Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-06-15

1 hVkk OONSIAA1LA W
xKxDoUs DEPTH OF THE RIVER AT
| WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS.
The mystery attached to Niagara Falls
and River is apparently as impenetrable
as it was in 1912. when Prof. John Hall OF
New York, projected the first survey OF
the river. The unknown increases in in
terest at the present time, when an inter-
national effort is beng made to preserve
the approaches to the Falls. Some of the
remarks able facts known only to a few per-
sons, principally engineers, may be told
| in order to shed more light upon an old
and familiar object.
| Out in Lake Ontario, few miles rom
the mouth of the river. are several enorm-
Gus shoals called the ''Brickbats." They
are annually increasing in size. and COM
prise the debris of the canon and the wear
of the Falls. Frost and the atmosphere
are disintegrating agents far more power
full than the Falls themselves. The canon
is widening every year. Enormous bould-
ers continually fall. and. plunging into
the river, are ground to dust in the cur
rents and hurried away TO the shoals. 1t
| is remarkable that the rivers mouth does
not become damned up with this refuse.
Those who think it impossible for Niagara
to contain the water that passes through
the St. Lawrence do not pause to consider
several important facts. The current
from Niagara ranges from ten miles an
hour to two miles minute. The volume
of water sent hurrying to Ontario at this
terrific speed presents under the upper
bridge solid face of a cube Sc, 600 yards
square So enormous is the volume OF
water hurled through this passage that
Lake Ontario must necessarily empty it.
self once in everv few days. Just below
the lower bridge the swells formed by the
current rise to height OF twenty feet, so
terrific is the pressure from above. The
Maid of the Mist passed through the
canon at a rate in part exceeding one mile
per minute, the fastest trip ever made by
vessel Those who consider it impossi-
Bile for the St Lawrence to be made by
Niagara River are right in one respect.
The former stream receives vast access
sions from American and Canadian tribu-
taries, such as the interior chain of lakes,
the drainage of the Northern Adirondacks,
and the Ottawa river.
The mysterious and awful depths of Nj
agara's canon, are fruitful subjects of COM
ment. Some portions of it are reasonably
supposed to be bottomless. When the
first railway bridge was constructed some
ambitious persons attempted to sound the
canon directly beneath it. They filled
large tin pail with stones, and lowered it
with rope The currents merely played
with it. Then they took stronger cord.
attached bar of railway iron to it which
Anotah IN tho Eoroo
ter currents. A few years ago the United
States Lake Survey came and obtained
some remarkable data. They saw at once
that the currents would buoy up large
sinker. and proposed to test the smallest
possible surface with the greatest possible
weight. They took a lead weight in form
of plumb bob. weighing 10 pounds, and
attached it to small but strong cord.
Then securing the services of one of the
ferry boatmcn, they started out into the
stream. The boatman was ordered to row
as nearly under the falls as possible, and
the result will never be forgotten by a
member of the party in that skiff. As
they approached the falls the roar became
more and more terrible, until it was not
only unable to hear, but the lips positively
refused to open and utter sound. For sew
eral days afterward some of the party
were so deaf as to be unable to distinguish
one word from another. The lead was
cast first near the American Falls, where
bottom was found at SO feet. Near the
main falls they found 100 feet of water.
Here the oarsman strength failed, and
the little craft began to dart down stream.
At every cast of the lead the water grew
deeper. until in front of the inclined rail-
way, the old guide and most of the party
became terror stricken and refused to
go further down stream. Here the
lead told off 1913 feet. They were then
able to compute the depths lower down
by simply ascertaining the width of the
stream. Directly under the lower bridge
ems to 21O feet. Lower down, at the
Whirlpool Rapids, the gorge becomes
very narrow and the currents terribly
fierce. Here the computed depth was
$50 feet. One place in the gorge is
still narrower, and would exceed depth
of 400 feet. When the depth of water is
taken into consideration the height of the
canon walls above the surface must not
be forgotten. These walls range from
270 TO $50 feet in height, often perpendic-
lar, so that the total depth of the canon
ranges from $40 to 700 feet This great
depth of the gorge leads directly in mag
ination to the lannon's wear. What alb
surd theories and conjectures have been
put forth on this subject Step up my good
Biblical scholar and tell us how 20 cubic
miles of solid rock have been worn out in
5000 years. There seems to be a current
impression that the Falls recedes toward
Buffalo at the rate of one foot year. The
great geologist Lyell is responsible for
this stupendous error. One foot a year
means the displacement of 1.0O0, 600 cubic
feet of rock from the face of the Falls an
nually, sufficient to rebuild all the struc.
lures on Broadway. The displacement is
really about an inch of the face of the
Falls as whole in every five years. Sup
pose it were that amount every year, then
Niagara would annually displace So. 500
cubic feet of the face of the Falls, which
would arrive in Buffalo in the year 8. 1869 :
sS5. and have been 1857 900 years reach
/ ing their present position.
No portion of the canon excites more
interest than the great malstrom called
the Whirlpool. it is situated some dis.
lance below the Falls, and is little visited.
owing to the fact that guests are shown
the Whirlpool Rapids directly below the
lower bridge. and think they have seen
the Whirlpool. Its surface covers terri.
tory ahouf a ouaYtor Of q milo ca,aro Ia