The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-12-25
The Great Waterfall Of Roralma In
South America.

Inc Great waterman OF hOraima In
South America.
Darlington Brown, during his men,
orable survey of Guiana, reached the
foot of Roralma, and assembled its slop.
ing portion to q height of 800 feet
above the level of the sea. Between
the highest point he reached and the
foot of the great perpendicular portion
which lowered above is band of thick
forest. Looking up at the great wall
of rock 1900 feet in height, he could
see that forest covered its top, and that
in places on its sides where small trees
or shrubs could gain hold, there they
chung. The gigantic cliff itself is COM
posed of beds Of white, pink and red
sandstone, interbedded with layers of
red shale, the whole resting on a great
bed of red diorite. The length of
Roralma is about eight or ten miles;
Kukenam is perhaps larger, and the
area of Illebeapeur is certainly more
extensive. 1t is impossible to view this
wonderful group of mountains without
realizing that far back in the youth of
the world they formed part of an archi-
peligo in tropical seas. That they are
we'll wooded and watered is made GER
tain by visible trees and the enormous
waterfall which pours at least from
| Roralma. A grand view of this
cataract was obtained by Barring
ton Brown from the mouth of a cave,
inhabited by guacharo birds, and stu
ated 1882 feet above the level of
the sea. Through the clear atmosphere
was distinctly visible at distance of
thirty miles the white thread of the
waterfall. The Indians said it was the
head of branch of the Cotinga River,
but it is more probably the head of the
Caroni, branch of the Orinoko. This
tropical Staubbach is probably the high
est fall in the world and is at the same
time of considerable bulk. The cliff of
Roralma is 1000 feet in hight, over the
upper half of which it fell like plumb
line and then descended with a slight
slope outward. The remaining 5000
feet to the valley below slopes at an
angle of forty-five degrees and, being
tree-covered, the rest of the fall is hid.
den by foliage.
The invisible attraction of the curious
savanna range of island mountains to
naturalists arises from the inaccessible
ity. This should not be understood as
the mere desire to excel others in feat
of climbing, but as the nope that some
relics of the mammalian life of the So
called "miocene period may have
survived on these isolated attitudes, cut
of from all communication with the
living, moving world. If any of the
"miOcene mammals lived upon them
when the sea washed their bases, the
descendants of those animals NAV ex-
list there still, as the lemurs exist in
Madagascar and whole family of masu-
pals, such as the kangaroo, in Austria
liza. Perhaps balloon may one day
solve the mystery which lends a charm
to these island mountains and the hap
py naturalist who lands, as one will, of
course, and in time-on the summit of
ROralma may find himself among the
descendants of the races long since
blotted from the lower world, in which
the evidence of their existence is re-
corded in the great stone books alone.
Amid the forest depths, on which rests
large cloud, he may find not the gi-
gantic saurians of the youthful world,
grim monsters of the fish-lizard
form, but the great progenitors
OF existing mammalia. Leaving the
tapir, one of the most ancient of extant
creatures. at the bottom of the Roral-
ma cascade he may find at its top it's
gigantic congeners-huge herbivorous
animals fifteen and eighteen feet in
length; the dinotherium, tapir-like
creature larger than the elephant, an
tique analogues of the mastodon, ances-
tors OF the horse, the hog and the great
cats. which in the known parts of the
continent are represented by the jaguar,
the puma, and the ocelot. The pros
pect of the dinotherium alone would be
sufficient to compensate an enthusiastic
naturalist tor the labor of years. It is
the largest of the terrestrial mammalia
which have inhabited our globe and de-
servedly stands at the head of the thick
skinned animals, as the megatherium
or gigantic sloth at that of the tardi-
grades. Probably the dinotherium
would be found, If found at all, pursu-
ing life like that of the hippopotamus. |
Its great head and tusks are fitted for
grubbing up aquatic plants and like |
those OF the walrus, for helping the ami
NAL out OF the water. But the dinothe-
rum is but one of the startling forms
which might be looked for on Roralma.
if its cliffs be really as difficult as
painted. Lizards in the semi-ophidian
stage might be encountered and other
animals which. as the little boy said |
who had been taken into a lecture of
Professor OWENS " had not quite made
up their minds what they were 90
ing to be-"
The question is, is Roralma as mac
cessible as it looks? From recent evil
dence there is break in the waterfall
at point 1000 feet below the lat, cliff
like summit Now 1000 feet do not
cover very great height and there is
no good evidence as to the inaccessi-