197 
can have excavated this deep chasm. An observer of similar 
disposition may now stand on the margin of the great gorge of 
the Genesee at Portage and say that it is impossible for this river 
to have worn it to the depth of 350 feet and a breadth of 600 
feet. But the Genesee was once a more powerful stream, and it 
has flowed in its present direction longer than we are usually ac- 
customed to consider as the age of the world.”’ How true this 
prophecy was is evidenced by the trees and shrubs, and grass 
and other herbs now securing a firm foothold on this plateau. 
Fic. 36. Table rock, with the flume to the left, and cathedral rock, as seen from the 
left bank. 
Leaving this beautiful region of the lower fall, we will return 
to the upper portions of the park, traversing this time, however, 
not the path along the brink of the gorge, but the road inland 
which passes through the farm lands, comprising several hun- 
dred acres of the estate. To the right of this road which paral- 
lels the Genesee, we see the Chestnut Lawn Farm, equipped as 
a modern dairy, while opposite to this, on the other side of the 
