JOTTINGS FROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 784, 3 November 1882, Page 2

JOTTINGS FROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

VII

Moke about Chicago—The Union Stock Yards— A, Gigantic Commerce—Detroit —i A 1 '&KAUTIFDL CiTY PUBLIC' Buildings A Monster Office “ White Bronze”—A Monument to the Citizen Soldiers who Fell in the Civil War— A Train Ferried across the Detroit Bivbr— Niagara Falls— The Waters by Night Illuminated by the Electric Light—My Impres- , signs, op, the Falls—The. a.Boma^tio .Tale. j.aT'TJ:j'■ In my fast I gave you some account'of ■the .city Chipagp sn£, tys qocial and industrial institutions. Ishould like' tp add a, few-part^culars illustrative^-the enormous 1 ‘business transacted' ’at 1 tSib Union Stock Yards. During last year 'there were received froin various parts of the country 1,498,550 head of, cattle, and 48,948 calves; 6,474,844' fat hdgi; 493i624 I sheep ; 12,909 horsey ; valued at 183,007,710 dols. These figures illustrate more forcibly than words the gigantic commerce of the place. After leaving Chicago I proceeded by the Michigan Central Railway to Detroit. We ran along all day through fine fertile country, diversified with frequent townships, and dotted all over with farms and smiling farmsteads. ■ About &.30 op, m. I arrived at Detroit. This city was founded as far back'aa 1670, by the drench, who first formed a missionary station here. But it has iquite.'outgrown itSjjprifnitiv.e character and associations. "It extends for threo rhileA along the banks'*4f the Detroit river, and runs back from the water to an average distance of two miles and a half. In appearance it is one of the cleanest and most attractive cities I have seen. The streets are wide, and shaded with trees, and in moat of the thoroughfares the side-walks are bordered with plots of grass, which add very, much to the beauty of the city. Therb i'are many handsome churches, and. some of, the public buildings superior ally the City Hall, the Custom House, the Post Office, and the Michigan Central Freight Depot. This last - mentioned structure is of vast size, 1,250 feet long and 102 feet wide, and forms but one large room, without partitions or pillars, covered by a self-supporting roof. I asc mded tbb 'tower of the- City Hall, ovdr 200 feet, and from this eminence obtained a fine bird’s-eye view of the city and its surroundings. I also paid a visit to the white bronze manufactory. This is a new industry, recently started by a joint stock company, for the construction of sepulchral monuments, and as they can produce very elegant designs, at prices naUch below the cost; of marble pr stone,, thev are rapidly gaining ground in publifc patronage, and t}ieir bronze productiona, are likely to supersede erections of the' mote costly material-,. One of r the ditectom of the company told me they had at much at eret they copld do to supply the demand, and ere lon ff would have branch estabKHlxmenta all over the, States.. the square called Campus Martius is a finFmomlment erected to the memory of the citizen soldiers of the State who fell m the civil war. My next stage was Niagara halls. A short run by the Great Western railroad brought us to the banks of Detroit river. An immense ferry-boat was in readiness, and our train, .minus the ,ppt on board. We soon reached the Canadian shore at Windsor, and resumed , our*Tup on terra firma. I could not but notice the contrast between Windsor and,Detroit, The latter all bustle, activity, and push, the former slow; sleepy, and ineyt.: Only the river divides them, but the different characteristics of the inhabitants placesthem very widely apart. This much, however, should be said in extenuation .of the comparative stagnation or Windsor, it has not the extent of back country that ils rival on the other side of the river enjoys. The scenery along the Canadian country is entirely rural, and devoid of special interest until jou approach the precincts of the city of Hamilton. The site of this place is very picturesque. It is built on a plateau of elevated ground, that winds round the foot of a range of hills, extending from Niagara, and is called “ The Mountain.” The population of the city is 27,000, and it contains a Wesleyan Female .College, some twentyfive churches, and a great number of thriving manufactories. About 6 p.m. I arrived at the suspension bridge, and leaving the train made my way to the Clifton House Hotel, on the Canadian side of the Falls. So much has been said and written about the Niagara Falls that it seems like a work of supererogation for mo to add my impressions. And yet it will not do to pass over my visit to this great natural wonder in silence. I cannot say that my first view of the Falla impressed me with amazement. Some people have said that in approaching the cascade they felt as if under the spell of a necromancer, and bound by a feeling of awe, as if in a magic circle. On the contrary I felt at first, a measure of disappointment. But the vision, instead of becoming less impressive grows upon you as you gaze, and each succeeding visit enables you to more thoroughly appreciate the grandeur of the scene. It soon became dark after my arrival, and as the windows of my room at the hotel were exactly opposite the American Falls, I could sit and watch the torrent and listen to the ceaseless roar with advantage. A chorus of all the liona that roam in the continent

