are beautiful cataracts on the same stream, a few miles above. Claverack Falls are upon a stream near the city of Hudson; they descend down a precipice of dark rocks into a deep chasm shaded with forest trees. The cataracts near Ithaca comprise four hundred and thirty-eight feet of descent in a mile; the fall of the Cohoes on the Mohawk is seventy feet. At Bellows Falls, five miles from the town of Walpole, on the Connecticut, the whole descent of the river, in the space of half a mile, is forty-four feet; and it includes several pitches, one below another, at the highest of which a large rock divides the stream into two channels, each about ninety feet wide. When the water is low, the eastern channel is dry, being crossed by a solid rock, and the whole stream falls into the western channel, where, being contracted to the breadth of sixteen feet, it flows with astonishing force and rapidity. A bridge has been built over these falls, from which an advantageous view is had of their interesting and romantic scenery. Some years ago a canal, over half a mile long, was dug through the rocks around the falls, for the passage of flat-bottomed boats and rafts. Notwithstanding the velocity of the current, salmon used to pass up the fall in great numbers. Amoskeag Falls, in the Merrimack, consist of three successive pitches, falling nearly fifty feet. The Housatonic Falls, in the north-west part of Connecticut, are the finest in New England. Source of Passaic Falls. The Passaic Falls, in Paterson, New Jersey, twenty-two miles northwest of New York, are highly picturesque and beautiful. The river Passaic rises in the northern part of New Jersey, and after a circuitous course, falls into Newark Bay. At the town of Paterson, about twenty miles from its mouth, is the Great Fall, where the river, about one hundred and twenty feet wide, and running with a very swift current, reaches a deep chasm, or cleft, which crosses the channel, and falls perpendicularly about seventy feet, in one entire sheet. One end of the cleft is closed up, and the water rushes out at the other with incredible rapidity, in an acute angle to its former direction, and is received into a large basin. It thence takes a winding course through the rocks, and spreads again into a very considerable channel. The cleft is from four to twelve feet in breadth, and is supposed to have been produced by an earthquake. When this cataract was visited by a late British traveller, the spray refracted two beautiful rainbows, primary and secondary, which greatly assisted in producing as fine a scene as imagination can conceive. It was also heightened by the effect of another fall, of less magnificence, about ninety feet above. The spirit of utility, in its stern disregard of the picturesque, has diverted the current of the Passaic into so many channels for the supply of manufactories, that the cascade is now an object of interest only during the wet season. The Potomac, which forms the boundary between the states of Maryland and Virginia, is navigable to the city of Washington; above which it is obstructed by several falls, of which the most remarkable are Little Falls, three miles above Washington, with a descent of thirty-seven feet: Great Falls, eight and a half miles further up, with a descent of seventy-six feet; which have been made navigable by means of five locks: Seneca Falls, six miles above, descending ten feet: Shenandoah Falls, sixty miles higher up the river, where the Potomac breaks through the Blue Ridge at Harper's Ferry: Houre's Falls, five miles above the Shenandoah. In addition to the cataracts above enumerated, we may notice the Falling Spring, in Bath county, Virginia, which forms a beautiful cascade, streaming from a perpendicular precipice, two hundred feet high; and the Tuccoa Fall, in Franklin county, Georgia, which, though one of the most beautiful that can be conceived, is scarcely yet known to geographers. It is one hundred and eighty-seven feet in height, and the water is propelled over a perpendicular rock. When the stream is full, it pours over the steep in one expansive magnificent sheet, amid clouds of spray, on which the prismatic colors are reflected with a most enchanting effect. The cascades of the Catskill Mountains are very romantic and beautiful. The Kaaterskill is formed by the union of two branches, one rising in two lakes, about one and a half miles east of the western cascade, the other about half the distance in a northerly direction. The best view of the western fall is from below, the foliage above being so thick as in a great measure to obscure it. Below the fall the banks of the stream, which are nearly three hundred feet in height, rise almost perpendicularly from the surface of the water. The following description is from the pen of Mr. H. E. Dwight. 