The San Francisco call., 1909-09-04
Al PARADISE FOR SWAMP LOVING ANlr1ALs

1HTE are apt 10 ina gine that the Mis-
M sissippi foods Of which we read
=. - so much are the greatest and most
d1Ss strous in the world. but they are
mere freshets compared with the mon
ster floods that visit the valley of the
Amazon every year with terrible reg
-ursrity. The rainfall of northern
E5razi is almost three times that of
oregon. and in midsummer a Brazilian
I @tR2nder shower resembles what Amer
Icans. call a cIoudburst.
Rains Of that sort are apt TO occur
DAY after day for series of weeks.
and their effect on the iowlands can
. he enly imperfectly indicated by the
fact that the Amazon river drains an
area OF more than two million square
miles. The Mississippi, too drains half
t]le eastern slope of a country larger
than Brazil. but its largest afiuents are
dwsrfed by the third class tributaries
OF the South American father of wa
tiers.
.1Not such flowing lakes only as the
Rio Negro and the MADEIRA but the
Purus the YaVari. the Qurua. the Hin
go. the Papajos. and dozens of other
streams rarely mentioned on this side
through a delta miles in width and
.oeep enough for the largest river
steamers Of the St Lawrence
About the middle Of summer these
streams begin to rise-those from the
southwest first, those from the north
west and north few weeks later. and
2 fortnight after the arrival of the
second supplement. the valley of the
-Alaranon. the Wild hog river" as the
early colonists called the Amazon, be-
comes z paradise of swamp loving an
tnle Is. The tapir. the peceary, tlzc fish
otTer- celebrate the picnic season of
their summer lsse. and herds Of wild
deer begin their western exodus.
.Near- Monte Beira, in the province
enew "state') Of Matto Crosse. the
woods in midsummer get full of game.
as a hundred years go the foothills
Of the southern Alleghenies swarmed
with wild pigeons when the forests OF
tile north were buried in snow.
u A more than usually sudden rise Of
tie food cuts off many OF these fu-
g1tiNes who are thus reduced TO the al
tentative Of making for the highest
accessible ground. farther east, till
every knoll becomes a hill of refuge,
crowded with timid creatur : and their
survival depends on their escape from
the giant cats and boas which may ap-
proach their stronghold by swimming,
1T LNe water SQ0ula nave submerged too
large portion 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 effectually that canoes can
be padded through forests apparently
free from underbrush since only
the trees. with their network of climb
sng vines. rise like islands above the
sIrging waters.
=. *9Flle swollen rivers have found new
currents, and broad, gurgling streams
tEylst and eddy through the leafy will
derness, tearing off whole groups of
trees with all their roots but making
amends by depositing hillocks OF drift
wood. which soon gets covered with
tufts Of new vegetation.
= The pressure Of the surging food
= gsinst these mounds Of alluvium soon
becomes enormous, but the deep rooted
trunks OF the huge forest trees may
resist tin new deposits Of driftwood
consolidate a number OF mounds thus
forming good sized islands, with a
down stream base Of perhaps half a
mile. but a narrow head DETECTING the
current left and right, like the wedge
shaped front or stout bridge pier.
At the time Of their incipiency these
new islands may be tenanted only by