St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-08-30
For the Calcdnnan
st Johnsbury District Clergymen's As
Sociation Picnic.


on the 9TH INST. and after holding IL
Preachers meeting of unusual interest. d.
which waS we'll attended 10y the towns
/ people. and highly enjoyed 10y all. the
mcmhrr> and their friends. made IL pie
ME excursion to the White Mountains :
under the arrangements of Rev. Julius
/ The weather wa> pleasant. and as We
mrarcd the peaks of the "Agiochouk"
of the Indians. we could realize that to
the Algonquin race. they might seem
the resting place of spirit land. ~ Mt.
Washington and other peaks of bald
rock c;imr ont III majesty before lis. We
could III part share the NcmtrItion Civ
cn 10y the Indian to his "Waumhcck"
God. a> his ''GIcat Spirit of the noun
/ tainS with its 'SmowN forehead" What
an achievement il would seem to that
Indian. to see the iron horse putting up
t" the very resting place of the "Grcat
/ Spirit. that he supposed would never
:" daring aS to invade his >;lnctitN.
From distant rcNcrir. wcWcrc brought
10y the sound of rushing waters of the
Ammomon>uc at oIIr side. To look with
admiration akin To awe. at the channel
of that river worn for many rods in the
solid gncis> rock. To the depth of per
hap> ~ feet Who can compute the.
ages that this river has worn upon the.
primitive rock. In the midst of this
fall Il dam has been built. and Il board
mill utlllIc> this stream. but mars ma
trrr i'll "ur opinion 10y such utility. But
ON We 90. the eye now and then catch
III" glimpse nt Il lofty summit /" rc-
mind u> that We are among the noun
tain>. i'll the deep valley that leads ON
tn the fII famed White Mountain Notch.
soon We are thrIc. upon what per
hap> Ma> Il beaver meadow. hut l. the
height of land with Il little pond At the
left. From this point ra>trrll runs the
head waters of the Sacn. and Westerly
one of the head branches OF the Ammo
m"">ur. Directly from this meadow
we pass through the ''GatcS of the
/ \otch.' which i 4 ch;l>m about twenty =
tw" feet wide. and hardly seems >ut1i
cicmt for the highway to pass 10y the
side of the now tiny brook. which i oft -
times swollen To the size ot Il mighty .
rushing ri\rI. dI>hiug in foam dow
the gulf. / he mountains uu either side
tower upward I" the very clouds. in al
most perpendicular ascent. Standing
here. it >ecm> impossible that the Port
land and Ogdcn>hurgl X. X. i> soon to
Ice built through this gorge, and man
10y his inventions l. to guard II against
the bow ldcr> weighing hundreds "t
tons. that sometimes come cra>hln" /"
down the mountains sides. a> we'll H.
against the torrents of water poured
down 10y every summer shower. and
SNOW drifts unreasonable hcaprd upon
them in mid winter. But engineers SAY
il is pnSsiblc. and though the manner
of its accomplishment has not Vet as
>umrd form. no one doubts hut what it
i to hc Il realization of the future.
This notch wa> known /" the Indi-
ans. hut they never went through il
only ON peaceful missions. a. they
deemed it >acllcgc tn the Great SpiIit
of Aginchuok to ul>c it H. Il War path.
Some early white hunters might have
known of it hut two hunters. Nash and
sawyer. have the historic honor of it,
discovery, and We're granted Il large
tract of land upon the north side. know II
a> "\aSh and SaWNcr> lucation. tul
the adventure. Passing low down this
rent in the mountains. shared 10y Il dccI
gulf and the road, We came tn Il hcauti-
tml waterfall know ;i> silver taScadc.
For at least two thousand feet. thi,
stream poII> down from rock to rock IL
il> almost perpendicular descent. 1t
has formed toI itself Il cha>m III tn,
sides oi the mountain. which i called
the Flumc. 1t is t" FIamc"nil Notch
that the true Flumc. ~ we'll aS the ''"ld
man in the mountain" belongs: vet tia,
spirit of rivalry has made this cha>m %
almost perpendicular descent. Il tlumc
and the scarcely mtrlli.ihlc outlines ot
Il human face which Imagination de
pictS in the sides of the mountain, =;
points it out SAWS. 'tIIc odd maid" II
grandeur aud sublimitN the Whit,
Mountain notch is without equal. hu
. for fancy gruttu>. and pools. it Is no
b the place. If they were there they
would not attract notice. with superior
grandeur all around.
The lcngthening shadows of tn,
mountains tell Us that. as about Il doZ
en- miles separates us from the MI
Washington Il. r.. we must turn on
. carriages that way. We rrluctantl,
leave this Wild scene of nature. and rc
. trace our steps five miles. Again w
are at the old .'Fahyan stand" III tin
, Vicinity of which was the mound know
a> the '(iiant'S Grave, which has il
part been lc\clcd to accommodate Il larg,
: hotel which they are NOW building
I From this place. siN miles of turnpike
takes u> t" the depot of the Mt. Wash
mgt"n X. Il. Passing through the toll
gate. Il few rods brings us to the grave
of three veteran pioneers of the Whit
Mountains.
ETHAN ALLEN CRAWFORD.