The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-11-18
SEEN FORTY MILES AWAY.
Washington Monument an Object of
Varied Interest

The distance at which the mOnu
ment is visible has always been a mat
ter of debatable interest with Washing
ton people, says the Washington Star
Not train approaches the city, nor 8
boat speeds up or down the Potomac
but carries u group of people anxious
to see at just what point you can last
see the white marble against the sky
as they depart or first find it as they
return.
Probably the greatest distance at
which the monument is seen is from
the summit of the Blue Ridge at Snick-
er's Gap, distance Of about 43 miles
in an airline. The elevation there Is
1000 feet above the Potomac. The
mountaineers years ago with their
keen eyes, trained to long and sharp
sight in the mountains, detected the
( white spot cleaning on the horizon,
and they can always quickly deter
mine its place on the horizon line.
But to city folks, however, the location
of the White shaft is not an easy mat
/ ter. Thousands of Washington people
/ every summer invade that region as
summer boarders, to subsist on fresh
milk and fried chicken, and incident
ally in their excursions up on the
mountain to get sight Of the mOnu-
ment On clear days it is distinctly
visible, especially to those who are fa-
miliar with its precise location. But it
is more easily seen at sunset than at
any other hour, as the sharp reflection
of the suns rays brings out the wk..e
surface of the marble. The mountain
people are only too glad to point out
the monument to their visitors, and
usually tell them the secret by which
they can themselves locate il. This is
by finding first on the horizon line the
slight elevation of contour presented
by Munson's hill. Then slightly to the
left, perhaps one degree, there it is.
| The point from which the monument
was first seen from the Blue Ridge is
the mountain farm of Mr.. Louis p.
Shoemaker, of this city, and the place
is called Monument View
One of the most singular stories that
may be told about the Washington
monument is hardly credible, yet il
can be vouched for as perfectly true.
There are hundreds of ladies in Wash
ington who wear upon their hats the
plumage of the entire skin of bird
which has lost its life flying against
the tall mass Of marble in the dimness
of twilight of daybreak. Every morn
ing one of the watchmen who spends
the night in the monument finds about
its base quite number of birds who
have lost their lives in this way. This
mortality is not limited to any one spe-
cies, but includes nearly all the birds
known in this region. Strange TO say,
few English sparrows lose their lives
by flying against the monument, but
the beautiful golden finches, cedar
birds, starlings, tanagers, grosbeaks
and many others of bright plumage
and great rarity have been found. The
watchman takes these birds uptown to
taxidermist, who stuffs and mounts
the rarer specimens, which are sold for
a good round price to collectors, and
the skins of those less rare are prepar-
ed for the milliner. Hardly a morn
ing comes that there are less than a
score of dead birds about the base of
the shaft.
Another queer thing to know about
the monument is that its height and
width vary. 1t is taller in the sum-
mer than in winter, and in the latter
about an inch greater than on the
north, east or west side. This is due
to expansion under the suns rays
This phenomenon was determined by
Capt. Greene during the erection Of
the shaft. Plumb lines were suspend
ed at each corner of the marble wall,
and the plumb "bobs" or plummets
were suspended in pots of glycerine
and molasses. Across the top of each
pot was laid a finely graduated steel
bar, and three times a day an army
engineer "took OFF, the registration
thus made of the expansion of the
walls. 1t was held that the plummets
moved precisely with the points at
which the plumb lines were attached
to the top of the shaft, and the glycer-
inc held them firmly without vibra-
ton or oscillation, so that the officer
could note any change of position.
All these registrations, twice day
every day of the year, were recorded in
a book during the seven years that
were occupied in building the monu-
ment.