t6 new YORK STATE MUSEUM 



whole party with the exception of two, with wagons and horses, 



being driven over the cHff by the savages, and dashed to pieces on 



the rocks below. Next above the Devil's hole is Ongiara^ park, a 



picturesque wooded slope opposite the southern end of Foster's 



flats, and like parts of that region are dotted with enoimous 



blocks of limestone, which have fallen from the bank above. , A 



short distance above this we come to the whirlpool, where a stop of 



some time can profitably be made. But by far the most attractive 



place at which to stop is the whirlpool rapids. The water which 



here rushes through a narrow and comparatively shallow channel, 



makes a descent of nearly 50 feet in the space of less than a mile, 



and its turbulence and magnificence are indescribable. Seen at 



night by moonlight, or when illuminated by the light from a strong 



reflector, the spectacle is beyond portrayal. We may perhaps not 



inaptly apply Schiller's description of the Charybdis to these waters : 



Und es wallet und siedet und brauset und zisclit, 

 Wie wenn Wasser mit Feur sich mengt. 

 Bis zum Himmel spritzet der dampfende Gischt, 

 Und Weir auf Well' sich ohn' Ende drangt, 

 Und wie mit des fernen Donner's Getose, 

 Entstiirzt es briillend dem finstern Schosse. 



Fossiliferous sections 



These sections are to be seen on the cut of the New York Central 

 and Hudson river railroad, Lewiston branch, and along cuts of the 

 Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg railroad at Lewiston hights. 

 The former are approachable from Lewiston on the north or the 

 Devil's hole station on the south. The approach from Lewiston is 

 the more natural, as it will give the strata in ascending order. 

 Waggoner's hotel makes a convenient starting point. Follow the 

 car tracks southward to where a road leads off on the left. Entering 

 this, a wood-road is found to lead off on the right, which when fol- 

 lowed will bring you on the terrace formed by the quartzose sand- 

 stone bed, and on which the bridge towers stand. A cjuarry in the 

 white sandstone by the roadside gives an opportunity to study this 

 rock, which is practically barren of fossils. Beyond this the tracks 

 of the New York Central railroad are reached, which, after traversing 

 a short tunnel hewn out of the Medina sandstone, bring you to the 

 sections in the gorge (plate 12). Care must be exercised in exploring 



^One of the 40 ways of spelling Niagara. 



