Part 9

Since the Falls of Niagara were first discovered they have receded very considerably, owing to the disrupture of the rocks which form the precipice. The rocks at bottom are first loosened by the constant action of the water upon them; they are afterwards carried away, and those at top being thus undermined, are soon broken by the weight of the water rushing over them: even within the memory of many of the present inhabitants of the country, the falls have receded several yards. The commodore of the King’s vessels on Lake Erie, who had been employed on that lake for upwards of thirty years, informed me, that when he first came into the country it was a common practice for young men to go to the island in the middle of the falls; that after dining there, they used frequently to dare each other to walk into the river towards certain large rocks in the midst of the rapids, not far from the edge of the falls; and sometimes to proceed through the water, even beyond these rocks. No such rocks are to be seen at present; and were a man to advance two yards into the river from the island, he would be inevitably swept away by the torrent. It has been conjectured, as I before mentioned, that the Falls of Niagara were originally situated at Queenstown; and indeed the more pains you take to examine the course of the river from the present falls downward, the more reason is there to imagine that such a conjecture is well founded. From the precipice nearly down to Queenstown, the bed of the river is strewed with large rocks, and the banks are broken and rugged; circumstances which plainly denote that some great disruption has taken place along this part of the river; and we need be at no loss to account for it, as there are evident marks of the action of water upon the sides of the banks, and considerably above their present bases. Now the river has never been known to rise near these marks during the greatest floods; it is plain, therefore, that its bed must have been once much more elevated than it is at present. Below Queenstown, however, there are no traces on the banks to lead us to imagine that the level of the water was ever much higher there than it is now. The sudden increase of the depth of the river just below the hills at Queenstown, and its sudden expansion there at the same time, seem to indicate that the waters must for a great length of time have fallen from the top of the hills, and thus have formed that extensive deep basin below the village. In the river, a mile or two above Queenstown, there is a tremendous whirlpool, owing to a deep hole in the bed; this hole was probably also formed by the waters falling for a great length of time on the same spot, in consequence of the rocks which composed the then precipice having remained firmer than those at any other place did. Tradition tells us, that the great fall, instead of having been in the form of a horse shoe, once projected in the middle. For a century past, however, it has remained nearly in the present form; and as the ebullition of the water at the bottom of the cataract is so much greater at the center of this fall than in any other part, and as the water consequently acts with more force there in undermining the precipice than at any other part, it is not unlikely that it may remain nearly in the same form for ages to come.

[Sidenote: NIAGARA FALLS.]

At the bottom of the Horse-shoe Fall is found a kind of white concrete substance, by the people of the country, called spray. Some persons have supposed that it is formed from the earthy particles of the water, which descending, owing to their great specific gravity, quicker than the other particles, adhere to the rocks, and are there formed into a mass. This concrete substance has precisely the appearance of petrified froth; and it is remarkable, that it is found adhering to those rocks against which the greatest quantities of the froth, that floats upon the water, is washed by the eddies.

We did not think of ascending the cliff till the evening was far advanced, and had it been possible to have found our way up in the dark, I verily believe we should have remained at the bottom of it until midnight. Just as we left the foot of the great fall the sun broke through the clouds, and one of the most beautiful and perfect rainbows that ever I beheld was exhibited in the spray that arose from the fall. It is only at evening and morning that the rainbow is seen in perfection; for the banks of the river, and the steep precipice, shade the sun from the spray at the bottom of the fall in the middle of the day.

At a great distance from the foot of the ladder we halted, and one of the party was dispatched to fetch a bottle of brandy and a pair of goblets, which had been deposited under some stones on the margin of the river, in our way to the great fall, whither it would have been highly inconvenient to have carried them. Wet from head to foot, and greatly fatigued, there certainly was not one amongst us that appeared, at the moment, desirous of getting the brandy, in order to pour out a libation to the tutelary deities of the cataract; nor indeed was there much reason to apprehend that our piety would have shone forth more conspicuously afterwards; however it was not put to the test; for the messenger returned in a few minutes with the woeful intelligence that the brandy and goblets had been stolen. We were at no great loss in guessing who the thieves were. Perched on the rocks, at a little distance from us, sat a pair of the river nymphs, not “nymphs with sedged crowns and ever harmless looks;” not “temperate nymphs,” but a pair of squat sturdy old wenches, that with close bonnets and tucked up petticoats had crawled down the cliff, and were busied with long rods in angling for fish. Their noisy clack plainly indicated that they had been well pleased with the brandy, and that we ought not to entertain any hopes of recovering the spoil; we e’en slaked our thirst, therefore, with a draught from the wholesome flood, and having done so, boldly pushed forward, and before it was quite dark regained the habitations from whence we had started.

