IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1^ 11.25 12.2 ^ lia 12.0 1.4 iiiiim 1.6 — 6" ^ 7] ^>. op. /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ''%- CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHJVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques \ :,„ I.' ih, k,.ij .1 a,. ...i;.!- IttU. II, Ih- mptUt III,' .u.,1 I..II ,1, III, *.»• >,,k ...'. I.,llt„;i '/u .,....(;'•..//. I, ■/,,....!. ,/.', /.. Ih.,.. , I ..I. X .ii.i.i, If I I. . / ini I III,, tiZ. u.„i hf .1 !■ Ilurhy. lluHM>, XU Il'- M I k .$■ # ^- L «•■■*• '^P '*■■ %.- ■"'5^.'- '^^■" -iTSjfd % 4c *«)*.: -i; ■?JP •■«:: ii* .%, :>V'' tiPf ;^i7A. f'J" ilaHA(:Mi>on/^\ huffa'.j. .Ivftn iJiC fort rf it4f' y'''luiira.U' :X% M. m ■v" • *J THK tf BOOK or «f| NIAGARA FALLS., BY HORATIO A. PARSONS, A. M. i, Fifth Edition. CAREFULLY REVISED, AND ENLARGED, t^ccompauiett bff JtfapM, BUFFALO: STEELE & PECK. NEW-YORK: W I L EY & PUTNAM, 1838, 4^ W;{ ,(/. <'i:-i::-:'S.- .'■'.'■■■Jr''. V -%^V^^ " *■ .5.' t V. * Entered according to the, act of Congrcis, in the year 1836, by OLIVER %. STEELE, Proprietor. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Northern Dis- trict of the State of New- York. m «*■ Steele's Press, Buffalo. irfii I ■■. '. 'ii^-:lt- ' .^ ^i3 i;:.n ^ V PREFACE TO FIFTH EDITION. The following work has now reached the fifth Edition, and has been constantly increasing in popularity. It is now generally considered to be an indispensable compan- ion for all persons desirous of obtaining accurate informa- tion and a correct idea of this great wonder of the world. The present edition has been carefully examined, and such corr^ctiona and additions made, as will ensure the continued patronage'of the travelling public. Bajalo, 1838. ADVERTISEMENT. The writer of the following pages, having been a resi- dent at the Falls a number of years, and familiar with the whole scenery at all seasons of the year, as well as with all the interesting localities in the vicinity, and having omitted no means of obtaining correct information in regard to the various facts stated, feels free to offer thiv fk ..»■- \ n uA !UiM2>2.1 ^ i^iV ■V!»* 6 manual as a correct and sufficient guide to visiters, in which they will find, within a small compass, an ample fund of information respecting the Falls and vicinity. — Having no particular or private interest to serve, he has aimed to give an impartial description of the different objects of interest on both sides of the river, and to do justice to all persons concerned. The plan of publishing such a manual was formed in the year 1817, and most of the materials were then collected and arranged ; but for various reasons it was not published till the year 1834, though it was the firat book of the kind that had ever been published respecting the Falls. From an intercourse with a vast number of visiters at all seasons of the year, he has been enabled to ascertain whfiX kind of information, they most need, and has greatly enlarged the present edition in order, if possible, to afford ample information in relation to every thing connected with the Falls and vicinity, about which inquiries would naturally be made* ■<>■■' >ta,'i -.. CONTENTS. Advertisement, Directions to Travellers, - - - - Niagara River, its Sources and Islands, The Rapids, --.,-. Goat or Iris Island, - - - - The Falls, Terrapin Bridge and Tower, Biddle Stair Case, iEolus' Cave, 4&;c. The Ferry, Canada Views, Welland Canal,- Brock's Monument, - . - . Burning Spring, - - . - . Stair Case, Museum, - - - - Summer and Winter Scenery, River below the Falls, . - . . Remarks of Hennepin, Tonti, Honta», &c. CltfiwitA^iB; &c. - ' - ^ Pagd. 5 13 - 19 24 - 27 31 - 35 39 . 40 43 . 44 45 ■ 46 47 . 47 51 • m '•"at" t- ;(^^^ ^■^'■^:t-^'^': 8 [/■ '•**- 4 i Mineral Spring, Whirlpool, Devirs Hole, Tuscarora Indiansi Battlesi - - - Bridges, Minerals, &c. Incidents, Hermit of the Falls, - Village of Niagara Falls, Number of Visiters, lloutes and Charges, Descriptions of the Falls. Table of Distances, ^■i. ■^ -.J-r BOOK OF NIAGARA FALLS. In these days of steamboats and rail-roads, when tra- vellers go by a stop watch, and a delay of five minutes is deemed a calamity, a few directions may be necessary to enable you to save time and view the various points of beauty to the best advantage. At the same time we can- not help deprecating the mania so prevalent at the pre- sent day, in making our excursions for pleasure, mere races against time. No person should come to Niagara, for the first time, and leave the same day ; it is utterly impossible for one to conceive or realize its grandeur or beauty in such a visit — in fact one can hardly endure the bodily fatigue of simply climbing up and down the vari- ous stair-cases, hills, rocks &c., much less can the mind take in and appreciate the various objects of interest which necessarily present themselves in such quick suc- cession, when endeavoring to see the whole of Nia-gara in a day. It is a common custom for visiters on arriving at Niag- ara, to hasten, immediately upon aUghting from their 2 '*fc u.... 4- f. 14 BOOK or Directions to Travellers. M- ps conveyance, to catch a first glance at the mighty cataract; and this view may in all probability be one of the least at- tractive — they feel disappointed — and wonder at the eulogium bestowed by other travellers, who have used more time and discretion, jump into the next steam-car that leaves, and praise the Falls, because every one else doeSf not because they have witnessed or appreciated its beauties themselves ! Should you arrive on the American side, you will of course stop at one of tha Hotels, of which the principal are the Cat \ract Hotkl, kept by Mr. G. W. Hawley, and the Eagle Tavern, by Mr. T. W. Fanning, both of these are excellent houses. After recovering in some measure from the fatigue of your journey, take the street to the right around either of the Hotels, and proceed a few rods to the bridge that leads across the rapids to Bath and Goat Islands ; you will stop at the toll-house on Bath Island when you pass over, record your name in the register and pay twenty-five cents ; which enti- tles you to visit all the islands with their appendages as often as you please during your visit, or for a year, with- out any additional charge. And if you choose to cross in a, carriage, you pay ko more. Proceed next to Goat Island, where you will find guide-boards directing you to all the most interesting places and objects around the r_i J T^_n iU^ 1 ii__ _x ai-- ..:_i^a .1 i_ ^ 4 f^ THE FALLS. 15 biiections to Travellers. itaract; ;ast at- at the re used am-car ci'i/ one eciated will of incipal awley, 30tll of n some 5 street )ceed a pids to -house ' name I enti- iges as , with- 3 cross ) Goat you to id the iwii to the cascade or centre fall and cross a narrow bridge to Luna Island, from the farther corner of which you will have the best and most splendid view of the Falls on the American side. Retracing your steps to the gravel walk, proceed next to the Biddle Staircase ; descend that without Jail j as you will there have a magnificent and much admired view of the two entire Falls, standing between them, and an opportunity, if the wind be favorable, of passing a con- siderable distance behind either sheet, with the tremend- ous flood pouring over you from a height of 150 feet. From the foot of the staircase, turn first to the right and go to the Cave of the Winds under the centre fall, and in returning, follow the path to the great Crescent fall. Reaching the top of the island again, proceed to the farther corner, where you will find the Stone Tower for- ty-five feet high with winding steps to the top, and also the Terrapin Bridge, from both which places you will , have decidedly the best and most impressive views of the Falls, that can be had from any position. Here you will realize power, grandeur, sublimity, immensity, — no pen or tongue can describe it. Pursuing your way with a view to go entirely round the island, — as you ought without fail to do, inasmuch as you will thus get a much better view of the rapids and surrounding scenery than can be obtained any where ^Ise, — you will proceed up to a beautiful cascade, where W;'<>; 24 BOOK, or The llapids. septennial fluxes and refluxes ; it is also asserted by some^ that they have small diurnal tides. This however, may reasonably be doubted. THE RAPIDS. 1 must here apprise the reader, that it were vain to attempt a graphic description of the Falls and surround- ing scenery ; for they so immeasurably exceed every thing of the kind elsewliere seen or even imagined, that no power of language can give any adequate idea of them to those who have not been present to hear and see for themselves. Capt. Basil Hall remarks, " All parts of the Niagara are on a scale which baffles every attempt of the imagination, and it were ridiculous therefore to think of describing it ; the ordinary means of description, 1 mean analogy, and direct comparison, with things which are more accessible, fail entirely in the case of that amazing cataract, which is altogether unique." " All the pictures you may see," says J. J. Audubon, "all the descriptions you may read, of these mighty Falls, can only produce in your mind the faint glimmer of the glow-worm, compared with the overpowering glory of the meridian sun." These scenes which are sketched in the following pages may be considered, therefore, only as a very faint out- line, or shadow, of the reality. f. ^ jknlm*- ^ ..Lii^^ '■"^: nn: falls. 25 The nai»iU3 . . . llonr of t,l\e Falls. Below the termination of Grand and Navy Islands, the river is compressed to the widtli of two and a half miles ; and pressing" forward with accelerated motion, it commences, about three-fourths of a mile above the Falls, a rapid descent, making within that distance a slope or succession ol chutes, amounting to fifty-two feet on the American side, and fifty-seven on tlie other. — The tremendous and beautiful rapids lime formed, con- stitute a very important part of the grand and unparal- leled curiosities of this river. Were they in any other place, they would of themselves be considered as a scene of great beauty and sublimity, e . 7f?^ ■ ,J.^»-^-*> VT^'T- .t-'^-- 30 BOOK OV Toll IIousi; . . . Crntro Fall. and hazardous construction, which extends from the shore, 28 rods, to Bath Island, and thence 16 rods fur- ther, to Goat Island. There are many other beautiful islands situated among the rapids of this river, a number of which, as Bath, Ship, and Luna are, and all the rest might be, connected with Goat Island by bridges, and afford the most charm- ing and impressive views of the surrounding scenery. On Bath Island, which is 24 rods in length, containing about two acres, is the Toll House, kept by Mr. A. B. Jacobs, who also furnishes visiters with warm and cold batlis. Let it be remembered, that " Even from the body's purity, the mind Receives u secret ayiupathetie aid." On this island is situated Porter's extensive Paper MilL three stories liigh, in which may bo manufactured yearly JO,Oi)0 reams of paper. Luna Island, about 30 yards in vvidth, stands directly on the precipice near Goat Island, and divides the stream, a part of which forms the moot splendid cascade, perhaps in the world. This is about twenty-two yards in width, and is sometimes called the *' Centre Fall," to distin- guish it from tJie other two main sheets. Approaching this island from the foot of what is called, from the shape of the path, t^»e ** Hog's back," visiters have, from the the fur- rttfi FAi.tS. Si Beat view of the Aitierio.K .'all. north-west corner, a much better view of the American Fall than can be obtained from any other place. This Fall, like the other, has evidently changed its shape with- in a few years, and has now nearly as much of a resem- blance to a horse shoe as the other. There are ten other islands in the rapids besides those above mentioned, containing perhaps from one fourth to an acre each, to all or any of which bridges might, pro- bably, be constructed. A' H K FALL S — T ERR AT IN BIllD^JE AND TO W E R. *Mif\ The broad river, as it comes thundering and foaming down the declivity of the rapids, at length leaps the cataract, thrco-fourtli of a mile in width, and falls, as it were, to the central caves of the earth. The mind, filled with amazement, recoils at the spectacle, and loses for a moment, its equilibrium. The trembhng of the earth, the mighty rush and eonflict and deafening roar of the water, the clouds of mist sparkling with rainbows, produce an effect upon the beholder, often quite over- powering ; and it is only after the scene has become somewhat familiar to the eye, the ear, and the imagina-- f;^;;- :t4- .. ■«»' #T.-'* #^-?*' -^.'ti^-'-'.r'^ ^f .-"7 :.w».'t:t;'^-'v- f - 32 BOOK OP Height of the Falls. tion, that its real grandeur and sublimity is properly realized and felt. " To sit on rocks, to muse on flood and fell, To slowly trace the forest's shady scene. Where things that own not man's dominion dwell, And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been ; H- H- * >i- y.- n- * * X- * X- * Alone o'er steeps and foaming fall.* to lean ^ This is not solitude ; 'tis but to lield Converse with nature's charms, and sec her stores unrolled." m The water on the American side, as ascertained by frequent measurement, falls 164 feet, and on the Canada side, 158 feet. The fall ci- the Canada side, embracing much the largest channel of the river, is called, from the shape of the precipice, the ** Crescent or Horse-shoe Fall," and near to this a bridge, called the Terrapin Bridge, has been constructed, 300 feet in length, from Goat Island, and projecting ten feet over the Falls. — Near the termination of this bridge, in the water, and on the very verge of the precipice, a stone tower, forty- five feet high, with winding steps to the top, was erected in the year 1833, from which, or from the end of the bridge, the effect of the Falls upon the beholder is most awfully sublime and utterly indescribable. The sublime, arising from obscurity, is here experienced in its greatest force. The eye, unable to discover the bottoni of the ij;-f THE FALLS. Tower and Rrular . . . Solnr how. Falls, or even to penetrate the mist that seems to hang^ as a veil over the amazing and terrific scene, gives place to the imagination, and the mind is instinctively elevated and filled with majestic dread. Here is '* All that exp.'inds the spirit, yet appnls." " An:l sucli was fhat rainbow, that boautifiil one, AViiosc arcli was refraction, its kcy-stonc — the sun ; A paviliion it soonied with a Deity graced, And justice and mercy met there and enjbraQed," I Tlie solar and lunar bows, the river above and below, and indeed the whole scenery of the Falls and rapids, appear to better advantage from this point than from any other ; and no visiter on either side should presume to leave the Falls without visiting this tower and bridge. From the top of the tower especially, he will realize the force and beauty of the following description, which with the change of a single word, applies admirably to this matchless scene : ' '' The roar of waters I From the headlong height Niagara cleaves the wave-worn precipice ; The fall of waters ! rapid as the liglit, The fli!shing mass foams shaking the ohyss ; The liell of waters 1 where they howl and hiss, And l)oil in endless torture ; while the sweat Of their great agony, wrung out from this Their J?hlcgethon, curls round the rocks of jet That gird tlie guif around, in pitiless horror set. ■■ ■> BOOK or w* Lunar Bow. And mounts in spray the fklos, and thence nKHin Returns in an unerasing shower, which round With its uneniptiet] cloud of gentle rain Is an eternal April to the ground, Making It all one emerald ; — how profound The gulf !