important; for it is a town, containing at least twelve hundred
inhabitants. Since its surrender, however, a new town has been laid out
on the opposite bank of the river, eighteen miles lower down, and hither
many of the traders have removed. The majority of them stay at Detroit;
but few or none have become citizens of the States in consequence, nor
is it likely that they will, at least for some time. In the late treaty,
a particular provision for them was made; they were to be allowed to
remain there for one year, without being called on to declare their
sentiments, and if at the end of that period they chose to remain
British subjects, they were not to be molested[12] in any manner, but
suffered to carry on their trade as formerly in the fullest extent; the
portion of the fur trade, which we shall lose by the surrender of this
place, will therefore be very inconsiderable.
Footnote 12:
This part of the late treaty has by no means been strictly observed on
the part of the States. The officers of the federal army, without
asking permission, and contrary to the desire of several of the
remaining British inhabitants, appropriated to their own use several
of the houses and stores of those who had removed to the new town, and
declared their determination of not becoming citizens of the States;
and many of the inhabitants had been called on to serve in the
militia, and to perform duties, from which, as British subjects, they
were exempted by the articles in the treaty in their favour. When we
were at Detroit, the British inhabitants met together, and drew up a
memorial on the subject, reciting their grievances, which was
committed to our care, and accordingly presented to the British
minister at Philadelphia.
The fourth post, Michillimachinack, is a small stockaded fort, situated
on an island. The agents of the North-west Company of merchants at
Montreal, and a few independent traders, resided within the limits of
the fort, and bartered goods there for furs brought in by different
tribes of Indians, who are the sole inhabitants of the neighbouring
country. On evacuating this place, another post was immediately
established, at no great distance, on the Island of St. Joseph, in the
Straits of St. Mary, between lakes Superior and Huron, and a small
garrison left there, which has since been augmented to upwards of fifty
men. Several traders, citizens of the States, have established
themselves at Michillimakinac but as the British traders have fixed
their new post so close to the old one, it is nearly certain that the
Indians will continue to trade with their old friends in preference, for
the reasons before mentioned.
[Sidenote: LAKE TRADE.]
From this statement it appears evident, that the people of the States
can only acquire by their new possession a small part of one branch of
the fur trade, namely, of that which is carried on on one of the nearer
lakes. The furs brought down from the distant regions in the north-west
to the grand portage, and from thence in canoes to Montreal along the
Utawa River, are what constitute by far the principal part, both as to
quantity and value, of those exported from Montreal; to talk, therefore,
of their acquiring possession of three-fourths of the fur trade by the
surrender of the posts on the lakes is absurd in the extreme; neither is
it likely that they will acquire any considerable share of the lake
trade in general, which, as I have already pointed out, can be carried
on by the British merchants from Montreal and Quebec, by means of the
St. Lawrence, with such superior advantage.
It is worthy of remark, that as military posts, all those lately
established by the British are far superior, in point of situation, to
those delivered up. The ground on which the new block house is building,
on the British side of Niagara River, is nine feet higher than the top
of the stone house in the American fort, and it commands every part of
the fort. The chief strength of the old fort is on the land side;
towards the water the works are very weak, and the whole might be
battered down by a single twelve pounder judiciously planted on the
British side of the river. At present it is not proposed to erect any
other works on the British side of the river than the block house; but
should a fort be constructed hereafter, it will be placed on
Mississaguis Point, a still more advantageous situation than that on
which the block house stands, as it completely commands the entrance
into the river.
The new post on Detroit River commands the channel much more effectually
than the old fort in the town of Detroit; vessels cannot go up or down
the river without passing within a very few yards of it. It is
remarkable, indeed, that the French, when they first penetrated into
this part of the country, fixed upon the spot chosen for this new fort,
in preference to that where Detroit stands, and they had absolutely
begun their fort and town, when the whole party was unhappily cut off by
the Indians.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
The island of St. Joseph, in the third place, is a more eligible
situation for a British military post than Michillimakinac, inasmuch as
it commands the entrance of Lake Superior, whereas Michillimakinac only
commands the entrance into Lake Michigan, which is wholly within the
territory of the United States.
