Terms, Five Dollars a Year. ) 

 Ten Cents a Copy. j 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 2, 1875. 



( Volume 5, Number 17. 



) 17 Chatham St.. (City Hall Sqr.) 



For Forest and Stream. 



§rip to th% $$hifc cffonntHinB. 



WHO has not visited the White Mountains, except 

 those who ought to visit them, and others who 

 ought not? In writing on this subject I feel that I have to 

 do with familiar things, and cannot hope to impart infor- 

 mation, save only in respect to the peculiarities of my own 

 visit and the impressions of personal experience. The 

 mountains are evermore the same, as is also the granite of 

 New Hampshire; but as no two individuals are alike, so 

 neither are the circumstances of any two excursions. The 

 elements which compose a lovely landscape are few and 

 easily numbered; but the light and shade which fall on 

 them are ot infinite variety. The season, the object in 

 view, the modes of travel, the disposition or occupation of 

 the traveler, alike affect, and dissimilarly, the charcter of a 

 visit to any locality. I propose only to review the peculi- 

 arities, or, if you please, eccentricities of my own excur- 

 sion to the region named, to fix them more permanently in 

 remembrance, at the same time inviting the company of 

 your readers. 



At the close of May, 1862, I left the city of my resi- 

 dence for North Conway, to pass a few weeks in that vicin- 

 ity, It may be regarded as a peculiarity that I went alone. 

 Not that I would not gladly have welcomed agreeable com- 

 panionship, but that I long since learned the advantages of 

 not being dependent. I have often gone alone on these ex- 

 cursions, not unmindful of the poetic truth- 

 There is society where none intrudes, 

 but also as one of two, of three, of four, of eight, of thir- 

 ty. In circumstances and on all occasions I have gathered 

 only delight, enjoyment, pleasure, health, abounding satis- 

 faction ; but it is not always practicable to secure compan- 

 ionship to go just where you wish to go, and when I fre- 

 quently find congenial society, if not fraternity, at the 

 place of destination, and never have felt the ennui in the 

 woods of lonesome solitary hours. I pursued a ziz-zag 

 course en route, proceeding by rail up to Rutland, then 

 down and across Vermont to Bellow's Falls, then straight 

 up the Connecticut to White River Junction, then east by 

 rail to Lake Winnipiseogee, where I took private convey- 

 ance to North Conway. God and nature have done much 

 for this delightful station, but man has accomplished very* 

 little. «Fine prospects break upon the view in all direc- 

 tions. There lies the charming valley of the Saco in rich 

 perspective, begirt with towering hills and granite curiosi- 

 ties. There is the lofty pyramidal Kearsarge Mountain, 

 surmounted at the time referred to, with indications of an 

 house founded on rock indeed, but given to the winds. 

 There is the Crystal Horse and Diana's Bath, so called, not 

 because "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," or because 

 Diana ever bathed there, but because — .1 reconnoitered all 

 these grounds to my heart's content, passing several weeks 

 ; among them most enchantedly. I visited Diana's Bath and 

 f filled my basket full of her precious little trout. A stream 

 [ comes down there over a granite base, which in the course 

 of ages has scooped out large basins filled with water, 

 "■, ready for an humble washing. I ascended the Kearsarge 

 ih Mountain to its very apex, first through the woods till I 

 j could look down on them, and then forward over bare 



I rocks, and only rocks, till finally I had to climb almost per- 

 pendicularly upward; but I paused not until I stood six 



II feet higher than the highest step of that bleak, demoral- 

 1 ized, crazy building. Nor did I stop even there; for to my 

 J surprise and delight I beheld on the heights beyond, appar- 

 el ently accessible, a summit lake, which I thought to visit, 

 (|l f and descended on the farther side for the purpose; but the 

 J more I traveled the farther off it seemed to be, till satisfied 

 1 that as by an optical illusion I had miscalculated the dis- 

 f, tauce, my sober second thought was to retrace my steps. 

 § Need I say that I felt abundantly repaid for all my effort 

 jl and exertion? Looking down on the plains below, repos- 

 ijjing in sunlight, the lovely valley of the Saco, like another 

 jjj Jordan, the quiet village of North Conway, and even on 

 I surrounding peaks, excuse me if I thought of Moses on the 

 f height of Pisfiah and the borders of tha promised land. 



