of the dish, on the end of his knife, and offered his friend half of it!
The mountains look much larger and more majestic sometimes than at
others,--partly because the mind may be variously disposed, so as to
comprehend them more or less, and partly that an imperceptible (or almost
so) haze adds a great deal to the effect. Saddleback often looks a huge,
black mass,--black-green, or black-blue.
The cave makes a fresh impression upon me every time I visit it,--so
deep, so irregular, so gloomy, so stern,--part of its walls the pure
white of the marble,--others covered with a gray decomposition and with
spots of moss, and with brake growing where there is a handful of earth.
I stand and look into its depths at various points, and hear the roar of
the stream re-echoing up. It is like a heart that has been rent asunder
by a torrent of passion, which has raged and foamed, and left its
ineffaceable traces; though now there is but a little rill of feeling at
the bottom.
In parts, trees have fallen across the fissure,--trees with large trunks.
I bathed in the stream in this old, secluded spot, which I frequent for
that purpose. To reach it, I cross one branch of the stream on stones,
and then pass to the other side of a little island, overgrown with trees
and underbrush. Where I bathe, the stream has partially dammed itself up
by sweeping together tree-trunks and slabs and branches, and a thousand
things that have come down its current for years perhaps; so that there
is a deep pool, full of eddies and little whirlpools which would carry me
away, did I not take hold of the stem of a small tree that lies
opportunely transversely across the water. The bottom is uneven, with
rocks of various size, against which it is difficult to keep from
stumbling, so rapid is the stream. Sometimes it bears along branches and
strips of bark,--sometimes a green leaf, or perchance a dry one,--
occasionally overwhelmed by the eddies and borne deep under water, then
rushing atop the waves.
The forest, bordering the stream, produces its effect by a complexity of
causes,--the old and stern trees, with stately trunks and dark foliage,--
as the almost black pines,--the young trees, with lightsome green
foliage,--as sapling oaks, maples and poplars,--then the old, decayed
trunks, that are seen lying here and there, all mouldered, so that the
foot would sink into them. The sunshine, falling capriciously on a
casual branch considerably within the forest verge, while it leaves
nearer trees in shadow, leads the imagination into the depths. But it
soon becomes bewildered there. Rocks strewn about, half hidden in the
fallen leaves, must not be overlooked.
August 26th.--A funeral last evening, nearly at sunset,--a coffin of a
boy about ten years old laid on a one-horse wagon among some straw,--two
or three barouches and wagons following. As the funeral passed through
the village street, a few men formed a short procession in front of the
coffin, among whom were Orrin S----- and I. The burial-ground (there are
two in the town) is on the sides and summit of a round hill, which is
planted with cypress and other trees, among which the white marble
gravestones show pleasantly. The grave was dug on the steep slope of a
hill; and the grave-digger was waiting there, and two or three other
shirt-sleeved yeomen, leaning against the trees.
Orrin S------, a wanton and mirth-making middle-aged man, who would not
seem to have much domestic feeling, took a chief part on the occasion,
assisting in taking the coffin from the wagon and in lowering it into the
grave. There being some superfluous earth at the bottom of the grave,
the coffin was drawn up again after being once buried, and the obstacle
removed with a hoe; then it was lowered again for the last time. While
this was going on, the father and mother stood weeping at the upper end
of the grave, at the head of the little procession,--the mother sobbing
with stifled violence, and peeping forth to discover why the coffin was
drawn up again. It being fitted in its place, Orrin S------ strewed some
straw upon it,--this being the custom here, because "the clods on the
coffin-lid have an ugly sound." Then the Baptist minister, having first
whispered to the father, removed his hat, the spectators all doing the
same, and thanked them "in the name of these mourners, for this last act
of kindness to them."
In all these rites Orrin S------ bore the chief part with real feeling
and sadly decorous demeanor. After the funeral, I took a walk on the
Williamstown road, towards the west. There had been a heavy shower in
the afternoon, and clouds were brilliant all over the sky, around
Graylock and everywhere else. Those over the hills of the west were the
most splendid in purple and gold, and, there being a haze, it added
immensely to their majesty and dusky magnificence.
