Blondin and his "ascensions"--Visit of the Prince of Wales--Grand
illumination of the Falls--The steamer _Caroline_--The water-power
of Niagara--Lord Dufferin and the plan of an International Park.
In the year 1858, a short, well-rounded, fair-complexioned, light-haired
Frenchman made his appearance at the Falls, and expressed a wish to put
a tight-rope across the chasm below them, for the purpose of crossing on
the rope and exhibiting athletic feats. He received little
encouragement, but, having a Napoleonic faith in his star, he
persevered, and finally obtained the necessary authority to place his
rope just below the Railway Suspension Bridge. It was a well and evenly
twisted rope, about two inches in diameter; and after stretching it as
taut as it could be drawn, it hung in a moderate catenary curve.
Commencing at the shore ends he secured stays of small rope to the large
one, placing them about eight feet apart. These were made fast to the
shore in such a manner that all the stays on one side of the main rope
were parallel to each other from the center outward to the ends. They
were made tight somewhat in the manner that tent-cords are tightened,
and when the structure was complete it looked like the opposite sections
of a gigantic spider-web.
At each end was a spacious inclosure, formed by a rough board fence,
for the use of spectators. M. Blondin--for this was the name of the new
aspirant for acrobatic honors--also made an arrangement with the
superintendent of the railway bridge for its occupation during what,
with a shade of irony, he called his "ascensions." Those who went within
the inclosures and upon the bridge paid a certain sum. A contribution
was asked of all outsiders. He selected Saturday as the day for
fortnightly ascensions, and advertised his intentions very liberally.
The speculation was successful and gave great satisfaction to the
spectators. He exhibited a variety of rope-walking feats, balancing on
the cable, hanging from it by his hands and feet, standing on his head,
and lowering himself down to the surface of the water. He also carried a
man across on his back, trundled over a loaded wheelbarrow, and did
divers other things, and also walked over in a sack. He sprinkled in a
few extras to heighten the effect, as the knowing ones declared, such as
slipping astride the cable, falling across a stay-rope, or dropping
something into the water. In 1860, he gave a special ascension in honor
of the Prince of Wales. The Prince and his party occupied a sheltered
space on the Canadian side, and Blondin walked to it from the opposite
side, performing various feats on the way over. The Prince shook hands
with him as he stepped into the shed, and commended his courage and
nerve.
[Illustration: BLONDIN CROSSING THE NIAGARA]
As illustrating the power of the imagination over the nerves it may be
noted that, if the great spider's-web had been stretched out anywhere on
a level surface, and not more than three feet above the ground, a dozen
men in any large community could have been found to walk it as
unconcernedly, if not as gracefully, as the famous "ascensionist." After
three years of successful labor at Niagara, he sought other air-spaces.
The most notable occurrence, however, which emphasized the visit of the
Prince of Wales in that year was the illumination of the Falls late in
the evening of a moonless night. On the banks above and all about on the
rocks below, on the lower side of the road down the Canadian bank, and
along the water's edge, were placed numerous colored and white calcium,
volcanic, and torpedo lights. At a signal they were set aflame all at
once. At the same time rockets and wheels and flying artillery were set
off in great abundance. The shores were crowded with spectators, and the
scene was a most remarkable one. The steady, lurid light below and the
intermittent flashes and explosions overhead, the seething, hissing
volumes of flame and smoke rolling up from the deep abyss, the ghostly
appearance of the descending stream, the ghastly swift current of white
foam, the weird appearance of the cloud of spray with a faint and
fantastic illumination at its base, which faded out in the dim light of
the stars as it ascended, the peculiarly deep but muffled and solemn
monotone of the falling water, the livid hue imparted to the faces of
the quiet but deeply interested spectators, all made the scene memorable
and impressive. When the Marquis of Lorne and the Princess Louise
visited the Falls in January, 1879, they saw them illuminated by
electricity, the light having the illuminating power of 32,000 candles.
In December, 1837, the steamer _Caroline_ came down from Buffalo to
aid, it was said, the so-called Patriots, then engaged in an
insurrection against the Canadian Government. A motley collection of
adventurers on Navy Island constituted the disturbing, not to say
attacking, force. At Chippewa was stationed a body of Canadian militia,
under the command of Colonel--afterward Sir--Allan McNabb, who had the
good fortune to win his spurs in a single almost bloodless campaign. By
his direction a boat expedition was sent to attack the _Caroline_, as
she lay at the old Schlosser dock. In the _melee_ one American was
killed. The steamer was set on fire, and her fastenings must have been
burnt away, as also a part of her upper works, since the writer, ten
years later, while returning from a fishing expedition, discovered her
smoke-pipe lying at the bottom of the river, in a quiet basin not thirty
rods below the dock. A cat-fish of moderate dimensions appeared to be
keeping house in it, and, with his head barely projecting from one end,
was serenely watching the current for whatever game it might bring to
his iron parlor. After the new bridges were built connecting the Three
Sisters with Goat Island, the guides and drivers, in their desire to
enhance the interest of the scene, astonished travelers by informing
them that it was the boiler of the _Caroline_ which caused the
extraordinary elevation of the water which we have before referred to as
the Leaping Rock.
Nine miles from the Falls is the Tuscarora Reservation of four thousand
acres. On this there are about three hundred and fifty Indians, mostly
half-breeds, engaged in agricultural pursuits, which supply a portion
of their necessities. The Indian women who are seen at the Falls in the
summer season working and vending different articles of bead-work belong
to this community. The Tuscaroras have not been more fortunate than
others of their race in bargaining with their white brothers, and their
lands are now stripped of the fine oak timber and valuable wood which
stood upon it a few years since, and which was sold in large quantities
at small prices.
