The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-09-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 5, 1884.
Finding the capital very dull, with the
govern ment officials distributed around
amongst the various watering places, your
correspondent took flying vacation last
week and saw more sights than are to be
seen in Washington just now. Everybody
has heard, late years, of Watkins Glen,
but everybody has not yet seen it, though
Judging from the stream of travel in that
direction at this season of the year, every
body will have seen it some of these days.
Having had my interest aroused by the
enthusiastic accounts OF friends who
have been there, l concluded l would
take time enough to make trip to the
new wonder, and l have never taken
similar journey which proved more en-
joyable or more replete with interesting
features-not even excepting my first
trip to Niagara.
Watkins Glen is one of the greatest
natural wonders on this continent. /
have spoken of it as a new wonder be-
cause its fame has but recently gone
forth, but that great crevise in those vast
lodges of rocks with its wonderful cav
erns and beautiful cascades was probably
there when Columbus discovered America.
There is no telling how many centuries of
time the elements have been employed in
working out the grand aggregation of
wonders and beauties which are here
presented. Fifty years ago, only on the
more complete maps of New York could
be found the little town of jefferson at
the head of Seneca Lake. Later the name
was changed to Watkins, and the North
ern Central Railway pushed its line down
the Chemung Valley, touching the town
on its route to Canandaigua. Soon after
this the Glen began to attract attention,
and now palatial steamers pillow through
the blue lake where within the memory
of man, bark canoes tossed on the waves
or darted in the shadows of dropping
trees. Groves until lately the dark re-
treat of night birds, unvisted save by the
hunter, are thronged with daily picnics,
while every jutting point, where once the
now the site of summer cottage or gay
with the tents and banners of camping
parties.
The space of this letter is insufficient
for detailed description of the Glen or
its surroundings, and | can indulge in on
ly a few generalities. This canon as it
may properly be called is one of the most
remarkable yet explored by man 1t is a
vertical rift or gorge in a mountainous
bluff, with walls varying in height from
200 to nearly 400 feet, through which rush.
es mountain brook of purest water; now
roaring and tumbling over rocks in foam
ing cascades, aSbin plunging over lodges
In beautiful falls, and anon edylng about
in quiet little lakelets in the deep ravine
down upon which from high rugged crags
or rustic little bridges the tourist NAV
look and meet his or her face in the wa
ter. The Glen is divided into sections
each of which is given a distinctly ename
IN accord with some one of its many beau
tifnl or strange and wonderful features
The division at the entrance is called Gler
Alpha, and the section at the terminus
about three miles above, Glen Omega
Near the latter point the Glen is crossed
by the Syracuse, Geneva & Corning Rail
way, over an iron bridge at height o.
1875 feet ten inches above the water. opt
of the handsomest in the State. A shor
distance above the entrance to Glen AL
pha, at height of nearly 100 feet, reach.
ed by beautiful stairway broken by
platforms for resting places, is a broad
safe bridge across the chasm, from which
an excellent view of Minnehaha Falls il
obtained, which is one of the pretties
cascades in the Glen Further I'D, tn,
rocks assume all sorts of fanciful shapes
impending, depending, and quite perpen
dicular, until at a point, the high ant
rugged walls draw close togetherifornin!
Cascade Cavern, where the water fall
over the rocks nearly 100 into caver-
nous pool below.
Not the least of the attractions of so