34 Soine Account of the White Mountains 



Within the last forty years the White mountains have been 

 repeatedly ascended by different exploring parties, and several 

 accounts of their productions and phenomena have been pub- 

 lished. The object of this paper is to detail such observations as 

 were made bv a parly from Boston, who visited them in the be- 

 ginriipg of July of the last summer. 



These mountains are situated in lat. about 44°15'N. and 

 long. 71' 20' W. from Greenwich. They are distant about 150 

 miles from Boston. Their Indian name, according to Dr. Belk- 

 nap, was Agiocochook. 



Our approach to them was made from the north-west, com- 

 mencing at the town of Lanca'^tcr, a village situated on the Con- 

 necticut river, 25 miles from their base. From this town a voad 

 has been cut, jJassing through a gap of tlie mountains to Port- 

 land, and constituting the princi])al outlet of the Coos country. 

 This road takes the couise of the Israel's river, a branch of the 

 Connecticut, passing between the Pliny mountains on the leit, 

 , and the Pondicherry mountain on the right. The village of Lan- 

 caster is situated in a vallev, surrounded in several directions by 

 very elevated ridges of land. A number of the sunnuits in sight 

 of this place could not be estimated at less than 3,000 feet in 

 height, judging from the experience we had acquired of several 

 hills of known altitude on the road, and the accounts given by the 

 inhabitants of the time necessary for their ascent and descent. 



The road from Lancaster passes through Jefferson (formerly 

 Dartmouth), Bretton woods and Nash and Sawyer's location, to 

 the Notch of the mountains. This road in its course runs over 

 the foot of the Pondicherry mountain. It lies for most of the 

 way through thick woods, hut rarely enlivened with the appear- 

 ance of cultivation. At Plavstead's house, thirteen miles from 

 their base, we had a fair view of the \\"hite Hills. They ))re- 

 , sented the apjjearance of a continued waving range of summits, 

 of v.hich it was difficult to select the highest. At Rosebrooks, 

 44 miles from the Notch, the view of them was very distinct and 

 satisfactory. We could now clearly discern the character of the 

 summits, iive or six of which were entirely bald, and presented 

 the appeal ance of a gray and ragged mass of stones towering 

 above the woods, with which the sides and base were clothed. 

 In several places we observed a broad continued stripe descend- 

 ing the moimtair, and having the appearance of a regular road 

 cut through the trees and rocks, from near the base to tlie sum- 

 mit of the mountain. On examining these v.ith a telescope, 

 they were found to be channels of streams ; and in several, the 

 water could be seen dashiiig down the rocks. 



Between Rosebrooks and the Notch is a plain, or rather a 

 ewamp, the waters of which pass off in different directions, partly 



to 