— and how the giant element From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound, Crushing the cliffy, which downward worn and rent, With his fierce footsteps, yield in chusuis a fearful vent. * * * * Look back ! Lo ! tvhere it comes like an eternity. As if to sweep down all things in its track, Charming the eye with dread, — a matchless cataract, Horribly beautiful ! but on the verge. From side to side, beneath the glittering morn. An Iris sits, amid the infernal durge. Like Hope upon a death-bed, and, unworn Its steady dies, while all around is torn By the distracted waters, bears serene Its brilliant hues with all their beams unshorn, Kesembling, 'mid the torture of the scene, Love watching Madness with unalterable mien." ' *» The lunar bow, seen at night, in the time of full moon, appears like a brightly illuminated arch, reaching from side to side, and is an object of great attraction, — espe- -cially as the world presents only a few other places where «uch a bow is ever seen, ** Hung on tlie curling mist, the moonlight bow Arches the oerilous river," .•* ii^k^i^^ %' " ^"A^"^.^*!^! Ttte f*ALLS. 35 Itoiimntic Incident . . . Biddle Stnircaie. Goat Island, in a moonlight night, is the resort of great multitudes, where they find themselves introduced to a scene of unrivalled beauty and magnificence. The rapidi at such a time sparkle with phosphoric splendor, and nature around wears an irresistible charm of loveli- ness. There is " A silver light, wliicli hallowiiis tree r.nd tower, Sheds beauty mid deep softness o'e.r the whole." The writer once had the pleasure of joining a lovely couple in marriage, about 11 o'clock on one of the brightest nights he has ever known, in full view of this enchanting scene, and then of taking a romantic excur- sion with the party around the island. This was poetry indeed ; it was one of those bright and verdant oases sometimes met with in the journey of life. May all their days be equally bright and their rambles equally pleasant. ■■; *\ B 1 D D L K S T A I 11 C A S E — HL OLUS CAVE. At the lower end of Goat Island, about one-third across it, a stair-case, erected in the year 1829, at the expense of Nicholas Biddle, Esq., of Philadelphia, gives visiters an opportunity of descending below the bank and of passing a considerable distance behind the two main sheets of water. The descent from the top of the island 7^f'- ,.-":'f«^'iisiij!i &./ai&iis!fe>.tf^ i-V 1 1 J tf '% m BOOK. OV Sam rutcli. . . Cave ol" the Winds. *- to the margin of tlie riv^er is 185 feet. A common fliglit of steps leads down 40 feet to the perpendicular spiral steps, 90 in number, which are enclosed in a building in the shape of a hexagon resting on a firm foundation at the bottom. From the foot of the building there are tliree patlis leading to the most important points of observation, one of which lend^ to the river below, 80 feet, where visiters will find one of the finest fishing places in this part of tJie v/orkl. All the varieties of fisli existing in Lake Ontario are found here, among which are sturgeon, pike, pickerel, black and white bass, herrings, cat-fish, eels, &c. Here was Sam Patch's jumping place. The path at the left of the stair-case leads to the great Crescent Fall, where, when the wind blows up the river, a safe and delightful passage is open- » ed behind the sheet of water. The path to the right leads to a magnificent Cave, appropriately named when it was first discovered, twenty- five years since, TEolus' Cave, or Cavo of the Winds. This cave is about 120 feet across, 50 feet wide and 100 feet high ; it is situated directly behind the Centre Fall, which at the bottom is more than 100 feet wide, and were the rocks excavated a little and a few steps made, visiters could safely pass into and entirely through the cave behind the sheet of water. Beyond this cave at the foot of Luna island, there is an open space where T:f)i_, -. THE FALLS. 37 Passage behind lliR Falls. air-case persons may amuse themselves at leisure upon the rocks, over which the floods are pouring, and then venture in as far as they please behind the whole American Fall. The virriter of these pages first conceived the idea of effecting an entrance into this cave, July 14, 1834, wliile passing in front of the American Fall in a boat, and the next day it was effected for the first time by passing round the outside of the fall and descending from the foot of Luna island. Accompanying the above idea, was a project of passing behind the whole American Fall, 56 rods, and coming out near the Ferry. This pas- sage, though not yet effected, is believed to be possible ; for the opening between the sheet of water as it falls, and the rock behind is from 15 to 50 feet wide, and there are rocks to walk upon through the whole distance. If there be any insurmountable obstacle, it will probably be found in the tremendous wind and spray occasioned by the falling flood. A passage into the cave was at first considered a great exploit, but a passage behind the whole sheet would be inconceivably greater. The cave itself is the ne plus ultra of wonders, a visit to which no person ought to omit. Ladies and gentlemen can very often, when the wind blows down the river, pass a con- siderable distance behind the sheet of water within the cave without getting wet at all. The view presented to a person while iij the cave, in cpnnexion with the tre- 4 .(■if, imii ^JSL'^^ ' .18 BOOK OF I > -k-- Rain-bow. . . Extract from Bruinard. mendous and astounding roar of waters, which, owing to the echoes or reverberations, is apparently a hundred times greater here than any where else, will enable him to appreciate the following beautiful and graphic lines of Brainard, — especially as there is always in the after- noon when the sun shines, a bright rain-bow visible di- rectly within the cave and behind the sheet of water. " The thoughts arc stranga that crowd into my lirain, While I look upwards to thee. It would seem. As if God poured thee from his hollow hand, And hung his bow upon thy awful front, And spoke in that loud voice, which seemed to him Who dwelt in Patmos for his Saviour's sake, 'The sound of many waters •,' and had bade Thy flood to chronicle the ages back. And notch His centuries in the eternal rocks. Deep calleth unto deep. And what are we, That hear the question of that /oice sublime ? Oh ! what are the notes that ever rung Frono war's vain trumpet by thy thundering side ? Yea, what is all the riot man can make In liis short life, to thy unceasing roar ! And yet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him Who drowned a world, and heaped the waters far Above its loftiest mountains ? — a light wave, - That breaks and whispers of its Maker's might.'' How little and insignificant do the efforts of man ap- pear, when measured by this exhibition of Omnipotence! The earthquake, the volcano, the wide spread conflagra- tion, the shock of contending armies are sublime and terrific spectacles, though short in their continuance and ■3??K ■# •■•itihlffWHi^T' ■'■f* THE FALLS 39 Ferry to the Canada side. limited in their effects ; but here, ever since the flood probabku the deafening and incessant roar of the mighliest cataract on the globe has called upon the children of men to fall down and adore their Maker. f^ ,€v* THE FERRY. There is another stair-case leading down the bank about six rods below the Falls, where visiters will find a safe ferry to the Canada side, and have an opportunity of viewing a scene of surpassing grandeur. The deep- green glassy river beneath, the awful precipice of rocks, and the mighty floods rolling and tumbling from the heights above, and the singularly wild, romantic, and variegated scenery arond, fill the mind of the beholder with sensations not to be described. Here one may per- ceive the propriety and beauty of the figure representing Him, who is the '* Rock of ages," as " the shadow of a great rock in a weary land," to those who fly to him for refuge. *' While viewing thee 1 think how grand and beautlfdl is God, When man lias not intruded on his works, JJut left his bright creation unimpaired. Klegsed ycencs » .%rf^ v •i^L 40 BOOK or City of the Falls. i -i * * * it 19 no mortal touch That sharpened thy rough brow, or fringed thy skirtj . With coarse luxuri.'ince ; — 'twas the lightnings's fo Dashed its strong flash across thee, and did point The crag ; or, with his stormy tliunderbolt, The Ahnigliiy Architect himself disjoined Yon roclc •, then flung it down where now it hangs, And said, do thou lie there." The Ferryman, S. L. Ware, Esq., on the American, and Mr. J. Shultersburgh, on the Canada side, are both very civil and accommodating, well acquainted with their business, and able to give much information to visiters. Whenever required, they take parties out on pleasure or fishing excursions, and thus enable them to take a more extensive view of the gorgeous river scenery. The con- struction of a carriage road is now in progress down these perpendicular banks, so as to have a ferry for teams and carriages ; and when this is completed, it must become a great and important thoroughfare for travellers. CANADA VIEWS — CITY OF THE FALLS. Directly opposite the Falls on the Canada side, an en- terprising Company, having purchased the grounds for- merly owned by Mr. Forsyth, have projected and laid out a city which they call <-The City of the Falls," and are now making very coiisiderable improvements. They ,"«.!„ 'Vjf ' '"■.'JT' i - • THE FALLS. 41 Clifton . . . New Hotel. hope soon to have schools, churches, hbraries, ball and prom^j^t^e rooms, baths, public gardens, and indeed, every thing considered necessary to an elegant and fashionable city. The lots and streets are laid out with much judgment and taste ; whether the anticipations of the enterprising projectors will ever be realized, other generations must tell. The table land on the liver's bank below the Falls and opposite the Ferry, owned by Captain Creighton, has also been surveyed into lots for a village, to be called *' Clifton;" and here, directly at the top of the ferry road Mr. Crysler has recently built a splendid hotel, for the accommodation of visiters, which contains upwards of sixty rooms, and will accommodate from sixty to one hundred guests. This is a delightful site for a village, and is one of the most pleasant places of resort on that side of th'* river. The following stanza of Byron, m beautifully descriptive of this place : .-y " From thy shady brow, Thou small, but favored spot of holy ground • Where'er we gaze, around, above, below, What rainbow tints, what magic charms are found ! Rock, river, forest, mountain all abound, And bluest skies that harmonize the whole ; Beneati:, the distant torrent's rushing sound Tells where the volumed cataract doth roll Between those hanging rocks, that ghock yet please the soul.'' 4# Zftfii^p ■■■»~-.> ■".;«■» ■^■ 4d BOOR O^ Appearance of lh« surro»indiii» country. k' Sif t ■2„ In ascending the high bank, the visiter is presented witli some delightful views of the Falls and ra]ii(t% and tif the surrounding country. Two spaciou& hotels, the Pavilion and Ontario House, situated on the high bank, ure much frequented, and can accommodate nearly one hundred and fifty guests. The Pavilion has an imposing appearance, and from the observatory on its roof, visiters have an extensive view of the surrounding country. Strangers who have never visited the Falls, have an idea that the surrounding country must be mountainous, like that in the vicinity of most other falls ; but the gen- eral aspect of the country here for a great extent on both sides of the river, above and below, is that of an almost perfect level, and nothing indicates the existence of the river or the Falls except the constantly ascending and floating mist, and a kind of subterranean thundering roar. Below the Falls, the earth and rocks appear as though they had been suddenly rent asunder and separated one- fourth of a mile apart, in order, by the perpendicular chasm thus made, to form a channel for the river. The corresponding portions of rock are as regular in the suc- cession of their strata, as would be the leaves and cover of a book if thej were bisected and placed opposite each other. The waole country in Canada, between the two lakes, except a narrow strin bordering unon Lake Ontario, is generally level, rich and productive, and is becoming if ■ s *■ THE i'AtLS. «l Welland Canal. quite populous. In visiting the Canada side, you can cross the river at Blaok Rock, Lewiston, #r at tlie Falls; and can always have carriages on that side to transport you whither you choose. Stage Coaches run from the Hotels to Qufoenstown and Niagara daily ; also to Chip- pewa and Buffalo. From Chippewa the steamboat l^d Jacket runs daily to Buffalo, leaving Chippewa in the afternoon. No one ought to fail of visiting the Canada side, as this grand and unparalleled scene of nature's wonders, the fame whereof is spread over the world. ought to be viewed and contemplated from every position. The views from that side, are by many considered the best ; but let every one decide for himself from personal observation. ' t V^ %' '^f WfiLLAND CANAL. ^^ Eight miles west from the Falls is the Welland Canal> connecting the waters of Lake Erie with Lake Ontario, and affording a passage fo^ sloops ahd schooners of 125 tons burthen. This Canal commences at Port Maitland, near the mouth of Grand River on Lake Erie, 48 miles west of Buffalo ; it runs in a straight line across Wain- ^ ly. -;; :aih-L;. w,t' - ■«.. /, : f i ■'■ If 44 nook ot Brock's Monument. fleet Marsh, crosses the Chippewa river by means of an aqueduct, and enters Lake Ontario at the mouth of twelve mile creek. It is 43 miles in length, 56 feet in width, .