Compare this picture with the previous one. It's the same day, ad the same photographer. That snow stuck to the tree trunks is utterly distinctive, and almost never happens, and usually doesn't last more than a few hours or a day. It looks like a late spring snow storm. The last view claimed to be by someone named Brown from New York. This one says, "Whitney & Zimmerman, Photographers" and "Third Street, St. Paul, Minnesota" and "Minne-Ha-Ha -- Laughing Water." I think Whitney or Zimmerman took both.
The hat on the fellow in the middle looks familiar. Maybe they are soldiers, as suggested on the previous page. The man on the right has a stripe on his trousers. I doubt he's in a marching band and has just laid his trombone aside.
We can almost see their faces. There's no way to know who they were, if they just happened to be at the Falls that day, or if they paid to have their pictures taken.
This is the best job I can do to bring up the detail of their faces. There's no reason to do this, except curiosity, and a desire to play with Photoshop.
Pencilled on the back. Was "J. Stone" one of the men in the picture? Was this stereoview in J. Stone's collection? People's lives and stories fade away with time.
The image also appears in the "Illustrated Tales" section. If you got here from there, you can jump back.
