Random Facts about Ice SUSTAINING POWER OF ICE. The sustaining power of ice at various degrees of thickness is given in the following paragraphs: At a thickness of two inches, will support a man. At a thickness of four inches, will support man on horseback. At a thickness of six inches, will support teams with moderate loads. At a thickness of eight inches, will support heavy loads. At a thickness of ten inches, will support 1,000 pounds to the square foot. A STOPPAGE OF THE FALLS OF NIAGARA.
The following remarkable account of the stoppage of Niagara Falls, appeared in the Niagara Mail at the time of the occurrence: "That mysterious personage, the oldest inhabitant, has no recollection of so singular an occurrence as took place at the Falls on the 30th of March, 1847. The 'six hundred and twenty thousand tons of water each minute' nearly ceased to flow, and dwindled away into the appearance of a mere milldam. The rapids above the falls disappeared, leaving scarcely enough on the American side to turn a grindstone. Ladies and gentlemen rode in carriages one-third of the way across the river towards the Canada shore, over solid rock as smooth as a kitchen floor. The 'Iris' says: 'Table Rock, with some two hundred yards more, was left dry; islands and places where the foot of man never dared to tread have been visited, flags placed upon come, and mementoes brought away. This unexpected event is attempted to be accounted for by an accumulation of ice at the lower extremity of Fort Erie, which formed a sort of dam between Fort Erie and Buffalo.'"
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