On awaking here in the morning, I rejoiced to hail the beams of a fine
warm sun breaking into my little chamber; it had been a stranger for the
last few days; and the weather, after having been prematurely hot, had
at once jumped back into March, and become wet, boisterous, and cold to
a most provoking degree.
After an early breakfast we set out, with the din of the waters sounding
an alarum in our ears, and directing our steps.
Immediately on quitting the hall of the Retreat, we entered upon a grove
of fine trees overhanging the bed of the torrent, and thence descended
by several flights of ladders planted _en echelon_, for some hundred and
sixty feet, until we at last stood on a level with the swift dark
stream, and, looking upwards, beheld the forest high overhead bending
from either side, with a narrow strip of clear blue sky drawn between.
The first fall was visible about five hundred yards to our left; its
waters tumbling, as it seemed, over the tops of the intervening trees,
to whose foliage the late heavy rains had restored the freshness of
early spring.
Looking about from this first point, I could have readily imagined
myself standing upon the floor timbers of a first-rate ship buried in a
wooded ravine, so evenly were the sides of the rock scooped out; and
this impression was assisted by narrow layers of different strata, which
ran in slightly curved lines placed at equal distances, giving the
effect of the ship's sheer and planking, whilst through her entrance or
cloven bow the white foam rushed.
Walking upward, along a narrow strand of bare rock, with the forest
pressing on you, as, bent almost double in some places, you stoop
beneath the overhanging cliff on which it grows; then for a time closely
shouldering the precipice, walk upon a ledge or projecting shelf of from
one to three feet wide, the current below boiling and whirling along the
while, of dazzling brilliance; I at one moment counted five rainbow
arches, perfect and imperfect. What a succession of "Maidens of the
Mist" might a lover of romance conjure up from these vexed waters on a
fine moonlight night!
Proceeding onwards, you, on quitting this point, descend once more into
the river's bed; and here the resistless power of the torrent when at
its full is made manifest by the ruin which on all sides marks its
headlong course. Trees of the largest growth lie twenty feet above its
ordinary level; some with their roots uppermost, others sustained
athwart the arms of their sturdier fellows, here decay and rot amidst
their living leaves.
Passing the second fall, we mounted a few steps to a resting-place,
named the "Rural Retreat;" and here, from a little box perched on the
point of a huge rock which abuts right upon the great abyss, we had a
scene before us and about us of great wildness and grandeur; whilst high
over all waved the original forest, contemporary with the continent
itself,--trees beneath whose shade the sachems of the warlike Mohawks
had feasted and legislated.
The last fall lies about a quarter of a mile above this point; and
immediately below is a dangerous pass, where the vast mass of falling
water is hurled in its course against a deeply-serrated rock, over which
rock the curious visitor is obliged to tread, making a step across an
angle formed by the boiling whirlpool, clinging to a stout chain, and
closely shouldering the rock; the river passing below, with a motion
anything but composing for a nervous man to cast a sidelong glance upon.
At all points of peril, however, lines of chain are securely riveted,
affording a dependable holdfast; which after rains is indeed absolutely
necessary, where a single _faux pas_ would be fatal.
A little to our left the water of the river was collected into a basin
of about one hundred yards' diameter; overflowing which, it found a
narrow outlet between two rocks, and thence precipitating itself in a
flood of the colour of amber, was bridged by rainbows dazzling to look
upon, although a person of ordinary nerve has nothing to encounter
really dangerous; yet, at this point, a very few years back, an accident
of a fatal nature did occur, and under circumstances which give to it a
melancholy interest and will ever keep it as a legend of the place.
A family party, consisting of father, mother, son, two daughters, and
the betrothed of one of the latter, a fine girl of seventeen, arrived
in company at the "Retreat," where the parents decided upon remaining
whilst the rest of the company explored the more adventurous route
succeeding.
