MOUNTAIN LAUREL 



MOUNT ALLISON 



most part unfit to take charge of 

 any serious expedition. 



As regards outfit, a map and 

 compass, and ability to use them 

 are necessary, also a rope 60-80 ft. 

 in length, and the very best obtain- 

 able. The Alpine Club rope has 

 stood the test of years, and is 

 thoroughly reliable. Proper climb- 

 ing boots, made and nailed by an 

 approved firm, and the very best 

 ice-axe obtainable, the shaft being 

 straight-grained ash, should be 

 taken. In the selection of these 

 last two items the advice of an 

 expert should be solicited. There 

 is, or was, a lot of poor stuff on the 

 market, and poor stuff is dangerous 

 stuff. -Other necessary articles are 

 puttees, Balaclava cap, goggles, 

 flask, field-glasses, and camping out- 

 fit, according to the nature of the 

 expedition. As a stand-by on the 

 march, raisins are unsurpassable. 

 A cup, knife, lantern, slippers, and 

 sundry medical appliances, e.g. 

 lint, boracic powder, sticking plas- 

 ter, etc., should be carried. Cram- 

 pons find much favour amongst 

 those who like them, and very 

 little amongst those who do not. 

 For magnesian limestone rocks, 

 such as those found in Tirol, scar- 



Mountain laurel in full foliage 



petti, or rope-soled shoes, are gener- 

 ally to be preferred to nailed 

 boots. 



Mountain climbing may be di- 

 vided into two branches snow- 

 work and rock-work. Snow-craft 

 is to be acquired only by long 

 experience and constant practice. 

 Nominally the most familiar item 

 of snow-craft, and one which may 

 be practised in the home-land, is 

 step-cutting. Step-cutting is hard 

 and highly skilled manual labour. 

 Great dexterity is demanded. 

 For instance, on a steep ice- 

 slope the completeness or incom- 

 plete .ess of a step may make just 

 the difference between security 



and disaster. In such positions 

 progress at the rate of 100 ft. an 

 hour is not exaggeratedly slow. A 

 good guide has been known to take 

 70 strokes to fashion a step. In 

 addition snow-craft implies ability 

 to judge the condition of the snow 

 hi the immediate neighbourhood of 

 the party and at a distance, and 

 also to estimate its probable con- 

 dition at a later hour, to determine 

 the possibility of the existence of 

 cornices projecting eaves of snow, 

 which are veritable death-traps for 

 the unwary. To recognize the like- 

 lihood of avalanches, the lie of 

 crevasses on glaciers, the stability 

 or instability of a snow bridge, and 

 to obviate the perils thereon atten- 

 dant, and to decide whether the 

 passage of an icefall is safe or un- 

 safe, are some of the demands of 

 snow-craft. 



Bibliography. Hours of Exercise 

 in the Alps, J. Tyndall, 1871 ; Moun- 

 taineering, Claude Wilson, 1893 ; 

 The Playground of Europe, L. 

 Stephen, 1894 ; The Exploration of 

 the Caucasus, D. Freshfield, 1896 ; 

 The Highest Andes, E. A. Fitz- 

 gerald, 1899 ; Mountaineering, C. T. 

 Dent and others, 3rd ed. 1900 ; 

 Climbs and Exploration in the 

 Canadian Rockies, H. C. M. Stut- 

 field and J. N. Collie, 1903 ; Norway, 

 the Northern Playground, W. C. 

 Slingsby, 1904 ; The Alps from End 

 to End, W. M. Conway, new ed. 

 1905 ; The Complete Mountaineer, 

 G. D. Abraham, 1907 ; My Climbs in 

 the Alps and Caucasus, A. F. Mum- 

 mery, 1908 ; Scrambles among the 

 Alps, E. Whymper, new ed. 1908; 

 British Mountaineering, C. E. Ben- 

 eon, 1909 ; On Alpine Heights and 

 British Crags, G. D. Abraham, 1919. 



Mountain Laurel ( Umbellularia 

 californica). Calif ornian Sassafras, 

 or spice bush. A tall evergreen tree 

 of the natural order Laurinaceae, 

 and a native of California, its alter- 

 nate, lance-shaped leaves emit a 

 strong odour like camphor. The 

 greenish-yellowflowers are clustered 

 in umbels. The name mountain 

 laurel is sometimes applied to Kal- 

 inia latifolia. See American Laurel. 



Mountain Meadows Mas- 

 sacre. Outrage committed by the 

 Mormons, on Sept. 11,1857. Aparty 

 of 130 immigrants from Arkansas, 

 with ,40 wagons and over 200 

 horses and cattle, were passing 

 through Utah territory to Cali- 

 fornia, when they were attacked 

 by Indians and Mormons in Indian 

 disguise. In response to an urgent 

 message for help, John Doyle Lee, 

 a prominent Mormon bishop, with 

 a number of followers, hastened to 

 the spot. The immigrants, who had 

 barricaded themselves behind their 

 wagons, welcomed Lee as their 

 saviour ; but no sooner had the 

 Mormons gained their confidence 

 than at a signal from Lee a general 



massacre took place, only 17 

 infants, too young to inform, being 

 spared. Although the Mormon 

 church denied responsibility, evi- 

 dence given at Lee's trial impli- 

 cated the highest officials. Twenty 

 years after the crime Lee was 

 brought to justice, and was exe- 

 cuted at the scene of the massacre, 

 March 23, 1877. 



Mountain Railway. Type of 

 rly. used for gradients exceeding 

 1 in 33. Such rlys. generally have 



Mountain railway up Mount Pilatus, 

 Switzerland ; a rack railway with 

 average gradient of 1 in 3. Engine 

 and carriage form a single car witb 

 32 seats 



narrow gauges and special loco- 

 motives and tracks, e.g. rack rlys. 

 See Railways. 



Mountain Sickness. Group of 

 symptoms which sometimes appear 

 in persons on ascending into high 

 latitudes. Lassitude, weakness in 

 the legs, and increase in the rate of 

 respiration are common effects. 

 Headache, palpitation, nausea, 

 occasionally vomiting and drowsi- 

 ness may also occur. The condition 

 is due to want of oxygen, owing to 

 diminished atmospheric pressure. 

 Persons who go to reside at high 

 altitudes may develop these symp- 

 toms, but usually become acclima- 

 tised after a short period. A similar 

 sickness occurs in flying, passengers 

 making too rapid an ascent or de- 

 scent in an aeroplane b^ing liable 

 to the symptoms. 



Mount Allison. University of 

 New Brunswick, Canada. Founded 

 in 1843 by C. F. Allison, it was at 

 first a Wesleyan academy. In 1858 

 it obtained the right to confer 

 degrees, and in 1913 took its 

 present name. It is still controlled 

 by the Methodist Church of 

 Canada, but is unsectarian. The 

 buildings are at Sackville, N.B., 



