The total fall
of the river, from the White Bear Islands, as Lewis and Clark called
them, to the foot of the Great Falls, is four hundred twelve and
five-tenths feet; the sheer drop of the Great Fall is seventy-five and
five-tenths feet. The wild, trackless prairie of Lewis and Clark's
time is now the site of the thriving town of Great Falls, which has a
population of ten thousand.
Here is a lucid and connected account of the falls and rapids,
discovered and described by Lewis and Clark:
"This river is three hundred yards wide at the point where it
receives the waters of Medicine (Sun) River, which is one hundred and
thirty-seven yards in width. The united current continues three hundred
and twenty-eight poles to a small rapid on the north side, from which it
gradually widens to fourteen hundred yards, and at the distance of five
hundred and forty-eight poles reaches the head of the rapids, narrowing
as it approaches them. Here the hills on the north, which had withdrawn
from the bank, closely border the river, which, for the space of three
hundred and twenty poles, makes its way over the rocks, with a descent
of thirty feet. In this course the current is contracted to five hundred
and eighty yards, and after throwing itself over a small pitch of five
feet, forms a beautiful cascade of twenty-six feet five inches; this
does not, however, fall immediately or perpendicularly, being stopped by
a part of the rock, which projects at about one-third of the distance.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127