Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-07-16
THE DISCOVERY or NIAGARA.
First Sight of Mighty Cataract Holds
Travellers SpeIlbourd.

Every summer the great throngs af
tourists who crowd to see the wonders
of the Niagara cataract are duly
awed by its sullen majesty and its
roar, and go back to homes and busi-
ness feeling that they have seen one
of the wonders of the world. Few Of
them pause on the edge of the great
gorge to give a thought to the hardy
explorers who in the seventeenth cen
tury first heard the thunder of the
falls and looked upon their mighty
downpour. 1t is hardly worth while to
try to conjecture what must have
been the feelings of amazement AMI
awe in the hearts of those men to
whom was given the honor of discov-
ering Niagara. La Sale, the noble
Frenchman, was the indirect means
of this wonderful discovery. He had
been educated in France for the Ro-
man Catholic priesthood, but his ar.
dent and venturesome spirit better
fitted him for a more active life, so he
came to the young Canadian colony
On a grant of land at the head of the
st. Lawrence rapids he founded Fort
Frontenec, palisaded trading port.
But not even here was this restless
man content to stay. Rumors came
to him of fertile lands to the south.
west, and he determined to set out il
quest of this new Eel Dorado. Selling
his lands he departed with a small
party and spent a long time in jour-
neying through the west, the exact
course of which is now hard to de-.
termine. It is known, however, that
the party passed the mouth of the
Niagara river and heard the roar OF
the cataract. but did not visit it. On
his return to Canada La Sale re-es-
tablished Fort Frontenec and busted
himself with his trading. But all the
time his mind was on the long-cher-
ished plan of conquest and settlement
in the west. and of route to China
During this period an exploring trip
was made in company with Fran.
ciscan monk, famous missionary
and explorer, Father Hennepin. This
expedition proceeded westward along
Lake Ontario and up the Niagara
river to see what was the cause Of tho
thunderous roar which had attracted
their attention on the former trip to
the west. AS they came up near the
whirlpool the explorers disembarked
and made their way past that swirl
ing eddy, by the rapids, and at last tc
the falls themselves. There they
stopped spellbound, the real wonder
of the sight growing upon them from
day to day. Their emotions are not
now to be described. Even in their
own accounts of this marvellous sight
they are like modern travellers, who
can express their amaZement in gen.
eral terms better than in detail.
Father Hennapin's description of the
falls is evidence that 1t seemed Il
great wonder to him. He says in his
first account that the height of the
cataract is 500 feet. In a subsequent
description he increases this to 600
feet. He also declared that four car.
riages could pass abreast under the
American falls without getting wet.
II this was true in his day there has
been q great change at Niagara since
then. He describes a small falls at
the west side Of the Horseshoe falls,
which has since entirely disappeared.
His picture. however, is fairly ac-
curate, for 1t shows Table Rock
which has within the last half CEN
tury fallen into the gorge. After
spending a brief time at Niagara the
party rejoined the rest of their com.
panions and proceeded on their IA
nous journey westward over the
Great Lakes, and from that day Nj
agara Falls has figured with ever in
creasing importance in the attention
of the civilized world c. L. SMITH.