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Explanatio n of a JlJZWofTME JEALLS ofMlAGARA Exhibiting at the PAWOIU 3 U, C^treet,Boston. 
 
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 Pari of the. Table Rod 
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DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF A 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FALLS OF NIAGARA, 
 
 NOW EXHIBITING 
 
 AT 
 
 TS>&S5<m&21l& 9 (HSL&motfES 
 
 BOSTON. 
 
 PAINTED BY ROBERT BURFORD, 
 
 FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN BY HIM IN THE AUTUMN OF 1832. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY PERKINS AND MARVIN. 
 
 1837 . 
 
Melancholy Accident. —A punful oc¬ 
 currence took place at Niagara Falls on Sat¬ 
 urday, the 24th til*, in the death of Miss Mar¬ 
 tha K. Rugg, of Lancaster, Mass. A corres¬ 
 pondent ofthe Commercial Advertiser gives 
 the following particulars. 
 
 “She came down this morning from BufFu- 
 lo, to visit the Falls, in company with John 
 Long, Esq., of Detroit, a gentleman connec¬ 
 ted in business with the deceased’s brother- 
 in-law, who if I understand correctly, is nam¬ 
 ed How. 
 
 “ At 12 o’clock they sat opposite to me at 
 lunch, and soon after walked down toward 
 Table Rock. When near the Museum,walk 
 ing near the brink of the precipice, she re¬ 
 marked, ‘ I will pluck that shrub.’ She at¬ 
 tempted it, and stooping forward to do so, 
 lost her balance, and crying out, 4 Save me,’ 
 she was instantly lost to sight. Several per¬ 
 sons who saw her fall, or heard her cry, run¬ 
 down the stairs, a short distance from the 
 spot, and were soon by her side. I convers¬ 
 ed with the first person who reached her. 
 She had then one hand placed upon her breast r 
 and was breathing faintly. 
 
 “ A young gentleman, a physician, was 
 soon on the spot, and applied the lancet. As 
 soon as arrangements could be made, she was 
 placed in a boat, and brought to the Clifton 
 House. 
 
 “Three physicians were quickly in atten¬ 
 dance, and every tiling done that Could be, 
 but the internal injury was too great to ad¬ 
 mit of he recovery. S-lie must have broken 
 the fall by striking against some bushes on 
 the way down, or the body would have been 
 greatly mangled on the rocks on which she 
 was found. One of her ankles was disclosed, 
 and her face is somewhat bruised, and also 
 one of her hands. 
 
 “ The ladies who have seen her inform me 
 that she appears to be about eighteen years 
 of age, and one ol the most beautiful girles 
 they ever looked upon. I understand that she! 
 had a very superior mind, and was highly edu- ; 
 cated. Mr. Long is in a most distressed state i 
 of mind, and has fainted three times since the | 
 accident occuir-'d.” 
 
THE FALLS OF NIAGARA 
 
 “ The roar of waters !■—from the headlong' height 
 [Niagara] cleaves the wave-worn precipice ; 
 
 The fall of waters !—rapid as the light, 
 
 The flashing mass foams, shaking the abyss ; 
 
 The hell of waters !—where they howl and hiss, 
 
 And boil in endless torture ; while the sweat 
 Of their great agony, wrung out from this 
 Their Phlegethon, curls round the rocks of jet 
 That gird the gulf around, in pitiless horror set, 
 
 “ And mounts in spray the skies, and thence again 
 Returns in an unceasing shower, which round 
 With its unemptied cloud of gentle rain 
 Is an eternal April to the ground, 
 
 Making it all one emerald :—how profound 
 The gulf! and how the giant element 
 From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound, 
 
 Crushing the cliffs, which, downward worn and rent 
 With his fierce footsteps, yield in chasms a fearful vent 
 
 “To the broad column which rolls on, and shows 
 More like the fountain of an infant sea 
 Torn from the womb of mountains by the throes 
 Of a new world, than only thus to be 
 Parent of rivers, which flow gushingly, 
 
 With many windings, through the vale :—Look back ! 
 
 Lo ! where it comes like an eternity, 
 
 As if to sweep down all things in its track, 
 
 Charming the eye with dread—a matchless cataract, 
 
 “ Horribly beautiful ! but on the verge, 
 
 From side to side, beneath the glittering morn, 
 
 An Iris sits, amidst the infernal surge, 
 
 Like Hope upon a dealh-bed, and, unworn 
 Its steady dyes, while all around is torn 
 By the distracted waters, bears serene 
 Its brilliant hues with all their beams unshorn; 
 
 Resembling, ’mid the torture of the scene, 
 
 Love watching Madness with unalterable mien.” 
 
 Byron. 
 
