Year: 1871




top of Mount Washington, delivered a
lecture in fremont Temple, Boston, re-
Gently, under the auspices Of the Mer-
camille Library Association, to a full and
enthusiastic audience. HIS subject was
"Life Above the Clouds, and was pre-.
faced by the remark that it would be
more Of a familiar talk upon a familiar
subject than a formal and set address.
The idea of spending a winter upon
Mount Washington was first conceived
by the Professor while making geo
logical survey of the north of Vermont
and New Hampshire in 1858. The
project was abandoned, however, for the
want of proper accommodations and IA
cilities, until the present winter, though
last season was spent by Prots, Hun
tington and Hitchcock upon the sum-
nit of Mount Moosilauk. The first por-
ton of the lecture was devoted to a re-
cital Of some Of their experiences, and
the phenomena observed while upon
Moosilauk, which, though beautiful and
grand, was inferior to the observations
and experiences of the party who are
now at the summit of Mount Washing
ton. The experiences of last winter
were valuable aid to them in making
observations the present year. In this
connection the lecturer gave an interest
ing account of curious phenomena of
clouds, which were disturbed by two
currents of air coming in collision from
opposite directions. Although the view
from the summit in summer is very
grand, whoever has not seen it in win.
ter will fail to realize the awful grandeur
of these boundless realms of solitude.
AS the mountain is approached super
abundance of snow is noticed on every
hand, covering the peaks of every prom
inent object, giving them the appear
ance of whitened sepulchres. Standing
in moody and solemn grandeur, these
towering cones glitter and sparkle in
the pure sunlight, seeming to allure un
thoughtful mortals to their doom. 81
lence and desolation reign supreme
throughout these empires Of solitude,
and the thought was involuntary that
the Almighty had here erected an i'm
passable barrier to the contaminating
contact of man with the bright and
beautiful land of gloom. Even the wild
beasts of the forests creep stealthily
around the base Of this polar Malakof,
and the hardest of winter birds shrink
down into the thicket or plunge into
the snow to escape the chilling breath
of this monarch of terror and loneliness
while the winds howl savagely through
the deep and yawning chasms. The
snow first comes sweeping along the
mountains in great waves, filling every
nook and crevice, and then rolling down
in huge masses, resembling a mighty
avalanche. The lecturer then described
the ascent to the summit in winter, and
the dangers incident thereto in Chamber
ing over the ice collections upon the
trestle work of the railroad. The as
cent at such a time was said to be far
less perious than the descent, the latter
being next to impossible The ice and
frost upon the mounds rocks and
projections of the mlu tain wee IN such
fantastic and beautiful shapes as to rem
der description futile. The lecturer, in
familiar manner, gave picture Of the
views from the summit, looking to the
several points of the compass. That to
the east was the most remarkable; here
upon clear day the atmosphere was
occasionally so pure and rare that OBJ
iects could be seen distance of from
seventy to ninety miles the hills and
lakes of Maine are before the eye in
perfect outline, and with a telescope one
can distinguish the rig Of vessels as they
sail along the coast. The atmosphere
was much clearer in winter than sum-
mer on equally fair days, and the shad
ow of Mount Washington, as it fades
away by the approach Of twilight, was
rendered much more grand and beauti-
fll by being crowned by a halo caused
from the refiaction Of mountains of ice.
The remarkable phenomena of the frost
work, as exhibited at the summit, were
beyond description, and the causes of
it were impertectly understood. 1t
comes only when the winds northward,
and is formed upon objects only facing
to that point of the compass. This
frost-work forms upon everything the
wind reaches-rocks, railroad, snow
and every part of the buildings, even
the glass. Upon rough objects it forms
in little points, gradually increasing in
length and assuming the most beautiful
and fantastic shapes. These icy masses
are formed by the condensation of the
vapor in the atmosphere. A portion of
the lecture was devoted to an explana,
nation of wind.storms and the manner
of living upon the mountain, which was
far from being as gloomy and lonesome
as one would suppose. The lecture
proper being concluded, large number
of stereoscopic views, taken upon the
spot, by Mr. Clough, the photographer
Of the party, some of which were really
beautiful, were exhibited. The pictures
were chiefly of the ice and frost-wcrk,
the summit houses and other objects OF
interest upon the mountain.


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