Class 
 
 Book 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 
 
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 'We Guide to 
 
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LITTLE GUIDE 
 
 Niagara Falls 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 / Brief Description of the Principal Points of Interest, 
 How Best to Reacli Tliem, Tlieir Leading 
 Cliaracteristics, etc., Together with 
 the Prices Charged for Guides, 
 Carriages, and Conveni- 
 ences at each Place, 
 
 PROGRAM FOR A TWO WEEKS' VISIT, 
 , AN OLD RESIDENJ. / 
 
 " Niagara Falls is the croivning salary of New Y'ork 
 State, and the highest distinction of the American Con- 
 tinent.^^ 
 
 MATTHEWS, NORTHRUF 
 
 BUFFALO AND NEW YORK; 
 1890. 
 

 Copyrighted, 1890, by 
 MATTHEWS, NORTHRUP & CO. 
 
 /Sh^^-;i.u 
 
 THE TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS BOOK ARE COPYRIGHTED. 
 
INDEX 
 
 p PAGE. 
 
 First General View of the Falls, 9 
 
 The Walk about Goat Island, 11 
 
 ^View from Prospect Park, 16 
 
 Trip on the "Maid of the Mist," 18 
 
 Visit to "The Cave of the Winds," 20 
 
 Visit to the head of Goat Island, 22 
 
 View from the New Suspension Bridge, .... 23 
 
 Queen Victoria Jubilee Park, 24 
 
 View from Table Rock, 25 
 
 Trip under the Canadian Falls, 27 
 
 Trip to Lewiston, 30 
 
 The Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Rapids, ... 32 
 
 The Lunar Bow, 37 
 
 View from the Dufferin Isles, ........ 38 
 
 Various Drives about Niagara, 39 
 
 Where shall we stay at Niagara? 42 
 
Guide JKInp of 
 
LITTLE GUIDE 
 
 TO 
 
 NIAGARA FALLS 
 
 Reader, you are now at Niagara Falls. You have 
 read about it. You have seen pictures of it. You have 
 been asked if you have visited it. You have longed to 
 behold it. You are here. 
 
 Will it, indeed, seem to you to be what so many 
 great minds have pronounced it, " The most beautiful 
 sight in the world ? " Will it seem worthy of your ad- 
 miration, your reverence and your love ? Believe me, 
 dear reader, that will depend very largely upon the /<?«<? 
 and temper — the thoughts with which you approach 
 it. If you would know the real elements of its beauty, 
 the thoughts it has excited in the 
 minds of many distinguished men and ARRIVAL AT 
 women, you will not regret procuring NIAGARA, 
 at the hotels at Niagara — either at the 
 Spencer House or at the International Hotel— 
 the little pamphlet entitled, " Introduction to Niagara 
 Falls." The extracts there given, will, I hope, do much 
 to place you in the right mood to really see and to study 
 Niagara. The reading of that pamphlet, will, I believe, 
 do away with a flood of erroneous ideas. You will be- 
 gin to appreciate how utterly futile and absurd it is to 
 attempt to " do " Niagara in a few hours or a day. How 
 ignominious and contemptible a proceeding it is to drive 
 hurriedly in and about these sacred precincts in a hack. 
 
You will resolutely close your ears to all offers to " drive 
 you around it " for a small sum. You will seat your- 
 self at the hotel until you have carefully perused this 
 pamphlet, and then, and not until then, start out to get 
 your first glimpse of Niagara. May it be but one of a 
 great number ! May it be your experience, as it has 
 been mine, that the more you see it the more grand, 
 majestic, and surpassingly beautiful it will seem, and 
 the more ardently you will desire not to pass a day, 
 but weeks and months on this enchanted ground. 
 
 Why, if this is so, is it that so many people hurry in 
 their visit to Niagara? The reason is this. Where 
 there is one person who really desires to see Niagara, 
 there are hundreds who simply desire to say they have 
 seen it. These are they who come in the morning and 
 go away at noon — who glance at Niagara as if that 
 one look could give them any just conception of its 
 grandeur and beauty, and who never even have a single 
 sensation of awe, admiration, or astonishment ; who 
 jump into carriages, gabble on the way, chatter on the 
 brink of the awful cataract, drive rapidly to the noise of 
 their own voices, through its majestic woods — fit spots 
 for sweet and solemn thoughts — listen to some garbled 
 tales of horror, told by an ignorant driver, keep on the 
 move all day, and depart — poor, foolish souls! — im- 
 agining they have seen Niagara ! They have never 
 even commenced to comprehend the first element of 
 its beauty. 
 
 Let this not be your temper, your spirit, your method 
 of viewing Niagara. Come to it resolved to make its 
 beauty part of your own mental self, its grandeur and 
 majesty part of the current of your thought. Let its 
 great and glorious pictures be so etched on your mem- 
 ory by repeated visits, that these will shine forever 
 lighted up by the sunlight of remembrance, in the 
 gallery of your choicest mental treasures. Then 
 Niagara will be to you an inspiration, a blessed recol- 
 lection, a theme of serious comment, and — recalling 
 
 8 
 
its loveliness, its awful majesty, its exquisite beauty — 
 your thoughts will be insensibly and repeatedly led to the 
 Eternal Spirit, the Divine Artist, whose work this is. 
 
 I assume now, that, arriving in the evening, let us 
 say, you will select as your hotel either the Spencer 
 House — directly opposite the New York Central Sta- 
 tion — or the International Hotel — the nearest hotel 
 to the Falls, and three blocks from the New York Cen- 
 tral station. Thoroughly refreshed by a good night's 
 sleep and an excellent breakfast, you begin your first 
 day at Niagara. From the Spencer House you step 
 out on the front piazza, turn to your left and walk 
 directly down the street three blocks to the Falls. You 
 cannot miss your way. If you are at the International, 
 step out of the rear of the office on to the piazzas and 
 the Rapids, Goat Island, and Prospect Park are in full 
 view. Walk down the lawn and 
 you will see the sidewalk leading FIRST 
 
 to the Falls. Follow that and you 
 find yourself at Prospect Park- GENERAL VIEW 
 entirely free — where, from Pros- OF FALLS, 
 
 pect Point you obtain your first 
 full view of the great Falls, as well as a general survey 
 of the various points of view and objects of interest. 
 
 Directly in front of you are the Falls. Upon your left, 
 the bridge leading to Goat Island, the Goat Island group, 
 the Upper Rapids. To your right is the inclined stair- 
 way leading to the foot of the American Falls, and 
 from which you start on a most enjoyable trip on the 
 little steamer " Maid of the Mist," which takes you up 
 to the very foot of the Horseshoe Falls. Farther to 
 the right you see the new Suspension Bridge leading to 
 Canada, and then back upon the left, on the Canadian 
 side, you see the road winding along the river bank past 
 Table Rock to the edge of the Canadian Falls, and 
 thence through the delightful Queen Victoria Park, also 
 free ; thence the road leads up to the Dufferin Isles, 
 the most exquisitely beautiful and retired spot about 
 
Niagara; passing these, the road winds up the river 
 — one of the most lovely drives in the world. Cast- 
 ing your eyes back now to the right, below the upper 
 Suspension Bridge, you catch sight of the road winding 
 down the side of the river, conducting you to the Whirl- 
 pool and Whirlpool Rapids, and various other points 
 of interest to be hereafter described. 
 
 Now you have your bearings. You can begin to see 
 Niagara now, if you will. You are now at Prospect 
 Park, with its comfortable seats, its venerable trees, its 
 delightful views — all of which are yours without price 
 or fee. The State of New York paid over a million 
 dollars to enable you to enjoy this privilege. Yours is 
 the estate if you will only use it. 
 
 Why deprive yourself of sufficient time to enjoy its 
 beauty } 
 
 Observe the changing glories of the great cataract. 
 Note the magnificent cloud-forms above the Falls, the 
 ever-varying shapes which the rushing rapids assume, 
 the effects of the sunlight on the rising spray, transform- 
 ing its cold mists into rainbow colors, shifting, rising and 
 falling in eternal motion. Rest quietly under these ven- 
 erable trees and let the sight become etched upon your 
 soul — there to remain a picture of beauty and of 
 power, in after years one of your choicest possessions. 
 The time will seem all too short when your watch will 
 inform you it is time to return to the hotel to enjoy the 
 noon-day meal, and to give the surfeited imagination 
 and exhausted vision an opportunity to recover their 
 full force to appreciate new sights of beauty. 
 
 If during the remainder of the day you desire to 
 rest, or to enjoy the Rapids from a distance — lunch 
 leisurely and watch the Falls from the International 
 piazza ; if you desire to acquire information relating to 
 the historical incidents connected with Niagara, a vol- 
 ume on this subject will be furnished you, which you 
 can read at your leisure on the cool and shady piazzas 
 of either Hotel. 
 