 The Falls of Niagara are justly considered one of the greatest natural curi¬ 
 osities in the known world ; they are without parallel, and exceed immeasurably 
 all of the same kind that have ever been seen or imagined; travellers speak of 
 them in terms of admiration and delight, and acknowledge that they surpass in 
 sublimity every description which the power of language can afford; a Panorama* 
 
 * An intelligent traveller says, “ All parts of the Niagara are on a scale which baffles every 
 attempt of the imagination, and it were ridiculous therefore to think of describing it; the ordinary 
 means of description—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 ; yet a great deal, l 
 am certain, might be done by a well-executed Panorama: an artist well versed in this peculiar sort 
 
4 
 
 alone offers a scale of sufficient magnitude to exhibit at one view (which is indis¬ 
 pensable) the various parts of this wonderful scene, and to convey any adequate 
 idea of the matchless extent, prodigious power, and awful appearance, of this 
 stupendous phenomenon of nature; but the scene itself must be visited, to com¬ 
 prehend the feeling it produces, and to appreciate the petrifying influence of the 
 tremendous rush of water, the boiling of the mighty flood, and the deep and 
 unceasing roar of the tumultuous abyss; “it strikes upon the soul a sense of 
 majestic grandeur, which loss of life or intellect can alone obliterate.” 
 
 The drawings for the present Panorama were taken near the Table Rock—a 
 commanding situation, affording the most comprehensive, and, at the same time, 
 one of the finest views of this imposing scene. Immediately in front of the 
 spectator, are the Falls, in simple and sublime dignity, an ocean of waters three 
 quarters of a mile in width, precipitated with astonishing grandeur, in three 
 distinct and collateral streams, down a stupendous precipice upwards of 150 feet 
 in height, on the rocks below, from which they rebound, converted, by the violence 
 of the concussion, into a broad sheet of foam as white as snow; pyramidical 
 clouds of vapor or spray rise majestically in misty grandeur from the abyss, 
 sparkling here and there witji prismatic colors, and a rainbow of extraordinary 
 beauty, and peculiar brilliancy, heightens the scene, by spanning the Great Fall. 
 Above are seen the agitated billows, and white-crested breakers of the Rapids, 
 tumultuously hurrying towards the precipice, bounded on the one side by the 
 luxuriant foliage of Goat Island, and on the other by the fertile and thickly-wooded 
 shores of Upper Canada. Below, the river winds in a stream, bright, clear, and 
 remarkably green, between bold and rugged banks, richly colored by both wood 
 and rock. The surrounding scenery, although it must be viewed with comparative 
 indifference, whilst the mind is absorbed in contemplating the grandeur and 
 extent of the cataract, is also in excellent keeping ; stupendous and lofty banks, 
 immense fragments of rock in fantastic forms, impenetrable woods approaching 
 their very edge, the oak, ash, cedar, maple, and other forest trees of extraordinary 
 growth and singular shape, the pine, and various evergreens, brushwood peeping 
 from the fissures, and beautiful creeping plants clinging to the perpendicular 
 sides of the rocks, presenting a vast variety of foliage and diversity of hue, rendered 
 still more pleasing by the first frosts of autumn having changed the leaves of 
 some of the more tender to every shade of color, from the brightest yellow to the 
 deepest crimson, thus combining every thing that is essential to constitute the 
 sublime, the terrific, and the picturesque. 
 
 The Niagara strait—which forms the boundary line between the British posses¬ 
 sions and the United States—is a grand natural canal, by which the superabundant 
 waters of Lake Erie are poured into Lake Ontario. It is a continuation of the 
 River St. Lawrence. Its length from lake to lake is 37 miles, following the 
 windings of the stream, its general course being northerly, and it varies in 
 breadth from 30 rods to 7 or 8 miles.* *' In this distance the water sustains a fall 
 of 334 feet, thus calculated:—between Lake Erie and the Rapids, 16 feet; in the 
 Rapids, 58 feet;'in the Crescent Fall, 154 feet; and the remainder before it 
 reaches Lake Ontario. In the early part of its course, the river is broad and 
 tranquil, and presents a scene of the most profound repose, its waters being 
 nearly level with its shores, and the? large and beautiful island, Owanungah, 
 dividing it into two streams for a considerable distance. At Chippewa and 
 
 of painting, might produce a picture which would probably distance every thing else of the kind.” 
 —“ The task must be done by a person who shall go to the spot for the express purpose, making 
 the actual drawings, which he himself is afterwards to convert into a Panorama, which, if well 
 executed, could not fail to impart some portion of the pleasure communicated by the reality.” 
 The same traveller, having seen the painting in progress, has expressed the following opinion :— 
 “ The Panorama of Niagara, though not completed, is sufficiently advanced to enable any one 
 who has seen it to judge of the effect; and I have no hesitation in saying, you have accomplished 
 a task which I hardly hoped to see executed ; I think your painting gives not only an exceedingly' 
 accurate, but a most animated view of the Falls.” 
 
 * Its greatest width is across the centre of Owanungah, or Grand Island, which is about 
 miles across, and divides the river into two parts for about 10 miles, the branch on each side of it 
 being from \ to 1 mile in width. The broadest expanse of water is below Grand Island, where it 
 resembles a beautiful bay, about 2| miles broad.— Ingraham's Manual. 
 
