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C'^TII '/■I* ^^ i ■# -s ix: -^ ;><^"'' ^*' .*>, ■*;■'. ■ '^tA: ,:^: .■m-- m: M 'I iM NOTES ON NIAGARA ILLUSTRATED. e riM CHICAGO: R. Lespinasse, Publisher. 1883. cnpYRir.MT, R. LESPINASSE 1 3 B 3 , f 1 KOHEI- r GRAINCEn, ppr^s Wonn. BLOMCKi;:.' DRo:'. .V CO . LiiiTBnvriNG MAP CF THE YICIJIITY OF NIAGARA TALL3. / I ^ i. im I^JFrJCE. J_\>l''' I^V I XC! ii/,i)H nirrr wnn/s lo luaho (/)<■ /tro/}!)' fniniliiw with n inosf sn/tcrh rredfiD/i of X(i/iii-r, a ml i/cscfihr ///i/jrrsstons of Uic i/i'ti ritd-n /• (im/ snhlhnilij i,/ Ihr Fttlls of Xioi/dt'd, wonhl prove a fnlilc i'r/H'/iio/ c/oitii/i', co/ijoinci/ wi/h on (i//-jirr\'(ies/ words of eIo(/uen/ /wns oml /io/)/,ies/ conee/>/ions of //ioroa OtHF.H I'OEMS. Hoii^;li(()ii, Xlillliii S- Co., Pnblislicra, Boston, M.iss. LADY DIKIIS ll.\li|)V Ihhoi iin Cnii-s and I'haiuif. Lands. licllord, Clarki! .V Co.. I'lililisluTH. ChicnKo, f|l„ lH,s2. (ll.\l!l.r.S DICKKXS .\Mi:ni(AN Notes. N. I'. Wnj,lS-.VMF.ltIl\N SCKNI-IIV. (ii'o. Virtui'. Piililislii'V. Loii'loii, iHli!). (ii:ol!(JK W. IIOM.1:y~Tiie I'am.s oi- NiAdAitA. \. C. .VriiistroiiK A Son., PiiMislicrs, New York, IS.I.'l. II T. .\M-K\ -ILMSTIIATED (tl'Il)E To NiAdAHA. II. T. Allen, I'liblisli.T, NliiK.-ii-a Falls, N. Y.. Isxl. .iAC(^ri;s oKi'r.MiAcir-onENKAcii in ameuioa. (i. W. Caik'ton &. Co., PnblislitTs, Xcw York, 1K77. .MUs. SKioriiXKV— Scenes in my N.vrivE Land. C. II. A, lU-LKLEY-XiAOAnA-A Poem. Lfijvitt, Trow & Co., Pulilishors, Xmv York, 184,-<. •I. li. IIAKiaSON'-T.ETTERS ON THE CONDITION OF NlAOAIiA FALLS. Frai.klin Falls, N. H., 1H,'<2. ■lOHN" M. niXCAX— TnAVELs TiUioioii paiit of the Cnited St.ates and Canada. rnivoisity Press, GlasRow. ISIH. CAI'T. BASIL HALL— Thavels in Xokth .\merica. Kobcrt Cadell, Publishor, Edinburgh, lit2H. .lA.MKS STCAltT— Thisee Yeahs in North America. London Edition, ISML (•HAS. AldrsTIS .MntHAY-TiiAVELs in North America. Harper & Bros., Pnblisliors, Now ^( ik, IS.TO. •1. s, lircKIXCIIAM— America— Historical, Statistic and Dt-.tc^.u-tive. Harper A Bros., Pnbli.slips New Y'ork, 1841. CHARLES LYF.LL— Travels in North America. Wiley & Pntnain, Publishers, New Y'ork, IH4.'>. COL. IV IK IXAN-Panipiilet on Mackinac Island. Chieaj,'! :!2 :i;i a.") »6 37 39 39 41 42 43 44 4') 46 LIST DF ILLUSTRATIDNS.-CDNTINDEn. KCn.IKC'T. rroHpi'Cl I'liiiil in IH:irnKiii-»iiiill.'), TiTTUiilii Tnwcr, BrIilKf iiiid Kiills in ls:i7 ( F(ir-»ii]iili.), Lcwisi.iii friiiM tli.' .MdiiiilHiii. - . . . DiiK-'h NiiiKiini, - . .... They Wolf ||||. Weary Ii.iid Ixnk In his Di'.soliilc CoKap'. •Sister IhIiiiiiIs and H(irsi'-Shcie Fulls, ' . Flower Nase ami Initial, .... StejiH Id Hiipiils on Outer Sister Island, Wild Uliissnnis, ...... The Spring on Goat Island, .... American Falls from the river, (ieneral View of Falls in Ihlili, .... Old Wind Mill at Fort Erie, .... Tlie Onllet of XiaK'ara Kiver (Fae-Himilei, Niaj.'ara Kivor from Ori«inal Majis, Cyiitlda Island, --.-.. Farewell, ....._ Hock of .\Kert and Cave of the Winds, Itaihvay Snspension Hrid;!e. - . . . lii7 AS (iO (11 1.2 «;{ 114 (h fi8 II!) 70 71 7;t 75 7fi 77 78 7il 81 82 85 86 87 88 8!) !l() 9S !I5 1)6 99 100 101 102 103 107 109 111 \n 115 117 14 LIST DF ILLUSTRATIDNS,— CUNTINUED. HlIUKt'T. Falls VIuw Station, M. C. H. R., Piollln (if AiiiiTii'im Fall, .... AloiiK tlio Biirnliig S|irinK Drivf, ... A Glimpse of Amoricaii Fall, First Bridge across American RapMs to tli)at Island, To Lundy's Lane, . . - . . loo Forms, ...... Behind tlio Horso.Shoc Falls, Section at Niagara Falls, .... Section of the Strata from Lake Ontario to Lake Eilc. Bird's Eye View of the t'i)nntry around Niagara Falls, The Devil's Hole, ..... The C'atainct by Electric Light, Horse-Shoe Falls from Ferry lionii, Captain Wobb in the Rapids, .... Matthew Webb— rortniit, American Rapids from Bath Island, Below the Whirlpool, - - . . Leaves from a Sketch Book, ... Ti-ansfer, Sir ! Rural Scene from the Heights, A Guide, Fame, ... .... Map of the Michigan Central Railroad. Fruits and Game, - - . . . Depot at Jackso!), MIcli., - . . • . Michigan Central Train passing Niagara Falls, Mii.'hlgan Central Bridge across Niagara River, The Town of Mackinac, .... Leaning Rock, Mackinac Island, The Grayling and the Brook Trout, Mackinac Island National Park, Arch Rock at Mackinac Island, ... The Anglers, - - . . . Initial Letters feom Drawings of Bromley, AHT1HT. F. ('. BnoMi.EY, F. ('. BllOMIiEY, Aldine, McLean, O. Oakley, ('. Mai'iiano, V. ('. Bromley, Chas. Lvell, Hall's Rei'Out, J, Flkmin3 l.'i.^ I.-|7 1,-.H I.-i!) li;o 1(1!) 172 173 174 I7.-> 177 I7!l ls() Ifl 1H2 IH.T ISli Green, Volkmar, and others. IS i I PHILOSOFHIiL^JlL I^EFLEGTIONS. m * c n I, , p , 1 1 n N A N , M()N(i all th(j lands and nationalities of earth, America stands, in many respects, peerless, unrivaled and unri- valable. It is the broadest land ever t^nven to any people, the grandest and most beautiful, the most varied in its attractions and its products, and the most unlimited in its capabilities and its future. The more one rambles over this magnificent continent, our own half world, and the more he sees of its never-ending, ever-cha'.ging glories, sublimities and beauties, the greater must be his contempt for the average American tourist, who turns his back on scenes as transcendently grand, varied, and enchanting as ever the sun, in all its wide celestial rounds, looked down upon; and rushes off to Europe, to loaf around fashionable hotels, wine-shops and haber- dashers' stores, and then come back and prate, in mock-turtle French, of " la belle Paree," queenly " Madreed," the Lake of Como, Mont Blanc, Rome, Venice, Vesuvius and the Alps, and a hundred other places. If he chances to meet an intelligent European in his travels, the first cjuestion asked him exposes his folly, for it is a question about some one of the innumerable, sublime and wondrous objects in his own country that he has ne\er deemed worth a \isit. In view of the hegira that, each spring and summer, jams every out-bound steamer, there is urgent need of a constitutional amendment prohibiting any untutored American from going abroad until he has seen his own supremely lovely land. It was Hxron, who, when an American was introduced to him, began eagerly to (piestion him about Niagara Falls, and on being told that he had never seen them, turned on his heel with an oath of unutterable disgust at the itlea ol a man coming from America to Europe without having seen that wonder of the world in his own country. Nature never constructed a bigger combined idiot and cheap humbug than the American who goes into bogus raptures over the lakes and crags of Switzerland or Italy, while he has never seen or cared to see Niagara. lu .>A BSrLYZ VIEW or Pfl/flG. VV/HIRIPO 17 , T- ^J>^> \ he |cill o| vvPalcr-i! rapid CIS ■ ll-|c liglit I he |lcisnji\g niass |ocinis sKakmn ■ Inc abys? : I he ■ hell ■ o| • \Ayalcrs! w'hcrc ■ ihcy hovv'l • and hi 'is. ^ I nci boil in endless lorlurc; ■ \A/hilc Ihc svs^cal U| I heir grcal agony, vvyriinq oul fron-) ■ I his. I heir • phlcgclhon. ■ curls • round ■ ihc ■ roel^s ■ of icI I hal gird ■ Ihe gul| around, in ■ pililcss ■ horror scl. J\ nd n-)ounls in ■ spray ihc skies. ■ and ■ ihcncc ■ again l"\clurns • in ■ an unceasing ■ shoWcr. btnuH, l.v CMIL.iE IIAJI.jl.i.. 18 Efir^hY GhlMTHHS. nanu' N'lAdAKA is ol' liuli.iii orii^in, .ind iiml()iil)t('(ll\ ;i lril);il iiami'. Aiconlint; to Iii(li:ii\ aiitlioritics its orthoirrapliy and inomiiK iaiioii were orij^iiialK ( )n\ a-kau k.\, clian.^cd j^radii ally to N'l All i,AU KAii. Its sii,niil"uati()n is i^cn frail) ^ivcii A<, ••'/'//// ni/<) oj Walt is." Till! work 4)1 distovcis' and n ot the whole interior of the American continent is due. to the zeal and entluisiasin of the j-'reiK h adventurers, soKliers and missionaries, ol the sis teenlh {■entiir\. Hefore the Spaniards had pen ^j!" etratcd southward, ahoiii i sv), the I'rendi, under '■"'^ ^ Jac(iues Carlier, hail sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as Oiiehec, in i5;,4. The report of the discoveries m.ide l>y Cartier's first expedition were so favorahle that, under ortlers of Kins,' I'rancis 1. he sailed tlw followinsj;' jcar with a small llotilla, to continue investigations of tlu; weil_n;ed-shaped river, ninet) miles widi; at its mouth, I'Or many years oper- ations did not e.xtcMid beyond the site of Ouebec. and information as to the sourci; of the St. Lawrence was gathered from Indians, who tokl the navigator of a great lake into which also emptied a river from the south, and that upon that rivt-r and beyond the lake he -" '." would find an immense caiaiitct and porttii^c. Samuel de Champlain, sent from France in 160;, for th(; express purpose of utilizing the discoveries mad(; on the St. Lawrence, does not appear to have pushed his explorations on Lake Ontario in the direction of the Palis of Niagara, and leaves only an indication of the cataract on a map, published about 161 3. Creuxio, the author of a History of Canada, published in 1660, also marks it down upon his map, but makes no mention whatever "in the liistor)- itself. Other early accounts in which the cataract is incidentally mentionetl are in existence, but its first description by an eye-witness did not occur until the time of La Salle's expedition to the Upper Lakes. 19 .»> hn H»niiiii:'M r.xi'iiOn;nTioMs. ■R f ()|;| kl ( .WAI.II K I'l: I. A SAI.I.I". soil of ,1 wrallhy incnii.iiu of kii , Ir.iiiif. ,111 .iiiiliitiiMi^,, liiiKI, irsnhiic yniin^ man, I'.iinr to Caiiad.i ill ilii spiiii:; 111 i«>()'), A\]i\ sIdcmI r<)iis|)i( iKuis aiMi»ii,L;' llu' most ailvfiiliiroiis .A|il'in I-, a! iliai liiiir. I l( li.ul a linn liclicf llial tln' Mississippi riviT iiiipiiid siiiiiliu.ini iiitii till' iiuir III' Mcxii-o, ami not into tlif I'acific 111 'an, as si.ih d l>\ utini disi u\ cici ^, ami il liccamr tin; scttli'd purpose of his lif(! Ill III ilir iiisiriimrni li\ wliiili liic imimnsc trrriloi'N iriliiilarx to its waters would Im iliiiiwii iniii tin lap >>( liaiKc and cMiiisivc comnu'rcial relations established. Aliii a\isii ■■■■■■■■■^■■■■■i^BanMHiHHai^iaHHMMMBHaaMMi orih'r loKim^ l.duis I *^3K^Sr^^-' ^^^^., I Knighthood, \l\'.. u 111. I .' ^ffy ^^^H^^fab 1 La Salle on III ^B^^^M^^^^^^^^^B^^Bb^^^ ^^.^^ajjaBJlB^M r(d)uiit ,iriiuiiii ^|^^BS^^^n^^^D||^^^^ll^^^^^HBIP*9 '"' it. C, It. 11, III B^BIB^BBw^iaBWI^BI^^Bi^^^BP^'''.'''^'. ■ I'romenac, 'jin, ami llle monktowu jorRHTrRoNTUNAc. m'o. Wltll MiassiV'l! lowers III stdiic, then took steps to place another fort at the mouth of the Niaj,rara river, li.iviiiL; ohiained reluetant permission from the Senecas to erect it, and also to liiiild .1 \issel al)o\-e the falls of Xiapfara. This vessel, nanKal thi' Ciriflin, . \\'-L l.iiimhed on the 71I1 of AilLjiist, lOjc), was the first to naviji^ate the lakes. lather i.oiii-, lieiinepin, a Roman Catholic Mission- fh^M ,ii"\ , .u romp.iniid l„i Salle in his explorations, lii a work he pnhlished in i()()7 we liml the first descrip- -.: linn ol the wontU-rliil cataract which he had visiteil in I )i( emiii r, i67,S. i lis work is entitled, ".\ New /<^ |)isio\iry ol a \'asi Coiinirj in .Xmerii .1, extemlinj,^ ,ilio\e four thoiisami miles, hetweeii New I'ranci' and New Mexico, with a description of the (ireat Lakes, C'atar.icts, Rivers, Plants and .Xnimals; ,ilso the Man- ners, Customs and Laiii^u.n^cs of the sexcral Native Indians, and the Atlvantat,'-es of Commerce with these dilfereiit Nations, etc." It contains man)- wi derhil recitals, hearim;; a stronsj' impress of Indian folk-lore and trailitions, -^^ coupled with a leiuleiicy to the marvellous. . (] i^ ^ U of nad.i irons rivi'r iicit'ic s life .'oiild shell. r tiic i()()(i, (' oil I u r II the hich iiucl n ;u:, issivi: ;i},'';ira ; also IIKXXKIMiyft HCi^OUNT. l''/r\VI\r ihc Lakes Ontario ami I'.iie, ilicn- is a vast ami |(roclij;ious ladeiKr of water, which tails down after a siirprisinL,^ and asionmlinL; manner; insonua h that the nniverse does not att'ord its p.n-allel. lis true, Italy and Snedlaml iioasi of some siu li things, Imt we may well say that they are hut sorry ii.itterns when compared to this of whii h we now speak. At the toot of this horrihh- precipice wc meet with the river NiaLjara, which is not ai)ove a ([iiarter ol a le.iMiic l)road, hilt is wonderfully deep in some places. It is so rapid above this descent that it violently hurries down the wild beasts while endeavoriiiL^- to pass it to Uci\ on the other side, they not \H-\n^ able to with- ifi staml the force of its current, which inevitably casts them headl()n)4', above six lumdred fei'l hi,i;h. This wonderful downfall is (()m|)oimded ot two ^rcat cross streams of water and two tails, with an isle slopini^- Iry'j cilon^f the middle of it. The waters which fall from this f^" horrible precipice do toam ami boil atter the most hideous manner ini.ntjinable. makinj^' an oiitrai^ious 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 leaj,nies off. The river Niatfara, having,'' thrown itself down this incred- ible precipice, continues its impetuous course for two leaijues together, to the Cireat'Rock, with an inexpressible rapidity; but havinij;- passed that, its imp(!tuosity relents, gliding along more gently tor two other leagues, till it arrives at du; Lake Ontariif or I'Vontenac. Any banjue or greater vessel may pass from the lort to the top of the huge rock mentioned. This rock lies to the westward and is cut off from the land by the river Niagara, al)out two leagues further ilown than th(; (ireat Ivill, for which two leagues the people are obliged to transport their goods over land; but th(! wa) is very good, -.md the trees are but few, chietly firs and oaks. 21 i ^n. "liom tlir Cinat l";ill unto ihis rmk. w'litli is to the west of the river, the two iHinks'dl it ;ir( so pnulit^ious hi^h lli;it it wnuKl inakf one trciiil)lc to look steadily ii|ii>n till- \\;ilir, rollinn' jiIoml; willi a ra|>iilil\- not to lie iniaj^nncil. 1 lould not (iMKcivc liou ii came to pass that Univ j^rcal lakes, the least of whiili is loin- liiindnil jeao-ues in (■oini)ass, should einpiy tln'iiiselves into one anotlicr. .md then all i cnlre and dischari^^e themselves at this (ireat I-'all, and yet not drown a i^ood part of America What is yet more surjjrising, the ground, from the iiioiitii (it Lake I'.rie down to the (ireat I'all, appi'ars almost level and llat. It is scanc dis( crniiilc that there is the least rise or fall for six leagues together. The mori' than ordinary swiftness of the stream is the only thing which makes it lo 1)1 oliser\cd. And that which makes it yet the stranger is that for two leagues. together l)el«)w till' l".ill, l(nvartls Lake Ontario or Frontenac, the lands are as le\el as the\ ari' above it, or towards Lak(; Mrie. ( )iir surprise was still greater when we observed that there was no mountain within two good le.igues of this cascade; anu yet the vast (juantity of water which is discii.ugid i)\ these four fresh seas, slops or centres here, and so falls above si*c hiiiKhcd feel dee|) ilowii into a gulf which one cannot look upon without horror. Two oilier great outlets or falls of water which are on the two sides of a small slo|)ing island, which is in tin; midst, fall gently and without noise, and so glide aw.iy (luietly enough; but when this prodigious (juantity of water, of which I speak, comis to the fall, there is a din anil noise, more deafening than the loudest thunder. Lhe reboiiiKhng of tlu'se waters is so great that a sort of cloud arises from the loam of it which is seen hanging over this abyss, even at noon-day, when the sun is at iis heigiu. In tlie midst of summer, when the weather is hottest, they rise above the tallest lirs, and other great trees which grow on the sloping island which makes the two falls of water that I s|)oke of. I wislu'tl an hundred times that somebody had been with us who could have desiribed the wcjnders of this prodigious 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 |irodigy ol nature as great as it deserves. In the meantime accept the following limit, such as it is, in which, however, I have endeavored to give the curious reader as just an image of it as I can. •After the river has run violently for six leagues, it meets with a small sloping island, about half a (|uarter of a league long, and near three hundred feet broad, as veil as one can guess by the eye; for it is impossible to come at it in a canoe ol bark, the water runs with that force. The isle is full of cedar and fir, but the lam! of it lies no higluT than that on the banks of the river. It seems to be all le\(l, even as far as the two great cascades that make the main Fall. The two sides of the channels, which an- made by the isle, and run on both sides of it, overllow almost the very sm-face of the earth of the said isle, as well 32 tL as the land that lies on the hanks of the river to the east and west, as it runs south and nortii. Hut \vt; must observe, that at the end of the isle, on the side of the two (ircat I'alls, there is a slopini^r rork which reach|Jortc(l l)y it sonicwliat longer than they arc on the otlicr side, arc carried tlie smoother off: hut on tin; west, the rock sloping more, the waters, for want of support, become sooner broken, and fixll with greater precipitation. Another reason is, the lands that lie on the west art; lower than those that lie on the east. We .ilso ()l)served that the waters of the fall that is to the west made a sort of s(|uare figun; as they fell, which made a third cascade, less than the other two. whidi fell betwixt the south antl north. And because there is a rising ground which lies before these two cascad(;s to the north, tin; gulf is much larger there than to the east. Moreover, we must observe that from the rising ground which lies over against the last two falls, which are on the west of the main fall, on<; may go down as far as the bottom of this terrible gulf Tile author of this discovery was down there, tlu; more narrowl)- to observe the fall of thes(; prodigious cascades. I'rom thence we could discover a spot ot grounil which lay under the fall of water which is to the east, big enough for four coaches to drive abreast without Ix-ing 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 |)erpendicular, 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 through such a ([uantity of water as falls towards the gulf ; so that it is very probable that to this dry place it is that the rattlesnakes retire, by certain passages which they fmd under ground. [•"rom the end of this island it is that these two great falls of water, as also the third but now mentioned, throw themselves, after a most surprising manner, down into a tlreadful gulf six hundred feet and mort; in depth. I have already said that tin- waters which discharge themselves at the cascade to the east, fall with lesser force ; whereas those at the west timible all at once, making two cascades, one moderate, tlu; other \ery violent anil strong, which at last make a kind of crochet or scjuare figure, falling from south to north and west to east. After this they rejoin the waters of the otlu;r cascade tliat falls to the east, and so tumble down altogether, 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 cascade in the world. 1 have 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 upon wikl beasts which from time to time are borne down by the violence of its torrent, withdrew themselves from its neighborhood lest they should likewis*' become^ deaf, or out of the continual fear they were in of rattle- snakes, which are very common in this jjlace during the great heats, and lodge in the holes of the rocks as far as the mountains, which lie two leagues lower." M BJlF{Ol} np HOI^TpillE, ^'ITHIN a few years after that of Father Hennepin comes the report of Baron La Hontaine, whose impressions we iind recorded in a vohmie of ''New Voyaj,fes to North America," published in London during the year 170,;, and orijrinally written in tht; French hinguage. His visit occurred in the latter part of tlu- year 1687. On account of the bitter anil relendess enmity of the Iroquois against the French he was kept in con- stant fear of a sudden attack. His sta)' was brief, and in many cases his examinations only superficial. ()l the cataract, he says: "As for the waterfall of Niagara, 'tis seven or eigiit hundred feet high and half a league broad. Towanls the middle of it we descry an island, leaning towards the precipice as if it were ready to fall. All the beasts that do atte-mpt to cross the waters within half a (juarter of a league above this unfortunate island are sucked in by the stri^am. They serve for food for the Iroquois, who take them out of the water with their canoes. Between the surface of the water, that shelves off prodigiously, and the foot of the precipice, diree men may cross it abreast, without an)- other tlamage than a sprinkling of some few drops of water. 'S^^\ The KSTiMAiE concerning the height of the Falls given by Father Hennepin and Baron La Hontaine seems gready exaggerated. We must remember, how- ever, that it comes from men, litde used to estimating distances. F^ven at this date, a view from the river below the l<"alls will produce upon most persons a much exaggerated impression. The rush of waters in front of the observer apparentl)' comes down in a tremendous stream from the arched vaults of the heavens above. The EKiuKEs given by Charlevoix in 1721 were undoubtedly obtained with a view to an accurate estimation of the height of the Falls, and present a correct statement of the case. "I'or my own part, having examined it on all sides, where it could be viewed to the greatest advantage, I am inclined to think we cannot allow it less than one hundred and forty or fifty feet. " (In the measure of thi; time, this gives the exact height to a fraction.) ^5 H 1,H* EIGHTEKNTH tJKNTURY NOTES. <.A m .1 I. k KALM, a noted Swctlisli hotanist, who visiu-d the l-"alls in 1750, corrohoratcs tlic stati'incnt of I-'athcr llt'iint'- pin about a rork projcttin^r upon the west siili- of tlic river wliicli turni'd a part of tlie water at ri<,dit anjrles with tlie Main I-'all, tluis formin}4- a Cross I-'all. He speaks of a precipitation of the rocks at a point whore tlie water was orii^inaliy out ol its direct course, as havinjj occurred a few revious to his visit, and u|)on his plan of the I'alls indicates •cise s|)()t, which corresponds to that stated by Hennepin. somewhat doubtful story .i;iven in his narrative, is that of dians, who havini,^ been »;asl upon the island in the middle i-'all (tioat Island), in order to escape made rope ladders from the bark of trees, with which they lowiTcd themselves down to the river, beelini^- unaiilc to swim against " the waves of the -jJ. eddy which, again and again, threw them with violence against the rocks, th(>y were obliged to climb up their stairs again to the island, J^-j. not knowing what to do. Alter some time tliey perceiveil Indians on •; the opposite shore, to whom they cried out. 'I'liesi; pitied them, but gave them little hopes of help; )('t they matle haste down to tlie fort, and told the i'Vench commander where two of their brethren were. He persuaded them to try all possii)U' means of relieving the two poor Indians; and it was done in this manner: The water that runs on the east side of the island is shallow, and breaks in rapids over the rocks. The commandant caused poles to be made and pointed with iron; two Iiulians ileterm b>- ■ll> of these poles, to save the others or perish. The)- took leave of their friends, as if they were going to die. b^ach had two such poles in liis hand, to set against the bottom of the stream to kee]) them steady: so diey went and got to the island, and having given poles to the poor Indians there, they all returned safely to the main shore. The unfortunate creatures had been nine day s on he IS land. ant were almost starvit 1 t< ■ath. m i wi ' ^«f*i JIHHE PICQUET. f r/ AH UK I'lCOl'F,'!', in 1751, s|)t;aks in jjosilivi- terms of tlu- number of ^^ watt'-rfalls. lie says: "This cascade is as |)rodiyioiis hy reason of its Iieio^lu and tlie (|nantity of water which falls there, as on account of the vari(l\- of its falls, which are to the number of six principal ones divided b)' a small island, leavini,'- three to the north and three to the south. They produce ol themselves a sin.ijular sjinmetr)' and wontlerful effect." WEIiirS I'ISIT. T^\'() SKKTCHKS matle upon the spot by the Knt^lish artist Weld in 1 7()6, and reproduced in exact fac-simile, tjive the reader a most correct itiea of the !:,r('niTal appearance of the Trails at the close of the Eighteenth Century, as well as the jjeculiar form of the Horse-Shoe. Weld speaks in decided terms of a change in the ft'atures of the Horse-Shoe I'"all, sajing: "Within the memory of many of the present inhabitants of the country, the falls have receiled several yards. Tradition tells _ us that the (ireat Fall instead of having -«sf^ 7^' ^«^ s^ horse shoe, once projected in the middle. For a century past, however. it has remained nearly in the ' -T- present form." He also says that he saw the clouds of spray from the falls, while sailing on Lake F>ie at a dis- tance of fifty-four miles. A comparison of his sketches with that of Father Hennepin will convey at a glance the great changes of a centur)'. IIS WKiTKR is, in a measure, addicted to the marvellous, and his statements are somewhat inconsistent. The stubborn fact is. there is nothing known of the falls beyond Hennepin's day, which can be sustained either bj- historical or traditional record." Akkowsmitii observes: "A person may go to the bottom of the falls, and take shelter behind the torrent, between the falling water and the precipice, where there is a s|)ace sufficient to contain a number of persons in perfect safety, and where conversation ma\ be held without interruption from the noise." 28 II^DipN hEGKNDS I'-G I^N DA K Y associations do not abound around \ia,i,'ara. 'Ihc. al)ori,L,dni's \ icwcd tlic j^rcat catarait with rclii^'ioiis veneration, as if it wen- a true Divinity. Tlicy (iis|)laye{I tiicir adoration to the (ireat S|)iril of tiie l'"all hy castintj;- their pipes, wampinn and -i'* (hfferent trinkets into tin; llood, and, it is said, the hehef existed amonq- tlieni that tiie cataract demands a yearly sacrifice; of two human victims. The story is cliarmin^iy and strikint,dy told in ('ieori,fe Houghton's poem on Xiaj^rara. I-et us abandon our prosaic effort, leaving absolute sway to the poet. Mi'ii', wliiii till- wdrlil wns wrontlii'd with llic siarlrt mid noU\ (if Ortdlicr, lliTo. fniMi fiii-twiiUiTccI eaiiips. iiiiiu' tlii" rniK-nisiniMl trilii's of tlio roil-iiian, I.i'fl in llii'ir ii'iits tlioir tMiws, fdi^'dt tlicir liriiwls ami iliswiisioiis, Kiiisoil tlii'i! witli pi'nrc'ful (iri'H, mid civcr ttipir I'Hliiiimts |ionili>n'd; " Cliosc fmiii tlii'ir fniii'sl virgins llii' fiiirrnt and |Miri'.st miKiiiK tlicm, lliilliiwod a liirchi'ii caniii-. miil fasliidiiod a scit fdr till' virKin. riiilliort her ill wliiti', and set lirr adrift to whirl to tliy liosiini, Saving: ' Ki'ci'ivo this mir vow, Xiaganv; Fatlior of Waters!' FROM rAR-SCAITEKEU cAMI: ■ Lol drifting toward us approathos a iiirioiis laiiglo of soniPthinKi While and uiitilloreil it floats, bcwitcliinj,' Iho siglil, and appearing Like to a birchen eanoe, a virgin cniiiehed pallid within it. Hastening witli martyr zeal to solve the unriddled here- after! ■' Slower and smoother her flight, nntil on the preeipiee pausing, Just for the spai'e of a breath the dreail of the change seems to thrill her; Crossing herself, and seeming to shudder, she lifts eyes to heaven, — Sudden a mist upwhirls— I see not— but know all Is over. •M THE INDIAN 3 SAUF^IFICE TO NIAGARA S OOU 31 r !ih^ iiii i^Ei) ;ipcrKKT. "Thn Irf:.t nt thn SfllHr.a'!." Ill': (iKi;.