Virginia illustrated : containing a visit to the Virginian Canaan, and the adventures of Porte Crayon and his cousins . hip up, Mice ! up the Valley turnpike as fast as thehorses can trot on a bright frosty morning. At midday the light-running vehicle, with its light-hearted inmates, was rapidly ap-proaching the Massanutten Mountains. These mountains rise toa majestic height in the midst of the valley between the forks ofthe Shenandoah River, and about twenty miles south of Winches-ter. They lie principally in the counties of Page and Shenan-doah, and the Eastern Massanutten forms the boundary
Virginia illustrated : containing a visit to the Virginian Canaan, and the adventures of Porte Crayon and his cousins . hip up, Mice ! up the Valley turnpike as fast as thehorses can trot on a bright frosty morning. At midday the light-running vehicle, with its light-hearted inmates, was rapidly ap-proaching the Massanutten Mountains. These mountains rise toa majestic height in the midst of the valley between the forks ofthe Shenandoah River, and about twenty miles south of Winches-ter. They lie principally in the counties of Page and Shenan-doah, and the Eastern Massanutten forms the boundary betweenthe two counties. They are parallel with the Blue Ridge, andrun in a double range for some twenty-five or thirty miles, andthen in a single range for about the same distance, terminating inRockingham county as abruptly as they rise. The double rangeincludes a romantic and fertile valley twenty-five miles long andabout three in width, the level of which is several hundred feetabove the Great Valley, and which is entered from the north atthe Fortsmouth, one of the most famous passes in the 4^ ^ THE FORTSMOUTH. A midday lunch under the shade of some maples, the fordingof the crystal river, and the approach to this imposing pass, kept 74 PORTE CRAYON AND HIS COUSINS. the animal spirits and the expectant fancies of our adventurerskeenly on the alert. Soon they were winding along the banks ofa rushing stream, and there scarcely seemed room between its rug-ged borders and the impending cliffs for a narrow carriage-wayAs they advanced they perceived the mountain barriers rising oneither side, like perpendicular walls, to a stupendous height—theroad and stream still crowding each other as they struggled along,and the gloom of the wild defile deepened by a tall growth ofshadowy hemlocks. As the difficulties increased, our friends werefain to leave the toiling carriage to its assiduous and careful gov-ernor, and bravely take to the road afoot. How wild it was
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectvirginiasociallifean
