The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-11-08
CHARAcTER OF THE MISSISSIPPI

II has been the fashion with travellers TO talk Of
the scenery Of the Mississippi as waning grandeur
and beauty. Most certainly II has nei1her. But
there is scenery on earth more Striking The
drcary and pestilental soIiudes, uDiroeueh save by
the foot Of the indian the absence OF all hSng OBJ
ects, the huge ailisators which ios' past sppa
renty asleep, and occasional vuilure, attracted by
its impure prey ON The surface Of the waters Tie
trees, with long and hideous draPery oil pendant
moss, hutlering IN the WIND and the giant rNer,
rolling onward the vast volume Of lis dark and lurbd
waters through the wilderness the features of
OF the most dismal and Impressive landscapes on
which the eye Of man ever rested III any think,
proper To believe that such objects not la them
selves sufficient, beg 10 Gay that dIiier with him IN
point Of taste. Rocks and mountains fine thing,
undoubtedly, but they could add nothing Of sublmiy
TO the Mississippi PeIion might be- piled Osss Alp,
on Andes and still 10 the heart and perceptions OF
the spectator the Mississippi would be alone. Il caa
brook no rival, and Il finds none. No river in the
world drains SO large portion OF the eorths sur
face. Ii is the traveller Of the earth five thousand
miles, more than two-thirds the diameter OF the
globe The Imagination asks, whence come lis wa
tiers, and whittier tend they They come from the
distant regions Of vast continent, where the foot of
civilized man has never yet been planted. They
flow into ocean yet vaster the whole bed Of which
acknowledges their influence. Through what varie
ties OF climate have they passed. On what scenes Of
lonely and sublime magDlfcence have they gazed,
Have they penetrated
The hoary forests, still the bison's screen,
Where sialked the mammoth 10 his shaggy lair
Through paths and alleys, rooted with sombre green
Thousands OF years before the silent air
Was pierced by whizzDg shafts of hunters keen
In short when the traveller has asked and answer
ed these questions and thousand Others, it will be
time enough to consider how far the scenery would
be improved by rocks aud mountains He may then
be led to doubt whether any great effect be pro-
duced by combination oil objects Of dscordant cha
racter, however grand in themselves. The imagna
ton is perhaps susceptible but Of single powerful
impression at a time. Sublimity is uniformly con.
nected with unity of object. Beauty may be pro-
duced by the happy adaptation of multitude of bar
monous details but the highest sublimity of Elf c,
can proceed but from the glorious and paramount OBJ
ject which impresses its own character on every
thing around. The prevailing character Of the Mis-
sssippl is that of solemn gloom. have trodden
the passes Of Alps and Appenne, yet never felt how
awful thing is nature, until was borne on lis wa
tiers through regions desolate and uninhabited Iay
alter day, night after night, we continued driving
right downward to the South ; our vessel, like some
huge demon Of the wilderness, bearing fire in her
BOSOM and caDopying the eternal forest with the
smoke OF her nostrils How looked the hoary river
god | know not; nor what thought the alligalors.
when awakened from their slumbes by vision SO
astounding But the effect my spirits was such as
have never experienced before or since Converse
tons became odious, and passed my time in sort
Of dreamy contemplation. At night | assembled 10
the highest deck, and lay for hours gazing stlessy
on the sky, the forest, and the waters amid silence
only broken by the changing of the engine. A II this
was very pleasant; yet, till had reached New Or
leans could scarcely have smiled at the best joke
IN the world and as for raising laugh, ii would
have been quite as easy TO quadrae the circle Ham
iItons Men and Manners IN america.