OLD FRIENDS AGAIN
Supposing that some of our friends in Britain, who are expecting to
greet us at home in a week, could see us now, suddenly, I wonder where
they would think we had got to! Covered in borrowed oilskins, we stand
in a mighty cavern, whose vast stone roof reaches up to a hundred feet
or more, though in width it is comparatively narrow, like a long shelf.
In front of us is a wall of water so thick and overwhelming that it
resembles a curtain of giants; the roar of the falling water and the
howl of the never-ceasing wind mingle in a great turmoil, and the air is
thick with dashing spray. Fitting is the name of the Cave of the Winds!
For we are standing in a cave right beneath one of the wonders of the
world--the Falls of Niagara, on the American side. We have only had a
glimpse of the gigantic waterfall so far, for we came straight here, and
presently are going round outside on an electric tram.
[Illustration: THE FALLS OF NIAGARA.]
These Falls lie between the two least of the Great Lakes, Erie and
Ontario, and on one side of them is America, and the other Canada. We
crossed on a bridge from the American side to an island in the middle
called Goat Island, and then dived downward to this gigantic cave right
below the American Fall. It gives one a mighty idea of power, doesn't
it? The world can't afford to waste power nowadays when it can be
harnessed up for use in generating electricity and a hundred other ways,
and not long before the end of the last century power stations were
started on both sides of the Falls to use this force. People cried out
at first, thinking that the stupendous sight might be spoiled, but not a
bit of it. What man has used is but as a few spoonfuls compared with the
vast energy of the tons of water flowing resistlessly and ceaselessly
day and night down these precipices and onward to the sea. Put out your
finger and thrust it into the wall of water; the force of it sends your
arm down to your side like a railway signal. We are not alone in the
cave; there are many other people from all parts of the world. We heard
French and German talked as we came across, though there is no chance of
hearing any conversation now. As we climb up again and put off the wet
oilskins, kept for the use of visitors, the roar becomes less, and when
suddenly someone takes hold of my arm in a friendly way, and calls out
my name, I wheel round to face the "nice" American who saved us from
starvation in the train in Egypt! He has recognised us at once and grips
our hands heartily. When we emerge on to the bridge he is full of
questions about our trip, and wants to know what we have seen and what
we have done. He has with him a boy who looks several years older than
you, and he tells us that this is his son, who is studying at Harvard,
but off on the long vacation. So we all go together back to Prospect
Park, on the American side, and get into an electric car, which swings
over a bridge just below the Falls, where we can see the whole grand
panorama and both Falls. The Canadian one is called the Horseshoe Fall.
Often you must have seen pictures of Niagara; but pictures do not convey
much, and this is one of the few sights in the world that runs beyond
expectation. As the torrent pouring over strikes the water below, the
foam flies up in a vast frothy mass into the air; we, from our height,
look down upon it and upon a tiny steamer in the basin just below. The
reason why the steamer is able to sail so near the Falls without being
swept down is because the falling water descends with such force that it
goes right below the surface of the bay and does not agitate it at all.
On the other side, away from the Falls, farther down the river, there
is a high suspension bridge belonging to the Grand Trunk Railway of
Canada, with a place for carriages and foot-passengers below the lines.
A carriage crawling over it looks like a small beetle. There was an
awful scene here not so long ago in the winter-time, when the river was
frozen from shore to shore. Some people were on the ice, which began to
break up in large blocks, and in the very sight of hundreds of their
fellow-creatures, who vainly tried to save them by throwing ropes,
several were swept away, including a man and his wife, who were on a
floating hummock. The man actually got hold of one of the ropes, but his
wife had fainted, and in trying to support her the rope slipped through
his fingers, and together the two black specks on the white ice-block
were borne by the current to their doom. A never-to-be-forgotten
tragedy!
[Illustration: THE FALLS OF NIAGARA.]
After we have crossed the water we run along on the Canadian side close
to the edge of the cliff, high up, following the course of the current
downward; we go round a great curve, where it boils in a whirlpool, we
pass by a tall monument, and then, much farther down, we cross another
bridge, and are brought back on the American side, where the line runs
at first low down and gradually mounts till, after passing below the
suspension bridge, we reach our starting-place. While we are close to
the surface of the water we see the Rapids splendidly. This is where the
swift water from the Falls has come again to the surface, and, hemmed in
by the walls of the gorge, it tosses in fury; long sprays leap up from
below like grabbing fingers clutching to drag men down; miniature
whirlpools boil, and in the centre the water is forced up higher than at
the sides.