\ r orator of llic Stnccas, the famous ciiicf Keel Jacket, whose Indian nani<; was Sti-_i;o-yf-u 1 .:»-, . ViT'*- .. /^^'»' "■ %-^ i i t-s.'. 1 t TML HO'JSE OK RED JACKET AT SENECA VILLAGi:. war of the American Independence he received from a British officer a richly embroidered scarlet jacket which he wore until it became a mark of distinction and gave him the name by which he was best known. He died on the 20th of January, 1S30, in his house at the Seneca village, near Buffalo, at the probabk; age of eighty years. Less than nine years had elapsed after his decease when every remaining foot of the ancient inheritance of the Senecas was ceded to the white man. 3-J old chief was so familiarly ; known to tlu; i"5» white peo|)le, ,t was acquired through the peculiarity of his d r c; s s . During the leer a rirliK- H^ PORTRAIT or RED JACKKT. rngM wsin'i VAiHrma txaRAVtu nr OAMtOHiu. (fAC-aiMILK.) 83 T ♦I I ii HKLOW TIIK CHKHT Fflhh. JllHN M, DUNCAN. (i"\l SIKorS nf trcttin^r t,, tl,r l..,ttoin (if tlic C.rcat l-all, I made my way [) l.ilow ovir Mallci-fd nx ks, and siirvcyi'il tlu; wondrous scfiu; liclon- iiif, miiitall)- cnniparinj^r llir \i(w (.1" tlic falls from liclow with that which 1 hai! I'lijoycd from TaMcKoik. Of llic maj,niiliidi; and force of thi; dcscLMulin.ij torrents, \\r lia\i' lure .i mm h more im|>ressive conception, for as we see no |)art of the rapids aixivc and indrcd midiin.14 of tiie Hood till it has l)ej,nin its descent from the ( liff, the mind is occupied almost entirely with the height anil width and j^jrandeur of the two enormous ( ascades. We look up in amazement at the unintc^rrupted pouring; of so vast an accumulation of waters; and were this the only view which could !)(• obtained, it would seem an inscrutable mystery from what source so immeasurable a voluuu: of fresh water could be constantly poured lorth. 'llu' noise of the falls is of course jLjready increased bt-low; indeed it thunders in the tar most overi)owerinj,dy. I use the term i/iioi(/i'rs for want of a more ai)propriale one, but it by no means conveys any adecjuate idea of the awfully deep and uiivaryiniL,^ sound. 'lo heighten tlie sijlendor of the scene, a maynificent rainbow, pencilled on the clouds of spray, and perfectly unbroken from end to end, overarched the space between die one bank and the other, at the widest part. This in so entire a state is rather a rare occurrence, for though the prismatic colors are alway visible tluring sunshine, lloating in little fragments here and there, they only unite into a regular bow in particular positions of the sun, and never complete the semi- circular curve but when the air, as happened on this occasion, is perfecdy calm. A beautiful moonlight evening succeeded, and so favorable an opportunity of another view was not to be neglected. The moon's r.iys fell directly upon the American cascade, lea\ ing the greater part of the other fall in deep shadow. The spray appeared to rise in greatly increased volumes, and the dim light mingling with its haze, and accompanied by a perceptible increase in the sound of the cataracts, imparted to the whole a peculiar sublimity which was wanting in daylight. •n llORat-SlIGt rALLo FROM DELOW. 30 I I'i-f. I; i >i M) ^oroc \[\i ttiine., nor depth c, riiCA'^hiV hiNntl f^Y* cataract- ctupendog y, duel fierce; )id^l rC(?.r onjii^fi. Vliirlpcol dte-p Villiln \\v{ Vallj dolK hlw, y^d, r^iri^ 'round, jinks doVn in dw'K aI^^ ^^ unbiovK depth c. found Ontsvrio^ blue/ emd Vide doMa.irv, iOo yv^cuntaine cluck, -nor lofry* toMTitP^^ cWin, '^ine outlet V^t. U Iht^peat ocean'^ infinite ^psvnse '^T^'/ Volu/v^e^ rest, a.nd Vi[k tfer pow/erCjtnh^c«. *^ ^ ^e vdjt/deep. THE OIiD FEI^I^Y IiJINDING. AMERICilN SIDE. P~jUAINT and curious was the Landinjr of the ferry on the American side fifty \4J years ago. In those days people took whole weeks to view the falls, and delighted in ascending li;isurely the rugged stairs and path, stopping and turning round almost at each step to drink in the ever-changing glories of the scene. "The cliff and staircase at this Landing," says Willis, "would be considered highly picturesque anywhere but at the side of Niagara. The hundred stairs clinging to the rock, the wild vines overgrowing the temporary shed under which THE OLD FEPHY LANDING (avibi.am si: r ) travellers take shelter from the spray, the descending and ascending figures, and the athletic boatmen, whose occupation of pulling across this troubled ferry requires herculean strength and proportions, all form a subject for the painter, which could only be disregarded amid the engrossing scenes of Niagara." When th-: mania to improve Nature's own work seized the property owners around the falls, the old landing and staircase had to disappear and make way for q.iicker means of transit. This picturescjue old landmark is gone, and in its place stands the unartistic and unpicturescpie but nevertheless convt'nicnt inclined railway. "*}. pPOSTI?OPHE TO Nl^GJl^Jl Written on Taljlc-Hiiclt, ny Mm. Signurney. J^IiOW iiij fiiivvi-f. ill lliy Klii''i"ii>* 111'"' J^df li'lTlif IUmI I if iHNlllly. uii(l thy fi'i't. Ami He dolli Hiv.' Thy viilfo iif Ihiiiirhr |.inM'r to ^-pciili ..f Him KtiTiially: - -lii'lilinj,' lln' lip . or sorrow, iiiid thf pi'iil siililiiiii' Of thy troiiii'iiiUiiis hymn ! Evi'ii Ocriiii sliiiiiks Biu-k from thy lirolln'iliood, nml his wiM Wiivfs Il<'tiri> iiluishi'il ; for hi' ilotli soiiii'li s s.'i>m To sleep like ii spent liilioior, anil reeiill HiK weiiried Iiillows from the vyiiif,' pliiy, And lull tliem to a enidle eiilni ; lint Mioil, With everlastlii;;, iindeeiiyiii^; tide, Dost rest not iiiKlit nor day. The inorniiit; stars WheM lirst lliey s.'in(,' o'er yoiiiij,' neat ion's blrtll. Heard thy deep aiitlieiii ; and those wreekliij,' fires That wait the arehanKel's sijfniil. to dissolve The solid oiirtli, shall llnd .lehovah's name Graven, as with a tlioiisami dianioiid spears, S8 On thine iinfat homed jiage. Each loafy bough That lifts itself within thy jiroud dnmaiii, Doth gather greenness from thy living spray. And tremble at the baptism. Lo ! yon birds Do ventnie boldly near, bathing their wings Amid thy fmiin and mist. 'Tis meet for them To loin-h thy garments lior(>, or lightly stir The snowy leaflets of this vapor wreath, Who sport unharmed on the lleeoy cloud. And listen to the eiihoing gate of heaven Without reproof. But n.s for us, it seems Scarce lawful with our broken tones to .speak Familiarly of thee, llethinks, to lint Thy glorious features with our pencil's point, Or woo Uiee with the tablet of a song. Were profanation. Thou dost make the soul A wondering witness of thy majesty ; And while it rushes with delirious joy To trend thy vestibule, dost chain its step. And check its rapture, with the humbling view Of its own nothingness, biddhig it stand In the dread presence of the Invisible, As if to answer lo its (iod throngli thee. NipGpi^p, " Trcmondou8 txJiTent ! for an Instant hush Tho terrors of thy voice, and cast aside Those wide involving shadows, that nny eyes May see the fearful l)eauty of thy face ! Thou llowest on in quiet, till thy waves Grow broken 'midst tlio roclcs; thy current tlion Shoots onward iiite the irresistible course Of destiny. Ah, terribly they rage, — The hoarse and rapid whirlpools tliero ! My brain Grows wild, my senses wander, as I gaze Upon tiie liurrying waters; and my sight Vuiidy would follow, as toward the verge Sweeps the wide torrent. Waves innumerable Meet there and madden, — waves innumerable Urge on and overtalte the waves before, And disappear in timnder and in foam. The}' reaeli, they leap the barrier, — the abyss Swalk)ws insatiable tlie sinking waves. A tliousand rainbows areh them, and woods .\re deafened with the roar. The violent slioek Sluilters to vapor the tlescending slieets. A cloudy wlilrhvind lllis the gulf, and lieaves The mighty pyramid of cireling mist To h.>aven. * . * . What seeks my restless eye? Why arc not here, About the jaws o! this abyss, the palms, — Ah, the delicious palm?. — that on the plahis Of my own native Cuba spring and spreml Their thickly follaged summits to tlie sun. Anil, in the brcatliings of the ocean air Wave soft beneath the heaven's unspotteil blue? But no, Niagara, — thy forest pinCs Are fitter coronal for thee. The palm. The effeminate myrtle and pale rose may grow III gardens and give out their fragrance there. Unmanning him who breathes it. Tlilne it is To do a nobler olllce. Generous minds Reliold thee, and are moved and learn to rise Above earth's frivolous pleasures ; tliey pailake Thy grandeur at the utterance of thy name. Dread torrent, that with wonder and with fear Dost overwlieim tlio soul of him who looks Upon thee, and dost bear it from itself,— Wlii'iico hast thou thy beginning ? Who supplies Age after age, thy unexhausted springs ? Wliat power hath ordered that, when all thy weight Descends into the deep, the swollen waves Rise not and roll to overwhelm the earth? The Lord hath opened his omnipotent hand, Covered thy face with clouds and given his voice To thy down-rushing waters: he liath girt Thy terrible forehead witli his ra:o. ' What troops of tourists have eneanipod upon tho river's lirinU ; What poets shod from countless ipiills Niagaras of ink; What artist armies tried to li.\ the cvauew-ent how Of the waters fallinj,' lus they fell two hundred years ago. ' .\nd statr'ly lulls feed scores of f^ucsts from well replenished larder, And liackinon drive their horses hard, but drive a bargain harder ; And sereaining locomotives rush in anger to and fro : Hut the waters fall as once they fell two hundred years ago. ' And luhles of every age and elinie freipient the island's bower, And gaze from olT the .stone-built perch — lienci' called the Bridal Tower - Ami many a lunar belle goes forth to meet a lunar beau, liy the waters falling as they fell two hundn-d years ago. ' .\iid bridges biml thy hrea.st. O stream I and buzzing mill-wheels turn, To show, like Samson, thou art forced thy daily bread to earn ; And sti'iiineis spliush thy milk-while waves, exulting as they go, Hnt the waters fall as onc-e they fell two hundred years ago. 'Thy lianks no longer are the same that early travelers found them. But break anil crumble now and then like other banks around them; And on their verge our life sweeps on — alternate joy and woe; But the waters fall as oiwe they fell two hundred years ago. ' Thus phantoms of a by-gono age have melted like the spray, And in our turn we too shall pass, the phantoms of to-day; But the armies of the I'oming time shall watch the ceaseless flow Of waters follinf? as they fell two hundred years ago." 4U HEIIINI) THE SHEET OF WpTEI^. CHAS , R. Mil R HAY. II ^11 CpPTpiN Hpiili'S Npi^I^flTIVK. ^sN FIRST coming to a scene so stupendous and varied as that of Niagara, the attention is embarrassed !))• tin; crowd of new objects; and it always requires a cc^rtain degree of time to arrange the images which are sug- gested, before they can be duly appreciatiil. After reaching the l-'alls. we had still enough of daylight to take a hasty view of them before going to bed; and whether it was owing to the jolting of the rough roails, or to the fatigue of over-excited admiration, 1 do not know, but I soon dropped into a profound sleej), in spile of all the roaring close at hand. About two o'clock in the morning, while I was dreaming of one particular part of the fall, called the Horse-Shoe, which had struck me <- as being more jiarticularly solemn than all the rest put ^^ together, I was awakened by a feeble cry from my littk; girl, and set off in quest of a light. In groping along the passages, I came accidental!)' to an open window, where my ear was arrested by the loud splashing noise of the rapids above the falls, dashing past, immediately under the veranda. The deep sound of the more distant cascaile was also heard, far louder, and quite different in kinil from that of the rapids. For the first time I became conscious of the full magnificence of the scene. 'tLl The night was very dark, though the stars were out, ^ twinkling and Hashing over the cataract; and thert: rose a damp, earthy smell from the ground, as if the dew had been settling heavil)- upon it; or perhaps it might be the spray from the falls. There was not the slightest breath of wind to shake the drops from the leaves, and I stood for som(> tinu; endeavoring to recollect what I had met with before that resembled this. Thc! hollow sound of the surf at Madras was at length brought to my thoughts as the nearest thing to it. ON GOAT ISLAND. The Falls are divided into two parts by Goat Island, on which we passed the greater part (jf the next day. We walk(;d round the Island several times in the course of the day, and though it affords a great variety of ailmiral)le \ lews of 43 tlu; falls, and also of the rapids, l)otli on the American and on tlu; English sides of tin; river, we always found ourselves drawn hack irresistibly to the Great Horse- Shoc, where the largest portion of the stn;am passes on a concave edge, and where, from its depth, I sujjpose, it actjuires a (](;ep green color, seen at no other part of the cascade; almost all the rest being nearly snow-white. In hunting for similes to describe what we saw and heard, we were quite agreed that the sound of the falls most nearly resembles that of a grist mill, of large dimensions. There is precisely the same incessant, rumbling, deep, monotonous sKSI. SIlOl', lA I.I., iis .1 sini^lf i)iij<(t, is iim|ucsti()nal)ly tile siililiiiusi tiling' in iiutiirc. In know llial the anj^'lc of ihc cataract, lioni tlir liiilisli shore to llic to\v^"^,^j^ to yield his life as a penalty. Here and there gigantic bowlders reared their heads from the water's edge, necessitating a difficult and ilangcrous passagt; around or over. Once the writer saw a biril's nest on the extremity of an alder, which leaner' well over the seething, whirling waters. Our approach caused a rare sparrow to flit away in alarm. Without thought, save of the acfjuisition of a rare ngg, I threw by my coat and sprang into the branches. I had gone but half way out on the limb when a wild cry of alarm :aused me to look around, just in time to see the roots of the little tree being wrenched from their place by my weight and the fierce current. I gave a spring and landed safely, just in the instant as the tree fell into the waters and was hurried out of sight. Getting into the canyon at Lewiston was comparatively easy, but making one's way out near the Falls was another thing. Nearly a mile below Devaux College, situated a little north of the railway bridge, the possibility of making our way along the river's edge ceased. Night was approaching, and a day's hard work would be required to reach Lewiston, 5U LEWISTON FROM THE MOUNTAIN at the foot of the canyon, from which point \vc ontcnd. Al)ovc, the rocks towi-red several hundred feet. We had the alternative of remaining in the j^orge ovt;r nij^ht, where life was momentarily uncertain, or of fighting our wa)- ovit an almost impass- able passage to the foot of the stt^ps leading down from the college. We determined to accept the latter. After an hour's climb over tangled masses of fallen trees, logs, and bowlders, we made our way to a narrow ridge, one hundred feet from the top, formed of fallen debris. The scene from this point beggared d(.'scriiJtion. Beneath was one frightful mass of rocks and trees. One false step antl the fated indiviilual would have plunged to a horrible doom. We followed the ridge for perhaps a half mile, when it came to an abrupt termination. In front were bare walls of perpen- dicular rocks, extending from the top one hundred feet above, straight down to the rushing waters two hundreu feet below. The interim to be crossed, if possible, was several rods in breadth. Despair stalked abroad on every side. The setting sun cast his flickering rays upon an almost certain doom to the daring mortal who should attempt that passage. Just above our heads a crevice in the rocks was discovered which seemed to cross the face of the rocks. The thought of passing it was startling, but hurriedly agreed upon. There seemed to be room for the toes to cling, but the chances of a place for the hands seemed slender and treacherous. The various instruments were divided among the party by lot, the box contain- ing the heavy theodolite falling to the writer. The tallest clambered on to the crevice first, the others assisting and following, until the writer, smallest and last, was safely drawn up. A perilous and cautiou.^ passage began. The face of the rock was slippery, and the niches where the hand could cling few and far between. One carrying a coat on his arm, in a moment of trepidation let the garment fall, and in an instant it was whirled out of sight by the seething waters below. Another unloosed a bowlder, which took a frightful plunge downward, Jeaving a great open space beneath. By mutual assistance all had safely pasted across, when the writer, with the heavy instrument upon his back, was midway on the pr.ssage. Here a sharp point of rock, just breast high, impe led the way. In attempting to get around this, the foot failed to find a resting place. To get under was impossible — above there was no fingerhold. The heavy instrument behind seemed to weigh down like a mountain, and was rapidly displacing the point of balance. The slender hold was relaxing; loo feet above was the calm, safe world — 250 below, the merciless waters. One foot slipped off, and was going down — down ; a mist came over the eyes and all seemed lost, when the foot caught on a slender bush, a hand grasped the back and drew me on to a firm footing. Just then the sun sank from sight, but not until he saw the adventurers safe on the steps of the college. 61 fl (il^KflT CONCEPTION. HaTHAUHRIAM), the illustrious French author, clurini,^ a visit which occurred toward the beginning of this century, had almost a miraculous escape from being thrown over the precipice above th(! fidls. "On his arrival he had repaired to the? I'alls, having the bridle of his horse twisted round his arm. While he was stooping to look down, a rattlesnake stirred among the neighboring bushes, the horse was startled, reared, and ran back toward the ab)ss. I le could not disengage his arm from the bridle, and the horse, more and more frightened, dragged him after him. The animal's fore-legs wen: all but oft" the ground, and squatting on the brink of the precipice, he was upheld merely by the bridle. Astonished at this new danger, the horse threw himself forward with a pirouette, and sprang to the distaiice of ten feet from the i-di:!;v. of the al))ss." (iustave Dorc. as great in the world of art as Chateaubriand in that of liter- ature, found a source of inspiration in the writings of the latter, whose description in "(itnie du Christianisme " undoubtedly furnished the material for Uore's great concejition of Niagara Fails. " IVom Lake \inv to the Falls the river bed descends very rapidly, and at the point where the watirs taki; their leap, it is less a river than an ocean, whose (loods luirr) into the yawning gulf below. The cataract is divided into two portions, and is curved in the form of a horse-shoe. An island juts out between the two falls, which is hollowetl out underneath, and hangs suspended with all its trees over the chaos of waters. The mass of water which falls in the center rounds out like a great cylinder, and then unrolls in a snowy sheet, which glistens with every color in the sunshine. That on the east side falls into fritghtful shades — a very deluge of water. A thousantl rainbows curve and cross each other over the abyss. I'he water striking the unyielding rock rebounds in whirlwinds of vapor, which rise above the forest like the smoke of a vast contlagration. Tall pines and hickories and phantom-like rocks decorate the scene. Eagles are carried whirling down to the bottom of the gulf, dragged down by the current of air." ^'^j^S*' 52 DORRT. KIAGAnA. OFFENBpCH ON NlJlQ^Jl^Jl. rriim NntBs ul a TravElllna Musltlaii. w- t«i:i M I^UCH has been written on the subject of this wonderful waterfall, but no one has yet b(;en able to descrilie the impression produced by the sight of the great stream at the inoment when it leaps headlong, from a height of a hundred and fifty feet, into the fathomless abyss beneath. The view of that vast amphitheatre, of that prodigious volume of water, breaking into foam, with a roar of thunder, like the hug(! tidal wave that follows an earthquake, made me giddy, and caused me to forget all I had ever read, all I had ever heard, and all that had ever sugg(,'sted itself to my imagination. Tiiis diluvial torrent, framed within the wildest scenery, surrounded by lofty trees of the deepest green, upon which a shower of spray is constantly falling like perpetual dew, defies photography, painting, or description. In order to describe, there must be some point of com|)arison. To what can Niagara be compared, diat unrivalled, everlasting phenomenon, to the magnificence of which we can never become accustomed! While we were absorbed in the contemplation of this wonder — " This is the spot," said our guide, " where an Indian met with his fate a fortnight ago. Carried away by the current, the slight craft that held him was drawing near to the b'alls, notwithstanding all his efforts. The Indian, feeling his strength giving way, saw that he was lost. He ceased to struggle, wrapped himself up in his red blanket as in a shroud, and laid himself down in the bottom of his boat. A few secomis after he was on the crest of the gigantic wave, and was shot with the rapidity of liglitning into tiiis watery grave, covered with a mist of immaculate white." After hearing the story of this catastrophe, so fearful, yet so grand, I could not help envying the fate of the imfortunate red-skin, and I wondered that all Americans in distress did not prefer the I\dls of Niagara to the insipid revolver. After having long enjoyed this wond(>rful spectacle, I crossed the bridge and set foot on Canadian soil. Here, I had been told, I would see Indians. I expected to find savages, and was surprised to find only dealers in bric-a-brac. They were hideous, I confess; they looked quite ferocious, I admit also: but I doubt whether thi'y were genuine Indians. However that may be, they surrounded me on all sides, offered mc bamboos, fans, cigar-holders, and pocket-books of a doubtful taste. They reminded me of the Indians of the forest of Fontainebleau who sell pen- holders and paper-knives. Nevertheless, I made a ktw purchases; but I verily believe that I brought back into l^Vance some curiosities which had been procured at the selling out of some Parisian bazar. 54 H' THE HEI^MIT OF THE FJILLkS. MRS, SIDOURNEY. URING the year 1829, in the glow of early summer, a young stranger, of pleasing counte- nance and person, made his appearance at Niagara. It was at first conjectured that he might be an artist, as a large portfolio, with 1 books and musical instruments, were observed among his baggage. He was deeply impressed by the majesty and sublimity of the Cataract, and its surrounding scenery, and expressed an intention to remain a week, that he might examine it accurately. But the fascination which all minds of sensibility feel, in the pres- 3 ence of that glorious work of the Creator, grew strongly upon him, and he was heard to say, that six weeks were inadequate to become acquainted with its outlines. At the end of that period he was still unable to tear himself away, and desired to build there a tabernacle, that he might indulge both in his love of solitary musings and of nature's sublimity. He applied for a spot upon the island of the Three Sisters, where he might construct a cottage after his own model, which comprised, among other peculiarities, isolation by means of a draw-bridge. Circumstances forbidding a compliance with his request, he took up his residence in an old house upon this island, which he rendered as comfortable as the state of the case would admit. Here he continued about twenty months, until the intrusion of a family interrupted his recluse habits. He then quiedy withdrew, and reared for himself a less commodious shelter, near Prospect Point. His simple and favorite fare of bread and milk was readily purchased, and whenever he required other food, he preferred to prepare it with his own hands. When bleak winter came, a cheerful fire of wood blazed upon his hearth, and by his evening lamp he beguiled the hours with the perusal of books in various languages, and with sweet music. It was almost surprising to hear, in such depth of solitude, the long drawn, thrilling tones of the viol, or the softest melodies of the flute, gushing • forth from that low-browed hut, or the guitar, breathing out so lighdy, amid the rush and thunder of the never-slumbering tide. Yet, though the world of letters was familiar to his mind, and the living world to his observation, for he had travelled widely, both in his native Kurope and the East, he sought not association with mankind, to unfold or to increase his 53 i; !:• ( , stores of knowl<'di,n-. Those who luul heard him converse, spoke with surprise and athiiiration of liis (oIi()(|uiaI powers, his conim;ind of lan,i^iia<,fe, and the spirit of eloeincnt e that (lowed from his h|)s. Hut lie scklom and sparin.t,dy admitt(;d this intercourse, studiousi) avoiding,'- s(k iel_\-, UiouL,di thire seemed in his nature nothing of nioroseiiess or misaiuliropy. On the contrary, he showed kinihiess even to the huml)k'st aniniak Hirds instinctively learned it, aad freely entereil his dwellinj^f to riccivc from his hands crumhs or seeds. Hut the alisorhini,^ dclii^dit of his existence, was communion with the mighty NiaL,^u-a. Here, at every hour of the day or night, he might be seen a fervent worsiiipper. At gr.iy dawn hi' went to visit it in its tleecy veil; at high noon, he l)an(|ueted on the full splendor of its glory; beneath the; soft tinting of the lunar bow he lingenil, looking for the angel's wing whose pencil had painted it; at solenni midniL,dit. he knelt, soul-subdued, as on the foot-stijol of Jehovah. Neither storms, nor the piercini,^ cold (,f winter, preventetl his visits to this great temple of his .idoration. • When tile frozen mists, gathering upon the lofty trees, seemed to have transmuted them to < olumns of alabaster; when every branch and shrub, and spray, glittering with iranspaniu ice, waved in the sunbeam its coronet of diamonds, he gazed, unconscious of the keen atmosphere, charmed and chaincMJ by the rainbow- cinctured Cataract. Ills feet had worn a beaten ])ath from his cottage thither. There was, at that time an extension of the IcTrapin Bridge by a single shaft of timber, carrieil out ten feet over the fathomless abyss, where it hung tremulously, guarded onl\' by a rutle parapet. To this point he often passed ami repassed, amid the darkness of the night. He even took pleasure in gras])ing it with his hands, and thus suspending himself over th<' awful gulf; so much had his morliid enthusiasm learned to feel, and wen to revel, amid the terriblx sublime. Among his favorite, daily gratifications was that of bathing. The few who interestetl themselves in his welfare, supposed that he pursued it to excess, and protracted it after the severity of the weaUier rendered it hazardous to health. He scooped out, and arranged for himself a secluded and romantic bath, between Moss and Iris islands. Afterw;irds. Ik; formed tlu; habit of bathing below the principal i'all. One bright, but rather chilly ilay, in die month of June, 1831, a man emplovid ajjout the I"erry. saw him go into the water, anil a long time after, observcid his clothes to bi- still lying upon th(! bank. Incpiiry was made. The anxiety was but too well founded. The poor hermit had indeed taken his last bath. It was su|)|K)sed that cramp might have been induced by the unwonted chill of the atmosphere or water. Still the body was not ft**ind, the depth and force of the current just below being exceedingly great. In the cyurse of their search, they passed onward to the Whirlpool. There, amid : lliosc hoiliii;,' cddiis, was the pallid cDrpsc, makintj fearful and rapid j^yrations upon the face of the IiLk k waters. At some point of suction, it suddenly plunjj^cd and disappeared. A<,'ain emerLjini,'. it was fearful to see it leap half its !