Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net NIAGARA. [Illustration: NIAGARA FALLS FROM THE CANADIAN SIDE - FRONTISPIECE.] THE FALLS OF NIAGARA AND _OTHER FAMOUS CATARACTS_. BY GEORGE W. HOLLEY. With Thirty Illustrations. London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXXXII. Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE xiii PART I.--HISTORY. CHAPTER I. First French expedition--Jacques Cartier--He first hears of the great Cataract--Champlain--Route to China--La Salle--Father Hennepin's first and second visits to the Falls 1 CHAPTER II. Baron La Hontan's description of the Falls--M. Charlevoix's letter to Madame Maintenon--Number of the Falls--Geological indications--Great projection of the rock in Father Hennepin's time--Cave of the Winds--Rainbows 9 CHAPTER III. The name Niagara--The musical dialect of the Hurons--Niagara one of the oldest of Indian names--Description of the River, the Falls, and the surrounding country 15 CHAPTER IV. Niagara a tribal name--Other names given to the tribe--The Niagaras a superior race--The true pronunciation of Indian words 19 CHAPTER V. The lower Niagara--Fort Niagara--Fort Mississauga--Niagara village-- Lewiston--Portage around the Falls--The first railroad in the United States--Fort Schlosser--The ambuscade at Devil's Hole--La Salle's vessel, the _Griffin_--The Niagara frontier 25 PART II.--GEOLOGY. CHAPTER VI. America the old world--Geologically recent origin of the Falls-- Evidence thereof--Captain Williams's surveys for a ship-canal--Former extent of Lake Michigan--Its outlet into the Illinois River--The Niagara Barrier--How broken through--The birth of Niagara 32 CHAPTER VII. Composition of the terrace cut through--Why retrocession is possible--Three sections from Lewiston to the Falls--Devil's Hole-- The Medina group--Recession long checked--The Whirlpool--The narrowest part of the river--The mirror--Depth of the water in the Chasm--Former grand Fall 42 CHAPTER VIII. Recession above the present position of the Falls--The Falls will be higher as they recede--Reason Why--Professor Tyndall's prediction-- Present and former accumulations of rock--Terrific power of the elements--Ice and ice bridges--Remarkable geognosy of the lake region 50 PART III. LOCAL HISTORY AND INCIDENTS. CHAPTER IX.