I think the point the most utterly
inconceivable to those who have not seen it, is the centre of the
horse-shoe. The force of the torrent converges there, and as the
heavy mass pours in, twisted, wreathed, and curled together, it
gives an idea of irresistible power, such as no other object ever
conveyed to me.
The following anecdote, which I had from good authority, may give
some notion of this mighty power.
After the last American war, three of our ships stationed on Lake
Erie were declared unfit for service, and condemned. Some of
their officers obtained permission to send them over Niagara
Falls. The first was torn to shivers by the rapids, and went
over in fragments; the second filled with water before she
reached the fall; but the third, which was in better condition,
took the leap gallantly, and retained her form till it was hid in
the cloud of mist below. A reward of ten dollars was offered for
the largest fragment of wood that should be found from either
wreck, five for the second, and so on. One morsel only was ever
seen, and that about a foot in length, was mashed as by a vice,
and its edges notched like the teeth of a saw. What had become
of the immense quantity of wood which had been precipitated? What
unknown whirlpool had engulphed it, so that, contrary to the very
laws of nature, no vestige of the floating material could find
its way to the surface?
Beyond the horse-shoe is Goat Island, and beyond Goat Island the
American fall, bold, straight, and chafed to snowy whiteness by
the rocks which meet it; but it does not approach, in sublimity
or awful beauty, to the wondrous crescent on the other shore.
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