88 



&!)c Jfarmer's iHontljln bisitor. 



dover on tlie north. The Bald mountain, whose 

 base lies nearly central on the westerly end ot 

 Salisbury, is a Separation from the larger moun- 

 tain not generally distinguished in u view from 

 the south-e>st. This mountain, together with 

 the great mountain itself, was run over with fires 

 some forty years ago, and an immense amount of 

 trees of the larger growth which covered the 

 mountains nearly all the way over were burned. 

 The idea of the surrounding inhabitants has 

 been that with the trees the soil of the moun- 

 tain, burned by long continued fires, was also 

 destroyed. The parts of the mountain made 

 nailed by the fires have been esteemed as im- 

 practicable ledge of little value. In some parts 

 of the lower valleys in the sides of the moun- 

 tain the fire did not take effect, and there still 

 remains the black forest generally of spruce and 

 hemlock of the original growth. Within the 

 last ten years the uncleared part of the moun- 

 tain is assuming n different appearance: it is 

 fouad that the naked ledges will continue to 

 grow trees. Four or five years ago, in ascend- 

 ing Bald mountain the greater part of which 

 happens to lull in a wild lot which we purchas- 

 ed in 1839 as a part of nil undivided remnant of 

 the Masonian proprietors, we discovered many 

 acres of a close rock maple growth almost to 

 the pinnacle top of the ledge.; and that the 

 sheep had pathed their way from the pastures 

 down below and found a secure resting-place at 

 the high point from which New Hampshire can 

 be overlooked over nearly the whole of its 

 southeasterly extent. 



In the first week of June the editor, of im- 

 proved strength and health and activity from 

 greater exer-ise in at tending to his farm opera- 

 tions at the opening of spring, determined per- 

 sonally to inspect his mountain lot, all as yet 

 uncleared, only one end of which he had as yet 

 toucher!. This lot extends about a mile and a 

 half on the westerly line of Salisbury, and from 

 that up the mountain an equal if not greater djs 

 tance to the line of Wihnot. It was sold for a 

 hundred at'ie lot, Jieeause all of it supposed to 

 be of any value embraced a single spot of the 

 black growth. Ill Ibrmed that the northerly side 

 of this lot next to Andover was at the distance 

 of not over two miles from the railroad as ii 

 passes near the westerly meeting-house in An- 

 dover, we had supposed the mountain rklges 

 would prevent access in that direction : in this 

 supposition we find now that we were entirely 

 mistaken, for although the uncleared mountain 

 seems to look in a south-easterly direction, all 

 the streams of water north of Bald mountain 

 take their course northward and run into Black- 

 water some of it as far to the north-west as the 

 Potter place. The mass of valuable timber up- 

 on this lot (whjph is not a hundred but perhaps a 

 thousand acres) will find an easy way towards 

 the market so soon as roads at no very great ex- 

 pense shall be constructed up the several valleys. 

 We see no reason also why pasturage of the usual 

 excellence shall not be made when the timber 

 and wood are cleared off nearly to the moun- 

 tain top. 



Moses Greeley, Esq. of Salisbury, has owned 

 for-several years a mountain lot: upon this, after 

 selling off first the whole of his lot southerly ol 

 Mill brook to a farmer in Concord, and dividing 

 the remainder by a sale to a neighbor, be has 

 left enough of pasturage for all his own wants. 

 Monday, June 5, we started for the mountain, 

 having despatched our little flock of young cat- 



tle, which up to this day had been kept yard- 

 confined, while hundreds of single cows with 

 other young kine had ranged the streets of our 

 village, committing deprecations Upon yards, 

 gardens and fields, ever since the opening ot 

 spring — by one of our men, to another lot some 

 of which is cleared pasture a little farther south. 

 We this lime took the Salisbury road. AH the 

 way to the mountain from the West parish of 

 Concord the farme-s who understood the best 

 time of year to improve roads, were at work tip- 

 on the highways, clearing away or covering over 

 the naked rocks which had been made bare in 



the repeated rains and in lalions — giving a 



new course to the travelled track where hills 

 could be cut down. For the first seven or eight 

 miles out of Concord to the Mast yard, as ii is 

 called, near t lie line of Bosrawen, the new rail- 

 road which is to lead up boih the Contoocook 

 valley and to Claieinont has in comparatively 

 few (lays been constructed as if by magic; and 

 this enterprise in that direction seems to have 

 impelled the owners ol the soil all the way to 

 improve the common travelled highways of their 

 locality that they may he the better able to reach 

 the railroads expected to he in running order 

 sooner even than any common new road has 

 generally been laid out and made. 



