Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-06-26
NEW ZEALAND's WILps.

= NEW ZEALAND's wlLDS.
What an American Tourist Saw in the
Antipodal Wonderland. ~
When started from Los Angeles. abopt
two years ago. says correspondent Of the
San francisco Call, it was not with the in.
tention OF exploring in this land of wonders,
nor becoming one Of a surveying party.
What storehouse Of curlosities New
Zealand is. Boiling lakes of sulphur. of
mud and Of water. alongside of which. very
often separated by wall of rock scarcely a
loot In thickness, are to be found pools of
ice cold water. Smoking volcanoes, every
day earthquakes, as the people here call
tnem snow-clad peaks, magnificent water
1alls, great precipitous mountains, tower
ing thousands Of feet into the air and
nearly covered by splendid virgin forests
frare and useful woods. Rich deposits of
agum-known in the commercial world as
kauri-are scattered over large portions
OF the north island; great fields of coal,
iron, copper, gold, silver, etc., are living
ready for the capitalist and the workman.
1t struck me as most singular that nature
should have so magnificently favored these
three little islands-thousands of miles
from civilization-and left its immense
island continent neighbor, Australia so
nearly barren. Ihad always believed that
only place on earth where these mysteries
OF nature reigned supreme, but 1 have
learned, guessing through telescopes, the
height Of the great Sutherland waterfall,
named after the discoverer, has for the last
year or more been exciting discussion
between the various learned associations of
Australia and New Zealand, and in fact the
Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain
had taken hand in the talking and fgur-
ing. Scientific men journeyed all the way
from old England, France and Australia to
Milford sound-situated on the west coast
OF New Zealand-to have a guess at this re-
markable freak of nature. Guess, I saw.
for not one Of the many "wiseacres" could
get nearer view of the falls than sixteen
miles, Well, to show how good these men
OF science were with guessing through the
telescope the answers ranged from five
hundred to five thousand feet So exciting
had become the solution of its height, and
so many accidents had occurred to adventur-
GUS spirits in their endeavors to solve the
mystery, that the New Zealand Govern
ment, either becoming afraid of an inter-
national or intercolonial conflict, got in the
other day and spoiled the fun by sending
out surveying party to get the facts and
figures and cut track to the falls at all
hazards. This was mistake, for it less
ened the interest taken in New Zealand
which the dispute has kept at fever heat
for over year.
On arrival at Milford sound we were met |
by Mr.. Sutherland, the discoverer of the |
famous falls. To tourists and New Zea-
landers he is known as the "Hermit Of Mil
ford sound" Eleven years ago, accompa-
MED only by his dogs, he located here,
where he has built three-room cottage,
which he keeps scrupulously clean and in
A~,sn al " liz, A.
center room, his bedroom on the right and
the other always ready for any wanderer
who may happen along. Around the walls
Of this curious dwelling are some fair
sketches Of the mountain scenery, drawn
by himself. Bottles of minerals, gold
quartz, rubies, etc., are neatly arranged on
shelves. Skins Of rare native birds deco
rate and hide the baroness of the walls, and
their beauty is enough to make a lover of
zoolatry envious Sutherland is Scotch
man and decidedly eccentric character
but for all that a fund of information and
dry humor He has no love for the city
s'chaps," calling them ''ashfelters." Tour
lists he has in great contempt, saying they
will take any tning Jney can lift; photog-
raphers, who occasionally visit the sound,
are spoken of as shadow -catchers."
The first stage of the journey after leav-
ing the sound is done by boat up the Arthur
river For the next two miles q series of
unnavigable rapids are passed until the
fern tree hut at the foot of Lake Ada is |
reached. Again entering our canvas boat,
we had plain sailing for three miles-the
length OF the lake-passing through some /
of the most beautiful and grandest OF
scenery. At the upper end of this lake
two large rivers enter. One was chris d
tened Walhohepa by the chief Of our party, q
kxr Mr. Inf nd
Getting out of the lake we again encoun- J
tered two miles Of rapids up to the 10 by 10 p
tent. Here the track follows the river for !
six miles to the birch hut Although now y
but mile from the falls, it was very /
hard one to walk. For the full distance
great landslide had come down from the !
side, completely obliterating the
track. Ice, snow, earth, stones and fallen
trees-many over three feet in diameter, {
some of which had been snapped off and
broken to splinters- blocked the path.
From point about two miles below the
falls the first glimpse is obtained. 1t is not =
until you are close to it that the full height i
and volume can be seen, great trees and $
bushes intercepting the view. The water
issues from a narrow defile between Mount :
Sutherland on the right and Mount Hood
on the left From q little hill, appropriately
named View Mount, one gets a comprehen- :
siye view of the falls. 1t is now seen that ,
the water dashes over the cliff in three
grand leaps, and constitutes about one-half
Of the entire volume of the Arthur river.
The first leap is over dizzy cliff into a
rocky basin 815 feet below. Jumping forth {
again, it makes another leap of 75l feet, and
then goes tumbling and leaping in one wild
dash OF 33S feet into the pool at the foot of Z
the precipice. The total height is exactly
l .994 feet, which is claimed to be one OF the
highest waterfalls yet discovered In the
world. :
The effect Of the fall when the sun is
aiming il indescrbable. Rainbows of all
sizes hang over its surface. So immense is