Table Rock itself is an object of much curiosity. It is an overhanging
cliff, extending along the bank to the very junction with the Horseshoe
Fall. Its shape and dimensions have been several times changed within
the memory and observation of the present generation, and “the oldest
inhabitants” remember it as projecting far beyond its present limits. In
July, 1818, a mass some thirty or forty feet wide, and about one hundred
and sixty feet in length, fell into the bed of the river. In December,
1828, three sections, comprising a very large portion of the overhanging
cliff, and extending to the verge of the Horseshoe Fall, broke off and
fell with a terrible crash. In the summer of 1829, another large mass
separated and fell, and in June, 1850, still another, the latter about
60 feet wide by 200 long. The precipice still hangs far out over the
perpendicular, and with these losses in view, the reader can readily
imagine its appearance before the action of the elements had robbed it
of so much that made it celebrated.
Several other objects of interest are to be seen on the Canada side,
which will be mentioned further on in these pages, and we will now
proceed to a description of the principal objects of interest
immediately connected with the Falls. In crossing the river to the
American shore, the visitor has a choice of two methods. He may descend
the bank and cross by the ferry, or may go over the New Suspension
Bridge. If intending to return, he will do well to go over by the bridge
and re-cross by the ferry.