Schlosser, about two miles above the Falls, where the navigation ends, a con¬ 
 siderable current is perceptible, and the glassy smoothness is disturbed by slight 
 ripples ; the shores now contract considerably, and the bed of the river begins to 
 slope; the water shortly after becomes much agitated, and the magnificent 
 Rapids commence; rock after rock chafes the stream, which becomes perfectly 
 white, and rushes with frightful velocity to the edge of the precipice, over which 
 it plunges in an unexampled volume, with terrific impetuosity, being unquestion¬ 
 ably the greatest mass of water that is poured down any tall, either in the new or 
 old world. The quantity of water thus projected is computed to be not less than 
 one hundred millions of tons per hour.’* However great this quantity may seem, 
 yet it is probably not overrated ; for it must be remembered, that the four great 
 iakes, which, from their size, might be more properly termed inland seas, with all 
 the numerous and large rivers which flow into them, covering a surface of 
 150,000 square miles, and containing nearly one half of the fresh water on the 
 face of the globe, have only this one outlet for their superfluous waters.f The 
 tremendous roar of this great body of water dashing into the abyss below, is of a 
 most extraordinary description, difficult to explain, not altogether deafening, and, 
 although monotonous, it does not produce disagreeable sensations. Immediately 
 after the tall, the river subsides from this state of sublime agitation, and then 
 again rolls with impetuous velocity, in a narrow channel, through a deep dell, 
 bordered by rugged and perpendicular banks, as far as Queenston and Lewiston. 
 
 From Lake Erie to Lewiston and Queenston, the face of the country presents 
 the appearance of a vast level plain, with the exception of the space between 
 Chippewa and the Falls, where, in about two miles, the ground rises about 125 
 feet, and the river, as before mentioned, descends about 58; just above Queenston 
 and Lewiston, this table land abruptly terminates, and sinks to a plain about 100 
 feet above the level of Lake Ontario. Over this precipice, it is by some supposed 
 that the river, in remote ages, poured its waters; and that its continued and vio¬ 
 lent action has gradually worn away the rocks, and carried back the Falls to their 
 present situation. But a different opinion has been held by others, and much 
 been written to prove that the river flows through a natural ravine. Through the 
 whole length of the ravine, the horizontal strata present the same appearance 
 on both its sides; the upper rock (beneath the common diluvium or superficial 
 soil of the country) being brown fetid limestone, (the “ geodiferous limerock ” of 
 Eaton,) 70 or 80 feet thick, lying upon an argillo-calcareous slate, (“ calciferous 
 slate ” of Eaton,) or shale, which is about 80 feet in thickness. Under this reposes 
 a series of arenaceous rocks, highly ferruginous in their superior portions, and 
 very argillaceous in the inferior. By the violent blasts of wind, which arise from 
 the abyss, and the continual action of the water, the shale is rapidly worn away, 
 and the mass of limestone, being left without a foundation, falls, from time to time, 
 in enormous masses, particularly after severe frosts. A person who had resided 
 at the Falls lor 3(5 years, declared that they had receded within his memory 40 or 
 50 yards, which was corroborated by another, who had been in the neighborhood 
 for 40 years.}; An immense portion broke from the llorse-shoe Fall on the 28th 
 of December, 1828, and tumbled into the abyss with a shock like an earthquake. 
 It would be difficult to form a reasonable calculation as to the period which has 
 elapsed since the waters first began to open the gorge, admitting that they have 
 thus cut their way back. Professor Lyell computes that, if the ratio of retroces¬ 
 sion has never been exceeded, it must have required nearly 10,000 years for the 
 
 * Dr. Dwight calculates the river at the ferry, seven furlongs wide, and 25 feet deep, running 
 never less than six miles per hour : the quantity of water that passes in that time is consequently 
 above 102,000,000 of tons avoirdupois. 
 
 f Lake Superior, the largest fresh-water lake in the world, is 1750 miles in circumference ; its 
 mean depth is 900 feet, its greatest depth 1200 feet; and its surface is 041 feet above the level of 
 the sea . Lake Huron is 1000 miles in circumference; has about the same depth as Lake Superior, 
 and is 59G feet above the level of the sea : Lake Michigan has the same level and depth as Lake 
 Huron, and is 731 miles in circumference : Lake Erie is 658 miles in circumference, 565 feet above 
 the sea, and has only a mean depth of 120 feet. 
 
 | These recessions, however, were in the angle or curve of the Crescent or Horse-shoe Fall; 
 but there is no evidence that there has been any recession at the sides of the Falls, within the 
 memory of man. 
 
6 
 
 excavation ; and, by the same calculation, it will require at least 30,000 to reach 
 Lake Erie; but when the river was confined to a narrower channel, the operation 
 might have been much quicker. The distance from the mouth of the ravine is 
 nearly seven miles, the average breadth 1200 feet. Up to the period when Goat 
 Island divided the Fall, the whole force of the water would have been exerted on 
 this surface ; since that time, the operative power of the water has been extended 
 to nearly 3500 feet: this diminished action would necessarily be attended by a 
 retardation in the retrocession of the cataract. The Fall has also reached a point 
 where, in addition to the thickness of the limestone beds, numerous layers of 
 chert give additional strength and durability. 
 
