Democratic messenger., 1894-02-24
ARTIFICIAL WATERFALLS.
Some European Structures That Rival In
I;eauty Natures Productions.

beauty Natures Productions.
In the town of Nice. on the Mediterra
mean coast. there is Il very fine artificial
waterfall something over 20 feet in
height IL is exceedingly beautiful. nj
though there il not much water coming
over il. and il hangs over the town like
a silver bell 1t tunbles over rock in
the public park If nice and Nice were
pronounced the same. | would endeavOr
to make pun about that waterfall.
The waterfalls If Tivoli. near Rome,
are practically artificial. for although
there existed waterfall that was natu-
raj before the tunnels were made through
the rocks. vet three or four of the pres
ent falls that form the attraction to that
pretty little Italian town are artificial.
have no data as To their height. but IL
seemed 10 me. looking at them from
across the valley. that they are at least
300 feet from top 10 bottom.
The preiticst artificial waterfall that
ever saw is in the Engadine. The sur
roundings are so natural and so beauti-
fnl that no one would ever suspect that
il was artificial We're it not for the huge
stone dikes AT the foot of the Alps. down
which it iumbles. built toward the lake
into which it empties. 1t is situated
about one hours walk west from st.
Moritz. No guidebook have ever seen
makes any mention of il, and do not
know whether the cataract has name
or not.
1t tumblcs down from glacier on the
Surlci Alp and emptics into the Sivapla-
ma lake opposite the pretty little village
of the same name. which stands at the
bottom of the Julicr pass. | estimate
the height of this artificial cataract to be
1000 feet. but it does not tumble down
in one straight fall. but forms cascade
after cascade until il reaches the lake. |
tried To climb To the top of it, but tho
way was rough. there being no path. and
by the time had got half way up real
lied that instead of being | 200 feet high
it was nearer that number of miles, SO I
gave up the climb in despair.
suppose it ought to he called the Sur
lei falls or the Surlej cascades, for the
Alp down which il comes bears that
name. and the ruined village ut the low
er end of the lake is called Surlej, which
means "abovc the lake" An event in
the year 1884 led TO the formation of the
artificial waterfall "a tragic event such
as is only too common in Switzerland.
The rivulet at that time ran through
Surlei. One night the water stopped,
being damned up by Il landslide high up
the mountains. When the avalanche
came down. the village was swept away.
On the principle of locking the door
when the horse is stolen, the inhabitants
then DETECTED the course of the stream
and thus formed the artificial waterfall
Although most of the village was carried
away. some remnants are still there.
The stout walls of the church are still
standing doorless and window
less.
The remains of the frescoes are still TO
be seen on the plaster inside. The place
is just as tine food left it, the ground all
around il being wilderness of stones,
large and small. as if some great paving
contractor had intended to macadamize
the whole place and had left the mate
rial scattered around.
\ few inhabitants live in the village,
and one house is built on n hinge bowl
der that has come down from the noun
tains. II another flood should happen
along. il at least will be safe. Even in
the driest weather there is good vol
ume of water coming over the Surlei
waterfall and in spring it must I've a
cataract well worth seeing. = Detroit
Free Press.