60 Historical 



severely wounded, and with four other Englishmen fell into the 

 hands of Indians, who, after various adventures, restored him to 

 liberty. They then left the vicinity of the southern sea for the 

 ocean to the north: 



We crossed (he says) several very high mountains, but the last 

 one was the highest of all; it took us four days to ascend it, although 

 there were some low spots here and there. As soon as we had reached 

 the summit, I felt that my head was whirling strangely; I told this to 

 my companions and the Indians, who answered that they were all in 

 the same condition. Apparently the illness came from the great height 

 of this mountain and the thinness of the air. . . . Our vertigo left us as 

 we descended. (P. 174.) 



It should be noted that Wafer and his companions, even the In- 

 dians themselves, his guides, were in a state of fatigue which was 

 near complete exhaustion. But in spite of this added circum- 

 stance, the importance of which we shall see later, I cannot account 

 for the condition in which Wafer must have been when he says that 

 he veered enough towards the northwest to reach Chiriqui (3430 

 meters) , or further yet, Pico Blanco (3600 meters) , which is nearer 

 the sea to the north. 



The only explorers who, in modern times, ascended the highest 

 volcanoes" of Central America, MM. A. Dollfus and deMontserrat, 61 

 never mention in their detailed and interesting accounts the special 

 illness of great heights; yet they knew it, having experienced it, as 

 we shall see later, in their journey to Popocatepetl. 



The high inhabited plateaux of Mexico have caused similar ob- 

 servations, and we shall see, in the chapter devoted to the an- 

 alysis of theoretical explanations given by authors, that it was in 

 regard to these plateaux that the discussion which was most fruit- 

 ful for the topic of this book arose. I shall copy here two interest- 

 ing quotations relating to symptoms observed in animals: 



Horses and mules in Mexico (says Burkhardt) 62 are subject to a 

 disease which is little or not at all known in Europe. If while the sun 

 is hot they are driven to great efforts or to rapid and continuous move- 

 ment, they are often seized by palpitations and an acceleration of the 

 pulse and circulation so great that they have strong convulsions over 

 their whole bodies. 



Profuse bleeding is the only remedy against this disease, which 

 the Mexicans call asoleado. ... So before buying a horse or mule, the 

 purchaser takes care to make the animal gallop a little, and then to 

 notice whether palpitations in the withers give evidence of the disease. 

 Animals often fall, as a result of this affection, if they are compelled to 

 work uninterruptedly. (Vol. I, p. 63.) 