It is sincerely to be hoped, however, that Great Britain and the United
States may continue friends, and that we never may have occasion to view
those posts on the frontiers in any other light than as convenient
places for carrying on commerce.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_LETTER _ XXXI.
_Description of the River and Falls of Niagara and the Country bordering
upon the Navigable Part of the River below the Falls._
Fort Chippeway, September.
[Sidenote: NIAGARA FALLS.]
AT the distance of eighteen miles from the town of Niagara or Newark,
are those remarkable Falls in Niagara River, which may justly be ranked
amongst the greatest natural curiosities in the known world. The road
leading from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie runs within a few hundred yards
of them. This road, which is within the British dominions, is carried
along the top of the lofty steep banks of the river; for a considerable
way it runs close to their very edge, and in passing along it the eye of
the traveller is entertained with a variety of the most grand and
beautiful prospects. The river, instead of growing narrow as you proceed
upwards, widens considerably: at the end of nine or ten miles it expands
to the breadth of a mile, and here it assumes much the appearance of a
lake; it is enclosed, seemingly on all sides, by high hills, and the
current, owing to the great depth of the water, is so gentle as to be
scarcely perceptible from the top of the banks. It continues thus broad
for a mile or two, when on a sudden the waters are contracted between
the high hills on each side. From hence up to the falls the current is
exceedingly irregular and rapid. At the upper end of this broad part of
the river, and nearly at the foot of the banks, is situated a small
village, that has been called Queenstown, but which, in the adjacent
country, is best known by the name of “The Landing.” The lake merchant
vessels can proceed up to this village with perfect safety, and they
commonly do so, to deposit, in the stores there, such goods as are
intended to be sent higher up the country, and to receive in return the
furs, &c. that have been collected at the various ports on lakes Huron
and Erie, and sent thither to be conveyed down to Kingston, across Lake
Ontario. The portage from this place to the nearest navigable part of
Niagara River, above the Falls, is nine miles in length.
About half way up the banks, at the distance of a few hundred yards from
Queenstown, there is a very extensive range of wooden barracks, which,
when viewed a little way off, appears to great advantage; these barracks
are now quite unoccupied, and it is not probable that they will ever be
used until the climate improves: the first troops that were lodged in
them sickened in a very few days after their arrival; many of the men
died, and had not those that remained alive been removed, pursuant to
the advice of the physicians, to other quarters, the whole regiment
might possibly have perished.
From the town of Niagara to Queenstown, the country in the neighbourhood
of the river is very level; but here it puts on a different aspect; a
confused range of hills, covered with oaks of an immense size, suddenly
rises up before you, and the road that winds up the side of them is so
steep and rugged that it is absolutely necessary for the traveller to
leave his carriage, if he should be in one, and proceed to the top on
foot. Beyond these hills you again come to an unbroken level country;
but the soil here differs materially from that on the opposite side; it
consists of a rich dark earth intermixed with clay, and abounding with
stones; whereas, on the side next Lake Ontario, the soil is of a
yellowish cast, in some places inclining to gravel and in others to
sand.
From the brow of one of the hills in this ridge, which overhangs the
little village of Queenstown, the eye of the traveller is gratified with
one of the finest prospects that can be imagined in nature: you stand
amidst a clump of large oaks, a little to the left of the road, and
looking downwards, perceive, through the branches of the trees with
which the hill is clothed from the summit to the base, the tops of the
houses of Queenstown, and in front of the village, the ships moored in
the river; the ships are at least two hundred feet below you, and their
masts appear like slender reeds peeping up amidst the thick foliage of
the trees. Carrying your eye forward, you may trace the river in all its
windings, and finally see it disembogue into Lake Ontario, between the
town and the fort: the lake itself terminates your view in this
direction, except merely at one part of the horizon, where you just get
a glimpse of the blue hills of Toronto. The shore of the river, on the
right hand, remains in its natural state, covered with one continued
forest; but on the opposite side the country is interspersed with
cultivated fields and neat farm houses down to the water’s edge. The
country beyond the hills is much less cleared than that which lies
towards the town of Niagara, on the navigable part of the river.
