The Great Cataract of Niagara

The Great Cataract of Niagara. An attraction even in wartime. , Early European Visitors , The Niagara River, with its mighty falls and rapids, was well known by Native Americans. Word of its majesty reached European explorers and soldiers who came to North America. Despite their mission, explorers and soldiers alike took time to see the watery spectacles for themselves. , 1615 Etienne Brule, a French explorer may have been the first European to actually view the Falls and gorge., 1678 French explorer La Salle passed through here on his way to survey the Great Lakes. Along on the trip was Louis Hennepin published the first engraving of Niagara Falls in his book Nouvelle Decouverte., 1720 French fur trader Chabert Joncaire established a trading post at the lower portage landing at the foot of the gorge and likely guided many early visitors to the Falls., 1750 French soldiers stationed at Fort Niagara at the mouth of the Niagara River were in a good position to visit the Falls regularly. Two French officers from Fort Niagara escorted Peter Kalm, a Swedish botanist and agriculturalist, to the Falls., 1759 After the English captured Fort Niagara, they had access to the Falls as well. General Sir William Johnson, Colonel Frederick Haldimand, Reverend John Ogilvie, and several other officers were escorted by three companies of light infantry "...to see Niagara Falls.", 1760 Thomas Davies was one of the first to illustrate views of the Falls. Davies created this image entitled "An East View of the Great Cataract of Niagara" while on a survey for Major General Jeffery Amherst., Illustrator of the French and Indian War , British Artilleryman and officer Thomas Davies illustrated these and many other scenes during the French and Indian War. Artists were an important part of an organized army; their skills of observation were used to document places and events., French and Indian War. The first Europeans visited the natural attractions of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. Seaway Trail, Inc. Corner Ray and West Mail St., Sackets Harbor, NY 13685. www.seawaytrail.com . America's Byways. This project was funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration and administered by the New York State Scenic Byways Program of the New York State Department of Transportation and Seaway Trail, Inc.