Rimac River

“ It stands in a wide flat valley, guarded by steep mountains to the north, on both banks of the broad stony bed of the Rimac, a large part of whose waters has been diverted for irrigation. Except where this river water has made cultivation possible, the plain is bare, being part of the coastal desert. The high range of hills already mentioned guards the city on the north, and runs out to the sea on the northwest. Lofty spurs of the Andes are visible to the east, but for much of the year the clouds hang so low that the hills are hardly part of the landscape and the great peaks are seldom seen. ”

“ After one block to the left a turn to the right leads one to the bridge across the Rimac, the river recently improved by being enclosed within a suitable channel. So much water is drawn off for irrigation all along its course that little is left in the ancient river bed. To one who wishes to see the life of the common people the walk affords good opportunity, but a drive to the Jardin de los Descalzos, the Garden of the Barefooted Friars, will be generally preferred. The garden extends half a mile or more along a broad avenue. ”

“ The city and its environs would be as poorly off without the water of the Rimac as would the Egyptians if deprived of the annual overflow of the fertilizing Nile. Though the river is so inconsiderable at certain seasons, still it does supply a certain quantity of water always, which is improved to the utmost. Dews some times prevail at night, so heavy as to be of partial benefit, giving to vegetation a breath of moisture, and taking away the dead dryness of the atmosphere. This, however favorable for vegetation, is considered unwholesome for humanity. ”

“ All the requisites of a central position, a good harbor, a fertile soil, and a delightful climate were found combined in the valley of Lurigancho, through which, emptying into the Bay of Callao, flowed the river Rimac, affording abundant facilities for irrigation, and producing exuberant fertility. Here, on the 6th day of January, 1535, the festival of the Epiphany, the conqueror of the Incas resolved to establish his capital city. ”

“ The site of Lima gradually inclines to the westward, the great square, plasa mayor, being 480 feet above the level of the sea. Thus all the streets in this direction, with many of those intersecting them at right angles, have small streams of water running along them, which contribute very much to the cleanliness and salubrity of the city and its inhabitants. The water which runs through the streets, as well as that which feeds the fountains and the canals for the irrigation of gardens, orchards and plantations, which fill the whole valley, is drawn from the river Rimac. ”

“ The Merrimac River at Lawrence, at the time of the greatest flood in fifty years, carried silt to the amount of about 111 parts in 100,000. This was for a very short time, and the suspended matter consisted almost entirely of sand, which deposited in banks, the deposited sand having an effective size of 0.04 or 0.05 millimeter. No clayey matter is ever carried in quantity by the river. ”

“ It rises from the sea and threads the gorges of the Rimac, creeping on ledges that have been blasted from out the solid rock, crossing bridges that seem suspended in air, and boring through tunnels over which rest giant mountains. ”

“ The Rimac resembles the Manzanares at Madrid, and some of the foreign residents say the bottom has to be sprinkled at times to keep it from flying away. When the rain falls in the mountains the Rimac swells to a considerable stream, and rushes along with great violence.
"Speaking of the stone bridge reminds me that the founders of the city used stone for the construction of the public buildings, and their example has been followed to some extent in modern times. But the common buildings are of adobe, which does very well in a climate where there is so little rain, and lasts a long time. ”

“ But I happen to know, Rima, for it has been related to me by old Indians, that of all places that is the most difficult of access. There is a river there, and although it is not on the map, it would prove more impassable to us than the mighty Orinoco and Amazon. It has vast malarious swamps on its borders, overgrown with dense forest, teeming with savage and venomous animals, so that even the Indians dare not venture near it. ”

“ The Nile never flows over the top of the dam, but always through the gates and the canal at one side. When the gates are closed during the dry season, enough water is held back by this structure of steel and granite to form a [133] lake over one hundred miles long, and this is let out as needed to supplement the ordinary flow of the river and give the crops plenty of water all summer through. There is water enough in the reservoir to give all the families of the United States all they could use for four or five months, and enough to supply Great Britain and Ireland the entire year. ”

“ Port Limon has a wooden pier 930 feet long, accommodating two sea-going ships, but an iron pier is about to replace it, which will berth four large ones of deep draught.
The Talamanca coast lying south of Limon is low, flat and swampy, except where it is broken by hills. The little River Banana is the first one met with going south, and its valleys produce large quantities of timber and bananas. ”

“ This magnificent stream, though it is unnavigable owing to frequent rapids, has stretches miles long, down which a man-of-war could steam, and after its junction with the Elands’ River it grows larger and larger till, pursuing a north-east course, it at length falls into the mighty Limpopo. ”

“ Threshing up against the current, the gunboats and stern-wheelers one after another entered the gorge. The Nile, which below is nearly a mile across, narrows to a bare 200 yards. The pace of the stream becomes more swift. Great swirls and eddies disturb its surface. High on either side rise black, broken, and precipitous cliffs, looking like piles of gigantic stones. Through and among them the flood-river pours with a loud roaring, breaking into foam and rapids wherever the submerged rocks are near the surface. Between the barren heights and the water is a strip of green bushes and grass. ”

“ Thence the vast stream sweeps boldly into the south, and with a rush discharges down the rapids, and straight over the line of precipice, in a vast tumultuous greyish-drab torrent which speedily emerges into comparatively still water below. The rock here is an exceedingly hard, mottled limestone, resembling the stone at St. Andrew's Rapids on Red River. Where exposed it is pitted or bitten into by the endless action of wind and water, and lies in thick layers, forming an irregular dyke all along the shore, over the surface of which passes the portage, some forty yards in length. ”

