Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1838-10-11

he, will reserve i, for my self az u pro,, 10,
| ieepis OLD age, ia the evening 81 my day -
beside these curiosities, I will give a Ges
cription Of the Black Water, tho Falls, ant
the surrounding scenery. had Frequently
heard OF the Falls Of Black Water az being
| one 81 Natures greatest wonders, and I had
! long since formed the purpose 10 see them
when a suitable opportunity presented itself
md when it was possible. For j, must be
understood that they can only be attained
when The Black Water Is very low the bed
or channel OF the river being the only way
ny which they can be approached. Such an
opportunity Was presented by the present
remarkable drought, and embraced i'll
I ne TACT that this place is accessible only al
certain seasons OF li.e year aud from ten Ia
ihecn miles distant from any settlement ;
The aiihculty, indeed the daLger ATTENDING
soch an adventure; and the dark and d, cad
iui forests vi spruce and bemlock, and The
impene;rable ,hickcts OF laurel, that line The
banks OF The riSer, have been with almost
every one sufficient reasons ior not underta-
KING The trip. heard OF hut three indivi
odis who had been a, the falls, one Of " hum
ana iour young men ] prevailed upon 10 &C.
company me. If you ~ i'll took al the man
OF itginia, you will-1bserve that The Black
haier takes lis source on The west side @: the
hueShany Mountain and is tributary 10
Cheat S'ver. lis water is almost as black as
INK ~ u, anu yet very pleasant 20 the taste lis
Hall from its source, 10 its termination is so
great, that i; is continually dashinp amono
Inc biggest rocks tha, all along Gil up the
channel. The Mountains ON each side are
generally very precipitous, forming u deep
anu narrow ravine which has been known 10
DC SO choked up with ice and rock and tim,
DER, as Tor time, 10 entirely stop The course
oil the river. AT length, the accommodating
mass acquires power that enables il 10 bear
every thing before ii and dashes down with
furious grandeur that battles all description.
The Geologist wonld find much there up-
on which 10 employ his thoughts My own
mind, all along my trip, was impressed with
one TACT, and That was the utter nadeuuacy
OF any present Causes 10 produce the remark
aole ELECTS that are visible on the surface of
Tue earth. The very great irregularities
The inclined and bent position of tremendous
masses OF rock, with all their overturninps.
contortions, and dIsocaticns; also the iniu,
SION among all classes OF rock, OF metallic
ana other veins, are certainly the product OF
causes, that do not NOW exist. Nor can
adopt the hypothesis entertained by many.
That these things are The results of the inun.
datlcns, that have occurred in The different
ages oithe world. Equally unsatisfactory
Is the solution of the Volcanic phenomena
by referring volcanoes TO the action of water
upon the metallic bases Of the earths and al
kaiIes IN the interior oil the earth The
more observation bestow on these things,
The more am inclined to embrace the the.
DRY o! the celebrated French Geologjst Al
CoRDIER, that there is in the centre ofthe
Giobe mass, ayast reservoir ofliquid, fiery
matter, or lava, and that the more than two
hundred volcanoes that are on differeni parts
OF 'ne earth, are SO many vENT-HoLEs OF
This vast subterranean furnace safety yaIy es
oi our Globe; and that these phenomena ar
products Ct pGroTysnlaI eruplions, that were
p.o"nceu ages aEo, by these GENITAL fires
WIN The exception OF this theory. every
other, IN my opinion, is not much more sat.
isiactory, than the notion of the Greek and
Roman poets, who described Volcanoes as
me FORGING SHOPS of the Cyclops, and the
prisons OF the Giants, who rebelled against
Jupiter. Ifyou tell me, my young friend,
thai this, like other previous theories is un.
satisfactory, must answer you in the Ian
guage OF an eloquent writer, on this subject
in The North American Review: IVY
have become wearied," says he, 'swith hov>
ering so long, over what seemed TO US. the
shore!ess ocean OF uncertainty and coniec.
tnre. We see in this theory, something like
TERRA FlRMA; and we willing 10 try
II we cannot there find little rest for The
sole OF our foct. IL may prove q Delos; if
SO we have only 10 spread our wings again
and wait for The emcrgence OF iAe tue
Ararat"
Having procured some provision, which
we carried in knapsacks, we set out from
Cheat River, on loot, the remarkable rough
ness Of The country ptecluding the I,oesibii.
~ OF getting TO the falls on horse back. A
more arduous task aud one thai ~, into
more constant reqoisi,ion, our ply sicai pow
ers, never performed. Being confined 10
The Channel OF the river we were travelling
all the while on and over and round-ani
sometimes even under rocks Of the largest
dimensions, stepping al one time, then jump.
ing, sliding down, and crawling through The
cIeils and openings. Sometimes we were
under The necessity Of first assisting one of
our company 10 the Top Of these obstacles
| 10 whom We or awarded our knapsacks aud
guns; and then followed w, extending 10
each other an assisting hand Us we several,
~ climbed up. Thus stepping, and Jump
ing, and sliding, and climbing, aud crawl
ing, and sometimes falling into tie wafer
we spent the first day 10 II ve;u attempt to
Isach the Falls 10y Gighlial. We Divou-
scked on large 1at rock, !hal constituted 3
pa:t Of The bed oi the river, but being in an
inclined position, threw the river against
the opposite bank. Il was oyeihung by
I boughs oil hemlock, that served sdmilab.y
well 10 keor OF ihede~ ofihc nishl Around
large fire tina, uiat,e of driii g,0o8 and
after taking some relfesbmeat, we loId our
selves down 10 rest, cOnsOliBg ourselves wI lib
the reflection, that il our bed vas ucl 50 yos
! ry soft, it was, al least, very solid. As sc
! lay upon this Sock, eurrouudod bv wolf OF
opaque darkness, sleep was Inadvertently
driven away, 10y The reflections, Which d sil.
uatiou. sorry peculiar, was well calcu-
lated to prompt. The Black water rolled