(;n,Ljth abovt; the tiood, and with a fare so deadly pale, play amonj.,' the tossinj^r billows, then float motionless, as if exhausted, and anon returnin^f to the encounter, sprint^, strii,ij}^!e, and ( (intend like a niani.ic liattlinij with mortal foes. It was strani,Ml\ painful to think that he; was not permitted to find a j^rave e\in beneath the w.iters he had loved; that all the i,^entleness and charity of his nature, should be ehanjf efforts, the)- were enableil to bear the weary dead back to his desolate cottajje. Ihere they found his faithful d<)min.<,^ lie "scrutinized the approaching group suspiciously, and would not willingly have given them admittance, save that a low, stilled wail at length announc»-d his intuitive knowledge of the master, whom the work of death had effectually disguised from the e) es of men. 08 They laid him on his bed, the thick, dripping; masses of his l)eaiitifiil hair clinjj- ing to and veiHng the features so late expressive and comely. On tlic pillow was his pet kitten; to her, also, the watch for the master had been long anil wearisome. In his chair lay the guitar, whose melody was probably the last that his ear had heard on earth. There were also his flute and violin, his portfolio and books, scattered and open, as if recently used. On the spread table was the untasted meal for noon, which he had prepared against his return from that bath which had proved so fatal. It was a touching sight; the doad hermit mourned by his humble retainers, the poor animals who loved him, and ready to be laid by stranger-hands in a foreign grave. So fell this singular and accomplished being, at the early age of twent) -cighl. Learned in the languages, in tiie arts and sciences, improved by extensive travel, gifted with personal beauty, and a feeling heart, the motives for this estrangement from his kind arc still enveloped in mystery. It was, however, known that he was a native of England, where his father was a clergyman; that he receivtjd from thence ample remittances for his comfort; and that his name v.as Francis Abbot. These facts had been previously ascertained, but ncj written pa|)ers were found in his cell, to throw additional light upon the obscurity in which he had so effectually wrapped the history of his pilgrimage. That he was neither an ascetic nor a misanthrope, has been sufficiently proved. Why he should choose to withdraw from society, which he was so well fitted to benefit and adorn, must ever remain unexplained. That no crinu' had driven him thence, his blameless and pious life bore witness to all who knt!W him. It might seem that no plan of seclusion had been deliberately formeil, until enthusiastic ailmiration of the unparalleled scenery among which he was cast, induced and for two years had given it permanence. And if any one could be justified for withdrawing from life's active duties, to dwell awhile with solitude and contemplation, would it not be in a spot like this, where Nature ever speaks audibly of her majestic and glorious Author? We visited, in the summer of 1844, the deserted abode of the hermit. It was partially ruinous, but we traced out its different compartments, and the hearth-stone where his winter (evenings passed amid books and music, his faithful tlog at his feet, and on his knee his playful, happy kitten. At our entrance, a pair of nesting birds flew forth affrighted. Mi;thought they were fitting representatives of that gentle spirit, which would not have disturbeil their tenantry, or harmed the trusting sparrow. We think with tenderness of thee, erring and lonely brother. For at the last day, when the secrets of all arc unveiled, it will be found that there are sadder mis takes to deplore than thine; — time wasted idly, but not innocently — and talents per- verted without the palliation of a virtuous life, the love of Nature, or the fear of Ciod. TIIK HHMBhKI^, ::HA5, JDS. I.ATDnilE. . !»• i!.i !. ^/ i )ll MAY rt'collcct my jiivcnik; weakness, that of bein^ a notorious cascade- hunter. So you may well ask what impression was made upon me hy Niajjara. At the com- mencement of the present cent- ury, Niaj,fara, difficult of access, and rarely visitt.'d. was still the cataract of the wiltlerness. The %• red Indian still lingered in its vi- cinity, adored the Great Spirit and "Master of Life" as he list- ened to the "Thunder of the waters." The human habitations within sound of its fall were rare and far apart. Its few visitors came, jjazed, and departed in silence and awe, having for their guide tlu; child of the forest or the hardy backwoodsman. No staring, painted hotel rose over the woods and obtruded its pale face over the edge of the boiling river. The journey to it from the east was one of adventure iiiul peril. The scarcely attainable shore of Goat Island, lying between the; two gnat ilivisions of the cataract, had only been trodden by a few hardy adventurers, liepending upon stout hearts and st(?ady hands for escape from the imminent perils of till! ])assagc. I low is it now? The forest has everywhere yield(!d to the axe, llolclswith their snug shrubberies, out-houses, gardens, and paltry esUiblishments stare you in the face: museums, mills, staircases, tolls, and grog-shops, greet the eye i.ii the traveler. Hridgis are thrown from island to island; and Goat Island is reaelietl wiiiiout adventure. Hut do not imaj^Miu- lliat wr jjrfw peevish at ilie si^lii of ilie Mots upon ilic laiulscapt", to which I have: alhicled, and tieparted in wrath ami dis^nist. We soon found that thc-rc was that in and about Niai^Mra which was not to In- niarn-d \>y l)usy man and all his pi-tty schenurs for convenience ami selfa^'^ijrandisemeMt: and 1 may truly say, with rej,fard to both our first and second visit, and slay within its precincts, that wc were under the influence of its spell. While within the sound of its waters, I will not say you become part and parcel of the cataract, but you luid it tlifficult to think, speak, or dream of any thing else. Its vil)rations pervade, not only the air you breathe, the bank on which you sit. the paper on which )()u writi-. l)ut thrill through your whole frame, and act upon your nervous system in a remarkal)le. and it may almost be said an unpleas- ant manner. You may have heard of people coming back from the contemplation of these Falls, with dissatisfied feel- ings. To me this is perfectly in- comprehensible, and I do not know whether to envy the splendid fan- cies and expecta- tions of that class of travellers, to whom the sight of Niagara would bring disappoint- ment, or to feel JMslified in doulil- ing whether they have any imagin- ation or eye for natural scenery at all. I low blank thi' worKI nnist be to them of objects of natural inter- est. What can they expect to see.'' As to ex- pectations, ours were excited and warm, and 1 shall never forget the real anxiety with which we looked out, on our ascent from Lewistown, for the first ap- pearance of the object of our visit. The broad, fathomless blue river, streaked with foam, which, deeply sunk in a colossal channel, hurried to our rencontre, and appeared at every fresh glimpse as we advanced, swifter and in greater commotion, was to us a guar- antee that the scene of its descent from the upper country could be no common one. When about three miles from the village on the American side, )()u gain your first view of the Falls, together with the river, both above and below, — the island, which divides them, — and greater part of the basin at their feet. I will not say but that the impression of that first glance was heightened afterward 01 STEPS TO RAriDiJ OM OUTER SISTER ISLAND >>^%?%^ I r^l^^ \' »' \ 'I li\ niir in .111 r ,111(1 11 ilciMliil siii\(\y'^ JL (if (Ncr) |)(prti(Pii (it the (.itar.iil in ] y ' (l(l,iil; y I uc all iiu;n 111 llial we could t'Vfii ^ llicii .i^ras]' ill'' i■ ^^''''l ^^'•''^ *'"'" ^li"\\" I'* 'i^- ^^'"' when, B/ ''"' l^""*>\\'''l^' y<;ir, two of us turned aside li)- coininon ((inseiit to pay a second visit to Nia.i,Mra, IiaviiijLj in the interval. visite|i(aring un\( ilcii with its sea ujrcrn tints, brilliantly illum- in.itrd l)y the p .1 s s i n g s II n - beam. An Ii.air afleraiui tl'.f mist haildisapi)eared; the balls were sparkling in the bright sunshine; and a brilliant iris was ri'sting on the bod) ol vapor which the w i nd ca r r i ed away from the face of the de- strolling about the shore and on the beautiful Island, which is an earthly paradise, I remember the c|uiet hours spent there, when fatigued with the glare of the hot !i i'dit sun, and the din of the b'alls, with peculiar delight. We loved, too, to escape from all thost- signs of man's presence, and busy-bodying to which I have alluded, anil, burj ing ourselvis in the fresh, dark, scarce-trodden forest still covering a great part of its area, to listen to the deadened roar of the vast cataracts on either hand, swelling on the air distinct from (rvery other sound. tALLi IHOM T)ll. KlVi,Jv There, scattd in comparativt- solitucU-, you catch a peep, across a long irregular vista of stems, of the white vapor ami foam. Wni listen to tiie sharp cry of the blue jay, the tap of the red-headed woodpecker, and the playful bark of tin; scjuirrel; you scan the smooth white boles of the beech or birch, chec(|uercd with i)road patches of dark-green moss, the stately elm and oak. the broad-leaved maple, the silvery white and exquisitely chiselled trunk of the cedar, or the decaying trunk of the huge chestnut, garlanded with creepers ; but you will hardly ever lost- the con- sciousness of the locality. The; spell of Niagara is still upon and around you. You glance again and again at the white veil which thickens or grows dim beyond the leafy forest: — the rush of the nearer rapids, the din of falling waters, the murmur of the echoes answering the pulsations of th(! descending mass, fill your ears, and pervade all nature. Every thing around and about you appears to reply to th Cataract, and to par- take of it, none more so than the evergreen forest which is bathed from ) car to year in the dew of the river. These noble trees, as they tow(;r aloft on tlu- soil, are sus- tained from youth to age by the invigorating spray of th courses toward the shrunken stream. This singular syncope of tlu; waters lasted all the tlay, ami night closed over the strange scene. Hut in the morning our river was restoreil in all its strength aiul biauty and majesty. — Falls of Xiagara. ■ f \ ^:X'?' lACAkA kl\ 1:R, wlii.h tak. • *l. 1. it-, name from tlic I-'alls, is thirty-six niilf, in l.^n-tli, rcacliiiii,^ \u<\n l.akr l.ric to Lake ( )iitai-i(). It rcci-ivrs the walrrs ol" all tlic ii|'i'«r Likes, u/.. V.nr. St. Clair, Huron, Michigan, Siipcrior. ami others smaller than these. St. Louis River, rising 1250 miles north\V(st of the lalls. and 1 ^o miles west of Lake Superior, is the most remote source of this stream. Its position above the level of the sea is said to he I 2(x> feet, and in its (i)urse towards Lake ( )ntar io, it makes a desct'nt of 551 feet. The lakes and streams for which it is an outlet, cover an area of 1 50,000 s(piart; miles. The length of Lake Supe- rior is 450 miles, its width 100 miles, and its tiepth goo feet. Tlu; Straits of Saint .Mar). Oo miles long, and 45 feet in its de- scent, conveNs the waters of Laki- Supe rior and Lake I luron, which receives also the waters of nearly forty rivers. Lake Michigan is ;,(k) mil«;s ] long, 50 miles wide, ] and oo<3 feet deep. Its outlet is the Straits of Mackinai, conveying its waters into Lake Huron, a distance of 40 miles. Cireen Hay, formerly called the Bay of I'uans, is on the northwest side of I Lake Michigan, 100 miles long and 20 ^ miles wide. Lakt; ,^ .:.",' Huron is 218 miles i":i'i length, and 180 ^ miles in width, and 'about 90:) fe(!t deep. Its waters How into Lake Lrie, through liie Lake and River St. Clair, and the De- troit River, a distance of ninety miles, with a descent of 31 feet. ^%^ Lak(^ Lrie is 290 miles A r ri p 1 I. ; ; t long, 6;, miles wide, and 120 feet deep. Its level above the sea is 564 feet, and above Lake Ontario 334 feet, which, of course, is the descent it makes to tht; latter. The descent from Lake Lrie, wlu-re the Niag.ua River commences, to Schlosser, is 12 feet; at the rapids it is 52 feet: at the Cataract 164 feel; from this point to Lewiston. 104 feet; thence to Lake Ontario, 2 feet. .At Lake Lrie, wlure the Niagara River commences, its width is about two miles; and its depth from 20 to 40 feet. -At Black Rock it is narrowed ! ! i*«' I I. ij to a mile. .111(1 is. at that |)<)iiit, (Ircj) and rapiii, inovinij at the ratt; of six or (;i^'ht miles an hour. I'or three miles its < urrcnt (.-ontinues swift, and thciKu; its course is sh)w, and its surface plai id, until within one mile from the I'alls. At the head of C.rand Isl.md, live miles from Lake l>ie. it expands, and branches out into two sire.ims, rmmiuL^ on eitli( r sid.' of this island, the i^reatest (juantitj- of water llowinj^ oM the west side of the island, until it measures ei.i^hl miles across, lielow this, opposite Sdilosser, it is ne.irly three miles in width, and appears smooth like the surfad- of a (|uiet lake, its descent from tliis point to the I'alls is go feet. At the lalls its width is three (piarters of a mile: at the I''erry it is 56 rods wide; at the Whirlpool 150 jards wide. Its depth varies, in different places, from 20 to 300 feet; and just l.elow tin- Catanict it has never been fathomed. Niat^ara River embraces, in its (ourse, many beautiful islands, the lesser ones of which an; Bird Island, sitiuUi (1 between i?uffalo and Lake Hrie; Sejuare Island, opposite IMack Rock, of f'/ytfn, iltf (trftfitttjf Maps ROl/iVDARy COMMlissrONERS. MUTM-SJi) i.;i .icres; Strawlx'rry Ishunl. of kxd acres; Heaver Island, of 30 acres; Rattlesnake Island, of .pS acres; Tonawanda Island, of 6g acres; Cayiij^a Island, of xoo acres, iie.u-est to the American shon, foiu' miles above the Falls; and Huck-horn Island, whi(h is low and marshy, i ontainini,^ 146 acres. The two islands of principal note in this river, are (irand Isl.uid, of i7,.iS4 acres, and Navy Island, of 304 acres. rile b.uiks of Niai,Mra Kiver, from I""ort Mrie to the Canadian shore, at the outlet of Laki' I'.rie, to Chippewa, a distance of (lij^jhteen miles, are from four to ten feel hii,di. I'rom Chippewa to the i'.dls themselves, a distance of two and a half miles, the bank is from ten to one hundred feet hij^h, the descent of the river bein^ ninety two feet. I'rom the lalls to I.ewiston, a distance of seven miles, the bank varies from one hundred and fifty to three hundred feet. IVom Lewiston to Lake Ontario is seven miles, ,uid in this distance the Northern Terrace;, or Mountain Ritl^^e, crosses the course of the river, when the banks diminish to twenty-five or thirty feet. Tlit L^orL^e tliri)uj,di which the Niai,Mr;i River llows. after Icavinj^ the precipice that forms the Cataract, "prcsints almost perpendicular walls, with a talus at the bottom, fornuil by Uu; rallinj,^ of some of the hi},'her strata," says Hall, in the (ieotjraphical Survey of the State of New ^'ork. "The outlet of the chasm is scarcely wiiler tlian elsewhere alont,^ its course. In some places the channel is less than two hundred yards across, and attain is extended to twice that width. Thr br«'adth of tlu; chasm at the top is nearly twice as threat as tiiat of the stream below. The declivity of the bed of tht; river, from the Falls to Lewiston, is one hundred and four feet, or nearly fifteen feet in the mile. " At one place, about a mih; below the I'alls, where the channc^l is narrowest, the stream glides with comparative stillness, while below this, where the channel is ^S'-iUZTr'-': uv:nil!A i'=!,ANP Fuor! niV- uooi vr Tm; d'JVMino ;jf'Ri:.'g colTAOt broader, it is driven aloniLj with j^^reat velocity. Ajjain, below the whirlpool, the surface of the river is more smooth, and the current more j,'(mtle, thoujfh the channel is narrower than above. In the course of this J^'orj^e, is a sinj^le exc«'ption to the parallel sides and nearly vertical cliffs; this is upon the west bank of the river at the whirlpool. The witlth of the },r()rjLje at Lewiston is I5tx)f)r perhaps 2cxx> feet. In tin; NiaLjara chasm there are no boulders, pebbles or gravel. TIk; river occupies the wh(jle wiilth, at the bottom, «?.\cept a talus on either side, formed by angular fragments fallen from above. " I'Vom all that appears along the; present river course, there was probably an ancient shallow valley extending in the direction of the present Niagara River which \ the train at nine o'clock to N'iaj,'ara. It was a miserable day; diilly and raw; a dain|j mist fallinj,'; ami the trees in that northern n'),non quiti; i)are and wintry. Whenever th<' tniin halted, 1 listened for the roar; ami w;is constantly strainin.i,f my eyes in the iliredion whV"oiir sl()|)l)iIlt,^ not befor<', I saw two ijreat white clouds ■J risini,-^ up slowly ami majestically from the dejnhs of the earth. ihat was all. At lent^th we ;dij,dited; and ^l"^ ' then, for the first time, I lu-ard the mi,<,duy rush of water, ami felt the ,!.,fround tremble underneath my fell. The b;mk is very steep, and was slippery with rain and half melted ice. 1 harilly know how 1 i,H)t down, but I was soon at the bottom, and climbing,', with two i'.ni^dish officers who were crossinij and hail joimil me, o\tr some broken rocks, ileafeneil by tlur noise, half blinded by the spray, and wet to the skin. We were at the foot of the American I-'all. I could see an immense; torrent of water tearini,' headlong down from some ,<,aeat heiijht, but had no idea of shape, or situation, or anythini^ but vat^nie immensity. When we were seated in the littli' ferry-bo;U, ami were i rossintj the swollen river, immediately before both cataracts, 1 bej^an in feel what it was; but 1 was in a manner stunned, and unable to comprehend thi' vastmss of the scene. It was not until I came on Table Rock, and looked— Clreal Heaven, on what a fall of bri<,du i^reen water! — that it came upon me in its full niiL,dn and majest) . Then, when I felt how near to my Creator I was standinj,', the first effect, and the emlurinj^r one — instant and laslin<,f — of the tremendous spectacle, was Peace. Peace of Mind, trancpiility, calm recollections of the Dead, j^reat thouj^hts of litiTnal Rest and Happiness: nothinv; of i,doom or terror. Niaj,'ara was at once stamped upon m\ heart, an ImaLje i)f Hi:auty; to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses ciase in beat, for e\er. n .-15^J.1 Oh. liow the strift! and tnniblc of daily lifr rccfdcil from my view, and Icsscni-d in the distance, liurin^r the ten nieniurahlc days \\c |)assed on tliat Mnclianted (Iround! What voices s|)(jke from out tlie tiiunderini,' water; what faces, faded from the earth, h)oked out upon me from its t,deamini,f depths; what Heavenly promise j,distened in those anitjel's tears, the drops of m.in\ hues, liiat showered around, and twined themselves about the L^rorucoiis .u-ches whiih the chanj^nnir rainbows made! I never stirred in all that time from the Canadian side, whither I had j^'one at first. I never crossed the river aj^Min; for I knew there were ptople on the other shore, and in such a place it is natural to shun stianj^fe company. To wamler to ant! fro all day, and see the cataracts from all points of view; to stand upon the edj^e t)f the (ireat Horst;-Sh(H' i*"all, markin^f the hurried w.iter t^atherini,^ strenj^lh as it approached the verjre, )et seeminj,', t(Jo, to pause bef(jre it shot into the i,nilf below; to ^iv/.r from the river's level up ;it the torrent as it came stnMmini; ilt)wn; to climb the nei<,dil)orinjr heij,dus and watch it throuL,di the trees, and see the wreathiniLj water in the rapids hurryini,^ on to take its fearful pluni,'e; to linifer in the shadow of the solemn rocks three miles below; walchini,^ the river ;is, stirred by no visible cause, it heaved and edtlied and awoke the echoes, beinj,' troubled yet, far down beneath the surface, by its t^iant leap; to have Niai,Mra before me liifhti'd by the sun and by tin; moon, red in the day's decline, and '^uy as eveninj^ slowly fell upon it; to look upon it every day. and wake up in the nij,'ht and hear its cease- less voice: this was enouiifh. I think in every c|uiet season now. still do those waters roll and leap, and roar and tumble, all day loni;; still are the rainbows spanniiii,' them, a hundred feet below. Still, when the sun is on them, do they shine and ijlow like molten (.jold. Still, when the day is jjloomy, do they fall like snow, or seem to crumble away like the front of a great chalk cliff, or roll down the rock like dense white; smoke. Hut always does the mighty stream appear to die as it comes down, ami - ^ - always from its unfathomable grave arises that tremenilous ghost of s[)ray and mist, which is never laid: which has haunted this place with the same dread solemnity since Darkness brooiled on the deep, and that first flood before tin: Deluge — I'ight — came rushing on Creation at the v*' ' word of (iod. HKTHOftPKCT. '!.'»i' i!.i !( I m It' I 75 , 1 \ f li li l-||i' IIH i' ., M Iiiuiw.li.it. I\ nil n. I. hill- th.lii.t.l I m..iint..l L- ili.' l.ilvidtTc, from which a full vi.w <>\ I...1I1 l.ill- ..m I..' S..1), ill.' .111.- iHl.i'i-in.i; t.. lli.' I'liit..! Slates and thi; Dtli.rl.i (.111. 1.1. 1. III.' .Ami. li.. Ill l.ill !■. ilii-- < luimln .1 .iiid tw.iUy yards wide in a ri-lit liii.'. uhil.' ill. I .in.i.li.in t.ill is six luimlr. .1 \.inls uidc Iml curved and s(....|,i.| ..III lik' .1 ll.irs.- shoe, iluoil-ll tll.se tu.i iliumilse open ^.ips in the r.Hk\ |.. i|.. iKJK iil.ir u.ill. pr. I i|>it.it.s its.lT the \\li..l.' 111. is-, .. I' w.it. r Inuii Lake l.rie ,1 III. IS-, iii.iiliiiiiatii,ill> .stiiiiat. .1 at iiiii.'t> inilli.)iis nf iiiliie v.irds per hour, or, il \..ii pr. Ill-, tw. lit) tw.. iiiilli.iiis of .|ii.uts ill .1 s.i.iiid. I li.' word Ni.i.i^ara is a , ..I'liipti.iii ..I .111 ln..|ii..is i.rm ( )^ii,ik.irr.i si^nilyiii;; ////nii/< )/)/<; u'jA;-. It Wnlilil II. dlllli nil I.I llinl ,1 III. Ill' .A. II I ilelllliti.ill III. tir-,1 iiiipn ssi..n Iniin sii. Ii .1 sp.dael.- is stupor, and. uiiahle to analyze liis feeliiij^s. nil.' 11. ..Is .1 Intl. tun. to es.iiiiiii.' tlu' .l.t.iils of this \,ist whole. When' is ill.- p. lint. I', ill.- writ. r. ili.' iiiiisi. i.ui. wlm i.m Id r.iid.r th.' ovirulnlmiii'' etlects.'' itAIl-'VAr iruPK.'inlcr. r.i.iu«i. I'll.' ii!.u\.ls (if ii.itiir.' aw.ikcii in us a < r.nvd of sinuiltaneoiis and complex scnsa- li.tiis, I'll.' pell iDiild li.udiv not.', one alter the other, lach of these impressions, .ill .il uhil h initial.' an.l h,iriiioni/e and exalt our admiration. In front of the speii.uor risi's ,1 m.iss of reddish rock, the color of wlii. h hrins^s out the hrilliant tints of the lii|ui.l m.iss. 'I'liis mass. Hni'iiisli at th.' top. is Niineil a litth' lower down with li.iiids of sil\ir. whi.h l.ise tli.iiiseKcs in the al)\ss in avalanches of SHOW) f.i.im. ( lo.il Isl.ind lies rii,dit li.tw.'.n the two fills, wliich seem every instant re.uK t.) I .irr\ it aw.iy in tli.ir impetuous torrents. .Xlthouj^di. t!; Miks to its solid f.iiindation, il resists their force, yet every now ami then j^reat houlders are ilela. lied and roll into the hottomless deeps of the river lielow. The island is crowned with trees wliii h overtop the thick clomls, which rist? trom th.- Ii.isdin .it the ahyss adorned with the hrilliant colors of the r.iinbow. whil.' from th.- iioUom nl lli.' lioilim; L^ulf iiiuunts in thunder lt)nes th*' soicc of the 7 i;il.ir.l( t rrlrlir.ltilli,' tllr !^l'irii'S nf ' il> ii« 1) I n .iliiiii. |5i liiu ilic r.ill. I I ihi' il.irk, (In |i ii\rr rnlU iilmij^ ' Ixtwrcn twii lu^h riK k\ w.ills, I'roin till' inicrstii IS of wliiili s|iriiij,'s a liiMiii.inl vi'u;it;iliim. Hut tln' ri\rr has ollii r siirjirisrs in nsirxi' Inr ^m! IIS. Ilial hroail. lil.u k liiir, rim niiiL,'' aiTiiss hctwcrn yon and tlw lilur sky. is the siis|i(n(li(| hriilH^c uliicli joins ilir two hanks of tin- .\iaL;ara KisciMlir j^ii^anlic nsnll of .Xrni'rican j^rniiis, rivallini^f tlif L;raiulrnrs ot" Naluri' in ilii' l.u r of oni' ' of its most su;|irn(loiis m.mifcstations. I liis Krid^i- is lomposrd of two iikiilniMis, twriit) lonr flit apart; (• louir oni' for i.irri.iL^i's .md foot iMssmj^irs, and llir oiir fur till' r.iilu'.iy trains, srvcral lims of road con o, and ( rossiiii^r at this |>oint of the rixir. In crossinj^ this ai'ri.d \v.i\', which s\viniL;s aliovc the roarinj,' floods of N'ia^'ar.i. at a hriL^ht j^rcatcr than that to which tin- cross on the I'-mthion rises aliovc the strnts which snrroimd it, I siTinrd to he lloatins^' in s|).ic(', and this di//y sensation must lie n^rcatly increased when a tr.iin of r.iil c.ir- riajres passes over the u|)|)er pl.itform .it full speed. I confess tliat after reachin^f the middle of the l)rid,i,fe, which is one hundred and twcnt)' fisc yards from eith«T hank, I hastened to retrace my steps, and planteil my feet with pleasure upon the top of the rocks horderini,^ the river. The next day — for it reijuires more than oni' day to tliorouj^hl)' stuily the falls — a little ferry-boat carried me to the hii,diest point on the American side which overlooks the falls, l-'or a small remuneration a car |)ropelled l>y machinery spares you the fati.i,'iie of the ascent, and comfortably seated, transports you above the cataract, which here is seen in profile, while under your very feet the rushinjLf llood covers the tops of tlu; rocks w ith lo.im, and leaps shivcrinij into the: abyss. A little above the falls, a bridi,^!! juis been thrown across, which i,dves access to ("loat Island. This passat^^e would be frii,ditful, wen; it not for the little rocky islets which ar(! posted like sentinels aloni,'' the borders of the precipice. The scenery speculators l^ave covered the island with j,nMcefully windinj^'' paths, from which there arc beautiful views at every step of the rapiils in the river above the falls. The banks of this impetuous torrent, and some litth; islanils a<,Minst which it incessantly rages, bear witness to the strni^j^h; between the elements, and both are scatteretl over with uprooted treis. The hull of a vessel stranded on the rocks, adds to the effect of this picturi; of destruction. The aL,dtated waves all seem to hurr)- on their !l i ' iv t, 'J TO I .,(♦ Ill this sill, in.irinc l^.ilh r\ tlx \isiioi is ;ilu;i\s exposed to iliese cniinliliiiJLfs of the rii.k. uhidi li.i\e sevei.il times (h.ini^'il ill'" aiipe.ir.iiuc of the l-'alls of Niaj,Mra. \.\in reieiiiK. ( (inside ralile masses liave fallen from both hanks. Tin; river, in fact, is e<)nst,mtt\ we.irinL^ ;i\v.i\ die surfice ol th<' roik over which it runs, and the liillows of the e.it.irai t ,ire i (msMiiily L^ii.iuiiiL; at its li.ise. (leolc.yisis assure us til, It ilie fills reireal coniiniialU , and apjiroach nearer and iie.irer ti> i..ike I rie. 1 hey .isseii that the rocky line w.'is formerly near Lcwiston, in si^^lit of L.ike ()iit.ui<), I'erh.ips the dike which now separates the t^- ' ' ., (ontiniialK (liminishini^ in thickness, will eventually disappear, and the It w 1 o| tin; two l.iki s. niiw SI) dittirent. hi' the same. Resides the ( riiiiihliii^ of the rmks, the visitor runs otlnr risks of dani,'er, tin iuimerniis |e;^ends ci iniernin,!