This morning I walked a little way along the mountain road, and stood
awhile in the shadow of some oak and chestnut trees,--it being a warm,
bright, sunshiny morning. The shades lay long from trees and other
objects, as at sunset, but how different this cheerful and light radiance
from the mild repose of sunset! Locusts, crickets, and other insects
were making music. Cattle were feeding briskly, with morning appetites.
The wakeful voices of children were heard in a neighboring hollow. The
dew damped the road, and formed many-colored drops in the grass. In
short, the world was not weary with a long, sultry day, but in a fresh,
recruited state, fit to carry it through such a day.
A rough-looking, sunburnt, soiled-skirted, odd, middle-aged little man
came to the house a day or two ago, seeking work. He had come from Ohio,
and was returning to his native place, somewhere in New England, stopping
occasionally to earn money to pay his way. There was something rather
ludicrous in his physiognomy and aspect. He was very free to talk with
all and sundry. He made a long eulogy on his dog Tiger, yesterday,
insisting on his good moral character, his not being quarrelsome, his
docility, and all other excellent qualities that a huge, strong, fierce
mastiff could have. Tiger is the bully of the village, and keeps all the
other dogs in awe. His aspect is very spirited, trotting massively
along, with his tail elevated and his head likewise. "When he sees a dog
that's anything near his size, he's apt to growl a little,"--Tiger had
the marks of a battle on him,--"yet he's a good dog."
Friday, August 31st.--A drive on Tuesday to Shelburne Falls, twenty-two
miles or thereabouts distant. Started at about eight o'clock in a wagon
with Mr. Leach and Mr. Birch. Our road lay over the Green Mountains, the
long ridge of which was made awful by a dark, heavy, threatening cloud,
apparently rolled and condensed along the whole summit. As we ascended
the zigzag road, we looked behind, at every opening in the forest, and
beheld a wide landscape of mountain-swells and valleys intermixed, and
old Graylock and the whole of Saddleback. Over the wide scene there was
a general gloom; but there was a continual vicissitude of bright sunshine
flitting over it, now resting for a brief space on portions of the
heights, now flooding the valleys with green brightness, now making out
distinctly each dwelling, and the hotels, and then two small brick
churches of the distant village, denoting its prosperity, while all
around seemed under adverse fortunes. But we, who stood so elevated
above mortal things, and saw so wide and far, could see the sunshine of
prosperity departing from one spot and rolling towards another, so that
we could not think it much matter which spot were sunny or gloomy at any
one moment.
The top of this Hoosic Mountain is a long ridge, marked on the county map
as two thousand one hundred and sixty feet above the sea; on this summit
is a valley, not very deep, but one or two miles wide, in which is the
town of L------. Here there are respectable farmers, though it is a
rough, and must be a bleak place. The first house, after reaching the
summit, is a small, homely tavern. We left our horse in the shed, and,
entering the little unpainted bar-room, we heard a voice, in a strange,
outlandish accent, exclaiming "Diorama." It was an old man, with a full,
gray-bearded countenance, and Mr. Leach exclaimed, "Ah, here's the old
Dutchman again!" And he answered, "Yes, Captain, here's the old
Dutchman,"--though, by the way, he is a German, and travels the country
with this diorama in a wagon, and had recently been at South Adams, and
was now returning from Saratoga Springs. We looked through the glass
orifice of his machine, while he exhibited a succession of the very worst
scratches and daubings that can be imagined,--worn out, too, and full of
cracks and wrinkles, dimmed with tobacco-smoke, and every other wise
dilapidated. There were none in a later fashion than thirty years since,
except some figures that had been cut from tailors' show-bills. There
were views of cities and edifices in Europe, of Napoleon's battles and
Nelson's sea-fights, in the midst of which would be seen a gigantic,
brown, hairy hand (the Hand of Destiny) pointing at the principal points
of the conflict, while the old Dutchman explained. He gave a good deal
of dramatic effect to his descriptions, but his accent and intonation
cannot be written. He seemed to take interest and pride in his
exhibition; yet when the utter and ludicrous miserability thereof made us
laugh, he joined in the joke very readily. When the last picture had
been shown, he caused a country boor, who stood gaping beside the
machine, to put his head within it, and thrust out his tongue. The head
becoming gigantic, a singular effect was produced.
