Three hundred
men were employed, and the wind being bitterly cold, hardly any escaped
being frost-bitten. One of the tenders was completely crushed up by the
force applied; and in the middle of the night, with the snow still
driving, and in a piercing wind, they had to clear away the wreck:
nineteen engines, called snow ploughs, are kept solely to clear away the
snow.
At five o'clock we reached Cumberland, where we slept. After dinner we
walked out in the most lovely night possible to see the town, and the
moon being nearly full, we saw the valley as distinctly almost as by
daylight. There is a great gap here in the mountain, which forms a
prominent feature in the landscape, and a church on the summit of a high
hill rendered the picture almost perfect. We here saw the comet for the
last time.
Next morning, the 20th October, we started early, in order to be able to
take the mountain pass more leisurely, attached ourselves at 6.15 to the
express train, and reached Piedmont at 7.30. During this part of our
journey we continued to follow up the Potomac, but here we left it to
follow up the Savage river, and for seventeen miles continued to ascend
to Altamont, where we attained the summit level of 2700 feet above the
sea. We cast ourselves off from the express at Piedmont, and afterwards
tacked ourselves on to a train which left Piedmont at eight o'clock, and
got to Altamont at 9.
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