Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1857-04-09

o0oo SAoou ""u hiSH oPHis, ou' S"ah "he oii5''
Ind better at fast travelling than long, dead
pull. The road was not only steep, but stony,
out also abominably rutty, nor was it simply
steep, stony, and rutty, but very frequently, il
not ottener, the stones in the road were rocks,
and the ruts had been excavated to the dimen-
sions of great gullies. We soon determined
that the buggy alone would be enough for the
little mare to drag up such a barbarous path as
that, and Tom and dismounted, > he driving
and sometimes leading the iaithfol little crea-
ture through the rugged horrors of the ascent,
and foSTating after pias Taa' iewiing-
piecesand the basket Of prog; for it would not
have been safe to leave either Of them to the
tender merces of the extraordinary jolts per-
formed by our vehicle. We were somewhat re-
paid, however, by the beauty of the scenery
which began to open upon us from behind
CHANGING backward every few moments, the
fine opening of the valley of the Wlnooski,
with long spurs of the Hump rising up on this
side, answered by the outskrling hills of Mans
field beyond their wooded sides and rocky crests
1ecked with moving, coud-scattered. shadows,
and the winding river peeping out here and
there at the bottom Of the valley between, all
this, as ut every little ascent and turn in the
road it opened more and more grandIy upon us,
drew forth repeated bursts Of admiration, and
nerved us against any thoughts of fatigue
The greater part of the ravine on our left was
yet dark with its original wood mostly ever
green of various kinds; but here and there
clearing had been mlde, doubtless more for the
benefit of the sawmill below than for agricul-
tural purposes. Yet in one place, where the
aluvial deposit had made little level spot OF
about an acre in extent, the land was not only
cleared, but planted in corn and potatoes, whose
wavering lines struggled and struggled dubi-
ously up the breast of hill far too steep to be
practicable for road. Yet there was house
down in that little fat The descent of that
little house into that deep ravine seemed at
first as mysterious as that of the famous Chap
el of Loretto; but it was afterwards explained
as we shall see
The miles in mountainous country seem Ia
be made of the very longest kind of . long
,, measure :" and if, as our railroad men say
= " tmeis distance | think mountain mile
must bear about the same relation to those ir
the plain below, as widow bore to ordinary
women in the opinion of Mr.. Weller, Senior
! Az least wq thought so for sometime before VIZ
! reached t,eeend Of that mile and'a half
\ There were but few houses in that steep and
winding valloy,-not more than four or FIVE, il
| recollect a-igh, but the last save one was
; characteristic of the country. 1t was schoo
house. The schoolmaster Tor rather the school
ma amy was abroad and had ferreted out thest
y few scattered families, in a rugged and remote
1 mountain valley and there was the little schoo
house, the last habitaton save one. And it wa
we'll filled, too 1.-THE pure mountain air seems t.
y = render the hardy Inhabitants prone to popula
tion) nor were their juvenile manners neglect
ed for, as we looked in at the open door,
II whole row of unkempt tow-heads bobbed 10,
: in rustic courtesy "a salute which, you ma
. be sure, was returned in due form with doffc
chapeau.
: After leaving our horse and buggy at tn
g next farmhouse lin which, according to Tom
l, report, there was quite pretty girD, we too
u the fowling piece, Toms overcoat, the basket {
u prog, and the portfolio, and set out on ou
: tramp Our first object was to find where tn
: men-rolks " were, in order to get some gen'
10 raj directions to guide us in the ascent, for tt
~ women a Il up the valley seemed to know notl
ing about the matter they " had never n
- cended the mountain in their lives why shoul
= they - We found the men in the hayfel
>" not far off And here by the way, may r.
" mark that their fields were stony and small
- their barns very diminutive, and their crol
- y apparently the smallest and poorest Of all
''' was puzzle how they contrived to scral
~ and scratch enough together to keep soul an
~ body from parting company. We found the
"' in the hay field however, as | said, and mac
cur inquiries. Their answers were provoking
ingly vague and general, and given in vel
~ knowing way, with many significant hints th'
- we had better wait till next day, and pay OF
." kof them dollar and half to pilot us up ar
~ down again, which we were by no means di
',,f+ppsed, to do We had both of US last year a
- tcended Mansfield. which was u higher mountai
= and reckoned more difficult, and accomplish
the feat " ithout guide, and without havil
W been in any danger of losing our way so th
we considered ourselves perfectly competent
|" do as much for The Hump. We therefore d
'uf regarded all the sly innuendoes and sbru
ou and grins of our informants, telling them
nv were determined to try the ascent by ourselv'
VI u and hoped to see the sun set from the SUNNI
der spend the night there. behold the sun rise, a
efe descend in time for dinner next day. In
oau .jokingly insisted that we should kindle
i'h on the summit, so that they might know
nto were safe and we promised readily, with
'me proyiso-.' in case we succeeded in reaching |
ma summit before nightfall." We had abe
we three hours of daylight yet before US a
nee according to their account that would
sufficient, provided all went right 50 away
up trudged up the valley, at good ronnd'pact
uld laying all the responsibility of pilot on Toi
the shoulders, for three reasons first, he was
, be ter skilled in woodcraft than | ; second,
op- had sharper eyesight; and third, he was eli
we inches taller than his little BROTHER" and
ac- course, could see grea; deal farther. So
ra. went before, and followed after.
,red After proceeding up the valley about hal
mill mile, we came upon second sawmill, suppl
fa- by the brook whose company VIC had hithe
, we kept with great perseverance. This explai