VARIOUS estimates have been made of the height of the Rocky
Mountains, but it is doubtful whether any have, as yet, done
justice to their real altitude, which promises to place them only
second to the highest mountains of the known world. Their height
has been diminished to the eye by the great elevation of the
plains from which they rise. They consist, according to Long, of
ridges, knobs, and peaks, variously disposed. The more elevated
parts are covered with perpetual snows, which contribute to give
them a luminous, and, at a great distance, even a brilliant
appearance; whence they derive, among some of the first
discoverers, the name of the Shining Mountains.
James's Peak has generally been cited as the highest of the
chain; and its elevation above the common level has been
ascertained, by a trigonometrical measurement, to be about eight
thousand five hundred feet. Mr. Long, however, judged, from the
position of the snow near the summits of other peaks and ridges
at no great distance from it, that they were much higher. Having
heard Professor Renwick, of New York, express an opinion of the
altitude of these mountains far beyond what had usually been
ascribed to them, we applied to him for the authority on which he
grounded his observation, and here subjoin his reply:
Columbia College, New York, February 23, 1836.
Dear Sir, - In compliance with your request, I have to
communicate some facts in relation to the heights of the Rocky
Mountains, and the sources whence I obtained the information.
In conversation with Simon M'Gillivray, Esq., a partner of the
Northwest Company, he stated to me his impression, that the
mountains in the vicinity of the route pursued by the traders of
that company were nearly as high as the Himalayas. He had himself
crossed by this route, seen the snowy summits of the peaks, and
experienced a degree of cold which required a spirit thermometer
to indicate it. His authority for the estimate of the heights was
a gentleman who had been employed for several years as surveyor
of that company. This conversation occurred about sixteen years
since.
A year or two afterwards, I had the pleasure of dining, at Major
Delafield's with Mr. Thompson, the gentleman referred to by Mr.
M'Gillivray. I inquired of him in relation to the circumstances
mentioned by Mr. M'Gillivray, and he stated that, by the joint
means of the barometric and trigonometric measurement, he had
ascertained the height of one of the peaks to be about twenty-
five thousand feet, and there were others of nearly the same
height in the vicinity.
I am, dear sir,
To W. Irving, Esq.
Yours truly,
JAMES RENWICK.
Suggestions with respect to the Indian tribes, and the protection
of our Trade.
IN the course of this work, a few general remarks have been
hazarded respecting the Indian tribes of the prairies, and the
dangers to be apprehended from them in future times to our trade
beyond the Rocky Mountains and with the Spanish frontiers.
