Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1879-11-07
Curious Effects of Altitude in Lead
VjIIa

A letter from Leadville, Col, the great
mining town, says: / saw but very few
cases of intoxicatien 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 Go, 300 feet above the level OF the
sea) is that all fermented liquors lntoXl-
cate more quickly than 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-
gees. the effect of which in boiling
beans, eggs, potatoes, etc., is that it re-
ouires a long while to cook them in an
omen 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 fill and satisfy the lungs, and
breathing must be quicker in order to
properly oxygenize the blood. 1t is
said, too, that alter one has oeen here
some time, the coloring matter OF the
blood becomes darker, being changed
from the peroxide to the sesquioxide of
iron. With a person suffering under
any difficulty or disease of the heart, the
effect of any long continued eXertlon- lis
to cause dangerous degree OF palpita-
ton, 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-fy. the sum-
mer pest of our eastern housekeepers. is
unknown here. There are some OF the
outdoor 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 theil
natural uses.
Another result of the lightness of tht
air is that, having so little density, it il
easy heated by artificial means: Oul
nights are universally co'd-so cold thai
it is uncomfortable to sit without fire
but few pine chips or small sticks viii
warm an apartment very quickly. A
the same time the suns rays do not seen
to have the heating power that they dt
in the lower elevation. This seems tt
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 tn
!, element of the atmosphere-the direct
ness of the rays and the density of tn
) atmosphere. While standing high upol
these mount aims, even at a distance from
any snowdrifts and where the air is still
: the summer sun has only sufficient powe
to make the air refreshing ana pleasant
, while you on the plains are swelterin
under a torrid heat. In the shade of
! rock or two it is always cool enough.
The effect of the altitude is the sam
5 as that experienced by ballonists, who i
I ascending from the surface of the eartl
even on the hottest days, soon find
u necessary to don their overcoats an
warmest clothing. In the night here
> good supply of blankets is always nece
!. sary, and nearly every morning heav
frosts are found, and sometimes thic
0 scales of ice are formed. The crests {
I some of the mountains and many of IL
IS deep ravines upon their sides are sti
: full OF masses of snow so CON pact tn;
e one can walk over them without sinl
q |, ing. A day or two ago. in visiting
n mine close to the summit of Moul
8 : Bross, was compelled to cross field
s snow, hanging over the edge, whic
le must have been mile in length an
o probably in places twenty feet in dept