A Strange Harnessing Much of this glorious country is undergoing
very rapid change by reason of several new activities ; and they are exercising and likely to exercise an unexpected influence on wild life. For the sake of linking up northern and southern circles of electrical supply one of the fairest rivers has been harnessed ; it has been more than harnessed ; it has been caparisoned and it has been ruthlessly broken in. By the aid of immense dams the river has been dispatched from its native valley to a neighbouring valley through a tunnel in the hills ; and thereafter its waters are used and re-used for supplying power. What do the proper denizens of the stream think of it all, and how do they behave in the new circumstances ? Occasionally a fish may come up to the great dam, and when an outlet for the excess of water behind the dam is opened it will try to leap through it, only to bruise its nose ! The force of water so released is, of course, immense, and it is a fine sight to see the foaming cascade tumble into the rocky stream. * * * *
Previous page
