The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1905-06-21
JUNE Fl, 1905.
VICTORIA CATARACT
1T is ONE OF THE NOTABLE WON
DERS OF THE WORLD.

Just Like IL. and There Is No Pos
sibiIity of Comparison Between IL
and Our own niagara.
1t was on the 22d of November, 1855,
that the friendly natives with whom he
was travelling brought Or. David Liv
ingstone for the first time within sight
and sound of the wonderful cataract
on the ZambeZl river, now known as
the Victoria falls. Before finding 1t,
the good missionary had Journeyed for
nearly two years, and from his point
OF departure at thurman, In Cape Col
ony, had traycrsed quite 1000 miles OF
hitherto unknown country.
Today one takes the train at Cape
Town on Wednesday. passes through
Kimberley on Thursday reaches Bulu-
wayo ON Saturday, and late III the aft
ernoon of Sunday begins to see In tho
distance the rising pillar of mist from
the great cataract
The natives call II "Mosl- on -tuni,"
meaning THE roaring smoke" Twenty
miles away the spray thrown back
from the depths of the tremendous cav
ern into which the river tumbles ap-
pears like column of smoke rising
from burning village, and during the
roar Of the falling water becomes no
ticeable. Finally, when the edge Of
the ehasm is reached, II the river Is In
flood. the eye and ear are assailed by
Il combination of phenomena that prob
ably cannot be duplicated as maryels
anywhere else on the planet.
The first question that IL asked of an
American who has seen this African
wonder generally Is, How does 1t com
pare with Niagara There Ii no pos
siblllty Of comparison. The two are as
different as day and night. Niagara Is
n perfect picture In n lovely natural
framework. Every point and line and
curve Of motionless rock, trembling
yerdure and gliding water IL n touch OF
majestic beauty. Victoria IL simply
phenomenon. terrific cash In the door
of nm apparently unending plain, which
as one gazes simply swallows river
In n manner that produces almost a
thrill of horror.
The Zambezi valley for II hundred
miles or more In every direction from
the cataract Is a rough and broken
plateau covered with low brush and
stunted trees, with here and there an
outcrop of somber basaltic rock, all
thoroughly unintcresting. The heritage
Is but family green and the tropical
sky only family blue. II IL hazy
half tone landscape, wanting In clear
cut lines In every direction and lacking,
above everything else, that element
we always unconsciously seek la
nature picture life. The absence OF
this produces In the mind Il feeling OF
loneliness and often of fear Across
this solemn scene appears II river that
In flood time Is perhaps half mile
wide. If deaf man were following
down one Of Its banks he would notice
little but the quiet water and the odd
looking column of smoke ahead. As
this column was approached he would
expect to see the river banks bending
and the water flowing away TO one
side of the conflagratlon and might
glance TO the right and left to note the
direction taken. But the panorama
changes as he gnzes The river Is no
more, and there, where II should be.
IL only the brown plain, as lonely,
brush covered and monotonous as ever.
One must go twenty miles farther be
fore the vanished water and the sur
face of the land again commlngle, be.
fore II VIII be possible TO walk along
the bank In company with the river.
SO sudden Is the transformation.
Meantime the pillar OF smoke has re-
solved itself into dense mist forced
upward In terrible puffs from II ynwn-
Ing gash stretching directly across the
bed of the river. This fearful abyss Is
every second swallowing thousands of
tons of green and white water and
belching mp blasts of mist that rise
hundreds OF feet into the air and hurry
away with the winds as II rejoicing
AT their escape from the inferno be
low. And somewhere, nearly 400 feet
below. the cntrapped river Is fighting
It's way between sheer walls of black
'FNh Wv NV ~ hil iON NtlA III tiit
eastern wall. whence II escapes, foam-
ing and boiling. through the zlgzags
and curves of II deep gorge leading Off
10 the eastward. one goes To an edge
Of this delivering chasm and looks
down upon the tossing waters, ever
pressed from behind by other floods
struggling out of the narrow black
gateway. and perhaps the most prom
inent mental sensation is that OF thank
fulncss that even In such grim and
CHASTITY way nature has provided
means Ivy which the fearful slit OF
throat above that has swallowed the
stream can disgorgc II again without
causing an overwhelming catastrophe.
The ictora cataract should be visit
I'd at least twice before one IL compe-
tent To pass an opinion upon IT, When
the river IS In flood July the scene is
simply terrible one sees nothing but
an enormous sheet of water disappear
ing into the bowell OF the earth with
noise AS of mountains falling upon
one another. while from the awful cash
comes back In fierce gusts and swirls
che foaming breath Of the tortured ele
ment below. But In December, when
the water is low. the edge OF the catn-
ract shows as II long. creamy film OF
lovely lace; the rising mist flows soft
by away through the little rain forest
below the cayern's lip; the gigantic
vault itself becomes wonderful spec
tacle, dream OF neutral tints. a cave
OF beauty Far down In its dark
depths the waters, gliding along tn.
rocky walls and bending gracefully
around the corners toward the narrow
outlet pass gayly and laughingly 10
freedom. For time the demon OF the
cataract Is sleeping Theodore F. Van
Wagenen In Century.
AkkAA\\ go WEARS