^I]£ Jarmer'B ilTontl)lg Visitor. 



109 



Q^^TIie folio wiii*]^ sketch prepared hy the 

 juh'mr editor of Hill's Patriot more pariioularly 

 for that journal, ha^ heeii hut partially puhlislied. 

 It may prove not uuiiiterestin«>: to many of the 

 readei-s of the Visitor most oi' vvlioui are not 

 subscrihers to Hill\s Patriot. 



At Plynnjuth wo Mrne I one day, ancl,al the suggestion 

 o'' the l:indlor'l ni" the Poniigevvasset. spent Thursday in 

 visiting " Prospect HiU" in H'lldernesy, about four milrs 

 distant. This elevation we find called, on Carrigaiii's 

 map, '* Squam Mountain ;"' probably for the reason that 

 Squam Lake iies Immediately at its base, on the suuth. 

 From its summit the view was extensive and line. On 



the northerly side can be seen th*" imposing Francoiiia 

 AN EXC(rRSION TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS, HilU— twenty-four miles di^^tant— Mount Layfayctte and 

 Reflections on riixirnm^, toktrtin printer's inli is con- 



sidered as an antidote for dyspeptics and favorably 

 compared with inourttuin trout, and strawberries and 

 cream. — *• Notes by the luai/," — Plymouth, the Femi^e- 

 loasset Hou^e, and a visit to Squam Motintain. — Fran- 

 coma Notch. Floor.i. *' Old Man.'' Foxes, munntai/is 

 and Iron Works. — Sethlehvm , politics, hot weather, and 

 arrival at the moMiltsins — Fabynn's Mount Washing- 

 ton House and coi!\fortable quarters. Ascent of a hi^h 

 hill. — Guides, horses, camps, cold weather, cold victuals 

 and cold water, hail storm and a snapping wind. — De- 

 yceni from Mount Wushini;ton to the " (iiilfof Me.rico," 

 returning home by the •' Falls.^' — Ethan A. Crawford. 

 — Botany amo7j,? the mountains. — Notch and Notch 

 House, •' Bridle Road,'^ Thomas J. Crawford. S^'C. t^'C 

 Returning fiom an excursion to the Frannonia and 

 White Mountains, al'ler an absence of nearly a fortnight, 

 tilt; junior editor of this paper finds hiinselt" once more 

 in the atmosphere of old newspapers, and surrounded by 

 printers' devils clamorirus for '■ copy.'* Instead of inhal- 

 ing a cool mountain brrfze, we are once more STiuffing 

 the heatod air of " ohi Penacook/' perfumed, as usual . in 

 the immediate vicinity of our '•' sanctum." with the fra- 

 grant odor of printer\s ink. We have feasteil onrst'lf up- 

 on the mountain trnut, and luxuriated, to our heart's con- 

 tent, upi>n the wild strawberries and delicious cream 

 which abound in the vicinity of Nash and Sawyer's Loca 

 tion. These are all very good of their kind — but not to 

 he conijiared with printer's ink ; inasmuch as the latter 

 will sharpen the Rp|)etite, prevent indigestion, and drive 

 away dyspepsia — while v/e find, from our own recent in- 

 dividual experience, that the former have exactly the 

 coiitrovy lendency — (jrslrftviiig the njjpetite. and. in case 

 one neglects to take sufficient exercise — (such as to climb 

 Mount Washington, for instance — ) causing indigestion 

 and provoking dyspepsia. Oh yes, we prefer printer's ink, 

 decidedly. Let the reader reflect for a momentnnd judge 

 of the incalculable atlvantages which the public derive 

 from it — of the multitude of pour printers, hall'-nlnrved 

 editors, and r;igged()euny-a-liiiers who get a partial living 

 ainf manage to prolon;r, temporarily, their miserable exis- 

 tence with its assistance. With such con^^iderations we 

 have returned, not unvvillingly, from a very pleasant trip 

 to the mountains of our own gallant little state. We 

 propose giving our readeis a hasty sketch of cur peregri- 

 nations ; and, if we shall appear somewhat egotistical in 

 what we have to say. the reader will excuse the fault,, and 

 grant us the usual Ijceuf^e which our brethren of the press 

 always claim — to use tlie pronoun we as much as they 

 please. 