[Sidenote: REMARKS.]

On returning we found a well-spread table laid out for us in the porch of the house, and having gratified the keen appetite which the fatigue we had encountered had excited, our friendly guides, having previously given us instructions for examining the falls more particularly, set off by moonlight for Niagara, and we repaired to Fort Chippeway, three miles above the falls, which place we made our head-quarters while we remained in the neighbourhood, because there was a tolerable tavern, and no house in the village near the falls, where sickness was not prevalent.

The Falls of Niagara are much less difficult of access now than they were some years ago. Charlevoix, who visited them in the year 1720, tells us, that they were only to be viewed from one spot; and that from thence the spectator had only a side prospect of them. Had he been able to have descended to the bottom, he would have had ocular demonstration of the existence of caverns underneath the precipice, which he supposed to be the case from the hollow sound of the falling of the waters; from the number of carcases washed up there on different parts of the strand, and would also have been convinced of the truth of a circumstance which he totally disbelieved, namely, that fish were oftentimes unable to stem the rapid current above the falls, and were consequently carried down the precipice.

[Sidenote: REMARKS.]

The most favourable season for visiting the falls is about the middle of September, the time when we saw them; for then the woods are seen in all their glory, beautifully variegated with the rich tints of autumn; and the spectator is not then annoyed with vermin. In the summer season you meet with rattlesnakes at every step, and musquitoes swarm so thickly in the air, that to use a common phrase of the country, “you might cut them with a knife.” The cold nights in the beginning of September effectually banish these noxious animals.

_LETTER _ XXXII.

_Description of Fort Chippeway.—Plan in meditation to cut a Canal to avoid the Portage at the Falls of Niagara.—Departure from Chippeway.—Intense Heat of the Weather.—Description of the Country bordering on Niagara River above the Falls.—Observations on the Climate of Upper Canada.—Rattlesnakes common in Upper Canada.—Fort Erie.—Miserable Accommodation there.—Squirrel hunting.—Seneka Indians.—Their Expertness at the Use of the Blow-gun.—Description of the Blow-gun.—Excursion to the Village of the Senekas.—Whole Nation absent.—Passage of a dangerous Sand Bar at the Mouth of Buffalo Creek.—Sail from Fort Erie.—Driven back by a Storm.—Anchor under Point Abineau.—Description of the Point.—Curious Sand Hills there.—Bear hunting.—How carried on.—Dogs, what Sort of, used.—Wind_ _changes.—The Vessel suffers from the Storm whilst at Anchor.—Departure from Point Abineau.—General Description of Lake Erie.—Anecdote.—Reach the Islands at the Western End of the Lake.—Anchor there.—Description of the Islands.—Serpents of various Kinds found there.—Rattlesnakes.—Medicinal Uses made of them.—Fabulous Accounts of Serpents.—Departure from the Islands.—Arrival at Malden.—Detroit River._

Malden, October.

FORT CHIPPEWAY, from whence my last letter was dated, is a small stockaded fort, situated on the borders of a creek of the same name, about two hundred yards distant from Niagara River. Had it been built immediately on the latter stream, its situation would have been much more convenient; for the water of the creek is so bad that it cannot be drank, and the garrison is obliged to draw water daily from the river. The fort, which occupies about one rood of ground only, consists of a small block house, inclosed by a stockade of cedar posts about twelve feet high, which is merely sufficient to defend the garrison against musquet shot. Adjoining to the fort there are about seven or eight farm houses, and some large stone houses, where goods are deposited preparatory to their being conveyed up the river in bateaux, or across the portage in carts, to Queenstown. It is said that it would be practicable to cut a canal from hence to Queenstown, by means of which the troublesome and expensive process of unlading the bateaux and transporting the goods in carts along the portage would be avoided. Such a canal will in all probability be undertaken one day or other; but whenever that shall be the case, there is reason to think that it will be cut on the New York side of the river for two reasons; first, because the ground on that side is much more favourable for such an undertaking; and, secondly, because the state of New York is much more populous, and far better enabled to advance the large sums of money that would be requisite for cutting a canal through such rugged ground as borders upon the river, than the province of Upper Canada either is at present, or appears likely to be.

[Sidenote: FORT CHIPPEWAY.]

About fifteen men, under the command of a lieutenant, are usually quartered at Fort Chippeway, who are mostly employed in conducting, in bateaux from thence to Fort Erie, the stores for the troops in the upper country, and the presents for the Indians.

