The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-11-06
Curious Effects of Altitude in Lead
villa

A letter from Leadville, Col, the great
mining town, says: | saw but very few
cases of intoxication in the streets,
though the three hundred saloons in the
city held out their best inducements. |
was surprised at this, as one of the nota-
BILE effects of the great altitude of the
place Q0.3 feet above the level of the
sea) is that all fermented liquors intoxi-
cate more quickly than a lower elevation.
The boiling point, owing to the decrease
of atmospheric pressure is much lower
than at Chicago, and the a.cohol is
sooner vaporized and taken into
the circulation. producing intoxication
quicker.
The boiling point of water here is
about 100 degrees, instead of 2l2 de-
q ees, the effect Of which in boiling
beans, eggs, potatoes, etc, is that it re-
quires long while to cook them in an
open vessel, and it is necessary to keep
the vessel well covered, or the water
will vaporize and escape before being
raised to the requisite degree for cook
ing. At this elevation much air is re-
quired to i'll and satisfy the lungs, and
breathing must be quicker in order to
properly oxygenize the blood. 1t is
said, too, that after one has been here
some time, the coloring matter of the
blood becomes darker, being changed
from the peroxide to the sesquioxide of
iron. With person suffering under
any difficulty or disease of the heart, the
effect of any long continued eXertion. is
to cause a dangerous degree of palpita-
,ion, and even with persons entirely
! well, the pulse runs extremely high.
There are other and notable facts con-
cerned with this altitude. There are
few birds seen here-perhaps for the
reason that flying is difficult in the light
air. The common house-Hy. the sum-
mer pest of our eastern housekeepers. is
unknown hera. There are some of the
t-door blue-bottle variety here, but
| they seem languid and tired. 1t is said
also that cats cannot live here. This is
probably owing to their delicate organ
ization being unable to resist the rigor
of the night air. So the "voices of the
night" are not heard in this locality,
and the bootjacks are reserved for their
natural uses.
Another result of the lightness of the
| air is that, having so little density, it is
easy heated by artificial means. Our
nights are universally co'd-so cold that
| it is uncomfortable to sit without fire /;
but few pine chips or small sticks will
warm an apartment very quickly. At
the same time the suns rays do not seem
TO have the heating power that they do
in the lower elevation. This seems to
confirm the theory that there is no sub
stantial caloric in the rays of the sun,
but heat is the result of chemical action,
generated by the direct rays with the
element of the atmosphere-the direct
ness of the rays and the density of the
| atmosphere. While standing high upon
these mountains, even at distance from
any snowdrifts and where the mir is still,
the summer sun has only sufficient power
to make the air refreshing ana pleasant,
while you on the plains are sweltering
under torrid heat. In the shade of a
rock or two it is always cool enough.
! The effect of the altitude is the same
as that experienced by ballonists, who in
ascending from the surface of the earth,
even on the hottest days, soon find ii
necessary to don their overcoats and
warmest clothing. In the night here a
good supply of blankets is always neces-
sary, and nearly every morning heavy
frosts are found, and sometimes thick
scales of ice are formed. The crests OF
some of the mountains and many of the
deep ravines upon their sides are still
| full of masses of snow SO con pact that
one can walk over them without sink
| ing. A day or two ago, in visiting
mine close to the summit of Mount
Bross, was compelled to cross field o.
snow, hanging over the edge, which
must have been mile in length ana
probably in places twenty feet in depth