This end of the lake was absolutely deserted. Freight steamers bound
for the towns on the banks of the upper Niagara are not numerous, as
its navigation is dangerous. Not one was in sight. Not even a
fishing-boat crossed the path of the "Terror." Even the two
destroyers would soon be obliged to pause in their pursuit, if we
continued our mad rush through these dangerous waters.
I have said that the Niagara River flows between New York and Canada.
Its width, of about three quarters of a mile, narrows as it
approaches the falls. Its length, from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, is
about fifteen leagues. It flows in a northerly direction, until it
empties the waters of Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie into
Ontario, the last lake of this mighty chain. The celebrated falls,
which occur in the midst of this great river have a height of over a
hundred and fifty feet. They are called sometimes the Horse-shoe
Falls, because they curve inward like the iron shoe. The Indians have
given them the name of "Thunder of Waters," and in truth a mighty
thunder roars from them without cessation, and with a tumult which is
heard for several miles away.
Between Lake Erie, and the little city of Niagara Falls, two islands
divide the current of the river, Navy Island, a league above the
cataract, and Goat Island, which separates the American and the
Canadian Falls.
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