After we had gratified our curiosity in regard to the wonderous objects in the neighbourhood, at least as far as our time would permit, we were obligingly furnished with a bateau by the officer at Fort Chippeway, to whom we carried letters, to convey us to Fort Erie. My companions embarked in it with our baggage, when the morning appointed for our departure arrived; but desirous of taking one more look at the Falls, I staid behind, determining to follow them on foot in the course of the day; I accordingly walked down to the falls from Fort Chippeway after breakfast, spent an hour or two there, returned to the fort, and having stopped a short time to rest myself after the fatigues of climbing the steeps about the falls, I set out for Fort Erie, fifteen miles distant from Chippeway, accompanied by my faithful servant Edward, who has indeed been a treasure to me since I have been in America. The day was by no means favourable for a pedestrian expedition; it was intensely hot, and we had not proceeded far before we found the necessity of taking off our jackets, waistcoats, and cravats, and carrying them in a bundle on our backs. Several parties of Indians that I met going down the river in canoes were stark naked.

The banks of Niagara River, between Chippeway and Fort Erie, are very low, and covered, for the most part, with shrubs, under whole shade, upon the gravelly beach of the river, the weary traveller finds an agreeable resting place. For the first few miles from Chippeway there are scarcely any houses to be seen; but about half way between that place and Fort Erie they are thickly scattered along the banks of the river. The houses in this neighbourhood were remarkably well built, and appeared to be kept in a state of great neatness; most of them were sheathed with boards, and painted white. The lands adjoining them are rich, and were well cultivated. The crops of Indian corn were still standing here, which had a most luxuriant aspect; in many of the fields there did not appear to be a stem less than eight feet in height. Between the rows they sow gourds, squashes, and melons, of which last every sort attains to a state of great perfection in the open air throughout the inhabited parts of the two provinces. Peaches in this part of the country likewise come to perfection in the open air, but in Lower Canada, the summers are too short to permit them to ripen sufficiently. The winters here are very severe whilst they last, but it is seldom that the snow lies longer than three months on the ground. The summers are intensely hot, Fahrenheit’s thermometer often rising to 96°, and sometimes above 100°.

[Sidenote: INTENSE HEAT.—SNAKES.]

As I passed along to Fort Erie I killed a great many large snakes of different sorts that I found basking in the sun. Amongst them I did not find any rattlesnakes: these reptiles, however, are very commonly met with here; and at the distance of twenty or thirty miles from the river, up the country, it is said that they are so numerous as to render the surveying of land a matter of very great danger. It is a circumstance strongly in favour of Lower Canada, that the rattlesnake is not found there; it is seldom found, indeed, to the northward of the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude.

Fort Erie stands at the eastern extremity of Lake Erie; it is a small stockaded fort, somewhat similar to that at Chippeway; and adjoining it are extensive stores as at Chippeway, and about half a dozen miserable little dwellings. On arriving there I had no difficulty in discovering my companions; I found them lodged in a small log-house, which contained but the one room, and just sitting down to a supper, they had procured through the assistance of a gentleman in the Indian department, who accompanied them from Chippeway. This habitation was the property of an old woman, who in her younger days had followed the drum, and now gained her livelihood by accommodating, to the best of her power, such travellers as passed by Fort Erie. A sorry habitation it was; the crazy door was ready to drop off the hinges, and in all the three windows of it not one pane of glass was there, a young gentleman from Detroit having amused himself, whilst detained in the place by contrary winds, some little time before our arrival, with shooting arrows through them. It was not likely that these windows would be speedily repaired, for no glazier was to be met with nearer than Newark, thirty-six miles distant. Here, as we lay folded in our skins on the floor, the rain beat in upon us, and the wind whistled about our ears; but this was not the worst. In the morning we found it a difficult matter to get wherewith to satisfy our hunger; dinner was more difficult to be had than breakfast, supper than dinner; there seemed to be a greater scarcity of provisions also the second day than there was on the first. At last, fearing that we should be famished if we remained longer under the care of old mother Palmer, we embarked at once on board the vessel of war in which we intended to cross the lake, where although sometimes tossed about by the raging contrary winds, yet we had comfortable births, and fared plenteously every day.

[Sidenote: FORT ERIE.]

Ships lie opposite to Fort Erie, at the distance of about one hundred yards from the shore; they are there exposed to all the violence of the westerly winds, but the anchorage is excellent, and they ride in perfect safety. Three vessels of war, of about two hundred tons, and carrying from eight to twelve guns each, besides two or three merchant vessels, lay wind bound whilst we remained here. The little fort, with the surrounding houses built on the rocky shore, the vessels lying at anchor before it, the rich woods, the distant hills on the opposite side of the lake, and the vast lake itself, extending to the farthest part of the horizon, altogether formed an interesting and beautiful scene.

[Sidenote: SQUIRREL HUNTING.]