There are various streams in this vicinity, and I fished 

 severai of them with success. Starting off in the morning 

 with horse and chaise, and wading for six hours together 

 at a time, surrounded with animating scenery, I would re- 

 turn with choice treasure and that cheerful happiness which 

 only anglers know. I fished in the Saco and caught cer- 

 tain whitefish and nondescripts, but missed there my fa- 

 vorites. I fished at Jackson, some five miles north of Con- 

 way, where the Ellis River branches east and west, and 

 there found special, great success, filling my basket to the 

 brim not only, but with larger tenants than I had elsewhere 

 found. This place received its name from Old Hickory, 

 because all its voters voted solidly for him. 



Mt. Washington, snow-crowned and attractive, was con- 

 tinually in view, and I looked forward, hoping for nearer 

 and more intimate acquaintance. Bidding a reluctant 

 farewell to Conway, on the 17th of June I rode onward to 

 the Glen House, fascinated all the way with the sublimity 

 of surrounding scenery, pausing at the Glen Ellis Falls and 

 the Crystal Cascade, whose white waters descended leaping, 

 laughing, exulting in their course, and noon found me at 

 the base, not of the royal, but the republican Mt. Wash- 

 ington. It had been my inteniion to rest at the Glen House 

 till morning, but looking upward I beheld the summit 

 bathed in golden sunlight; and not willing to risk a cer- 

 tainty, as I regarded it, for an uncertainty with respect to 

 the weather, I determined to make ascent the same after* 

 noon; so at 3 o'clock I commenced the "going up." It 

 was very warm below, but I knew well what rough cold 

 breezes the evening shades and airy heights had in store 

 for me; so wearing my lightest coat, but having on my 

 arm the heaviest one, I proceeded slowly on. I was fully 

 resolved to enjoy the occasion at all events, and as I was 

 not ascending on a wager, would not be in a hurry. There 

 was a good carriage way all the way, so that two carriages 

 might pass each other or move abreast— but railroad con- 

 veyance was in the future: I discovered after awhile that 

 the mountain was on fire, or that fire was on the mountain, 

 and at one point heaid a crackling at my right, which 

 warned rae of danger, I perceived that a large tree, burnt 

 asunder near the roots, was about to fall directly across 

 my path. Instead of retreating, I hurried up and forward 

 for a space, when turning, I saw the tree lying at full 

 length upon the road I was going up, and on I went, stop- 

 ping at the springs which I was so glad to welcome, and 

 other places, not only for rest, but to take a progressively 

 higher view of the magnificent panorama which lay spread 

 beneath. X met several parties and individuals coming 

 down, and held converse with them respecting the realms 

 above. In one instance we met where there is a sharp an- 

 gle in the road. After scraping acquaintance for a few 

 moments with each other, they descended while I went up, 

 but in such directions that we repeatedly signalled to each 

 other and exchanged salutations, waving handkerchiefs 

 when we were a mile apart. Higher up my path lay through 

 snow, which a dozen men were seeking with their shovels 

 to remove. I could extend my hand without stooping and 

 take up the snow. Long ere I reached this elevation I had 

 felt the need of my other coat, buttoning it over the first, 

 and had secured my hat so that no sudden gust should 

 blow it far away. The route became steeper and more 

 steep, colder and more breezy, darker, drearier, but 

 still I struggled on, till five hours were passed, when at 8 

 o'clock, turning a short round, I dimly descried the Tip- 

 Top House and a man entering it with wood. You may 

 believe that I followed him. 



After a friendly chat and supper I went to bed—but not 

 to sleep, only to lie awake and listen to the supernVi roar. 