[Illustration: INDIAN WOMEN SELLING BEAD-WORK]
As a compensation for this system of robbery we maintained a Christian
missionary among them for a few years, and we boast that they are all
Protestants. The resident missionary, a very worthy man, but a rather
prosy preacher, always addressed his dusky audience in the English
language, his thoughts being conveyed to them by an interpreter. For
many years the interpreter was a native Tuscarora, a fine specimen of
his race, six feet tall, with a tawny complexion, dark, flashing eyes,
and a musical voice. It was interesting to note his manner while acting
as interpreter for different clergymen. When interpreting the pious but
humdrum utterances of the passionless missionary, he stood at the right
side of the preacher, with his left elbow resting on one end of the
modest pulpit, and delivered himself with an air that seemed to say, "It
does not amount to much, but I give it to you as it is." But the change
was magical when, as sometimes happened during the summer season, some
eloquent preacher addressed the congregation. The natural courtesy of
the interpreter led him, instead of putting his elbow on the pulpit, to
stand a little to the rear of the strange preacher, respectfully waiting
for his words. As the priest warmed into his subject the interpreter
caught his spirit, straightened his fine figure to its full height,
advanced to a line with the speaker, and as the theme was developed and
the orator grew more and more eloquent, the excitement became
contagious; the Indian entered fully into its spirit, his face glowed
with animation, his eyes shone with a warmer light, his long arms were
stretched forth, and with gestures energetic or subdued, but always
graceful, and the varied inflections of his voice in harmony with the
theme, he followed the discourse to the end. His audience, too, would
become thoroughly aroused, and a little more animation would be infused
into the plaintive tones of the closing hymn.
One of the future attractions of Niagara, to sportsmen at least, may be
the catching of California trout, twenty thousand of the fry having been
put into the rapids by the writer in June, 1881.
Concerning the manufactories, shops, rubbish, and litter along the race
near the brink of the American Falls, which appear so uncouth and
inharmonious, and which are noticed by strangers as being a desecration
of the scene, it is only just to remark that the utilization of the
water-power here, in the easiest and most economical manner, was one of
the imperative necessities of the early settlement of the country. For
many years a large territory, lying on both sides of the river, was
dependent upon the manufacturing, repairing, and milling facilities of
this place. For furnishing these in those days, water-power was the
only agent. And the name--Manchester--given to the place by its early
settlers only foreshadowed their hope that it would one day rival its
great English namesake.
There are fewer manufactories on the old race-ways now than there were
forty years ago, but many new ones have been located on the hydraulic
canal that has been excavated at great expense, which leaves the river a
mile above the Falls, and empties into the chasm half a mile below. The
three years of unusual drought in the northern half of the United
States, from 1876 forward, demonstrated how little dependence can be
placed during the summer season on the ordinary water-powers of that
region, and the attention of manufacturers has been newly drawn to
Niagara.
The early dream of growth in population and wealth at Niagara seems
likely to be realized. Already extensive milling and manufacturing
establishments have been put in operation, and others are in
contemplation. When it is considered that engineers estimate the
sum-total of all the water-power in the northern portion of the United
States at less than 500,000 horse-power, and that, according to data
furnished by the United States Lake Survey Bureau, the water-power of
Niagara is equal to 1,500,000 horse-power, we can form some idea of the
vastness of the force which awaits the enterprise of American
manufacturers.
"I understand, Mr. President," said Daniel Webster, in a speech
prefacing a toast complimentary to the citizens of Rochester for their
generous hospitality at the New York State Fair in 1844, "that the
Genesee River has a fall of 250 feet within the limits of the city of
Rochester. Sir, if the Thames had a fall of 250 feet within the limits
of the city of London, London would not be a town--it would be a-l-l
t-h-e w-o-r-l-d!" and as he deliberately stretched out his great arms,
and expanded his broad chest, while slowly pronouncing the last three
words, one could almost see London gradually enlarging its ample borders
in all directions. When the 1,500,000 horse-power of Niagara is utilized
for the economic wants of men, Niagara will not be a town--it will be a
large part of all the world.
On the 25th of September, 1878, in an after-luncheon speech before the
Ontario Society of Artists at Toronto, Lord Dufferin, Governor-General
of Canada, first publicly suggested the idea of creating an
International Park from lands to be taken from both sides of the river
adjacent to and including the Falls. He stated that he had conferred
with Governor Robinson of New York upon the subject, and that the
project was cordially approved by him. Governor Robinson, in his annual
message the following winter, commended the project to the consideration
of the Legislature, by whom a commission of distinguished gentlemen was
appointed to investigate the subject and report thereon. After a full
examination this commission reported warmly in favor of the plan, and
their recommendation was cordially indorsed by a great many prominent
citizens residing in different sections of the country. The press, too,
was almost unanimously for it. A majority of the members of the
Legislature to whom the report was made would have passed a bill for
the further prosecution of the scheme, but, unfortunately, it was
ascertained that any bill they might pass for this purpose would be
vetoed for economical reasons. It is hoped that better counsels may
ultimately prevail, and the plan be perfected. Nothing else can save
Niagara from total desecration and disgrace. The fact that there is not
a square foot of land in the United States from which an untaxed view of
the great cataract can be obtained is a disgrace to the State, the
nation, and the civilization of the age.