Chapter M: P. Huber is the only modern author that appears to have been witness to (10)

M. Dassie has been at great pains to prove, that the sea has a general motion, independently of winds and tides, and that it is of more consequence in navigation than is generally supposed. He affirms, that this motion is from east to west; inclining towards the north, when the sun has passed the equinoctial northward, during the time he is passing through the northern signs; but the contrary way, after the sun has passed the said equinoctial southward: adding, that when this general motion is changed, the diurnal flux is changed also; whence it happens, that in several places the tides come in during one part of the year, and go out during the other, as on the coasts of Norway, in the Indies at Goa, Cochin-china, &c. where, while the sun is in the summer signs, the sea runs to the shore; and when in the winter signs, runs from it. On the most southern coasts of Tonquin and China, for the six summer months, the diurnal course runs from the north with the ocean; but the sun having repassed the line toward the south, the course declines also southward.

There are two principal reasons why the sea does not increase by means of rivers, &c. falling every where into it. The first is, because waters return from the sea by subterranean cavities and aqueducts, through various parts of the earth. Secondly, because the quantity of vapours raised from the sea, and falling on the land, only cause a circulation, but no increase of water. It has been found, by calculation, that in a summer's day there may be raised in vapours, from the Mediterranean Sea, 5,280,000,000 tons of water, and yet this sea receiveth not, from all its nine great rivers, above 1,827,000,000 tons per day, which is but a third part of what is exhausted in vapours.

The ascent of the sea for the formation of springs, by a subterranean circulation of its water to their sources, has been a great objection, with many, against the system which ascribes their origin to the ocean; but Dr. Plot has observed, that there are many ways by which the water may ascend above its own level: 1. By the means of subterranean heat. 2. By filtration. 3. By the unequal height of several seas. 4. By the distance of the centre of magnitude from the centre of gravity in the terraqueous globe; the superficies of the Pacific Sea being said to be further from the centre of gravity than the top of the highest hill on the adverse part of the globe. And, 5. By the help of storms. The sea water actually ascends above its own level, and finds its way into wells, whose bottoms lie higher than the surface of the sea at high-water mark.

We shall now enter more particularly on THE CURIOSITIES OF THE SEA.--For the following observations we are principally indebted to Sturm.

"Instead of regarding the sea as an object of terror, let us consider the wonders and the benefits which it presents to us. It must be granted that when the waves swell into mountains, and the tempest roars, its aspect is terrific; and we must be hardy indeed, not to consider it as a most formidable element in such times of awful visitation, when ships, breaking from their anchor, or driven from their course, rush before the winds that beat upon them with ungovernable fury, till, dismasted, and their rigging shivered in fragments, they sink, overwhelmed with a weight of waters, or strike some sand-bank, or shelving rock, and are at once dashed to pieces. Sometimes whirlpools, or vast masses of water with a violently circular motion, whirl the unfortunate vessel that fate urges into their vortex, with irresistible force, till the helpless victim sinks an easy prey to the tremendous gulf, and the cries of the unfortunate wretches are lost in the roar of the waves: these whirlpools are occasioned by rocks in the ocean, and the meeting of numerous currents and eddies. Not less dangerous are the waterspouts, that the wind raises from the sea to the clouds; they hover in the air high above the ocean, and the wind whirls them round with violence. They often burst with a great crash, and occasion much mischief; for if they fall upon a vessel, they destroy its rigging, and sometimes sink it to the bottom.

"But it would be highly unjust and ungrateful, only to consider the losses occasioned by the sea, without reflecting upon the magnificent and stupendous works of God, and that goodness which even visits the unfathomable depths of the ocean. The first thing that strikes us, upon the investigation of sea water, is its saltness; a pound of the water containing about two ounces of salt. Sea salt appears lighter than that we commonly use, and yet it is not attracted by the air, nor lessened by the continual influx of fresh water; the cause of this is unknown. If this peculiar quality arose from mountains of salt contained in the sea, it would be salter in some places than in others, of which we have no proof. But whatever is the occasion of this saline property of the sea, it is absolutely necessary to accomplish certain ends. It is that which preserves such a vast body of water from corruption, and renders it capable of supporting a greater weight. The colour of sea water is also deserving of attention: it is not every where alike, which perhaps arises in part from its reflecting the colour of the bottom and that of the sky. It often appears dark and black in deep abysses, white and foaming during a storm, silvery, and gilded with reflections of the most beautiful hue, when the last rays of the setting sun play upon the unruffled surface: the colour of the sea, in addition to these, varies, from numberless insects, marine plants, and the combination of the different substances which the rivers and torrents carry with them into the ocean. When it is calm, and not a breeze skims over its bosom, it sometimes glitters with the most brilliant stars; and the track of a ship cleaving the waves has often a luminous appearance, like a river of fire.

