Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1875-05-27
The Highest Mountain i'm the
World.

| "OElNs
From the New York Sun, 18th.
For many years past Mount Ever
est, in that portion of the great Him
alaya range which occupies the west
ern part of the strange kingdom of
Nepaul, Immediately north of India,
has been regarded as the highest
mountain in the world. 1t is known
to the Nepaulese as Gaurisankar, hut
the English named it Everest, in hon
or of distinguished officer of the
British Indian Typographical survey.
It's snow-capped SUBMITS is 23,O02
feet, or nearly five miles and half
above the level of the sea. or course
no one has ever assembled it to this
height, but its altitude, like that of
the other lofty peaks of the Himalaya,
was ascertained by trianeulation; and
until the present time it has not been
supposed that any higher land ex-
listed on the earth.
If the news be true, however, which
has lately come to us from the more
distant East, there is lortier peak
than Mount Everest in the great isl
and of Papua or New Guinea. This
vast region, extensive enough to form
six States as large as New York, is
yet almost wholly uneXplored, ex-
cept along its coasts. Lying close to
the equator, where the Indian Ocean
and the Pacific meet, it is the home
of the cassOwary and the bird of par
adise, country grand in its scenery,
rich in its vegetation, and abounding
in curious and beautiful forms of an
imal life-the veritable wonderland
of the globe. An attempt to explore
the unknown interior of the island
was made from Torres Strai-, which
separates it from Australia, by Capt.
J. A. Lawson, in thu year 1872; and
if we may believe his published mar
rative of the journey, which has just
appeared in London, he advanced
several hundred miles inland, and
about midway between the nor;h and
south coasts discovered mountain
2,7S3 feet high, which he named
Mount Hercules.
The height of this mountain--over
six miles-is not the only remarka-
bic thing about it. It's apparent ele-
vation is but little less than its ac
tual elevation; for, instead of rising
from lofty table land like the pla-
teau of Central Asia, it stands in q
comparatively low plain about 1000
feet above the ocean, and this gives
clear rise of more than 10000 feet
above the surrounding country. The
traveller standing at its base could
look up and see its snowy peak tow
ering 10000 feet skyward from where
he stood. Under such circumstances
the altitude of a mountain is appre
ciated.
Capt. Lawson tells us that he un-
dertook the ascent, formidable as il
appeared He did not reach the top,
but we believe the achievement which
he relates is unparalleled in the rec
ords of mountaineering. Accom-
panied by one servant, he set out
from the foot at 4 o'clock in the morn
ing. They passed through dense for
ests in the first 1000 feet of perpen-
dicular progress, found the limit of
tree growth at 1000 feet, and by 8
o'clock had reached a point l4,00O
feet above the sea level--almost as
high as the famous Matterhorn. A
thousand feet higher was the snow
line, and they all began to suffer from
the cold. AS they pressed on, drow-
siness began TO overcome them.
"Nothing was visible but snow of the
most dazzling whiteness. Every peak
and crag was covered with it, and it
hung over the edges of the cliffs
in long heecy masses" Their eyes
were affected by the glare, and they
felt themselves growing more and
more lethargic.
"At length blood began to flow
from our noses and ears" says Capt.
Lawson, "and my head ached in q
distracting manner. / saw that our
only chance of preserving life was to
retreat without delay; for we were in
a pitiful plight. Our lips and gums,
and the skin of our hands and faces,
were cracked and bleeding, and our
eyes were bloodshot and swollen to
an alarming extent. The thermom
eter had sunk to twenty-five degrees
below the freezing point, and the air
was so rarifled that we were gasping
rather than breathing. Our stayes
fell from our grasp, and we could not
pick them up again. so benumbed
were our arms and hands. 1t was
now l o'clock, and the greatest ele-
vation we had attained was 25,314
feet"
They then turned back, descended
to the limit of the snow in three
hours, and arrived at their camp at
the base of the mountain about half
past seven in the evening. Thus in
fifteen hours and half, they had as