Show J X s I 1 W I 1 L 1 Z T E mou MO u i A I 1 N r F ar Z M AA ma W i arf y liw a sj S H s y f 1 f v w wakat sy a looking up at the old man of the mountain second greatest show on earth barnum called new england range prepared by national geographic society washington D C service INCE 1866 visitors to the S SINCE white mountains mount washington have ascended new En glands 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 cannon 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 on the summit of mount washington and scanned the 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 is second to none origin of the name a mystery how and when the white whit e mountains got their name is as mysterious as many of their often told legends white mountains appeared in in a manuscript as early as 1672 and even before that time they ware were called the white hills by marinero mariners ma rna 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 irom 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 nine months of the year the white mountains are divided into two distinct areas between plymouth on the south and the vicinity of gorham on the north is the high mountain region where every year more than two nillion million men and women enjoy test ing ig their leg muscles among new En glands highest peaks motoring on excellent highways and utilizing the we scores of recreational facilities or r just looking up from spacious hotel verandas toward the lofty em sweeping from quiet valleys beyond gorham is a challenging W wilderness ild erness with dixville dinville Dix ville notch its crowning glory and berlin its only large arge population center here is the paradise of the sportsman searching streams and lakes for trout salmon pickerel horned pout perch and biall nan mouthed bass the forests welter shelter bears deer and ruffed grouse praised by the great it is s tho that has h high sh mountain area as been the white mountains chief lure to for more than a century we know our mountains are not the highest in the east a resident recently remarked to a visitor mount mitchell in north carolina and several peaks in the great smoky mountains national park slightly top mount washington but the impressions of hawthorne whittier tie r general grant webster mark twain winston churchill arid and scores of other men outstanding in in politics literature and the arts of their day certainly warrant mariant the enthusiasm 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 uke like 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 sc scenic enic curiosities and their legends that have inspired multitudes S 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 mas massachusetts bachu when field struck out from the coast on one of his many trips into the he 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 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 great stone face rp mount washington is admittedly the dominating feature of the white alvn lir ricH lT alvn lir lT 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 known as the old man of the mountain or as hawthorner Haw great stone face peering from the rugged granite ledges of profile mountain above the highway through franconia 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 ot of a road building crew early in the morning he shouldered his gun and left camp with only a well browned partridge on his 1 nind mind he silently crept along the shore of a small lake his penetrating the under undergrowth gro w th eyes unknown to H hall all he for some reason and for a moment was looked up wonderful stunned by the most face he had ever seen |