The Erie Canal, a most celebrated work, is carried along the
other bank of the river; so that, during all this distance, the river,
the railway, and the canal were running parallel to each other, and not
a pistol shot across the three.[3] We had been warned by some Swiss
friends at Newport against carelessness and rashness in walking along
the narrow ledge cut in the face of the rock, so we took a guide and
found the pass very slippery from the heavy rain. The amiable young
guide took possession of me, and for a time I got on tolerably well,
clinging to the chain which in places was fastened against the face of
the rock; but as the path narrowed, my head began to spin, and as the
guide discouraged me, under these circumstances, from going any further,
I turned back with Thrower and regained _dry land_, while the rest of
the party were accomplishing their difficult task. They returned much
sooner than we expected, delighted with all they had seen, though papa
said I was right not to have pursued the narrow ledge. He then took me
through a delightful wood to the head of the falls, where a seat in a
little summer-house enabled me to enjoy the lovely scene. The river
takes three leaps over rocks, the highest about 40 feet; though in two
miles the descent is 312 feet. Beautifully wooded rocks rise up on
either side; and the sunshine this afternoon lighting up the wet leaves
added to the beauty of the scene.
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