, 1859-09-17
39rtss 4 Trihttttt.
The Falls OF NfnEart1s


The Falls OF Niagara
foosespoE:eucr Of the Se~ iosk 4spfcssl
Thousands Of more ab1e pcus Than mine hare
attempted 10 describe niagara, both ia prose
mil 1refsc.~-asd but few have euceeded il Civ
~. dss,s or asaans dea ,hs oaa o. as ehs;a
TsprinEs, .siycrs and 1ukcs, that drain the Whole
northern purt Of North Amcrica, from the Lake
Of the Woods to tho Gult ol st. Lawrence,
. ,nrs& be emlrnced and conceived to giro A COM
.2tehensive understanding OF tho nctaa''ty> tic
grandeur and sublimity Of the great catarnct.
The waters of Luke Superior alone corcr ai
arca Of 81 600 square miles, OF Is 900 acrcs,
tho surface Of which is 1,o4S feet abore Tide
water. The whole Of the four grcst Lakes above
the falls coEcr shout 100 900 square miles, with
40 average arpth ii At least 500 feet. Az Of
: this vast accumulation Of waters gathered from
Tue DRAWINGS Of half continent, hare no other
outlet TO tic ocean than the St. Mary's, St Clar
and Niagara Rivers, to the ST Lawrence. The
surface Of tie waters in Like Er1e is 3se ieet
abore Luke Ontario, aud this fall Of water Is
made in the Nisgara river in distance
Of thisty.eix miles, with q channeI 70,
\ mile IN width. About haI mile ahove ste
Falls, tic Great Rapids commence, which oe-
fore reaching the Falls, make descent of h!tF
two feet before taking the final Leap orer the
pnreipice, which ia l6o feet on The Canada s',le
aud lco feet on the American side. The Kspids
AfD<At
l~hat there is left Of it, on the Canada shore.
At the Falls, the riTer is three-guarere Of =
mile vide, but it is divided By Goat lsiaud,
which ls halt = mile long, and quarter Of
mile vide on the margin OF the preclpice-lts
upper extremity dividing the waters at the c<m"
thc river here throws large proportion Of tltc
water On the Canada side, over tue Horse SHOE
Fall The estimated quantity Of water dis
charged oreT the Falls Is calculated Al III ,ole-
600 gallons per minute, or = .lSs,59o hogsaeadt
per hour. This forms q column Of water 3,lso
feet broad, and from hso to nity ieet deep
and approaches the precipiee WIN y
velocity equ.i! to forty miles m hour. Knowing
aad fully realizing oil these facts, and then be-
iag in position where the whole 81 tue mighty
cttaract is embraced ~ one vleH, the grandtur,
su6lioity and ame Of the entire phenomenon---
thrown back high i'll the heavens in clouds Of
spray, TINT act US mysaads OF pr,sms to deeons"
pose the Light from the sun, aud also afford u
background for their reflection IN bows that
span the chastn, the ~hirlpools and ag1ta:cd
natcrs below, and the sraggy cliffs that hung;
ali strike the bcholder with feeling Of the
httleness 4ud nothiug1ess OF himseli, and tAe
ounipotent power and majesty Of hls Great
Of, and big wonderful works: II there is
anything that nwakens thoughts OF hnm1t'a.
tion aud utfcr dependence upon tue merc1es Of
sour Father wh9 art in hcascn,' and feeling,
and desire to DO His will. il is such scene az
Z this The high table land, il Which is imbed~
ded Tie basin ot Lake Enc, has o northern
boundary extending from the Genessee Kiscr
in Western New York, to tue head of Lake
ontario IN Canada West The break from this
waters of Lake Ontario, 3es feet below, is apre-
capltous, rocky descent almost the entire length.
aud forms the anti~clinal axis or ridge thnt d.
rides the waters ct the Mississippi! and t4e St
Lawrence. The Genessec Fails, the great locks
Of the Erie Canal at Lockport md Niagara,
aN naSS down from this elevation. Ii