460 



A^A TURE 



\J\Iarch 17, 1881 



way. "Imagining that I was attacked by fever, I took 

 thirty grains of sulphate of quinine in the course of the 

 night, and was covered up with a mountain of blankets ; 

 but next morning there was nothing the matter, and as 

 the symptoms were precisely those which occurred at a 

 later period, when we were evidently affected by low 

 aUiiospheric pressure, I ultimately concluded that it was 

 through this that the indisposition was caused. 



" At this point allow me to say a few words further with 

 regard to the troubles which occur to persons who get to 

 great altitudes. Although the heights of the Andes which 

 we were about to visit had not been well determined, 

 there was reason to believe that several of them ap- 

 proached, if they did not e.xceed, 30,000 feet. At the 

 time of our departure there were only three tolerably 

 well- authenticated instances of persons having reached 

 that height on land, and I could learn nothing whatever 

 which was of the least service respecting the e.\periences 

 of those who were engaged in those expeditions. But 

 from others, who had reached altitudes of from 17,000 to 

 18,000 feet, I heard a confirmation of my supposition 

 that, at such great elevations, I ought not to expect a 

 continuance of the immunity from mountain sickness 

 which I had hitherto enjoyed. 



" I made up my mind, therefore, before we left, that, 

 sooner or later, we should suffer like the rest of the 

 world ; but, being of opinion, as I have already said, 

 that patience would overcome mountain sickness, it was 

 m>- intention, on all our expeditions, first to establish 

 camps as high as we could force the natives and mules. 

 As it would be impossible to retain the natives at those 

 positions, it became necessary to provide ourselves with 

 food sufficient for weeks, or even for months, so that, in 

 the event of our failing in our enterprises, either 

 from badness of weather, mountain sickness, or other 

 causes, we should not have the mortification of being 

 obliged to abandon our positions simply from want of 

 sustenance." 



Mr. Whymper then described the establishment of 

 his second camp on Chimborazo at the height of 

 16,500 feet above the level of the sea, and said, 

 " Although we had succeeded in establishing our 

 camp on the selected spot, it had only been done 

 by the greatest exertions on the part of my people 

 and their beasts. The mules were forced up to the 

 very last yard that they could go, and staggering under 

 their burdens (which were scarcely more than half the 

 weight they were accustomed to carry), stopped repeatedly, 

 and by their trembling, falling on their knees, and general 

 beha\'iour, showed that they had been driven to the verge 

 of exhaustion. When we arrived at the second camp, we 

 ourselves were in good condition ; which was to be ex- 

 pected, as we had ridden up the entire distance from 

 Guaranda ; but within an hour I found myself lying on 

 jny back, along with both of the Carrels, placed hors-dc- 

 comhat, and incapable of making the least exertion. We 

 knew that our enemy was upon us at last, and that we 

 were experiencing our first attack of mountain sickness. 



" We were feverish, had intense headaches, and were un- 

 able to satisfy our desire for air, except by breathing with 

 open mouths. This naturally parched the throat, and 

 produced a craving for drink, which we were unable to 

 satisfy, partly from the difficulty of obtaining it, and 

 partly from the chfficulty of swallowing it. For, when 

 we got enough, we were unable to drink, we could 

 only sip ; and not to save our lives could we have taken 

 a quarter of a pint at a draught. Before one-tenth part 

 of it was down, we were obliged to stop for breath, and 

 gasp again, until our throats were as dry as ever. Besides 

 having our normal rate of breathing largely accelerated, 

 we found it impossible to get along, without every now 

 and then giving a spasmodic gulp, just like fishes when 

 they are taken out of water. Of course there was no 

 desire to eat ; but we wished to smoke ; and found that 



our pipes almost refused to bum, for they, like ourselves, 

 wanted more oxygen. 



This condition of affairs lasted all night and all the 

 next day, and I then managed to pluck up spirit enough 

 to get out the chlorate of potash, which, by the advice of 

 Dr. Marcet, I had brought in case of need. Chlorate of 

 potash was, I believe, first used in mountain travel by 

 Dr. Henderson, in the Karakorum range, and it was sub- 

 sequently employed on Sir Douglas Forsyth's Mission to 

 Yarkand in 1873-4. The surgeon to the expedition states 

 that he distributed little bottles of it amongst the members 

 of the embassy, and says that, from his own experience, 

 he can testify to its value in mitigating the distressing 

 symptoms produced by a continued deprivation of the 

 natural quantity of oxygen in the atmosphere. Before 

 my departure. Dr. Marcet urged me to experiment, with 

 the view of confirming these experiences. Ten grains to a 

 wine-glass of water was the dose recommended, to be 

 repeated every two or three hours if necessary. I say 

 distinctly that 1 tlunight it was of use, though it must be 

 admitted it was not easy to determine, as one miglit have 

 recovered just as well without taking any at all. Anyhow, 

 after taking it the intensity of the symptoms diminished ; 

 there were fewer gaspings, and in a degree a feeling of 

 relief. I am so far in favour of its use, that 1 shaU 

 always carry it on future expeditions. Louis Carrel also 

 submitted himself to experiment, and seemed to derive 

 benefit, but Jean Antoine, the elder of the two, sturdily 

 refused to take any doctor's stuff, which he regards as an 

 insult to intelligence. ****** 



"It seems curious to relate that Mr. Perring (interpreter) 

 did not appear to suffer at all. Except for him we shoidd 

 have fared somewhat badly. He kept the fire going— no 

 easy task, for the fire appeared to suffer from want of 

 o.xygen just like ourselves, and it required such incessant 

 blowing that I shall consider for the future a pair of 

 bellows an indispensable part of a mountaineer's equip- 

 ment. Mr. Perring behaved on Chimborazo in an ex- 

 emplary manner. He melted snow, and brought us 

 drink, and attended to our wants in general. It goes, 

 therefore, somewhat against the grain to say that he had 

 been for a number of years in Ecuador much addicted to 

 pursuits which play havoc with the human frame. He 

 was so far debilitated that he could not walk a quarter of 

 a mile on a flat road without desiring to sit down, or 100 

 yards on a mountain side without being obliged to rest. 

 Had 1 been aware of his previous history, he certainly 

 would not have accompained us. 



"You will naturally inquire — How can you account for 

 this man, of shattered constitution (who also was no 

 mountaineer) being unaffected, when the three others, 

 who where all more or less accustomed to high as- 

 cents, were for a time, completely incapable ? The 

 explanation appears to be this. Perring had been for a 

 long time residing in the interior, at heights of from 

 9000 to 10,000 feet, and had several times passed back- 

 wards and forwards over the Arenal, a height of over 14,000 

 feet. The mean elevation at which he had resided during 

 the previous ten years was, in all probability, much higher 

 than the mean elevation at which we others had lived ; 

 and it would probably have been found, had he been sub- 

 jected to examination, that his manner of respiration, and 

 even his organs of respiration, had become better adapted 

 to a pressure of i6i inches, which was the height of the 

 mercurial column at our second camp.'' * * * 



Mr. Whymper and his Italian mountaineers remained 

 in the same condition for several days. At length the 

 Carrels, becoming better, were eager to be off exploring, 

 and they were sent upwards to find a higher camping 

 place. " They returned soon after dusk, both extremely 

 exhausted. They could scarcely keep on their legs, and 

 threw themselves down and went to sleep, without eating 

 or drinking. Their condition, and the report which I heard 

 next dav, rendered it certain that our second camp, as a 