"The creatures which inhabit the sea excite our surprise and admiration; we there discover a new world, and the number of beings which compose it is prodigious. Aquatic animals are not so numerous in their species as the land animals; but they surpass them in size and duration. The elephant and ostrich yield in bulk to the whale, the largest fish of the ocean, its length being often from sixty to seventy feet; and no land animal can vie with it in longevity, for it lives as long as the oak. If we may rely upon certain accounts, there are creatures in the ocean, far exceeding the size of the whale; as the animal called kraken, said to exist in the northern seas, and whose circumference is half a German league. Who is able to number the different species of animals which people the seas? or who can determine their form, structure, size, and properties? How infinitely great is that God who has created the sea! will be the conclusion of all who investigate the subject, and it is not without the wisest reasons that the Creator has made the ocean and the seas to occupy two-thirds of the whole globe. The seas were designed not only to form great reservoirs of water, but by means of their evaporation to be the sources of rain, snow, and various meteors. What wisdom is displayed in the connection which the seas have with each other, and in their continual motion! And it is not less wonderful that the bottom of the ocean is of the same nature as the surface of the earth. There are found in the sea, rocks, caverns, plains, springs, plants, and animals; and the islands are only the summits of a long chain of mountains. When we consider that the seas form a part of the globe the least investigated, we are disposed to believe that they contain many more wonders, which neither the senses nor the understanding of man can penetrate, while all acknowledge the adorable wisdom and power of the Most High. To Him then, who has established the monuments of his grandeur and the sceptre of his glory in the ocean, as upon the earth, be ascribed all admiration and praise!"

The following opinions of a late celebrated philosopher and divine, ON THE SALTNESS OF THE SEA, may not be unacceptable to our readers:--"There are few questions, (observes Bishop Watson,) respecting the natural history of our globe, which have been discussed with more attention, or decided with less satisfaction, than that concerning the primary cause of the saltness of the sea. The solution of it had perplexed the philosophers before the time of Aristotle; it surpassed his own great genius; and those of his followers, who have attempted to support his arguments, have been betrayed into very ill-grounded conclusions concerning it. Father Kircher, after having consulted three and thirty authors upon the subject, could not help remarking, that the fluctuations of the ocean itself were scarcely more various than the opinions of men concerning the origin of its saline impregnation. The question does not seem capable of admitting an illustration from experiment; at least no experiments have hitherto been made for that purpose, and therefore we may be the less surprised at its remaining nearly as problematical in the present age, as it has been in the preceding. Had there, indeed, been any observation made three or four centuries ago, ascertaining the saltness of the sea at any particular time and place; we might, by similar observations at the same place and the same season, have been able to know whether the saltness at that particular place was an increasing, decreasing, or an invariable quantity; and this kind and degree of knowledge would have served as a clue to direct us to a full investigation of this matter in general; but it is to be regretted, that no such observations have, till very lately, been made with any tolerable precision.--There are three principal opinions on this subject, which have been maintained by philosophers of modern date; some, observing that river water, almost in every part of the globe, is in a greater or less degree impregnated with sea salt, have thought that the sea has gradually acquired its present quality of salt from the long-continued influx of rivers."

Other philosophers, observing that large beds of fossil salt are not unfrequent in any quarter of the globe; and conceiving, with great probability, the bottom of the sea to be analogous in its formation to the surface of the earth, have undertaken to derive its saltness from the beds of rock salt, which they have supposed to be situated at its bottom; and they are further of opinion, that without such a permanent saline principle, the sea would long since have become insipid from the fresh water poured into it by an infinity of rivers. Strange! that what, according to the fore-mentioned hypothesis, was thought sufficient to account for the saltness of the sea, should in this be esteemed instrumental in annihilating the saltness already supposed to exist.

Boyle unites, as it were, and takes the two preceding hypotheses, and imagines the saltness of the sea to be supplied, not only from rocks and other masses of salt, which at the beginning were, and in some countries may yet be found, either at the bottom of the sea, or at the sides, where the water can reach them, but also from the salt which the rivers, rains, and other waters, dissolve in their passage through divers parts of the earth, and at length carry with them into the sea. Buffon, and the generality of philosophers, acquiesce in the opinion of Boyle.--"After all, (says he,) it may be observed, that we are inquiring into the cause of a phenomenon, which it may be said had no secondary cause at all. It is taken for granted, in this disquisition, that the water which covered the globe in its chaotic state, was not impregnated with salt as at present, but quite fresh: now this is an opinion concerning a matter of fact, which can never be proved either way; and surely we extend our speculations very far, when we attempt to explain a phenomenon, primeval to, or coeval with, the formation of the earth."

