The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1829-10-21
NOVEL SCENE AT NIAGARA
FALLS,
Letter to the editors Of the .NetO York Com
mereiaL .Advertiser, dated
PaciIion, Niagara Falls, Oct. s, 1899.

You VIII have seen by the frontier news
papers on both sides of the border, if not by
the numerous hand-bills scattered in all di-
rectlons, that several gentlemen" not the
least interested, and in the most liberal
manner possible, stately associated for the
purpose of giving a treat to the ladies and
gentlemen of the United States, and of the
provinces of Upper and Lower Canada"
L his treat" was not to consist of eGtd5LeS
or drlnkGbteS, unless they were paid for
| extra, but was intended as a mental "treat,"
for the minds eye. The design was to en-
| belllsh a very tame spot in the map of the
world, formerly an object of some interest
to the curious, and the lovers of the sublime
and beautiful, known as the Cataract of
Niagara. 1t is called cataract, because
the waters of Erie, Michigan, Huron, Su-
perior, the Lake of the Woods, and few
other small ponds out beyond here, trckle
over ledge of rocks just below Mr..
Forsyth's piazza, and drop down after
while into Lake Ontario. Charlevoix,
Chateaubriand, President Dwight, and sew
eral other humbugs, have made wonder
tui ado about these falls; but it was left for
an intelligent gentleman by the name of
Capt. Basil Hail. an Admiral, | believe, in
the hungarian Navy, whom. I am told, you
have recently been poking fun at, to unde-
ceive the world, and tell them exactly what
sort of place it is. Capt. Hall had trav-
elled all over the universe, and had seen
the two falls of Bonaparte, the falls of
Tiveli, Undertook, and Melsingah, and
who so well qualified as he to give an opin-
ion? Well: having been here week, as
you will see by his book, after ranging over
the wide world fer simile, he could find
{ H. l. e
I ture whereunto befttingly to lkenthe noise
of this cascade, but the rumbling of big
grist-mill Now, as | have remarked
( above, it was for the purpose cf ornament
ing and identifying the water-works of
Capt. Halls grlst-mlll, that the benevolent
gentlemen referred to, resolved upon serv-
ing up this grand entertainment, for the
mutual benefit of the loving subjects of
George the Fourth and Andrew the First.
But do not suppose. good Messrs. Editors,
! because | happen to be here Just at this
time, that | came from an idle curiosity to
witness the exhibition. Like a great many
other gentlemen from the provinces on both
sides of the Niagara rivulet, | was called
here upon pressing business and being
here, must either shut my eyes, or see the
show. The arrangements contemplated the
( blowing up of large projecting rock, near
/ the Indian Ladder. at half past IL o'clock,
on Tuesday, the 9th; the blowing off of a
4 part of Mrs. Dawson's Island, on the mar
( gin of the British Falls, at o'clock and the
bursting of the outer Terrapin Rock, at half
past O'Clock, on the margin of the Ameri-
can Falls, near the termination of the bridge
which projects out to the verge of the prec-
| pice, from Goat Island, towards the Canada
shore. 1t was originally intended to have
made still greater blast, by throwing off
near quarter of an acre Of the surface Of
Table Rock, Immediately below where the
large fragment fell some two years since.
There is a assure of sixty or seventy feet
long, by more than an hundred deep, which
seems now almost to separate this immense
block from the mighty rampant over which
/ it fearlully impends. And to tell the truth,
from the rapid disintegration of the shale
at It's base, 1t already hangs but insecurity,
ard threatens, ere long, to tumble into the
abyss by its own specific gravity. And it
| is feared, that some rash and inexperienced
young travellers may be standing upon its
summit at the time of its separation, unless
it should chance to fall in the night, as 9TH
ers have fallen before. Under these cir
eumstances, Mr.. Forsyth had determined
to shake off this crag by an artificial earth
( quake, on the 9th. But the colonial gov
eminent heard of the project; and Sir John
Colburne, fearing, perhaps, that the whole
cataract would be blown up, and the upper
lakes let out to drown his beautiful capital
of York, leaving the WeIland Canal high
and dry, issued an order at once to prevent
the explosion, and avert the dire catastro-
! phe.
However, the other gunpowder attrac-
/ tons, added to the intended descent over
the Horseshoe Falls of the schooner Supe-
rior, to all of which was to be appended the
jumping of the illustrous Mr.. Samuel Patch
of New Jersey, and the exhibition of for
I lorn corps of equestrians, and a ragged
company of strolling players, it was suppos-
ed would be sufficient "to call the folks
together" as the old Yankee song has it..
| As the day approached, hand bills were is
sued from time to time, TO keep the gentle
public on the tip-toe of expectation. The
last of these winged messengers appeared
on the evening of Monday, announcing the
arrival at Whitney's, on General Jackson's
side of the water, of the Mighty Jumper.
For several days before this event, nowev-
err, numbers of gentlemen began to cluster
together in this region, all brought hither,
like myself upon especial business" but
who thought that they might as well, now
that they were here, stay to see the show.
But not until Tuesday morning did the uni
versal suffrage subjects of both nations pour
forth and line the borders in countless num-
bers-not as in days of yore, with eyes
flashing with fiery indignation at each 9TH
err, but with feelings of mutual friendship
and curiosity. Booths were erected on both
sides, with flags streaming, bearing mottos
as full OF liberty and patriotism on one side
as on the other-just as though King
Georges subjects were as free as General
Jackson's. AS the lazy hours for serving
up g! the treat" drew on, curiosity rapidly