﻿144 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CALIFORNIA 
  

  

  claim 
  to 
  over 
  15,000 
  feet 
  of 
  absolute 
  altitude 
  above 
  the 
  sea 
  is 
  still 
  indisputable 
  ; 
  

   while, 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  it 
  also 
  retains 
  the 
  ])restige 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that, 
  in 
  all 
  

   probability, 
  no 
  human 
  foot 
  has 
  ever 
  trodden 
  its 
  summit. 
  

  

  If 
  Mr. 
  King's 
  descriptions, 
  in 
  1864, 
  of 
  the 
  appearance 
  and 
  surroundings 
  of 
  

   this 
  mountain 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  northwest 
  can 
  be 
  relied 
  upon, 
  it 
  is 
  safe 
  to 
  say 
  

   that 
  no 
  man 
  will 
  ever 
  ride 
  a 
  horse 
  or 
  mule 
  to 
  the 
  summit 
  of 
  that 
  peak, 
  unless 
  it 
  

   be 
  by 
  a 
  costly 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  a 
  dangerous 
  trail. 
  

  

  Whether 
  the 
  peak 
  is 
  utterly 
  inaccessible 
  or 
  not, 
  is 
  still 
  a 
  question. 
  I 
  am 
  dis- 
  

   posed 
  to 
  think 
  that 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  climbed 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  will 
  certainly 
  involve 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  

   of 
  hard, 
  and 
  very 
  possibly, 
  some 
  dangerous 
  work 
  for 
  anybody 
  who 
  shall 
  attempt 
  

   to 
  reach 
  its 
  gigantic 
  crest.* 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Stearns, 
  of 
  committee, 
  reported 
  the 
  following 
  resolutions 
  on 
  

   the 
  death 
  of 
  John 
  W. 
  Foster 
  : 
  

  

  Resolved, 
  That 
  the 
  California 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences 
  has 
  learned 
  with 
  ex- 
  

   ceeding 
  sorrow 
  of 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  Dr. 
  John 
  W. 
  Foster, 
  late 
  President 
  of 
  the 
  

   Academy 
  of 
  Sciences 
  of 
  Chicago, 
  and 
  that 
  we 
  heartily 
  sympathize 
  with 
  the 
  

   members 
  of 
  said 
  Academy 
  in 
  this 
  latter 
  affliction, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  many 
  other 
  

   calamities 
  which 
  have 
  recently 
  befallen 
  them. 
  

  

  Resolved, 
  That 
  in 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  Dr. 
  John 
  W. 
  Foster, 
  we 
  recognize 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  

   a 
  man 
  whose 
  nobility 
  of 
  character, 
  scientific 
  labor 
  and 
  high 
  attainments 
  — 
  ex- 
  

   alted 
  humanity, 
  and 
  endeared 
  him 
  to 
  his 
  fellow-men. 
  

  

  Resolved, 
  That 
  the 
  California 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences 
  sincerely 
  sympathizes 
  with 
  

   the 
  family 
  of 
  the 
  deceased. 
  

  

  Resolved, 
  That 
  a 
  copy 
  of 
  these 
  resolutions 
  be 
  forwarded 
  to 
  the 
  family 
  of 
  the 
  

   late 
  Dr. 
  Foster 
  ; 
  also 
  to 
  the 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences 
  of 
  Chicago. 
  

  

  Prof. 
  Whitney 
  read 
  communications 
  announcing 
  the 
  deaths 
  of 
  

   Professors 
  Christopher 
  Hansteen 
  and 
  Axelius 
  Jonas 
  Boeck, 
  of 
  

   Christiana. 
  

  

  *NoTE. 
  — 
  Aug. 
  (i 
  : 
  I 
  have 
  just 
  received 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Belshaw 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  a 
  rough 
  tiian- 
  

   gulatiou 
  made 
  by 
  him 
  from 
  Cerro 
  Gordo 
  to 
  the 
  suuimits 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  peaks 
  in 
  question, 
  

   since 
  my 
  return. 
  

  

  The 
  figures 
  given 
  by 
  this 
  triangulation, 
  though 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  relied 
  upon 
  as 
  very 
  accurate, 
  

   are 
  still 
  sutliciently 
  so 
  to 
  show 
  clearly 
  the 
  relative 
  situation 
  of 
  things, 
  and 
  to 
  furnish 
  

   additional 
  confirmation 
  of 
  the 
  facts 
  as 
  stated 
  in 
  the 
  above 
  paper. 
  

  

  He 
  makes 
  the 
  airline 
  distance 
  from 
  Cerro 
  Gordo 
  to 
  the 
  peak 
  measured 
  by 
  Mr. 
  King, 
  

   in 
  1871, 
  in 
  a 
  course 
  S. 
  7^° 
  W. 
  magnetic, 
  2.5 
  miles, 
  and 
  the 
  altitude 
  of 
  this 
  peak 
  14,033 
  feet. 
  

   The 
  distance 
  to 
  the 
  genuine 
  Mount 
  Whitney 
  he 
  makes 
  30.18 
  miles, 
  in 
  a 
  direction 
  S. 
  80° 
  5. 
  

   W. 
  magnetic, 
  and 
  its 
  altitude 
  14,930 
  feet. 
  

  

  Both 
  these 
  altitudes 
  are 
  probably 
  too 
  low 
  ; 
  but 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  no 
  question 
  as 
  to 
  which 
  

   is 
  the 
  higher 
  peak. 
  

  

  