Wallace's trip to Niagara Falls
Full transcription
Prospect House, Niagara Falls.
March 16th. 1887
My dear Violet
Here I am looking at Niagara in a snowstorm! I have been giving three or four lectures in Canada at Kingston and Toronto, and am stopping here on my way back in case I should not have another opportunity. I arrived here the day before yesterday in the evening, & have spent most of the time since walking about on this - the Canadian side, looking at the falls from various points of view. I meant to go over to the American side today but it is snowing hard. The falls are grand, but not so awfully grand as I had expected. There are some fine masses and hills of <the> ice below the American falls & fine drapery of icicles near the sides where the water is shallow, and on the American side the trees on <Goat> Luna Island are densely covered with the frozen spray and look very beautiful. I enclose a little plan of the shape of the falls. On our side of the horseshoe fall the water is much the deepest and where it falls over the edge it is deep green till a little way down it breaks into white & then gets lost in the cloud of spray. This spray hides the bottom of the fall all across, and towards the centre where the rock appears to have fallen away most and the rush & fall of the water is most violent the spray cloud rises up far above the falls and even mingles with the clouds in dull weather as we have it now. (4.P.M.) It cleared up and I have been on the American side all the morning. It is much more picturesque and beautiful there as the Islands are all wild natural wood and there are paths and balconies by which you can get close to the edge of the falls in several places. At the points A. B. and C. there are splendid views, and on the little islands called "the Three Sisters" to which there are bridges you are in the midst of the most magnificent rapids wh.[ich] would be worth going to see if there were no falls at all. The river here is about a mile wide pouring over tremendous rocks in a series of roaring cataracts five or six feet deep each, the great depth of the water & the rapidity of the stream making it very grand. But the most beautiful sight of all is the little Luna Island where the spray from the falls freezes on the trees and coats every branch and twig with pure white ice till they look like some wonderful fantastic corals. The trees are mostly arbour-vitae, some tall, old, and battered, others small, but all so turned into ice corals that to stand away there & look through them is like a scene in fairy-land. After going all round Goat Island and seeing the falls and Rapids from every point of view I came back again to Luna Is. in order to see the wonderful scene again. It is called Luna Is. because from it you see fine lunar rainbows on the spray of the falls at full moon. I looked all about the islands for ferns but could not see a single specimen of any kind. Yet it is just the place for ferns, rocks, wood, damp air & plenty of moss, so I believe they must have been entirely exterminated by tourists who come here at the rate of 40 or 50 thousand a year. Every smooth tree, every stump, every bench is carved with names, and of course ferns would be a memento not to be revisited. I have tried to find a really good photo. of the falls but all are imperfect. I have however chosen one good sized one giving the American side of the Horseshoe fall to be mounted & framed when I come home. Love to Ma & Willie from
your affectionate Papa
[signed] Alfred R. Wallace
[written vertically at the left hand side of the page]
I did not find Canada so very cold though all the country is covered with this snow
Here there is very little snow but it freezes every night.
March 16th. 1887
My dear Violet
Here I am looking at Niagara in a snowstorm! I have been giving three or four lectures in Canada at Kingston and Toronto, and am stopping here on my way back in case I should not have another opportunity. I arrived here the day before yesterday in the evening, & have spent most of the time since walking about on this - the Canadian side, looking at the falls from various points of view. I meant to go over to the American side today but it is snowing hard. The falls are grand, but not so awfully grand as I had expected. There are some fine masses and hills of <the> ice below the American falls & fine drapery of icicles near the sides where the water is shallow, and on the American side the trees on <Goat> Luna Island are densely covered with the frozen spray and look very beautiful. I enclose a little plan of the shape of the falls. On our side of the horseshoe fall the water is much the deepest and where it falls over the edge it is deep green till a little way down it breaks into white & then gets lost in the cloud of spray. This spray hides the bottom of the fall all across, and towards the centre where the rock appears to have fallen away most and the rush & fall of the water is most violent the spray cloud rises up far above the falls and even mingles with the clouds in dull weather as we have it now. (4.P.M.) It cleared up and I have been on the American side all the morning. It is much more picturesque and beautiful there as the Islands are all wild natural wood and there are paths and balconies by which you can get close to the edge of the falls in several places. At the points A. B. and C. there are splendid views, and on the little islands called "the Three Sisters" to which there are bridges you are in the midst of the most magnificent rapids wh.[ich] would be worth going to see if there were no falls at all. The river here is about a mile wide pouring over tremendous rocks in a series of roaring cataracts five or six feet deep each, the great depth of the water & the rapidity of the stream making it very grand. But the most beautiful sight of all is the little Luna Island where the spray from the falls freezes on the trees and coats every branch and twig with pure white ice till they look like some wonderful fantastic corals. The trees are mostly arbour-vitae, some tall, old, and battered, others small, but all so turned into ice corals that to stand away there & look through them is like a scene in fairy-land. After going all round Goat Island and seeing the falls and Rapids from every point of view I came back again to Luna Is. in order to see the wonderful scene again. It is called Luna Is. because from it you see fine lunar rainbows on the spray of the falls at full moon. I looked all about the islands for ferns but could not see a single specimen of any kind. Yet it is just the place for ferns, rocks, wood, damp air & plenty of moss, so I believe they must have been entirely exterminated by tourists who come here at the rate of 40 or 50 thousand a year. Every smooth tree, every stump, every bench is carved with names, and of course ferns would be a memento not to be revisited. I have tried to find a really good photo. of the falls but all are imperfect. I have however chosen one good sized one giving the American side of the Horseshoe fall to be mounted & framed when I come home. Love to Ma & Willie from
your affectionate Papa
[signed] Alfred R. Wallace
[written vertically at the left hand side of the page]
I did not find Canada so very cold though all the country is covered with this snow
Here there is very little snow but it freezes every night.
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