The legend of the Maid of the Mist has become an important, but highly controversial component of Niagara Falls culture and its tourist industry. Although it is speculated that the legend of the Maid of the Mist originated within the Neutral Nation, a confederacy of Native American peoples living along the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, the myth is commonly associated with the Haudenosaunee, passed down through oral tradition. Various versions of the Maid of the Mist legend have played on popular elements in Euro-American society: a fascination with aboriginal spirituality and an interest in the “Indian princesses” glamorized originally in literature and later in film. Although multiple accounts make it difficult to ascertain how much of the legend Euro-Americans changed to fit in with their own culture, an analysis of the many variants of the tale has identified several consistent themes: a large serpent was poisoning the water supply of a village, and its death led to the creation of Niagara Falls. Although small variations exist within these versions, the main point of contention is whether the maiden who went over the precipice of the falls acted as a sacrifice or was trying to commit suicide.
In one variation of the legend, several members of a tribe residing near the banks of the Niagara River became inexplicably ill, leading them to the conclusion that they must sacrifice a female from their tribe on an annual basis to curry favor with one of their gods, He-no. Although some versions identify the maiden who was selected as a sacrifice and sent over the falls in a canoe as Lelawala, the daughter of the chief, other versions fail to mention her name. The legend resumes by stating that the maiden, rescued by either He-no or his two sons, would agree to reside with them on the condition that they divulge the reason as to why her people were suffering. Some accounts go so far as to suggest that she promised to wed whichever son would provide her with the information necessary to save her village. The youngest son informed her that every year a serpent was intentionally poisoning the drinking springs used by the tribe. The girl promptly conveyed this information to her tribe. The villagers severely wounded the snake in an attack, and as its body traveled down the Niagara River it became stuck in the river, creating the Horseshoe Falls.
In his book League of the Iroquois, Lewis Henry Morgan relates the Seneca interpretation of the legend of the Maid of the Mist, which is echoed in in the text Myths of the Iroquois. Morgan recounts: “A young maiden residing at Ga-u-giau, a village above Niagara Falls, at the mouth of Cayuga creek, had been contracted to an old man of ugly manners and disagreeable person. As the marriage was hateful to her, and, by customs of the nation there was no escape, she resolved upon her self-destruction.” Although Morgan insists that the motivation for the maiden to commit suicide was her resolve to avoid an unwanted marriage, this is contrary to the influence women have exercised in Iroquois society, and other sources believe the source of her depression was the death of her lover. Morgan continues by stating that the maiden was saved by He-no and his sons, although some accounts attribute this rescue simply to He-no. Regardless of the identity of her rescuer, the accounts are nearly consistent that the maiden agreed to wed one of his sons, but soon after, danger threatened her village. A giant serpent, it was said, was poisoning her tribe’s drinking water. Accounts vary as to whether the maiden pleaded with He-no to allow her the opportunity to alert her people of the impending hazard or if it was, as Morgan insists, He-no’s compassion for her and her tribe that motivated him to return her to her tribe. Upon her return, the maiden alerted her people about the harm that was about to befall them, and they fled. The serpent, furious that his prey managed to elude him, tried to hunt them down, forcing He-no to intervene. He struck the serpent dead with a thunderbolt, and the creature’s corpse blocked the Niagara River at the top of the escarpment, causing the surging river to find a path around the corpse, thereby creating the Horseshoe Falls. The creation of the Horseshoe Falls ruined He-no’s dwelling and forced him, the maiden, and his sons to seek refuge in the skies.
It is evident that during the nineteenth century the legend of the Maid of the Mist was appropriated by the developing tourist industry of Niagara Falls. The book Guide to Travellers Visiting the Falls of Niagara included a story recounted in the mid-eighteenth century that involved an Iroquois man inadvertently getting caught in the current of the Niagara River and plummeting over the falls to his death. Although Parson recounted this story in his text, he was concerned about its authenticity due to its generic nature. This story was later adapted for the book Pictorial Guide of the Falls of Niagara, but in this story, it is an Iroquois man and “squaw” who became entrapped in the swift-moving current of the falls:
When he found it impossible to escape, coolly laid down his paddle, and, taking up a bottle of whiskey, which it had been the object of his voyage to procure, deliberately applied it to his lips, and kept sucking away, until he was himself sucked in, by the overwhelming flood; and, thus in a spiritual way, introduced himself to the world of spirits.
