int eaten deepest into the shale. When the
wind is from the south, the falling water, I am told, can be seen
tranquilly from this spot; but when we were there, a blinding
hurricane of spray was whirled against us. On the evening of the same
day, I went behind the water on the Canada side, which, after the
experiences of the morning, struck me as an imposture.

Still even this latter is exciting to some nerves. Its effect upon
himself is thus vividly described by Bakewell, jun: 'On turning a
sharp angle of the rock, a sudden gust of wind met us, coming from
the hollow between the fall and the rock, which drove the spray
directly in our faces, with such force that in an instant we were wet
through. When in the midst of this shower-bath the shock took away my
breath: I turned back and scrambled over the loose stones to escape
the conflict. The guide soon followed, and told me that I had passed
the worst part. With that assurance I made a second attempt; but so
wild and disordered was my imagination that when I had reached half
way I could bear it no longer.' [Footnote: 'Mag. of Nat. Hist,' 1830,
pp. 121, 122.]

To complete my knowledge I desired to see the fall from the river
below it, and long negotiations were necessary to secure the means of
doing so. The only boat fit for the undertaking had been laid up for
the winter; but this difficulty, through the kind intervention of Mr.
Townsend, was overcome. The main one was to secure oarsmen
sufficiently strong and skilful to urge the boat where I wished it to
be taken. The son of the owner of the boat, a finely-built young
fellow, but only twenty, and therefore not sufficiently hardened, was
willing to go; and up the river, it was stated, there lived another
man who could do anything with the boat which strength and daring
could accomplish. He came. His figure and expression of face
certainly indicated extraordinary firmness and power. On Tuesday,
November 5, we started, each of us being clad in oilcloth. The elder
oarsman at once assumed a tone of authority over his companion, and
struck immediately in amid the breakers below the American Fall. He
hugged the cross freshets instead of striking out into the smoother
water. I asked him why he did so, and he replied that they were
directed outwards, not downwards. The struggle, however, to prevent
the bow of the boat from being turned by them, was often very severe.

The spray was in general blinding, but at