Ocean to Ocean on Horseback: Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Development of Cities and Towns Along the Route; and Regions Traversed Beyond the Mississippi; Together with Incidents, Anecdotes and Adventures of the JourneyGlazier, Willard W.
History
Ocean to Ocean on Horseback: Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Development of Cities and Towns Along the Route; and Regions Traversed Beyond the Mississippi; Together with Incidents, Anecdotes and Adventures of the Journey
Glazier, Willard W.
United States -- Description and travel
We hear that the travellers met with cordial hospitality at the villages
and towns along their route, and that their arrival created quite a
sensation. In fact it was an historical event. Two friends of the
Rochesters, William Fitzhugh and Charles Carroll, cast in their fortunes
with them, and in 1802 bought together the three hundred acres at the
Upper Falls, which were laid out for a settlement ten years later. In
those times the prestige of a name went far towards establishing a
reputation, and the one chosen by the people of the settlement was
afterward proudly placed upon the municipal banner. Soon after the
advent of Colonel Rochester and his friends, the scheme for making a
water communication between the Lakes and the Sea began to be eagerly
discussed, and there were not a few energetic representatives from
"Rochesterville" who lent their efforts towards the carrying out of the
plan. When the canal was completed there was the wildest enthusiasm in
Rochester, which would perhaps have a greater benefit than any other
place along the route: for with her big grain and coal interests, her
future prosperity seemed assured.
The natural course of events followed. Improvement and embellishment
began on all sides. New buildings and enterprises started up on solid
foundations, and provision was made for those who might "drop out of the
ranks," in the selection of beautiful Mount Hope, one of the loveliest
cemeteries in point of natural charm in this country. It lies on a
wooded slope between the lake and the city, and its pathways, shadowed
by the great trees from the "forest primeval," are the playgrounds for
the wild little creatures who make their homes there unmolested.
Back again into the town where the sound of the Falls is heard, and one
thinks of the odd touch a simple character has added to the traditions
of the place, and whose name, to a stranger, is so often associated with
that of Rochester. This quaint figure is none other than "Sam Patch, the
jumper," who met his fate by leaping into the Genesee at the "Falls,"
and who left as a legacy the warning maxim, "Be careful, or, like Sam
Patch, you may jump once too often." History has chronicled Sam's last
speech, delivered from the platform, just before his fatal leap; which,
as a sample of rustic oratory, is amusing.
He said: "Napoleon was a great man and a great general. He conquered
armies, and he conquered nations, but _he couldn't jump the Genesee
Falls_. Wellington was a great man and a great soldier. He conquered
armies, and he conquered nations, and he conquered Napoleon, but _he
couldn't jump the Genesee Falls_. That was left for _me_ to do, and I
can do it, and will."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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