EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 258, 24 October 1908, Page 3

EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD

A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF Till: ZAMBESI FALLS.

Tlie Zambesi, says the lion. Mr*. Witson Pox in till? " lCmpire Keview." is from all points uf view the must interesting an<{ must in-antiiui river in Kiiodesia. Fringed un either side by luxuriant masses of trees and palms, ii stretches fur eight or nine miles above the falls in a peaceful wide expanse of brilliant blue water, broken here and there by lovely islands thickly wooded with tropical growth. As one glides swiftly along in a la rye canoe, paddl'd at each end by l\vo du.->ky Zambesi boys, one can give oneself np to eontempMlion of the beauty of the river, and to the realisation of force. .Silently and deftly the natives handle thoii* paddles. They know the river wll, and guid*' the canoe up (he deep channels of the stream; for though the t water as a whole looks calm and inuo- ! cent, there are places where the oily surface and swirling eddies tell of a swift course down treacherous rapids. Dark rocks appear only a few inches below, ami for an instant one holds one's breath while the canoe seems to be barely making its way against some uiheeii force, and scarcely a quivering veil of water seems to separate its frail frame from those formidable masses. One may land and picnic on one of the islands, or draw under the shelter ot cool palms in a silent backwater, and as one watches the river smoothly purling on, one thinks of the awful leap so soon awaiting it only a short distance further down the stream. Before ones mind rise-} the suggestion of inevitable fate. To the lip of the great chasm the water glides innocently on. encircling the islands, rippling over the rocks, rellecting the sky. and dancing with colo»*. Suddenly, without warning, it is prj- ; cipitated, as it were, into eternity. Ks form is changed, and the. liquid substance is atomised into foaming water, as it is hurtled down the frowning face of the dark wall of rock. So great is the depth of the chasm that much of the water never reaches the bottom, but ascends again high into the air in high clouds of vapour, only once more to fall in soaking showers on to the ever-dripping, luxurious Kain forest on 1 the further side of the gorge. Those wreathing clouds of spray, ascending to the accompaniment of ar deafening roar of mighty waters, -were fitly and picturesquely named by the natives who first knew them "The smoke that sounds." To realise fully the wondroas beauty of the falls one must have time to linger and watch the ever-changing scene. One cannot embrace in a single view their full glory, for they exteud over a mile from end to end.

A greater appreciation of their wonder is perhaps gained by the fact that one can v.iove from point to point in tlie Rain Forest on the opposite side of the chasm and contemplate them actually face to face. Here one stands amid a carpet of delicate maiden-hair ferns, surrounded by (tripping palms which lean to catch the moisture. The tropical sunshine is tempered by neverceasing showers of spray, and miniature rainbows forming complete circles s ciii-, tilalte around one's feet; while opposite,! only about 400 feet distant, rears ail immense shelf of sheer dark cliff. Over its furrowed edge gusli great streams I of green water, tossed and broken into snow-white foam and vaporous spray. The depths of the chasm below are veiled from sight by the rising columns of opalescent mist, and above the yawning abyss the sun glints and sparkles, weaving the drops into a magnificent rainbow, which, with its arc of brilliant colours like a fair bridge, spans the great chasm from rock to rock. Three hundred feet below roars and boils the swirling flood, as it emerges from th? Boiling Pot, rushing on down the zigzag gorge between towering cliffs of rock, narrow, tieree, and of unfathomable depth, for fifty miles below the falls. It is soul-satisfying to watch this great work of Nature speeding ever in its untrammelled force, and one feels that Rhodesia is indeed thrice blessed to possess within her territories the Eighth Wonder of the World. I