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Show THAVF.LS TII'ROUGII UPPER CANADA: difbncc from th foot f the ladder we halted , and one of the p:trty was d if),ltclv·d to fetch a b ttle f brandy and a pai r of gob let , which lud b en c. ·:1of1ted. under fome ilones on the margin of th rive r, in our w.1y to the great fdl , vhithcr it woul l have been h if',hly inconvcniL·nt to have earned •h rn . \ V Lt fi·om he~ul to loot, and gre.ttly f.ttiglll.:d, there cert:•i 1ly wa not oue amongfl us tlut appeared, at the moment, d firous of gcttin[; the bra•1dy1 in order top Jur out a libation to th · tutc ary (\t:itic of the catarad; nor in:L:ed vas there much r .1fon to a pprchcnd that our piety would have fhone fot th more confpict ouOy afterwards; however it w.1s not put to th t ·fl: ; for the mefr ·ngcr relurn.:cl in a few minu tes with the vocful in tclli ' Cil C<: that the bran iy ani gobl ets h ad been fiokn . W e were at no great Jofs in gueOing who the thiev s wrre. l'erchcJ on the ro l...s, at a little diLlance fi-om us, fat a pair of the river nymphs, not " nymphs with fcclged crowns ani ever " harmlef looks ;" not " temperate J1ymphs," but a pair of fquat fiurdy old w nchcs, that with clofc bonnets and tucked up petticoats 1ad era\ led down the cliff, and were bufied with long rod in angling for fi{h. Their noify clack plainly indic, ted that they had been well pl afcd with the brandy, and that we ought not to cnt rtain any hopes of recovering the fpoil; we e'en flaked our thirfi, therefore, with a draught from the wholefome flood, and having done fo, boldly pu!hcd forward, and before it was quite darl- rega ined the habitations from whence we had fiarted. On returning we found a well fpread table laid out for us in the porch of the houfe, and havi g grat iti ·d the I- ·en appetite which the fatio-ue we had encountered hacl excited, ou r fr,cndly guides, h avi ng prcvioufly given us infirn{lions for examining th ~ £11 ls nore particuhrly, fct off by moonlight for ·hagar< , :11;d we re 1a.irc 1 to < rt Chi 1peway, three miles above the falls, which pbce , 'e m,t le our head-quarters bile we remained in the ncigh bourhoo'l, bccaufc thLre \.\ a , a toler. ble ta vem, ancl no houfe in the vilbgc n :tr h falls, wl ere ii k1 ef', was not prevalent. The Fall of Niagara arc much lefs difficult of acccL now than they :vere fome ;ears ago. Charlevoix, who vifited th en in the year 1720, tells us, that they were only to be vi wed from one fpot; and that irom thence F A L L S 0 F N I A G A' R A. ~ '2J t hence the f pcc'tator had only a fide profpeCl: of them. fhd he b::cn ab.c to have d fccmLd to the bottom, h ;,: would have h ad ocular dcm n(La. ior? of the exifl.encc of cavcm s undcrnealh the precipice, which he Juppokd. to be the cafe from the hollow found of the £-tiling of the waters; fr m the numb -r of car ·afes wailicd up there on diifcrcnt parts of l 1c fhand, ancl would alfo have been convinced of the truth of a circumflance which he totally diilielieved, namely, that fifh were oft ntimc una~lc to fi:em the rapid current above the fall , and were confcquently earned down the precipi c. The mofl: favour.1ble feafon for vi 1ting the falls is about the middle of September, the time when we faw them; for then the woods arc fcen in all the ir glory, beautifu1ly variegated with the rich tints of autumn; and the fpeCl:ator is not then annoyed with vermin. In the fummcr feafon you meet with rattlcfnakes at every ficp, and mufquitoes [warm fo thickly in the air, that to ufe a common phrafe of the country, " you " might cut them with a knife." The cold nights in the beginning of Sep tcmbe~· effectually bani{h thefc noxious animals. I • r l Tt z |