River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1876-11-02

and the new Journals OF pleasure trips
that have come down to us have per-
manent value for the light which they
throw on the condition of the United
States at the organization of the gov
eminent. Two records of such jour-
neys have recently been discovered in
manuscript, and printed for the first
time. The first is an account of jour-
ney to the White mountains in July,
1854, by the Rev. DR.. Jeremy Belknap
and small company of friends, which
viii form part of the Belknap papers
now nearly ready for publication by
the Massachusetts, Historical Society,
and of which a few copies have been
separately printed. DR.. Belknap's
Journal is marked by his characters
tic keenness of observation and accura-
cy of statement, and will be found to
be an interesting and valuable mono
graph. 1t has been carefully edited
by the well-known and thoroughly
equipped antiquary, Mr.. Charles Deane,
who has added all needful editorial
illustration, and prefixed short intro
duction.
The other diary is amuch more elab
crate production, and contains jour-
nal of tour to the Niagara Falls in
the summer of 1905. The writer was
the Hon. Timothy Biglow,. for several
years speaker of the Massachusetts
House of representatives, and his
| travelling companions were prominent
merchants of Boston, Mr.. Samuel p.
/ Gardner, Mai. John Williams, and Tim
othy Williams, Esq. A fifth gentleman.
also a merchant of Boston, Mr.. Ma
thaniel G. Lee, started. but, for some
reason which is not explained, left the
party at Albany, and returned home.
the journey from Albany was perform.
ed partly in their own carriage, and
partly in stages and wagons, and occu-
/ pied IL days. As Springfield was not
ON the direct route, they determined
to go by way of Northampton, where
they visited Gov. Strong, and "were
very politely received" The govern
or had forgiven a little breach of ETH
Guette which had occurred the day be-
fore, the account of which is too
characteristic of the feelings then en-
tertained for pf rsons in authority not
to be quoted here. ''Gov. Strong had
set out from / CHICHESTER before us but
| we had passed. him rather rudely in
Spencer, owing to the thoughtlessness
Of our driver. Having slackened our
pace till he again overlook us, we
made the best apology for our incivil-
ity that the case admitted, by laying
he blame where it properly belonged.
Our apology was accepted.
Mr.. BigelOw had never seen the
Hudson, and our travellers found 1t
'more respectable in magnitude than
we had anticipated" The next day he
viewed the place, and found many oh
iects to excite attention and crafty
the curiosity of man who had never
before been out of New England. The
, old Dutch church and many other
| ancient Dutch buildings, in the Gothic
style, are striking monuments of the
taste of the age and nation of the first
settlers here. But Dutch fashions
and language, and even Dutch inhab-
; itants seem to be fast wearing out.
ALI the new buildings are on an I'M
, proved construction, and one would
: now almost as soon think of employing
Z Dutch drawing-master here rs a
Dutch architect" Schenectady seemed
ssnot to be word fitted for common
organs of Speech and Mr.. Bigelow
recognized six different ways of pro-
nouncing it,-Snackady being much
! the most common. Utica is described
as "a little city, and contains several
elegant dwelling-houses,s some of which
are of brick and few of stone, to-
, gether with great number of stores
and manufactures of different kinds.
of the salt springs in the nelghbor'
hood of Syracuse and at Cayuga there
are interesting notices, as there are al.
so of the sulphur springs near Geneva
: At Canandaigua the population was
RAPIDLY increasing, as malIy as thou
| sand families having migrated to that
region in the previous year, two-thirds
of whom were from New England. AT
Batavia we read that the land has only
. been cleared three years, and sit is
, now a considerable village. Here is a
large building, nearly finished, intend
f ed for q courthouse, Jail, and hotel,
under the same roof. The tavern was
poor, and our travellers were told that
, their ''sheets were clean, fol-
, they had been slept in but few times
, since they were washed" The next
! morning they bleakfasted at another
tavern five miles off, log house about
| u feet square, with only one room,
? scarcely any furniture, and not enough
: utensils to serve them comfortably.
.'Taverns like Luke's,' we are told,
; ''are not uncommon in this vicinity
; almost every hut we saw had sign
! hung out on pole or stump, announc-
, ING that it was an inn." At the mouth
of Buffalo creek, where they learned
that the inhabitants lived principally
by trading with the Indians, they
crossed the Niagara river, and all but
one of the party found themselves for
the first time in British dominions.
They did not spend much time at
the falls, but the account of what they
saw is interesting and suggestive.
Even then there was strong evidence
that the falls had receded up the river,
and that the work of destruction was
still going on. The Horseshoe fall,
however, was much more true to its
name than it now is, though the toe
had a sharp angle. Mr.. Bigelow was
quite sure that it would be impossible
to pass behind the sheet of water which
forms the Horseshoe fall Indeed,
were there a firm foundation to travel
on behind the water, and could one
with safety be placed there, it would
require a miracle to prevent his being
Immediately suffocated. After day
at the falls, the party pursued their
journey down the Canadian bank, and,
embarking at Niagara, went to Mon
treal by water, which they reached in
six days, having experienced on the
way many discomforts and some perils.
ITO have accomplished so arduous
an undertaking afforded us no small
satisfaction" Mr.. BigelOw writes,
'but it would not be easy to persuade
any of us to repeat this part of our ex-
cursion." Montreal, they were told
by gentleman who had travelled in
France, was ''the exact representation
of a French village. Its appearance