69 だ 1817.3 Col. Beaufoy's Journey to the Summit of Mount Blanc. SELECT EXTRACTS. ACCOUNT OF COLONEL BEAUFor's mouni, accompanied by a guide who JOURNEY ΤΟ THE SUMMIT COLONEL BEAUFOY, a philosopher of considerable eminence, has lately published, in the Annals of Philosophy (No 50, Feb. 1817,) an interesting account of a journey which he made to the summit of Mount Blanc in the month of August of the year 1787.From about the year 1776, various unsuccessful attempts had been made, by different adventurers, to reach the summit of this stupendous mountain. -The first of these attempts was made in that year by M. Couteran, accompanied by three guides from the neigh bouring valley. After travelling four teen hours, during which they had made their way over many of the most hazardous and fatiguing parts of the ascent, they arrived at the eminence next to mount Blanc, at about 13,000 feet above the Mediterranean; but perceiving that four hours would still be necessary to accomplish their enter prise, that the day was far advanced, and that clouds were beginning to en velope the summit, they were obliged, with much regret, to give up the project they had so nearly accomplished. -The next attempt was made in September of the year 1784, by M. Bourrit, accompanied by six guides; but he was so affected by the intensity of the cold, when he had very nearly accomplished the object of his journey, that he found it to be a matter of absolute necessity to relinquish any hope of making farther progress. In the following year, 1785, Marie Coutet and James Balma reached a sheltered place at a very considerable elevation, where they passed the night, and were afterwards proceeding towards the summit of the mountain, when a vio lent storm of hail obliged them to desist. On the 13th of the same month, Saussure and Bourrit, with twelve guides, after having advanced about 7808 feet above the level of the sea, were also prevented by a fall of snow from accomplishing their design.-At last, on the 8th of August of the year 1786, Dr Paccard, a physician of Cha was skilled in the passes, and availing himself of the knowledge of the route which had been acquired by the attempts of former travellers, succeeded, after many discouraging accidents, in actually gaining the summit of the mountain.-The travellers remained about half an hour on a spot which had never probably been trod by any human foot, and where the cold was so intense as not only to freeze the provisions and ink which they carried along with them, but also to affect their own bodies with several very unpleasant and dangerous symptoms. The success of this expedition of Dr Paccard appears to have encouraged Saussure to a second attempt; and, accordingly, on the 14th of August 1787, he succeeded in conveying to the top of the mountain a pretty large assortment of philosophical instru ments, and of other conveniencies for the success of the expedition. He re mained on the summit of the mountain four hours, enjoying the satisfaction of a most extensive prospect, and diligently employing this favourable opportunity in the performance of sev eral interesting and instructive experi ments. At this vast elevation, of something more than 15,000 feet above the level of the sea, respiration was very sensibly affected a burning thirst seemed almost to parch the skin, and a particular aversion was at the same time felt for every kind of spirituous liquors-the only alleviation which the sensations of the travellers admitted, being that derived from copious and repeated draughts of fresh water. It will be seen in the sequel, that pre cisely the same effects were experien ced in the subsequent ascent which we are about to consider. The expedition of Col. Beaufoy was the third successful attempt to gain the summit of the mountain. It was undertaken only five days after that of M. Saussure, which we have now related; and to a few extracts from the Colonel's paper, comprehending what seems most remarkable in the journey, we shall now direct the attention of our readers. 60 Col. Beaufoy's Journey to the Summit of Mount Blanc. After detailing the preparations he had made for the successful prosecution of his journey, and giving an account of his progress during the first five hours after his departure, by which time he had arrived at the second glaciere, called the Glaciere de la Cote, the Colonel thus continues his narrative: "Our dinner being finished, we fixed our cramp irons to our shoes, and began to cross the glaciere; but we had not proceeded far, when we discovered that the frozen snow which lay in the ridges between the waves of ice, often concealed, with a covering of uncertain strength, the fathomless chasms which traverse this solid sea; yet the danger was soon in a great degree removed, by the expedient of tying ourselves together with our long rope, which, being fastened at proper distances to our waists, secured from the principal hazard such as might fall within the opening of the gulf. Trusting to the same precaution, we also crossed upon our ladder, without apprehension, such of the chasms as were exposed to view; and sometimes stopping in the middle of the ladder, looked down in safety upon an abyss which baffled the reach of vision, and from which the sound of the masses of ice, that we repeatedly let fall, in no instance ascended to the ear. In some places we were obliged to cut footsteps with our hatchet; yet on the whole the difficulties were far from great, for in two hours and a half we had passed the glaciere. We now, with more ease and much more expedition, pursued our way, having only snow to cross; and in two hours arrived at a hut, which had been erected in the year 1786 by the order and at the expense of M. de Saussure." At this hut the travellers slept; and the following is a very striking account of the night scene which was observed at this elevated station: "At two o'clock I threw aside my blankets, and went out of the hut to observe the appearance of the heavens. The stars shone with a lustre that far exceeded the brightness which they exhibit when seen from the usual level; and had so little tremor in their light, as to leave no doubt on my mind, that if viewed from the summit of the mountain, they would have appeared as fixed points. How improved in those altitudes would be the aids which the telescope gives to vision !