One half of Bath Island--which lies between Goat Island and the shore--is filled with the ruins of a large paper-mill which was burnt in 1880. It is now being rebuilt and greatly enlarged. Masses of charred timbers, old iron, calcined stones and bricks, two or three great rusty boilers, the dirty heaps surmounted by a tall chimney--such are the surroundings of a spot, which, for grandeur and romantic beauty, is not equalled in the world. A short distance below Bath Island lies Bird Island, a mere clump of trees in the midst of the rushing water, a mass of dark-green foliage overhanging its banks and trailing its branches carelessly in the foam. This little spot has been untrodden by man--the most fearless savage would not risk his birch-bark boat in these waters. But what those who profit by it call the rapid strides of commercial industry, or possibly the development of our national resources, will soon destroy this little piece of Nature; already the owners of the paper-mill have built their dam within twenty yards of it, extending through the waters like the limb of some horrid spider, slowly but surely reaching its prey. Let the connection be made, and a couple of men with axes turned loose in this little green island, and before long the rattle of a donkey-engine or the howl of a saw-mill swells the chorus of this _soi-disant_ civilisation. The following does not sound very encouraging for the preservation of Niagara's scenery. It is taken from a paper, _Niagara as a Water Power:_ " . . . Hence it is that we are soon to see a development of this peculiar power of Niagara which will stand unrivalled among motors of its class in the world. "Already people talk of the storage of electricity and quote the opinions of scientists about the possibilities of the future. Sir William Thompson--it is said--gave as his opinion that it would be perfectly feasible to light London with electricity generated at Niagara. "There is no assurance that Goat Island may not be sold at any moment for the erection of a mill or factory. Indeed if a rapid development of the mechanical application of electricity should take place--thus enabling speculators to offer very high prices for the immense power that could be controlled from Goat Island, it is almost certain that such a sale would result. And with its accomplishment would disappear the last chance of saving Niagara!" The honour of first suggesting the preservation of Niagara Falls has been claimed by many persons. But the first real suggestion dates back as early as 1835, though made without details. It came from two Scotchmen, Andrew Reed and James Matheson, who, in a volume describing their visits to Congregational churches of this country, first broached the idea that Niagara should "be deemed the property of civilised mankind."