^ and varies from 8j to 16 feet in depth. The whole de- scent from one lake to the other, 334 feet, is accamplished by^means of 37 locks. At the deep-cut, on what is called the mountain ridge, the excavation is 45 feet in depth ; .^j', and 1,477,700 cubic feet of earth, and 1,890,000 cubic feet of rock were removed. The locks here are 22 by 100 feet, and west of this ridge they are 45 by 125 feet. The Canal was commenced in the year 1824, and completed in five yearSj and cost over $1,000,000. A large part of the stock is owned by individuals in the State of New York. The Company own all the land along the line of the Canal, including the hydraulic privileges ; and another tract, containing about J 6,000 acres, has been granted to them by the British Government. B'JiitM, '■i'TTi I '-':■ •«?*;. H 'ifr- ;'■'■'<. ■ C"- • ,-»^.r,;; _ ', rf :„ v.w',. 'm ■I .■ 1? I * J»l^^ «> '^^f. .' 1 ^v. ;--'J« »■ X' •" ,-• '' '.-"*: :^'. -•A.- dMffimnmMKHMM ii^* '" ' T - -^ •'.V.V, ■■-J. / * :^ ■>-, t'. '■ h" ''IT ' THE FALLS 45 Burning Sprin;^. he top by a flight of 170 winding steps. From this emi- nence, the country around including the picturesque lake scenery, may be seen for fifty miles. The following in- scription is found on this Monument : I ''The Legislature of Upper Canada has dedicated this Monument to the many civil ana military services of the late Sir Isaac Brock, Knight, Commander of the most honorable Order of the Bath, Provincial Lieutenant Gov- ernor and Major-General, Commanding his Majesty's forces therein. He fell in action, on the 13th of Oct., 1812, honored and beloved by those whom he governed, and deplored by Nis Sovereign, to whose services his life had been devoted. His remains are deposited in this vault, as also his Aid-de Camp, Lieutenant-Colonel John McDonald, who died of his wounds the 14th of October, 1812, received the day before, in action." ; BURNING SPRING. One mile south from the Fulls, near the rapids, is the Burning Spring. This is in a state of constant ebullition, and from it issues a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which quickly ignites on the touch of a candle, and burns with a brilliant flame. The spring is enclosed in a bar- rel, which collects tJie gas and lets it out through a <-9 -:rMc: 46 HOOK OF Spiral Stiilrcosc. tube inserted at the top. This gas iniglit, without tioubt, be commu'.iicatetl by pipes to neighboring buildings, and substituted for candles and lamps. Tiie keeper of the spring, Mr. J. Conklin, expects a small fee from visiters, • for his trouble. Tliere are strong indications at this Spring of a bed of coal near, but no oUbrt has yet been made to discover it. STAIR-CASE. 11^ At the Falls, near Table Rock, is a Spiral Staircase, conilructed for the purpose of letting people descend and ^pass behind the slieet of water. The views behind this sheet, 150 feet from the outer edge, are awfully sublime and terrific, and visiters generally feel themselves well repaid for going there. The impressions there produced will probably never be effaced. » Mr. S turkey who keeps a house of refresJiments and a cabinet of minerals here, is very acconmiodating to visiters, and when desired furnishes them with a dress and guide to facilitate their passage behind the Falls^ TJiis place has been extensively known and is much fre- quented bv visiters. ,i^- -'■ -^ii^f ' «iM4.r .^^..UlL^fu )^g^.f- THE FALLS. 47 Muscuiii . . . Suiniiiur und Winter Scenery. MUSEUM. A few rods from this staircase is Mr. Barnett's Mu- seum of natural and artificial curiosities ; — an establish- ment well worthy of patronage. The rooms arc ar- ranged very tastefully so as to represent a forest scene, and contain upwars of 5000 specimens of various kinds and descriptions. There are bipeds and quadru- peds ; birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, shells, minerals and Indian curiosities ; all calculated to delight the eye, im- prove the understanding, and mend the heart. Of the birds, beasts, fishes, and insects, several hundred species were caught in the vicinity of the Falls. The noblest «ajjles of the land delight tc hover around the Falls ; and here they are frequently killed, stuflTed, and offered for sale. A large collection of live rattle-snakes may also be seen here. '"'1$ *? SUMMER AND WINTER SCENERY. The surrounding scenery on both sides of the river is in good keeping with the magnificence of the Falls. It is just what it should be,— grand, striking, and unique. ' ^f'U 48 BOOK OF Sceiifiy in Winter. h By most visiters it is seen only in summer. But in the winter it is also inimitable and indescribably beautiful. The trees and shrubbery on Goat and other islands and on the banks of the river near the Falls, are covered with transparent sleet, presenting an appeal ance of *'icy brilliants," or rather of millions of glittering chan- deliers of all sizes and descriptions, and giving one a most vivid idea of fairy land . *' For every sln-ub and every bliule of grass And every pointed tliorn seems wrought in glass, The frighted birds the rattling brandies shun, Wliich wave and glitter in the distant sun." The scene presents a splendid counterpart to Gold- smith's description of the subterranean grottos of Pares and Antiparos. The mist from the Falls freezes upon the trees so gradually and to such thickness, that it often bears a most exact resemblance to Alabaster ; and this set off by the dazzling colors of the rainbows that arch the river from twenty different points, seems by natural association, to raise the imagination to that world, where the streets are of pure gold, the gates of pearl, and night is unknown. " Look, the massy trunks Are cased in the pure crystal ; branch and twig Shine in the lucid covering ; eacli light rod. Nodding and twinkling in the stirring breeze, Is studded with its trembling water-drops, Still streaming, as thoy move, with colored iight. ■rkniiKi'^. . v- .,s!d^^.^:-. . S' THE FALLS. 49 Winter Scenery . '. . Wild Ducks. / But round the parent stem, thfci long, low boughs Bend in a glittering ring, or ijirbors hide The glassy floor. O ! you might deem the spot The spacious cavern of some virgin mine, Deep in the womb of earth, where the gems grow ; And diamonds put forth radiant rods, and bud With amethyst and topaz, and the place Lit up most royally with the pure beam That dwells in them ; or, haply the vast hall Of fairy palace, that outlasts the night. And fades not in the glory of the sun*, Where crystal columns send forth slender shaftifti And crossing arches, and fantastic aisles Wind from the sight in brightness, and are lost Among the crowded pillars." The winter scenery about the Falls is peculiar, a sight of which is worth a journey of one thousand miles^ Myriads of wild ducks and geese spend the day in and above the rapids, and regularly take their departure for Lake Ontario every night before dark ; though some are often found in the morning with a broken leg or wing, and sometimes dead, in the river below the Falls. This generally happens after a very dark or foggy night ; and it is supposed that, as they always have their heads up stream, while in the water, they are carried down insensibly by the rapids, till they find themselves going over the precipice, and then in attempting to fly, they dive into the sheet of water, and are buried for a time under the Falls or upon the rocks. 5 50 BOOK Of Eagles . . . Ice Bridge. Dead fish, too, of almost all sizes and descriptions, weighing from one to seventy pounds, are found floating in the eddies below the Falls, forming a dainty repast for gulls, loons, hawks, and eagles. The splendid gyrations of the gulls, and their fearless approaches, enveloped in clouds of mist, up to the boiling caldron directly under the Falls, attract much attention. But the eagle, fierce, daring, contemplative, and tyrannical, takes his stand upon the point of some projecting rock, or the dry limb of a gigantic tree, and watches with excited interest the movements of the whole feathered tribes below Stand- ing there in lordly pride and dignity, in an instant hie eye kindles and his ardor rises as he sees the fish hawk emerge from the deep, screaming with exultation at his success. He darts forth like lightning, and gives furious chase. The hawk, perceiving his danger, uttors a scream of despair and drops his fish; and the efigle instantly seizes the fish in the air, and bears his ill-gotten booty to hi» lofty eyrie. Sometimes during a part of the winter, the ice is* driven by the wind from Lake Erie, and poured over the Falls in »uch immense quantities as to fill and block up the river between the banks, for a mile or more, to the depth of from thirty to fifty feet, so that people cross the ice to Canada, on foot, for weeks together : THE FALLS. u ]{ivcr below the Fulls . . . Color of the Water . . . Channel. the river itself is never frozen over, either above or below the Falls, but it affords an outlet for vast quantities of ice from the upper Lakes. 11 1 V E H BELOW THE FALLS. The river at the Falls is a little over three-fourths of a mile in width, but btlow it is immediately compressed into a narrow channel of less than one-fourth of a mile in width ; its depth, as ascertained by sounding, is about 250 feet. Its color is deep green, and sometimes blue ; occasioned, no doubt, by reflection from the sky. This channel being between perpendicular banks, from 170 to 370 feet high, is comparatively smooth for two miles, and then runs with amazing velocity to Lewiston ; and, what is somewhat remarkable, while the river makes a constant descent, the banks have a gradual ascent for six miles ; so that from the top of the bank to the water, at Brock's Monument, near Queenston, is 370 feet ; and the heights there are 38 feet higher than Lake Erie, and 25 feet higher tlian the land at Schlosser. Wh'^ther the bed of the river here was once a natural ravine, or was formed by an earthquake, or worn away by the continued and violent action of the water falling upon the rocks — thus ^n 52 BOOK OF Earliest Discoveries. carrying the Falls back from Queenston to their present situation, it would be difficult to determine with cer- tainty. From descriptions of the Falls written nearly two hun- dred years ago, we learn that, though their shape h:.s been somewhat altered since, they then occupied the place which they hold now, and exhibited the same wonderful phenomena. When and by whom among the whites they were first discovered, the writer has never yet been able to ascertain. Tradition ascribes their discovery to two missionaries, who were on an exploring tour to this part of the country, in an age anterior to any written account extant. REMARKS OF HENNEPIN, TONTI, HONTAN, ETC. Father Hennepin, who visited this place in December, 1678, thus describes the Falls: — "Betwixt the Lakes Ontario and Erie, there is a vast and prodigious cadence of water, which falls dov/n after a surprising and asto- nishing manner, insomuch, that the universe does not afford its parallel. 'Tistrue, Italy and Suedeland boast of some such things, but we may well say that they are but sorry patterns, when compared with this of which tHE FALLS. 53 Earliest Discoveries. we now speak. At the foot of this horrible precipice, we meet with the river Niagara, which is not above a quarter of a league broad, but is wonderfully deep in some places. It is so rapid above this descent, that it vio- lently hurries down the wild beasts while endeavoring to pass it to feed on the other side, they not being able to withstand the force of its current, which inevitably casts them headlong above six hundred feet high. ''This wonderful downfall is compounded of two great cross-streams of water, and two falls, with an isle sloping along the middle of it. The waters which fall from this horrible precipice, do loam and boil after the most hideous manner imaginable, making an outrageous noise, more terrible than that of thunder ; for when the wind blows out of the south, their dismal roaring may be heard more than fifteen leagues off. ** The river Niagara having thrown itself down this incredible precipice, continues its impetuous course for two leagues together, to the Great Rock above men- tioned, with an inexpressible rapidity ; but having passed that, its impetuosity relents, gliding along more gently for other two leagues, till it arrives a I the Lake Ontario or Frontenac. * * Any barque or greater vessel may pass from the Fort to the foot of this huge rock, above mentioned. This rock lies to the westward, and is cut off from the land 5* i« 54 IJOOK OF Earliest Discoveries. '- by the river Niagara, about two leagues further down than the Great Fall ; for which two leagues the people are obliged to transport their goods over land; but the way is very guod, and the trees are but few, chiefly firs and oaks. ** From the Great Fall unto this Rock, which is to the west of the river, the two brinks of it are so prodigious high, that it would make one tremble to look steadily upon the water, rolling along with a rapidity not to be imagined. Were it not for this vast cataract, which interrupts navigation, tliey might sail with barques or greater vcs els more than four hundred and fifty leagues, crossing the Lake of Huron, and reaching even to the further end of the Lake Illinois ; which two Lakes we may easily say are little seas of fresh water. ** After we had rowed above an hundred and forty leagues upon the Lake Erie, by reason of the many wind- ings of the bays and creeks which we were forced to coast, we passed by the Great Fall of Niagara, and spenJ. half a day in considering the wonders of that prodigious cascade. ** I could not conceive how it came to pass, that four great Lakes, the least of which is four hundred leagues in compass, should empty themselves one into another, and then ail centre and discharge themselves at this Great Fall, and yet not drown good part of America. What is ttti: I'Attbi. r»5 Eurlirst