; t 
 
 \-'i 
 
 :il%m^ 
 
Should you desire to drive, you can procure a car- 
 riage at the Hotel, or a van in the Prospect Park, to go 
 about Goat Island for the morning or afternoon, allow- 
 ing you ample time to alight and acquaint yourself 
 with the location of the various places of interest which 
 you really visit later 07i foot, to truly appreciate. The 
 highest price you should pay for the carriage is two 
 dollars for your party, and you can possibly get it 
 cheaper by making a special bargain. The price of a 
 seat in one of the vans is twenty- five cents per person. 
 
 But — let me again repeat — if you start to walk at 
 any time, on this or any other trip, do not, under ajiy 
 consideration, allow yourself to be persuaded by some 
 persistent hackman — utterly irresponsible and some- 
 times thoroughly dangerous, not even hesitating at 
 highway robbery — to be " taken around to see every- 
 thing "for one or two dollars ! You will end by being 
 thoroughly tired, surfeited and dis- 
 contented, dissatisfied with yourself WALK ABOUT 
 and Niagara, confused by its sights GOAT ISLAND, 
 and sounds, and anxious to depart. 
 
 Let us assume, then, that you will start on the second 
 day of your visit for a walk or drive about Goat Island 
 — that loveliest jewel in fair Niagara's crown. Passing 
 over the first bridge you are upon Bath Island, thence 
 you pass over the second bridge and are upon Goat 
 Island. Turn now to the right and pass along one of 
 the loveliest walks in the world until you come to a 
 point overlooking the American Falls, and where there 
 is a staircase winding down the bank to a bridge, pass- 
 ing to a small but lovely island. This is Luna Island, 
 and it is from this point that one has the finest view of 
 that dream of loveliness, the rainbow by moonlight, or 
 as it is usually called, the Lunar bow. Observe the 
 view, in order to return and study it at your leisure 
 again. Retrace your steps up the stair-case, and pro- 
 ceed along the river bank until the house is reached 
 surmounted by the sign " Cave of the Winds." Passing 
 
through this house the visitor reaches the bottom of 
 the bank by a winding stair-case, thence along the 
 bank leading to that, perhaps, most magnificent and 
 awful of all scenes at Niagara, the Cave of the Winds. 
 A charge is made for this trip — one dollar per person, 
 including in this charge a guide and a dress. The trip 
 is absolutely safe. No one has ever been lost, and it 
 is inconceivably grand. The visitor passes directly be- 
 hind the Falls — and nowhere else can one realize the 
 resistless terrible force and power there is in the fall of 
 those apparently peaceful waters gliding smoothly and 
 swiftly to the brink. Noting the spot to return to it 
 again and visit this wonderful cave, continue along 
 the island-walk until there is a break in the foliage and 
 a clear view ; stop now, and look over this precipice. 
 You begin to realize the immense height which separ- 
 ates you from the waters below. It is an impressive 
 and terrible scene, and it is not well to linger here long, 
 lest dizziness supervene. 
 
 Thence continue along the walk until the foliage 
 permits you to obtain a view of the Canadian Falls — 
 called the Great Crescent or Horseshoe Falls. Pro- 
 ceed down the fine staircase leading out over the 
 bridge to the edge of the Falls. This point is called 
 Terrapin Rocks, and upon it was formerly situated the 
 Terrapin Tower. Confess, now, that the view you have 
 of the entire Falls is one worth coming a thousand 
 miles to see. How it changes during the day ! how 
 beautiful in the morning ! how magnificent in the full 
 noontide ! how awful in the rays of the setting sun ! 
 Day after day, and night after night, these great floods 
 descend — with no confusion or tumult, but ever-flow- 
 ing, resistless, terrible as fate itself. Glance at the 
 tremendous volume of waters with their hue of deep 
 emerald. Notice the lashed waves beneath on which 
 the little steamer, the " Maid of the Mist," with its 
 load of precious freight, rides like a little toy- boat in 
 safety. 
 
Returning to the bank above, and turning to the 
 right, follow the path through delightful forest walks 
 up to the Three Sister Islands — visions of beauty and 
 of grace which it is useless to attempt to describe. 
 Here are charming little spots, cool and shady retreats 
 in summer heat; here are dainty cascades with ten 
 thousand various shades of color and shapes of beauty ; 
 here, as you sit on the third Sister Island, the wild 
 onrushing rapids seem to descend from the skies, and 
 every vestige of civilization has completely disappeared. 
 
 You are in the very presence of terrible, yet beauti- 
 ful Nature. The man who cannot for hours sit here 
 and find unceasing delight in the contemplation of this 
 truly beautiful sight, may well suspect that he does not 
 properly comprehend the Spirit that speaks to man 
 through the multitudinous sounds of Nature. 
 
 Returning once more to the Goat Island shore, con- 
 tinue your walk to the right to the upper end of the 
 island. How complete the change ! How utterly im- 
 possible it is to realize that so short a distance below 
 the great Falls exists ! How placid and quiet the river 
 seems — how melodious and soothing its gentle ripple 
 and murmur ! Of all spots about Niagara this is one 
 of the most attractive, and, after lingering here, you 
 may continue your walk back to the Island bridge, 
 stopping on your way at the Spring below the bank to 
 enjoy a cup of the purest water, and watching from 
 your shady retreat, amid the embowering trees, the 
 glittering waves, the tossing shapes, the wild magnifi- 
 cence of the Rapids. In this part of Niagara alone 
 you will find more enchanting bowers of grace and 
 beauty than in all the glens of Watkins and Havana. 
 Continuing your walk, you reach the spot from which 
 you started. 
 
 Usually you should visit the Goat Island Group on 
 foot in the morning ; the foliage is fresher and brighter, 
 and at every one of the spots we have alluded to half 
 
a day may profitably be passed. Leading through the 
 Island are forest walks to the Terrapin Rocks and the 
 Three Sister Islands, absolutely quiet nooks in the very 
 recesses of the primitive forest where you may walk 
 and linger for hours undisturbed, with care and busi- 
 ness-tumult apparently ten thousand miles away. The 
 birds are singing all about you ; the squirrels come 
 and play at your feet ; many new kinds of wild flowers 
 bloom there; the sunlight falls on a carpet of soft 
 moss and of dainty ferns — while over your head 
 arch the forest boughs and the great sky, pure and 
 clear, unsullied by the city's smoke and dust. 
 
 Yet all this time you have seen and studied only the 
 beauties of one island at Niagara ; selected because it is 
 a fair illustration of many, many other spots. Yet 
 creatures having the form and general appearance of 
 rational human beings actually attempt to "do all 
 Niagara " in a day ! 
 
 It may not be uninteresting in this connection for 
 the visitor to read Charles Dudley Warner's descrip- 
 tion of the Goat Island walk, as given in his delightful 
 work, " Their Pilgrimage." Here it is : 
 
 " The walk around Goat Island is probably unsur- 
 passed in the world for wonder and beauty. The 
 Americans have every reason to be satisfied with their 
 share of the fall. They get nowhere one single grand 
 view like that from the Canada side, but infinitely the 
 deepest impression of majesty and power is obtained 
 on Goat Island. There the spectator is in the midst 
 of the war of Nature. From the point over the Horse- 
 shoe Fall, our friends — speaking not much, but more 
 and more deeply moved — strolled along the lovely 
 forest, in a rural solemnity, in a local calm, almost a 
 seclusion, except for the ever present shuddering roar 
 in the air. On the shore above the Horseshoe, they 
 first comprehended the breadth, the great sweep of the 
 
 14 
 
rapids, the white crests of the waves ever coming out 
 from under a black, lowering sky. All the foreground 
 was in bright sunlight, dancing, sparkling, leaping, hurry- 
 ing on, converging to the angle where the water becomes 
 a deep emerald, at the brink and plunge. The rapids 
 above are a series of shelves, bristling with jutting 
 rocks and lodged stumps of trees, and the wildness of 
 the scene is intensified by the rugged fringe of ever- 
 green on the opposite shore. Over the whole island, 
 the mist rising from the caldron, drifts in a spray when 
 the wind is favorable. But on this day the forest was 
 bright and cheerful, and as the strollers went farther 
 away from the great fall, the beauty of the scene began 
 to steal away its terror, the roar was still dominant, 
 but far of^ and softened, and did not crush the ear. 
 The triple islands, the Three Sisters, in their picturesque 
 wildness, appeared like playful freaks of Nature in a 
 momentary relaxation of the savage mood. Here is 
 the finest view of the river. To one standing on the 
 outmost island, the great flood seems tumbling out of 
 the sky. They continued along the bank of the river, 
 where the shallow stream races by headlong, but close 
 to the edges are numerous eddies, and places where 
 one might step in and not be swept away. At length 
 they reach the point where the river divides, and the 
 water stands for an instant almost still, hesitating 
 whether to take the Canadian or the American plunge. 
 Out a little way from the shore the waves leap and 
 tumble, and the two currents are like race-horses, 
 parted on two ways to the goal. Just at this point the 
 water swirls and lingers, having lost all its fierceness 
 and haste, and spreads itself out placidly, dimpling in 
 the sun. It may be a treacherous pause, this water 
 may be as cruel as that which rages below, and exults 
 in catching a boat or a man and bounding with the 
 victim over the cataract. But the calm was very grate- 
 ful to the stunned and buffeted visitors. Upon their 
 jarred nerves it was like the peace of God." 
 
