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Show 294 Early Western Travels [ Vol. 26 tically on - the moss- tasselled forest upon its bank - the isles of brightness around which it ripples - the craggy precipice, rearing its bald, broad forehead beyond - the smoking cottages at the base, and the balmy breath of morning, with fragrance curling the blue waters, are outlines of a portraiture which imagination alone can fill up. Blast after blast from the throat of a huge horn suspended from the limb of an aged cotton- wood, went pealing over the waters; but all the echoes in the surrounding forest had been awakened, and an hour was gone by, before a float, propelled by the sturdy sinews of a single brace of arms, had obeyed the summons. And so the traveller sat himself quietly down upon the bank beneath the tree- shade, and luxuriated on the feast of natural scenery spread out before him. The site of the town of Grafton is an elevated strip of bottom- land, stretching along beneath the bluffs, and in this respect somewhat resembling Alton, fifteen or twenty miles below. The locale of the village is, however, far more delightful than that of its neighbour, whatever the relative advantages for commerce they may boast, though those of the [ 39] former are neither few nor small. Situated at the mouth of the Illinois as to navigation; possessing an excellent landing for steamers, an extensive and fertile interior, rapidly populating, and inexhaustible quarries for the builder, the town, though recently laid off, is going on in the march of improvement; and, with an hundred other villages of the West, bids fair to become a nucleus of wealth and commerce. Grafton, IU. |