EXPLORATIONS AMONG THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. lOI 



supplies purchased and transported to the summit; a Kerite telegraph 

 wire had been laid over that portion of the route where a common wire 

 could not withstand the wintry blasts and accumulations of ice; that the 

 building had been secured and comfortably furnished ; and, furthermore, 

 that the party intended to establish themselves in their snug eyrie about 

 the 1 2th of November. Reference was made to the approval of the 

 expedition by the War department, and to a special letter of recommenda- 

 tion signed by Professors B. Pierce, Joseph Winlock, Joseph Lovering, 

 Asa Gray, Alpheus Hyatt, President Runkle, N. B. Shurtleff, and William 

 Claflin. It was thought that commerce would be greatly benefited by 

 the daily reports. As the farmer studies the cloud-caps upon mountains 

 to forecast the weather, so telegraphic reports of the condition of the 

 atmosphere upon the highest summit in eastern America would enable 

 ship-owners to judge of the approach of storms, and escape risk of loss 

 to their vessels by keeping them in a harbor until the danger was past ; 

 so, too, with fair weather reported from the mountain, vessels could get 

 a day's start of any bad spell of weather, and thus escape great peril. 

 It was announced that the preparations for the expedition had been made 

 with the expectation that friends would contribute funds- sufficient to 

 meet the expenses. Should the public fail to appreciate the enterprise, 

 the burden would fall upon the state geologist, who had already paid out 

 ;^700 more than the amount of the subscriptions. This appeal proved to 

 be efficacious, as, in consequence of this and other applications, enough 

 funds were at length secured to meet all the expenses of the expedition. 



On the 3d of October, a letter was received from Mr. H. A. Kimball, 

 photographer, of Concord, N. H., asking to be permitted to join the 

 party and take views. According to the original plan, the artist of the 

 expedition was Mr. A. F. Clough, who had been associated with Mr. 

 Huntington in the occupation of Moosilauke ; hence this application was 

 referred to him, with the result that the two gentlemen concluded to 

 combine their efforts, and go upon the mountain in company. Mr. Kim- 

 ball aided, also, in the work of raising funds, adding more than a hundred 

 dollars to the list. Both the photographers made personal pecuniary 

 sacrifices to render their branch of the expedition successful ; and their 

 published stereographs have proved a valuable addition to its records. 

 On the third of November, the chief signal officer informed Prof. 



