SOLON ROBINSON, 1841 253 



thinks that water rotting may be profitably adopted in 

 many places. 



Having spent just such a time as agricultural brethren 

 should always spend together, my friend ordered his 

 carriage to the door early on Monday morning, and took 

 me into Maysville, six miles, in time to take the morning 

 boat for Cincinnati, which is about 60 miles below. Al- 

 though this is "the river of beauty," it is now so sunk 

 below the level of the rich bottom lands upon its banks, 

 that we were more interested in viewing our remarkable 

 proximity to the bottom of the stream, than looking at 

 the farms along the shore, except those which are ele- 

 vated upon the sides of the ranges of high hills that 

 every where hem in the valley of almost all the great 

 western streams. It may be interesting to some, that I 

 should say that the Ohio varies 60 feet, from low to high 

 water. The bottom lands are very broad and level, and 

 in the great flood of 1832, were covered in many places 

 from hill to hill, producing such devastation and distress 

 as only can be known to the "dwellers upon the mighty 

 waters." This great and flourishing city of the west, is 

 built upon the "first and second bottom," the upper level 

 being some 60 feet higher than the first, which was found 

 by the flood of 1832 to be several feet too low, for the 

 whole of its broad surface was completely submerged, 

 so that large steamers traversed the most populous and 

 business streets. Having formerly been a resident here, 

 when I first came to the west, I was enabled after an 

 absence of a dozen years, to realize the magic like change 

 that is so rapidly going on throughout the Great West. 

 I wish I could truly say that it was in all cases a change 

 that brought a great increase of human happiness in its 

 train. But until men cease to look for wealth and happi- 

 ness in connection only, and for honor and respectability 

 only in towns and cities, we must expect to see crime 

 and degradation as the accompaniments of what we are 

 prone to call "great improvements." 



But amid all the change that I see here, I find one 



