The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1910-12-08
GIGANTIC AMAZON
It Is the Greatest as Well as the
Strangest' Of Rivers.
ITS UPPER PART a MYSTERY.
shrouded In lnnpenstrahls Forests and
Vine Growths Through Which
CLEAN Of Sunlight Never Shows--A
Curious Woodland Tanqie.

While the Amazon In the worlds
greatest river. II not Ia length al least
IN the volume of water which flows
through ii, II is the worlds strangest
river as we'll.
Ihe few travellers and explorers who
have jonrneyed up this water course to
lie many sources In the glaciers Of the
South American mountains tell stories
which are almost Incredible about the
literal maze of streams which unite to
form 1t. each Strealn having lts birth
In one Of the great Ice MASSES. Yet
few hundred miles below. where they
merge aud create the river. the tcm-
perature liz such that II works It's way
through a perfect labyrinth Of tropical
vegetation.
Only the mariner can tell the place
where the Amazon really has ItS
mouth. because the opening II haS
made on the eastern cnaSt OF South
America IL so wide that Il extends ever
100 miles. A long distance before one
comes tO the mouth of the river. how
ever. one ~ really sailing on the wa
terS OF the Amazon. because they force
their way 80 far out into the ocenn
They say that 3tE miles 0ul at sea of
the mouth Of the Amazon y0n can
hoist buckptful Of fresh water out
OF the ocean from the dtAt'k Ut ship.
slch is the quantity OF itS water that
flows from that gigantic basin.
Long after you have entered the ac-
tual river and have It's banks north
and south Of sou II yOn arr In mid
stream you will still bs' nut uf sight Of
mhd. such In the breadth Of the vast
channel. Tllperiyer stretches far into
the mean alNt far up the country.
lake a map Ut So,sth America and
l,a,k up n place, cssllEd4itGuiAas it ttpso
f0Hr-fifihs Of tlir way ncrOSfs rhe c0n-
tinem from eNst to west. Yet from
iquii0S there IL a fortnightly service
Ut ocean going steamers TO Europe
which descend some 5000 miles at the
river before they reach be sea.
Ii is NOT only one branch Of the Am
az0n. hui many. that ire thus 10 he re-
gArtls'd as The same AZ N'ean highways
The southern 'hIvnelies OF the Amazon
are broken hy rapids along line
where u low continental shelf exists
Ah0ve these rapids. however. there tn
again deep water Thus beyond the
falls Of the MADEIRA there are over
iOiNAl miles of navgable water on that
river and It's branches.
Not only Sir Martin Conday. but
other travellers who nave ventured
along the upper river and It's tributa-
rltls. say that here curious woodland
tanglp exists To the surface OF the
waier the suns rays seldom reach. and
one may 70 many miles along water
ways where II Ii well nigh AZ dark an
night because the sky liz almost com
pIetely shut out by the mass Of vines
which interlace the trees and are so
thick with leaves. Deprived Of the
sunlight. all II dark and rank. The
damp air Is laden with unhealthfUl
vapor. The surface Of the water 10
places where the current Ia too sing
glsh TO carry 1t away is covered with
scum and weed.
II requires no little courage TO ex-
pIore these faslnesseS. for inan real.
~ takes mis- life IN his hands. so I'm.
healthy are they. Occasionally. how
ever. one can See rhe upper portion OF
the forest where there Ii little crew
ice Ia Its roof Of vines. Above this IL
really scene Of life aud beauty Birds
and butterflies and other gorgeous In
spcts are dying from place, 10 pIace:
flowers Of hundreds Of hnes and shapes
are blooming from lie plants attached
to tree, branch and trunk. While be-
low ali may he lifelesS and silent.
above the height where the mass OF
vines OvPrShadOw the river nature has
created world Of brightness and anil
nation: but. as already stated. II Ii al-
most entirely shut out from the human
eye.
10 attempt to break through this
canopy Of vines which hide II from the
lower world IL almost impossible be-
cause the vines grow so lhickly. but
some naturailsts have penetrated 1t
and ray that the forests really have
two surfaces. the one above this artih.
cial root and the one below That
which IL above Is barred from human
entrance. ItS inhabitants are mostly
birds aud Insects that IRE radiant with
beauty unrIualed In the world.
Whatever grows IN the Amazon mud
strives with desperate internecine
struggle to reach this sky exposed sur.
face and there blossoms. Beneath.
where man can walk or float, all is
dark. Only here and there titful ray
Of sunIight struggles through. Orchids
blossom within this shadOwy region.
You can see these bright creatures
| fiitfully in the cavern below. but not In
all their glory. as they must behold
one another above. Sometimes as they
fit about beneath they will chance to
. ors,on 4, wunhonfn ala nffnQ through "a