All the time our American friend and his son, who seems quite a man of
the world, and has been to the Falls several times before, are trying to
persuade us to go home by New York and pay them a visit _en route_.
Unfortunately we cannot. Our passages are booked by a steamer belonging
to the Allan Line, which sails from Montreal the day after to-morrow.
But I think perhaps sometime we may come back and make a tour of the
States!
[Illustration: THE ST. LAWRENCE.]
It is hard to say good-bye and tear ourselves away from our hospitable
friends, but it must be done. The next day sees us at the fine city of
Montreal, having come by way of Toronto, the capital of Ontario.
Montreal is a very bright city, with trees lining the streets and the
mountains rising at the back, and all the inhabitants seem cheerful and
good-natured. The great liner waiting to carry us homeward can only get
as far as this up the St. Lawrence in the summer; in winter she sets
down her passengers at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, right out on the ocean.
As she steams slowly up the beautiful river we see the trees bursting
out here and there into a perfect flame of colour. The maple is Canada's
special tree, and it is the maples that make those crimson flame-like
patches among the other foliage. We notice, too, what an unusual
quantity of dead wood is left standing; this, in a small country like
England, would be cleared out or cut away, but here the forests are so
vast that it is left to rot.
Then we pass Quebec on its heights, where Wolfe won his great victory,
and so made Canada British for ever. It is odd, however, to notice,
especially during the last part of our journey, how very French the
people are in their ways and customs. At one small station I remember
hearing a man chatting away in French and gesticulating like a
Frenchman, and as he turned to go another called after him, "Ha,
MacDougall!" The truth is that the original settlers here were mostly
French, but after a while many emigrants came over from Scotland and
intermarried with them, and the children, who naturally bore their
father's surnames, learned their mother's native tongue!
Once out of the St. Lawrence we begin to feel the roll of the great
waves, but we need not at this time of year expect anything very bad,
and we shall see no icebergs. The early summer is the worst time for
them, for the warm currents have loosened them from the icefields in the
north, and they float southwards. The voyage is uneventful, and,
seasoned sailors as we are, we never miss a meal during the week that it
takes to cross before we sight the chimneys and wharves of grimy
Liverpool.
As we step on to British soil once more, on the wharf we turn and look
at each other.
Has it come up to expectation? You are not sorry you went with me?
As for me, I have never had a pleasanter companion and never wish for
one. Hullo! here are your people, ready to carry you off, rejoiced to
find you safe and sound after not having seen you for nearly a year,
during which time you have spanned the world and travelled somewhere
about twenty-five thousand miles.
Good-bye!
THE END
INDEX
Abu Simbel by sunrise, 109.
Acre, 147.
Aden, 165.
Africa, 51.
Albert, Lake, 55.
Amenhetep II., tomb of, 90.
Amenhetep III., 79.
Ants, white, 278, 279.
Anuradhapura, 194.
Apes, Barbary, 27.
Arabs, 128.
Asia, 120.
Assouan, 102.
dam at, 118.
Babel Mandeb, Straits of, 165.
Bakshish, 70, 181.
Banff, Canada, 369.
Barbary apes, 28.
Battle River, 380.
Bazaar, an Indian, 228.
at Jerusalem, 129.
Benares, 242.
Betel-nut chewing, 258.
Bethany, 137.
Bethlehem, 137.
Bisharin tribe, 105.
Bison, Canadian, 370.
Bitter Lake, 157, 160.
Bo tree, the sacred, 200.
Bombay, 203-208.
Bonito, the, 168.
Borneo, 313.
Boxing in Burma, 269.
Brahmans, 214, 231.
Brazen Palace, Ceylon, 198.
Buddha, 186, 196, 254, 260, 261.
Buddhists, 186, 244, 252, 321.
Buffalo, a Burmese, 292.
North American, 370.
Burma, 250.
Cairo, 53, 56, 58.
Calcutta, 218.
Calgary, 372.
Camels, 68, 104.
Canada, 345.
Canadian Pacific Railway, 360.
Canyons in the Rockies, 367.
Caste, Indian, 214.
Cathedral Rocks, 369.
Cattle ranch, a Canadian, 371-381.
Cattle train, a Canadian, 363, 376.
Cawnpore, 235.
Well of, 236.
Ceylon, 179.
Cheops, King, 61, 62.
