A TREACHEROUS PLAYGROUND
Stephen Peer, 1887.
Photo courtesy the Niagara Falls Public Library
During the retreat of Ontarios last
ice age 12,500 years ago, torrents of water from the melting
ice ran from the upper Great Lakes, carved out the Niagara
Riveractually a strait joining Lakes Erie and Ontarioand
poured over the Niagara Escarpment at what is now Lewiston,
New York. Father Louis Hennepin, the first man to write about
the amazing cataract in 1678 described the Falls as frightful
and that he could not behold them without a Shudder.
He wrote, The Waters which fall from this horrible Precipice,
do foal and boyl after the most hideous manner imaginable,
making an outrageous Noise, more terrible than that of Thunder;
for when the Wind blows out of the South, their dismal roaring
may be heard more than Fifteen Leagues off. Niagara
Falls is indeed a thunder of water.
The Great Lakes basin is the worlds
largest fresh-water system. Niagara Falls carries the water
from four of these Great Lakes into the fifth, Lake Ontario,
draining a total area of 684,000 square kilometres. There
are six cubic million feet of water going over the Falls every
minuteabout one million full bathtubs. The American
Falls are 10 metres higher than the Canadian Horseshoe Falls,
but ours are twice as wide at 675 metres, with nine times
as much water falling. This downpour of water has its downside.
The Falls have moved 11 kilometres upstream because of erosion,
thus creating the Niagara Gorge. In 1969 the American Falls
were dewatered and its erosion studied by the
Army Corps of Engineers. No water flowed over the American
Falls that summer until autumn. The bottom line of the study
was that their falls were seriously eroding, but the engineers
chose to let nature take its course for fear of interfering
and making things worse. Erosion has slowed somewhat by the
diversion of water upstream for the generation of electricity.
Niagara Falls is not turned off at night,
though some people think so. However, the flow does vary.
The 1950 Niagara Treaty, the basis for determining the amount
of water that can be diverted for power generation, sets limits.
During daylight hours of the tourist season, the flow over
Niagara Falls must not be less than 2832 cubic metres per
second. At all other times it should be at least 1416 cubic
metres per second.
Niagara Falls hasnt always been
a thundering waterfall, in fact, it once dried up. On March
29, 1848 there was barely a trickle. Mills relying on water
power fell silent, adding to the eerie hush. The curious were
drawn to the edge of the precipice to see fish and turtles
floundering on the dry river bed. The flow of water to the
Falls stopped for nearly 40 hours all because an ice jam was
blocking the river. Eventually the forces of nature released
the blockage, letting the waiting water crash through.
Chunks of ice and slush often try to form makeshift bridges
across the Niagara River below the Falls thus joining Ontario
to New York State (a risky attempt at unification). Years
ago, people used to toboggan on these slippery slopes, then
saunter over to booths to buy photos, curiosities and refreshments.
When a triple drowning occurred in 1912, the treacherous playground
was closed to the public.
FOR THE BRAVEHEARTED
Niagara Falls has been a questionable
challenge for some people. In 1827 a partially dismantled
schooner, the Michigan, was scheduled to go over the Falls
with a cargo of animals on board. Luckily, the ship broke
up before it reached the Falls giving the animals an escape
route before it went crashing over the edge. William Lyon
Mackenzie, then editor and publisher of the Colonial Advocate,
traveled from Toronto with his family to report on the incident.
On October 7, 1829 Sam Patch took the
plunge. Three times this funambulist walked out on a 40-foot
ladder projecting from Goat Island to leap over the Falls.
He wasnt always so lucky. He drowned after leaping into
the Genesee River at Rochester, New York.
June 30, 1859 Blondin (John Gravelet)
walked along a tightrope stretched across the Gorge about
1200 metres below the Falls. He teased his audience by lying
down on the rope for frequent rests. To add to the drama hed
motion to the Maid of the Mist far below, let down a twine
to retrieve a bottle of liquor, and satisfy his thirst before
throwing the empty bottle into the river below.
Ontarios reigning pangymnastikonaero-stationist
was Bill Hunt of Port Hope (born in Lockport, N.Y.). This
multi-talented man, a painter, historian and inventor of the
circus cannon was married to Anna Muller, pupil of Franz Liszt
and niece of Richard Wagner. Maybe he had something to prove.
Known professionally as Guillermo Antonio Farini, Hunt repeated
many of Blondins feats. The dashing aerialist was not
content to just cycle across the Falls. While on the tightrope
he washed clothes, ate meals, and descended by rope onto the
deck of the Maid of the Mist after performing feats on the
perpendicular cable. Both Blondin and Farinis managers
must have believed in their clients because they allowed themselves
to be piggybacked across the Falls.
In 1873 Henry Bellini bungee-jumped, taking
a flying leap into the Falls from his tightrope while hanging
onto a rubber cord fastened to the rope. On one jump the cord
came away, wrapping around his legs as he went under the turbulent
water. That was his last jump because the water was too cold,
Maria Spelterini at 23 years of age was
the first woman to perform on a tightrope at Niagara. The
report of her feat on July 8, 1876 was accompanied by photographs
showing her attired in flesh coloured tights, a tunic
of scarlet, a sea-green bodice and neat green buskins.
She often crossed with baskets on her feet. Typical womana
None of these danger-seekers ever lost
their lives while performing as did Stephen Peer, a young
man from Drummondville and assistant to Bellini. Successful
during his daytime crossings he tried it one night and drowned.
Reports vary as to the cause. Some say hed been drinking.
Others assert his attempt failed because he was wearing street
shoes. Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English
Channel, died in an attempt to swim the rapids below the Falls.
His death marked the beginning of the era of the barrel-cranks.
The Niagara Parks Commission today prohibits
stunting, with a maximum fine of $10,000, but this isnt
always a deterrent. In the last decade, 28-eight year old
Jessie Sharp, a white-water kayaker, attempted to kayak over
the Falls, with tragic results. He never showed for his dinner
reservation booked for that evening in Lewiston. An attempt
on a jet ski by 39-year old Robert Overacker failed as well.
As he reached the brink of the Falls, his rocket propelled
parachute failed to discharge.
Though there are about 500 waterfalls
higher than Niagara, its height and volume of water maintain
its stature as a truly natural wonder of the worldand
an Ontario heritage treasure.
This is an original story,
first published in The Country Connection Magazine,
Issue 47, Autumn 2004. Copyright Penny Gumbert.
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