Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-10-03

around the northern spurs OF Mount
Mansfield up t. Morse's mill about three
miles farther on. was delightful. From
there for about a mile we began to
CLIMB up sleeper grades and over rough
or roads, until we came to where fur
Their motor travel was impossible and
1t was necessary to continue our journey
on foot. The road through the Notch is
rarely Travelled by team 1t is we'll
grassed over. but is quite smooth, at
least for the greater part Of the way, so
that we made good progress. though
meeting many steep grades.
A mile or SO brought. us to Dead Horse
Ill., where for a long distance the road
is tilted at an angle that tries the stout
est pedestrian At the foot of the hill
Is an old-fashioned watering trough. fed
by mountain springs. Here, tradition
says, many a horse. overheated with the
long pill, drank to its death of the
cold water which runs temptingly from
the rusty iron pipe. From this point the
road is steep, and very stony in places.
winding in and out among the trees and
bushes. through which, after a steady
upward climb Of about three-quarters of
a mile. we caught our first glimpse of the
great cliffs on either side
Near the highest point of the Notch
a path to the right led us to Smugglers'
Cave, short distance from the road.
The cave" Is series of irregular cham
bers, formed by great rocks which have
fallen at various periods in the past from
the cliff above and have piled them
selves up one upon another in an I'M
mense. confused mass leaving spaces
between them. among the intricacies Of
which one may climb and crawl for a
surprisingly long time
Further on we began to descend. and
soon came to a great rock which lies on
the left. or Mount Sterling side of the
ago. from point in the cliff on the
Mount Mansfield side seven or eight
hundred feet above. I-oosened by the
forces of nature. it came tearing down
through the trees which chung to the
steep slopes sweeping everything in its
path. and digging a great track in the
mountain side. till IT came to rest just
across the roadway. Estimating roughly,
the professor calculated its bulk to be
about 1900 cubic feet, and its weight
about 1000 tons. AS one stands beside 1t.
and looks up at the great rocky height
from which it fell. he can seen plainly
the place where 1t hung for countless
centuries. and the path of destruction 1t
left behind in reaching the place where,
for many more centuries, 1t will probably
rest.
About a mile further down We came to
the famous spring which no traveller
through the Notch will ever forget. The
professor being equipped with a Their
mometer as we'll as with apparatus for
measuring heights. told us that the tenn
perature of the water was 43 degrees
Fahrenheit The quantity of water is
suing from the spring is estimated to be
about 20 gallons per minute. 1t flows
pure and sparkling from hole on the
hillside on the Sterling side, and hur-
ries brook fashion, over the pebbles and
stones to the valley below, making a
good sized stream from the very start.
Here We found an old table apparently
improvlsed for such as We, and We
agreed without dissenting voice that
it was time for lunch.
We devoured our store-bought victuals
with more than barbarian relish. for our
long tramp and unwonted exertions had
given us the appetites of prehistoric man,
and We quenched our thirst at the an
| Client spring which had gushed forth
from Stering's base thousands of years
| before prehistoric man was invented.
! That raw onion. which 81 had happily
| thought of at the store. gave us suffi-
cient breath for our tolsome homewar
tourney. After lighting cigars, and TAX
ing a few snapshots, We explored the
old empty house. upon whose abandoned
walls many a traveller has pencied his
! autograph, and where many IA quill back
has planted his teeth In the woodwork
and gnawed great holes in the floor
Being now ready to retrace our steps.
we became suddenly aware that the pro-
fessor was missing, We were somewhat
alone. he had not told us so; but being
well acquainted with his impulsive ma
ture, We finally concluded that some sud
den lure of the wild had seized him and
started back without him. After short
distance. however. we found him,
solemnly measuring the height of the
towering cliffs on either side. Some of
these he had ascertained to be between
l,OOO and 100 feet high.
The journey back to the big fallen
rock was uneventful. except that l
secured a snapshot Of 81 seated ON a
rock from which sprang flve fair-sized
trees with apparently nothing to nourish
them but upon investigation we found
that their roots ran down the other side
of the rock to the ground. Reaching the
fallen rock. II WAS proposed to climb the
declivity from which 1t had come, to
nearly the base Of the perpendicular
elm. and view the beautiful valley be-
low and the gigantic Elephants Head dir
ectly opposite, The doctor and the pro-
fessor did not seem enthusiastic but 81
said. Charles, what do you say? I'm
game" 80 am l." said l; and we strip
ped on our coats and started.
over stones. stumps. logs. roots. and
fallen treetops We climbed. up and up,
TIL 81 exclaimed. wait . minutA Don't