The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-10-24

quently. This mountain OIL roch
is covered with Il thin skin or film
Of stony earth, from d few inches
to 10 or - feet, except on the sum-
NIT and along the sleeper cliffs and
escarpments Of harder rock, and IS
clothed with a heavy forest growth
Of oak, chestnut and shrubbery.
The slope of the surface OF the
mountain, especially towards the
top, is very steep. so that walking
is difficult, and stones displaced by
the foot, roll on down before one.
The water spout IN question
struck the western face Of the
mountain $50 feet below the sum-
nit, at a point where the decllvlts
of the surface gives a descent OF
about 90 feet in a hundred. The
slope varied from 400 to 80 the
first half mile, and gradually be-
came less, giving an average OF
about 2Oo for the whole descent OF
about mile to the foot of the steep
escarpment, the total vertical
descent being 1900 feet IN that dis
lance. The scan or furrow at its
upper limit presents a nearly semi
circular outline, the diameter being
oyer 20 feet, and the wall of earth
at the upper side of the basin be-
ing u feet deep and gradually d.
minishing to t or ) feet at the dis
lance of 90 feet down the slope.
The earth land loose stones and
trees) was removed down to the
solid rock floor. Following down
the track of the torrent one sees
within a hundred yards evidences
that it was rapidly converted into
an avalanche of mud, stones and
and drifting timber. A fragment
of a large hickory tree whose base
was protected by a shelving rock
was left standing, in the middle OF
this track, broken off at the height
of some Is feet. The bark was
torn completely off to a height OF
ten feet, and split to shreds above
that; and . feet high, the solid trunk
is cut, gashed and splintered by
the strokes of angular stones hurled
against it, and the wounds are still
filled with mud. OF course it was
a semi-huid avalanche of mud and
stones to that height. Along the
margin of the track, which
widened and contracted, according
to the surface over which it passed,
the trees were often peeled, 5 to 10
and 20 feet high, by the thrashing
of the projecting tops and branches
of the trees whose trunks were
| hurled down in the torrent. An
occasional tree is left standing a
few feet within the path OF the
| flood, when it was 100 feet wide
and Swallowed near the margin; In
such cases the trunk is dead, peel
ed forty OF fifty feet high, ever the
branches being banked quite to the
top, as if the whole had been born
down by the torrent, and had
sprung back after it passed.
AS already stated, the bare floor
of rock is exposed throughout the
whole mile of the track, so 20 1OC
feet wide, and the surface, even
over the most rugged edges Of cliffs.
and over the hardest lodges is pol.
ished like a mirror, by the rushing
mass of stones, some of them weigh.
ing 10 to 20 tons, making the de.
scent by this way is very difficult
and in places quite dangerous anc
impracticable. But it furnished
one of the finest rock studies to be
found. Photographs of the lami
nation, contortion, faulting anC
veining of the gneissic lodges dowl
this rayin might be obtained b,
the score which would surpass an,
thing in the books of geology OF
the subject. OF course the ava
lance although started on tn,
south slope of mountain did no
travel far before it found a depres