^^ w l;i( li milv tno clearl)' |)ro\( the nalit). i.tiwecn the piiints of hl,i( k riK k wliii h project ahi)\e the sheet of i;reen water on the very hrink of the t.ill, .i poor fishifin.in, uliose ho,it had heen drawn into the current, liuni,' suspended for ,1 d,i\ .iiid ,1 nij^lil ai;oni/.ini,' over tl'e ahjss, heyond th(! reach of all human lulp. Ih mi^lit have died of him^;er and coUl in sij^du of hoth hanks if ,1 furious w.i\e h.iil not i.iised him up .it last i'.iul hrouqlit him an e.isier auA speedier de,nh. Mere. W here tile fill of I'ahle kock ll.ls left such .1 '^H\) ill the roi k\ \\,ill, .1 yoimt,^ ,!.^irl formerl) Ii .iiied oxer to j^Mtlier a llower which <^rrw in a se.im of the ro( k. \\lii n m.iidi n .md llower rolled ioL;ether to the holtom of the i^ulf There, ,1 \ouniL; i oiiple, m.irried onl) the clay hefon-, were standiiiLj toj^'ether with no thoiii^hi of daiii^er. The \oimL,f wife, her hand claspint.j that of her husband, attempted to stand upon .i point ot nu k lovered with damp moss, — her foot slijiped .md he w.is dra^i^ed down to de.iih with herself to whom she had just consecrated her life. .\nd lor in ixoiis, seiisitixc i-rL^ani/alions, the l,iscinations of the ahyss ar<; to he leared, whu h .ire no less re.il th,in those which the serpent throws around his viclim. ( )ne d m\ i^uides rekiic d tin lollowiiii^ incident, in which he h.ad heen hoth witness and actor. He had conducted a I.kIn and her dau!.,duer, a charmin},^ ^irl, to one of the accessihie points of rock the firlhesl within the snioke of l/ic walcrs, when i\w. romantic younj^ jrirl, standin^f erect on the \cry hrink of th(; |)recii)ice, with her hair .md jLjariiK nts tlo.itiiit.; in t'.ie wind, seemed so completely ahsorhed in tin; C(>iUeni- |il,itioM o! tile wild scene lienciih their feet, that the (.[iiiile, alarmed, seized her arm aaid told her she was iinnecess,u"ily e.\|iosin!.,f herself to y;^rv:\\. dani^er. "Oh!" she replied smilinsj;-. "there is no daiiLj. r, even if I wen- to throw myself over there. Do you think I could hurt myself on hose impalpable i loiids of dew.'* ! should (kvit in ilum like a balloon. Mother, I want to try to lly!" The terrified mother and the ^\\h\v hastened to dr.iw her hack, thc)u,!.,di not without difficulty, and the yoiinjr visionar\ was no sooner awakined from her terrible ihdirium, than she sank fainting on the jjjruund. — Tour dn .\iindi\ I i: TIIK ( HTHHJICT. *()kMI\(i lilt (.'.ii.ir.ui 111 \i.io;,,-,i .Iff tlirci- stp.iiMli' I'.ills, pro- (liiicd li\ tile inn TMiuiiiii 1)1 isl.iiiils dividing tlic ri\tr in its tlist ciKliiii^ coiiiM , ,in ions per hour. Km this estimate of the velocit) of the tide is re^jarded as too lii.^h. a point iiowever which can scarcely he decided Upon from thi- fierc<;ness and force of the fallint,^ torrent. Tht; follovvinv,' tahli- of calcul.itioiis respectini,^ the amount of w.iier llowiiii^r down the Xi.iijjara river, is taken from the l ieoloj^ric.il Surve) of the State ol .\<'W York. \\\ Dr. Dvvij^ht, it is estimated at Hy Mr. I ).irh> ;, l,4(>j,74J cuhic feet per minute 27,878,41x1 Hv Mr. I'ick ens, I ^i.C M> Mr. B.un It, I(),5l)0,y them measuri'iiL,'^ nearly half a mil- lion of s(|uare miles. The spray .irisin,i4 from this immense mass of f.illinj^f water is alwa\s ascendini,', ^^1 ami visihle in movinj^ (dhimns, it.v- ( (pt when scattereil ]>y the winds. It assumes a pyramiilal form, and p.isses of( into tloiids thai hoxcr o\ cr the point from which it ascends, .ind is seen at threat ilistance. The i,Mandesl view of ever) sh.ide of (olor iiuluded in the niinhow, ui.i\ lie seen \i) the luuniinL^s sun .ilioM' the I'alls. i'rom the lu .id <•( ilie rapids, as near the I'alls as pos sihie, i^ii^.mtic ( louds ol mi^ts ar<; seen .uisillL; at the ed^i ol lliei.ll.i i.Kl. Ill p.ixNin- slowl) ovir, with ilie sun se\i r.il hours liij^h .it your li.i'k. <••, er_\ i-oiui ival'le liu. of the idlors ol the ramix u i.iii l)t; rx- imiiied ill turn, at leisure, .i si-lu whiih would da/zle an artist with a spc-ciunm if n.iture's paiiuini; hard to iniit.iie. THK ^OJll\ OF TlIK FfILL». 'IVii yens Liter, in iSjS, Sliiart si.iii's positively: "W'l; clisriiictly lii.ird ilie sound of tlu! cataract, about ten miles Iroin the I'iills; l)ut '":. is olleii lie.inl at a l.ir ^(rL'ater ilisiaiuc in favorable stall s of ilie wind ami alin()S|tliere." Charles Dickens, tin- j^ncit I'Jij^dish no\ilist. in . Iii/iiii,iii Xolcs, '^'ws liis exjMTiince as follows. "1 am inclined to think that the noise of the I'alls is very much e.\av;i,ferat<'d; and this will appear the more probable when the depth ol the j^freat basin in which the water is receivt d is taken into account. At no lime durinij tl our stay there was the wine lh( at all lii'Mi or l)oistero»is, but we nexcr h\ simirs. ami all imnasoiialilr iwn] ;iuk\v;iril inslriiiiii 111 < ui i< aliatli'ii ii> Inii;^ Inn-, ami lovviiid tinin tin- rail\va\ siis|)ciisi(m liriil;^!. Iiiit |in,iii\i|\ II liisi (I tip sink. rill' iiasiiii lur this is ii|p\i()iis. Ilnvrry l.iilk III tin iiistniimnts was siitliui lit, im inalt^ r what tlnir uii;;lit, U> i^ixc tin- |)i.\\( iliii iimii n urn lit tin- im aiis tu hun) tin in npnn or m ai- tlir siirlaic. ( )iir |iait\. h'lui \i 1. with a small sinimliiiL^ UaA i>t' Iwi l\c |)iMimls wiii.;lit, atlarhcd In .1 sli mill- I iml, . asil\ nlitaimil tin ili jillis In iin ilir lalls tu tlir fiiilw.i)- sns|)fnsi(in liiiil:;!-. ( )ni ila\ ur laiin. In il a small Imat at tin im limil riiilu.i), and cnlcrcd on a most I M iiiii- ami |ri liiuu- r\|i|oraiioii ol this part ot' lln- canvoii. 'I'hc old ,i,Miidc, lon;,r in ( liar-r i>l tin miniature Icrry siuiati d inn-, ai i funpanii-d tin- p.irt). With ;;n at ilitlii ult\ wi a|i|iroai In d w itliin a short distaiidol ilir American I'alls, wliiili dartiil u;riat jit. ot water ti|ion iis ami lar out into the stream. I he roar w.is so lerrilile 'li.ii m> \oi(e or human sound, !iowe\er mar we were to one aiioiln r. . diild lie he. ml. I In- le.idsiii.in i asi the lint:, wliii h passed rapidi) down, aint told ol eii^liis ihne li i i. This w.is quile near liie shore. I'assiiiL; oiil ol the IrieiidU I ilil\ wliiili h.id .issisied us so ne.ir the I'alls we shot riipidl)' down the stn .im, riie m At i .ist ol tin h ,id read one hundred ti-et. deepeiiinir to one hinnlreil nnl iiiintv three leei ,ii the iiulim-d r,iilwa\. The average depth to the Swill |)iili, where tin river suddenly hecomes n.irrow, with a velocity too i^reat to lie im ,isured, w.is one liumlndaiid liltv three jeei. Just umler the railwa\' lirid}.;!: the whirlpool r.ipids si t in, and so \iolentl) are the waters aj^italed that thev rise like oicin liillows to tin In iLjhl ot iwcni) leei. .\i this point 1 computed tlie depth at two hiindreil .iml ten leei, wliii h was acrepied as appro.xiinately rorn'ct. The jMoloH^ical lormation ol .\iai,Mra's iaii)()n is too well undirstood to iiear (omiinnt. Some ot the lopoi^rraphical appearames. howcvi'r, may he mentionccl. Die ,in\oiis w.ills r.in;,^!- Iroiii two hundnd .iinl se\eiit\ to three hundred .ind si.\t\' leet in In i;,iit .ilio\ e ilii w iter lr \ el. ( )| I oiirsi . they an hiL,diesl .it their termina- tion .It l.ewisiou, where, on the opposin side, till' li.ise ol Uroc'k s .Monument is three hundred aiiil si\i\ Ine leet alxui w.'iter in tiie canyon. The walls are continually truniMini; owini; to the .n tion ot the attnos|)hen'. trost and mini.itiire sprinL;s. lln i/,/'n.\ is driv.n out into Lake ( )ntario. lorminiL,'' what an known as tin hri( ki)at Shoals, silu.ili d time ,. I ,i h.ilt" miles Irom the rivers mouth. Tlie rivi'r within the walls, more espei iailv when the can\(:n is narrow, is siiiiject to rise and I, ill .11 short inti rv.iK, it' the wind is In.iv v on I,, ike i.rie. M [ AMIMICAK rAM.a rPOM H'^Al ITiI.AKD. ♦*5 u^ / \l: UN KNr.hlJSIl IJ\( hF/H ftTOHV. HO Mirj^cs, shakiiij4 llu' lij^lil l)ritli(c. iiiul ((m rini; us wiili s|ir.i), ( )ii (io.Hn i->l.iii(l we made oiir way ainon;,' old and vincralilc trees, (atcliiin,' at intervals j.jlim|ises of ilic white foam, fecliii).,' the ^Toimd trcinhlc heneatli our feet, and hiMriiii,' at ,i\\ times tiie roar of the rapids, and the dec|) solemn \oiceof ihe lataract. I realK saw Imi little of the I'alls that nij,dil, hut up hetimes next morning I saw them, and sli,!'! ne\er forj.,'et the sij,dit. The sun was shining,' hri^ditly, the sky IntenseK hhie. the emerald waters ^dided over till' precipic e in one immense sheet, a vast column of white spra) ri>se from the rivrr .IS [\u- waters ( 1 no terror in the feel fell, .uid j^littered in the lij^ht like a veil of silver. Thedeip, dark river, narrowed and compressed he tween almost per- pendit ular hanks, went on its wa)'. These hanks ws enlwinecl thc-ir hranches in the most fantastic- shapes. We j,'azeil upon the wonderful scene with an inde- scrihahlc- sense of awe — ntiver hefore had I felt so true; u sense of (iod's pres- ence — but there was III'IPAI. BTAIWCAK 'iM Pll. CAHADA tIDK. in^' —the voice; of the miL;ht)- w.iter spoke the lanj,Mia;,n' of pe,i('e. ( )f course we "saw ' the halls in the- rc'ujul.u" wa)'. and the" cmwninL.^ at- traction of all this is the- i^real fe.ll called "LIoinL; hehinci the sheet," ancNpedition not attended with any danger in real- ity, hut so fearful in the appnhi-nsion and exec ution as to he a subject of much conversation both ix'fore .md after. 1 le was a hold man who first entered that blindim^r mist, and penetrated throuj^h the darkness and mystery to the platform he-hind the fallini;; water, called "TcTmination Kock; and as you stand .ihove. lookin^^ clown on the; hurly-burly, you feel that thoujfh the thinj,' is done daily, it re<|uires the; exercise of a faith and c-oura},M' which many otherwise brave men may not |)ossess. The prepara- tions are not of a nature to raise; ()n(;'s spirits. When a party is ,irran<,'ecl. the ladies and i^fentlenn-n retire to dressint^'-rooms, where- they divest themselves o| their ap- parel, and are- clothed in cold clammy oilskin dresses, vvilh capuchin hoods, and he-avy boots or shoes. 'Ihe) look like ,i part)' of Cirmeliies in i^freen .uid \(llow robes, and .ire watched with ;;real intiresi by those- who an- too timid or loo wise; ♦••, 1^ I ! I( I '"f- • : AOi: L SDLl' 1 HI. I / l(> Join lliiin. as they drsdnil tlu' < lilt li\ ,i ilcvirly Kinstnutrd stainasc. ami siramlilin^' aiiinnj^f lonsf stones (lisa|i|M .ir in ilir spray. 'I'hr j^Miidi' ^'» s ii) Irniii, lioldin.^- tin tnsi pi isun li\ tin li.md, and tin- rrst loHow in sinj^di- Idi', linktil loc.nli nilnr. ||ir s((n< miisi lie olisir\rd to lir imdnstood. Yon hrst cnionnliT .i tiniin sioiin ol' s|)r.is. a sort ol whirlwind tTcatfdli\ tin- n'l)oiindini^' ol tlw laijini^ watir, .uid llic i srapini^ ot tin intprisomd .lir, wliitli takis away yoin' liriMili, and \at k to render assistancf. After passing; a < onsideralile dist.MKe in this manner. )oii will arri\< at a clear s pa i <•, where yon can l)reallic rreely.ami look ai,Minst the fallini; water; and )(iu will Inid yonr self under a kind of ( lotliie an h, fornii'd l>y the eiirvinj.,^ outward of the eatarat t, anil the retrialinj.; tlilf over whi( h it is pret ipiiated. This open spate t (in I i n n e s lo r m a n y y a r d s further. A ( ur iolls 'M'een sort ol Irom the overh.ni;^inj4 tli 1 lij,dit en.d)les )ou ' to distinj^uish the ' ]L;i<>tes<|ue forms of your compan I ions, and the stran^-e t ,i\ern in whit h )tiu are en iltisetl. ant! Irom r! '1 whit h there are nti I \isil)|e means of cj^ress. .\t aliont thirty let t Ill-lore )tiu is the o\fr- w helmii\^ torrent, in I t)lorof the pur est emeralil, anti liene.llh \tiur feel iheliliikell inas;,es I . whit h have lallen The sound of the water is mut h less than mii^dit lie antitipated, and is not suIVk lent to prevent t Duversation ; l)ut there is ,1 soli inn earnestness in the ro.ir of the 1 rashim^ element around you, whiih coiuivs to the miiitl the idea of its irresistihie power perh.ips more fonilily than in any other position. There is also a painful sense of inset urily, Irom the exceedin^l) solt anil destriKtihIe nature of the i lilf at,Minst whidi \t)ii stand, sheltered liy the pro jectinj,' masses of rot k .1 hundred feet almve, .Xficr remainins^' a few minutes, earh visitor setures a small piei c of the cliff as a memento of the success of his ailventure; and the <,uiitle, passing' in front of the party, leatls you out throut,di the lilimlim; mist and spra) , ^latl to reiiirn to the outer woiid oiiif more. ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 11.25 1^128 |25 itt 1^ |22 ui lii U2. 12.0 us ■il — 6" I; I U 11.6 Photographic Sciences Corpyralion 23 WEST MAIN STMH WfBSTH.N.Y. 14SM (716) 172-4503 ) fe %" f T''i f ' "" 1 J- 1 Hi A certificate, sij^nctl by thr ^iiidc, is rriven to cacli of tli(> party, wlio an- lirncc- forth considered entitled to ,L,n-eat consideration so Ioiil,-- as tiu-y remain in the vicinity. rilK WIllKl.l'onl . The scene which, next to the cataract itself, possesses the cfreatest interest and beauty, is the whirlpool, about thnu; miles below. The river, which above the I'alls is upwards of a mile in witlth, is hen- compressed into a sftace of 500 fc:et, and runs with ama/.ini,'- velocil)- throuLjh a ravine bounded l)y cliffs more than _;oo feet in heii;ht. In this part of its course it makes nearly a rii^dit ani^le, and has worn away in the solid rock an enormous circular chasm sever.il hundred yards in diameter. The rapids, instead of dashiuL; over successive ridi^cs, seem to be occasioned by the opposint,'' currents, and the sudden compression of so prodiq;ious a (juanjL'ffy of water which is forced in the centn: of the stream to an elevation of 10 feet above the sides. As the river escapes into the chasm above mentioned, it forms the whirlpool, and, after endless circles, passes off throu,ijh another ravine to the Lake Ontario. To reach the bank of the stream, we had to descend perpendicularly by a rude staircase cut on the face of the cliff, sometimes swint^inq; from one tret; to anoUier, and some- times literally crawling on our hands and knees. At tlu; bottom we found ourselves in the midst of confused masses of limestone, and were almost deafened by the noise of the turbulent stream, which threw up its rich green waves, leaping and dancing and falling back u[)on each other, while the foam rose many feet above our heads. The rocks are of most fantastic shapes, and we crept along among them for al)out half an hour, in search of one called, from an Indian legend, the Manitou, which is of immense size, while the scene from its summit is most extraordinary. The finest view of the whirl[)Ool itself is obtained from the Canadian shore, where you can overlook the immense amphitheatre from the top of the cliff. In the centre of the waters was a vast log, which had been carried round and round in tlie vortex for many days, but was doomed finally to be engulfed. A tale is told of an Indian woman, whose; lover had been drowned here in an attempt to escape from a hostile chief. She determined not to survive; him; and, launching her canoe on the river, was carried down into the pool, where;, for several days, she was seen whirled round in the magic circle, still singing her death-song, till at length the frail bark was drawn into the gulf below. ** sn.I'lUR SPRINGS. There are some fine sulphur s|jrings near this point on the American sidi", which form most pleasant anil health-giving badis, and are much frequented. \ear them is a platform called tin; Devil's Rock, worn by water, ami most probably the; site; e)f some ancient cataract, if ne)t the great balls themselves, which manj' su|)pose have; retreated in the; course of ages from this place to their pre-seMit pe)sitie)n. Great changes have e-videnUy taken place; the cataract is not what it was, as first se'e-n by the French discoverers, and I'adier Hennepin's de'scription can scarcely be re'ce)nciled with its prcse-nt appearance. — U'o/idrrs of the M'orld. ex !> ■if .A \ HLI^XING OF THK CpROliINE. Rn Iti;:ldpm i;f ttiR Patriot War In 1837, oNl'" A 1,1. tli<' places in the wnrKl lor a naval (■n.[,raj:,rcincnt t.ht; head of the Upper ^ Kapiils of ihc .\iaJ,^'lra River would seem to be the last one chosen. The neeessities of war, however, l)roii,i,dit about a miniature battle in the immediate vicinit)- of the raj^nuLT walirs. Mr. 11. T. Allen in his j,ruide to Niagara Falls gives an excellent version v( the affair, well worthy of preservation as a reliable page of modern historj'. "In iS;,7, a rebellion was stirred up against the authorities of Canada, by some disaffected • Radicals,' under the leadership of \Vm. Lyon McKenzie and some others; but, llcr Majesty's subjects not caring to side with the 'Rebels' in any gn at number, the movement was speedily put down. Hut not so the leaders. Ihey -/. I. McKenzie, (ien. Sutherland, and five and six and twenty others-— at the suggestion of Dr. Chapin, of Buffalo, unfurled du! standard of rebellion over Navy Island, designing to makt; it a rc/ic/cz-ro/ts for the restless patriots of both sides of the river, until sufficient strength should be gained to renew the attack. Matters were going on pleasantly — die ' Patriots' being daily edified by accessions to their strength, though greatly demoralized by a barrel of whiskey that found its way to their panting hearts — when the difficulty of transporting volunteers and supplies to their place of destination, and tin; number of persons, from motives of business or curiosit)', constantl)' desirous of passing and repassing from the main-land to th(; patrii)t camp, suggested to Mr. Wells, the owner of a small steamboat lying at Muffalo, called the Caroline, the idea of taking out the necessary papers, and run- ning his vessel as a fi'rry boat between the American shore and the island, for his own pi'cuniary emohiment. Accordingly, Friday, December 29, the Caroline left Muffalo for .Schlosser; and after having arrived, having made several trips during the day, on account of the owner, was moored to the wharf at Schlosser Landing during the night. " Colonel Allan McNab, then commanding at Chippewa a detachment of Her Majestj's forces, having got word of the enterpri.se of the Caroline, resolved upon a deed which relieves the farcical story of the rebellion by a dash of genuine daring. It is asserted that Sir Allan was niformcd that the Caroline was in the interests of the Patriots, chartered for their use, and intended to act offensively against the Canadian authorities. Whether this be true or not, he planned her destruction that very night. P'or this purpose a chosen band was detailed and placed under the command of Captain Drew, a retired-on-half-pay ofificer, of the royal navy. "At midnight, the captain received his parting orders from Sir Allan, and the chivalrous band departed in eight boats for the scene of their gallant daring. 9'J " Tlu: unconscious Caroline, meanwhile lay peaceruliy at iier niooiinys, heiiealh the stars anil stripes of lier country's banner. As the tavern at Sehlosser — the only building near by — could accommodate but a limited number of persons, several had sought a night's lodging within the sides of the boat. Dreaming of mi danger, they had retired to rest unprovided with arms. Thus was tin; night wearing on, when so stealthily came the hostile band that the faint splash of muffled ^ oars was the: first intimation that the sentrj- had of their approach. In 'h'j.^ reply to his |)lc liiul this a placi' of woiulfrful iinrrcsl, of iinpar- alli l((l atiractiiiii: \(t sonic ol llicir most vivid iniprcssions ami ri'mcMnbraiices of ilir spot arc cmiiicinl)- iinsalisfaclory ami ilisaL^rccahlc. 'I'lic sccniTy here has ,^\^ alisolulcK cxiiausllcss vitality. Its hcaiit) j;ro\vs ii[)Oii ever)- observer who remains lonuf enough to reroL,nii/e the truth that the spc.'ctacle upon which he uazes is n<\(r i\vi((' the s.inie. The Ioniser one stmlics the view at some points the more iinwillinL^ he is to turn a\va\'. it is like leaving a j)la) of entrancing interest which has not \ci ended. .\ml here the play never entls. 'i"his is the sji'reat characteristic ot Nia^.u-a, —its '•inlniitc variel) ." There are several |)laces in the rapids, and cspe( i.ill\ about the head of (ioat Island, at each of which th(! changini,^ show of tlie forms and motions of the water, — llinging, tossing ilying, e.xploding, thrown high into the air in great revolving bands and zones of crystal drops, shooting aloft in shridcr, vertical jets of feathery spra\-, swinging in wide-based, massive waves like tiiose of the ocean, or gathered into billows which forexcr break and fall in I ur\ ing ( ascades, and \(t seem not to fall because they are every moment renewed, — arc; worth a journc) across the contincMit to see, lot r Ki'AKAri: w.\ri;KiAi,i.s. Then' is .i great variet\- of beauty and interest even in tlie I'alls themselves. As Luna island divides the American I'all, making a beautiful separate cascade of the narrow stream which runs next to Cioat Island, so the small island called Ti'rrapin Rocks (on which Terrajjin Tower formerlj- stood) cuts off a broader por- tion ol the stream on the Canaiiian side of (lOat Island, and makes a separate cataract there. Thus, when the spectator is on tht; lower end of Goat Island, there is on (alii sid(.' of him, fu'st, a narrow strait or portion of the river, just large t^nousdi to form a tmc fall b\- itself, then a small island, and further on a ereat cataract, — the .Xmerican hall on one side and the Horse-Shoe Fall on the other. These divisions of the striam, with four sei)arate waterfalls', different in volume ami cnvironmeni, ami so each possessing a marked individuality of character, yet so relati'd to each other that they may be regarded as forming two great falls, and also as constituting, when all laken together the one gri'at cataract of Niagara, — render the scene far more beautiful and inlerestinsr than one t'Teat fall of the umlivided river coukl possibly be; while the fact that the height of the fall is everywhere very nearly the same maintains the impression of a complete and all- encompassing unity in the central spectacle of the place m 06 ■ lb : Hi 'I'Ik If is -n ,ii \,iri< i\, ,i-,iiii, in tin lines ,>[ \\\r < iir\cs made l)y llir (l<'s((n(lin,t,f w.iirr ,is it Jr.iMs tlir lifiDk i <\ tlu t.ill, .Is ,n) .iitist woulcl .it iMKc oliscrvc. .iiul soiiur ot ill! -,.■ ( ur\. s ,u-r Udnilrrl'iilK ni.iji sti( .mil liciiitiliil. 'I'licrr .ut aisi) muny clilfcrcnt ( ui\i s ami irn -iii.ir \ , ni.it ii ms in the lim nl tln' tup (v,f stn-.nn is luoken, ami Irom \\hirh it is thrown lor the rest of llu' way clown into new lines of movement ami m w torins ol lie.mty, thus .iddin.n anodicr clciiiciU of variety to the lai !■ of the (at.ir.ii 1. In soire places the stream jionrs with a stead)- roar into in others it dashes witli what m'reater, and in the central |)ortions of the; (Ireat or llorse-Shoe I'all sonndless - impaired. WHY SOMI-: I'KKsoNs AKi; iii>.\ri' iiinl ( h.iiMiii 'ristii s of iiirmilcly \,n ii il '.•imikIi 111- .111(1 111 ,1111 \ . ,il 1.1'. t ii|iiii-, ( iiminiiiiicitiiiii I'i'lwrcii ilsclf ami what is liiL;li tr\- to sec, to Ix'COiiK! urjl ,i( (|u.iinti (I Willi till' r.inii anil a|i|iiaramr (ilCuh parliciilar scciiu iiiul part 111 llir lamlsia|)r, ( s) .i ( iall)' almiL; iln' rapiils ami river shores, and about the falls as sr.n Inmi ,iliu\( ; .iml llnii. willinul any straiiiin.L;- after lii,L;h feelim^' or raptures of ,iii\ kiiiil, line is lik(l\, Ii\ ami li\. to have a sense that the \isit to \'ia!:,'ar;i has Ik 111 a (111 |i ,111(1 \il,il e\|iiricmi', ami th,il the pi. ice has lieeonie a real resource and possrssion til the soul lori\ir. ll is eas)' to write too iiiucli ami to(j particularly ol all this; Inr sik li expcricnees and feeliiiLjs, like all the hij^lu'r moods and activities of the soul, h,iv( soinetliim,^ shy .uul elusive; about them, and it is not often best to tr\ to d(s( rilic iheiii. And Xiaj^'ara itself, in its soveroi,t,ni diuTiiity and perfection, sli. lines and sileiK is all effort at description or eulo^\'. It is to be seen, felt — not talked about. .Niid as the weeks and months pass while I tlwell here, by the very shrine of this awhil beaiil)-, this \'eiled and shrouded ^ramleur, I become more and more unwilliuL,'^ to write about it, and can well believe that if one remained here lonju^, all attempts .it expression rcL^artliiiL,' it would ajipear inappropriate and futile, and that sileiui: would seem the only true tribute, i'erhaps a i^M'eat artist mi;L,dit feel an imap|)<'asable loni^iiiL;" to express his feelings upon canvas, — if, indeed, the scene is not loo i^reat to be iiaiiUed. Misisi;i) (ii'i'oi i>r two throw aw.iy lh<' |,,i-M, r p.irt 111 ihrii- tinir. ^n hiniliil .iml pn i imi-^, iiinl hi-^r llif nal Dpportimitics «)f \\\r \\-.\i .ihiii>-l uhnlly. rh> \ -ii t'l till' wroii- |il..crs, and An \\u- wronjr lhin,iL,fs, ami Ml uastr iml miK lln ir limi Iml tin ir nnmiy. It' niH' < an lir iuTi! bill six or ri-hi Ihhiis, \\r -.luMilil nut think nl iisini; a hack or ran-iau;c. lie should walk. And an\ unman wlm 1 ,mi walk two niilrs at lionir i an sic \iau;.ira, can sec all tlicrc i-, cssenii.il iir inipiiitani In ir, wiihnnl tinulilin'^ a hai k driver or lirin:^- troubled '>y hini. \\ wuinii) umild ImiI luin;^ with tin ni ,1 pair ol i nnilortabli' shoes, alread)- soniewhat worn, and iml on (lnlhiiiL^ lli.il is re.isonalil) lii^ht and loose, lor the i\A\ . tlii\ iimld I ,i'.il\ w.ilk wherexcr it is necessary for short time vi-.iiors to go,, n;i isrM 1 r\i;K. I he |)ro|i(r |)l,l( e to be lirst visited li\ all iiUelliu;eiU persons is the |ioint at the lop ot the .Xnu.'ric.m I'.ill, on the .American or \il- laL;e side of the river. This place is inc liuled in 'I'rospect I'.uk,' and twenty li\e ( ents is i haryvil for admission at the j^atc. it is iiuuh to be re- 14 retted that there is now no I I. - 1.:) Ft;Hl; iMAN an inhabitant of onr country can sei'. Niagara I*"alls without the pay- ment of a fee. Hut it is a fact, anil visiturs, must, of course, accept e.xisting conditions and j;* conform to them. ^'' The evil is not one for which any individual persons are to be blamed. It is inseparable from the personal ownership of the valuable land ad- j a c e n t to the point from which river at this |)oint. The lanil here should have remained permanently the property «)f the State or of the National Government; and if the State should reacquire the title to all the land which is essential to the scenery of Xiayara, it would be a most wise and bt'iiitki'iit measure, and would, no doubt, tend in an appreciable degree to national advancement in civilization. The view of the American Fall from this point, of the river below, and of Goat Island and part of the Horse-Shoe Fall beyond it, is naturally the first in an ascending series which includes all that is indi.s- l)ensable or even very important to the visitor. There are comfortable seats in the park, the place is pleasant enough in the daytime, and the view all that can be in clcsircil from ono place. iJnt ii is iii-,i Iktc tliat fodlish waste of time and innncy an tlu- part of llic sliorltiiiic visitor iisiiall) hrs^ins. I'lirrf is a railway ilown an indincil plane llirf)ii,L;li the hank to thi' ri\ir lielow; tliere are ^niiiles, ami ilressinj^r rooms, and water-|)roor suits, and all sorts of appropriate arraiiL^-enienls down there for ereepini^- around, as a moist, iinple.isant body, in a hlindini,^ storm of sjjray ahont the foot of the fall, and in •Hie Shadow of the. Kock," where thire is nothing of interest to he seen, and where, if there were imlellaMe wonders, nohody could see them. Here at .