of. Africa could hardly equal the deep die- - pa*on of this mighty organ of Nature. As the evening advanced, and the darkness increased, artificial lights were thrown upon the waters, varegated in huer—sometimes red, then green, and anon blue; 1 ' ■ Electrical apparatus is in use to produce these illuminations, and the effect is indescribably beautiful. Passing along the' l wooden bridge which connects the main [fand with Goat Island, the tourist looks with advantage on the immense cataract, , th|e sublimity of the scene increasing with jftvery step. Written words are noiseless, 1 and therefore cannot adequately represent the rush and roar. Descriptions in ink are utterly incompetent to pourtiay the columns of misty spray that constantly rise upward from the seething gulf below, arid the prismatic glories that glisten o’er them. It has been well said that God'has “pet His bow” in the spray cloud that hovers perpetually over the Falls; and he must be a man of cold heart and phlegmatic temperament that does not call to mind the ancient covenant as he gazes on the scene. It has been Computed that 1 , fifteen hundred millions of cubic feet qf water pass every hour over tho Horse-shoe Fall, to say nothing of the quantity leaping over the American aide. Formerly a projecting rock, called Table Bock, was a favorite resort for adventurous tourists; ■< But it exists now only in memory. ■' It fell -- with a tremendous crash some years ago, asd it .is worthy of remark that on the very day when this crag was precipitated into the foaming waters, only a . few hours before the occurrence, the engineer of the suspension bridge, not yet commenced, and several of his colleagues were standing on the treacherous granite. Had they been lost the Victoria bridge and the Grand Trunk Bailway, and other great undertakings, then in embryo, might still have been dreams of the future instead of existing realities. I drove along the Canadian shore above the rapids and visited the curious burning spring. This, is a spring of cold water that bubbles up r a shaft that has been sunk in. the earth;; - so impregnated with sulphurous gasqa r . that whan a light is lowered down 'Jthei shaft the gases ignite and a volume of flame plays over the water, giving it the appearance of liquid fire. The man in charge; inserted an iron tube down the shaft and placed a cambric handkerchief over the upper orifice, then held a light above it. The gases immediately caught fire, but no mark of incandescence remained on the handkerchief. That waa returned to its owner without so much aa .the sign of tcoich or flame. I also descended tothe rapids below the Falls by means of cars attached to endless wire ropes, operated by hydraulic power. About three miles belqw the Falla is the. , whirlpool, a wild, weird spot, where the waters circulate in unceasing eddies. No human power could extricate the unfortunate being who should happen to come within the influence of this vortex. It supposed that a submarine current exists here. In connection with this spot a romantic tale is current, which. may ; in-; » .tpreat your readers if I repeat it:— i “Some twenty years ago, indhp'glow of v sarly summer, a young stranger of pleasipg countence and parson made hia apearance at Niagara. It was at first con- „ jjectured that he was an artist, a large . portfolio, with books and musical inatru- . ments being among bis baggage. ' He waa. 4qeply impressed' with the majesty and sublimity of the cataract and 1 the 1 surrounding scenery, and expressed an intention tb remain a week, that he might ’ survey them at leisure. But the fascination tvfaich all minds of sensibility feel in presence of that great work of the. Creator, gained, .strongly upon him, and. he was heard to. say that six weeks were insufficient to become acquainted with its ‘ beauties. At the end of that period he was still unable to tear himself away, and desired to “ build there a • tabernacle,". that he might indulge .in his ' love of solitary musings, and admire at leisure the sublimity of nature. Hd applied for a spot on the Three r Sisters’ Island, on which to erect a iottage after his own model; one of the, peculiarities of which was a drawbridge to insure isolation. Circumstances forbidding compliance with this request, he took up his residence in an old house on Iris Island, which he rendered aa comfort- , able as the state of the case would admife.'| Sere he remained about eighteen months,' when he intrusion of a family hia habits of seclusion and meditation. He then quietly withdrew, and rearad/for himself a less commodious habitation near prospect Point.- When winter camel 1 * cheerful fire of wood blazed upon the hearth-, and he beguiled the long hours nf ; evening by reading and music.. It wap/ strange to hear, in such a solitude, the/ long drawn thrilling notes of the viol, or the softest melody of the flute, gushing forth from that- low-browed hut, or the ■ guitar breathing out so lightly, amid ihe.r rush and thunder of the never slumbering • torrent. Though the world of letters waa familiar to his mind, and the living world to his observation, for he had travelled widely, both in his native Europe and the;. East, he sought not association with mankind to unfold or to increase his stores of knowledge. Those who had occasionally., conversed with him spoke with equal surprise and admiration of his colloquial powers, his command of language, ap’d hia fervid eloquence; but he seldom and sparingly admitted this intercourse,studi-; ously avoiding society ; though - there-* seemed in his nature nothing of misanthropy or moroseness. On the contrary -' he showed kindness to even the humblest! animals. Birds instinctively learned this; amiable trait in character, aiid, freely entered his dwelling to receive from his hands crumbs or seeds. He waa known as the