Discoveries. yet more surprising, the groi d from the mouth of the Lake Erie, down to the Great Fall, appears almost level and flat. It is scarce discernable that there is the least rise or fall for six leagues together. The more than ordinary swiftness of the stream, is the only thing which makes it to be observed. And that which makes it yet the stranger is, that for two leagues together, below the Fall, towards Lake Ontario or Frontenac, the lands are as level as they are above it towards the Lake Erie. ** Our surprise was still greater when we observed there was no mountain within two good leajijues of this cas- cade ; and yet the vast quantity of water which is dis- charged by these four fresh seas, stojs or centres here, and so falls above six hundred feet deep down into a gulf, which one cannot look upon v. ithout horror. Two other great outlets or falls of water, which are on the two sides of a small sloping island, which is in the midst, fall gently and without noise, and so glide away quietly enough ; but when this prodigious quantity of water of which I speak, comes to fall, there is such a din and such a noise, more deafening than i.he loudest thunder. <'The rebounding of these waters is so great, that a sort of cloud arises from the foam of it, which is seen hanging over this abyss, even at noon-day, when the sun is at its height. In the midst of summer, when the 56 noOK Oi' Earliest Discoveries. weather is hottest, they rise above the tallest firs, and other great trees, which grow on the sloping island, which makes the two falls of water thr.t I spoke of. ** I wished an hundred times, th^it somebody had been with us, who could have described the wonders of this prodigious, frightful Fall, so as to give the reader a just and natural idea of it ; such as might satisfy him, and cause in him an admiration of this prodigy of Nature, as great as it deserves, in the meantime accept the fol- lowing draught, such as it is ; in which, however, 1 have endeavored to give the curious reader as just an image of it as I can. ** We must call to mind what 1 observed of it in the beginning of my Voyage. Frcrr- the mouth of the Lake hrle to the Great Fall, are reckoned six leagues, as I have said, which is the continuation of the great river of St. Lawrence, which arises out of the four Lakes above mentioned. The river, you must needs think, is very rapid for these six leagues, because of the vast discharge of waters which fall into it out of the. said Lakes. The lands which lie on both sides of it to the east and Wbst, are all level from the Lake Erie to the Great Fall. Its banks are not steep, on the contrary, the water is amost always level with the land. It is certain, that the ofround towards the Fall is lower, by tne more than ordi- THE FALLS. 57 Earliest Discoveries. nu^y switfness of the stream ; and yet it is not perceiv- able to the eye for six leagues above. << After it has run thus violently for six leagues, it meets with a small bloping island, about half a quarter of a league long, and near three hundred feet broad, as well as one can guess by the eye ; for it is impossible to come at it in a canoe of bark, the waters ivn with that force. The isle is full of cedar and fir ; but the land of it lies no higher than that on the banks of the river. It seems to be all level, even as far as the two great cascades that make the main Fall. * * The two sides of Uie channels, which are made by the isle, and run on both sides of it, overflow almost the very surface of the earth of the said isle, as well as the land that lies on the banks of the river to the east and west, as it runs south and north. But we must observe, that at the end of tlie isle, on the side of the two Great Falls, there is a sloping rock which reaches as far ac the great gulf, into which the said waters falls, and yet the rock is not at ail wetted by the two cascades, which fall on both sides, because the two torrents which are made by the isle, throw themselves with a prodigious force, one towards the east and the other towards the west, ffom off the end of the isle, where the Great Fall of all is. 58 IJOOK OK Kurlii'yt Discovirics, ** After these two torrents have thus run by the two sides of the isle, they cast their waters all of a sudden, down into the gulf by two groat Falls ; which waters are pushed so violently on by their own weight, and so sus- tained by the swiftness of the motion, that they do not wet the rock in the least. And here it is that they tumble down into an abyss above six hundred feet in depth. " The waters that flow on the side of the east, do not throw themselves with that violence as those that fall on the west ; the reason is, because the rock at the end of the island, rises something more on this side than it does on the west ; and so tlie waters being supported by it somewhat longer than tliey are on the other side, are carried the smoother oft'; but on the west, the rock sloping more, the waters for want of a support, become the sooner broken, and fall with the greater precipitation. Another reason is, the lands that lie on the west are lower than those that lie on the east. We also observed that the waters of the Fall, tliat is to the west, made a sort of a square figure as they fell, which made a lljird cascade, less than the other two, which i'eli betwixt the south and north. *' And because there is a rising j^round which lies be- fore those two cascades to the north, the gulf is much larger there than to the cast. Moreover, we must observe, that from tlio rising ground that lies over "V THE tALLS r.u < I' lifirliosl l)iscov( ricH. against the two last Falla, which are on the west of llio main Fall, one may go down as far as the bottom of this terrible gulf. The author of this disccvcry was down there, the more narrowly to observe the fall of these pro- digious cascades. From thence we could discover a spot of ground, which lay under the fall of water which is to the east, big enough for four coaches to drive abreast, without being wet ; but because the ground which is to the east of the sloping rock, where the first fall empties itself into the gulf, is very steep and perpendicular, it is impossible for a man to get down on that side, into the place where the four coaches may go abreast, or to make his way thiough such a quantity of water as falls towards the gulf ; so that it is very probable, that to this dry place it is that the rattle-snakes retire, by certain pas- sages which they find under ground, " From the end of this island it is that these two great Falls of waters, as also the third but now mentioned, throw themselves, after a most surprising manner, down mto a dreadful gulf six hundred feet and more in depth. I have already said, that the waters 'which discharge themselves at the cascade to the east, fall with lesser force ; whereas those to the west tumble all at once, making two cascades,, one moderate, the other very vio- lent and strong, which at last make a kind of crotchet, or square figure, failing from south to north, and west to i i «0 ROOK Ot Karlit*st DiicovcricS' east. After this they rejoin the waters of the other cas- cade that falls to the east, and so tumble down altO' gether, though unequally, into the gulf, with all the violence that can be imagined from a Fall of six hundred feet, which makes the most frightful cascadf3 in the world. ** After these waters h^xve thus discharged themselves into the dreadful gulf, they begin to resume their course, and continue the great river of St. Lawrence for two leagues, as far as the three mountains which arc on the east side of the river, and the great rock which is on the west, and lift itself three fathoms above the water or thereabouts. The gulf into which these waters are dis- charged, continues itself thus two leagues together, be- tween a chain of rocks, flowing with a prodigious torrent, which is bridled and kept in by the rocks that lie on each side of the river. " Into this gulf it is, that these several cascades empty themselves, with a violence equal to the height from whence they fall, and the quantity of waters which they discharge ; hence arise those deafening sounds, that dreadful roaring and bellowing of the waters, which drown the loudest thunder, as also the perpetual mists hang over the gulf, and rise above the tallest pines that are in the little isle so often mentioned. After a channel is again made at the bottom of this dreadful Fall, by the THK FAr.r.?:. i'A EarlirKt Di!»coverIcii. chain of rocks, and filled by that pfodigious quantity of wateis which are continually fallinjr, the river of St. Lawrence resumes its course. But with that violence, and its waters beat against tlie rocks with so prodigious a force, that 'tis impopsible to pass even in a canoe of bark, though in one of them, a man may venture safe enough upon the most rapid streams, by keeping close to the shore. '* These rocks, as also the prodiginrs torrent, last for two leagues ; that "s from the ^reat Falls, to the three mountains and great rock ; bu then it begins insensibly to abate, and the land to be again almost on a level with the water, and so it continues as far as the Lake Ontario or Frontenac. *' When one stands near the Fall, and looks down into the dreadful gulf, one is seized with horror, and the head turns round, so that one cannot look long or stead- fastly upon it. Bui iiis vast deluge beginning insen- sibly to abate, and even to fall to nothing about the three mountains, the waters of the river St. Lawrence begin to glide more gently along, and to be almost upon a level with the lands ; so that it becomes navigable again as far as the Lake Frontenac, over which we pass to come to the new canal, which is made by the discharge of its waters. Then we enter again upon the river St. Law- i 6 m BOOK OF Earliest Discoveries. rence, which not long after makes that which they call the Long Fall, an hundred leagues from Niagara. ** Jhave often heard talk of the cataracts of the Nile, which make the people deaf that live near them. I know not if the Iroquois, who formerly inhabited near this Fall, and lived uponbeasta which from time to time are borne down by the violence of its torrent, withdrew themselves from its neighborhood, lest they should like- wise become deaf, or out of the continual fear they were in of rattle- snakes, which are very common in this place during the great heats, and lodge in holes along the rocks as far as the mountains, which lio two leagues lower." The writer, after considerable inquiry and personal examination, is unable io determine what Father Hen- nepin means by the Three Mountains and the Great Rock ; and he cannot believe that the Falls were ever six hundred feet high, as is repeatedly stated in the book. But Father Hennepin's description is, in the main, re- markably correct ; and establishes the fact, that in 1678, there were three distinct falls as they are now, and that the Fall on the Canada side exhibited then somewhat of the appearance of a horse-shoe. His description too of the islands, shores, &c. corresponds with their present appearance. THE FALLS. 63 Earliest Discoveries. In a work written by the Chevalier de Tonti,* who was of the party with Father Hennepin, there is a description of the Falls and of Niagara River, corres- ponding with, and corroborating Hennepin's, but with the addition of no important facts. Baron La Hontan, f who visited this Cataract in May, 1688, thus describes it : *' As for the waterfall of Niagara, 'tis seven or eight hundred feet high, and a half a league broad. Towards the middle of it we descry an island that leans towards the precipice, as if it w<^re ready to fall. All the beasts that cross the water within half a quarter of a league above the unfortunate island, are sucked in by the force of the stream. And the beasts and fish that are tlius killed by the prodigious Fall, serve for food to fifty Iroquese, who are settled above two leagues off, and take 'em out of the water with their canows. Betw-en the surface of the water that shelves off prodigiously, and the foot of the precipice, three men * Eiuitled, ** Relations de la Louisiane et du Fleuve Mississippi, ete. 17'20, Amsterdam, par le Gouveriieur de Tonti, Gouverneur du Fort Saint Louis, aux Illinois-" tHi^book is entitled, " Now Voyages to North America, etc. Written in French, by the Baron La Hontan, Lord Licutanant of the French Colony at Placentia, in New-Foundland. at that time in England. Done into English, the st^cond edition. — London, 1735.'' ti 64 BOOK OF Places of descent between the Fulls and Lewiston may cross in abreast, without any other damage than a sprinkling of some few drops of water." In the Philosophical Transactions, for 1722, there is a description of the Falls given by Monsieur Borasseau, who had visited them at seven different times. He says that the Governor of Canada had, on the previous year, <* ordered his own son with three other officers to survey Niagara, and take the exact height of the Cataract, which they accordingly did with a stone of half a hundred weight, and a large cod-line, and found it upon a per- pendicular twenty-six fathoms," or one hundred and fifty-six feet. These extracts may not be considered of much value, except by those, who have a curiosity to learn something about the Falls, as they appeared in a former age. There are at least five places between the Falls and Lewiston, where persons can descend from the top of the bank to the water, viz : from the end of Mr. Childs' and also Mr. Graves* farm, at the Whirlpool, at the Devil's Hole, and from the end of Mr. Colt's farm. There are also, on the Canada side, a number of places where visiters can descend safely to the water's edge. From these places under the bank, the river scenery appears transeendantly beautiful and sublime, and the rapids strike the beholder with more amazement, if THE FALLS. 