Leaving home in co-iipativ with onr friend S . of 



this place, on the evening of Tuesday July II, at about 

 half-past four, we walked as far as "S iridbnrtilon Bridiie, 

 17 niiles distant, where we arrived a little before 10 the 

 6'iine evening. We had provided ourselves with conve- 

 nient knapsacks, and tuck with us from ten to twelve 

 pounda of baggage, each, with the intention of traversing 

 as much of the whole distance on foot as circumstances 

 would allow. 



On tli'^ (""llowing morning wp continued ovir journey to 

 New Hampton — twtlvc miJes — where we arrived an hour 

 before noon; having walked most of the way under a 

 burning '^nn, and some miles over a very hot and*sandy 

 ro;id. The Institution at this place, lor the education of 

 youn? ladies and gentlemen, is favorably known through- 

 out New F,n;rlind. Having fonnerlybeen connected with 

 the m^,le department of it, which is located one mile 

 nnrth of the school for young ladies at the lower village, 

 we, of course, put int* requisaition the universal propen- 

 sity which prevadd am^ng Yankees lor asking questions, 

 and made our enquiries " thick and fast" of a gentleman 

 with whom we stitpped three or four hours. \Ve were 

 gratified to Ignrn that the Institution is in a presper<ius 

 condition, while so in:iny of the numerous academies and 

 high schools in the State, we regret to say, are rather on 

 the decline. TliC young Indies' school, in particular, we 

 were told, continues under excellent management and is 

 well sustained. 



[^paving New Hampton in the afternoon, we proceeded 

 on foot a mile or two uTitil overtaken by the stage in 

 which we took diftlls. more to bunmr the ailings of the 

 rebellious feet of one of us, than our own inclinations. 



After a pleasant ride of eleven miles, on the western 

 bank of the Pem)gewa;S'?t, with high hills about us on 

 either side of the riv^r, we reached the beautiful little 

 village of Plymouth beft}re dark, (it beir'g our first visit) 

 and took lodgings at the excellmt *' Pkmicewasskt 

 House," kept hy D. R. Biirnhani^sq. This is one of 

 the best of the many first rate public-houses on the route 

 to the White Mountains, via Franconia Notch and Win- 

 nipisseogee Lake. Like inoft of tlio hotels on our route, 

 we were gratilied to find it conducted with a strict rotxard 

 to temperance — no bar-room loafers to riicturb its quiet — 

 a gentlftmanly and obliging landlord — a good table — good 

 bods — the house surrounded with fine trees and pleasure 

 jrrounds— in fine, with every appointment and accommo- 

 dation to render either a long or short stay delightfui. 

 Travellers from Buston may "leave the city by the first 

 train of mi'vning cars, dine in Concord, and reach Flyni- 

 outh by st.a^e the same evening. Thence Ihoy can pro- 

 ceed the next morning by stage, on Mondays, Wednesdays. 

 and Fridays, through the Franconia Notcli — stop long 

 enough to view the curinsjtioR there — to Littleton ; and 

 thence to the Wlnle Mountains — twenty indes east — the 

 same afternoon, accomplishing ^e whole journey in less 

 than two d^ys. 



Hiystack, with the intervening valley of the Pemigewas- 

 set, comprit^ing the cnllivatpd portions of the towns of 

 Cainpton, Tiiorntoii, Woodi^tock and Lincoln. To the 

 north-east arc the Sandwich mountains ; White-face. 

