The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-13

SuICu DelOlB IDe question Cbl Ob h5iA W 10 |
finally closed against them.
So, too, of Mount St Elias in our new
territory of Alaska Heights of $4,000 and
II, 900 feet have been claimed by travellers,
and soberly put down in books for this grand
old volcano. But the measurement OF Sir E.
Belcher, which is the highest put forth by any
one of respectable authority, claims only
1870 feet for it, and other observers make it
much lower. The mountain has really never
been accurately measured
Thus stands the case in the Pacific coast
States and Territories OF the coast noun
tains in California, no one rises above 5000
feet, that being the figure forPanache Grande.
Mount DLiblo, 50 conspicuous an object in
the country about San Francisco, is but 1857
feet high.
Coming east to the Rocky Mountains, Colo
rado, which holds the highest peaks of that
range, has four mountains which are pretty
certainly between II, 600 and II, 800 feet each.
There are Longs, Gray IS and Pixies Peaks, and
Mount Lincoln. DR.. Parry, of St Louis, has
made the most reliable measurement of the
Coloradian Heights; but since one of the baro-
meters which he depended upon for the cal.
culations was stationed at So. Louis, there
was some liability to error even in the most
accurate OF his figures He measured the
lower of the two Gray's Peaks, and made it
4,211 feet. The other, to which he endoa-
vored to give the name Of Torrey's Peak,
but which the people of Colorado Join with
its twin in the same name of Gray, is evil
IDENTIFY from one to two hundred feet higher,
but has not been accurately measured. Pixies
Peak is reported by DR.. Parry at i,2lG feet,
and by Fremont, who assembled it, at
1i,3OO feet. Mount Lincoln has never been
accurately measured, though often assembled
II is more likely to be lower than higher than
Gray's PEAKS DR.. Parry did not succeed in
reaching the summit of Longs Peak, but
made an approximate measurement, which he
reported at II, ,OjG feet. But this last season
the first successful ascent of the notable
mountain was made by Professor Powell and
Mr. Byers, Of the Rocky Mountain Notry;
and their measurements the first reliable one
ever made, gives the figures Of II, $50 feet
The New York Nation, therefore. showed
more presumption than knowledge. when it
undertook to criticize Mr.. Bowles. in his
Switzerland of America for not being
more exact in reporting the heights Of the
leading mountains i'll Colorado. The Nttto9
says ''he ought to have known that Longs
Peak was II, 500 feet which, in fact, nobody
did or could know outside Of the Notion
Office
There are numerous other peaks in Colo
RADIO of 10000 feet and upward Amonp
these are Mount Audebond Feilies Peak,
Mount Guyot, and Parrys Peak, while those
of ten eleven, and twelve thousand feet in
portions Of the territory. To The west OF the
peaks, constituting the dividing range Of the
continent, lies q huge mountain known on
the maps as Sopris Peak ft seems, both
from the SUBMITS of Gray ana Lincoln, to be
still higher than those. II never has been
measured, and though it's apparent superb
oIity may arise from the comparative lowness
, of the peaks directly around it, the people of
The neighborhood Will not yield their possible
<,1,t ,.lni
tain peak in the United States until ss actual
measurement Of Sopri's Peak shall decide it
against them.
The question, as it now stands, seems
therefore narrowed down to SOpris Peak and
Mount Whitney, in California. The peaks of
the Rocky Mountain range, north of Colo
RADIO, in Montana and beyond. offer no COM
petition to those of the former territorv
But when we annex Mexico, that country will
bear off the palm in North America for the
highest mountain peaks. She has, too, Popo-
catepel and Orizaba, whose heights seem to
be definitely settled at II, 720 feet and II, $50
feet, respectively.
There is nothing in our mountain ranges
in the Atlantic States to at all compare with
amy Of these figures. Mounts Cliugman and
Mitchell, III North Carolina, G9tO and 6732
feet respectively, are the highest mountains
east of the Missouri river Mount Washing
ton, in New Hampshire, ranks third, with a
height of G2Sj feet The highest mountains
in S Switzerland are Mount Blanc and Mount
Rosa, Is, 715 and l5, $50 feet respectively
| South America has several mountain peaks,
| ranging from 20, 600 to %, 300 feet high. But
The Himalayas, in South Asia, carry off the
| palm Of the world for high mountains There
are several peaks in that range between
25,0C0 and $4,000 feet in height, Mount
Everett reaching the last figure, and, to be
precise adding two feet more. These latter
! figures almost take one S breath away, even to
think Of them. To mount the heights which
they rep eseut would do it actually; for the
| air at such an elevation is 50 rare as to make
human existence there dangerous, if not i'm
| possible.