[Sidenote: PROSPECTS.]
From the sudden change of the face of the country in the neighbourhood
of Queenstown, and the equally sudden change in the river with respect
to its breadth, depth, and current, conjectures have been formed, that
the great falls of the river must originally have been situated at the
spot where the waters are so abruptly contracted between the hills; and
indeed it is highly probable that this was the case, for it is a fact
well ascertained, that the falls have receded very considerably since
they were first visited by Europeans, and that they are still receding
every year; but of this I shall have occasion to speak more particularly
presently.
[Sidenote: NIAGARA FALLS.]
It was at an early hour of the day that we left the town of Niagara or
Newark, accompanied by the attorney general and an officer of the
British engineers, in order to visit these stupendous Falls. Every step
that we advanced toward them, our expectations rose to a higher pitch;
our eyes were continually on the look out for the column of white mist
which hovers over them; and an hundred times, I believe, did we stop our
carriage in hopes of hearing their thundering sound: neither, however,
was the mist to be seen, nor the sound to be heard, when we came to the
foot of the hills; nor after having crossed over them, were our eyes or
ears more gratified. This occasioned no inconsiderable disappointment,
and we could not but express our doubts to each other, that the wondrous
accounts we had so frequently heard of the Falls were without
foundation, and calculated merely to impose on the minds of credulous
people that inhabited a distant part of the world. These doubts were
nearly confirmed, when we found that, after having approached within
half a mile of the place, the mist was but just discernible, and that
the sound even then was not to be heard; yet it is nevertheless strictly
true, that the tremendous noise of the Falls may be distinctly heard, at
times, at the distance of forty miles; and the cloud formed from the
spray may be even seen still farther off[13]; but it is only when the
air is very clear, and there is a fine blue sky, which however are very
common occurrences in this country, that the cloud can be seen at such a
great distance. The hearing of the sound of the falls afar off also
depends upon the state of the atmosphere; it is observed, that the sound
can be heard at the greatest distance, just before a heavy fall of rain,
and when the wind is in a favourable point to convey the sound toward
the listener: the day on which we first approached the falls was thick
and cloudy.
Footnote 13:
We ourselves, some time afterwards, beheld the cloud with the naked
eye, at no less a distance than fifty-four miles, when sailing on Lake
Erie, on board one of the king’s ships. The day on which we saw it was
uncommonly clear and calm, and we were seated on the poop of the
vessel, admiring the bold scenery of the southern shore of the lake,
when the commander, who had been aloft to make some observations, came
to us, and pointing to a small white cloud in the horizon, told us,
that that was the cloud overhanging Niagara. At first it appeared to
us that this must have been a mere conjecture, but on minute
observation it was evident that the commander’s information was just.
All the other light clouds in a few minutes, flitted away to another
part of the horizon, whereas this one remained steadily fixed in the
same spot; and on looking at it through a glass, it was plain to see
that the shape of the cloud varied every instant, owing to the
continued rising of the mist from the cataract beneath.
[Sidenote: NIAGARA RIVER.]
On that part of the road leading to Lake Erie which draws nearest to the
falls, there is a small village, consisting of about half a dozen
straggling houses: here we alighted, and having disposed of our horses,
and made a slight repast, in order to prepare us for the fatigue we had
to go through, we crossed over some fields towards a deep hollow place
surrounded with large trees, from the bottom of which issued thick
volumes of whitish mist, that had much the appearance of smoke rising
from large heaps of burning weeds. Having come to the edge of this
hollow place, we descended a deep bank of about fifty yards, and then
walking for some distance over a wet marshy piece of ground, covered
with thick bushes, at last came to the Table Rock, so called from the
remarkable flatness of its surface, and its bearing some similitude to a
table. This rock is situated a little to the front of the great fall,
above the top of which it is elevated about forty feet. The view from it
is truly sublime; but before I attempt to give any idea of the nature of
this view, it will be necessary to take a more general survey of the
river and falls.
