The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-09-13
The 8utland Daily Globs
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10. 1876
Written for the Rutland Globe.1
Bald Mountain.

no witches have woven their spells around
the haplcss trespasscs upon their domains,
as at the Catskills; no wild rush Of the
avalanche has overwhelmed an unfortu-
nate family, as among the White noun
tains; no reckless mortal has wreftled with
the spirit of the storm, asa old Cairn-
Corn no gentle bermitess has lived in its
rocky recesses, a life of monastic secusion
and gloom, as among the mountains of
Ridgefeld.
But in spite ofsthe fact that neither le-
gends nor traditions exist to give it pc
culiar interest, Bald mountain has many
charms-at least for the writer of the pre-
sent article. Why it was given the name
it bears, one can only conjecture, since it
is donscy wooded over niue-tenths of its
surface.
Seen from point west by northwest, it
presents beautifully symmetrical outline,
the projection known as the red rocks on
the southwestern slope, having a counter
Fart upon the northeastern slope. From a
marshy depression lying between the latter
projection and the summit several streams
take their way downward. Twc-thirds of
the way down the mountain, t"o and per-
haps all of the streams, or Iiiis, rather
unite, and almost Immediately fall over a
ledge, ranging from two to twelve feet in
height and about 40 feet in le1gth. Over
a space twelve feet in length, the water
falls in mere threads, there being as many
as fifty of those thresd-like streams. Over
the other parts of the ledge the water falls
only in drops. The atmosphere in the vi
entity was, on the occasion of my visit to
the pace-a hot day in August-delight-
fully cool
The red rocks form, perhaps, the most
interesting of the physical features of the
mountain, but it is not my purpose to speak
Of the mountain itself, 50 much as of what
may be seen from the summit and, more
especially, of recent visit TO the place.
Rising but 2, 100 feet above the sea level,
and being surrounded in part by higher
elevations, the view from the summit is
Ing. IL is not from the tops OF the highest
mountains that we get the best idea of their
hight, nor yet from the wales below them,
but from point midway between the two
extremes The reason OF this is that the
contrasts are greatest in the latter case
Hence it is tLat the mountain scenery on
Bald mountain is very fine. Nothing can
be seen, however, except by climbing a
tree To tue northeast rise Killington,
Pico and Shrewsbury peaks. Away to the
southeast lifting its massive form above
the intervening mountains, stands Ascut-
ney, one of the Oldest mountains on the
globe. 1t is older, according to Prof. Gun
ming, than the mountains OF India; older
even than the Adirondacks, which the Pro-
fessor is bold enough TO say, are forty mil
lions OF years cid To the southwest is
Dorset mountain, and over the range to the
west, Bird mountaia lifts its head, while,
northwest, the Adirondacks are family out
lined against the sky. These are only the
most important of the scores of mountains
in sight.
Quite as interesting, in its way, as the
mountains is the valley Of the Otter ere elk,
which is visible from Walipgford to Pitts
ford and beyond. In addition to these two
places, the principal villages to be seen are
Rutland, Centre Rutland and West Rut-
land. Looking down into the quiet valley
with its dark green forests, its reaches of
green mtadows and pastures, its shining
roofs and streams and mountain lakes
you do not wonder tina, its people love their
land above all others, and that they were
go ready to defend 1t, in olden times, from
foreign ice. But | must hasten, or my
article will be like eternity-without end.
A few days since S. c. NJ, and the VIII
| T,. Dol M, yxrttt Nn in
tenton of passing the night upon it. We
reached the summit at moment when all
the western sky was sea of gold, with
few, light shallops of clouds floating up
on it, All the landscape glowed with
the roseate flames, and we watched the red
light as II crept across the valley from We OF
to east, and up the mountans into the sky.
But as the bright sphere in the west .ank
into that wondrous sea of gold, we turned
away, for we had yet to rear house in
which to pass the night.
This we accomplished with considerable
labor. enclosing 1t upon three sides and COW
ering it with boughs. Our couch was of
aromatic spruce boughs, but subsequent ex-
perience convinced us that, however nice
aromatic spruce boughs may be in poetry,
they are, practically, inferior to plain, pie
ban ost straw. In fact, aromatic spruce
boughs are a snare and deluslon.
After our rustic palace was completed,
we climbed some trees and looked down TO
see how this old world appears under the
light of the full moon. The scene was
solemn and impressive. Great clouds,
driven across the sky by the keen north
west wind, cast their shadows upon The
valley, and the dark, sombre forests rivalled
in blackness the shadows. killington,
grand and gloomy, hal thrice his wonted
majesty. The deep ravinc through when
Cold river flows, was as dark and wild and
weird as that
"Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through cayerns measureless 10 man,
l3own TO the sunless sea-
And the sound of the waters, subdued by
the distance and mingling with the muir
murs of the spruce trees about us, added
to the solemnity and impressivenets Of the
scene. We remained long in the trectops,
looking upon sight $50 touching in its
majesty" but finally sought our rude
couch.
We rose early. The sky was gray and
cherries, but no clouds we're visible. In
the trees around us, few birds chirped
and twittered and chorus of jays scream
ed, and down in the rally a sentinel crow
sent forth his harsh cry of alarm. Grad
ually, the sky assumed a warmer tint, the
gray giving place to silvery hue, and Tho
!, lowing of cattle, the barking of dogs aud
the voices of men came up from the val,
ley. Suddenly, old Ascutney was clothed
in garment Of flame, and almost at the
same instant, strong shaft of light shot
through between the mountain tops and
fell full upon Dorset mountain. Next, the
blue tops of the lar Adirondacks caught the
red flush, and soon the mountains which
hem the valley on the west, were illumin
aied And SO the light crept down, from
peak to PEAK, from mountain top to hill
top and from hill top to the low interyale'
of Otter creek. West Rutland had Tbs
sunshine seven minutes before we had il
and twelve minutes before Rutland village
Mesnwhile, veil of amethystine ligh
| l--.-..--l IL. sx.1.aiad nroat Of piaa