Ocean to Ocean on Horseback

tion. Nothing of especial interest occurred to vary the day's journey. Syracuse was reached at four o'clock in the afternoon, and the remainder of th

r. Over its dreary waste the cry of the wild cat, the warning of the rattlesnake and the hooting of the owl lent their sounds to the weird chorus of Nature, and it was here that the wily Indian came to seek his game. It was through Father Le Moyne, too, that we hear of the great Salt Springs, which he visited at the southern end of the lake in company with some Huron and Onondaga chiefs. The Indians, unable to comprehend the strange effect of salt and clear water bubbling from the same fountain, had a superstition that the springs were possessed by an evil spirit and were afraid to drink from them; but when the white man began to share their old haunts, we hear of the bewitched water being fearlessly used, and the evil spirit converted into a p

ld in the unhealthy land south of Lake Onondaga, and it

other man. At that time the advocate of such an undertaking was considered mad. Even the President shared the public view of the matter, and when the zealous member from Onondaga laid the plans before this incredulous gentleman, Jeffers

egan to devise a way for improving the ground, which resulted in the passage of a bill, a year later, for lowering the lake by means of drains. This stopped the injurious ove

treets of the present city, to realize that only a few years ago its pioneers

n;" but, as there was another "Milan" in the State, its last title had to be abandoned. For awhile it was known as "Corinth," but finally by an odd coincidence it was named by its first Postmaster, John Wilkinson, after the old Sicilian capital, to which it was supposed to

was chosen to express the gratitude of her people. It must have been a pleasant moment for the brave General and a proud one for the Syracusans when, in response to their hospitality, he returned Mr. Forman's courtesy in the following words: "The names of Onondaga and Syracuse, in behalf of whose population you are pleased so kindly to welcome me, recall to my mind at the same time the wilderness that, since the time I commanded on the Northern frontier, has been transformed into one of the most populous and enlightened parts of the United States; and the ancient Sicilian city, once the seat of republican institutions, much inferior, however, to those which in America

time, he would scarcely have found words to express his surprise. Pe

The University of Syracuse, a Methodist institution, built upon one of these hills in 1870, looks down invitingly upon the knowledge-seekers of the city, and with the State Ar

at one end of the city, but looking into them one discovers great vats and troughs filled with salt in every stage of evaporation. There are two wa

e in that city, and returned the following afternoon. This was very unusual, as it was contrary to the practice of my journey to avail myself of the railway under any circumstances. My advance agents having completed preparations for my lecture at Rochester, I made arrangements to resume my journey on the following day. My short stay here gave me another opportunity to look about this interesting t