AMIITE MOUNTAINS WHITE SWELLING. 



are about twenty-five miles south-east of Lancaster, 

 seventy north of Concord, eighty-two north-by-west 

 from Portsmouth ; lat. 44 15' north; Ion. 1\ W 

 west. They are covered with ice and snow nine 

 or ten months in the year ; and, although more than 

 sixty miles from the nearest part of the Atlantic 

 coast, are distinctly seen for a considerable distance 

 at sea. The highest peak is called mount Wash- 

 ington. The next, south of this, is Monroe ; the 

 next, farther south, is Franklin ; and Pleasant is 

 the third in that direction. The first north of 

 Washington is Jefferson; the second is Adams; 

 the eastern part is Madison. These are the names 

 commonly given to the principal peaks. Their ele- 

 vation has been a subject of much speculation. It 

 was formerly supposed to be ten or eleven thou- 

 sand feet ; but the barometrical measurements of 

 captain Partridge, and those of Brackett and Weeks, 

 by means of a spirit level, so nearly agree, that we 

 have no longer any reason to doubt that their height 

 was greatly overrated. The measurements of cap- 

 tain Partridge are here given, and the mountains 

 are arranged from north to south : 



Mount Adams, 



Jefferson, 



Washington, 



Monroe, 



Franklin, 



Pleasant, 



Madison (the eastern peak), 

 Die base of the mountains, 



5328 feet 

 1068 



6234 

 4932 

 4711 

 4356 

 4866 

 1770 



The elevations here given are estimated from the 

 level of the ocean. Subsequent measurements 

 made by captain Partridge do not perfectly agree 

 with these. These mountains are decidedly of 

 primitive formation. The three highest peaks are 

 composed entirely of fragments of rocks, heaped to- 

 gether in confusion, but pretty firmly fixed in their 

 situations. They consist of granite and gneiss, and 

 are excessively rough, from the great size of the 

 crystals. There is considerable mica in most of 

 them, and in some it is very abundant. The gran- 

 ite contains emeralds, tourmaline, and garnets. 

 Crystals of quartz, pyrites, jasper, porphyry, mag- 

 netic iron ore, and several other fossils, are found 

 in very small quantities. No indications of vol- 

 canoes have been discovered. In sublimity of 

 scenery, these mountains far excel any others in 

 New England ; and it has become fashionable to 

 visit them during the warmest months. Some of 

 the largest rivers of New England originate in 

 the mountains. The Saco flows from their eastern 

 side ; the branches of the Ameriscoggin from the 

 north ; the Amonoosuck, from the west, flows into 

 the Connecticut ; and the Pemigewasset flows from 

 the south, and is the principal branch of the Merri- 

 mack. Trees are found on the sides of these moun- 

 tains ; but, .as the traveller ascends, he sees the 

 vegetation become small and meagre, and it ceases 

 before he reaches the highest summits. 



The Notch of the White Mountains is a very nar- 

 row defile, extending two miles in length, between 

 4wo huge cliffs. The entrance of the chasm is form- 

 ed by two rocks standing perpendicular at the dis- 

 tance of twenty-two feet from each other, one 

 twenty-two, and the other twelve feet high. The 

 mountain, otherwise a continued range, is here clo- 

 ven asunder, opening a passage for the waters of 

 Saco river. The gap is so narrow that space has 

 with difficulty been obtained for the road from 

 Lancaster to Portland. About half a mile from 

 the entrance of the Notch is seen a most beautiful 

 cascade issuing from a mountain on the right, about 



800 feet above the valley. This is cattd, by 

 Dwight, the Silver cascade. Another called the 

 Flume, falls from a height of about 250 feet, over 

 three precipices, from the first two in a single 

 sheet, and from the third in three streams, which 

 unite in a basin at the bottom. Good descriptions 

 of the White mountains are contained in Dwight's 

 Travels ; New England Journal ; and N. H. Hist. 

 Coll. for 1823. 



WHITE PLAINS; a post-township, and half 

 shire town, of Westchester county, New York, 

 thirty miles from the city, six east of the Hudson, 

 and fourteen south of Bedford. This place \v;is 

 rendered memorable by a battle fought here, Oct. 

 28, 1776, between the American and the British 

 troops, and by many other important incidents of 

 that period. 



WHITE RENT. See Quit Rent. 



WHITE RIVER, in Arkansas, has its source 

 in the Black mountains, which divide its waters 

 from those of the Arkansas. The western branches 

 rise, and run a long distance, in Missouri. It re- 

 ceives many large tributaries, and traverses much 

 valuable territory. Its waters are remarkably pure 

 and transparent. Where it flows into the Missis- 

 sippi, it is 300 yards wide. It is supposed to be 

 navigable for boats 1200 miles ; but this is only 500 

 miles in a direct line. The country on its banks 

 has been sufficiently explored to prove that it af- 

 fords every inducement to settlers ; but no exten- 

 sive settlements have yet been made. About seven 

 miles from its mouth, it gives off a bayou as broad 

 as itself, that runs at right angles with it, and flows 

 through a deep, inundated forest, and unites with 

 the Arkansas. It strikes that river thirty miles 

 from its mouth. It is not navigable in the latter 

 part of summer; but, at other times, boats which 

 descend the Mississippi with the intention of as- 

 cending the Arkansas, always proceed through the 

 White river and this bayou. The Arkansas does 

 not receive this tribute constantly from the White : 

 the bayou runs either way, according to the level 

 of the water at its two ends. The White river will 

 probably furnish water-power for immense manufac- 

 turing establishments at a period not far distant. 



WHITE SEA ; a large gulf of the Arctic ocean, 

 between the peninsula of Can in and the coast of 

 Lapland. It penetrates into the Russian territory, 

 to the depth of between 300 and 400 miles. Its 

 shape is long and narrow ; its greatest extent from 

 west to east. It extends from Ion. 32 to 46 

 east, and from lat. 63 45' to 68 25' north. It 

 receives its name from its being frozen over and 

 covered with snow during the greater part of the 

 year. It is navigable only from the middle of 

 May to the end of September. The shores are sur- 

 rounded by rocks and small islands ; and about 

 thirty rivers, among which the principal are the 

 Northern Dwina, the Onega, and the Mezene, empty 

 themselves into the sea. The mouth of the latter 

 forms a bay, on which is situated the town of 

 Mezene. The Dwina enters the sea by two 

 mouths, which are separated by an island. Upon 

 its banks lies Archangel (q. v.), founded in 1584, 

 and the commercial emporium of this region. 

 Among the islands of the White sea, the largest ia 

 the Solovetskoi or Soloffski isle, in the bay of 

 Onega. Two canals, uniting the Dwina with the 

 Wolga and the Dnieper, connect the White sea 

 with the Caspian and Black seas. 



WHITE SWELLING, oa HYDARTHRUS, 

 (from iil'uo, water, and a^, a joint). Systematic 



