FOUR DAYS AT ROCHESTER. 169 



of Colonel Rochester and his friends, the scheme for 

 making a water communication between the Lakes 

 and the Sea began to be eagerly discussed, and there 

 were not a few energetic representatives from ^'Roches- 

 terville" who lent their efforts towards the carrying out 

 of the plan. When the canal was completed there 

 was the wildest enthusiasm in Rochester, which would 

 perhaps have a greater benefit than any other place 

 along the route: for with her big grain and coal inter- 

 ests, her future prosperity seemed assured. 



The natural course of events followed. Improve- 

 ment and embellishment began on all sides. New 

 buildings and enterprises started up on solid foun- 

 dations, and provision was made for those who 

 might "drop out of the ranks," in the selection of 

 beautiful Mount Hope, one of the loveliest cemeteries 

 in point of natural charm in this country. It lies on 

 a wooded slope between the lake and the city, and its 

 pathwavs, shadowed by the great trees from the "forest 

 primeval," are the playgrounds for the wild little 

 creatures who make their homes there unmolested. 



Back again into the town where the sound of the 

 Falls is heard, and one thinks of the odd touch a simple 

 character has added to the traditions of the place, and 

 whose name, to a stranger, is so often associated with 

 that of Rochester. This quaint figure is none other 

 than "Sam Patch, the jumper," who met his fate by 

 leaping into the Genesee at the "Falls," and who left as 

 a legacy the warning maxim, " Be careful, or, like 

 Sam Patch, you may jump once too often." History 

 has chronicled Sam's last speech, delivered from the 

 platform, just before his fatal leap ; which, as a sample 

 of rustic oratory, is amusing. 



