LESSON LXXIII.
pro por'tions, relations of parts to each other.
in
te'ri or, the inside.
al a bas'ter, a kind of
whitish stone.
chasm, a deep opening.
a're a, any surface, as the floor of a room.
an'cient,
belonging to past ages.
un ex am'pled, without a
similar case.
co los'sal, of great size.
feat'ure, any thing worthy of notice.
dra'per y,
hangings of any kind.
o ver awed', held in a state
of fear.
sur pass'ing, exceeding others.
NATURAL WONDERS OF AMERICA.—PART II.
THE MAMMOTH CAVE.
In the year 1809, a hunter named Hutchins, while pursuing a bear in Edmondson County, Kentucky, was surprised to see the animal disappear into a small opening in the side of a hill.
Upon examining the spot, Hutchins found that the opening led into a cave. Following up the examination soon after, it was discovered that the cave was immense in its proportions.
On account of its great size, it was named Mammoth Cave. It has an area of several hundred square miles, and two hundred and twenty-three known and numbered avenues, with a united length of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles.
The interior of this cave is divided by huge columns and walls of stone into chambers of various shapes and sizes. Some of these are large enough to afford standing room for thousands of people.
One of the largest of these chambers is called Mammoth Dome. This room is four hundred feet long, one hundred and fifty feet wide, and two hundred and fifty feet in height.
The walls of this grand room are curtained by alabaster drapery in vertical folds and present to the eye a scene of unexampled beauty and grandeur.
A large gateway at one end of this room opens into another room, in which the position of the huge stone pillars, reminds one of the ruins of some ancient temple.
Six colossal columns, or pillars, eighty feet high and twenty-five feet in diameter, standing in a half circle, are among the imposing attractions of this wonderful room.
Another striking feature of Mammoth Cave is what is called the Dead Sea. This body of water is four hundred feet long, forty feet wide, and very deep.
A curious fish is found in this dark lake. It is without eyes, and, in form and color, is different from any fish found outside the cave.
There are found also a blind grasshopper, without wings, and a blind crayfish of a whitish color, both of which are very curious and interesting.
The fact that these living creatures are blind would seem to indicate that nature had produced them for the distinct purpose of inhabiting this dark cave.
NIAGARA FALLS.
Of all the sights to be seen on this continent, there is none that equals the great Falls of Niagara River, situated about twelve miles north of Buffalo, in the State of New York.
On first beholding this most wonderful of all known cataracts, one is overawed by its surpassing grandeur, "and stunned by the sound of the falling waters as by a roar of thunder."
For quite a distance above the falls, the Niagara River is about one mile wide, and flows with great swiftness.
Just at the edge of the cataract stands Goat Island, which divides the waters of the river, and makes two distinct cataracts; one on the Canadian side, and one on the American side of the river.
The one on the Canadian side, called from its shape the Horse-shoe Fall, is eighteen hundred feet wide, and one hundred, and fifty-eight feet high. The other, called the American Fall, is six hundred feet wide, and one hundred and sixty-four feet high.
As the immense body of water leaps over this vast precipice, it breaks into a soft spray, which waves like a plume in the wind. At times, when the rays of the sun strike this spray, a rainbow is formed which stretches itself across the deep chasm, and produces a beautiful effect.
During the winter, much of the water and spray freezes, and as each moment adds to the frozen mass, some curious and wonderful ice formations are produced.
Sometimes, during a very cold winter, the ice at the foot of the falls forms a complete bridge from one shore to the other.
An interesting feature of a visit to these falls is a descent to the level of the foot of the cataract behind the great sheet of water.
A long flight of steps leads down to a secure footing between the rocky precipice and the falling torrent. By a narrow footpath, it is possible for the visitor to pass between this column of water and the wall of rock.
Once behind the sheet of water, the roar is deafening. One can only cling to the narrow railing or his guide, as he picks his way for more than a hundred feet behind the roaring torrent.
A single misstep, a slip, or a fall, and nothing remains but a horrible death by being dashed to pieces upon the jagged rocks below.
Directions for Reading.—Point out four places in the lesson where words would likely be run together by a careless reader.
The word cañon is pronounced can'yon.
Language Lesson.—Give rules for marks of punctuation and capital letters used in the first paragraph of the account of Niagara Falls.
Let pupils make out an analysis in five or six parts, treating some well-known scene.