The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1879-01-12
NIAGARA IN WINTER.
A SOLID BRIDGE OF ICE FROM SHORE TO
SHORE
Buffalo Courier.

| yesterday and learned that the Ice bridge
became an assured fact on Sunday last Il
is really a child of the great snow storm o.
last week, which accounts for it's uncom
monty early formation. For some days g
| large amount of snow covered ice from
Lake Erie has been passing over the falls,
| and about the beginning of the present
week old Inhabitants began to look expec
least a month earlier than the usual ap-
pearance of this phenomenon. At 8 o'clock
Sunday morning the accumulated mass of
| ice came to standstill beneath the new
suspension bridge and the watchers began
| to hope that there would be bridge with
| smooth surface-a thing unprecedented
| 80 far as history or tradition bear record.
But tho hope was soon dispelled, for the
huge dam of ice suddenly began to heave,
grind, and break up into fragments with q
loud noise which is described as being ex-
ceedingiy trying to the nerves. At 10'o'clock
there was second standstill, and it seem
ed certain that the bridge had been formed,
but at in the afternoon there was q third
and more severe disturba nee az the pris-
oned waters exerted their giant strength
in an effort to be free. The battle was a
grand one. Vast quantities of ice and
snow were caught in the waters arms and
tossed hlther and thither like plsythinge.
Great hummocks weighing hundreds of
tone were pushed into tue air and remained
there as monuments of the fearful battle.
Large boulders were torn from the shore
and swept into the stream, and the solitary
fir, which was wont to mark the landing
place of the ferry became q victim to the
warning elements, though ordinarily it
stands three feet above high water. The
slow, awful strength of the Infatuated
waters was 30 apparent that it seemed as
if they must rend the great gorge in twain
and escape from their thraldom by some
new road but there was only one gate
way for them, and as they could not break
the mile wide dam in two, they lifted it up
bodily and swept away beneath. The
bridge is nearly mile in length, extending
from line drawn peYpendicularly to Point
Lookout in the American Park half way to
the railroad bridge, aud filing the gorge
from shore to shore.
The fret view Of the falls brings the
heart up into the mouth with a shock that
is almost painful in it's snddenness and
force. The story of Samson and Delilah
comes into mind, as ono sees how tue ice
has shorn the waters of their strength. AS
the spectator stands upon this point, the
wind blows the spray into his face and soon
covers hina all over with ice jewels but
what cares he for the spray in the enthu-
siasm of the glorious view! In the park
the ice has been as destructive as it is
beautiful, and though it has robed the
trees and buildings in snowy beauty, it has
torn down huge limbs by it's overpoweriug
weight. Looking over to the Canadian
shore the observer can see huge icicles of
many tons weight hanging like the ropy
locke Cd the foreheads of giants in the
story books. But these sights are az Moth
ing when compared to the broad sheet of
wrinkled ice which lies at his feet.
There 1t is-t6e conqueror of Niagara
sparkling in the sunlight as calmly and
peacefully as a patch of snow. There is
something majestic, sublime, in it's quiet
indifference to the il haeHces of the water
power. All traces of the battles of Sunday
have departed, save in the rough surface
which from the height of the point is not
noticeable to any great degree. AT it's
upper end the swift current may be seen
sweeping Eerceiy against it, then creeping
beneath with defeated air and coming up
sg .in at the lower end quite meekly. Our
reporter stood and watched this wondrous
spectacle until his eyes were we'll nigh
blinded by the glare and his note book
leaves were quite stiff with frozen spray,
and then descended in the inclined plane
to get nearer acquaintance of the Frost
Kings handiwOrk. Verify eKing Jack has
turned his time to good account on this
occasion, and proved that he is az good an
artist on grand scale as on a minute one.
Beside the rotupda which stands at the
base of the American fall mountain Of
enowy spray ice towers up eighty feet high,
and is each day climbing higher and higher
toward the summit. The dome of the TO
tunda bears an ice crown of exceeding
beauty and along the roof of the dressing
shed are curious ice formations which
nothing less than the Photographic camera
can adequately picture. Giant icicles hang
from the cliffs and every once in a while .
huge fragment comes tumbliDg down. The
ice is perfectly white and seemingly quite
porous, but excessively hard frozen. AS it
| warns in the mouth it assumes gum like
| consistency which tempts one to chew it.,
though he finds it a little too brittle for
that purpose. Its appearance is exactly
that of spun glass, and could it be made
| indestructlble and retain it's present con-
sistency it would make very superior bill
lard balls. 1t ia said that the spray which
formed this ice WAS perfectly pure, and
that if a ton of it we're melted it would pro-
duce no appreciable quantity of sediment.
The ice mountain is still in it's comparative
infancy, but if the wind and the mercury
are favorable it will soon be in a condition
to form coasting hill for the people as it
did during the winter of 1875.
The great ice bridge itself is counter
| part in miniature of an Alpine glacier and