. Harpers' New York and Erie rail-road guide book .. . ly ap-ply a little of their irresistible pioneer muscle, that hasso universally cleared the earth of its obstacles to civiliza-tion, to the task of beautifying the soil thus prepared,what a garden this western world would be. But no !though this little bit of level soil under the shadow of thesummit is not ungrateful, the denizens of those styes scornthe foreign aid of ornament or tidiness; and so thatpuddle is found to be convenient near the door, and thatbarrel makes a good chimney, and flowers dont supportlife, and so the pigs walk in a
. Harpers' New York and Erie rail-road guide book .. . ly ap-ply a little of their irresistible pioneer muscle, that hasso universally cleared the earth of its obstacles to civiliza-tion, to the task of beautifying the soil thus prepared,what a garden this western world would be. But no !though this little bit of level soil under the shadow of thesummit is not ungrateful, the denizens of those styes scornthe foreign aid of ornament or tidiness; and so thatpuddle is found to be convenient near the door, and thatbarrel makes a good chimney, and flowers dont supportlife, and so the pigs walk in and out as they please. The cut through the summit winds along half a mile,though it does not retain its rocky character far beyondthe eastern entrance. It is not delved through a contin-uous or compact mass of rock, but in many parts the sidesare of a soft, crumbling texture, which, by the constantdripping from the solid ledges, are turned into a sort of pasteon each side of the road. The geological student will find NEW YORK AND ERIE RAIL-ROAD. lI :. this a great field of study. These drippings during win-ter form enormous icicles, hanging like pointed gray-beardsfrom the rugged cheek of the pass, and falling in frag-ments below by the concussion of a passing train. Wehave stood in that pass during the hottest days of theyear, and found the air cool; and in the winter old Bo-reas howls along its corridor as though it were a musicalhall expressly made for the exercise of his lungs. Thecost of this rock-cut through Summit was over $200, this magnificent monument of the enterpriseof the company and the skill of the engineer, we now de-scend the mountain by a grade of 60 feet, and nearly ofthe same length with the eastern ascent. We are enter-ing the picturesque portion of the road, or what is calledby the profession the Susquehanna Division. Who thatwas one of the party will ever forget the first memorablecrossing of the mountain, in December, 1848, when theroad was fo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookpublishernewyorkharperbroth
