36 MOUNTAIN OBSERVATORIES IN AMERICA AND EUROPE

made on mule-back

in

about

eighthours

and

the self-recordinginstru-

ments

of the station are visited periodically.

Mountain

-sickness, in

some

form, is almost invariably experienced

by

visitors. This hijah- level station is only a part of

an

extensiveseries of meteorological stations established

by

the

Harvard

College Observatory.

Another

high-level observing station is

on

the

summit

of

El

Misti, 19,200 feet high. In February, 1894, the Misti

was

covered ^"with

enormous

quantities of snow." It is intended to establish other meteorological stations

on

the eastern slopes of the

Andes,

so as to

make

a

thorough

studyof the climate

from

the Pacific eastwards.

A

^high-level meteorologicalstation hasalso

been opened

atCayal-

loma

(15,500 ^feet)

and

70 miles northof Arequipa.

The

line ofmeteorological stations maintained

by

the

Harvard

Col- legeObservatory

now

(1895) extends

from

thecoast, acrossthe

Andes,

to thevalley of the

Amazon. They

include

Mollendo

(altitude 10(>

feet),

La Joya

(4150),

Arequipa

(8060),

Alto

de los

Huesos

(13,300), Mt.

Blanc

station

on

the Misti (15,600), El Misti (19,200), Ciizco (11,000),

and

Santa

Ana

(3000).

Near Arequipa

there are three

very high peaks — ^Pichupichu

^(18,600

feet). El Misti (19,200),

and Chachani

(20,000).

In Appalachia (vol. vii.) Prof.

W. H.

Pickering gives a very instructive account of his ascent of El Misti,

which

is

an

active vol- cano, ashas

been

mentioned.

The

Indian guides

and

porters, carrying fifty pounds,

were

not atall affected

by

mountain-sickness

and kept

in front of the best climbers of Professor Pickering's party.

At

16,600 feet one ofthe party

was

obliged togive

up

the ascent

on

account of a severeattack of mountain-sickness. All theparty were

much

affected at the last

camp

(18,440 ^feet). Professor Pickering

and

the guides alone reached the

summit

(19,200 ^feet)

on

the

next

day.

Mr.

Waterbury,

formerly of the University of California,

was

in charge of the meteorological instruments

on El

Misti, etc. (19,300 feet), till 1896. It

was

his

duty

to

make

the ascentonce inten

days

atlea^st,

and he

has

accomplished

fifty-two

such

ascents.

Most

persons,

he

says, are greatly distressed

by

mountain-sickness at

such

elevatiois,

but

he ^"experienced littletrouble." ^"

Wind

isalways

blowing on

the

mountain

atarate of

30

milesper

hour

;

and

the temperature ranges

from + ³⁸

^{° to ° F.}

^The

^{trip occupies}

^two

^{days, the first night}

being spent ata shelter station at

6000

feet.

The

rest of theascent takes five hours.

A

bridle-path has

been made

after great difficulty, to the

summit and mules now go

to the top, tlichighestelevation that

they have

everreached."

Professor Pickering has

some

further

remarks on

mountain-sick- nessas observedat a

mountain camp on Chachani

at a heightof 16,600

MOUNTAIN OBSERVATORIES IN AMERICA AND EUROPE.

37 feet in 1892.

A hut was

built here

and

abridle-patliled to it

and

a

number

of visitors

went

as high as this, riding

on

mules. It some- times

happened

that a ^dsitor

would

arrive perfectly well,

and

fifteen minutes later

be

completely prostrated.

Recovery was sometimes

rapid,

but

usually not so:

We

found thatall persons with blood of thewhite races intlieirveins were subjecttothe complaint, thepure-blooded Indians only beingmoreorlessexempt.

Half-breeds

who

hadspentalltheirlivesinArequipawereoftenmoresusceptible toit thanourselves. In

my own

case this susceptibility rapidly wore off and

:ifter

my

firstnight on tlie Misti I never again felt any very serious incon- venience.

Professor Pickering

went

to a height of 19,000 feet

on Chachani

w'itliout

any

premonitions ofmountain-sickness.

The summit

of this high mountain, Chachani, is said to

have been

i-oached

by

several persons, but there is

no

authentic record of such ascent until

May,

1893,

when

Professor Schaeberle, of the

Lick

Observatory, in

company

with Professor Bailey, Mr.

Duncker, and

three natives, attempted the ascent. Professor Schaeberle

and one

native reached Little Chachani, a

peak two

or three

thousand

feet below the principal summit,the othersbeingprostratedwith mountain- sickness.

From

his report

on

the solar eclipse of April, 1898, the following notes aretaken:

At thefirst

camp

(about16,000 feetin elevation)theskywas not deepbluebut hazy.

A

four-inch telescopewasusedat night on bright stars and the moon.

"While the character of the images wasless favorable than at Arequipa,the curious feature of very activecommotioninthestellarimagewithoutany accom- panyingblurring,and the diffraction-rings, appeared

much

the same as at the observatory below. Themoon'simagealsohadthesamewoolly, surface-creeping look.''

Professor Schaeberle's

remarks on

mountain-sickness are very in- structive.

One member

of the party (Mr.

Duncker) was

seriously affected

and became

delirious.

He

reacheda height ofabout 16,800

feet.

On

the

next day

Professor Bailey

was

obliged to give

up

the ascentat

about

the

same

elevation.

The

Indian guides

were

not in theleast affected, either

by

cold or mountain-sickness; theyate freely

and

carried considerable loads. ProfessorSchaeberle's full

and

inter- esting report {oj). cit)should be read.

He

^is of the opinion that it will always

be

impossible forobservers to live

and work

at these great altitudes.

The main

interest to astronomersinthe

Harvard

College Observatory ex])editions to

South America

is in the establishment of a well- equij)ped observatory at

Arequipa

(8060 feet).

Here

a large equa-

torial ofthirteen inches aperture

was

installed in 1891,

and

ithas

been