The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-07-18
Is PIXIES PEAK sCANDALIZED.
Arrangements are Being Made to Measure
Its Height Again.


| Denver. Col, July 17-Renewed in
| teres;t is being manifested in Pixies
| Peak, for so long now the best known
| Landmark in the interior Of the CONT
nent For years it has maintained
| promii hence as the first peak seen from
! the plains coming west as well as us
| declared altitude of 14,147 feet. The
| foothills of the rockies describe a dew
| ious course from north to south, but
| the most. eastern point of them is al
| Colorado Springs, and there STANDS OLD
Pike. Blanca, with its greater helght
| of AGA feet, is quite hidden from view
| by other mounta ms, and for this reason
and admiration paid to il which its
lesser companion commands.
But now a chan &c is threatened. The
government SurVe yors are at work run
ming new lines and a mis-survey is
stated to have been found. 1t is said
that Pixies Peak is at least LOO feet
higher tina the accredited height; in
other words, that it 1921 feet high in
stead of A. Captain Glassford,
chief signal oficertof the department Of
the Colorado. does not believe the ru-
NOR of a discrepancy in the height Of
Pixies Peak. He is the officer who
built the signal sta ton on the summit
of the mountain in 1892 and for many
wears was connected with the depart
ment Without data at hand last night
he could molly speak from memory, but
he believes that the hundreds of baro-
metric reading which were made while
the signal station of the summit was
being operated would surely have de-
tected any error in the original figure
HAYDEN FIXED THE ALTITUDE
HAYDEN was the man who measured
Pixies Peak, as he did all the other
peaks in the state All farmers are
familiar are familarTwith corner stones
and they are just as necessary in
mountainous regions as in farming
country. More so I'M fact, where foot
of gold bearing land may be worth any
number of sections of praire land.
When the United States authorities de-
termined to fix corner stones for the
Rockies it commissioned the famous
surveyor Hayden to do the work, and
he went right to the peaks of all the
mountains for his corner stones. Where
he took his base line, that is his start
ing point. from could not be told by
Captain Glassford last night, and on
this much depends, but not so much as
might be expected. Railroads always
carry their levels accurately, and they
are generally accepted by surveyors as
correct. 1t may be stated that the
only error known in he west was when
the Southern Pacific built into New
Mexico. When they met the railroad
ers from Houston there was a differ
ence between their levels Of so feet.
When Hayden went up Pixies Peak he
had but one railroad to take his level
from, but since that time 1t has been
proven by four railroads that Colorado
Springs is 5,992 feet above the level Of
the sea. If this be true, and Captain
Glassford is confidenI il must be, then
ii will be no difficult matter to carry
the measurement on to the top of the
peak.
THE ANEROID BAROMETER.
Hayden got his measurement from
Hayden got his measurements by the
aneroid barometer, which measures the
pressue of the air and its measure
ments can be reduced to altitude. OF
this instrument and the methods pur-
sued by surveyors in Haydens time
and since, Captain Glassford said:
Hayden made all his measurements
by the aneroid barometer. There is in
Washington a standard barometer,
which is said to be absolutely and pos
itively accurate. All aneroid barome-