52 THE PINE-TREE, OR 



on examining the nature of the materials of which it is com- 

 posed, I became satisfied that it belonged to the formation of 

 transported clay, sand, gravel, and bowlders, which is called dilu- 

 vium, consisting of the loose fragments of rocks that were trans- 

 ported by a mighty current of water the last time the waters 

 prevailed over the land. The occurrence of similar embankments 

 at Houlton served to confirm this opinion, for there they had the 

 same north and south direction, a coincidence so remarkable that 

 it could not be the result of chance. The Horsebacks of New 

 Limerick and Houlton are much more elevated" (as indeed they 

 are on the banks or a little removed from the shores of the Mat- 

 tawamkeag River), " and some of them are said to rise to the 

 height of ninety feet." " I can not stop to speculate on the causes 

 of this transportation of loose materials, but I may say that there 

 are abundant proofs, on the whole face of this continent, that 

 there has been a mighty rush of waters over its surface from the 

 north and northwest, and that such a current has swept over the 

 highest mountains of Massachusetts." 



When it is necessary to obtain views from low lands, the ob- 

 structions are overcome by ascending the highest trees. When 

 an ascent is to be made, the Spruce-tree is generally selected, 

 principally for the superior facilities which its numerous limbs 

 afford the climber. To gain the first limbs of this tree, which 

 are from twenty to forty feet from the ground, a smaller tree is 

 undercut and lodged against it, clambering up which the top of 

 the Spruce is reached. In some cases, when a very elevated po- 

 sition is desired, the Spruce-tree is lodged against the trunk of 

 some lofty Pine, up which we ascend to a height twice that of 

 the surrounding forest. 



From such a tree-top, like a mariner at the mast-head upon 

 the " look-out" for whales (for indeed the Pine is the whale of 

 the forest), large " clumps" and "veins" of Pine are discovered, 

 whose towering tops may be seen for miles around. Such views 



