How do you persuade visitors to come and stay in your hotel? Well, here was a tourist gimmick – a truly extraordinary stunt – that got people on board, so to speak. And it worked, in a way. In fact, not a single person ended up on this fated boat, the real crew having jumped ship at the last moment, leaving pretend people from old stories. Oh yes, and a motley un-consenting cargo of captured creatures. Let me tell you more… Niagara Falls, 3.00 p.m., 8 th September, 1827 The bears swam ashore before the ship hit the Falls so they were alright. I'm told the dog did the same and the geese – at least, two of them survived the drop as did the cat. The foxes I'm not sure about while nobody speaks of the racoon. As for the buffalo – well, he was penned and crushed by a falling mast. Perhaps that instant death was best, being spared from the heart-stopping fall, though exposed to the din and the terror of those still on board except fo...