 15 
 
MONDA Y. 
 
 Let US assume you have passed your first day at 
 Niagara in this general visit to Prospect Park and 
 Goat Island. You have now, as it w^ere, a bird's-eye 
 view of the American side. Let us again on 
 
 TUBS DA Y 
 
 proceed to study this magnificent masterpiece of Na- 
 ture. Starting again on Prospect Point, observe more 
 carefully the scene. And hereafter, in the descriptions 
 given, unless otherwise indicated, I use the words of 
 the venerable man of whom I made mention in the 
 little pamphlet " Introduction to Niagara." To him be 
 all the praise of which they are worthy. Of this scene 
 he says : — The river rolls by in the sunlight like 
 a rufifled sea of silver, two hundred feet beneath tlie 
 cliff from which you look down, bounded on either 
 
 side by huge frowning walls of 
 
 VIEW FROM limestone, crested by fair fields, 
 
 PROSPECT PARK. ^^^ clustering forest trees, 
 
 stretching away in the distance. 
 The agitated and heaving abyss, the clouds of rising 
 spray, the flashing snowy sheet hanging between sea 
 and sky, the dark cliffs and islands that bound and 
 divide them, the ocean of tumbling waters that seem 
 sporting above and beyond the precipice, and come 
 dancing over the cataract to the music of its everlast- 
 ing roar, together form a scene, compared to which the 
 ruins of Balbec or Palmyra, the Pyramids of Egypt, or 
 the temples of Greece and Rome, are but the toys and 
 foot-balls of time. 
 
 The best view of the Falls, on the American side, 
 is from this point. Table Rock, the Horseshoe Fall. 
 Goat Island, the Central Fall, the American Fall, thr 
 rapids and islands above, and the abyss and river 
 below, are all within sight; but of the Horseshoe Fal! 
 the view is distant and partial. In fact, there is no com- 
 plete view of the cataract on the American side. From 
 
 i6 
 
the opposite shore only, can Niagara be seen in all its 
 parts, and in all its sublime majesty, at a single glance. 
 But that one view, grand and overwhelming as it con- 
 fessedly is, is almost the only one on the Canada 
 shore. There are, it is true, many modifications of it, 
 depending upon the points from which it is observed ; 
 but it is still the same in all its leading features, and 
 has a strange oneness about it, that awes even more 
 than it interests. The eye and the mind, pained by 
 its transcendant vastness and sublimity, can scarcely 
 dwell upon it without some interval of repose. 
 
 On the American side, on the contrary, while there 
 is no one view of the cataract so grand and perfect, 
 there are many of different parts, each exceedingly 
 beautiful and impressive ; and such a variety of river 
 and forest scenery, that the attention is diverted from 
 one object to another, — something new and fresh is 
 presented at every turn, the eye is delighted, the mind 
 excited by a constant succession of pleasing and august 
 appearances, — and thus a delicious interest is kept up, 
 which seems to while away the hours ; and while lovely 
 and striking images are fast crowding upon the eye 
 and mind, they are both, as it were, refreshed and ren- 
 ovated by novelty and change. 
 
 From Prospect Point, having looked at the glorious 
 scene as long as you choose, advance to the very brink 
 of the cataract at Prospect Place. Here, standing on 
 a secure platform, you can look directly down at the 
 awful depths ; the huge blocks of stone, the rock- 
 dashed spray and foam, the shivering sheet, and the 
 heaving abyss, and up at the Falls, and particularly the 
 American cascade, of which you have a capital view, 
 though not the best. 
 
 The American Fall is characterized by an irregular- 
 ity that gives it a wild and singular beauty. The out- 
 line is far projecting and deeply indented, yet with no 
 very abrupt transitions, and certainly no monotonous 
 parallels. The water flows over it in a broad billowy 
 
 17 
 
stream, and is thrown out by craggy points in a hun- 
 dred places, so that it passes down in a glorious snow- 
 white drapery, wreathing into graceful fleecy folds, 
 and possessing so much variety with so complete a 
 unity, that it not only awes but delights, and you 
 almost forget its immensity in the contemplation of its 
 beauty. Near the shore, where the water is shallow, 
 the stream ripples along pure and clear as crystal, and 
 falls from the brink in a shower of sparkling brilliancy. 
 Large rocks lay piled up at the foot of the precipice, 
 where it is evident they have fallen from the dizzy 
 height, and the descending torrent dashes against 
 them and flashes up in foam and spray. 
 
 This of itself will afford ample study for the forenoon. 
 
 In the afternoon, proceeding again to Prospect Park, 
 
 ride down the Inclined Railway and take a trip on the 
 
 little steamer " Maid of the Mist." 
 
 TRIP ON (Charge, 50 cents each person.) 
 
 ^^ Before you are aware of it, you 
 
 MAID OF THE ^^^ yourself in the middle of the 
 MIST." stream, and the boat riding grace- 
 
 fully over the heavy swells. What 
 a scene now courts your eager gaze : the mighty cata- 
 ract in all its sublimity and immensity is above and 
 before you. 
 
 You are in the nave of a vast temple, whose walls 
 seem the eternal hills, corniced with crags, ornamented 
 with a fretwork of trees, shrubs, flowers, and foliage ; 
 whose dome is the blue heaven, and whose altar is the 
 mighty cataract, draped with hangings of green and 
 snow, while from its unseen base clouds of incense are 
 ascending to the skies, and bearing up the solemn peal 
 of its mist-hidden thunder-toned organ. The floor is 
 of emerald and alabaster ; elements are the ministers, 
 and you a worshiper. This temple was the work of 
 Nature, and to the God of Nature erected. Human 
 hands could not lift even a corner of its veil ; human 
 
 18 
 
art could not equal the smallest of its marvels ; human 
 eyes could not penetrate the least of its mysteries. 
 
 A vast semi-circle of cataracts stretches around 
 you, forming a scene of surpassing splendor and sub- 
 limity. Huge and massy walls of rock are on either 
 side, and the shivering boat in which you sit, floats 
 upon the surface of a sea, fathomless, convulsed, and 
 immeasurable. Endless torrents, bursting as it were 
 from the opened heavens, leap from the brow of the 
 tremendous precipice, plunge headlong down the ter- 
 rific height, and lash the deep profound, into which 
 they are hurled, to foam and madness. The sonorous 
 breathings of the tortured abyss roll up and reverber- 
 ate in thunder-peals ; and air and earth tremble at the 
 shock of the contending floods. Dense clouds of 
 spray, rolling and curling up in shapeless and ever- 
 varying forms, conceal the meeting of the waters, and 
 majestically soar aloft, heaven- borne on the wings of 
 the wind. The sun, shedding refulgent splendors upon 
 the glorious scene, seems girdled with a radiant halo 
 by the rising mists ; and rainbows, broken into frag- 
 ments by the shifting vapors, appear and vanish, daz- 
 zle and dissolve, on every side, in quick and magic 
 succession. 
 
 WEDNESDA Y. 
 
 In the morning visit Goat Island, lingering in the 
 forest walk directly through the heart of the Island, and 
 leading to the romantic beauties of the Three Sister 
 Islands. 
 
 In the afternoon take the still more beautiful walk 
 through Goat Island to the entrance to the stair-case 
 leading to the Cave of the Winds. You will there be 
 furnished with a guide and an oil-skin suit, and descend 
 the stair-case and follow the bank to the Lunar Falls, 
 under which is situate the Cave of the Winds. 
 
 There is no more exciting and exhilarating excur- 
 sion to be made at the Falls than that through the Cave 
 
 19 
 
of the Winds. Nowhere else are the rainbow hues 
 exhibited in such wonderful variety, nor in such sur- 
 passing brilliancy and beauty. Rainbow-spray, rain- . 
 bow-dust, and shattered rainbows are scattered around ; 
 rainbow-bars, and arches, horizontal and perpendicular, 
 are flashing and forming, breaking and re-forming 
 around and above in the most fantastic and delightful 
 confusion. The young husband may literally place his 
 charming bride in a living sparkling rainbow frame, 
 flecked all over with diamonds and pearls. 
 
