The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-07-22
HAS ROMANTIC.STORy
HISTORIC VERMONT SPOT SCENE
OF INDIAN TRAGEDY.
Monument Mountain Has It's Pulpit
Rock and Profile Of Old Man
Was FavorIte Council spot
of Red Men.

Great harrington, Vt.--On the east.
ern side of Monument mountain In
Great harrington rises an almost per
pendicular wall of white quartz 500
feet above the plain. In several places
the frowning masses of rock are left
projecting from the cliff more than
300 feet above the base.
One of these projections forms in
its outline a profile of an old man
and the rock has been named The
Old Man Of the Mountain"
Near the highest part of this cliff
pointed mass of rock only few
feet in diameter has been parted from
the top of the mountain and stands
isolated from so to 100 feet high on
different Sides IL is called Pulpit
Rock" and is very difficult of ascent,
though few people have seen its top
No other place in southern Berk-
shire receives so much attention from
tourists as Monument mountain. It
lies on the dividing line between
Stockbrldge and Great harrington.
David Dudley Field, when a resident
of Stockbridge, contributed much to
the popularity of the mountain by
building a drive from Stockbridge to
the summit.
II is not very difficult to make the
ascent of the mountain, but It requires
considerable nerve to walk along the
crest, which is not very wide, and on
some portions the traveller is enabled
to look down upon the meadows hun
dreds of feet away. A slip would
mean death. since the side of the
mountain is so abrupt.
Its beauty and location is described
by writer, who says Monument
mountain is of peculiar form II is
like giant tumulus cast out of the sur.
rounding plain by some mighty up.
heaval Of nature. II is an uplifted
ridge of rock set in a basin whose
longer oval extends from Great Bar
rington' to Stockbridge and the shorter
axis between Bear mountain on the
east and Tow mountain on the west.
"On the east is the valley of the
| Konkopot. To the far north Greylock
stands out in bold prominence, its en-.
tire mass showing in full relief loom.
ing up grandly in the sky"
Monument mountain was a favorite
place of council of the Stockbridge
Indians.
In the Indian traditions of Monu.
ment mountain, by l.. H. Hale, pub
lished in 1887 In the Family Maya
zine in Boston, is told the tragedy Of
Oucannawa, a beauty of an early
tribe, loved by Salouch, warrior of
the tribe. Salouch resolved that
Oucannawa should be his or never be.
come another's. The legend is that
Oucannawa and Salouch met one day
on top of Monument mountain and
here the chief again sued for her love.
Unable to win the girl, the savage
seized her and hurled her from the
precipice. The girl was buried near
the spot where her body was found.
A rude monument of stones was
reared over the grave to which for
years the Indians each added stone
as they passed the way of the noun.
tain. Whites scattered the stones
more than 20 years ago and dug to
find treasures, but were unsuccessful.
The cairn was partially replaced in
| 1884.
From this monument reared to the
Indian girl the mount takes its name.
In 1899 Miss Helen Butler, of Stock.
bridge, purchased the whole of the
mountain top, including several acres,
and gave the land to the state Of
Massachusetts for public reserva.
ton This was in fulfllment of the
wish of a deceased sister.
William Cullen Bryant, during his
stay in Great harrington, wrote the
poem Monument Mountain"