The Portland daily press., 1895-03-02

WOODS we FOUND that the 40 or &c pairs of
snow-shoes or tho Appalachian Club had
| made a smooth path nearly three feet wide
and almost as hard as the highway. We had
walked briskly along for nearly half mile.
finding the carrying of the snow-shoes an
| unnecessary burden, when the
| SKEE ENTHUSIAST HAD AN IDEA.
| 1t was that We should go back and leave
| the snow-shoes, as that path must continue
to the tip-top house, and take the skees up
with US. We could make a toboggan OF
them at the top. as We had often done be-
fore, and then enjoy most glorious tobog-
gan slide for two miles down that steep and
winding path. Surely three of US with
stout poles could steer and check the i'm
proyised toboggan when necessary.
| The idea was almost raptuIously adopted.
1t seemed SO feasible and SO delightful.
Then too. the beautiful sunshine, the dry
exhilarating air and the still more exbila-
rating view of grand OLD Washington and
all his satellites draped in snow. that had
just 1isen before US, made such a prospect
a fitting one to our ecstatic condition OF
mind.
| The world was so beautiful the winter in
all its strengh and glory and grandear SO
intoxicating that we would have tapped
Darius Green's flying machine, had we had
it, and tried to soar from the tip top house
over TO mighty Washington.
| But who was to 60 back after the skees.
| The enthusiast vowed that it was enough
| for one man to conceive the idea. but no.
body seconded bis implied motion. In the
| course of time however we had star ted on
ward from the same spot
| DRAGGING THE SKEES WITH A ROPE.
instead Of carrying the snow-shoes. The
road for a half nile. or a little more, passes
up steep slope beside a rayine. Then it
enters a gorge in the side of the mountain
and for nearly d half nile there are only
gentle slopes. with occasional level
stretches. Then it crosses a brook. On the
upper bank is little clearing, where the
old halfway house used to stand and then
the climb begins in earnest. 1t is right up
hill for mile to the tip top honse, and
sometimes SO decidedly up bill that the feet
can barely secure a foothold. 1t is con-
stantly eurving this way and that and fire.
quently the curve is around the edge of a
| steep rarine.
The smooth. hard snow-shoe path contin-
ued and despite the steepness and curves,
We neser iol "'oheh1 lusC iaiOh III Cne
4eaeioiiits VI our topossaa pfoJec1. Couiuh
ny -n"n i s'eei VII ions pois oehinu anu
'"e o'ncr '"o noiu nafu w ei.nef elue as IL
was Ae'essais' - Ine .hree VI US
COULDN'T BRAKE THAT SKEE-ToBOG-
| GAN
| we must be weak indeed.
| We reached the top at just four o'cloo k
and saw white rabbit scuttle away, Just
below the old bowling alley. There was
| little deep snow on the snail open space al
| the ton and all around the hotel the wind
had made excellent walking. Never before
was there he tier winters day on top of
! that mounts in and seldom will it's like oc-
.cnr again. A few neecy clouds made the
| brilliant lne sky more dazzling and the
| bright sunsl ise uas liz ost warm because
| (straneest OF Il) there ,yas no winu!
The ground WI S bare in pat, he IS. the icy
| crrst wi S ~ lfsEe lsnd tie clipping drifts
secured into falats site sha pes by ey eg-raging
Nint1y tlgsts, Yet or that day the air was
! still. The footpIints of the wind, the labor
of the wind. the wrath and destruction of
t lie wind-they were i'll about us, but the
wind was not there. We
SEEMED 10 HAVE ENTERED IHE LAIR
| of some mighty savage beast. warm with its
recent presence and back to wi ich it would
soon return.
/ The White Mountains were on one side of
us. the great level country extending to the
| ocean. on the other. The n curtains were
more majestic and more beautiful in their
winter earb. than they ever were beneath a
summer sky. but the leyel country was not.
If was simply a patchwork of white fields and
dark forests, and whether a lake was a
meadow or not one couldn't tell and didn't
! ,are
But we we're r,venously hungry and soon
had fire going in front of the hotel. All
thlhgs come 10 u emu anu so aiu tna' nea =
ins u M"oei W 0ne Doinns pm. = ~ -.s
scaee VI hioAen eho"'
nose'ins afouha Aeio also 'no esso
nh"iiS Doiieu ~ "Aoio .no"
was eonf.i'eu INV paiiui - Do.ins
Soneo III "Doo. an ~. W.
nu' 'ue ianoi iu'oi GU IL ono poSs'
'ne p"ih " ohe SUNNI innan'eu - .iA'0 o"n
he,.i o' "oe :, u"'eis ioeoia'u ~ one pos
VI nio'ois' 70 puo q au"i'ei - pou"N VI
cohee ih1o enac pan