65 View From Brock's Monument. possible, than the Falls themselves. Here may be found in reality, " A happy rural seat of various view •, Flowprs of all hue, umbrageons grots and caves Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine l^ays forth her jjurple grape, and gently creeps Luxuriant." The top of the bank on either side, near Brock's Monu- ment, affords a delightful and almost boundless prospect of the country and lake below. The unrivalled Niagara is traced to its outlet, guarded by two opposite Forts, and bearing sloops and steamboats into the glassy Lake ; while the mighty expanse of plains and waters presents a scene so picturesque and enchanting, that the traveller leaves his position with great reluctance. From Lewiston to Lake Ontario, seven miles, the river is deep, smooth, and navigable for vessels of every description ; and Lewis- ton, being the head of navigation, is the principal landing place for the American steamboats that run on Lake Ontario. At the mouth of the river, on the American side, stand the villages of Youngs town and Fort Niagara; and on the Canada side, the villages of Niagara and Fort George. The quantity of water constantly pouring over the Falls, and passing into the Lake, is computed from probable data, at 670,250 tons per minute: but Dr. Dwight 6* Li 'mi BOOK or m.' Qtt«rti(y of Water passing ovef the Falls . . . Curiosities. "tr II II - . -I- I - -I... ■ - ■ n computes it, from the depth, width, and velocity of the current, at more than eighty-five miJIions of tons- per hour ; and by another calculation, supposing a swifter current, at 102,093,750 tons per hour. Darby computes it at 1,672,704,000 cubic feet per hour. Those results are somewhat different, but the first is probably nearest the truth. Dr. Dwight supposes in one calculation a current of five, and in the other, of six miles per hour, the least of which is undoubtedly too nmch. OBJKCTS OP SPECIAL INTK if K S T , - CURIOSITIES, ETC. A number of these, as the islands, the bridges, the staircases, the burning springs. Brock's Monument, the Welland Canal, &c., have already been described. One mile above the Falls, on the American side, is the site of old Fort Schlosser ; a place somewhat distinguished in the early history of this region, and commanding a most beautiful prospect of the river and rapids, of Grand and Navy Islands, and of the village of Chippewa, on the opposite shore. Nothing remains of the Fort, except the entrenchments, and a few rods of pavement within. fd THE FALLS. 67 Mineral Spring. ■^-*- A stockade was built here in the year 1672. Be^re the coustructioti of the Erie Canal, all the business between the Lakes was interchanged by means of a land carriage from this place to Lewiston. Half a mile below the Falls under the bank, are Catlin's Caves, a visit to which no traveller will be likely to regret. Vast quantities of cal- careous tufa or petrified moss are found here in ali stages of its petrifying process. On the other side, nearly oppo- site, is Bender's Cave, a place thought by some, to be worthy a special visit. MINERAL SFRING. Two miles below the Falls, on the American side, is a Mineral Spring, containing sulphuric and muriatic acids, lime and magnesia ; and by the use of its waters many important cures have been effected. For scrofulous, rheuma^v^, and cutaneous complaints, this spring isupplies an almost sovereign emedy. From the stage road near the spring, travellers have a most dv^'.-^jhtful vi^w of the whole Falls two miles distant ; and if they see the Falls from this place first, as they generally do in coming up from Lewiston, the impression here made will probably m m ■SitV fr. 68 BOOK OF Tlie Whirlpool. never bo eJBfaced. Capt. Hall reiiiarlis jresppcting this place, ** Ji felt at the moment quite Mure that no subse- quent ex^^mination, whether nv.ar or rente te, ';rald wer remove, or even insterially weaken the impression left by this first view." WHIRLPOOL. One mile farther down leads to a tremendous whirlpool, leeembling very much, in its appearance and gyrations, the celebrated Mflelstrom on the coast of Norway. Logs and treos are sornetiines v;hirled around for days together in its outer circles, while in the centre they are drawn down perpendicularly with great force, are soon shot out again at the distance of many rods, and occasionally thrust into the channel to pass down the river. The river here makes nearly a right angle, which occasions the whirl- pool, — is narrower than at any other place, — not more than thirty rods in width, — and the current runs with such amazing velocity as tc r^se up in the middle ten feet above the sides. This *>een ascertained by actua,! 11^ ' vsurement. ♦* Resistless, roaring, i "iutilul down it comes,— There, gatliering tri») e Irce, rapid and deep,— ll boils, find whcrJs, an i - tais, isnd thunders throi'gh." THK FALLS. G9 Ithis )se- nver left The Whirlpool. There is a path leading down the bank to the whirl- pool on both sides, and, though somewhat difficult to descend and ascend, it is accomplished almost every day on the American side, by gentlemen, and oflen by ladies. A brisk and very refreshing breeze is felt there during the hottest and stillest days of summer ; and no place is better fitted to elevate and expand the mind. The whirlpool is a phenomenon of great interest as seen even from the top of the bank, especially if a small telescope be used ; but to have any adequate idea of its power and motion, visiters ought to descend to the water*8 edge, and walk some distance up the river. The rapids here are much more powerful and terrific than they are above the Falls, and appear like a flood of watery brilliants rushing along. Having written thus far, the writer laid down his pen, and started off on a fresh visit to the whirlpool ; and now, having spent half a day there in mute astonishment and admiration, and walked more than a mile by the river's edge, he is utterly at a loss what language to use in describing it. Of the above tame and meagre description he is ashamed ; and yet he can think of no language, no iiiiagery, no comparison, that will not fall immeasurably short of -onveying a just idea of the scene. He can only say, soberly and earnestly, that no gentleman ought hereafter to acknowledge that he has seen the Falls of m 'tr! iiH te 7-0 BOOK OF Perilous Incident. Niagara, unless lie could also say, he had seen the Whirl- pool from the water's edge. A staircase down the bank would be a great accommodation to visiters, and it is to be hoped that one ere long will be constructed. Water for hydraulic purposes may easily be brought into use here to an almost unlimited extent. About the year 1812, an accident occurred here, per- haps worth recording. A party of men were employed in cutting cedar logs near the river about the whirlpool, with a view to get them floated to Lewiston. One nan stepping upon some of them that were rafted, was imper- ceptibly, or perhaps through carelessness, drawn out into the current, and swiflly carried into the whirlpool. He clung to a log and was carried round and round in the capacious basin for hours, expecting every moment to be crushed among the logs or thrust into the vortex, while his companions on shore could afford him no relief. At length some of them ascended the bank, went to Queens- ton, four miles, and pocured a boat to be drawn up by a team. This was let down the bank, and many people assembled with ropes, poles, &c., to render assistance. After the boat had been well secured, and some men had stepped in intending to push out into the whirlpool, the man upon the log. still whirling in imminent ppril of his life, was, by some action of the water, sent out directly thk falls. 71 Devil'H Holt'. to tJie shore, and finally saved, without receiving any aid from others. This place has been consecrated by some fabulous tales of wonder and of peril which it is not necessary here to repeat. D F. V r L S HOLE. i A mile below the whirlpool is a place on the American side, called the '* Devil's Hole," embracing about two acres cut out laterally and perpendicularlv in the rock by the side of the river, and about one hun (t and fifty feet deep. Tliis name was probably given from that oinhe personage more frequently invoked in this region, for- merly, than any other. How this hole was thus made it is difficult to conjecture. Visiters look into it with silent, inexpressible amazement. An angle of this hole or gulf comes within a few feet of the stage ••oad, affording travellers an opportunity, without ah gh ting, of looking into the yawning abyps. But they ought to alight and pass to the farther side of the flat projecting rock, where they will feel themselves richly repaid for their trouble. The scenery there presented is singularly captivating and sublime. #% n^im^ I' d^'^wLA- ii V 72 BOOK OK r*cvil's Hok'. 'liii«! ;»^ace is distinguished by an incident that occurred about the year 3759. A company of British soldiers, pursued by the Frcncli and Indians, wero driven off this rock at iJie point of the bayonet. All, save one, instantly perished upon the rocks two liundred feet beneath them. This one fell into the crotch of a tree, and succeeded afterwards in ascending the bank and making his escape. A mail by the name of Steadman, wlio lived at Fort Schlosser, \^as among tliis company of Uritish, but made his escape on horse-back just before coming to the bank, though many balls whizzed about him in his flight. — The Indians afterwards imagined nim to be inip' netrable and invincible, became very friendly, and ultimo .ely, in consideration of some services he rendered theni ^ave him all the land included between Niagara River and n straight line drawn from Gill Creek above Fort Sclilosser to the Devirs Hole, embracing about 5000 acres. The heirs of Steadman, so late as the year 1823, instituted and carried on a long and expensive law-suit against the State of New Yik, to recover this land. But they could show no {. ', and the suit resulted in favor of the State and the pieseni occupants. THK FA M.S. 7a Tuscnrorii IndiariH. T U S C A 11 O R A INDIANS. ,!•: Eight iiiles below the Falls and three miles back from the river, is the reservation of the TuscarDra Indians, containing two miles in width by four in length, (about 5000 acres) of very excellent land. They consist of about three hundred souls, have a Presbyterian Church, of 50 members, a resident clergjiman, and a school teacher, and a Temperance Society of more than one hundred members. They are under the care of the American Board of Foreign Missions. Their village is delightfully situated on a high bank commanding an ex- tensive prospect of the surrounding country, and of Lake Ontario. But the greator part of the Indians live in a settlement a mile and a half from the village, and are not generally seen by visiters. I'hese Indians came from North Carolina about the year 1712, and joined the confederacy of the Five Na- tions, theriselves making the Sixth. They formerly held a very valuable interest in land in North Carolina, but have recently sold it and divided the proceeds equally I 74 BOOK OK TuHcarora Indians. among lliomselvcs. Many of them are in very prosper- ous circumstances ; in the year 18IJ4, one man growed and gathered fifty acres of wlicat. Visiters at the Falls have heen in the habit of going, sometimes in crowds, to this village on the Sabbath ; but the Indians vvilh their Missionary, liave often expressed their desire that visiters would nol interrupt them at that time. It is his impression, that such kind of visiters and their accompaniments, and made too by such multitudes, have sucli an influence upon the Indians, as completely to counteract his cflbrls for the time being, in their be- half; and he has therefore adopted the practice, on such occasions, of directing his preaching entirely to the visit- ers. The Indians complain of being interrupted, crowd- ed, and made a gazing stock, and of having a constant example of Sabbath-breaking set before them and their children ; and that, too, by those from whom they are taught to expect better things. THE FAI.r.9 7f> liuttlcd. B A T T I, K S . £''^ In life inimodiate vicinity of the Falls many incident** have occurred to impart an additional interest. This was tiio scene of a number of battles fought during the last war with Great Britain ; those at Fort Erie, Chippewa, and Lundy's Lane, were among the most bloody and liard-fought, that are recorded in history. In the battle near Fort Erie there was, what has generally been consid- ered, a Military Chief d'oeuvre ; the Americans, to the number of 1000 regulars and 1000 of the militia, made a sortie and took the British works about 500 yards from their line, and returned in triumph. The battles in this region occurred in the following order ; viz : at Queens- ton, October 13, 1812 ; at York, April 27, 1813 ; at Fort George, May 27, do. ; at Stonney Creek, June 5, do. ; at Beaver Dam, June 24, do. ; Naval Battle on Lake Erie, September 10, do. ; the village of Niagara Falls, Lewis- ton, and Youngstown, burnt December 19, do. ; Buffalo and Black Rock burnt December 31, do. ; Fort Erie taken .luly 3, 1814 ; battle of Chippewa, July 6, do. ; at Bridg- water or Lundy's Lane, July 25, do. ; at Fort Erie, Au- t;U3t 15, and September 17, 1814, The burning of villages I 76 HOOK OF Bridges, and plunder of property on the American side, are still remembered, and the circumstances detailed with thrilling interest, by many of the inhabitants. . ,1 B U I D G K 5 . In the year 1817, abridge was constructed from the shore across the rapids to the head of Goat Island, but was swept away by the ic3 the ensuing spring. The present bridge was constructed in 1818, and is forty-four rods in length, exclusive of Bath Island. This bridge, though crossing the foaming rapids only sixty-four rods above the Falls, over which visiters are at first disposed to walk lightly and wdth quickened pace, is perfectly yafe for all kinds of teams and carriages, and seems destined to stand a great length of time. Multitudes inquire, with wonder and eager curiosity, how it could have been con- atructed in this imminently dangerous place. They shall be informed ; and they will see that, like a thousand other difficult things, it was easily accomplish- ed, when the hoio was ascertained. Two very long tim- bers were thrust out from the shore on an abutment, having the forwa^'l enc.:3 elevated a little above the rapids, and the others fiiu . secured upon the hank ; these werf , are still 1 thrilling from the Island, but iig. The s forty-four i'his bridge, ,y-fbur rods rst disposed jrfecily safe ms destined n quire, with ^^e been con- ( that, like a accomplish- sry long tim- 1 abulmt-nt, e the rapids, ; these wero # * l-rti ■f' m THE FALLS. rr IMincrals, &c. ^■^ \ then covered with plank for a temporary bridge. At the extremity of this bridge, very large stones were let down into the river, around which timbers were sunk, locked together so as to form a frame, which was afterv/ards filled with stone. To this, constituting the first