Connecticut western news., 1873-05-30
Under the Falls of Niagara.
A Thrilling Description of the Gres
 Wonder of Nature.

of visit under the Niagara Falls. He says :-
 We descended the stair the handle of pitchfork doing in my case the duty of an alpenstock. At the bottom my guide inquired whether we should go first to the Cave of the Winds, or to the Horseshoe, remarking that the latter would try us most. decided to get the toughest done first, and he turned to the left over the stones. They were sharp and trying. The base of the first portion of the cataract is covered with huge powders, obviously the ruins of the limestone ledge above. The water does not distribute itself uniformly among these, but seeks for itself chan nels through which it pours torrential- | ly. We passed some of these with wet ted feel, but without difficulty. At length we came to the side of a more formidable current My guide walked along it's edge until he reached its least turbulent portion. Halting, he said, "This is our greatest difficulty; if we can cross here, we shall get far toward the Horseshoe"
 He waded in. It evidently required all his strength to steady him. The wa ter rose above his loins, and it foamed still higher. He had to search for foot ing, amid unseen powders, against which the torrent rose violently. He struggled and swayed, but he struggled successfully, and finally reached the shallower water at the other side Stretching out his arm, he said to me, "Now come on.
 entered the water. Even where it was not more than knee-deep its power was manifest. As it rose around me, I sought to split the torrent by present. ing side to it; but the insecurity of the footing enabled it to grasp the Joins, twist me fairly round, and bring it's i'm petus to bear upon the back. Further struggle was impossible and, feeling my balance hopelessly gone, I turned, flung myself toward the bank had just quilted, and was instantly swept into shallow water.
 The oil cloth covering was great in- cumbrance it had been made for a much stouter man, and, standing up right after my submersion, my legs oc- cupied the centers of two bags of water.
 My guide exhorted me to try again.
 Prudence was at my elbow, whispering dissuasion ; but, taking everything into
 account, it appeared more immoral to retreat than to proceed. Instructed by
 the first misadventure, I once more en-
 tered the stream. Had the alpenstock
 been of iron it might have helped me 1;
 but, as it was, the tendency of the wa
 ter to sweep it out of my hands rendered
 it worse than useless. I, however, clung
 to it by habit. Again the torrent rose,
 and again wavered but, by keeping
 the left hip we'll against it, remained
 o& T 1o T
 of my leader at the other side. He
 laughed pleasantly. The first victory
 was gained, and he enjoyed it. "No
 fore." Soon afterward, by trusting to a
 piece of drift-wood which seemed firm,
 l was again taken off my feet, but was
 immediately caught by protruding
 rock.
 We clambered over the powders to-
 ward the thickest spray, which soon be-
 came so weighty as to cause us to stag
 ger under it's shock. For the most part
 nothing could be seen; we were in the
 midst of bewildering tumult, lashed by
 the water, which sounded at times like . the cracking of innumerable whips. Underneath this was the deep, resonant
 roar of tue cataract. I tried to shield my eyes with my hands, and look up.
 ward; but the defense was useless. My guide continued to move on, but at z , certain place he halted, and desired me : to take shelter in his lee and observe
 the cataract. The spray did not come
 so much from the upper ledge as iron , the rebound of the shattered water f when it struck the bottom. Hence tht
 eyes could be protected from the blind l ing shock of the spray, while the line F of vision to the upper Hedges remained 3 to some extent clear. On looking up , ward over the guides shoulder could
 see the water bending over the ledge
 while the Terrapin Tower loemed fit
 fully through the intermittent spray
 gusts. We were right xnder the tower q A little further on, the cataract, afte 7 it's first plunge, hit protuberanee som,
 way down, and flew from it in a pro q digious burst of spray; through this w d staggered. We rounded the promon 7 tory on which the Terrapin Towe e stands and pushed, amid the wildes n commotion, along the arm of the Horse e shoe, until the powders failed us, ant 6 the cataract fell into the profound gorg n of the Niagara River.
 l. Here my guide sheltered me again = and desired me to look up; I did so :. and could see, as before, the greer 1T gleam of the mighty curve sweepin, }, over the upper ledge, and the ftfu : plunge of the water as the spray be tween us and it alternately gathere' s and disappeared. An eminent frien, j. of mine often speaks to me of the mis IS take of those physicians who regar IT mans ailments as purely chemical, t
 be met by chemical remedies only. H o contends for the psychological elemen 't of cure. By agreeable emotions, h d says, nervous currents are iberate n which stimulate blood, brain, and wis o cera. The influence from ladies' eye n enables my friend to thrive on dishe Le which would kill him if eaten alone. . st sanative effect of the same order e1 a perienced amid the spray and thunde Is of Niagara. Quickened by the emo :! tions there aroused, the blood sped e1 Il ultingly through the arteries, abolish IS ing introspeetion, clearing the heart ( It all bitterness, and enabling one to thin 1t with tolerance, if not with tendernes. s, on the most relentless and unreasonab] re foe. Apart from it's scientific value 5. and purely as moral agent, the play, ot submit, is worth the candle. My con q, panion knew no more of me than CT ar joyed the wildness; but, as bent 3, the shelter of his large frame, he sait s, II should like to see you attempting t Tt describe all this." He rightly thougl le it indescribable. The name of this ga |. lant fellow was Thomas Conroy.
 We returned, clambering at interva C. up and down so as to catch glimpses ( le the most impressive portions of tI IT cataract. We passed under lodges forn 7e ed by tabular masses of limestone, an SC through some curious openings forme r. by the falling together of the sunni
 of the rocks. At length we found ou