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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1942-04-16, Page 6PAGE SIX. MP THE SEAPORTH NEWS' THURSDAY, APRiL 16, 1942 The Falls, Upper Cougar Valley, Glacier National Park, British Columbia Waterfalls In The National Parks From the earliest days of explora- tion in Canada, waterfalls have oc- cupied a prominent place in the an- nais of our intrepid pathfinders. Some of these falls are famous on account of their volume and impres- sive grandeur; some, on account of their legendary and historic associa- tions; and others, because of the unique rock formations over which they hurl their waters in a succession of leaping, foaming, wild cataracts. Much has been written about the po- tential and developed waterpower of many of these falls and the part they play in the industrial life of Canada but much still remains to be written of their artistic and inspirational va- lue o society and to the tourist indus- try of Canada. In the great wealth of natural phenomena which make Canada's National Parks the playgrounds of millions of people, waterfalls have a place of special importance. This is particularly true of the national parks in the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. Picture, for instance, the Twin Falls in Yoho National Park pouring seemingly out of the blue sky in two great cascades, dropping 600 feet onto the floor of the Yoho Valley. The waters of these spectacular falls have their source in the Yoho, Wapta and other glaciers on the surround- ing mountain. A picturesque trail winds up the Yoho Valley to the Twin Falls and on to Yoho Glacier. Lower down the Yoho Valley,Tak- kakkaw Falls leaps over a massive limestone cliff tumbling in a glorious curtain of green waters and foaming spray down to the Yoho River 1500 feet below. This is the highest catar- act on the North American Contin- ent, and one of he most impressive sights in the National Parks of Can- ada. There are numerous waterfalls in Banff National Park but perhaps one of the most interesting is the Giant, Steps in Paradise Valley. According to Indian legend, these steps formed the ancient staircase of giant Indian spirits of the Upper Air who came down to carry mortals away to their heavenly abode, somewhere above the top of Horseshoe Glacier. The Wastach (Indian word for beautiful) River leaps over these immense rec- tangular blocks of stone, and, when viewed from some angles, gives the impression of a huge natural stair- case leading up the mountain. The colouring is almost unbelievable ' when the sun shines on the spray formed by this rushing torrent. Athabaska Falls, besides being one of the scenic highlights in Jasper National Park, conjures up memories of early days in the region when Da- vid Thompson and other distinguish- ed explorers were blazing new trails along the Athabaska Valley and over the Athabaska Pass to the "Western" ocean. The Athabaska River, which has its source in the great Columbia icefield, gathers tremendous volume from its many tributaries before tumbling over the Athabaska Falls into a gorge 80 feet deep. The main body of the river, striking the wall of the canyon with terrific force, is hurled back into midstream where it boils, churns seethes and tosses, swirling in great whirlpools, flinging up clouds of spray, The scene is wildly beautiful with a setting of al- pine grandeur that is breath -taking. At Cameron. Falls in Waterton Lakes National Park one of the most unique rock formations inthe reg - i01) is exposed. The rocks of this park occur in three broad folds which trend in a northwesterly dir- ection, The central fold is an upward arch with axis conforming to the lower part of Cameron Brook. Ero- sion along the crest of this fold has exposed at Cameron Falls some of the oldest rocks to be observed any- where in the Canadian Rockies. Here horizontal beds of dolomitic rock have tilted sharply upward so that the falls pour tumultuously over this sharp diagonal, a great part of its mass sliding to the lower western end before tumbling onto the rocks be-' low. Boomerang Becomes A Popular Sport Vice President Wallace is credited with starting the current craze for boomerang. Not caring for golf the Iowa statesman hit upon the boom- erang as a substitute. Last summer he could be seen almost any day of the week hurling• the boomerang in a lot near his Washington, D.C., home. Before long, others in Washington picked up the fascinating sport and soon it was spreading over the coun- try. Popular ideas concerning the boomerang are largely erroneous. For example the authorities are con- vinced that the earliest .boomerangs fashioned by the aborigines did not return at all—weren't intended to, 'but instead were sticks conceived for hunting and fighting, carved and contrived with certain limited soaring qualities that enabled them to be thrown great distances straightaway, at objects on the ground such as kangaroos or dingoes and members