No one knows when man first came to Niagara.
His beginnings are shrouded in mystery and myth.
They worshipped the Great One...
creator of all things
but their lives were directed by the spirits of nature.
To the ancient people of Niagara
the greatest of the spirits were the Thunder Beings
who lived under the Great Falls.
Their history is lost in legend
their traditions are but whispers
on the lips of the very old.
Lingering still from the ancient times
is the story of Lelawala
the maiden of the mist
Lelawala was a strange and beautiful maiden
who lived in the land of thundering water.
The Chief gave her as wife
to the oldest and wisest man in the village.
It was a great honor
but Lelawala could not love him.
He was disagreeable
and smelled much like a bear in the springtime.
Lelawala did not wish to bring shame to her family
and dishonor to the wise, old elder.
The spirits spoke to her heart
She knew she must leave the village.
She was driven by a force
she could not understand.
Some say she was the chosen one.
The Thunder Beings called out to her.
Her name was whispered on the winds.
The legend says it was Hinum
greatest of all the Thunder Beings
who called to Lelawala.
He caught her in his mighty arms
and she became one with the spirits.
Is it only legend?
Perhaps
but there are those who say you can see her still
in the rainbow of the mist
History beings where legends die.
It was 2,000 years before the white man came to Niagara
but he would come.
History remembers French explorer Robert Cavelier
as La Salle.
He was searching for passage to China
when he became snowbound at the Great Lakes
in the winter of 1678.
Jesuit priest Father Joseph Hennepin
recorded the extraordinary events of the expedition.
The waters of the gorge are too treacherous to navigate.
We have abandoned our ship.
We have entered that portion of the river
Captain Caveller supposes to be
the route to his China passage.
By our calculation, it connects two great lakes
but it is clear
God has deemed these passages not to be gained with ease.
The Indians tell us
of another land route to the lake above.
The trail traverses a 300-foot escarpment
the natives call "Crawl or No Fall."
Once on top, we will build a new craft and go on.
For three days now
the wind has carried a most frightful noise.
The Indians murmur among themselves
"There are spirits that inhabit this place."
The camp is beset with fear.
What Gad has willed for us we know not
but we shall march forward, sustained by our faith.
In all our journey
nothing I've seen or imagined can be referenced
to compare with the wonder of this place
the Indians call "Thundering Water"-Niagara.
With the coming of the Europeans
the white man learned what the Indians had always known.
Water was the way West
Whoever controlled Niagara controlled the riches beyond.
What happened?
Terrible. It's terrible.
Two regiments backed up by artillery.
How many artillery pieces?
Field? Stationary?
They brought them down from the falls.
I couldn't tell you for certain.
We-we got a couple of them, but...
just couldn't get...
Grab your muskets!
From light section!
Fire in two ranks!
Light infantry ready!
Fire at will!
Retreat! Retreat!
The struggle to control Niagara
raged on a hundred years.
By 1850, it was over.
The frontier was gone.
Explorers, Indians and the men at war
had pushed on to the western wilderness.
Niagara became the mecca
for the ordinary folk of a civilized America.
For a dime, you could ride the steamboat
right under the falls
and see them as they were never seen before.
How do you do?
Welcome to Niagara. Your Highness.
Thank you.
Princes, presidents, painters and poets-
they all came to the mighty falls...
It's Blondin!
But so did another kind of men-
men willing to risk their lives
to prove that they were greater
than the power of Niagara.
Let Blondin through.
Let him through. Let Blondin through.
Excuse me. Let Blondin step through.
Make way for...
Excuse me.
Excuse me, ladies.
Blondin, Blondin...
Blondin, the prince.
Good luck and best wishes to you.
It's an honor.
Now, may I extend an invitation?
You go on my back and, uh, we work together?
No.
I will work alone.
Let's go.
Ladies and gentlemen...
the Great Blondin of France
is about to perform an act of true daring...
a feat never before attempted by mortal man.
Your attention, please.
He is about to begin.
There he goes.
The steamship Lelawala was only seven years old
when the Civil War broke out
Tourism died and the boat was sold.
Captain Joel Robinson faced
the most extraordinary challenge of his life.
I bought her on condition I get her downriver.
That means taking her through whirlpool rapids.
They claim it's the most dangerous stretch
of white water in the world.
It's never been done.
They say I shouldn't try, but, hell, impossible is a word
that old steamboat and I ain't never heard of.
Huh?! Ed! Ed!
