852 THE PUNA. 



tivatcd, seldom ripens ; the chief plant which grows to maturity 

 being the maca, which lias tuberous roots, and is used like 

 the potato. In consequence of the diminished pressure of the 

 air, water begins to boil at so low a temperature that neither 

 meat, potatoes, nor eggs, can be sufficiently cooked. From the 

 same cause, those unaccustomed to the rarefied air are afflicted 

 with an attack called the vcta — consisting of headache, nausea, 

 and producing even spitting of blood, and other disorders of 

 the mucous membrane. Horses suffer in the same way; and 

 cats are so affected that they die in violent convulsions. 

 There is another complaint, called the chunu, affecting the 

 skin of the hands and face, as well as the eyelids ; when, the skin 

 breaking, blood Hows from every opening. The suvumpc, by 

 which travellers are affected — the inflammation of the eyes 

 caused by the reflection from the snow — is still more painful. 

 Often the agony which even an Indian suffers from it is so 

 great, that he has been known to sit down and utter cries of 

 anguish ; while, occasionally, total blindness has been the ulti- 

 mate consequence. 



But it is time that we should turn to the brute creation 

 existing in these regions, noticing the interesting specimens 

 of the vegetable kingdom as we proceed in our survey. As 

 the camel is the characteristic animal of the sandy deserts of 

 Arabia and Africa, the royal tiger of the jungles of Bengal, 

 and the kangaroo of the wide-extending plains of Australia, 

 so the llama brings to our recollection the lofty plateaus of 

 the Andes, and the mighty condor its still higher peaks. 



