526 



FARMERS' REGISTER— VALLEY OF THE KANAWHA- 



].\ue I ist which hovers aloiio; the yawniii": chasm 

 beneath, and is visible through the variegated foli- 

 ji^c, — impresses the mind with vague and unde- 

 fined images of danger ; and indeed it woukl be well 

 if (he terrors which are sometimes inspired were 

 tiiose of imagination only, — for I have been credibly 

 informed that in more than one instance, the lives of 

 travellers have been exposed to imminent peril. 

 At one of those narrow defiles, the spot was pointed 

 out where the stage with eight passengers and 

 driver rolled down a steep declivity of fifty feet. 

 Fortunately the nature of the ground arrested its 

 downward course, and still more fortunately, I had 

 almost said miraculously, although the luckless 

 vehicle turned two or three somersets and was ac- 

 tually shattered into fragments, neither horse nor 

 passenger suffered material injury. Notwilhstand- 

 ino" these disasters which occasionally await .the 

 traveller, this important and convenient highway 

 which unites the east and west, is a noble monu- 

 ment of skill, enterprise and labor. In its vast 

 utility to the country which it intersects, it may 

 justly be compared to the introduction of steam 

 navi""ation on our western waters. Distance and 

 time are in a great measure overcome, or percep- 

 tibly diminished, and a journey which was once 

 performed w ith insupportable fatigue and delay, is 

 now achieved in one fourth of liie time, and with 

 comparative ease. Before reaching the Valley of 

 the Kanawha, the traveller is feasted by the sub- 

 lime and picturesque scenery from the cliffs of 

 yew river, which is one of the principal tributa- 

 ries to the Kanawha. One of these clitrs, has been 

 Ion"- known by the name of the Hawk's xVesi — 

 but more recently caUed Marshall's Pillar, in 

 honor of the venerable Chief Justice who as one 

 of the State Commissioners in 1812, stood in per- 

 sjn upon its fearful brink and sounded its exact 

 depth to the river margin. Every one has heard 

 of the far-famed falls of Niagara — and yet I doubt 

 if the beholder of that wonderful cataract ever ex- 

 perienced more of the true sublime, than the grand 

 and elevating prospect from Marshall's Pillar, is 

 apt to inspire. Imagine yourself standing upon 

 the projecting point of' a perpendicular rock, 1200 

 feet from the valley below. Before you, as you 

 look to the east, the New river is seen at the dis- 

 tance perhaps of several miles, winding or rather 

 rushing tumbling and foaming through the tow- 

 ering cliffs which environ it. Sweeping by the 

 loftv promontory on which you stand, it suddenly 

 turns its course in a south west direction, and pre- 

 sents in the whole distance, several beautiful cas- 

 cades, which send to the listening ear the far off, 

 but lulling sound of their waters. The clifls them- 

 selves, judging by the horizontal and correspond- 

 ing strata of rock on either side, seem to have been 

 originally united, but torn asunder by some strong 

 convulsion of nature, in order to give free passage 

 to the narrow but angry torrent which rolls ma- 

 jestically at their feet. The autumnal season gives 

 to this imposing picture a magnificent and gorge- 

 ous drapery of which no man whose vision has 

 been confined to the lowland scenery has the 

 slightest conception. On one side a dark outline 

 js defined by the shadow from the opposite 

 cliflfs, which leaving the base of the mountain 

 of a sombre brown, presents its summits shining 

 with the rich and mellow tints of an October sun. 

 In gazing from the dizzy height where the specta- 

 tor is perched amidst sublime and solitary deserts, 



it requires but little effort of fancy to portray the 

 haggard and inspired bard of Gray, standing 



" On a rock whose haughty brow 

 Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood." 



No hostile Edward it is true, is marching through 

 this wilderness with his embattled legions, to vic- 

 tory and slaughter; on the contrary, a profound 

 stillness prevails, which adds interest and solemnity 

 to the scene — a stillness which is disturbed by noth- 

 ing save the scarcely audible murmurs of the distant 

 wave. So sublime indeed is the elevation of the cliff, 

 that whilst nothing seems easier than to cast from 

 its beetling verge, a pebble info the bed of the river, 

 the most powerful arm is often foiled in the at- 

 tempt. 



After feasting on the sublime repast which na- 

 ture spreads before the eye of tlie tourist on these 

 romantic cliffs, he is better prepared to enjoy by 

 contrast his descent into the fi^rtile and lovely vale 

 of the Kanawha. That beautiful streatii is formed 

 by the junction of the Gauley and New rivers, at the 

 base of the Gauley mountains. A short distance 

 only below the point where their waters mingle, 

 the ear of the traveller is saluted by the roar of the 

 Great Falls — a fine cataract of twenty-two feet 

 over a natural dam of rock which sj)reads irregu- 

 larly across the Kanawha. I should judge from 

 the sketches of the Great Niagara, by artists and 

 picturesque tourists, that this was its copy in min- 

 iature. Certain it is, that on approaching the ca- 

 taract which you can easily do, over the vast masses 

 of naked rock, which rise from the bed of the 

 river — you feel the effect of the spectacle in all its 

 sublimity.' I will not say as Byron said of the 

 cascade of Velino, that it is "horribly beautiful" — 

 or that 



" An Iris sits, midst its infernal surge, 

 I i'ae liope upon a death bed." 

 But whilst there is nothing which awakens infer- 

 nal images in the cataract of Kaiuiwha,I saw dis- 

 tinctly the rainbow reposing its brilliant arch 

 upon the white foam of the waters. Whatever 

 disappointment, however, the limner might expe- 

 rience in his visit to this interesting spot, the epi- 

 cure would meet with none at the spacious hotel 

 which stands opposite the falls. To all lovers of 

 the finny tribe, it is a perfect paradise. Here are 

 fish, which if not unknown, are yet untalked of on 

 the borders of oui" Atlantic streams. The deli- 

 cious black perch, the grennel, the blue cat, the 

 fine flavored liuffilo, and a species of sturgeon all 

 abound in profusion, and all present their respec- 

 tive claims to preference. If to these luxuries of 

 the water, be added w ild fowl, and forest game, 

 which are found in abundance, the most fastidious 

 gourmand might desire no higher fruition than is 

 afforded in this favored region. 



For many miles after leaving the falls, the Kana- 

 wha Valley is narrow — winding — and unprepos- 

 sessing, its gigantic and various growth is indeed 

 interesting to the lowland traveller — and the vast 

 masses of rock which tower in magnificent pride 

 to the very summit of the mountains — are objects 

 of curiosity and attention. At the same period in 

 autumn, nature was perceptibly not so far in the 

 " sear and yellow leaf," as in the more mountain- 

 ous and elevated region. Her robe was fresher 

 and greener, but yet there was not wanting that 

 splendid variety and intermixture of colors which 

 distinguish the western forests. The bright 



