Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1859-07-22
Letter from Brandon.
.enee of the Bellows Falls Times.


BRANDON, W., July IA, 1859. :
Mr.. Editor:-I write you from the place +
now being made noted for the occurrence i
of the Frozen Wen.
The well still exists, and so does the ice
in it, as l could clearly see to day by the
aid of looking glass which reflected the
suns rays directly TO the bottom of If. !
Enough has been said of the well, till
some of the savdnS give us theory 10 ac-
count for the unusual phenomenon.
But aside of the well, there are divers
other interesting points IN this preasant vii
age and vicinity, to be seen by the sight
seeing, and the excellent Accommodations af
torded at the Brandon House by mine host,
VIM. II. Field. serve TO render the stay
pleasant, even when disengaged from the
active duties of looking at tEe--wonders.
To the lover Of art and architectural
/ beauty, the interior of the Congregational
I Church presents fine field for observation.
In addition to the excellent taste displayed
/ in lis general arrangement and finish, there
is in it the richest pulpit in New England
4 1t is made of the choicest variety Of the
Brandon Sta:uary Marble, highly polished
and equalIing in beauty and texture the
/ finest Florence Marble. The expense of
manufacturing alone, could not have been
less than one thousand dollars. The whole
/ expense, as well as material used, was free
ly donated to the Society, by +. ID. Selden,
ESQ., proprietor of the Brandon Statuary
Marble Quarry.
! Extensive and varied manufacturing es-
4 tellishments are in town, among the most
noted of which is that of IIowe's Platform
Scales. Although Comparatively a new
thing, these scales seem destined TO take
the lead of all others. The simplicity of
construction, the ease with which they are
put up, and the unrivalled accuracy and
certainty of its continuance, are points of
excellence that will commend the scales to
the business world, and probably ensure a
sale unprecedented even by the famous Fair
} banks Scale.
But | will not stop to sell you the scales,
but 60 to the ore beds, which are about
two miles east of the village Here we
5 find feast for the lover of nature. Iron
Ore Drown Hematite) and Black oxide of
Manganese are found in abundance. The
/, former is raised from the earth by steam,
and when the price of Iron warrants sale
of the manufactured article at remunera-
tive prices, it is smelted at the furnace in
: the village. The manganese is washed
}, aud sold tor use in bleacheries, in this coun-
try and Europe. With both of these ores
t there are associated ochres, which are
d washed and sold for paints The mangan-
csc ochre forms umber, and the yellow
: ochre is the base of the celebrated "Bran-
: don Red and Brandon Yellow" &C.. &c.
;. Twelve hundred barrels of paints were
J sold from these works last season. A few
weeks since two hundred aud forty barrels
o were sent to England to fill an order from
y that country. Associated with the Iron
e ore there is found an immense bed of Kao-
u lin or pipe clay, very fine white clay used
Q in the construction of fire Brick, and when
: washed and refined is called "paper clay
and is extensively used in the manufacture
OF paper, also in vulcanizing India Rubber
fabrics. New and improved works for the
washing Of the Kaolin are now being con.
!. structed In the midst Of this bed of Kao.
e lin there is found mass of brown coal OF
! Ignite. 1t is not an interstratifed bed
but an aggregate mass, standing perpendic.
ular in the Koalin, forming shaft about
twenty-five feet square, and extending
downwards TO unknown depths The bed
: has been opened and the Ignite removed
= to the depth of eighty feet. This Ignite
u like the Frozen Wen, is hard nut for the
o scientific to crack, and the cause of its oe.
: euTence here in such position has never
u been satisfactorily explained. The coal
Is formed of vegetable matter, eonfusedly
9 thrown together, and been successfully used
: by the pEoprietors of the ore bed for fuel
to run the engine for raising ore, draining
The vicinity, &C. In the midst of this bed
$ OF coal are found masses that show the
g woody fibre as distinctly as can be seen in
! ordinary charcoal, aud in addition to this