on the north-weft fide, which is the cafe with many other hills in New-Hampshire.

A ranging company, who afcended the higheft mountain, on the N. W. part, April 29th, 1725, found the fnow four feet deep on that fide; the fummit was almoft bare of fnow, though covered with white froft and ice, and a fmall pond of water near the top was hard frozen.

In 1771, fome men who were making a road through the eaftern pafs of the mountains, afcended the mountain to the fummit, on the 6th of June, and on the south fide in one of the deep gullies, found a body of fnow thirteen feet deep, and i hard as to bear them. On the 19th of the fame month fome of the party afcended again, and in the fame pot the inow was five feet deep. In the fift week of September, 1783, two men, who attempted to afcend the mountain, found the bald top fo covered with fnow and ice, then newly formed, that they could not reach the fummit; but this does not happen every year fo foon, for the mountain has been afcended as late as the firit week in October, when no fuow was upon it; and though the mountains begin to be covered, at times, with inow, as early as September, yet it goes off again, and feldom gets fixed till the end of October, or the beginning of November; but from that time it remains till July. In the year 1784, Inow was icen on the fouth fide of the largest mountain till the 12th of July; in 1790, it lay till the month of Auguft.

During this period, of nine or ten months, the mountains exhibit more or lefs of that bright appearance from which they are denominated white. In the Spring, when the fnow is partly diffolved, they appear of a pale blue, ftreaked with white; and after it is wholly gone, at the diftance of fixty miles, they are altogether of the fame pale blue, nearly approaching a y colour; while, at the fame time, viewed at the distance of eight miles or leís, they appear of the proper colour of the rock. Thefe changes are obferved by people who live within conftant view of them; and from these facts and observations it may with certainty be concluded, that the whitenefs of them is wholly caufed by the fnow, and not by any other white fubstance, for, in fact, there is none; there are, indeed, in the fummer months, fome ftreaks which appear brighter than other parts: but thefe, when viewed attentively with a telescope, are plainly obferved to be the edges or fides of the long deep gullies enlightened by the fun, and the dark pirts are the fhaded fides of the fame; the course of a day thefe fpots may be feen to vary according te the pofition of the fun.

A company of gentlemen vifited these mountains in July, 1784, with a view to make particular obfervations on the fevcl phenomena which might occur; it happened unfortunately, that thick clouds covered the mountains almost the whole time, fo that fome of the inftruments, which with much labour they carried up, were rendered ufclefs; these were a fextant, a telefcope, an inftrument for afcertaining the bearing of diftant cbjects, a barometer, a thermometer, and feveral others for different purposes. In the barometer the mercury ranged at 22,6, and the thermometer ftood at 44 degrees. It was their intention to have placed one of each at the foot of the mountain, at the fame time that the others were carried to the top, for the purpose of making correfponding obfervations: but they were unhappily broken in the course of the journey, through the rugged roads and thick woods; and the barometer, which was carried to the fummit, had fuffered fo much agitation, that an allowance was neceffary to be made in calculating the height of the mountain, which was computed in round numbers, at five thousand and five hundred feet above the meadows in the valley below, and nearly ten thousand feet above the level of the fea. They intended to have made a geometrical menduration of the altitude; but in the meadow they could not obtain a base of sufficient length, nor fee the fummit of the sugar loaf; and in another place, where these inconveniences were removed, they were prevented by the almoft continual obfcuration of the mountains by clouds.

Their exercife in afcending the mountain was fo violent, that when Dr. Cutler, who carried the thermometer, took it out of his bofom, the mercury food at fever heat, but it soon fell to 44, and by the time that he had adjusted his barometer and thermometer, the cold had nearly deprived him of the ufe of his fingers. On the uppermoft rock, the Rev. Mr. Little began to engrave the letters N. H. but was fo chilled with the cold, that he gave the inftruments to Col. Whipple, who fifhed the letters. Under a ftone they left a plate of lead, on which their names were engraven. The fun fhone clear while they were paffing over the plain, but immediately after

• This computation was made by the Rev. Dr. Cutler. Subfequent obfervations and calculations have induced Mr. Belknap to believe the compuration of his ingenious friend too moderate, and he is perfuaded, that whenever the mountain can be measured with the requifite precifion, it will be found to exceed ten thousand feet of perpendicular altitude above the level of de octan

their arrival at the higheft fummit, they had the mortification to be enveloped in a dente cloud, which came up the oppofite fide of the mountain: this ur fortunate circumftance prevented their making any farther ufe of their inftruments. Being thus involved, as they were dicending from the plain, in one of the long deep gullies, not being able to fee to the bottom, en a fudden their plot flipped, and was gone out of fight, though happily without any other damage than tearing his clothes. This accident obliged them to ftop. When they turned their eyes upward, they were aftonished at the immenfe depth and fteepneis of the place, which they had defcended by fixing their heels on the prominent parts of the rock, and found it impracticable to te-afcend the fame way; but having difcovered a winding gully of a more gradual afcent, in this they got up to the plain, and then came down on the caftern fide; this deep gully was on the fouth-eat. From thefe circumftances it may be inferred, that it is more practicable and fafe to afcend or descend on the ridges than in the gullies of the mountain.