\ia,L,^ara, where the feis are hea\ iest, the "siMhls" have least interest and value. (loAT I SI. A SI). !''veryhody appears to he specially interested in liavint,' yon visit these |)lac(!s, where it is all feelini^f and no seeini^; hm ilic intellio(MU short-time visitor will say TERi no, in a way to be understood, and, leavinyf the Park by the gate nearest the river, will walk a few rods up the stream (by the very (idge of tlu; American Rapids) to Goat Island Bridge. Here the fee is fifty cents. (If you are to remain for some days, pay one dollar here and seventy-fivf; cents at Prospect Park, and come and go at your pleasure without further charge,) At the island end of the bridge take the steps up the bank to the right. A b(>autifiilly shaded walk through the forest brings you to Luna Island, at the top and very edge of the American Fall on that side. When ready to proceed keep to the right from the top of tht; stairway, by a pleasant path along the edge of the island, pausing at various points for characteristic views, but not pausing for the descent to the "Cave of the Winds," where there are more dressing-rooms, more rubber suits, more guides, more soaking, dashing mists, etc., 101 iJii [i: 'h- n(niirin.i,^ time and money in proportion. Tlu; walk to the Great Fall requires but a few moments. Look at it first from tlic head of the stairway, then from Terrapin Rut;ks (whi're 'I'lrrapin 'lower formerl)- stooil). ■lilt: KAi'ihs. ■S'oii nnist nnt think ynu have seen Nia.L^-ara because you have seen the Falls. The Rapids at the head of (ioat Island, and the varied and wonderful scenery of tlie "'Ihrei! Sisters" at tliat point— all litis is indispensable. You have not seen Niatjara if yon have, omitted this region. It is but a few minutes' walk again, still keeping to the riglit along the idge of the; islantl after you leave the Great Fall. Leaving tlie "Three Sisters," go directly across the carriage ro.id, up the steps and past the excursion or picnic building in the woods, passing to the right of it. A broad ]iath through fhe woods leads to the end of the bridge by which you crossed to Cioat Isl.md. Having paid your half-dollar to go to the island, every point and prospect upon it and around it is free to you. There are no further fees. And now. if one has followed the course here indicated, spending, of course, as much time as he can afford at the different points of interest, and especii'.l; m tin; solituiles of tin; islands, lu; may rightly feel he has seen Niagara, or that 'le has been at the right places for seeing what is essential to the charm and wonder of the place, so far as it is |)ossible to sec and feel it in so short a time. There have been but two fees, amounting to 75 cts. If the visitor must leave now, he need not think with much regret of what he has not seen. If he can stay longer, the next thing is to cross the new suspension bridge into Canada. The fee on the bridge is 25 cts. each way. The \iew of the Falls from the Canada side is free. — jV. }^. Evcuing Post. 1012 2 i 8 2 it io;i Jl hJJST LOOK J. S. hUCKINUHAM. h ':''H\ G\ 'I'lll'; tullowiiiL,^ innrniiiL: we went to takr ;i last look of llu; Falls before (|iiilliii;,f ihciii |j(rha|)s fon'\(;r, and \\v. all ai,n-cfcl that oim" sensations at the ^y last \ icw were as |)(jwerfiil as at tlie lirst. l'"or my own part, 1 do not think it J\ would \>r |)ossil)le for any ninnher of repetitions in the view to take away, or ( (Mn aliaic, the first impression [jroduced hy the richness, splendor, magnifi- eence, and suhlimiix of tiiis _L,n-eat and jjlorioiis object of nature. To the many who visit this s|)ot wiiiiout a taste for the <;rand or b(;aiitifiil — and to the extent of their numbers the rej^ister at the 'ral)I(; Kock produces painful evidence — I can under- staiui its becoming;- tiresome; I)ut to those whose feelin<,'s harmonize with the sul)lime objects that are here combined and presented to the wonderintr view, I can- not compreiiciul jiow they should be otherwise than enchanted from first to last, and impressed with all the sensations of pleasure, admiration, triumph, and tlevotion in succession. The sunlii^hts were more varied to-day than we had observed them to be on an)' precedins^ \ isit, anil this is a jxjwerful cause of variety in the appearance of the 1 alls. There were passin_<,r clouds that occasionally obscured the sun, when deep shadows overhunq' the waters. Suddenly the bri>,dit orb would burst forth from its liidingplace, and in an instant tlu: whole mass was lig^hted up with luminous and transparent brilliancy. (Occasional showiTs of rain also fell, and the rainbows of the s|)ray si'emed to look more than usually vivid and glowing. The smooth deep current between the turbulent rajjids of the upper strait and the immediate edge of tile cataract tlowed on lik(! a stream of molten glass, so clear, so lucid, and yet so unwrinkled in its surface, that when it curved over the brink of the precipice, the mass poured downward was like a liciuid emerald of the brightest and most transparent green. As this was varied with the sparkling lights of the broken waters, it resem- bled those beautiful glimpses which the mariner sometimes catches of the mountain wave at sea, when the lustre of the setting sun is seen through its upper edge of the brightest green, and a curling wave of the whitest foam crowns its towering and majestic crest. The whole seemed to realize the splendid imagery of Milton, in his excjuisite description of the "Tliroiio of royal state, wliieli far Outslioni' Uio woallli of Ormws or of Iiul, Or wlicri' Die t,'ort!('(ius East, with richi'st liand, Sliowcrs on hor kind's liarliario pearls and Kold." I have seen no other object in nature, in all my various wanderings, equal this in magnificence and sublimity. The impression of its beauty and grandeur is so deeply imprinted on my heart and mind, that I am sure I shall carry it with me to the gra\e, if reason and memory are spared to me till then. 104 THE I^pPIDS HNI> GOI^GE. REDHtlE HGUGHTUN. THE UPPKH IUn*lI>». s TILI,, with tlic wiindcr nf Imyl I. I follnw tin' iwc i\ Uic l.i-twhoroiis sliallows, SniiliiiK ami iliiiipli'-iiioiitlioii. coiiiiettinn.— now iiiodi'st, now lorwanl; Tciidcily .Imiitin',', iin.l such IIm' llinill (.1' llif w.'ird iiiciiiiliHioM. 'I'liirsl it, iiwidii's in cai-li lislcni'i''s smil, a fovci-isli lonj,'in^r, 'I'hnuKlds all-alisoi-lH'nt, :i loi-rncid lliat stiiiKs and rviT ini'P'iisc^. Bnniinf,' ambition to push l)ar.'-lpivast (o tliy poriloiis l.osoin. Tims, in sonn' ini.lniKlit oljscni'o, brnt down by tlic 'itonn of t.'niptation (So liatli till' wiiiil, in tlii' IjcccIkmi wood, I'onlidi'd tlic story), I'ini'tri'cs, llniisting llu'ir way and trampling down oni' anollici-, Cnrions, lean and listen, replying in sobs ami in winspers: Till ol' till' socrol possessed, wliieli brings sure blij,'lit to tlie lii'iirer, iSo liatli tlie wind, in the bocdien wood, coiilidod tlie storyi. KalteriiiK. they sla^'ger brinkward,— clutch at the roots ol' the grasses. Cry,- a latiful cry of roniorse,— and plunge down in the darkness. Art lliou nll-inereiloss then,— a fleml, ever fierce for new victims? Was then the red-man right (as yet it livetli in li'gend). That, ere each twelvemonth circles, still to thy shrini" is allotted Hlood of one human lii'arl, as sacrilice due ami demamled? Butterllies have I foUow.'d, that leaving tlie red-top and clover. Thinking a wind-harp thy voice, thy froth tln^ fresh wliitencss of daisies. Ventured too close, grow giddy, and catching cold drops on tlieir pinions Balanced — but vainly,— and falling, their scarlet was lilotted forcN ;•. •:>-^iri THE GOI^GE. kEATH the abvss lies tlie Valley, a valley of darkness,— a hades. Where the spent stream, as it strives, socks only an end to its anguish; Who shall its fastnesses fatlioin, or toll what wrecks tliey envelop? Here ■neath the tid.-s of time, life's remnants await resurroction. Deep is the way, and weary the way, while lofty above it Frowns, upon either hand, a clilT sheer-shouldered or beetling, Holding ill durance forever the course of the .will broken exile. Blighting all hope of return, should it pant tor the llowering pastm-es. But from llie brinks loan down a few slender birches and cedars. Dazed by the depth and the gloom of the .•hannels resounding beneath them; Hero campanulas, too, which lurk wherever is danger. Stoop witli a smile of hope, rell(«ctiiig the blue of the heavens. Fleeter still flies the Hood, up-hoa|iing its scum at the centre. Dragging tlie tides from the shores to leave them a haiid-breadth the lower; While, like a serpent of yellow, the spume crooks do>vn to the Whirliiool, Trails with a zigzagging motion down to the hideous Whirlpool. 1U3 , : i a; MflMTOU lipCK JIM) THE WHII^LkPOOIi. n, H. A. lilll.KI.EY, I i Slill (liiwii lliv liiiiikH. () liiv.'i- ipf till' Fall! I MniiM ill (Ircaiii- liki' i'ihUisv I'lilhrulli'il: I Ih-i'i| Mil ilaiiK'T. yii'l'l til Ii'i ii'imlsi', Nil hiinl-liip dnnil, uinl fi'i'l no Hi'iiiiiit'ss, Sii rii|iliimiis my IIiiiiikIiI-;, sn slrniiK tin' spi'U Of lliy wiM liriiiily HIT my scuil. until Olilivioiis iif my iiwii iili'iitily, I si'i'iii a part iif Natiiii''s cdiliri", Hiiilt iiiuiiil tlii'si' laliiiriiiK IIhimIs to srirrri tlirir toil, lli'iii stjiiidiiit,' (iwi'il amid lii'i- (■■■iilral lialls. AH thiw ail' thy liiTiditiu-y liomrs, 'I'liiit iiii'il till' vii'w as tliiwo of fi'udal lands, Wlioit" kind's and last.lcs unaid tin' trnaiit-soil. Around wlmsc walls tho di>i'p-iluK moat i'XIi'imIs, K'rii as tl.v I'liaiini'ls stri'trli lii'twcrn tlii'ir liaiiks. Wliat towi'iiiL,' form i'I-itIs its liiiuri' Iuti', To I'liock till' foolsti'ps of iiii|uirin(; man, Ah If it wi'ro a spiitry at his pr o'er the stream With shadowy friiiKes n! the evergreen. This massive pile, like an inverted cone. Seems hurled in oUier years witli giant hand, Tpon tlie kindreil masses dashed lielowl Here on thy height, tlion offspring of the elilTI Do I usurp the ttirone of Maiiitou, Yet tremnloiisly lieiid to gai'.e intent. I'pon tir imprisoned waters, HtruggUng hard Within their rock-bound urea for oseapo, Like chafing lions caged liy iron bars. And hisliing, in ungovernable rage, 'I'lieir heated sides with iovc for liherty: On tlirough the straitened gorge tlioy wildly rush, And maddened with repulse return again, l!ut to renew their strength for victory, And make fresh onsets to conclude the siege! Anon they lling their foaming arras on high. And hurl their jiivi'lin tides to win the pass; Again tliey sound retreat in colunms close. Shrinking away, as if in fear, but yet Returning still invincible, with new Assailing bands that to their rescue rush; They speed like worried steeds that scour the plain. Champing their bits and foaming at the mouth. Ho! now they triumph with terrllle shout, And break each barrier that obstructs their march. Leaping from rock to rock, from bank to bank. And dashing up against the tall crag's base. As if to scale its unasccnded walls. The channel's bed seems now to ope below And leave a thousand outlets for its tides; For round and round, the ra|iid vortices, Like the gyrations swift of eagle-wings, Whirl in the wild delirium of their joy. As if into.xicate with bright .success. Bearing away from human view below. For long iinreekoned hours, the shattered spoils, Ilurh'd into their embrace from yonder Hood. Now, summoned in united ranks of strength. The waters meet and form the wiiirlpool's shape. That seems its own destroyer, turning round T' ingulf its life, in madness unrestrained. And liien its own creator, from its maw Ejected, till away it shoots in light, A wild artillery of floods, that lose Their name and likeness in Ontjirio's wave! lOR THE MpiD OF THE MIST. Hur Ha.:arriiKi . Trip Tlirrmiili tlin Wlilrlpnal Raplda, NF. OF THE most dar- ing fuats ever accom- plished successfully by man was that of the navigation of die Whirl- pool Rai)ids, thence through the dreadful whirlpool to Lake On- tario, with the little steamer "Maid of the Mist." Mr. Geo. W. Holley, himself an old resident of Niagara F'alls, in his late work on Niagara I'alls, gives a very interesting ac- count of the litUe boat, her pilot and her trip, rendered more valu- able through die personal acquaintance of thi' author with the; actors in die thril- ling undertaking. He says: "In die year 1S46, a small steamer was built in the eddy just above the Railway Suspension Hridgt;, to run u\) to the F'alls. She was very appropriately named 'The Maid of the Mist.' Her engine was rather weak, but she safely accomplished the trip. As, however, she took passengers aboard only from die Canadian side, she could pay little more dian expenses. In 1854 a larger, better boat, with a more powerful engine, the new ' Maid of the Mist,' was jHit on the route, and as she took passengers from both sides of the ri\er, many thousands of persons made the exciting and impressive voyage up to tlic; F'alls, The admiration which the visitor felt as he passed quietly along near the American I'all was changed into awe when he began to feel the mighty pulse; of tin; great deep just below tlu! tower, then swung round into the white foam directly in front of die Horse-Shoe, and saw the sky of waters falling toward him. And he seemed to be lifted on wings as he sailed swiftly down on the rushing stream through a baiitism of spray. To many persons there was a fascination about it that induced them to make the trip every time they had an opportunity to do so. Owing to 107 I*i ' I? f 4 ' ;i»;r it • '*! hi. \}\„i]' 1 l|;i ii 11; ! li ?.. ni sdinr diiiiiL;'' in lur appoinlinriils which confincil Ium- lo the Canadian shore for the i(( <|)liiiii of jiassiiiL^irs. shi' Ixcainc unprolitahlc. Her owner, liavin",' decided to Icavi' the mii^Oilinrhddd, wished to sell Iicr as sh(' hiy at her dock. This he could not lrii(i' ,111(1 ,1 |i()U(r in llicir foamini,'' i .incr, which is seen in no plirniimriiiMi mI' ihi s.iiiK (lass. Staiiitin,i4 the (list.iiKc of tlin-c quarters ot" a mile over Icd-'cs of ni.i^^gcd rocks, makinjr a ;hteil candle, it takes \\]-t\ and l)la>s alioui widi a lamlient, llickerin^' ll.une, which seldom touches tin; u iter, till- l;.is hein^ at first too pure to be inlkimahle, and only obtainini^f sufficient ();yj,a'n after min-liuLT with the atmosphere." I'or the puri)Ose of I'xperiments, witnessid by the visitors, the i,Ms is collected in ;i cylinder, allowetl to i)ass out of the top of it lhroui,di an inch pipe. After ciTlain experiments arc' nuule, show- iiiL,' the iriinendous force of the j^-as, the cyliiuK'r is removed, and the gas ignited on the surface of the water, through which it escape's. Aiiovi-; riiK lAi.i.s. Following the old Portage road from the Burning Spring to the Falls, brings the visitor to a ])oint on the bluff, where the river m.iki's a sharp, big inshore, along ii^y'-"-'. the tracks of the Michigan Central, and W !&!> upon this spot a platform has been erected W by the Company to allow imdislin'bed en- joyment of the most striking view of the Cataract. " Niagara should be first ap- proached from above, and from the Can- ada shore," is a sentiment echoed and re- echoed by the writers of past generations; and the one comprehensive view, the grouping of Rapids and Islands and Flails and Gorge as seen from Falls \'iew sta- tion on the Michigan Central Railroad, pre- sents a picture of surpassing beauty. The vast concave of the l-'alls of Niagara opens upon your view. The American Fall forms thi' fartlu'r extremity of the semi-circle, breaking in a broad white sheet of foam u|K)n a heap of rocks below. Close by its inner (extremity is a gush of water — the Centre l*"all — which in any other situation would be esteemed a considerable cascade, but lu.'re seimis but a fragment of the larger cataract separated by a small rocky island in the bed of the river. The eye then rests upon the preci|Mtous end of Goat Island, consisting of accumulated masses of stone, in horizontal strata, sup- porting a scanty covering of earth, and crowded to the edge with pines. Then the curve of the Horse-Shoe I'all rounds into prospect with full view of the Islands and the angry Canadian Rapids. " \'our eye fixes upon some special white crest of # ¥v f.» ■i" f" IJl f>;.iiii, and fdllnus it down until it melts awav into a smooth <,m-c(mi surface roun(lin,t,f L,'(ntl\ over, and disapixariiiL,^ in an al)\ss tlic (li-|>lli of wliicli yon cannot sec. 'I'hjs •^rccn sl(i|ir s\v((|)s round in a niaL,rniri( cnt curNc to tlic ricjlit ; beyond tills is a purple L^ray i)n(ipi(c, and still further on a white cataract llashin,!,^ back the sun- beams. I'rom the (cntre of the c iu-\c, a pillar of spra_\ lloats calmly up, with the (Town of a rainbow just risim^"- above the \crm-e of th(! abyss." And atjain, and ajjain. will the eye wander from ri<^lu to left, and from left to ri<,dU; from the point of the .American l"all to the near shore line of the llorse-Shoe, and vice-versa, sweepiuLj aroimd the circumference of the majestic curve of Xia^-ara. At a short distaiK !■ from this point a very pretty L,dimpse of the Ami'i-ican I'all can be cau,i,dit through an opeiiini,^ in the bank ilesi^naled as the "Joll\- Cut." IIM1\'> lANi;. 'l"o the west, about one and one-half miles distant, stands a tower erected upon the famous battle-field of Lundy's Lane. On July 25th, 1814, the decisive battle of the war was fought here. An old campai^nier who does the; honors at the observatory (and thoMt;h old c.unijaii^ners Ii\c and die, the one oc- cu|)yin:.,f the post, is an orii.;inal oul canipai<,qier, spirittKilly to say the least.) — has, they say, two xcrsions of the action, which he |)ro- duces as he sup|)Oses ma) suit the nationality Druinmondville, the oriiL^inal Canailian city at the; l-'alls, so called in honor of (it.'neral Drunimond, th(^ traviUr wi'uds his wa\- .ilont^^ a pleasant road to the Wlllkl.l'ool. K.M'IDS iust ' . \,\\ the old Suspension nridy;c. Here a staircase and also an inclined railway TO l.l*NDV 5 LAKE. of his auditors. The stor)' ((oes, however, that )ears ago, General Scott was regaled with the English version, and then learned for the first time how thorough- Ij' he was beaten upon that well-contested field. Through the village of cciie. (ric'.,>( MR easily and safely to the |)latforni below, whence the sight of the old jv< . tin; roaring rapids, the distant whirlpool, and the shady walk along th(? . giv(! splenditl views. The whole volunn' of water rushes by with 111 ;u-\elous i.ipiility, boiling and seething in its narrow channels. ■III1-: WHIKl.l'ooI., Helow the Whirlpool Ra])ids is situated oni; of the most remarkable features of the gorge of Niagara — the Whirlpool, — worthy of more attention than is usually given to it by visitors in general. Brock's Monument, erected on the Oueenston ileights.'four miles distant, is visible from this point, ami the Niagara river winds awa\ to the north, till it is lost in Lake ( )ntario beyond. UNDEI? THE epTpRpCT. BASIL HALL, I VISIT ED on three different occasions an extraordinary cave formed between the cascade and the face of the; overhanuin^ cliff— first, on the 3rd of July, <'i't of men- curiosity; a-ain on the qth, to try some experiments with the l^aromi-ter; and lasdy. on the loth, in company with a friend, purely on account of th.< excite- ment which 1 found such a strange combination of circumstances produce. W e reached a spot 153 feet from the outside, or entrance, by thr assistance of a -uule, who makes a handsome livelihood by this amphibious pilotage. There- was a tol.'r- ably good, green sort of light within this singular cavern; but the wind blew us first in one direction then in another widi such alarming violence, that 1 thought at Urst we should be fairly carried off our f.'et. and jerked into the roaring caldron b.-neath. This tempest, however, was not nearly so great an inconvenience as the unceasing deludes of water driven against us. Fortunately the direction of this gaU- ..I wind was always more or less ui.wards. from the pool below, right against the lace ul the ciiffs; were it otherwise. I fancy it would be impossible to go b.^hind the balls, with any chance of coming out again. !• ven now there is a great appearance ..f hazard in the expedition, though experience shows that there is no real danger. Inde-ed the guide, to re-assure us. and to prove the difficvilty of the descent, actually leaped downwards, to the distance of five or six yards, fron. the top of the: bank of rubbish at the base of the cliff along which the padi is formed. The gusts of wind rising out of the basin or pool below, blew so violentl)- against him that he easily regained the walk. . , This enormous cataract, in its d.-scent. like every other cascade, carries along with it a quantity of air, which it forc.-s far below the surface ol the wut..r.---an experiment which any one may try on a small scale by pouring water into a tumbler from a height. The quantity of air thus carried down, by so vast a nver as Niao-ara, must be great, and the depth to which it is driven, in all probability, eon- side'^rable. It may also be much condensed by the pressure; and it will nse with proportionate violence both on the outside of the cascade, and wiU.in the sheet or curtain which forms the cataract. . • , It had long been a subject of controversy. I was told, whether thc= air in the cave behind th^ Falls was condensed or rarified; and it was amusing to listen to the conflicting arguments on the subject. All parties agreed that there was considerable " " ... -11 .1 ! . ... „ „..,.,f ,>i -111- rithiTs nsserted •lit while some asci difficulty in breathinj that it arose from the quantity being too gre at. Tiie truth, however, obviouslj is, I'J.i \ iB 1 n\M\ t l i '1 ': 1 1 14; tlial \\r \y.\\i- tiMi miK h water; luil too miicli air. Tor I may ask, with what conifijrt cniild aii>- man lucathr with haU' a ilo/cn lirc-cngiin-s playiri.c,' full in his face? and posiiiM ly till 'tlrd ofilic lilasl hrhind \.\\v I-'alls is just what that awkward ctTcmony iniL;lil 111' sii|)|)(js((l to |ir()(lii(('. KMKCT ol- Till'; WIND. The (liriilioi) of ilic wind is first one way and then another, crossinj,' and til\\artin.L,^ in a \ rr)- eonfused stjle, and llin.ijinn' the water sometimes up, sometimes down, and often whirliiiL; it rouml and round like smoke, in curls or spirals, up to the \(r\ lop of the cave, a huiKlred feet above our heads, to the very edge of th(; pn( i|)i(e, over wliicji we could ilistinctly see the river projected forwards, and just liei^imiiiii:; to curve dowiiwarils. Hy tlie way, 1 look notice that, exactly in propor- tion to the apparent thickness of the mass of water, so it continued united after passing; lli<' brink. Hut 1 tlo not thinbat any part of Niagara the sheet of falling water remains unbroken for more than twenty feet, and that only at one place, well known b\ the nami' of the (irccii Water — the most sublime and impressive part of the whole fall. At every other, the cascade assumes a snowy whiteness very shortly after it begins to discend. This appearance is aided, no doubt, by the blast of wind which rises from the |)ool on the outside of the sheet; for I observed that the external surface of the cataract was roughened, or turned upwards in a series of froth) ripples, caused either by its friction against the air through which it was l)assing, or mori' probably l)y the blast rising upwards from the pool. WATKR CONES. 1 remarked another singular phenomenon, which I have not happened to hear mentioned before, but which is evidendy connected with this branch of the subject. A number of small, sharp-pointed cones of water are projected upwards from the pool, on the outsiile of the hall, sometimes to the height of a hundred and twenty feet. 1 hey riseml)le in form some comets of which I have seen drawings. Their point, or a|)ex, wiiich is always turned upwards, is quite sharp, and not larger, I should say, than a man's fingers and thumb, brought as nearly to a point as possible. The conical tails which stream from these watery meteors may vary from one or two yards to ten or iwclvt', and are spread out on all sides in a very curious manner. 1 he lower part of the Fall, it must be observed, is so constantly hidden from the view by a thick rolling cloud of spray, that during ten days I never succeeded once in getting a glimpse of the bottom of the falling sheet; nor do I believe it is ever seen. Out of this cloud, which waves backwards and forwards, and rises at times to the height of many hundreds of feet above the Falls, these singular cones, or comets, are seen at all times jumping up. The altitude to which they are pro- jecteil, I estimated at about thirt)' feet below the top. The whole height being between I 50 and 160 leet, Uii- jjerpendicular elevation to which these jets of water are thrown cannot, therefore, bi' less Uian i 10 or 120 feet above the surface of the pool. i:\l'i kiMlAis. Till! controviM-sy n'spcclinL,^ ilic elasticity of llir :>ir bcliiinl ili<' ImII, was soim settled. I carried with nie a barometer made expnssl)' with a \iew to tills t\|)eri nu:nt. It was of the most delicate kinil, ami runiislied will) two loiitriv.mces absolutely indispensable to the accuracy of experiments made under such circum stcinces. The first of these was a circular spirit-level placed on top of ihi' frame holding the tube, by which the perpemlicularity of the instrument was ascertained ; and secondly, an arrangement of screws near the |)oinl of support, by which the tulie, when duly adjusted, could bi; secured firmly in its placi-. Hy the help of these two invtMitions, this instrument can Ik; used with confidence, although exposed to such furious storms of wind and rain, as that I have just been describing. These simph; additions to the barometer, it may hv, mentioned, give great facility to observations made for the determination of die height of mountains, as it secures the correct position of the instrument, however windy the station may be. The mercury stood, at two stations on tin; outsiile, at 2c>. 6S. The instrument was then carried behind the I'"alls and placed near the Termination Rock, as an impassable angle of the cliff is called, whicii lies at the distance of 13^^ feet from the entrance, measuring from die Canadian or western extremity of the (ireat I lorse-Shoe Fall. It now stood at about 2c^. 72. The thermomi-Ler in both cases being at 70. of Fahrenheit. The inner station was probablj- ten or twelve fcrt lower than tlu; external one; and it will be easily understood, that in such a situation, with a torrent of water pouring over the instrument and the observer, and hard s(iualls or gusts of wind threatening to whisk the whole party into the ab)ss, there could be go great nicety of readings. I observed, that within the Fall, the; mercury vibrated in the tube, about four hundredths of an inch, and was never perfecty steady; the highest and lowest points were therefore observ(;d by the eye, and tin; mean recorded. During the external observations there was only a slight tremor visibU; on tin; surface of the column. In order to prevent mistakes, I repeated the e.xperiment at anotlK;r spot, about 120 feet within the entrance, when the mercury stood at about 29. 