  NIAGARA. Niagara Falls from the Canadian Side - Frontispiece. THE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PAGE | |
| Preface | xiii |
| Part I.—History. | |
|---|---|
| CHAPTER I. | |
| First French expedition—Jacques Cartier—He first hears of the great Cataract—Champlain—Route to China—La Salle—Father Hennepin's first and second visits to the Falls | 1 |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| Baron La Hontan's description of the Falls—M. Charlevoix's letter to Madame Maintenon—Number of the Falls—Geological indications—Great projection of the rock in Father Hennepin's time—Cave of the Winds—Rainbows | 9 |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| The name Niagara—The musical dialect of the Hurons—Niagara one of the oldest of Indian names—Description of the River, the Falls, and the surrounding country | 15 |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| Niagara a tribal name—Other names given to the tribe—The Niagaras a superior race—The true pronunciation of Indian words | 19 |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| The lower Niagara—Fort Niagara—Fort Mississauga—Niagara village— Lewiston—Portage around the Falls—The first railroad in the United States—Fort Schlosser—The ambuscade at Devil's Hole—La Salle's vessel, the Griffin—The Niagara frontier | 25 |
| Part II.—Geology. | |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| America the old world—Geologically recent origin of the Falls—Evidence thereof—Captain Williams's surveys for a ship-canal—Former extent of Lake Michigan—Its outlet into the Illinois River—The Niagara Barrier—How broken through—The birth of Niagara | 32 |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
| Composition of the terrace cut through—Why retrocession is possible—Three sections from Lewiston to the Falls—Devil's Hole—The Medina group—Recession long checked—The Whirlpool—The narrowest part of the river—The mirror—Depth of the water in the Chasm—Former grand Fall | 42 |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
| Recession above the present position of the Falls—The Falls will be higher as they recede—Reason Why—Professor Tyndall's prediction—Present and former accumulations of rock—Terrific power of the elements— Ice and ice bridges—Remarkable geognosy of the lake region | 50 |
| Part III. | |
| Local History and Incidents. | |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
| Forty years since—Niagara in winter—Frozen spray—Ice foliage and ice apples—Ice moss—Frozen fog—Ice islands—Ice statues—Sleigh-riding on the American Rapids—Boys coasting on them—Ice gorges | 62 |
| CHAPTER X. | |
| Judge Porter—General Porter—Goat Island—Origin of its name—Early dates found cut in the bark of trees and in the rock—Professor Kalm's wonderful story—Bridges to the Island—Method of construction—Red Jacket—Anecdotes—Grand Island—Major Noah and the New Jerusalem—The Stone Tower—The Biddle stairs—Sam Patch—Depth of water on the Horseshoe—Ships sent over the Falls | 71 |
| CHAPTER XI. | |
| Joel R. Robinson, the first and last navigator of the Rapids—Rescue of Chapin—Rescue of Allen—He takes the Maid of the Mist through the Whirlpool—His companions—Effect upon Robinson—Biographical notice—His grave unmarked | 85 |
| CHAPTER XII. | |
| A fisherman and a bear in a canoe—Frightful experience with floating ice—Early farming on the Niagara—Fruit-growing—The original forest—Testimony of the trees—The first hotel—General Whitney—Cataract House—Distinguished visitors—Carriage road down the Canadian bank—Ontario House—Clifton House—The Museum—Table and Termination Rocks—Burning Spring—Lundy's Lane—Battle Anecdotes | 96 |
| CHAPTER XIII. | |
| Incidents—Fall of Table Rock—Remarkable phenomenon in the river—Driving and lumbering on the Rapids—Points of the compass at the Falls—A first view of the Falls commonly disappointing—Lunar bow—Golden spray—Gull Island and the gulls—The highest water ever known at the Falls—The Hermit of the Falls | 108 |
| CHAPTER XIV. | |
| Avery's descent of the Falls—The fatal practical joke—Death of Miss Rugg—Swans—Eagles—Crows—Ducks over the Falls—Why dogs have survived the descent | 118 |
| CHAPTER XV. | |
| Wedding tourists at the Falls—Bridges to the Moss Islands—Railway at the Ferry—List of persons who have been carried over the Falls—Other accidents | 125 |
| CHAPTER XVI. | |
| The first Suspension Bridge—The Railway Suspension Bridge—Extraordinary vibration given to the Railway Bridge by the fall of a mass of rock—De Veaux College—The Lewiston Suspension Bridge—The Suspension Bridge at the Falls | 137 |
| CHAPTER XVII. | |
| Blondin and his "ascensions"—Visit of the Prince of Wales—Grand illumination of the Falls—The steamer Caroline—The Water-power of Niagara—Lord Dufferin and the plan of an international park | 144 |
| CHAPTER XVIII. | |
| Poetry in the Table Rock albums—Poems by Colonel Porter, Willis G. Clark, Lord Morpeth, JosÉ Maria Heredia, A. S. Ridgely, Mrs. Sigourney, and J. G. C. Brainard | 153 |
| Part IV. | |
| Other Famous Cataracts of the World. | |
| CHAPTER XIX. | |
| Yosemite—Vernal—Nevada—Yellowstone—Shoshone—St. Maurice— Montmorency | 164 |
| CHAPTER XX. | |
| Tequendama—Kaiteeur—Paulo Affonso—Keel-fos—Riunkan-fos—Sarp-fos— Staubbach—Zambesi or Victoria—Murchison—Cavery—Schaffhausen | 171 |
| CHAPTER XXI. | |
| Famous rapids and cascades—Niagara—Amazon—Orinoco—Parana—Nile— Livingstone | 179 |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
