: obtained how great the difficulty! When the trees are felled, the roots and stumps still remain; the soil turned up, the crop must have time to grow, and the returns of labour be waited for till harvest; the log-hut, built in the spare hours saved from sleep and pressing calls of duty elsewhere, is no defence against the wintry storm; if domestic animals are possessed, they are wanted for food; if clothing is enjoyed in the beginning of the operation, it wears out; and as to money to purchase new, when even the necessaries of life have not yet been obtained from the soil, that is out of the question. The privations, sufferings, and sacrifices of life, which even the matter of clearing must have cost the human family, in the amount of forest now occupied by the habitations of man in America, must be infinite. How vital, indeed, how profound and dominant, a passion must the love of possession and independence be, to impel such hosts of men to quit a quiet and mediocre mode of life, but dependent, to seek in the forest, in the midst of such toil as this, the happiness of calling their land and their house their own! The first occupants can never, certainly, enjoy much of the fruit of their own labour, except in very particular cases: but then here another mighty passion comes in to help the soul in her heroic perseverance; there is the love of posterity, the hope of laying a foundation for the happiness of children. The clearance of the forest is no other than the developement of these instincts of nature. The line along which we passed was evidently doing its work. Numerous villages and towns were rising; stores, warehouses, mills, and buildings of every kind were being put up; new farm-houses were appearing at intervals all along the road; and, passing large portions of forest still undisturbed, every now and then the effects of the woodman's axe were apparent in chasms made by the recent fall of trees, and the partial cultivation of portions of the ground. Every thing was life, bustle, and activity. Great numbers of Irish were seen at work on the line, and at other employments; a useful and laborious class. One could not help seeing the contrast betwixt these poor people and all around them, even in America. The Celt bears the unmistakeable physiognomy of his race in all countries, for at least one generation. Before reaching our destination, we had to quit the railroad, and mount stages fourteen miles, the line being unfinished. I took a seat on the box to see the country, but had difficulty enough to keep my equilibrium : the jolting was horrible. Our course could not be called a road, in any sense, except from the mere fact, that it had been traversed before, and we also were now passing over it. We made our way across gullies, rivulets, rising hillocks, and then again sunk up to our axletrees in bogs. We were roughly handled by great stones lying in our course, roots of trees projecting their fibres; and then again by pieces of timber put into soft places, by way of making a pavement for passengers to cross. Really this journeying of the American stages, in the midst of a country such as we passed through this day, is a curiosity. It would be, indeed, extremely difficult, a priori, to imagine how the carriage was to escape being capsized many times told; how the horses were to keep their feet, and perform their task; and how the driver could possibly preserve his seat, and pilot his vehicle through so many shoals to a safe anchorage. Such, however, are use and experience, that calamities rarely occur; and though sufficiently shaken, and not free from fear, yet we arrived safely at our destined place of rest for the night. The country through which we passed by stage is of the nature of an avenue cut through the forest, sometimes a mile or two broad, and at other places less. This space is occupied by splendid farms, rich and productive in the highest degree. The farm-houses are nearly all good substantial brick or stone buildings; and many of them much like the fine residences of our country gentry. There must be great comfort in this region, and, when the railroad is finished, easy of access; it affording the means of transport for the produce of the soil, either to Cincinnati on the Ohio on the one hand, or to the lakes on the other. And one cannot help asking, If without this road and its advantages industry and enterprise could do so much, what are we to expect now that all these facilities of progress are opened? It must certainly become, shortly, one of the richest tracts of country in America. This is a fine part of the States for settlers in the farming line, if necessity or inclination should cause them to leave their fatherland. In case any such parties should cast their eyes on this book, I should certainly recommend them to examine this region, before they think of locating elsewhere. Our resting-place for the night was a new and rising town in the wilderness, called Urbana. We found a good inn, and spoke for beds. While we were doing this, some Methodist friends, who had been apprized of our coming by telegraph, were in search of us. We called to pay a friendly visit, and found them very agreeable; but, having engaged our lodging, declined a kind and hearty invitation to take up our abode with them. On retiring to bed, I was soon expelled by some old friends, who own me wherever I go; and was obliged to go down stairs, and get such rest as lying across some chairs would allow. While in this posture, a number of young fellows, black and white, assembled at the door of the house; and I suppose we had in them a specimen of back-wood language of the worst sort. I had not, up to this time, heard an oath or profane language of any kind since I left my native land, either on board ship or in America; but these young sinners made up for the lack. I cannot repeat their oaths: it is a shame to speak of such deeds of darkness; but I never heard since I existed such shocking profanity. This sort of life no doubt prevailed we have all kinds of testimony to the fact-universally, till the forests and woods were visited by the messengers of salvation; and a better state of things was superinduced by their labours. We set out the next morning for Sandusky, and, reaching that place towards night, beheld Lake Erie for the first time. The town itself has no great beauty for the present. It is, however, a bustling, stirring place; and, from its situation, must soon rise to magnitude and importance. CHAP. VII.