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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Cornell University Library
F 57C5 R21
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History of Chittenden County, Vermont, w
olin 3 1924 028 837 536
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SITY 9981
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A.D.
Cornell University Library
The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library.
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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028837536
HISTORY
OF
CHITTENDEN COUNTY
VERMONT
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS
EDITED BY
W. S. RANN
SYRACUSE, N. Y. D. MASON & CO., PUBLISHERS
1886 KC :
E.M. UNIVERSITY DERARY
D. MASON & CO., BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 63 WEST WATER ST., SYRACUSE, N. Y.
INTRODUCTORY.
W HILE it may seem to the uninitiated a task involving but little difficulty to prepare for publication a work no more comprehensive in character than this volume, and containing the history merely of a single county, still it is not out of place here to assure all such readers that the work is one demand- ing a vast amount of labor and research, watchful care, untiring patience, and great discrimination. This need not be said to any person who has had experience in similar work. In attempting the production of a creditable his- tory of Chittenden county, the publishers and the editor did not underestimate the difficulties of their task, and came to it fully imbued with a clear idea of its magnitude, and a determination to execute it in such a manner that it should receive the commendation of all into whose hands it should fall. It is believed that this purpose has been substantially carried out, and that, while a perfect historical work has never yet been published, this one will be found to contain so few imperfections that the most critical reader will be satisfied.
It has been a part of the plans of the publishers in the production of this history to secure, as far as possible, assistance from parties resident in the county, either as writers, or in the revision of all manuscripts; the conse- quence being that the work bears a local character which could not otherwise be secured, and, moreover, comes from the press far more complete and per- fect than could possibly be the case were it intrusted wholly to the efforts of comparative strangers to the locality in hand. In carrying out this plan the editor has been tendered such generous co-operation and assistance of various kinds, that merely to mention all who have thus aided is impossible ; the satisfaction of having assisted in the production of a commendable public enterprise must be their present reward. But there are some who have given so generously of their labor and time towards the consummation of this work that to leave them unmentioned would be simple injustice. Among these
4
INTRODUCTORY.
should be mentioned Professor George H. Perkins, of Burlington, for the first two chapters in the book, and for much assistance in the revision of other chapters; Mr. T. C. Pease, of Burlington, for the civil list of the county, and also of the city of Burlington; Professor John E. Goodrich, of Burlington, for the chapter on Educational Institutions; Robert Roberts, esq., for the History of the Bench and Bar, the biographical sketches of the Hon. E. J. Phelps, and the Hon. George F. Edmunds, and other matter, besides much valuable assist- ance in other directions ; Dr. H. H. Atwater, of Burlington, for the chapter on the Medical Profession ; Mr. James Buckham, for the admirable History of the Press of Chittenden county ; Mr. W. H. S. Whitcomb, for the History of Free- masonry ; and Mr. C. A. Castle, for the History of Odd Fellowship, and of Life Insurance; the Hon. Charles E. Allen, of Burlington, for the chapter on Lake Commerce and the Lumber Trade; Dr. A. H. Brush, of Fairfax, Vt., for the names of many soldiers of the War of 1812; Right Rev. Louis de Goes- briand, and Very Rev. Thomas Lynch, of Burlington, for the History of the Catholic Church in Chittenden county; L. C. Butler, M. D., of Essex, for the History of that town ; Professor J. S. Cilley, of Jericho, for the History of that town ; J. J. Monahan, of Underhill, for the History of that town; the Rev. J. E. Bowen, of Milton, for the History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in that town; Gen. T. S. Peck, Judge Torrey E. Wales, Miss Jennie Stacy, and others in Burlington, for general assistance and an active interest in the work. To all these, to the entire press and clergy of the county, the town clerks and other officials, and to so many others that it is impossible to mention them in detail, the gratitude of editor, publishers, and readers is alike due.
With these words of introduction, the work is commended to its readers.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.
Topographical Features - Action of Geological Forces - Divisions of Geological Time - Former Treatises - Champlain Valley During the Archaan Period - Layers of Sand- rock, Marble, Etc .- The Chazy Epoch - Limestone Formations - Origin of the Green Mountains- The Great Glacier - Glacial, Champlain and Terrace Periods of the Quaternary Age - Natural Forces do not Act Haphazard.
