SOURCE OF ST. Peter's river. 139 



appearance of this beautiful spot, so that we saw it in all 

 its wild beauties ; no ladders have been erected to facili- 

 tate the descent ; no trees felled to clear the prospect ; we 

 were therefore obliged to satisfy ourselves with that view 

 of it which the rock naturally presents. The finest pros- 

 pect is one taken at a short distance below, but nearly on 

 the same level with the upper channel of the river. Mr. 

 Se3nBour's view, Plate 12, is taken from that spot ; it pre- 

 sents but a small portion of the fall. The observer situated 

 in the manner of the figure in the plate, can at one glance 

 catch the whole sheet of water ; but in order to convey 

 such a view on paper, it would require that the painter 

 should place himself on the lower level of the river, hav- 

 ing the whole fall before him. Mr. Seymour could not 

 obtain such a view, as the vertical nature of the cleft 

 in the rock prevents a descent to the bed of the river ; 

 we were informed that canoes had sometimes ascended the 

 stream to a small rocky island, situated about two hundred 

 and fifty yards below the fall, but this attempt was not 

 made, as it would have been attended with danger to our 

 canoes, w^hich in our situation were too valuable to be ha- 

 zarded. The chasm, into which the water falls, is bounded 

 for several miles by bluffs of rocks which rise to a height 

 of upwards of one hundred and fifty feet. They are of a 

 dark colour, that contrasts strongly with the white foam 

 of the waters. 



Directly opposite to the place from which we contem- 

 plated the fall, there is in the rock a cavity, which, in the 

 superstitious legends of the Indians, is regarded as the re- 

 sidence of the evil spirit. The entrance to this cavity is 

 scarcely large enough to admit a man. About a quarter of a 

 mile below the fall there is a sort of cove in the right bank ; 

 it is about three hundred yards in diameter, and bounded 