This sensible writer then states the different experiments which have been made to discover the saltness of the sea, round the shores of Britain; and proposes the following simple method of ascertaining it with tolerable certainty:--

"As it is not every person who can make himself expert in the use of common means of estimating the quantity of salt contained in sea water, I will mention a method of doing it, which is so easy and simple, that every common sailor may understand and practise it; and which, at the same time, from the trials I have made of it, seems to be as exact a method as any that has yet been thought of.--Take a clean towel, or any other piece of cloth; dry it well before the sun or before the fire, then weigh it accurately, and note down its weight; dip it in the sea water, and, when taken out, wring it a little till it will not drip when hung up to dry; weigh it in this wet state, then dry it in the sun or at the fire, and when it is perfectly dry, weigh it again: the excess of the weight of the wetted cloth above its original weight, is the weight of the sea water imbibed by the cloth; and the excess of the weight of the cloth after being dried, above its original weight, is the specific gravity of the salt retained by the cloth; and by comparing this weight with the weight of the sea water imbibed by the cloth, we obtain the proportion of salt contained in that species of sea water."

Whoever undertakes to ascertain the quantity of salt contained in sea water, either by this or any other method, would do well to observe the state of the weather preceding the time when the sea water is taken out of the sea; for the quantity of salt contained in the water near the surface, may be influenced, both by the antecedent moisture, and the antecedent heat of the atmosphere. And this leads to the consideration of a question proposed by Aristotle,--Why are the upper parts of the sea salter and warmer than the lower? Some philosophers, admitting the fact, have followed him in attempting to explain it; whilst others have thought themselves authorized by experiment to deny the truth of the position; and those, perhaps, will argue with the greatest justness, who shall affirm that it is neither generally to be admitted, nor generally to be rejected, but that the sea in some places, and under certain circumstances, is salter and warmer at the surface, than at any considerable depth beneath it, while in many others the reverse is true. The question consists of two parts, betwixt which, though there probably is a connection, yet it is not so necessary a one as to hinder us from considering each part by itself.

With regard to the use of this salt property of sea water, it is observed, that the saltness of the sea preserves its waters pure and sweet, which otherwise would corrupt, and emit a stench like a filthy lake, and consequently that none of the myriads of creatures which now live therein could exist. From thence also the sea water becomes much heavier, and therefore ships of greater size and burden are safely borne thereon. Salt water also does not freeze so soon as fresh water, hence the seas are more free for navigation.

We shall now make a few observations on THE TIDES:--

Say, why should the collected main
Itself within itself contain?
Why to its caverns should it sometimes cree
And with delighted silence sleep
On the lov'd bosom of its parent deep?
Why should its num'rous waters stay
In comely discipline and fair array,
Till winds and tides exert their high commands?
Then prompt and ready to obey,
Why do the rising surges spread
Their op'ning ranks o'er earth's submissive head,
Marching through different paths to different lands?
_Prior._

The tides consist of two periodical motions of the waters of the sea, called the flux and reflux, or the flow and ebb. The cause of the tides is the attraction of the sun and moon, but chiefly of the latter; the waters of the immense ocean, forgetful, as it were, of their natural rest, move and roll in tides, obsequious to the strong attractive power of the moon, and weaker influence of the sun.

That the tides may have their full motion, the ocean in which they are produced ought to be extended from east to west 90°, or a quarter of a great circle of the earth, at least; because the places where the moon raises most, and most depresses the water, are at that distance from one another. Hence it appears, that it is only in the great oceans that such tides can be produced, and why, in the large Pacific ocean, they exceed those in the Atlantic. From this it is also obvious why the tides are not so great in the torrid zone, between Africa and America, where the ocean is narrower, as in the temperate zones on either side; and from this also, we may understand why the tides are so small in islands that are very far distant from the shore. It is manifest, that, in the Atlantic ocean, the water cannot rise on one shore, but by descending on the other; so that, on these shores, at an intermediate distance, it must continue at about a mean height between its elevation on the one, and descent on the other shore. As the tides pass over shoals, and run through streights into bays of the sea, their motion becomes more various, and their height depends on a great many circumstances. The tide that is produced in the western coast of Europe corresponds to the theory above described: thus, it is high water on the coast of Spain, Portugal, and the west of Ireland, about the third hour after the moon has passed the meridian; from thence it flows into the adjacent channels, as it finds the easiest passage. One current from it, for example, runs up by the south of England, and another comes in by the north of Scotland: they take a considerable time to move all this way, and it is high water sooner in the places to which they first come; and the tides even begin to fall at those places, while the two currents are yet going on to others that are further in their course. As they return, they are not able to raise a tide; because the water runs faster off than it returns, till by a new tide propagated from the ocean, the return of the current is stopped, and the water begins to rise again. The tide takes twelve hours to come from the ocean to London bridge, so that, when it is high water there, a new tide is already come to its height in the ocean, and, in some intermediate place, it must be low water at the same time.

In channels, therefore, and narrow seas, the progress of the tides may be, in some respects, compared to the motion of the waves of the sea. It may be observed, that when the tide runs over shoals, and flows upon flat shores, the water is raised to a greater height than in the open and deep oceans that have steep banks; because the force of its motion cannot be broken upon these level shores, till the water rises to a greater height. If a place communicates with two oceans, (or two different ways with the same ocean, one of which is a readier and easier passage than the other,) two tides may arrive at that place in different times, which, interfering with each other, may produce a greater variety of phenomena.