 Let us now describe the experience more in detail. 
 Descend the sloping bank to the Lower Fishing Rock 
 — as a limestone mass, at the lowest point of the island 
 shore, is called — from whence the best view of the 
 American Falls is presented, that can be anywhere ob- 
 tained, unless, perhaps, from the river directly in front 
 
 of it. The whole beautiful cascade 
 VISIT TO hangs like a flashing curtain of 
 
 shifting; snow-wreaths before you, 
 
 (^AVP OP THF 
 
 waving in fleecy folds, and pillared 
 WINDS." by downy columns of the softest, 
 
 clearest white ; around and over all 
 of which a genial glory seems to float, bright and pure 
 as the hope and faith of an angel-choir. The scene is 
 lovely beyond all conception. Nothing on earth can 
 compare in that respect with the American Fall, as seen 
 from this spot. Vast as it is, you do not observe its size ; 
 lofty as it is, you take no note of its height ; august as 
 it is, you scarcely perceive its grandeur ; — its surpassing 
 loveliness, and transcendant beauty alone seem to en- 
 gage your attention. Finally, however, all these become 
 blended together, and you begin to realize the majesty, 
 as well as the loveliness, the sublimity, as well as the 
 beauty of this incomparable cascade, and to feel that 
 the power as well as the goodness of the Divine Archi- 
 tect has here its lasting and visible impress. Long will 
 that glorious scene live in our memory, hallowed by the 
 recollection of a holy rapture, and an earnest worship. 
 
Re-ascend the sloping bank to the Central Fall, and 
 the Cave of the Winds is before you. At the entrance 
 you pause to look up at the projecting cliff, and the 
 sparkling torrent that shoots off far above, falling far 
 over, and far below you ; and down at the piles of rock 
 heaped up around, and the foam and spray springing 
 to light and loveliness from the rock-wave concussion. 
 The mightiest throes give birth to the most beautiful 
 things ; and thus the rainbow was born of the deluge. 
 
 You are on the steps descending into the cavern. 
 The majesty, the sublimity of the scene cannot escape 
 your notice, and you will feel what I find it impossible 
 to express. A wall of rock rises frowning on one side ; 
 the falling sheet arches the other. You see it leap 
 from the cliff far above, and lash the rocks far below. 
 You seem between two eternities, with a great mystery 
 before you, whose secrets are about to be revealed. 
 What a moment is this ! From the vast cavern into 
 which you are passing comes the sound of a thousand 
 storms. You hear the mad winds raging around the 
 walls of their imprisonment, and mingling their fearful 
 roar with the reverberating thunders of the cataract. 
 The spray falls thick around you ; almost overpowered 
 with intense emotion, you hasten on, descend the steps, 
 reach the bottom, instinctively retire from the rushing 
 waters, and, having gained the centre and back of the 
 cave, pause to look around. You seem all eyes, all 
 ears, all soul. You are in the sublime sanctuary of 
 nature ; her wonderful and fearful mysteries are above, 
 beneath, and around you. God is Infinite, you are 
 nothing. This is His temple, you are His worshiper. 
 It is impossible in such a place to be irreverent. The 
 proudest here is meek ; the haughtiest, humble ; and 
 the loftiest, lowly. 
 
 Between the Central and American Falls, and at 
 the foot of Luna Island, there is a narrow vacant 
 space, bounded and almost overarched by the tumbling 
 torrent, from which grand views are presented of these 
 
 21 
 
two cascades — that of the latter is particularly fine. 
 Here you may rest yourself, or ramble over the huge 
 rocks, in the pure air, with the bright river and the 
 blessed sky before you, and the dark rock above, and 
 then pass under the American sheet as far as you 
 desire, or dare. It is a frightful place, overwhelming 
 in its gloom, grandeur, and sublimity ; and there be few 
 who have ventured far, though it is supposed possible 
 to pass quite through and under the whole vast cas- 
 cade. 
 
 THURSDA Y. 
 
 In the morning visit the upper end of Goat or Iris 
 
 Island taking with you an interesting and inspiring 
 
 book, alternately reading and sight-seeing until noon. 
 
 You see the broad river spread out before you like 
 
 a shining sea, with Schlosser on the left, Chippewa 
 
 far off to the right, and Grand, 
 
 VISIT TO Navy, and other islands in the 
 
 dim distance above. It was here, 
 HEAD OF GOAT ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^j^ ^^^ ^p^^ ^j^j^j^ 
 
 ISLAND. you are probably now sitting, that 
 
 visitors to Iris Island were landed 
 from boats, before the bridge was built. Such was then 
 the only mode of reaching it, and the passage required 
 great care, skill, and exertion, and was, of course, 
 expensive. The island was therefore, at that time, a 
 terra incogjiita to most persons — an unattainable ob- 
 ject of intense desire. They could see that it was 
 beautiful, that it presented grand views of the sub- 
 lime cataract they had come from afar to behold ; but 
 alas ! they could not set foot upon its velvet surface, 
 repose beneath its shady groves, nor witness from its 
 banks the marvelous glories that clustered around 
 it, and in the midst of which it so sweetly slumbered. 
 Happy traveler ! you can pass when you please, see all 
 that it has to reveal, and ramble over and about it at 
 your leisure. 
 
In the afternoon proceed down the street leading to 
 Prospect Park and just at the entrance by the soldiers' 
 monument turn to the right and in a moment you will 
 reach the new Suspension Bridge. Mr. W. D. Howells 
 has so well described the view here that it will bear 
 repetition. Read it as you stand on the bridge. You 
 will find it just, adequate, and true. Here it is : 
 
 " Over the river, so still with its oily eddies and deli- 
 cate wreaths of foam, just below the Falls they have 
 woven a web of wire high in air and hung a bridge 
 from precipice to precipice. Of all the bridges made 
 with hands it seems the lightest, most ethereal ; it is 
 ideally graceful and droops from its slight towers like a 
 garland. It is worthy to command the whole gran- 
 deur of Niagara and to show the traveler the vast 
 spectacle, with all the awful pomp of the rapids, the 
 solemn darkness of the wooded 
 islands, the mystery of the vapor- VIEW FROM 
 
 ous gulf, the indomitable wild- 
 
 ^fl u ( .u NEW SUSPENSION 
 
 ness of the shores, as far as the 
 
 eye can reach up or down the BRIDGE. 
 
 fatal stream. The last hues of 
 
 sunset lingered in the mists that sprung from the base 
 
 of the Falls with a mournful tremulous grace and a 
 
 movement weird as the play of the northern lights. 
 
 They were touched with the most delicate purples and 
 
 crimsons that darkened to deep red and then faded 
 
 from them on a second look and they flew upward, 
 
 swiftly upward, like troops of pale transparent ghosts ; 
 
 while a perfectly clear radiance dwelt upon the scene. 
 
 Far under the bridge the river smoothly swam, the 
 
 under currents smoothly unfolding themselves with a 
 
 vast rose- like evolution edged all round with faint 
 
 lines of white, where the air that filled the water freed 
 
 itself in foam. What had been clear green on the face 
 
 of the cataract was here more like rich verd-antique 
 
 and had a look of firmness almost like that of stone 
 
 itself. In front where tumbled rocks and expanses of 
 
 23 
 
naked clay varied the gloomier and gayer green, sprung 
 those spectral mists ; and through them loomed out 
 in its manifold majesty Niagara, with the seemingly 
 immovable white Gothic screen of the American Fall 
 and the green massive curve of the Horseshoe, solid 
 and simple and calm as an Egyptian wall; while be- 
 yond this, with their white and black expanses broken 
 by dark foliaged little isles, the steep Canadian rapids 
 billowed themselves down between their heavily wooded 
 shores. The wedding journeyers hung, they knew 
 not how long, in rapture on the sight." 
 
 The expense of crossing over and back for each per- 
 son is 25 cents, and when on the Canadian side, turn to 
 the left, up the river bank and in a few steps you are 
 in the Queen Victoria Jubilee Park, extending from the 
 upper Suspension Bridge to far above the Horseshoe 
 Fall. This park is entirely free, and is the property of 
 the Canadian government. It 
 QUEEN VICTORIA is thus described in the official 
 JUBILEE PARK. pamphlet issued by the park 
 commissioners : 
 
 The Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park covers an 
 area of about 1 54 acres. It extends along the western 
 bank of the Niagara a distance of 2^ miles ; the width 
 embraces all the land lying between the water's edge 
 and the steep wooded bluff, which forms a magnificent 
 natural boundary on the west. Midway between the 
 two ends there is a finely wooded island, whose shores 
 wage never-ceasing confiict with the impetuous waters, 
 a moment before they plunge into the abyss. From the 
 pathway on this (Cedar) island good views are obtained 
 of the whole reach of the rapids above the cataract. 
 Near the southern end of the park, nestling in a deep 
 indentation of the shore, is a group of islands, re-named 
 in honor of Lord Dufferin, which are wondrously beau- 
 tiful. Pretty rustic bridges connect these islets, and 
 sylvan rambles and bowers have been provided so that 
 visitors may enjoy nature, in some of its most charming 
 
 24 
 
forms, with comfort and ease. Between Cedar Island 
 and the Dufferin Islands, the Grand Rapids drive affords 
 a continuous view of the tumbling waters as they leap 
 from ledge to ledge down the 55 or 56 feet of descent, 
 between the level of smooth water and the crest of the 
 great fall. Altogether this is one of the most impres- 
 sive sights to be had, and is second only to the views 
 of the great cataract itself. A fine commanding view 
 is obtained from the top of the bluffs, beyond the Duf- 
 ferin Islands, termed " Prospect Drive ; " it is well 
 worth visiting, as from it you overlook the whole sweep 
 of the river from Navy Island to the gorge below the 
 falls. The immediate locality of the falls is remarkable 
 for the richness of its flora, and many hundreds of vari- 
 eties of flowering and fern-like plants, growing w^ithout 
 cultivation, are to be found within the limits of the 
 park. 
 