Ed!
What?
Look.
Oh...
They'll never believe it
I've been telling stories for so long
they're coming true.
No chance you got a bit of baling wire, hey?
Where in larnation have do you come from, boy?!
Upriver, Niagara Falls.
I think maybe the spirits sent you.
Maybe they did, old timer, maybe they did.
Annie Taylor was a 63-year-old schoolteacher
when she thought of a novel idea...
an idea that would become synonymous with Niagara.
Now, Hector, you've looked at every inch of that barrel.
Yes, ma'am. It's just as strong
as we always said it was going to be.
Does the lid fit tightly?
That's the most important thing. How's that lid?
It's fine.
Well, let's see. Yes, that looks pretty tight
Well, put the mattress in.
Take the cat, Miller.
No, no, no! I want that for my head.
Get the mattress in, though. And I'll need
lots of stuffing around my feet
I'll need to be braced there.
Okay.
And make sure it's all nice and flat
Do you think that it's all going to fit in there?
Sure.
No, no, no!
I've got to get in first
I've got get in before I get towed out
or I'll get my skirt all wet
I want to look nice for the photographer.
The photographer!
The photographer... did you remember
to order the photographer, for down below, I mean?
Yes, Annie...
And you be sure he's to have no shots
until I've had time to straighten my hair.
Oh, I'm not going without Henry. Henry?!
Bring her the cat!
Henry?! Come on, darling.
OH, now, don't fuss.
The Indians used to do this all the time
to show how brave they were.
And when we're finished
you're going to be as famous as I am!
Put in that pillow.
And I tell you it's going to be my good-bye
to Mr. Phipps and all those misbehaving youngsters
at the East York school.
What will they think of their Miss Taylor now, eh?
I'd like to see their faces.
Well, bon voyage, Annie.
Thanks, Miller.
Oh, don't push! Ooh! Ooh!
Don't forget, I'm going to need lots of air.
Put the lid on, but air!
Don't forget the air!
I got the air, Annie.
I got the air.
Annie, are you okay?
We got to move fast, Annie.
It's your air!
Air. You sure the pump will work?
And hurry up.
Give me that
Now, make sure those newspapermen
spell my name right
Bon voyage, Annie!
Bon voyage, Annie.
There she goes.
I think that's the end of her, I'll tell you.
Yeah.
Hector?
Miller?
The old gal was crazy.
Sure was.
Hey, mister, look over there.
Hold the old bald-headed boy, Frisco!
Get that barrel!
There it is!
Get a hold of it!
I can't believe it!
...barrel in the river.
They got it
Come on. Haul that thing in there.
I got her!
Open it up right quick!
Pull it in closer.
Come on. Pull it over here.
I got it
Pull her in here.
Open her up!
Let's hope for the best
You okay, Annie?! We got you here.
You okay? Annie? Annie?
She all right?
She is! She's alive!
Oh, Annie!
Take it easy.
Annie!
Take it easy.
Steady on, Bryce.
Look at this.
There you go now.
Bring her along, boys.
Bring her along now.
Steady, steady.
Annie Taylor risked her life for fame and fortune
but like so many others that challenged Niagara
she died in oblivious poverty.
That she lived at all was more than a miracle.
Time is a circle.
The past is not past but eternally present
The time of sacred things is a circle returning
to itself again.
It is summer, 1961.
The day on the upper Niagara River
has begun like any other.
Dad, what's wrong?
It's okay. It's all right
I'll get it going.
Can't you get it going?
Get back, get back!
Hey, look over there! What is that?
What is it?
It's over there!
There's a boat in the water!
Swim! Swim for shore!
Come on!
Try to swim in!
Come on, kick! Kick!
Help!
Help me!
Hang on, hang on, hang on!
Got her?
Where's Ben? He's gone!
He's gone!
Oh, he's gone!
Look! Over there!
Captain, Captain!
There's a kid in there!
A kid in the water, a boy!
He's in the water. He's in the water over there!
There he is.
Hay! Over here!
Come get me!
Over here! Hey!
Help me!
Stand back. Let him breathe.
Come on, give him air.
How is he?
He's all right
He's all right?
Time has created the myths.
Man has created the magic
but the miracles remain a mystery.
Some say it was luck, some thank God
and both are probably right, but for those who feel
the rhythms of their own heartbeat
In the thundering water of the great Niagara
and see the rainbow appear in the mist
it is a mystery no longer.