The text simply cites this as a “tradition,” so it is impossible to ascertain who created it or when, but the language in the legend suggests a reformist concern about the dangers of Indian drinking since the couple perished due to the man’s quest to procure whiskey. It is impossible to ascertain if there is a connection between these accounts and the aid of the Mist legend, but it is evident that tourist book writers were adamant that a Native American should be connected to the surging waters of Niagara Falls in some capacity.
It was common practice for companies to utilize the legends and images of Native Americans to sell their products, and companies in Niagara Falls were certainly no different. The legend is recounted through film, literature, and tourist paraphernalia, and it has been commercialized by tourist attractions. The Maid of the Mist legend has also been discussed in public forums in newspaper articles circulating in the Niagara region, which helps to explain why so many versions of the legend exist. The Maid of the Mist Corporation, which has been in business since the nineteenth century, promoted the version of the legend in which the maiden’s death was a sacrifice, until Seneca activist groups contested its use due to its erroneous and negative depiction of tribal culture in the Great Lakes region. Initially reluctant to remove the story from the Maid of the Mist experience, the Maid of the Mist Corporation relented under the mounting pressure from the Seneca activists and growing concern about negative publicity spreading through the national media. But perhaps more importantly, the Maid of the Mist is a perfect example of how a story can be utilized to serve the interests of the storyteller. As one modern-day adaptation of the myth concludes, “Some say that it is the spirit of their great love which has made Niagara Falls the paradise of young lovers, and maybe it is.” This comment is clearly a reflection of how Niagara Falls is perceived as the “Honeymoon Capital” of the world, which it so effectively markets on its website.
Brian de Ruiter
See also Oneida Maiden Hero; Women in Folklore
Further Reading
Berton, Pierre. 1992. Niagara: A History of the Falls. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Tucker, Toba Pato. 1999. Haudenosaunee: Portraits of the Firekeepers, the Onondaga Nation. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
Wonderley, Anthony. 2004. Oneida Iroquois Folklore, Myth, and History: New York Oral Narrative from the Notes of H. E. Allen and Others. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
Niagara Falls’ Maid of the Mist, an Iroquois Legend—Primary Document
Paul Carus, The Chief’s Daughter, A Legend of Niagara (1902)
The Maid of the Mist of Niagara Falls is an enduring local legend. Beginning in the seventeenth century, European colonists depicted the Iroquois as savages to justify their unjust land and trade policies; allegations of human sacrifice surfaced as early as 1679 in accounts attributed to Robert Cavelier de La Salle. In 1846, a corporation branded its boat tour of the falls as “Maid of the Mist” and gave the legend more footing. This book recounts the legend of Iroquois human sacrifices at the falls, for which there is no historical proof.
THE PRIESTESS
It was a fine day in the fall of the year 1679, when under the majestic fir trees of the virgin forest a procession moved to the shore where the first line of the great breakers rises. Here the river forms a bay, called the Elbow, in which two idyllic islands are situated. The water that rushes through the Elbow is gentle in comparison with the wild rapids in the open stream. There the river is apparently alive. It feels but too well that it is preparing for the tremendous leap into the abyss below. All across its entire breadth it is full of excitement. Who that has ever seen this grand spectacle, can deny that the river knows the destiny that awaits it and which it is anxious to fulfil? Its waters are seized with an irresistible impulse in which without any apparent cause the smooth surface suddenly changes. Mighty billows rise high with fervid expectation in bewildering tumult, tossing each other so as to present to the sight a majestic chaos of super-abundant life, eagerly racing to the brink of the precipice as if every drop were anxious to be the first at the place and to obey the laws of its being with rapturous enthusiasm.
The procession crossed the Elbow and went to the islands, which were called by the red man the Island of Giving Thanks and the Island of Sacrifice. On the former, according to the old custom, the election took place and Lelawala was unanimously chosen by the tribe. When she accepted the holy office she said with deep emotion: “I accept the honor of this holy duty unhesitatingly, voluntarily and gladly.”
