ABSTRACT
Exhilaration mixed with disappointment upon Belknap’s return to Dover in the first week of August, 1784. The images and experiences of the White Mountains continued to engage his mind and occupy his emotions. The recollection of failure continually replayed in his thoughts. He wrote to his friend Hazard almost by way of confession:
My very dear Friend, – Last Saturday I returned from my journey, in which I encompassed the White Mountains and partly ascended the highest, which, being in an angle of 45°, proved rather too fatiguing for my thorax, and, after labouring for 2 hours, I was obliged to leave my company to pursue the ascent, which they accomplished in about 3 hours more. 1