“ Three days later the rear crew ran into the head of the pond above Reed's dam. To every one's surprise, Orde called a halt on the work and announced a holiday.
Now, holidays are unknown on drive. Barely is time allowed for eating and sleeping. Nevertheless, all that day the men lay about in complete idleness, smoking, talking, sleeping in the warm sun. The river, silenced by the closed sluice-gates, slept also. The pond filled with logs. From above, the current, aided by a fair wind, was driving down still other logs—the forerunners of the little drive astern. ”

“ The immensity of time it must have taken to wear away such deep and large holes in a granite rock, makes one pause to think of the period when this river was first formed, because it is only a portion of the year, when the floods come down, that the water acts upon the stones in these holes. The principal tributaries of the Limpopo that rise in the Transvaal are the Apies at Pretoria, Sand, Pinaars, Plat, Matlabatse, Pongola, Palala, Nylstroom, Houdt, Limvubu, and the Olifants river with its many tributaries, all flowing into the Limpopo on its right bank. ”

“ Beyond the confluence it is joined by another flnvial valley, a long but mostly waterless wady, which ramifies north- wards through the Portuguese territory. Notwithstanding the number and length of its affluents, the Limpopo is not a copious river. It loses a part of its waters in the swampy tracts skirting both sides of its lower course, and reaches the Indian Ocean through a mouth about 1.000 feet wide, which is obstructed by sandbanks for a long way off the coast. ”

“ The soil and climate seem to be so favorable, that less labor is wanted than in most other countries. A great deal, if not most of the fertility in the valley must be ascribed to the ingenious system of irrigation, which they have introduced by a dam constructed in the river above Paso, and turning a considerable quantity of water into a canal. ”

“ Examining the affidavits and other evidence introduced in this case, it is clear to us that the Rio Grande is not navigable within the limits of the territory of New Mexico. The mere fact that logs, poles, and rafts are floated down a stream occasionally and in times of high water does not make it a navigable river. ”

“ Measurements at the Ripon Falls show that 18,000,000,000, or some 13% of this amount, is taken oH by the Nile, and when allowance has been made for the annual rise and fall of the lake-level it is apparent that by far the greater part of the water which enters the nyanza is lost by evaporation; in fact, that the amount drawn off by the river plays a comparatively small part in the annual oscillation of the water surface. Rain falls more or less in every month, but is heaviest during March, April, May and again in September, October and November. ”

“ From the appearance of things, I judge this estate paid little enough, to its owner; for I saw small signs of cultivation about it, though I should think that the valley of the Rimac, which is a full mile in width in front of the house, would produce good and (considering the short distance to Lima) valuable crops of grass and vegetables. The land is ploughed with a rude, heavy, wooden plough of one handle, which is shod with iron. ”

“ To hold that high level the main ditch, which is first taken out to serve the west side, crosses the Rio Grande on a high flume to Derry; curves high and winding about the wide farm lands of Garfield valley; is siphoned under the river for Hatch and Rodey, and then is siphoned once again to the east side, to break out in the sunlight for the use of Rincon Valley. Rough and crooked is made smooth and straight; safe bridge and easy grade, a modern highway follows up the valley, with a brave firefly twinkling by night, to join the great National Trail [Pg 76] at Engle Dam. ”

“ Unfitted to some extent for the purposes of commerce by the sand-bar at its mouth, see how this river was devoted from the first to the service of manufactures. Issuing from the iron region of Franconia, and flowing through still uncut forests, by inexhaustible ledges of granite, with Squam, and Winnipiseogee, and Newfound, and Massabesic Lakes for its mill-ponds, it falls over a succession of natural dams, where it has been offering its privileges in vain for ages, until at last the Yankee race came to improve them. ”

“ With the first light the entire crew were at the banks of the river.
As soon as the wind died the logs had begun to drift slowly out into the open water. The surface of the pond was covered with the scattered timbers floating idly. After a few moments the clank of the bars and ratchet was heard as two of the men raised the heavy sluice-gate on the dam. A roar of water, momently increasing, marked the slow rise of the barrier. A very imaginative man might then have made out a tendency forward on the part of those timbers floating nearest the centre of the pond. ”

“ Even overnight, even in a few short hours, a stream has been known to swell from sudden rains or snow, bringing the water with a rush down steep mountain sides and carrying with it the logs that were left strewn on the slopes or near the bank. Men work with feverish haste to roll the logs into the stream. The whole is swept into the dam, the trigger is released at the right moment and the rush of water with its freight of logs sweeps through the open gate with a mighty roar, carrying its cargo for miles on down to the river. ”

“ But the reason is apparent when one remembers that no place on the West coast has suffered more from earthquakes. Thus, except the convents and some of the older churches, everything looks modern, unsubstantial, and also unpicturesque, having little variety and little ornament in the architecture except the long wooden balcony which usually projects above the gateway. The bridge that spans the Rimac is hardly worthy of a great capital. The shops are small and mediocre, and only in one or two thoroughfares is there any throng of passers to and fro. ”

“ Except during the period prior to the annual rise, when the Blue Nile is practically dry, and the waters of the White Nile fill the empty channel, the stream of the eastern river, being much stronger than that coming from the west, forces the waters of the latter right across the western shore. At all times the effect of the meeting of the two rivers is a striking one. In flood the Blue Nile brings down an immense volume of chocolate-coloured water, and holds back the discharge of the White Nile, ponding this river up and flooding the marshes for many hundred miles up-stream of the junction. ”