 Corway Peak, and Pequawket mountains, the two la;>t in 

 (-"onway. On the east, south-east, and south, may be 

 seen the celebrated Red Hill north of Centre Harbor ; 

 Winnipisseogee, Squam and O^sipee lakes ; Ossipee 

 mountain in Ossipee j Measley Pond in Holderness j the 

 Guiistock mountains in Giifoid j the Great Bay in Sai^d- 

 bornton ; the valley of the Pemigewasset witli its numer- 

 ous winflings ; and the villages of Holderness and Mere- 

 dith. On the west is a beautiful view of Plymouth villa;;;e 

 v/ith the fertile cultivated fields on the river; farther on 

 a village in Rumney with the valley of Baker's River; 

 Carr's monntain, in i'-llswortli and Warren, and the 

 Moosehillock in Benton. The view from '* Prospect 

 HiU" or*' Squini Mountain" we can recouitnend for its 

 beauty — particularly of the Franconia HiUs on the north, 

 jind the delightful sheets of water to the south and east. 

 The excursion from Plymouth to its summit is the more 

 pleasant and agreeable on account of the lacility ami ex- 

 pedition with which it may be made. We ascended with 

 a carriage to within a mile of i\\v- top, in company with 

 four L'entlemen, among whom was our landlord bearing a 

 vessel of extensive dimensions full of " victuals and 

 drink," which somebody more poetical than onrself, per- 

 haps, would have denominated *' tempting viands" and 

 " conljng boveraces." To these we did not fail to do 

 ample justice. F'rotn the hill we returned to Plyinouth 

 at an early hour in llie evcnio'?. 



There is not a more deli'^dttful village in the State than 

 Plymmilh, and no place where the stranger can spend a 

 week maro. pleasantly. 



Having thus unexpectedly, but pleasantly, been delayed 

 a day in the time which we liad anticipated on starting it 

 would take ibr us to reach the mountains, on Fiiday 

 morning, at 3 o'clock, we took the stage for Littleton 

 and proceeeed 24- miles to Lincoln, passing through 

 CampLOn,jrhornton and Woodstock. At Thornton we 

 f'iuiid an excellent ■f>ublic-!)Ouse where we took breakfast. 



V\^e arrivL-d at Linccdn at 10 o'clf.ck, and left tiie stage 

 with the intention of resuming our journey on foot. 



This place is situated in the wildest part of the Fran- 

 conia Gap. near its cntranro and is celebralfd among 

 travellers as the location of the celebrated Floom, 

 pool and Basin. These are certainly the greatest natural 

 curiosities, in point of romantic and natural scenery, we 

 ever beheld. To be appreciated they must be seen. The 

 rioom is nearly a mile distant from the road \vhcre the 

 stage passes, stopping long enou'.di, if desired, to afford 

 the passengers an opportunity to visit it, whitli usually 

 occupies about one hour. It is a natural channel, canal, 

 or cavern open at the top, riven, apparently, through a 

 solidJediie of rock — said to be about 13C0 feet long — the 

 walMpom 50 to 100 hitJh in different places, and, (we 

 fihouWtliink,) oO or 40 feet apart — through which the 

 waters of a small branch of the; ^Jpineiv asset flow. It 

 is situated in the very lieart of a vi^ild forest, which ren- 

 ders the approach Ln it a little difficult and fatiauing. 

 The visitor, however, is amply repaid by the grandeur of 

 the prospect for his or her trouble. At tlie lower extrem- 

 ity of the Floom (which bv the way takes its name from 

 tfio resemblance it bears to the fl-mm of a mill) is the 

 Cascade, so called. Here the witer fell nt the time of 

 our visit in a gentle ripple over a solid ledge for 300 or 

 400 feet at an inclination of perhaps 30 degrees. T.his 

 plane is remarkable for the uniformity nf its inclination. 

