Niagara Falls 



1796 



Holley 



1796 



Liancourt 



Sunday, 19th June (1796). — Left Buffalo in Winney's boat, 

 for Chippewa, had a fair wind down, and arrived about one 

 o'clock at Chippewa, dined at Fanning's, found our goods were 

 not at the Gore, in Chippewa, and was obliged to go to Queens- 

 town after them, and as I could not get a horse was obliged to 

 walk. I got to Queenstown before night and lodged at Col. 

 Ingersoll's, next morning set out for Buffalo. On the way I 

 stopped to take a view of Niagara Falls. That river, a little 

 above Fort Slusher, is two and one half miles wide. Soon after 

 this the water is very rapid, and continuing on, is hurried with 

 amazing impetuosity down the most stupendous precipice perhaps 

 in nature. There is a fog continually arising, occasioned by the 

 tumbling of the water, which, in a clear morning, is seen from 

 lake Erie, at the distance of thirty or forty miles, as is the noise 

 also heard. 



Liancourt, la Rochefoucault, duke de. Travels through the 

 United States of North America, the country of the Iroquois, and Upper 

 Canada, in the years 1795, 1796, and 1797; with an authentic account 

 of Lower Canada. Lond.: Phillips. 1799. Vol. 1, pp. 217-223. 



Liancourt wrote well and his elaborate and valuable description was 

 widely quoted. It was probably one of the best known of the eighteenth 

 century accounts. 1 



We were now approaching the prospect of the Grand Cata- 

 ract of Niagara, one of the principal objects of our journey, and 

 which I had long desired to see. We formed, every one of us, 

 different ideas of this waterfall, according to our different powers 

 of fancy; each stroke of the oars brought us nearer to it, and 

 our attention being entirely turned to discover the foam, and 

 hear the noise, we took but little notice of the banks of the river, 

 which, on the side of Canada, are tolerably settled, of the uncom- 

 mon width of its channel, or the majestic course of its stream. 

 At last we heard the noise, and perceived the spray. The 

 weather was rather unfavourable, so that we could not, at any 



See the chapter on Industrial Niagara for further quotation. 



110 



