Notes and Correspondence. 259 



Regarding the completion of the trail, Mr. Marsh (under 

 date of July 22, 1904) writes to Professor McAdie: — 



I am very glad to inform you that we completed the pack 

 trail to the summit of Mt. Whitney last Sunday, the i8th. We 

 had three pack-trains loaded with wood, and one saddle-horse. 

 We had a large fire at night, and fireworks which were plainly 

 seen at Lone Pine, who responded with a large fire and fire- 

 works. 



We had an ideal day to finish the trail. The weather was 

 perfect. We were so anxious to get to the top that we never 

 noticed the altitude. Most of the time it was bitter cold and 

 windy. We were all fearfully sunburned; our faces were a 

 sight and our lips almost black; but we would not give in. The 

 pack-train had no difficulty at all in climbing the mountain. 

 The trail is in good shape and parties are going over it every 

 day. We shall try to find some means of keeping the trail in 

 good repair. 



I think the trail will be open until about Christmas unless 

 early storms come, but it would not be safe to say this, as we 

 do not know how early the snow will come this year. Last 

 year there was very little snow. Bitt I think parties will be safe 

 until the end of October. 



In a subsequent letter Mr. Marsh refers to a snowstorm on 

 August 1st that compelled a party to turn back within a half-mile 

 of the monument. " The mountains are covered with a light 

 snow now, but it melts quickly." 



On October loth Mr. W. E. Bonnett, Assistant Observer at 

 Independence, Cal., attempted to reach the summit of Mt. Whit- 

 ney for the purpose of installing maximum and minimum ther- 

 mometers. He was accompanied by a guide, with a pack animal 

 and saddle animal. At an altitude of 10,000 feet snow began to 

 fall. They proceeded about 1,000 feet further, when the high 

 wind and dense snow, which was fast blotting out the trail, 

 compelled them to turn back. 



On July 26th, eight days after the completion of the trail, one 

 man was killed by lightning at the summit during a sudden 

 snowstorm, and two of his companions were rendered uncon- 

 scious. The Redland Facts records a similar occurrence on 

 July 24th on Mt. San Gorgonio, at an elevation of 9,500 feet, 

 the first case of the kind in the history of the county. Referring 

 to these fatalities. Professor McAdie says : — 



The accidents have a scientific interest in that there are but 

 few records of deaths by lightning in this State. But it should 

 be noted that comparatively few people have been exposed to 

 storms at high elevations. Mr. Byrd Surby was killed on the 

 summit of Mt. Whitney, within fifty feet of the monument. 

 It was snowing at the time of the accident. It is probably not 

 well known that the variations in the electrical potential of the 

 air during a snowstorm are almost as rapid and as great as 

 those prevailing during a thunderstorm. In this present case 



