An Agreeable Blunder

Mitchell tells of how sightseers at Niagara falls look like members of “some awful secret society” when dressed up in the standard coats with pointed hoods.

Those who have visited the Cave of the Winds at Niagara falls will remember how parties of tourists after donning the rubber coats and hoods resembled a meeting of some awful secret society organized for the purpose of crime.
To identify a friend while in the cave requires the closest scrutiny of the features. Men and women look very much alikes here and frequently ludicrous mistakes occur which are embarrassing to those concerned, but heartily enjoyed by the spectators.
Two young men recently visited this celebrated place and to one of them befell this experience. In order to not become separated they held onto each others shoulders on entering the cave and were for a moment blinded and confused, by the clouds of mist and roar of water. They moved slowly along the wooden walk and encountered another party of three or four sight seers. Another heavy gust of wind and mist blinded them, and during the excitement one of the two companions threw his arms, as he supposed, around the neck of his friend in mock terror. When the mist cleared away somewhat, there in the dusk was a surprised young woman who had been the recipient of the hug. But she made no protest.

“An Agreeable Blunder,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed March 15, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1730.