ments prove the divinity of the christian religion, but have nothing to do with the divinity of Christ's person. They are in this discourse principally comprised in an extract from Bishop Taylor.

There is too liberal a use of some opprobrious epithets in this sermon. We do not think men ought to be made to contemn and dislike each other on account of differences on this subject. There is a remark of Dr. Campbell, which we venture to quote, not meaning any reflection upon our author. "No person," says he, "who in the spirit of candour and charity adheres to that which to the best of his judgment is right, though in this opinion he should be mistaken, is in the scriptural sense schismatick or heretick; and he, on the contrary, whatever sect he belongs to, is more entitled to those odious appellations, who is apt to throw the imputation upon others."

It is not equitable to intimate that those, who do not embrace the doctrine of the scripture as stated by his church, do not "much read or greatly reverence the scripture." What would he have us think of Grotius, of Samuel Clarke, of Locke, of Lardner, of Taylor, and many others?

ARTICLE 22.

Travels on an Inland Voyage through the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, and through the Territories of Indiana, Lousiana, Mississippi and New Orleans; performed in the years 1807 and 1808 ; includ-" ing a tour of nearly six thousand miles. With Maps and Plates. By Christian Schultz, jun. Esq. Two volumes in one. New York, printed by Isaac Riley, 1810.

THE progress and condition of the remoter parts of our country, the effects of advancing cultivation in an imperfectly explored territory, and the capacity of its various regions to contribute to the wants and conveniences of man, are calculated to afford information interesting to the man of science, and highly important to the traveller, the imigrant, and the speculator, A general outline of the geography of our frontier country, and the facility of a route through the lakes, and the

rivers Ohio and Mississippi, has long been known. Of some parts of this course we have sufficiently accurate delineations, while of others accounts are either unsatisfactory or erroneous; so that the traveller has seldom been able to undertake the expedition with definite ideas respecting several of the subjects calculated to interest him most. Mr. Schultz in his preface, complains that though "the route is generally known, yet, strange as it may appear, no correct information could be obtained as to the distances, mode of travelling, the time required, the expenses incurred, nor the risks and dangers to be encountered." These inquiries he states to have been particularly attended to, and the minuteness and fidelity with which they are answered, are the only merit, to which his modesty allows him to lay claim. In a country whose aspect, and the character of whose inhabitants is perpetually changing, successive descriptions become necessary; and, though very accurate accounts may have formerly been given, yet a few years are sufficient to render them, in many respects, obsolete. It is on this ground that new travels may always afford new information.

Of the first part of Mr. Schultz's route, viz. that from New York to Niagara, there is the least necessity for a description. Every one is acquainted with the rapid settlement and increasing consequence, as well as the facility of passage and transportation in the fertile country surrounding the banks of the Mohawk, and the smaller lakes. That rough and tremendous aspect does not now exist, which fifty years ago presented itself to the imagination of Goldsmith,

1

"Where wild Oswego spreads its swamps around,

"And Niagara stuns with thundering sound."

The visit to one of the world's greatest wonders is not only practicable but convenient, and instead of the risks and hardships usually encountered in a new country, the traveller finds little deficiency of accommodations and facilities.

Of the falls themselves, Mr. Schultz has given a description rendered perhaps more than commonly extensive by the variety of points from which he has viewed them. It is not unusual for visitants to content themselves with a single view from the top of the table rock, or from the top and bottom on one side only; while they are deterred by the tremendous aspect

of the waters from a farther pursuit of the scene. Mr. Schultz has enlarged his account with views from the top of the rocks, and from the level of the water below both on the American and Canadian side. Not satisfied with the prospect from these points he landed on Goat's Island, a spot situated in the centre of the river, on the very brink of the cataract, and which until of late has been supposed utterly inaccessible to the foot of man. The descent on the American side, and the passage to Goat's Island, we insert.

"We next went to examine the hole which leads to the lower regions on this side of the river. The appearance of it was so truly frightful that I relinquished the design I had formed of descending it, and returned to my lodgings. Being assured, however, the next day, that the appearance was more dreadful than the reality, and that any person not subject to giddiness, who could depend upon the strength of his arms in sustaining the weight of his body occasionally, might descend in perfect safety, I determined to make the attempt. Procuring a guide and some ropes, I proceeded to the hole, which was not less than two hundred feet above the surface of the river. The guide, having made a rope fast to a tree, soon disappeared under the projecting rock, while he repeatedly called on me to follow. Ashamed at length of my own timidity, 1 obeyed, and, after a thousand hair-breadth escapes, arrived safely at the bottom.

"In making the descent on this side, I had occasion to remark, as on the other, the vast difference in the noise heard from above and below. Whether it was owing to the current of air setting over on this side, or some other cause, I know not; but certainly the thundering roar of the waters was much greater than on the other. The dread of falling while descending prevented my noticing the increased ratio of the noise; but I no sooner found myself at the bottom, than the mountains appeared to tremble over my head, and the rocks seemed to move under my feet; and, indeed, it is some time before you can free yourself from these sensations.

"You may advance so`near to the fall on this side as to wash your hands in the falling water; but here, as on the other side, in a few minutes you are quite wet to the skin. This is owing to the abundance of vapour which is continually falling; for, in many places, the spray rebounds from the rocks with so much violence as to prevent a nearer approach; and the constant humidity has covered the rocks below the falls with a luxuriant growth of grass of three feet in length, amongst which are found thousands of young eels.