 A communication has within a few years been opened between the western 
 lakes and the sea, by the grand Erie Canal, from Lake Erie to the Hudson, and by 
 the Welland Canal, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Welland Canal 
 commences at Port Colburn, in Gravelly Bay, passes the river Chippewa by 
 means of a noble aqueduct, and enters Lake Ontario at Port Dalhousie. The 
 work was commenced in 1824, and was completed in live years; it is 43 miles in 
 length, 58 feet in width, and 8£ feet in depth; it admits vessels of 125 tons 
 burden ; the whole descent is 342 feet, which is accomplished by 37 locks. At 
 the Deepcut, about 8 miles from the Falls, 1,477,700 cubic feet of earth were 
 removed ; and at the Mountain Ridge, where the descent is made, 70,000 cubic 
 yards of rock. The idea originated with Mr. W. H. Merritt, of St. Catherine’s, 
 and the work was planned and accomplished, with the assistance of the British 
 governrrtent, by the Canada Land Company, at the expense of £200,000. This 
 canal is now the property of the government. 
 
 Little was known of the Falls of Niagara previous to the commencement of the 
 last century. They were described by Father Hennepin in 1678, and by LaHon- 
 tan in 1687. In the iatter part of the last century, they were visited by several 
 travellers; but it is only within a few years that they have been a fashionable 
 place of resort. The number of visitors is now probably from 20,000 to 30,000 
 annually; and each successive year greatly outnumbers its predecessor. 
 
 The immediate neighborhood of the Falls, and the banks of the strait, have 
 been the scenes of a succession of actions, attended with the horrors of civil war, 
 between the British and American troops in 1812—1814, particularly four desper¬ 
 ate encounters in July, August, and September, of the latter year. 
 
 Note. —For most of the data in this Description, we are indebted to the valuable “ Manual for 
 (he Use of Visiters to the Falls of Niagara,” &.C., by Mr. Joseph W. Ingraham, of Boston; 
 which we have been kindly permitted by the author to use for this purpose; and to which we 
 would refer for a more full description of this great wonder of the world. Mr. Ingraham has been 
 engaged for four years in preparing an extensive work descriptive of these Falls, and the country 
 adjacent to them, which is expected soon to issue from the press, and which is to be accompanied 
 by copious Maps, Plans, Elevations, Profiles, Views, &.C. 
 
EXPLANATION OF THE ENGRAVING. 
 
 1 .—Goat Island. 
 
 An island, about half a mile in length, inserted like a wedge between the Falls, pre¬ 
 senting its broadest end, which is about 1320 feet, to the precipice ; it is thickly covered 
 with wood, and exhibits a variety of romantic scenery. It is approached over two 
 bridges thrown from the main shore to Bath Island, and from Bath Island to this. A 
 path winds round it, from which various other paths diverge to the most advantageous 
 points for viewing the Rapids and Falls. 
 
 It is reported that this island was first visited during the Canadian war of 1755, by 
 General Putnam, who, in consequence of a wager having been laid that no man in the 
 army would dare to attempt a descent upon it, made a successful effort; he dropped 
 down the river, from a considerable distance above, in a boat, strongly secured by ropes 
 to the shore, by which means he was afterwards safely landed. When the island was 
 first explored, after the construction of the bridge from the main shore, many dates 
 were found cut upon the trees, one of which was as early as 1745. 
 
 A young Englishman, named Francis Abbot, of respectable connections, either through 
 misfortune or a morbid state of mind, which made him desire seclusion, took up his resi¬ 
 dence on this island, and in the neighborhood of the Falls, for two years; and became 
 so fascinated with the solitude and the scenery, that no inducement could divert his 
 thoughts, or draw him from the spot, where he acquired the name of the “ Hermit of 
 the Falls.” The following account of him is condensed from one furnished by Mr. In¬ 
 graham. 
 
 He arrived at the Falls, on foot, in June, 1829, dressed in a loose gown or cloak of a 
 chocolate color, carrying under his arm a roll of blankets, a flute, a portfolio, and a largo 
 book, which constituted the whole of his baggage. He took up his abode, in the first 
 instance, in the small inn of Ebenezer O'Kelly, on the New York side, stipulating that 
 the room he occupied should be exclusively his own, that he should have his table to 
 himself, and that certain parts of his cooking only should be done by his host. He then 
 repaired to the library, where he gave his name, and took out a book, purchased a violin, 
 and borrowed some music-books. The following day he again visited the library, expa¬ 
 tiated largely, with great ease and ability, on the beautiful scenery of the Falls, and de¬ 
 clared his intention of remaining at least a week; for “ a traveller might as well,” he 
 said, “ in two days examine in detail the various museums and curiosities of Paris, as 
 become acquainted with the splendid scenery of Niagara in the same space of time.” 
 On a subsequent visit, he declared his intention of staying at least a month, perhaps six. 
 Shortly after, he determined on fixing his abode on Goat Island, and was desirous of 
 erecting a hut, in which he might live quite secluded. The proprietor of the island did 
 not think proper to grant this request, but permitted him to occupy a small room in the 
 only house on the island, the family in which occasionally furnished him with bread 
 and milk, though he more generally dispensed with these,providing, and always cooking, 
 his own food. During the second winter of his seclusion, the family removed, and to 
 the few persons with whom he held communication, he expressed great satisfaction at 
 being able to live alone. For some months he enjoyed this seclusion ; but another fam¬ 
 ily having entered the house, he quitted the island, (having resided on it twenty months,) 
 and built himself a small hut on the main shore, about thirty rods below the Schlosser 
 Fall. He lived to occupy his new residence only about two months. On the 10th of 
 June, 1831, he was seen to bathe twice, and was observed by the ferry-man to enter the 
 water a third time about two o’clock in the afternoon : his clothes remaining for some 
 
8 
 
 hours where he had deposited them, an alarm was created, and an ineffectual search was 
 made for him. On the 21st, his body was taken out of the river at Fort Niagara, and, 
 the next day, was decently interred in the burial-ground near the Falls. 
 
