110 
FOREST AND STREAM 
July 26, 1913 
Animal Destruction at Niagara 
By ALBERT HAZEN WRIGHT 
T HE Niagara pitfall or “swan trap,” as ap¬ 
propriately dubbed at present, deservedly 
claims considerable attention from the 
local ornithologists of that region, and their re¬ 
ports 1 have always been read with decided avidity 
in ornithological circles. These observers, as do 
others more remote, rue the fact of this almost 
yearly sacrifice, yet they feel their helplessness. 
With many birds and animals, it has been an 
ever recurring phenomenon which has been noted 
more or less irregularly in the historical litera¬ 
ture of this country. These dozen or more 
buried notes from sources not always easily ac¬ 
cessible to all zoologists may be of enough per¬ 
tinent historical interest to warrant their collec¬ 
tion in one article. 
The first and most extended account is from 
a letter by Peter Kalm, who wrote, Sept. 2, 1750, 
that 2 “Several of the French gentlemen told me 
that when birds come flying into this fog or 
smoak of the fall, they fall down and perish 
in the Water; either because their wings are 
become wet, or that the noise of the fall aston¬ 
ishes them, and they know not were to go in 
the Dark: but others were of opinion, that 
seldom or never any bird perishes there in that 
manner; because, as they all agreed, among the 
abundance of birds found dead below the falls, 
there are no other sorts then such as live and 
swim frequently in the water; as swans, geese, 
ducks, water-hens, teal, and the like. And very 
often great flocks of them are seen going to de¬ 
struction in this manner: they swim in the river 
above the fall, and so are carried down lower 
and lower by the water, and as water-fowl com¬ 
monly delight in being carry’d with the stream, 
so here they indulge themselves in enjoying this 
pleasure so long, till the swiftness of the water 
becomes so great, that ’tis no longer possible for 
them to rise, but they are driven down the preci¬ 
pice, and perish. They are observed when they 
draw nigh the fall, to endeavour with all their 
might, to take wing and leave the water, but they 
cannot. In the months of September and Octo¬ 
ber, such abundant quantities of dead waterfowl 
are found every morning below the Fall, on the 
shore, that the garrison of the fort for a long 
time live chiefly upon them; besides the fowl 
they find also several sorts of dead fish, also 
deer, bears, and other animals which have tried 
to cross the water above the fall; the larger ani¬ 
mals are generally found broken to pieces. * * * 
I was told at Oswego, that in October, or there¬ 
abouts, such plenty of feathers are to be found 
here below the Fall, that a man in a day’s time 
can gather enough of them for several beds, 
which feathers they said came of the birds 
kill’d at the Fall. I asked the French, if this 
was true? They told me they had never seen 
‘such a thing; but that if the feathers were 
pick’d off the dead birds, there might be such 
a quantity.” 
Fifteen years later (1765) Major Robert 
Rogers says : 3 “Many beasts and fowls here lose 
their lives, by attempting to swim or cross the 
stream in the rapids, and are found dashed to 
pieces below; and sometimes the Indians have 
met the like fate, either thro’ their carelessness 
or drunkenness. * * * The land on either side 
rises gradually, and perhaps no place in the world 
is frequented by such a number of eagles as 
this, invited hither by the carnage before men¬ 
tioned, that is here made of deer, elks, bears, 
etc., on .which they feed.” 
The foregoing account was repeated eleven 
years later in “The Plistory of North America, 
London, 1776.” Two years previous (June 9, 
1774, in a “Memoranda on a Tour Through a Part 
of North America, etc.,”) Robert Hare found 1 
“on the rocs below-several skeletons of 
fish killed by falling down the cataract, and one 
sturgeon newly fallen. We found, too, a duck 
alive, which had fallen over. One of its wings 
was terribly shattered, and its back much bruised, 
but we brought it home alive, and left it so at 
our departure from Mr. Stedman’s.” 
Toward the close of the eighteenth century, 
Isaac Weld, Jr., made the following observa¬ 
tions: 5 “Having reached the margin of the river, 
we proceeded towards the Great Fall, along the 
strand, which for a considerable part of the way 
thither consists of horizontal beds of limestone 
rock, covered with gravel, except, indeed, where 
great piles of stones have fallen from the sides 
of the cliff. These horizontal beds of rock, in 
some places extend very far into the river, form¬ 
ing points which break the force of the current, 
and occasion strong eddies along particular parts 
of the shore. Here great numbers of the bodies 
of fishes, squirrels, foxes, and various other ani¬ 
mals, that, unable to stem the current of the river 
above the falls, have been carried down them 
and consequently killed, are washed up. The 
shore is likewise found strewed with trees, and 
large pieces of timber, that have been swept 
away from the sawmills above the falls, and car¬ 
ried down the precipice. The timber is gen¬ 
erally terribly shattered, and the carcasses of all 
the large animals, particularly of large fishes, are 
found very much bruised. A dreadful stench 
arises from the quantity of putrid matter lying 
on the shore, and numberless birds of prey, at¬ 
tracted by it, are always seen hovering about the 
place.” 
