Milford chronicle., 1893-03-31
ice AT NIAGARA.
A wonderful display, Unique In Its Char
acter and Extent.


t7areiv indeed is nature In a mood Of Law
ii, 5isnjav like that to which she has aban-
5o,,ed herself nc Niagara. The scene about
~, ,-ross cataract IS sublime, and It IS
',.,io,,o other aspects of nature in other
s,,srters of our wonderful earth may pre-
emf nictures of beauty and grandeur. but
1l,oir verv Derulunence, whether IN noun
t.ip NJ. forest or sea. robs them OF certain
s,scination which we feel in looking upon
this aeeting splendor with which winter
boa clothed Niagara II every recurrence
~ the season Of frost brought the same con
5itions we might not be so moved ythenl-
Rut not once in decade is there voueh
safed to Us so grand spectacle-a gililise
SO suggestive of the age OF ice
The American fall is 1864 feet mgh' anu
piled M before it, so that the SOUND OF It's
thunder Is muflcd, is huge barrier OF ice
Ret,reen the inclined railway and the cage
| ~ the fall a round hill Of ice rises quite ~"
feet in height. white and CLASSY, Partner
/ non, and nearly opposite Luna island rises
| onntber mound of solid ice and snow quite
I Io5 feet In height and Of immense thick
,oss Between these are other hills ana
/ bnr,rnoelSs only less majestic. Near the
/ foot ~ the Horseshoe on the Goat island
/ side il n dome Of ice some SEQ feet long and
y,-i5e hundreds of icicles hanging from its
under side.
These are but the prominent features ol
the ice formations. As one eners E'rospect
Dark or walks through Goat island toward
/ the brink of the fall the trees present the
annearance OF trees anywhere IN winter
mi once get to Prospect point and LOOK
b.cl or to the walk that leads over the
Horseshoe rocks from Goat island ana
Iook m. and every tree stands ont pure
white The ice takes on the texture OF
the sDecial tree to which it clings II II
| is an elm or chestnut, the ice shows the
croases of the elm's or chestnut bark Il
il bc n maDlr or beech or ash, the ice
is smooth and polished. Everything stanus
out glistening, and where the spray mas
formed on spruce and pine it has grad
| ually taken the shape Of the evergreen
featberv fronds, and the tree looks like
strange exotic, the production oi r ootahls'
delighting in fantastic growthA
Perhaps the most complete view OF al
that combines to make Niagilrt splendid II
winter may be had from the stairs leVulhs
from Goat island TO Luna island. LOOKING
over the railing one can catch glimpse o.
the great assures or wells OF ice INTO "hici
tbe EVER pollrs its divided torrents, witt
/ the Wllu ana spray uCttNAAAE5 t.e1sttAf'N
Scared inner walls of the barrier, whil'
lets and clouds of mist shoot upward anC
are horne away By the wind to rain dowI
and freeze again on the crust Of the icl
mountains beyond At distance beyond
the American fall is Prospect point, witt
no black moving specks of humanity. BE
hind these rises the white robed wood
shading off to brown in the distance.
Back Of the glistening trees is the sky, a
purelv blue Us ever it bent over Venice o
Florence. while between, rising from tn
misty cavern at the falls foot and archini
upward across the river, across the distan
clump Of ice clad trees, against the dee
blue Of the sky and fading away just unde
the gibbous moon, isa bow Of the riches
prismatic hues, now deepening, now be
coming faint, as the spray is blown thl
wav and that Such is the scene, not a
wavs with the moon feature of it, at nj
srars in the clear afternoons, when the al
mosphere softens and subdues all the hue'
Buffalo Courier