The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-24

trable dam was formed in the neck OF. the
lake from which Niagara river flows, and
the great current of water which hnds
it's way from the lake in the rushing
channel of that stream, to be dashed. over
the gigantic precipice at the falls, WIS SO
held in check that not more than one
quarter of its usual volume could lind q
passage through the immense pack OF
ice. AS this pack was stubborn, 1T twas
naturally but very short time before
the falls drained nearly all the water out
of the river. This, of course, occurred
during the night, and we people who
lived IN Niagara village knew nothing Of
the phenomenon until next morning.
/ remember that awoke very early that
that morning, with the sense OF some
thing exceedingly strange expressing me.
1t was some time before discovered that
the feeling came from the fact that the
noise of the cataract was almost missing.
/ jumped out of bed and on leaving the
house, found that scores OF others had
been awakened by the same circum-
stance, and were hurrying toward the
falls to see what the trouble was. We
ound that the great Niagara Falls was
only about one quarter of itsssformer vol
ume.
1--WE had not heard of the trouble at
Lake Erie. and the terrible thought that
the falls were running dry created a
feeling Of alarm not easily Imaginable.
The American channel had dwindled to
creek in comparison with its original
proportions. while the British channel
resembled sorle ordinary river in the
droughts of August. Goat Island was as
big as two Goat Islands, as the water had
shrunk from every side of it, leaving q
wide expanse of wet. Shiny, jagged rocks
which no eye in that vicinity had ever
seen before. The bed of the Canadian
rapids, far out into the stream, was dry,
as was the space between the lower emo
of Goat Island and out beyond the tower.
The rocks thus exposed wera black and
forbidding, giving the dry river bed the
appearance Of q tract of charred stumps.
The Three Sisters looked forlorn in theil
enhanced dimensions. The great jet Of
| water which had from time immemorial,
leaped into the air about 800 yards south
of this group OF islands in the greal
| RAPIDS and which is leaping there today,
Was not leaping that morning, and as
some one remarked that day, the ire
mendous roar of Niagara had subsided
to moan.
The scene was at once desolate. strange
and awful to contemplate. The picture
will never leave my mind. The whole
village was out exploring caves, darh
| reoesses, curious formations in the rocks
and other remarkable features of the cat
aract and rapids that no mortal eye had
probah bly, ever gazed upon before. These
explorations were made safely to the very
brink of the Horseshoe rapids. A Mr..
Holley drove horse and buggy from the
head of Goat Island clear to the spot
where the leaping jet of water had always
writhed and foamed.
He also cut several sticks of Der neal
the brink of Horseshoe falls, had then
hewed there and hauled them away
with four horses. These sticks-they weri
large fine timbers-are in the frame oil
some house at the falls now This re.
markable condition of affairs at the cata
raot continued all day, and showed nj
signs Of change when people went tt
bed that night. When we arose in tn,
morning, however, the old familiar thun
der of the falls was shaking the earth az
before, and the river and rapids wer
again the seething, whirling, Irresistible
torrent Of old. The ice in the lake hat
shifted again, and some time in TIN
night the long restrained volume of waite
had rushed down and claimed its own.