The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous by George W. Holley The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts, by George W. Holley This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts Author: George W. Holley Release Date: March 24, 2011 [EBook #35669] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FALLS OF NIAGARA *** Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net NIAGARA. [Illustration: NIAGARA FALLS FROM THE CANADIAN SIDE - FRONTISPIECE.] The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous by George W. Holley 1 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA AND OTHER FAMOUS CATARACTS. BY GEORGE W. HOLLEY. With Thirty Illustrations. London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXXXII. Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE xiii PART I HISTORY. The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous by George W. Holley 2 CHAPTER I. First French expedition Jacques Cartier He first hears of the great Cataract Champlain Route to China La Salle Father Hennepin's first and second visits to the Falls 1 CHAPTER I. 3 CHAPTER II. Baron La Hontan's description of the Falls M. Charlevoix's letter to Madame Maintenon Number of the Falls Geological indications Great projection of the rock in Father Hennepin's time Cave of the Winds Rainbows 9 CHAPTER II. 4 CHAPTER III. The name Niagara The musical dialect of the Hurons Niagara one of the oldest of Indian names Description of the River, the Falls, and the surrounding country 15 CHAPTER III. 5 CHAPTER IV. Niagara a tribal name Other names given to the tribe The Niagaras a superior race The true pronunciation of Indian words 19 CHAPTER IV. 6 CHAPTER V. The lower Niagara Fort Niagara Fort Mississauga Niagara village Lewiston Portage around the Falls The first railroad in the United States Fort Schlosser The ambuscade at Devil's Hole La Salle's vessel, the Griffin The Niagara frontier 25 PART II GEOLOGY. CHAPTER V. 7 CHAPTER VI. America the old world Geologically recent origin of the Falls Evidence thereof Captain Williams's surveys for a ship-canal Former extent of Lake Michigan Its outlet into the Illinois River The Niagara Barrier How broken through The birth of Niagara 32 CHAPTER VI. 8 CHAPTER VII. Composition of the terrace cut through Why retrocession is possible Three sections from Lewiston to the Falls Devil's Hole The Medina group Recession long checked The Whirlpool The narrowest part of the river The mirror Depth of the water in the Chasm Former grand Fall 42 CHAPTER VII. 9 CHAPTER VIII. Recession above the present position of the Falls The Falls will be higher as they recede Reason Why Professor Tyndall's prediction Present and former accumulations of rock Terrific power of the elements Ice and ice bridges Remarkable geognosy of the lake region 50 PART III. LOCAL HISTORY AND INCIDENTS. CHAPTER VIII. 10 [...]... Incidents Fall of Table Rock Remarkable phenomenon in the river Driving and lumbering on the Rapids Points of the compass at the Falls A first view of the Falls commonly disappointing Lunar bow Golden spray Gull Island and the gulls The highest water ever known at the Falls The Hermit of the Falls 108 CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XIV Avery's descent of the Falls The fatal practical joke Death of Miss Rugg Swans... characteristics; the majestic monotone, the bow, the cloud, which is its veil by night, its crowning glory and beauty by day The combinations of grandeur and beauty have reached their climax in the fall, the foam, the voice, the spray, the bow CHAPTER III 32 [Illustration: THE RAPIDS ABOVE THE FALLS] The chasm of the river from the Falls to Lewiston will be sufficiently described in treating of the geology of the. .. from north-east to south-west in the bed-rock It is owing to this dip that the surface of the water on the American side is ten feet higher than it is on the Canadian The continuous column of water, however, is longest in the center of the Horseshoe, because of the fallen rock and debris lying at the foot of the other portions of the Fall At this time the upward slope of the bed-rock is such that if it... sufficiently hard the Falls, after receding four miles farther, will be two hundred and twenty feet high It is evident from the descriptions of Father Hennepin and of Baron La Hontan, that the upper stratum of rock over which the water falls must have projected beyond the face of the rock below much farther than it now does The large masses of fallen rock lying at the foot of the American and Horse-shoe Falls. .. The musical dialect of the Hurons Niagara one of the oldest of Indian names Description of the river, the Falls, and the surrounding country There is in some words a mystic power which it is not easy to analyze or define; they fascinate the ear even of those who do not understand their meaning The very sound of them as they are enunciated by the human voice touches a chord to which the heart instinctively... especially true of the chapters of local history The writer is especially indebted to the Hon Orsamus H Marshall, of Buffalo, for a copy of his admirable "Historical Sketches," and for access to his library of American history The Documentary History and Colonial Documents of the State of New York, "The Relations of the Jesuits," the works of other early French missionaries, travelers, and adventurers,... stronger, and better formed than any other savages, and who lived south of the Huron country, were visited by the Jesuits, who preached to them the Kingdom of God They were called the Neuter Nation, because they took no part in the wars which desolated the country But in the end they could not themselves escape entire destruction To avoid the fury of the Iroquois, they finally joined them against the Hurons,... from the all-conquering Iroquois After the lapse of nearly three-quarters of a century, when the hostility of the latter had subsided, and they had themselves been weakened and subdued by the whites, the wretched remnant of the Niagaras, with that strong love of home so characteristic of the Indian, returned to their native hunting-grounds, where they remained for a few years, and then joined their... CHAPTER V The lower Niagara Fort Niagara Fort Mississauga Niagara Village Lewiston Portage around the Falls The first railroad in the United States Fort Schlosser The ambuscade at Devil's Hole La Salle's vessel, the Griffin The Niagara frontier From the earliest visit of the French missionaries and voyageurs to the lake region, the banks of the lower Niagara were to them a favorite locality Very early they... VERNAL FALLS " " 168 NEVADA FALLS " " 171 LOWER FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE " " 172 UPPER FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE " " 174 THE STAUBBACH, SWITZERLAND " " 176 VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBESI " " 178 MAP OF THE NIAGARA REGION " " 1 PREFACE The writer, having resided in the village of Niagara Falls for more than a third of a century, has had opportunity to become thoroughly acquainted with the locality, and to study . The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous by George W. Holley The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts, by George W. Holley This eBook is for the use of anyone. FRONTISPIECE.] The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous by George W. Holley 1 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA AND OTHER FAMOUS CATARACTS. BY GEORGE W. HOLLEY. With Thirty Illustrations. London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON,. dialect of the Hurons Niagara one of the oldest of Indian names Description of the River, the Falls, and the surrounding country 15 CHAPTER III. 5 CHAPTER IV. Niagara a tribal name Other names