Child-widows of India, 231.
Chinamen in Malay, 306, 308.
in Vancouver, 347.
Chinese temple, 307.
_Chuprassie_, a Burmese, 264.
Cingalese, the, 180.
Circuit House, Mandalay, 272.
Clogs, Japanese, 327.
Colombo, 179.
Colossi, the, 87.
Corn-growing in Canada, 382, 384.
Cotton-growing in Egypt, 68.
Crees, 380.
Customs house, French, 10.
Cyclone, a, 175, 176.
Dagoba, a, 194, 195.
Dead Sea, 136.
Delhi, 218-234.
Delta of the Nile, 54.
Der El Bahari, Temple of, 92.
Desert, the, 157.
Dolphins, 172.
Dover, 5, 7, 8.
Dragoman, the Egyptian, 85, 87.
Dutugemunu, King, 197.
Earthquakes, 50.
Edmonton, 380.
Edward, Lake, 55.
Egypt, 53.
Egyptian gods, 82.
Elala, story of, 197.
Elephants, Burmese, 276, 292, 360.
Esquimault, 346.
Etna, Mount, 49.
Fakir, a, 244, 245.
Fellaheen, Egyptian, 69.
Figs, Indian, 45.
Fire-flies, 201.
Fish, deep-sea, 170.
Flying fish, 168.
France, journey through, 8-19.
Fraser River, 348.
Fruit-growing in Canada, 368, 369.
Fruits preserved, 16, 17.
Fujiyama, 318, 338.
Galilee, Sea of, 145.
Ganesh, the elephant-god, 247.
Ganges, the, 242, 243.
Garden party in Burma, a, 264.
Gateway, Japanese, 320.
Gendarmes, French, 16.
Georgetown, Penang, 305.
Geta clogs, Japanese, 327.
Gethsemane, Garden of, 136.
Ghurkas, 220.
Gibraltar, 27-32, 50.
Gizeh, Pyramids of, 60, 62.
Glacier, 369.
Golden Pagoda, the, 257.
Gophers, 379.
Grain elevators, 383.
"Great Divide," the, 369.
Haifa, adventures on way to, 146, 147.
Hatshepset, Queen, 92.
Herculaneum, destruction of, 40.
Hindus, the, 244.
Holy Land, the, 120.
Hong-Kong, 314.
Huron, Lake, 387.
India, 203.
travelling in, 208-217.
Indian corn, 66.
Indian Ocean, 168.
Indians, North American, 350, 352, 380, 383.
Irrawaddy, the, 251.
the voyage by cargo boat on, 278.
Ismailia, 156.
Israel, the land of, 123.
Italy, in, 36.
Jaffa, 121.
Japan, 320.
Japanese gateway, a, 327.
inn, in a, 332-344.
porters, 335.
Jerusalem, a walk about, 120-138.
Jews, the, 121, 128, 134.
Jews' Wailing-Place, 134.
Jim's story of his adventure with Joyce, 291-303.
Jordan, the river, 137.
Joyce, 278-289.
her adventure with Jim, 291-303.
Kandy, 184.
Karnak, Temple of, 83.
Kashmir Gate, Delhi, story of, 224.
Khartoum, 106, 115.
Kicking Horse Pass, 369.
Kishon, the river, 149.
Kobe, 317.
Kootenay, 368.
Kutab Minar, Delhi, 227, 228.
Kutho-daw, Mandalay, the, 275.
Lakes, the great African, 55.
the great American, 382-387.
Lascars, 157, 281.
Leogryphs, Burmese, 257.
Lesseps, Ferdinand de, 52, 153, 154.
_Let-pet_, 281.
Lulu Island, salmon cannery on, 349.
Lumbering, 359.
Luxor, 65, 75.
Temple of, 78-84.
Macaroni, 39.
Malays, 306, 312.
Mandalay, 272.
Mangoes, 266.
Manitoba, 385.
Maples, Canadian, 393.
Marseilles, 16-19.
strange bridge at, 18, 19.
Mecca, 159.
Medicine Hat, town of, 383.
Messina earthquake, 47-49.
Straits of, 47.
Mikado, the, 329.
Mimosas, 292.
Mohammedans, 107, 159.
Monkeys, grey, of Ceylon, 195.
Monks, Burmese, 252.
Monsoon, the North-East, 175, 176.
Montreal, 392.
Moses' Well, 161.
Mosque of Omar, 132, 133.
