The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-09-09
Grand View Mountain.
Aug. %. 1873.

by denlzens from New ork, Pennsyl.
vania, New Jersey, Missouri ermont,
Connecticut and Canada, with pleasure
seekers constantly arriving from we know
not where.
At the summit Of the mountain is the
hum of industry in steam mill working
the trees Of this hitherto inaccessible spot
into lumber suitable Tor all building pur.
poses, including the finest finish.
Properly named and standing near the
mill is the "Grand View House." which
with the mill and "much land" is owned
by j. s. Smith Esq. of Addison, who was
personally experimenting tho making Of
lumber. Mr.. Smith is a genial and pleas.
ant gentleman of the old school, without
a particle of shoddy in his composition
and is making this waste place dance to
the music OF the steam.whis,lc. Long
may he wave.
But few years since comparatively,
Lake Champlain and its surroundings
were known only as a place backside
Albany, on "leetle pond half full Of
water" where Uncle Sam set his boat
which Commodore McDonough sailed.
This beautiful little sheet Of water has its
own history which will remain so long as
the world on her axis rolls round
But Of this mountain and its scenery
what shall we say? Tourists who have
made the circuit Of the world declare this
grand panorama, as here viewed, to excel
anything they had ever seen on the Rhine
or in Switzerland. This branch of the
mountains is situate nearly midway be.
tween the main trunk of the Green noun
tains on the one side and the Adirondacks
on the other with Lake Champaiu at
the immediate base Of the latter, which
loses itself in the distance to the vision
Of the beholder in a northern or southern
direction appearing like diminutivc
strip Of ribbon with pointed ends.
Far to the south is seen Lake George
nesting in its mountain home, which
from this distance appears but an in.
different pond, and yet it ia the mos
beautiful sheet Of water ia the world
A lake thirty.six miles lour. containing
three hundred and thirtysix islands NOR,
or less, aud each surprising any Other
found away from this locality WhaI
misnomer It is 10 call thi. lake, George
Why should the uamc have been changed
Why not have retained the euphoniou
name Of Horizon, which is so full of cx
preston, aud so characteristic Of the pur,
clear water found only here,
Persons who have not visited thi
LN"~'i'-' It. -" hovn M cqncention o
the clear sparkling water it contains
Perhaps no better description in brio
was ever given, than the one by an ole
''solt" who had long resided at this para
disc, who after listening to an exhaustiv,
description Of the clearness OF it's water,
closed the same by saying to the dcscrib
ers, You should have been here befor,
the rain Of yesterday when you could
have seen the sweat on trout's nose tC
the depth of fifty feet
At the base Of the mountains on The
New York side Of Lake Champlain il
the distance is seen the ruins OF the OLD
forts here built by the French, also th,
towns which more modern civilization ha,
erected, whose residents are developing
the inexhaustiblc resources Of minera
wealth found in this mountain of iron
which is but another name for the king
bolt Of the universe.
Should the descendants of the prcson
residents in the ionoteot oges euooesa it
discovering this fastening,
earth woull unbalanced from her orbit fly
Planets and suns run lawless through the sky.
But we will not anticipate.
Material enough is here found for max.
ing iron, which is being made so that
"the smoke Of their furnace ascendetl
forever, for their fire never goeth out"
From this elevated hight, a complete
view is had of that part Of the state lying
between us and the lake and north aud
south bounded by cur most extended Wis
ion.
This landscape is shickly dotted with
fertile farms On many Of which are paa-
tial residences erected by the descendants
OF those illustrious in their country's his.
tory like Ethan Allen. Seth Warner and
their compatriots. The dwellings aud
surroundings nearest the base Of the
mountain are very distinct but fading in
the dim distance until they all blend to.
gether The groves of trees on many OF
the farms each of which comprises many
acres, appear in the distance like shrub.
berry in tarm-yard. Casting your eye
across the lake, you behold the majestic
Adirondacks in all their wild aud mag
nificent grandeur.
AT first the lesser mountains peep ore
mountains and then Adiroudacls on
Adirondacks arise. Here a scene so vast
breaks upon our vision that we behold
the littleness of all that is not divine and
re-writo "What is man that thou art
mindful Of him" Yet He cares for all.
To birds he gives his woods, to beasts
his pastures, 10 fish lis foods and ali to
man.
To those who are seeking the beautiful,
the grand and sublime in nature, u more
enchanting spot cannot be found Our
people travel the old world in search OF
beautiful scenery and return to their own
country to find all they have viewed
abroad eclipsed in the beauties of their
own native land
Amid all this magnificent grandeur oil
creation is found the blending of concep.
tons which human nature has furnished
as exempli6ed many years ago at the
falls of Niagara whittier a priest aud
tailor had wended their way. The for.
mer raising his eyes heavenward closed
an exclamation with lord how thy
works surprise our sight" The latter
simply made this note, lord what a
place to sponge coat.
A few words of the mountain 1t is a
decidedly uphill business to reach the top,
but once there you forget the fatigue you
have endured in getting til re. Here you
everywhere behold what the giant earth
quake did at an early epoch in the worlds
L