An extraordinary instance of this kind is mentioned at Bathsha, a port in the kingdom of Tonquin in the East Indies, of northern latitude 20° 50'. The day in which the moon passes the equator, the water stagnates there without any motion: as the moon removes from the equator, the water begins to rise and fall once a day; and it is high water at the setting of the moon, and low water at her rising. This daily tide increases for about seven or eight days, and then decreases for as many days by the same degrees, till this motion ceases when the moon has returned to the equator. When she has passed the equator, and declines towards the south pole, the water rises and falls again, as before; but it is high water now at the rising, and low water at the setting, of the moon.

We shall close this chapter with an account of the remarkable fact of WAVES STILLED BY OIL.--This wonderful property, though well known to the ancients, as appears from the writings of Pliny, was for many ages either quite unnoticed, or treated as fabulous by succeeding philosophers, till Dr. Franklin again attracted the attention of the learned to this subject; though it appears, from some anecdotes, that seafaring people have always been acquainted with it. Mr. Pennant, in his British Zoology, vol. iv. under the article _Seal_, takes notice, that when these animals are devouring a very oily fish, which they always do under water, the waves above are remarkably smooth; and by this the fishermen know where to find them. Sir Gilbert Lawson, who served long in the army at Gibraltar, assured Dr. Franklin, that the fishermen in that place are accustomed to pour a little oil on the sea, in order to still its motion, that they may be enabled to see the oysters lying at its bottom, which are there very large, and which they take up with a proper instrument. A similar practice is followed among fishermen in various other parts; and Dr. Franklin was informed by an old sea captain, that the fishermen of Lisbon, when about to return into the river, if they saw too great a surf upon the bar, would empty a bottle or two of oil into the sea, which would suppress the breakers, and allow them to pass freely. The Doctor having revolved in his mind all these pieces of information, became impatient to try the experiment himself. At last, having an opportunity of observing a large pond very rough with the wind, he dropped a small quantity of oil upon it. But having at first applied it on the lee side, the oil was driven back again upon the shore. He then went to the windward side, and poured on about a tea-spoonful of oil; this produced an instant calm over a space several yards square, which spread amazingly, and extended itself gradually till it came to the lee-side; making all that quarter of the pond, perhaps half an acre, as smooth as glass. This experiment was often repeated in different places, and was always attended with success.

CHAP. XLV.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA.--(_Concluded._)

"--------------------Adoring, own
The hand Almighty, who its channel'd bed
Immeasurable sunk, and pour'd abroad,
Fenc'd with eternal mounds, the fluid sphere;
With every wind to waft large commerce on,
Join pole to pole, consociate sever'd worlds,
And link in bonds of intercourse and love
Earth's universal family."

ON THE PERFECTION OF NAVIGATION.

The following account of the present wonderful perfection of navigation, is taken from a History of Voyages and Discoveries made in the North; translated from the German of John Reinhold Foster, LL.D.--

"Of all the arts and professions which have at any time attracted notice, none has ever appeared to be more astonishing and marvellous than that of navigation, in the state in which it is at present; an art which doubtless affords one of the most certain irrefragable proofs of the amazing powers of the human understanding. This cannot be made more evident, than when, taking a retrospective view of the tottering inartificial craft to which navigation owes its origin, we compare it to a noble and majestic edifice, containing 1000 men, together with their provisions, drink, furniture, wearing-apparel, and other necessaries, for many months, besides 100 pieces of heavy ordnance; and bearing all this vast apparatus safely, and as it were on the wings of the wind, across immense seas to the most distant shores. The following example may serve for the present to delineate at full length, as it were, the idea above alluded to. But first I must premise, that a huge unwieldy log of wood, with the greatest difficulty, and in the most uncouth manner, hollowed out in the inside, and somewhat pointed at both ends, and in this way set on a river for the purpose of transporting two or three persons belonging to one and the same family, across a piece of water a few feet deep, by the assistance of a pole pushed against the ground, cannot with any propriety be considered as the image of navigation in its first and earliest stage. For it seems evident to me, that people in the beginning only took three or four trunks of trees, and fastened them together, and then, by means of this kind of raft, got across such waters as were too deep for them to ford, and across which they could not well swim, with their children, and various kinds of goods which they might wish to preserve from being wet. The canoe, however, is a specimen of the art in a more advanced state, as this kind of craft is capable of having direction given to it, and even of so capital an improvement as that of having a sail added to it. For this reason I choose this vehicle for a standard, in preference to a mere raft, to which, imperfect as it is, it is so much superior.