 When his hut was examined, his faithful dog was found guarding the door, and was 
 with difficulty persuaded aside while it was opened ; his cat occupied his bed ; his gui¬ 
 tar, violin, flutes, music-books, and portfolio, were scattered around in confusion, but no 
 papers relative to himself, or throwing any light upon his extraordinary character, were 
 to be found. He was a gentleman of highly-cultivated mind and manners, and finished 
 education ; master of several languages; well versed in the arts and sciences, and pos¬ 
 sessing, in an eminent degree, all the minor accomplishments of the gentleman. He 
 performed on various musical instruments with great taste, and his drawings were very 
 spirited. Many years of his life had been spent in travelling. He had visited Egypt 
 and Palestine; had travelled through Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and 
 France ; and had resided for considerable periods of time in Rome, Naples, and Paris. 
 In all his travels, he said, he had never met with any thing that would compare, in sub¬ 
 limity, with the Falls of Niagara, except Mount ./Etna during an eruption. While at 
 the Falls, business occasionally brought him in contact with some of the inhabitants, 
 with a few of whom he would sometimes be sociable : to all others he was distant and 
 reserved. At such times, his conversation would be of the most interesting kind, and 
 his descriptions of people and countries were highly glowing and animated. But, at 
 times, even with these, he would hold no conversation, communicating his wishes on a 
 slate, and desiring not to be spoken to. Sometimes, for three or four months together, he 
 would go unshaved, often with no covering on his head, his body enveloped in a blan¬ 
 ket, shunning all, and seeking the deepest solitudes of Goat Island. He was about 
 twenty-eight years of age, in person tall and well made, and of handsome features. 
 When obliged to have any intercourse with others, he was generous in paying for all 
 favors and services, never receiving any thing without making immediate payment. 
 He had a deep and abiding sense of religious duty and decorum ; was mild in his beha¬ 
 vior, and inoffensive in his conduct. Religion was a subject which he appeared well to 
 understand, and highly to appreciate. The charity he asked from others, he extended 
 to all mankind. 
 
 Many spots on Goat Island are consecrated to his memory; at the upper end, he es¬ 
 tablished his promenade, which became hard-trodden and well-beaten, like that in 
 which the sentinel performs his round of duty. Between Goat and Moss Islands, em¬ 
 bowered in seclusion and shade, is one of the most romantic and charming cascades 
 imaginable. This was his favorite retreat for bathing, where he resorted at all seasons 
 of the year, even in the coldest weather, when there was snow on the ground, and ice 
 on the river. On Terrapin Bridge it was his daily practice to walk for hours together, 
 from one extremity to the other, with a quick pace ; and sometimes he would let him¬ 
 self down at the end of the projecting timber, which extends ten or fifteen feet beyond 
 the Fall, and hang under it by his hands and feet over the terrific precipice, for fifteen 
 minutes at a time. To the inquiry why he thus exposed himself, he would reply, that 
 in crossing the ocean, lie had frequently seen the sea-boy, “ on the high and giddy 
 mast,” perform far more perilous acts, and, as he should probably again pass the sea 
 himself, he wished to inure himself to such dangers. If the nerves of others were dis¬ 
 turbed, his were not. In the wildest hours of the night, he was often found walking 
 alone, and without fear, in the most dangerous places near the Falls; and, at such times, 
 he would shun approach, as if he had a dread of man. 
 
 2.—Biddle Staircase. 
 
 Constructed in the year 1829, at the expense of Nicholas Biddle, Esq., of Philadel¬ 
 phia, to facilitate the descent to the rocks at the foot of Goat Island, where magnificent 
 and much-admired views of the Falls are obtained. The island is 185 feet above the 
 gulf; the first 44 feet of the descent is in the alluvial soil and rock ; the next 88 is a 
 spiral wooden staircase, and the remaining distance the descent is by the sloping bank, 
 in every direction, over immense fragments of rock, which have been broken off and 
 tumbled from the iedge above. The construction of this descent has opened one of the 
 finest fishing places in this part of the Union ; the water being the resort of various fish 
 which come up from Lake Ontario, and are stopped by the Falls. The notorious Sam 
 Patch leaped from a ladder, 97 feet high, into the smooth water in front of this stair¬ 
 case, in October, 1829, and received no injury. 
 
9 
 
 3.— Column of Vapor. 
 
