The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-12-03

man destitute of any high ideal Of moral
Honesty. The barometric computations
| from the aneroid which carried We're
made by Mr.. Gannett. They show that
I reached the same elevation on the TIE.
| ton as that attained by Mr.. Owen. 1t
is a fortunate circumstance that Mr.. Gan
nett is still living to give to an interested
public, and especially to the various
mountain climbing clubs of America, the
truth connected with the history OF an
event. which, with the lapse of a quarter
of a century, has passed out Of the mem
DRY of nearly all those who were not di
rectly connected with it:
Mr.. Owen attempts to ridicule the state
ment that I carried an overcoat TO the
summit. and also that found mosquitoes
| at that great elevation. It was for the
purpose of freeing myself from all I'M
necessary, weight of clothing that I left
In the camp my camping coat and woce
| a much lighter OVercoat, and none other.
/ Mr.. Owen need not worry over the
| thought that I burdened myself with two
! coats. Mr.. Owen thinks that my state
ment that we found mosquitoes al our
| greatest elevation is conclusive evidence
! that we reached only the slab Enclosure
| On this point have the testimony Of Mr.
Adams, who himself reached point hun
dreds of feet above the line of perpetual
snow. In his letter to the New York
/ Herald Mr.. Adams says: ''Mosuuitos, too
| extended far above the snow line, and un-
| dauntedly attacked us during oul prog
| ress.'' II mosquitoes can live far above
| the snow line, they can live on the .op OF
| the Grand Teton. i p ~ f.
These straw arguments at which Mr.
| owen grasps are too frivolous and puerile
! to demand respectful attention. 1t is in
comprehensive how an intelligent mar
| can present such as they are in trying tc
| bolster up his claim. Mr.. Owen still
seems to think that the strongest proof
that Mr.. Stevenson and did not reach
the summit is found in the fact that We
erected no catrn nor monument. He says
II desire to place especial emphasis or
! the fact that our most critical, conscisn
t1ous and thorough search failed to re-
veal the slightest shadow Of a former
| ascent Not stone was turned over ne
cairn or monument erected -
I accept this challenge as a test of the
| fact at issue, and submit the matter tc
the Judgment Of the mountain climbing
| clubs Of America. 1884,. =
Apropos Of this argument, the follow
ing quotation which am permitted to
| mcske from recent letter to Warren Up
nam, secretary of the, Minnesota His
torical society, from Prof. Charles E. Fay,
the editor of Appalachia, the journal of
the Appalachian Mountain club, is most
interesting. Prof. Fay writes: ION the
occasion of most attractive first ascent
In the Canadian Rockies this. past sum-
mer, failed to erect a cairn in evidence
of this first appearance of man on the
! spot, familiar as I am with the fact that
custom among mountaineers almost re-
quires the formality. Had I not, by a not
unmitigated misfortune, left behind me
one of my pairs of goggles-the green
glass of which is at least indestructible,
and which may at the proper moment es-
cape being covered with snow-our
visit would lack all possible substantial
ton, If any one saw fit to assert that my
series of photographs made from the
summit, were taken from POINTS much be-
low the same: g" .s,. ISL. ia
IN Mr. Owens disregard OF facts;
and IN his attempt to gather and
to- knit together these odd ends Of
about it: The first popularity Of this
little stream is that it is the smallest
river doing the largest business in the
world; or, in other words. the busiest
river in the world. In the next place, it
has the greatest depth for the narrowest
width of any known river. In the third
place, it has the largest number Of
bridges spanning it of any river of equal
Or greater length, barring the Mississippi
or a total of fifty-two bridges All these
are draw or swinging bridges and carry
a traffic of their own overhead almost as
important as that which passes below.
Next, this river has little or not current
to speak of, and flows upward instead of
down. 1t is the only known river whose
current has been turned roun1 and made,
| as it were, to flow the other way. Lastly,
! it is a sort of an orphan river, for where
as all rivers and harbors are owned and
| cared for by the United States govern
ment, the secretary of war, whose prov
| ince is to care for these things, will have
| nothing to do with it, and Chicago repairs
| it only sufficient for its own needs, but
| lays no claim to the right of way. -
In this strange predicament the little
stream flows wretchedly backward, loaded
with the largest and most valuable collec-
t!o1 of vessels that ever crowded an i'm
land sea. 1t Is one tumultuous highway,
far more exciting than Broadway and
somewhat less charming than the Hud-
son. The city uses it as an emptying
place for its sewers and the street clean-
ing department as a dumping ground. for
its waste, and yet 1t is the most valuable
factor in the life of Chicago, and the one
more than all else that has made the
city what It is to-day. No other river in
the wide world possesses or pretends to
the appearance of this peculiar stream. In
its busiest hours it is sight for gods
and men. mere creek; 1t struggles with
the burden Of an ocean. The great deep
draught propellers tear the water into
splattering fragments. Their huge stacks
often hide the entire stream from view
with great clouds of smoke. The ingoing
and outgoing vessels quarrel for the right
of way with all the vehemence inherent
in gOngs and whistles. Tug pilots handle
their craft with skill that would put
to shame the graceful manners OF the
heavy teamsters In crowded New York
lane. 80
The longest branch Of the river to-day
is more than ten miles in length and
the total length Of all branches Is sixteen.
|. AZ. its mouth it is no more than 200 feet
wide, and the fact that it. Is the same
width mile or, two up stream Is due to
the fact that It was made so by excava-
ton and dredging. At one time (1868)
it was 200 feet wide at Lake street, 175
feet wide at Randolph, block farther
on, 1G5 feet at Washington, 175 feet at
Madison-all these but single blocks
apart-and} so on unit! it became so small
as to be unnavigable by boats drawing
ten feet OF water. In that year, how
ever, it was dredged and made uniform
width of 200 feet in the south branch,
and It is kept that width by the walls Of
Immense buildings, which have now en-
croached to the very waters edge and
which In most cases form the only banks
visible. n
It Is interesting to note the peculiarities
Of this poor little stream. Nowhere along
Its shore within the great city limits is
there foot of unoccupied ground where
tree may, find root II No branch or blade
Of green graces it's shores. No bountiful
Strings rise from point to point and feed
it. Its tributaries are dark, stone-arched
sewers. which empty their snbterranean1
blackness into It in continuous streams.
Its banks are for the most part sheer
walls Of red brick. Where an open space
occurs railroad tracks skirt the waters
edge SO closely as to stir fear for the
safety Of the cars which line them Lum..
HxnS Svuov ii L.