 All along the bank of the river from the Bridge 
 toward Table Rock the best and grandest of all the 
 upper views of the Falls is presented. 
 
 The eye here grasps at a glance the whole mighty 
 measure of the cataract; and Niagara in all its beauty 
 and glory, in all its majesty and immensity, is spanned 
 by a single look. It is before you, revealed in all its 
 grandeur and extent, in all its splendor and sublimity. 
 You stand entranced and spell-bound. Amazement 
 and admiration are in your gaze ; awe and reverence 
 in your soul. It is a scene to linger on, and long you 
 linger, turning often away to rest the eye, and relieve 
 the mind, and as often recurring to it 
 with increased wonder and interest. VIEW FROM 
 But at length you pass on, with it still TABLE ROCK 
 in your eye and mind, to Table Rock, 
 which at length you reach. The view of the Horseshoe 
 Fall from this point is indeed magnificent. 
 
 No wonder that the scene from Table Rock has 
 been lauded and extolled. No wonder that it has been 
 
 25 
 
the ultima tJmle of many a long and weary pilgrimage. 
 It is all that has been said of it, and infinitely more — 
 words cannot convey an idea of its unearthly sublimity 
 and grandeur. The sea of rapids leaping and tossing 
 above; the vast breadth and depth of the raging 
 stream ; the impetuous rush of the ocean-torrent ; the 
 awful plunge of the prodigious volume; the tremen- 
 dous concussion, heard and felt, but not seen from the 
 covering mists that envelop and hide the crushing 
 appulsion of the meeting masses ; the pointed spear- 
 shaped jets that shoot up from the convulsed bosom of 
 the heaving and surging abyss ; the multitudinous 
 whirling, shifting, convolving clouds of spray and 
 vapor that roll heavily up and load the unresting air ; 
 the dark, threatening cliffs that shut in the vexed and 
 foam-covered accumulation of floods, in the angry gulf 
 below; the resplendent glories shed over all by the 
 burning sun, tinting with gorgeous colors the sheet, the 
 stream, and the spray, wreathing with rainbow hues 
 the fleecy and emerald robes of the grand cascade and 
 arching the fearful chasm with a zone of brightness and 
 beauty ; the wild hoarse roar of the mad rapids, and 
 the deep booming thunders of the cloud-compelling 
 cataracts — these, and a thousand other collateral and 
 subordinate features, combine to form a scene which 
 appalls and confounds the observer, while it attracts 
 and rivets his wrapt and eager gaze. God of Omnip- 
 otence ! this wonder is Thy work ; the very ground is 
 holy with Thy presence ! This you feel — must feel — 
 though, perhaps, you do not speak it. Crowding emo- 
 tions swell the bosom ; thoughts that defy utterance fill 
 the mind. The power and presence of the Almighty 
 seem fearfully manifest. You gaze, and tremble as you 
 gaze! 
 
 Table Rock is on the same level with the Fall, and 
 is a continuation of the ledge or strata from which the 
 torrent-flood is precipitated. It projects over the bank 
 and beyond the curve of the cascade to a considerable 
 
 26 
 
distance, and from this circumstance derives its name, 
 having in some respects a tabular aspect. Creep to 
 the edge and look down — the sensation is awful. 
 There is nothing but the invisible and imponderable 
 air between the thin leaf-like crag which supports you 
 and the massy blocks of limestone that lay concen- 
 trated more than one hundred feet beneath, where they 
 have fallen from the dizzy elevation whence you look, 
 and been rent and scattered by the shock. There is a 
 strange and indefinable fascination in the terrible 
 depth that confronts you, 
 
 " Charming the eye with dread ; " 
 
 and it requires an effort to withdraw from that horrible 
 verge of danger and death. 
 
 Having now admired the scene for sufficient length 
 of time to desire reluctantly to abandon it, and resolv- 
 ing to return again, proceed a short 
 distance above Table Rock, when TRIP UNDER 
 
 you will be, if you desire, accom- ^, ^ ^ 
 
 A . A -.x. -A J •. . THE CANADIAN 
 
 modated with guide and suit to go 
 
 in under the Canadian Falls. FALLS. 
 
 You soon arrive at the misty, 
 spray- washed entrance to the cavern, which it is your 
 purpose to explore. Here you pause to enjoy a most 
 sublime view of the cataract, and particularly of the 
 Horseshoe Fall, which comes thundering down, above 
 and before you, stretching far away to the left in its 
 huge and awful proportions. Another, and in some 
 respects, a better view of the same grand spectacle, is 
 seen from the river margin to which you descend. 
 
 From this point, more than any other, you appear 
 to realize the vast height of the precipice, and the pro- 
 digious weight and impulsion of the torrent. It seems 
 a god-hurled flood, and you an insect atom, scarce be- 
 yond its rush. Tremendous in its force, immense in 
 its extent, appalling in its sublimity, the vast cascade 
 
 27 
 
confounds and terrifies you, while it holds your gaze 
 with a charm you can neither comprehend nor break. 
 A dread indefinable divinity is in and upon it, which 
 compels your adoration of Him who piled the rock, 
 and heaved the flood that made Niagara, and made it 
 speak of Him, through every sense of power and beauty, 
 to mind and soul. There is a god-ness in the scene, 
 that is felt in every fibre, but cannot be expressed, — 
 that infinitely expands the soul, which is yet too small 
 to grasp its dim outline even, — that crowds the mind 
 with august thoughts and emotions, which struggle 
 for utterance, but which the heart only can tell to its 
 Creator in the silent eloquence of worship. 
 
 Of all views of Niagara, this is the most impres- 
 sive ; and, were there no other, it would seem inexplic- 
 able from whence these unintermitted and immeasur- 
 able floods could proceed, which appear literally to fall 
 from the heavens. From this scene, tearing yourself 
 away, you regain the top of the sloping bank, and im- 
 patient to attain the penetralia of nature's hidden mys- 
 teries, essay the passage behind the sheet. The winds 
 howl around you; — the spray dashes in your face 
 with blinding and almost suffocating force. You can 
 scarcely see, scarcely breathe ; but the supporting hand 
 of the guide, and his encouraging voice sustain and 
 re-assure you. With hasty but careful steps you pass 
 on, and are in a moment more, at your journey's end, 
 and can both see and breathe more freely. The spray 
 still showers upon you, but with diminished force and 
 density ; and you look around, above, below. What 
 a fearful place ! what an imposing scene ! unutterable 
 awe is the first, and for some seconds the only 
 emotion. 
 
 You stand upon a narrow ledge, scarce three feet 
 wide, and gaze with intense interest up ninety feet at 
 the meeting arches of rock and water; and down 
 seventy feet at a steep precipice, and a flashing sheet, 
 which are lost to view in the rising mists. You see 
 
 28 
 
the mighty torrent roll off the cliffs above your head, 
 and plunge with a lightning rapidity, down the dark 
 profound. You cannot see the strife between fall and 
 flood — the mad melee of many waters; — but you 
 hear the sound of the battling elements, and you feel 
 that the struggle is terrific. Such sights ! such sounds ! 
 — The eye aches ; the ear is pained. But there is a 
 dreadful fascination in the place: — the eye looks 
 eagerly, though it aches ; and the ear is pleased with 
 that which pains it. 
 
 An inviting extent of cavern, dim, misty, and inde- 
 finable, is before you. You long to explore it, and 
 advance a step, when the guide, catching your arm, 
 assures you that you stand upon the extremity of Ter- 
 mination Rock, and that, though it is possible to make 
 your way a few feet further, the attempt would be at 
 the hazard of your life. Reluctantly you abandon the 
 hope of diving still deeper into the shadowy recesses 
 of that terribly attractive cavern, and survey with a 
 closer scrutiny the vaulted hall in which you stand. 
 Ragged, impending, and seamed with fissures, the 
 arching rock above you appears to be on the point of 
 crumbling beneath the weight of the superincumbent 
 flood. Massy fragments, held by no visible support, 
 seem almost in the act of falling, and you can hardly 
 persuade yourself that danger is not imminent and 
 destruction at hand. But the reflection that thousands 
 and thousands of persons have passed under them, 
 back and forth, with impunity, inspires you with cour- 
 age, and you scan, but with a throbbing pulse and a 
 heaving bosom, the wonders and glories by which you 
 are surrounded. 
 