13
CHAPTER II.
INDIAN OCCUPATION AND RELICS.
Unsettled Condition of American Archaeology - Evidences of Indian Occupation in this Vicinity - Iroquois and Algonkins - Ancient Settlements in Chittenden County - How Indian Villages were Made- Origin and Relative Age of Vermont Implements - Materials of Implements - Earthenware - Stone - Varieties of Axes -- Pipes, Arrows, and Spear Points - Importance of Preserving Specimens.
45
CHAPTER III.
LAKE CHAMPLAIN BEFORE THE REVOLUTION.
Discovery and Voyage of Champlain - French Forts and Settlements - Occupation of this County - Seigniories Annulled - War Between French and English -- Expeditions Against the French - Massacre of Fort William Henry - Campaign of 1758 - Attack on Fort Ticonderoga - Events of 1759- Rogers's Expedition - Reduction of Montreal, 78
CHAPTER IV.
THE CONTROVERSY WITH NEW YORK.
Settlement Retarded by the French Wars - The Impending Strife - Proclamations and Counter-Proclamations - Interpretations of the Royal Decree- Organized Opposition to New York - Ethan Allen at Albany - First Military Company - Rewards Offered
6
CONTENTS.
for the Capture of the "Rioters "- The Beech Seal - Governor Tryon's Attempted Reconciliation - Difficulties with Colonel Reed - The Durhamites - Despotic Legisla- tion of New York -- Reply of the Green Mountain Boys - Disturbance at Westmin- ster -Vermont Declared Independent - Allen's Address to the People - Controversy with New Hampshire and with Congress - Territory of Vermont Extended - Nego- tiations with the British - New York Become Lenient - Disturbances by Malcon- tents- The Controversy Settled - Vermont Admitted into the Union .. 91
CHAPTER V.
THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
Chittenden County in 1776 - Disadvantages of the Colonies - Ethan Allen at Ticonder-
. oga - Surrender of St. Johns - Capture of Allen - Siege of Quebec- Repulses in the North - Arnold's Defeat - Campaign of 1777 - Advance of Burgoyne - His Compact with the Indians - Americans Retreat from Ticonderoga - Battle of Hub- bardton - Schuyler's Timidity - Battle of Bennington - Engagements at Behmus's Heights - Capture of Burgoyne -- Return of Ethan Allen. 124
CHAPTER VI.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
The Old County of Albany -- Charlotte -- Bennington - Washington and Rutland - Addi- son - Chittenden - Civil List of Chittenden County - County Buildings - Court- Houses and Jails. 145
CHAPTER VII.
THE WAR OF 1812.
Growth of the County - Relations Between the United States and Foreign Countries - Party Feeling - Beginning of Hostilities- The British at Plattsburgh - American Forces on the Lake - Action at St. Armand - Governor Chittenden's Proclamation - MacDonough's Fleet - The Battle of Plattsburgh 159
CHAPTER VIII. EARLY CUSTOMS.
Value of Historical Study - Making a Home in the Wilderness -- Pot and Pearl Ashes- The Cat-Whipper - The Primitive Store - Lumbering -- Religious Observances - The Sign Post - The Schoolmaster -- The Doctor -- Amusements - A Practical Joke - Meager Traveling Facilities - Material Progress -- Comparative Morality. 179
--
7
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
HISTORY OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
Methods of Constructing Early Roads - Movements Towards the Building of Post and Stage Roads -- Turnpike Roads - Plank-Road Companies - Railroads 186
CHAPTER X.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
First Proceedings Towards the Establishment of a College in Vermont - Dartmouth's Proposition - Offer of Elijah Paine -The Liberal Offer of Ira Allen -Finally Effect- ive and the University Established at Burlington - The Vicissitudes of its History - The Vermont Agricultural College - The University Buildings - Billings Library - Public Schools of Burlington - Female Seminary - Young Ladies' School - Ver- mont Episcopal Institute - Academies, Etc., at Charlotte, Colchester, Essex, Hines- burg, Underhill, and Williston. 193
CHAPTER XI.
