Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-12-08
The Highest Mountain.

The question as to which of the Am
crican mountain submits wears til
crown of highest position on the North
American Continent, again assumes
IN interesting phase through the re-
ported discovery of a mountain group
IN Alaska. in the region of Mount st.
Elias. whose altitudinal determination
would seem to depose both the Peak
If OriZaba (CitlaltepetD in Mexico and
Mount st. Elias-the two peaks which
have for some time held the position
of honor. and which are so nearly of
one height 0S.300 and $4,000. that
one might justly hesitate before final
" awarding the palm for supremacy.
TIL" new mountains, possibly repre-
Srnting merely separated submits of
Il single mountain, upon which Mr..
Israel Russell has bestowed the name
of Mount Logan. are reputed to he 49,
500 feet in height. or fully equal TO
what was for many years assumed
to be the true height of st. Elias.
The small angle of measurement
through which the height of this noun
ain was computed does not permit us
fully to accept the determination, and
it is by no means unlikely that Mount
Logan will. on closer scrutiny share
the fate which has befallen so many
of the North American mountains,
such as st. Elias. Mount Wrangell,
Mount Hood. etc.-decapitation. The
nccticS of absolute measurement in
me case Of a high mountain are Sucf
that only upon most careful and re-
oratcG use of Instruments can any de-
;Dpndencc be placed and this applies
equally to determinations that are
made by the angle and the barometic
methods. At the present moment the
height of what has been assumed to be
uur of the most accurately determined
SUBMITS of the KarakOram Range of
India-Mount Goodwin Austen. or X
has been brought into question, and
only recently rrSurvey of the Aus
;ralian Alps has restored Mount Kos
ciusko. with a height of 1896 feet. to
the first position among the AuStral-
ian mountains, its rival. Mueller S
Peak. whose crown has received a
special accumulation of visiting cards,
scraps of paper. addressed envelopes,
etc. in recognition of its claims to SUI
periority. falls short by sixty eight
feet.
The discrepancies in the result of
mountain measurements are such that
one is tempted to ask: Are the re-
suits obtained by a single investigator
worthy of full confidence? The per
Sonal elemcnt-by which we mean moi
only the desires and non-desires in q
determination. bur the method of hand
ling the instruments. the kinds of al
lowances that are made for instru
mental and ocular alterations. and
;t1 CT a,.ftI of
checks that are used to counterac
these berrationS-enters so largely
and seemingly so constantly into any
calculation. as to make this almost in
dividual or approximate, rather thar
positive. Otherwise. indeed, 1t be
comes difficult to explain the differ
rnceS Of results that are obtained by
equally competent obServers-d'ffer
ences that are in many cases far toe
great to be explained away on the as
sumption Of special difficulties OF
measurement. TO mention only a few
of the higher American submits, to
ward the measurement of which NJ
special difficulty ought to have beer
cncountered: Aconcagua has beer
oscillating between 22,400 and 23,9O(
feet; Ch;mboraZo between 10000 ant
21.4OO feet; the Illampu between 30.
600 and $4,000 feet: Orizaba between
17.4O0 and 1890 feet: st. Elias be
tween II 600 and 1890 feet; IXtac
cihuatl between 15.7OO and 1880 feet
1t would almost seem as if there were
certain factors involved in mountain
measurement which have not get beer
fully taken account of. for it is diff
ficult to explain such broad difference
IN the theory of individual method
alone-Prof. Angelo Heilprin, in tn
New Science Review.