The record-union., 1892-11-05
GRAND FALLS OF LABRADOR
twice as High as Niagara, But Mar.
rower-Cave of the Winds.

Twice as High as Niagara. But Mar
rower-Cave of the Winds.
The Grand Falls of Labrador are nearly
twice as high as Niagara. and are inferior
TO that marvellous cataract in breadth ana
volume OF water only. one OF their most
strikIug characteristics is the astonishing
reap into space which the torrent makes
in discharging itself over It's rocky bar
rier. From 1he description given OF the
rapid drop i'll the river bod and the coin
c.dent narrowing OF the channel one can
easily understand THAI the cumulative
energy expended in this final leap of the
pent-up waters is truly titanic. If a sub
stratum of softer rock existed here rs ut
Niagara, a similar Gave OF the Wind>'
would enable one to penetrate cousil
cradle distance beneath the fall. The
uniform structure OF the rock however.
prevents any unequal disntegration, ac-
cording to the C3ntlUy, and thus the
oYerarching sheet of water covers a nearly
perpendicular wall, the base of which is
washed by the waters of the lower river.
In spite of the fact that no creature, eX-
cept one with wings, could hope to Dene-
trate this subaqueous chamber, the place
Is inhabited, If we are to believe the trd-
dltIons of the Labrador Indians. Many
years ago. so runs the tale, two Indian
maldenS gathering fireWood near the falls
We're enticed to the brink and drawn over
by the evil spirit Of the place. During the
long years since then these uniortunates
have been condemned to dwell beneath
the tails, and forced to toll daily, dressing
deerskIns, until now, no longer young
and beautiful, they can be seen betimes
through the mist trailing their white hair
behind them and stretching out shriveled
arms toward any mortal VINO ventures to
visit the confines of their mystic dwell
lng-place. The Indian name for the
Grand Falls - Patses-che-w means
The narrow place where the water falls"
Like the native word Niagara" Thunder
OF Waters"-this Indian name contains
poetic and descriptive quality which it
would be hard to improve.
From the point where the river leaves
the plateau and plunges into the deep
pool below the falls it course for twenty
hVe miles IL through one of the most re-
markable canyons in the world. From
the appearance of the sides of this gorge.
and the zigzag line of the river, the indi-
cations are that the stream has slowly
forced channel through this rocky
chasm, cutting its way back, foot by foot.
from the edge of the plateau to the pres
ent position of the falls. Recent inVesti-
gators estimate that a period Of 6. 600 wears
was required to form the gorge below
Niagara Falls; or, in other words. that il
has taken that length of time for the falls
to recede from their former position at
Queenstown Hights to their present posi-
ton.
Ii it has taken this length of time for
Niagara Fails 10 recede q distance of
seven miles by the erosive power of the
water acting on Il soft shaIe rock supD0rt-
ing stratum Of limestone, the immensitv
OF time involved by assuming that the
Grand River Canyon was formed in the
same way is so great that the mind falters
IN contemplating it, especially when it is
recognized that the escarpment Of the
Grand Falls is of hard gneissic rock.
And yet no other explanation of the orr
gin or this gorge is acceptable, unless, in
deed, we can assume that at some former
time hssure occurred in the earths
crust as result Of igneous agencies, and
that this tissure ran in line identical
with the present course Of the river. in
which case the drainage Of the table land
emptyIng into the Grand River would
follow the line OF least resistance. and in
the course of time eXcavate the fissure
III the present proportions of the gorge.