Joseph Avery and his two friends were rowing across the Niagara River Rapids in 1853, when the boat capsized. The two friends were swept to their deaths immediately, but Joseph Avery managed to hold on to a protruding tree trunk until the following day. Despite rescuer's efforts, they were not able to save him. Photographer Platt Babbitt captured an image of Avery that has become an iconic Niagara Falls photo. Their stories are told in both prose and poetry.

Credits:

Alexander Duringer. "Niagara Falls" https://niagarapoetry.ca/2025/03/15/d...

Platt Babbitt. "Joseph Avery stranded on rocks in the Niagara River" https://www.loc.gov/item/2004664370/

William Dean Howells. "Avery, 1853" https://niagarapoetry.ca/2017/01/25/a...

T.W. Kriner. "In the Mad Water" https://a.co/d/79HV3Ay

Penha, James "American Daguerreotypes: Ekphrastic Poems"

Captain Matthew Webb. the first person to swim the English Channel from Dover to Calais, lost his life at Niagara Falls whilst attempting to swim the Niagara River rapids and whirlpool. This tragedy is documented in poems by 3 of the worst poets writing in English and 3 poets laurate, and includes both a poem and a prose description of encounters with Captain Webb's ghost.

Poems and other sources cited:

Almon Trask Allis. Uncle Alvin at Niagara https://niagarapoetry.ca/2018/01/13/alvin/

John Betjeman. A Shropshire Lad (on album Banana Blush) https://niagarapoetry.ca/2021/07/27/betjeman/

Donald Lashelle. The River Niagara https://niagarapoetry.ca/2018/01/08/lashelle/

James McIntyre. Niagara’s Charms and Death of Webb https://niagarapoetry.ca/2021/06/20/charms/

William Arthur Deacon. The Four Jameses (book)

James Gay. Lines on the Death of Captain Webb https://niagarapoetry.ca/2021/06/20/charms/

Crawford Kilian. Canada’s Five Worst Poets: Are You Number Six? https://thetyee.ca/ArtsAndCulture/2012/03/24/Five-Worst-Poets/

Chris Hunt. McGonagall Online. https://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk/

James McGonagall. The Death of Captain Webb https://niagarapoetry.ca/2025/03/02/mcgonagall/

Michelle Ann Kratts, in her Kratts Korner column on the Oakwood Cemetery website https://www.oakwoodniagara.org/

Niagara Falls Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay

Bears are rarely seen in Niagara today, but they were certainly here in the 19th century. In this episode I examine a story from a guidebook about a bear climbing into a fisherman's canoe in the middle of the Niagara River, and two poems also describing this incident.

Poems & other sources mentioned

Erieus (Adam Hood Burwell, known as the Pioneer Poet). Journal of a Day’s Journey in Upper Canada in October, 1816

Charles Edwin Jakeway. Laura Secord

George W. Holley, ed. The Falls of Niagara.
Florio (Clement Clarke Moore). A Legend of Niagara
McIntyre, James. Bear and Falls

Information about recent sightings of bears https://www.wbfo.org/environment/2018-11-05/dec-confirms-resident-bears-in-niagara-county