192 Lhe Falls of Niagara, 
worst part.- With that assurance, I made a second attempt ; 
but so wild and disordered was my imagination with the 
novelty of my situation, that, when I had reached half way, I 
could bear it no longer, eric hurried out much faster than I 
entered, having taken but a hasty glance of the great sheet of 
water over my head. From the base of the rock to the falling 
water, there is a space of about one hundred feet. 
The ferry (g) is rather more than a quarter of a mile 
from the F: alls, i in a straight line. Following the serpentine 
direction along the verge of the cliff (d), the walk is very in- 
teresting, from the views, seen through the openings of the 
trees, of what are called the American Falls, and of the per- 
pendicular rock (4) which forms one of the sides of this deep 
natural channel. The small town of Manchester (7), situated. 
about half a mile from the Falls, and several large mills, give 
a cheerful appearance to this part of the picture, A broad 
steep path conducts from the edge of the precipice to the 
ferry. Such is the comparative tranquilli ty of the water in 
this part of the stream, that I was taken across by a boy, to 
the landing-place on the other side (/), immediately below the 
American Falls, The waters which expand to form the Ame- 
rican and Canada Falls, after uniting, are here contracted into 
a stream not more than 160 yards broad. The river is con- 
fined between perpendicular rocks ; and the quantity of water 
that falls is estimated to be 100, 000, 000 tons in an hour: 
hence, it might be thought that ae current, for miles, would 
be impassable for a small boat in this narrow channel. It 
seems almost incredible, were not the fact decisively proved, 
that, immediately below such an immense rush of waters, the 
surface should be sufficiently tranquil to allow a boat to pass 
across the stream with so much ease; but, what is still more 
extraordinary, there is a current of back water on the Ame- 
rican side of the river, running towards the main fall. The 
explanation given by persons residing on the spot is, that the 
depth of the river exceeds 170 feet, and that the water from the 
Falls sinks beneath, and forms an under-current, which, in its 
progress, dashing against the rocks at the bottom, causes the 
water to rise, in different parts, in circular heaps to the sur- 
face, and forms the back current. Having crossed the river 
several times, I feel convinced that this explanation is correct : 
indeed, so comparatively tranquil is the creamy surface, that 
boats often advance to the very base of the Falls. 
On ascending a zigzag staircase up the rocks, I arrived 
at the ferryman’ s hut, and followed the path to the rapids 
above the “American Falls, over which there is a wooden 
br idge, of curious construction, supported by the projecting 
