Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1867-04-17
Grurral !Htstcllanp.



friphtful. Friends earnestly sought 90 dissuade
me from the hazardous undertaking They sol
emny warned me to forbcar. by the recital OF hor-
rible stories of too adventurous travellers over
whclmod by sudden storms bringing down upon
themselves The sleeping avalanche by au incautiou.
word entangled in the deep drifts aud buried
alive by one mistep sliding over prccipiccs into
yawning CULTS below torn TO piece. and c,ourcd
by wild beasts; unconsciously bpuumhed andper-
ishing with the severe cold aud they ominously
added ia judgment upon Oh. m for impiously
tempting Providence 10y running into the very
Jaws Of such imminent perls with hcayen-delyiug
hardih0od and rccklessuesss. Their tales were
enough to harrow up the soul of any poor timd
mortal and make every particular hair stand on
end.
Then the great giant mountains themselves. in
full view from my window 10y day and by night,
their broad base coming down 90 the very door,
seemed grimly 20 corrohofatr all their alarming
statements: and furthermore, the, iutimated with
a sulIen nod that half the dangers and d1cultie
were not told. The mountains put on their most
serious countonance they wore au awful somhrc
mien and shaking their hoary locks siernly lrowned
me away and as IL this was not sufficient they
would roar terribly ike old ocean in his wrath be-
fore a tempest. Far mp the great hollows there
would come a long prolonged and dismal sound,
setting your nerves all aiar as though the noun
tins bad opened their vast gaping mouths and
from granite-lungcd breasts gave portentous voice
against all proiauc intrusion. Such q ronr SO
long and clear, tawuy throated lion never rolled
along Libyan sands. Again they would moan and
what a moan. so mccarthy Was there ever any.
thing like ity IL would come down through the
rocky dehlos, with throh aud a shuddcr like the
last heaying sigh OF Departing soul, and then I'M
crease ln volume and muurniulues8 till d. hcramc
the sad wall OF all the lost at once. Listen for "A
moment. You grow pale and trcuble q. that sti-
fed sob Of utter choduess and woe sweeps past
you. Anon, The mountains would ,hroud them
selves in q funeral pail of clouds or mist. and their
awful forms, seen through il. were the very
hlackness Of darkness and iull of threatening as
poets But the more the mountains sc0wtd. the
more saw and heard of the dangers to be eucoun-
tered and the difficulties to be sumouutcd the
more the mountain drew up his great ilcocy folds
of muTky grey about him and tried TO look savage-
ly unsocahle and unapproaohablc, the more IL ex-
cited my desire and my resolution to mount him
the more determined TO scale his topmost ledge
and plant my foot on bis shaggy brow So
" nouushing my wrath to keep It warm" one
bright clear day, in February, started without
giving any formal notice of my intention. and of
course without any iarcwclls and tears Starting
| afterwards found was the hardest part of the
journey. | bad assembled many a loitier mountain
aiJot and alone in SUMMER, but never before to
my surprise, with less apparent CNertion aud wear.
ness than did Potato Hill, though IL ranks next
to Jays Peak and second 90 Camel Hump in all
tidude, being nearly four thousand feet high and
the snow from three TO four feet deep with a
treacherous crust that broke through AZ almost
every step. You wonder perhaps Try my de-
vice, ana % you do not find "royal road up the
mountain, think ycu viii 90 least say it is not so
arduous as you imagined. ! called upon a hale
vigorous young fellow who resides dose by the
foot OF The mountains a fellow stuily enough 10
match me ON occasion; and body proposed Che
ascent II was "a challenge TO him perceived by
his actions. lie said nothing, but every restless
motion and feature spoke as ho eag,r.y scanned me
from top to Toe, guaging my might and muscle
with the eye % au athlete. invited him out doors
and pointed him 10 HE bare rocky summit gsten-
ing IN the morning sun, and ardresscd him in the /
language Of Napoleon at the battle of the uvra-
nids Young map, fifty generations arc looking
Town upon you from )onder heights. lled his
the gloiics Of tlc scene we
hould behold and tbr glory Of The achievement
ew dared undertake. played '' foifissipon up-
IN he fancy and his pride until worked him into
willing mood We shook hands oyorit In rood
'ompanic aship, but underneath there WA. Il spirit
II something none than generous rivalry. We
we're two ll1ws suspicious Of each Other, init and
ealous OF each others endurance Both of MS
we're well aware at the outset that the task before
as was to be no chlds play--that we had staked
good deal IN openly committing ourselves TO its
performance. We were made still more conscious
# it by the increduious smile OF the people at my
ompauior's house where we took up our line Of
march. II SAID plain as printing you will return !
Don, my pretty chaps and the choppers, as we
ripped gail up the wood-road, when in answer to
heir whittier bound we oNultrey replied 'to
he summit laughed outright, and doubtless Of
cred to bet ten dollars TO cent we should get
nougb of that in another mile aud come back
rest-iallcn as two whipped IoOsteIs; hut they did
lot know the nerve of two pure hloods two heal
by young fellows plttcd against each other aud
ully aroused and wrought up to the pitch of a
'od adventure. e soon reached the end OF the
ongest wood-road which brought us to the up
,rade, thousand feet or more to the mile and
where all the SHOWS of December and January
we're accumulated. Here we were face to face
With our work, and here began the tug of war
We paused moment to take observations No
rack OF man or beast, no way mark of any kind,
we're to be seen. A smooth surface met our gaze
'bove ground; the stones, and logs and stumps,
md underhrusb We're all out of sight. One miaht
nave thought the hitherto rough, rugged slope was
layed with Parian marble with never a seam, and
he tops Of the cvergreens peering through were
documents. II looked as though we might walk
light up and slide right down again at our leisure
md ease, and we mutually regretted we bad not
leen thoughtful enough to bring a sled alonp. -
sun there was a lurking apprehension in our
minds all the time that this auring appearance
vas false as fair Little time did we spend trem-
ling on the brink My comrade, with an evident
hyness OF dstrust, struck of from the well beaten
NHN anu olht ny sue Win ululs IL was Stepping
qua off a bridge punge--a founder suc-
eeded. We eyed each other a moment ms YOU
ave seen two game cocks. and without a word of
omment made straight forward There were {
hree miles perhaps OF Just such going as this and
bat up steep mountain Who should fra sneak a
I countermarchy Who should first show the a
'hlte feather Advance was the word With a
title more canton, and hghtness of step and dex-
Ious grasping Of the trees, the crust would ooca-
lonly support us for few feet, hut most of the g
me It was one leg straight down feeling for the d
ottom, and the other straight out like a peg. q
eeping as from complete submersion We fre- a
uently tripped and fell prone forward backward. t
deways, and all in heap. We stumbled and T.
lmbled we were on our knees and faces the snow Z
ling our sleeves, pockets and boots So we
allowed, wriggled and squirmed along, and like II
no plucly boys kept each others courage up TO a
ie sticking point by calling it fH All what's d
! name much, very much / found Ifarose Il
ould smell as sweet by any other name, the PROV
RIO won't apply 70 fan when climbing, or rather b
aiding, up mountain through the half frozen a
now three or four feet deep II
! am the more convinced that all true knowl- h
dye must be felt out Precept has its uses v
,stems and signs snswer purpose the hearing ID
the ear rs good as far AS it goes but nothing Is
cal knowledge that has not been feH in mans Sc
oul--that non pms fat As Philip said to Ma
lan0l as the woman OF Sinara said to the city Fl
come and see, for only thus shall you know the y
'et' whether It be words or principles, nature or d
elision. That young fellow. with a gleeful eN- c