Thefe vaft and irregular heights, being copiously replenished with water, exhibit a great variety of beautiful calcades, fome of which fall in a perpendicular fheet or fpout, others are winding and floping, others fpread and form a bafon in the rock, and then gufh in a cataract over its edge. A poetic fancy might find full gratification amidst thele wild and rugged fcenes, if its ardor be not checked by the fatigue of the approach; almoft every thing in nature which can be fuppofed capable of infpiring ideas of the fublime and beautiful is here realited; aged mountains, ftupendous elevations, rolling clouds, impending rocks, verdant woods, chryftal ftreams, the gentle rill, and the roaring torrent, all confpire to amaze, to icothe, and to enrapture.

On the western part of these mountains is a país, commonly called The Notch, which, in the narrowest part, mealures but twenty-two feet, between two perpendicular rocks. From the height above it a brook defcends, and meanders through a meadow, formerly a beaver pond. It is furrounded by rocks, which on one fide are perpendicular, and on the others rife in an angle of forty-five degrees—a fhikingly picture!que fcene ! This defile was known to the Indians, who formerly led their captives through it to Canada; but it had been forgotten or neglected till the year 1771, when two hunters paffed through it, and from their report the proprietors of lands on the northern parts of Connecticut river formed the plan of a road through it to the Upper Cohos, from which it is dibant twenty-five

miles. Along the eaftern fide of the meadow, under the perpendicular rock, is à causeway of large logs funk into the mud by rocks blown with gunpowder from the mountain. On this foundation is conftructed a road, which paffes through the narrow defile at the fouth end of the meadow, leaving a paffage for the rivulet which glides along the western fide. This rivulet is the head of the river Saco; and on the north side of the meadow, at a little distance, is another brook, which is the head of Amonoofuck, a large branch of Connecticut river. The latitude of this place is 40° 12′ N.

The rivulet which gives rife to Saco defcends towards the fouth, and at a little distance from the defile its waters are augmented by two ftreams from the left, one of which defcends in a trench of two feet wide, and is called the Flume, from the near refemblance which it bears to an artificial flume; over thefe are thrown ftrong bridges, and the whole conftruction of this road is firm and durable; much labour has been expended upon it, and the nett proceeds of a confiscated estate were applied to defray the expence. In the defcent the pafs widens, and the ftream increases; but for eight or ten miles from the Notch, the mountains on each fide are fo near, as to leave room only for the river and its intervales, which are not more than half a mile wide. In the course of this descent several curious objects prefent themselves to view; on the fide of one mountain is a projection resembling a fhelf, on which ftands four large fquare tocks, in a form refembling as many huge folio volumes. In two or three places, at immenfe heights, and perfectly inacceffible, appear rocks of a white and red hue, the furface of which is polifhed, like a mirror, by the conftant trickling of water over them. Thefe being expofed to the weft and south, are capable, in the night, of reflecting the moon and ftar beams to the wondering traveller in the deep, dark valley below, and by the help of imagination, are sufficient to give rise to the fiction of carbuncles.

To encompass these mountains as the roads are laid out, through the eastern and western paffes, and round the northern fide of the whole cluster, it is neceffary to travel more than feventy miles, and to ford eight confiderable rivers, befide many fmaller ftreams. The distance between the heads of rivers, which pursue such different courses from this inmenfe elevation, and which fall into the fea fo many hundred miles afunder, is fo fmall, that a traveller may, in the course of one day, drink the waters of Saco, Amarifcoggin, and Connecticut rivers. Thefe VOL. II.

L

waters are all perfectly limpid and fweet, excepting one brook on the eastern fide of Mount Washington, which has a faponaceous taste, and is covered with a very thick and strong froth. It is faid, that there is a part of the mountain where the magnetic needle refuses to traverse; this is probably caused by a body of iron ore. It is alfo faid, that a mineral supposed to be lead, has been difcovered near the eastern pass, but that spot cannot now be found. What ftores the bowels of the mountains contain, time muft unfold; all fearches for fubterraneous treafures having hitherto proved fruitless. The moft certain riches which they yield are the frefhets, which bring down the soil to the intervales below, and form a fine mould, producing, by the aid of cultivation, corn and herbage in the most luxuriant plenty.

Nature has formed fuch a connection between mountains and rivers, that in defcribing one, we are unavoidably led to speak

of the other.

New-Hampshire is fo fituated, that five of the largest rivers in New-England, either take their rife within its limits, or receive much of their water from its mountains. These are the Connecticut, Amarifcoggin, Saco, Merrimack, and Pascataqua. These have been before noticed in our general view of NewEngland; we fhall, therefore, only add fuch observations to what has been already faid concerning them as immediately refpe&t this State.

A large branch of the Saco, called Ellis river, rifes at the eaftern pafs of the White Mountains, where also originates Peabody river, a branch of Amarifcoggin. The fountain heads of these two rivers are fo near, that a man may fet his foot in one and reach with his hand to the other. In less than half a mile fouthward from this fountain, a large ftream which runs down the highest of the White Mountains falls into Ellis river, and in about the fame diftance from this another falls from the fame mountain; the former of thofe ftreams is Cutler's river, the latter New river. The New river firit made its appearance during a long rain in October, 1775; it bore down many rocks and trees, forming a scene of ruin for a long coure: it has ever fince been a conftant ftream, and where it falls into Ellis river, prefents to view a noble cafcade of about one hundred feet, above which it is divided into three ftreams, which iffue out of the bowels of the mountain. Several other branches of Saco river fall from different parts of this immenfe cluster of mountains, and nite about twelve or fifteen miles from the fource, at the in of Pigwacket,