Niagara Falls 



1841 boats and their steam-ships of war to the remotest seas." The law of 



Blackwell gravity, " puts forth in this single waterfall more intense and effective 

 energy, than is necessary to move all the artificial machinery of the 

 habitable globe." 



& Allen 



1841 HALL, James. (On the geology of the region of Niagara Falls.) 



Hall (Proc. Bost. Soc. of Nat. Hist. Boston: 1844. 1:52.) 



Report of verbal statements made by Professor Hall at the meeting 

 of the society in December 1 84 1 , regarding the geology of the Niagara 

 region. The report states that " He alluded more particularly to the retro- 

 cession of the Falls; the supposed fault of Professor Daubeny at Lewis- 

 ton ; the formation for a space of 1 6 miles between Erie and Ontario until 

 recently undetermined, — and the discovery of a fresh water formation 

 along the banks of the river, and on Goat Island." 



1841 LYELL, Sir Charles. Travels in North America, in the years 



Lyell 1841—2; with geological observations on the United States, Canada, and 



Nova Scotia. N. Y.: Wiley and Putnam. 1845. 1 :22-43. 



The author, one of the most eminent of English geologists, visited the 

 Falls in 1 841 . His account while most satisfactory from a scientific stand- 

 point is also popular in presentation, clear and simple in style, in short, 

 fascinating and well written. The frontispiece of volume I is a Bird's- 

 eye View of the Falls of Niagara & Adjacent Country Coloured Geo- 

 logically," (conventionalized) ; opposite page 29 is a fac-simile of the 

 Hennepin view, and scattered through the book are various diagrams 

 showing geological formations, etc. 



Aug, 27. — We first came in sight of the Falls of Niagara when 



they were about three miles distant. The sun was shining full 



upon them — no building in view — nothing but the green wood, 



the falling water, and the white foam. At that moment they 



appeared to me more beautiful than I had expected, and less 



grand; but after several days, when I had enjoyed a nearer view 



of the two cataracts, had listened to their thundering sound, and 



gazed on them for hours from above and below, and had watched 



the river foaming over the rapids, then plunging headlong into 



the dark pool, — and when I had explored the delightful island 



which divides the falls, where the solitude of the ancient forest 



is still unbroken, I at last learned by degrees to comprehend 



the wonders of the scene, and to feel its full magnificence. 



546 