'The rocks on each side of the stream project so as partially to eclipse the sides of the fall. They have fallen from time to time, in such a manner as to form seventeen natural steps, rising one above another. We stationed ourselves on these steps, to enjoy the scenery around us. Before us the stream fell in a beautiful sheet, exhibiting its transparent waters, . when, striking the inclined plane, it rushed down with headlong fury, bearing on its surface a foam of silvery whiteness. On the right and left, the banks rose over our heads in silent grandeur, as if on the point of detaching their projecting masses into the ravine where we were standing while below us, the water was visible for about thirty rods, descending in the form of a rapid, when, bending around the point of a projection of the mountain, it disappeared from our view. The spray was so thick as to make a dense cloud, on which the sun, shining with great brilliancy, and being nearly vertical, imprinted a perfect rainbow. This bow, which was not more than eight feet in diameter, formed a circle around us slightly elliptical, near the centre of which we stood. As we approached the fall, the spray thickened, the splendor of the colors increased, and the shrubs, the rocks, and the water, were tinged with its choicest hues. To complete the view, a small rivulet, caused by the late rains, fell about two hundred feet, in the form of a cascade, down the precipice, on the southern bank of the stream, displaying its crystal waters through the green foliage which adorned it. We remained here enjoying the prospect for some minutes, when, drenched with spray, we reluctantly bade it adieu, with all those emotions which the sublimity and beauty of such a scene would naturally awaken. 'I visited the eastern cascade immediately after viewing the western fall on the Kaaterskill, when the column of water was swollen to eight or ten times its common size, and shall describe it, as it then appeared. The rock over which the water descends, projects in such a manner that the cascade forms part of a parabolic curve. After striking a rock below, it Tuns down an inclined plane a few rods in length, when it rushes over another precipice of one hundred feet. The column of water remained entire for two thirds the descent, and its surface was covered with rich sparkling foam, which, as it fell, presented to the eye a brilliant emanation. Here it was broken, and formed a continued succession of showers. Large globules of water, of a soft, pearly lustre, enriched with a prismatic reflection, shot off in tangents to the curve of the cascade, and being drawn by the attraction of gravitation, united again with the stream. The sun, shining through a clear atmosphere, imprinted on it his glittering rays, appearing like a moving column of transparent snow. The spray, rising to the height of several hundred feet, was continually agitated by a strong wind, which gave birth to a number of rainbows. They were elevated one above the other, and increased in brilliancy towards the base of the cascade, where, as well as at the lower fall, an iris spread its arch of glory, tinging the rocks and foliage with its brightest colors. The ground below these cascades continued descending at an angle of forty-five degrees, forming a hollow like an inverted cone, of one thousand feet in depth. This was lined with lofty trees, whose verdant tops, varying from the dark hemlock to the light maple, were bending with the wind. Through this waving forest the cascade appeared at various distances, sparkling with the rays of the sun, and forming a fine contrast to the sombre rocks which surrounded it. From this cavity, at the distance of several miles, a peak rose to an elevation of two thousand feet, while the mountains on the right and left, impressed their bold outlines on the sky beyond them. The best view of this scene, is a few rods from the base of the lower fall. These cascades are both of them in a direct line, and by standing in this position can be united in one. By raising your eyes, a fall of four hundred feet appears precipitated from the precipices above, apparently ready to overwhelm you, while the rocks above overhang the abyss in wild sublimity, threatening you with destruction. 'The appearance of the upper cascade, in the middle of winter, is very interesting. The rock over which the stream descends, projects in such a manner, that the icicles, which form in that season, meet with no interrup tion in their descent towards the base of the fall. The water, which strikes the rocks below, begins to congeal and rise (between the column of water and the rock) towards the icicles above. These project towards the base, increasing in magnitude from day to day, while the column from below is greatly enlarged by the water and the spray, which, immediately con gealing, in a short time surround the stream. A column of ice, resembling a rude cone, of between two and three hundred feet, is thus formed, through the