• Hermit or Niagara. “But the absorbing delight of his soli* tary residence was communion with the Falls. Here he might be seen at- every hour of the day or night, a fervent worshipper. At the gray dawn ho went to visit them in the veil of mist; at noon he banquetted in the full splendour of their glory; beneath the soft tinting of the lunar bow ha lingered, looking for the angel whose pencil had painted them ; and at solemn midnight he knelt at the same shrine. Neither the storms of autumn, nor the piercing cold of winter, prevented his visits to the temple of his admiration There was, at this time, an extension of the Serrappin bridge by a a ngle beam of timber carried out ten feet over the

fathomless abyss, where it hung tremulously, guarded only by a rude parapet Along the beam he often passed and repassed in the darkness* of night. He even took pleasure, in grasping it with his hands, and thus suspending himself over the awful gulf ; so much had hie morbid enthusiasm taught him to revel amid the terribly sublime. Among bis favorite gratifications, was that of bathing, in which he indulged daily. One bright, but rather chilly day in the beginning of June, a man employed about the ferry saw him go into the water, and for a long time after observed his clothes to be still lying upon the bank. The popr hermit had taken his last bath ! It was supposed that cramp might have been induced by the chill of the atmosphere or the water. Still the body was not found, the depth and force of the current below being exceedingly great. In the course of their search they passed on to the whirlpool. There, amid those boiling eddies, was the body, making fearful and rapid gyrations upon the face of black waters; ‘ At some point of suction, it suddenly plunged and disappeared. Again emerging, it was fearful to see it leap naif its- length above the flood, then float motionless, as if exhausted; and, anon, spring upward and seem tostcugglja like* maniac battling with a mortal foe. For days and nights this terrible scene was prolonged. It was not until the 21st of

June, that, after many efforts, they were able to recover the body, and bear it to the desolate, cottage. There they found hk faithful dog guarding the door. Heavily had the long period worn away, while be watched fpr-hia qnly friend, and ‘ h© coming. He aerutiniaad the. approaching group autpicipualy, and would not have giyetL thsqt admittance. A> stifled wail at length ehowed hia instinctive knowledge of the master, whom the work of death hsid effeptually disguised from the eyes of mem .T On the pillow was hia pet kitten, and in different parts of the room were his guitfcr, flute, violin, portfolio, and hooka amttered—the hooka open, as if recently seed. .< It watt a touching sight; the hermit mourned by. hia humble retainers, the poor animals that loved him, and ready to be laid, by strange . bands in a foreign grave. ;' , , The,motives that led this singular and accomplished: being, learned in the languages, iHi.the.artß and sciences, improved by. extensive travel,, and gifted with per-sonal-beauty anda : feeling heart, to aeolnde himself, in the flower of youth from human Society, are still en veloped in mysAll that is known ,is his name— Francis Abbot—andthathe was a ; native of England, where hia father was a clergy- , man* and that'he received ample remittinoes for his comfort. These facts had been ascertained; but no Written papers were found to-throw additional light upon the obscurity in yrhich he had so effectually wrapped the hktoxyi.of his pilgrimage.” . _ ■ 'll could detain your readers an indefinite time, by describing the “ Cave of the ’Winds,” “ the Devil’s Hole,” “ Bloody Jlun,” “General Brook’s Monument,” and other points of interest in the vicinity of Niagara. But I forbear. It would 4ake up too much of your space, and perhaps weary the patience of your readers. JBefofe taking leave of Niagara, I will iptbrely add there is a fascination about Se 1 mighty cataract, which seems to chain, e: tourist to the spot, and make him' Cloth to leave it. The Almighty has invested Niagara with a charm —no, that is 'hardly the word—l ought to say with a power which irresistibly grasps one’s im-; agination ; and a visit to this wonder of. Nature opens a new area in existence,; and gives rise to thoughts and impressions; never to be forgotten, but which will be .apt to haunt one’s membry, as long as memory lasts. No wonder that the untutored red men of America were wont -In former days to resort periodically to thisigrand natural shrine, as the home of -the Great Spirit, and seek to propitiate “Him by the' sacrifice of a maiden sent down on the impetuous current in a banoe laden with flowers, to meet her death in the wild vortex beneath. Viator. I Sept. 1.. Wk