Litchfield enquirer., 1861-07-25
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THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1861.
NIAGARA FALLS.-MADISOM WIS.
 Bu q Tourist

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 NIAGARA FALLS.-MADISOM, WIS.
 By Tourist.
 NIAGARA FALLS July Sd, 1861.
 DEAR EDITOR Since last wrote from Mil waukie, the turns of fortune have landed me here, at one of the famous watering places" of Am erica. So we'll known are the manifold charms and wonders of this locality and so often have they been extolled, that you will not, of course, expect from me any attempt at descrip. tion. The scenes however, are such that they must be often seen to be fully appreciated.- There is wondrous fascination about the great Cataract, which throws its cords more and more closely around one, every time that he comes within its reach. The first feeling is oftenest one of disappointment, but study reveals the true magnitude of the scenery, and disappoint- ment is swallowed up in admiration and wonder. have seen the Falls often, but never have the waters borne richer color, the spray risen more gracefully, the white foam in the basin at their feet, looked more beaten and creamy, or the idea of majestic force been more fully impressed, than now.
 The season" thus far has been, by no means, as brilliant as usual Hard times, political dis turbances, the diversion of southern cash into forced loans and determination among North erners to retrench private expenses that they may do more to sustain the government, have mainly contributed to this result. Neither are there any of those fictitious attractions here now, which have aourshed-most incongruously almost every lover of nature will say-for two or three years. Blondin is in London balancing on the tight rope for the edifcation of the English gentry, as nicely as they balance upon the doc Urine of neutrality only with far better grace. DeLave found his limitations of Blondn over the seething caldron beneath the Falls, too haz- ardous to prove fascinating to the performer and has left the field. Even the little Maid of the Mist, that, for years, has industrously piled up into the very spray of the falling waters, has gone to a more quiet arena. For several years she has not paid expenses, and this spring she was sold to parties in Canada provided she were safely delivered there. An attachment was out against her and the decision of the question go" or "no go' was imminent So one fine afternoon, before any one was expecting it, she slipped from her moorngs with only three per sons on board headed for the middle of the stream and in seventeen minutes was at Lewis Il I = ! time is evidence of the mretuosity of the cur rent although she was, of course, obliged to move a little faster than the current to gain steerage. Her ongines worked steadily through the whole passage, but her wheel played fast and loose so vigorously, that it was dangerous for the pilot to attempt to touch it in the rapids un- der the Suspension Bridge. She went through without accident save the loss ofthe smoke stack, which huge wave swept overheard in the very midst of those rapids. To any one, who has seen the furious ashings of the water from side to side in that narrow chasn,, the eddying whirls of the waves of the Whirlpool or the fierce cur rent past the Devils Hole still farther down. the only wonder is, that she was not dashed to pieces immediately, for any one of these places looks just fitted to do that very thing. The pas sage will probably never be made again, for those engaged in it this time declare-very e. 1uciously l have no doubt--that they had no stomach for second trial, and three more such fool-hardy chaps, it will be difficult to get to- gether anywhere. But in my attention to things hereabouts l am like to forget to say something of Madison, Wis, as promised in my last.
 Madison is perhaps the most beautifully locat- ed city in the whole West-certainy it is of any that have seen. Laying no claim to the pos session of those marked commercial advantages, which have made such cities as Milwaukie and Chicago marvels of wealth, size and population within the memory of single generation, it is nevertheless the center of magnificent farming country and 6 good place of business. Being the seat of the state government and of the state and county courts, lawyers, politicians and clients do there congregate even more extensive ly than at the ancient seat of Justice on Litch- field Hill. Whether there is any great posihve advantage in having there so many thrifty limbs" of the law,-some seventy, in a popula- ton of ten thousand--or one lawyer to one hun dred and forty persons men, women and chil- dren-or, whether Justice like tree ceases to bear good fruits when it has too many branches, deponent saith not Let every one decide accord ing to his-profession. The situation of the I l.ae.. IT. ridge, or rather two ridges with hollow inter- vening, between two fine lakes sometimes called Third and Fourth lakes and sometimes by their Indian names, 1rinona and Tuendota respective ly. Third Lake lies on the eastern side. Its general shape is that of an elongated oval with blunted ends, and it is, should judge little larger than Bantam Lake. Its waters are rath- CT shallow, not averaging probably over twenty feet but the land slopes very gracefully toward it on all sides and its waters have that beautiful green tinge, which is a sign of great purity and transparency. This is indeed a marked feature in both lakes, for the water is so clear that the bottom is visible at considerable depths. The Milwaukie and Prairie du Cheu R. R. crosses the lower end of Third Lake on an embarkment with occasional stretches of "piling." Fourth Lake is considerably larger, wider and deeper and is, if possible, more beautiful. Its shores are rather bolder and its average depth about forty feet. Its surface is subject to frequent squalls and is almost continually in motion
 Rather on the northwestern shore is the spot l C. { .s4 i,