, 1865-09-18
Editorial Cosrespondenre.l


Although domiciled in lie pleasant home ol
Judge Il. B. Underli1l, Of Stockton, let us go
back to the TO Semitic valley and for day o,
two longer, in Imagination at least,' ramble
among the sublime objects OF this mqst won,
derful region. And first let rs visit the
PALS or THE TO sEAtrE-
II Is now small stream, but by observing
tue wide space It covers carly In the season,
the tremendous rocks 1t has eyideptly brought
down from tho gosses high up in tho moan-
tains, the huge pines it has uprooted md car
ried down In its md career, one can readily
Imagine what torrent It must be in May and
June, when the sun me1ts the snows at its
sonrce, ten to twenty feet deep, that haye
accumulated during the previous winter.
Horace Greeley, who visited this valley In
1850, pronounced the falls Of the 10 Semitic
ia humbug." Tourists who visit the valley
fects Of tie toreent T. when n It's streusth sne d,
neither Of which the philoso opher did, Will be
very sure to pronounce his oracular opinion
"a fumbug." The fact Is be arrived here IN
hour past midnight md left the nextmozuine,
nnd hence took no palms to obtain accuEate
information On the subject, about which he
as Mr.. Greeley saw 1t, from the door OF the
taken into the account, It appears to be q Tery
insignificant affair. But lot us examine
figures and the fail itself more infinitely. The
rock over which The stream pours l. 2,G3I
stand, or inst about half mile high. The
first perpendicular tall Is i 600 feet. Long be-
fore the wafer reaches the basin below, espe-
clally when there Is even slight breeze, 1t
becomes first white yail Of mere gauze,
through which the dark vail Of eranite Is
d3e%t }1z-r = T.
tirels aside, to be gathered up In the form Of
mist upon the rocks aud hurried forward In
crystal stream through the gorge to the lower.
fall. In May and June, from the effects which
NE poticed,, We can readily imagine
that this Is the finest, rs 1t Is the
highest fall on the continent, md 50 far as we
now remember. Il is the highest and the finest
IN the world. After leaving tho foot Of the
first fall, the strcam runs through gorge and
forms minor cascades, falling 4:N feet Ia less
than quarter of mile, where it again leaps
from perpendicular rock 500 feet high. We
clambcTed up among the huge granite boul-
ders to the basin at the foot Of this
the rocks somewhat carefully. AT ser
era1 places where tho debris brought
down from aboyc strikes 1t, the surface fs
worn perfectly smooth at an angle a1ightly
Inclined from q perpendicular; and perhaps
forty feet abovo the basin 1t lcares the rock
which there Is worn at q still higher nng1e,
showing conclusiyely that the summit Of tho
The face of tho curvature in the mountain
oyer which the upper full now pours, gives
un1nistnkab1c evidence that 1t once had an
inside wall of granite in front Of 1t, and we
can therefore readily believe that before this
wall WAS broken oil, the first and low highest
1nu was here, and that It was poured into this
basin from tle eewf'deTing height Of serenity
fully as it comes down the face
ofthesock. First It is compact but soon IT sep
arates into perhaps dozen jets, each with
nucleus hrid together by cohesive attraction
which rapidly'eeparates untfl the whole is dis
solved into vapor and reaches the basin in
he wind md upon Tic bright clouds thus
formed the sun spreads lis beautiful bow Of
promise. To the left Of the fall where the
gent1cr slops has permitted dlsentegFnted
rock to form soil, is large bed Of beautiful
flowers. We might fill column with de-
scription Of the interesting objects found
about the 10 Semitic fall, but. let US leave It
let Us 60 up the Alerced river two miles and
q half on horseback, and having scrambled US.
much further over and among the huge
bouldeEs, stand In the presence Of tic
-" TERNAL FALLS. -. :
Though the river docs not now 'contain
tithe Of the water It gathers in June from the
mountain range, from ,moto 5000 feet high,
crilege for Nr. Greeley to call tho Vernal Fails
q "lumb hug" The whole river leaps from
the top Of a perpendicular wall Of granite $50
feet high that Is more than tWice the height
Of Niagnrn. Lcng before 1t reaches the largo
basin at the foot Of the fall It Is dissolved into
mist, or into . cease!es. and tremendous
shower, whose deep and su1lcn roar Is echoed
far away among the gorges Of the mountains.
to the. right and left to make why
for the uugry waters; they are
scarcely pistol shot apart
The right wall smooth, dark and threatening,
shoots up at at ie37 t"S & 1 Ies feet abovs s
broken, whlle directly back of the fall Is Bel
lows Bntc, ,as high rs either, q aome-like mass
Of granite, which, with tie crags on'efther
side, maize q deep sombrc framework for the
fall, awe~insplring and fenEfu]1y sublime. No
that literature or poetry can COM
nanl, no pencil guided by the hand cven Of
or Church, can 50 impress the mind
and make It realize what Is fell when alone
the soul strives TO grasp the grand realities
of this scene. Visit It and be convinced that
this IS ntern}ly true.
But before exhausting our List Of adjectives
and our emotions as well, let us climb up the
rocks ut the Eight Of the fal], and then the
pendicular cliff over which the river leaps,
and there, only half q mile above, Is the
g.. NEVADA FALL -
This, according 10 the most accurate meas-
uremcnts yet taken, Is seven hundred. feet
high. It's surroundings are not SO striking
a1a a9er sqsnG M but a' Sovs 81 .90se Bn na@ ne
the leit, md there i weird so7emnity In tbs
dark granite crags which makes you speak