pier, a firm bridge was then constructed, and the temporary bridge shoved forward so as to build a second pier like the first, and on, till the whole was completed. The honor of projecting and constructing this bridge belongs jointly and equally to the proprietors, the Hon. Augustus and General Peter B. Porter. Till the year 1817, tJiere was no way of descending or ascending the bank below the Falls, except by a ladder about ne hundred feet in length ; since then, a safe and convenient flight of stairs has been built, by vvhich visit- ers can have an easy descent to the ferry, and e.n oppor- tunity to pass a considerable distance behind the magnifi- cent sheet of vvaterr Perhaps there is no place where the height of the fall is so impressively realized as here. « i%- m^ i U% PLACES OF RESORT . — M I N E R A L S . There are a number of pretty establishments at the Falls where are kept on hand rich specimens of the min- eral, fossil, vegetable and animal productions of the 7* — » I n COOK OF Incidents. vicinity. Among these establishments as a place of re* sort, Mr. W. E. Huletts*, deserves a conspicuous notice. His place is directly opposite the Cataract Hotel, and visiters will there find a library, reading-room, billiard- room, &>c. &c. and a most splendid collection of minerals, both from the vicinity of the Falls, and from other parts of the United States. Mr. A. B. Jacobs on Bath Island, Mr. S. Hooker, and Mr. E. G. Lindsey, on the American side, and Mr. Bar- nett at his Museum, Mr. Starkey and Mr. Shultersburgh on the Canada side, keep on hand an assortment of mineralogical specimens, a variety of elegant articles of Indian manufacture, canes, &c. Among the minerals kept for sale, are, transparent crystalized selenites ; snoW'White gypsum ; calcareous, bitter, dog-tooth, and fluor spar ; crystalized quartz ; petrifactions ; favasites and other fossils ; shells, &:c. There are also some no- ble specimens of bald and grey eagles, witli which this region abounds. INCIDENTS. Men have occasionally been drawn into the rapids with their boats, and carried over the Falls ; but not a vestige of them or their boats has scarcely ever been found. The K'fe :"^'*-.i'..'-.,>:raJ!ifctii4:ia ; uM^B •^ THE FALLS. a^ Incidenta. great depth of tlie water below, and the milky foam and tumultuous agitation occasioned by the eddies, whirl- pools, and counter currents, make it next to impossible for any thing once sunk to rise again, until carried so far down the stream as to make fruitless any research. In the year 1820, two men, in a state of intoxication, fell asleep in their scow which was fastened at the mouth of Chippewa Creek ; while there it broke away, and they awoke finding themselves beyond the reach of hope, dash- ing over the rapids. In the year 1822, tw^o others, engaged in removing some furniture from Grand Island, were by some careless- ness drawn into the rapids, and hurried over the cataract. In 1825, 'two more, in aUempting on the Sabbath to smuggle some whiskey across to Chippewa, were hurried into the rapids and shared a similar fate. A story has frequently been told of an Indian, who fell asleep in his canoe some miles above, and awoke in the midst of the rapids; perceiving that all efforts to escape v/ould be vain, he turned his bottle of whiskey down his throat, and composedly awaited the awful plunge. This story the writer believes to be fabulous, as he has never been able to find any foundation for it, except that it is a stereotype Indian story, told as having happened at all the different falls in the country . In September 1827, notice having been given in the -- ' 80 BOOK OF Vessels driven over the Falls. newspapers that the Michigan, a large vessel that had run on Lake Erie, would be sent over the Falls, thirty thousand people, it was supposed, assembled to witness the novel spectacle. On board of this vessel were put two bears, a buffalo, two racoons, a dog, and a goose ; the bears leaped off in the midst of the rapids, and miracu- lously almost, finally reached the shore in safely. The others went over and perished. The Michigan before she reached the Falls, having been considerable broken in the t rapidsj sunk to a level with the surface, and went over near the centre of the liorHe-shoe fall. The distance from deck to kf;el was sixteen feet ; and as she did not appear to touch the bottom for eighty rods before she went over, the conclusion is, that the water as it passes over the precipice there must be at least twenty feet deep. In October 1829, another vessel, the Superior, was advertised to be sent over, which drew together about fifteen thousand people. This vessel lodged in the rapids and remained a number of weeks, and finally passed over the Falls in the night. In August 1828, a small sloop abandoned by the men through fright, near the mouth of Chippewa Creek, was blown with all her sails up, so far across the river as to come down on the American side of Goat Island ; but was broken to a perfect wreck in the rapids, so as to pas| under the bridge and over the Falls. I»v THE FALLS. 81 ", was about rapids i over i men 1 was as to ; but pass Fill! of Table Hoek. lu July 1832, a canal boat was blown over from Chip- pewa, and lodged in the rapids a short distance above the bridge. Some men and one woman were on board, and were saved at most imminent peril, and the boat was finally secured and drawn ashore. The rock at the Falls is hard limestone to the depth of about seventy feet, below which it is loose crumbling shale, which is constantly wearing away and leaving a projection of the limestone. A mass of Table Rock, 160 feet in length and from 30 to 40 feet in width, fell oif in July 1818, with a tremen- dous crash. On the 9th of December 1828, three immense portions broke from the horse-shoe fall, causing a shock iiktj an earthquake. Another large portion fell in the summer of 1829, ond the noise it occasioned was heard .several miles. And yet, judging from the published accounts of the Falls which reach back nearly two hun- dred years, there has been but very little recession of the Falls within that period. In October 1829, Sam Patch jumped twice, in the pres- ence of thousands of spectators, from the top of a ladder ninety seven feet high into the eddy below the Falls. This ladder was erected directly below the Biddle stair- case. Poor Sam afterwards lost his life by jumping from tjae Falls of Genesee River, at Rochester. May 19, 3835, two mGn in attempting to pass down 1,. .43 S2 BOOK OF Biirninj^ of the Caroliue. the river from Tonawanda to Chippewa in a scow, were driven by the wind into the rapids, and one of them went over the Falls ; the other, after leaping from the scov/, reached a shoal where he could stand in the water with his head out. In this situation he was seen from tlie American shore ; and two men, at the imminent hazard of their lives, went out in a boat, and succeeded in saving him, and returning safely to shore. Again June 10, 1835, two men in passing from Schlos- ser to Chippewa, in a skiff, were drawn into the rapids and hurried to destruction. While in the rapids, they were seen for a short time by perrons on the Pavillion. — Some days afterwards, their bodies were found in an eddy a mile below the Falk-, one of which was deprived of a leg and an arm. Another melancholy incident happened on the night of December 29, 1837. The steamboat Caroline, while lying at Schlosser, was at midnight attacked by a party of Canadian soldiers and several on board murdered. She was then towed out into tlie stream, sot on lire, and was carried over the Falls hy the current. Nothing was to be found of her the next morning except a small quan- tity of the wreck which was thrown upon the sliore below the Falls. The history of this boat was somev/hat siiig^ lar ; she was originally built at Cliarleston, S. CaroliiMtfl was from thence brought to New York, from thence t(f THE FALLS. The Hermit of Niafjura Falls. 83 Albar and from Albany she was brought through the Erie and Oswego Canals to Lake Ontario, and from Lake Ontario through the Welland Canal to Chippewa, U. C. between which place and Buffalo she plied for sometime as a passage boat ; last season she was seized by the Collector of Buffalo, condemn^id, and sold for a violation of the revenue laws, and at length during the Canadian disturbances, finished her career, by a leap down the awful abyss of Niagara. tHK HERMIT OF NIAGARA FALLS. June 10, 1831, the ** Hermit" was drowned while bath- ing in the river biJow the Falls. Tne following account of this singular beiL^^ is abridged and condensed from one drawn up and published soon after his death. " A young Englishman, named Francis Abbott, of re- spectable connexions, either through misfortune or a morbid state of Wiind, which made him desire seclusion, took up his residence on Goat Island, and in the neigh- borhood of the Fr.Hs, for two years ; and became so fas- cinated with the solitude, and infatuated with the scene- ry, that no inducement could divert his thoughts, or draw iim from tb-* spot, where he acquired the name of the # Hermit i . lagara Falls." &4 nooK ot Tlic Hermit of Niur: ' Falls. He arrived on foot in June, 1829, dressed in a Iooho gown or cloak of a chocolate color, carrying under his arm a roll of blankets, a flute, a portfolio, and a large book ; which constituted the whole of his baggage. He took up his abode, in the first ir.^tance, in the small inn of Ebenezer Kelly, on the American side, ^;ti[julating that the room he occupied should be exclusively his own, and that certain parts of his cooking only should be done by his host. He then repaired to the Library, where he gave his name, and borrowed some books and music; books, and purchased a violin ; the following day he tgn'm visited the Library, expatiated largely, with great etifje ani ability, on the beautiful acenery of the Falls, and declared his intention of remaining at least a week ; for ** a traveller might as well," he said, "examine in detail the various museums and curiosities of Paris, as become acquainted with the splendid scenery of Niagara in the same space of time." On a subsequent visit he declared his intention of staying at least a month, per- haps six. Shortly after, he d(;termined on fixing his abode on Goat Island, and was desirous of erecting a hut, in which he might live quite secluded ; the proprietor of the Island not thinking proper to grant this request, he occupied a small room in the only house, being occasion- ally furnished with bread and milk by the family, ^it more generally providing and always cooking his own THE FALLS. 85 The Ilerinit of Nlayani Fulls. food. During Hie necond winter of lii« seclusion, the lUniily removed, and t'» the ^uw persons with whom he held communi n, heoxpressod great satisfaction at being able to live alone. For some tune) ' J this seclusion ; but another family having enl. house, he quitted the Island, and built himself a sniun cottage on the main shore, about thirty rods below the Great Fall. On the 10th of June, 1831, he was seen to bathe twice, and was observed by the ferryman to enter the water a third time about two o'clock in the afternoon ; his clothes remaining some hours where he had deposited them, an alarm was created, and an ineliectual search was made for him. On the 21st, his body was taken out o£ the river at Fort Niagara, and was decently intered in the burial ground near the Falls. When his cottage was examined, his dog was found guarding the door, and was with difficulty removed ; his cat occupied his bed ; his guitar, violin, flutes, music books, and portfolio, were scattered around in confusion ; but not a single written paper of any kind was found (although he was known to compose much) to throw the least light on this extraordinary character. — He was a person of highly cultivated mind and manners, a master of languages, deeply read in the arts and scien- ces, and performed on various musical instruments with great taste ; his drawings were also very spirited. He 8 •tl ..r... IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) < ^ i z 1.0 u& £j2 i2.2 lU 11.6 i 1.1 r.-^ia 1.25 111.4 il.6 « 6" ► V] % ^ 7] ^> ? ^^^^1 ^^^ /A ^ '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 v«, f- " ".^^-- '.■-. ■ ■'- '■■■■ >.' ^ ;>,;>f ^ ->!,'■ 'f»i ^- ';;:v: ';.■; " :,ii%(f*L"'L ^^«ii*- • * ■- 8& BOOK OF The Hermit of Niagara Fulls. .«* had travelled over Europe and many parts of the East, and possessed great colloquial powers when inclined to* be sociable ; but at times he would desire not to be spo- ken to, and communicated his wishes on a slate ; some- times for three or fou»' months together he would go unsh^ved, with no covering on his heao, and his body enveloped in a blanket ; shunning all, and seeking the deepest solitude. Hi« age was not more than twenty- eight, his person well made, and his features handsome.^ Many spots on Goat Island are consecrated to his memory ; at the upper end he established his walk, which became hard trod and well beaten ; between the Island and Moss Island was his favorite retreat for bathing ; here he resorted at all seasons of the year, even in the coldest weather, when ice was on the river ; on the bridge to the Terrapin Rocks, it was his daily practice to walk for hours, from one extremity to the other, with a quick pace ; sometimes he would let him- self down at the end of the projecting timber, and hang under it by his hands, and feet over the terrific precipice, for fifteen minutes at a time, and in the wildest hours of the night he was often found walking in the most dan- gerous places near the Falls. It is now ascertained that this Abbott was the son of the late John Abbott, (of Plymouth, England,) a memb^ of the Society of Friends. His guitar, that beguiled so % '">''■»• '■-'^t'"''' •V ' -•V .-T^t^'T-' ■ m,".;'-i"SfKf'''- 'P*-'Tf'^V|^"'' ■>;»•, ■^• THE FALLS. 87 Village of Niagara Falls. many of his solitary hours, and soothed him in his sor- rows, is still preserved as a curiosity, and may be seen at Mr. Hooker's, in the village of Niagara Falls, " Hush'd is the lyre — the hand that swept The low and pensive wires, Robbed of its cunning, from the task retires. Yes— it is still— the lyre is still •, The spirit which its slumbers broke. Hath pass'd away,— :ind that weak hand that woke Its forest melodies , hath lost its skill." VILLAGE OP NIAGARA FALLS. The country in the immediate vicinity of the Falls on both sides of the river, presents many powerful attrac- tions for a permanent residence. For salubrity of air and healthfulness of climate, it yields to no spot in the United States. Here, *' Nature hath The very soul of nmsic in her looks, The sunshine and tiie shade of poetry." The latitude here is 43 degrees 6 minutes North, and the longitude 2 degrees 6 minutes West from Washing- ton. The winters are generally much milder than in New England, owing as supposed, to the action of the two neighboring lakes, that lie on either side. ** ^'ttf^.