SCENOGRAPHICAL GEOLOGY. 625 



will see a wider notch than that here represented, since it has been en- 

 larged for the passage of the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad. To the 

 right is situated Mt. Willard, seemingly of little consequence; and still 

 farther are the eastern slopes of Mts. Field and Tom. 



If we rise a few hundred feet to the top of Mt. Willard, we shall get a 

 glimpse of the entire lower part of the Notch. On referring to the small 

 heliotype taken from this point, one can see the lower portion of the 

 inclosing walls, the winding thread of the Saco river, and the granite 

 mountains back of Frankenstein's cliff, after the turn of the valley to 

 the south-east. The left-hand slope is on Mt. Webster, and the right 

 is Mt. Willey. A few bare spots show where loose materials have slid 

 down into the river; and we directly overlook the famous Willey slide. 

 Mt. Willey is 3000 and Mt. Webster 2500 feet above the Willey house. 

 The other part of this heliotype represents the house occupied by Mr. 

 Willey in 1826, before the rushing down of the granite debris, in which 

 he perished with his household. The larger house to the left has been 

 added since 1826, for the accommodation of travellers. Only a small 

 portion of Mt. Willey appears behind the house. Fig. 9 shows an out- 

 line of the slide, as it now appears, with the pile of stones erected in 

 memory of the destroyed family. 



A view of Mt. Willard from this point is of extreme beauty; and our 

 heliotype, — one of the finest in the series, — is placed in the next volume 

 for the sake of illustrating geological structure. The south side of Mt. 

 Willard is precipitous, and it occupies the whole valley, the stream flow- 

 ing down from the right of it. A cleft hollowed out of this precipice is 

 known as the Eagle's nest or Devil's den. Marvellous stories have been 

 told of it, as supernatural agents have been supposed to keep off all 

 visitors. But our explorers of 1870, with the use of one hundred and 

 twenty-five feet of rope let down from the summit, discovered nothing 

 mysterious about this locality, but would not advise visitors to explore it 

 again without better facilities for going and coming than they enjoyed. 



Below the Willey house the valley turns south-easterly; and the helio- 

 type opposite page 192, taken from this point, indicates the features of the 

 mountains better than description. Mt. Willey terminates abruptly on 

 the south, and the hills succeeding are 1500 feet less in height. Directly 

 west from the Willey house are the remotest head waters of the Merri- 



VOL. I. 81 



