Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/631

WHITE MOUNTAINS the Pemigewasset ; the Pinkham notch, 2,018 ft., through which a branch of the Saco and one of the Androscoggin find their way ; and the Grafton and Dixville notches, through which flow the Androscoggin and one of its tributaries. " The Flume " at Franconia notch is the most noted of the narrow waterways excavated through the rock, though there are others hardly inferior to it. Among the other objects of interest in the Franconia group is the "Old Man of the Mountain," on Profile mountain, opposite Mt. Lafayette ; it is a well defined profile of the human face, 80 ft. long, formed by three projecting rocks. At the base of the mountain lies a beautiful lakelet a quar- ter of a mile long and an eighth wide, called "Profile lake," or the " Old Man's Washbowl." Five miles S. of the Franconia notch is the " Basin," a circular bowl-like cavity 45 ft. in diameter and 28 ft. in depth, produced by the whirling of large stones in a natural hollow in the rock by the current. It is filled with clear sparkling water, which flows down the moun- tains in a succession of beautiful clear cas- cades. The "Pool," in the same vicinity, is a natural well in the solid rock 60 ft. in di- ameter and 190 ft. deep, of which 40 ft. is water. A carriage road has been constructed to the summit of Mt. Washington, on the E. side, and a railroad on the W. side, the latter completed in 1869. A rough stone building, 40 by 22 ft. and 8 ft. high, with walls 4 ft. thick, was erected under the lee of the high- est rocks on Mt. Washington in 1852, and a second structure, known as the "Tip-top house," not long after. In 1872 the new Summit house, 170 by 30 ft., 2J stories high, was erected. There are now several addition- al buildings, including one occupied as a me- teorological station by the United States signal service. The White mountain plateau is ap- proached by travellers from four directions, viz. : from the east by the Grand Trunk rail- road to Gorham, also direct to the Fabyan house by the Portland and Ogdensburg rail- road from Portland, Me. ; from the south by Lake Winnipiseogee and the valley of the Pe- migewasset ; from the southwest by way of the Connecticut river and the Boston, Concord, and Montreal railroad to the Fabyan house ; and from the north by the Grand Trunk rail- road to Northumberland. The White moun- tains were first visited by white men in 1642. John Josslyn, a naturalist, visited them be- tween 1663 and 1671, and gave an account of his journey in his " New England's Rari- ties discovered " (1672). No settlements were made in the region till about 1771. The first scientific exploration was made in 1784 by the Rev. Manasseh Cutler, D. D., of Ipswich, nnd six others. In 1797, and again in 1803, President Dwight passed through the White mountain notch, and he gives a full description of it in his "Travels." In July, 1804, Dr. Cutler again visited the mountains, and made observations to ascertain the height of Mt. 835 VOL. xvi. 39 WHITE PLAINS 607 Washington and with some friends collected the alpine plants of the region. In 1816 Dr J. Bigelow, Dr. Francis Boott, Mr. F. C Gray' and Chief Justice Shaw made a thorough nat- ural history survey of the mountains, which was published by Dr. Bigelow under the title of Account of the White Mountains of New Hampshire." The flora of the mountains was also thoroughly explored by Mr. W. Oakes, of Ipswich, who published " Scenery of the White Mountains" (4to, with 16 plates, 1828). The most complete work illustrative of the scen- ery, botany, and history of the region is " The White Hills, their Legends, Landscapes, and Poetry," by the Rev. T. Starr King (4to, Boston, 1859). Since 1868 the mountains have been very thoroughly explored by the New Hamp- shire geological survey, under Prof. Charles H. Hitchcock, state geologist, whose reports describe fully their geology, mineralogy, bot- any, zoology, scenery, topography, and explo- ration (vol. i., 4to, Concord, 1875). This or- ganization established a meteorological station on the summit of Mt. Washington in the win- ter of 1870-'71. WHITE PINE, an E. county of Nevada, bor- dering on Utah; area, 6,720 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,189, of whom 292 were Chinese; in 1875, 2,557, of whom 80 were Chinese. It consists of a high plateau crossed N. and S. by alternate hills and valleys. The mountains abound in minerals, and are covered with tim- ber and grazing lands; the valleys are gen- erally fertile. Of these the most noticeable is Spring valley, from 8 to 20 m. wide, and extending across the county. The principal wealth is in the silver mines, of which, accord- ing to the United States census, 11 were in operation in 1870, producing ore to the value of $1,375,386. Since then the yield has large- ly fallen off. The chief productions in 1870 were 1,750 bushels of barley, 23,876 of pota- toes, 13,950 Ibs. of wool, and 6,318 tons of hay. There were 966 horses, 575 milch cows, 1,516 other cattle, 5,650 sheep, and 224 swine; 14 quartz mills, 1 manufactory of iron castings, and 6 of pig lead. Capital, Hamilton. WHITE PLAINS, a town and the county seat of Westchester co., New York, on the Harlem railroad, 25 m. N. N. E. of the city hall of New York ; pop. in 1870, 2,630 ; in 1875, 2,727. It contains two banks, four schools, two weekly newspapers, and six churches. On Oct. 12, 1776, Gen. Howe, for the purpose of flanking the American position on the upper part of Manhattan island, landed the van of his army on Throgg's neck, Westchester co. Washington immediately occupied the causeway and bridge leading from the neck, began the evacuation of Manhattan island, and detached a corps to White Plains. On the 18th the British, having resolved to strike at White Plains, crossed in boats, landing at the mouth of Hutchinson river, just below East Chester. The Ameri- cans proceeded up the W. bank of the Bronx river, and on the 23d Washington established