% ?■« ■- y -■ %. 88 BOOK or Village of Niagara Falls. 'm. In a pamphlet published in l^ondon in the year 1834, written by Robert Burford, Esq. who spent the summer and autumn of 1832, in taking a panoramic view of the Falls, it is stated that this place is " without all question, the most healthful of any on the continent of North America. The heat of summer can there be borne with pleasure, while at the same time, the annoyance of mus- quitoes and other insects is unknown. Various are the conjectures whence arises the remarkable salubrity of this region ; but the most natural is, that the agitatiop of the surrounding air produced by the tremendous Falls, combines with the elevation and dryness of the soil, and absence of all swamps, to produce this happy result." Jn the summer of 1832, when the cholera raged in all the villages around, as Buffalo, Lockport, Lewiston, «fec. not a smgle case occurred here. Again, when this dis- ease visited many villages in the vicinity, in the summer of 1834, this place was wholly exempt. The village of Niagara Falls on the American side, formerly called Manchester, contains about 50 families. For ten years past the population here has been about stationary, while the business has been diminished. There are two spacious Hotels in the village, the Eagle and the Cataract, which will accommodate one hundred permanent guests. The latter is kept by Mr. Geo. W. Hawley, favorably known here in his business. The ^rit v.:j^4^K&^-i]i.'i^r- «00K OF Visitors . . . Piirtif'fl, &c. During tlie winter niontlis, tliough there are are many visiters, thoj' are generally such as are passing through the region on business, and slay only a short time. Fre- quently however, parties from Buffalo, Lockport, Roch- ester, Canandaigua, and other places, visit the Falls by sleighing ; and after spending a day or two, go away enraptured with the scene. Many visiters err greatly in their calculations in regard to the time which they ought to spend here. They come hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles to view the Falls, and then hurry away before they have had time to get any verji full or distinct impression of the scene, or to visit one fifth of the interesting points, from which the Falls and rapids ought to be viewed. The object of the visit is thus in a great measure lost. Visit- ers ought to make their calculations, in the summer especially, to spend at least a week, and then they will begin to feel some regret at leaving. A distinct and lasting impression can be obtained only by looking at single portions and objects at a time, and examining these frequently and from different positions. " Tie sight of nature in her magnificence, or in her beauty, or in her terror, has at all times an overpowering interest, which even habit cannot greatly weaken ;" and let none have any apprehension that the scenes here will loose their interest by familiarity. E TIIK FALLS. y; Places ofrrsort in thf, vicinity of tlie Fulls. Persons who spend some time at tlie Falls, will find several places in the vicinity, on both sides of the river, worthy a special visit. Eleven miles south, on the American side, is the village of Tonawanta, from which there is a ferry across to While Haven on Grand Island ; proceeding eleven miles further, you pass through Black Rock to Buffalo and Lake Erie. Goin^f north from the Falls two miles, you find the Mineral Spring ; one mile further the Wiiirlpool ; half a mile furllier the Devil's Hole ; eight miles from the Falls the village of the Tus- carora Indians ; seven miles, Lcwiston village, where the steam-boats from Lake Ontario receive passengers ; seven miles below Lewistonis the village of Youngstown, and one mile further Fort Niagara standing on the border of the Lake. '% . From the Falls on the Canada side, one mile south, brings you to the burning spring ; two and a half miles to Chippewa battle ground and village ; twenty miles through the village of Waterloo to Fort Erie near Lake Erie. From the Falls north, one mile brings you to Lun- dy*s Lane, where the battle of Bridge water was fought ; three and a half miles to the Whirlpool ; six and a half to Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument ; seven miles to Queenston village, opposite Lewiston ; and fourteen miles to the village of Niagara and Fort George. Eight miles from the Falls west, is the *-^ Deep Cut," so *)f- >» m • 4ijPi.'3t. tV- ^ 'A ' ^^OV^. m UOOK OF Koutcs and Churgei. called of the Welland Canal, a place much visited in the summer. To carry you to any or all these places, car- riages can always be had at a few moment's notice on either side of the river. Fi ROUTES AND CHARGES. # Every traveller may be presumed to know his way to the Falls, and to be capable of choosing his mode of con- veyance. The general routes are, — from New England, New York, or the southern cities, — by steamboat, and 9tage, or by the Erie Canal. From Montreal, Kingston, Toronto, Sacket's Harbor, or Oswego, — by steamboat through Lake Ontario to Niagara or Lewiston ; on which Lake, about twenty steamboats are in operation. From the Southern and Western States, — by steamboat through Lake Erie, where you will find more than fifty in operation. Persons wishing to go from New Orleans, or any of the Western States to New York or New Eng- land, and vice versa, will find this route much the pleas- anteat and the chjeapest. The general charges are, from New York to Albany, $2,00 ; from Albany to Niagara THE FALLI. 07 Iloutes . . . Sleutnboat (ind Stngt; Fare. ■i Falls by packet-boat on the canal, $13,00 ; from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, $1,00 ; from Buffalo to Cleveland, cabin passage, $0,00 ; from Buffalo to Detroit, $8,00 ; to Mackinaw and Saute St. Maria, $12,00 ; and to Chicago, Green Bay, and St. Josephs, $20,00 ; from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, $6,00 ; from Cleveland or Sandusky to Cin- cinnati, $12,00 ; from Pittsburgh to Wheeling, $3,00 } thence to Cincinnati by the river, $10,00, or by stage, $14,00 ; from Cincinnati to Louisville, $4,00 ; to New- Orleans, $25,00 ; return the same ; from Cincinnati to St. Louis, $16,00 ; from St. Louis to New Orleans, $25,00. These charges will doubtless be reduced, as the facilities for travelling are increased. Charges on Lake Ontario ; from Lewiston to Toronto, $2,00 ; do. to Rochester, $3,00 ; do. to Kingston, $7,00 ; do. to Os- wego and Sacket's Plarbor, 6,00 ; do. to Ogdensburgh and Prescott, $8,00 ; do. to Quebec, $20,00. Fare on the canal ; — in the packets, four cents per mile including board ; in the line boats, two and a half cents per mile including board. Fare in stage coaches, average about $1,00 per twenty miles. 9 %m Hi; •.■^^-j^t f ifW-e-Wii^ 98 m ■0^ fiOOK OF DcsiTiplion of tlie I'"'ulls. f»F' 15^ h. '■ APPENDIX. a;t ..»,s- b K .S C R I P T 1 O N OF ^M A G A K A F A T, L S . In approaching the end of our htile volume, we cannot refrain from inserting a few extracts from the pens of those who by their language, show thit they had minds to understand, and souls to appreciate, the sublimity and loveliness of Niagara. The first is from the pen of the Rev. Andrew Reed, author of that simple, yet beautiful work, " No Fiction," and is, we think, a most happy effort, and by far the best description we ever met with, .embodied in so few words. "^ f* At length we saw the spray rising through the trees, and settling like a white cloud over them ; and then we heard the voice of the mighty waters — a voice all its own, and worthy of itself. Have you never felt a trem- bling backwardness to look on what you have intensely desired to see? If not, you will hardly understand my feeling. While all were now searching for some glance of the object itself, 1 was disposed to turn aside, lest it should surprise me. This, no doubt; was partly caused by the remark I had so often heard, that the first view disappoints you. I concluded, that this arose from the first view not being a fair one, and I wag determined to do justice to the object of my reverence. In fulfilling this purpose, I reached the Pavilion without seeing any > t^Lii.zf. ;*., % S . e cannot le pens of had minds iimity and pen of the ;t beautiful lost happy met with, Mt h the trees, nd then we )ice all its felt a trem- e intensely orstand my ome glance side, lest it rtly caused I first view se from the ermined to n fulfilling seeincr any irim. 'ft,!*. a,. -i^M , y uT^' THU %'ALLS. 101 Description of the Palis. it is about to make. This is all you see here ; and it is enough. ^ ** 1 left the hotel, and went down to the Table Rock, This is usually de^^med the great point of sight ; and for an upper view it undoubtedly is. It is composed of seve- ral ledges of rocks, having different advantages, and pro- jecting as far over the gulf below as they can to be safe. But how shall I describe the objects before me 1 The mysterious veil wliich lay heavily yesterday on a large part of it, was now removed ; and the outline of the pic- ture was mostly seen. An ordinary picture would have sufiered by this ; but here the real dimensions are so vast, and so far beyond what the eye has measured, that to see them is not to fetter, but to assist the imagination. This fall, which is called the Horseshoe Fall, is upwards of two thousand feet in extent, and makes a leap, on an average, of about 200 feet, Now just enlarge your con- ceptions to these surprising dimensions, and suppose yourself to be recumbent on the projecting rock which I have named, as near the verge as you dare, and I will assist you to look at the objects as they present them- selves. ** You see not now above the cataract the bed of the river, but you still see the foaming heads of the rapids, like waves of the ocean, hurrying to the precipice ; and over them the light clouds which float on the horizon. — Then comes the chute itself. It is not in the form of the horseshoe ; it is not composed of either circular or straight lines ; but it partakes of both ; and throughout it is marked by projections and indentations, which give an amazing variety of form and aspect. With all this 9* ^/. «'• * ■■*■ loa V"":«^v:"-''^-;:' • BOOK or , ■ __ „», ^, Description of tho F&}}», f ■if ' variety it is one. It has all the power which is derived from unity, and none of the stiffness which belongs to nniibrmity. There it falls in one dense awful mass of green waters, unbroken and resistless ; here it is broken into drops, and falls like a sea of diamonds sparkling in the sun. Now it shoots forth like rockets in endless suc- cession ; and now it is so light and foaming that it dan- ces in the sun as it goes, and before it has reached the pool, it is driven up again by the ascending currents of air. Then there is the deep expanding pool below. — Where the waters pitch, all is agitation and foam, so that the foot of the fall is never seen ; and beyond it and away, the waters spread themselves out like a rippling sea of liquid alabaster. This last feature is perfiectly unique, and you would think nothing could add to its exquisite loveliness ; but there lies on it, as i f they were made for each other, ** heaven's own bow." O never had it, in heaven itself, so fair a resting-place ! << Besides, by reason of the different degrees of rarity in the waters and the atmosphere, the sun is pervading the whole scene with unwonted lights and hues. And the foam which is flying off in all directions, is insensibly condensed, and forms a pillar of cloud, which moves over the scene, as it once did over the tents of Israel, and apparently by the same bidding, giving amazing variety, and sublimity, and unearthliness to the picture. Then there is sound as well as sight ; but what sound ! it is not like the sea ; nor lik ^ the thunder ; nor Hke any thing 1 have heard. There is no roar, no rattle ; nothing sharp or angry in its tones ; it is deep, awful, one 1 *.M5., P-s THE FALLS. lorj Pcscriptioii of the Falls* ** Well, as soon as I could disengage myself from this spot, I descended to the bed of the fall. 1 am never sat- isfied with any fall till I have availed myself ef the very lowest standing it supplies ; it is there usually that you become susceptible of its utmost power. 1 scrambled, therefore, over the dislocated rocKs, and put myself as near as possible to the object which I wished to absorb me. 1 was not disappointed. ** There were now fewer objects in the picture ; but what you saw had greater prominence and power over you. Every thing ordinary — foliage, trees, hills — was shut out ; the smaller attributes of the fall were also ex- cluded ; and I was left alone with its own greatness. At my feet the waters were creaming, swelling, and dashing away, as if in terror, from the scene of coiiflict, at the rate of twenty miles an hour. Above and overhanging me was the Table Rock, with its majestic form, and dark and livid colors, threatening to crush one. While imme- diately before me was spread in all its height .and majesty — not in parts, but as a whole, beyond what the eye could embrace — the unspeakable cataract itself; with its head now touching the horison, and seeming to fall direct from heaven, and rushing to the earth with a weight and voice which made the rocks beneath and around me fearfully to tremble. Over this scene the cloud of foam mysteriously moved, rising upward, so as to spread itself partly on the face of the fall, and partly on the face of the sky ; while over all were seen the beau- tiful and soft colors of the rainbow, forming almost an entire circle, and crowning it with celestial glory. But 9##^ m el •TT '^- ■ r?^'.': ■.