74. though still vibrating several hundreths of an inch. Upon die whole, dien, consider- ing that the inner stations were lower than the external one, the small diffc;rence between the external and the internal readings may be ascribed to errors in observa- tion, and not to any difference in the degree of elasticity in the air without and within tiie sheet of falling w^ater. Though I was only half an hour behind the Fall, I came out much cxliaustt;d, partly with the bodily exertion of maintaining a secure footing while exposed to such buffeting and drenching, and pardy, I should suppose, from die interest belonging to this scene, which certainly exceeds anything I ever witnessed before. All parts of Niagara, indeed, are. on a scale which baffles every attempt of the imagination to paint, and it were ridiculous, therefore, to think of describing it. The ordinary materials of description, I mean analogy, and direct comparison with things which are more accessible, fail entirely in the case of that amazing cataract, which is altogether unique. li!3 \ IN WINTKK. (> \lu ^M] (f-^ ■■-^M \^. o \5 Rkx/' Vl.k\' II.W pirsdiis, ((iiii|iar.ili\(l>. arc aware of tin; s( iius i>r siirpassiiiL; ImmiH)' imscnlrd !>) tlu; Cataract of NiiiL^ara, in uintir. Its appi araiicr is lliiii iiiiuli inort; attraclivi; and s^lorious. than in llic siniinnr. riic ircrs arr i ovcnd with the most lirilH; 'it and sparkliny coruscations of snow .iiid iic; tint islands, the shruhs, th(j ^iant rocks, arc rolicd in th<' same spotless vesture. l'"ro/i;n spray, L^littcrini^ and L^lcamini; as l)ri::,ditly and vivaciouslj- as frozen- sunlii^hl, (IK ases all thiiiLjs; N'iai^ara I'alls is the ahsolutc domin ion of till' lie Kin.L;. In hriq-ht sunshine-, the llashinij rays from millions of i^cnis produce a hewitchin^' effect. ".At such a moment the characteristic attributes of Niagara seem fuscid and heis^hteiieil into 'somethinL,^ more e\(|uisit(.' still.' Its intrinsic sublimity and beauty experience a liberal transi"i,i,airatijn. Nature is visibly itlealizetl. XothiuLj more brilliant or cncl.antinj,'' can be conceived. The briiL,dUest tales of mai,nc 'pale '.heir ini:ffectual fires.' Islands, whose llowers are thickset diain jnds, and forests, whose branches are Lililterins,^ with brilliants, and amethysts, and pearls, seem no lons^^er a luxurious figment of --enius, but a livinjif and lieamini,^ reality. One feels in tlu; midst of such blazinj^ coruscations and such y;lorious bursts of railiance, as if the maifi- cian's rint,^ had been slip|)ed upon his fnifrer unawares, and, rubbed unwittint^ly, had summonc'd the llii' iiiii islicis 111 t\M III ilir l,irt;< r liKx ks of wliicli this arclutiio I HIT is 1 1 im|ii psril. " This ir\ w.ill 111- iiiMuinl risi ■> ti|i iV'iin ilir li.isr nl' the titrrcnt in a liiilwark of |i\ iMiiiiil.il liMiii. in hiiiii 111 till ImIIs, wiihiii ,i I'l w Int of ihr cdj^fc of the i)r(Jci|)ic(!, Ill ,1 liriL;lii 111 limii (Willi) 111 Imly In I alio\r llir U\r\ of ihc upper stream. Seal- in;; llir iiiiiiiiiil i^ .111 rxhilar.iliiii^ anil laliorioiis rxcri ise, hut the near si;,fht of the. iiiadili 111 il u.iii is pliini^inLf into llie iliplhs of an iinfathomaMi; vortex bulow, is a fittiiiL^ nu.inl ii>y ilie .iiKriiliiriHis uinlrri.ikini;. 'ilir ill' liiiilL^e i^iiirrall)' e.Niriiils fidiii ilie 1 lorse- Shoe I'.ill, to a point near the Kailw.i) liriiJL^e, Lists Miiicrally fnnii Iwo to ilinc inonths, and is crossed by hun- dreds of flint pa: senL(<'rs diirinj,' the winter. liie ire fonninLf the hrid.Lfi; is ordin- arily from one lnii,dred to oiu; Iiundri:d and lift) fnl thick — risinif from lift)' to sixty feel alio\r tile iKitiiral siirface of the river. The tinL^c of the waters, from the dark i^reeii of suiiiiiur, is chaniji'ed to a muddy \ellow; hui^e icicles, lurnied hy an accum- ulation of iVo/eii spray, liaiiL; perpendii iil.irly from the rocks; the trees on (ioat Isl.iiid and I'rospeii I'ark seem partially buried; a mass of (|uaint and curious crysl,illine forms stand in lieu of the bushes; the l)uildini,^s seem to sink under pon- derous coveriiiLjs of snow and iie; the tops of tries and points of rock on which the daz/liiiL;- white frost work does not lie, stand out in bold contrast, forming,"- the deep shadows of the entranciiiL,^ picture; the whole presi'uts a wilil, sava^a; aspect, grand and illlposint,^ (lo.il Isliind rem.iins, in winter, one of the chief centers of attraction. A prominent I'an^lish physiiian. Dr. Win. Sharp, writes: "1 can never forget my first visit to il in December, i S.^o. The snow was falling thickly at the time. Old Nicholson constitutc;d himself as guide ami proved to be both useful and amusing. The Canailian side was altogotiier hidden by the ha/y mist of the falling snow, and never sinci' or before iliil 1 look up(jn a scene so awfully grand and impressive as Niagara then presented. There, with okl .Nicholson in the back ground, I was alone with naturi'. A sense of vague imnunsity that was almost appalling engrossed the attention. All was solitude, vaslness and silence, save the deep thunder of the Falls that swelled ever like a mighty anthem, and as if in kei-pingwith the weird sublimity of the scene, two gulls, like restk'ss, wandering spirits of the deep, swept ceaselessly to and fro, now vanishing from sight and now em(;rging from the mist and gloom." If one can s(;e Niagara but once, it had better be in winter than in summer. The scene is one of peerless grandtuir, worth going hundreds of miles to behold. liiS SPKeUhflTIOiNH OF TIIK HCIKXTmTiS, I^KTH(K'K)SWH)\ or Tin: FniJiK. siK i;nAi• I In; observations , n„riz..iiiaifn»hwa'i.riK.iiHoft(ravii,wiiiii, aiiiiioam.\\i!iii-ui!iiiul.-!t'iii-. ll«-(l Hlialv i«antlriie like No. l.iwitli thin foiiraeH of ftaml- t*ti'iio near tin- t"ii.i . Coinpai't j:ny liincstoiu'. which, witli N.i, 5. conatitutes the Cliiiltiii i^roiip at this plat-*-. Hoft arjrilli'M'ali-an-oii.-* ahale. Niftvara Mhale. lariH-Ktiuie 4f the Nia^'ara liiiiestMne. < >iiiiiitone, or tuilH of pa-sHniff to the next nii-k. Onondaga and <'omileroiiH limeAtnneB, iM'in^ all the lime- HtoneK i>f the lltdderbetK dlvisiou which eontinue ro far Wff«twatd. (I. It. A lluviatile deposit in the dopreBnlon sonth of the RapidH, prohahly simitar to the tluviatile deposit of (ioat iHland. ''. '". 'WiHton to Lake Krie. (/./. The periH-ndieular fall, over tlie Niagara liineRtone and 8hale. /, {/. Tlie Itapid.>*, fifty-two feet, over the upper thin>bedded por- tion of the Niagara limeatoue. r. The WhirlpcKil. i. i . Tlie poHition of the Falls and Rapids after a rceeesion of two miles. .V((/^. The fainter lines indicate that portion of the rocks wliich haa lH>eu already cut tlirouRh by the Niagara. llie «uperrtcial drift or boulder fonuation is not represented in thia section. Ix-npth of section from north to south about twenty-eight miles. KlTlkK KKTKOCKSSION. In regard to the future retrocession of the Falls, it will be perceived by the same section (fig. 4), that when they have traveled back two miles, or to /, /', the massive limestone (8). now at the top of the P^dls, will then be at their base; and its great hardness may, perhaps, effectually stop the excavating process, if it should not have been previously arrested by the descent of large masses of the same rock from the cliff above. It will also appear that the Falls will continually diminish in 134 height, and should they ever reach Lake Erie, they will intersect entirely different strata from those over which the)- are now thrown. (IKIC.IN I IK rilK lAI.I.S. The next inquiry into which we are naturally letl by our ri;tros|)ect into the past history of this region, relates to the origin of the I*"alls. If they were once seven miles northward of their present site, in what manner, and at what geological period, did they first come into existence? In tracing back the serii-s of jiast events, \\v. have already seen that the last change was the erosion of the great ravine; previously to which occurred the deposition of the freshwater deposit, including fossil shells of recent species, and the bones of the Mastodon. Thirdly, of still older date was the drift or boulder formation which overspreads the whole platform and the face of the escarpment near Oueenston, as well as the low country between it and Lak(! Ontario. I'ourthly, the denudation of the line of cliff or escarpment, in which the table-land ends abrupd)-, precechid the origin of the drift. This drift was of marine origin, and formed when the whole countrj- was submerged beneath the sea. In the ri-gion of the Niagara it is stratified, and though no fossils ha\e as yet been detected in it, similar deposits occur in the valley of the St. Lawrence at Montn^al, at a height nearly ecjual to Lake Krie, where fossil shells, of species such as now inhabit the northern seas, lie buried in the drift. It is almost superfluous to affirm that a consideration of the geology of the whole basin of tht; St. Lawrence and the great lakes can alone entitle us to speculate on the state of things which immediately preceded or accompanied the origin of the Great Cataract. To give even a brief sketch of the various phenomena to which our attention must be directed, in order to solve this curious problem, would require a digression of several chapters. At present the shortest and most int( lligible way of explaining the results of my observations and reflections on this subject will be to describe the successive changes in the order in which I imagine them to havi; happened. The first event then to which we must recur is the superficial waste or denudation of the older stratified rocks (from i to lo inclusive, section, fig. 4), all of which had remained nearly undisturbed and horizontal from the era of their forma- tion beneath tlu; sea to a comparativelj- modern period. That they were all of marine origin is proved by their imbedded corals and shells. They at length emerged slowly, and portions of their edges were removed by the action of the waves and currents, by which cliffs were formed at successive heights, especially where hard limestones (such as Nos. 10 and 8, fig. 4), at Blackrock and Lewiston, were incumbent on soft shales. After this denudation the whole region was again gradually submerged, and this event took place during the glacial period, at which time the surfaces of the rocks already denuded were smoothed, polished, and furrowed by glacial action, which operated successively at different levels. The \\ 1! if toimtry was tlun l)urii(l midrr a load of stralificd and imstratificd sand, gravel and (•nati( liloc ks, orcasionall) St), and in souk; liollows more than 300, feet deep. An old ravini' tcnninalin^^ at St. David's, which int(Tst:cts the hmestone platform of the Xi.i^.ira, and opins iiiM the j^^rcat escar|)inent, illustrates the posteriority of this (hifi to the ciMK h wlH;n liie old(;r rocks wert? denuded. The period of submer^-ence last alluded to u.is very modern, for the shells then inhabitintj the ocean belonu-ed, .ilinosi willioiil exception, to s|)rcirs still livin^f in high northern, and some of them in tcinpcr.Uc, latitudi's, Tiic 'icxt great change was the re-emergence of this country, ((insisting of the an at 1 1 rocks, covered indiscriminately with modern marine drift. I'lie upw.ird m')\ ■ 'i ' which this was accomplished was not sudden and instantaneous, but gradu.ii and inicruiittent. The pauses by which it was interrupted arc marked by ancieiil >■•■ b lines ''idges, and terraci;s, foimd at different heights above the present lakes. liu ridi; - ;ir. ' terraces are partly due to the denuda- tion and re-arrangement of the materials ol ilu' drift itself, which had previousl)' been deposited on tlie platform, tin: sloping face of the escarpments, and in the basins of the great lakes. .As soon as the table-land between Lakes I'lrie and Ontario emerged and was laid dry, the river Niagara came into existence, the basin of Lake Ontario still conlinin'ng to form part of the sea From that moment there was a cascade at (Jueenston of moderate height, which fell directly into the sea. The uppermost limestone and subjacent slate (8 and 7, fig. 4) being exposed, the cataract commenced its retrograde course, while the lower beds in the escarpment (from 6 to i) were still prot('cted from waste l)y remaining submerged. A second fall would in due time be caused b\- the continued rise of the land and the e.xposure of th(; hard beds (6 and 4), constituting what is called the Clinton group, together with the soft and easily under- mined red shale (3) on which they repose. Finally, a third cascade would in all likelihood be produced by the rise of another hard mass, the (]uartzose sandstone (;!, fig. 4), resting on very destructible red shale (i). Three falls, one above the other, very similar in tiieir geological and geographical position to those actually seen on the river (ienesee, at Rochester, would thus be formed. The recession of the uppermost must have been gradually retarded by die thickening of the; incumbent limestone (No. S, lig. 4), in proportion as the falls sawed their way southwards. Hy this means the second cataract, which would not sufle-r the same retardation, mitrht overtake it, and the two united woukl then be retarded by the large ([uantity of rock • to be ri'moved, until the lowest fall would come up to them, and then the whole would be united into one. I.Al'Sl-: OK TIME. The princi[)al events enimierated in the above retrospect, comprising the sub- mergence and re-emergence of the Canadian lake district and valley of the St. Lawrence, the deposition of freshwater strata, and the gradual erosixin of a ravine 136 r i;iT w Ilii i"' ml] -< i l' ' h^l-H scvi I) miles Ioiil;, arc all so modern in tin; earth's history as to lu-iong to a period when tlir marine, the lliiviatile, and terrestrial shells \ver(; the same, or nearly the same, as those now livinj^r. Yet if we fix our thoucfhts on any one portion of this |ieriod on the lapse of time, for example, required for the recession of the N'iaj^Mra from the escarjiment to tlu; I'alls, — how immeasurably jjreat will its duration appear in (omi)arison with the simi of years to which the annals of the hiunan race •ire limited! Had we happened to discover .strata, charged with Ihiviatile shells of reeiiit s|)ei ies. and enclosinn- the hones and teeth of a Mastodon, near a river at the hottom of some valley, we might naturally have inferred that the buried (juadruped had perished at an era long after the canoes of the Indian hunter had navigated the North .\meri( an waters. Such an inference might easily have been drawn respecting till' fossil tusks of the great elephantine (juadruped, which I saw taken out of the shell-marl on the banks of the Genesee River near Rochester. Hut fortunately on the Niagara, wi- may turn to the deep ravine, and behold therein a chronometer measuring rutlely, yet emphatically, the vast magnitude of the interval of years, which separates the present time^ from the epoch when the Niagara flowed at a higher level several miles further north across the platform. We th(Mi became consiious how far the two events before confoimded together, — the entombment of the Mastodon, antl the date of the first peopling of the earth b)- man, — may recede; to distances almost indefinitely remote from each other. lUit, Iu)wever much we may enlarge our ideas of the time which has elapsed since the Niagara first Ijegan to drain the waters of the upper lakes, we have seen tliat this period was one only of a series, all belonging to the present zoological <|)Och; or that in which the living testaceous fauna, whether freshwater or marine, had already come into being, if such events can take place while the zoology of the earth remains almost stationary and unaltered, what ages may not be compre- hendeti in tliosi; successive tertiary periods during which the Flora and Fauna of the gloDc have been almost i-ntirely changed! Yet how subordinate a place in the long calendar of geological chronology do the successive tertiary periods themselves occui)y! How much more enormous a duration must we assign to many antecedent revolutions of the earth and its inhabitants! No analogy can be found in the natural world to the immense scale of these divisions of past time, unless we contemplate the c elestial spaces which have been measureil by the astronomer. Some of the nearest of thesi; within the limits of the solar system, as, for example, the orbits of the |)lanets, are reckoned by hundreds of millions of miles, which the imagination in vain endeavors to grasp. Y'et one of these spaces, such as the diameter of the earth's orbit, is regarded as a mere unit, a mere infinitesimal fraction of the distance which separates our sun from the nearest star. IW pursuing still farther the same investigations, we learn that there an; lumin- ous clouds scared) distinguishable by the naked e)-e, but resolvable b)- the telescope 138 into clusters of stars, which an* so much more remote, that the interval between our sun and Sirius may be but a fraction of tiiis larj^n-r ilistance. To rei,Mons of space of this hij^'lier order in point of niaj^Miiuide, we may i)n)l)ably compare such an interval of time as that whicii tlivides the human epocii from tlie origin of th(! coral- line limestone over which the Niaj^ara is precipitateil at the l-'alls. Many have been the successive revolutions in ori^^anic life, and many tlie vicissitudes in the physical geography of the olobi-, and often has sea been converteil into land, and land into sea, since that rock was formed. The Alps, the Pyrenees, the Himalaya, have not only begun to exist as lofiy mountain chains, but the solid materials of which they are composed have been slowly elaborated beneath tlie sea within the stupenilous interval of ages here alluded to. The geologist may musi' ami speculate; on thest- events until, filletl with awe and admiration, he forgets the presence of the mighty cataract itsill, and no longer sees the rapid motion of its waters, nor hears their sound, as they fall into the deep abyss. But whenever his thoughts are recalled to die present, the tone of his mind, — the sensations awakened in his soul, will be found to be in perfect harmony with the grandeur and beauty of the glorious scent; which surnnmds him. THE DtVlL-^ HOLE. 1S» '.I hi ^1 I»fI»T HM) FUTl'I^E, PHUFESSDR TVN'IIAI.I. Wl", II.WI'l MOW to coiisidtT llic j^cncsis ami proximate cli:stiny of llu: Inills of N'iai^ara. W'v m.iy open our \va)' to this subject by a few preliminary remarks upon erosion. Time i^nd intensity are tin; main factors of j,M;olo<,McaI chanj;e, and lliry are in a certain sense convertible. A feeble force aclin}.j throut,di lonj^r periods, and an intense force actin.t,^ tiirouijli short ones, may pHnliict! approximately the same results. 'I'n Dr. I looker 1 have bc'i'n indebted for some samples of stones, the tirst examples of which were picked up by Mr. Hackworth on the shori's of I. yell's Ha), mar Wellinj^fton, in .New Zealand. They have been described by Mr. 'I'ravers in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. Unacquainted with their oriijin, you would certainly ascribe their forms to human workmanship. They resemble flint knives and spear-heails, beinij apparently chiseled off into faces with as much attention to symmetry as if a tool i^uided by human intellij^-ence had passed over them. Hut no human inslnnnent has been brou^dit to bear upon these stones, 'i'lic)- have been wrous;ht into their present shape by the wind-blown sand of Lyell's Hay. Two winds are dominant h(Te. and they in succession iirtjed the sand atjainst opposite sitles of the stone; ever)- little particle of sand chipped away its infinitesi- mal bit of stone, and in the end sculptured these sinLfular forms. r.Ki'Kcrs OK riiK sand iilast. The; Sphinx of I'^,i,'ypt is nearly covered up by the sand of the desert. The neck of the Sphinx is partly cut across, not, as I am assured by Mr. Huxley, by ordinary wiatheriny;, but by the eroding action of the fine sand blown against it. In these cases nature furnishes us with hints which may be taken advantage of in .irt; ami this action o( sand has recently been turned to extraordinary account in the United States. When in Hoston, I was taken by Mr. Josiah Ouincy to see the action of the S(t)id-l>/tisf. A kind of hopper containing fine silicious sand was con nected with a reservoir of compressed air, the pressure being variable at pleasure. The hopper ended in a long slit, from which the sand was blown. A plate of glass was placed beneath this slit, and caused to pass slowly under it; it came out. perfectly depolished, with a bright opalescent glimmer, such as could only be produced by the most careful grinding. luery little particle of sand urged against the glass, h.iving all its enirgy concentrated on the point of impact, formed there a little pit, the depolished surface consisting of innumerable hollows of this description. Hut this was not all. H)- protecting certain portions of the surface and exposing others, figures and tracery of any re(juired form could be etched upon the glass. The figures of open iron-work could thus be copied, while the wire-gauze placed over 140 the glass pnuliiiid ,i rctii uhitrd |.,iitcrn. Uiit it n(|uirr(| nnsiiili ri'sistiiiL; Mihst.iiiir as iron to slicker llic ,L,dass. I lie patltrns of tlic liiiist lace could thus lif rc|iro (liiccrole(lioii. All tliesc; effects have been ohlaiiieil with a simple model of tlu' sand Mast il(;vised for nie by my assistant. A fraction of a niiiiiile suffices to etch upon ,L;l.iss a rich and beautiful lace pattern. Any jieldini^ substance may be emplo)-ed to protect tin; }.,dass. \\y immediately iliffusin,L( the shock of the partiile, siu h sub stances practically destroy the local erosive power, '{"lie hand can bear without inconvenience a sand-showtr which would pulverize glass, luchings e.\ecuted on glass with suitable kinds of ink are accurately worked out by the sand-blast. In fact, within certain limits, tht- harder the surface, the greater is the concentration of the shock, and the more ttffectual is tin; erosion. It is not necessary that the sand should be the hardcT substance of the two; corundum, for example, is much harder than ([uartz; still, (|uart/-sand can not only demolish, but actually blow a hole through a plate; of corundum. Nay, glass may be depolished by i\u: impact of fme shot; the grains in this cast; bruising the glass before Uiey liavi; time to flatten and turn their energy into heat. KKOSIVK POWKK OK KIVF.KS. This power of erosion, so strikingly displayetl when sand is urged by air, renders us better able to conc(Mve its action wh(.'n urgc^d by water. Th(r (Tosive power of a river is vastly augmented by the solid matter carried along witli it. Sand or pebbles caught in a river vortex can wear away the hardest rock; "pot- holes" and deep cylindrical shafts being thus produced. An extraordinary instance of this kind of erosion is to be seen in the Val Tournanche, above; the village of this name. The gorge at Handeck has been thus cut out. Such waterfalls wc-re once frequent in the valleys of Switzerland; for hardl)' an}' vallc;y is without one or more transverse barriers of resisting material, over which the river llowing through the valley once fell as a cataract. Near Pontresina in the Mngadin, there is such a case, the hard gneiss being now worn away to form a gorge through which die river from the Morteratsch glacier rushes. The barrier of the Kirchet above Meyringen is als(j a case in point. Behind it was a lake, derived from the glacier of th<; Aar, and over the barrier the lake poured its excess of water. Here the rock being limctstone was in great part dissolved, but added to this we had the action of the solid particles carried along by the water, each of which, as it struck the rock, chipped it away like the particles of the sand-blast. Thus by solution and mechanical erosion the great chasm of the Fensteraar-Schlucht was formed. It is demonstrable diat the water which flows at the bottom of such deep fissures once flowed at the level of what is now their edges, and tumbled down the lower faces of the barriers. Almost every valley in Switzerland furnishes examples of this kind; the untenable hypothesis of earthquakes, once so readily resorted in accounting for these gorges, being now for X41 i m , I 1 .,.--■ #1 Ik r i 111 nil I AlAKAl r. And ni>\\ we ((Hill id \i,i'.;.ir.i. Sodii .iller I .iir(>|ie,(ns liad taken possfssioii of the I dimtiv , tin I diu ii linn a|i|ii ,iis to have arisen th.il the det |) channel of the riv(!r Niaj^aiM Ik low the l.iils li.ul Ihiii exiavated liy the calarai t. In Mr. HakfWcU's " Intidihu lidii td ( leoldv^y, " tin |)n\aleiii i- oi' this helief has heen referred to; il is e\|)nssed thus l.y i'rdl. |dsi |,h Iliiir\ in the Tiaiisartidns of the Albany Institute: "In \ lew in- the |idsiiidii dl the Tails and the leatiires of the country round, it is iin- pdssihle not td he im|)ressed with tiie idea lh.it this i^reat natural raceway has Itccn fdriited \>y the contiinied ai tion of tln' irnsistihle Niai^ara, and that the falls, l)cj,rin- nini; ai l.ewiston, liave, in tlie (ourse of aL^is, worn hack the rocky strata to their present site." Tile same view is advocated hy Sir Charles Lyell, hy Mr. Hall, li\ M. .Ai^assi/, l>) I'rol. kamsa\, indeed \>y almost all of those who havt; inspected the pla(('. ;\ I onnected imaL;c of the orii^dn and protjress of th<' cataract is easily obtained. Walking nortliwanl from the vilkiLje of Niai^^ara I'ails bj- tlie sidi; of the river, we have to our left the deep and ( omparalivc.'ly narrow j^or.L^t' throuj^di which the Nia^-ara tlows, 'i'he boiMulinL,^ dills of this i,'or},a' are from 300 to ;,5(") feet hi,i,di. We reach the whirlpool, trend to the northeast, and after a little time i^radiially resume our northward course. Mnall)', at a about seven miles from the present l""alls, wc come to the eils^f of a declivit) whidi informs us that we have been hitherto walking on table land. Soini' hundreds of feet below us is a com|)aratively level plain, which stretches to Lake Ontario. The declivit)' marks the end of the precijjitous L(orj,f(! of the Niaj,rara. Hire the ri\fr escajjes from its steep mural boundaries, and in a widened bed pursues its way to thi' lake which finally receives its waters. IN rill'. I'AsI, The fact that in historic limes, even within the memory of man, the fall has sensibi)- recetletl, prompts the (|uestion, how far has recession j^^one.'' At what point did tile led<.je which thus continually creeps backwards bct,nn its retrograde course? lo minds disciplined in such researches the aiiswi:r has becMi and will be, at the |)recipitous declivit) which crosseil the Niagara from Lewiston on the American to Oueenston on the Canadian side. Over this transverse barrier the united affluents of all the u|)per lakis once poured their waters, and here the work of erosion began. The tiam, moreover, was di'monstrably of sutiticient height to cause the river above it to submerge doat Ishuul ; and this would perfectly account for the finding by Mr. I lall. Sir Charles Lyell, and others, in die sand and gravel of the island, the same Ihiviatile shells as ari; now found in the Niagara river higher up. It would also account for those deposits along the sides of the river, the discovery of which 142 cnahlfd l.yill, iiall, and K. unsay to rcdiii-c tn dininnstalinn tlic |ii)|iiilar Ixlii T tli.it tlu! N'iaj,Mra once llowiil tliroHLjIi a sliallow valley. Tht! physics ol ilii: piohlcin of cxcavalion, \\lii(li I niadf clear to in)- mind JK'fori: (iiiitlinj,' Niaj^'ara, art; revealed !))■ a close inspection ol" tlie prr-,eni Horse SIkh: l-'all. lien: we sec evidently that the j^reatesl \v<'ii;ht of w.iler hemls o\«r the very apex of tlu: Horse-Shoe. In a passaj.u: in his excellent ch.ipter on NiaL;ara l'"alls, Mr. Hall alludes to this fact. Here we iiavc tlw most copious .