Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-10-13
VISIT TO Ell MISTL
wards Lofty Meteorological
Station There.

To the Harvard university belongs
the credit of having esta blished the
highest meteorological station in the
| world. 1t is nearly four miles above
the sea level, and is situated on the
summit of El Misti a quiescent volcano
near Arequipa, Peru. The main sta
tion connected with the Harvard OBJ
servatory is at Arequipa itself at an
altitude of $3.50 feet. There are seven
other stations at varying attitudes,
including one at the base of FL Misti,
1900 feet above the sea level. The
one on the summit is at an altitude
OF 19,20O, about $500 feet higher than
the meteorological station on Mount
Blanc. These observatories were es-
tabIished under the will of Uriah \.
Boyden in 1891 and subsequent years,
the one on the summit of FL Misti be-
ing started in October, 1893, by Prof.
Solon l. Bailey, then in charge of the
Arequipa observatory, after an un-
satisfactory trial of station estab-
lished by Prof. William II. Pickering
in the preceding year on Charcani at
an elevation of 1860 feet.
ut "TRIP 10 the summit L. DN no
means an easy one, and the altitude
of the Misti is so great that almost
everyone going up suffers from noun
tain sickness. Although it has thus
far been impossible, in view of the
great altitude and the distance OF the
Misti station, to secure complete and
continuous records from it, still the
broken records which have been OBJ
tanned are sc interesting that this TO
considerable extent makes up for
their fragmental character. The
writer visited the Misti station twice
during recent stay of three months
in Arequipa. The trip up and back oc-
cupies two days, and is accomplished
entirely on muleback.
1t is, of course, an extremely for
tunate circumstance that no phys
ical eXertion need be made in the
ascent, for if persons unaccustomed
to climbing at high attitudes were
obliged to go on foot up the noun
tains they would doubtless suffer Sc
yerely from mountain sickness, for it
is we'll known that exercise always
increases the disagreeable symptoms
of this malady.
At the height OF 13, 400 feet, where
it was necessary to walk about 300
feet slightly uphill to visit the instru-
ment shelter, the writer was obliged
to walk slowly, and even then got
quite out of breath, but no consider
able effects of the altitude were no.
ticed until after the arrival at the
M. B." hut. at the altitude of 15.7OO
feet. Here the slight exertion of dis
mounting from the mule and walking
into the hut brought on violent
headache, and the feeling of cxhaus-
tion was so great that any exercise,
even of the most trifing character,
seemed impossible.
While the ascent of the NTisti is a
very easy one, and is not for a mo-
ment to be compared to the difficult
climb up such mountains as Aeon
cagua or Mont Blanc. the altitude is
so great that a study of the physio-
logical effects it produces is interest
ing. The writer Jared very well, bet
ter, in fact than most of those who
have made the ascent. One of the
former assistants of the observa tory,
to be sure, made the trip more than
so times, and never experienced any
discomfort, and one gentleman was
so well on the summit that he was
able to smoke there. These. how
ever, are the exceptions. Aim ost every
one has headache, nausea and feel
ing of intense weakness, and mary are
subject to faintness. The experience
of the native guides, who are Of mixed
Spanish and Indian blood, is very
striking in contrast to that of for
eigners. These natives are usually
able to walk all the way to the sum-
nit from the hut without any diff
Guilty, and feel as well on the top as
they do at the base.-Boston Tran
script.
Art lot