e obstacles which nature has, at almost every step, raised
against the iron-clad intruders into her loveliest recesses. The
enchanting magnificence of the scenery keeps the attention alive, while
its varying character at every turn, continually opens new sources of
enjoyment. Immense rocky excavations salute you upon every side. Miles
of mountain acclivities of solid rock have been borne away by the
Herculean arm of persevering industry. You see where the lofty cliff has
been beaten down; the huge mountain-barrier leveled; rough and rugged
precipices overcome; chasms spanned, and wide valleys and rivers
crossed.

The scenery in the valley of the Delaware is grand beyond description;
and in the valley of the Susquehanna, after passing out of a wilderness,
where every portion is stamped with the impress of grandeur, a truly
agricultural region, in a high state of cultivation, and smiling with
abundance, meets the eye. At the point where the road first strikes the
Susquehanna, that noble river is seen in the plenitude of its
magnificent beauty.

[Illustration: VALLEY OF THE NEVERSINK.

From the Slate Rock Cutting. Port Jervis in the distance.]

It is not our purpose to point out the particular objects most worthy
of examination, or to describe any one of the numerous landscapes which
lie all along the track; but we will venture to assert, that nowhere
between sun and sun can such a combination and variety of the wonderful
in nature and art, with the beautiful be seen, as in a day's ride on the
Erie railroad. Sketches of some of these views accompany this article,
and we may, from time to time, give such others as we think will prove
interesting to our readers.

The reader is familiar with the geography of the road: commencing at
Piermont, on the Hudson, twenty-four miles from New York, on the long
pier that projects a mile into the river, it winds its way westward
among the hills along the course of the Sparkill. Just before leaving
the pier, looking north, the view on the preceding page is presented.

From the Sparkill the road leads over to the Ramapo, where the first
lovely scenery commences, in a wild and broken, but picturesque region;
thence through Orange county, beautiful mostly from its fertility and
high cultivation. Passing on, the road approaches the Shawangunk
mountains, which are seen stretching away to the northeast, where the
eye catches a misty glimpse of the distant Catskills. The appearance of
the