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STRANGE HISTORY - NIAGARA FALLS TOURS - MAID OF THE MIST
In 1846, the Niagara Falls Ferry Association was incorporated. The Maid of the Mist Ferry Service had begun. The first Maid of the Mist was launched on May 27th 1846. It remained the only method to cross the border until 1848, when the first suspension bridge was built. With a ferry service no longer required the Maid of the Mist boat service realized the need for a tourist boat attraction. Due to its popularity, a larger boat, the Maid of the Mist II was launched for service on July 14th 1854. It was a single smoke stacked 72 foot long steam propelled paddle wheeler. In 1861, due to a financial crisis and the impending American Civil War, the Maid of the Mist was sold at public auction. It was sold to a Canadian Company providing the boat could be delivered to Lake Ontario. In order to do so the Maid of the Mist would have to be navigated through the Great Gorge Rapids, the Whirlpool and the Lower Rapids prior to delivery. The thought was mind boggling and terrifying. On June 6th 1861, 53 year old Captain Joel Robinson undertook this mission along with two deck hands. At approximately 3 p.m., with his mechanic, James McIntyre at his side in the wheel house, Captain Robinson began this perilous journey. His engineer, James Jones was tending to the boiler to ensure maximum power was available when needed. A short blast of the boats whistle announced the beginning. With both shores lined with people who had come to see this spectacle, Captain Robinson and crew rode the Maid of the Mist through one of the world's most wild and dangerous white water rapids. The first giant wave, threw Robinson and McIntyre to the floor of the wheel house and tore the smoke stack from the boat. Engineer Jones was thrown to the floor of the engine room. On his knees, he held on to a pipe stand for his life. The boat was now at the mercy of the mountainous waves crashing against and over the tiny boat. The boat was carried at approximately 39 miles per hour through the rock strewn rapids. Soon the Maid of the Mist was propelled into the Whirlpool. The relative tranquility of the Whirlpool allowed Captain Robinson to regain control of his boat. Captain Robinson had great difficulty breaking the Maid of the Mist from the grip of the Whirlpool before challenging the final leg of this dangerous trip through the dreaded Devil's Hole Rapids. As the boat escaped the grips of the Whirlpool, Captain Robinson did the best he could to hold a course through the center of the channel with his badly damaged vessel. The three mile journey through the rapids and the whirlpool was successful except for losing the smoke stack. Captain Robinson had accomplished something no one had done before and thought impossible. Captain Robinson and his crew were motivated by the five hundred dollar reward if they successfully delivered the boat to the docks at Queenston, Ontario. The frightening experience of this journey caused Captain Robinson to give up a career that he loved. He retired into near seclusion. Captain Robinson died two years later at the age of 55 years. 
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