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FALLS OF NIAGARA-THE CRESCENT SEEN FROM BELOW THE CIRCULAR LADDER.

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FAILS OF NIAGARA-7HI GESSCENT SAMOM BI

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ABOUT five miles above the cataract, the river expands to the dimensions of a lake, after which, it gradually narrows. The rapids commence at the upper extremity of Goat Island, which is half a mile VOL. II. 3d SERIES

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in length, and divides the river at the point of precipitation, into two unequal parts; the largest is distinguished by the several names of the Horseshoe, Crescent, and British fall, from its semicircular form and contiguity to the Canadian shore.-The smaller is named the American fall. A portion of this fall is divided by a rock from Goat Island, and though here insignificant in appearance, would rank high among European cascades. The accompanying sketch, to which I beg to refer the reader, will shew the relative positions of the most remarkable features, and I shall content myself by stating the different dimensions, as computed by the best authorities. The height of the British fall, is one hundred and seventy-five feet, and its breadth in one unbroken cascade is seven-hundred yards. The extremity of Goat Island, which separates the cataract, is three hundred and twenty yards in breadth; the American fall extends beyond that, three hundred and seventy yards broad, and one hundred and sixty feet in height, making a total breadth of nearly fourteen hundred yards. I must not omit to mention, that though the bed of the river sinks to so great a depth, the level of the circumjacent land continues the same below as above the falls.

On the Canadian side, as I have before observed, are situated two inns, and some few cottages are scattered at intervals over the country, which in point of cultivation, resembles a garden. On the American shore, a little above the fall, is built the manufacturing village of Manchester. Here, also, are to be found excellent hotels, one of which, by the by, is kept by a General of Militia, an officer who served with distinction in the last war.

The quantity of water which passes the cataract is thus computed by an American traveller. The river at the ferry, below the falls, is seven furlongs wide, and, on an average, twenty-five feet deep; the current runs about

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