Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-09-24
A VACATION rnrp


Oio Wac. would seriously object
10 having his house on the summit wh,oh ;.
~ pam sight but Elk miles away by the car.
liAee ROAD. Leaving Mcmillan at o,cloot
we drive on to No. Conway village wh;..h
peasantiv located in a beautiful v.IIar
~ oiu hearsarge towering high above II.
lower rivals on the eastern side Tnrn;ns
sharp TO the left we cross the Saco. which 8
siaduaiiy growing less and less in i,s nrono'
uons' naii mile through dense woods brinos
Us 10 Ecno Lake, perfect gem, entirely .ur.
, ,,, oy woods, and upon its western shore
"nte Horse Ledge rises abruptly from ire
euee' hundreds of feet in the air after
~hich IL gradually slopes hack and cons,,p,lv
ascending till it assumes the nai-s,;t -
| 'ions OF Moat Mountain. The Echo 70
nothihg to brag Of Still a man with good
lungs couid scare pquite Respectable Echo
from tnere We got TO Cathedral Ledge. v bicL
,e haii mile farther up the valley and real
| ~ continuation OF White Horse Ledye To
give description of Cathedral Ledge wonId
/ require long letter, and an ADLER men thar
niihe- Moat Mountain. on the west side of
Coh"ay valley. rises abruptly and in MANY
piaces perpendieularly for hundreds of feet
Stahding at the bottom, one looks IN a solid
vail Vi rock. IN some places As smooth and
even as the side of house, and in others
| lndentations made by the resistless waters
winch In some places were oozng out of some
OF the many cracks and seams, hundreds of feet
ABOVE our heads. Immense bouders, many
Oh thtD larger than an ordinary house. were
scattered about, in promiscuous profusion.
inst as they had fallen from the mountain
over the cliff above, or had cracked off from
the side of the precipice, falling as they did
! one upon another. Num,r ous caves were
FORMED many of which would have made re.
spectacle rooms as far size was concerned
Cathedral Ledge is one OF the finest places
Tor picnic we ever saw and that il is large
ly visited for that purpose, we found album
dant evidence. With reluctance, we leave
the lace, with its beauties not half ex
piored; but we must hasten on to visit Diana's
Baths before sunset, (Which is at an early
hour owing to the height of the mountains
on the west. Diana's Baths are a series
of beautiful cascades, one above another
formed by a large sized brook which flows
down over the northu est side OF the noun
tain, from one declivity to another, in some
places so narrow that one could easily spring
across It's foaming waters, and in Others
broadened out into a beautiful sheet of water,
the mist from which would be carried for long
distances by the evening breeze. Warned bv
the gathering twilight of the lateness of the
hour, we ate a hurried lunch. and started for
Frank Georges, where we did not arrive till
o'clock, p. NJ, finding old George ahed,
but young George up, wide awake, and hos
pitably inclined We were entirely willing
to forgive George senior, for going to bed be-
fore our arrival when he set before rs next
morning with the many good things for break
fast, some fried brook trout which he had
caught while we were taking our morning
nap, and we must say to the mountain
frny nll InvNrt l.
Georges, at Upper Bartlett. The val
ley has some very fertile land. some
fine farms, though small. The village is
largely engaged in the numbering interest
At the station the observation cars sre at
tached to the train going through the Notch.
from Conway here, II miles. and twelve miles
farther to the Wiley house, - to Crawford,
and 20 to Fabyan. To day we go though the
Notch, making an early start (for us) at 9
o'clock. We made short call on some &C
quaintances, and struck out for the Wiley
fionse, passing Sawyer's Rock, Nancy's
Brook and Beemis Station, where the old
Crawford House now stands inhabited, but
somewhat dlapidated. Nearly opposite is
the Dr. Beemis stone house, a private dwell
ing handsomely built, but with its wooden
shutters looking very gloomy. In the garden
back of the house lies the body of Abel Craw-
ford, for whom Mt. Crawford on the west
was named. We arrive at the Wiley House
a little late for the first table to dinner. If
YOU wish for mountain scenery stop at
the Wiley House. The new house is at
tached to the old house of avalanche fame,
and the visitor has free access to the old and
historic building. 1t is more than 30 years old,
and IN August 1926, was in inhabited bv a
family of persons and two hired men. After
very heavy rains, the memorable slide from
Mt Wiley occurred August 2Sth and all per-
| i>hed, but the house was preserved as a mon
ument to the memory of a once happy family,
W no. if they had STAYED in the house, would
have been spared. Six of the bodies were
! found some sixty rods down the valley, and
the spot is shown by heap OF stones thrown
together. The valley is not more than three
fourths of mile wide-hardly room
for the Saco. highway and railroad Mts.
Webster in front 1000. and Wiley in rear of
the house 1900 feet above sea level and
2GO0 and 1900 feet respectively, above
the bed of the Saco, appear
so near together, that it almost seems as
though ordinary conversation could be car
ried on from one summit to the other. Mt.
Willard. which apparently bars further pro-
gress at the upper end of the valley, being
but little farther away. But am forgetting
Frankenstein Cliff and Trestle, which we
| stopped to see before arriving at the Wiley
!
show both the wonderful works of God and
man. The Cliff. though not as high rs Cath
edral Ledge is a sudden projection of the
mountain out into the valley. The railroad
was Gu; into. and in some cases almost under
the solid rock. rounding the point. 1t crosses
a broad and deep opening into the side OF the
| mountain at an elevation of 80 feet. and as
we stood below and looked up to the passing
train (ss vas our privilege) directly over our
heads il seemed as though the whole structure,
train and all, must come tumbling down upon
us
We leave the Wiley House at J o'clock.
only three miles to the Notch. before reach
ing which we pass Silver and Fiume Cascades
which are similar to Diauas Baths. only
mueh higher and smaller. At $50 O'Clock
we find ourselves in Crawford Notch, named
for cid Tom Crawford, the site of whose home
is shown. 1t was built in 1928 and burned IN
1854 The Notch is narrow gap IN the
mountains originally not more than 81 rect
wide. with barely room for the Saco, now
small brook, which has been completely COW
cred M by the stone cut from Mt willard IN
order TO make passage for the railroad
The river really disappears in huge stone