ises 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,