 The mighty clouds of vapor which are thrown up from the Falls move with the wind, 
 and descend in a misty shower like rain ; they are seen from a very great distance, ap¬ 
 pearing like a pillar of smoke. When the sun and the position of the observer are fa¬ 
 vorable, they present a remarkably beautiful appearance, sparkling like diamonds, with 
 occasional flashes of the most brilliant colors, and a splendid rainbow. 
 
 4 .—Terrapin Bridge. 
 
 A singular bridge or pier, 300 feet in length, has been constructed upon what are 
 called the Terrapin Rocks, where a single piece of timber actually projects over the edge 
 of the Great Fall about 10 feet. Although the prodigious magnitude of the falling water 
 is not so apparent as from below, yet, from the extremity of this bridge, standing, as it 
 were, in the very midst of the mighty flood, the scene is terrific and appalling, and can¬ 
 not be viewed without astonishment and awe, not unmixed with fear. A late writer 
 says, “ If the visitor is alone, and gives ivay to his feelings, he must fall on his knees, 
 for the grandeur of the scene is overpowering.” 
 
 Before approaching the precipice, over which the water is precipitated, the river 
 sinks, in little more than half a mile, 58 feet, and the stratum of limestone, which forms 
 its bed, is intersected with seams and patches of hard, dark-colored chert. Through 
 this channel of rugged rocks the water rushes with terrific and ungovernable impetuosi¬ 
 ty, a fiercely-raging torrent, converted, by the resistance with which it meets, into a 
 broad expanse of foam, as white as snow, bearing a strong resemblance to the breakers 
 on a rocky shore during a gale. The inhabitants of the neighborhood consider it as 
 certain death to get once involved in the Rapids; not only because escape from the 
 cataracts would be hopeless, but because the force of the water amongst the rocks would 
 probably destroy life before the Falls were approached. Instances are on record of the 
 melancholy fate of persons who have thus perished. In the summer of 1821, three men 
 were removing furniture from iNavy Island ; the wind was high, and in the direction of 
 the Falls ; the current was consequently stronger than usual, and they thought it unsafe 
 to cross so near the Falls. They fastened their boat, and went to sleep in it. By some 
 means, it became loosened, and they discovered themselves already in the Rapids. No 
 human power could save them; the boat was carried down, and in a few moments 
 dashed to pieces. Some of the goods were picked up below, much broken ; but a table 
 floated ashore uninjured. 
 
 The celebrated Chateaubriand relates that he narrowly escaped a similar fate : he 
 was viewing the Falls from the bank of the river, having the bridle of his horse twisted 
 round his arm: a rattlesnake stirred in the neighboring bushes, and stattled the 
 horse, who reared and ran backwards towards the abyss. Not being able to disengage 
 his arm from the bridle, he was dragged after him; the horse’s fore legs were off the 
 ground, and, squatting on the brink of the precipice, he was upheld merely by the bri¬ 
 dle, when, astonished by this new danger, he suddenly threw himself forward, and 
 sprung to a distance of ten feet, again dragging Chateaubriand with him, who was thus 
 released from his perilous situation. 
 
 In February, 1827, two men, who embarked in a boat to cross the river, were forced 
 into the Rapids by the ice, precipitated into the abyss below, and dashed to pieces. 
 
 In September, 1827, a schooner, called the Michigan , with a number of wild animals 
 inhumanly confined on her deck, was towed to the margin of the Rapids, and abandoned 
 to her fate. She passed the first fall of the Rapids in safety, but struck a rock at the 
 ■second, and lost her masts : there she remained an instant, until the current turned her 
 round, and bore her away. A bear here leaped overboard, and swam to the shore. She 
 then filled, and sunk, so that only her upper works were visible, and she went over the 
 cataract almost without being seen. In a>few moments her fragments, which were bro¬ 
 ken very small, covered the basin below. A cat and a goose were the only animals 
 found alive. In October, 1829, the schooner Superior was towed into the current, and 
 abandoned ; but she struck on a rock, about the middle of the river, where she remained 
 a considerable time, and finally went over the Falls in the night. 
 
10 
 
 6.— Crescent or Horse-shoe Fall. 
 
 The Crescent or Horse-shoe Fall, as it is generally termed, from the precipice having 
 been worn by the water into somewhat of that form, is 154 feet in perpendicular height; 
 in consequence of its shape, the water converges to the centre, where it descends in a 
 solid mass at least 12 feet in thickness, being driven forward with an impetus that hurls 
 it into the gulf below, 50 feet from the base of the rock. For nearly two thirds of its 
 descent, the water in the centre falls in one vast, unbroken mass, smooth and unruffled, 
 and of a beautiful green color : the remainder is hidden by the vast body of vapor, as¬ 
 cending from the abyss. The whole surface of the river appears a body of foam, differing 
 essentially from any thing of the kind produced in a similar way : the bubbles of which 
 it is universally composed are extremely small, are always ascending by millions, and 
 spread over the water in one continued and apparently solid mass. The water is also 
 projected upwards, sometimes to the height of 120 feet, by the force of the air below, in 
 an immense number of small white cone6, with pointed heads, their tails varying from 
 one to twelve yards, stretching in every direction, which may be seen continually start¬ 
 ing from the cloud of spray. 
 
