Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-09-12


Holly, is at the summit level OF the Bellows
Falls and Rutland Railway, 1415 feet above
the level of the sea. 1t is some fifty miles
from the southern boundary of the State, and
midway between the Connecticut river and its
western border. The railway runs up Black
river, on the eastern slopes of the mountains,
and down branch Of Otter creek on the
western slopes, the genera. direction of the
route being also northwest. sfs
The third point is in Brattleboro, near the
Connecticut, in the south east corner of the
State, among the extreme easternmost spurs Of
the Green Mountains, and not far from the
right bank of West river, whose course is also
from the northwest. ..ar
The distance from Bratt,eboro to Mount
Holly is scme forty miles, and from Mount
Ho lily to Richmond sixty five miles. A line
drawn through the three points would not de
viate greatly from straight line, having from
Brettleboro direction of about twelve to ff-
teen degrees west Of north. This fact is not
of much importance unless it is to show ,ha.
if elephants ever came into the State from, the
southwest, and were surprised and destroyed
By the first cold of winter, they might nat tural-
ly penetrate farther into the interior of the
southern portion of the State than into the
northern portion. But it will be observed that
these three points are all on natural routes of
communication between the western and east
tern slope, Of the Green Mountains, on such
routes precisely as the buffalo chooses, and such
as the eleph ant probably would choose, to pass
from one slope to the other. Why these
routes happen to run in the direction n. w.
and s. E., in the same direction that the re-
markable scratches on the faces of many of the
rocks in the State run, presents a question for
study and reelection by ITSELF The same vol
canic action that formed the mountains may
also have produced the channels in which the
rivers run, and likewise, possibly, the scratches
on the rocks. Was the chain OF the Green
Mountains, though running 10 the northeast.
th'o.n up by force operating from southeast
TO northwest? ? 1t is certain that the position
Of the Lodges Of roofing slate in the State
though running northeast and southwest
seem to have been tilted up edge by force
operating lG the opposite direction.
But TO return to the remains of elephants
They have ell been found under similar cir
cumstances--ail of them have been exumed
from peat or muck beds partial remains of a
single animal only being discovered in each To-
caity. In BTattleboro but sing lie tusk has
thus far bsen found indeed, we may rather
say, only part of a tusk, since portion of the
top bad been broken of, probably by the ami
mai roofing for food. The remaining fraR
meut when found measured forty inches in
length, eighteen inches around the larger end
and eleven inches around the broken end. II
| was discovered in the summer of 1865 by some
laborers who were getting out muck for ma
nure. The season was remarkably dry and
| therefore favorable for this purpose, and q
/ -arge amount of muck removed from The
eastern portion Of the bed. The bed covers
about one acre OF ground, and it is situated
midway between West river and milestone
| brook, at distance of about mile from the
| Connecticut river, at the height of some two
| or three hundred feet above its level, and five
| hundred feet above the 1t seems to have
| been formed by the gradual filling up of a
small pond with partially decayed and al
| most completely disintegrated vegetation.
| This pond was basin some ten fifteen feet
deep, al its deepest points, surrounded by a
rim of schistose slate intermingied with blue
| limestone, as the slate not unfreQuently is in
that part of the State. AS left alter the up
| heaval OF the hlils, the bottom of this basin
| was covered with blue sand, with small bouid-
| ers, here and there, OF blue limestone and
| quartz and the first succeeding rains which
feel must have filed it with water. And thi.
water flowed over TIE rim of the basin at
point in the northeast, quilted out compare.
lively wida channel for itself with banks some
eight or ten feet high, and oh down the
hillside in smaA brook that emptied into
| West river.
Ii may readily be conceived that when vexe-
| tatIon began to grow upon the shores OF this
| little pond, the annual growth OF leaves would
fall INTO the water sink to the bottom, and thui
become preserved from that total decay anC
| absorption INTO the ar and ground which faller
| leaves are subject to when exposed to the at
mosphere. For, in order to the decay OF or.
ganc substances, as we !. as 10 their growth,
trinity Of conditions Is necessary, namely, heat
| air and moisture. Without the presence o.
THESE, neither perfect growth nor decay Is pos
sibie. When, therefore, vegetable or anlma
/ substances are covered by water, both heat and
air excluded to great extent, and entire
| decay is suspended. Year after year, century
after century, the leaves that fell INTO this ponC
would gradually fill up its shallower portions
at length reach the surface, and there, meeting
/ with air and the heat of the sun, the fermenta-
ton of entire decay would begin to take place
aud, in consequence, vegetable life also would
begin TO grow up in their midst. For life is
| the complement OF decay. La this way It may
be supposed that growth of trees gradual,
/ progressed from the shore teward the middle
| of the pond--Gaded into it, as it were, and, dy
| ing and falling themselves at last, added the
own trunks and branches to the mass Of leaves
| that had already become deposited. 1t Is II
| this way that beds Of muck are formed upot
the hills of Vermont. As the period before
| the creation of man occupied by Nature
! in storing away fuel in the earth against hi
fu,cre necessities, hen be should have destroy
ed the trees on it's surface, preparing for III
future wants like a careful mother for her chic
before he should yet come forth into this busy
active life so these muck-beds would seem L
have been formed against the time when the
| deuuded and i'm mpoverished hills should neeC
| them as means cf refertiiizatior. ~ t'-s-
When the pond was yet in the process OF be
ing filed up, and while, We may suppose, al
unobstructed channel still led through 1t, ther
| are evidences that beavers began their work II
il. These evidences consist OF a beavers dam
made of biets of wood of different length
and sizes, which had been gpawed OF ant
stripped OF tn -ir bark, the marks OF the teeti
being plainly visible upon them. This dan
was some fifty fee, from the eastern margin c
the bed, and about foot or a foot and hal
above the sand, that depth of vegetable matte
having already been deposited at that point be
fore the dam was made. Beavers may hay
occupied the pond from an early period OF tn
earth's formation, but they never found it ne
cessary to construct dam until the pond ha
, become almost entirely filed up. At lengt
this event took place, and the pond became
swamp, as 1t is seen this day, with ires grow
upon it, such ash, birch, elm, soft maple, etc
Many generations of such trees it may b
presumed, have grown up there, shed thei
leaves, gone to decay, and finally added the
substance 10 the half decayed mass below
Prostate trunks of trees are seen upon
thickIy overgrown with MOSES and other plant
and half buried in the swamp, rapidly undeI
going, the process of dIsintegration. FiaD
seem seize upon II as ants sometimes do up
on the carcasses OF dead animals. On examir
> ing this mass attentively, il is discovered tta
It's lowest stratum at the depth of ten feet {
.-J---y. l.. 4 L. nct.n