After we had gone half
the distance we rested for a half hour and refreshed ourselves with
part of the lunch. Then we journeyed on until we reached the sheep
ranch on the top of the peak, a level where you could see for miles
over hill and dale. When we looked for Gilroy Springs it seemed miles
away. The air was so clear our voices went out like clarion calls.
After our dinner we rested while the men hunted a suitable pole. They
soon found a tall sapling, chopped off the branches and pointed the
butt so it could be driven into the earth, and with spades prepared a
place and the tree was planted as near to the edge of the mountain as
we dared to work, in a spot where we could see the springs below.
About three o'clock in the afternoon the ropes were ready and the flag
placed in readiness. Capt. Mehan gave the sign to Dr. Coe and shouted
to let her go and in a trice the flag was flung to the breeze and as
it went up we began to sing America until the echoes rang far and wide
with the refrain and caught the ears of the guests below who shouted
and made the welkin ring by "firing off" anvils and making signals to
attract our attention. When we knew they had seen the flag and had
heard us we stood around the flagstaff and sang the Star Spangled
Banner. After the singing we gave three times three cheers for Old
Glory and they answered below by three shots and a hurrah for the
victors who had bravely put up the flag on the highest peak, 2,659
feet above the level of the sea.
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