four o'clock in the afternoon
There might indeed be subterranean canals which gave him passage to Lake Kirdall , but could he pierce the impenetrable fortress of the Eyrie ? No ! That was beyond him ! Toward four o'clock in the afternoon , reckoning by the speed of the `` Terror '' and her direction , I knew we must be approaching Buffalo ; and indeed , its outlines began to show some fifteen miles ahead . During our passage , a few boats had been seen , but we had passed them at a long distance , a distance which our captain could easily keep as great as he pleased . Moreover , the `` Terror '' lay so low upon the water , that at even a mile away it would have been difficult to discover her . Now , however , the hills encircling the end of Lake Erie , came within vision , beyond Buffalo , forming the sort of funnel by which Lake Erie pours its waters into the channel of the Niagara river .