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR.
The Bar of Chittenden County a Strong One - List of Attorneys, Past and Present - Early Courts and First Trials - Decrease of Litigation Since the Settlement of Cases Under the National Bankrupt Act of 1867 - Biographical Sketches. 222
CHAPTER XII.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
The Medical Department of the University of Vermont -The Mary Fletcher Hospital - The Mary Fletcher Hospital Training School for Nurses - Lake View Retreat - Health Department of the City of Burlington - The Burlington Medical and Surgical Club - Surgeons-General - Commissioners and Boards of Supervisors of the Insane - Boards of United States Examining Surgeons for Pensions - Biographical Sketches of Deceased Physicians of Burlington. 239
CHAPTER XIII.
THE PRESS OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
Fewer Newspapers than Formerly - Political Energy the Condition - Permanence - The Earlier Journals were of a Literary Type - Sketches of Early Papers, Including the
8
CONTENTS.
Sentinel- The Burlington Free Press and Times -- Influence of the Telegraph- The Burlington Clipper - The Burlington Independent - The Autograph and Remarker - Value of Stale News in Early Days - Curious Editorials - Interesting Advertise- ments - Humor - Early Customs and Manners - Political History of the Press ..... 267
CHAPTER XIV.
FREEMASONRY AND ODD FELLOWSHIP.
Introduction of Freemasonry into Chittenden County - Washington Lodge No. 7 - Friendship Lodge - McDonough Lodge - Seneca Lodge - North Star Lodge- Patriot Lodge- Webster Lodge - Burlington Lodge No. 100- Army Lodges- Grand Lodge - N. B. Haswell's Manifesto - Royal Arch Masons - Royal and Select Masters - Knights Templar - The Scottish Rite - Other Organizations - Growth of Odd Fellowship in the County - Green Mountain Lodge -Winooski Lodge- Hamil- ton Lodge - Fayette Uniformed Encampment. 287
CHAPTER XV.
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
Discovery and Early Events - Major Skeene's Sloop -Admiral Gid King and his Com- panions -Construction of Boats Before 1800- Vessels Built Before 1815- The Champlain Canal - Introduction of Long-Boat Lines Through to New York - Mer- chants' Line - Business Injured by the Opening of Railroads - Table of Vessels Sailing from or Owned by Citizens of Chittenden County - The First Steamboats - Steamboat Companies - The Champlain Transportation Company - Its Competition with the Railroads - List of Its Officers - Table of Steamboats on the Lake -- The Lumber Trade - Other Interests .. . 307
CHAPTER XVI.
CHITTENDEN COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.
Introduction - Names of Volunteers from the Towns of the County - Table of Enlist- ments - Miscellaneous Enlistments and Drafts -The First Company to go Out- The Second Regiment -Third Regiment - Fifth Regiment - Sixth Regiment - The Vermont Brigade - Seventh Regiment - Ninth Regiment - Tenth Regiment -- Twelfth Regiment - Thirteenth Regiment - Fourteenth Regiment - Seventeenth Regiment - Other Regiments - Artillery and Cavalry 329
CHAPTER XVII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BOLTON
.. 384
9
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN AND CITY OF BURLINGTON .... 392
CHAPTER XIX.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CHARLOTTE 534
CHAPTER XX.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF COLCHESTER. . .. 553
CHAPTER XXI.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF ESSEX 568
CHAPTER XXII.
1
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HINESBURG. ........ 592
CHAPTER XXIII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. . . . . . .. 613
CHAPTER XXIV.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF JERICHO. .... 623
CHAPTER XXV.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MILTON. .. . . ... 636
CHAPTER XXVI.
....... 656
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF RICHMOND
CHAPTER XXVII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF ST. GEORGE
..... 666
IO
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHELBURNE. . . 670
CHAPTER XXIX.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SOUTH BURLINGTON .... 684
CHAPTER XXX.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF UNDERHILL ........ 687
CHAPTER XXXI.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WESTFORD .... 695
CHAPTER XXXII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WILLISTON.
704
CHAPTER XXXIII.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
.... 719
BRIEF PERSONALS.
.... 822
INDEX
.. 861
CONTENTS.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Ballard, Henry,
facing 498
Burdick, M.D., L. F.
.facing 560
Barnes, Lawrence,.
facing 720
Peck, Cicero G., facing 760
Pomeroy, John N.
facing 198
Roberts, Daniel,
.facing 496
Burgess, Lyman,
facing 636
Root, Elijah,
facing 764
Barrett, H. W., .
facing 820
Sparhawk, M.D., G. E. E.,
facing 770
Smith, John,
facing 626
Smith, John E.,
.facing 686
Stone, Alney,
facing 696
Stevens, A. J.,
facing 556
Chessmore, A. H.,
facing 620
Dow, Isaiah,
facing 604
Fletcher, Mary M.,
facing 246
Galusha, Truman,
facing 746
Gillett, Henry,.
facing 656
Whitcomb, Lorenzo,
facing 814
Whitney, Edmund,
.facing 816
Wright, Smith,
facing 804
Whitcomb, Joshua,
facing 812
Woodruff, John,
facing 690
Weston, S. H.,
facing 564
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Allen, Charles E., 755
Ballard, Henry, 817
Burdick, M.D., John L. F., 791
Barnes, Lawrence,
719
Borrowdale, Henry, 722
Barstow, Hon. John L., 7.82
Burgess, Lyman,
723
Barrett, H. W., 820
Canfield, Thomas H.,
726
Crombie, William A., 795
Cannon, Colonel Le Grand B., 724
Carpenter, M. D., Walter,.
807
Chessmore, M.D., Alwyn H.,
742
Dow, Isaiah,
743
Fletcher, Mary M.,
745
Galusha, Truman,
747
Thayer, Dr. Samuel W.
facing 264
Wales, Judge Torrey E.,
facing 780
Wells, General William,
facing 796
Whitcomb, John,
facing 810.
Goodrich, Blossom,
facing 662
Hopkins, Rev. Theodore A.
facing 216
Indian Relics,
55-65
Lyman, Edward,
facing 482
Morgan, Edward J.,
facing 788
Morse, George H., .
between 326 and 327
Peck, General T. S.,.
facing 456
Parker, S. J.,
facing 700
Borrowdale, Henry
facing 722
Barstow, Hon. John L.
facing 676
Canfield, Thomas H.,
facing 188
Crombie, William A., ... between 326 and 327
Cannon, Le Grand B.,
facing 320
Carpenter, M.D., Walter
facing 240
Clark, Jed P., . .
facing 648
Talcott, L. H., facing 706
I2
CONTENTS.
Gillett, Henry, .. 750
Goodrich, Blossom, 749
Hopkins, The Rt. Rev. John Henry, D.D., LL. D. 799
Hopkins, Rev. Theo A., 803
Johnson, John, . 751
Lyman, Edward,
756
Town, Albert, 777
Wales, Judge Torrey E., 781
Wells, Williamn,
796
Whitcomb, John,
811
Whiteomb, Lorenzo Dow 814
Whitney, Edmund, 816
Peck, Cicero G., 761
Pomeroy, John N. .758
Roberts, Daniel, 767
Root, Elijah,
765
Sparhawk, M.D., George E. E.,
770
Smith, John, 774
Smith, John E., 773
Stone, Alney, .
775
Stevens, Alonzo J. 772
Talcott, Lewis H. 779
Thayer, Dr. Samuel W. 264
Meech, Hon. Ezra,
.756
Morgan, Edward J.
.. 789
Morse, George H.,
815
Peck, Theodore S.,
764
Parker, Seymour J.
757
Wright, Smith, 805
Whiteomb, Joshua, 813
Whittemore, Albert G. 787
Woodruff, John,
789
Weston, Sidney H.,
793
HISTORY
OF
CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.1
Topographical Features - Action of Geological Forces - Divisions of Geological Time- Former Treatises - Champlain Valley During the Archaan Period - Layers of Sandrock, Mar- ble, etc .- The Chazy Epoch - Limestone Formations - Origin of the Green Mountains - The Great Glacier - Glacial, Champlain and Terrace Periods of the Quaternary Age- Natural Forces do not Act Haphazard.
HITTENDEN COUNTY, although irregular in form, may yet be for the
C most part included within a rectangle about twenty-five miles from north to south and twenty from east to west. The extreme length of the county, from the southern end of Avery's Gore to a point in the northern line of Mil- ton is thirty-five miles, and the greatest width, from the Chin on Mansfield to the lake, near Colchester Point, is twenty-nine miles. The area is given as five hundred and twenty square miles. This is a very insignificant area as com- pared with the whole country, but geologically it is by no means insignificant or unimportant. It would be very difficult to find a territory of so small extent that exhibits so great a variety of both surface features and geological phenomena as does this small county. In greater or less degree all the ordi- nary topographical features of the globe are to be found within its limits, as are also the prominent geological phenomena. For this reason a study of this county will necessarily bring out facts bearing upon the geology and topog- raphy of the whole continent, and even of the globe itself. In ageonly a
1 Prepared by Professor George H. Perkins.
2
14
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
few areas of limited extent exceed that of this county, for, with the exception of the Archaan rocks of Canada and the Adirondacks, and the few small areas of Acadian, or the lowest beds of the Cambrian, none older than the lowest strata of our red sandrock are known anywhere in the world, and not only the oldest, but also the newest . beds are found, in the clays and sands. Moreover, these latest beds and their arrangement in hills and valleys, clay- beds and gravel banks, lakeshore and river terrace, and also the rock ledges, headlands and mountain masses, all have a history, and this history, when known, tells us the reason for all that is now seen, and shows that it is as it is, not at all by accident, but as the result of definite and constantly working laws. The ancient record is far less easily read in this region than it is in many, for it is very complex and in some of its parts obscure, but it has been very care- fully and diligently studied by many able observers, and we are, through their labors, able to give a tolerably certain account of the growth and formation of the State and county.
I suppose that hundreds of persons stand upon the summit of Mansfield every year ; but how few of these understand, as they look westward and see the varied country stretching to the lake, which it meets with such irregular shore, that mighty forces and ages of time were needed to bring all these varied features to their present condition. The mountain mass of folded and transformed rock, the undulating plain here, the rough and broken country there, alluvial river terrace, barren sand plain, river channel, gorge, ravine, meadow, hill and vale, brook and pond, clay-bank and gravel knoll, all of these are as they are, and where they are, because of the action in certain directions of those geological forces that built up the world.
Interesting and beautiful as is the view from the mountain summit even to the most superficial observer, how much more complete is the view and how much more profoundly does it impress us when we see not merely that which at first appears, but, seeing below the surface and far behind the present, regard it all as having a history that reaches back to that mysterious and awful time which was the Beginning ! Very imperfectly can this history be traced, but traced in part it can be ; and it is a history most strange - a history of vapor and mist, of fire and earthquake, of ice masses and glaciers, of torrents and overwhelming floods, of upheaval of continental masses into mountain ranges, or their subsidence far beneath the surface of the ocean.
In the rocks, clays and sands of Chittenden county we find evidences of all these phenomena and more, and the geology of the county will be the interpretation, so far as is possible, of the story which its rocks tell. Only in part, however, can we hear their story, for, were we to wait for the whole, a long life would not suffice for the hearing. The dust of the commonest high- way has a geological tale to tell which it would need many a long day to hear. Only in its more salient outlines then must we try to sketch the history of the
15
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.
rock masses found in our county, adding only so much of the geology of the whole country as is necessary to the proper understanding of that of the region in which we are especially interested.
As any one who has sailed along the western border of this county, or even looked over a large map, must know, the lake shore is very irregular, in- dented by many bays and thrust out into the lake in points and promontories, with only here and there a bit of comparatively straight beach. In the bays the shore is usually sandy, but the points and headlands are often marked by the outcrop of masses of rock.