-The Lakes-Erie-Pass down-Buffalo-Niagara River -Scenery on its Banks-The Falls of Niagara-Canada- The People Visit the Battle-Field of Lundy-Lane-The SuspensionBridge-St. Catherine's-Hamilton. Ir was impossible to see this wonderful inland sea without deep emotion. The evening was bright and calm, the bosom of the Lake unruffled by a breeze, the sun retired in majesty and beauty behind the waters; it was a lovely sunset. "Lake Erie is three hundred miles in length, forty-six at its utmost breadth, seven hundred and sixteen in circumference, and about fifty-six fathoms at its greatest depth. At its northern extremity, it is much exposed to violent gales, and its navigation is both tedious and dangerous. It contains, towards the west, a num ber of beautiful islands, in which are many remarkable caverns, abounding in curious stalactites. These islands are also full of reptiles, especially rattlesnakes; and the margin of the lake is in many places completely covered, for many acres, with the large leaves of the pond-lily, upon which, in the summer season, myriads of watersnakes are seen basking in the sun. The bottom is a bluish limestone rock, and its banks are clothed with wood, abounding in game and wild animals." Some of these characteristics are rapidly disappearing. On the American side, especially, large and flourishing towns are rising up; the country, to the edge of the Lake, is being cultivated, and a busy and thriving population is taking the place of the wild animals formerly inhabiting the jungle. The Canada side has not made the same progress; but still the country is gradually being cleared and occupied. We departed from Sandusky, nearly at the top of the Lake, the morning after our arrival. Our destination was Buffalo, at the other extremity of the Lake, so that the distance was something like three hundred miles. The day was fine, and the view beautiful. We called at many places to take in wood and passengers; and amongst the rest at Cleveland, a large and flourishing city, the termination of the Erie canal, and consequently the link connecting the Lakes with New-York and the Atlantic States. Keeping near the American shore, a pretty good view was often obtained of the country, which every where indicated activity and progress. We arrived at Buffalo the next morning. This is a large and populous city, full of business, bustle, and enterprise. Its importance consists in the excellency of its harbour, and its contiguity to Canada. A flourishing commerce is apparent, which must constantly grow with the increase of population. But other thoughts now occupied our minds; we cared little for trade and business in the immediate vicinity of one of the miracles of nature, one of the wonders of the world. Our breakfast was late in coming, at least so we thought in our feverish anxiety; when it came, it was soon despatched, and we at once mounted the "car" for the Falls of Niagara. distance is only twenty-two miles, and we soon reached this celebrated spot. Our line lay in sight of the Niagara River, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario. This is a most magnificent stream, studded with beautiful islands; one of which, called "Grand Island," is of great extent. The I listened with much eagerness long before we approached the spot; then listened again, as we advanced, with augmented intensity of interest, to catch the sound of the cataract, but heard no note of the rush of "mighty waters." Arriving at the terminus, and alighting, every thing wore the same quiet aspect. No unusual sound of any kind was perceptible, and the people seemed unconscious of any thing remarkable in their neighbourhood. "How is this?" was the thought. "Is the giant asleep? Or have we been deceived by exaggerated reports respecting the extent of sound arising from this waterfall?" Nothing then arose to solve the mystery, and nothing since has been suggested. And if it is true that the sound is heard for fifteen miles, as is often asserted, it can only be in some peculiar state of the atmosphere. Some preliminary account seems to be necessary to any thing like an accurate description of the Falls themselves. We begin by observing, that the river divides, about a mile above the cataract, into two streams. This division of the water is not equal; and the principal river suffers no perceptible diminution, keeping on in a straight line. But at the distance above mentioned a comparatively small channel is formed to the right, and through this branch a portion of the original river pours forth its torrent. The first effect of this division is to form an island, denominated Goat Island. This smaller stream continues its course for about a mile, and then returns to the main channel, re-entering by its side some short distance below the Great, or Horse-shoe, Fall; and the precipitous leap of this branch stream into the bed of the main river constitutes the American, or Little, Fall. The Rapids, extending for a mile above the Falls, constitute another peculiarity. The descent in the course of this distance is about fifty-two feet, so that the velocity of the waters from this cause necessarily becomes prodigiously great. But this movement is not merely occasioned by the above incline; the channel is, in the same space, narrowed from something like three miles across to less than one as it approaches the cataract: the effect of this double process of descent and compression is to produce a vastly augmented force and velocity. Whether from the wear and rapidity of the stream, or from other causes, no one can tell, but the channel through the whole of this space is evidently shelved and broken, forming partial precipices, over which the waves are constantly |