Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 5. May 1848Various
General
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 5. May 1848
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Now there are many fine views in Sullivan. It is an exceedingly
picturesque county. It has all the charms of precipitous hills,
winding valleys, dark wooded gorges, lovely river-flats, and
meandering streams. It is sufficiently cultivated to have the beauty
of rural landscape softening the forest scenery, without disturbing to
any great degree its wildness and grandeur.
This Neversink valley river, although not among the finest, is
nevertheless a very lovely one--
Beneath--the clear placid stream comes coursing from the north,
through narrow but beautiful flats, in all the pomp of rural wealth,
wrinkled with corn-fields, bearded with rye, and whitened with
buckwheat, imaging old age rejoicing amongst its blessings. Opposite,
rise steep hills in all the stages of cultivation--the black
logging--the grain waving amidst stumps--and the smooth grassy
meadow--whilst at the south, where the little river makes a bold turn,
the sweet landscape is lost in the deep mantle of the aboriginal
forest.
Mastering the hill, the whole cavalcade was soon turning into a stony,
root-tangled, miry road, leading from the turnpike into the heart of
the "Barrens," the territory of the desired fruit. After sinking and
jolting for some little distance, we came to a part of the track which
had been laid over with small parallel logs, close to each other, and
forming what is called in country parlance "a corduroy road". We
"bumped along" (as Jim Stokes, one of our party, a plain young farmer,
expressed it) over this railway of the woods, until our bones seemed
so loose we thought we could hear them rattle at every jolt; and at
last stopped at a large log cabin which had been fitted up as a
tavern.
A fierce eagle, with his head nearly all eye, one striped claw
grasping a bundle of arrows, and the other the American flag, served
for the sign, and was elevated upon a tall hickory sapling, with the
ambitious legend of "Eagle Hotel; by A. Pritchard," flaunting in a
scroll from the ferocious bird's mouth.
A smaller log structure, with one large door, and a square opening
over it, through which a haymow seemed thrusting its brown head, as if
to look abroad, with a warm glow of sunshine upon it, told plainly
that our horses at all events would not suffer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account