Niagara River issues from the eastern extremity of Lake Erie, and after
a course of thirty-six miles discharges itself into Lake Ontario, as has
already been mentioned. For the first few miles from Lake Erie, the
breadth of the river is about three hundred yards, and it is deep enough
for vessels drawing nine or ten feet water; but the current is so
extremely rapid and irregular, and the channel so intricate, on account
of the numberless large rocks in different places, that no other vessels
than bateaux ever attempt to pass along it. As you proceed downward the
river widens, no rocks are to be seen either along the shores or in the
channel, and the waters glide smoothly along, though the current
continues very strong. The river runs thus evenly, and is navigable with
safety for bateaux as far as Fort Chippeway, which is about three miles
above the falls; but here the bed of it again becomes rocky, and the
waters are violently agitated by passing down successive rapids, so much
so indeed, that were a boat by any chance to be carried but a little way
beyond Chippeway, where people usually stop, nothing could save it from
being dashed to pieces long before it came to the falls. With such
astonishing impetuosity do the waves break on the rocks in these rapids,
that the mere sight of them from the top of the banks is sufficient to
make you shudder. I must in this place, however, observe, that it is
only on each side of the river that the waters are so much troubled; in
the middle of it, though the current is also there uncommonly swift, yet
the breakers are not so dangerous but boats may pass down, if
dexterously managed, to an island which divides the river at the very
falls. To go down to this island it is necessary to set off at some
distance above Chippeway, where the current is even, and to keep exactly
in the middle of the river the whole way thither; if the boats were
suffered to get out of their course ever so little, either to the right
or left, it would be impossible to stem the current, and bring them
again into it; they would be irresistibly carried towards the falls, and
destruction must inevitably follow. In returning from the island there
is still more difficulty and danger than in going to it. Notwithstanding
these circumstances, numbers of persons have the foolhardiness to
proceed to this island, merely for the sake of beholding the falls from
the opposite side of it, or for the sake of having in their power to say
that they had been upon it.
[Illustration:
_AN EYE SKETCH_ of the FALLS of NIAGARA
_I.Weld del. Neele sculp^t._
_London Published by J. Stockdale Piccadilly 16^{th.} Nov^r. 1798._
Click on the image to see a larger version.
]
[Illustration:
VIEW _of the_ HORSE-SHOE FALL _of_ NIAGARA
_I.Weld del. Neele Scupt._
_Published by J. Stockdale Picadilly._
]
[Illustration:
VIEW _of the Lesser_ FALL _of_ NIAGARA
_I.Weld del. J. Scott sculp^t._
_Published Dec. 22, 1798, by J. Stockdale Picadilly._
]
[Sidenote: NIAGARA FALLS.]
The river forces its way amidst the rocks with redoubled impetuosity, as
it approaches towards the falls; at last coming to the brink of the
tremendous precipice, it tumbles headlong to the bottom, without meeting
with any interruption from rocks in its descent. Just at the precipice
the river takes a considerable bend to the right, and the line of the
falls, instead of extending from bank to bank in the shortest direction,
runs obliquely across. The width of the falls is considerably greater
than the width of the river, admeasured some way below the precipice;
but the annexed plan will enable you to form a better idea of their
position than any written description whatsoever. For its great accuracy
I cannot vouch, as it was done merely from the eye; such as it is,
however, I have sent it to you, conceiving it better that you should
have a plan somewhat imperfect than no plan at all. On looking it over
you will see that the river does not rush down the precipice in one
unbroken sheet, but that it is divided by islands into three distinct
collateral falls. The most stupendous of these is that on the north
western or British side of the river, commonly called the Great, or
Horse-shoe Fall, from its bearing some resemblance to the shape of a
horse shoe. The height of this is only one hundred and forty-two feet,
whereas the others are each one hundred and sixty feet high; but to its
inferior height it is indebted principally for its grandeur; the
precipice, and of course the bed of the river above it, being so much
lower at the one side than at the other, by far the greater part of the
water of the river finds its way to the low side, and rushes down with
greater velocity at that side than it does at the other, as the rapids
above the precipice are strongest there. It is from the center of the
Horse-shoe Fall that arises that prodigious cloud of mist which may be
seen so far off. The extent of the Horse-shoe Fall can only be
ascertained by the eye; the general opinion of those who have most