 From Goat Island to Table Rock, the distance in a straight line is 1221 feet, but fol¬ 
 lowing the curvature of the Fall, which is an irregular segment of a circle, with a deep 
 angular gash near the centre, it is 2376 feet, which vast width detracts most surprisingly 
 from its apparent height. The tremendous noise occasioned by this vast body of water 
 falling on the rocks below is of a most extraordinary description. Capt. Hall compares 
 it to the incessant rumbling, deep, monotonous sound, accompanied by the tremor, 
 which is observable in a grist-mill of very large dimensions, where many pairs of stones 
 are at work ;—Mr. McTaggart, to the tumbling of a vast quantity of large round stones, 
 from a huge precipice into water of a profound depth. A slight tremulous motion of the 
 earth is felt to some distance on all sides, but is more particularly observable on Goat 
 Island : the noise may be heard, when the atmosphere is favorable, fifty miles. 
 
 7.— Cavern behind the Sheet of Water at Table Roclc. 
 
 The violence of the impulse causes the water of the Great Fall to incline considerably 
 forward in its descent, and the continual action on the shale has hollowed out the rock 
 below, leaving the upper or hardest stratum hanging over in a very perilous manner, 
 above 50 feet, forming a sort of cavern, into which travellers are able to penetrate as far 
 as Termination Rock, an impassable mass, 155 feet from the entrance. The passage 
 into this cavern is rather difficult; but it is the place of all others to contemplate the 
 extraordinary sight. The rush of the water here is awful, the thundering sound tre¬ 
 mendous; but the slippery and rugged rocks, the difficulty of respiration, and the blasts 
 of air, which is carried down in vast quantities by the river, and rises again with propor¬ 
 tionate velocity in every direction, with the quantity of spray which accompanies its 
 ascent, renders it unpleasant to remain any length of time. 
 
 10 .—Pavilion Hotel. 
 
 A large and commodious house, on the heights above the Falls, containing excellent 
 accommodations for about 150 persons. From the top of this house, and from the galle¬ 
 ries or verandahs in the rear, which are ranged one above the other, a fine view is ob¬ 
 tained ; the surrounding country, the upper course of the river for several miles, the 
 Rapids, and the Falls, being seen at the same time: the lower part of the Fall is of 
 course invisible, but the imagination cannot picture it more grand than it really is. A 
 foot-path, laid with planks, winds from the upper bank, on which the house is situated, 
 through the narrow, marshy slip which forms the immediate margin of the river, to 
 Table Rock. 
 
 The Canadian side is exquisitely beautiful, richly cultivated, and thickly inhabited : 
 the ground is extremely fertile, and the rapid progress of population, business, and the 
 arts, created by the Welland Canal, and its collateral works, and its inexhaustible water 
 power, will soon render it one of the most important parts of the British dominions. 
 Mr. Forsyth, who was the first proprietor of the hotel on this side, has recently disposed 
 of his hotel and surrounding property, to a company of gentlemen, who have planned a 
 city, and propose erecting churches, schools, ball and promenade rooms, public gardens, 
 libraries, and houses of various sizes, so as to form a place of fashionable resort, to be 
 called “ The City of the Falls.” 
 
11 
 
 11 &£ 17 .—Table Roclc. 
 
 A broad, flat rock, forming a platform of considerable area, on the same level, and in 
 immediate contact with the western extremity of the great ledge, over which the stream 
 is precipitated ; being 180 feet below the upper bank. It is undoubtedly one of the best, 
 if not the very best point for viewing this magnificent scene, as the eye commands at 
 once the whole of the majestic amphitheatre of cataracts, as well as the various stations 
 on both sides of the river, a considerable distance. The rocks having fallen away from 
 beneath, the surface projects several feet over the abyss. Visitors possessed of strong 
 nerves, frequently lay themselves flat on the rock, with the face beyond the edge, look¬ 
 ing from this fearful height into the roaring abyss below. The Table Rock is a favorite 
 place for strangers to inscribe their initials or names, with the date of their visit; but it 
 is probable that posterity will not be much benefited by this ingenuity, as the rock has 
 many considerable seams and fissures, and a long slip, a few yards below, fell, with a 
 tremendous crash, in August, 1818. This mass, which was 160 feet in length, and from 
 30 to 40 in breadth, providentially fell during the night, or many lives might have been 
 lost, as the pathway to the guide’s house passed over it: a portion of it, 15 feet long, 
 lies in the river below, and is delineated in the Picture, (No. 27.) 
 
 15.— Staircase. 
 
 In the rear of the dwelling of the guide, who provides visitors with suitable dresses, 
 and attends them to the cavern behind the Great Fall, a convenient staircase descends 
 from the platform to the sloping shore of the water below, and a rough and slippery 
 path, over fragments of fallen rock, conducts to the foot of the Fall. From the river the 
 Fall has an extraordinary appearance ; no part of the Rapids being seen, the water ap¬ 
 pears to be poured perpendicularly from the clouds. 
 
 18 .—Path to the Ferry. 
 
 A convenient road or path, which greatly facilitates the approach to the Ferry, 
 and forms an agreeable promenade ; it proceeds about half a mile in a direct line, when, 
 turning short round, it descends, in a safe and easy manner, to the margin of the river. 
 
