I watched this film on a DVD that was rammed with short films from the period. I didn't watch all of them as the main problem with these type of things that their value is more in their historical novelty value rather than entertainment. So to watch them you do need to be put in the correct context so that you can keep this in mind and not watch it with modern eyes. With the Primitives & Pioneers DVD collection though you get nothing to help you out, literally the films are played one after the other (the main menu option is "play all") for several hours. With this it is hard to understand their relevance and as an educational tool it falls down as it leaves the viewer to fend for themselves, which I'm sure is fine for some viewers but certainly not the majority. What it means is that the DVD saves you searching the web for the films individually by putting them all in one place but that's about it.
Last year I went to Argentina for holidays (which is the next big place people get yourselves there before everyone else is there waiting for you). Anyway, while on this trip we went up to the border with Brazil to see the amazing sights of Igagzu Falls (sure I've spelt that wrong). We tried to capture the sheer force and amount of water there but it is impossible to convey this idea of endless water crashing down and how it feels to be so small within this huge natural formation of waterfalls. Anyway I mention this because here we have another film from the Lumiere company that tries to capture this as well.
While it is difficult to convey the film does well by framing the static shot to greatest impact. So in the foreground we have one part of Niagara Falls, with the water flowing quickly right in front of the viewer. In the background we have a clear view of a larger part of it while in the middle ground we have a handful of people who look tiny by comparison. It is not a brilliant experience these days but it does not take away from the fact that it is a cleverly set up shot that achieves its aims as a result.