The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-02-06
Source of the Amazon.
[ExchanRe.l

At the close O the last session of tho
 British Scientific Association the an
 nouncement was made of a new discovery in communication to the. Geographical Society by Mir. Thum, an inhabitant o
 British Guiana, says the C0Hyyier Gel Etaks- Unis MT. Thum is the first to climb the Rovaima, high mountain
 hitherto unexplored by man. The natives of the country in vain tried to dissuade the traveller from his attempt to rend the mysterious veil which has obscured the accursed solitude-accursed, for, accord ing to them, the devil and his satellite have chosen this for their abode upon this earth. The declivities of R ovai ma had always seemed inaccessible. Several travellers who had tried to climb them had returned, discouraged by the difficult ties that assailed them at every step. The southern slope is absolutely bare and so smooth that the sun is reflected in it as a mirror, while the northern declivity is a perfect image of chaos. Enormous sec- tions of rock, piled one on another, hang in the most unstable positions ever fath. omless abysses on the east and west sides are almost impenetrable forests of stunted trees and bushy vegetation, the shelter of ferocious beasts and venomous reptiles.
 But nothing could chill the ardor of MT. Thum, and, almost unattended, he set out, firmly determined to reach the plateau which crowns the summit of the mountain around which hover clouds of of birds so numerous as sometime to ob- scure the light of the sun. At the end of two long months, his skin bronzed by the sun and his clothes hanging in tatters on his emaciated body, the intrepid Mir. Thum reached the goal of his ambition and stood upon the summit. What a sight met his gaze A strange vegetation, unknown to the rest ofthe world streams ot water, perfectly clear and sparkling :; and vaned hues-in a word a vast ex. panse of beauty stretched out before him as far as the eye could reach, and he fell on his knees and thanked God for the privilege of being the first to enjoy the most beautiful spectacle ever given to hu- man eyes to contemplate. Standing on the borders of kind of lake, forming a basin surrounded by rocks, and wonder ing where the outlet was, he espied lit- tie silvery stream which disappeared amidst the fiowery grass only to reappear farther on towards the plains. The i've Hest emotions filled his breast, and as if inspired he cried out, The Amazon the Amazonl" MT. Thum is convinced that it is the long -sought-for source of that magnificent river which was thus re- vealed to him.
 It remains for the future to confirm this discovery, which has been dream of sa. wants second only in importance to that of the Nile. lift be true, MT. Thum will have obtained high place among the discoverers ofthe age. A balloon ascen- sion to the summit of Rovaima is pro- jected, the success of which is anxiously awaited. What astonished him most in all the journey was the total absence of animal life in this solitude. Save the birds, which from time to time alighted around this same little stream which caused him such emotions, the most complete silence reigned. As he had chosen to make his ascent on the bare. rocky side of the mountain, he supposed that lack of nourishment compels all liy- ing creatures to inhabit only the east and west sides.