\\u\ the most violent whirlinjr of tlu; shattereil li<|iiid; here the nuist powerful eddies recoil aj^Minst the shall-. I'roni this portion of the fall, intlei:d, tlu; spray souulinu's rises without solution of continuitj' to the re),don of tlu; clouds, hecomini,' )^n-adually nuire attenuated, and passintj linally throu;;h tlu; condition of true cloud into invisihle vai)or, which is sonu'tinu's rcprecipitateil hi).rher up. .All tlu; phenomen.i point distinctly to the cc;ntrt; of the river .1 ilu; place of j;reatest mechanical (;nerj,fy, and from the centre the vigor of tlu; i-all },n-adually tlies awa)' towards the sides. The lu)rs(;-shoe form, with tlu; concavity facing"- downwards, is an obvious and necessary c()nse(|uence of this action. Ri.<,dit alontf tlu: middle of the river tlu; apex of the curve pushes its way backwards, cultinj; aloni,' the ct'Utre a deep and comparatively narrow groove, and drainini,^ the sides as it passis them. Hence the remarkaljle discrepancy betwec;n the widths of tlu; i\ia,i,^ara above and below tlu; Horse-Shoe. All alonjr its course, from Lewiston lleii.,dns to its present position, the form of the I'M was probably that of a horse-shoe, for this is liurelj the expression of the greater depth, and consetjuently greater excavating power, of the centre of the river. The gorge, nu)reover, varies in witlth as the depth of the centre of the ancient river varied, being narrowest where, that depth was greatist. KUoSUl-; I'dWKK OK rilK HoKSK-.slloK lAl.l.. The vast comparative erosive energy of the llorse-Shoe I*"all, comes strikingly into view when it and the American I'all are compari'd together. Tlu: American branch of the upper river is cut at a right angle b)- the gorge of tlu; Niagara. Here the Horse-Shoe Fall was the real excavator. It cut the rock and formed the preci- pice over which the American I'"all lund)les. lUit since its formation, the erosive action of the American Fall has been almost nil, while the I lorse-Shoe has cut its way for five hundred yards across the end of Goat Island, and is doubling back to excavate a channel parallel to the length of the island. This point, I have just learned, has not escaped the acute observation of Prof. Ramsay, whose words are; —"Where tlu; body of water is small in the American I"all. die etlge has only receded a few yards (where most eroded) during the time that tlu; Canadian F'all has receded from the north corner of Goat Island to the inner-most curve of the Horse Shoe Fall." The river bends; the Horse-Shoe immediately accoitimodates itself to the bending, and will follow implicitly the direction of the deepest water in the upper stream. The flexibility of the gorge, if I may use the term, is determined by the flexibility of the 143 :"'* ' river ( li.iiiml .ilimc it. W'l ri' the Ni;iL,Mr;i .ihovc tlif I'all simioiis, the ^cir^i: would ohctliciuiy fdliow its sinuosiMts. ( )ii((- siii^i^fslcd, no lioiihl _s,n'or HE I'ALLS of Xiatrara arc anionic those phenomena in the external world, ^2^ from which speculatists have sjnm a cobweb theory of the earth, proving or intended to prove "That Ilo who iimile it, mid icvenloil its duU- To Miisos, wiia mistaken in its iiiji'." There is every reason to believe from the aspect of the banks, and the character of the siirroimding country above and below the Tails, that the river has at some former period scooped out the channel, through the soliil limestone, from Queenston, about seven miles below, to the position of tlie cataracts. Below Queenston, the ground on both sides of the river is ver) nearly of the same level with the banks of lake Ontario, but at that town it rises with a sudden and steep slope crossing the river at right angles to its channel, and continuing gradually to increase in elevation, till it attains to the iicight of lake Erie. At Queenston the inner surface of the banks first becomes precipitous and broken; and mineralogists of whose accuracy and fidelity tluT(! can be no doubt, have ascertained, by minute inspection, that the strata, (lime- stone above, and sandstone below, with forty feet interposing of exceedingly friable slate,) on the opposite sides of the river correspond exactly with each other, and scarcely vary to the situation of the present I'alls. I'Vom these premises it has been concluded, that the; watirs of the Niagara formerly ran down the face of the heights of Queenston, — that the rocky material at last ga\ e way under the continued attrition, and that the cataract gradually worked its way backward, till it separated into two at the present jjosition. Not only so, but that this process has continued with the most unvarying regularity, accomplishing very nearly the same number of inches in tlu; same sjjace of time. This backward motion however, if any such there be, is at present amazingly slow, anil it is therefore decided, widi unhesitating certainty and coolness, that tin- world must have existed, and the waters of the Niagara have been at work, for a much larger period than six thousand years. With the same facility of hjpothesis and assertion, they have decided upon its future as easily as upon its past operations. It is inevitably certain, we are assured, that it will grailually saw its way twenty miles farther and drain lake Erie, and going backward three hundred miles, take up its temjiorary residence below Detroit. It is needli'ss f«)r us at present to pursue it any farther. liut if we grant, that there was a time when the water from lake Erie first made a breach in Queenston heights, these theorists cannot refuse, that there must have no been a previous time when no breach as yet existed. If so, where then was the outlet of lake Erie? Ry what channel did the waters of the great chain of western lakes, above Ontario, find a passage to the ocean? If tliese lakes did not then exist, and if they and their oudet were the simultaneous result of some mighty terraqueous convulsion, may it not be as reasonably concluded that the whole channel of the. Niagara, from the present Talis to Queenston, was ploughed out by the same revo- lutionizing struggle— and that in place of bt.-ing the operation of thousands f)f years, it may have been the work of a month or perhaps of a day? Upon this supposition it is not difficult to account for the present position of the Falls; below them the channel is comparatively narrow and confined, and the current must have raged, as indeed it still does, with much more fury and effect than where it is less pent up. At the I'^alls it is divided b)- an island into two arms, each wid(;r than the channel below; and farther up it is diffused over a still more ample surface, peacefully winding round islands of various sizes, or smoothly expanding into a kind of bay. Within the semicircular outline also of the presliiii);i'r<. ili's|>aii'iiiK, Hiiil liciits on the liars of its princiii; Hi'ats, and runs wildly from wall to wall, tlifn strives to rci'over, Hi'Uls oil aiiollier still, and around the <-ii'i-lo is ciiiTled, .loslled fiiiiii shoulder to shouliler. till losiuK Us giillopiliK motion. Dizzily round il swirls, and is di'ag>;iMl toward the hiileous Whirl|iool. liound sweeps the liorrible luaelstroin, ami into tho whirl of its vortex Cin'lo a hroken houl, tin oar-hlade, things without number; Striving, they shove one another, ami seem to hurry, im|iutient To measure the shadowy will-be. and seek from their torinont a resiiiie. Logs that have leapt the Kails and swum iiiisi^lmi 'iieath the current. Here are restored again, and weird is tlieir resurri>etioii; Here like straws lliey are snapt. and grimling like millstones togetlier. ("hating ami splintering their mates, they wade in their deepening ruins; Till, without hope, on tipli>e they rise, lips .shiiveU'd and speecldess. Seeing sure fate bi'fore them that tightens its toils to ensnare them; HoUow the hellhole gapes, and ravenously it roeeives them, — .\ll that is left is a sigh, and the eolioes of that are soon slriuigled. — Hiiiifihluii'D Kiiniitia. 160 Such was the course selected by the plucky and resolute sailor for his exhibition of power and endurance— throuj^di a fearful channel, an eti^rnal war of waters. From a boat rowed to the center of the stream, at a point about one-quarter mih; from the head of the rapids, Captain Webb dived heail first into the water. It was just twenty minutes past four o'clock. A few vigorous strokes and he was fairly in the rapids, going brc-ast on, his form a mere speck, as seen from the great bluff above. He went like; an arrow shot from a bow. The first great wave he struck he went under, but in a second appeared way beyond. The great waves seethed over him occasionally, but he always seemed ready to meet them. His great chest was boldly pushed forward, and occasionally half of the magnificent physique of tiie reck- less adventurer was lifted from the water, but he bravely kept his position through it all and seemed perfectly collected and at home. So the mad journey went on safely through the upper rapids. He passed then through the lower ones. There the waves dash higher, the water is confined in a narrower space, and the trip is in evt;ry way more perilous. How far he went alive no one will ever know. He was seen by m a n y w h i 1 e passing through this awful sea. His body was borne onward, now- rising above, now sink- ing beneath the white- capped waves. He was seen to enter the whirl- pool. Here he threw L. ^ up one of his arms, as if to signal some unfor- seen danger. A second I later he was buried in i the foaming billows, i which dash upwards ' forty or fifty feet, and I whirl and seethe as if i lashed by a thousand furies. This was the last seen of the intrepid I swimmer, — his disap- I pearance occurring thir- teen minutes after he entered the wat(;r. An J active search was insti- tuted but no trace of his body had been found when the shades of night enveloped the troubled waters in a mantle of darkness. During the afternoon of July 28th, the body was recovered in the river below Lewiston. The arms were extended as though in the act of taking a swimming stroke, and the feet were likewise extended as though in the act of swimming. The scalp had a deep gash about four inches long, and the hips and left shoulder had long blue marks where the body had struck the rocks. Theories as to the direct cause of death are rife. Was the life crushed out of him by the weight of the water; was he drowned; or did he loose his life by diving and striking on a jagged stone or rock.-" These are questions surrounded with inscrutable mystery. i.-.i ; 'd rii in •i ■ IT: II A <^ I i':,. f \« Tlir ()tti( ill n port, of llic lupilical cxaniiiicrs, at the iiKiucsl licid over the noted swiinim.r s n mains, states that no bones were found broken, and the wounds were nuni: nf th< in sutVitiil as a success. SeeinLf is l)elievin}f the travelinj^ public, and from th«! ^rentle:nanly agents in charjje, every on<' can feel sure to receixc courteous replit-s and most reliable information. Vhr tourist, wishini,^ to select a temporary abiding place on the Canada side, will fmtl several well-kept hotels, at prices varying according to accommodations desired, The largest and most com- modious of these is th(! Clifton House, which has been open to the public for more than fortj years, anil has an established repu- tation. The Prospect House is almost on the verge of the P'alls Ix-ing located at Table Rock. VILLAGE OF NipGpi^p FpbliS, N. V. Dii the Aiiifrlcaii SIrin rtfX H E \'l LLACil'] of Niaj,fara I'alls, N. \., was incorporaU'il on July Otii, 1S4S. Ji^ and contains to-day a population of nearly four thousand inhal)itants. It boasts of several hotels, larife stores, chunhes to the numlter of six, and has one of the larjjfcst paper mills in the Slate of New \nik. The main business street of the villag(! is Falls street, on which may be found hardware, dry j^ooils, ami almost all the business of the |)lace; the post-oftice is located about the center of tlu; street, and at its foot may lu; seen a Soldier's Monument. In summer time; thi' streets present (juite an animated ap[)carance; they are broad and well kept, anil nboimd in fme shade trees; especially may this be saiil of I'irst street, on which four churches are situated in close proximity to each other. Buffalo street contains some line residences, r h e h o 1 1! I s a r e prominent features of the place. T h e C a t a r a c t I louse, dates its ex- ice back to the year It is a handsome inj^, possessinj^f all the •ments, elii^nbly locati-d •r, over the Rapids, above the balls, and receives liberal patronaj^'e from the most opulent t,niests. It is, in every respect, a first-class hotel. The International Hotel has accommodation for 600 ij^uests. It is a mammoth fire-proof buiKlin},^ and, borrowint^f a <|uotatinn from a Niaj^ara (luide Hook, "its conveniences are not intf;nded for the- use of liie poorest of Xiajjara's visitors. " The Hotel Kaltenbach, located within a few steps east of the Cataract House, and in full view of the American Rapids, can be classed as one of the fme hotels at the I-'alls. A neater, cosii-r, pleasantir, and more home-like abiding,' place cannot be found anywhere. Its pojjularity is 'inmense, and certainly well deserved. The buildinj,^ is a nv\\\ handsome thre(;-story brick structure. aft<'r the j.(othi< styh', and contains thirt)' sleepinj.;-rooms. The housr; is tast(;fully and handsomely furnished throu}.,du)ut, provideil with baths, electric lulls, water, j.[as, and all modern improve- ments. The cuisiiie is excellent, the taiile er\iii' of the best. This house h.ts put j.tu l!l \n W ' in |)ra( ti( <• a feature worthy nf imitation at summer resorts, and specially at Xiajjara I'.ills Its rates are posted upon llie door of eacli mom— $3.00 per day — and an; uniform to all (omers. Mr. Kaltenhach deserves murh from the traveh'ng public, and it is only to i)e re},'retted that tlie limited size of the huildinj;^ tloes not p(;rmit the entertainment of hundreds of daily visitors. The " Kaltenbach" is open smnmer and w inter. It commands the enviabh" patronaj^o of th*; licst class of tourists. The Spencer I louse is conveniently situated opposite the New York Central mention. The press is well represented by the Daily and Weekly Gaz('tte, imder the niana^fcment of Peter A. Porter. To-day, Niagara Palls is popularly known as a fashionalile and inviting place of resort, only. VXw. town of the future, however, is destined to be rangetl among the most important of our manufacturing marts. 1 he immense water-power, which can l)e utilized so easily, has begun to attract the attention of capitalists. The projected International Park will contribute materi- ally to the industrial adv-tince- inent and jjrogress of the town, its object l)eing not tf» drive away manufacturers, but simply to exclude tlnin from tin- immediate pro.ximity of the cataract. The much abused and villitied .Niagara hackman is, of course, one of th(" promin- ent features of the street. To him might pro|)erIy apj)ly the description of " Hill Warnirk.' the harkm.m of the Indianapolis Herald. ill- nllim k<'|>t IiIh cycH iiIioikI Whi.'lu'viT way hi' wi'fit, III' wiis up ill IiIh prnfi'HMloii— Iii> CiMlIll ImI/./ a |IIIHM'II|{I'I' Siii'i'i'KHriil half 11 Hi|iiari'. r\\t\\\ tlirmiKh Till' wiiiiliT iif H kyiT, Anil III* kiiiiwoil till- liiiniHti wiiy so well, 111' iii'viT iiiIhsi'iI n III Wlii-ii it riiiiii' til iiiiiking rhiirKoit Ami itiH'iirln' liis purkUit. tao liepot. It is kept open die T \e.ir around, and ranks ' among the l>est hotels at .\iag.ira. The .Niagara I lousi' is largeU patronized b\ commen ial trav«lers and tourists. It possesses com- fortable a|)pointments with pleasant surroundings. It is t; open at all seasons of the year. The Cioat Island I louse, situatetl at tht; Island bridge entrance, ;it the edge of till' Kapids, offers also good induo-mcnts to visitors I lie P.iiific Hotel ranks among the gooil liot«'ls of the place and is kept open during tht' entire year. ( )tlier Hotels there are on this side, of which the limits of this work forbid even a POINTS OF INTEI^EST. THF. \-ARIOrS points whence the finest views of the 1-alls may hv obtained, and tlie most interestin^r of the many historical and .penological spots in the vicinity, can Ik- cataloK'i"'<^l ^^^ follows : DN AMERICAN SIDE. CfOAT Island Bkiohk. American Uai'ii>s ahovk. tiik Kam-s. GOAT ISLAND GROUP. Hath Isi,ani). LiNA Isi.ANIl. CilAi'lN Island. UoiiiNSKN Island. Ship and Hum Islands. Threk Sisters Islands. The Center Fall. The Three I'kofiles. H'xi's Hack. HiDDLE Stairs. Cavk of the Winds. Hock of .\iiES. Terrapin Bridise. Head of Goat Island. The Leaimnci Uock. PROSPECT PARK. The Point. Inclined Uailway. Shadow ok the Hock. Hurricane Hridue WiiiRLi'ooL Kaimds American side. The Whirlpool Ameuican hide. The Devil's Hole. Lewiston. Fort Niaoara. Indian Villaoe. DN CANADIAN SIDE. View from amove. Oeneral View. Amehk AN Falls (Front View). Tahle Hoc k. Horse Shoe Fall. Spiral Staircase. rNDER TaIILK UocK. Hehini) the HouseShoe Fall. Canadian Kapids arove the Falls. Cedar Isle Paooda. (IRAND lUpfDs Drive. Castor and Pollix Hridoes. Cynthia Island. Clark Hill Islands. The Lovers' Walk. BlRNINd SPRIN(i. MlISEIM. The Ferry New SrspENSioN Bkidoe. Uailway Sisi'Ension Bridoe. Whirlpool Hapids Park. Whirlpool and Manitou IIock. Brolllli{i'. ■ ICiiilniiy '■ " Mi. tiit'iiii (I'litrBl Cariti-liNiT llriitui', ■• \VI,irl|"...l K(i|.i.|^, " Wliirli"...:, ..... " |lr\il- II. .1... " Top i.f Miiiiiiliiiii, . . . - " ImliaiL VilliiK'' (Ciiiiinil M..ii>. . ■ " Tiil.l.. It.Hk. ..... \i/i Ni'W Siis|>i'iisiciii llriclp', CM' I'l'iry, Uailwny Siisiii'iisiiiri lliiilK'S " liiiiiiiii;,' SiiriiiK, ..... " " viii Ni'W SiiH|M'iiHiiiii Hriilf,'!', - " " Itiiilwny SiispiMiHiiin ItriiJK'', - " liiinily'x l.iiiii' Ilattli' (iroiiiicl, - 'III ltn»k's Mimiiiiii'iit, (^iiiTiiSlnii H>'if,'lilrt, - lANAD* SiriK. \M. HlhK 2 mil08. 1^ niili'H 1 " 4 " 1 " i " '- ** ■i I( •■ \i " ■ik " 24 " 2i " ;i 1 ■ M " 7 " <\\ " sk - 8 li u •• ^IDMIMKION FEE» fINI) TOIiIiS. Ti> <;.. at Island f..r llii' "lay, ..... " si'nHiiii, ..... ■ rni-pi'it I'ark for till' ilay. -..-.. " '• " " rti'ii^iiii. . . . . - " Chvi' if till' UiK-k I with Kiildo ami (liPSs), " Art (lallcry I I'riispool I'aik) ..... ■' lii.'liiicil liaihvay (riiispcft I'nikl .... " KiTry ti> laijaila and rriispci't I'lirk, .... " I'.li'itric I.iKlit (rrii.^|M'cl I'arki I'Xlfii, oii day nr season tirki't..*. " It.liind Horsi'.SIioi Kail witli unid"' luiil dri'.ss. Canada sidi', * Musturn. . - ..... " lliiniiriK SpiiiiK and Islands, . . . . - " l.uiidys I.ane Hatlle Cniunil, .... " \V|iirlp(M.I I!a|iids ii'lIliiT sidi'i. . . . . - " Wliiili I ..■itli.r siiloi, ..... " *'icis~in(,' Xi'H Siisprnsloii Bridal; icarli wayi, " " •' " I'xtni for two-lioisi' rarriHKc, '■ Crossing Unilway Suspension Brid;,'!' lovor and ri'tuni I, . " " " " I'Xtra for t«i)-liorsi' < I'-iano, " Toll on ItiviT Hank IliKliuoy, Caniiiiu Hide, for I'aiTiiigos oi '■ , HPTE» OF FpH.E AI^I.OWEI) MY h\\\ IN THE VILLACIE OK MAUAIIA FALLH. .N. Y. For Ihr uiie mill hin nf caniiigis icheri no e.ri>rri»i ronlraci in made Iherrfor: I'of • arryinK oni- passiMi^'iT ami ordinary lianKiiK'" from one placi- to another in the Villn;,'e. Kiii'l. .•itditioiial passenger ami ordinary hnK'KQK''. ....... KerearryinR one passenger and ordinary liajjjfaKe frotn niiy point in this villajje to any point in the village Suspension Bridge, ....... .... r.aih additional pa:.si'ni.'er and ordinary Imggage. ....... Kaili additional piece of liaggage other than ordinary liag;,'age, ...... Cliililren under tliree years of age. frei'. Over three yi'urs and iMidther small p.ireel. I'or I iinying one or more passiTigers, In lie- siini' earriage. fnun any poini in this village to any point miles of the limits of the village at the rate of one dollar and fifty cents for each hour oeeupled, i in every iii~lanee where such cariiage shall ho cirawri liy a .singli' liorse, tlio fare therefore aliall lie of one clollar for each hour oec iipied. las 24 " i; 2 7 niile.s. $11 M I 11(1 (I ir, » 7.'. I (Ml I (Id 2.-I (I 2r. !>0 II l.'i 1 (Id (I M (I M d .'lO ,'id (I 'id (I 2,-| d ,-id (I 2,-> (I ."iO d Id • if 9d ,'id (1 2i 1 (M) « ,-iO n 12 within live 'xi'ept thai ut the rati) A BRIEF GUIDE Niagara Falls and Vicinity. COMPILKli 1-R(1M lll.liRIMs' NOTES. ADER. the pilgrim stands entranced and lingers on the platform at the station of Falls X'iew. on the Canada side. H.- hesitates to advance ^rther in his explorations, in fear of destroying the diu^^ly-rooted niipres- ^ sions left npon all his sensc-s at the fust si.^du of that wondrous v.s.on .- - of Nia.rara. which defies at once description and analysis, and excfs by turns, ideas of grandeur, beauty, terror, power, sublimity. Hut rememberui.i, h.s bounden duty to you, he wends his way. leisurely, to the little Canadian vdlage lyniK' immediately under the brow of the hill, and soon reaches the nver bank. GKNKUM. V.KW.-From the bank just below the Clifton H.usc thercis a fine P;'"'"-^"";;; vl; uf both l--alls. The larger cataract stretching from shore to shore ,s the Lanad n :rH:L-Shoe ....1, .hUst the smaller one is the Americ.m. Tlus vew en,h..ces he entire contour of the Cataract from the northern pouU of the .Xmencan 1 all to the Canadian shore at Table-Rock. „ , ,r . ,i,.. AMKK "vN F.-VU-S-FKosr V..;w.-A few steps further, and from a small platform on the T^^opposite the Brunswick Mouse, there is a most interesting front v.ew of he Am - ican and Center Falls. The Rapids above, the church sp.n.s o e A-- e- '^"V- showing thn.ugh the trees, the islands in the rner, the rocks at the foot of th 1 U upon w' ich the descending torrent breaks into spray, all contriln.te to the magnificence tJI Ro'^T exists only in name, and in the interest which attaches to its site. It w.. a Hous:^s"'!^FA.....-Here we are at t.., Igc of the fm.ous Cataract. The pencil nor the en u do justice to the scene. The silent and still picture wants the motion and the ^Id :Mhit stupendous rush of waters. An ever-rising column o ;P^;y; -'-;^ with prismatic glory, spires upward from the foaming ^'"'L -•''^^-^^ ^^^^ '\ '^ .^„ ', , is worth a pilgrin„age of several thousand nules to see. 1 he dept f 1 - ^ - J ^ center is m..re than :o feet, as proven by an cxpcnmcnt made ^uih the unscaworthy vessel, "Michigar" K.IU In , S.7. This Fall is 191 )0 feet across with a drop cubic feet of water pass over the ledge every ,f I sS feet and fully fifteen hundred million •Horse-Shoe" is hardly hour. The name i)>:i m Iiii; Hki. Can N'AV Tin: Till Tin: Till true tn the |)ri-siMit '•liapc, which is now more nearly rectangular. The horse-shoe curve h.is iH-en marred by the falling,' nf portions of the cliff at various times, until its orii,'inal syninietrv has nearl)' departed. Si'iK.M. .Si viK' A^r., firinl)- anchored t<> the rocky banks at the north end of Table- Kock. di-^niul^ the perpendicular face of the cliff anil leaiis under Table-Rock and to the fiHPt iif the Ijorse-Shoe {•"all. Dresses and j^uides must be obtained to pass >\\ I .\Hl.i;KitrK AM) I'VDKR nil". I'ai.I,. — The view here is j;rand in an awful degree. An imlescrib.ible feeling; of awe ste.ils over us, anil we are more than ever impressed with the tremendous ma^'nificence of .Niagara, as we ga/c upwards at the frowning cliff that >eems tottering to ii^ f.ill, and pass under the thick curtain of water — so near tiiat it seems as if we could touch it — and hear the hissing s|)ray, and are stunned by the deaf- ening roar that l--iks from the mist\- vortex at our feet. The precipice of the Horse- Shoe l'"all rises perinndicidarly to a height of feet; at our feet the cliff ilescends about 70 feet into a turmoil of bursting foam; in front is the liquiii curtain wliich, though e\er passing onwarrout,di the dressing rooms, wliere we cast off our mariner's suit and are ready for a trip up TllK Inci.IM;I) Railway. — A tunnel has been cut from tlie cliffs to the mar^jin of the river, at an angle of about thirty ilegrees, and within it is built the railwa)-, by the side of which is a flight of stairs, numbering 290 ste])s. The cars are raised and lowered by machinery, and are so arranged that one ascends while the other descends. Prospkct PoIM is on the very verge of the Fall, at the point where its mighty waters descend in one solemn unbroken mass into a gulf of spray rising in clouds from tiie tor- tured waves beneath, and driven about by the gusts, till sometimes the wliole river anil the opposite shores are niomentaril)- concealed. As this misty curtain is withdrawn, the whole scene is disclosed. Immediately in front is the American Fall, its waters almost in reach of the outstretched hand, beyond this I. una Island anil the wooded steps of Goat Island, while to the right stretches in wonderful magnificence the sublime curve of the Horse-Shoe F'all; and up the stream the foaming rapids greet the vision. Prosi'KCT Park e.\tends all around us, a remnant of the natural forest. Cool, shady walks run in all directions, the air is full of the fragrance of wild blossoms, rustic seats at inter- vals furnish delightful resting places and convenient positions to gaze at the scenery. When the shades of night envelop the earth in darkness, electric lights pour their brilliant rays upon the scene, infusing the spray clouds with gorgeous rainbow tints and brilliantly illuminating the rolling waters. An Art (iailery. Concert Hall, F'ountains, Bazaar, and other objective points of entertainntent, are provided to engage the attention of visitors. Leaving the Park at its south-eastern corner we find on our right the toll-gate of Goat Island liRllxir.. — This structure is remarkable from the fact that it spans one of the most turbulent of any known rapids. It was first built as a frail wooden structure in 181 7, by Judge Porter, and was soon carried away. It was replaced by a stronger one, which stood from 181 8 to 185''), when it was removed, and the present elegant structure substituted. The foundations are heavy oaken cribs, filled with stone and plated with iron. The bridge itself is of iron, in four arches, each of ninety feet span, making a total length of three hundred and sixty feet. Its width is twentj-seven feet, comprising a double carriage-way, with footway on either side. Here is the finest outlook on Tin; Amkrican Rapius ahdvk TIIK Falls, which viewed from this point present that same appearance of plunging from the sky which renders the view of the Canadian Rapids from the Canada shore so impressive. Ship an'D Hrk; Islands stem the current a little above the bridge and are two small wooded isles of rare beauty. It needs but little effort of the imagination to fancy them vessels under full press of sail, endeavoring to sheer out of the current that hurries them inevi- tably down. Ship Island was once accessible by a bridge connecting it with Bath Island. It was swept away and has not been rebuilt. Bath Island, one of the group of islands which stud the rapids upon the American side, above the cataract, is the first on our way. It contains about two acres, and its former scenes of loveliness ha\e disapjjeared to make room for the various buildings and sheds of a large paper-mill. Looking do.vn the river are several small islets, the first two of wiiich are named Chapin and Robinson Islands. CllAPiN Island received its name from that of a workman who fell into the rapids while re- pairing the (ioat Island bridge, was hurled to its shores, and notwithstanding the imminent peril of the undertaking was rescued by Joel R. Robinson. RoitlNSoN Island is named after the intrepid navigator of Niagara's troubled waters, whose brave feats of daring in rescuing life and property, should immortalize iiis name. Crossing by a bridge of a single span, at the south end of Bath Island, we are 1115 lil ; w !;r (IN (i'i\i Imami. iiitii .1 sli.idv f'uc^t, alniiisi in it-; piinR'val siniplicit)-, a most lovely aiul rotn.intic sput nf ^^roiiiul, aHnniin^' a cool retreat in summer from the noon-il.i)' lieat, htiHMtli the tlen^e fuli.i^je of trees abi>iiiulint; there, upon the trunks of which are inscribed \.iri'Mi^ n. lines and dates showing that visits were here made as earl)- as \/C> the f,ict that some iioA[s placed thei-e to pasture in 177 ui ,ir tlu' head of the Kapids almost in the center of the river, dividing; it so .is to fiirm the two main portions nf the I'aljs. It covers an extent of seventy acres. On reaching' the Isj.md we ha\e taken the first road leailin^; to the ri>,dit and arrive .it the northwest ]).irt, upon a narrow ridj^e, called froni its shape, Ib'i.'s l!