 The living deluge that bursts from the trembling 
 crag above you, and flashing by is scarcely seen ere it 
 thunders up from the gulf below, seems to make an 
 eternal present of both past and future, by its lightning 
 rush and ceaseless flow. Omnipotence mingling infini- 
 ties, dashing down the flood, lifting the spray, and 
 
 29 
 
swelling the sound, pervades the place with His pres- 
 ence, and deepens the awe it inspires. But any 
 attempt to describe the sights, sounds, or sensations 
 produced by this transcendent scene must be vain, and 
 worse than vain ; and I leave you " amid these vast and 
 eternal workings of gigantic Nature " to commune 
 with Him, "whom Nature's self obeys," and remain or 
 emerge at will. 
 
 FRIDA V. 
 
 Taking your lunch with you proceed to the New 
 York Central depot, and at 9, or 10, or 11 o'clock — 
 for the train runs every hour — take the trip to Lewis- 
 ton by train, and to Fort Niagara on the steamer, and 
 return in time for dinner in the evening. The expense 
 
 of the entire trip is but 50 cents. It is 
 
 TRIP TO replete with interest, beauty and grand- 
 
 LEWISTON. ^^^' ^^^ ^^ ^^ effect a complete view of 
 
 lower Niagara, from the cataract to Lake 
 Ontario. Well may one exclaim : 
 
 " Majestic stream ! what river rivals thee, ' 
 
 Thou child of many lakes and sire of one — 
 Lakes that claim kindred with the all-circling sea — 
 Large at thy birth as when thy race is run : 
 Against what great obstructions hast thou won 
 Thine august way — the rock-formed mountain-plain 
 Has opened at thy bidding, and the steep 
 Bars not thy passage, for the ledge in vain 
 Stretches across the channel — thou dost leap 
 Sublimely down the height, and urge again 
 Thy rock-embattled course on to the distant main." 
 
 Niagara River is, indeed, in its whole course, quite 
 in keeping with the stupendous cataract from which its 
 principal interest is derived. There is nothing insig- 
 nificant, nothing paltry, nothing common-place about 
 it, from the lake in which its vast floods have birth, to 
 that which they supply. It is everywhere grand, 
 mighty, and majestic. When spread to the dimensions 
 
 30 
 
of a little sea, it has no resemblance to a shoal ; and 
 when contracted to the breadth of a creek, it seems to 
 possess the power of an ocean. The very interrup- 
 tions it meets with in its way, seemed placed there 
 only to exhibit the immensity of its force. The basin 
 which receives its prodigious far-falling volume, re- 
 sembles an abyss without bounds to its capacity ; the 
 compressed channel through which it then flows, seems 
 to have opened its rock ^und banks to an imprisoned 
 sea, that would have burst a passage, had escape been 
 denied. 
 
 Making a sharp angle at the Falls, it rolls on 
 through beautiful curves in an almost straight direc- 
 tion for about two miles, then winds gracefully off to 
 the left, and passing through a succession of noble 
 bends, rushes, wild, impetuous, and uncontrollable, 
 into the Whirlpool, Vvhere, like a baffled Titan, strug- 
 gling with his bonds, it rages and plunges round the 
 impenetrable barriers that hem it in ; and at last, hav- 
 ing gathered anew its mighty energies, rushes headlong 
 on in a fresh direction, and bounds away, free, fearless, 
 and triumphant. 
 
 Continuing in its new course — having turned less 
 than a right- angle — but a short distance, it rolls away 
 gradually to the west, and having regained its former 
 direction, hurries on, inclining now to the right, and 
 again bending to the left, here maddened by restraint, 
 and there soothed by expansion, to the end of the 
 mountain plain, from the gaping jaws of which it 
 rushes angrily forth, but soon recovering the serenity 
 of its native seas, and no longer chafed or enraged, it 
 flows quietly and smoothly on, through gentle curves 
 and wooing banks, to the sweet lake whose soft 
 embrace it has come so far and encountered so much 
 to meet, and in whose peaceful bosom it finally sinks 
 to repose. 
 
 From the foot of the mountain ridge to Lake Onta- 
 rio nothing can be more lovely than this river. It is a 
 
 31 
 
rapture to look upon its bright and tranquil course. It 
 glides along so silently and almost imperceptibly, its 
 surface is so calm and glassy, its breadth so uniform 
 and expansive, its water so clear and deep, its banks 
 so smooth and regular, its curvatures so gradual and 
 alternate, its whole aspect so pleasing and harmonious, 
 that a delicious languor steals over the mind, the spirit 
 yields itself unconsciously to a sweet oblivion of turbu- 
 lence and strife, and its contemplations are of sunny 
 skies, shining streams, and shady groves. The eye 
 lingers with delight upon the blended hues, the grace- 
 ful turns, and emerald shores of the no longer agitated, 
 but now beautiful, Niagara; and the soul, at peace 
 with itself, with nature, and with all things, indulges 
 in a dreaming delirium of joy, unshadowed by care, 
 untinged with gloom, and unbroken by tumult. 
 
 SATURDAY. 
 
 Take your lunch with you and then enter the street 
 cars, which start directly opposite the International 
 Cafe, at the Soldiers' Monument, and 
 THE which also stop opposite the Spencer 
 
 WHIRLPOOL House, and you can ride to the lower 
 Suspension Bridge for 5 cents. Cross 
 the bridge to Canada (over and return, 
 WHIRLPOOL 25 cents), and you can easily procure a 
 RAPIDS. carriage to take your party for a dollar 
 
 to the Whirlpool. The cost of enter- 
 ing the enclosure is 50 cents per person. Remain there 
 all the morning. You will find the time all too short. 
 
 In the afternoon pass the time delightfully until sun- 
 down at the Whirlpool Rapids (entrance to enclosure 
 and down the inclined railway, 50 cents). Here there 
 are lovely walks and shady bowers. 
 
 Though all the surrounding country may be melting 
 in fervid heat you will here invariably enjoy a delight- 
 ful breeze and a most refreshing coolness. 
 
 32 
 
The river at the Whirlpool, makes an acute' angle 
 in its course, turning abruptly off to the right, behind 
 the cliff upon which you stand. The furious torrent 
 comes thundering and foaming into this great basin ; 
 and its currents kept away from the place of egress 
 by the mighty rocks upon which the cliff rests, are 
 forced, by their prodigious impulsion, quite across the 
 mouth of the outlet ; and, meeting the opposite bank, 
 are again diverted from their course ; and, curving in- 
 ward, are carried round and round the basin, till they 
 are drawn down in the centre, driven subterraneously 
 far forward, and finally ejected at the opening below, 
 where they boil up, and bound away in frightful and 
 tremendous plunges. 
 
 Nothing that has life floats upon this chaos of con- 
 vulsions ; but huge timbers, and sometimes dead 
 bodies, are drawn into its vortex, and carried round in 
 ceaseless gyrations for days, and even weeks, before 
 they escape from its convolving currents, and whirling 
 eddies. 
 
 From the height whereon you stand but little of 
 the terrible agitation and wild intumescence of the 
 Whirlpool, can be perceived by the unassisted eye. 
 The little sticks — as they appear to be — which you 
 observe whirling and tossing about, are in reality large 
 pieces of timber ; as by the aid of an object glass, you 
 will become convinced and be also enabled to realize 
 something more of the grandeur and commotion of 
 this strange and fearful sea of imprisoned, but rebel- 
 lious and still raging floods. 
 
 By an excellent inclined railway you descend to the 
 base of the cliff, and from the level rocks below 
 observe the wild rush and whirl of the mad waters. 
 The rapids above, and at the entrance of the W^hirl- 
 pool, are terribly grand and striking. The huge surges 
 leap and plunge with prodigious force and velocity; 
 and their impulsion is so great, that the whole mass is 
 heaved up at the centre of this mighty maelstrom, to 
 
an elevation of not less than twelve feet above its 
 outer surface. 
 
 Passing round to the right, you come to the outlet 
 of this tumultuous sea, and behold a scene of surpas- 
 sing grandeur. Tv^^o black and frowning cliffs, scarcely 
 thirty rods apart, rear their huge and giant forms to a 
 height of nearly three hundred feet ; and there stand, 
 terrible and impending — the mountain-sized, rock- 
 armed guardians of this maelstrom-portal. The es- 
 caping torrents, crowding through the narrow passage, 
 and hurrying down the slope, rush forward with such 
 inconceivable rapidity and force, that the middle of the 
 gushing volume is raised much higher than the side 
 next you, which is smooth and glassy, but incredibly 
 swift ; and the bounding surges leap away in sublime 
 plunges of eight or ten feet high. These rapids are 
 seen to much better advantage from the opposite side, 
 as they are nearest that shore, and indeed dash along 
 the huge rocks by which it is lined, in their curveting 
 and uncontrollable course. 
 
