Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-05-02
Tyndall on Niagara.

Professor Tyndall recently lee
tured at the Royal Institution, Lon
don, on some Of his recent exper-
fences in the United States, and es-
pecially at Niagara Falls, when he
stated that the general description
of the deatenirg roar near the Falls
was exaggerated, inasmuch as the
noise experienced at the Devils
bridge in Switzerland, where the
Rcuss made its plunge, was by far
greater. This was due to the sur
rounding mountains, whereas the
great American cataract has no
such acoustic advantage. He des
cribed his explorations beneath the
so-called Horseshoe Fail, by far the
more formidable of the two gener.
ally comprised under the name OF
the Niagara Falls. Wrapped in
several woolen garments, he had to
cross torrents OF water, and to pass
over the slippery ground where he
had a view of the green masses
overhead, the contemplation %
which gave him one Of those agree.
able emotions which he had been
told liberated nerve currents, and
assisted in the stimulating Of the
system better than the chemical
preparations used for dispelling
bodily discomforts. He said that
except the gorge through which the
river rushed, the country around
was a table-land as far as Queens
town bridge on one side, and Lew
istown ridge on the other side OF
the river. Here the table land sud
denly descended into the plain to-
wards the Ontario, and he drew at
tention to this fact because it eX-
planned to him the existence and
history Of Niagara Falls. Many
thousand years ago the river proba,
bly, ran along the table-land, and
the Falls then were exactly at the
escarpmcnt of the table-lamd. The
crosive power of the sand and
boulders carried by the river, how
ever, eXcavated and cut the extreme
end, and thus caused Il retrocession
Of the locus of the fail. The centre
Of the river, having the greatest ex-
cavating power, managed to keep
ahead of the sides-that is in going
backward-and thus the horseshoe
form was produced. The eXtraor-
dinary whirlpools and upshots of
masses of water at one of the bends
he ascribed to the interference of
the central and latitudinal currents.
In five thousand years people would
be able to see plainly if this theory
were correct, and he predicted that
in time the American fall would be
abolished, leaving whirlpool and
the Horseshoe Fall would have re-
cedcd still further back, at the same
time narrowing the bed of the river
behind it. The tumbling over of
the barriers had been and would be
FASTENED by the disposition Of the
strata of the table-land, in which
limestone rested on soft shalc. The
lecture was illustrated by photo
graphic and other views, and by
experiments showing the erosion
caused by blast of sand impinging
Oh 4 glass plate. Some stones re-
sembling flint implements were
shown, the finish Of which was due
to the same influences, and it was
mentioned that the cut on the neck
of the Egyptian Sphinx was proba-
bly, due to the action of sand. An
artificial representation of what
had happened in the history of the
Niagara Falls was also exhibited.
Professor Tyndall concluded by
saying that during his recent visit,
he had received a hearty and almost
affectionate reception from the peo-
pie of the United States, and in
lecturing and living among this
other English-speaking nation, he
had felt no break of continuity.