The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-11-25
Remarkable Rivers

A number Of rivers that can be
found IN almost any atlas possess
remarkable characteristics wkic;i
entitle them rank among the naiug-
al curiosities of the world In
Algeria, for instance, there is small
stream which the chemistry of ma
ture has turned into true ink. 1t is
formed by the union of two riyuleis,
one of which is very strongly i'm
pregnated with iron, while the other,
meandering through = peat marsh,
imbibes gallic acid Letters have
been written with this compound of
/ iron and gallo acid which unite 10
form the little river. In Colombia
there is river which. by admix-
rure with sulphuric acid, became so
sour that it is appropriately named
Rio de Vinadre, or Vinegar River.
Many varieties of i-h abound in the
large Orange River OF South Africa
until the river passes through a
rocky region containing copper ores,
below which the water Is said to be
poisonous and TO kin the fsh that
venture into it.
"China's Sorrow . is the name that
has been given to the great Hoang
Ho. which rises in the mountains o1
Thibet and follows wonderfully
circuitous channel for $500 miles
to the sea. The waywardness Of
this mighty volume Of water makes
the river a constant source Of ankle
ty and danger, instead of wealth, TO
100000 Of people inhabiting the
central plain OF China 1t is known
10 have suddenly changed its course
nine times. 1t has moved its mouth
over IL of latitude each time.empty
ing its vast food in different direc-
tions and digging new channel for
itself where scores Of villages bad
stood. 1t has greatly changed the
physical character OF a wide area,
turning fertile regions into a sandy
wasteor making shalloT lakes of
them, in which nothing grows. and
over which nothing can sail. Wheth-
er it is within the power Of western
science to save this great plain from
disastrous overilows and changes OF
the river bed is question that has
been considerably discussed in En-
gland of late years.
Some recent explorers Of Alaska
tell us hat the Mississippi can no
longer be regarded as the largest nv
er of the North American continent.
They claim that distinction for the
great Yukon River, which. accord
ing to Mr.. Ivan Petroff. who spent
two years in Alaska collecting ma
terials for the last census, empties
into Norton Sound oue-third more
water than the Mississippi poars
into the Gulf of Mexico. The Yu-
kon basin comprises the most Of
Southern Alaska. and is mile wide
600 miles from from its mouth
Many centuries before it was visited
by white men IL very likel served
as the highway into the interior Of
tribes who are believed TO have cross (
from Asia to this continent.
A very curious river Is the Webbe /
Shebeyli Of east Africa, a deep and
rapid stream, abounding in fsn and |
crocodiles. Though Il flows for
hundreds of miles through fertile !
lands, the immense volume of water
never reaches thesea, A little north 1
Of the Equator the river loses itself !
in desert region "A few miles from
the Indian Ocean.
Very few great rivers nave ever /
been thoroughly explored by going
up stream. Travellers tried for >
900 years TO fad the source of the |
Nile by ascending the river. BY
the time they had reached the diff
cult part of the stream their stores
and energy were exhausted and
they could go no further. 1t was
only by seeking the fountain heads |
first by overland routes that
was able to float down the !
Yukon, that Stanley mapped the
Congo, aud that Speke solved the I
secret of the Nile.