Travel log dated August 13, 1848
Abstract
Travel log dated August 13, 1848 describing the writer’s attendance at the Free Soil
convention in Buffalo. He describes in detail his travels, including a two-page account of
his trip to Niagara Falls, where he landed at Chippawa on “Victoria free soil”. From there
he travelled to the Falls, where he went to Table Rock, travelled in a steam ferry boat to
the suspension bridge, crossed the rapids to Goat Island, and went up [Terrapin] Tower.
He writes that “as I stood in the awful place the Table Rock and looked in that deep
yawning gulph [gulf] below a beautiful rainbow was seen, as was the case at various
other points…next went up to the top of the Tower which stands in the edge of the
water near the precipice of the Horseshoe falls. This is indeed a solemn, awful place--
the most interesting place I had visited…I felt that it was the work of an Omnipotent
friend.” An entry on the last page dated Nov. 7, 1848 describes the creation of a free
soil club “by the Free Soilers of this town”, adding that “today we have been called upon
to vote for electors for president, the result has been for Van Buren 146, Taylor 92, and
Cass 52”.