 Nothing that comes down the river can escape be- 
 ing drawn into the Whirlpool, as the current is carried 
 quite across the outlet, and turned up by the opposing 
 bank. Wave urges wave, current accelerates current, 
 billow chases billow, and there they revolve round and 
 round, till, swallowed in one place, ejected in another, 
 contending here, and separating there, parting, repos- 
 ing, meeting, mingling, eddying, plunging, they at last 
 plunge in the deeps of the abyss, far under the superin- 
 cumbent mass, and thence emerge at the narrow out- 
 let, whence they hasten away in the mad rapture of 
 new-found freedom, to seek repose in the quiet bosom 
 of the distant lake. 
 
 It is utterly impossible to describe the Whirlpool, 
 so as to give any adequate idea of its grandeur and 
 sublimity. Beauty it has none, — it is fearful, terri- 
 ble. There is not a winning feature about it. It 
 is solemn, awful, impressive ; and, as a great natural 
 
 34 
 
curiosity, second only to the mighty cataract of 
 Niagara. 
 
 A visit to the Whirlpool should never be omitted. 
 It is in all respects totally different from everything 
 about the Falls. A vast unit)/ of factious and warring 
 energies, shut in and imprisoned by massy and cloud- 
 reaching barriers, having no relation or likeness to 
 aught else in the material world, it is alone in its solemn 
 strangeness, and touches no chord of human sympathy. 
 The only emotions it excites are unmitigated astonish- 
 ment, and inexplicable awe ; — such, at least, was its 
 effect upon the writer. 
 
 The same cause that makes the waters in the basin 
 below the Falls rise sometimes so quickly, and to such 
 a height — contraction of the channel — produces a 
 similar effect in this. A heavy wind down the lake, 
 raising the river one or two feet, causes it to rise there 
 from fifteen to twenty feet, and in the Whirlpool to 
 nearly the same height. At such a time, when it has 
 received the tribute of destruction, and planks, timbers, 
 trees, and it may be boats, and dead bodies, are caught 
 and enveloped in its tremendous toils, it is seen in its 
 most sublime and awful aspect, and seems, in its wild 
 delight, a living but imprisoned desolation, sporting 
 with, while it rends its prey, and yet wearing a savage 
 solemnity of countenance, in the highest degree hideous 
 and appalling. At a lower stage of water, its currents, 
 cavities, eddies, gyrations, are more distinctly marked, 
 and the view, though less striking, is perhaps more im- 
 pressive. Seen at any time, and seen aright, it cannot 
 fail to excite astonishment, and fill the soul with awe. 
 
 A large raft of timber escaped some years since 
 from its fastenings above the Falls, and was precipi- 
 tated over the cataract. The disjoined logs were 
 speedily hurried to the Whirlpool, m which they re- 
 mained for a number of weeks. It then presented a 
 scene, as those who beheld it relate, of intense and 
 startling interest. Scattered about in every direction, 
 
 35 
 
they were to be seen in all attitudes, and from listless 
 inanity, to a wonderful life-likeness. Some were 
 floating on the glassy surface, others riding the gentle 
 swells, some careering over the rolling billows, and 
 again others leaping, wrestling, crashing, plunging, 
 flying, following, retreating, pursuing, shooting up high 
 in the air, diving far down in the deep, hiding here, 
 and starting up there, as if a mad forest of trees, riding 
 these infernal surges, held here a wild inebriate revel — 
 or rather as if the mob of waters, seizing these immense 
 weapons, waged intestine war, and fought one another 
 — flood threshing flood, and surge goading surge with 
 these Titanic war-clubs, now mingling in the horrid 
 melee of strife, now thrown far apart, and again rush- 
 ing together, implacable, vindictive, and unrelenting. 
 It must have been a strange and fearful scene. 
 
 SUNDAY. 
 
 Excellent churches, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Meth- 
 odist, and Roman Catholic are in the village, and as 
 this is a day of rest, no trip is proposed. Your mind 
 if you have properly studied Niagara, will be in a deeply 
 reverential mood and you will be prepared to say of the 
 different views of Niagara, what Thompson in his beau- 
 tiful hymn says of the seasons. 
 
 These as they change, Almighty Father, these 
 Are but the varied God ! The rolling year 
 Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleasing spring 
 Thy beauty walks, Thy tenderness and love. 
 Wide flush the fields : the softening air is balm 
 And every sense and every heart is joy. 
 Then comes Thy glory in the summer months. 
 Thy bounty shines in Autumn unconfined 
 And spreads a common feast for all that lives. 
 In Winter, awful Thou ! V/ith clouds and storms 
 Around Thee thrown, tempest o'er tempest rolled 
 Majestic darkness ! on the whirlwind's wing 
 Riding sublime, Thou bidst the world adore. 
 
 36 
 
In the evening, if you are fortunate enough to visit 
 Niagara during the full moon, it will surely not be 
 impious to visit Luna Island and behold the scene 
 spiritualized by the lunar bow. 
 
 There is a witching loveliness about this island in 
 the soft obscurity of evening that cannot fail to please ; 
 and a solemn grandeur in the cataract at night that 
 commands reverence. Then, too, imagination holds 
 her undisputed sway ; but the half-concealoaent that 
 shrouds every object, confines her to 
 the task of filling up the shadowy THE 
 
 outline of the vast indistinct, that is LUNAR BOW. 
 everywhere around. It seems a 
 spirit-land, and gigantic forms of essential grace and 
 beauty float before the vision, upon the atmosphere of 
 fancy. Hushed is the voice of mirth, silent the tongue 
 of conviviality. The actual blends with the ideal ; 
 contemplation rules the hour and the place, and a 
 subdued, but not dismal, melancholy pervades every 
 brow and bosom. No sound is heard but the choral 
 chant of the elements ; no sentiment breathed but 
 such as befits the spot and the season. The Genus of 
 Niagara, hovering near, spreads his misty pinions over 
 all things, and the whole scene is hallowed by the 
 invisible presence, of Deity. 
 
 MONDA V. 
 
 Walk across the upper Suspension Bridge (toll over 
 and back, 25 cents), and engaging a carriage on the 
 other side, drive to the Dufferin Isles (entrance for the 
 entire party in a double carriage, 50 cents). Take your 
 lunch with you, let your carriage go, directing it to call 
 for you at five o'clock in the evening. You will pass 
 here one of the most delightful days in your life. You 
 will never forget their wild and romantic beauties, their 
 quiet and shady bowers, their virginal freshness and 
 sweetness ; and having gone once — many days will be 
 
 37 
 
passed there in blessed rest and peace. Mr. Charles 
 Dudley Warner in " Their Pilgrimage," describes one 
 of the views therefrom. 
 
 " In the afternoon, under a broken sky, the rapids 
 above the Horseshoe reminded one of the seashore on 
 a very stormy day ; impeded by the rocks, the flood 
 hesitated, and even ran back, as if reluctant to take the 
 final plunge. The sienna color of the water on the 
 table contrasted sharply with the emerald on the 
 
 brink of the Fall. The rainbow, 
 VIEW FROM springing out of the center of the 
 
 caldron, arched clear over the 
 
 American Cataract, and was one 
 DUFFERIN ISLES, moment bright, and the next 
 
 dimly seen through the mist 
 which boiled up out of the foam of waters and swayed 
 ia the wind. Through this veil darted adventurous 
 birds, flashing their wings in the prismatic colors, and 
 circling about as if fascinated by the awful rush and 
 thunder. With the shifting wind and the passing 
 clouds, the scene was in perpetual change — now, the 
 American Fall was creamy white, and the mist below, 
 dark ; and again, the heavy mass was gray and sullen, 
 and the mist like silver spray. Perhaps nowhere else 
 in the world is the force of Nature so overpowering to 
 tne mind, and, as the eye wanders from the chaos of 
 the Fall to the far horizon, where the vast rivers of 
 rapids are poured out of the sky, one feels that this 
 force is inexhaustible and eternal." 
 
 TUBS DA Y, 
 
 Take a carriage and drive down the bank of the river 
 along the America7t side, taking your lunch, stopping 
 at that most interesting historical locality, the Bloody 
 Run; thence to the heights above Lewiston, command- 
 ing a most magnificent view of the windings of the 
 river and the lovely valley of the lower Niagara and of 
 
 38 
 
Lake Ontario, returning to the Hotel for dinner at six 
 (cost of carriage for one or more, six dollars ; no tolls). 
 
 WEDNESDA Y. 
 
 In the morning walk about the State Park along the 
 bank to the upper rapids, lingering on the way to obtain 
 many beautiful views of the river. 
 
