Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1920-09-30

--------- was a notable event. in that the
mountain in a way eptomizes the progress OF the
west.
Although Lieut.. Zebulon M. Pike, U. S. A., the
intrepid explorer, first discovered Pixies Peak Ill
1906, he never scaled the mountain, saying the
task was impossible for human being. But DR.,
Edwin James, a member Of the expedition OF
Major Long, in 1920, accomplished the feat
Major Long, in honor Of James accomplishment,
named the peak James Peak" but early as
1910 trappers and plarsmen named it pixies
Peak" and Fremont put it so on the map.
In 1873 a bride path was built; wagon
road to the summit was built in 1880 and in 1891
the cog wheel railroad, nine miles long, was
built. The weather bureau established a station
on the summit In 1916 the present automobile
road was built at a cost of 100000, after two
years Of construction work. This road is eighteen
miles long, rises 6695 feet in that distance, has
an average grade of seven per cent and a maxi
mum grade of 1917 per cent, with AZ per cent
of the line in curves. 1t is twenty feet wide with
curves as wide fifty feet . ...-..
In April, 1919, government war tank at
tempted to climb; the peak over the automobile
highway but broke down in the deep snow drifts
and did not make second attempt month
later a caterpillar used for artillery hdung
made the summit without difficulty. August g.
1919 an airplane, pioted by Alexander Lendrum
of Colorado Springs made a successful trip over
the summit OF the peak.
This brings us to date. Now man is reforest-
ing the lower slopes of the famous peak.
But first a word about the first ascent. Dr.
James was only % years old at the time. Starting
from Council Bluffs the explorers reached what
is Colorado City July r. 1920. July IL he
started with four men for the top. The late
Frederick S. Deenbaugh, n member of several
government expeditions in the west wrote this
of the climb of Dr. James:
About noon they came to the Boiling Spring,
the present well-known spring of Manitou which
gives name to the stream Of which it forms
source. This beautiful spring was Of great inter-
est to James and they had their lunch beside it.
Through its crystal waters could be seen on the
bottom the offerings of beads and trinkets by
the Indians
"The night of the 18th, James and his COM
paniOns spent in most uncomfortable place, and
on the next morning started early with the hone
Of making the round journey before dark. About
noon, the timber line, II 100 feet, was reached
and by o'clock they stood on the mighty sum-
nit 14,10S feet above the and 5000 feet above
the plains, and could see on the east the prairie
ocean melting into the limtless distance, while
on the other hand spread away broad chaos of
peaks, canyons, valleys, fading into the depths of
the unknown wilderness. Vast clouds of grass
hoppers were flying the peak, sometimes so
dense as almost to obscure the light.
after half an hour on the majestic summit now
reached by prosaic railway the descent began.
Losing their course, they failed to reach the camp
of the previous night and were forced to sleep
out with no food or shelter or comfort of any
kind; not after all so awful as it sounds. AS
soon as light came in the morning they continued
and reached their camp, only to find 1t ablaze;
the fire had spread and consumed everything
except a few scraps of food, which they
greedily breakfasted."
The American Forestry Association of Wash
lngton estimates that out of the 100 million odd
acres of national forests there seven and a
half million acres in need of planting seeding
to re-establlsh tree growth. The yearly loss to
the nation in forest products from lands suited
only for the production of timber and now idle Is
said to be S65,0O0000 No large sums have been
specifically appropriated by congress to reforest
the denuded lands within the national forests, so
that the acreage planted each year has been nom-
nal and the work of an experimental character. In
picking the areas In the national forests where