152 Historical 



It is curious (she says) to note the different effects of the 

 different passes. Although the painful sensations observed undeniably 

 result from the rarity of the air, it is certain that the illness is not 

 proportional to the elevation. On the passes of Bara Lacha and 

 Hannoo, I was wretchedly sick, beyond all description, and on the 

 pass of Parung, 3000 or 4000 feet higher, I had no nausea, hardly a 

 headache. I had difficulty in breathing, but that seems to me a 

 secondary matter. 



I am far from being able to give a satisfactory reason for this 

 difference. I have crossed so many passes that I have had many 

 opportunities to note how little relation there is between the "pass 

 sickness" and the elevation, of course, beyond 13,000 or 14,000 feet. 

 The "Bischk-ke-B66ttie", or poisonous plant, covered the ground many 

 miles around Tatung. (P. 33.) 



The journeys of Captain Oliver - 33 in the Himalayas also offer 

 an account of impressions connected with our topic. In July, 1859, 

 he crossed the pass of Roopung, at about 15,500 feet (4720 meters) : 



We camped at the lower line of perpetual snow, at 14,000 feet 

 above sea level. It was very cold .... 



We set out the next morning over the snow .... The summit of 

 the pass appeared in a wild and desolate scene. But I heeded it little, 

 being occupied with myself, for the rarefaction of the air was acting 

 upon me. I suffered from a painful shortness of breath, and soon I 

 had to stop every two or three steps. The snow was soft, which made 

 walking still more difficult .... I finally reached the last slope, a 

 bank of snow 50 feet high and very steep .... But at the moment 

 I was so completely exhausted that I was quite unable to cross it 

 without assistance. However, after a short halt, I made a desperate 

 effort, and somehow or other I reached the summit, where I stretched 

 myself out on the ground, absolutely exhausted. (P. 84.) .... 



This pass is much frequented by the Tartars who bring borax 

 and wool to the Indian markets. They suffer greatly, however, from 

 the rarefaction of the air, but attribute its symptoms to a poisonous 

 plant, a fabulous plant, which, according to them, grows at great 

 elevations. 



They are also subject to violent attacks of colic in the passes .... 

 One of my Sikhs was attacked by it; he lay down on the summit, 

 groaning, and declaring that he was going to die; thirty drops of 

 laudanum restored him. (P. 85.) 



The same year, another traveller, Cheetam,-' 34 took the road 

 from Simla to Srinagar; August 17, 1859, he crossed the pass of 

 Lunga-Lacha at 16,750 feet (5100 meters) : 



I then had my first experience of the harmful effects which greatly 

 rarified air, bad weather, and fatigue produce at great elevations. 



Vertigo, violent headache, and nausea, such are the character- 

 istic sensations, to which is agreeably added a feeling of intense 

 exhaustion, a profound physical and mental depression. Happily, in 



