The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-06-26
THE FIRST ALPINE PANORAMA.
It Was Made by y Prisoner and Was .
Great Work In Its Way.

Switzerland was ono 0. the hardest nuts for
the early photographers to crack. for their art
was not sufficiently advanced to enable them
TO depict. with the slightest degree OF accu-
racy. the wonderful tangle Of mountain
ranges and valleys In the great playground OF
Europe. The maps Of tho fifteenth century
showed the Alps by roughly drawn markings
which did not represent the mountains In cor
rect relations. one to another. nor even show
with any accuracy the directions in which the
ranges ran. 1t was not until near the middle
of the seventeenth century that maps OF tho
Alps began to be made with some slight ap-
proach to scientific merit A little later an
other way OF denoting topography was devised.
which has served a very useful purpose.
That is the art of depicting panornmas show
ing mountainous region as a picture with
its various peaks and other characteristics in
their proper relations.
1t is curious fact that the beginning Of the
art OF panorama map making was duo to the
work Of political prisoner named j. Il.
Micheli du Crest. who was kept for years in
confinement in tho fortress OF Aarburg in the
Alps. He was Frenchman who had commit
ted some offence against the State during his
residence In Berne. and 1t was twenty years
before he regained his freedom after tho gates
OF AarburG prison closed upon him. During
his long confinement his pleasantest hours
We're spent in scientific study. He mastered
all the works OF science which were within his
reach. and In 1854 he conceived tho idea OF
making panorama OF the Alps. showing as
accurately rs, possible the wonderful noun
tain region which was within sight from his
He had been able to study the baromctrcal
observations of Prof Scheucnzer who had at
taius between Gothard and Zurich. Micheli
du Crest, however. had great DOUBTS as TO the
accuracy of thrs" results. and they were. 10
claimed as the highest mountain in Europe.
The prisoner was without any scientific in
strlments. but he went to work to supply the
material at hnnd.
In order to ascertain tho bearings OF the va
fortress at Aarburg he made out OF Il board
quadrant to WHICH he fastened two hands. one
making the fixed hand coincide with tho me-
Iidian no could point tho movable hand in the
roughly determine tho angles and ascertain
the position OF the mountain with relation to
the meridian and to surrounding mountains.
:. Then II WAS necessary to determine tho vor-
the sea. He knew the height ofiAarburg above
ing the ends. and filling t with water. He
by ae II o to the sva Of hs
level he attached u stick. Then. standing at
fhe other .t SnI and sighting at mouptaln no
exactly covered tho mountain summit. He
knew that tho length OF the eavestrough was
20 the height OF tho stick as the distance from
hlmseli to the nnuhtni in was to the height Of
the mountain. II he knew tho first three ele-
Yents IN this proportion 1t would be easy to
deduce from them the fourth. or the height Of
the mountain.
Unfortunately. he had great difficulty In
asccrt9ininE the one series of facts necessary
to make these observations valuable. This
point Of observation. He finally managed to
get hold OF the best map Of Switzerland madn
IN that day. and determined from II the dis
lance ~ me various objects from Aarburg. 1t
n MAJ mat rev measurements had pesn
made rom hnIDurg to various mountains. the
data Tor which were In his possession. and
there was reason to believe the moa 3 70 ments
Were quite trustworthy. by comparing these
WIN mo ,lstances on the map. oh oil reached
the conclusion that tho man distances were
almost invariably sixth too large and SO
~ al his measurements on the map he de-
ductad one, sixth Of tho length Indicated.
Having mus roughly nscertained the dis
tnncoI TO mo m"untans 1t was easy to COM
attention to tho influence OF rcflnction aud in
ms calculations treated the earth as "A perfect
sphere" ana 30 1t Is not To be wondered that
the results no obtained were not very close
approximation nf tho facts. But with all the
data he collected he was ahlo tn get some idea
Of the n" untain heights. though his calcnla-
TONS We're often from 800 to over 1000 feet
out 81 the way, H. however lie committed q
good many blundars. they were distributed
thrnugh all his calculations and afIeIting 1ll
itnn ANA he drew, pretty nearly tho correct.
relative proportions. The panorama was a
scientific work done vii asmuch accuracy as
rnu'd be expected under the circumstances.
G-Gararica Exhibition In Borne whore the
curious old maj WAS seen,