USA > New York > Lewis County > History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 7
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The Trenton limestone forms the highest and broadest terrace of the series, rising from 300 to 600 feet above the river, and spreading out into the level fertile region which every traveler through the country has admired. These limestones seldom appear at the surface except at the edge of the terraces and in the water courses, and every stream flowing across them has more or less of a smooth rocky bed, and a picturesque cascade where it tumbles down to the next lower level. Deer river, in Den- mark, Roaring brook or Martin's creek in Martinsburgh, and Sugar river in Leyden, have worn deep yawning chasms into the rock, and present cas- cades of singular wildness and beauty well worthy of a visit by the pleasure- seeking tourist.
45
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
The western tributaries of Black river have usually no valleys, except the immediate channels they have worn. Drift agencies have given the appear- ance of several oblique valleys coming down from the northwest across the limestone terraces, which usually have a drift deposit on their northern side, while on the south the rock is exposed and often furrowed in the direction of these oblique valleys. Deer river might almost as well have turned northward at Copenhagen into Sandy creek, as to have taken its present course, and in fact Sandy creek rises in a swale just north of the village.
In Martinsburgh and Lowville, veins of calcite with the sulphurets of zinc, lead and iron have been found. In the former, carbonate of lead, and in the lat- ter fluor spar occurred. These mineral veins are of scientific interest, from the evidence they afford of electrical de- posit. They were formed in what ap- peared to be natural fissures of the rock, and the sulphuret of zinc was attached to each wall, upon which was a layer of lead ore and lastly of pyrites, the latter often covering the crystals of calcite or appearing with cavities left by their solution. The lead was sometimes crys- talized and imbedded in spar, or grouped with clusters of that mineral in masses of much beauty. The crystals were small, and their surfaces were not bright, but their forms were complete, and the angles often truncated.
A range of high lands, known as Tug Hill,* runs through the county parallel
* Said to have been named by Isaac Perry and -- Buell, on their first journey into the county, upon reach- ing the top of the hill on the old road west of Turin village.
The more interesting of these is Whetstone Gulf. The chasm extending about three miles up, is bordered by precipitous banks 200 lo 300 feet in height. The first two miles was formerly mostly occupied by a heavy growth of timber, but the last mile presents but little of this, except whal overhangs the banks, or finds root on the steep, crumbling slate rock. The stream is here quite irregular in its course, presenting sharp anglesand sudden lurns, which afford, at every step, new points of
with the river, and from three to seven miles from it. It rests upon the lime- stone and consists of Utica slate and Hudson river shales, rising by a rounded slope to an elevation of from 500 to 1,000 feet above the flats below, and spread- ing out in a level or slightly broken re- gion, into Oneida, Oswego and Jefferson counties. Many beaver meadows occur along the sluggish streams rising from extensive swamps in this region, and the waters from this plateau flow from it into the Mohawk and Black rivers and Lake Ontario. The largest streams flow- ing from this region are Fish creek and Salmon river, each of which have val- leys of considerable extent, and receive numerous tributaries. Deer river also gathers the waters of a wide district, and some of the head waters of Sandy creek. The large streams flowing down have uniformly worn deep channels, the larger of them several miles in length, and in Martinsburgh presenting some of the wildest scenery in the State.
interest, and a constant succession of magnificent views. The walls approach nearer as we ascend the stream, un- til they may be both reached by the outstretched arms, and the torrent is compressed into a deep, narrow chasm, which forbids farther progress without difficulty and danger. A rough wagon road has been made about two miles up the gulf, and in low water parties can cross the stream everywhere without difficulty.
Whetstone Gulf has lost much of its wild native grand- eur in the clearing off of the forests that once bordered and overhung its banks, and from fires that have ravaged the timber-growth upon its sides. The saw mills above have discharged their rubbish into the stream which finds lodgment along its course, and slides now and then en- cumber the ravine, but generally not for a long time, for they are very apt to get washed out by the first floods.
About four years since, the upper mill-dam broke away, and sent down a wave that cleared out everything movable and swept off the two bridges near the mouth of the gulf. In rebuilding them, an effort has been made to establish stone piers and abutments of heavy mason- ry, but in this it was impossible to find a rock-bottom, for nowhere in the county can the slate of the hills be seen resting in actual contact with the limestone.
In the bed of Sandy creek, upon the road from Co- penhagen to Rodman, the limestone can be seen forming the bed of the stream, and the slate the banks. Between Boonville and Johnstown the slate can be seen resting against the gneiss rock, at a steep angle, the whole of the limestone series being absent.
About two miles west of Martinsburgh village, on Martin's creek, occurs another gorge worn in the slate hills, of much the same character. From a vast Irian- gular pyramid of slale rock formed by the junction of two gulfs, it has acquired the name of Chimney Point.
46
HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
Every spring torrent has its ravine, and the limestone flats below, are so covered with slate gravel, that the line of junction of the two rocks can no- where be seen in the county. Leyden Hill is a detached mass of this slate for- mation, cut off by a valley from the main portion. The road from Constableville to Rome, rises about 1,000 feet above the latter place and runs many miles over this range of highlands, which comprises the whole of Lewis, Osceola, High Mar- ket, Montague and Pinckney, and parts of Leyden, West Turin, Turin, Martins- burgh, Harrisburgh and Denmark. The black oxyde of manganese occurs in swamps in Martinsburgh on the top of Tug Hill, and weak sulphur springs
To the left of this, as seen from the banks above, a stream of moderate size falls into a beautiful cascade about sixty feet, breaking into a sheet of foam upon the rough bed, down which it glides. A few rods below, it unites with the longer and larger branch, whose ravine extends half a mile further up. Upon following the latter we arrive at a cascade, where the stream falling from a narrow chasm into a pool, forbids further prog- ress. The strata of slate, elsewhere nearly or quite level, are here highly inclined, but the disturbance in the stratification only extends a few rods. Chimney Point has the advantage of presenting its finest view from the banks, but such as prefer to descend, will find them- selves amply rewarded by the pleasing variety of scenery
which the locality presents. This ravine is surrounded by cultivated fields, and has now none of the wild soli- tude it presented when first seen by surveyors.
A thrilling incident occurred at Chimney Point, in the spring of 1834, which, were it not well authenticated would scarcely appear credible. It is, however, too well known and attested to admit of a doubt, and must be placed on the list of wonderful escapes. Chillus D. Peebles, who lived adjacent, was clearing the land, and rolling the logs off into the gulf, when by an unexpected motion of a log he was thrown off the precipice. He fell about one hundred and fifty feet, and struck on the steep slope formed by the gravel crumbled from the cliffs above, from whence he bounded and rolled to the bottom, about a hundred feet further. The accident was seen by a man not far off, who hastened to descend by the usual path, expecting to find the unfortunate man dashed to atoms or mangled and dying on the crags below. To his infinite surprise he met Peebles, who had got up and started to return, which he did without aid, and in less time than the person who came to assist him. Upon reaching the top he was delirious, but after a few days he returned to his labor as nsnal.
In the sonth branch of the stream, about a quarter of a mile above, is a cascade of much beauty when seen at high water. It has been called the " Silver Cascade." Above this the stream rises to the general level of the country, and formerly flowed through beaver meadows.
Chimney Point is easily seen from the bank above, and from its facility of access is often visited by pleasure parties.
known in the early settlement as deer licks, are common but unimportant .* The limestones and slates in this county abound in characteristic fossils of great scientific interest. About half a mile below the foot of Tug Hill, on the line of junction between the slate and limestone, there occurs a strip of tough blue clay averaging perhaps forty rods in width, which may be traced from one end of the county to the other. In the state of nature this was a line of ash or cedar swamp, and when cleared and drained it affords a strong meadow or grass land, but it can not well be plowed. The slates allow the rains to percolate down through their seams until the water reaching the limestone finds its way to the surface in this line of springs. West of the strip, slate may be found any- where, by digging through the soil and drift. East of it, it can be found no- where, except in broken gravel washed down by streams.
Drift deposits occur promiscuously over every part of the county, usually in rounded ridges. The largest of these are southeast of Denmark village, where the deposit is miles in extent and of great
* One of these occurs near the head of Whetstone gulf, and another I mile S. W. of Houseville on House's creek. One sulphur spring of some interest ocenrs in the limestone near C. S. Sheldon's Cheese Factory, on lot 14 in the N. W. part of Lowville, which from the earliest settlement has enjoyed a local reputation for its medicinal properties. It issues from the foot of a low terrace of Trenton limestone within a few feet of the upper strata of that rock, and its sulphurons taste and odor is apparently dne to sulphuret of iron disseminated in the rock. It occurs on the west side of a small mill stream a few rods below a former grist mill, and the spot is shaded by a thin growth of trees. The spring is curbed about three feet deep and the water is clear. Now and then a few bubbles of inflammable gas rise from the bottom, and at some periods the dis- charge of gas is said to be sufficiently active to give the spring the appearance of boiling. The water may be easily drank, and as he measured it in 1859, flows off at the rate of about six quarts in a minute.
