Alida; or, Miscellaneous Sketches of Incidents During the Late American War.

by Frank V. Webster

  CHAPTER XXV.

  When first beside the lake thy turrets rose, Extending far around in simple pride, A novel beauty o'er the landscape throws, Where gentle waters softly murmuring glide.

  At Utica the gentlemen hired a stage to visit the Falls of Trenton,distant fourteen miles. They were accompanied in this route by a numberof passengers from New-York and North Carolina. They crossed the Mohawkupon a covered wooden bridge. After this the road gradually ascended toa forest, which was in part cleared for new fields. At a little distancefrom the falls is a tavern, where they left the carriage, and went onfoot through thick woods, from which a pair of stairs conducted to thefalls. The beautiful mass of green around, the azure sky, the large andvariegated rocks, and the three falls, produce a most happy effect. Therocks of these falls are so excavated by the water, that they have theform of a common kettle. The upper falls, which are about ninety feethigh, are the grandest. They dined at the tavern, and towards eveningreturned to Utica.

  The day was fine and pleasant. They regretted that it was too late, upontheir return thither, to visit a hydrostatic lock designed to weigh theboats which pass on the canal. Having seen enough of the canal, andbeing anxious to see the newly-settled country between this place andNiagara, they continued their journey the next day in the stage coach.With this intention they left Utica at four o'clock in the morning, andthe same day arrived at Auburn, distant seventy-three miles. They passedthrough twelve villages on their route from Utica to Auburn. BetweenManchester and Vernon day dawned, and they found themselves in a ratherwild country, in the midst of a wilderness. Behind the village ofOneida, the road led along a considerable hill, from which they had abeautiful view of Oneida lake, which presented the appearance of a largestream. Here there were a number of extensive prospects, which, however,as there was but little cultivated land and few houses, were ratheruniform. Something further on, after they had left Oneida, they came toa small lake, called Salt Lake, which is in the midst of a forest, andhas on its banks three picturesquely situated towns, Liverpool, Salina,and Syracuse. At Salina are rich salt springs, the water of which iscollected in reservoirs, and it is evaporated by the heat of the sun toprocure the salt. Beyond Sullivan they passed through the village ofChitteningo. A branch of the Erie canal forms a kind of harbour at thisplace. They dined at Manlius, a new village. From the canal, which formsan angle here, they drove in a southerly direction in order to keep onthe plains. The two Onondago villages are pleasant places.

  Beyond Marcellus the night unfortunately closed in, which preventedtheir seeing Skaneateles Lake, as well as the town of the same name.About nine o'clock in the evening they arrived at Auburn, and found goodaccommodations at one of the public houses.

  At four o'clock next morning they again set out in the stage coach forRochester, distant sixty-nine miles. It was just day-light when theyarrived in the vicinity of Cayuga, on the lake of the same name. Thislake empties into the Seneca river, which afterwards unites with theMohawk. They crossed the lake, not far from its mouth, on a woodenbridge one mile in length. On the opposite side of the lake is a largetoll-house. At a short distance from this they arrived at Seneca Falls,so called in consequence of the little falls of the Seneca river, whichare close by, and are chiefly formed by a mill-dam. Beyond Waterloo theroad in some places was made of logs, so that the passengers were verydisagreeably jolted. Geneva is situated at the north point of SenecaLake. The town derives its name from its similarity of situation toGeneva in Switzerland. The Franklin hotel, situated on the bank of thelake, is both spacious and beautiful.

  Canandaigua, which lies on the north point of the lake of the same name,is an extremely pleasant town. The court was sitting here, and there wasa large collection of people, so that the town exhibited a very livelyappearance. At this place the road separates, the left goes throughBatavia and several small villages to Buffalo on Lake Erie; the right toRochester, and thence to Lake Ontario and the Falls of Niagara. And asthis road again approaches the Erie canal, it was said to be the mostinteresting; on this account it was given the preference, though thelongest route. They left Canandaigua in the afternoon, and rode throughVictor, Mendon, and Pittsford, to Rochester. They arrived at Rochesterat half-past eight o'clock in the evening, and took lodgings at theEagle tavern. They crossed the Genessee river, which divides Rochesterinto two parts, on a wooden bridge built firmly and properly, and thenext morning walked through the town. Several hundred yards below thebridge the Genessee river is about two hundred yards wide, and has afall of ninety-five feet. Above the falls is a race which conducts thewater to several mills, and it again flows up into the river below thefalls, where it forms three beautiful cascades.

  Rochester is one of the most flourishing towns in the state of New-York.At this place the Erie canal is carried over the Genessee river by astone aqueduct bridge. This aqueduct, which is about one hundred yardsabove the Genessee Falls, rests upon a slate rock, and is seven hundredand eighty feet long.

  The party now left Rochester at nine o'clock, and went on board thecanal packet-boat Ohio. The canal, between Lockport and Rochester, runsthe distance of sixty-three miles through a tolerably level country, andnorth of the Rochester ridge. This ridge consists of a series of rocks,which form the chain of mountains which commences north of Lake Erie,stretches eastward to the Niagara river, confines it, and forms itsfalls; then continues its course, and forms the different falls whichare north of Lake Ontario, and is at length lost in the neighbourhood ofthe Hudson. The canal runs a distance through sombre forests, when theyreached Lockport on the 20th of August, about seven o'clock in themorning. At this place the canal is carried over the ridge by five largelocks, through which the water is raised to the height of seventy-sixfeet. The locks are ten in number, being arranged in two parallel rows,so that while the boats ascend in one row, they may descend at the sametime in the other.

  Lockport is an extremely pleasant place, and is situated just above thelocks. At Lockport they took a dearborn for Buffalo, where they wereanxious to go, in order to see the union of the canal with Lake Erie.Though a good stage runs between Lockport and the Falls of Niagara, theywent in this bad vehicle five miles to the navigable part of the canal.They then took passage in a boat at Cottensburgh. At this place also,the canal is cut through a rock to the depth of about thirty feet. Abouttwo or three miles farther on it terminates in the Tonawanta creek,which serves as a canal for twelve miles. The creek is about fifty yardswide, and runs through a dense and beautiful forest. At the new town ofTonawanta, the creek unites with the Niagara river, where the sluiceleads off. At this place also Alida and her company had the first viewof the Niagara river, which conveys the waters of Lake Erie into LakeOntario, from the other extremity of which flows the St. Lawrence. Inthis river they observed Grand Island. During the late war, the Niagara,it is well known, formed the boundary line between the United States andthe British provinces in Upper Canada, and this island bore testimony ofthe conflict.