Mountain Journeys 131 



in Tibet. He frequently lays stress upon the extraordinary height 

 of these regions and upon the cold and parching winds prevalent 

 there. The only observation that can be referred to the harmful 

 effect of altitude is the following; Turner was then at the foot of 

 Chumalari: 



When we had dismounted at Terma, I felt a violent headache, 

 which urged me to throw myself upon a rug; .... I was in pain and 

 did not wish to talk. (Vol. I, p. 312.) .... 



I attributed this headache, which gave me great pain, to the 

 change of climate. (P. 314.) 



Captain Thomas Hardwicke -«"' in 1796 made a journey to 

 Srinagar in Little Tibet, during which he seems to have mounted 

 to fairly great heights; but he mentions no symptoms that one 

 can attribute to mountain sickness. 



But with the celebrated journey of Moorcroft - 1 " who in 1312 

 crossed the Himalayas to reach Lake Manasarowar, begins a new 

 era, so to speak. After that, all the narratives of travellers will 

 contain clearly and often with details evidence of the sufferings 

 which altitude added to fatigue and cold. 



He left May 26, but it was not until June 4 that one finds in 

 his journal the indication of a special distress: 



Toward the end of this day (he says) I found that my respiration 

 quickened proportionately to the difficulties of the ascent, and I was 

 often compelled to stop and wait until the beating of my heart grew 

 calm. My companion had been suffering from this oppression for three 

 days, but I had not felt it at all until then. (P. 397.) 



Moorcroft does not specify the height which he had then 

 reached; he only speaks of a village named Niti where he made 

 his camp then. After a few days, he wished from there to make 

 the ascent of the neighboring mountains: 



On the morning of June 26, I set out. The ascent was very painful 

 because of the great difficulty in breathing; of five persons, only one 

 was capable of accompanying me .... I could not take more than 

 five or six steps without stopping to breathe .... Having suddenly 

 turned my back to the wind, I felt a sensation of fullness in my head, 

 with vertigo and threats of apoplexy; and so I quickly lay down on 

 the ground. Shortly afterwards, my panting slackened, the beating of 

 my heart became less violent, and I could rise. But in spite of pre- 

 cautions in walking, I was twice attacked by the same symptoms, 

 so that it seemed wise to me to give up ascending higher. 



The imperious necessity of stopping to breathe every four or five 

 steps was felt only while I was climbing. When the violent action of 

 the heart was lessened by rest, the difficulty in breathing disappeared. 

 It did not appear during the descent, even when I ran; but several 



