Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1881-10-22
WHOLE NUMBER, 5s6.
LIFE IN HIGH LATTTUDES.

The greatest height to which men
have ever mounted is about FIVE and
half miles above the sea level, and
the balloonists who ventured on that
experiment were very glad to come
down. Short as their stay in the
upper regions was they were almost
frozen and nearly suAocated. The
cold so bsnumbed their hands that,
had they not taken the precaution to
carry with them chemicals for the
production of little artificial heat,
they would have become helpless and
lost their lives from inability to pull
a rope and let out the gas of the air
ship. The air which they breathed
was too thin to support life, and they
felt all the sensations of partial
strangling or drowning. OF course
any labor at such a height was i'm
possible.
The census shows that the eleva-
tion at which men can live and work
to advantage, and which they there
fore generally choose, is very low
one. The average height of the
United States above sea level is
about 1900 feet, but the mean eleya.
ton of the population is only about
700 feet. A height of 10000 feet is
considerably less than two miles, yet
of all the 100000 of people in our
country only 26,4o0 live at that ele-
vation.
Not only men, but other animals
and plants as we'll, find the struggle
of existence harder as they rise high
er. AS plants and animals diminish
in number, the means of supporting
human life rapidly decrease, SO that
the upward growth of population, SO
to speak, is checked long before the
cold becomes too severe to be en-
dured or the air too thin for BREATH
ing.
The bulk of the little band who
reached height of 10000 feet are
miners, and could be nothing else.
More than three -tourths of the whole
population choose to live at less than
1000 feet, or considerably less than
one-ffth of mile above the sea, and
only three per cent. of the inhabitants
make their homes at height of two
thousand feet. If it were possible to
walk upward from tho earth as read-
lily as upon its surface, an ordinary
pedestrian in halt an hour could pass
the limit at which human life can he
permanently maintained, and in a
little more than an hour he could
reach a point where it could net exist
at all. If the builders of Babel had
ever scaled the mountains beyond
their plain vision not miracle would
have been required to convince them
that their enterprise was a great
waste oflabor.
NONE OF us are perfect, and we
have no right therefore to expect per-
fection in others. So if you cannot
speak we'll of your neighbors, do not
speak Of them at all. A cross neigh
Dor may be made a kind one by kind
treatment. The way to be happy is
to make others happy. To do good
is luxury. Ifyou are not wiser and
better at the end of the day, that
day is lost. Practice kindness, even
if it be but to speak one word. Do
not seem to be what you are not.
Learn to control your temper and
your words. Say nothing behind
ones back that you would not say to
his face. This habit of reticence, be-
side being kindly one, is safe.
Many bitter harvest has been reaped
from the thoughtless words of censure.
1T is curious fact connected with
deep mining, that from the hours Of
twelve at night till three in the morn
ing the disturbing influence in the
bowels of the earth obtains increased
activity, At that time it is observed
by miners that water falls from places
where none is observable during the
day. The volume in the wheel is
perceptibly increased, the atmosphere
is charged with gases which often
prevent the lights from burning.
and small PARTICLES of earth and rock
are observed to fall from the tops of
the drives. Whether this phenome-
non is to be attributed to the diurnal
motion of the earth or other causes, it
is worthy the attention of the curious.
Miuu r hod a nooa which xuoa ,,ar