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Above The Clouds

Above The Clouds image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
May
Year
1872
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Mr. Iiobert J. Bell, an Assistant Observer ut tho Unituil States Signal iStation on the summit of Mount Washington, writes to tho Philadclphia Bu an account of his evory-d:iy exporionces abovo tho clouds. He wB detailed to tako the placo of William Stevens, who dice! ni. the station in mid-winter witla no friend noar hira save his solitary oompan iont Sergeant Hearno. A party of stalwart mountaincors olimhod to tho sumniit and tock tho body down for burial. Thoy placed it in a box fittcd to runners, which wa? pormitted to sudo down tho mountain sido, tho men holding on to tho ropo attaohed to tho roar to regálate tho raotion and direct tho course. Mr. Bell says : ' Wo ooonpy the depot of the Moimtain Kailroad, in whioh wo havo two rooms partitioncd off (ten by twolve), socurely ohained to the rooks, so that the wind may not blow as ftway. Ono wb ase as . kitchon and dininfr-room, and tho other as. parlor, bed and dressingrooin. We also oncupy tho lattor as our oflico, in which we koop our barometers and telegraphio instruinonts, tho wiro connpcting with Littlnton, N. H., by wliioh meaas wo are not wholly exclude 1 from.civilization, althongh I must sdmit that visitors aro very few - not ono sinco my glorious ascont. "Wo generally sapply onrsölres in September with oannod proviiona sufficient to last throrishout tho wintor, reekoning at tho same timo to give our visitors a square rneal when thoy oorae. Our time wo must occnpy chiuüy by reading and stadying, for our out-door amasements are very scaroo. Tn caso we do havo the pleasure of going outsido to ramble amid tho snow and ico on tho rocks, wo aru obliged to tako advantago of the same, and exercise ourselves by hauling ice, frostwork and snow, so that wo may procure tho water necessary for our cook ing and drinking purpose9, as the weathoris very severe on tho summit, the thermometer sinco my arrival having boon most of tho time below zero, and tho wind at a hurricano. " I will givo you a small idoa how -we feit, tho thermometer standing at fortynine degrees below zero, and the wind raging at a Imndrod and twenty miles per hour. The cold weather which I have reference to occurred on the .Oth of March, and tho modo wo adopted to keep ourgelvea warm was to bring all tho eoats and overcoats into requisition during tho day, with two ïarge coal fircs oontinually burning. At night wo took advantago of our 'littlobed' (which is not a bad one), with covoring enough to suffor.nto any man in ordinnry winter weather, and then I must confess we sufi'i'ri'd with the cold. It was tho ooldest timo Unit my oomrado and I had ever cxperienced. Wo do not mind during the day, tho thermometer standing ton below BOK, if tho wind does not blo-.v too hard, for then we oaa have. a little holiday by going outaide. But at night, unlees the wind is blowing at loast sixty mile3 an hom-, wo cannot sleep wel!, for wo aro loo ;n:c.ii:;tmnod bo hurricanes."

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus