The English Period 

 1787, July 1 8th. — From hence to Fort Slosser is about a* 787 



. . fc.nyt 



mile & a half or two miles on a perfectly straight and good road, 

 at which place we at length arrived, after being four hours 

 on the road from Niagara, which is only fourteen miles. On 

 our arrival we found dinner over but we soon got a mutton chop, 

 which we had no sooner swallowed than we all set out to see the 

 Falls taking Mr. Hamilton of the 53d Regiment for our guide, 

 who having commanded Fort Slosser for some time knew his 

 way. 



After passing through some fields and a small piece of wood, 

 we came to the river side at an old saw mill, about a quarter of 

 a mile from the brink of the Falls. This view alone is worth 

 going many miles to see. The current, which is very strong 

 more than three miles above the Falls, is here increased by many 

 causes, for the river which grows naturally narrower as it 

 approaches the brink of the cataract, is here divided by a large 

 island in the middle; it also begins to be shallow and rocky, so 

 that from hence quite down to the brink of the Falls the water 

 is in a continual foam and has in many parts of the distance Falls 

 which would be much talked of were they in any other situations, 

 which may be easily conceived from the perpendicular height 

 which the water falls in the course of this quarter of a mile 

 previous to its reaching the brink of the cataract, which is at 

 least sixty feet; this many seem to think should be added to the 

 perpendicular height of the Falls; whether it should or no I 

 shall not presume to determine. 



I already find my pen, or at least my ideas, inadequate to give 

 any account of what is now before me, as it is not only the water 

 which is beautiful but the island also is covered with noble trees 

 down quite to the edge of the water; to this we must add the 

 many small islands which have been severed from time to time 

 from the larger one by the force of the current, and which still 

 partake of their parent's verdure and beauty. It was with 

 difficulty we could prevail on ourselves to leave the place, even 

 tho' we knew we were to go to parts infinitely more beautiful. 



75 



