American Scenery, Vol. 1 (of 2): or, Land, lake, and river illustrations of transatlantic natureWillis, Nathaniel Parker
General
American Scenery, Vol. 1 (of 2): or, Land, lake, and river illustrations of transatlantic nature
Willis, Nathaniel Parker
United States -- Description and travel
As this young man was wandering one day along the shore, he saw a bird
perched on a bough, projecting over the water. He attempted to kill it;
but his arrow, till that time unerring, flew wide of the mark, and sank
in the sea. He determined to recover it, and plunged to the bottom.
Here, to his astonishment, he found himself in a small cottage. A
venerable old man, sitting there, received him with a smile, and thus
addressed him:—“My son, I welcome you to the habitation of your father!
To obtain this interview, I directed all the circumstances which have
conspired to bring you hither. Here is your arrow, and here is an ear of
corn. I have watched the unkindness of your brother, and command you to
take his life. When you return home, collect all the flints you can
find, and hang up all the bucks’-horns. These are the only things which
will make an impression on his body, which is made of flint.”
Having received these instructions, the young man took his leave, and,
in a quarrel with his brother, drove him to a distant region, far beyond
the Savannahs, in the south-west, where he killed him, and left his huge
form of flint on the earth. The great enemy to the race of the turtle
being thus destroyed, they sprang from the ground in human form, and
multiplied in peace.
The grandmother, roused to furious resentment for the loss of her
favourite son, resolved to be revenged. For many days successively she
caused the rain to descend from the clouds in torrents, until the whole
surface of the earth, and even the highest mountains, were covered. The
inhabitants escaped by fleeing to their canoes. She then covered the
earth with snow; but they betook themselves to their snow-shoes. She
then gave up the hope of destroying them at once, and has ever since
employed herself in inflicting lesser evils on the world, while her
younger son displays his benevolence by showering blessings on his race.
The reader will have traced the analogy between this and the Scripture
account of the deluge, &c.
[Illustration]
UTICA.
* * * * *
This long tradition has left us little room for Utica, which truly is
among those spots (said to be the happiest in the world) with no
striking events in its history. It is a pretty and thriving town, half
way between Lake Ontario and the Susquehanna, and on the great routes by
canal, road, and rail-road, to the west; and in the centre of these
radii of communication is fast becoming a focus of wealth and
refinement. A high reputation for the latter, however, its society has
long and deservedly enjoyed.
[Illustration]
THE LANDING ON THE AMERICAN SIDE.
(FALLS OF NIAGARA.)
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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