 It can be travrrs'^d fay vit^itors at this season of ihe year 

 without wetting the feet, although the surface of the reek 

 had evidently been worn smooth at former periods by the 

 rushing of the torrents which fall in t!ie wet seasons from 

 the mouiitains vliove. Anr)lher curiosity at the Floom is 

 a hiiiie rock, weighing many tons, which seems to have 

 been hurled from Us place in the mountain regions above, 

 and falliiiir directly over the channel to have been wedged 

 between tlie walls of the T'loorn where it remains fixed, 

 elevated some fifty feet over the heads of thctse. who by 

 leaping from rock to rock, venture n:^ far ns the upper end 

 nf the channel. Our stay at the Floom was ncces&;irily 

 limited to a few ujinutes. The lovers of wild ; cenory 

 miu;ht spend days in this roniantic, spot and not be 

 satiated with the imposing views here found. Near the 

 Floom is the Pool, about half a mile distant. This place 

 is found in the Pendgewasset, consisting of^a whirl-pool 

 in its waters, and, threc-f«:urths of a fciiie further up the 

 Notch, is the Rasin. scoopnd out of the solid rock, which 

 forms the bed (»f the river, by the action of the water — 

 both great curiosities, which, like every thing else among 

 the mountains, we would a[!vi6e the reader to go a.id see, 

 rather tfnn content himself with any lame description 

 we can give of therri. 



Alter dining at Mr, Knight's near the Floom — the din- 

 ner wns good and would have satisfied the most fastidious 

 epicure— we lef"t his house, which wittva shed and barn 

 constitutes the whole village of Lincoln so far as it fell 

 under uur obstsrvation ; and proceeded at !2 P. M. pedes- 

 trianically again, on our ^vay to Franconia Iron Works, 

 12 miles, where we proposed to spend the night. We 

 were accompanied all the way by as comfortable a shower 

 of rain as one could desire to walk in. We say '• com- 

 fortable" because the weather actually rendered our walk 

 more pleasant than disagreeable. Snugly ensconced be- 

 neath a couple of good umbrellas, which for a wonder 

 we had managed to'keep with us while travelling 70 miles 

 — (we hod them fastened to our knapsacks) — we trudged 

 on our w#y without geiting wM. 



Three-fourths of a mile brouiiht us to the Basin which 

 we have already anticipated. Six miles from the Floom, 

 at the Franconia Notch, is the Profile, or " Old Man of 

 the Mountain" — an exact [irofile representation of a man'a 

 face to be seen from one particular point only. It is formed 

 by the peculiar appear. mce of a rocky lediie. on the brow 

 of the mountain w,est of the road through the Notch, and 

 is situatnd some Ihttus-and or two thousand jeet above its 

 level. This is the greatest curiosity, as such, in the 

 whole mountain region. 'I'he " old man" htis been eo 

 frequently described that we shall bid hini "goi'd after- 

 noon" and walk oii a few rods to the Notch House. Here 

 we find our •' quondam friend," Clakk Knapp, Esq., 

 who it seems has located himself here to take care of the 

 " Old Man of the Mountain," since that antiquated indi- 

 vidual could not take care oj him. Mr. K. appeared very 

 good-natured — gave us a cool glass of lemonade — showed 

 us a beautiful young fiwn recently caught in the neigh- 

 borho()d, a sly young fox confined by a chain — (the old 

 fox is suffered to go at large) — and a better half acre of 

 potatoes which had been planted, as he informed us, but 

 thirty days, than we found any where else on our whole 

 route. 



Leaving the Notch House, a walk of three miles brought 

 us to the northern opening of the Franconia Notch. 

 From the former point to the village at tlie Iron Works, 

 SIX miles, the road descends towards tin; north the greater 

 part of the way. Emerging from thw woods, the traveller 

 beholds an entire change in the aspect of the country 

 from that presented for forty or fifty miles in going up 

 the I'emigewas^et and through the Notch. The small 

 streams, which have until now emptied into that river, 

 change their course and run towards the Connecticut. 

 Descending the steep hill leading from the Notch, we 

 approached the south branch of the Ammonoofiuck ; and 

 io(tking back from here, we found one of the best views 

 of Mount Lafayette iuid the other Franconia hills which 

 we had yet obtained. The deep green forest trees which 

 cover these mouiit'iins — tlie beautiful ravine on the north 

 s de of Lafayette, produciiig by its inequalities a great 

 variety of shades, form a most picturesque view, which, 

 although le.ss grand than the tcenery at the White Hills, 

 we consider no less interesting. 



