[15] "From information derived from the Indians and hunters who have frequently visited this part of the country, as also from the account given by Pike, relative to this peak, it appears that no person, either civilized or savage, has ever ascended to its summit, and that the ascent was deemed utterly impracticable. Dr. James having accomplished this difficult and laborious task, I have thought proper to call the peak after his name, as a compliment to which his zeal and perseverance, together with the skilful attention with which he has examined its character and productions, give him the fairest claim. Pike has indeed given us notice that there is such a peak, but he only saw it at a distance; the unfavourable circumstances under which he came into its neighbourhood preventing his arrival even at its base. He attempted to ascertain its altitude, but it is believed his estimate is very erroneous." Ext. from Maj. Long's MS. Notes of July 15th, 1820.--JAMES. _Comment by Ed._ Height of Pike's Peak generally accepted as correct, 14,147 feet; Pike's estimate, 18,581. See _ante_, note 11. Pike wrote in his journal: "I believe no human being could have ascended to its pinical;" but it must be borne in mind that he reached the region late in November, when the difficulty of the ascent is immensely greater than at the season (July) when James's party made their successful attempt. The claim of Dr. James to the honor of being the first to reach the summit remains undisputed; but the peak has long since ceased to bear his name. When Frémont visited Colorado in 1843 he adopted the present appellation, which he found in local use among the traders, and the rival name soon fell into disuse by cartographers. [16] Jean Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-88), was keeper of the Royal Gardens and Museum in Paris, and compiler of a large portion of the forty-volume work entitled _Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière_ (Paris, 1749-1804), which was completed, after his death, by Lacépède (see _post_, note 26). Buffon is noteworthy for having anticipated the theory of evolution.--ED. [17] Genus _Sciurus_, L.--S. _quadrivittatus_, SAY.--_Head_ brownish intermixed with fulvous, and with four white lines, of which the superior one on each side passes from the tip of the nose immediately over the eye to the superior base of the ear; and the inferior one passes immediately beneath the eye to the inferior base of the ear; _ears_ moderate, semi-oval, incisores reddish-yellow; _back_ with four broad lines, and alternate mixed black and ferruginous ones; _sides_ fulvous, beneath whitish; _tail_ moderate, hair black at base, then fulvous black in the middle, and paler fulvous at tip; _beneath_ fulvous with a submarginal black line; _thumb_ of the anterior feet a prominent tubercle. Length from the nose to the base of the tail 4¼ inches. ------ of the tail 3 ------ of the hair at the tip of the tail 1 nearly.