804 Contfibutions to Physical Geography. 



of Dr Dwigbt. On entering this wilderness we were struck 

 with its universal stillness. From every leaf in its immense 

 masses of foliage the rain hung in large glittering drops ; and 

 the silver note of a single unseen and unknown bird was the only 

 sound that we could hear. After we had proceeded a mile or 

 two, the roaring of the Amonoosuck began to break in upon 

 the stillness, and soon grew so loud as to excite our surprise. 

 In consequence of coming to the river almost at right angles, 

 and by a very narrow road, through trees and bushes very 

 thick, we had no view of the water, till with a quick trot we 

 had advanced upon the bridge too far to recede, when the 

 sight that opened at once to the right and to the left drew 

 from all of us similar exclamations of astonishment and terror ; 

 and we hurried over the trembling fabric as fast as possible. 

 After finding ourselves safe on the other side we walked down 

 to the brink ; and, though familiar with mountain scenery, we 

 all confessed that we had never seen a mountain torrent before. 

 The water was as thick with earth as it could be, without be- 

 ing changed into mud. A man living near in a log hut show- 

 ed us how high it was at daybreak. Though it had fallen six 

 feet, he assured us that it was still ten feet above its ordinary 

 level. To this add its ordinary depth of three or four feety 

 and here at daybreak was a body of water twenty feet deep, 

 and sixty feet wide, moving with the rapidity of a gale of 

 wind, between steep banks covered with hemlocks and pines, 

 and over a bed of large rocks, breaking its surface into billows 

 like those of the ocean. After gazing a few moments on this 

 sublime sight we proceeded on our way, for the most part at 

 some distance from the river, till we came to the farm of Rose- 

 brook, lying on its banks. We found his fields covered with 

 water, and sand, and flood-wood. His fences and bridges 

 were all swept away ; and the road was so blocked up with 

 loo-s that we had to wait for the labours of men and oxen be- 

 fore we could get to his house. Here we were told that the 

 river was never before known to bring down any considerable 

 quantity of earth, and were pointed to bare spots on the sides 

 of the White Mountains never seen till that morning. As our 

 road, for the remaining six miles, lay quite near the river, and 

 crossed many small tributary streams, we employed a man to 