"Let us, then, compare this with a large majestic floating edifice, the result of the ingenuity and labour of many hundreds of hands, and composed of a number of well-proportioned pieces, nicely fastened together by iron nails and bolts; and rendered so tight with tow and pitch, that no water can penetrate it. Now, in order to give motion and direction to this enormous machine, some astonishingly lofty pieces of timber have been fixed upright in it, and so many moveable cross pieces have been added to it, together with such a variety of pieces of strong linen cloth, for the purpose of catching the wind, and of receiving its impulse and propelling power, that the number of them amounts to upwards of thirty. For changing the direction of the yards and sails, according to particular circumstances, it has also been requisite to add a vast quantity of cordage and tackling; and nevertheless, even all this would not be sufficient for the perfect direction and government of the vessel, if there were not fastened to the hinder part of it, by means of hinges and hooks, a moveable piece of wood, very small indeed, in proportion to the whole machine, but the least inclination of which to either side is sufficient to give immediately a different direction to this enormously large mass, and that even in a storm, so that two men may direct and govern this swimming island with the same, or with greater ease, than a single man can do a boat. But if, besides, we consider, that, in a vessel like this, not a single piece is put in at random, but that every part of it has its determinate measure and proportion, and is fixed precisely in that place which is the most advantageous for it; that, throughout every part of it, there is distributed an astonishing quantity of blocks, stays, and pulleys, for the purpose of diminishing the friction, and of accelerating the motion of these parts; that even the bellying and vaulted part of the fabric, together with its sharp termination underneath, are proportioned according to the nicest calculations, and the most accurately determined rules; that the length and the thickness of the masts, the size of the booms and yards, the length, width, and strength of the sails and tackling, are all in due proportion to each other, according to certain rules founded upon the principles of motion: when we consider all this, I say, our admiration increases more and more at this great masterpiece of human power and understanding.

"Still, however, there are wanting a few traits to complete this description. A man in health consumes, in the space of twenty-four hours, about eight pounds of victuals and drink: consequently, 8000lb. of provisions are required daily in such a ship. Now, let us suppose a ship to be fitted out for three months only, and we shall find that she must be laden with 720,000lb. of provisions. A large forty-two pounder weighs about 6100lb. if made of brass, and about 5500lb. if iron; and generally there are twenty-eight or thirty of these on board a ship of 100 guns, the weight of which, exclusive of that of their carriages, amounts to 183,000lb.--on the second deck, thirty twenty-four pounders, each of which weighs about 5100lb. and therefore altogether 153,000lb.--the weight of the twenty-six or twenty-eight twelve-pounders on the lower deck, amounts to about 75,400lb.--that of the fourteen six-pounders on the upper deck, to about 26,600lb.--besides which, on the round tops, there are even three-pounders and swivels. Now, if to this we add, that the complete charge of a forty-two pounder weighs about 64lb. and that at least upwards of 100 charges are required for each gun, we shall find this to amount nearly to the same weight as the guns themselves. In addition to this, we must reflect, that every ship must have, by way of providing against exigencies, at least a second set of sails, cables, cordage, and tacklings, which altogether amount to a considerable weight. The stores, likewise, consisting of planks, pitch, and tow; the chests belonging to the officers and sailors; the surgeon's stores, and various other articles requisite on a long voyage; as also the small arms, bayonets, swords, and pistols, are no inconsiderable load; to which we must finally add the weight of the crew, which is not very trifling: so that one of these large ships carries at least 2162 tons burden, or 4,324,000lb. and at the same time is steered and governed with as much ease as the smallest boat. Now, the consideration of these circumstances alone, is sufficient to excite the most serious reflections in a contemplative mind; and yet, if such a ship sailed along the coast only, and never lost sight of the shore, as the navigators of old used to do, we might still be tempted to look upon navigation as an easy and trifling business. But the finding the straightest and shortest way over an ocean of more than sixty or eighty degrees in longitude, and thirty or forty in latitude; or across a track from 4000 to 6000 miles in extent, by day and by night, in fair weather or in foul; as well when the sky is overcast as when it is clear, and often with no other guide than the compass, and the being able to determine the true position of the ship at sea, by the height of the sun, though this latter be enveloped in clouds, or to direct its course by the moon and stars with such exactness and precision, as not to make a mistake of the value of half a degree, or thirty miles; this at least shews the progress and great perfection of an art practised by a class of people, of whose understanding many conceited and supercilious landsmen have but a mean opinion, and whose plain and simple manners they frequently take the liberty of turning into ridicule, forgetting how much they are indebted to their skill and prowess.

"A violent storm of wind will make us tremble with fear, even in a strong well-built house, and in the midst of a populous city; yet we have seldom or never either seen or experienced the vast power of the enraged waves, when beat about by the winds, and dashed against each other till they seem transformed into froth and vapour, and the whole surface of the ocean presents to the eye a confused scene of immense watery mountains and bottomless precipices; and yet on such a sea as this the true seaman, provided he has but a good ship, rides with calm and unshaken courage, and thinks himself as safe in the midst of the ocean as in the best fortified castle."

With gallant pomp and beauteous pride,
The floating pile in harbour rode;
Proud of her freight, the swelling tide
Reluctant left the vessel's side,
And rais'd it as it flow'd.

The waves, with eastern breezes curl'd,
Had silver'd half the liquid plain;
The anchors weigh'd, the sails unfurl'd,
Serenely mov'd the wooden world,
And stretch'd along the main.

