Graham's Magazine, Vol. XLI, No. 5, November 1852Various
General
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XLI, No. 5, November 1852
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
view I took increased my admiration; and I began to think that the other
Falls I had seen were, in comparison, like runs from kettle-spouts on
hot plates. I remained in this interesting neighborhood five days, and
saw the Fall in almost every point of view. From its extent, and the
angular line it forms, the eye cannot embrace it all at once; and,
probably, from this cause it is that no drawing has ever yet done
justice to it. The grandest view, in my opinion, is at the bottom, and
close to it, on the British side, where it is awful to look up through
the spray at the immense body as it comes pouring over, deafening you
with its roar; the lighter spray, at a considerable distance, hangs
poised in the air like an eternal cloud. The next best view is on the
American side, to reach which you cross in a crazy ferry-boat: the
passage is safe enough, but the current is strongly agitated. Its depth,
as near to the falls as can be approached, is from 180 to 200 feet. The
water, as it passes over the rock, where it is not whipped into foam, is
a most beautiful sea-green, and it is the same at the bottom of the
Falls. The foam, which floats away in large bodies, feels and looks like
salt water after a storm: it has a strong fishy smell. The river, at the
ferry, is 1170 feet wide. There is a great quantity of fish,
particularly sturgeon and bass, as well as eels; the latter creep up
against the rock under the Falls, as if desirous of finding some mode of
surmounting the heights. Some of the visitors go _under_ the Falls, an
undertaking more curious than pleasant. Three times did I go down to the
house, and once paid for my guide and _bathing_ dress, when something
occurred to prevent me. The lady before alluded to performed the
ceremony, and it is recorded, with her name, in the book, that she went
to the farthest extent that the guides can or will proceed. It is
described as like being under a heavy shower-bath, with a tremendous
whirlwind driving your breath from you, and causing a peculiarly
unpleasant sensation at the chest; the footing over the _débris_ being
slippery, the darkness barely visible, and the roar almost deafening. In
the passage you kick against eels, many of them unwilling to move, even
when touched: they appear to be endeavoring to work their way up the
stream.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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