of enemy tribes. The return or para- bolic boomerang, which goes high into the air, is believed to be a later development that possibly calve as a surprise even to the black boy him- self. Further, we have all assumed that the boomerang was peculiar to Australia. In the British Museum there are non -return boomerangs dating back to 3064 B,C., while oth- ers, found in 1880 A.D. at Thebes, in the tomb of Ramose the Great, are of the period about 1300 B.C. These Egyptian boomerangs are beautifully grooved finished and decorated and established that five thousand years ago Egyptian warriors were hurling them. The difference in appearance of some of the return and non -return single stick boomerangs frequently is not great, as the course of flight is primarily determined by what is known as the "twist." Twist refers to the slight bend or warp the sav- ages gave to each end of the stick. The white man accomplishes the same result by beveling the edges of, the tops of the arms. For the non - return stick the twist is clockwise. Modern boomerangs are eighteen inch sticks, one side being flat and the other convex. They weigh about seven ounces and have more curve than most of the Australian origin- als, One manufacturer reports that, while he has no trouble in cutting boomerangs that will return if well thrown, he has so far, with one ex- ception, been unable to turn out the non -return type. The exception was a stick that worked perfectly for Many throws before he unfortunate- ly broke it. Subsequent occasional efforts to produce another have fail- ed. It is, thus, amusing to learn that Australia, the land of paradoxes, runs true to form hi that is' is easier to make it boomerang that will return than one that will act right on the straightaway, • In throwing the boomerang the technique is likened to what a good catcher does as, to cut off a runner, he "lines" the ball down to second base, with the added requirement that, just as the boomerang leaves the hand, the performer must exec- ute a sharp wrist snap to impart swiftly -revolving impetus. This starts the stick spinning vertically.. It re- sembles a platter of wood in flight. The boomerang continues until the air pressure due to its conformation couses it to heel over slowly to the right and at the sane time curl gently to the left with a wide swerve when it starts its return in a long, leisurely, sloping• guide that is the very poetry of motion. The throw is always made overhand with the flat side of the stick kept to the right. This places the cambered or rounded side to the left. Engineers grow technical here with terms like torque, cos and differential pressure which combine to produce that im- portant feature of mechanical flight known as twisted airfoil or airscrew. So tricky is that detail of twist that no two boomerangs, even when made by precision methods, act in exactly the same manner in the air. The non -return boomerang is handled differently. At the instant of projection, its plane of rotation is in- 1 clined to the horizontal at an angle of from thirty to sixty degrees. To let the engineers in again: the hori- zontal plane of the arms results in a vertical lift which adds to the levita- tion induced by the camber of. the upper rounded surface of the stick. The operation is not unlike what 'happens when a boy caroms a fiat stone over the water. As a matter of fact, ,the non -return boomerang, that is, the fighting stick, necessarily had to travel within six feet or so of the ground against which it was ex- pected to ricochet and then continue with force sufficient to knock over a man or an animal. Reports of marvellous throws have come down to us, such as the account of the aborigine who hurled a marn- wullun wunkun so hard that it made a whistling sound, traveled more than 500 feet and described five complete circles in the air before volplaning gracefully to the feet of the expert, Forgeous nonsense has been given the public about what the black boy could do with his stick. There's the story that one of them with a boom- erang could hit a man hiding behind a eucalpytus tree that itself stood to the rear of he performer! Oz' take that one about how -the boomerang, after it struck, say, a dingo, a walla- by, or a big kangaroo, would return obediently to hand—almost bringing the kangaroo along with it. The fact that the return boomerang was rarely, save for occasional shots at birds, used by the savages to hit any- thing with makes such yarns apocry- phal, No, he regarded the marndwul- un wunkun, or return boomerang, as a plaything, something that would perform whimsical evolutions and perhaps divert him in his lighter mo- ments after he had dined on the choice cuts taken from the remains of an enemy that had been brought to book by a tootgundy wunkun, or non -return boomerang. The natives parabolic boomerang is usually a three or a three -and -a -half foot stick weighting twice what ours. sloes and nn 'effort to catch it on lin whirling return might break fingers l ullett Council --- The regular meeting of the Iluile Township Council was held in ti Londesboro Community Hall, on ilio day, April 6th. All members we present, with Reeve John :Ferguso presiding. The minutes 00 the la regular meeting were read and a proved, also the Court of Revision o April lst, on motion of John A},h Strong and Ira Rapson. Motion b Councillors Pickett and Rapson, thi Clerk get in touch with the Dept!' Tent;1 e McKillop Boundary Aocoun Carried. 