COLORADO FOR INVALIDS, 317 



regain health they must be in constant motion, and that the more they 

 can be doing the sooner they will get well. They forget that their 

 disease is in itself a tremendous drain upon their vitality, and that 

 any additional strain is to be avoided. When the heart has become 

 accustomed to the additional work put upon it, by reason of the in- 

 crease in elevation, and the system has adapted itself to the new con- 

 ditions by which it is surrounded, it is well to undertake exercise of a 

 moderate character, and the best is riding horseback. Fortunately, 

 the price of ponies (from sixty to one hundred dollars) is so reasona- 

 ble and the sport so popular as to make this form of exercise both pos- 

 sible and attractive to every invalid. 



There is another fallacy inherent in the minds of many consump- 

 tives, coming to Colorado, which should be mentioned ; that is the 

 idea that the climate is the only factor in the cure of phthisis, and that 

 it will be sufficient for them simply to be breathing this dry air in 

 order to secure a complete recovery. It is most absurd to imagine that 

 an invalid can disregard all the laws of hygiene and health, can keep 

 irregular hours, smoke incessantly, disregard all changes of tempera- 

 ture, expose himself in every possible way to cold, in order that he 

 may become " toughened," and then expect that the climate is going 

 to work wonders in curing his trouble. And yet many a one, leading 

 just this type of life, grumbles at the climate, and wonders that he does 

 not recover his health ! 



This leads us to speak of the matter of clothing. The ranges of 

 temperature in Colorado are often very large, hence a person should 

 be prepared for both warm and cold weather. In winter one should 

 wear flannels and heavy clothes just as in New York ; in summer thin 

 garments will be comfortable at midday, but woolens will be needed 

 at night. The air is so dry and rare, and the soil is so exposed and 

 sandy, that both solar and terrestrial radiation are rapid. The sun's 

 rays heat rapidly, and, they being withdrawn, the air is rapidly cooled. 

 There is, however, this positive fact which makes thermometric varia- 

 tions unfair criteria on which to base comparisons as between Colo- 

 rado and the East. As has been shown, this air is exceedingly dry, and 

 consequently heat and cold, as indicated by the registration of the 

 mercury, are not felt as much as in ITew York. Mists are seldom 

 seen here, and dew is rarely deposited. 



The question of occupation for the invalid is one of prime impor- 

 tance, and has almost as direct a bearing upon his recovery as have 

 climate and proper care. Even if it be true that consumptives are, 

 as a rule, sanguine about themselves, it is equally true that, if a man 

 has nothing to think of but his health, he soon becomes a hypochon- 

 driac — ^a disease as much to be dreaded as any real malady — and every 

 physician, who has had much experience with chronic invalids, knows 

 how important it is that the mind should be " diverted." The writer 

 regards it as a great mistake for the phthisical invalid to be with- 



