Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-11-18
THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN.
Recent Computations Add to the Sta
ture of Mount Everest.

Recent Computations Add to the Sta
ture of Mount Everest.
It has been proved by the Geologi-
cal Survey of India that Mount Ev-
crest is still higher than 29,002 feet,
the result of the computations OF
1S49 and 1850, which for over half a
century have been accepted as max
ing Everest the highest known sum-
NIT. The mountain is at least 139
feet higher than those computations
made it. Before mentioning how this
has been ascertained it may be we'll
to answer a query that has doubt
less arisen in many minds and was
recently referred to by an English
writer who said it was ridiculous to
give the height of Mount Everest as,
29 ,002 feet because the determine
ton of the height of peaks is liable
to errors of different kinds, and to
give the elevation at exactly 29,OO2
feet implies a degree of accuracy in
the value of the height assigned to
the mountain that has not been at
tanned. He thought it would be bet
ter to say that Mount Everest is
about $4,000 feet high.
The fact is that the value of 29,O02
feet was not obtained from any one
station of observation. Six trigono-
metrical values of the height were de-
duced in 1S49 and 1850 from six
stations far to the south of the noun
tain. The mean of these six values
l. IN
tions of the Nepalese Government,
Mount Everest cannot be approached
by surveyors from the side Of India
nearer than eighty miles from the
mountain, and the observations above
mentioned were therefore carried out
under great difficulties.
But at last it has been shown con-
clusively that Mount Everest, is
higher than the we'll known value
given to it. Between 1881 AMI 1902
a series of six additional obServa-
lions from five different stations
was obtained. All but one of these
stations are nearer to the mountain
than those from which the six de-
examinations of height were made in
1S49, and 1850, and the north as
well as the south side of Everest has
been included in these observations.
The Geological Survey of India has
Just corrected these results for prob
able errors due to refraction and has
found that all these later values Of
the height of the mountain are from
1872 to 149 feet higher than the long
accepted 29,002 feet. The mean of
these six values is 29,141 feet. The
Survey in the report it has just is
sued says that the height, 29,141 is
still probably too small, as it has yet
to be corrected for the effects OF de-
viations of gravity. But though 1t IS
a more trustworthy result than 29,-
OO2 feet. the latter value will be re-
tanned for the present in maps and
publications of the Survey. There are
other problems of refraction to be
solved and other uncertainties TO be
eliminated and it would be mis-
taken policy to introduce new values
at every step of the investigation
which is yet to be made. No change
OF the figures will be made in the
publications of the Survey until thor
oughly satisfactory scientific compu-
tations make it possible to give a de-
termination of the height of the noun
tain that may be accepted as final.
The report adds that there is lit
tie probability now of discovering a
higher peak than Mount Everest.