The Republican journal., 1884-09-25
Our George Climbs Mt. Washington.


ago TO have sent my remains home. l should
have closed the bargain. but here l am as good
as new, only my head aches, there is so much
new stuff in it. 1t is very rapid education up
here. There is a good deal in each lesson and
you can't skip the lessons either; you've got to
keep learning something every day when you
travel, whether you want 30 or not | believe
If you took a fool and Travelled with him year,
that he would know enough TO send to Con-
gfess; and by George, perhaps that is the way
a good many Congressman are made, though
] never thought of it before
After good breakfast at the Fabyan House
we took branch of the Montreal r. r., called
the Base r. r. TO the foot of Mt. Washington.
1t was here that | began to discover that they
didn't build railroads up here just for fun. 1t
is six or seven miles to the base and the fare
one way is one dollar. If, however, YOU will
buy ticket to and from the base they will con-
slider you little and let you have ticket and
| return for two dollars. AS did not expect to
live to get back, | only expended one dollar. 1t
is an up grade all the way and the cars are
| open, giving YOU fine view of the country. 1t
is IA poor farming country around here, poor
that | don't believe there is even chance to
raise the devil As no one wants to farm, it
don't make much difference about the quality of
the land The ears on the Base X. r. are open
and the passengers sit with open mouth gazing
at the scene till hot cinder lodges on their
| tongue, when they close the restaurant for the
rest of the trip. The valley and base of Mt.
Washington is very lhickly wooded with birch.
spruce and hemlock. This old mountain is a
deceptive cuss. You stand off few miles and
look at it, and compare it with other peaks and
You will say at once, you old fraud, you get
all the credit, but there are other mountains
right in your neighborhood that are full higher
than YOU" But stop moment-watch that
snowy cloud that is sailing along. way above
those other peaks. 1t goes right over Them and
you see their tops clear and distinct under the
cloud. Now look at it as it approaches Mt.
Washington. Swiftly it glides along. The old
mountain holds up his head and soon the peak
is obscured in the cloud and sometimes for
hours and sometimes for days the summit can
not be seen.
Arriving at the base of the mountain we
change cars FOR the top and get into the cars of
{ \. N.
to describe ths road, except by contrast, or
illustration. Let us suppose the old Bluff Hill
4 below the Camp Ground to be about three miles
long. and running up steep, and at times
sleeper than that. suppose the road to be
solid rock. Now lay ii rail road track up this
nut. Bolt the tlmbers and rails to the solid
rock. rrc>tle the gor.es in places 80 feet
oh AN feet ono In la bat
the rails, lay Two wrought iron tlanges about
four inches apart, with rounds CT wrought
iron 10 hem like miniature ladder. the rounds
some three inches apart. This is The road bed
Now the car goes up ahead, and the engine
goes behind and puts It's shoulder against the
cars hustle, and pushes her up the road. The
cars are similar to any narrow gauge car and
carry about forty passengers. Each car has an
/ engine. The engines are powerful machines
The boiler is sloping, 50 that AS it goes up the
mountain it is nearly level. There are two
SETS of cylinder and driving Wheels so that it
is hardly suppo>abe that both would
break at the same time. Either will hold the
engine. There is also dog hat drops in each
round of the ladder AS fast as the engine goes
ahead, and here are breaks and clutches to
hold the ear without the aid of the engine As
near aS any thing can be perfectly safe, this
road is The motive power is got by Il huge
cog wheel on the engine. which masheS into
The "Ia,ldel'', and so propels The train. In
coming down, the engine goes ahead and sticks
in its toe nails, and rounds up its back and
holds back for all it is worth. ''.All aboard -
The passengers take their seats, and there is
puff, rattle and CHATTER as the cogs catch the
rounds. and the dog drops in, aud at the first
move every passenger leans forward, grabs
the top of the seat in his front, and raises him
self off the seat. 50 if the seats We're upholstered
with tissue paper, he would sit so lightly that
he would not break through After a little
finding himself not dead he reluXes his hold
and SITS back and takes in the view the cars
slowly crawl NJ the mountains side, at less
than cbIee miles an hour.
One who has never been up mountain, can
not imagine the feeling one experiences in go
lug up. Gradually the valley recedes. the
houses and smaller hills sink away. till they
look almost level. The trees begin to be small
er and stuned till there are no trees at
all. Then little further and there are
no shrubs nothing but barren rocks. with
here and there a spear of grass little
moss. Even the telegraph poles are only about
four feet high, and near together that they
look Ike Il Wire fence. Up. up, up, we go.
across The treste called Jacobs Ladder, on and
up, by The monument 10 Lizzie Bourne, and
soon The ears sop, after hour and twenty
minutes ride, and we are on the top Of MI.
( W.,sb foot .tt,n IaI .hn
a mile and ii TIL up in the air. | got out of
the cars and looked down, and the first thing |
thought was how | should hate to live on top
of this mountain, and come home drunk some
dark. rainy night. 1t was whole temperance
lecture in minute. The next time | looked
down. l didn't look down, as a vagrant cloud
had come along aud was between me and the
earth This seemed very strange and 50 struck
me, that | think | removed my bat with my
left hand. and scratched my head with finger
No. of my right hand. Occasionally, even l.,
see something that for the nonce paralyzes me.
, Wen. you ask, what was there up here? A
large botel. stage office and stable, an obser-
yatory, Il L. S. signal station and IA daily paper
and printing office. Aside from these, there
did not seem 10 te much of an opening for bus
mess nor much Involvement for a Young
man come here and settle There was one
peculiarly about all the buildings. They We're
all chained dowu by huge chains put over the
roof, and fastened 10 the rocks Then huge
braces were put against the sides of The build
in2>, at first Supposed that this was to pre-
veot tnat America 6eld, the relic collector,
iron carrying lhem off, but learned that up
here they have zephyrs Not these little zeph-
yrs that ycu buy cd the cent counters, but
ocular gilt edge, duplex elepte. double joint
ed zephy's, that blow at the rate of 100 miles
an hour, and one Old zephyr came along
one day, at the RAE OF 1876 m,/es Oh ho0r.
We went into dinner, and then the dinner
went mo Us. When found hat it cost a dollar
, ami half, ate bones aud all and ,red to steal
the napkin. There Were $50 guests in the din
ing hall. In the afternoon the daily paper,
Among the Clouds was printed. giving Il list
of all who had registered at dinner. The office is
i'll he old Tip Top House" The paper is neat
| ly printed eight page, five column sheet. The Of
) fee has steam engine and il Hoe cylinder
press. The paper was started in 1877 by Henry