On went the young people in high glee,--the last fall was at length
achieved; here, after standing for a moment upon the table rock against
which the strength of the fall bursts, one by one the attentive lover
handed the merry girls up the dizzy step: he turned to offer to his
young betrothed the last and dearest act of gallantry, but the rock was
naked; the object of his care, who but the instant before smiled in his
face, was here no longer.
Not a soul of the party had witnessed any movement of their vanished
companion. Absorbed by the scene, they were struggling onward beneath
the overhanging cliff, when the arrival of the distracted lover, his mad
gesticulations and horror-stricken looks, recalled them to hear his loss
and aid his search.
For a few minutes the hope that she had turned back, or concealed
herself to cause a false alarm, held the worst conclusion at bay: but,
on reaching a little cove a few yards lower down, this hope was
crushed, and conviction of her fate placed before them; for here,
quietly floating on the smooth eddy, lay a gaily-trimmed bonnet. It was
at once recognised: the lover sprang into the river, snatched it up, and
found within its hollow the comb of her they sought.
She had, in truth, slipped from off that giddy ledge, and, sinking at
once below the influence of the whirlpool, lay calmly upon its rocky
bed.
Next day, after much perseverance, the body was found, and rescued from
beneath the very point off which she must have fallen; not a feature was
discomposed, as it is said, or a garment ruffled: to use the words of my
informant, who for thirty years has listened to the roar of this
torrent, "She looked just as though she had lain down to sleep in the
rain, where I saw her, stretched out upon the ledge here."
The details of this story were given to me with added interest by the
narrator, from the circumstance that, the very day previous, two of the
party alluded to had revisited the spot for the first time since the
chance which made it to them so memorable.
Our guide, I believe, related the particulars of one or two other
accidents; but after this I had ears for no more. That the young and
happy maid should in one moment be snatched from a world to her so
bright and beautiful, and engulphed down deep in that cold pool, her
brothers in her sight, her lover by her side, yet no hand held forth to
save her, was a picture too sorrowful to be shifted for any other. I
could not indeed forget it during the remainder of the day, and the rush
of the water no longer roused me to exertion. From this spot we turned,
and retraced our steps to the hotel.
Our next morning was devoted to an excursion down the stream, to a spot
where a saw-mill was at work and a strong rude bridge in progress; we
crossed upon it, unfinished as it was, and in a meadow upon the west
side, Herkimer county, I believe, saw two youngsters herding a couple of
fine cows. I called them to me, but the girl, at the sight of my
companion and myself, ran off like a lapwing; the boy, a redheaded
chubby rogue, about twelve years of age, was however soon persuaded to
approach. When we questioned as to where his mammy lived, he pointed
over the meadow to a thicket from out of which a little column of light
smoke was rising; but in reply to one or two other queries, after a
scratch or two at his head, our little squire boldly bolted out "No
English!"
And sure enough not another word could we coax out of him: he was,
however, quite willing and able to make it up in good Irish, and much
did I regret not being able to have a "goster" with him. From one of the
carpenters at work on the bridge I learned that the mother spoke only
Irish, but that she managed her dairy and farm admirably; and that the
father, who was just able, as they expressed it, "to tell what he
wanted," worked at the mill, and got "a heap o' money jobbin' about at
one thing or t'other."
These poor people had been in this neighbourhood about three years: they
had arrived here destitute, friendless, ignorant even of the language of
the country; but they were industrious and persevering, and at this time
may have been said to possess independence; for they were owners of
sixty acres of excellent land, a cow or two, a few sheep, with poultry,
pigs, and other evidences of pastoral wealth. The situation of their
little cottage might be envied by many a wealthy builder in search of a
beautiful site, and the country about them is perfectly healthy.
We this day met at the hotel a new arrival or two, and sat down in
company to a very neat dinner: the trout here is excellent, and the
butter the best out of Philadelphia.
On the 2nd of July we left this comfortable house; and it was not
without reluctance I so soon bade farewell to the Falls of Trenton,
which, beautiful in themselves, are surrounded by a country possessing
so much attraction that I felt a strong desire to become more intimate
with it.
