232 Miscellaneous Notices of Mountain Scenery^ <^c. 



wildest confusion. The trees sometimes erect, or sweeping 

 around their branchless trunks in " horrid circles," would 

 level tremendous blows at those upon the banks of the 

 stream — as appeared by the bark frequently taken off at a 

 great height — now their lops and roots alternately projecting 

 forward, and again lying across the current were shivered in an 

 instant. They are left in considerable numbers throughout 

 the whole course, some lying upon the banks, others m the 

 channel, and wholly or in part buried in the sand and rocks. 

 But the principal part of the timber swept from these twen- 

 ty-five acres, lies piled in a confused heap, covering perhaps 

 an acre of ground, and four hundred and eighty rods, (one 

 and a half miles,) from the spot where the slide commenced ! 

 Here, having already spent much of its force, and the moun- 

 tain growing less precipitous, it struck into a cluster of firm- 

 ly rooted trees and was compelFed to stop. At this place it 

 presents a perpendicular wall of logs, &c. across the entire 

 channel, in some places ten or fifteen feet high. The upper 

 end of the pile is buried beneath the sand and stones, and 

 the stream now runs over the top. Perhaps those very logs 

 will be dug out in after times as fossil wood. 



Every thing in this mass, bears the marks of the greatest 

 violence. Almost every tree is as completely divested of its 

 roots, branches, and bark, as could have been effected by 

 man, with the proper instruments. They are pounded and 

 splintered and broken into all imaginable shapes and lengths. 

 We felt ourselves amply repaid for our labor. It is well worth 

 the attention of the lovers of the marvellous, and especially 

 of every one who has never witnessed such tremendous ef- 

 fects, accomplished by the agency of water. I shall never 

 more doubt, that water is adequate to the production of any 

 of those effects, which are generally ascribed to the deluge. 

 But I must confess sir, that while attending your lectures 

 upon this interesting subject, I always had a kind of incredu- 

 lity with regard to this point, which went very far to weaken 

 the force of conclusions fairly deduced from physical phe- 

 nomena, of whose actual existence I could not entertain a 

 doubt. And while standmg upon that mountain, I realized 

 the force of a remark which you have often made, that we 

 can never be properly prepared to reason upon the phenom- 

 ena of the deluge, till we have taken the field, and witnessed 

 for ourselves, the effects of those convulsions which have de- 

 vastated the surface of our planet. Yours respectfully, 



Theron Baldwin. 