frequently viewed it is, that it is not less than six hundred yards in
circumference. The island which separates it from the next fall is
supposed to be about three hundred and fifty yards wide; the second fall
is about five yards wide; the next island about thirty yards; and the
third, commonly called the Fort Schloper Fall, from being situated
towards the side of the river on which that fort stands, is judged to
admeasure at least as much as the large island. The whole extent of the
precipice, therefore, including the islands, is, according to this
computation, thirteen hundred and thirty-five yards. This is certainly
not an exaggerated statement. Some have supposed, that the line of the
falls altogether exceeds an English mile. The quantity of water carried
down the falls is prodigious. It will be found to amount to 670,255 tons
per minute, though calculated simply from the following data, which
ought to be correct, as coming from an experienced commander of one of
the King’s ships on Lake Erie, well acquainted in every respect with
that body of water, viz. that where Lake Erie, towards its eastern
extremity, is two miles and a half wide, the water is six feet deep, and
the current runs at the rate of two knots in an hour; but Niagara River,
between this part of Lake Erie and the falls, receives the waters of
several large creeks, the quantity carried down the falls must therefore
be greater than the foregoing computation makes it to be; if we say that
six hundred and seventy-two thousand tons of water are precipitated down
the falls every minute, the quantity will not probably be much
overrated.
[Sidenote: TABLE ROCK.]
To return now to the Table Rock, situated on the British side of the
river, and on the verge of the Horse-shoe Fall. Here the spectator has
an unobstructed view of the tremendous rapids above the falls, and of
the circumjacent shores, covered with thick woods; of the Horse-shoe
Fall, some yards below him; of the Fort Schloper Fall, at a distance to
the left; and of the frightful gulph beneath, into which, if he has but
courage to approach to the exposed edge of the rock, he may look down
perpendicularly. The astonishment excited in the mind of the spectator
by the vastness of the different objects which he contemplates from
hence is great indeed, and few persons, on coming here for the first
time, can for some minutes collect themselves sufficiently to be able to
form any tolerable conception of the stupendous scene before them. It is
impossible for the eye to embrace the whole of it at once; it must
gradually make itself acquainted, in the first place, with the component
parts of the scene, each one of which is in itself an object of wonder;
and such a length of time does this operation require, that many of
those who have had an opportunity of contemplating the scene at their
leisure, for years together, have thought that every time they have
beheld it, each part has appeared more wonderful and more sublime, and
that it has only been at the time of their last visit that they have
been able to discover all the grandeur of the cataract.
Having spent a considerable time on the Table Rock, we returned to the
fields the same way by which we had descended, pursuant to the direction
of the officer of engineers accompanying us, who was intimately
acquainted with every part of the cataract, and of the adjoining ground,
and was, perhaps, the best guide that could be procured in the whole
country. It would be possible to pursue your way along the edge of the
cliff, from the Table Rock, a considerable way downwards; but the bushes
are so exceedingly thick, and the ground so rugged, that the task would
be arduous in the extreme.
[Sidenote: NIAGARA FALLS.]
The next spot from which we surveyed the falls, was from the part of the
cliff nearly opposite to that end of the Fort Schloper Fall, which lies
next to the island. You stand here, on the edge of the cliff, behind
some bushes, the tops of which have been cut down in order to open the
view. From hence you have a better prospect of the whole cataract, and
are enabled to form a more correct idea of the position of the
precipice, than from any one other place. The prospect from hence is
more beautiful, but I think less grand than from any other spot. The
officer who so politely directed our movements on this occasion was so
struck with the view from this spot, that he once had a wooden house
constructed, and drawn down here by oxen, in which he lived until he had
finished several different drawings of the cataract: one of these we
were gratified with the sight of, which exhibited a view of the cataract
in the depth of winter, when in a most curious and wonderful state. The
ice at this season of the year accumulates at the bottom of the cataract
in immense mounds, and huge icicles, like the pillars of a massy
building, hang pendent in many places from the top of the precipice,
reaching nearly to the bottom.
[Illustration: