F4/ 
 L 
 
>e Profile 
 
 cLnd 
 
 How It Was Saved 
 
15he PROFILE 
 
 and How It Was Saved 
 
 A brief story giving the facts about The 
 
 Profile in the Franconia Notch 
 
 in New Hampshire 
 
 By Rev. GUY ROBERTS 
 
 IL 
 
 Copyrighted, 1917 
 By Kev. Guy Robbrts 
 
i 
 
 •6 
 
 Age of The Profile 
 
 The concensus of geological opin- 
 ion as to when the Franconia Moun- 
 tains were brought into practically 
 their present form of existence, 
 places it at about the end of the 
 glacial period. The great North 
 American ice-sheet covered the Fran- 
 conia Mountains as it did all others 
 in New England, and has left dis- 
 tinct record of its passage over their 
 summits. 
 
 The far-famed Profile on Mount 
 Cannon is supposed to have been 
 brought forth partly as the result 
 of the melting and slipping away 
 action of the ice-sheet, and partly 
 by the action of the frost and 
 ice in crevices, forcing off, and mov- 
 ing about certain rocks and ledges 
 into profile forming positions. It is 
 fair to suppose that the exact profile 
 of " The Old Man of the Mountain " 
 was completed during the latter part 
 of the post-glacial period, from 2000 
 to 10,000 years ago. Perhaps it 
 would be safe to " split the differ- 
 ence " and call it 6 000 years ago, 
 which would put his birth back to 
 near the time when 
 
 " Adam delved and Eve spun." 
 
 Anyway, like all mortals made of 
 dust, he had a Creator, and in view 
 of the paucity of properly attested 
 genealogical history, this tracing of 
 his family tree is not unreasonable. 
 
 Discovery of The Profile 
 
 Although we have yet to hear of 
 any traditions left by the American 
 
 / 
 
 5ci.A459tioC ^pp _9 ,9,7 .^ / 
 
face " of " The Old Man of the Moun- 
 tain." Here the matter was dropped 
 and in the main forgotten. 
 
 The Rediscovery 
 
 Years come and go. A new gen- 
 eration is on the scene and still the 
 Profile awaits its hastening doom. 
 
 One day the author, one of whose 
 earliest recollections is of his mother 
 telling him of seeing " The Old Man 
 of the Mountain " when on her wed- 
 ding trip many years before, stood 
 for the first time to gaze spellbound 
 upon this wonder. He went away, 
 only to return again another year, 
 and yet another. He read all he 
 could find about the Profile. Being 
 naturally of a curious turn of mind 
 he began to wonder if the guide- 
 book descriptions of the Profile were 
 correct, for to him it did not seem so. 
 A desire to make an investigation for 
 himself took possession of him. But 
 how? That was the question. How 
 get there? How know that he had 
 reached the correct spot, even when 
 there, for naturally a profile would 
 not be visible from the top of a 
 head. Enquiries were made, but all 
 to no avail. The top of the head was 
 declared unknown, or inaccessible. 
 But finally days came that afforded 
 ample opportunity for an exhaustive 
 study of the Profile from the road 
 below with the aid of a powerful 
 glass, with the result that a way was 
 discovered to get there, and a way 
 to know that one had arrived at the 
 correct spot when once there. A 
 little later this plan was carried out, 
 
Profile Locnilon Developn 
 
 Even thouKli " Tlio Notch 
 
 aevlnu But Not Percolvlng 
 multttudPs hnvo cnmc^Wpwrl 
 
 ivti iiiiKiinwn. GHp«dnlIy ho in vlrtw 
 or tbo further fact thnt no giildes uro 
 aVHllnblQ to load one to the exact lo- 
 
 ..J?* White HUb" atnted that — 
 ■* The Proftio 1» formed by three s^d- 
 iiroto and dlscoiinoctud ledges of 
 
 ohisclcd notches wi 
 
 nd In the main forgotten. 
 The Rediscovery 
 
 deep concern for the future b 
 
 A-hlch formg the promln 
 
 
 preNtdoDt of the Prufllo 
 
 Ownership of The Profile 
 
 ■ Old Man of tho i 
 
 1 move before It will 
 
 past generutfons. A model in 
 
Ibouia be done by tho Slalo : 
 
 rcraalnhiB (JO percpnt prgjocts 
 
 
 TK« "OporMion" tkl Laal 
 
 Del&ll of Fastening 
 
 > flot steel blocke. In 
 
 How The Profile ts Formed 
 
 The Protlle is formed on a sboul- 
 
 ■veral hundred feet. Be- 
 
 [U: HUiit-rlntondont ot the 
 
 ono ot WebBterlan proportlona. 
 
and on September 5, 19 06, the top 
 of the head was reached, its hight 
 measured, photographs taken, the 
 precarious condition of the forehead 
 stone again discovered, and that with 
 deep concern for the future security 
 of New Hampshire's greatest attrac- 
 tion. 
 
 AFTER "THE OPERATION" 
 
 Parts of two of the three anchor irons 
 
 showing;. 
 
 A little latter the matter was 
 taken up with the proprietor of The 
 Profile House, the former discovery 
 and investigation reviewed, but left 
 as before in spite of the expressed 
 conviction that " it is only a ques- 
 tion of time " before the Profile 
 would fall to pieces. 
 
Indians concerning the Profile, it 
 would seem most unreasonable to 
 think that they knew nothing about 
 it, for in their prowllngs they must 
 have noticed it from the shore of 
 Profile Lake, and that years before 
 the first road was laid out through 
 the Notch. To them it must have 
 semed a personification of the Great 
 Spirit and doubtless elicited their 
 worshipful adoration. 
 
 The discovery of the Profile by 
 white men is given the date of 180 5, 
 when it was discovered by accident 
 as follows : Nathaniel Hall, then of 
 Thornton, N. H., with others, was in 
 the employ of Hon. Enock Colby, 
 who had been engaged by the State 
 to lay out a road from Woodstock, 
 (then called Peeling,) to Franconia. 
 Late one afternoon the party camped 
 for the night at the southern end of 
 the little lake at the foot of the. 
 mountain. In the morning Mr. Hall," 
 who had gone out early with his gun 
 to look for partridges for breakfast, 
 happened to look up from a spot by 
 the lake whence he beheld the most 
 wonderful face he had he ever seen! 
 So amazed was he that he forgot 
 about the birds he was after, and 
 hastened back to bring feis compan- 
 ions to see and confirm the great dis- 
 covery. So far as we know, it was 
 in this accidental way that white 
 men first viewed this amazing spec- 
 tacle, which has since become the 
 main attraction of the entire White 
 Mountain region, and the most 
 famous of all natural Profiles known 
 to man. This account of this dis- 
 covery of the Profile is vouched for 
 
award ever made by the Club, but 
 arrangements have been made 
 whereby in the future any who ren- 
 der exceptional and uncompensated 
 service in conserving the natural at- 
 tractions of our State, may be sim- 
 ilarly rewarded. 
 
 " Good Bye, Old Man '* 
 
 The attitude of the sublime eastern 
 gaze of " The Old Man of the Moun- 
 tain " is such as to justify the ques- 
 tion asked by Mrs. Laura H. Grey 
 in the verse: — 
 
 " Is he waiting for the dawning 
 
 Of the Grand Bternal Day ? 
 
 Is he watching for the morning 
 
 When these hills shall pass away?" 
 
 However this may be, we do be- 
 lieve that now the Profile will remain 
 intact and inspiring as ever " till 
 time shall be no more." 
 
COURIER PRINTING COMPANY 
 LITTLETON, N. H. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 984 767 2 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 984 767 2