CXIII.—WHEN SPARROWS BUILD. WHEN sparrows build and the leaves break forth, My old sorrow wakes and cries, For I know there is dawn in the far, far north, And a scarlet sun doth rise; Like a scarlet fleece, the snow-field spreads, And the icy founts run free; And the bergs begin to bow their heads, 2. O my lost love, and my own, own love, And my love that loved me so! Is there never a chink in the world above, Where they listen for words from below? And now thou wilt hear me no more no more 3. Thou didst set thy foot on the ship, and sail Thou wert sad, for thy love did not avail, How could I tell I should love thee to-day, How could I know I should love thee away, 4. We shall walk no more through the sodden plain We shall stand no more by the seething main, We shall part no more in the wind and rain, Where thy last farewell was said ; But, perhaps, I shall meet thee and know thee again, JEAN INGELow. CXIV. HORSESHOE FALLS AND CAVE OF THE WINDS. ΟΝ N the first evening of my visit, I met, at the head of Biddle's Stair, the guide to the Cave of the Winds.1 He was in the prime of manhood — large, well-built, firm and pleasant in mouth and eye. My interest in the scene stirred up his, and made him communicative. Turning to a photograph, he described, by reference to it, a feat which he had accomplished some time previous, and which had brought him almost under the green water of the Horseshoe Fall.2 2. "Can you lead me there to-morrow? I asked. He eyed me inquiringly, weighing, perhaps, the chances of a man of light build in such an undertaking. “I wish," I added, "to see as much of the fall as can be seen, and, where you lead, I will endeavor to follow." His scrutiny relaxed into a smile, and he said, " Very well; I shall be ready for you to-morrow." 3. On the morrow, accordingly, I came. In the hut at the head of Biddle's Stair, I stripped wholly, and redressed according to instructions, - drawing on two pairs of woolen pantaloons, three woolen jackets, two pairs of socks, and a pair of felt shoes. My guide urged that the clothes, even if wet, would keep me from being chilled; and he was right. A suit and hood of yellow oil-cloth covered all. Most laudable precautions were taken by the young assistant of the guide to keep the water out, but his devices broke down immediately, when severely tested. 4. We descended the stair, the handle of a pitchfork doing, in my case, the duty of an alpenstock. At the bot 1 A point under the Falls of Niagara. tom, my guide inquired whether we should go first to the Cave of the Winds or to the Horseshoe, remarking that the latter would try us most. I decided to get the roughest done first, and he turned to the left, over the stones. They were sharp and trying. 5. The base of the first portion of the cataract is covered with huge bowlders, obviously the ruins of the limestone ledge above. The water does not distribute itself uniformly among these, but seeks for itself channels through which it pours like a torrent. We passed some of these with wetted feet, but without difficulty. 6. At length, we came to the side of a more formidable current. My guide walked along its edge, until he reached its least turbulent portion. Halting, he said, "This is our greatest difficulty; if we can cross here, we shall get far toward the Horseshoe." In he waded. It evidently required all his strength to steady him. The water rose above his loins, and foamed still higher. He had to search for footing amid unseen bowlders, against which the torrent rose violently. He struggled and swayed, but he struggled successfully, and finally reached the shallower water at the other side. Stretching out his arm, he said to me, "Now come." 7. I looked down the torrent as it rushed to the river below, which was seething with the tumult of the cataract. I entered the water. Even where it was not more than knee-deep, its power was manifest. As it rose around me, I sought to split the torrent by presenting a side to it; but the insecurity of the footing enabled it to grasp the loins, twist me fairly round, and bring its impetus to bear upon the back. Further struggle was impossible; and, feeling my balance hopelessly gone, I turned, flung myself toward the bank I had just quitted, and was instantly swept into shallower water. 8. The oil-cloth covering was a great incumbrance; it had been made for a much stouter man, and, standing upright after my submersion, my legs occupied the centers of two bags of water. My guide exhorted me to try again. Prudence was at my elbow, whispering dissuasion; but, taking everything into account, it appeared more imprudent to retreat than to proceed. 9. Instructed by the first misadventure, I once more entered the stream. Had the alpenstock been of iron, it might have helped me; but, as it was, the tendency of the water to sweep it out of my hands rendered it worse than useless. I, however, clung to it by habit. Again, the torrent rose, and, again, I wavered; but, by keeping the left hip well against it, I remained upright, and, at length, grasped the hand of my leader at the other side. 10. He laughed pleasantly. The first victory was gained, and he enjoyed it. "No traveler," he said, "was ever here before." Soon afterwards, by trusting to a piece of drift-wood which seemed firm, I was again taken off my feet, but was immediately caught by a protruding rock. est 11. We clambered over the bowlders toward the thickspray, which soon became so weighty as to cause us to stagger under its shock. For the most part, nothing could be seen; we were in the midst of bewildering tumult, lashed by the water, which sounded, at times, like the cracking of innumerable whips. Underneath this was the deep, resonant roar of the cataract. I tried to shield my eyes with my hands, and look upward; but the defense was useless. My guide continued to move on; but, at a certain place, he halted, and desired me to take shelter in his lee and observe the cataract. 13. The spray did not come so much from the upper ledge as from the rebound of the shattered water when it struck the bottom. Hence the eyes could be protected from the blinding shock of the spray, while the line of vision to the upper ledges remained, to some extent, clear. On looking upward, over the guide's shoulder, I could see the water bending over the ledge, while Terrapin Tower loomed fitfully through the intermittent spraygusts. We were right under the tower. 14. A little farther on, the cataract, after its first plunge, hit a protuberance some way down, and flew from it in a prodigious burst of spray; through this, we staggered. We rounded the promontory on which Terrapin Tower stands, and pushed, amid the wildest commotion, along the arm of the Horseshoe, until the bowlders failed us, and the cataract fell into the profound gorge of the Niagara River. 15. Here, my guide sheltered me again, and desired me to look up; I did so, and could see, as before, the green gleam of the mighty curve sweeping over the upper ledge, and the fitful plunge of the water as the spray between us and it alternately gathered and disappeared. My companion knew no more of me than that I enjoyed the wildness; but, as I bent in the shelter of his large frame, he said, "I should like to see you attempting to describe all this." He rightly thought it indescribable. The name of this gallant fellow was Thomas Conroy. 16. We returned, clambering, at intervals, up and down, so as to catch glimpses of the most impressive portions of the cataract. We passed under ledges formed by tabular masses of limestone, and through some curious openings formed by the falling together of the summits of the rocks. At length, we found ourselves beside our enemy of the morning. My guide halted for a minute or two, scanning the torrent thoughtfully. I said that, as a guide, he ought to have a rope in such a place; but he retorted that, as no traveler had ever thought of coming there, he did not see the necessity of keeping a rope. |