88 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



The ages of the European members of the party were — 

 W. M. Conway, 36 ; M. Zurbriggen, 34 ; J. McCormick, 

 7,1, ; J. H. Roudebush, 2 1 ; O. Eckenstein, 34. 



With regard to the height at which distinct symptoms 

 first show themselves, Conway's account agrees very well 

 with the experiences of the Schlagintweits, (1) who had very 

 extended experience and moved with fairly large parties of 

 natives among the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Kuenluen 

 districts, and who noted that " for the generality of 

 people the influence of height begins at 16,500 feet, a 

 height nearly coinciding with that of the highest pasture- 

 grounds visited by shepherds." Conway's party first 

 became conscious of discomfort between 16,000 and 17,000 

 feet. Whymper's (2) expedition to the Great Andes of the 

 Equator first felt real discomfort at 16,664 f eet - 



For healthy men in good training who take carefully 

 chosen food we may therefore accept the Schlagintweits' 

 limit as fairly accurate, while for people who are not in 

 good condition, or who take food which they cannot digest, 

 the limit may be very greatly lowered — a point which I will 

 presently consider. This lower limit of distress in mountain 

 climbing is therefore put wonderfully closely by the three 

 sets of observers named. Whether it can be raised by 

 prolonged residence at high levels is, I think, doubtful, and 

 on this point it is not easy to obtain information of much 

 value seeing that in the absence of exact measurements 

 observers may get so accustomed to what at first distressed 

 them as to undervalue it. 



The symptoms of mountain sickness as described by a 

 very large number of observers (3) may be stated as follows, 

 keeping in mind that some only of them are noted by each 

 writer. 



Those constantly met with are great difficulty in getting 

 enough air into the lungs, and a corresponding feeling of 

 anxiety and distress, together with greatly increased 

 dyspnoea and fatigue on exertion and lassitude when at 

 rest. The respirations are rapid, short, and gasping, -and 

 the ability for active exertion is much lessened, all these 

 signs being met with in animals as well as in man. 