The first striking fact on our way to the moun- 

 tain was that of the railroad now making at the 

 point of Rattlesnake about two miles out of our 

 village— the disclosure that the pure beautiful 

 granite such as has the preference ill the con- 

 struction of the ornamental part of buildings 

 and in monuments that will stand ages without 

 change or decay, retaining for length of years its 

 original beauty, underlays the whole of Rattle- 

 snake hill, making an inexhaustible mine ol 

 wealth hereafter to the proprietors. Marble 

 bears no comparison to the durability of this 

 granite, and if the beauty which results from 

 Utility be the test, true taste will adjudge to our 

 granite a value hereafter hardly yet begun to be 

 estimated. Four of the most common grave 

 yard monuments, constructed by Luther Roby, 

 Esq. have lately been erected near the front of 

 the Concord old grave yard : the larger and better 

 specimen of monumental granite yet produced is 

 that of the monument fifteen feet high at W. Cam- 

 bridge, six miles out of Boston, near the railroad 

 depot, over the remains of some thirteen bodies 

 slaughtered and slain at the first open assault of 

 the British regulars upon our unoffending citi- 

 zens in the war of the revolution. 



But we stray from our subject, the visit to 

 Kearsarge. Our friend Greeley was upon the 

 highway with his neighbors when we approach- 

 ed his home at near high twelve. This gentle- 

 man has roared a large family male and female, 

 every child of which settled in life has removed 

 from the abode of their nativity: the younger 

 second wife, with whom he has lived fourteen 

 years, was a neighbor from among us— a lady 

 highly estimated in her neighborhood who from 

 her own house has married off of her husband's 

 children by the first wife five sons and daugh- 

 ters. Of the washing day soon the lady had 

 upon the table for us and the youngest son of 

 our family, whose attention was rather towards 

 the trout of the mountain brook than to the tall 

 limber trees and the value of the soil, and who 

 united with herself and an invalid sister and 

 husband in doing justice to as good a dinner us 

 we ever eat at the Astor house or any where 

 else. Losing no time, because it was uur inteii 

 tion to reach the top of the mountain and return 



before sundown, at two, P. M. we were on our 

 way from Mr. Greeley's residence. Passing down 

 the valley where still remain a few acres of the 

 splendid tall pines which have been wasted on 

 the ground to but little purpose in a series of 

 years, specimens of what might be now die value 

 of many hundred thousands if not millions of 

 dollars bad they been suffered to stand, over the 

 Blackwater, soon we began to ascend the base 

 of Kearsarge. Emerging from the wood, we 

 perceived evidences of a storm gathering over 

 the m uutain: the clouds had the hurricane ap- 

 pearance of fury which was developed all along 

 the south base of this mountain thirty-two years 

 ago. The appearand; of that tremendous cloud 

 which conveyed a power over the surface of the 

 earth unrivalled and unprecedented within the 

 recollection of any living inhabitants, in our own 

 village, beyond the reach of its vortex, was such 

 as we had never before witnessed: it came near 

 to us, but it did not strike us. The same angry 

 appearance in a much diminished degree, came 

 with the cloud of the first Monday of June : 

 it rose over the mountain quicker than we had 

 anticipated, leaving us insufficient time to reach 

 a shelter at the house where we had intended to 

 Call. Taking the wagon with Mr. Greeley, our 

 own gig with the Canadian poney and son went 

 ahead: thoughtless and inexperienced he saw 

 not the cloud to note it until the wind and large 

 drops struck him some fifiy rods before us. For- 

 tunate it was that the weight of the cloud did 

 not come here, and that he was able to stem the 

 current of the wind until the lapse of an interval 

 of a few moments from the divided cloud ena- 

 bled him to turn and drive back to the shed of a 

 barn yard, where the horse and carriage remain- 

 ed sheltered in the very severe rain and wind 

 which continued u full hour. The first flaw of 

 wind near where we stood took up a board 

 twelve feet in length and handled it as a feather 

 in the nir. Striking the south road village in 

 Salisbury proceeding eastward, the hurricane al- 

 most instantaneously prostrated two large barns. 

 Next day around the foot ot the mountain we 

 came to many trees that years had fixed in the 

 ground in strength of root which were either 

 twisted off and broken, or uprooted, turning up 

 rocks, soil and turf. This hurricane storm spoiled 

 the anticipated business of the day, leaving us to 

 carry into the succeeding da), if we did it at all, 

 what we had calculated to be the work of two days. 

 After the shower, arranging the matter with 

 friend Greeley to meet him at his mountain 

 bouse at the foot of Bald mountain the next 

 forenoon, we rode up the Blackwater two miles 

 to the falls and residence of another friend, 

 William Filigree, Esq. whose enterprise brings 

 to him a profit from the lumber taken principal- 

 ly from a mountain lot adjoining ours perhaps a 

 thousand dollars in a year. Especially enter- 

 tained by him and his excellent lady, the relative 

 of our deceased poetical female correspondent at 

 Plainfield who first delighted the readers of the 

 Visitor ten years ago, but has since gone the way 

 where we all will soon follow her; our stay over 

 night with Mr. Pingree was only pained by the 

 bad health of his amiable wife. 



At eight o'clock next morning we moved on 

 foot on our way to that part of the mountain 

 most in front near the line of Andover, from 

 which our own lot is only divided by an inter- 

 vening half mile the length of three several 

 small lots owned by Mr. Pingree who in its 

 wild retirement is perhaps alone familiar with 

 this track. With him in the thick forest we rose 