The old Dutchman's exhibition being over, a great dog, apparently an
elderly dog, suddenly made himself the object of notice, evidently in
rivalship of the Dutchman. He had seemed to be a good-natured, quiet
kind of dog, offering his head to be patted by those who were kindly
disposed towards him. This great, old dog, unexpectedly, and of his own
motion, began to run round after his not very long tail with the utmost
eagerness; and, catching hold of it, he growled furiously at it, and
still continued to circle round, growling and snarling with increasing
rage, as if one half of his body were at deadly enmity with the other.
Faster and faster went he, round and roundabout, growing still fiercer,
till at last he ceased in a state of utter exhaustion; but no sooner had
his exhibition finished than he became the same mild, quiet, sensible old
dog as before; and no one could have suspected him of such nonsense as
getting enraged with his own tail. He was first taught this trick by
attaching a bell to the end of his tail; but he now commences entirely of
his own accord, and I really believe he feels vain at the attention he
excites.
It was chill and bleak on the mountain-top, and a fire was burning in the
bar-room. The old Dutchman bestowed on everybody the title of "Captain,"
perhaps because such a title has a great chance of suiting an American.
Leaving the tavern, we drove a mile or two farther to the eastern brow of
the mountain, whence we had a view, over the tops of a multitude of
heights, into the intersecting valleys down which we were to plunge,--and
beyond them the blue and indistinctive scene extended to the east and
north for at least sixty miles. Beyond the hills it looked almost as if
the blue ocean might be seen. Monadnock was visible, like a sapphire
cloud against the sky. Descending, we by and by got a view of the
Deerfield River, which makes a bend in its course from about north and
south to about east and west, coming out from one defile among the
mountains, and flowing through another. The scenery on the eastern side
of the Green Mountains is incomparably more striking than on the western,
where the long swells and ridges have a flatness of effect; and even
Graylock heaves itself so gradually that it does not much strike the
beholder. But on the eastern part, peaks one or two thousand feet high
rush up on either bank of the river in ranges, thrusting out their
shoulders side by side. They are almost precipitous, clothed in woods,
through which the naked rock pushes itself forth to view. Sometimes the
peak is bald, while the forest wraps the body of the hill, and the
baldness gives it an indescribably stern effect. Sometimes the precipice
rises with abruptness from the immediate side of the river; sometimes
there is a cultivated valley on either side,--cultivated long, and with
all the smoothness and antique rurality of a farm near cities,--this
gentle picture strongly set off by the wild mountain-frame around it.
Often it would seem a wonder how our road was to continue, the mountains
rose so abruptly on either side, and stood, so direct a wall, across our
onward course; while, looking behind, it would be an equal mystery how we
had gotten thither, through the huge base of the mountain, that seemed to
have reared itself erect after our passage. But, passing onward, a
narrow defile would give us egress into a scene where new mountains would
still appear to bar us. Our road was much of it level; but scooped out
among mountains. The river was a brawling stream, shallow, and roughened
by rocks; now we drove on a plane with it; now there was a sheer descent
down from the roadside upon it, often unguarded by any kind of fence,
except by the trees that contrived to grow on the headlong interval.
Between the mountains there were gorges, that led the imagination away
into new scenes of wildness. I have never driven through such romantic
scenery, where there was such variety and boldness of mountain shapes as
this; and though it was a broad sunny day, the mountains diversified the
view with sunshine and shadow, and glory and gloom.
In Charlemont (I think), after passing a bridge, we saw a very curious
rock on the shore of the river, about twenty feet from the roadside.