CHAP. XLVI.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WATERFALLS, LAKES, GULFS, WHIRLPOOLS, &c.

_The Falls of Niagara--Lake of Killarney--Lake Solfatara--Whirlpool
near Suderoe--Maelstrom--Gulf Stream--New Island starting from the
Sea._

Fountains and ponds he adds, and lakes immense,
Descending streams the winding borders fence;
This, deep-absorb'd, the darksome cavern laves,
These to the ocean roll their azure waves;
There, uncontroll'd, they meet the roaring tide,
And dash, for verdant banks, the hoar cliff's side.
_Ovid._

NIAGARA is a river of the United States, which flows from Lake Erie, and runs by a north-west course into the south-west end of Lake Ontario, constituting part of the boundary between the United States and Canada. It is thirty-four miles long, including its meanders. About twenty miles below Lake Erie is the great cataract, called THE FALLS OF NIAGARA, which is justly reckoned one of the greatest natural curiosities in the world. These falls run from south-south-east to north-north-west; and the rock of the falls crosses them, not in a right line, but forms a kind of figure like a hollow semicircle, or horse-shoe. Above the falls, in the middle of the river, is an island called Grand Isle, about nine hundred or one thousand feet long, the lower end of which is just at the perpendicular edge of the fall. On both sides of this island runs all the water that comes from the lakes of Canada; viz. Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Before the water comes to this island, it runs but slowly, compared with its motion afterwards, when it grows the most rapid in the world, running with a surprising swiftness before it comes to the fall. It is perfectly white, and in many places is thrown high up into the air. At this island, the river divides into two channels: the perpendicular descent of the north-east channel, as measured by Dr. M'Causlin, is one hundred and sixty-three feet; that of the north-west, one hundred and forty-three; and the breadth of the cataract and island, above a mile.

The water that runs down on the west side is more rapid, flows in greater abundance, and is whiter, than that on the east side, and seems to outfly an arrow in swiftness. At the principal fall, on looking up the river, one may see that the water is every where exceedingly steep, almost like the side of a hill; but upon looking at the fall itself, it is impossible to express the amazement it occasions. The height of it, as measured by mathematical instruments, is exactly one hundred and thirty-seven feet; and when the water is come to the bottom, it rebounds back to a very great height in the air. The noise is heard at the distance of forty-five miles. At fort Niagara, when they hear the noise of the fall more loud than ordinary, they are sure that a north-east wind will follow; which is the most surprising, as the fort lies south-west from the fall. Sometimes the fall makes a much greater noise than at others, and this is held for an infallible sign of approaching rain or bad weather. From the place where the water falls, there arises a great quantity of vapour, like very thick smoke, insomuch, that when viewed at a distance, one would think that the Indians had set the forests on fire. These vapours rise high in the air when it is calm, but are dispersed by the wind when it blows hard. In September and October, such quantities of dead water-fowl are found every morning below the fall, on the shore, that the garrison of the fort live chiefly upon them. Besides the fowls, they find several sorts of dead fish, also deer, bears, and other animals, which have tried to cross the water above the fall: the larger animals are generally found broken to pieces. Just below, a little way from the great fall, the water is not rapid, but goes in circles, and whirls like a boiling pot; which however does not hinder the Indians going upon it in small canoes a fishing; but a little further, and lower, the other smaller falls begin.

There is an island in the middle of the river above the fall, where the Indians go often to kill deer, which have tried to cross the river, and are driven upon it by the stream. On the west side of this island are some small islands or rocks of no consequence. The east side of the river is almost perpendicular, the west side more sloping. In former times, a part of the rock, at the fall which is on the west side of the island, hung over in such a manner, that the water which fell perpendicularly from it, left a vacancy below, so that people could go under between the rock and the water; but the prominent part some years ago broke off, and fell down. The breadth of the great fall, as it runs in a semicircle, is reckoned to be about 300 feet. Below the fall, in the holes of the rocks, are great plenty of eels, which the Indians and French catch with their hands. Every day, when the sun shines, may be seen from ten A. M. till two P. M. below the fall, a glorious rainbow, and sometimes two, one within the other. The more vapours that float, the brighter and clearer is the rainbow. When the wind carries the vapours from that place, the rainbow is gone, but appears again as soon as new vapours arise. From the fall to the landing above it, where the canoes from the Lake Erie put ashore, (or from the fall to the upper end of the carrying place,) is half a mile. Lower than this, the canoes dare not venture. They have often found below the fall, fragments of human bodies, that have unhappily been precipitated over the fall. The French say, that they have often thrown great trees into the water above, to see them carried over this precipice with the vast body of water, which nothing can resist: these go down with surprising swiftness, but can never be seen afterwards; from whence has arisen the conjecture that there was a bottomless abyss just under the fall. But the most reasonable supposition is, that, by the powerful agency of the water, they were broken into such diminutive fragments, as to render it impossible that they should ever be recognized for the same. The rock of the fall is composed of a gray limestone.

