Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-16

NAA 1NNENApbuANuNg VI AA6 hNesN
Il have been wandering for days
- days about the Niagara Of
ISHEEI Africa It's awful wonders grow
S9&ss9 upon ne and l am appalled, at
It's grandeur. Away off here in the wilds
Of the black continent, far below the edua-
tor. several hundred miles south Of Lake
Tanganyika, as far north OF Capetown az
Galveston is distant from New York, hum
dreds OF miles west OF the Indian ocean,
and stu farther from the Atlantic, is one Of
the grandest natural features OF old Mother
Earth. 1t is the falls of the mighty Fam
besl, one OF the great rivers Of the globe.
1t has been compared to the falls Of Mia
CARA. Now that I have seen both. I find II
almost impossible to liken one to the other.
Each is Of its own kind and each beyond
description beautiful. From the point OF
striking views, and as a raging CONFUSION
OF nature, I should call Victoria Falls by far
the greater. The two may be compared to
a play. Niagara lie a drama with but one
act. Victoria Is equally great, but Of many
acts and many scenes, each Of which has
features OF its own.
AS to the volume of water, the Niagara
Falls probably surpass those of the zam-
best, for over them pours the watershed
Of bali a continent. The Great basin OF
Ahhe superior - Ou ltet dpONe tnt Alihlllu
and almost one third OF its drop Is at
Niagara. The Zambesi has its source in a
swamp which lies a mile above the sea and
It's waters have already fallen 1000 feet in
thslT course of 800 miles before they make
their mighty drop into this basaltie gorge.
The falls Of the Zambesi are twice a.
broad and more than twice as high as
Niagara. The river is two miles wide
above the falls, and II narrows to a mile
where It plunges straight down over the
cliffs irto a gorge which Is more than
400 feet deep. l heard the thunder of Its
waters when l was more than ten miles
distant, and the spray, which rises up in
five great columns, can be seen fifty miles
away. The natives call the fall LAUNDERING
Smoke and they are said to worship them.
As to the electric force which may be
generated, It Is said to be greater thar that
Of Niagara, but will write Of that In the
future.
In the Heart of the wilderness.
OF these two mighty wonders OF nature,
that Of the Zambesi has by far the best
natural setting. Niagara has been destroyed
by commerelalism One goes along its
gorge In an electric trolley; upon landing
he Is fought for by guides and hotel keep
ers. and the peddler and fee hunter tag at
his heels. The manufacturing cities OF Buff
talo and Toronto foul the air with their
smoke, and the factories which use the
power turn the sublime into the sordid.
Victoria falls are in the heart of a will
dernesy. 1t is surrounded by a forest
titled with monkeys, balloons, antelopes and
other wild game. There are birds of strange
plumage in the trees, and the great river
itself has many hippopotami. Standing here
upon the porch Of the Victoria hotel, one
looks for miles over a land densely wooded.
With a powerful glass you can see nothing
but this vast expanSe of green. broken
only by the windlngs Of the gorge at your
feet, and by the pillars of mist which rise
like the vapor from five volcanoes until
lost In the low-hanging clouds. The only
settlements near the falls are Livingstone,
which is seven miles off. and the group OF
iron bungalows which comprise the hotel.
the railroad station and the postofflce
Everything is in harmony with the sur
roundings, and 1t Is the intention Of the
people TO keep It so.
All the land within a radius Of five miles
Of the falls has been set aside as a public
park. which Is 70 be left as nature made It.
Outside that radius is another OF fifteen
miles on one side of the river. and on the
other a block Of forest fifty miles square.
which will prevent farms or buildings OF
any kind marring the falls, In these woods
no shooting is Above l have met droves
Of monkeys as / wandered from fall to fall,
and at times have made my way in the
very tracks IN which h~ippopotami had tray-
eled the night before,