erlooks the valley of the Deerfield River. This brow is
bare and level for quite a space upon its top, and is called Pocumtuck
Rock. It is a favorite place for picnic parties, and if there were a
good road to the summit it would be more extensively patronized. It is
certainly a most lovely spot in which to eat your evening meal, and gaze
down upon the waters of the Deerfield, glittering in the rays of the
setting sun; and as the sun descends towards the western hills, it is
delightful to watch the shadows creeping along the plain below, until at
last the brilliancy of the river is snuffed out, and the shades of
evening gather fast within the peaceful valley. An excellent view of Old
Deerfield, or Deerfield Street, as it is often called, is also obtained
from the Rock. But very few of the houses can be seen owing to the
magnificent elm trees that line either side of the street, and form in
summer a continuous arch of greenness above it; and beneath the shade of
these old patriarchs of nature nestle many a quaint dwelling. There is
much in Deerfield to interest the antiquarian, historian, and lover of
nature; and all admirers of art will take an interest in it because it
was the birthplace, and for many years the residence, of George Fuller,
the painter, who recently died in Boston. Deerfield is one of the best
places in which to pass the summer, but is not so much frequented by
visitors as it once was, as there are at present no sufficient hotel
accommodations. A hotel of considerable size was burned there two years
ago, and has not been rebuilt.
We depart from the hills of the Connecticut and Deerfield valleys with
perhaps greater reluctance than was experienced on leaving the Berkshire
hills, for the reason that the scenery in these valleys is toned down
and mellowed into a uniformity of beauty, which can be appreciated not
alone in a single locality, but as a whole. The river forms a centre
about which all these beauties are aggregated; while in Berkshire one is
impressed more by single and somewhat startling evidences of nature's
beauty and grandeur.
Between the Connecticut and the Atlantic coast are many beautiful
eminences, a few of which may be alluded to. Big Watatic and Little
Watatic are two prominent hills situated in Ashburnham on very high
land, but are densely wooded and little visited. In Fitchburg there
is a hill which, though inconsiderable in size, being only about three
hundred feet high, is worthy
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