Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850.Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
The construction of the Erie railroad through the hitherto secluded
valleys of the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, and reaching now almost
to the Allegany, has opened to access new fields for the tourist,
abounding with the loveliest and the grandest works of Nature. From the
Hudson to the Lakes, the scenery is constantly changing from the
romantic and beautiful to the bold and rugged; and again from the
sublime and fearfully grand to the sweetest pictures of gentle beauty.
There is probably no road in the world that passes through such a
variety of scenery as does the Erie, and there is certainly none that
can present to the traveler such a succession of triumphs of art over
the formidable obstacles which nature has, at almost every step, raised
against the iron-clad intruders into her loveliest recesses. The
enchanting magnificence of the scenery keeps the attention alive, while
its varying character at every turn, continually opens new sources of
enjoyment. Immense rocky excavations salute you upon every side. Miles
of mountain acclivities of solid rock have been borne away by the
Herculean arm of persevering industry. You see where the lofty cliff has
been beaten down; the huge mountain-barrier leveled; rough and rugged
precipices overcome; chasms spanned, and wide valleys and rivers
crossed.
The scenery in the valley of the Delaware is grand beyond description;
and in the valley of the Susquehanna, after passing out of a wilderness,
where every portion is stamped with the impress of grandeur, a truly
agricultural region, in a high state of cultivation, and smiling with
abundance, meets the eye. At the point where the road first strikes the
Susquehanna, that noble river is seen in the plenitude of its
magnificent beauty.
[Illustration: VALLEY OF THE NEVERSINK.
From the Slate Rock Cutting. Port Jervis in the distance.]
It is not our purpose to point out the particular objects most worthy
of examination, or to describe any one of the numerous landscapes which
lie all along the track; but we will venture to assert, that nowhere
between sun and sun can such a combination and variety of the wonderful
in nature and art, with the beautiful be seen, as in a day's ride on the
Erie railroad. Sketches of some of these views accompany this article,
and we may, from time to time, give such others as we think will prove
interesting to our readers.
The reader is familiar with the geography of the road: commencing at
Piermont, on the Hudson, twenty-four miles from New York, on the long
pier that projects a mile into the river, it winds its way westward
among the hills along the course of the Sparkill. Just before leaving
the pier, looking north, the view on the preceding page is presented.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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