Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1857-04-09
nlisrellanp.
The COUGHING Lion;
OR, A sIeur AMONG THE GREEN MOUNTAINS.

Iue OOuCutuS LiCA,
OR, A NIGHT AMONG THE GREEN MOUNTAINS.
"What say you to a ride to The HUMP to-
day," said my brother Tom, early on the morn
ing OF the 18th Of July. g We have had re-
freshing shower, and the wind has been blowing
for some hours from the north, so that we shall
be sure of clear weather besides which. next
week will bring Commencement day, with all
its literary considerations; after that comes
haymaking, and after that again the grain har'
vest all which will keep me busy as bee, so
that this is our only chance for this season -
Come what say you Shall order the bug
gy to be ready after breakfast :" q
With all my heart" said 7, We could
not have had better weather, had we been al
lowed to make ourcown selection from all the
infinite varieties Of the article. will prepare
my drawing materials, ,:.mother will put US up Il
basket of prog, and you may start as soon as
you please
g Camel's Hump" is the loftiest but one Of
the Green Mountains, being over four thousand
altitude only by Mount Mansfield, which has
the advantage Of about three hundred feet
The Hump is SO called from the supposed re-
sembancc of its summit to the characteristic
protuberance Of the, long -necked " ship of the
DESERT" The early French discoverers of the
VERD MoNr, however, gave it far more beau
tful and poetic appellation. Unlike the COM
lnon-place Yankee, their more refined fancy saw
resemblance, not to hump-backed beast OF
burden, but to the royal repose Of the king OF
The brutcs and accordingly they named this,
the most graceful in outline of all the Green
Mountains, :" LIZ Lion Couchant,"--" The
Couching Lion"
Thus, to the eyes Of old ChAmplan, he
seemed to lie, in all the Guinness of conscious
dignity, contemplating the winding valleys be
low, and looking evermore toward the sunny
South his native cline. We consider tht
Green Mountain poets in duty bound to revive
this original name, for the purposes of Song
for, to twist either camel or his hump int
aught like sablinity or pathos passes the powe
of Apollo himself Many of the farmer tribe, b
the way, as if its current name were not ugl
enough, change one letter for the worse, an
nickname this beautiful summit - Camel
Ramp"
After q rapid but hearty breakfast, we rod
I I IA high spirits. The weather was of itse
III; u pas, 5dlgssspeptic-iu the rnids
Dl |ga I - sssss-.alI svcart 4 rrr
!. you infer that we were dyspeptc II assur
you we were never guilty Of such a thing i
ourlisss.l The shower had laid all the dust
and washed down the face of Nature, unit
that venerable dame was as fresh and brillian
asa blooming maiden just emerging from
bath. The summer air was cool, bracng, an
breezy, and our long drawn inhalations mad
the blood tin5le with delicious sense OF pur
and healthy exharalion. The sun shone s
clearly and cheerily that the landscape sparkle
laughiugly everywhere, and the sky was of on
deep blue, save where, along the horizon, {
slowly creeping up the mountain sides, wande
ed light clouds. the pale, white ghosts of tn
departed shower.
As we assembled the hill on which the villag
of Burlington is so beautifully situated, tt
lake grew broader behind US showing its hea
lands, bays, and islands, beautifully mappe
out in the cool blue light of morning. 0,
ride was about eighteen miles through th
townships and villages of Williston, Richmon
and Bolton, and beautiful and delightful rit
it was. Some OF the objects which attract'
our attention were not little characteristic.
We frequently saw a very neat and new fari
er's house, of clapboard or brick, and som
times with stone caps and sills, near Whit
was the previous domicle of the family, of
inferior architecture, and used as a stable
granary. In some cases we even saw, besid
these, the old, original og-cabin the first fru
of the pioneers axe thus showing, as it we
three generations of houses all cotemporaneoI
and of which the most venerable antique "
irreverently degraded into pig-sty OR do
kennel We saw the residence Of one gre
dlirymau, who makes his twenty thousa
pounds of butter every year. and of anoth
whose contributions to the cheese market wei
no less than forty tons As to the architectu
perhaps the most original thing to be seen
s.. the road Is .tha Richmond meeting house, VIII
has no less than sirtsea sides Ito say moth
about the inside and outside), and pull
about sixteen feet high At Richmond
providently took dinner.
The latter part of our drive was beautiful
the extreme. The Winooski River was on
left hand, with its variegated shores and wo
ed islands and its clear waters, now fash
up through the stems and branches of the t
dering trees and now rcposing darkly un
the shadow of some forest crowned hill, "
the life of the ever-varying scene. The r
was excellent, though narrow, and lined "
green-sward on both sides; and led US now
the dazzling sunshine, now into the welc,
shade. with delightful rapidty OF altcl
ton. Atlength we reached the road where
were to turn up from the river and CONNIE
our ascent of the Mountain
We had been informed that we could ride
a milesarid half on this road, where we &C
leave the horse during our excursion to
peak and since We expected our tramp Il
not little fatigning, we were glad of the
portunity of saving SO much labour. But
reckoned without our host. The road was
companied, to the left, by a deep gully, or
y vine, at the bottom of which rolled and ro
Q large brook or creek which worked saw
not far from the main road. This stream
voured US with plenty of its company befor