centre of which the stream pours its current, dwindled, by the congelation of its waters, to one tenth its common size. When illumined by the rays of the sun, it presents a transparent column glowing with brilliancy, reflecting and refracting its rays in such a manner as to present all the colors of the prism. It remains some weeks, a striking example of the power of hoary frost, when, partly dissolved by the genial warmth of spring, it falls, scattering its thousand fragments on the rocks around it.' GENERAL REMARKS ON CATARACTS AND CASCADES. Rivers which descend from primitive mountains into the secondary lands often form cascades and cataracts. Such are the cataracts of the Nile, of the Ganges, and some other great rivers, which, according to Desmarets, evidently mark the limits of the ancient land. Cataracts are also formed by lakes, and of this description are the Falls of Niagara; but the most picturesque falls are those of rapid rivers, bordered by trees and precipitous rocks. Sometimes we see a body of water, which, before it arrives at the bottom, is broken and dissipated into showers, like the Staubach; sometimes it forms a watery arch, projected from a rampart of rock, under which the traveller may pass dry shod, as the Falling Spring of Virginia; in one place, in a granite district, we see the Trolhetta, and the Rhine not far from its source, urge on their foaming billows amongst the pointed rocks; in another, amidst lands of calcareous formation, we see the Czettina, and the Kerka, rolling down from terrace to terrace, and presenting some times a sheet and sometimes a wall of water. Some magnificent cascades have been formed, at least in part, by the hands of man: the cascades of Velino, near Terni, have been attributed to Pope Clement VIII.; other cataracts, like those of Tunguska in Sibe ria, have gradually lost their elevation by the wearing away of the rocks, and have now only a rapid descent. The Falls of Staubach are the highest ever known, being nine hundred feet according to trigonometrical measurement. 75 CHAPTER VI.-LAKES. Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water in the world, being four hundred miles in length, one hundred at its greatest breadth, and, according to the most moderate computation, over twelve hundred miles in circumference. Its shores are rocky and uneven, and it has a rocky bottom. Its waters are pure and transparent, and it has been remarked, that, although during the summer, the waters on its surface be warm, nevertheless, by letting a cup down about a fathom, water may be taken up nearly as cold as ice. In abounds in fish, particularly sturgeon and long trout, many of which are from fifty to seventy pounds weight, and constitute the principal food of the Algonquin Indians on its borders. This lake has five large islands, one of which, called Isle Royal, is not less than a hundred miles in length, and in some places forty in breadth. More than forty rivers discharge themselves into it, the two largest called the Nipegon and the Michipicooton, from the north and north-east sides. A small river which runs into it, not far from the Nipegon, falls from the top of a mountain more than six hundred feet perpendicular; appearing at a distance, to use Mr. Carver's homely comparison, like a white garter suspended in the air. On the banks of one of the rivers which fall into its south side, virgin * One of these, the Island of Yellow Sands, derives its chief interest from the tradi tons and fanciful tales which the Indians relate concerning its mineral treasures, and their supernatural guardians. They pretend that its shores are covered with a heavy shining yellow sand, which they would persuade us is gold, but that the guardian spirit of the island will not permit any of it to be carried away. To enforce his commands, he has drawn together upon it, myriads of eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey, who by their cries warn him of any intrusions upon the domain, and assist with their claws and beaks to expel the enemy. He has also called from the depths of the lake, large serpents of the most hideous forms, who lie thickly coiled upon the golden sands, and hiss defiance to the steps of the invader. A great many years ago, it is pretended, that some people of their nation were driven, by stress of weather, to take shelter upon the enchanted island, and being struck with the beautiful and glittering appearance of the treasure, they put a large quantity of it into their canoes, and attempted to carry it off, but a gigantic spirit strode into the water, and, in a voice of thunder, commanded them to bring it back. Terrified with his amazing size, and threatening aspect, they obeyed, and were afterwards suffered to depart without molestation, but they have never since attempted to land upon it. 'Listen, white man-go not there, Of the Isle of Yellow Sands.'-Journal of Travels. |