Is of interest to the excursionist as one of the most important
commercial centers west of New York City, and the focus of a large
number of railroads. It has a magnificent harbor, one of the best on the
whole chain of lakes, its water front extending about five miles, half
on Lake Erie and half on Niagara River. Its grain elevators, some thirty
in all, have a storage capacity of nearly six millions of bushels, and
are capable of transferring about half that amount every twenty-four
hours. As the western terminus of the Erie Canal, and with its lake
shipping and railroad facilities, it has become the largest grain port
in America, with the single exception of New York City.
The traveler who may wish to prolong his stay in Buffalo will find a
multitude of hotels, of all degrees of excellence.
[Illustration: NIAGARA FALLS.]
Of all the pleasure resorts on the American continent, probably none
receive annually so many visitors as the famous cataract where the
waters of the upper lakes so grandly plunge over the precipice on their
way to Lake Ontario. The reasons for this are, doubtless, first, the
wonderful attractiveness of the Falls as an object of interest, and,
secondly, their ease of access, and the consequent facility with which
they may be visited. Situated upon the main thoroughfare between the
East and the West, over which such a constant tide of travel is surging
throughout the entire year, it requires but little sacrifice of time on
the part of many to pay them a visit. But these are merely the casual
visitors, in addition to whom thousands annually come from all parts of
the land, and from over the ocean, to gaze upon this far-famed cataract.
We design to give in this chapter such facts as shall serve as a
complete guide for the tourist in visiting this resort, not only to all
the points of interest, but such other information as shall render his
visit enjoyable. Before entering into particulars, we present a general
description of Niagara, in a comprehensive view, which will assist the
reader in understanding the several detailed descriptions which follow.
Niagara River is the outlet of Lake Erie, connecting it with Ontario,
the lowest in the great chain of lakes, which unitedly are the largest
inland reservoirs in the world. The river is only 33 miles in length,
and the total descent in that distance is 334 feet, Lake Ontario being
that much lower than Erie, which is 565 feet above sea level. About a
mile above the Falls the waters commence to descend with great velocity,
constituting what is known as the Rapids, second in interest only to the
Falls themselves, and adding to the interest of the latter by giving
such an increased velocity to the water in its plunge over the
precipice. The total descent in this mile is 52 feet, and the waters
come rushing and tumbling along the rocky bed of the stream, which is
here considerably narrower than its general channel above.
Just above the Falls are several small islands, connected by a system of
bridges with one another and the American shore, and affording a
magnificent view of the Rapids. Standing on one of the bridges, or the
upper shore of an island, and looking up the stream, the view presented
is grand and impressive, as the resistless torrent seems ready to
overwhelm all in its course.
These islands, combined with a sharp curve in the course of the stream,
widen the channel to about 4,750 feet, one-fourth of which is occupied
by Goat Island, the largest of the group, which here extends to the
extreme verge of the precipice, and divides the stream and the Falls
into two distinct parts.
The American Fall is about 1,100 feet wide, and the remainder, or Canada
fall, about double the width, although from its curved or horseshoe
shape the line of the brink is considerably longer than the direct
breadth.
Our illustration presents a fine view of the American Fall from below,
looking northward. The waters here make a sheer descent of 164 feet,
while the height of the Canadian Fall is from 12 to 14 feet less, owing
to the lengthening of the Rapids and the curve of the stream.
The volume of water in the Canada Fall is much greater, however, than
that of the American, and the impetus given by the Rapids carries the
water over the precipice with great velocity, and it forms a grand curve
in the descent, falling clear of the rocky wall into the bed of the
river below. The lower strata of this wall being of a loose, shaly
character, the action of the spray has hollowed it out, so that between
the wall of rock and the descending wall of water, a cavernous space
exists, into which the tourist may venture by a rocky and somewhat
perilous path from the Canada side. It is needless to add that a
water-proof suit adds materially to the comfort of those who thus
venture. Similar trips may be made under the American Fall, which will
be duly described in detail.
Below the Falls, on the American side, is a stairway and an
inclined-plane railway, leading to the water’s edge, and connecting with
a ferry which here crosses to the Canada shore by means of small boats,
amid the spray and over the turbulent waters, not yet at rest from their
mighty plunge.
The banks below the Falls are very high and precipitous, and the channel
contracts to less than a thousand feet, varying in the descent to Lake
Ontario, from 200 to 400 yards.
