ARRIVAL AT THE SUMMIT. 147 



they could reach the casucha_, which is not more 

 than a quarter of a mile distant. The day was 

 beautifully clear and fine ; but high wind, which 

 the rarefied atmosphere rendered piercingly cold. 

 The thermometer stood at 34''. On the top is a 

 small flat, but the view is still bounded by moun- 

 tains of eternal snow, where human foot has 

 never trod. I picked up a few stones, and did 

 not fail to think of those fi-iends in England to 

 whom I had promised to bring some memento 

 from the summit of the Cordillera of the Andes. 

 As I had heard the puna, or difficulty of breath- 

 ing, so much spoken of, and so much dreaded 

 by travellers, I paid particular attention to it, 

 and cannot say that I felt any more inconve- 

 nience than I should have done, in undergoing 

 such a continued labour, even had it not been 

 at such an elevation. All I felt was great thirst, 

 which I partially allayed by eating the snow as 

 I ascended the mountain; but strange to say, 

 instead of alleviating, this only irritates it, and 

 it was a long time before we got to water, for 



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