Notice of the White Mountains 175 
entangled thicket, enabling the traveller to pass over the 
forest, stepping from tree to tree. These groves at a 
greater elevation diminish to the altitude of a few inches, 
and are blended with moss and lichens. 
We ranged several miles in a northern direction on the 
summit of the ridge, gradually ascending, and passed over 
asuccession of eminences,that rise a few hundred feet above 
the general level, forming a waving profile. One of these 
heights called mount Prospect, presents a smooth surface 
of many acres thinly clad with moss and tufts of grass, and 
adorned with flowers. From this hill the wild wood clad 
ranges and peaks of inferior altitude, appear very interest- 
ing. 
Some of the eminences we passed over, are covered with 
bare loose rocks and broken ledges. ‘The ridge is some- 
times narrow and its sides steep. We looked down preci- 
pices upon wood clad ravines, situated several thousand 
feet below. ‘The rocks of these mountains are chiefly gran- 
ite and gneiss, embracing light colored feldspar and quartz, 
with mica sometimes crystallized in six-sided tables. 
Among the imbedded minerals that occur, are sulphuret of 
iron in decomposing rocks, tourmaiines, garnets, and in one 
place delicate rose quartz. , .: | 
On mest parts of the summit, bare rocks alternated with 
light colored moss, lichens, tufts of grass, beautiful white 
and purple flowers, dwarf cranberry and whortleberry bush 
es, and shrubs only four inches high. Cranberries were 
abundant, and pleasant flavored, being deprived of much of 
their acid’by frost. In the autumn, berries are uncommon- 
ly acid on this high ground. 
Not far from the southern base of Mount Washington, 
and five thousand feet above the ocean, there is a pond cov- . 
ering nearly an acre. It is a source of two streams which 
run in opposite directions. One descending west, is the 
head of the Amonoosuc, a branch of the Connecticut. The 
other connects itself with waters flowing into the Atlantic 
through Maine. The pond is deep, and was partially envi- 
roned by banks of ice, with beds of flowers adjacent. 
We encamped at the foot of Mount Washington, on a 
sheltered spot of the steep eastern side of the ridge, about 
a mile above the sea. Branches of a lilliputian, grove of 
firs, and dry moss, fermed our place of rest. We raised 