\i K fium uiiich we ^'aiii one of the finest views of the American I-'ails. Ri^ht in fioiit i> the sin. ill Center I'all, and the foot-brid[,'e which leads to l.una Island, with its ilw.nfed and stunted trees; beyond is the serrated line of the Anieric.in I'all; while the (list. nice is I'llicil up with the recrdintj lines of the banks of the river below. 1 )es( ciidinj,' the steps in front of us, we cross a pretty and substantial bridge over the stre.im th.it firms the Center l'"all and l.md upon I.rv A |s| AMI, .1 pK'.is.int little isii't well worth)- of a visit. Its n.ime came to it in connection with the weird and ple.isin;^' a[)i)e.irance of the Lun.ir bows, visible there. rill lilKi 1' I'Kiiili.ls are an irreLjuhir projection of th.it portion of the precipice which is funned ))>• tiie west side of l.una Island, and ,ire almost uiuler the American l'"all. I'iiey oht.iin their name from their remarkable likeness to three human faces. Till Cl N 1 1 i< i'".\l.l. over which we p.iss on our w.iy to and from (ioat Island, aithou-^di a mere ribbon of white water when seen from a short distance in contrast with the (ireat I'alls, is !))• no means unworth}' of notice. It is lOO feet wide, ami a very ^'raceful sheet of w.iter. .\ lew p.ices brin^' us to the entrance of Minnil's SlAlKs erected in iSjy, by Mr. Hiddle, president of the United States Hank. They are tirmly secured to the cliff, cpiite safe, and So feet high. The total descent from the top of the bank to the bottom is 1S5 feet. Descending the stairs we take the pathwa)' to the riijht, .md having previously donned a water-proof dress are i)rcpared for a visit to Till Cavi: 01 rili; Winds, which lies behind the Center Fall. The Cave is 100 feet high by i(>o deep and 1 60 long, ami its existence is due to the action of the waters upon the sh.ile, le.uing the more solid limestone rock overhanging. A visitor, v\hose impressions .ippeared in ll.irper's Magazine years ago, gives a most graphic ilescription: "Close by the entrance \-ou look ilown into an abyss of cold gray mist, driven ever and anon like showers of hail into your face, as you grope your way down the rocky slope. Haste nut, p.iuse not. Here is the pi.itform, h;ilf-seen, half-felt amiti the blinding si)ray Shade of l'".ither Hennepin, this is trul)' a 'dismal roaring' of wind and water. We are across — .mil st.ind secure on the smooth shaly bottom of the cave. Look up! what a magni- litent arch is formed by the soliil rock on the one side, anil the descending mass of water on the other. Which is the solider and firmer you hardly know. Vet look again — for it is sunset — and see what we shall see nowhere else on earth, three rainbows one within another, not half-formeil anil incomplete, as is the scheme of our dailv life; but filling up the complete circle, perfect and absolute." Till. Ki>i K 111 Ai;i;s is the huge rock l>ing at the foot of the l'"alls in front of the Cave of the Winds. l'"rom the foot of the staircase, the path to the left, leads toward the Horsc-Shoc I'.iil. I'ortions of the rock fall occ.isionally, anil the n>ail is but little used, and not keot in good condition; still, one is well repaid for an attempt to get a close sight of the (ireat l-".ill from below. Returning to the bank above, and continuing the walk along the brink, the next interesting ])oint of observation is 100 Tkkkai'IN liKii)(;r,, leading,' to tlic i(lt;f ..f tlu 1 1.. i^ -Slim- l'".ill .md tlu' li kkai'IN Rik k, where for fnrty yens the well-kni.un Tl uuaimn I'uwi k, slaiuliii^ at tlie very ver^e of tlie l''alls, constituted a land-mark tn l)e seen froni all directiims. The l)ridj,'e, bein},' si> near the l-'all as to bo affected hy the s])r.iy, re- or more feel high, producing a brilliant effect. TllK lIl'.kMir's CascADK is spanned by the First Sister Island Mridge, and is a rare and attractive I'^all. It was one of the favorite resorts of the Hermit of the Falls. At TlIK Ilr.AD oi' GoAl' Island, a little further up the river, the view is quite expansive, commanding both banks of the stream, and the islands in the channel. Heginning at the right, the site of l'"ort Schlosser is seen about a mile away, in.irked by a small white building and a very large chimne)-. The town of Chippewa on the Canada shore; (irand Island, etc., are all visible from this point. V\'e leave with reluctance this most fascinating spot, and direct our steps towards the Canada Side, crossing the river this time over Till-; Ni:\V SusI'KNSIhn Huiix;!;, in full view of the (ireat Cataract, from which one of the most glorious views of the entire l'"alls can be had. The points alreaiK' visited constitute the attractions immediately arounil the I-'alls. There arc several localities in the vicinit)' worth)' of attention, specially on account of historical associations. A brief mention will aid the tourist in his |)eregrinations. The jVIhiiI(;an Ciatkai. Cam I-I.i;vi;k Hriihii:, just constructed, a structure of an entirely new model and positivel)' elegant. THK Oi.l) St SI'KNSION Huiixii-; two miles below the l-'alls. This was built in 1.S55 by John A. Roebling, and is both a railroad and cirri. ige bridge. It is a marvel of engineering some S,cx)0 miles of wire being emplo)-ed in the cables. WlIIKl.l'ODl. RaI'IDS. — The narrowing of the ch.innel in the vicinity of the Suspension Bridge greatly accelerates the current, and the tremenilous force w ith which it rushes through the gorge throws the water into \iolent commotion. On the .American side a double ele- vator, and on the Canada side an inclined railway have been pro\ided to descend to the water's edge and take a near view of the wild scene. TlIK WlllUl.l'i )()!.. — A half mile below the Rapids, the Whirlpool is found. Here the river makes an acute angle in its cmirse, turning to the right, and boils within a narrower compass than in aiu' other s|)ot. The current of the river runs with such fierce velocity, that it rises up in the middle ten to twenty feet above the sides, (^n the surface of this whirling vortex are often seen the ruins of forest floating round, marking out to the eye the outline of that fatal circle. The Whirlpool may be seen to advantage from either the Canadian or the American side. ft 'I'm MaMI'iI. Ill; I'ISNAi II Rii' K, is xilpixist'd tn t)i' a |)<>ltinn nf the clitt', ,lt tlu' bast- <>l" wliiili it iii-^. tlirnwn (Iciwn in furiiur times. It is situated about tift)' roils above tlie Whirlpool, at the ed^^e of the ri\er, its shape bein^; that of an iinerted cone, with its ape\ rtsiint^ upon the suiiuiiit of another larj^e ruck, rcachin); to the hei^'ht of nearly one luindrt (I feet from the water'n ed^je. l'.K(ii K's MoMMKNi. — ( )n (Jueenston lieit^lits, four miles below tilt; Whirlpool, oil the C aiiada side, stands the Monument erected to the memory of the Hritisli (ieneral, Sir Isaac Brock, who fell in the san^'uinary action foui,'ht on tlic spot on the 1 5th of October, iSij. The view from this monument is most ^{orKeous. The cv'c wanders with untiring' deli^jht o\er a rich scene of woodland and water. Just below, is the villaj^e of (Jl KI'Ssii IN, (iNiAKlif, a small ])ictures(iue town, worth of notice chiefly on account of the memorable battle that took place on the nei^jhborin^; !iei),dits, 1.1 \\IMi>\, N. \., opposite (Jueenston, is a beautifully situated town, about seven miles from the I'alls. It is a place of some im|)ortance, anil stands at the licail of the na\'i)4ation on the river; it contains several fine hotels and public buildings. Nl Ai.AKA I'ipWN stands on tlie Canaila shore, opposite N'ounj^stown. on the site of Newark, which w.is burnt in iSi ? by (ieneral .McClure. .A short \ ii.i.i , in the immediate vicinity, is named after (ieneral Drumniond, then com- mander of the British forces. Cllll'l'KW.x Bai n.l. (iuoiND. — I'pon this field, located near the villajje on the Canada bank of tin; .Niaj^ara, three miles above the I'"alls, was foii^jht the first of that series of actions which decideil the campaign of 1 814 in favor of the .American arms. The battle took place on July 5th. 1814. The British made the attack and retreated after the action. Till-; Tnl' OK rilK MdINTAIN, on the .\nierican side, opposite (Jueenston Ileijjhts, jitifords from its elevated position a magnificent view of Lake Ontario and the River Xia^jara. Tin: It siAKoKA Imhan Ri;skk\ ation is 9 miles northeast from the l"alls. It is strictly an Indian villat,'e upon which the Tuscaroras are located, and well worth a visit. As a partino; injunction to the visitors of the future, the pilijrim would advisi; them, iinuiiiab/y, to make lUstinct aj,fn'C'mints witli the liackmen or any other person whose services they may re(|uire at Nia<^ara I-alls, as to tlie service e.xpecteil and the amount to he paid in return. Kxact the terms of your contract, but do not jjfo beyond without first having a thorouj^di uiulerstanding as to the cost. l«s HOW TO RKflCH NlflC.flHjI FfIhL», S.;mD Praclltal IritnTiti itlnn, r I;K I I'. S will iialiirally arise as to llitj «'asicsl ami Ix'sl means lor rfatliinj^; tlif l-'alls of Niagara, from the various poiiUs of liie romi)ass, and, in our caiiacil) of faithful ami nliahlc infurmaiU, we will inilcavor to ^'ivc in very condenseil form, a few points whieli may prove valualile knowl- i:ilL,fe to many intenilin<,' visitors. Particulars as to rates of fare, time of trains, etc., can easily be ascertained. The (leneral rasscnj,rer Department of each of the railways mentioned will, if aildressed, no iloubt, 1j(; pleasinl, to fur- nish, in the most minute detail, all the data ^ one may ask for. Dwllers on the: u-lden shores of th.. I'acitk and \n the Creat West, the fertile Northwest, the enterprisin;^ Southwest, usin^ the various trans-.:ontmental hnes from West to Kast, will ^o either via Chicago or St. Louis. ILalth ami phasure- seekers from the South will K" via Cincinnati or St. Louis. Dem.ens of the l.-astern and Southeastern Stafs, will doul,tK:ss jom-ney via lMiilacU:lphia New York „r Hoston; and from the Middle States, '[..ledo or Buffalo can be the centers chosen. Havin^^ thus established a few central points of departure we will direct the traveler to NiaLjara l-alls from those points. FuoM C-n..A... -Ihc Michigan Central Uailn.ul has the -nly tl.r..u,h hne. rmmin. -hrcclly .. NiaKara Falls, under one n.ana.enu.nt and without change -f cars. 1 .me. run. ■ 5 .. \, turs. IVincipal p-ints on the n-ute: Xiles, Kalam.uoo. Hatt e ^-K- A"" AH or and Detmit. al! in Michigan; Winds,.r, St. Thonv.s, ,.a,ersv. e, Uelland C h.,.- pcwa Niagara ■••alls, in the I'mvince ,.f ( )ntatiu. Fue I-.spress han.s. c a. > , u th W^ner Supers. Parlor Cars, Dinin, Cars and I'alace S„„>kin, Cars attached. lus J^:'""nown as •■ m- Xu,,.n, F.Ns K..Ur." Close connecti.ms a,-e nuuK. w.th th.s hnc by all roads entering; Chicatju from the West. Northwest, South and Southwest. t |-MiM >i I "I l> —A tlir(ni^;li Inn f nn^; .1 iiukI dimt idiiIi', mmpuMd of W.ib.ish, St l.iim-. .111(1 I'.itilir Kailw.iy fnim St l.otii- In Ti'liiln, .tnd the- Micliit,'.»n Cc-nlr.il Kiiilicnl fri.m T.ilcdii to \i.in.»r.i, rmi^ i\<\s — The N( v\ \ ork l tnti.il Uailioad direct line to Niagara I'alls, leaves the (ii.ind t entral Depnt, the ■ml)- depot wlure tr.iins arri\c and depart from in the city of New N'^rk, f-, Schenectad)', Utica, S>Tacuse, Kochestei, l.ockpoit .ind Nia^;ara {'alls, all in the State of New York; also by way of H.itavia, N. V , and Mullalo. lime, fmm \2 to 1 i; hours Trains proviiled with I'alace Sleepinj; Cars, I'arloi and l).i>- Co.iches, Dininj; Cars and Smoking; Cars. 'I'he New \'ork, l.aki' luie i\: Western Railroad runs thri)ut;h Jersey Citj- and Patter- son, N. J . nin;;hamton, i'.lmira, Ijoriiellsville, Attica and Huflalo, N . \ . on the way to Nia^ar.i I'alls. I )istance, 444 niiles. I'ime, from 12 to 15 hours. I'ullnian Hotel and Drawing Room Sleeping; Coaches attached to through trains The Delaware, Lackawan.i M: Western runs soliil trains from New N'ork to lUilialo, wliere connections ,ire made with numerous trains for Niaj^ara I'"alls. I'KdM I'llll .\lii;i,l'lli.\ — The i.ehi^;li \'alley Route traverses the romantic valleys of the Sus- (pieh.mna and l.ehij^h, and the Wilkesharre Mountain, eflectin^; junction at connecting; points with both the New SUrk Central and l-lrie railways. I'hrouj^h cars run from Philadelphia to Hutfalo and Niagara lalU without chanj^c. Time, 15 to \C> liours. {■KdM HoMip.N. — The lioston \- Albany Railroad runs through coaches from Hoston to Nia^;ara I'alls, which are attached to the New York Central trains at Albany, N. \' I'his line passes throujjh the most interestinj^ portion of Massachusetts. Time, from Hoston to Niagara l*"alls, 15 to 17 hours. Wagner's I'alace SIcepinjj Cars. 'I"he lloosac I'unnel Route also runs through cars from Hoston to Niagara l""alls, which are joined to the New York Central trains at Troy. The trip lasts fron) 1 •, to 17 hours. The scenic etTccls on this line are ipiite interesting. l'"k().N! IDl.r.Do. — Toledo is one of the terminal points of the Michigan Central Railroad, (Canada .Southern Dixisjon,) and direct communication with Niagara Falls is liad via this reliable route. Time, <) to 10 hours. Palace Sleeping Coaches and Dining Cars attached to e\|)ress trains. I'kuM lU ii.M.d. — The distance between Huflalo and Niagara I'alls is only 22 miles, and numerous trains are run between the two places by the various lines centering there; the Michigan Ceniial, New York Central, and New York, Lake Mric & Western railways. MICHIGAN CKNTI^fJIh HJII IiHO^I^- "Thci Ni.iu.iri I'lll. RuiitB." MONCi tlic riiil\v;i\s of ilu' roimtrj \\l\i(Ii iiniii s|K(i;il attcntiuii, in ( rniinciion with \iii,i,'ar;i I'alls, stands roicinnst aiitl [Hf- • ■minfiit, tlif Mi(lii<,'au Ci iitral Kailioatl; the Diily railroad out of Cliicaj,fo iliat runs tliroiij,di trains Ivastward, via Niagara I'"alls. A rontinii oils line of railwa)' iindi'r one inanajffiiu'nt, Ironi Chicago, the niitrf)|>olis of the west, to N'iat^ara l'"alls. the most |)i(liir('S(|ii(' spot in SI cnii: America, is rct^ardcd as a master stroke of business pohcy and riclily deserves th(! plaudits of the people. The Michij^jan Central Railroad was orit,nnally undertaken and part- ially built hy the State of Michigan, and in the year 1X40 was purchased by tlu; Michigan Central Company, who ran the first iiain from Detroit to Chicago on the; 21st day of June, 1S52. Probably no other railroad in the L'nited State's is more thoroughl) constructed ujion a sjslem that comprehends all the cxpcdiints and safeguards that human ingenuity has deviscti for tlu^ protection of life ant! property in transit. Judicious, far-seeing men are at the helm, combining and directing its forces with conservative skill, while its practical operation in all departments is 'ntrusted to officials who are faithful, intelligent ami experienced, it is an honest, substantial, ably-managed enter|)rise, whose managers look first to safe and swift transportation of their passengers ami then to the elegance and st)le that are the pro|)er concomit- ants of a first-class road — the former a necessity, the latter a luxury. So it is that now this famous and ])opiiIar route combines all the elements constituting the make up of a railroad that cannot be surpassi-d in anything — substantial roail '/ed, steel rails, magnificent and powerful locomotives, cars with safety couplers, and large bright cheerful interiors, finely upholstered and decorated ; trained, experienced, sober, carc'ful and courteous employes, and an evident intent on fhe part of all officials of the road to accommodate; the |)ublic. The Michigan Central Railroad, runs between Chicago .ind the Last, five express trains daily — three on Sundays, made up of fine 171 _. in w (I. I) ((M(Iii->, ^iniilviiiM j;,c.;_ (Irawin;^ nidin <;irs. |i;il;iti,il sli r|iiii.L,' c.irs, .md I.isl ,in\ali!c lhai> a!U ndnr iimdiin iininiii)n, i lie Miil^ij^Mii Ci ntnl was lUi- first line to rim dininj^ cars Irom ( hii a-i' I'l dn I'.ast, and ii) r\; client larr, cdurtcons allcniidii and exten- sive ad\> rtisH)^. |.(>|.|ilari/iil the rno\eiin nt uith the piiiilic In such an o.ient tlial a t;reat inaii\ luad . ha\i sim e adojited it. I hi' dining; ears nnvv in use un the line an III n< u- Imild and pattern, luxuriously litteii up and cniislnirted willinul rei,Mril to cost, se\el| ( nlislitiuin'.,; tile Ilecess.U') ei|uipinenl, I Iw l.llest delicacies ••(■ the seasdll and well iM'ep.ired ilishes, under dilec- tidi) of ,1 inastir o\ the i ulinar\ art, are ser\(il up Id teiu|it the nidst tastididus epi< ures ; tin- <^\i\ ;^a'inl spt ctre d| ily-pepsia, so dlieii made an inliinale a< (iiiaiiUaiK <•, llirdUi^di dseih.isty e.iliu'' 'a\m\ irre.'ular lidurs, is i hased aw .i\. I'dl' si\-e|lt\ live (I Ills per 'ne,\l, tile ijilMlli^- CUTS (limisll .1 Mi/lU ^ ei|u.il Id dial 111 die Im st hdiels in llie ( i^iiiitry aii'.l it is (juietly disiussed uliile li_\in- 'ddu,; .it a -peed dl lorty niilis ,m lidiir. this Iriiaiipli dl nn mIi rn luxury dii ulieiis has reje^.ited td its priuiiii\e |..ii'li,u isui di> diniii'.; ^taiidu wiih its unp,datalile ( dill ipinil,inls cil (lu I \ liMe ( I'll lis, iis li,is,\ plate dl rani' id sdiip, iis sddili 11 liisi uii',, idui^h si<-,iks .ind pii's ^ iiulijMsiilile .'s llinl, uiili diil) aiinul li\e s(|iiare inch's dl lime a\.ul,iMe lur L^dMiliiv,^ the lodd. Will) ,llllple lime Id e|ij.i\ .l!l llli delii ,11 ies aud luxuries as Ueli ,!s sill )stailli,l! ., (Ddked ill dl- Im si '^'.isli iillduiic sl\l'' .llid se'Mil ill ill' llldst (•ml (il l..ikr Mil !ii^.iM, i>\ir ihr imiiliwi -^tiin Kiincr til the Suite of Indiana, anti ilitnn- iIiiciumIi Miiliij^an I it\, NiK s, l\.il.im,i/.ii), Haiilc Cntk, Marshall, Jackson .iiiil Anil Ailiui, ,iil iliii\ini^ .md n pn si nl.iiiv r cilif s In Miiliij^an's inclrnpDlis, |)i'li't>il, \viihiMit (loiiiit OIK 1)1 ilii' inr- tiiiii 111 Ijir M.ijcstv s juisscssion'; in .America. Iirinyimf i|i .It the r.iiMid lalls 111' Nia;|.ir.i. llie Riser Niaj^MiM. k with it', s.itiiu surtaie nf hriivlit eiin ralil lies at the llMlllst s Int. Ille I, iinmis \ie\\ lliim .llu.s e llie I'alls Ml tile I .in. id. I side. Iiist aUr.iils the .iiiiiuion. riiiin 111;.; t^r.iiid. it ,iii|iru.u lies the iiiajestic .nid si ;ili'. die siii)- linie. .\niillier ulijeitise |iiiiiit 111 the Mf lelliler il I'lle (il . .1 .Met I a 111 iii.ilth . ml ple.isnn- cal walerin^ |ii.ues n I the New \V sit'lvcrs is Mackinac Islaiul, siiiiale iuiween tin- iad pi ninsulas InrmiiiL; lae Slate ol Michi;^.nn. \\\< \\\nAv. rcj^lon aru'.ind .M.u kin.ic Isl.ind aliuumls wiili places ol intiTcsi to llu- Idiirist [ miles; Jackson to Hay Cil)', 1 14 mih's; \ assar to Saijinaw, 22 miles; Niles to South Hend, ib miles; Lak(; to Jolict. 45 miles; South Haven to Kalama- zoo, 40 miles; 'iOledo to I )etroit, 0(i miles; St. Tho'nas to Ridj;<\vay, So mih s. The M:cinOAll i,l:;':lAi- IMaHI I'a .:iimO ii 'Q^i'a r.-.LI-u permanent impro\euunts on tin- lines during' tlie scascm of 1 .S83, reipiire an invest- ment of more tii.ut six million dollars, and emhract; amon^ the most important, a maj^nificent new Canii lever steel hridjre across the N'ia^Mra River, in full view of the I'alls; anew depot liuildini; at Detroit, ;, stories hii^h, 1 Sox 4(H) feet, and acres of sheds and pl.i'dorms; a new transfer l)o;it and slip on the Detroit River; miles of doulile ir.uk. and some V) or more siile tr.icks on the Canada division; iron bridj^es on the eiiiire ro.c I; .md tin- construction of the cut otf from Welland to NiaJ,^■l^a I all .. I his last addition forms a most important and valu.ihle link, sliorteninj.^ the tlistanie, as now traversed, lietween Chica^tt and Ni;iL,Mra I'alls, som<' fifteen miles or over, and ni,ikin<.; the C,m,ida Division a p< > liet over the river the ll k t th onL,Mst Uouoli tr.ick truss sp.m in the worlil. Till' eiiils of the (.uili levers reacliiiii^ on the C'lnaila side ',75 feet, and on the Amer- ic.iii side v»5 leet, hoin the towers, leave a Ljap of IJ5 feel tilled bv 1) or«linary truss bridi. svvun<' into place and rested on the ends the i-.inli level' lb |)rovisi()n I, maile tor expansion ,nid lontr.ution bv .in ini^eiiious arrarv.yement bet ween the ends ot the truss bridi.'c and o| the c.inli levers .iHowiiV'' the < luls to th UMiVf t'fe the I, inpei.itur'- ch.m; l)Ut at the same time iireservin. jrte. t ;f ? :■! ii 4: ri;(i(lity ;ii,Miiist sidi- pressure fruiii tlie wiixl. 'I'liere are no !,niys for this purpose, as in a siispinsiiMi liridi^e, Iml tiie striu tiire is ((im|)li'te within ilsell'. Tlie total leiii^lh if till- l)ric|in' is Si)^ In I. It h.l'- (liiiil lie trai unt] Is built stroiiir enoii K'i ' o larr >■ llpiill e.u ll ll'.li ,il till' s.imr lime- ,1 liii'^du train of tin: heaviest kind exteiuUn^' the t nliir |c ii'^th el ihr liridL^c, In aili (I 1)\ iwi) "((insdliilation" eni,Mnes, and under a side pri ssiire III ihiiiv |)(iimds per s(|iiare Innt, wiiirii pressure is prodiucd !))■ a wind ha\iii" a \,fs and a restinj,; poiiii III) /,//,/ //i/i/ii and the supersiiihture is easil)- put in plact: from the shore to llie sill I lowers. liul .ilier iliis ( (lilies the di I'lii 111 t portion o llie leet a( ross ,111(1 15 ■t al io\c a riiarunj rucr whose lorce no ear f th f(i c worl- I. e., to span I an si,i\ , No 1 rthly power ( inpor,ir\ striK luic could survive a moment, and here the skill of the en(i|lleer l .line m Id lever Is sU( ll ill, It itlle ii,itiire .iiid l.iui^h at her jiowers. Ihe desi;,Mi of the d. th( canli- ili( r the sliore arm is compleieil ami anchored, the river arm is liiiilt oiii. one p.uii 1 or section al a time li) means of i^real travclini; ilerricks, and sell susi,iiiiiiiL; ,is ii proL^resses. .\lier one ])anel of iwenly-hve feet is hiiill ami has ils lir.uiuL; .uljiisp d, the ir.iveliiiL; derrick is moved forward nnti another panel ( !'( ( ted. I hus the work proi,n'ess(;s. sirction by section, until the: ends of the canti- are icK Ik (1, w hen .1 trii'-s l.rid <^c IS swimL,r across the yap of 125 feet. restuvj on the ■ real ■s a litlini,' trihiite to tlu; earnestniss, enterprise and eneri,'')' of the MichiL^wn I. eiitra! maiiaL,^eiiient. and ils successful comiiletion in so short a lime K llects i^re.ll (leillt ;ij(on till Ivaiicemeiit of .\merican iMisjinee riiv. and the .il)ilil\ ,111(1 skill of the I outr.u tors the L'eiiti.il Hrid'^e Works, of liiiffalo, \. ^ ^t ITK 17U m MUCKINJIC IHhflM), cm., 1'. IKINAN. 1 ( »W 1 1 I . I«! I. it) Aincric;!, nowlnrc cm carlli, is llnri' ;m\ spot lliiil coincs I, in .in r iiniiiiiL; cmtv i^Ior)- iiiid lic;uity ;iiul tlrli^jht lliat conslitiitrs ;i tourist's ^-^ |i,ir,i l,MMUly to an almost mounlainmis luiiijht from tin; very ccnt«"r of tlust; famous straits, in wliiili tin' niiL;lit\ waves of Superior, Huron and MichiLjan meet, it is one of nature's i^^randest sporlins^ places. Thi; chosen home of the jj^n-at boss goil of the Indi.uiN, it lias lillrd a place in llie history of all exploration since the pale-face first set foot upon llic ni", world. It was the scene of many wild incidents in the life of .M,ir(|uilti-; .uul it was the rendezvous of La Salle and his adventurous comrailis in .irms .ukI d.u);^tl t • Im .iiititii cl. 'fMiiIKl, Its lull- li.ind, .iml Its triinps of jaunty yoiinjj ofificrrs, add \asll) li> tin: K'-')'') •""' l>rii;litiii ss i>| tin- stciic. On the hii^lxsi |i(iinl u| tin islaitd AVf tlif ruins (.1 Iml lldlints. named for an Ami rii.m ulfi, i r wlin iinsiii ( < ssliill) altiiniitid tn ittaki' tlu- Island iVom tin- British in iSi,(. Iritm tin- nld lurt tin- •)<• lakes m tl to the northeast can lie seen ihe upper part ol the Channcau.\ Islands, an enchantinj.^ siiMiiMi' rix ky lunii.ilidiih liki' till iKirlli (ii.isl (»r Irilaiul, -.iDllc lllindliils III trrl llil,f|), ar(lii|nl.ii^>(i III siimr I\mi liiiinlicd liiMiniliil iil.iinK, v-mjiiil; Irnm tun mili -. in Inij^tli l<) llHTf ;^|rin (litis UK ) 111 I ,11 Ills,, iliitlill:; lllr 1 r\ il.ll U .llrl ■> U llii ll lllsjl li^ llillrly l<'rt ilrt'|i ,il its sliiirr. .iiiij sw .irmiii,:,' willi u liiii ri-.li. l),i-,->. |iiki . |iii ki n 1. (In Lj.im) !Miiskal(>n>,;i' anil tlir l.ikc liiiiil. I^mi) llualiiii; iliiinl nr ;^li am »> r " ^t- X"^ iif simsliiiif cjiail^^'ts llir ^^liiiinii-. snur li) vaijiii;,; till' tiiiliiii;'. ul "■_^- ^fi^f the waters, wliiili raii^i' lliiniiL^li > very sliailr Imin (lii|ir-,i a/iir 1(1 p.ilcst (il'iilivf j^ffccn, iViiiM |)in|il( antl lavciulcr Id juinst silver. I Ik wliole isl. 111(1 is a v.isl and idorioiis ( lahyrinlliiiie Ire. isiire house (il — ' '- en( hanlineiUs, a wild l.in::;le (if miniature mountains, mii^dity prei i|iices, civer lianj^MDj; clills and i:ra;;s, ^Su the (iiant's Causeway on "^C^ tall linj^fitrlike pillars ol' strai^dit and slender as Cleopalras .Needle, (, it. ir.u ts nl di//\ lieiL,dit. weird (.i\es and ai)ysmal ilepilis. ma^niricent slielvinj/ lieailies nl siKiwy s.md .ind v^r.ivd, li. ud and smooth as a iiall room lloor, on which one may ride or drive or stroll fur miles at a strctcii. with the never ceasing melod) of spLishini^ w. iters tillini^ the air ,il ever)' turn, occasional \iews of siorm lashed hillous ri\.ilini,f the ocean s anijriest in j,n'anileur and sa\aj,^er). a lort d.itin:^ h.uk throuLjh jiki )cais ol war ,ind roniaiicf, parath' j^'roiinds, youiij^ oHicers, splendid lirass li.ind miisii , two liaiile lielils of the war of iSu. .i hurial-^'roimd where the dcul were piled, ruined h.ittleinents, histor). poetry, leL;end. Iirook tnuit, moonlij^dit 'unsurpassed upon the lamed .Neapolitan w.ives ol the liipiid hii.;hways of N'eiiice. myriads ot trout, hass, pike, iierch, pickerel, .md i^^imy ^.^ras linj^s, .ill mixed and minified in im .111(1 matchless ,!,ilor\ ol \isioii, while around .md o\cr all lies the l^imiuI iiuironment ol lioimdless hliie ol' w.iter lielou .md sky aliove, till Imth rominini,de alc)n),j the r.ir oil line where e.iitli .md lie.iveii seem to kiss. .Almost in slight from this in.iLjiiilii enl mount of observation, forty miles west of north, is lie.iver Isl.ind, one of the M.initou .L,'roiip, where an .\meri(.iii kiii^^ rei;4iied less ill. in thirty \e.irs aj^n. It would ^\^ take \olimies to tell o| the v.isl .imoiml of strantje and tlirillini,^ reminiscence lli.il clusters around this lieaiitiliil wavew.ished p.uadise of he.ilth and pleasure sckers. The I'nited States ( "loveriimeiit has reserved the whole island, with the exception of three small farms, as .i National I'.irk. in ^'iu. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARQET (MT-3) %" 1.0 1.1 IA&|2.8 Vi Kii 12.2 It ^ lf£ 12.0 inii! 1.8 L25 1111114 111.6 ^ >' ^V"^ ^"^ ^'^ V >' 7. y /^ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WfST MAIN STMET WiBSTIR.N.Y. 14SM (716)t72-4S03 ,^. *''^ 'H ' '•■A V IM^OGI^KSS, V »-fc?I'" \' I I . W I \ ( I till (oiirsr of tlic Michij4-;in Central Railroad, r siiKi- the iiu cplioii of i!ic C()ini)an)'s busiiu;ss, is sufficient aU>^^J1^. >^t7<^ if^m 1«4