Mosquitoes, 57.
Mount of Olives, 134, 135.
Mummies, Egyptian, 89.
Naples, 37, 50.
Nazareth, 138, 140-146.
Negro attendants on C.P.R., 361.
New Zealand, 166.
_Ngape_, 253.
Niagara Falls, 388.
Nile, the, 53-56, 77.
voyage by steamer up, 95-108.
North-American Indians, 350, 352, 380, 383.
Nubia, 103.
Ocean, depths of the, 168-178.
Olives, Mount of, 134, 135.
Orient line, the, 6, 20.
Pagahn, Burma, 284.
Pagodas, Burmese, 257, 284.
Palestine, 120.
Paris, 14.
Parsees, 207.
Penang, 304.
Persian, a, 206, 207.
Pharaohs, the, 79.
tombs near Thebes, 85.
Phosphorescence, 174.
Policemen, French, 16.
Pompeii, story of, 39, 40-45.
_Poongyi_, a Burmese, 252.
Port Moody, 360.
Port Said, 52, 153.
Porters, Japanese, 335.
Potter, an Indian, 232.
Prairie, the Canadian, 371.
Pulo Pera, sea-birds on, 305.
Pwe, a Burmese, 285.
Pyramids, the, 60.
Quebec, 393.
Raffles, Sir Stamford, 312, 313, 314.
Rameses II., 79, 80, 194.
statues of, 110, 111.
Rangoon River, 251.
Red Sea, 162.
Regina, 383.
Revelstoke, 368, 369.
Rice-growing in Ceylon, 184.
Rickshaws, Ceylon, 180, 182.
Japanese, 325.
Malayan, 307.
Rocky Mountains, 358.
Rokwren Island, 316.
Roman Empire, the, 50.
Rosetta Stone, 79.
Ruanveli dagoba, 196-198.
Russian Pilgrims, 131, 137.
_Saddiyeh_, a, 98.
St. Lawrence River, 392.
Salmon cannery on Lulu Island, 349, 352-353.
Salmon in Fraser River, 348.
Sampan, in a, 306.
Sarnia, 387.
Sault Ste Marie, 387.
Sawbwa of Hsipaw, the, 268.
Scarabs, Egyptian, 93.
Scorpion, a, 274.
Selkirk Mountains, 304.
_Shaduf_, a, 96.
Shanghai, 316.
Sheep-farming in Australia, 166.
Shinto Temple, 320.
Shintoism, 321.
Ship, life on board, 21.
Shiva, the god, 247.
Shwe Dagon, the, 259.
Sicily, 47.
Sikhs, the, 221.
Sinai, peninsula of, 161.
Singapore, 311.
Siwash Indians, 350, 352.
Skunk, 379.
Snake-charmer, a, 180-181.
Snakes, 202.
Solomon's Temple, 132, 134.
Soudan, the, 106, 114.
Southern Cross, 164.
Spain, 26.
Sphinx, the, 62.
Storm on the Indian Ocean, 174-178.
Straits Settlements, 304.
Strathcona, Lord, 368.
Stromboli, 45.
Suez Canal, 153-161.
Sugar-cane growing in Egypt, 69.
Sumatra, 305.
Sunrise at Abu Simbel, 109.
Superior, Lake, 386.
Sydney, 166.
Tailor, the Indian, 230.
Tamils, 180.
Tarantula, a, 275.
Tea-plantation, a visit to, 179-191.
Temples, Burmese, 257, 284.
Chinese, 307, 308.
Shinto, 320.
Thebes, 77.
Theebaw, King, 268, 275.
Thunderstorm, a tropical, 179-191.
Time, alteration in, 172, 385.
Tokyo, 321, 325.
Tombs of the Kings, 85.
Tooth, Temple of the, 185.
Torii, a Japanese, 320.
Tortoises, sacred, 193.
Toulon, 32, 50.
Towers of Silence, Bombay, 208.
Tripoli, 38.
Typhoon, a, 176.
Vancouver Island, 345.
town of, 358.
Vesuvius, Mount, 37, 40.
Victoria, Lake, 55.
Victoria, Vancouver, 345.
Volcanoes, 36, 50.
Vultures, 207, 208.
Wady Halfa, 114, 116.
Weaver, an Indian, 231.
Wheat-growing in Canada, 382, 384.
Winnipeg, 386.
Yokohama, 318.
End of Project Gutenberg's Round the Wonderful World, by G. E. Mitton