The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-07-06

From ne Kaiels,oeeAsr.
REV. Mr.. BASCoMs sKE rcH or ihI
GREAT CATARACT.

From me Kaieksrooehsr.
pry. Mr.. BAscoMs sKE rcH OF The
GREAT CATARACT.
The following picture OF Niagara IS rom
the pen Of an clog tent divine, with whose hish
- ,,a,;on our readers are not unacquainted.
.rp those who have seen the falls, It viii re-
CONNIE ID iiselfior its vivid truth; and to those
who have mi, we co nmend The writer's intro
ductory note TO the editor:
.Ny DgaR SIR: In complying with your
solest 10 furnish you with the following letter
for publication in the knickcrbockei Maga-
zine. | must claim the protection oil one OF
the m ,st ildul2eut canons al criticism, that
which suggests that every production cl,mins
10 be a mere revelation OF personal impress
sion and private feeling, shoald be Judged OF
mainly in view OF the minds peculiar state N
giving il birth. The annexed sketch, cxccpl
the last paragraph, was written on an ans'e u
Table R0ck," at the instance, aud iof inc
exclusive qualification of irieni, aud Without
any, the most remote reference toPibiicn'i.n,
thea or subsequently. II was produced I'M
der the influence Of high wrought feeling, and
does little mnre. than reveal the hearts my
,hology. in presencr ofone OF the m Isl fearful
manifestations of the power aud grandeur OF
physical nature. II, ,he feeling w'ch gave
bi,th to the fragment you have asked FIR pub
LEGATION be responded - by the reader, have
nothing to regret, all nothing iartacr to nope
for.
Very truly and sincerely.
ii. b. BASCOM.
New York. February 1892
MY DEsR E.: have seen, surveyed,
AMI conmuned with the whole, and awed and
bewilIered as il ench ,ned before the reveal
ment Of mystery, | attempt 10 write. You
askeI me ia your last for some detailed, verl-
table account OF the falls, and should he glad
TO CRAFTY you but how shall essny to pant
scene that 50 utterly hafl,s all conception,
and renders worse tan iruiilesS every attempt
at description! In liys minutes after my ar
rival on the evening Of the 5th, descended
the winding path from the Pavilion" on the
Canadian side, and for the first time IN my lite
saw this unequaIej cascade from "fable
Rock" the wh tic inlescrbable scene, in bold
outline, bursting on my view at once. had
heard and read much, an imagined more, of
waat was before me. was perfectly familiar
wit the oiten.tod, the flr.tlavellcd story Of
what ! saw; hut the overpowering reality on
which was gazing, motlonless as the rock on
which | st'od, deprived me of recollection,
annihia' ed all curiosity, and with the emotions
of sublimity, till now unlet, and all uaea' thly
the involu ltary exclamation escaped me,
God Of grandeur! tphat scsne!'
But the majesty Of the sight. and the into
rest of the moment, how depict the,nl The
huge amplitude of water, tu,nblmg in foam
above, and dashing on, arched and pl!ared as
j, g'iIes, until it reaches the precipice Of the
shae, and thea, in one vast column, bounding,
with madden,ny no lr and rush. into The depths
beaeath, presents Il spectacle so uuu.terab!y
appalling that language filters ); words are no
10 ger signs, and despair giving you any
adequate idea OF what | saw and felt. Yet
this is not all. The eye and the mind neces-
sarly take in other objects, as parts Of the
grand panoraml: forests, cliff, and islands
banks, foam and spray; wood, rock, and pre-
cipice, dimmed with the rising f,g and mist,
nn1 ohscurely eildtd by the sottening tin,s of
the rainbow. These all belong to the picture;
and the effect o. the whole is UNNECESSARILY
heis h,ened by the noise vt the cataract, now
re nnding you Of the reverberations OF the
heavens IN tempest. and then OF the ocean,
when angered by the wI,ds.
The concave he'd Of rock from which the
water falls some two hundred feet, into the
almost bonndlcss reservoir beneath, is n sec
ton Of circle, which, at first sight from Ia
Bile Rock, presents something like the geo.
metrical curve Of rhc rainbow and the
wonders of the grand " crescent" thus ad-
vania1eoasy thrown upon the eye in comh-
nation. and the appropriate sensations and
boom of the waters, reader the sight more
surprisingly sublime than any thing have ever
looked upon or conceived OF. As it regards
my thoughts and feelings at the time, | can
help you to no conception Of their character
Overwhelming establishment was the orly
bond between thought and thought aud wild,
and vague, and boundlesS, were the associa.
tons OF the hour! Before me the strength
and fullnesS Of the congregated lakes Of The
north were cnthroned and concentrated, with
in circumference embraced by single
glance OF the eye. s.,
Here | saw, rolling and dashng at the rate
OF t,cemiy.fre huadred millions Of tons per day,
nearly one half of all the fresh water upon the
siirfhce Of the globe On the American side,
l beheld vast deluge, nne hundred feet in
breadth, with fall Of one hundred and eighty
or mighty, met fifty feet above the level Of the
gull by huge projection OF the rock, which
seems to break the descent and continuity of
the f,,d, Only to increase its fierce and over
whelning bound. And turning to the "cre-
SCENT" saw the mingled rush of foam and
tide dashing with fearful strife and emulation
-four hundred yarls Of the sheet rough and
sparry, and the remaining three hundred
deep sea-like mass 81 living green, Hing and
heaving like sheet Of emerald. Even imae-
nation failed me, and could think Of nothing
but ocean let loose from his bed, aid seeking
deeper gull below! The fury Of the wafer,
at the termination Of its fall, combined with /.
The colunncd strength OF the cataract, and the