The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-04-04
TOP or The WORLD
Natures SkySCraper That Tow
erS High Above All Others.
THE GIANT MOUNT EVEREST.

This Still Uneonquered Peak Is In
Wild Country That Is Extremely
Difficult to Traverse and Has So Far
Defed the Surveyors of India.
For many years the East Indian gov
ernment has prohibited any attempt at
the ascent of Mount Everest, AS long
ago as 1902 six European Alpinists set
out for India to view the world from
the top OF its highest mountain. But
the virgin SHOWS of Everest could not
have cooled their ardor half so rapidly
as did the cold water with which the
Indian government soused them. The
mountaiEcegs Simply mct with blank
refusal, and the reason of it was per
fectly obvious and logical.
The nearest approach OF railroad
toward Mount Everest is about 100
miles away. 70 the north of this rail-
road terminal is a succession OF par
allel ranges Of the Himalayas scparat-
ed by deep valleys. 1t is one of. the
most difficult countries in the world to
traverse, and no white man has ever
crossed it.
The surveyors OF India have never
been nearer than eighty miles from
Mount Everest. Some of the valleys
are peopled by a few wild tribes who
fercely resent the intrusion of any
strangers The whole country lies in
Nepal, which while still an independ-
ent state strictly forbade any person TO
20 north among these mountains, and
since Nepal came under the suzerainty
OF India the prohibition has been con
tinued. for obvious reasons. by the In
dian government
When the ascent OF Mount Everest IL
finally made it viii probably be on the
side OF Tibet. whose southern boundary
IS not far from the mountain, but by
her agreement with China the Indian
| government is bound to keep eXpiorers
from crossing into Tibet from Indil
Permission was refused TO Sven HediB
to cross the border on his last great
expedition. when lie finally crossed
from Ladakh
| Some Interesting facts about Mount
Everest may not generally be known.
Many persons have wondered how the
determination Of the height of Mount
Everest could be so exact that its elo
walton is fixed at precisely 20002 feet
In happened in this way: In lS49 and
1850 six trigonomctrical determinations
If the height OF the mountain were OBJ
tanned by the Indian survey at six DIFF.
ferent stations, all south Of the noun.
| tain. The height Of 29002 feet as.
signed to Mount Everest was the
mean OF the six different values for the
height just obtained.
But the geographical survey OF India
informed the world in 1905 that Mount
| Everest is higher than It was computed
10 be by those six trigonometrical de
| examinations. 1t reported that between
1881 and 1902 six other determinations
| Of the height Of the mountain were
made at five stations, all excepting one
| being nearer TO the mountain than the
| previous surveys. These six new deter.
limitations gave a mean value Of 29,14l
feet after correction for refracton. Ac.
cordng, therefore, to our present in
formation, Mount Everest is 1870 feet
higher than it was earlier computed
| 10 he.
Why is it, then, that this latest re-
suit Of the scientific computation OF
the height Of Mount Everest has not
vet anpcarcd IN books ard Maps It