My companion, Mr. H----, having met with a couple of friends here who
were journeying our way, it was proposed that we should join company as
far as Niagara, taking to our own use an extra. This we readily procured
at Utica; the postmaster agreeing to forward the party to Buffalo by a
route we laid down, for the sum of seventy-five dollars, the distance
being nearly two hundred miles. We were by our agreement entitled to
halt as long as we chose at any place on our route, and, moreover, were
to be driven at the rate of seven miles per hour at the least.
All these points being duly arranged, we left the thriving city of Utica
in as heavy a storm of rain as could well fall, the weather having once
more become cold and cheerless: a more dismal night I never would desire
to encounter. The rate of travelling soon fell below the minimum of our
stipulated pace: to do the drivers justice, this was owing to no fault
of theirs, but the roads were cut into gullies broad and deep, and the
tumbling we got would have been of vast service to a dyspeptic subject.
The state of the weather was the more to be regretted as we were passing
through some of the best cultivated farms in this State; and,
notwithstanding the disadvantageous nature of the medium through which I
saw the land, this character appeared to me well deserved.
The farmhouses were very numerous, generally built of good brick, and
putting forth strong claims on admiration in the shape of various
ornamental flourishes; an ambition which distinguishes the rural
architecture indeed of all this State, giving evidence of the ease and
growing wealth, if not of the purest taste, existing amongst the
proprietary.
Syracuse we passed through in the middle of the storm and the darkness
of night; and about six A.M. were safely landed under the ample portico
of the hotel at Auburn, celebrated for its prison, regulated upon what
is called the "silent system."
Whilst my companions were making toilet I set forth to visit this penal
abode, the character of which is made sufficiently evident as you
approach the lofty walls that encompass so much of misery and guilt. At
regular distances upon these battlements I perceived sentry-boxes, with
men keeping watch, musket in hand.
A small sum is here paid for admittance. On my arrival at the lodge, I
was informed that the prisoners were at breakfast, during which time
visitors were prohibited: I therefore had to wait some minutes in this
place; and, except the occasional fall of a heavy bolt, did not hear a
sound; the very turnkeys seemed infected by the system which it was
their duty to enforce, and they moved in and out in silence, or spoke in
monosyllables hardly above a whisper.
Following the gaoler, I was passed within the square at the very moment
when the prisoners were moving out from their breakfast-hall on the way
to renew their several labours; and the sight was to me one of sickening
melancholy.
They were marched from the building in squads, using what is called the
"lock-step," and were jammed together as close as they could possibly
tread: they moved in quick-time, and fell out singly, or in pairs, as
they arrived at the point nearest to the scene of their employment.
I observed that, notwithstanding the regularity of labour, and the
unquestionably wholesome diet provided here, the faces of the
individuals composing these ruffian squads were uniformly pale and
haggard; yet, on saying so much to my guide, I was assured that disease
is comparatively rare amongst them, and that many who enter here with
broken constitutions recover their bodily vigour and are made whole men
again.
The cleanliness of this prison-house, the convenient distribution of its
various offices, and, indeed, the evident excellence of its general
arrangement, must strike every stranger with admiration, and doubtless
presented to the commissioners of inquiry recently appointed from
England many hints worthy of adoption for home use. Of the merits of the
system itself it does not become me to speak; it has been well
considered by wise and worthy men, who continue to watch over its
working with a philanthropic spirit; but I confess that the impressions
I received from my visits to these prisons were anything but in its
favour.
At eight A.M. we quitted Auburn, the weather clear and mild: we crossed
the head-water of the Seneca Lake upon a well-built bridge, a mile and a
quarter in length, and, with this exception, observed no point of
interest until we approached the Lake of Geneva.
This is one of the lions of this route, and in no way disappointed our
raised expectations. Gradually winding about the eastern bend of the
lake, the road affords to the traveller a continuous view of the
location of the little city; and certainly nothing was ever more happily
chosen than the fine hill over whose side it is built, its streets
rising gradually from the edge of the clear water in which they are
reflected.
