The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-16
UP TEN THOUSAND FEET.
A Man Confined on a Peak at This
Elevation.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
w q Eair6ald of thu crandati.. s,1,.,-,

... Elevation.
From the San Francisco Examiner
W. B. Fairfield, of the geodetic, survey
| ing party, under the direction of Prof.
Davidson, decided to go to the top of
Alpine Peak or Roundtop to make an OBJ
servation that would help him and his
| colleagues to tell which is California and
which is Nevada. Roundtop has been
climbed many a time, but never with
comfort or entire safety. 1t is a rocky
peak, 10, 500 feet high. The steep surface
is covered with disintegrated rock, COM
monty called shingle, that slides from
under foot. Near the top a slide on the
shingle would be exceedingly perilous,
for the descent is abrupt for 500 feet and
preciptous for 700 more.
Nearing the apex, MIR Fairfield and his
companions were compelled to walk slowly
and with great caution around and
| around the mountain, each time getting a
little closer to the summit. They had
not merely their own weight to carry, for
instruments and little tent and -four and
bacon had to go with them-some of the
articles of use to science, others of use to
| scientists.
At the very top of the mountain MIR.
Fairfield found he had barely room to
turn around The peak comes to such a
| sharp point that to stretch his TRIPOD he
had to build a base of rocks for one of the
legs.
Mr.. Fairfield knew before he assembled
where he would live while there, yet,
though he knew where to look and had
| but four feet of space to look through. he
had difficulty in discovering the place.
Then he found it and laughed at his
mountain home. Art had joined with
nature in making this nest 10 1876 feet up
ROundtop. A Photograph of the coast
survey was there fourteen years ago to
| flash signals clear across the Sacramento
| Valley to an observer on a peak in the
coast range. He had deepened a little
cave or recess in the mountain side, then
with boards that had been carried up the
steep ascent, had built front wall, a roof
and floor The broken rock had so COW
cred the roof that the little house could
| be detected from the summit of the noun
tain, four feet above only by close scru-
tiny.
Before he had finished his work great
snowstorm came up, and the thermometer
fell to g. below zero. There was nothing
to do save to crawl into the queer house
and wait for the storm to cease. In the
nipping cold and without light the best
way of keeping warm and killing time
was to sleep, but to do this was not so
easy as might be supposed. The space
for sleeping in the heliotropers combina-
ton hut and cave was not intended for
two.
On the inside this entire house was Just
y inches long, "a inches high and 80
inches wide. Mr.. Fairfield and his as
sistant had to lie down together very
carefully and begin to arrange themselves
in the same position as two spoons in a
box, the front of one man close against
the back of the other. Turning over at
night was an event. After proper notice
to each other of the intention, each would
rise on his elbows or hands and then to-
gether they moved slowly around, finally
| lying again in exactly the same place in
which they had sought rest while lying
on the other side, They did not often
turn. The cramped position they were
compelled to take made them stiff as if
| from rheumatism.
During the night Mr. Fairfield heard
strange sounds under the floor of the tiny
house
"Porcupines, said his companion, who
was acquainted with the neigh borhood
traditions about Roundtop. "Porcupines
have made nest under the floor"
The porcupine story soon provided to be
a fiction of the country. From under the
floor came ratS-enormous rats, seven or
eight inches long and light-brown in
color; active rats that ran about this
little house in much and noisy carnival;
rats that climbed up the walls and drop
ped to the floor with delighted squeaks
| at the noise that they were making.
! These monstrous rats with taste for
| disturbing the peace, had no taste for the
| food that pleaSes the rats of civiliza ton.
| The -four and bacon. the crackers, and
even the cheese. remained in the house
untouched by them, though no attempt
was made by Mr. Fairfield to hide his
| provisions.
For three days Mr.. Fairfield and his
companion did not leave the tiny hut, ex-
cept for few minutes. The snow was
falling constantly. The top Of the noun
! Ii
| could not reach more than three or four
! feet through cloud and snow.
During the storm the observer had the
| most extraordinary of all his strange eX-
periences on that mountain.
He was lying in the hut listening to the
storm and wishing. for bright weather,
when his assistant, who had gone to the
| portfolio to watch the snow and clouds,
| called him.
! Mr.. Fairfield was in no haste to leave
! his blankets TO look a falling snow, but
his companion urged him 10 come and
come quickly. He reluctantly unrolled
himself and went to the opening. He was
repaid.
rom the ground a short distance away
came kissing sound, as if the cook OF
nature were frying half the mountain
! The kissing was continuous, but varied in
| intensity. Mr.. Fairfield cautiously APP
! preached the place whence the sound
came. He found that the noise seemed
centered in little jut of rock not bigger
! than chair.
He stepped upon the rock and instantly
| received an electric shock, not so severe
/ as to hurt him, but sufficient TO make
| every part Of his body Jingle. He step
| ped from the rock and instantly the cleo
! tricity left him One foot from the rock,
! and it could not be felt
His assistant then stepped upon the
/ rock. The shock was too much for him
Evidently he is much more sensitive to
electricity than Mr.. Fairfield, because it
hurt him. He felt pains all over his
body and every hair stood straight from
| his head.
He stepped quickly from the rock, and
would not try the experiment again.
I One experience with an electrical storm
had insulated him against the desire to
repeat it..
/ The formal record Of Mr.. Fairheld's
/ trip TO Alpine Peak is a simple line Lat
| itude, so much longitude, so much.