No. 244.] 157 



On the 27th of October I ascended the White Face peak of the 

 Adirondacks; it was then covered with snow about half way down, 

 from its pinnacle to its base. I ascended the mountain in the autumn 

 of 1844, and attempted to ascend it in the month of May, of that year, 

 but was driven from it by the smoke, the forest on the east side of the 

 mountain having taken fire, and was burning with great fury, filling 

 the air with smoke. Ti.e timber on the plains was also burnt, to ihe 

 extent of thousands of acres. 



The loose earth that covers the rock of which this mountain con- 

 sists, is not more than twelve inches in thickness, on an average, and 

 must have been completely calcined by the fire. After the heat had 

 subsided, a thrifty growth of Blueberry bushes sprung up in the cal- 

 cined earth, and were most abundant; and during the last summer near 

 two thousand bushels of this choice mountain fruit was gathered from 

 the burnt district, and taken to the Montreal market. Tlie germ was 

 in the fire; what a sower of seed — wonderful! The Blueberry never 

 grew on this ground before since the mountain was visited by white 

 men. 



The timber growmg on the mountain not visited by the flames, is 

 large; spruce, hemlock, &c., and near the base is balm of Gilead, white 

 and yellow birch, beech, maple, and other hard wood. The trees on 

 the high mountain suffer less from the wind tlian those on the plains. 

 On the south side of the White Face peak of the Adirondacks, and 

 between it and another high mountain, the west branch of the Ausa- 

 ble passes; its path is a mountain gorge, and in this are the High 

 Falls, a cataract in the bosom of the forest, of 100 feet perpendicular 

 fall; from this cataract to the outlet of the river into Lake Champlain, 

 a little north of Port Kent, a distance of 30 miles, is a succession of 

 falls, in all equaling 1,200 or 1,300 feet. Above the level of this 

 river, in the high hills, are large bodies of iron ore of very superior 

 quality, from which the Peru iron is manufactured. White Face peak 

 is about 4,500 above tide; the earth covering of the mountain rock 

 does not average one foot in thickness, and yet it supports a luxuriant 

 growth of vegetation. 



East of the gap through which the Ausable runs, the farmers inform 

 me that they are unable to raise winter wheat, as the wind, which is 

 strong through the gap, blows the snow from the ground, and the 

 young wheat consequently suffers from frost. The fruit also suffers 

 from being blown from the trees. 