The entire river, from its source to its mouth, is an interesting
geological study. The changes that have taken place in the formation of
its banks, and the topography of the country through which it passes,
furnish much food for conjecture, upon which several theories have been
constructed, one of which seems to be quite universally adopted, viz.,
that the Falls have gradually receded from a point below their present
location, some say as far down as the high bluff at Lewiston, seven
miles from Lake Ontario.
[Illustration: AMERICAN FALL, FROM BELOW.]
This recession is due to the action of the water upon the sections of
the rocky bed which have successively formed the verge of the cataract,
and which have doubtless varied in character along the course of the
river. The action of the spray and the violence of the rebounding
waters, combined perhaps with other causes, wore away the softer, shaly
substratum, until the harder but thinner upper stratum could no longer
support the massive weight and resist the velocity of the waters, and
fell into the channel below. This theory is abundantly supported not
only by the appearance of the Falls and the channel, but by several
occurrences of exactly this character. In 1818, massive fragments fell
from the American fall, and in 1828 a like occurrence took place in the
Horseshoe Fall, in each instance producing a concussion like an
earthquake.
A view of the Falls by Father Hennepin, made in the year 1678, presents
the feature of a distinct fall on the Canada side, somewhat like that on
the American side, or nearly at right angles with the main fall. This
was occasioned by a great rock, which divided the current and turned a
portion of it in that direction, and which has evidently since fallen.
(See engraving on page 36.)
How long a time would be required for the Falls to recede to Lake Erie,
is of course conjectural, as no data of sufficient reliability can be
established from which to make a calculation. Indeed, it is believed by
some geologists that higher up the river the formation of the bed is of
such a character as to successfully resist the further encroachments of
the water in that direction, the hard formation being of greater depth
and firmness.
But to the present generation Niagara Falls will remain an object of
great interest, and will doubtless continue to receive, as in the past,
the visits of great multitudes of tourists, either on account of their
real attractiveness, or because it is the fashion.
With this general view of the Falls, the reader will be prepared for the
details, which, taken together, make up the comprehensive whole, and
which constitute a visit to Niagara an event replete with lasting
memories.
It detracts not a little from the enjoyment of the spectator to find
that at this resort the oriental demand for “backsheesh” prevails in the
modified form of tolls, fees, etc., and that what is here enjoyed in the
line of sight-seeing must be paid for. Yet this is not to be wondered at
when we consider that the parties who own the vantage ground must thus
reap from it a sustaining harvest. What is legitimately demanded of the
visitor in the way of tolls and admission fees may be considered as a
_sine qua non_, and should not in the least mar his pleasure, as he
receives in such cases a full equivalent for his expenditure.
“TRICKS THAT ARE [NOT ALWAYS] VAIN.”
There is one thing, however, which no tourist is prepared to meet with
composure, and which he will need to guard against here, namely,
extortion, or an unexpected or unreasonable demand for money in payment
for services not contracted for nor supposed to be in the market. Much
has been said and written about the extortions of Niagara hackmen, until
their practices have become a byword. In justice to some of these
individuals it should be said that there are among them honorable men,
who will do by you just as they agree, and will make no effort to
defraud. It is always safe, however, to make an agreement with your
driver as to the service he is to render you, and just what you are to
pay him in return. When the terms of your contract are met, _accept no
further service without understanding its cost_.
[Illustration: HORSESHOE FALLS AND RAPIDS.]
The need of this precaution will be apparent from the following facts.
The lawful rate for carrying a passenger from one point to another in
the villages about the Falls is fifty cents, or one dollar from village
to village; yet a driver will frequently offer to carry a passenger for
_ten cents_. Once in the carriage, however, he is urged to see this and
that point of interest, and with the memory of the ten-cent offer as a
basis for prospective expenses, he often yields to the importunities of
the hackman, until he finds to his dismay that he has run up a bill, by
the legal tariff, of from three to five dollars. While the man is
charging him only what the law allows him to collect, the victim is
chagrined at the method by which it is extorted from him, and it rankles
as an unpleasant memory in his otherwise pleasurable recollections of
his visit.
We have been thus explicit in treating upon a subject to which no
Niagara guide book we have ever seen gives more than a passing allusion,
in order that the tourist may know what to expect, and how to meet it in
the very outset. If you choose to accept of a hackman’s “ten-cent”
offer, be sure that you take no more than is “nominated in the bond,”
lest with the “pound of flesh” there come a drop of blood more costly
than all the rest.