Clambering down the bank, we found it a complete arch, hollowed out of
the solid rock, and as high as the arched entrance of an ancient church,
which it might be taken to be, though considerably dilapidated and
weather-worn. The water flows through it, though the rock afforded
standing room, beside the pillars. It was really like the archway of an
enchanted palace, all of which has vanished except the entrance,--now
only into nothingness and empty space. We climbed to the top of the
arch, in which the traces of water having eddied are very perceptible.
This curiosity occurs in a wild part of the river's course, and in a
solitude of mountains.
Farther down, the river becoming deeper, broader, and more placid, little
boats were seen moored along it, for the convenience of crossing.
Sometimes, too, the well-beaten track of wheels and hoofs passed down to
its verge, then vanished, and appeared on the other side, indicating a
ford. We saw one house, pretty, small, with green blinds, and much
quietness in its environments, on the other side of the river, with a
flat-bottomed boat for communication. It was a pleasant idea that the
world was kept off by the river.
Proceeding onward, we reached Shelburne Falls. Here the river, in the
distance of a few hundred yards, makes a descent of about a hundred and
fifty feet over a prodigious bed of rock. Formerly it doubtless flowed
unbroken over the rock, merely creating a rapid; and traces of water
having raged over it are visible in portions of the rock that now lie
high and dry. At present the river roars through a channel which it has
worn in the stone, leaping in two or three distinct falls, and rushing
downward, as from flight to flight of a broken and irregular staircase.
The mist rises from the highest of these cataracts, and forms a pleasant
object in the sunshine. The best view, I think, is to stand on the verge
of the upper and largest fall, and look down through the whole rapid
descent of the river, as it hurries, foaming, through its rock-worn
path,--the rocks seeming to have been hewn away, as when mortals make a
road. These falls are the largest in this State, and have a very
peculiar character. It seems as if water had had more power at some
former period than now, to hew and tear its passage through such an
immense ledge of rock as here withstood it. In this crag, or parts of
it, now far beyond the reach of the water, it has worn what are called
pot-holes,--being circular hollows in the rock, where for ages stones
have been whirled round and round by the eddies of the water; so that the
interior of the pot is as circular and as smooth as it could have been
made by art. Often the mouth of the pot is the narrowest part, the inner
space being deeply scooped out. Water is contained in most of these
pot-holes, sometimes so deep that a man might drown himself therein, and
lie undetected at the bottom. Some of them are of a convenient size for
cooking, which might be practicable by putting in hot stones.
The tavern at Shelburne Falls was about the worst I ever saw,--there
being hardly anything to eat, at least nothing of the meat kind. There
was a party of students from the Rensselaer school at Troy, who had spent
the night there, a set of rough urchins from sixteen to twenty years old,
accompanied by the wagon-driver, a short, stubbed little fellow, who
walked about with great independence, thrusting his hands into his
breeches-pockets, beneath his frock. The queerness was, such a figure
being associated with classic youth. They were on an excursion which is
yearly made from that school in search of minerals. They seemed in
rather better moral habits than students used to be, but wild-spirited,
rude, and unpolished, somewhat like German students, which resemblance
one or two of them increased by smoking pipes. In the morning, my
breakfast being set in a corner of the same room with them, I saw their
breakfast-table, with a huge wash-bowl of milk in the centre, and a basin
and spoon placed for each guest.
In the bar-room of this tavern were posted up written advertisements, the
smoked chimney-piece being thus made to serve for a newspaper: "I have
rye for sale," "I have a fine mare colt," etc. There was one quaintly
expressed advertisement of a horse that had strayed or been stolen from a
pasture.
The students, from year to year, have been in search of a particular
rock, somewhere on the mountains in the vicinity of Shelburne Falls,
which is supposed to contain some valuable ore; but they cannot find it.
One man in the bar-room observed that it must be enchanted; and spoke of
a tinker, during the Revolutionary War, who met with a somewhat similar
instance. Roaming along the Hudson River, he came to a precipice which
had some bunches of singular appearance embossed upon it. He knocked off
one of the hunches, and carrying it home, or to a camp, or wherever he
lived, he put it on the fire, and incited it down into clear lead. He
sought for the spot again and again, but could never find it.
