The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-06-07
Wonderful Mountain on she
Border OF British Guiana.

! DoEocE Oh nTlAlan outnuas
Few Americans have traversed Brit
| ish Guiana. There a great tai of
pink ana white and rcd sandstone in
terbcded with red shale," rises from q
height of 800 feet above the level of
the Sea, 1000 feet sheer into the
sapphire tropical sky. A forest crowns
1t; the highest waterfall in the world
only one, it would seem, out of
seveial-tumbles from its summit, 1000
feet at one leap, 5000 more ON a slope
OF 40 degrees down to the bottom of
the valley, broad enough to be seen
thirty miles away. As far as can
make out, only two parties of civilized
! explorers have touched the base Of the
| table-SIr Robert Schomburge. many
years ago; Mr.. Brown and con.pan-
ion in lS69-each at different spots.
| Even the length of the mass has not
| been determined; Mr.. Brown saws
| eight or twelve miles. And he cannot
! help specializing whether the remains
of a former creation may not be found
at the top. At any rate, there is the
! forest on the summit. OF what trees
is it composed? They cannot we'll be
the same as those at the base. At a
distance of 1900 feet above the sea
level-speaking at least from personal
knowledge of one lslAnd-the mango
tree In the West Indies, which produces
fruit in abundance below, ceases TO
bear. The change in vegetation must
be far more decided where the differ
ence is between 5000 and 1000 feet.
Thus for mlllenniums this island of
sandstone upon the South Ama-i.--
oontiuvuJ must nave had its own dis
tinct flora. What may be its fauna2
Very few birds probably ascend TO q
height of 1000 feet In the air, the vul- |
ture tribe excepted. Nearly the whole |
of its animsted inhabitants are likely |
to be as distinct as its plants. Is it |
peoplcd with human beingsl Who can |
telll Why not2 The climate must be |
temperate, delicious. There is an
abundance of water, very probably |
issuing from some lake on the summit. |
Have we there a group of unk Gown
brothers cut off from all the rest of |
their kindl
The summit, Mr.. Brown says, is
inaccessible, except by means of bal
looms. Well, that is question to be
settled on the spot between an engineer
and first-rate alpine" What is
the satisfaction of standing on the ice
ridge of the Matterhorn, or crossing
the lava-wsstes of the Vatna Jokull, |
compared to what would be the sensa-
ton of reaching that mysterious
aerial forest, and gazing plumb
down over the sea of tropi-
cal verdure beneath, within an
horizon the limits of which are abso-
lutely beyond guessing0 But put it |
that balloon Is required, surely it |
would be worth while for one of cur
scientific societies to organize balloon |
expedition for the purpose. No one
can tell what problems in natural |
science might not be elucldated by the |
exploration. We have here an area Of |
limited extent, within which the secu-
lar variation of species by natural selec. |
ton, if any, must have gone on undis
turbed, with only limited number of |!
conceivable exceptions, since, at least,
the very beginning of the present age |
in the worlds life. Can there be a |
fairer field for the testing of those the |
cries which are occupying mems minds |
so much IN our DAYS? And if there be |
human creatures On Roralma, what new |
data must their language, their condi- |
ton, contribute for the study of philo- |
logers, anthropologists, sociologistsl
One more wonder remains to be told. |
MIR. Brown speaks of two other noun |
taIns in the same district which are of |
the same description as Roraima--tables |
of sandstone, rising up straight in the |
hlue-one larger than Roraima itself. |
But he has not seen them, nor do they |
appear on his map. 1t is only because
of their existence, and because, for |
aught that appears, they may be equal
ly inaccessible with Roraims, that one |
does not venture to call Roraima the |
greatest marvel and mystery of the |
earth. If there be thus in existence |
three living fragments of an age before |
our own, instead of one, that is only |
the greater reason why we should lose |
no time in wrestling its secrets from the |
one which lies, so to speak, at our door. |
But If on exploration Roraima proves
to be that which one dreams it may, a
question may arse whether it would |
not he worthy of modern civilization
to secure It's preservation, or the pres
ervation of all the three mountains in
question, by international treaty, in
their primeval condition. If only the |
vegetation of the tertiary age subslsts
on those weird SUBMITS, its trees have |
a right not TO have their trunks defaced |
with civilized "posters," nor their feet |
strewn with the remains of civilized |
dine tins.