244 
NIAGARA. 
On tlie American shore the Cataract House Hotel stands 
on the edge overlooking the Upper Rapids, and the most 
satisfactory course for seeing the Niagara Falls is to commence 
from that point, going direct on to Goat Island and to the 
Terrapin Rock for a close sight of the Horse-shoe Fall, and on 
to Luna Island for the American Fall, and to the “ Three 
Sisters Islands ” for the Horse-shoe Rapids ; then descend the 
stairs to go through the “ Cave of the Winds.” Next see the 
other side of the American Fall from the shore, descend to 
see the fall from the rocks at the bottom, and cross over by 
the ferry, getting the view of both falls from the middle of the 
river; then see the Horse-shoe Fall from the Canadian side, 
and the view of the whole from the Suspension Bridge which 
crosses the river at a quarter-of-a-mile below the American 
Fall. The general views of the whole Falls are better 
appreciated after having had the opportunity of seeing the 
cataract from a close point of view, both at the top and from 
below, in order to realise the enormous magnitude of the mass 
of falling water; the sense of which is dwarfed in effect when 
seen first as a whole from a distance, on account of the very 
great width (nearly three-quarters of a mile) over which the 
Falls extend. The enormous mass of spray that is thrown up by 
the cataract forms a remarkably striking feature, floating in 
front of the Falls like a gauze veil that is continually changing 
in form and position ; and in the case of the great Horse-slioe 
Fall this cloud of spray rises up in the air sometimes to three 
times the height of the Falls. The rainbows that are so 
numerous and brilliant in the spray make a lovely picture. 
In consequence of the continued wearing away of the shale 
strata behind the cataract, and the breaking down of the 
overhanging limestone rock, the whole face line of the Falls 
is subjected to a gradual displacement, shifting it backwards 
up the stream with a certain, though very slow, movement; 
and the result has been a definite change in the position of 
the cataract during the time it has been known, and even 
within the memory of present visitors (in 1850) a large mass 
of rock at the outer extremity of the Horse-slioe Fall has 
broken away and fallen to the bottom of the cliff. This mass, 
called the “ Table Rock,” was completely undermined, and 
projecting over the stream below the Falls, standing out in 
front of the cataract and affording a very fine point of view; 
it fell suddenly, without previous warning, and a man upon 
it at the moment had only just time to escape. It appears 
from Hennepin’s sketch, made two centuries ago, that at that 
time this Table Rock formed an island at the edge of the 
cataract, like the Terrapin Rock at the present time at the 
