ry for about
fifty miles, was from the base to the summit 135 feet, and from the
level of the Niagara river, which runs nearly under it, 485 feet. The
following inscription was engraven on this splendid tribute to the
unfading remembrance of a grateful people:[116]

UPPER CANADA
HAS DEDICATED THIS MONUMENT
TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK, K.B.
PROVISIONAL LIEUT.-GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER OF THE FORCES
IN THIS PROVINCE,
WHOSE REMAINS ARE DEPOSITED IN THE VAULT BENEATH.
OPPOSING THE INVADING ENEMY,
HE FELL IN ACTION NEAR THESE HEIGHTS,
ON THE 13th OCTOBER, 1812,
IN THE 43rd YEAR OF HIS AGE,
REVERED AND LAMENTED
BY THE PEOPLE WHOM HE GOVERNED,
AND DEPLORED BY THE SOVEREIGN
TO WHOSE SERVICE HIS LIFE HAD BEEN DEVOTED.

The cataract of Niagara is supposed to have commenced on the heights of
Queenstown, and to have gradually receded, or worn its way backwards to
its present site, seven miles above, near Chippewa, the banks of the
river on both sides between the two spots being perpendicular, 2 to 300
feet in height, chiefly of solid rock, and of the same level as the
fall.

"The village of Queenstown is beautifully situated at the foot of a
hill, and upon the side of the Niagara river, the bank of which is high
and precipitous. The imagination is agreeably struck with the first view
of the place. On one side of the village is a mountain covered with
shrubbery and verdure;--behind, a rich and cultivated plain extends
backwards, which is bounded in every direction by luxuriant woods; while
in front, the Niagara river glides in majestic stillness, and may be
traced, with all its windings, till its waters are swallowed up in the
vast expanse of Lake Ontario. The soil around Queenstown consists
chiefly of a red clay, the bright colour of which, upon the roads and
declivities where it is exposed, forms a singular contrast, during
summer, with the pure green of the trees and fields in the vicinity.

"Queenstown must infallibly acquire magnitude and importance when the
province becomes populous and flourishing, for it is situated at the
commencement of a portage, which never can be evaded by any improvement
in the navigation, it being rendered necessary by the falls of Niagara;
therefore, all vessels containing goods and stores destined for the
western parts of Upper Canada must unload and leave their cargoes at
Queenstown, that they may be c