184 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



the western side of the mountain, about the dawn of day, in a wide column 20 feet m aeptn 

 sweeping away trees and rocks in its course. The tenants of a house on the banks of the 

 Hoosac, being awakened by the roaring of the torrent, had much difficulty in saving themselves, 

 and their dweUing was swept into the river. For two miles the stream overflowed its banks 

 to the height of 10 or 12 feet. A tract of land, 10 acres in extent, was entirely stripped of 

 trees by the torrent, and a channel 20 feet deep was worn down the side of the mountain. 



Mount Holyoke, near Northampton, on the Connecticut, is rruch visited by travelers for 

 the beauty of its prospect. It has a good carriage road most of the way up, and a building on 

 the summit for the accommodation of visiters. The beautiful valley of the Connecticut is 

 spread beneath it, bordered by distant ranges of hills, covered with the richest vegetation, and 

 sprinkled over with villages and farm houses. The river has a beautiful serpentine course, 

 from the foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain Mount Toby, amid meadows, gardens, and villages. 

 Beyond the river is seen Mount Tom ; in the northeast appears Monadnock, and Saddle 

 Mountam in the northwest, while under the feet of the spectator are the villages of Nortliamp- 

 ton and Hadley, with more than 30 church spires scattered over the landscape. 



3. Valleys. The valley of the Connecticut, which, varying in width, extends through the 

 Stjte from north to south, consists for the most part of a sandy alluvion. The lower fiats are 

 fert.h,' producing rich crops of maize, rye, oats, barley, and hay. In the vicinity of Hatfield, 

 in this valley, are extensive fields of broom-corn, and the manufacture of this article into brooms, 

 absorbs a considerable portion of the labor of the towns in the neighborhood. A portion of 

 this valley is occupied by sandy tracts which yield light crops of rye and maize. Some of 

 these plains are covered with low pine forests. The valley of the Housatonic extends nearly 

 in the same direction with that of the Connecticut, and consists of alluvial tracts of the same 

 description. The valley of the Hoosac is in the northwest ; it consists of an almost uninterrupt- 

 ed succession of interval, about a mile in width, extremely rich, and ornamented with tlie hve- 

 liest verdure. The waters of this stream are remarkably limpid, and wind their way along this 

 valley, through luxuriant meadows and pastures, green to the water's edge, and fringed with 

 willows, or crowned with lofty trees. 



4. Rivers. The Connecticut enters the western part of this State, and flows south into 

 Connecticut. The tract which it waters in Massachusetts is 50 miles in extent, but its course 

 is meandering. In this distance it receives Deerfield and Westfield rivers from the west, and 

 Miller's and Chickopee rivers from the east. The Housatonic rises in the northwest corner of 

 the State, and flows south into Connecticut ; receiving the waters of the valley between the 

 Hoosac mountains on the east and the Taugkannuc range on the west. The Hoosac rises in the 

 same quarter, and flows northwesterly into New York. The Merrimack enters the State in 

 the northeast, and flows easterly 50 miles to the sea at Newburyport ; in this course it receives 

 Concord and Shawsheen rivers from the south. The greater part of JV«s/?wa River, which falls 

 into the Merrimack in New Hampshire a few miles north of the Massachusetts line, is in Mas- 

 sachusetts. Charles and jyeponset rivers, in the east, join the sea at different points in Bos- 

 ton Bay. Pawtucket and Taunton rivers in the south flow into Narragansett Bay. Only two 

 of the abovementioned rivers have any considerable navigation. The Merrimack is navigable 

 for vessels of 200 tons to Haverhill, 15 miles from its mouth ; to this point the tide extends ; 

 at some distance above are rapids ; at its entrance into the sea it expands to a mile in width and 

 forms the harbor of Newburyport. The Connecticut, though obstructed by falls at different 

 points, is susceptible of boat navigation, and in Massachusetts is from 80 to 100 rods wide. 

 Small steamboats run on this river between Windsor and Hartford. The general character of 

 this stream we have elsewhere described. 



5. Islands. JVantucket, 20 miles south of the mainland at Cape Cod, is an island of trian- 

 gular form, about 15 miles long and 11 broad, in the widest part, containing 30,000 acres. It 

 is little more than a heap of sand without a tree of native growth upon it, yet it maintains a 

 numerous population, distinguished for their activity and enterprise. The island afibrds some 

 pasturage, and cows and sheep in considerable numbers are raised ; the land bemg held in 

 common, they feed in one pasture to the amount of several thousands. But what gives this 

 island its chief importance is the whale fishery, in which almost all the inhabitants are engaged. 

 The Nantucket whale ships are found in every quarter of the globe, and their seamen are regard- 

 ed as the most adventurous and skilful in the world. The chmate of this island is much milder 

 than that of the neighboring continent ; and the soil, though sandy, is in some parts productive, 

 Searing fruits and grass ; a century ago it was covered with frees. Southeast of this island. 



