Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-06-02


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Ths vicinity q IranccniA Notch, IN
1sw Hampshire. abounds 4 sscenery
which h Wild and rugged. but pictu-
RESCUE beyond description. Such .
union Of granite hills and grassy dells,
Of rock. and lake. and river, such .
nine1ing Of the beautiful and grand,
= 70 b found nowhere else in America
The bold outlines OF HI. Lafayette
ars near at hand. with mountain-top
booming over mountain-top in the dis
lance. Hero are Cannon Mountain
md Eagle Glib. one on the right hand
and the other on the left, forming tho
walls II the Notch, while nestled In tl1e
valley Is their feet lies Echo Lake,
twin sistsr o6 the mountains.
Further to the south il the Flums, .
mammoth flssure in the rocks, 700 feet
In length. and with perpendicular walls
90 Or 20 feet in height; and . little
distance away are the Pool and Basin,
With other curiosities.
But the browning feature Of the scene
b the wonderful Profile. the great
stone face'' Of the ..Old Man Of the
Mountains" which keeps guard over
the Notch. and casts it, shadows in the
limpid waters Of Profile Lake. This IL
he CLOSEST resemblance to the human
Ice which has ever been found Ia
natural scenery anywhere In the world.
L b carved IN solid rock upon the
southern face Of Cannon Mountain, and
measures 50 tent from forehead to chin,
while the top Of the mountain IL 1900
lest above the lake at it, foot and
nearly 1000 feet above sea level. The
outlines Of the face are composed Of
three great masses Of rock, one Of
which forms the forehead, another the
nose and upper lip. and . third the
chin.
To obtain this outline in its lperfec-
ton. one point Of view IL neceS1ary-a
small cleared space, close by the noun
tain road, and ON the eastern edge OF
Profile Lake. Looking across the lake
from this point. the bold outlines Of
Cannon Mountain loom up but half q
mile away, and far up its sides, looking
down upon the valley, 10 the face Of the
Old Man Of the Mountains, stern, bold.
lelentless, unchanging. HE neither
blinks ct the near flashes Of lightning
beneath ] . nose, nor hinches from the
driving snow and sleet Of the Franconia
winter, which makes the mercury Of
the thermometer shrink into the bulb
and CONCEAL
Passing down the road, the Old Mans
face changes first into that of - tooth
less old woman in . mob cap" and
soon the entire outline 10 broken uy
and the resemblance is lost. Going up
the road, the nose and face Aatten Out
until only the forehead is seen.
The profile is said to have been dis.
covered In 1905 by two workmen on
the mountain road. 1t had, however,
been known for ages to the Indians,
who attributed to it supernatural at.
tributeb. They even feared to fish in
the lake at its feet. or to sail their barb
canoes over Its waters. from fear of the
stern face which 1t reflected. Many
legends and tales have been related
concerning the wonderful face. In one
Of these it is represented a. the face Of
Christ the Judge-"C hristus Fuder."
Some one has written concerning it:
MEN put out signs representing the
different trades; jewellers hang out a
monster watch; shoamakers huge
boot; and up here in Franconia, God
Almighty has hung out sign that in
New England he makes men," =
-~Wohsan's Magazine.