184 TIIK rHEXOME.N'A OF DUIFT, OR 



b(>vond WashinsftoM, arc Mount? JofTorson and Adams. Hence 

 a prolile of the whole ridiije will })rescnt an appearance similar to 

 PI. VIII, HiT. 4. The heights of the several peaks are placed 

 upon the section as determined by Capt. Partridge ; though I am 

 not sure that I have \n\t the right numbers upon Clinton and 

 Pleasant. 



The lop o( this ridge is elevated above the region of any vege- 

 tation, except some Alpine plants and lichens a few inches high; 

 and on either hand, valleys several thousand feet deep yawn 

 beneath you, while a sea of mountains stretches away on every 

 side as far as vision extends ; so that the ride over these peaks, 

 from Clinton to Washington, is romantic and magnificent beyond 

 all conception. The day in which it is performed, if pleasant, 

 will never be forgotten ; and in the visions of memory it will 

 ever seem one of the gi-eenest oases that smile along the journey 

 of life. 



This ridge is composed essentially of a peculiar kind of mica 

 slate, occasionally containing feldspar, and sometimes traversed 

 by veins of granite. It also abounds, as does the same rock at 

 Monadnoc, with a mineral which has been called fibrolite ; but 

 which demands further examination. It often constitutes a large 

 proportion of the rock. All the peaks, except Clinton, which I 

 ascended, (Jeflerson and Adams I did not ascend,) ai-e made up 

 of broken fragments of this slate, which have been entirely re- 

 moved from their original position by frost, and form sometimes 

 a coating of loose angular blocks several feet thick. This is 

 pai-ticularly the case upon the summit of Washington, and down- 

 w^ard about one thousand feet. But in all the valleys between 

 these peaks, more or less of the rock in place appears ; and iiere 

 I discovered many examples of embossed rocks. They are, as 

 we might expect, much less distinct than in many other places 

 less exposed to decomposing agencies : and I should probably 

 have passed by them without recognition, had I not jireviously 

 examined many other more distinct examples. Any one who 

 will do this, will be satisfied that the same phenomenon is before 

 him upon the White Mountains. So far as Mount Clinton has 

 been uncovered, it seems one huge boss, more or less rounded. 

 In the valley between this peak and Mount Pleasant, or rather as 



