160 Historical 



I shall end this long series of quotations with an extract from 

 the work which Fr. Drew L ' 43 recently devoted to the geography of 

 Jumnoo and Cashmere. 



In the description of the lofty valleys of Ladak, Drew begins 

 with that of Rupshu, the average elevation of which is from 14,000 

 to 15,000 feet (4270 to 4570 meters) ; the line of perpetual snow 

 there is at about 20,000 feet. A wretched tribe, of one hundred 

 tents, lives there, the Rupshu Champas. In a special section the 

 author discussed the influence of the rarified air: 



At great elevations, in addition to the oppression and the short- 

 ness of breath, one feels headaches and nausea, as happens at the 

 beginning of fever or seasickness, but with no modification in the 

 temperature of the body. In some persons, at high levels, vomiting 

 occurs, but has no serious consequences, and the patient recovers 

 when he descends to lower regions, provided however, that the organs 

 are not diseased; rarity of the air generally reveals lesions of the 

 lungs or heart. 



The elevation at which these symptoms are observed varies in a 

 peculiar way, and it is not easy to find the cause of these inequalities. 

 The condition of the health has a great deal to do with it; a man in 

 good condition can endure a much higher elevation than a man who 

 is not accustomed to exercise. That is evident first when one exerts 

 himself a little more than usual, as in running or climbing some hill; 

 under these conditions, in persons who live above 6,000 feet the 

 symptoms usually appear at 11,000 or 12,000 feet. At 14,000 and 15,000 

 feet, there sometimes appears what may be called an attack of short- 

 ness of breath, even when one is resting. The first time I visited 

 Rupshu, that happened to me during the night, when I had been in 

 bed about a half -hour; but after a week, I overcame this tendency, 

 and since then I have not felt any difficulty in breathing while I was 

 resting, even when I camped 2,000 or 3,000 feet higher. Likewise I 

 knew a native of Punjab, unused to muscular labor, it is true, who 

 had an attack at 11,000 feet. 



But although one can become accustomed to the rarity of the air 

 to a certain extent, and not feel it at all, the slightest effort will bring 

 on its effects. At 15,000 feet, climbing the gentlest slope makes one 

 more breathless than scrambling up a very steep hill at a lower 

 altitude. Talking or walking, even on a level, soon produces breath- 

 lessness. When one is at great elevations— and here every thousand 

 feet make a great change — climbing a slope is a painful labor. I have 

 crossed a pass at an elevation of 19,500 feet which lower would have 

 caused no trouble; and yet at every 50 or 60 steps, I was absolutely 

 forced to stop, panting, to get my breath; but yet I did not feel any 

 headache or other painful symptom; acclimatization to the mountains 

 for a month or two permitted me to sleep under these conditions. 

 (P. 291.) 