Entering the main street, I observed that the stores were large and
substantially built; there was a great bustle, and an air of business
too, about most of them, which it was pleasant to look upon. The hotel
at which we drew up was a large, well-appointed house: the landlord,
finding that we were strangers, civilly invited us to ascend to the
gallery upon the roof; and certainly the view it afforded was one I
should have been sorry to miss.
The environs appear to possess an unusual number of tasteful villas; on
all sides these might be distinguished, giving and receiving adornment
from the situation. The lake itself looked like a huge mirror; and from
its polished surface was clearly reflected every turn of its shores, and
each cloud that floated over it. Its characteristics are softness and
repose; of a certainty it must have been a feminine spirit that presided
at the creation of this spot, for its features are all of gentleness and
beauty.
At Canandaigua we stopped to dine at a very large, and, I should
imagine, good hotel: the landlord was exceedingly obliging. The regular
dinner of the house was long past, but he managed to get us a very
tolerable meal; and what was wanting in this he made up by giving us an
excellent bottle of wine.
In the environs of this place, as at Geneva, I observed a number of
well-built and neatly-appointed villas; indeed, this sort of country
residence is better kept, and built in better taste, in this western
country than I have elsewhere observed in the States.
About nine P.M. we arrived at Avon Springs; and here we called a halt
for the night, not a little pleased with the prospect of a comfortable
bed, which the appearance of the inn gave promise of.
This place is a good deal frequented of late years by invalids, its
mineral waters being found of great service in dyspepsia,--the most
crying complaint of the country next to the removal of the deposits, and
certainly more universal.
I here found my excellent friend R----d, who, together with his young
bride, had accompanied his father-in-law, who was desirous of testing
the salubrity of these springs. He described the surrounding country as
beautiful, and the little place itself as agreeable enough for a short
sojourn.
The fourth of July, the anniversary of American Independence, was to be
duly celebrated by a ball, for which my friend had received an invite
printed upon the back of the nine of hearts; a medium now obsolete in
England, but conserved here in its integrity.
A less amusing remembrancer of the glorious event began to parade the
avenue at an early hour in the shape of a patriotic drummer, having an
instrument, to judge by its sound, coeval with the first fight for that
freedom it was beaten to celebrate. If anything could have kept me
awake, this cracked drum would; and, in truth, I had my fears, when, on
entering my room, I heard my hero ruffing it away immediately in front
of the window; but they were groundless apprehensions, though his
efforts were varied and unceasing, for I undressed to the tune of the
"Grenadiers' March," stepped into bed to the "Reveille," and dropped
fast asleep to the first part of "Yankee Doodle!"
At six A.M. of the 4th we were once more in motion; the vapours of night
were yet hanging thick and low; but through the dense atmosphere, as we
rolled down the avenue, I heard the indefatigable functionary, who
composed the military band of Avon, determinately beating "Hail
Columbia!"
At the village of Caledonia we found that a ball was afoot, and we
pushed on eagerly for Buffalo, anticipating, from the importance of the
place and the wealth of its citizens, something in the way of display
worthy of their loyalty and of the occasion.
Between Le Roy, a town of remarkable neatness, and Batavia, I
encountered my first sample of a corduroy-road, or, as it is sometimes
facetiously termed, a Canadian railway.
Our driver, a merry fellow, called out that we must look out "not to get
mixed up of a heap," and rattled at it. I did not require much
experience to decide that travelling over a road of corduroy was by no
means going on velvet; but the effect was not so bad as I had expected
to prove it: by holding fast, one could keep one's seat tolerably well,
without much fear of dislocation; but I would strongly recommend any man
having loose teeth, to walk over this stage, unless he desires to have
them shaken out of his head.
From Batavia the road is execrable, and the country without a feature to
interest or amuse, uncultivated, wild, and dismal. It was about half an
hour before sunset when we entered Buffalo, the City of the Lakes, the
entrepot for these inland oceans.