61 i LIF£ ON THE MISSISSIPPI*

CHAPTER MX*
LEGENDS AND SCENERY.
WE added several passengers to our list, at La Crosse; among otheiB
an old gentleman who had come to this north-western region with the
early settlers, and was familiar with every part of it* PardonaHy
proud of it, too. He said—
' Youll find scenery between here and St. Paul that can give the
Hudson points. You'll have the Queen's Bluff—seven hundred feel
high, and just as imposing a spectacle as you can find anywheres;
and Trempeleau Island, which isn't like any other island in America,
I believe, for it is a gigantic mountain, with precipitous sides, aiids
full of Indian traditions, and used to be full of rattlesnakes; if joa
catch the sun just right there, you will have a picture that will sfeay
with you. And above Winona you'll have lovely prairies; and thec
come the Thousand Islands, too beautiful for anything; green f why
you never saw foliage so green, nor packed so thick; it's like a
thousand plush cushions afloat on a looking-glass—when the water's
still; and then the monstrous bluffe on both sides of the river-
ragged, rugged, dark-complected—-just the frame that's wanted; jot
always want a strong frame, you know, to throw up the nice points
of a delicate picture and make them stand out.'
The old gentleman also told us a touching Indian legend or two
—but not very powerful ones.
After this excursion into history, he came back to the scenery,
and described it, detail by detail, from the Thousand Islands fo
St, Paul; naming its names with such facility, tripping along his
- t&eme with such nimble and confident ease, slamming in a
J ton word, here and there, with such a complacent air of *t