We reached the public house at Franconia lion Works 

 about G o'clock, where we were glad to find temperance 

 once more predominant, and a good supper, lodging and 

 breakfast. Visiting the Ir(m Foundry at this place, we 

 were told that the works were in but partial operation, 

 owing to the hard times. Instead of forty or fifty, only 

 some half dozen workmen are now employed in manu- 

 facturing the ore, taken from the mines four miles west 

 of the foundry, into bar and cast iron. The large furnace 

 was not " in blast," (as the workmen term it,) and the 

 small forges, only, appeared to be in use, in connection 

 with n large trip-hammer, by means of which, the ore, 

 after being melted, is ''drawn out" into bar-iron. To 

 these we should have added the furnaces for " castings'' 

 which also were in blast. The large furnace is " blown." 

 and the Iiie kept up, for six months in the year, night and 

 day, by an immense pair of helloixs carried by water 

 po^ver. .Several weeks' lime is required to raise the hcill 

 of this furnace to the proper temperature, to sustain 

 which vast quantities of charcoal are used — this article 

 being purchased at an extremely low rate in the immedi- 

 ate vicinity of the foundry. 



Saturday morning, July 15, found us again on our jour- 

 ney in ^oud season. We continued to " fod it" the re- 

 mainder of the way to Fabyan's Meunt Wabhinglon 

 Iloute — !9 miles — wliere we arrived about 4 o'clock, P. 

 M, after some luarm work — the thermometer ranging in 

 the uuddle of the day at about 110 in the sun, to which 

 we were exposed the whole distance. 



Five miles fnmi Franconia (leaving Littleton to the 

 north-west) broucht ns tu the vilbige of Bethlehem, situ- 

 ated on the l;iLib land seuth of the Great Air.monoosuck 

 river. This town contains the best farms to be found in 

 the immediate vicinily of the mountains; here we notic- 

 ed alyo several fine vegetable gaidcns, not to be Eurpnsted 

 by any in the more southerly towns of the Slate. Moat 

 of the land is well cultivated, and the crops of iiay, in 

 parlicidar, appeared to be very luxuriant. From the high 

 land in Bethlehem, with a ..lear sky. there is n grand view 

 of Mount Washington and its ri^ht and left liand neigh- 

 bor; — filteen miles distant. At the tune nf ( ur passing, 

 the view was almost entirely obscured by clouds hanging 

 about the moui. tains. 



Three miles distant from Rethlehem village, we crossed 

 lijc Animonootuck,an('vvf re _: lad In crier a rf at red public 

 linuse one otoiy high to rest ourselves. While the young 

 niaii, who appeared to have charge of the house, was 

 preporing us a pitcher of lemonade, (we saw nr; ardent 

 spirits here, also,) our companion, who by Ihe vvny was 

 disposed to form an acquaintance with the public in gen- 

 eral wherever we happenetl to rqjget a bod} , cemmenced 

 a political conversation with the host, who infoimed us. 

 in answer to o question relating to the politics of his 

 town, th.it '• the ratlicals" (meaning, as we found, the 

 friends of Col. White) couldn't raise a breeze there in 

 the town of Bethlehem at the election last year ; but this 

 season the hoot was rather on the other leg, and they (the 

 White men) h;id clnnr- pretty considerable of a Iiusmese. 

 For his part, he didn't really like ■' this going against the 

 reg'lar nominators," and as for rail-mads, he had but little 

 afiection for iheni, ■'because, since the completion of 

 tfie Concord and Briston rail-road, much of the travel froni 

 the nortli part of the State and Vermont, u hich formerly 

 passed through the White Mountain Notch to Portland, 

 now goes throutrh the Franconia Notch to Concord." 

 "Very true," said our companif'U. ''but you \Vill allow 

 that in the former case it hcnefilled must the tavern- 

 keepers in the State of Maine ; wliilc it now benefits 

 those in New Hanipshite on the Pemigewasset and Mer- 

 rimack rivers." "Oh vey." replied ou.- radical friend, 

 '■ burwe don't care for that, you know ; it hurts our tav- 

 ern .'" 



From thig place, during the rema'^nder of our day's 



