74 Historical 



by the Spaniards. But for a long time no one dared attempt the 

 ascent of the volcano, the summit of which seemed all the higher 

 because its foot is at sea level. 



The strangest and most exaggerated estimates were made of its 

 height. According to Th. Nicols, 92 it was not less than 15 leagues; 

 Riccioli and Kircher estimated it at ten Italian miles; in reality, it 

 is 3716 meters. 



The first account of its ascent 93 that we have found is that of a 

 journey made in 1652 by some "notable merchants and men of great 

 esteem"; they were considerably affected by the rarefied air: 



At six o'clock in the morning we began to ascend the Peak . . . 

 Some of our company became very weak and sick, and were attacked 

 by diarrhea, vomiting, and feverish trembling . . . One of us was 

 so ill that he could go no further. (P. 201.) 



The celebrated Robert Boyle ° 4 reported a similar account, in 

 which the effect of the expanded air is confused with that of emana- 

 tions from the earth, as often happens in ascents of volcanoes: 



One day I asked an intelligent man who had lived for several 

 years in Teneriffe whether he had climbed to the summit of the Peak, 

 and what sensations he had had. He replied that he had tried, that 

 several of his companions had completed the ascent, but that the thin 

 air and the sulphurous exhalations had made himself and a few others 

 so sick that they halted far below the summit. The effect of these 

 vapors was such that his skin became pale yellow, and his hair was 

 bleached. (P. 2039.) 



Not all travellers experienced the same effects, and, as usual, 

 those who were free from distress were led to deny what their less 

 fortunate predecessors reported. 



Edens, 95 who ascended the Peak in 1715, expresses himself as 

 follows: 



What has been said about the difficulty of breathing on the summit 



of the Peak seems wrong; we breathed as easily up there as we did 



below; we had our lunch there. (P. 186.) 



Father Feuillee u0 made the ascent of the Peak on July 31, 1724; 

 he says nothing of interest to us. 

 G. Glas 97 was less fortunate: 



We reached the foot of the cone (he says in fact) . . . Although 

 the distance is hardly a half mile, we were forced to stop forty times, 

 I think, to get our breath, and when we had reached the summit, it 

 was a quarter of an hour before we had recovered. (P. 255.) 



The same thing was true of the scientists whom Labillardiere ,J8 

 had taken with him on his journey in search of La Perouse: 