Another sulphur spring a mile west of Lowville village, led to the erection of a large hotel in 1872, with the in- tention of maintaining a sanitarium. The enterprise has not been thus farsuccessful, partly from faults of early management, and more from the competition of inore noted localities. Dr. Homer G. Brooks was the last resident keeper of this establishment, but since his death has been closed.
47
GENERAL SCENERY.
depth. Remarkable deposits of drift forming a series of sharp hills and deep valleys occur along under the limestone terraces in Denmark and in Turin. By the term drift, we wish to include all earthy matter or detached rocky masses lying upon the undisturbed rock, except- ing soil derived from the disintegration of the rock underneath, and the alluvium or soil washed down and deposited by water, or formed by organic growth. The soil of the drift is variable, being in some places light and sandy, while at others it is hard loam or clay. In the Primary region, especially in Diana, there are found in many places, flat inter- vales and marshes which appear to have been formerly lakes that have been filled in by the encroachment of vegetable growth and by the soil washed down from the ridges adjacent. Perhaps the most interesting of these ancient beds of lakes or ponds, occurs in Denmark, a little to the right of the road leading from Copenhagen to Watertown, per- haps half a mile from the county line. The bottom is marl, with remains of shells like those now living in fresh water ponds in this region. Above this is muck, filling the whole so that it is now a swamp without drainage. It was in this muck and marl that the mam- moth's tusk was found described in our account of Denmark. Peat has been observed in some of these marshes, and marl deposited in the bottom of the lakes. Boulders of gneiss and other pri- mary or igneous rock, are found promis- cuously resting upon all the formations of the county, or imbeded in the soil. In many cases clusters of these masses are found together, favoring by their ap- pearance the theory that they had been transported by fields of floating ice, at a period when this region was covered by the ocean.
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The scenery of the county, excepting the ravines and cascades above de-
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scribed, presents nothing majestic, and may be regarded as beautiful rather than grand. From the western side of the river, the eastern slope appears rising by insensible degrees until lost in the blue level range of the forests of Herkimer county, with here and there a point slightly elevated above the general sur- face, indicating the position of the higher mountain peaks of Hamilton county. The highest primary ranges in Lewis county, occur in its southeastern corner, in the town of Greig. On an autumnal morning, or after a summer shower, patches of white mist resting upon the surface, indicate the position and extent of the forest lakes, and at times a curtain of fog hanging over the river, may shut out the view entirely. As viewed from the brow of the slate ranges, the panorama of the valley and of the distant horizon is exceedingly beautiful, and sunrise as seen from these hills on a clear morning, will amply re- pay the labor of an early walk to their summit. The beaver meadows of the western plateau region, are usually bor- dered by a thrifty growth of balsam fir trees, whose dense conical masses of dark evergreen, give a characteristic as- pect to the scenery of these open mead- ows in the bosom of the forests. No prospect can be conceived more cheer- less than the swamps which extend for miles along the head waters of Fish creek, and other streams, which have their sources in these highlands. They are mostly without trees or shrubs, ex- cepting here and there a slender tama- rack, festooned with gray hanging moss. Where the soil is of sufficient stability to support them, a growth of alder shrubs may be traced along the margin of the channels, but in many places the surface may be shaken to the distance of many feet, and a pole may be thrust to an al- most indefinite depth.
Viewed from the eastern side, the
48
HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
limestone terraces and slate hills on the west, are seen to great advantage, and successive steps by which the surface rises, are distinctly observable. The cul- tivation of more than eighty years has quite changed the natural surface of the landscape, and a patch of reserved woodland here and there alone remains. Viewed from a distant eastern point, the horizon towards the north drops down as the hills are of less elevation towards the lake, and the terraces become much broader. At the period when Lake On- tario, or more probably an estuary from the sea, flowed up to the ridges, now nearly four hundred feet above its sur- face, the northeastern portion of the county might have been submerged, as traces of these ridges are found in Wilna, near the borders of this county. on the road leading from Carthage to the Natural Bridge. We find evidence that the water last covering this flat region northward, was salt water, from the shells found in the clay near Ogdens- burgh and elsewhere, which are marine shells, identical as to species with those now living upon the coast of Greenland.