In 1806, in ‘ Excursions in North America, 
etc., London, 1806,” Priscilla repeated the same 
observations almost verbatim. About the same 
time (1804) Volney wrote that 8 “On reaching 
the bottom we could proceed upward toward the 
fall by a shore consisting of fragments of rock 
and sand, where we found the carcasses of some 
deer and wild bears, which the current had hur¬ 
ried down the cataract on their attempting to 
swim across the river above it.” 
These “wild bears” might have been ear¬ 
marked settlers’ swine run wild, a fact of which 
DeWitt Clinton did not apparently take cogni¬ 
zance when he penned the following remarks : T 
“This island (Goat) was formerly the place 
where eagles erected their aeries, as well on 
account of its seclusion, as its propinquity to the 
carcasses below the falls. Some years ago a 
large deer was seen for two or three weeks 
wading a short distance into the rapids from 
this island, and retreating. He had been drifted 
down from above, and not knowing the safe pas¬ 
sage to the shore, he no doubt was carried over 
the falls. Volney says that he found at the 
bottom of the precipice the carcasses of some 
deer, and zc hid bears which the current had hur¬ 
ried down the cataract on their attempting to 
swim across the river above it. As there are 
no wild bears in this country, this shows how 
inattentive the most observing travelers are to 
objects of natural history. It is generally sup¬ 
posed that every animal is deprived of life which 
passes over the falls, but this is a mistake. Tame 
geese frequently escape. A dog once got clear 
with a broken rib; and two sheep were found 
below the cataract, one of which was alive. On 
the other hand, the probability of escaping with 
life is scarcely any. Wild geese, deer, fish and 
other animals are to be seen dashed to pieces. 
* * * H 
In this same period, John Howison recounted 
several incidents about people and animals going 
over the precipice. He said : s “A dog, which I 
have seen, was carried over the Great Fall some 
years ago, and suffered no injury except the 
fracture of two of his ribs. Dead wild-ducks 
are found in great numbers along the banks of 
the river, near the bottom of the cataract, on 
mornings that succeed dark and stormy nights. 
Some people suppose that these animals are car¬ 
ried over while asleep; but more probably they 
get entangled among the rapids above, and are 
swept away before they are aware of their 
danger.” 
In this year, 1822, Stansbury said that 9 
“Whatever comes over the falls is destroyed and 
broken to pieces. Fishes without life, parts of 
animals, and the limbs of human beings, it is 
said, are sometimes found washed on the shore. 
Accidents, however, are not as frequent as might 
be expected.” 
Two years later, 1824, “an Englishman” in 
concluding his account of Niagara, added, 10 “as 
(a) matter of curiosity, that a deer was drawn 
down some time since, and when taken up was 
found to be not quite dead, though so far gone 
that means failed to restore it. It survived but 
a short time. A cat, which was thrown over, 
soon found its way home again. Several human 
beings have been drawn into the rapids, and have 
also been precipitated into the dreadful abyss; 
but no one so far as is known has ever survived; 
yet if a strong man, being a good swimmer, 
could reach the edge without encountering the 
rapids, I think it is barely possible that he might 
save his life.” 
Beaufoy recorded that" “wildfowl get en¬ 
tangled in the rapids during dark nights, and 
are picked up below, either killed or with broken 
wings; and it would seem there is a strong cur¬ 
rent of air as well as water at the brink of the 
cataract, for birds flying near it are often seen 
to fall as if powerless, recovering the use of 
their wings before they reach the bottom.” 
In 1832, Flinton observed that 12 “The cele¬ 
brated cataract of Niagara is a noted place of 
resort for the bald eagle, as well on account of 
the fish procured there, as for the numerous car¬ 
casses of squirrels, deer, bears and various other 
animals, which, in their attempts to cross the 
river above the falls, have been drawn into the 
current, and precipitated down that tremendous 
gulf, where, among the rocks that bound the 
rapids below, they furnish a rich repast for vari¬ 
ous predaceous birds.” 
Beginning with Arfwedson’s account of 1834. 
