Darby Field
Darby Field's ascent of Mount Washington, in 1642, when he was about 32 years of age, was recorded by Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in his journal:
"One Darby Field, an Irishman, living about Piscataquack, being accompanied with two Indians, went to the top of the white hill. He made his journey in 18 days... and within 12 miles of the top was neither tree nor grass, but low savins [shrubs], .... Some of them (Indians) accompanied him within 8 miles of the top, but durst go no further, telling him that no Indian ever dared to go higher, and that he would die if he went.
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| Mt Washington (1,917m) (Courtesy: https://newenglandtravelplanner.com/) |
So they staid there till his return, and his two Indians took courage by his example and went with him. They went divers times through the thick clouds for a good space, and within 4 miles of the top, they had no clouds but very cold..."
His description of the top of Mount Washington was likewise accurate. Field's feat would be repeated only a handful of times over the next 150 years.
Despite Winthrop's claim that Field was Irish it seems that he had been born in Boston, Lincolnshire and was the son of John Field of London, England, who had emigrated before 1636.
Irish mountains and uplands continued to be frequented by Rapparees and Lughnasa celebrants during this period and 1729 saw the birth of a man who later had a profound influence on the attitude of people towards mountains; this was Edmund Burke.
