The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-22
THE RIVAL OF NIAGARA.

Wultc F"am.
Mr.. Richard Brown writes to the Lon dJa
Times on the 29th ultimo:-
In the month of April last, a waterfall of
most unusual helght was discovered on tue
Potalo, tributary OF tue Essequebo River,
by Mr. G b. Brown of tue Geological Survey
of British Guiana. Being short of pro-
visions. aud at great distance from his
boats, MIR Brown was Lot able to devote
more than a couple of hours TO the examina-
tion OF the falls, which, by hasty bArometri-
call o serN ations, he found to be nearly 900
feet in beight, the breadth of the river at the
top of the falls being 100 yards, and its depth
15 feet On his return to Georgetown, in
consequence of the str ,ng desire expressed
by the community that "a careful survey
should he made of the falls without delay,
Mr.. Brown was instructed by the Governor
to proceed ut once to the falls for that pur-
pose, accompanied by Sir G. Young, Mr.
Charles MITCHELL and Mr.. King The re-
suit Of their journey is embodied in the in
closed article, published in 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 Geo ge Young gives the following de-
talt description of the cataract to George
town paper
Although am anxious that Mr. Brown,
as discoverer of the Great Kaieteur Fall,
and the director to the successful expedition
v.
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 descent, accord
ing to barometrical observations taken stimuli
taneousy by Mr.. Brown at the bottom, and
by my colleague, Mr.. Mitchell, at the top,
of $50 feet. Above, the Potaro elides
smoothly in a slight depression of the table
of conglomerate sandstone, and disappears
over the edge in body which we estimated
at 80 yards in width, and of depth uncertain
in the centre, but Swallowing rapidly towards
either bank. When Mr.. Brown discovered
the fall in April, the rocky channel was COM
pletely covered, and the stream must have
had a width of at least 100 yards. At present
it is diminishing in volume, and, as the In
dians assured us, will continue to do SO till
October when only the central 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
GAS we saw the Fall cannot imagine any
thing more beautiful. The central portion,
which is never dry, forms small horseshoe
or re-entering angle, and the water in this part
preserves its consistency for q short distance
from the ledge. But everywhere else, and
here also, at a few feet from the top, all SEM
blance of water disappears; it breaks up, or
blossoms, into fine foam or spray, which de-
scends in the well-know rocket-like forms of
the Staubbach and similar waterfalls, but
multiplied thousand times, into a small,
dark pool, over semi circular curtain of
prscipice 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 re-
turning in their multitudes at night. The fall
itself is one vast descending column of fine
dry-looking, snow-white substance, bearing
resemblance, in color and consistence, to the
snow of an avalanche, but surprising all
avalanches / have seen in size and in the
beauty of the forms taken by the material of
the fall. Rainbows of great splendor were
observed, one from the front of the fall in
the morning, one from the summit in the
afternoon; but this last reverted, forming
colored loop or ring, into which the whole mass
seemed to precipitate itself and disappear,
and dart out underneath, black and foaming,
Mt the gorge and outlet of the pool.
''We spent eleven days in ascending the
Essequebo, which was heavy in flood, and
detained us double the time anticipated. Five
DAYS brought us from Tumatumari, the lowest
fall on the Potaro, to the Patamona village.
In this stage there are five cataracts, two of
which at least are inaccessible. We espent two
days in visiting the foot and summit of the
fall, and descended to the settlement, leaving
Messrs. Brown and King to complete the sur
vey and sketches of the country in four days
and half. We expect our companions by
the steamer on the 1st of August, when this
imperfect record will be supplemented. We
had fine weather, and suffered nothing from
the climate or from fatigue, for which we are
indebted mainly to Mr.. Browns foresight and
ability"
Mr.. Brown and Mr. King remained at the
fall two days after the departure of Sir
George Young and Mr.. MITCHELL making
sketches of the fall and observations of the
width, depth, and velocity of the stream
above. On carefully working 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
height of the perpendicular fall and cataract
as ST feet The depth of the cataract was
subsequently taken at the edge of the pool
on the western side, by aneroid barometer
ter to the foot of the fal), and found to be
81 feet, making the height of the perpen-
dicular fall 736 feet. The width of the river 200
yards above the Fall was 134 yards and its
greatest depth 10 feet 2 inches, 8 feet less
shan at high water. On the morning of the
21st of July MIR. Brown and Mr. King started
on their return, but at the mouth of the
Curiebrong river Mr.. Brown remained three
DAYS to make arrangements to ascend that
stream on his next geological excursion.
They finally left the Tumatumari Fall Give
miles up the Potaro River) on the morning
of the 29th ult., and, after an unprecedentedly
rapid run down the Essequebo, arrived al
Bartics Grove on the evening of the Both
and at the settlement on the following morn
ing. They experienced moderately fine
weather throughout. and not single mem