BOUGUER's voyage to PERU. 2^^ 



We found ourfelves, at firft, confiderably incommoded by the rarefadion of the 

 air, particularly thofe among us who had delicate lungs, felt the alteration moft, and 

 were fubject to little hemorrhages ; this no doubt arifes from the lightnefs of the 

 atmofphere, no longer aiding by its compreffion on the veflels, to the retention of 

 the blood, which on its fide maintains always the power of action. I did not 

 myfelf, when we had occafion to afcend much, obferve this inconvenience to increafe ; 

 perhaps the reafon migh^ be I was already inured to the country, or it might be owing 

 to the cold preventing the dilatation of the air to the degree it might otherwife have 

 been. Many of us while afcending, fainted, and were fubjed to vomiting ; but thefe 

 accidents were more the effe£t of wearinefs than a difficulty in breathing ; this is 

 inconteflibly proved by their never being fubjed to this inconvenience while on horfe- 

 back, and when they had attained the fummit, where the air, notwithftanding, was 

 more fubtle. I do not deny that this great rarefadlion haftens laffitude, and contri- 

 butes not a little to exhauftion, for refpiration becomes extremely oppreffive at every 

 exertion however trifling, and at the lead motion we make we are out of breath : but"" 

 ceafe thefe exertions and this motion, and the confequences are no more. I advance 

 nothing that I have not been many tmies witnefs to, and fhould have witnefled many 

 times more, had not experience quickly taught many among us that it was not per- 

 mitted us to expofe ourfelves to ' fo great a fatigue. 



Quito is at the foot of one of thefe mountains, named Pichincha, which belongs to 

 . the weftern chain of the Cordelier, and is that on the fide of the South Sea ; this is 

 afcended, as are the moft part of the others, very high on horfe-back. Many of thefe 

 mountains refemble each other, infomuch that their bafes are formed by feveral hills 

 covered with an argillaceous or common foil, from the middle of which a pyramid or 

 mafs of ftones rifes from one hundred and fifty to two hundred toifes in height. 

 There is fome appearance that in remote times the whole was covered with a foil, and 

 that it has Hided by degrees from, or fome finking occafioned by an earthquake, have 

 laid bare, the rocks. ' 



This part of Pichincha is very difficult to climb, we remained upon its fummit for 

 three weeks : the cold was very intenfe, fo much fo, that fome fcorbutic affections 

 began to make their appearance on fome of us, and the Indians, and other fervants 

 we had engaged in the country, experienced violent pains : they vomited blood, and 

 fome of them were obliged to defcend ; but this indifpofition was not continual while 

 we were ftationed upon the point of the rock, it arofe from the intenfenefs of the cold, 

 to which they had never been accuftomed ; the dilated ftate of the air did not appear 

 to be the caufe, at leaft the immediate or moft approximate caufe : I examined with 

 the more circumfpedion into this, as I was aware that the moft part of travellers had 

 been led into an error with regard to the circumftance, by not enough unravelling the 

 -different effeds. Frequently, when we have been at fupper in the evening, we have 

 had an earthen pah of fire, with many candles alight in the midft of us, and the door 

 of our cabin with double hides, and yet all would not prevent the water freezing in 

 our glaffes. We had every difficulty imaginable to manage a pendulum ; we were 

 continually in the clouds, which abfolutely veiled from our fight every thing but the 

 point of the rock upon which we were ftationed. Sometimes the fky would change 

 three or four times in the fpace of half an hour; a tempeft was followed by fine 

 weather, and in an inftant after, thunder, loud in degree to its proximity, ftruck upon 

 our ears ; our rock producing the fame effed with regard to it, as the fands of the 

 fea when the waves dafh againft them. We did not ufe our thermometer towards the 

 end of our ftay upon the rock, and when we thought the cold had become too intenfe ; 



but 



