52 TRA VELS AMONGST TEE GREA T ANDES, chap. hi. 



The symptoms come under the three heads, headache, dis- 

 turbance of the natural manner of respiration, and feverishness. 

 Headache with all three of us was intense, and rendered us almost 

 frantic or crazy. Before 6 p.m. on Dec. 27, we had, I believe, 

 been entirely free from headache in Ecuador. My own continued 

 acute until the 30th, and then it disappeared gradually. With 

 Louis it did not last quite so long, and Jean-Antoine got better 

 sooner than his cousin. When it was at its maximum we all 

 seemed to be about equally afflicted. The interference with our 

 natural manner of respiration was even more troublesome. At 

 6 p.m. we could move about, talk, or eat and drink freely, while 

 at 8 p.m. and throughout the night of the 27th, eating would 

 have been impossible, and to talk or drink was difficult. We 

 could only gasp ejaculations, or a few words at a time, and efforts 

 at conversation were cut short by irrepressible, spasmodic gulps ; 

 while, during the whole time, respiration was effected through 

 open mouths, the ordinary amount, of air taken in through the 

 nostrils being found inadequate. We were all feverish, but no 

 observations were made until 1 p.m. on the 28th, when my own 

 temperature was found to be 100° '4 Faht.^ It was no doubt 

 considerably higher in the previous night. '^ On this head, nothing 

 can be said in regard to the Carrels ; for, though they spoke of 

 feverishness, they positively declined both then and at all times 

 to have their temperatures taken. 



It will be understood from what has just been said that our 

 ' incapacity ^ was neither due to exhaustion or to deficiency of 

 bodily strength, nor was owing to inability to cope with mount- 

 aineering difficulties or to weakness from want of food,^ but was 

 caused by the whole of our attention being taken up in efforts to 



1 See Appendix F for the manner of observation. At Guaranda on Dec. 23 my 

 temperature was 98°-2; and at 10.30 a.m. on the 27th it was 98°-4. 



2 This was a cold night. The minimum thermometer was fixed in position 

 before we were incapacitated, and so I linow that temperature on the night of the 

 27th again fell to 21° Faht. 



^ The attack immediately followed a meal. 