1VIotion by Councillors Piclc? ett and Armstrong, that we orde from the Department of Municipa Affairs, 2 copies of the 1940 and 194 Statutes, Tenders for the townahi crushing were opened at 4 pan. an the following tenders were received Joe Kerr, Wtnghanh, 59c per tubi yard, up to 4 miles, and 8o per yard mile over 4 miles; Len Caldwell, 58 Raft rate; George Radford, Blyth, 57 fiat rate; Thos. Sandy, 57e for % screen, On motion of Councillors Pickett and Armstrong, George Rad- ford received the crushing contract for 1942, Lohdesboro Community hall was given a grant of $75, on notion of Councillors Armstrong and Rap- son. The amended report of the aud- itors was accepted on motion of Councillors F. Pickett and John Arm- strong, lc per yard was the rate set to be paid for ptl-run gravel, on a motion made by Councillors Arm- strong and Rapson. The Reeve was instructed to sign the agreement be- tween Hullett and McKillop, re the Armstrong Drain, on notion of Coun- cillors Brown and Pickett. The foll- owing accounts were ordered paid on motion of Councillors Pickett and Armstrong: John ,Fingland, hall grant, $75; L. Ball, repairing, storage, oil, $37,15; Len Caldwell, washout, $8; Chas. Hoggart, washout, 75c; :Ezra Ellis, washout, $1; Watson Reid, removing S. F., $25; Glen Car- ter, trucking S. F„ $25; Wm. Carter, superintendent, $39.95; Wm, Blacker, repairing road, $4; W. Jewitt, repair - ;Mg road, $7; J. Medd, repairing road, $3; Jack Carter, wasihout, $5.37; Thos. Flynn, repairing road, $2.50; Jack Haggitt, brushing, $6.25; Dept. Mun. Affairs, $5; Jas. McCool, part salary, $125; Mrs. Jas. Webster, re- lief, $30; Mun. World, supplies, 929:-. 24; C. Cartwright, gravel & team, $2,49; B, A. Oil Co„ gas; $19.32; A. Weymouth, operat. grader, $19. tt n• re n st P• y at t:. 1 p c 0 c SHIPWRECKED SAILORS Have New Device to Repair Machine - Gunned Lifeboats Ship's crews and passengers cast away Wien the high seas need no longer be kept constantly at work baling out with anything from empty tins to hats to keep hteir splintered and bullet -riddled boats from being swamped. A new plugging compound which completely fills any hole or crack, however irregular, is now SWEET GEORGIA DEY Swing•singing. Georgia Dey plays. the delectable stooge to Colonel Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle on "The On- tario Show" Fridays at 7 p.m., (CBL). Here .she is posing provoc- atively with two of her favorite pooches, just as If she, was one of thebusiestlittle ladies on the Can- adian airwaves, available for every lifeboat in Brit- ain's Merchant Service, The coo- pound, a fibrous material, has only to be kneaded Pora. minute or two to plug up the leak and make the boat seaworthy. It has a binding effect, settling and hardening in water. First experiments with the mater- ial were carried out by knocking a. hole in a large barrel filled with salt water. The leakage was stopped at once, A "Saving Life at Sea" display now touring many big English towns includes eight model lifeboats and la. glass tank filled with water in which the public tests the new compound by making holes in rte models and plugging then! up.' Britain's Ministry of War Trans- port and the Admiralty have both approved o1 the device as a tempor- ary repair compound for use in the temperate zone. ,Tests are at present being carried out. by the Royal Eng- ineers as the compound may be most useful for bridging establishments and pontoons. Dominion, Colonial and 11%4. Allied Governments are also interest- ed in it: no country, other than Bri- tain, makes anything like it. AUCTIONEER AHRENS, Licensed Auction -cc for Perth and Huron Counties gales Solicited. Terms on Application maim Stock chattels and real estate ,rate"ry. R. R. No. 4, Mitchell Phone 334 r 6, Apply at this office. HAROLD -JACKSON Licensed in Huron and Perth conn. ties. Prices reasonable; satisfaction enaranteed. For information, write a phone Harold Jackson, phone 14 on 661; R. R. 4, Seaforth, EDWARD W. ELLIOTT, Licensed Auctioneer Par Huron. Correspond. ence promptly answered. immediate arrangements can be made for Sale Date by calling Phone 203, Clinton. Charges moderate and satisfaction guaranteed. Counter Check Book • We Tire Selling Quality 'Rocks Books are Well Made, Carbon is Clean and Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf and Black Back: Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere. Get our Quotation on Your Next Order. • The Seaforth News SEAFORTH, ONTARIO. LL