The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-15
A Huge Winter Playground
Reached by an Electric
Railroad.
PROF. SWIFT AND HIS COMET.
Henrietta B. Freeman Tells of 6
Charming Half Hour With the
Versatile Astronomer.


nifty to enjoy a rare and novel sport this
winter, that of sleighriding. No special
contract has been made with the weather
clerk either, but, instead, the hand of
science has reached out and made acces-
sible the mountain tops where in winter
old Boreas sports and losses about his
white feathers in great glee. The merry
jingle of sleighbells will wake the echoes
on Mount Lowe this winter, and no doubt
a toboggan slide will also be inaugurated.
1t will then be possible to go from the en-
chanted rose gardens of Altadena to this
region of snow in just one hour.
Boarding an electrician at this suburb,
where dwells a colony of retired Chicago
capitalists in the beautiful palaces they
have built for themselves, one is whisked
away up the serpentine road to Rubio
Canyon, and thence by means of the won
derful "white chariots" literally mounts
into heaven by a celestial railway which
in eight minutes lifts the traveller $500
feet above sea level. Stopping long enough
to change cars at this point, another cleo
trio conveyance takes one three miles
farther on over the Alpine division to
within 1000 feet of the summit of Mount
Lowe, and here it is, where the beautiful
Alpine Club House is now being con-
structed, that the huge winter playground
of Southern California will be found, and
where snow balling, sleighing and tobog
gan-sliding will be the chief amusements.
Statistics are dry things, considered
numerically, but just consider that, by
mounting burro and following the bride
trail quite to the top of Mount Lowe, one
will be within 1000 feet of the highest
point the Santa Fe Railroad passes over
in crossing the continent at the great
divide midway across the United States.
Also consider that but thirty miles stretch
between your lofty perch and the Pa
cifc lying beyond and plainly within
sight, while Ration Pass is more than 1000
miles inland.
This Alpine division of the Mount Lowe
electric railway is now completed, and the
clubhouse will soon be finished, when the
Alpine Club, which is composed of the
solid business men Of Los Angeles, will be
able to take possession of its palace among
the clouds. By and by the observatory
will be removed to point nearer the sum-
nit of the mountain.
One of the delights of visit to Echo
Mountain is chat with Professor Lewis
Swift, the venerable and brilliant astrono-
mer who keeps guard over the comets and
various sky wonders from his perch in the
little observatory, which clings, like an
eagles nest. to the side OF the sloping
mountain. Professor Swift is a mental
giant, but physically he is small and why,
and trihe lsme, besides being very deaf,
but so agile in his movements, and SO
quick at reading lip language that no
him. He talks enthusiastically of his big
telescope, his driving-clock, his spectre
scope and all the paraphernalia for sky
searching, and it is easy TO see that the
little professor actually lives, moves and
has his being among the stars
"Do l ever get lonesome?" he exclaimed
in answer to the query put by a young
lady visitor. "Why, how could l, with so
many stars staring me in the faceP | work
at night, you know" he continued, "see
that electric bell there2 Well, l have a
contract with the man in the moon to
touch that bell off every night when the
moon sets, and that is the signal for me to
go to work. Can't find stars by moonlight
or lying in bed" he added sententiously.
NOW, I'll point my telescope at Venus"
went on the professor, but the clouds were
big lens could not pierce their density.
~ really wish l could give you glimpse
of Venus to-day" he said; "she looks like
the newest moon now-lust a faint rim of
light not wider than the thickness of my
little finger"
Turning to his PETITE telescope-again
the professor remarked:
''Notice that big glass-cost $7000-both
of them. You notice there are two, of
nn
does the mischief and the other corrects
it-a thing Sir Isaac Newton said couldn't
be DONE"
Stepping briskIy across the observatory,
the little professor called attention to the
driving clock, which keeps time by the
stars instead of the sun.
"Only four like it III the State" he de-
clared, zone in Professor Davidson's OBJ
serVatory in San Francisco, one in the
Chabot Observatory in Oakland, one at the
Lick Observatory and this one"
Professor Swift alluded to his recent dis
covery OF his new comet which in astro-
nomical science is known as Comet (a)
1896" and is named for its discoverer as
all comets are. The discovery took place on
the night of August 81, which, by the way.
CHANGED to be the birthday anniversary of
Professor Lowe, the man whose brains and
money have made accessible all these won
ders from the erstwhile desert mountain
which now bears his name.
II discovered that comet" said Profess
sor Swift, sin an almost miraculous man
ner, and in way that wouldn't happen
once in thousand years. You see / was
looking through the telescope In search Of
some nebule that discovered few years
ago in my Rochester observatory. 1t was
about O'Clock. in the morning and [
pointed the eye of the telescope toward the
point where / had found the nebule. 1t
wasn't there but found my comet instead.
1t is periodic comet, but just the length
OF its period is not yet known.
Now I'll give my big hoopskirt
whirl," exclaimed the energetic astrono-
mer as he touched dangling rope which
instantly set the light canvas dome above
our heads whirling like top. "There is
an instrument by means of which / get
the time from San Francisco every day at
noon," went on the professor, pointing to
what looked like Geographic arrange
ment on deep window-siII of the circular
observatory. Going on to explain the pro-
fessor SAID; you see just three minutes
before II o'clock every day twenty five
ticks sound, then twenty-nine and twenty
five again and so on till finally twenty -one
then one short sharp tick That means
II o'clock exactly. They haven't been Civ
ing me the time for two or three day. he
continued, "My son usually attends to this
and he is away on vacation and sup
pose they think l can't do it,n with an
Ia