June 30, 1834
Sunshine. The small forest island to the right on the opposite side of the small branch of the American Falls [Luna Island] was full of thick, partly stunted arborvitae (Thuja) and [was] very interesting. I quite often saw the cedar bird (Bombycilla [——]) that nests here, as well as the northern waxwing (which we obtained on the upper Missouri) [that was] depicted by Bonaparte in the supplements to Wilson’s ornithology. It is often shot here when small flocks come to the Niagara in winter. While I was on the just-mentioned small island, above the large falls to the right, a magnificent rainbow [appeared] at my feet off the tip of the island in cloudlike, rising water vapor. It [appeared] approximately [at the spot] indicated in the sketch on the next [manuscript] page.
I stayed on Goat Island a long time this day and found all kinds of interesting plants in the shadow of its tall forest. Here grew Podophyllum, Trillium, Asarum, and others that had no flowers at the time; Juniperus virginiana; [and] Thuja occidentalis. Several species of Rhus were very common. [There were] Betula lenta, beech trees, sugar maples, elms, hornbeams, lindens—-all tall, slender, beautiful, trees.
Formerly, game (Cervus virginianus) was kept on the island, but [the deer] became too accustomed to the tourists [and] followed them; some got away across the river, [and] the rest were eliminated.
Mr. Bodmer worked on his sketch again today. Of the shrubs, only Rubus odoratus was blooming. On the mainland I noticed the vermilion [——] that I saw near St. Louis and Vincennes. I stayed almost the whole day on this interesting, wild island that forms a small park with paths leading around it.
The islands near the falls, about fifteen in number and of varying sizes, offer an interesting view with their mixture of broad-leafed trees, firs, [and] arborvitae. [One sees] boldly broken conifers, partly dried. [There are] rocks, foaming water, and mist everywhere, [and one hears] the deafening roar of the wildly boiling water from all directions.
The blue jay (Corvus cristatus L.) is very numerous on Goat Island, and I saw a variant of the black squirrel—a brownish black [one]—with spotted sides. The black squirrel is supposed to be larger than the gray. In the afternoon I went to see a family of bald eagles (Aquila leucocephala) that had been taken from their nest; more about them in my zoological notes.