The broad open valley of the Black river, must have been eroded by a vast glacier, slowly advancing southward from a more northerly region, at a period which may be reckoned as among the latest in the earth's history, if we compare it with the date when the older limestones, and somewhat newer shales were deposited. The source from whence the primary rock found as boulders in the soil and on the surface everywhere, must have been to the far north, in Canada. Some of these trans- ported masses are of enormous sizes, and they are occasionally found densely crowded together, or in long moraines, extending for miles along the country, generally in lines having a northerly and southerly direction; and occasionally we find among these erratic masses, rocks,
unlike any that we have in situ, any- where in the State of New York. Among these strangers are greenstone, epidote, nephaline, and forms of porphyry and basalt, that have evidently been the product of ancient volcanic action.
The highest point in the county is believed to be Gomer Hill, in Turin, where a signal station has been estab- lished by the Government, as an angle in the system of triangulation that is being extended over the whole country. Upon one of the preliminary maps in the office of the Coast and Geodetic Sur- veys, at Washington, we notice that a line from this hill runs to a point on the eastern horizon, from whence another line extends to a signal point on Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in the State. Along these lines, the surveyors when at work, flash reflections of sun- light, and by intercepting the light for longer or shorter intervals, are able to spell out signals, and converse as readily as if connected by telegraphic wires, the alphabet used being in principle much the same.
CHAPTER V.
NOTES UPON THE SEASONS, AND UN- USUAL PHENOMENA.
T
HE following items are a brief re- sume of the more important mete-
* The most wonderful example of conveying tele- graphic messages by light, ever known, occurred a few years ago, in the surveys going on in Spain and Algeria. In each of these countries there were two high moun- lains that could be seen rising from the opposite side, just above the waters of the Mediterranean, and from each of these four peaks, the other three could be seen. It was only needed that luminous points should be ob- tained, in order to measure the exact distances between them. They first tried sunlight, but the most powerful rays they could condense upon reflectors, could not pen- etrate to that distance. They next made mule paths to their summits, and carried up the materials for steam power and electrical apparatus. They were then, by electric lights, able to get beams of light that would cross the sea, and found the means to establish lines on the African side, with the greatest precision, and to an indefinite extent. By means of these triangulations, the precise distances between prominent points all over our county, may be measured with the utmost ease and accuracy.
49
NOTES UPON THE SEASONS.
orological phenomena that have been recorded in the years mentioned :-
1799 .- The summer pleasant, and cooled by frequent showers. A slight frost occurred early in September, which was not followed by hard frost till De- cember. Heavy rains occurred in Sep- tember and October, followed by a mild and pleasant Autumn. The winter fol- lowing was open, with snow of moder- ate depth.
1800 .- Snows disappeared on the last of March ; the crops good and the au- tumn more pleasant than the former. The winter of 1801-'02 was memorable as warm and open. Many families, in- tending to remove from New England by the first sleighing, were detained till February 24th, when a deep snow fell but soon wasted. The reputation of mild winters and genial climate which the Black River country [undeservingly] acquired by this circumstance, tended in no small degree to hasten the settlement of the new towns in the county.
1802 .- Plowing in March. Warm and wet in the early part of the season, giv- ing a great amount of vegetable growth, but towards harvest the wheat fields were struck with rust, destroying the crop.
1803 .- Long and memorable as the dry summer. The streams were, it is said, lower than ever since known. This re- gion of country suffered from the drouth much less than portions of Jefferson county.
1807 .- A snow storm from the north- east, set in on the 31st of March, and continued till April 5th. It fell on a level five feet deep, did not drift, and went off almost as soon as it came, producing a flood which has never since been equalled upon Black river. The grist mill at Martinsburgh was swept off on this occasion. The season which followed was good for crops.
1806 to 1812 .- A series of cold sum-
mers, although in 1806 the corn crop in Lowville was excellent.
1811 .- Spring rye sowed in Leyden March 21st.
1813 .- Oct. 12th, snow two feet deep in Denmark. In the winter following the snow fell deep and was much drifted.
1815 .- Crops good, wheat and pota- toes excellent, corn light.
