1 88 THE SNOWFIELDS AND GLACIERS OF KENYA part ii 



The effect of exposure at high altitudes on Zanzibari is 

 more important than that upon Europeans in regard to the 

 prospects of future work upon the mountain. The men left in 

 the camp above the forests suffered from biliousness, but I had 

 no opportunity of watching them. Fundi Mabruk at the 

 height of 15,400 feet showed all the symptoms of genuine 

 mountain sickness, and suffered from a severe headache for 

 days afterwards. He frequently told me during the return 

 march what a funny feeling came over him ; but this, with the 

 impossibility of boiling his beans, and the freezing of the water 

 at night, he attributed to the witchcraft which possessed the 

 mountain. The other men, however, did not remain long 

 above 11,200 feet, and any symptoms of mountain sickness 

 were masked by the ordinary results of cold, exposure, and 

 imperfectly cooked food. But if the effects of the low pressure 

 had been very marked, they would probably have been recog- 

 nisable. It is therefore likely that the men might have 

 reached a much higher elevation if they had been properly 

 clothed and fed ; while as far as I personally was concerned, 

 I felt no doubt that I could have ascended at least another 

 two thousand feet before being stopped by the rarefaction of 

 the air. 



