Emily Stehr

Interesting History of Niagara Falls Emily Stehr

Word Origin of Niagara Falls: "The Falls of the Niagara River: in Canada, the Horseshoe Falls, 158 feet (48 meters) high; 2600 feet (792 meters) wide; in the US, American Falls, 167 (51 meters) high; 1000 feet (305 meters) wide." http: //www.dictionary.com/browse/niagara-falls Timothy Alden; An account of sundry missions performed among the Senecas and Munsees: in a series of letters, with an appendix; American autobiographies: 1676-1850; printed by J Seymour; 1827 Timothy Alden writes: "On thursday we rode to Lewistown, and returned on saturday. On our way, we had the satisfaction of viewing that wonderful specimen of the true sublime of nature, the Niagara Falls; or, in the language of the Senecas, the N'yeuchgau Koskongshade. We crossed the river, viewed the heights of Queenston, and, in the evening, I preached to a respectable assembly of his Britannic Majesty's subjects. We also visited the Rev Mr Crane, recently established, as the permanent missionary of the Indians, at the Tuscarora village. We found him at the new and commodious council house, happy in the prospect of doing good to the souls of his precious charge." Timothy Alden continues: "N'ye-uch"-gau Kos-kong'-sha-de. This is the name, which Henry Obeal gave the author for the Niagara Falls, the latter word signifying broken water. It is impossible to write with correctness the former word in English characters. In the first syllable there is a slight sound of the letter n. The second ends, in this example, with the German ch. This however in the German alphabet is a guttural. The Senecas in this syllable, as in many words of their language, have a sound, which may be called a pectoral, and must be learned viva voce."