As the lake is about one hundred feet above the level of the sea, when we start at its shore we are already at so much of an altitude; and as we go from the lake eastward the ground rises until the lower slopes of the Green Mount- ains are reached, and if we keep on we may finally reach the Chin on Mount Mansfield, which is the only part of the mountain within the boundaries of the county, and here we are on the highest point in the State, 4,430 feet above the sea. Most of this mountain is in Lamoille county, but one corner of Under- hill reaches up the mountain side and just takes in the "Chin." Camel's- Hump, the next highest peak of the Green Mountains, is wholly inside the county. Between the Green Mountains and the lake, although the ground is broken by ravines and ridges, there are but few hills of any considerable height. There are a few, such as Cobble Hill, at Milton, 827 feet high ; Snake Hill, 912; Sugar Loaf, 1,003. The streams of the county are numerous and supply abundant water for agricultural purposes. The Winooski River runs directly across the county, entering it at Bolton, then flowing on through Richmond, Jericho, Essex, and after forming the boundary between Burlington and Col- chester, it empties into the lake about four miles north of the business part of Burlington. A small part of the Lamoille River also comes into the county, running through Milton and a part of Colchester, and enters the lake a few miles north of the Winooski. Brown's River is an important tributary of the Lamoille, running through Jericho, Essex and Westford. Several ponds are also found in the county, but none of any considerable size except Shelburne. Some of the river valleys are rich in alluvial soil and very valuable for agricul- tural purposes. In former times, as old records plainly show, much of the county was covered by forests of various kinds of trees; but for the most part these are of the olden time and not of the present.
As has been noticed, to write of the geology of this or any other region, is to write of the processes by which it has come to be what it is; and this is our present undertaking.
It must be remembered that we cannot study Chittenden county entirely by itself. Geological forces are not only vast in power, but also wide in extent. Very rarely can we isolate a small area and write out its geology as distinct from that of the surrounding country. This is eminently true of any
16
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
part of New England. Chittenden county must be studied as a part of West- ern Vermont and this latter as a part of the great Champlain valley, and in some measure this valley as a part of the North American continent, for in some cases the same agencies have affected all of these. The history of the greater must, of course, include that of the less, and not seldom the history of the less throws much light upon the perplexities presented by that of the greater, while this in turn interprets many a riddle offered by that.
Geological time is subdivided into several periods of unequal duration and importance, and each period is again divided into lesser spaces, and perhaps these again, and so on. Each of these subdivisions is determined by various conditions, as kinds of rock, relation to other adjacent groups, fossils, etc .; but the chief basis of the classification is found in the fossils, that is, in the life of the period or age. Accordingly, we find each of the greater or lesser divisions characterized mainly by a certain group of animals, which are found in that and in no other.
The very early history of the globe is wrapped in mystery. We may look towards the origin of the world and wonder and long to know how it all came about ; but our keenest gaze penetrates but very slightly those unknown regions, and we can only conjecture as to what was. So far as positive knowl- edge is concerned, there is little else for us to do except to bow in reverent wonder, as the only tidings that come to us from that remote past tell us in those sublime words with which the book of Genesis opens, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void." Let me add that years of geological training are needed to enable one to comprehend, even approximately, the amazing dignity and majesty of these words and the wonderful depth of meaning which is in them. Truly the earth was without form and void, if the beliefs of most geologists are true; for, reason- ing from what is known of the constitution of the earth and of various heavenly bodies, they suppose that at some time far back in the past the solid earth was a huge mass of vapor moving through space and that, as heat radiated from it into the intensely cold space around it, it slowly condensed and became a liquid, and of course molten mass, flashing like a sun through the sky. As the heat continued to radiate, the molten mass, after passing through most aston- ishing changes, became solid - in fact a huge cinder or mass of slag - black, rugged, desolate, without water or life. By and by the cooling process had gone on until water, before this held as vapor in the air, would descend in tor- rents upon the earth and probably cover it completely; for even now the waters of the ocean would cover all the land if this were to sink a few hundred feet. The earth, however, is not homogeneous, but is made up of many substances, and these cool unequally. For this reason, as the earth went on cooling, some parts would contract, and therefore sink, faster than others; that is, depressions, of vast extent perhaps, would appear here and there, and the water would col-
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