The English Period 



line, find it sometimes 140, sometimes 150 feet, and sometimes 1750 

 more ; but the reason is, it cannot that way be measured with any a ra 

 certainty, the water carrying away the Line. — When the water is 

 come down to the bottom of the rock of the Fall, it jumps back to 

 a very great heighth in the air ; in other places it is white as milk 

 or snow ; and all in motion like a boiling chaldron. — You may 

 remember, to what a great distance Hennepin says the noise of 

 this great Fall may be heard. All the gentlemen who were with 

 me, agreed, that the farthest one can hear it, is 1 5 leagues, and 

 that very seldom. When the air is quite calm, you can hear it to 

 Niagara Fort ; but seldom at other times, because when the wind 

 blows, the waves of Lake Ontario make too much noise there 

 against the Shore. — They inform'd me, that when they hear at 

 the Fort the noise of the Fall, louder than ordinary, they are 

 sure a North East Wind will follow, which never fails: this 

 seems wonderful, as the Fall is South West from the Fort: and 

 one would imagine it to be rather a sign of a contrary wind. 

 Sometimes, 'tis said, the Fall makes a much greater noise than at 

 other times; and this is look'd upon as a certain mark of 

 approaching bad weather, or rain; the Indians here hold it 

 always for a sure sign. When I was there, it did not make an 

 extraordinary great noise: just by the Fall, we could easily hear 

 what each other said, without speaking much louder than common 

 when conversing in other places. I do not know how others 

 have found so great a noise here, perhaps it was at certain times, 

 as abovementioned. From the Place where the water falls, 

 there rise abundance of vapours, like the greatest and thickest 

 smoak, sometimes more, sometimes less: these vapours rise high 

 in the air when it is calm, but are dispers'd by the wind when it 

 blows hard. If you go nigh to this vapour or fog, or if the wind 

 blows it on you, it is so penetrating, that in a few minutes you will 

 be as wet as if you had been under water. I got two young 

 Frenhmen to go down, to bring me from the side of the Fall at 

 the bottom, some of each of the several kinds of herbs, stones 

 and shells they should find there; they returned in a few 



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