Niagara Falls : A Recollection > IDEAS & IDEALS

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The tragic news on TV weeks ago(February 12) of the airplane crash killing all 49 passengers aboard, mostly commuters, including 5 crewmen near at Clarence, Buffallo, in New York, was a great sorrow and shock for all. It was reported that the said airplane, Continental Air 3407, took off from Newark airport in New Jersey and was to arrive at the Niagara airport in Buffallo.

     The moment I heard the news, to my shame and guilt, I recollected simultaneously my sight-seeing trip to Niagara Falls which I had made once in my life, sometime in July 1990. I knew it was improper and even cruel of me to recall a happy moment of my life before an infernal human tragedy, but I could not help it. Triggered by the mere word of 'Niagara," the whole picture of Niagara Falls that had been completely out of my mind for the last ten years or more revived instantly before my eyes.

     My first encounter with the Niagara Falls was too short and brief. Less than two hours, perhaps. After I had heard about the Falls and longed for to see it from my childhood, at long last, I arrived at the place where it was, saw it with my own eyes, took some pictures, and had a stroll around mingled among so many other tourists from all corners of the world - all within less than two hours. Then I came home and forgot about it. Many years have passed since then. But now I realize that it remained in me all the time ever since, silently.

     For me who grew up with the waterfalls that are located in deep mountains and have usually a long and narrow body of water falling fast and precipitately from the rocky cliffs, Niagara Falls was not a waterfall at all in the usual and common sense of the word. It was a part of big and great river(Niagara River) that flows by and through the great modern cities. Flowing from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, Niagara Falls is a dramatic, if abbreviated, river.

     What amazed me was not the height of the Falls, but the unbridled power of water with its huge volume, ever undiminished body of greenish-white water pouring down over the wide and high cliffs, ceaselessly and timelessly, making awe-inspiring fearsome din. And, more than anything else, it was beautiful.

     I cannot fail to recall the spectacular view of the Falls from the deck of the boat named "Maid of the Mist." Wearing rain gear and wondering how such a poetic name was given to this noisy boat, I was one of the many adventure-loving tourists on the boat that cruises past the base of the thundering American Falls and propels its way up the stream into the basin of the turbulent waters just below the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. I was thrilled by the spray of the water getting me wet and soaked.

     As I presumed, the "Maid of the Mist" was named for the heroine of a local Indian legend. Long ago, one of the Indian tribes who lived along the Niagara River began to die of a mysterious disease. As a remedy, it was decided that a maiden be sacrificed to the thunder god who lived with his sons in the caves behind the falls. The chosen maid went over the roaring water to her death and, while falling, was caught in the arms of one of the thunder god's sons who loved her. He told her that a giant water snake was poisoning village water. Her spirit alerted her people. The snake, mortally wounded, fled back to the river, twisting itself into the semi-circular shape of the present Horseshoe Falls.

     Such a great wonder of nature on earth as the Niagara Falls is a mystery like a great work of art. It is not easy to say or write something or anything about it. Before its sheer magnitude and sublime beauty of the work we lose or forget proper words with which to express the powerful emotion it creates or evokes in us the moment we encounter it. We are awestruck, become suddenly dumb and silent at the grandeur of the object.

     This is the very reason I have not written a piece about Niagara Falls until now. I have tried many times before, but failed. I feel quite relieved now to have given a vent in words to a strong emotion pent up for long in my heart , although the result is definitely poor and I am not quite satisfied with it. Niagara Falls, along with Grand Canyon, stand beyond and above my reach of expression.

     Do you know the fact that Niagara Falls are disappearing? I am exaggerating. But, to my and your sadness, it is changing slowly, gradually and invisibly. Nothing under the sun is permanent. Nothing remains the same as it is. Over the years rock debris called talus have been accumulating at the base of the American Falls reducing the water's fall. The debris have already risen two-thirds up from the base in places. At this rate, experts predict, the American Falls may become steep rapids in less than a hundred years.

     Over the years the river has eroded the escarpment of the river bed, thus creating the Falls, and this very force is now pushing it upstream. The Horseshoe Falls have been receding back towards Lake Erie where it originates - average 3 feet per year. To my and your temporary relief, thanks to remedial works and the power projects - less water flow and less cutting power - that rate has dropped considerably to less than 1 foot per decade, they say.

     And, the rich volume of water itself that characterizes and distinguishes Niagara Falls from so many other famous falls all over the world might not be as abundant as ever due to scanty rainfall, a symptom being perceived and taking place everywhere in the world.

     However, I am sad and worried. Nature is much more fragile and unpredictable than we think and expect it to be otherwise. I am afraid that one day I would hear another news on TV, not of another tragic airplane crash, but of the natural damage done to the Niagara Falls. Look at the "Old Man in the Mountain" at the mountain peak of Fraconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire in U.S.A. These legendary rocks resembling human face, also known as the "Great Stone Face" by Nathaniel Hawthorne's namesake short story, crumbled and disappeared on 3 May, 2003, due to a heavy rainstorm.

     Long live the Niagara Falls!
     (February 24, 2009)