07/24/2026
FROM THE RUTLAND HERALD.
Courtesy of Jason Smiley’s research.
MOUNTAIN SCENERY
MR. FAY — Taking my customary walk yesterday morning, the fineness of the day tempted me to extend it farther than usual. Having reached the foot of the mountain where the town of Rutland joins Pittsford, a little to the west of where they corner with Chittenden and Parkerstown, though the path was a little rugged, I determined to ascend it, as the summit promised an extensive view of the beautiful valley of Otter Creek. Nor was I disappointed. Seated on the pinnacle, the whole valley to the northward lay extended like a map under my feet. Viewed from this elevation, every inequality of the surface disappeared. The plain presented a triangular appearance, hemmed in on all sides by mountains, and thro’ it co’d distinctly be traced the meanderings of the roads, and the different branches of Otter Creek. The flattened summit of Dorset mountain, which lies at right angles to the general course of the mountains in this section of the state, shut in the view to the south, while, on the left, Killington and its two rival brothers shot up their lofty peaks, which rank among the highest elevations in Vermont.
The autumnal scenery, in my opinion, far surpasses in beauty that of the summer. In the later season, the landscape presents little else than one uniform color, while in the latter, the variety is exceedingly striking. The vivid green of the fields of grain and the meadows is beautifully contrasted with the infinite variety exhibited by the forest, especially with the dark chocolate color of the oak and the bright yellow of the birch, from amongst which the pine and hemlock, in their everlasting foilage [sic], lift their tops to the clouds, overlooking their humbler brethren of the forest like “monarchs of the wood.”
Volney and the Duc de Liancourt are the only authors within my knowledge who have noticed the beauty of the American autumn, the former being attracted by the splendor of the forest, the latter by the brilliancy of the autumnal sky. The English poets lived in a climate, where, through nearly the whole autumn, drenching rains “deform the day delightless.” The few American poets we possess have too frequently contested themselves with studying Nature in the writings of others, in place of drawing from the exhaustless stores of Nature herself. Hence the want of originality, so justly complained of, for no one can be a true poet, who views objects only through another’s optics, and, as the celebrated Dugald Stewart remarks, “poetical genius is almost always united with an exquisite sensibility to the beauties of Nature.”
To return from this digression, my chief object in addressing you is to point out to the admirers of Nature a prospect far exceeding in beauty that from Killington Peak, and one which is not only at a more convenient distance, but accessible even to ladies. I have no doubt, however, that a better situation for an extensive view might be found than the one I stumbled on. I should recommend the south-eastern extremity as combining with the prospect to the south a view of Ladd’s Hollow, which is traversed by East Creek, meandering through beautiful intervales. The highest point of the mountain lies a little to the north of the spot indicated, and would probably, in addition to the prospect now described, afford an extensive view to the north through Pittsford and Brandon.
At the foot of the mountain I met with an interesting object to the botanist, that singular plant the Hamamelis, or Witch-hazel, in full blossom.
To the beautiful weather of yesterday, how striking the contrast of to-day! Winter seems to have sent us some of his surly blasts to warn mankind to prepare for his rough but friendly reign. A slight scud passed along the Green Mountains in the morning, and left their tops for a few hours slightly powdered with the first snow of the season.
Rutland, Oct. 24
P.
Source: Rutland Herald | Tuesday, October 31, 1826.