 In the afternoon drive along the upper river on the 
 American side, to La Salle, through a most delightful 
 section of country, and in full view of the river. (Cost 
 of drive, four dollars for carriage for party.) 
 
 THURSDA Y. 
 
 Take a carriage, having your lunch with you, and 
 drive on the Canadian side to the historic battle-field 
 of Queenstown and the monument erected to General 
 Brock at Queenstown Heights. This is, in its historical 
 features, one of the most interesting trips at the Falls, 
 and the outlook from the Heights is grand. (Carriage 
 for entire day for party of five, seven dollars.) 
 
 FRIDA v. 
 
 After the long drive of Thursday you will find it 
 most restful to read or sit upon the cool piazza of the 
 Hotel, or make, possibly, a short visit to Prospect Park, 
 the afternoon being passed in writing to your friends 
 about the many charming experiences you have had 
 and the benefit of these suggestions, a copy of which 
 you may obtain free at the office, and enclose to your 
 friends. 
 
 SATURDAY. 
 
 Take a carriage and your lunch, and cross the New 
 Suspension Bridge to visit Lundy's Lane battle grounds, 
 passing thence to what is unquestionably the most 
 beautiful drive about Niagara, viz.: the Canadian river 
 bank up to the village of Chippewa, and thence to the 
 
 39 
 
upper river, commanding a wide prospect of the islands, 
 and returning thence through the Dufferin Islands. 
 (Expense of carriage per day for party, six dollars.) 
 
 No extra charge is made at the hotels named above 
 for putting up lunches for guests. 
 
 Of course, these suggestions could be greatly ex- 
 tended by the details of trips upon the upper river, 
 where there is even better fishing than at the Thousand 
 Islands. 
 
 Of course, too, each of the spots above named can 
 and will be visited more than once, and with a day's 
 rest between passed in the commodious and comforta- 
 ble rooms of your hotel. 
 
 It should also be borne in mind that upon the visits 
 to the Whirlpool and Whirlpool Rapids, Islands, Cana- 
 dian side, Queen Victoria Park, Dufferin Islands, much 
 cheaper means of transportation than carriages is 
 offered by the street railways and vans, which are not 
 so exclusive, but fairly comfortable, and much less 
 expensive. 
 
 And now, reader, you have, I trust, begun fairly to 
 appreciate the power, majesty, and beauty of Niagara. 
 Do you know a more delightful place in which to pass 
 the summer ? Can you find elsewhere — to speak first 
 of mere material wants — air more pure, water more 
 limpid, drainage more perfect, climate more delightful ? 
 Do you knov/ of any other spot which so exalts the 
 imagination, stimulates the intellect, deepens the feel- 
 ings of reverence and awe, and which so exhilarates 
 with the sweetness and rapture inspired by scenes of 
 exquisite natural beauty ? 
 
 Believe me, dear reader, when I tell you that you 
 have not begun to yet understand it. "Age cannot 
 
 40 
 
wither nor repetition state its infinite variety." It is 
 forever fair, forever new. In the wild confusion — the 
 fierce competition of business — you may think of its 
 tossing rapids and its impetuous hurrying stream ; in 
 your moments of darkness and despair you may, per- 
 haps, dwell on its lonely and terrible Whirlpool ; in your 
 moments of anger, or bitterness, or envy, the fierce 
 force and terrific power of its awful plunge may be 
 before you ; but again and again, after all these are 
 gone will arise in the mind's eye, that eternal image of 
 majesty, power, sweetness, purity, and beauty — the 
 limpid waters of the great cataract, falling, falling for- 
 ever in unending peace — yet falling only to rise again 
 spiritualized, chastened, in the spray floating away 
 to heaven. And behold ! — on the dazzling bosom of 
 that spirit-shape, God's own bow of promise — the last- 
 ing image of hope, of goodness, of pardon and recon- 
 ciliation ; far above all strife, and tumult, and pain, this 
 shines and will in the blessed sunlight shine forever! 
 
 Such are the scenes, Niagara, that make us love thee, 
 and bind us year after year with unabated affection to 
 thy shores. 
 
 And yet, year after year, thousands will come from 
 the fens and marshes of the sea, from the depressing 
 outlook, and the narrow, vacant life of the country vil- 
 lage, from the stifling streets and the reeking pavements 
 of the crowded city, and, entering upon thy scenes of 
 loveliness, sweetness and sublimity, will rush madly 
 about and attempt to see and understand thee in a 
 day! "Verily I say unto you, they have their reward." 
 For " having eyes they see not, and having ears they 
 hear not, neither do they understand." 
 
 41 
 
WHERE SHALL WE STAY, AND WHAT WILL IT 
 COST AT NIAGARA ? 
 
 You will find excellent quarters at Niagara Falls 
 during the winter, spring, and autumn months at the 
 Spencer House — a cosy, homelike hotel. The in- 
 ternal arrangements of the hotel combine every advan- 
 tage of quiet, comfort, and convenience. The rooms 
 are tastefully and richly furnished and scrupulously 
 clean. Viands that delight the eye and palate, linen, 
 china, and silver of unexceptionable quality, servants 
 ready without impertinence, and prompt without brib- 
 ery, render it a most agreeable place of entertainment. 
 Charles Dickens has praised its table, Wilkie Collins 
 its beds and fine linen. Booth declares it his favorite 
 hotel, Mojeska, Parepa Rosa, Barrett — that prince and 
 king of good-fellowship, Chauncey M. Depew, — King 
 Kalakaua, the Grand Duke Alexis, Bartholdi, and hun- 
 dreds of others have enjoyed its hospitalities. It is 
 kept on the American plan from May to November. 
 Its prices for rooms and board on the first floor are 
 $4.00 per day per person; on the second floor, $3.50, 
 and on the third floor, $3.00. From November to May 
 it is kept on the European plan, with rooms $2.00 per 
 person per day on the first floor; $r.oo per day per 
 person on the second and third floors, with meals at 
 any hour to order. It makes special prices per week 
 or month for families, and these may be ascertained by 
 writing to the address " Spencer House, Niagara 
 Falls, N. Y." The visitor will do well to do this, as 
 to think of remaining less than a week is a great mis- 
 take. 
 
 In summer, the great hotel — the finest at Niagara 
 — is the International. The magnificent summer 
 home is worthy of a visit for itself. It is four stories 
 
 42 
 
high, built entirely of stone, the kitchens, bakeries, and 
 furnaces are in an entirely distinct building, so that the 
 odor of cookery — to persons of delicate sensibility 
 sometimes, in summer, very offensive — is never pres- 
 ent in the very large, spacious, well-ventilated and 
 richly furnished apartments. The hotel faces the new 
 park, and its lawn leads down directly to the rapids. 
 From its magnificent colonnades and rooms an unriv- 
 aled view may be had of the American Rapids, and the 
 islands and the brink of the Falls. Indeed, the lawn 
 itself — interspersed with fine beds of beautiful flowers, 
 and with clusters of magnificent forest trees — may be 
 fairly pronounced one of the loveliest spots in the 
 world. Its expanse of verdant grass charms and re- 
 freshes the eye ; beyond the lawn are the silvery tints, 
 the lustrous white, the indescribable green of the rapids, 
 and the wooded heights of Goat Island — then appear 
 the brink of the cataract, the rising rainbow-tinted 
 spray, and then the rocky shores, the beautiful parks, 
 the forest-crowned hills of Canada " withdra-.vn afar in 
 time's remotest blue." There is not an object to dis- 
 turb or annoy, not an unsightly structure to distract the 
 mind, and here for hours, while the happy children 
 play, and the fountain — fresh from Niagara's brink — 
 rises and falls in rhythmic music on the lawn, and the 
 great cataract rests and soothes with its muffled roar 
 softened by distance and alluring to repose — here is 
 the spot to which the traveler may come and find the 
 true fountain of youth for which Ponce de Leon vainly 
 sought in the everglades of the South. No pains are 
 spared to make its table equal to the best hotels in New 
 York City. It is opened from the 1 5th of June to the ist 
 of October. Its prices per day are the same as those 
 of the Spencer House, and it is kept both upon 
 the American and the European plan. It offers ex- 
 ceptionally low prices to families : rooms and board on 
 the first floor are $21.00 per week per person ; on the 
 second floor $17.50 per weeK: ; and on the third floor, 
 
 43 
 
$15.00 per week. As the hotel is fire-proof, with fire- 
 escapes from every room, three stairways, and two ele- 
 vators, the rooms on the third floor are almost as 
 desirable as those on the first floor. Nurses and chil- 
 dren (under 10) are half-price. To secure early choice 
 of rooms it would be well to write not later than June 
 1st, and it is believed that the traveling public will find 
 the proprietor and all his assistants worthy, efficient 
 and obliging. Letters should be addressed to the 
 International Hotel, Niagara Falls, N. Y. 
 
 44 
 

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