negotiated the sale of the road to the Delaware & Hudson Co., including a perpetual lease of the Rutland & Whitehall road. These railroads place Rutland in easy communication (except on Sundays), with all sections of the United States and Canada. The original village of Rutland was the center of some of the most exasperating of the land title troubles. As has been previously stated, Governor Wentworth had granted a charter for Rutland Township in 1761, and in 1771 Governor Dunmore, of New York, issued the patent of Socialborough, practically covering the same territory, and one Cockburn was sent to survey the land, but he did not find the people a bit sociable; in fact, he over Vermont being admitted as a state, in consequence of the land title quarrels, Rutland was one of the capitals of the state, and the building shown in our illustration is the old state house, built about 1775, said to be the oldest public building in the state. Part of the exterior has been renewed, and it is now used as a residence. Otter Creek, which enticed settlers to this section at the earliest period of Vermont history, enters the county about the middle of the south line and leaves near the middle of the north line, winds its way through the valley, furnishing valuable water power privileges besides adding much beauty to the scenery. When seen from the mountains, Rutland with its white buildings looks like a white setting midst MILLS OF THE VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY, CENTER RUTLAND, VT. made an unpleasant acquaintance with Remember Baker, Seth Warner, Mead and Johnson. "The first white settler in Rutland was Captain James Mead, 1769, and in 1770 Thomas Rowley was in Rutland surveying lots." In 1774 Rutland contained thirtyfive families, three of whom were of those proclaimed outlaws and a price set on their heads. During the Revolutionary War Rutland was the frontier town, aud two forts were erected in its defence. It was the most northern town in the state that was not depopulated by the advance of Burgoyne after the occupation of Ticonderoga in 1777. It was made the capital of Rutland County in 1781, and from 1784 to 1804, during the period of the controversy the green of a great basin, and with Otter Creek winding its way through the valley of green verdure it makes an enchanting scene, while one standing in Rutland sees a great ring of mountains, seeming to entirely encircle the city,-the Marble Range to the west, and Killington, Pico, Shrewbury, East Mountain and Ball Mountain, to the east. Killington Mountain rising 4,242 feet above sea-level; others standing somewhat nearer look almost as high. The writer standing in Rutland has seen the clouds butting against these great mountains, though the mountains are green to their very tops, and when they are snowcapped, the valley still dressed in green makes a scene that must appeal to every lover of nature. Vermont is rich in minerals-slate, soapstone, iron, etc.,-but the chief mineral is the widely-known Rutland marble, of varied colors and great value. Childs, in his history of Rutland, says that the valley at the foot of West Mountain in 1838 was a dreary swamp land that one would scarcely believe worth a song. But in that year William F. Barns began a limekiln, calcining the marble into quicklime. Soon the idea struck him that this limestone might be used in the manufacture of tombstones, and he struck a bargain for this barren swampy land, including a portion of the hill, giving in exchange an old horse worth not to exceed $75. This land contained nearly all the famous quarries of West Rutland, which before his The engines used to drive the compressors are said to be the same that were used in the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel. Entering Rutland from the south by the Bennington & Rutland, the west by the Delaware & Hudson, or from the north by the Rutland Railroad, marble is to be seen in great quantities. More than two-thirds of all the marble quarried in the United States is taken from these quarries, most of which is found in Rutland and the adjoining county of Addison, the principal quarries being at West Rutland, Center Rutland, Proctor, Pittsfield, Middlebury and Brandon. The marble from these quarries varies from the purest statuary quality to that in which black or dark veinings are increasingly abundant and that which is MARBLE YARDS, VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY, WEST RUTLAND, VT. death he sold for $130,000, and the bottom land is now covered with residences, owned or occupied mostly by the quarrymen. Another authority says: A quarry was opened at Sutherland Falls but a short distance from Rutland, where Otter Creek passes through and falls over a bed of marble 118 feet thick, as early as 1830. This 'is now owned by the Vermont Marble Company, which has several great plants in the vicinity, and in the long buildings may be seen hundreds of gang saws cutting the great blocks into desired dimensions. The mill machinery is operated by water power, the falls being harnessed for the purpose, and the drills and channeling machines are operated by compressed air. very dark or almost black. There are also quarries of serpentine, verd antique, and other varieties, but these are only worked to a limited extent. Between twenty and thirty million dollars are invested