We shall next take a view of some of the most remarkable lakes; and the first we would notice, is the LAKE OF KILLARNEY.--This is a beautiful lake of Ireland, in the county of Kerry, otherwise called LOUGH LEAN, from its being surrounded by high mountains. It is divided into three parts, called the Lower, Middle, and Upper Lake. The northern, or lower lake, is six miles in length, and from three to four in breadth. On the side of one of the mountains is O'Sullivan's Cascade, which falls into the lake with a roar that strikes the timid with awe. The view of this sheet of water is uncommonly fine; it appears as if it were descending from an arch of wood, which overhangs it above seventy feet in height. The promontory of Mucruss, which divides the upper from the lower lake, is quite enchanting; and a road is carried through the centre of its promontory, which unfolds all the interior beauties of the place. Among the distant mountains, Turk appears an object of magnificence; while Mangerton's more lofty, though less interesting summit, soars above the whole. The passage to the upper lake is round the extremity of Mucruss, which confines it on one side, and the approaching mountains on the other. Here is a celebrated rock, called the Eagle's Nest, which produces wonderful echoes; the report of a single cannon is answered by a succession of peals resembling the loudest thunder, and at length dies away among the distant mountains. The upper is four miles long, and from two to three broad. It is almost surrounded by mountains, from which descend a number of beautiful cascades. The islands in this lake are numerous, and afford an amazing variety of picturesque views. The centre lake, which communicates with the upper, is small in comparison with the other two, and cannot boast of equal variety; but the shores are, in many places, indented with beautiful bays, surrounded by dark groves of trees. The east boundary is formed by the base of Mangerton, down the steep side of which descends a cascade, visible for 150 yards. This fall of water is supplied by a circular lake, near the summit of the mountain, called the Devil's Punch Bowl; which, on account of its immense depth, and the continual overflow of water, is considered as one of the greatest curiosities in Killarney. One of the most delightful prospects which this universally admired lake affords, is from a rising ground near the ruined cathedral of Aghadoe.

LAKE SOLFATARA.--This lake is in the Compagna of Rome, near Tivoli, anciently called Albulus. It has what are called three floating islands, but they are only apparently so, being composed of bunches of sedges and bulrushes, glued together by the bitumen which swims on the lake, and the sulphur with which it is impregnated, and covered with sand and dust blown from the adjacent banks of the lake. These islands are from twelve to fifteen yards long, and the soil is strong enough to bear six persons, who, by a pole, may move to different parts of the lake. This lake has an outlet, whence its waters run, forming a whitish muddy stream, into the Teverone, the ancient Anio, emitting a vapour of a sulphureous smell as they flow. The ground near this rivulet, as well as on the banks of the lake, resounds with a hollow sound when a horse gallops over it. The water has also a petrifying quality, covering every substance that it passes over with a hard white stony substance. On throwing a bundle of sticks or shrubs into the lake, they will in a few days be covered with this stony crust; and this petrifying quality is even stronger in the rivulet that runs from it, than in the lake itself, and still increases till it falls into the Teverone. These small white incrustations that cover the pebbles in the bottom of the lake and rivulet, being somewhat like sugar-plums, are called Confections of Tivoli. Fish abound in the Teverone above and below Tivoli, till it receives the petrifying water; after which, during the remainder of its course to the Tiber, there are none.

Our next object of curiosity is a WHIRLPOOL near SUDEROE.--Suderoe is one of the Fero isles, situated to the north of Scotland. Near this place there is a remarkable whirlpool, occasioned by a crater sixty-one fathoms deep in the centre, and from fifty to fifty-five on the sides. The water forms four fierce circumgyrations. The point they begin at is on the side of a large bason, where commences a range of rocks, running spirally, and terminating at the verge of the crater. This range is extremely rugged, and covered with water, from the depth of twelve to eight fathoms only. It forms four equidistant wreaths, with a channel from thirty-five to twenty fathoms deep between each. On the outside, beyond that depth, the sea suddenly sinks to eighty and ninety. On the south border of the bason is a lofty rock, called Sumboe Munk, noted for the multitude of birds which frequent it. On one side the water is only three or four fathoms deep, on the other fifteen. The danger at most times, especially in storms, is very great. Ships are irresistibly drawn in; the rudder loses its power; and the waves beat as high as the masts; so that an escape is almost miraculous: yet at the reflux, in fine weather, the inhabitants venture for the sake of fishing.

