Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-05-12

started from some established point
and carried the work to the summit
of the mountain. All of the federal
surveys are constantly establishing
points of exact elevation. Thus, if
any of the survey organizations have
accurately fixed the altitude of Colo
RADIO Springs, for instance, it would
require the work of only a week or so
for a party starting at Colorado
Springs to carry its lines of levels to
the summit of Pixies peak.
The need of establishing various
points for latitude, longitude and alti-
tude is evident They become start
ing points for any special surveys de-
sired, whether by the public or pri-
vate interest. In the topographic sur
veys which the United States geolog-
ical survey is making of the United
States, each sheet of the big atlas
map, representing, in the majority OF
cases, about 250 square miles, con
tains from 10 to 20 permanent metal
or concrete bench marks, the eleva-
These can be used for all times as
authentic data for the basis of any
additional work and the value of their
permanence was recognized in a spe-
cial act of congress requiring that the
geological survey should, in its topo-
graphic mapping, establish perma-
nent benchmarks at least one to
township. While it is of course a
nice thing to know the altitude of i'm
portant mountain peaks, the determi-
nation of the more lowly points of
pass and valley is the feature of real
economic work.
The elevation of Pixies peak was
determined by Parry some time prior
to 1884, Theoretically, as l4,216 feet.
Later the elevation as determined by
the signal service was 14147 feet, and
more recently the coast survey deter
mination gave the elevation as 14,10S
feet and the weather bureau as 14,111
feet. In 1907 level party, in charge
of Charles Hartman of the United
States geological survey, started
from a survey benchmark in Manitou,
near the foot of the famous Pixies
peak cog road, and ran level line to
a point on the railroad. The cOgS in
the center of the railroad track fur
nished excellent turning points, and
the work progressed rapidly until
the summit was neared, when bad
weather very much delayed matters,
and the surveyors suffered severely
from exposure To handle a rod and
leveling instrument with the Their
mometer down to zero and a stiff
wind blowing is no child's play, and
the weather conditions are most I'M
certain in these high attitudes. Be-
fore Mr. Hartman had completed his
line he was caught in snowstorm
and had to run the last eight miles of
levels through snow from eight to IA
inches deep.
To convey an idea of the sudden
weather changes which may occur in
the mountains in summer time, it may
be interesting to describe the condi-
tions on the day, last September,
that the tablet marking the exact ele-
walton of the summit of Pixies peak,
which is 14,109 feet, was set. when
the summit of the peak was reached"
said G. E. Barnard, the geographer in
charge of the survey party, 'fthe day
was an ideal one, with a temperature
of about so degrees and no wind. Be
fore the setting of the tablet was
finished, some few, hours later, the
temperature had fallen to 25 degrees,
it was showing hard, and a gale of
wind was blowing at the rate of 40
miles an hour"