THE COW THAT MOCKED NIAGARA FALLS
Most people know the stories of daredevils who challenged Niagara Falls. Few know the story of a cow that may have been even braver.
While digging through local history, I came across a fascinating account in Remembering Niagara about a nineteenth-century cow named Bossy Simms. According to local historians and descendants of the families involved, Bossy developed a habit of wandering into the rushing waters near the brink of the American Falls—apparently with little concern for her own safety and much to the amazement of tourists.
The story was first recorded by Niagara historian and publisher Peter A. Porter, who claimed that around 1860 a local man named Simms owned a cow that repeatedly ventured into the swift current near Prospect Point. Not only did she survive, but on at least one occasion she reportedly made her way all the way to Goat Island.
Tourists loved it.
Not everyone did.
Some local tour operators complained that a cow casually standing near one of the world’s greatest natural wonders somehow diminished the awe and danger of Niagara Falls. Eventually, pressure mounted and Simms agreed to keep Bossy farther away from the river’s edge.
But the story did not end there.
Inspired by the cow’s exploits, local riverman Captain Joel Robinson reportedly decided to duplicate the feat himself. Using a steel pole for support, he carefully made his way through the dangerous currents toward Goat Island, proving once again that Niagara Falls has always attracted people—and apparently livestock—with an unusual appetite for adventure.
Whether every detail of the story is perfectly accurate may never be known. That’s the thing about Niagara Falls. It has always existed somewhere between history and legend. This is a place where people walked tightropes across the Gorge, challenged the Whirlpool Rapids, sailed through impossible waters, and dreamed up adventures that sounded too unbelievable to be true.
And that is exactly why we love it.
Long before social media influencers, viral videos, and reality television, Niagara Falls had its own celebrities. Some were inventors. Some were daredevils. Some were heroes.
And at least one was a cow.
So the next time you visit Niagara Falls, remember Bossy Simms—the fearless bovine who wandered into the currents below the American Falls, inspired a local riverman, annoyed tourism operators, and earned a permanent place in Niagara folklore.
Only in Niagara.
By the way, Captain Joel Robinson was Niagara’s original river daredevil. As captain of the early Maid of the Mist, he became the first person in 1861 to successfully pilot a powered boat through the deadly Whirlpool Rapids and Niagara Gorge—a feat so terrifying that he reportedly retired shortly afterward.
Peter Buell Porter (1773–1844) was a War of 1812 hero, congressman, entrepreneur, and one of the founders of modern Western New York. He helped develop transportation and commerce along the Niagara frontier and left such a lasting impact that Buffalo’s Porter Avenue and numerous local landmarks still bear his name. His legacy is complicated, however, by slaveholding, support for efforts to recapture fugitive slaves, and his role in a frontier system that displaced Native American nations from their ancestral lands.
Peter A. Porter (1827–1864), who is mentioned in this post, was the grandson of Peter B. Porter. A respected lawyer, congressman, and Union officer, he raised and led troops during the Civil War before being killed in action at the Battle of Cold Harbor, becoming one of Western New York’s most celebrated war heroes.
The photograph above is a rare c. 1860s albumen stereoview of Bossy Simms standing in the rushing waters near Niagara Falls. Taken by renowned Niagara photographer George Barker, it shows the famous cow with Terrapin Tower visible in the distance—a remarkable image from one of Niagara’s most unusual legends.
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