Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-08-01
VOL. XIII.

at the distance Of miles away, what must they
have been on the spot where it occurredp In |
the absence of other witnesses, let US ouots the
description OF the nearest settler, who claimed
to have been accidentally near enough to have
heard the whole uproar, and even get dim view !
OF the terrific scene. "My cow" he said
which, being, for want of pasture, permitted |
TO ramble IN the great forest adjoining the
mountain, had that afternoon, as knew from
not hearing the bell on her neck, wandered an
unusual distance into the woods towards the
summit; and | therefore started off for her an
hour or two before sunset But for long
time after entering the woods, could get no
trace OF her. Atlength ,however,a faint tinkling
OF the bell began occasionally to reach my ear
coming, as thought, from a long distance in
the woods above me. And, though l knew by
the sounds that 1t had been for some time rain
ing very heavily on the mountain, while the rain
was beginning to reach me where l was, yet, in
my anxiety to find and get my COW home,
pressed forward with fresh resolution and wan
dered on, and on, sometimes veering far to the
right, and then far to the left, till l became
uncertain of my whereabouts in the woods and
besides that, | lost all sound of the cow-bsl.
Nor was this the worst of my unpleasant situa
ton Darkness suddenly shut down upon the
forest and completed my perplexity. In this
predicament. | sought the most open place |
could find in the forest, where made out dim
outline of the top of the ridge above me, and
found was already half way up the steep part
OF the mountain. The rain now having ceased,
and Its pattering no longer preventing the hear
ing OF distant sounds, | listened ntently for the
eow-bell. But not the faintest sound of it
could be heard in any direction. While thus
engaged, the frequent sounds of breaking of the
limbs of trees, or rather of the sundering of
their roots, as judged from the half smothered
noise, reached me from point the
summit. little to the south of me. Next
violent shock from the same direct ion,
quickly followed by long, deep shudder of all
the surrounding earth. And the next moment
beheld, to my utter amazement, the whole
body of the forest, as far as | could discern in
front of me, and up almost to the spot where
stood, moving by me down the slope, at first
slowly and then faster and faster till it became
mighty rush, the different portions upward
coming and disappearing in swift succession on
their way downward. In the meantime streaks
of light, caused by the bouders rolling and
striking fire against each other, were so thickly
cleaning up all along the path of the slide as
to bring the whole frightful scene :nore or less
distinctly into view, revealing, with only here
and there tree falling entirely to the ground,
the great body of the forest still standing but
| pitching forward at sharp slant, and every
where topping and shaking in the widest agi-
! tatlon; while the great mass of earth and stones
beneath, went plowing, grinding, rending and
| laundering down the mountain, with Earring
and heavSg of the solid earth all around tn
nearly threw me from my feet. After reaching
the foot of the steep part of the mountain, the
earth ceased being any further removed from
| It's bed, and the tremendous volume, that had
come down, pitched headlong into the thickels
| below, and, with deafening crashes, soon passed
of sight and hearing down the adjoining
ravine.
While recovering from the Amusement and
alarm which filed me, on Witnessing this swfu
T spectacle, the sharp and rapid rafting Of the
cow-bell, at some distance TO the north of me
showed that was not the only one frightened
My COW had taken alarm at the unwonted up
roar, and was galloping down the slope with al
her might towards home, where, after many a
scratch and tumble IN the dark, we both arrived
at last in safety
The next summer after this event | visited
81 ~ :,
was impressed with the conviction thst its mag
nitude and extent had not been overrated
From the top of the cliff where the slide com
nenced and received its first great impetus
there was a steeply shelving ledge of smooth
fiat rock, that extended DOWN ward for the spac,
of perhaps half dozen rods, and then came
bed of bare clay, smoothed and leveled down t.
fat uniform surface by the mighty roller tina
had passed over it, reaching down to the foot o
the mountain. From this point, where th'
original earth stopped moving, the long slide
appeared 10 have thrown itself, without beinl
fully broken up, its full length down the thckl,
wooded ravine, overthrowing, or mingling witt
the sturdy forest, and leaving mass fifty fee
deep of earth, stones and trees pitched abou
and piled up in the strangest confusion. Her
were seen half covered boulders SO big as to b.
beyond the capacity of any human machiner
to remove rod, that ha! been transported
half mile from their old beds there larg
trees with their tops buried in the earth ant
their roots thrust up far into the air, and ther
again the trunks of birches and naples from on
to two feet in diameter, twisted entirely off AM
broomed up like the ends of pounded ssplings
while every part of the long extended pile o
ruins alike went to show the amazing power
exerted IN this stupendous avalanche. L.