Did she speak the truth? Yes, for although there was a tremor in her voice which but slightly betrayed the tumult of her soul, there was no faltering, no hesitation, no fear, no sadness, no mournful expression, no complaint. It was as if the sunshine of peace rested upon her words. Her purpose was firm, and apparently she knew that her course of action was best for herself and for her people.
What a contrast between the self-possession of the heroic maiden and the significance of her words that boded a dreadful death in the thundering waters. Exactly so the sweet colors of the rainbow appear as an emblem of the victory of spirit over matter, above the foaming froth of the tumultuous cataract. Thus the soul conquers the terrors of death and abides as an immortal presence amidst the constant change of the material universe out of which it rises in its grandeur and beauty.
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.
LELAWALA performed all the ceremonies in strictest obedience to the traditional custom. Then all the people went over to the Island of Sacrifice. On its outmost corner where the billows madly rush round a courageous rock that dares to stop them in their hurried course, she stood as the priestess of the Great Spirit draped her in vestments of white. She prayed for her tribe, and prayed for all mankind, blessed the folk that knelt round her and then stepped into the canoe which was tied to the shore. Holding in one hand the paddle and in the other the end of the rope, a slight pull on which would loosen the noose that still kept the canoe tied to the shore, she said with a loud and commanding voice so as to be heard in spite of the roar of the rapids:
“Farewell, my father, and ye mothers and sisters and brothers, of my tribe. Lelawala thanks you for the honor of this glorious day. But I pray you in the name of the Great Spirit, let my sacrifice be the last one. Our old custom, although a savage one, is not wrong, but just as the grain of wheat is nobler and better than the husk in which it grows, so the truth contained in our custom is greater than our sacrifice. The right worship of the Great Spirit does not lie in obedience to old ordinances and ceremonies, but in obedience to the truth. Do not believe blindly in traditions, be they ever so sacred and venerable, but search for the truth yourself. The truth can be known, and the truth will make you free. I have long been doubtful whether I could accept the honor of this day while rejecting the belief in the rightfulness of our ceremonies. But I did accept it, for I am convinced that it is the right course I take. I must prove to you that it is not cowardice on my part if I reject our time-honored and holy tradition. I must prove that my personal fate had naught to do with the admonition I now make. And more still! The priestess herself must proclaim the new dispensation of the Great Spirit. While dying as a sacrifice of the old faith, I charge you to obey the will of the Great Spirit which is revealed to you in these words.”
While Lelawala spoke, she appeared to her father as a divine messenger. Every word from her tongue awakened a powerful echo in his heart. She had proclaimed the truth, she had proved herself strong to face death—nobody doubted the courage of the chieftain’s daughter. Why then should she go down into the thundering waters and die a cruel death for an old error? His thoughts, anxieties, and wishes were visibly expressed in the quivering of his lips. He felt impelled to shout: “Come my friends, let us lift the noble maiden out of the canoe of death and let us carry her home in triumph.”
She threw one more glance of farewell toward her people, and reading the anxious hopes in the face of her dear father, smiling sadly shook her head. One quick pull of her graceful hand untied the rope and her light canoe flew over the turbid waters, more and more swiftly approaching the precipice. There she stood upright, guiding fearlessly her little boat through the tumult of the wild waves, straight toward the middle of the great Horseshoe Falls.
Her father stood aghast. All the life of his soul seemed to wither away in one terrible moment. No cry came from his lips, but his eyes looked glassy and terror-stricken. With one bound he leaped into his little canoe which stood near by where the Elbow departs from the main river, and before his people could comprehend the purpose of his actions he had cut the rope and pushed the canoe powerfully with his paddle out into the wild rapids. There he glided along beyond any possibility of rescue, down, down, swifter and swifter—and now he sank into the gorge on the same spot where his daughter had disappeared among the clouds of white foam, surrounded by the glorious halo of the rainbow.
This was the last sacrifice of the Oniahgahrah Indians.
Source: Carus, Paul. The Chief’s Daughter: A Legend of Niagara. Chicago: Open Court, 1902.