The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1894-03-21
ARTIFICIAL WAFER FALLS.


Description of several Constructed In
Southern Europe.
In the tOwn-of Nice, on the Mediter-
raneau coast. there is q very fine arti-
fetal waterfall something over twenty
feet in height IL IS exceedingly beau
tiful although there is not much water
coming over IL, aud it hangs above the
town like q silver bell IL tumbles
over q rock in the public park. If nice
md Nice were pronounced the same
would endcavor to make pun about
that waterfall
The waterfalls Of Tivoli near Rome,
are practically artif fetal, for although
there existed waterfall that was nat
ural before the Ia nels were made
through the rocks vet three or four of
the present falls that form the attrac-
tion 10 that pretty little Italian town
are artificial | have no data as to
their height, but il seemed to me. look
ing at them from across the valley,
that they are at least three hundred
feet from top TO bottom
The p~ctticst artificial waterfall that
I ever saw is in the Engadine. The
surroundings are so natural and so
pect that it was artificial were it not
for the huge stone dikes at the foot OF
ihc Alps, down which it tumbles, built
toward the lake into which it empties
IL is situated about one hours walk
west from st Mcritz No guide book
] have ever seen makes any mention of
70, and DO not know whether the cat
aract has a name or not 1t tumbles
down from glacier on the Surlei Alp
and empties into the Sivaplana lake,
opposite the pretty little village of the
same name, which stands at the bottom
of the Julier pass. | estimate the
height of this artificial cataract to
be one Thousand feet but it does
not tumble down in one straight
fall, but forms cascade after cascade
until ii reaches the lake. | tried to
climb to the top of it, but the way was
rough, there being no path and by the
time had got half way up realized
that instead of being one thousand feet
high it was nearer that number of
miles so l gave up the climb in des-
pair.
! suppose it ought to be called the
Surlej falls or the Surlej cascades, for
the Alp down which It comes bears that
name, and the ruined village at the
lower end of the lake is called Surlei,
which means "a Owe the lake" An
/ event in the year 1854 led 10 the forma-
] tion of this artificial waterfalls; a tragic
/ event such as is only too common in
! Switzerland.
The rivulet at that time ran through
/ Surlej One night the waiter stopped,
being damned up by landslide far up
the mountains When the avalanche
came down the village was swept
away On the principle of locking the
uoor Whtn the. horse is stolen, the in.
habitlnls Them detected the course of
the stream. an&-S<a' formed the arti-
hcial waterfall Although most or the
village was carried away, some rem
nants are still there. The stout walls
Of the church are standing, roohess,
doorless and windowless The re-
mains of the frcscoes are sin to be
seen on the plaster inside. The place
is Just as the food left IT, the ground
all around it being wilderness of
stones, large and small, as il some
great paving contractor had intended
to macadamize the whole place, and
had left the material scattered around.
A few inha abitants live in the village,
and one house is built on huge bowl
der that has come down from the
mountains. If another flood should
happen along, it, at least, will be safe.
Even in the dryest weather there is a
good volume Of water coming over the
Surlej waterfall and in spring it must
be cataract wel worth seeing. Do
froif I'ra, Itr.e-