Asahel H Woodruff
Answered June 27 [18]84
Manchester May
Dear Father
I trust this letter will find
you in good health as it leaves me at
present. I recieved your verry welcome
letter dated May the first just after posting
the last letter I wrote you. As regards what
I saw at the Falls, will say they landed us
at Cliftan at 9 PM, this is on the Canada
side and so we had a ride across the suspen-
sion bridge; we remained in the cars all night.
Early morn found us making our way up
to the Fall a distance of one mile & 1/2. The air
was so full of mist that we could not gain
as good a view as if it had ben clear, still
the great volumes of watter coming over the
horse shoe falls presented a grand sight and
one calculated to inspire a green Utah boy
with awe. These falls are 1800 ft across with
a fall of 160 ft, the sheat of watter is 23 ft thick
in the thickest part. A young man from Arizona
and I went down under the falls, it was a thrilling
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experiance and on I shall not soon forget;
the river just below the falls in 200 ft deep
The burning spring is quite a curiosity, being
impregnated with gass to such an extent that
by lighting a match and holding it over, the whole
spring will ignite like a gass jet. The next and
in some respects the greatest curiosity, is the
whirlpool & rapids where capt Weeb was drowned
here the river makes a complete elbo like this
[FIGURE] you see the stream passes in on the right side
making a complete circle to the left passing out
under the incoming stream, at this point the
suction is so strong, it will draw a large
boat under, across the mouth where the line
is drawn is 1860 ft, the deepest part 300 ft. Well
I will tell more about it when I get home. I
am figuring on that problem you gave me
& will probably have the answer again I get home.
Rolled out of Clifton well pleased withe our
days experiance, with a light heart & a lighter
pocket at 4:30 PM. You have heard ere this I
suppose concering my experiance at sea, one
thing I forgot to mention, was that we passed
through a large school of Whales on the trip
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brobaly fifty in number. Capt Bently said some
of the larger ones would measure and hundred
and thirty feet. Had a pretty rough sea the
second day before landing, it was verry
dificult to keep our feet on deck, at the approach
ch of an extra high sea, the passengers would
grab something for an anchor, & those who
failed to do so were hurled with less ceremony
than dispatch against the railing or bulwarks.
It was laughable to see five or six big fellows
rolled against the side and after befor they could
regain their feet back to the other; but we took
it all in good part & as the captain said the
stronger the wind blew, the biger noise the bay
made. It was as good as a concert at table
during the rough sea cups & saucers sugar
& pickles & all salts of eatables got mixed up
in a incongruous mass untill it was dificult
to tell what we were eating. Weel Father I enjo-
yed my trip very much; but when I struck
Liverpool a cold chill ran through me, and
I felt as if I wanted to go home again; but
that feeling is leaving me by degrees as I get
better acquainted with the people, their customs
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and habits. You ask me how I like sea sick-
ness; well a little goes a long ways. I think
England a verry pretty country & if they had our
atmosphere so pure & healthfull with about
one fourth the present population and they
about 400 years more modern in their
habits (for they are about that far behind the americans)
I would like to live here, but as they are to day
if I was offerd one half the Island it would be
no inducement. Of course this is an exageration
but I am not in love with the country.
Preaching is up hill work for me I fear it
is not my forte, still I keep pegging away and
may accomplish something in two years. We
have not had any rain for three weeks, the
people tell me they dont remember a time when
the rain held of so long at once. I learn from
from the papers you are having high watters
at home, well I expected as much considering
the vast amount of snow there was in the
mountains I wrote a letter to mother the other
day in answer to one I recieved from her, trust
she got it all right. I see by the paper that
Welcome is again sentenced to be shot