary OF
the Essequebo river, by Mr.. c. b. Brown,
of the Geological Survey Of British
Guiana. Being short of provisions, and
at 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, by hasty barometrical
observations, he found to be nearly nine
hundred feet in hight, 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 of the strong desire expressed by
the community that careful survey
should be made of the falls without de-
lay, Mr.. Brown was instructed by the
Governor to proceed at once to the falls
for that purpose, accompanied by Sir q.
Young, Mr.. Charles Mitchell and Mr..
King. The result of their journey is
embodied in the enclosed article, pub
lished in a Demerara paper of the Sd
inst, which, perhaps, you will deem OF
sufficient interest to insert in the col
umns of your widely-circulated journal.
Sir George Young gives the following
detailed description of the cataract to a
Georgetown paper:
Although / am anxious that Mr..
Brown, al dispoVeter Of the Great
Kaieteur Fall, and the director to the
successful expedition which we were
permitted to accompany, should have
the telling of his own story, yet | can
understand that his friends in George
town will be anxious to hear at once OF
his success The Fall has clear de-
scent, according to barometrical obser-
yations taken simultaneously by Mr..
Brown al tho bottom, and by my col
league, Mr.. Mitchell, at the top, Of f5O
feet. Above, the Potaro glides smooth
ly in slight depression of the table OF
the conglomerate sandstone, and disap-
pears over the edge Of body which we
estimated at eighty yards in width, and
of depth uncertain in the center, but
Swallowing rapidly toward either bank.
When Mr., Brown diseoyerad the fall in
April, the rocky channel Was completRly
covered and the stream must have had a
width Of at least 100 yards. At present
it is diminishing in volume, and, as the
| l. ., t, Il
so till October, when only the central
and deeper portion, about one-third of
the whole, will remain. The best time,
therefore, fog visit is in spring, at the
end of what appears TO be the rainy sea-
son Of this elevated tract.
" As we saw the fall can not imagine
anything mere beautiful, The central
portion, which is never dry, forms q snail
horseshoe or re-entering angle, and the
water in this part preserves its consis-
tency for short distance from the ledge.
But everywhere else, and here also, at a
few feet from the top, all semblance Of
water disappears; it breaks up or bios
sons INFO hpe f9ant eg sIEqy, which de-
scends in the well known F0ckdt-lke
forms of the Staubbach and similar
waterfalls, but multiplied thousand
times, into a small dark pool, over semi
circular curtain of precipice deeply hol-
LEVIED by the action of the spray. The
cavern behind the Ealls Is ihe hoae Of
thousands OF swallows, which issue from
it in the morning, and may be seen re-
turning in their multitudes at night The
Fall itself is one vast descending column
of fine dry-looking, gnow-white sub
stance, bearing resemblance, in color
and consistency, to the snow of an ava
lanche, but surprising all avalanches |
have seen in size, and in the beauty of
the forms taken by the MatGrials Of the
Fall. RainBows df great splendor were
observed, one from the summit in the
afternoon; but this last reverted, form
ing eolored loop or ring, into which the
whole laass seemed to precipitate itself
and disappear, and dart out underneath,
black and foaming, at the gorge and OUT
let of the pool.
eve spent eleven days in ascending
ithe Esseduebo, which vas heavy in food
and detained us double the time antici-
pated. Five days brought us from Tu-
tnatumaFi, the lowest fall on the Potaro,
to the Patamona village. in this stage
there are five oataFaots, two of which
are at least accessible. We spent two
days in visiting the foot and summit of
the fall, and descended to the settlement,
leaving Messrs. Brown and King to COM
plete the survey and sketches Of the
country in four days and half We
expect our companiol by the steamer on
the LIST Of August, when this imperfect
record will be supplemented. We had
fine weather, and suffered nothing from
the climate or ffom fatigue, for which
we are indebted mainly to Mr. Brown S
foresight and ability
Mr.. Brown and Mr.. King remained at
the fall two days after the departure OF
Sir George Young ana Mr. Mitchell
making sketches of the fall and observa.
tiqns Of The width, depth and velocity OF
the stream above. On carefully york
ing out the mean result Of FIVE separate
observations taken simultaneously at the
top and bottom Of the fall, Mr.. Brown
found that they gave the total hight Of
the perpendicular fall and cataract al
| Sl7 feef,
The depth OF the cataract was snbse-
quently taken at the edge of the pool on
the western side, by aneroid barometer
(it being impossible 10 carry a large
barometer to the foot Of the Fall, and
fuspd 20 be eighty-one feet, making the
height Of the perpendieular Fall I3t
feet. The width Of the river 200 yards
above the Fall was l54 yards, and It's
greatest depth fifteen feet two inches
/ FIVE feet less than at high water On
the me1ning pf the 2lst Of July Mr..
Brown and Mr.. King started on their
return, but at the mouth Of the Curie-
brong river Mr.. Brown remained three
days to make arrangements TO ascend
that stream on his next geological excur
sion. They finally lefl The fumatnmarl
Fall five miles up the Rotaro river on
the morning Of the 29th ult., and, after
al unprecedentedly rapid run down the
Essequebo, arrived at Bartica Grove on
the eienina Of the 30th, and at the SET
Element on the following morning. They
experienced moderately fine weather
throughout, and not a single member Of
the party, which numbered twenty-ons
all told, suffered even days sickness
I during the excursion.