EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 181 



When alcohol is taken in excess it produces the familiar 

 symptoms of intoxication, which may pass subsequently into 

 a condition of stupor or even death, provided the quantity 

 taken is sufficiently great. So, also, the long-continued use of 

 alcohol in large quantities is known to produce serious lesions 

 of the stomach, liver, nerves, blood-vessels, and other organs. 

 The effect of alcohol upon the body evidently varies greatly 

 with the quantity used." 



EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS. 



[From The Nation.] 



" Dr. Otto Snell issued a card requesting mountain climb- 

 ers to forward their personal experiences and views to him. 

 He received sixty communications, thirty-seven of which, or 

 62%, condemn the use of liquors, wine, or beer, as an impedi- 

 ment rather than an aid. Twelve are for a moderate use of 

 wine, but pronounce against brandy and beer. Three believe 

 in taking brandy along, to be used, however, not as a stimu- 

 lant, but in case of need as a medicine or to mix with gla- 

 cier water. Only five of the sixty expressed their belief that 

 alcoholic drinks are beneficial or harmless to climbers. The 

 general conclusion drawn by Dr. Snell from these answers is 

 that, while in exceptional cases alcohol may be harmless, or 

 possibly useful, as a rule great moderation is desirable ; while 

 the majority of experts are for total abstinence until after 

 the climb is over, and some even strongly urge abstinence, or 

 great moderation, on the day before the expedition. One of 

 the correspondents expressed his conviction that the bottled 

 drinks taken along by climbers benefit no one but the tavern- 

 keepers from whom they buy them." 



In August, 1897, the writer climbed Pike's Peak, and spent 

 the night there. The keeper of the house there testified that 

 those who took alcoholic drink for the relief of giddiness, 



