Niagara Falls 



1787 spray to greater advantage, as the Fall from whence it pro- 

 ceeded appeared less in this direction than the former. I do not 

 know how long we should have stood looking at the scene before 

 us, if the setting of the sun had not reminded us that it was time 

 to return, on which we began to retreat. After we had returned 

 more than a mile, on looking back from a little eminence we 

 could see the spray of the Fall rising to an immense height above 

 the surrounding woods, like the large column of smoke which 

 ascends from any large building on fire, but not of so dark a 

 colour. 



Having gone a little further we came to the house of Mr. 

 Philip Stedman where we passed an agreeable hour in company 

 with him and his niece. As Mr. Humphry and myself had no 

 business at the Fort, we staid a short time after the rest of the 

 party, and were at last going in quest of our supper without any 

 hopes of seeing any thing more of the Fall for the night. Not- 

 withstanding it was the very middle of summer and the day had 

 been extremely hot, the night was very cold so that we had run a 

 good deal of the way, when stopping just before the Fort gate we 

 saw the most beautiful as well as strange appearance, that can be 

 well conceived. It was the moon which was now just setting 

 behind the spray of the Falls ; it appeared to rise to a very uncom- 

 mon height in likeness of a very dark column, but the thinner part 

 of the spray which admitted the light through it, gave all the 

 edge of the column a luminous appearance which looked more 

 like a pillar of smoke fringed round with fire, than anything I can 

 compare it to. Not wishing to keep the sight to ourselves we ran to 

 call the rest whom we found collected round a large fire from 

 which we could with great difficulty draw them, as they supposed 

 it was only a story made for the purpose of drawing them from 

 their seats by the fire, that we might ourselves get possession of 

 them, by which means they were not out until the moon was 

 very near gone, when from what they saw they sincerely 

 lamented they had been so tenacious of their seats. 



This over we all returned to the Fort and after a hearty 



78 