"Immediately below the falls is a small space in the river, over which a boat might cross with the greatest safety, being the only place where such a passage is practicable between the falls and Queen's Town. The cause I take to be this: the immense column of water is hurled into the unfathomable gulph to a great depth immediately above this spot, and, bỷ

its own reaction, breaks out with inconceivable fury below; it causes a kind of calm eddies over the surface of the intermediate spacé alluded to, which, although it appears white from the raging of the waters underneath, yet, comparatively, may be 'considered as still as a mill-pond. What first led me to this reflection was the manoeuvres of some wild ducks, which I observed swimming backwards and forwards across this space, and who carefully avoided every place which I should have thought dangerous for a boat. Could I have obtained a canoe or skiff, I should not have hesitated a moment about trying the experiment. There are considerable quantities of fish, deer and other animal bones found along this shore, being, as I suppose, the remains of such as have been crushed in the falls. It is the common opinion, however, that the smaller fish generally escape unhurt.

"The river, at Fort Schlosser, is two and a half miles wide, and, for one mile above the falls, altogether impassable. Goat Island, which divides the falls, contains about eighteen or twenty acres of land, and is sítuated nearest the American shore. This island has generally been reputed never to have been visited by any human being, excepting, as they relate, by a couple of Indians, who, many years ago, were thrown, with their canoe, upon it, and, after two or three days, spent in several vain attempts to recover the main land, were discovered by some of their nation. They, at length, by making long bark ropes, and carrying them a considerable distance up the stream, succeeded in floating one end against the island, by which means they were enabled to rescue the poor wretches from certain death.' It has always been considered impossible for any person ever to get off after having landed on the island. This notion is now found to be erroneous; and we are indebted to an accident for the discovery of a safe and easy passage to the island, provided you have a pilot who has been there before. It seems a man, in passing from Chippaway to Fort Schlosser in a canoe, depended so much upon his own skill and activity in managing his craft, that he attempted to cross over without going along the shore a sufficient distance up the stream. The consequence was, that he would have been precipitated from the height, had he not accidentally struck the bottom with his paddle, just as the stream had carried him in a direct line with the upper end of this island, where, jumping out, he found he had struck upon a narrow sand bar about one rod wide, and never before discovered. He pursued the whole length of the bar downward, and found it approached to within fifteen rods of the upper end of Goat Island, where the water was very deep and the current strong, but not impassable. He crossed this little strait, and was the first man, excepting the two Indians before mentioned, ever known to have landed and returned from this island.' I made some inquiry after this man, but found he was forgotten; and, as the general opinion is that he was drunk when he stumbled on this discovery, it is of no great consequence that you should know who he was. From the situation of the island in the middle of the falls, I was strongly tempted to pay it a visit;

and finding a person who had been there before, I engaged him to provide a canoe, and the next morning, after breakfast, we set out on our expedition. In less than half an hour we were safely landed upon the island. Having passed to the extremity of it, I suddenly found myself transported as it were to the centre of the grand confusion around me; and, after cautiously advancing to the edge of the precipice, and observing the firm and solid foundation upon which I stood, I experienced a degree of security not to be felt in any other situation when viewing the falls. At no great distance, on my left, I recognized the hollow projecting Table Rock, upon which I had lately stood; while on my right, I traced from rock to rock, under a similar projection, my last descent to the lower regions.

"The falls are making daily inroads on this island, as well as on the general foundation of the river; for, while standing here, we heard a hollow rumbling noise, which, at one moment, seemed to die away, then suddenly to revive again. I was, for some time, entirely at a loss to account for so strange an occurrence; at length, as I had turned my face towards the sound, I perceived a large black rock now and then showing itself amongst the foaming billows, which were hurling it over a smooth rocky bottom, on its way to the falls.

"When last on the Canada shore, I saw an old Indian who spoke tolerably good English, and had a long chat with him respecting the falls. He informed me, that, when he was a young warrior, he was amongst those who gave Braddock his famous defeat; that at that time there was a small rocky island that laid upon the very edge of the falls, at no great distance from Goat Island, and which was very remarkable for having two trees projecting over the falls. It is reasonable to believe that this account is not untrue, as eight or ten large rocks, lying very near the edge of the falls, are still perceptible, and which, in all probability, are the last fragments of the little island he alluded to. These would long since have been torn from their foundations, did not their situation protect them from the force of the main current.

"From the great body of water passing off on the Canada shore, the rocks, or foundation of the falls, are subject to greater inroads there, than any other part. The falls, from this spot, have something of the form of an irregular horse-shoe, with one side of the curve longer than the other; the ⚫ longest being on the American shore. This is owing to its wearing away much faster on the opposite shore.

"We found some juniper berries on this island, which were the largest I have ever seen in the State of New York. After having spent the whole morning upon this delightful and romantick spot, we left the island, and, by pursuing the same course, returned in safety to our lodgings, well satisfied with the adventures of the day." Vol. I. p. 76-78 and 79-83.

From the falls Mr. Schultz proceeded to Lake Erie, and by water, ninety miles to Presque Isle, situated on the south side of that lake. The village adjacent to the old fort contains