Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- PREFACE
- MAP of the NORTH-EASTERN Parts of the UNITED STATES
- 1 PORTRAIT of Mr. Bartlett, to Face the Vignette, Ascent to the Capitol, Washington
- 2 Niagara Falls, from the Ferry
- 3 View from West Point
- 4 Trenton Falls, View down the Ravine
- 5 View from Mount Holyoke
- 6 The Outlet of Niagara River
- 7 The Palisades, Hudson River
- 8 The Rapids above the Falls of Niagara
- 9 Saratoga Lake
- 10 The Colonnade of Congress Hall, Saratoga Springs
- 11 Albany
- 12 Crow's Nest, from Bull Hill, West Point
- 13 View below Table Rock
- 14 Lake Winipiseogee
- 15 The Tomb of Kosciusko
- 16 The Horseshoe Fall at Niagara, with the Tower
- 17 The Narrows, at Staten Island
- 18 View of the Capitol at Washington
- 19 View of the Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga
- 20 View from Fort Putnam
- 21 View of State Street, Boston
- 22 Niagara Falls, from Clifton House
- 23 View from Hyde Park
- 24 Village of Sing-Sing
- 25 View from Ruggle's House, Newburgh
- 26 Descent into the Valley of Wyoming
- 27 Boston, from Dorchester Heights
- 28 View of Faneuil Hall, Boston
- 29 New York Bay, from the Telegraph Station
- 30 Peekskill Landing
- 31 Light House, near Caldwell Landing
- 32 Harper's Ferry, from the Potomac side
- 33 Caldwell, Lake George
- 34 Centre Harbour, Lake Winipiseogee
- 35 Yale College, at New Haven
- 36 Willey House
- 37 Battle Monument, Baltimore
- 38 Forest Scene on Lake Ontario
- 39 Viaduct on the Baltimore and Washington Railroad
- 40 The Indian Falls near Coldspring
- 41 Columbia Bridge, on the Susquehanna
- 42 The Genessee Falls, Rochester
- 43 The Ferry at Brooklyn, New York
- 44 Rail-road Scene, Little Falls
- 45 Utica
- 46 The Landing, on the American side, Falls of Niagara
- 47 View From Mount Washington
- 48 Mount Washington, and the White Hills
- 49 The Park and City Hall, New York
- 50 The Two Lakes, and the Mountain House on the Catskills
- 51 Trenton High Falls
- 52 The Valley of the Shenandoah, from Jefferson's Rock
- 53 Lockport, Erie Canal
- 54 The Tomb of Washington, Mount Vernon
- 55 Black Mountain, Lake George
- 56 Valley of the Connecticut, from Mount Holyoke
- 57 View on the Erie Canal, near little Falls
- 58 Hudson Highlands, from Bull Hill
- 59 Villa on the Hudson, near Weehawken
- 60 View of Meredith, New Hampshire
- 61 Ballston Springs
- 62 The Narrows, from Fort Hamilton
- 63 The Notch House, White Mountains
- 64 Wilkesbarre, Vale of Wyoming
- 65 Squawm Lake, New Hampshire
- 66 Sabbath-Day Point, Lake George
- Plate section
36 - Willey House
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- PREFACE
- MAP of the NORTH-EASTERN Parts of the UNITED STATES
- 1 PORTRAIT of Mr. Bartlett, to Face the Vignette, Ascent to the Capitol, Washington
- 2 Niagara Falls, from the Ferry
- 3 View from West Point
- 4 Trenton Falls, View down the Ravine
- 5 View from Mount Holyoke
- 6 The Outlet of Niagara River
- 7 The Palisades, Hudson River
- 8 The Rapids above the Falls of Niagara
- 9 Saratoga Lake
- 10 The Colonnade of Congress Hall, Saratoga Springs
- 11 Albany
- 12 Crow's Nest, from Bull Hill, West Point
- 13 View below Table Rock
- 14 Lake Winipiseogee
- 15 The Tomb of Kosciusko
- 16 The Horseshoe Fall at Niagara, with the Tower
- 17 The Narrows, at Staten Island
- 18 View of the Capitol at Washington
- 19 View of the Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga
- 20 View from Fort Putnam
- 21 View of State Street, Boston
- 22 Niagara Falls, from Clifton House
- 23 View from Hyde Park
- 24 Village of Sing-Sing
- 25 View from Ruggle's House, Newburgh
- 26 Descent into the Valley of Wyoming
- 27 Boston, from Dorchester Heights
- 28 View of Faneuil Hall, Boston
- 29 New York Bay, from the Telegraph Station
- 30 Peekskill Landing
- 31 Light House, near Caldwell Landing
- 32 Harper's Ferry, from the Potomac side
- 33 Caldwell, Lake George
- 34 Centre Harbour, Lake Winipiseogee
- 35 Yale College, at New Haven
- 36 Willey House
- 37 Battle Monument, Baltimore
- 38 Forest Scene on Lake Ontario
- 39 Viaduct on the Baltimore and Washington Railroad
- 40 The Indian Falls near Coldspring
- 41 Columbia Bridge, on the Susquehanna
- 42 The Genessee Falls, Rochester
- 43 The Ferry at Brooklyn, New York
- 44 Rail-road Scene, Little Falls
- 45 Utica
- 46 The Landing, on the American side, Falls of Niagara
- 47 View From Mount Washington
- 48 Mount Washington, and the White Hills
- 49 The Park and City Hall, New York
- 50 The Two Lakes, and the Mountain House on the Catskills
- 51 Trenton High Falls
- 52 The Valley of the Shenandoah, from Jefferson's Rock
- 53 Lockport, Erie Canal
- 54 The Tomb of Washington, Mount Vernon
- 55 Black Mountain, Lake George
- 56 Valley of the Connecticut, from Mount Holyoke
- 57 View on the Erie Canal, near little Falls
- 58 Hudson Highlands, from Bull Hill
- 59 Villa on the Hudson, near Weehawken
- 60 View of Meredith, New Hampshire
- 61 Ballston Springs
- 62 The Narrows, from Fort Hamilton
- 63 The Notch House, White Mountains
- 64 Wilkesbarre, Vale of Wyoming
- 65 Squawm Lake, New Hampshire
- 66 Sabbath-Day Point, Lake George
- Plate section
Summary
The particulars of what is called the Willey Tragedy are well known to all readers of newspapers. This family lived in the Notch of the White Mountains, under the western range, and consisted of nine persons. They had retired at night, when a very unusual noise in the mountains roused them from their beds, and, in terror at its increasing thunders, they unfortunately abandoned the house, and sought refuge in flight. A vast mass of earth and rocks, disengaged from the precipices above them, suddenly rushed down the side of the mountain, and sweeping every thing before it, divided in the rear of the house, reunited again, leaving it unharmed, and thundered down to the valley, overwhelming the fugitive family in its career. The manuscript journal of a friend, who had made two excursions to the spot, gives us an account of its present aspect.
“In a short time we came to the well-known house of the Willey family, which of course we paused to examine. Nothing can be conceived more lonely than this wild place. The mountains tower on both sides of the valley to the height of four or five hundred feet, with deep channels worn into their sides by the winter torrents; and in many places the rocks are left bare for acres by the slides of avalanches that have rushed into the valley.[…]
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- American SceneryOr, Land, Lake, and River Illustrations of Transatlantic Nature, pp. 76 - 77Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1840