Niagara Falls 



1853 Far different was the vicinity of Niagara at the time of my 



brother's visit. Dense woods then occupied the banks. Not a 

 house was near; and on one occasion the provisions which his 

 party had concealed were stolen by the Indians, who resided at 

 Niagara for the sake of feeding on the wild animals which were 

 precipitated over the falls. 



On the last morning of my sojourn at the falls, anxious to see 

 as much of them as possible, I rose before the sun. On looking 

 out, the landscape was still dim, but towering high above the 

 Great Fall rose the column of mist, crested by a roseate hue. The 

 effect was enchanting. Not a cloud obscured the heavens; and 

 so tranquil was the air, that the vapour-pillar seemd a gigantic 

 shaft of white marble surmounted by a rose-coloured capital. A 

 friend, whom I called to witness the beautiful spectacle, agreed 

 with me that the column was at least 800 feet high. I no longer 

 doubted that a faint cloud to which my attention had been drawn 

 when standing on the roof of the Court House at Toronto, was 

 the mist over Niagara. The distance is fifty miles, but it has 

 been seen farther off. 



As the sun ascended, the pillar became more rose-hued; pre- 

 sently the crest of the falls caught the glowing tints, and the 

 rushing waters were a sheet of burnished gold. 



A brisk trade in Indian ornaments and curiosities is carried on 

 at Niagara. Daguerreotypes of the American fall are in great 

 request; the proper thing, according to Yankee notions, being for 

 the purchaser to stand prominently in the foreground while the 

 impression is taken. Until I visited Niagara, I was at a loss to 

 understand why all daguerreotype views should generally repre- 

 sent the American fall ; but the ground is so violently agitated on 

 the Canadian side as to render the operation of the camera 

 extremely unsatisfactory, — at least all the results I saw were 

 very poor. Recent improvements in photography will, however, 

 I have no doubt, give better effects. 



1092 



