392 PHILOSOPHY OF STORMS. 



possible to bring my imagination up to the conception, that 

 a physical force could be accumulated in that place, suffi- 

 cient to accomplish the wonders with which I was sur- 

 rounded. 



I would here remark, that the statements of " T. B.," as 

 to distances, &c., may be relied on as correct ; for I was 

 told by one of the sixteen who visited the spot (as above 

 related), that they had a chain with them which was used 

 in making the measurements. I conversed with a number 

 of individuals in the vicinity, all of whom appeared to be 

 well acquainted with the facts and ready to communicate 

 them. The slide happened in the forenoon. The report 

 was heard at the distance of several miles, and by some 

 was thought to be an earthquake, by others a clap of thun- 

 der, although they could not account for its long continu- 

 ance. I was told that it produced a very perceptible jar, 

 similar to that of a peal of thunder. Had not the mountain 

 been enveloped in fog, perhaps some favored mortal might 

 have witnessed from an adjacent eminence the appalling 

 spectacle of rocks and woods and waters roaring and rush- 

 ing in frightful confusion down this precipitous descent. 

 Various conjectures were afloat with regard to it, but as the 

 fog vanished from the mountain, the true cause of the thun- 

 dering and jarring was displayed to the view of the inhab- 

 itants upon the distant hills. It is visible from some of the 

 adjacent towns, and has the appearance of a field recently 

 ploughed. Fortunately, as it was a number of miles dis- 

 tant from any human abode, wild beasts alone were ex- 

 posed to its ravages. A similar occurrence took place a 

 few years since upon the same peak, but on a much smaller 

 scale. 



In its whole course, before reaching Mill Brook, it swept 

 through a dense forest, mostly of hemlock and spruce, and 

 took off the entire surface and every thing which it con- 

 tained. The ground appeared to be as free from roots as if 





