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Footnotes: 1 In vulgar parlance the condiments of a repast are called
by the American "a relish," substituting the thing for its
effect. These provincial terms are frequently put in the
mouths of the speakers, according to their several
conditions in life. Most of them are of local use, and
others quite peculiar to the particular class of men to
which the character belongs. In the present instance, the
scout uses the word with immediate reference to the "salt,"
with which his own party was so fortunate as to be provided.
2 Glenn's Falls are on the Hudson, some forty or fifty miles
above the head of tide, or that place where the river
becomes navigable for sloops. The description of this
picturesque and remarkable little cataract, as given by the
scout, is sufficiently correct, though the application of
the water to uses of civilized life has materially injured
its beauties. The rocky island and the two caverns are known
to every traveler, since the former sustains the pier of a
bridge, which is now thrown across the river, immediately
above the fall. In explanation of the taste of Hawkeye, it
should be remembered that men always prize that most which
is least enjoyed. Thus, in a new country, the woods and
other objects, which in an old country would be maintained
at great cost, are got rid of, simply with a view of
"improving" as it is called.
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