To Niagara

Buffalo, Monday, September 29th, 1823 – In the morning I wrote to Jos. Sabine [Secretary of the Horticultural Society, and Douglas’s boss]. At 10 o’clock I set out in company with Mr Briscoe for Niagara. We went on the American side for two miles and crossed [the Niagara River] to the Canadian side. The weather was very cold and there was a snow shower which lasted for three-quarters of an hour.

We had a good deal of difficulty gaining the Canadian side; the wind blew from the west. Along the side of the River Niagara the soil in general is rich, of black and brown loam [Douglas rarely desists from assessing the fertility of a place in terms of its soil; his early training as a gardener shows through!]. We travelled slowly, stopping frequently...... [and] at 5 o’clock in the afternoon we reached the Falls.