From the north side of this basin to their present place, I suppose the falls to have receded, worn by the action of the water and by frosts; and cannot believe that they began in the general line of ending of the great shell lime stratum near Lewiston. In viewing the river from Lewiston upwards, the whole distance is very much of a similar character to within a mile of the falls: precipitous shores of rock, nearly parallel with each other, the water dashing over a rough bottom, with a descent generally of about 20 feet in a mile. A short distance at the whirlpool, is the only exception to the above features; here the river is deep, and two or three times the common width. Owing to the easy disintegration of some of the rocks, the ravine is wider in some places than others. About a mile above the whirlpool, the ravine through which this vast body of water dashes along, is so narrow, that a man standing on the brink of the precipice on the American side, can throw a stone across the stream. If the falls were once at this place, why is no trace left behind? Or will it be said that a pool 240 feet deep was here, and that the rocks falling from the shores filled it up again? The narrowness of the chasm forbids this supposition. Immediately below the whirlpool, the ravine grows narrower as you descend towards the water, and here this mighty stream glides smoothly, though swiftly, through a channel of but little above 100 yards wide. The firm rocks which form either shore, are evidently still in place. The cataract, if it ever fell here, fell far and on a very narrow space. A cross section of the chasm and stream here, would be something like this. The smoothness of the rocks on each side would indicate that when the channel was less deep than at present, the water flowed above them, and the surface of the stream was two or three times its present width. Supposed section of the American shore, between Lake Erie and 1. Cayuga Creek.-2. Tonawanta Cr.-3. Buffaloe Cr. A Lewiston.-B Manchester.-C Schlosser.-D Black Rock.-The deepest black, A section of the water. Lewiston. This section, designed to give some idea of the strata on the American side of the Niagara, is nearly a copy of one sent to the late Professor Barton in 1813, and since returned to me by his executor, the late Dr. Adam Seybert. I am pleased to see one so nearly the same, sketched by Professor Eaton. South of the 12 mile creek valley, (down which it is design ed to lead the Welland canal,) the great stratum of shell lime appears to have sunk to a level, we know not how low. By examinations made, it is ascertained, that at the depth of 8 feet lower than the level of the surface of the deep water above the falls, not a stone exists. The face of the rock may be as low as the bottom of the Chippewa, (here 40 feet deep) and the flow of the water through said canal, becoming unmanageable, we might see the destruction of the famed Niagara Falls, as the Fairhaven Falls, on the Poultney river, have been destroyed, and by which operation a part of the state of New-York was thrown into Vermont. The naked rocks here remain, never more to be wet but by the droppings of Heaven. In one night, a single man, it is said, set the stream to remove what millions could not again replace. The fine navigable Fairhaven bay, 9 miles in length, was turned into flats and shallows where no sloop can enter.The fish were all killed by the feculent flood. ART. IX. Statistical Notices of some of the LUNATIC ASYLUMS in the United States. By T. ROMEYN BECK. Read April 16, 1828 and April 29, 1829. Insanity, with its causes, its probable increase, and its treatment, is a subject of deep interest to every civilized community. Its peculiar, but melancholy characteristic, which forbids any reasonable hope of cure, until the diseased subject is removed from his home and relatives, imposes the duty on governments of providing for its proper management both as to safe keeping and as to the means of recovery. That the legislators of this country and its inhabitants have not been unmindful of the obligation, we shall endeavour to shew in the present communication. We shall first notice the Lunatic Asylum of this state. The "Society of the New-York Hospital" was incorporated, in 1771, and by the liberality of the legislature of the province, of contributors in England, and of domestic contributors, sufficient funds were obtained for the erection of a public building. This was proceeded in with great spirit, but in February, 1775, when almost completed, it unfortunately took fire and was nearly destroyed. "By this misfortune, the society suffered a loss of £7000, and the execution of their benevolent plan would have been wholly suspended, had not the legislature in March, 1775, generously granted them the sum of £4000, towards rebuilding the house and repairing the loss they had sustained. But the war between Great Britain and the colonies, which took place in the same year, prevented the completion of the edifice. During the war, the same was occasionally occupied by British and Hessian soldiers as barracks, and occasionally as an hospital." The effect of the war and the general derangement of the affairs of our citizens, prevented any attention to the institution, and it was not until the 3d of January, 1791, that the house was in a proper condition to receive patients. Eighteen were then admitted. From that time to the present, the munificence of the legislature to this institution has been liberal and unwearied, increasing with the increase of the patients and the enlightened improvements of its governors. As there existed no institution in the state for the reception and cure of lunatics, the governors were induced to appropri ate apartments in the hospital for patients of that description. The building, however, not being designed for such a purpose, the accommodations were found to be extremely inconvenient and inadequate, and as the applications for their admission constantly increased, it was resolved in 1806, if the legislature would lend its aid for that purpose, to erect a separate building, to be exclusively appropriated to the reception of that unfortunate class of beings. The application proved successful, and a building denominated the "LUNATIC ASYLUM," was immediately erected in the vicinity of the Hospital. This edifice contained 64 rooms, and could accommodate about 70 or 75 patients. It was opened on the 15th of July, 1808, under the medical superintendence of Archibald Bruce, M. D. By an act of the legislature the proper officers in a city or county were allowed to contract with the governors of the hospital, for the care and maintenance of any pauper lunatic under their respective jurisdictions, and accordingly many have, from time to time, been sent to it from various parts of the state. The "Asylum" continued to be the only public institution in this state for the reception of lunatics, until the year 1821, when the "BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM" was completed. The history of this we shall hereafter notice. Dr. Bruce continued physician until 1817, when Dr. William Handy was appointed. He was succeeded in 1819 by Dr. John Nielson, We now proceed to give a detailed account of the numbers admitted and discharged. Discharged, Recovered, Relieved, 700 241 427 11 153 Admitted from Jan. 31, 1795, to July 21, 1821, 1584 700 241 427 11 153 52* -1584 CAUSES. These are not given in the printed reports, with the single exception, that for some years the cases originating in intemperance are mentioned. Thus in 1814 there were 17 from that cause, 9 * We can find no trace of these "52" in the records of the Bloomingdale Asylum. They are not accounted for, as will be seen, in the reports of that institution. |