148 Historical 



But if doubt is possible in this case, it certainly is not in the 

 following quotations. July 6, crossing of the pass of Bara-Lacha; 

 Mistress Hervey was very ill: 



I had severe pains in my legs, and felt extreme lassitude, long 

 before reaching the summit of the pass; but I made a violent effort 

 to overcome these sensations, and succeeded in riding to the summit. 

 As soon as we dismounted, a terrible, splitting headache attacked me. 

 Before reaching Yunnumscutschoo, I had suffered from nausea and 

 felt as if my head were going to split. The principal sensations were 

 a very painful and very intense throbbing in my temples, violent 

 nausea, pains in my legs, and a lassitude amounting to prostration. 

 No one else was sick in the camp, except Ghaussie, who had a bad 

 headache. 



I could not get to sleep at night before one or two o'clock, and 

 was awakened by the throbbing of my heart, so violent that I felt 

 serious fears about it. My pulse was galloping, my head was burning 

 and my temples throbbed, and I was wretchedly nauseated. We did 

 not set out until late the next morning, and if I had not felt better, 

 we could not have moved at all. Captain H. told me that he had had 

 a bad headache during the night, that he had felt tired and ill, but 

 that nevertheless he had not suffered as much this time as the last 

 time he had crossed the pass, for then he had had the same sensations 

 as I ... . 



The pass of Bara-Lacha is, I think, between 16,000 and 17,000 

 feet above sea level, according to Captain Cunningham. (Vol. I, p. 

 133.) 



Mistress Hervey then relates that the natives of the country 

 attribute all these symptoms to the effect of a poisonous plant; 

 but this time, the plant is a kind of moss. We shall quote this 

 passage in Chapter III. 



The next day, the road, which still ran along at great heights, 

 several times forced the travellers to ascend small hills: 



As we ascended (says Mrs. Hervey) I noticed a great many 

 poisonous mosses, two or three species of which were growing on bare 

 rocks. 



I had a terrible headache, and was shivering with a return of 

 the terrible "pass sickness" or, as the natives say, from being 

 "boottee luggeea", that is, affected by the plants. 



Tomorrow we shall ascend the Long-Illachee Joth (or pass), 

 and descend it, which promises to me a fine day of boottee. (Vol. I, 

 p. 139.) 



And in fact, when she reached Rokchin (Ladak) the next day, 

 Mistress Hervey declared that she was so sick and so weak that 

 she could not write. July 9, after a night's rest, she could hardly 

 write and had to remain lying down. Two of her servants were 



