A Book of the United States: Exhibiting its geography, divisions, constitution, and government ... and presenting a view of the republic generally, and of the individual states; together with a condensed history of the land, from its first discovery to the present time. The biography of about two hundred of the leading men: a description of the principal cities and towns; with statistical tables
History
A Book of the United States: Exhibiting its geography, divisions, constitution, and government ... and presenting a view of the republic generally, and of the individual states; together with a condensed history of the land, from its first discovery to the present time. The biography of about two hundred of the leading men: a description of the principal cities and towns; with statistical tables
United States -- Biography; United States -- Description and travel; United States -- History
sufficient to carry with it destruction to any of the labors of man.
The spot on the mountain, from which the slip was loosened, is now
a naked, white rock; and its pathway downward is indicated by deep
channels, or furrows grooved in the side of the mountain, and down one
of which pours a stream of water, sufficient to carry a common saw-mill.
‘From this place to the Notch, there is almost a continual ascent,
generally gradual, but sometimes steep and sudden. The narrow pathway
proceeds along the stream, sometimes crossing it, and shifting from
the side of one mountain to the other, as either furnishes a less
precarious foothold for the traveller than its fellow. Occasionally it
winds up the side of the steep to such a height, as to leave, on one
hand or the other, a gulf of unseen depth; for the foliage of the trees
and shrubs is impervious to the sight. The Notch itself is formed by a
sudden projection of rock from the mountain on the right or northerly
side, rising perpendicularly to a great height,――probably seventy or
eighty feet,――and by a large mass of rock on the left side, which has
tumbled from its ancient location, and taken a position within _twenty
feet_ of its opposite neighbor. The length of the Notch is not more
than three or four rods. The moment it is passed, the mountains seem
to have vanished. A level meadow, overgrown with long grass and wild
flowers, and spotted with tufts of shrubbery, spreads itself before
the astonished eye, on the left, and a swamp or thicket, on the right,
conceals the ridge of mountains which extend to the north: the road
separates this thicket from the meadow. Not far from the Notch, on the
right hand side of the road, several springs issue from the rocks that
compose the base of the mountain, unite in the thicket, and form the
Saco river. This little stream runs across the road into the meadow,
where it almost loses itself in its meandering among the bogs, but
again collects its waters and passes under the rock that makes the
southerly wall of the Notch. It is here invisible for several rods, and
its presence is indicated only by its noise, as it rolls through its
rugged tunnel. In wet seasons and freshets, probably a portion of the
water passes over the fragments of rock, which are here wedged together,
and form an arch or covering for the natural bed of the stream.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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