The Indians called these falls “thundering water,” and it was an admirable title.  The waters thunder over the great precipice, as they have done for thousands of years before we were born, and will continue to do thousands of years after we are dead.

The Falls of Niagara are divided by an island into two portions, called the Canadian and the American Falls.  This island lies nearer to the United States shore than to that of Canada.  Therefore the American Falls are the smallest.  This island is named Goat Island, and you have a good view of it in the picture.

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It seems as if the resistless torrent would some day tear away this lonely promontory, as it rushes upon and around it.  It is not unlikely that in the course of ages the island may be carried away.

Even now, portions of it are occasionally torn off by the rush of the waters.

You can cross over to Goat Island by means of a bridge, and when there you can go down under the falls.  Standing in what is called the “Cave of the Winds,” you can look out at a thick curtain of water, from eighteen to thirty feet thick, pouring down from the rocks above.  This curtain, dark and glittering, is a portion of the great falls.

It is necessary to spend days at Niagara before its grandeur can be fully appreciated.  But we must pass on to other waters, and not tarry at this glorious cataract until we are carried away by our subject.

We will now look at, for a short time, what may be called Profitable Waters.  The waters of the earth are profitable in so many ways that it would be impossible for us to consider them all.  But we will simply glance at a few scenes, where we can easily perceive what advantages man derives from the waters, deep or shallow.  In our own country there is no more common method of making a living out of the water than by fishing with a net.

The men in the picture, when they have hauled their seine to shore, will probably find as good a reward for their labor as if they had been working on the land instead of in the river; and if it is shad for which they are fishing, their profits will probably be greater.

You know that our shad fisheries are very important sources of income to a great many people.  And the oyster fisheries are still more valuable.

When we mention the subject, of making a living out of the water, we naturally think first of nets, and hooks and lines.  It is true that mills, and steamships, and packet-lines, and manufactories, are far more important; but they require capital as well as water.  Men fish all over the world, but on some waters vessels or saw-mills are never seen.

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The styles of fishing, however, are very various.  Here is a company of
Africans, fishing with javelins or spears.