128 Historical 



September 8, 1837, Taylor Thomson 195 camped on the mountain 

 side at an elevation of 2000 meters. The next morning, he set out: 



I had not been climbing more than an hour, when two of my men 

 refused to go any further .... I kept on with the other two, but one 

 of them complained so bitterly of headache and palpitations that I 

 had to let him go back. By entreaties and threats I kept the other as 

 far as the crater: the cold was extreme .... The temperature was 

 56 °F., the barometer stood at 15.05 inches .... which corresponds to 

 14,700 feet (4480 meters). 



The other ascent was made July 24 and 25, 1858, by members 

 of the different European missions to Teheran. The English 

 attache, R. F. Thomson, has given a detailed account of it. 196 



On July 24, camp was made for the night at the village of Rina 

 (3920 meters); the thermometer registered 0° centigrade. On the 

 morning of July 25, they set out early: 



The ascent of this part of the mountain brought on great fatigue 

 especially on account of the rarefaction of the air which began to 

 affect our lungs .... 



The last part of the ascent of Bamshi Bend was extremely painful 

 because of the rarefaction of the air. We felt nausea and violent 

 headache and a great difficulty in breathing, even while resting. M. 

 de Saint-Questin, of the French mission, and M. Castelli, a Sardinian, 

 who accompanied us, were affected like us. When we had rested a 

 little and were less tired, we began our observations. They indicated 

 the enormous height of 21,520 feet (6560 meters). 587 



We remained at the summit about an hour and a half. (P. 15.) 



8. Central Asia. 



In the last half of the thirteenth century, a famous traveller, 

 Marco Polo, 198 was the first European to penetrate into the lofty 

 regions of the plateaux of Central Asia. The celebrated Venetian, 

 no doubt, as has been proved by the testimony of those who fol- 

 lowed his steps five hundred and fifty years afterwards, must 

 have felt the phenomena of which we shall soon give many 

 descriptions, and must have observed their effects upon his com- 

 panions and his beasts of burden; but his account gives no 

 suggestion of it: 



Always one rides through mountains, and mounts so high that it 

 is said that this is the highest spot in all the world. (P. 130.) . . . . 



No flying fowl is there, because of height and cold. And I tell 

 you that fire, through this great cold, is not so bright nor so warm as 

 in other places, nor can it cook viands so well. (P. 133.) 



This place, the highest in the world, is, as the English traveller 