Whilst we were detained here by contrary winds, we regularly went on shore after breakfast to take a ramble in the woods; oftentimes also we amused ourselves with the diversion of hunting squirrels with dogs, amongst the shrubs and young trees on the borders of the lake, thousands of which animals we found in the neighbourhood of the fort. The squirrels, alarmed by the barking of the dogs, leap from tree to tree with wonderful swiftness; you follow them closely, shaking the trees, and striking against the branches with poles. Sometimes they will lead you a chace of a quarter of a mile and more; but sooner or later, terrified by your attentive pursuit, make a false leap, and come to the ground; the dogs, ever on the watch, then seize the opportunity to lay hold of them; frequently, however, the squirrels will elude their repeated snaps, and mount another tree before you can look round you. I have seldom known them to be hurt by their fall, notwithstanding that I have many times seen them tumble from branches of trees upwards of twenty feet from the ground.

In our rambles we used frequently to fall in with parties of the Seneka Indians, from the opposite side of the lake, that were amusing themselves with hunting and shooting these animals. They shot them principally with bows and blow-guns, at the use of which last the Senekas are wonderfully expert. The blow-gun is a narrow tube, commonly about six feet in length, made of a cane reed, or of some pithy wood, through which they drive short slender arrows by the force of the breath. The arrows are not much thicker than the lower string of a violin; they are headed generally with little triangular bits of tin, and round the opposite ends, for the length of two inches, a quantity of the down of thistles, or something very like it, is bound, so as to leave the arrows at this part of such a thickness that they may but barely pass into the tube. The arrows are put in at the end of the tube that is held next to the mouth, the down catches the breath, and with a smart puff they will fly to the distance of fifty yards. I have followed young Seneka Indians, whilst shooting with blow-guns, for hours together, during which time I have never known them once to miss their aim, at the distance of ten or fifteen yards, although they shot at the little red squirrels, which are not half the size of a rat; and with such wonderful force used they to blow forth the arrows, that they frequently drove them up to the very thistle-down through the heads of the largest black squirrels. The effect of these guns appears at first like magic. The tube is put to the mouth, and in the twinkling of an eye you see the squirrel that is aimed at fall lifeless to the ground; no report, not the smallest noise even, is to be heard, nor is it possible to see the arrow, so quickly does it fly, until it appears fastened in the body of the animal.

The Seneka is one of the six nations which formerly bore the general name of the Iroquois Indians. Their principal village is situated on Buffalo Creek, which falls into the eastern extremity of Lake Erie, on the New York shore. We took the ship’s boat one morning, and went over to visit it, but all the Indians, men, women, and children, amounting in all to upwards of six hundred persons, had, at an early hour, gone down to Fort Niagara, to partake of a feast which was there prepared for them. We walked about in the neighbourhood of the village, dined on the grass on some cold provisions that we had taken with us, and in the evening, returned.

[Sidenote: BUFFALO CREEK.]

Opposite to the mouth of Buffalo Creek there is a very dangerous sand bar, which at times it is totally impossible to pass in any other vessels than bateaux; we found it no easy matter to get over it in the ship’s long boat with four oars on going into the creek; and in returning the passage was really tremendous. The wind, which was westerly, and of course impelled the vast body of water in the lake towards the mouth of the creek, had increased considerably whilst we had been on shore, and the waves had begun to break with such fury over the bar, that it was not without a considerable share of terror that we contemplated the prospect of passing through them: the commodore of the King’s ships on the lake, who was at the helm, was determined, however, to cross the bar that night, and accordingly, a strict silence having been enjoined, that the crew might hear his orders, we boldly entered into the midst of the breakers: the boat now rolled about in a most alarming manner; sometimes it mounted into the air on the top of the mighty billows, at other times it came thumping down with prodigious force on the bar; at last it stuck quite fast in the sand; neither oars nor rudder were any longer of use, and for a moment we gave ourselves over for lost; the waves that rolled towards us broke on all sides with a noise like that of thunder, and we were expecting that the boat would be overwhelmed by some one or other of them every instant, when luckily a large wave, that rolled on a little farther than the rest without breaking into foam, let us again afloat, and the oarsmen making at that moment the most vigorous exertions, we once more got into deep water; it was not, however, until after many minutes that we were safely out of the tremendous surf. A boat, with a pair of oars only, that attempted to follow us, was overwhelmed in an instant by a wave which broke over her: it was in vain to think of attempting to give any assistance to her crew, and we were obliged for a time to endure the painful thought that they might be struggling with death within a few yards of us; but before we lost sight of the shore we had the satisfaction of beholding them all standing in safety on the beach, which they had reached by swimming.