 ... * 
 
 19.— Ferry. 
 
 About half a mile below the Horse-shoe, and a few rods below the Schlosser Fall, the 
 river, which is there 76 rods in width, is safely crossed in a small boat. Although the 
 water is considerably agitated, the ferrymen cross, without danger, at any time of the 
 day, in about five minutes ; but when the wind blows down the stream, the passengers 
 seldom escape without a complete soaking from the spray of the Falls, which descends 
 like rain. The comparative smoothness of the river so immediately after the Fall, is ac¬ 
 counted for by the great depth of the pool into which the cataract is precipitated, and 
 the sudden contraction of the river ; the descending water sinks down and forms an 
 under current, while a superficial eddy carries the upper stratum back to the Fall. 
 
 The banks of the river are here remarkably wild and striking, and the view from this 
 place is of the most gorgeous description, and of most surpassing grandeur. 
 
 20 .—Niagara County. 
 
 The banks of the strait, for a considerable portion of its course on the United States’ 
 side, are in the county of Niagara. The roads on both sides are separated from the pre¬ 
 cipitous banks, in many places, only by a narrow slip of woods, and the country around 
 is most beautiful, being a succession of fertile fields, orchards, and gardens. 
 
 At a short distance below the Falls is a small territory, belonging to the remnant of 
 the once-powerful tribe of Tuscarora Indians, who emigrated from North Carolina about 
 the beginning of the last century, at the invitation of the Five Nations, into whose con¬ 
 federacy (which then received the title of the Six Nations) they were received : they 
 have a Protestant missionary resident amongst them, and many have voluntarily adopt¬ 
 ed Christianity: several of their farms are handsome and well cultivated. 
 
12 
 
 22 .—Schlosser Fall. 
 
 The Fall on the United States’ side, called the Fort Schlosser Fall, is 167 feet in per¬ 
 pendicular height; and although it is in reality 13 feet higher than the Great Fall, yet 
 from the Table Rock it appears otherwise. This is partly from the effect of the per¬ 
 spective, and partly from the accumulation of rocks below, upon which the water 
 breaks. The whole width of the Fall to Prospect Island is 924 feet. Its edge is very 
 much indented, and it appears to be gradually assuming the horse-shoe shape. It is 
 chafed to snowy whiteness by projecting rocks, which break its fall in several places to 
 two thirds of its descent; but it does not approach in extent, sublimity, or awful beau¬ 
 ty, to the Great Crescent or Horse-shoe Fall. 
 
 About 64 rods above the crest of this Fall—and of course not seen in the present 
 view—are two bridges, of admirable construction, crossing the worst part of the Rapids 
 on this side, to Goat Island, which was before only accessible, at great personal risk, by 
 dropping down the river between the two currents : much boldness of conception, skill, 
 and ingenuity, were shown in the construction of this bridge, by its spirited projector, 
 Hon. Augustus Porter, the principal proprietor of the United States’ side of the Falls. 
 
 23 .—Prospect Island. 
 
 On the verge of the precipice, near Goat Island, Prospect Island cuts off a portion of 
 the waters, forming the Central Fall. This island is about 10 yards in width, and is 
 connected with Goat Island by a foot bridge. It is a romantic spot; and from it is pre¬ 
 sented the best prospect (whence its name) of the Schlosser Fall which can any where 
 be obtained. 
 
 24.— Village of Niagara Falls. 
 
 The rapidly-increasing village of Niagara Falls (formerly called Manchester and 
 Grand Niagara) is situated at the Falls, on the United States’ side. Two large hotels, 
 the Eagle and Cataract, are kept here, and the foundation of a third, on a very extensive 
 scale, was laid in 1836. These hotels, as well as those on the Canada side, are crowded 
 with visitors during the travelling season; and constant communication is kept up 
 with various parts by rail-roads and well-appointed stage-coaches. This village was 
 burnt by the British troops in 1813, and was rebuilt after the peace. 
 
 25.— Central Fall. 
 
 This is a very picturesque cascade,—sometimes called the Ribbon Fall, and some¬ 
 times dignified with the title of the Montmorency Fall,—which, however insignificant it 
 may here appear, amid the mighty rush of waters, would rank high amongst European 
 Cataracts. 
 
 Behind this Fall, is a splendid cavern, (No. 26,) similar to that behind the great sheet of 
 water at Table Rock. It was never trodden by human feet previous to July, 1834, when 
 it was explored by Mr. Joseph W. Ingraham, of Boston, who gave it the very appropriate 
 name of “ Cave of iEolus,” or “ Cave of the Winds,” in allusion to that “ vasto rex 
 JEolus antro," described by Virgil. It is about 50 feet in breadth, from 100 to 150 feet 
 around its floor, and about 100 feet high, and furnishes one of the most splendid views 
 which the imagination can conceive. The visitor may easily pass several feet behind 
 this Fall, and gain a view of the cavern, from the path constructed in the rock, and 
 there, “ standing, as he does, about midway in the descent of the Fall, he may look 
 up 80 feet, to its arched and crystal roof, and down, 80 feet, upon its terrible, and 
 misty, and resounding floor. He will never forget that sight and sound.” 
 

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