/iccount of the Kaatskill Mountams. 23 
column glowing with brilliancy, reflecting and refracting its 
rays in such a manner as to present all the colours of the 
prism. It remains some weeks, a striking example of the 
power of hoary frost, when, partly dissolved by the genial 
warmth of spring, it falls, scattering its thousand fragments 
on the rocks around it. 
Stony Clove. 
About six miles west of this fall is a gap in the mountam, 
ealled the Stony Clove. This cleft is formed by two moun- 
tains meeting at their base, and rising so as to form a very 
acute angle. ‘The passage through it is about one and a 
half miles in length ; the mountains on each side rising in 
rugged grandeur, to seven hundred feet. They have de- 
tached their huge masses into this angle, so as to fill it to the 
height of many feet. At the termination of this cavity the 
mountains recede from each other, forming a plane which 
is filled with water by the melting of the snow, and by the 
numerous springs which rising in these peaks, pour their 
waters into it. The Lake which is thus formed is of con- 
siderable depth, and about half as large as those before men- 
tioned. On the surface of this lake, a grass is growing with 
a great number of strong roots, which intersect each other. 
They are so twisted as to bear the weight of a man. It 
wanted only a slight display of art to give us a forcible idea 
of the floating gardens of Mexico. By jumpmg up and 
down several times upon this grass, it will commence an 
undulation around you, which motion being continued for a 
few minutes, will cause an extent of more than an acre to 
move, like the waves of the sea. Our guide informed us 
that he visited this lake a few months before with a compan- 
ion, who, in making this undulation, jumped so high that when 
he struck the grass, the roots below broke, and let him 
partly through ito the water. He saved himself by extend- 
ime hisarms. Hewas rescued by his companion from this 
situation, rendered peculiarly dangerous by the existence 
under the water, of a quick mud of great depth, which yields 
toa slight pressure. This anecdote together with the diffi- 
culty of reaching the grass, induced us to depart without 
trying the experiment. This gap in some seasons of the 
year, is much frequented by wolves and bears, which find 
