KAFFRARIAN WATERFALLS. 
191 
break and fall in far sounding and picturesque 
cascades. 
The two grandest, of these latter, are the 
falls of the T'Soma, in Kaffraria, the height of 
which has never yet been properly ascertained ; 
and those of the Umgeni river, in Natal, which 
descend over a perpendicular precipice of three 
hundred feet, and fall with the full force of a 
large river, seventy- six feet wide, into a deep 
and bush-enveloped basin beneath. Several 
travellers who have witnessed these falls, as 
well as those of North America, have testified 
that the latter do not bear comparison with 
them; either for height, grandeur, or pictu- 
resque beauty. 
The force of the African rivers are very much 
varied during the different seasons of the year ; 
in the rainy months, several of them overflood 
their banks, and inundate whole miles of coun- 
try; whilst, during the droughts of winter, 
they are scarcely seen to flow. 
The shorter the river is, from its source to its 
mouth, the greater is always the fluctuation of 
its stream : whilst the larger and deeper ones, 
although less easily or frequently affected by 
thunderstorms, are, nevertheless, more devas- 
tating in their effects, and more tardy in re- 
suming their original level, when once they 
have become swollen by heavy rains. 
