XXVI. 



BUTTERMILK GORGE. 



While it is generally agreed that the Fajl Creek 

 Gorge far surpasses all others in the extent of the 

 grandeur, beauty, and variety of its scenery, there is a 

 great difference of opinion as to which should occupy 

 the second place. Among the contestants for this fair 

 honor is Buttermilk Ravine. A trip to this romantic 

 glen is best made by going two miles down the Newfield 

 Valley on the level road leading out from Cayuga street, 

 and winding along the base of South Hill until the 

 gorge is reached, and returning by the road which 

 crosses a small bridge spanning the upper end of the 

 ravine. 



The yawning mouth of the gorge down from whose 

 dark depths a mountain torrent comes rushing, bursts 

 suddenly upon the view. Follow up a path a few rods 

 along the south side of the bed of the creek, past the 

 remains of an old saw mill, to the foot of the first and 

 grandest fall. From the whiteness of the foaming wa- 

 ter it is aptly named ' ' Buttermilk Fall. ' ' The sloping 

 face of the rock down which the glistening foam de- 

 scends, is a moderately steep flight of shaly stairs over- 

 grown with green moss and gray lichens, and honey- 

 combed with pot-holes. Its crest is a hundred feet above 

 the plain, and the slope, easy of ascent to the average 

 climber, measures three hundred and fifty feet. A little 