Our next subject is the celebrated MAELSTROM.--This is a very dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Norway, in the province of Nordland, and district of Lofoden, near the island of Moskoe, whence it also has its name of Moskoe-strom. Of this amazing whirlpool, Jonas Ramus gives the following account:--"The mountain of Helseggen, in Lofoden, lies a league from the island of Ver, and betwixt these two runs that large and dreadful stream called Moskoe-strom, from the island of Moskoe, which is in the middle of it; together with several circumjacent isles, as Ambaaran, half a quarter of a league north, Iflesen, Hoeholm, Kiedholm, Suarven, and Buckholm. Moskoe lies about half a quarter of a mile south of the island of Ver, and betwixt them these small islands, Otterholm, Flimen, Sandfiesen, and Stockholm. Betwixt Lofoden and Moskoe, the depth of the water is between thirty-six and forty fathoms; but on the side towards Ver, the depth decreases so as not to afford a convenient passage for a vessel, without the risk of splitting on the rocks, which sometimes happens even in the calmest weather: when it is flood, the stream runs up the country between Lofoden and Moskoe with a boisterous rapidity; but the roar of its impetuous ebb to the sea is scarce equalled by the loudest and most dreadful cataracts, the noise being heard several leagues off; and the vortices, or pits, are of such an extent and depth, that if a ship comes within its attraction, it is inevitably absorbed and carried down to the bottom, and there beaten to pieces against the rocks; and when the water relaxes, the fragments thereof are thrown up again: but these intervals of tranquillity are only at the turn of the ebb and flood, in calm weather, and last but a quarter of an hour, its violence gradually returning. When the stream is most boisterous, and its fury heightened by a storm, it is dangerous to come within a Norway mile of it; boats, ships, and yachts, having been carried away, by not guarding against it before they were within its reach. It likewise happens frequently, that whales come too near the stream, and are overpowered by its violence; and then it is impossible to describe their howlings and bellowings, in their fruitless struggles to disengage themselves. A bear, once attempting to swim from Lofoden to Moskoe, with a design of preying upon the sheep at pasture in the island, afforded the like spectacle to the people; the stream caught him, and bore him down, whilst he roared terribly, so as to be heard on shore. Large stocks of fir and pine trees, after being absorbed by the current, rise again, broken and torn to such a degree as if bristles grew on them. This plainly shews the bottom to consist of craggy rocks, among which they are whirled to and fro. This stream is regulated by the flux and reflux of the sea, it being constantly high and low water every six hours. In 1645, early in the morning of Sexagesima Sunday, it raged with such noise and impetuosity, that on the island of Moskoe, the very stones of the houses fell to the ground. When this whirlpool is agitated by a storm, its vortex will reach vessels five or six miles distant."

GULF-STREAM.--This is a remarkable current in the ocean, which runs along the coast, at unequal distances, from Cape Florida to the Isle of Sables and the banks of Newfoundland, where it turns off and runs through the Western Islands, thence to the coast of Africa, and along that coast in a southern direction till it arrives at and supplies the place of those waters carried by the constant trade-winds from the coast of Africa towards the west; thus producing a constant circulating current. This stream is about seventy-five miles from the shores of the southern states, and the distance increases as you proceed northward. The breadth of it is about forty or fifty miles, widening towards the north. Its common rapidity is three miles an hour. A north-east wind narrows the stream, renders it more rapid, and drives it nearer the coast. North-west and west winds produce a contrary effect. The Gulf-stream is supposed to be occasioned by the trade-winds, that are constantly driving the water to the westward, which being compressed in the gulf of Mexico, finds a passage between Florida and the Bahama islands, and runs to the north-east along the American coast.

A chart of this Gulf-stream was published by Dr. Franklin, in 1768, principally from the information of Captain Folger. This was confirmed by the ingenious experiments of Dr. Blagden, published in 1781, who found that the water of the gulf-stream was from six to eleven degrees warmer than the water of the sea, through which it runs; which must have been occasioned by its being brought from a hotter climate.

We close the present chapter with an ACCOUNT OF A NEW ISLAND EMERGING FROM THE SEA.--The description is taken from the Edinburgh Review, No. 46, September, 1814.

In the neighbourhood of Oonalashca, which is situated about the centre of the Alentian chain, a new island, nearly twenty miles in circumference, has been formed within these twenty years. The following is the account of it, which M. Lisiansky collected from eye-witnesses at Cadinck:--

"In the evening, while I was alone, employed in writing the memorandums of my journal, a Russian introduced himself, who had resided on the island of Oonalashca, when a new island started up in its vicinity. I had heard of this phenomenon, and was therefore desirous to learn what he knew respecting it. He said, that about the middle of April, 1797, a small island was seen where none had been seen before: that the first intimation of its appearance had been brought by some Alentians to Captain's Harbour, who, returning from fishing, observed a great smoke issuing out of the sea: that this was the smoke of the volcano, which was then gradually rising above the surface of the sea, and which, in May, 1798, burst forth with a blaze, that was distinctly seen from a settlement called Macooshina, on the island of Oonalashca, at the distance of no less than forty miles to the north-west. This new island is tolerably high, and about twenty miles in circumference. It has been remarked, that it has not increased in size since the year 1799; and that no alteration has taken place in its appearance, except that some of the highest points have been thrown down by violent eruptions."

CHAP. XLVII.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BURNING SPRINGS.

_Naphtha Springs--Burning Springs in Kentucky--Hot Springs of
Iceland--Hot Springs of Ouachitta--Other Burning Springs._

"Adored Artificer! what skill divine,
What wonders, in the wide creation shine!"