1816 .- Long memorable as the cold season. The spring was mild and a few days of April oppressively warm. This was followed by cold, and frost occurred in every month of the year. On Pinck- ney it snowed and drifted like winter. June 6th, 7th, 8th, the snow lay ankle deep in the fields and many newly shorn sheep perished. In Denmark the snow lay an inch deep on the 9th of June, and ice formed a quarter of an inch thick. Corn and garden vegetables, generally were killed, but grass was an average crop, and in Lowville the wheat was not cut off. A frost on the 26th of August, killed down what remained of the corn. The autumn was mild, and the winter late. On the 26th of December, there was no snow, but the ground was frozen.
1817 .- The potatoe crop was exceed- ingly fine, in one instance 700 bushels to the acre. Other crops were excellent.
1820 .- May 25th, snow an inch deep in Denmark.
Dr. Horatio G. Hough, of Martins- burgh, in a letter dated May 11, 1821, and addressed to a brother in Ohio, gives the following account of the season pre- ceding that date in Lewis county :--
" The last summer was uncommonly dry. We had no rain from the last of spring to the middle of September. Hogs might have nearly fattened on grasshoppers, they were so numerous, and the pastures and meadows appeared as if they had been burned over. Indian corn and winter wheat did well, but many cattle died in the winter for want
50
HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
of hay. Major John Ives* lost nearly twenty head of horned cattle. Things, however, look promising this spring.'
1824 .- May 14th. Snow four inches deep in Denmark. On the 26th the ground was frozen hard, and on the 28th of October snow lay a foot and a halt deep. The winter following was open, and there were not two weeks of sleighing. The snow was gone March + Ist.
1828 .- Hot sunshine and copious showers produced a sickly season. Root crops were excellent, but winter wheat blasted and yielded more straw than grain.
1829 .- An unusually bountiful year, wheat, rye, corn and almost every fruit of the earth good. Apples yielded abundantly, but there were no plums.
December was like April, warm and spring like. Six weeks before there had been snow enough for sleighing.
1830 .- A more abundant yield than on any previous year. Barn room was everywhere insufficient, and most grains (especially wheat) superior. Corn was not as good as usual, owing to spring frosts. Rains frequent in harvest. Ap- ples and plums plenty. A terrific hail storm crossed Leyden, June 14th. The track was half a mile wide and from four to five long, and the storm was preceded 15 to 20 minutes by roaring of thunder.
1832 .- Drouth very severe.
1833 .- A rainy season and heavy freshets.
1834 .- May 14th, snow three feet deep in drifts in Denmark, and on the 18th nearly as great, plum and cherry trees in blossom were broken down with snow, and many trees were killed by frost.
1835 .- A remarkable yield of wheat, averaging in some fields 35 to 40 bushels to the acre.
1841 .-- May 6th, great freshet, and
much damage done at and below Car- thage.
1849 .- Memorable for drouth and run- ning fires in the woods east of the river.
1853 .- Summer dry and grasshoppers abundant. About the middle of Sep- tember rains revived vegetation, and in some places fruit trees put forth blos- soms in the fall.
1856 .- Sept. 15th, destructive hail storm crossed Turin attended with wind and rain. About 3,000 panes of glass broken.
1857 .- May. Flood from melting snows.
1857 .- July. One of the most remark- able instances of rainfall occurred upon a small area in Martinsburgh,-the exact date not being remembered. The morn- ing had been clear, but in the afternoon storms from the north and from the south, appeared to meet upon the hill southwest from the village, and westerly from the residence of J. H. Pitcher. An eye-witness describes it as preceded by unusual darkness, and as accompanied by thunder and lightning, but not with a violent wind. The rain continued about two hours, with great intensity. As it began to cease, a roaring sound was heard in the gulf, and presently a wave at least ten feet high came sweep- ing down the ravine, bearing trees, tim- bers and every object in its course. All the bridges in its way were carried off, down to its junction with the main branch on the southern border of Martinsburgh village. An immense amount of rubbish was left on the adjacent fields, and in two hours the flood had subsided to its com- mon level. There was no rain a mile distant, either to the north or south, and but little at two miles west, upon the hill. Such phenomena, often called " cloud- bursts," and occasioned by the meeting of currents of air, when the conditions of humidity favor a heavy rainfall-in fact almost a pouring, over a limited area,
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