842 The American Naturalist. ° [October, 
string. Besides the heap of minerals, from the evidence discovered 
there was no doubt in the minds of the searchers that Mr. Verhoeff 
had been there and had fallen into one of the thousands of dangerous 
gulches which that glacier possessed, and was killed. Having com- 
pletely traversed the country that was in any way accessible to Mr. 
Verhoeff, and convinced themselves of the futility of any further 
search, the expedition returned to McCormick Bay on the night of 
August 23, and on the following day started on the homeward journey. 
GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 
The Elevation of Mount Orizaba or Citlaltepetl.—Citlalte- 
petl (Star Mountain) is an old volcano situated on the eastern margin 
of the Mexican table land, about 19° north of the equator and about 
seventy-five miles from the Gulf. The slopes of the mountain have 
been known and occupied by man for many centuries, yet from a 
scientific standpoint they are comparatively unknown. 
In July, 1891, a party consisting of Henry E. Seaton, Blooming- 
ton, Ind., botanist; A. J. Woolman, South Bend, Ind., iethyologist; 
` W. S. Blatchley, Terre Haute, Ind., entomologist; U. O. Cox, Mankato, 
- Minnesota, ornithologist, and the writer, visited the Star Mountain, 
making interesting collections of the varied forms of life found on its 
slopes. The different members of the party will in due time report on ` 
the work done in the different departments. 
The question of the highest elevation in North America seems to lie 
between Citlaltepetl in Mexico and St. Elias in Alaska, so that consid- 
erable interest centers on the determination of the exact elevation of 
these mountains. 
Different observers vary considerably in their estimates ot the di 
vation of Citlaltepetl; among many the following may be noted : 
A. Von Humboldt, 17,375 feet. A Mexican scientific commission, 
17,664 feet. Ferrer, 17,879 feet, which is the elevation given by some 
German geographers. ‘Abmaran, 17,916 feet. Prof. A. Heilprin, 
18,205 feet. Dr. Franz Kaska, 18,270 feet. ; 
Prof. Heilprin used an aneroid barometer, adjusted by comparison 
with a standard mercurial barometer. The elevation of the City of 
Mexico was determined by railway levels, and the elevation of the 
‘summit of the mountain above the City of Mexico was determined by 
comparing nearly simultaneous barometrical readings, taken one on 
mountain and one in the city, about 125 miles away. The dis — 
