﻿140 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CALIFORNIA 
  

  

  1871, 
  the 
  half 
  dollar 
  which 
  he 
  left 
  at 
  the 
  summit 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  there, 
  with 
  his 
  

   name 
  inscribed 
  upon 
  it. 
  There 
  can, 
  therefore, 
  be 
  no 
  mistake 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  identity 
  

   of 
  this 
  peak 
  with 
  the 
  one 
  ascended 
  and 
  measured 
  by 
  Mr. 
  King 
  in 
  1871. 
  

  

  I 
  do 
  not 
  mention 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  Mr. 
  Belshaw 
  and 
  myself 
  reached 
  its 
  summit 
  

   in 
  the 
  saddle 
  as 
  being 
  one 
  of 
  any 
  new 
  or 
  special 
  interest 
  ; 
  for 
  Mr. 
  Sheritf 
  Mulkey, 
  

   of 
  Inyo 
  County, 
  accomplished 
  the 
  same 
  thing 
  on 
  the 
  6th 
  day 
  of 
  August, 
  1872, 
  

   with 
  his 
  family 
  (i.e., 
  his 
  wife 
  and 
  daughter), 
  and 
  since 
  that 
  time 
  it 
  has 
  also 
  been 
  

   done 
  by 
  several 
  other 
  parties. 
  

  

  But 
  there 
  is 
  some 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  fact 
  discovered 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Belshaw 
  and 
  myself, 
  

   when 
  we 
  reached 
  its 
  summit 
  — 
  that 
  this 
  peak 
  is 
  not 
  Mount 
  Whitney. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  the 
  highest 
  among 
  the 
  grand 
  cluster 
  of 
  peaks 
  which 
  form 
  

   this 
  culminating 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  Sierra 
  Nevada 
  ; 
  nor 
  is 
  it 
  the 
  peak 
  which 
  was 
  dis- 
  

   covered 
  by 
  Prof. 
  W. 
  H. 
  Brewer 
  and 
  party, 
  in 
  1864, 
  and 
  then 
  originally 
  named 
  

   by 
  them 
  Mount 
  Whitney. 
  

  

  For 
  the 
  truth 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  statement 
  as 
  this, 
  after 
  the 
  mountain 
  has 
  become 
  so 
  

   famous, 
  I 
  shall 
  of 
  course 
  be 
  expected 
  to 
  produce 
  my 
  evidence. 
  

  

  How, 
  then, 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  do 
  I 
  know 
  that 
  this 
  so-called 
  Mount 
  Whitney 
  

   is 
  not 
  the 
  highest 
  peak 
  in 
  this 
  vicinity? 
  

  

  First, 
  because 
  on 
  reaching 
  its 
  crest, 
  the 
  fact 
  is 
  at 
  once 
  not 
  only 
  apparent, 
  but 
  

   very 
  striking, 
  even 
  to 
  the 
  unaided 
  eye 
  alone, 
  that 
  a 
  peak 
  which 
  bears 
  N. 
  67° 
  W. 
  

   magnetic, 
  distant 
  between 
  five 
  and 
  six 
  miles 
  from 
  the 
  observer, 
  is 
  considerably 
  

   higher 
  than 
  the 
  one 
  on 
  which 
  he 
  stands. 
  

  

  To 
  this 
  it 
  will, 
  perhaps, 
  be 
  objected 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  extremely 
  difficult 
  to 
  judge 
  ac- 
  

   curately 
  of 
  relative 
  heights 
  with 
  the 
  eye 
  alone 
  ; 
  and 
  that, 
  in 
  so 
  judging, 
  the 
  

   best 
  observers 
  are 
  liable 
  to 
  be 
  deceived. 
  But 
  while, 
  of 
  course, 
  admitting 
  the 
  

   truth 
  of 
  this 
  statement, 
  as 
  a 
  general 
  fact 
  and 
  within 
  certain 
  limits, 
  I 
  still 
  reply 
  

   that 
  no 
  good 
  eye 
  is 
  ever 
  deceived 
  as 
  to 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  higher 
  of 
  two 
  culminating 
  

   peaks 
  among 
  such 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  mountains, 
  when 
  the 
  observer 
  is 
  standing 
  on 
  the 
  

   lower 
  peak, 
  with 
  a 
  perfectly 
  clear 
  atmosphere 
  between, 
  and 
  nothing 
  to 
  obstruct 
  

   the 
  vision 
  — 
  the 
  distance 
  between 
  the 
  peaks 
  not 
  exceeding 
  half 
  a 
  dozen 
  miles, 
  

   and 
  the 
  actual 
  difference 
  of 
  altitude 
  between 
  them 
  being 
  anywhere 
  in 
  the 
  vicin- 
  

   ity 
  of 
  a 
  hundred 
  feet 
  to 
  each 
  mile 
  of 
  the 
  distance. 
  

  

  My 
  second 
  proof 
  of 
  the 
  relative 
  altitude 
  of 
  these 
  two 
  peaks 
  is 
  the 
  following 
  : 
  

  

  I 
  had 
  no 
  spirit-level 
  with 
  me 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  did 
  have 
  this 
  miner's 
  compass, 
  3% 
  

   inches 
  square, 
  with 
  a 
  clinometer 
  attached. 
  On 
  setting 
  the 
  index 
  of 
  the 
  clinom- 
  

   eter 
  at 
  zero, 
  and 
  then 
  sighting 
  along 
  the 
  upper 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plate, 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  

   sight 
  struck 
  far 
  below 
  the 
  summit 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  peak. 
  Then, 
  on 
  reversing 
  the 
  

   instrument 
  end 
  for 
  end, 
  setting 
  the 
  clinometer 
  again 
  at 
  zero, 
  and 
  sighting 
  along 
  

   the 
  upper 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plate 
  as 
  before, 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  sight, 
  though 
  it 
  struck 
  a 
  little 
  

   higher 
  than 
  before 
  (thus 
  showing 
  a 
  slight 
  error 
  in 
  the 
  instrument), 
  nevertheless 
  

   still 
  struck 
  far 
  below 
  the 
  peak. 
  This, 
  if 
  the 
  sighting 
  along 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plate 
  

   was 
  correctly 
  done, 
  is 
  proof 
  positive 
  that 
  the 
  distant 
  peak 
  is 
  the 
  higher. 
  

  

  But 
  we 
  applied 
  still 
  a 
  third 
  test. 
  While 
  I 
  was 
  busy 
  with 
  my 
  notes, 
  Mr. 
  Bel- 
  

   shaw 
  improvised 
  a 
  still 
  more 
  perfect 
  level, 
  by 
  taking 
  a 
  pint 
  cup, 
  four 
  inches 
  in 
  

   diameter, 
  and 
  filling 
  it 
  heaping 
  full 
  of 
  water 
  — 
  i. 
  e., 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  water 
  stood 
  

  

  