Mr. Leach's brother is a student at Shelburne Falls. He is about
thirty-five years old, and married; and at this mature age he is studying
for the ministry, and will not finish his course for two or three years.
He was bred a farmer, but has sold his farm, and invested the money, and
supports himself and wife by dentistry during his studies. Many of the
academy students are men grown, and some, they say, well towards forty
years old. Methinks this is characteristic of American life,--these
rough, weather-beaten, hard-handed, farmer-bred students. In nine cases
out of ten they are incapable of any effectual cultivation; for men of
ripe years, if they have any pith in them, will have long ago got beyond
academy or even college instruction. I suspect nothing better than a
very wretched smattering is to be obtained in these country academies.
Mr. Jerkins, an instructor at Amherst, speaking of the Western mounds,
expressed an opinion that they were of the same nature and origin as some
small circular hills which are of very frequent occurrence here in North
Adams. The burial-ground is on one of them, and there is another, on the
summit of which appears a single tombstone, as if there were something
natural in making these hills the repositories of the dead. A question
of old H------ led to Mr. Jenkins's dissertation on this subject, to the
great contentment of a large circle round the bar-room fireside on the
last rainy day.
A tailor is detected by Mr. Leach, because his coat had not a single
wrinkle in it. I saw him exhibiting patterns of fashions to Randall, the
village tailor. Mr. Leach has much tact in finding out the professions
of people. He found out a blacksmith, because his right hand was much
larger than the other.
A man getting subscriptions for a religious and abolition newspaper in
New York,--somewhat elderly and gray-haired, quick in his movements,
hasty in his walk, with an eager, earnest stare through his spectacles,
hurrying about with a pocket-book of subscriptions in his hand,--seldom
speaking, and then in brief expressions,--sitting down before the stage
comes, to write a list of subscribers obtained to his employers in New
York. Withal, a city and business air about him, as of one accustomed to
hurry through narrow alleys, and dart across thronged streets, and speak
hastily to one man and another at jostling corners, though now
transacting his affairs in the solitude of mountains.
An old, gray man, seemingly astray and abandoned in this wide world,
sitting in the bar-room, speaking to none, nor addressed by any one. Not
understanding the meaning of the supper-bell till asked to supper by word
of mouth. However, he called for a glass of brandy.
A pedler, with girls' silk neckerchiefs,--or gauze,--men's silk
pocket-handkerchiefs, red bandannas, and a variety of horn combs, trying
to trade with the servant-girls of the house. One of them, Laura,
attempts to exchange a worked vandyke, which she values at two dollars
and a half; Eliza, being reproached by the pedler, "vows that she buys
more of pedlers than any other person in the house."
A drove of pigs passing at dusk. They appeared not so much disposed to
ramble and go astray from the line of march as in daylight, but kept
together in a pretty compact body. There was a general grunting, not
violent at all, but low and quiet, as if they were expressing their
sentiments among themselves in a companionable way. Pigs, on a march, do
not subject themselves to any leader among themselves, but pass on,
higgledy-piggledy, without regard to age or sex.
September 1st.--Last evening, during a walk, Graylock and the whole of
Saddleback were at first imbued with a mild, half-sunshiny tinge, then
grew almost black,--a huge, dark mass lying on the back of the earth and
encumbering it. Stretching up from behind the black mountain, over a
third or more of the sky, there was a heavy, sombre blue heap or ledge of
clouds, looking almost as solid as rocks. The volumes of which it was
composed were perceptible, by translucent lines and fissures; but the
mass, as a whole, seemed as solid, bulky, and ponderous in the
cloud-world as the mountain was on earth. The mountain and cloud
together had an indescribably stern and majestic aspect. Beneath this
heavy cloud, there was a fleet or flock of light, vapory mists, flitting
in middle air; and these were tinted, from the vanished sun, with the
most gorgeous and living purple that can be conceived,--a fringe upon the
stern blue. In the opposite quarter of the heavens, a rose-light was
reflected, whence I know not, which colored the clouds around the moon,
then well above the horizon, so that the nearly round and silver moon
appeared strangely among roseate clouds,--sometimes half obscured by
them.