Show 4 w imn im N JT v ta it 75 7 2 1 1 T looking vp at the old blan of the mountain second greatest show on earth barnum called new england range prepared by national geographic society washington D C service iee INCE 1866 visitors to the S SINCE white mountains have ascended mount washington new glands En highest eminence to scan the sea of northern new hampshire peaks soon another grandstand will be available when the new tramway to the top of ca cannon annon mountain which will whisk passengers 2025 feet above franconia notch begins operation this Is the second greatest show on earth P T barnum said when he stood at 00 d on the summit of mount washington and scanned the lumble jumble of peaks and ridges of the white mountains spreading from the waistline of new hampshire to canada and from its maine border to the connecticut valley which separates this granite state from vermont many new englanders dyed in the wool white mountain fans who insist that nowhere has nature endowed a region with such fascinating heights on first thought questioned judgment to them the white mountains show h ow is second to none however when they recalled the show mans love for his trained animals gaudy trappings and strange creations of nature that drew millions into his acres of canvas they felt that his exclamation was the highest praise origin of the name kame a mystery how and when the white mountains got their name is as mysterious as many of their often to told id legends white mountains appeared in a manuscript as early as 1672 and even before that time they were called the white hills by mariners marinero ma on the atlantic 60 miles away for whom they formed an important landmark to modern eyes too the name seems apt whether it be derived from the white mist that often hangs over the higher peaks from the whitish gray effect of the sun upon rocks of the mountain tops above the timberline or from the snow that normally covers the peaks of the presidential range for eight or rone nine months of the year the white mountains are divided into two distinct areas between plymouth mouth on the south and the vicinity of gorham on the north is the high mountain region where every year more than two million men and women enjoy testing their leg muscles among new En glands highest peaks motoring on excellent highways and utilizing the scores of recreational facilities or just looking up from spacious hotel verandas toward the lofty em sweeping from quiet valleys beyond gorham Is a challenging wilderness with dixville dinville Dix ville notch its crowning glory and berlin its only large population center here Is the paradise of the sportsman io searching arching streams and lakes for trout salmon pickerel horned pout perch and small mouthed bass the forests shelter bears deer and ruffed grouse it Is the high mountain area that has been the white ate mountains chief lure to vaca zionists for more than a century praised by the great we know our moun mountains lains are not the highest in the east a resident recently remarked to a visitor j j mount mitchell in north carolina and several peaks in th the 0 great smoky mountains national park slightly lightly top mount washington but the impressions of hawthorne whittier general grant webster mark twain winston churchill and scores ot of other men outstanding in politics literature and the arts ot of in their Q ir day certainly warrant the enthusiasm th thusia sm of those of us who see the white mountains in every mood but grant came to the mountains for relief from hay fever said the visitor that is true but he liag many others then and now came here without knowing the mountains and left with an indelible impression of their lofty summits their tree clad slopes their cascades lakes and scenic curiosities and their legends that have inspired multitudes of artists writers and just plain people darby field a son of erin was the first man to conquer the heights of mount washington highest peak in the white mountains it thrusts its summit feet above the sea and a mile above the valleys at its base it was just 22 years after the mayflower had deposited its human cargo on the shores of massachusetts when field struck out from the coast on one of his many trips into the unknown wilderness that lay immediately behind colonial villages some settlers feared to wander far from their settlements but darby field was one of those bold adventurers tor for whom even the hard life of the colonist was too tame he was accompanied by two indian guides on a june day in 1642 field stood on the summit of mount washington As the colonies grew and demanded wood tor for building for paper and for other manufactures lumb lumbermen erme n carelessly swung their axes ov over er the white mountain slopes and stripped them of their trees all but a few thousand acres of primeval forest were cut over the forests one sees today are largely second growth but no longer are they in jeopardy great stone face mount washington is admittedly the donina dominating ting feature of the white mountains and nearly every visitor to northern new mew hampshire hopes to stand on its summit but if your time is short and storm clouds thwart that hope there are scores of other features that are well worth a ramble among the heights chief among these is the profile popularly kno known wn as the old man of the mountain or as hawthorner Haw great stone stona face peering from the rugged granite ledges of profile mountain above the highway through franconia Fran conla notch it was a mans appetite for partridge for breakfast that led to the discovery of the profile in 1805 nathaniel hall was a member of a road building crew early in the morning he be shouldered his gun and left camp with only a well browned partridge on his mind he silently crep crept t along the shore of a small lake his bis eyes penetrating the undergrowth for some reason unknown to hall he looked up and for a moment was stunned by the most wonderful face he had ever teen seen news ot of the discovery spread rapidly over new england toe the road hall was working on was pushed through the notch men and women came on an horseback by stage carriage and cart the popularity of the profile was one of the factors that influenced the building of a railroad into the franconia Fran conla region and the erection of the famous profile house slice since destroyed by fire |