132 Historical 



times at our camp, just as I was going to sleep, I was aroused by this 

 sensation .... Although I experienced neither excessive cold nor 

 heat, my hands, my neck, and my face were red, the skin was sensi- 

 tive, and blood oozed from my lips, which had never before happened 

 to me. (P. 408.) 



He refers repeatedly to the oppression which precedes sleep: 



June 30, at sun-rise, the thermometer registered 46 °F I 



awoke very early, and at once was seized with difficulty in breathing 

 and great oppression in the heart, symptoms which disappeared after 

 a few deep inspirations. As I was going to sleep again, the smothering 

 reappeared, and respiration became very uneasy; however, as soon as 

 the air had grown warm, this distress lessened. (P. 412.) .... 



In the evening, although overcome by need of sleep, it was impos- 

 sible for me to fall asleep because of the smothering which came on 

 immediately, and which nothing but a few deep breaths could quiet. 

 (P. 415.) 



July 3, Moorcroft reached Daba. The rest of his journey did 

 not expose him to mountain sickness, on the cause and nature of 

 which he did not venture any hypothesis. 



In 1819, Moorcroft, in the company of Trebeck, began a long 

 expedition which was to end in 1825 with the death of the two 

 travellers. In the publication by Wilson - 11 of the results of this 

 journey, I have found nothing relating to mountain sickness. In 

 telling of his crossing of the pass of Chang-La, the highest he 

 had yet crossed, Moorcroft complained only of terrible cold 

 (Vol. I, P. 428). At the pass of Parang-La, the altitude of which 

 he estimates as about 19,000 feet, he says only: 



My horse was so unable to walk, before reaching the summit, that 

 I had to dismount and leave him to his fate. (Vol. II, p. 54.) 



Three years after the first journey of Moorcroft, Fraser,'-'- 

 who accompanied the political agent sent to the army of General 

 Martindale, went up the banks of the Jumna in 1815. He crossed 

 the mountains from Jumnotree to Gangotree by very lofty passes, 

 the height of which he does not give. 



On July 16 for the first time there appear in his narrative 

 symptoms which one may attribute to mountain sickness: 



We were much annoyed by the coolies (he says) .... It was 

 very difficult to start them moving, and they sat down after a few 

 steps, although their burdens had been greatly lightened in prepara- 

 tion for the difficulties of the march. They told us that they were 

 attacked by the Seran, or poisonous air coming from the flowers 

 which covered the ground (primroses, polyanthus, heather) ; and 

 although their condition was perhaps partly due to drink and excesses, 



