Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1922-01-04

The PotarO river, above PotarO land
ing Is divided into number 90
stretches by caTaracts, ana the only
available craft I'm the navigable pOr-
tons are flat-bOttOmed punts.
At a point about 100 miles from
Georgetown the POtaro river gives up
its tortuOus course and straightens out
into the lower gorge OF Kaieteur. So
straight Is the gorge that proceeding
up the stream, far in the distance the
tiny white patch Of the falls may be
seen. Once the portals of the canyon
are passed the gorge through which
the falls has cut its way during the
ages opens up more clearly. Massive
precipitOus rocks rise out of the jungle
as sharply as the sides Of a Norwegian
ford. Suggestive too. of the Scan
dinavian fjords are the lace-like water
falls that come tumbling down from
these heights.
Though the falls may be seen from
the lower reaches Of the gorge they
are miles away and days Of labor must
be spent before they are reached.
Four miles below the fall even small
boats must be abandoned, for the val
ley from there is quite impossible.
The land route lies up the steep
side OF the gorge along a trail hardly
20 be recognized as such. but which TO
the Indian in this back country is
the highway to Brazil. With no idea
of zigZagging up the side of noun
tain the Indian has applied the princi-
pie that a straight line is the shortest
path between two points. no matter
what the angle. The trail. therefore,
resembles ladder Of stone. The
burrOs Of the Andes are not used here;
and II Is safe to say they never viii
be until a more gentle grade Is estab-
lished.
Though the climb Is through a
dense jungle, once the top Is reached
one finds himself IN open country. The
top OF the plateau near the river Is al
most solid rock, and in spite of the
heavy rainfall only scrubby vegeta-
tiOn and orchids can grow.
Majesty Of the Cataract.
A short walk from the head of the
trail over the rocky surface brings one
to the brink of a dizzy precipice which
falls away sheerly below. Opposite
rises majestically the other side of the
gorge; and TO the right perhaps 500
yards away Is the all but inaccessible
fall. The beauty of this great cat
aract strikes the observer at once, but
it Is only by degrees that his mind
compasses its magnitude. over the
red brown cliffs that form the head Of
the chasm pours a vast sheet of wa
ter more than 500 feet IN height-a
white curtain all the more distinct be-
cause Of the dark cavern followed be-
hind II.
The waters pour down into the
depths with a tremendous roar, to be
heard for miles around. and the mists
rise always in clouds that are striped
with rainbow color so distinct as TO
impress themselves upon the film Of
the camera. The breadth Is 800 feet
and more In time o. food, and the
symmetry is wonderful. II is this per-
feet proportion, In fact, that tricks the
eye into failure to grasp at first the
huge scale of the scene.
To the American viewing Kaieteur
perhaps the best way TO realize its
magnitude Is 10 compare its height |
with his well-known skyscrapers. The |
Singer building, If set with it's base
where the water strikes the floor of !
the gorge. would fail 10 reach the rim J
of the fall by more than 100 feet; the |
top Of the Metropolitan tower would
be 40 feet below the rim. and OF the |
Woolworth building only the upper 81 |
feet would show above the cliffs.
But comparisons with the structures
of man are perhaps the last that
should be made. The setting is per-
feet for one OF the worlds greatest
natural wonders. Neither on the
great plateau. nor up the placid river,
nor In the huge. deep cash In the earth
that extends for miles below Is TO &c
seen a sign Of human habitation or hui
man works. All Is Wild nature at its
best