 Thinking what a terrible thing it would be to travel in the 

 Tip-Top House to the bottom of Tuckerman's ravine, and 

 all in the dark, I arose and sought the housekeepers for 

 consolation. "Oh! this is not much of a blow," said one, 

 and his calm assurance remanded me to my bed till morn- 

 ing. Then I thought it rained; but we were in the clouds, 

 and fierce winds drove them against the fortified window 

 panes with the effect of rain. When full daylight ap- 

 peared I arose, opened the front door, and shut it again in 

 ' & hurry. The adjoining ravine seemed, or steamed, like 



an immense -cauldron, whence boiling water was sending 

 up hot vapor as from a hell. I inquired what propor- 

 tion of those who attained the summit to see the sun 

 rise were so gratified, and was answered, about one in 

 nine. "Mount Washington," wrote Daniel Webster in 

 the "Record Book," "I have traveled far and toiled to see 

 you, and you have given me a cold reception." My expe- 

 rience was much the same. However, about 10 o'clock 

 the clouds withdrew, and I was favored with an extraordi- 

 nary prospect. For miles around I looked down on the 

 summits of surrounding peaks, which appeared like strange 

 excrescences on Mother Earth. I gazed in the direction 

 where Portland lay, but did not see it satisfactorily, and 

 recalled the Byronic sentiment, 



He who ascends to mountain tops will find 



The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow. 



There are, or were, two houses on this height; one the 

 Summit, cabled clown firmly and used only as a dormitory, 

 the other a little higher, and so called Tip-Top, used chief- 

 ly for reception and a dining hall. I heard there of a pro- 

 jected barn, to the end that the house might be supplied . 

 with milk. These houses of course, or properly, were only 

 one low story high. I climbed ambitiously to the topmost 

 rock and stood the highest man in all New England— 6,226 

 feet above the level of the sea! Having seen all that was 

 to be seen and bade adieu, I made a descent upon the Glen 

 House much faster than I came up, and reached it safely, 

 having accomplished probably once for all in life, an eight- 

 mile climb — a feat which I am not anxious to undertake 

 again. There I learned that the guests had been enter- 

 tained the previous night in gazing on the burning moun- 

 tain below, all lighted up with fires, while we, in our se- 

 rene elevation and retirement, heard or saw nothing of it. 



H:>w nature inclines to cluster her attractions. I have 

 often thought of this in the Adirondacks. Where moun- 

 tains are there are also lakes, islands, forests, deer and 

 trout, and there the eagles fly. All these, with streams, 

 falls, rocks and springs are clustered together, instead of 

 being distributed. So here Mt. Washington, grand enough 

 to stand alone, sustaining solitary dignity, is accompanied 

 by other presidential heights but little inferior in their own 

 majesty; Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Frank- 

 lin are well represented with classical monuments. Nor 

 only so; for a pleasant drive, at times under beetling crags 

 and lofty ridges, opens to view all the attractions of the 

 Notch. Another leads onward to Franconia, and the nat- 

 ural wonders gathered around the Profile House; the high 

 perpendicular Eagle Rock, the Old Man of the Mountains, 

 with stern features set like flint; the Pool, the Basin, and 

 the Flume. Who that has visited this favored region but 

 has felt heart and miud expand, as well as lungs, under the 

 influence of its inspirations, and realized with profound 

 convictions, that God alone is great? Amateur. 



CTtica, Oct. 28th, 1875. 



^ * » • • ■ ■ ■ ■ 



Race Between a Locomotive and a Deer.— A few 

 days since the engineer of a train on the Honesdale Branch 

 of the Erie Railway saw a deer jump from the woods in 

 front of the locomotive onto the track. Putting on steam 

 a lively chase ensued, until, being too closely pressed the 

 deer leaped over a ledge of rocks into the Lackawana 

 River. It escaped into the woods, but was followed by 

 Ed. Malone, an old hunter, and his sons. Malone suc- 

 ceeded in killing it in Big Tink Pond, five miles from 

 where it jumped into the river. Its saddles weighed over 

 200 pounds. 



■ «»« »' -— - — 



—In eastern North Carolina they make pine top and China 

 berry and tangle-foot whiskey— three grades. The first 

 enables one to see things as clear as he can see a fox squir- 

 rel in a tall pine; the second makes one mistake a pride of 

 China tree for a grape vine, and the third enables one to 

 go through a tangle of the densest cat briers without mind- 

 ing the mortification of the flesh .or clothes. 

 — ■+.«, 



—The Northern Railway of Canada is now open the 

 whole distance, from Toronto to Gravenhurst, on Muskoka. 

 Lake. It will eventually be pushed to Lake Nipissing, 



