Nebraska advertiser., 1882-05-25
Niagara in Harness.

Yankee ingenuity and practically
have not been slow in acting upon the
| suggestions which have been thrown
out so frequently Of late by the English
savants as TO the capabilities of Niagara
Falls in producing electrical power.
They have computed the force OF the
falls and announced the prodigious re-
suits in Illuminating and heating, as
well as a motor, which might be accom-
plished by them If they were only util-
lied, and now comes an enterprising
American, backed by sufficient capital,
determined to see If the cataract will
perform what the savants say it will
The preliminary step has been the
purchase of the twelve acres known as
Prospect Park, adjacent to the falls,
which substantially gives the purchaser
the control of the water power of the
entire American Falls, estimated at
1000, 900 horsepower, or ten times the
amount of steam horsepower in Chica-
go and all the rest of Cook County--a
force equal TO that OF 10000, 900 men.
The control of this prodigious power
having been obtained, it is proposed to
erect immense buildings and ponderous
machinery upon the brink of the falls,
where the water can be easily reached,
"to be returned after use." After gen.
Grating the electricity by this unlimited
hydraulic force, it is to be conducted
through properly insulated cases to sixty
five prominent American cities and
towns for illuminating purposes, and is
also to be used for operating machinery
and ultimately for heating purposes.
Altogether there will be 10000 miles of
copper cables with machinery to correI
spond.
The project at the first glance is suf-
ficent to take away ones breath, but it
is certain that any project proposing to
handle Niagara Falls must be on the
same scale as the cataract itself. Mag
ara is not force to drive petty mill
or run a small grist. It's prodigious
force must be handled in Titanic way
or else let alone. He would be a rash
man who should hasten to predict that
this colossal scheme, which looks so
well onpaper, is going to succeed, or that
Niagara is going to allow itself to be
harnessed to dynamo machines without
most determined resistance, or that
numerous unforeseen obstacles will not
and convince puny man that Nature has
some agencies like mountains, oceans,
cyclones and cataracts which she will not
allow to be utilized for material pur-
poses, and against which she may protest
in some reckless way that will send the
whole project to everlasting smash. The
most that can be done now is to an
nounce that an effort is to be made to
compel this vast 100 foot fall of
water, which has been running
wild so long and benefting no
one, except the falls hackmen, who
have mainly retired on fortunes after
their connivance with the cataract, to
do something for living and to be of
some use in the world Ii every brawl-
ing little mill-stream in the country has
to be of some service there is no reason
why this OvergrOwn and monstrous
precipitation of water should not also
contribute to the wants of men-if it
can be done. If skill, courage, enter
prise and money are of any avail, it
may not be long before the world will
behold Niagara no longer plunging over
its brink merely for the profit of hack
men and the pleasure of sentimental
sight-seers and poets, but working with
its huge power for the comfort of people.
1t was not long ago that an English
writer sneeringly declared that a Yankee
could not look at Niagara Falls without
calculating its capacity as water
power. The writer probably never
dreamed that a Yankee, not content
with the mere calculation, would actual
ly attempt to put it in operation. Chi
cago Tribune.