, 1876-10-07
ErnC. C.IzuNleY en Niagara.

of drawing largely from lhelr lmaglh-
a ion, but it Is really not 50. The
most sober, careful consideration o.
facts forces upon you more and more
dc,erminedly the conviction that the
theory respecting which we have tins
archaeological evidence of a period OF
the past history Of the world Is OF
durariun which, in comparison with
our human standard. may be regarded
a. almost absolutely infinite. Take,
for example, the case Of the cataract
of Magma, where | have been receut-
" spending some time, 80 that might
fill myself with the grandeur and
beauty OF that extraordinary natural
phenomenon it Is quite easy to see
that the Niagara River has formed IFS
own valley, has cut It's way back
through the plateau Of rock from
which it falls for some SIX niles.
There Is not the slightest difficulty IN
seeing that. The great c!ilf from
which it tumbles i. formed Of two
kinds Of rock-hard rock at the top
and soft rock underneath. The water
under mines the soft rock below, when
the solid stratum above falls over.
You can trace the gradual excavation
of that valley for six miles from that
marvellous bluff which, from Proctor'S
monument, overlooks that plain Of
Ontario. Now, The rate at which
that work Is going on has not yet
been positively asceriained, but we
may be perfectly certain Il am now
speaking largely within iimiss) that the
work OF cutting back does not 90 on
at the rate Of a yard in q YEAR We
have six mites Of >nch cutting, which
vii! bring you back TO period OF ten
thousand years fer the cutting back
of Niagara alone |: is an immater-
Ia! matter to ne how many Years It
takes, but it would be nearer proba-
Gility, much peare: the truth, If | had
said three or four times that amount.
What relation does 4 period Of that
kind bear to the vast duration express
ed by these vast ltdgeS Of strata which
from the globe? We are a people
curious enough TO form a yery dis
tnct calcuiation Of this. The sides Of
the rayine through which Niagara Is
cutting lis way are formed by masses
Of allayiaI malter, which must be
older than the river which has cut
through II, while in that a!luvial mat
ter YOU fini the remains Of shell fish,
undistingui,haLle from those which
DOW inh4bit the lake, and along with
them You tind-aS he has been found
the teeth Of the maStodon, which
we know from abundant evidence
was an inhabiJant Of the continent OF
North America at comparatively
recent period, the very last step OF
that long series Of changes, Of which
the limestone, upon which you are
now standing, indicates one Of the
older ones,
Thus it follows that the whole work
Of Niagara occupies one period OF this
vast duration. 1T relation 10 our dur
alton OF time, that ten thousand years.
or whatever else ii may have 0ecn, !,
but an inirile>imaI fragment OF time,
so far rs the great phenomena Of the
globe are concerned. During that
vast time the population Of the globe
has Undergone Il slow, constant and
! gradual change, one species giving
way 20 another. We have passed by
slow and gradual methods, without
vast and sudden changes, into that
state Of things which obtain at pres
eut. | need not say that This view OF
the past history Of the globe is very
different one from that which is com
monty taken. 1t is so widely differ
ent that il is absolutely impossible 10
affect am kind CT community, any
kind of parallel, far less any sort OF
reconciliation, between these two.
One of these must be true. The ether
is no..