The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1896-07-09
NIAGARA FALLS.
A MASTERPIECE OF NATURE.
Wonder Of Wonders.


in America tor Americans. 1t IS the
sanse in which one loves his own home
better than any other, however much
it may differ in external arrangement.
It is the sense in which citizen OF the
United States thinks more of the stars
and stripe, than he does OF the other
nations combined. am in sympathy
with the sentiment expressed by Sir
Walter Scott, when he said
"Breaths there man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land
Whose heart hath ne'er within him
burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on n foreign strand 2"
It affords me pleasure, therefore, to
call your attention, briefly, to a master
piece in nature so much our own as to
make it dear to us, and so magnificent
in itself az to command the admiration
of the world.
Niagara Falls must forever stand as
one OF the greatest attractions known
to man, it matters not with what 1t
may be compared. For more than two
centuries this place has been the Nee
ca of the pleasure seeking world, and,
will continue to be while time lasts.
"What troops of tourists have encamp-
ed upon
The rivers brink;
What poets have shed from countless
quilts
Niagaras of ink"
can but touch upon the early asso-
Citations of this enchanting spot, though
to know more of its history is to add
greatly to its interest. These things,
however, can add nothing to the beau
ty and grandeur of the Falls. They are
its natural inheritance, unaffected by
time and conditions.
The Falls of Niagara are situated In
the Niagara river, between Lake Erie
and Lake Ontario. This river is the
connecting link between these two lakes
and is but sixteen miles in length.
Through its channel passes the waters
of four great lakes, which cover 5000
square miles and collect a drainage
from 100000 square miles, or nearly
hn1f ofo n
constant water supply beyond the
possibility of doubt.
In less than half mile before reach
ing the Falls the river has decline OF
fifty-five feet, and then plunges over a
precipice of from $50 to 165 feet into
the channel below. The ordinary flow
of the river is about 100000 cubic feet
of water per second, giving to the Falls
a force equal to ten millions horse-pow-
er per second, or daily force equal to
the latent power of all the coal mined
in the world each day; hence, it is not
surprising that this immense power is
being utilized in many ways. in some
instances being conveyed for hundreds
of miles, at less expense than the
same power could be produced Tor in
any other way. 1t is now thought en-
tirely practicable to transmit this pow
er for radius of 500 miles, which
would take in Chicago on the West
and Boston ON the East. The practi-
cal utility of this great water power is
of comparatively recent conception,
and is only now in its incipiency, and
1t is not too great stretch of faith
to believe that in the very near future,
all the factories and machinery requir-
ing force throughout the entire region,
within radius of 500 miles from the
Falls, will be harnessed to this mighty
engine of nature.
The name Niagara is of Indian ORR
gin, and is said to mean "thunder OF
waters" 1t the definition be not true,
it is apparent to any one who has visit
ed the Falls that it is at least very APP
propriate. To the early Indian tribes
the Falls of Niagara were the object OF
worship. To them were offered their
best sacrifices. In the thunder of the
waters they heard the voice of the
Great Spirit; in the silvery spray which
ever hung like bridal veil over the
foaming waters, they saw the habitation
OF Jehovah. 1t was to them His Holy
of Holes.
Each year, in the early spring-time,
they brought the fairest maiden OF
their tribe, end offered her as a sacri-
fee to this mighty God, sending her
over the Falls in snow-whlte canoe
filled with fruits and flowers So deep
ly had this superstitious Idea taken
hold upon them, that the honor OF be-
ing selected for this annual Offering
was earnestly coveted by the maidens
of the tribe, and the one selected push
cd her canoe, with her own hands, into
the jaws of this awful death, with as
much JOY as bride of to-day would
stand at the marriage alter. This