The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1870-09-29
THE RIVAL OF NIAGARA.
The Great Cataract in South America
Nearly Eight Hundred Feet Fall
A Column of Snow White Foam.

i
; Mr.. Richard Brown writes to the Lon
don Times, on the Goth ult:
| In the month OF April last, a wafer
fale of most unusual height was discovered
on the Potaro, tributary Of the Esseque
DO River, by Mr.. @. B. Brown of the
4 Geological Survey Of British Guiana
4 Being short Of provisions, and at a grea
distance from his boats, Mr.. Brown wa
| not able to devote more than couple o
hours to the examination of the falls
which, by hasty barome observations
| he found to be nearly 800 feet in hight
the breadth Of the riverat the top of thu
falls being 100 yards and its depth IL
feet. 1On his return to Georgetown, in
consequence Of the strong desire express
ed by the community that a careful sur
/ vey should be made of the falls without
| delay, Mr. Brown was. instructed by the
Governor to proceed at once to the falls
/ for that purpose, accompanied by Sir.
G.. / Dung, Mr. Charles Mitchell, and Mr.
King. The result of their journey is EN-,
| bodied in the inclosed article, published
in a Demerara 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 following
detailed description of the cataract to- a
| Georgetown paper =
although [ am anxious that Mr..
Brown, as discoVefer Of the Great kaie-
teur Fall, and the director to.the success
ful expedition which we were permitted
to accompany, should have the telling Of
his own story, yet [ can understand that
his friends in Georgetown will be axious
to hear at once Of his success. The Fail
has clear descent, accordingto boromet-
rical observations taken simultaneously
by MIR. Brown at the bottom, and by my
colleague, Mr. Mitchell, at the top, Of
$50 feet. Above, the Potaro glides
smoothly in q slight depression Of the
table Of conglomerate sandstone, and dis
appears over the edge In body which
we estimated at eighty yards in width.
and Of depth uncertain in the center, but
Swallowing rapidly toward the bank
When Dir. Brown discovered the ia Il in
A pril, the rocky channel was completely
covered, and the streams must have had
a width Of at least 100 yards At pres
ent it IS diminishing In volume, and. as
the Indians assured US, will continue to
do so until 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 appears to be the
rainy season Of this elevated tract.
''As we saw the Fall [ cannot imagine
anything more beautiful The central
portion, which is never dry, forms a small
horseshoe or re-entering angle, and the
water in this part preserves its consisten-
CIV for short distance from the ledge. -
But everywhere else, and here also, at
few feet from the top, all semblance of
water disappears it breaks up or bios
SONS, into fine foam or spray, which de-
sends IN the well-known rocket-like
forms of the Staubbach and similar wa
into a small dark pool over a semi circu-
lar curtain Of precipices deeply followed
by the action Of the spray. The cavern
behind the Fall is the home OF thousands
of swallows, which issue from it IN the
morning and may be seen coming in null
titudes at night. The fall itself is one
vast descending column CT a fine dry
looking, snow-white substance, bearing a
resemblance, in color and consistency, to
the snow of an avalanche, but surpass-
ing ali avalanches | have seenin size, and
in the beauty of the forms taken by tbs
material of the Fall Rainbows of great
splendor were observed, one from the
summit in the afternoon; but this last
reverted, forming colored loop or ring,
into which the whole mass seemed to pre-.
eipitate itself and disappear, and dart
out underneath, black and foaming, at
the gorge and outletof the pool.
"We spent II days ia ascending the
Eisseqebo, which vas heavy in food and
detained us double the time icipated
Five days brought US from Tumatumari,
the lowest Fall on the Potaro, to the
Patmona village. In this stage there
are five cataracts, two Of which at least
are inaccessible. M
SIR. Brown and Mr.. King remained at
the Falls two days after the departure of
Sir George Young and Mr.. Mitchell,
making sketches of the Falls and obser-
vations Of their width, depth, and the
velocity Of the stream above. On care
fully working out the mean result of five
separate observations, taken simultane-
ously at the top and bottom of the Falls,
Mr.. Brown found that they gave the
total height of the perpendicular Falls
and cataract as SIT feet The depth of
the cataract was subsequently taken at
the edge of the pool on the western side,
by aneroid barometer 1T being impossi-
bic to carry large barometer 10 the foot
Of the Fall) and found it to be 81 feet,
making the height Of the perpendicular
Fall 736 feet. The width of the river
200 yards above the Fall was 137 yards
and its greatest depth 10 feet , inches,
feet less than at high water.