The Ely miner., 1932-09-09

named In honor of Grants right-hand man Ia
the Civil war. and commander of the army
when it was engaged iR subduing the Indians
In the West, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.
Some time ago Idaho honored her famous SEN
ator William e. Borah by naming the highest
point in the state after him (Borah peak 1865
feet) and Alaska has peaks named after three
other famous senators-Henry Cabot Lodge of
Massachusetts, Joseph Benson Foraker of Ohio
and Elihu Root of New York Also it might be
mentioned that Alaska has a peak named for
man upon whom American boyhood looks
with the deepest affection-Danie Carter Beard
the pioneer in the Boy Scout movement
The list of scientists who have left their
names on our high places is long one. Per-
haps the outstanding one is Louis Agassiz the
Swiss naturalist who became teacher in this
country and whose name is preserved in noun
tain peaks In Arizona, California and Utah.
California also has honored in the same way
Joseph R. Whitney, American geologist; John
Muir the Scotch naturalist who won his great
est fame in this country Samuel P. Langley, the
American astronomer and pioneer in aviation;
John Tyndall, the British physicist; John Le-
cOnte, the American entomologist; Charles Dar-
win, the English naturalist immortal for his
theory of evolution; Alexander Winchell Amer
lean geologist; and John Ericsson, the Swedish
inventor and designer of the craft that revolu-
war fame. Utah has peak which bears the
name of Ferdinand " Hayden, American geolo-
gist and explorer.
To Colorado goes the distinction OF having
perhaps the best known mountain peak in the
United States Pixies peak, named for Zebulon
Montgomery Pike, a native of New Jersey,
whose fame as an explorer came to a tragic
end during the War of 1872 Pixies explorations
in the West included expedition to trace
the Mississippi river to its source in 1S05-06
and an exploration of the newly-acquired Lou
isana territory in 1SO6-07. 1t was during the
latter expedition that he discovered" the peak
which now bears his name, although it is pretty
certain that he was not the first American to
gaze upon that lofty summit. That had been
done several years before by an American adj
venturer, named James Pursley or Purcell of
Kentucky. More than that, Pike himself never
reached the summit of this mountain, that hon.
or falling to the lot of a later explorer, Ed
win James, the botanist and geologst who ac-
companied the exploring expedition of Maj.
Stephen 81. Long to the Rocky mountains in
1880 In recognition of his feat of climbing
the mountain, Long named it James peak but
in later years that was changed to honor the
name of it's "discoverer" and became Pixies
peak.
Not the least Of the fame of this mountain
lies in the fact that an expression coined dur
Ing the gold rush to COLORADO In the late fftieS
has become a symbol of American determina-
tion. On the canvas tops of the prairie schoon-
ers which wound their way across the prai-
ries of the Great West were painted these
words spikes Peak or Bustw and that ex-
preston is still frequently heard when an
American declares his firm purpose to reach
his goal no matter what difficulties lie before
him.
Not only was a member of the Long expedi-
tion the. first to climb Pixies peak but it also
climbed another peak which today bears the
name of Stephen H. Long and Longs peak in
only in fame to it's sister mountain in Colo
rado Recently Colorado has added another to
its list Of mountains which honor famous men
by giving peak the name of that fearless ex-
plorer Of the air, Col. Charles Lindbergh
Not all of the peaks in the United States
which bear the names Of men pay tribute to
Americans alone for two famous mountains on
the Pacific coast are named for British naval
officers In Oregon Mount Hood raises its hoary
head high above the surrounding country and
looks down from the height of IL 900 feet upon
the Columbia river. This mountain was first
discovered by white men in 1892 No one knows
just which member of Vancouvers expedition
first saw it and gave it name in honor of
Admiral Samuel Hood of his majesty's navy
People in Washington have had a long dis
pute over one of their most famous peaks
Is it proper to say Mount Tacoma or Mount
Rainier? Seattle insists upon honoring the
name of Rear Admiral Rainier of the British
navy rather than that of Tacoma a rival
city.
(@ by Western Newspaper Union,