"Chicago to the Sea." Eastern Excursionist / A complete guide to the principal eastern summer resorts, including: Niagara Falls, the White Mountains, Saint Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers, Montreal and Quebec, the New England sea beaches, etc., and how and when to enjoy them.

by William C. Gage

Niagara Falls.

Of all the pleasure resorts on the American continent, probably none receive annually so many visitors as the famous cataract where the waters of the upper lakes so grandly plunge over the precipice on their way to Lake Ontario. The reasons for this are, doubtless, first, the wonderful attractiveness of the Falls as an object of interest, and, secondly, their ease of access, and the consequent facility with which they may be visited. Situated upon the main thoroughfare between the East and the West, over which such a constant tide of travel is surging throughout the entire year, it requires but little sacrifice of time on the part of many to pay them a visit. But these are merely the casual visitors, in addition to whom thousands annually come from all parts of the land, and from over the ocean, to gaze upon this far-famed cataract.

We design to give in this chapter such facts as shall serve as a complete guide for the tourist in visiting this resort, not only to all the points of interest, but such other information as shall render his visit enjoyable. Before entering into particulars, we present a general description of Niagara, in a comprehensive view, which will assist the reader in understanding the several detailed descriptions which follow.

Niagara River is the outlet of Lake Erie, connecting it with Ontario, the lowest in the great chain of lakes, which unitedly are the largest inland reservoirs in the world. The river is only 33 miles in length, and the total descent in that distance is 334 feet, Lake Ontario being that much lower than Erie, which is 565 feet above sea level. About a mile above the Falls the waters commence to descend with great velocity, constituting what is known as the Rapids, second in interest only to the Falls themselves, and adding to the interest of the latter by giving such an increased velocity to the water in its plunge over the precipice. The total descent in this mile is 52 feet, and the waters come rushing and tumbling along the rocky bed of the stream, which is here considerably narrower than its general channel above.

Just above the Falls are several small islands, connected by a system of bridges with one another and the American shore, and affording a magnificent view of the Rapids. Standing on one of the bridges, or the upper shore of an island, and looking up the stream, the view presented is grand and impressive, as the resistless torrent seems ready to overwhelm all in its course.

These islands, combined with a sharp curve in the course of the stream, widen the channel to about 4,750 feet, one-fourth of which is occupied by Goat Island, the largest of the group, which here extends to the extreme verge of the precipice, and divides the stream and the Falls into two distinct parts.

The American Fall is about 1,100 feet wide, and the remainder, or Canada fall, about double the width, although from its curved or horseshoe shape the line of the brink is considerably longer than the direct breadth.

Our [illustration] presents a fine view of the American Fall from below, looking northward. The waters here make a sheer descent of 164 feet, while the height of the Canadian Fall is from 12 to 14 feet less, owing to the lengthening of the Rapids and the curve of the stream.

The volume of water in the Canada Fall is much greater, however, than that of the American, and the impetus given by the Rapids carries the water over the precipice with great velocity, and it forms a grand curve in the descent, falling clear of the rocky wall into the bed of the river below. The lower strata of this wall being of a loose, shaly character, the action of the spray has hollowed it out, so that between the wall of rock and the descending wall of water, a cavernous space exists, into which the tourist may venture by a rocky and somewhat perilous path from the Canada side. It is needless to add that a water-proof suit adds materially to the comfort of those who thus venture. Similar trips may be made under the American Fall, which will be duly described in detail.

Below the Falls, on the American side, is a stairway and an inclined-plane railway, leading to the water’s edge, and connecting with a ferry which here crosses to the Canada shore by means of small boats, amid the spray and over the turbulent waters, not yet at rest from their mighty plunge.

The banks below the Falls are very high and precipitous, and the channel contracts to less than a thousand feet, varying in the descent to Lake Ontario, from 200 to 400 yards.

The entire river, from its source to its mouth, is an interesting geological study. The changes that have taken place in the formation of its banks, and the topography of the country through which it passes, furnish much food for conjecture, upon which several theories have been constructed, one of which seems to be quite universally adopted, viz., that the Falls have gradually receded from a point below
their present location, some say as far down as the high bluff at Lewiston, seven miles from Lake Ontario.

AMERICAN FALL, FROM BELOW.

This recession is due to the action of the water upon the sections of the rocky bed which have successively formed the verge of the cataract, and which have doubtless varied in character along the course of the river. The action of the spray and the violence of the rebounding waters, combined perhaps with other causes, wore away the softer, shaly substratum, until the harder but thinner upper stratum could no longer support the massive weight and resist the velocity of the waters, and fell into the channel below. This theory is abundantly supported not only by the appearance of the Falls and the channel, but by several occurrences of exactly this character. In 1818, massive fragments fell from the American fall, and in 1828 a like occurrence took place in the Horseshoe Fall, in each instance producing a concussion like an earthquake.

A view of the Falls by Father Hennepin, made in the year 1678, presents the feature of a distinct fall on the Canada side, somewhat like that on the American side, or nearly at right angles with the main fall. This was occasioned by a great rock, which divided the current and turned a portion of it in that direction, and which has evidently since fallen. (See [engraving] on [page 36].)

How long a time would be required for the Falls to recede to Lake Erie, is of course conjectural, as no data of sufficient reliability can be established from which to make a calculation. Indeed, it is believed by some geologists that higher up the river the formation of the bed is of such a character as to successfully resist the further encroachments of the water in that direction, the hard formation being of greater depth and firmness.

But to the present generation Niagara Falls will remain an object of great interest, and will doubtless continue to receive, as in the past, the visits of great multitudes of tourists, either on account of their real attractiveness, or because it is the fashion.

With this general view of the Falls, the reader will be prepared for the details, which, taken together, make up the comprehensive whole, and which constitute a visit to Niagara an event replete with lasting memories.

It detracts not a little from the enjoyment of the spectator to find that at this resort the oriental demand for “backsheesh” prevails in the modified form of tolls, fees, etc., and that what is here enjoyed in the line of sight-seeing must be paid for. Yet this is not to be wondered at when we consider that the parties who own the vantage ground must thus reap from it a sustaining harvest. What is legitimately demanded of the visitor in the way of tolls and admission fees may be considered as a sine qua non, and should not in the least mar his pleasure, as he receives in such cases a full equivalent for his expenditure.