•'■ ' ^'.fewj-, 104 fiook uF Description of the Falls. it is in vain. The power, the sublimity, the beauly, the bliss of that spot, of that hour-— it cannot be told. ** When fairly exhausted by intensity of feeling, I strolled away towards the ferry, to pass over to the Ame- rican side. The Falls here, from the distance, have a plain and uniform aspect ; but this wholly disappears on approaching them. They are exceedingly fine. They do not subdue you as on the Canadian side ; but they fill you with a solemn and delightful sense of their gran- deur aiid beauty. The character of the one is beautiful, inclining to the sublime ; and that of the other, the sub* lime, inclining to the beautiful. There is a single slip of the fall on this side, which, in any other situation, would be regarded as a most noble cataract. It falls upwards of 200 feet ; it is full 20 feet wide at the point of fall, and spreads itself like a fan in falling, so as to strike on a line of some 50 or 60 feet. It has great power and beauty. << I found that there was a small ledge of rock behind this fall, and ventured on it to about the centre. Tou can stand here without getting at all wet ; the waters shoot out several feet before you ; and, if you have nerve it is entirely safe. I need not say that the nov- elty and beauty of the situation amply reward you. You are behind the sheet of water, and the sun is shining on its face, illuminating the whole body with a variety pro- portioned to its density. Here, before you, the heavy waters fall in unbroken columns of bright green. There, they flow down like a shower of massy crystals, radiant with light, and emitting as they fall all the prismatic colors ; while there^ again, they are so broken and .JW'at THE PALLS 101 Description of the Falls. he divided as to resemble a shower of gems spa kling in light, and shooting across the bhie heavens. ** 1 passed by what is called Goat Island to the extre- mity of the Horseshoe Fall on this side. There is car- ried out over the head of this fall a limb of timber, with a hand-rail to it. It projects some 12 feet over the abyss, and is meant to supply the place of the Table Rock on the other side, it does so in a great measure ; and as, while it is quite as safe, it gives you far less sense of safety, it disposes you the more to sympathize with ob- jects of terror. Indeed, when you fairly get to the extre- mity, and find yourself standing out in this world of wa- ters on a slip of wood only large enough for your feet • to rest on, and which is quivermg beneath you ; when the waters are rushing down under you ; when the spray is flying over you ; and when the eye seeks to fathom the unfathomable and boisterous gulf below ; you have, per- haps, as much of the terrible as will consist with gratifi- cation. Very many of the visiters never think of encoun- tering this point of view : those who do and have a taste for it will never forget it. It is among the finest of the fine. *< In returning, I wandered round the little island. It is covered with forest- trees of a fine growth, and is full of picturesque beauty. Days might be spent here in happy and deep seclusion ; protected from the burning sun ; regaled by lovely scenes of nature, and the music of the sweetest waters ; and in fellowship, at will, with the mighty Falls. <* The next morning was the last ; and it was given wholly to the Great Fall. I prepared, in the first instance, -»■•--'* ' i««ai!*SL „„.;, i-; ti ; ^'.i ■ ^;!:;..^ 106 BOOK or D<'8cri|)tloii of the Falls. ■••r to go behind it. This is the cliief adventure ; and is by most writers described as dangerous. There is no dan- ger if the overhanging rocks keep their places, and if you have moderate self-possession. I made use of the oil cloth dress provided by the guide, and was quarrelling with it as damp and uncomfortable ; but that grievance was quickly disposed of. 1 had not made my entramie behind the scenes before 1 was drenched, and the less 1 had on the better. However, it was an admirable shower- bath ; ana '.here was an end to the question of wet or dry. ** Take care of your breath,*' was the cry of the guide ; and 1 had need, for it was almost gone. On making a further advance, I recovered it, and felt relieved. ** Now give me your hand," said the guide ; ♦* this is the narrowest part." Onward J went, till he assured me that I was on Termination Rock ; the ex- treme point accessible to the foot of man. «* As the labor of the foot was over, and there was good standing, 1 determined on making the best use of my eyes. But this was not so easy to do. The spray and waters were driving in my face, and coursmg down my sides most strangely : a strong wind from the foot of the fall was driving in the opposite direction, so as to threaten not to blow me down, but to blow me up to the roof of the vault. However, I soon ascertained that we were at the extremity of a cavern of a large and wonderful construction. It is the form of a pointed arch ; the one span composed of rolling and dense water, and the other of livid black rocks. It was some 50 feet from the footing of the rock to that of the water, and 1 had entered nbout 70 feet. On the entrance^ which is mostly of ■■.^,-x.,^'_';'--.?-> TllK FALT.S. 107 Description of the Falls. H>-'' thinner wDiters, the sun played cheerfully, and with glow- ing power ; but within it was contrasted by the dim light and heavy obscurity which are generated by the density of the fall, to which the whole power of the sun can give only a semi- transparency. What with this visible gloom, the stunning noise of the fall, and the endless commotion of wind and waters, the effect is most singular and awful. Jt is a scene that would harmonize with the creations of Fuseli ; and it has, I will venture to say, real horrors beyond what the cave of old ^olug ever knew. ** On returning to my dressing-room, 1 received a cer- tificate from the guide that I had really been to Termina- tion Rock ; an ingenious device to give importance to his vocation, but in the success of which he does not miscal- culate on human nature. I'ho rest of the morninor was employed in taking peeps at the Falls from favorite points of observation ; but chiefly on the Table Rock, and at the foot of the Great Falls. The day was exceedingly fine, and every feature of the amazing scene was lighted up with all its beauty ; and 1 now communed with it as one would with a friend who has already afforded you rich enjoyment in his society. I was delighted — was fascinated. Every thing, apart or together, seemed to have acquired greater power and expression. I studied all the parts ; they were exquisite, lovely, noble ; I put them all together, and it overwhelmed me, subdued me, fixed me to the spot. Long I stayed ; but all time was short. 1 went ; and returned ; and knew not how to go. ** I have been thus particular in my account of these Falls, because the world knows nothing like them ; an4 ■\i:^.,. >ai. j:u;i>,rt .k.. :iMi?&", 108 HOOK or DcHcriptiun of the Falli. because 1 wished you to participate in my pleasures. 1 have seen many falls, and with unspeakable delight ; but nothing to be named with this. It would in parts present the image of them aU ; '>ut all urrited would not supply a just idea of it. It in hi Aer to see it than a thousand ordinary si.^lilF ; ♦h^y may revive sleeping emotions, and HO bring drll^'ht ; but this creates new emotion, and raises the rnind a step higher in its conceptions of the power and eternity of Him whom '* to know is life eternal." The day on which it is seen should be memorable in the life of any man." The following spirited sketch, is from a work recently published, entitled ^* Poetry of Travelling" by Mrs. Caro- line Oilman. ** We are at the Cataract House, and as agreeably ac- commodated as persons can be who see the beautiful and sublime giving place to the useful and the low. It is the )rayer ^*'all pL*sons of tante that Goat or Iris Island may be preserved from this desecration. If any building is erected, it should have a classical exterior, with no more clearing than necessity demands, and be devoted to visiters, giving them a short and romantic walk to these glorious exhibitions. I was glad to escape from the sound of the hammer and mill. We registered our names at Bath Island, and paid our little fee. The ra- pids at the bridge are indescribably beautiful, and have shed over laae, 1 think, as great an amount of delight as th« in. THK FALLS. 109 1 )Ut Ay Ind ind i Ueacriptlon of the Palls. any other view. I never oass them without lingering with a protracted gaze, and feeling the growth of tho't at every iurvey ; then succeedes the secluded forest isle, in iti perfect natui.. i beauty, affording the eye time to repose, before it is a^ain called to bow before the majes- ty of the Cataract. It there was noiliing to be seen on the island but the view it Lunar Pridgo, it would repay nature's pilgrim, v o comes to v ^rship here. Standing near the curr nt ot \e \e<^ner Fail, a rainbow appears at either sidei — distinct ar( les of light, reposing on the mint like crowns of "^! ry. We descended the Biddle me hours on tlie rocks at tho foot its height and power are fully burst forth in radiance, and the .e frosted showe's in his rays. lat spot — one lingers, and ling- staircase, and passer of the Great Fall, appreciated. The sui sheeted foam glittered How hard it is to leave ers as over a new-founc oy I Having re-ascended tr.**- steps, we rested at the top of the hill, on the grass, gatiiering green moss, and prepar- ing for a visit to the tower Shakspeare's- injunction, " Kun, run, Orlando, curve on every tree, The chaste, the fair, the inexpressive she!" has been obeyed to the letter on Iris Island, though the inexpressive he's rather predominated. As I was resting on the grass, I ttaw a fat, hard-faced man, carving his name, and lo ! L. P. stood forth on the unconscious bark, and he became, to his own thought immortal ! Tne tower is boldly placed over the rushing flood, and if) forty-five feet high ; the access is by a bridge, which projects ten feet beyond the Falls. This view is the crown and glory of the whole. I felt the moral influence % ■:4 r ^ ■:.*;•« ^a.^;i ■;,«^',.-l',«V!^3/:i>* .#■« 110 BOOK OF Descii|)tion of tlie Fulls. ?j» ot the scene acting on my spiritual nature, and while lingering at the summit alone, offered a simple and hum ble prayer. Descending the Bridge ; there, lying dov/n with my head over the Fall, I ceased to pray or even to think. 1 gave myself up to the overpowering greatness of the scene, and my soul was still. My mind has been calmed by rambling through the romantic forest walks of the island, where beautiful, but not overwhelming, views of the rapids and falls break through the clustering trees. Yielding myself up to the sensation of a new youth, I lost, for a while, the excite- ment of more thrilling scenery, and passed several hours ii.. that delicious stroll, while the calm clear sky looked through the branches, and the shade of the woods softened the summer sun, soothing the over-tpxed senses. Long — forever, may fhis gem of nature. Iris Island, remain in its wild beauty.* This evening we walked, by moonlight, round the island, and just as I began to be weary with the length of the way, a young married couple, who had come to pay true homage to nature, by consecrating their new happiness at this shrine, commenced singing. Their voices mingling with, and softening the roar of the Fall, floated richly on the air, and were in sympathy with the soft liglit of the moon as the green leaves trembled in its laye. My weariness was beguiled, my steps became measured to their songs, and thoughts of the absent came like brooding doves, and nestled on my heart. My last look at the great Fulls was at the lunar bow, at the extremity of Terrapin Bridge. If I was affected at the Genesee Falls, with the thought of the tender as- :\^im^ ■M \ €' If THE FALLS. Ill Description of the Falls. [lie im kvn to less sociations which spring up at seeing this mighty element softened by its peaceful ar«|h, how much did the spiritual beauty of this moonlight creation touch me in a scene of such surpassing power ! The lunar bow lies in its shaded white on the mist, like a thinc^ S the imagination, lend- ing grace and softness to its majesty. When I had be- held this spot in sunshine, I was overpowered ; now a deep tide of reflection solemnized and absorbed me. One feels thoroughly alone, while overhanging that thunder- ing mass of waters, with the silent moon treading her tranquil way. I thought of soul, and this mighty Fall seemed as a drop compared to the cataract of mind, which has been rushing from the bosom of the Eternal, from age to age, through every channel of human nature, now covered with mists, now glittering in sunshine, now softened by moonlight, now leaping in darkness and un- certainty, and I trust in God, destined to flow in many a happy river around his throne." i i . %*tLl, ^■f'. ^i\&''J'Ai3{^,St- m.\. '•''■'ff'-' ' *«■*■ -m ■*■■ T4|PLE OF DISTANCES, *'^. (( Prom Steamboat landing across to Chippewa, 3^ miles From Fort Schlojser to Chippewa, 1^ " From Pavilion Hotel to Chippewa, 2 " Across the River at the Falls, I " To Goat Island by the Bridge, 58 rods. Across the Falls on the American side, • • • • 56 Across the foot of Goat Island, 80 length of Goatlsland,160 Across the Horse Shoe Falls 114 Depth of water at the Horse Shoe, 20 feet. Depth of water at the Ferry, 250 From the Eagle Hotel across to the Pavilion on the Canada side,l§ miles, viz : From the Eagle Hotel to top of the bank, 100 rods. Top of the bank down the Staircase to the river 28 " Width of river at the Ferry 76 " Up the Canada bank, . 76 '' From the top of the bank to the Pavilion,. . . 256 " 536 rods. (C «( From the Falls to the Mineral Spring, . . . . To the Whirlpool,.. . 3 To the Devil's Hole,. . .3^ To Erie Canal at Tona- wanta, 11 To Buffalo, 22 From Buffalo to Albany, by canal, 363 By stage tbroughUtica^S 2 miles. «i By Cherry Valley, . . 284 From Buffalo to Olean Point, 76 To Fredonia and Dun- kirk, 45 " Portland 60 " Erie, 90 " Ashtabula, 134 •' Cleveland,. ... 188 " Columbus, 328 " Pittsburgh by way of Erie, 219 " Huron, 240 *' Sandusky, 260 " Detroit 310 " Mackinaw, 627 *• Green Bay 807 " SaultSt. J^Jaria. . .707 Chicago, 1212 Cincinnati, 446 '* Chillicothe 381 From Niagara Falls to Tuscarora Village, ... 8 Lewiston, 7 Fort Niagara. . . 14 Burlington Bay by land, 92 " Toronto by land,.. 107 " Toronto by Steam- boat, 50 Genesee River, ... .94 Oswego, 154 *• Sacket's Harbor,.. 199 " Ogdensburgh, ... 264 •' Prescott, 265 " Montreal 405 Quebec, 685 Lockport, 20 Rochester 84 Canandaigua. . . .112 Albany by Cherry Valley Turnpike, 300 " New York, 460 ''Philadelphia,... 540 " Baltimore, 636 " Washington, . .♦ . 674 milcd. (t << It ii it (( ii (i (( It II II II t< it II 11 ii I. II It It It tt It it