Megan Stine - Where Is Niagara Falls?

It was a beautiful, hot summer afternoon in 1960. Seven-year-old Roger Woodward was excited. He and his older sister Deanne were about to go on a boat ride. It was Rogers first time ever in a boat. They were going out onto the Niagara River in a motorboat that was just big enough to hold three people.

Remember to wear your life jacket, Rogers father called out to him. His father knew they needed to be careful. They were going on a river that led to the biggest, most awesome waterfall in America.

The man who owned the boat was a family friend named Jim Honeycutt. Jim was a strong swimmer and lifeguard. He knew all about how to stay safe on the river. He made sure Roger kept his life jacket on.

As they passed under a bridge, Roger asked if he could steer the boat. It was a bad idea to let Roger steer right then. The boat was nearing a dangerous part of the river. Most boaters knew to turn around there. The river was full of rocks and rapids that led to the edge of Niagara Falls.

But for some reason, Jim said yes.

Suddenly, the boat hit something hard under the water. The engine screamed. A piece of the motor was broken. They couldnt drive the boat away from the rocks. The rapids were pulling them toward the edge!

Jim grabbed some oars and began to row as hard as he could. He shouted to Deanne to put on the only other life jacket in the boat. Powerful waves tossed them up and down. When a huge one hit the boat, all three were thrown into the swirling, raging rapids.

Roger tried to hold on to Jim, but the water ripped him away.

People on the shore saw what was happening. They ran up and down, but no one could figure out a way to help.

Roger felt himself being bounced against rocks. Then he was dragged over the edge of the gigantic falls, like a fly being flushed down a toilet.

No one had ever survived going over Niagara Falls without somethinga boat or a barrelto protect them.

But somehow, a miracle happened! Roger found himself floating in the water below the falls. A tourist boat happened to be nearby. Someone spotted Rogers red life jacket and fished him out of the water. He was saved!

Roger became famous that day. He was the first person ever to survive going over Niagara Falls without protection. When he grew up, he became a sailor. He loved the water and even joined the navy. His sister survived that day, too. She was pulled out of the river before ever reaching the falls.

But Jim Honeycutt died in the terrible accident. Sadly, he was not the firstor lastto lose his life to the biggest, most awesome, and most dangerous waterfall in America.

CHAPTER 1
A Terrible Beauty

The first people to see Niagara Falls were Native Americans.

We dont know for sure what happened, but we can imagine.

At some point, Native Americans probably paddled a canoe along the peaceful river that divided two pieces of landwhat is now the United States and Canada. Suddenly, the water began to run a little faster. They probably heard a noise. What was it? Rushing water! Before they knew it, they were being pulled toward the edge!

They might have paddled toward the riverbank. Some might have reached safety. Others might have gotten caught up in the rushing rapids, gone over the falls, and died.

Or perhaps the first Native Americans came upon the falls on foot. Imagine their surprise at seeing a huge wall of crashing water!

We know that was the reaction of the first white man who saw Niagara Falls.

In 1678, a French priest named Father Louis Hennepin set out with a group of men from Europe. They traveled through Canada, across the river from what is now New York State. The men wanted to build a fort near the river. As they pushed their way through the trees, they saw a huge mist. Then they saw the gigantic fallsNiagara Falls!

The wall of water was more than 160 feet highas high as a fifteen-story building. And it was twenty times as wide as it was high! It was actually three waterfalls stretching across the river, not just one. Together they were more than half a mile wide.

Father Hennepin was so terrified when he saw the falls, he began shaking. He dropped to his knees and started praying. When he glanced at the falls again, he quickly turned his head away. He was too frightened even to keep looking! Later he said he was seized with horror.

When he got home, Father Hennepin wrote about Niagara Falls. He called it the most beautiful and at the same time most frightful cascade in the world. He said the sound of it was more terrible than thunder!

Seventy years later, a Swedish man named Pehr Kalm saw Niagara Falls. In 1751, his travel diary was printed in English. He said, You cannot see it without being quite terrified. The bodies of dead bears and deer were found at the bottom of the falls. Even birds flying over Niagara Falls got so wet from the spray, they were sucked into the falls and killed!