The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-01-06
: ALONG THE AMAZON.
WHERE RAIN COMES DOWN IN
TERRIFIC cLoUDBuRSTs.

ny hater iaIu All hinuS OF animals
Are Driven to tho Highlands and Tree
Tops-A Tropical Deiuge.
The worst foundations of Louisiana
and eastern Arkansas are but spring
freshets compared with the monster
floods that visit the Amazon valley every
year with a regularity equaled only by
astronomical events and lax collections.
The rainfall Of northern Brazil is about
three times that of the webfootiest conn
/ ties of Oregon, and in midsummer the
thunder showers that drench the woods
every afternoon resemble daily cloud
burst. On the Northern Pacific no other
word would be applied to an atlnos-
pheric waterfall, darkening the air like
London winter fog for hours together,
and swamping house, if the roof
should leak, through an aperture of
few square inches.
] Rams Of that sort are apt TO occur day
after day for a series of weeks, and their
4 effect on the loWlands can only be i'm
perfectly indicated by the fact that the
Amazon river drains an area Of more
! Nft'Nii ~fV"'fVNo Slualo hiiic3' Inc Wis
s1sslppi too, drains half the eastern
slope Of country larger than Brazil,
but It's largest atiluents are dwarfed by
the third class tributaries OF the South
. American father of waters.
NOT snch flowing lakes as the Rio
Negro and the Madeira but the Purus,
the AaTarl, the 6lurua, the lingo, the
Fapalos ana dozens OF other streams
rarely mentioned on tins side OF the
lstLinus enter the nam river through
delta mites III width ana deep enough
lor the largest river steamers OF The 81.
Lawrence
Apo'it the MIDDLE or summer THESE
streams begin to rise, those from the
south"est htst' these from the northwest
ana north lew Weeks later, ana IL FORT
h!sllu iutet inc afflNal OF tHeseeohu sup
plemeAt inc Fdiisy OF inc ALarahoh, the
4 WIG hoS river, y Vhe carry colohlstS
callea tile amazon becomes paradise
oil swamp loving hIuL9S' Inc taps, the
petcafi' thc hsh outer celeptate the PIC
NC seasoh OF Ihelf summer NE, ana
hetus OF villa ueef be5ll thelf westward
exodus Near Monte belfa, IN the
province (AoW sta'e) OF Matte crosse,
the woods III midsummer get full OF
game, as hundred years ago the loot
mus 81 the southern AlleShames swarm
ca Wlth "lId pigeons when the forests
q the NORTH We're buried In snow.
more than usually sudden rise OF
mo hood cuts OIL many Of these fugi-
tiyes, who are thus reduced to the al
, F IF11tr tTF fEin 1Fffrh1Sf NJ
cessible ground. farther cast, till every
knoll becomes hill of refuge, crowded
with timid brutes, whose survival de.
ponds on their escape from tho giant
cats and hoIs who may approach their
stronghold by swimming, if the water
| should have submerged too large por-
ton Of the continuous forest.
About two months after the begin
/ ming Of the rainy season the deluge of
the lOwlands reaches its maximum.
Thousands of square miles are sub.
merged so cffcctually that canoes can be
!. padded through forests apparently free
, from underbrush, since only the taller
trees, with their network of climbing
, vines rise like islands above the surg
A.. ing waters. Tho swollen rivers have
r found new currents, and broad, our
Cling streams twist and eddy through
tho leafv wilderness. tearing off whole
groups Of trees, with all their roots. but
: making amends by depositing hillocks
of driftwool, which soon get covered
a with tufts of new vegetation.
Q The pressure of the surging flood
against these mounds of alluyiuln soar
II l,,,s,,os, o,,,,,,,,,,,t, Inf ,1. I,.,, ,.,y,41