At the time of my visit, the wind drove immense fields of ice out of Lake Erie, with floating trees and other driftwood, but I never saw any vestiges of these below the Falls. In front of the column of water falling on the American side, there stood an enormous pyramid of snow, or congealed spray. [8] This is an Iroquois word, said to signify the thunder of waters. The word, as pronounced by the Senecas, is Oniágarah. For additional information on this subject, see _Notes on the Iroquois_, p. 453. The etymology of the word has not, however, been fully examined. It is clear the pronunciation of the word in Goldsmith's day was Niagára. What has been said by Goldsmith, and repeated by others, respecting the destructive influence of the Rapids above to ducks and water-fowl is imaginary--at least, as to the American sheet. So far from it, I saw the wild ducks swim down the Rapid, as if in pursuit of some article of food, and then rise and fly out at the brink, and repeat the descent, as if delighted with the gift of wings, which enabled them to sport over such frightful precipices without danger. I found among the debris in the abyss, pieces of hornstone, and crystals of calcareous spar, radiated quartz, sulphuret of zinc, and sulphate of lime. Its geology is best explained by observing that the river, in falling over the precipice of the Niagara ridge into the basin of Lake Ontario, leaps over horizontal strata of limestone, slate, and red sandstone. In this respect, nothing can be more simple and plain. It is magnitude alone that makes the cataract sublime.