in this industry, and the annual production amounts to between five and six million dollars. In our illustrations will be seen the diamond drills which will bore into this solid mass about six inches per minute, also the channeling machines which are worked by compressed air, which cut trenches to the depth desired, the deep mines showing the layers of the stone. These, together with the mills and larger views of the marble yards, may give some conception of this great industry, but to be really appreciated it must be visited and if possible go down into one of these great holes out of which thousands of tons of marble have been taken and yet seem to be but a spattering of the great beds that are to be found here. Other manufacturing interests are quite extensive in Rutland, the one probably best known is that of the Howe Scale Company. The original inventors of the scale were F. M. Strong and Thomas Ross, who secured patents in January, 1856. In 1857 John Howe, Jr., bought their patent and commenced building scales at Brandon, but in 1877 moved the plant to Rutland where it has grown to great dimensions, Rutland has good hotel accommodations, besides good home hostelries for summer tourists, and having an altitude of 562 feet above sea level gives it a pleasant mean temperature, with drinking water unsurpassed for purity. From here there are many places of interest to visit, with short drives, and an abundance of fishing and hunting in season, but the point of most interest is unquestionably Killington Peak, 4242 feet above sea-level. "To reach the peak, the most direct route leaves Rutland by way of Killington avenue, driving to the top of what is called the notch, a point from whence Rutland lies at your feet; thence to the left to the half-way house, near one of the prettiest waterfalls in the country. DIAMOND DRILLS USED IN THE MARBLE QUARRIES. and the Howe scale has found buyers in almost every country. Combination car wheels, channeling machines, iron works of various kinds, foundries, boiler works and a large line of other manufactories, together with its being a railroad center makes Rutland the greatest commercial city in Vermont. Rutland has a fine water supply of pure mountain water. The reservoir situated upon the side of the mountain gives 180 feet head to the system, and hose attached to any hydrant will throw water a sufficient height to reach the highest buildings. Rutland also has a well-equipped fire department, of which Brother Geo. Dunton is chief, who is a member of Otter Creek It is ten miles to the summit, and if one desires he can leave the horse and walk the last three miles, which is not only good health-giving exercise, but will insure a good appetite for a hearty dinner at the Killington House. As you make the ascent, the air gradually becomes more rarified; beech, birch and hemlock give place to mountain ash, spruce and balsam, and the giant trees met with at the start grow smaller and smaller as you near the top, until at the summit they are little more than dwarfed specimens. If on the way up the mountain side you may find yourself in the clouds, which is very likely, but wait patiently, for when the mist lifts and the sun comes forth the whole surrounding looks brighter and the mountain scene is both majestic and magnificent. The crest of the mountain is 350 yards from the hotel and. is reached by steps built in the rock. When at the summit, where stands the U. S. Signal Service pole, one can see with the naked eye from the Canadian border on the north to the Massachusetts line on the south, and from the White Mountains beyond the Connecticut on the east to the Adirondacks beyond Lake Champlain on the west. The prospective from this point is superbly grand. At this point one may stand in the bright sunlight and witness the approach of a thunder storm hundreds of feet below, and see the great carpet of clouds which for the moment obscure the northwestern part of Massachusetts. The road runs from Boston, Mass., to Troy, N. Y., and is now operated by the Boston & Maine Railway. The first question of tunneling the Hoosac Mountains was raised in 1825, when a commission was appointed to examine the feasibility of building a canal between Boston and the Hudson, but the project was abandoned when railroads were introduced. Experimental work was begun in 1851, but no actual tunneling until 1856. In 1862 the state took possession, and the work was completed in 1873. The tunnel is a little over 434 miles long, and is made large enough for two railway tracks. The greater part of the rock penetrated is mica CHANNELING MACHINES AT WORK IN THE RUTLAND, VT., MARBLE QUARRIES. ceous schist, exhibiting, however, widely variant conditions and characteristics in different portions of the length. A working shaft 1,028 feet deep which was sunk near the center of its length, is an important aid in the ventilation of the tunnel. The cost of the tunnel was about $12,000,000." Our illustration shows one of the entrances to the tunnel, and the locomotive then named the N. C. Munson was the first engine that drew a passenger train through the tunnel, Feb. 9, 1875. The man standing in front of the locomotive is Major Norman C. Munson, the contractor, who completed the tunnel, and he manipulated the throttle on that occasion. Bro. W. F. Bucknam, a member of Div. 61, Boston, to |