4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 



All the available sources of information will be examined, and 

 the animal, vegetable and mineral creation interrogated. No 

 stone will be left unturned, no field unploughed, no plant or 

 animal^ permitted to escape. 



LANDMARKS. 



For the present we defer giving details of the early occupa- 

 tion and settlement of Derryfield and confine our view to some 

 prominent features of its natural scenery and topography. To 

 present these in intelligent order it will be necessary to broaden 

 our horizon to include the entire landscape, from the highlands 

 on the east to the mountains rising west of the Merrimack. 



From the river valley the ground ascends rapidly at first, then 

 broadening into an extensive and nearly level plain, and again 

 mounting abruptly to the height of land in the eastern fore- 

 ground. Here the chief elevations are known as Wilson, Bald, 

 and Oak or Heath-Hen hills. From these highlands a magnifi- 

 cent panorama salutes the eye, and as the sun illuminates the 

 picture a thousand points of splendor punctuate the wide and 

 varied scene. 



To the north may be seen Mt. Belknap and the Gilford moun- 

 tains, as well as a portion of the Ossipee and Sandwich groups, 

 while with favoring conditions glimpses of the Franconia range 

 may be seen without a glass. To the northwest is a distinct 

 view of Kearsarge and Ragged mountains, while in Vermont 

 the distant crest of Ascutney breaks the line of the horizon. 

 Westward and trending south we are confronted with Crotchet 

 and Temple mountains, dominated by Pack and Grand Monad- 

 nock, the blue lift of Wachuset in Massachusetts closing the 

 grand sweep as if of a hemisphere. 



But these, with others scarcely less conspicuous, form only 

 the background of the picture, for nearer and in front stand the 

 Uncanoonucks and Joe English, flanked by the Dunbarton, 

 Mount Vernon and Lyndeborough ridges, while nearer still are 

 the rounded slopes of Hackett, Shirley, Scribner's, and Yacum 



