"There [at the Cave of the Winds], at sunset, and there only, you
may see three circular rainbows, one within another,"--
He does not say, "complete circles"; he doubtless meant "arcs." He does
not say he saw them; so in the absence of a more definite statement, it
was certainly merely hearsay to which he referred.
John R. Barlow, who has been a guide at the Cave of the Winds for over
thirty years, says that on numerous occasions during that period he has
seen two complete circular Rainbows at one time, at that point. He
observed it twice, and only twice, in 1905.
In 1872, Professor Tyndall, with Barlow as his guide, made an
exhaustive study of the Goat Island ends of the American and Horse-Shoe
Falls. As he was gazing at a complete Rainbow circle, Barlow told him
that he had sometimes seen two complete concentric bows at one time.
"That is possible," replied Tyndall.
"And I have heard people say they have seen three such bows; though I
myself have never seen the third," said Barlow.
"Because it is an impossibility," answered Tyndall. "The second bow is
merely the reflexion of the first. A third bow would be a shadow of a
shadow; and no one can see that."
Had this Legend of Healing been found recorded in any of the early
chronicles, it would have been the earliest known reference to Niagara
in its relation to Medicine; and would have associated the Cataract
therewith long, long before the advent of the white man.
But, alas! it is not so found; and no trace of it can be met with,
until a very recent date. It has so much the appearance of a
made-to-order story, such a specially-prepared-to-fit-the-locality
aspect, it savors so strongly of an attempt to make the early Indian
Mythology conform to the Christian story of the "Bow of Promise," that
its Aboriginal authenticity may well be doubted.