-indeed [April the clearness of the air was such, as led me to think that Jupiter's satellites might be distinguished by the naked eye; and had he not been in the neighbourhood of the moon, I might possibly have succeeded. He continued distinctly visible for several hours after the sun was risen, and did not wholly disappear till almost eight." With the morning dawn the company proceeded on their expedition; and the following passage will convey a very distinct idea of the dangers and horrors to which this journey is exposed." Our route was across the snow; but the chasms which the ice beneath had formed, though less numerous than those that we had passed on the preceding day, embarrassed our ascent. One in particular had opened so much in the few days that intervened between M. De Saussure's expedition and our own, as for the time to bar the hope of any further progress; but at length, after having wandered with much anxiety along its bank, I found a place which I hoped the ladder was sufficiently long to cross. The ladder was accordingly laid down, and was seen to rest upon the opposite edge, but its bearing did not exceed an inch on either side. We now considered, that should we pass the chasm, and should its opening, which had enlarged so much in the course of a few preceding days, increase in the least degree before the time of our descent, no chance of return remained. We also considered, that if the clouds, which so often envelope the hill, should rise, the hope of finding, amidst the thick fog, our way back to this only place in which the gulf, even in its present state, was passable, was little less than desperate. Yet after a moment's pause the guides consented to go with me, and we crossed the chasm. We had not proceeded far, when the thirst, which, since our arrival in the upper regions of the air, had been always troublesome, became almost intolerable. No sooner had I drank than the thirst returned, and in a few minutes my throat became perfectly dry. Again I had recourse to the water, and again my throat was parched. The air itself was thirsty: its extreme of dryness had robbed my body of its moisture." After surmounting a succession of similar dangers, and continuing to experience the same disheartening sensa, tions, the company at length arrived at about 150 fathoms below the level of the summit. Their feelings at this moment are well depicted in the following passage. "The pernicious effects of the thinness of the air were now evident on us all: a desire, almost irresistible, of sleep came on. My spirits had left me: sometimes, indifferent as to the event, I wished to lie down; at others I blamed myself for the expedition; and, though just at the summit, had thoughts of turning back without accomplishing my purpose. Of my guides many were in a worse situation; for, exhausted by excessive vomiting, they seemed to have lost all strength, both of mind and body. But shame at length came to our relief. I drank the last pint of water that was left, and found myself amazingly refreshed. My lungs with difficulty performed their office, and my heart was affected with violent palpitation. At last, however, but with a sort of apathy which scarcely admitted the sense of joy, we reached the summit of the mountain; when six of my guides, and with them my servant, threw themselves on their faces, and were immediately asleep." We have only room for one other extract, in which an account is given of the effect produced upon the mind of the spectator by the view from the vast height to which the travellers had attained. "When the spectator begins to look round him from this elevated height, a confused impression of immensity is the first effect produced upon his mind; but the blue colour, deep almost to blackness, of the canopy above him, soon arrests his attention. He next surveys the mountains, many of which, from the clearness of the air, are to his eye within a stone's throw from him; and even those of Lombardy seem to approach his neighbourhood: while, on the other side, the vale of Chamouni, glittering with the sunbeams, is to the view directly below his feet, and affects his head with giddiness. On the other hand, all objects, of which the distance is great and the level low, are hid from his eye by the blue vapour which intervenes, and through which I could not discern the Lake of Geneva, though, at the height of 15,700 English feet, which, according to Saussure, was the level on which I stood; even the Mediterranean sea must have been within the line of vision. The air was still, and the day so remarkably fine, that I could not discover in any part of the heavens the appearance of a single cloud." In this expedition the latitude of Mount Blanc was very accurately determined, and some experiments were also made respecting the power of a burning-glass at the summit of the mountain, compared with its effect in the vale of Chamouni. The chief interest of the narrative, however, is derived from the information which it communicates respecting the dangers of the journey itself, and from the corroboration it has given to the testimony of other travellers respecting the effect produced upon the human body in such elevated situations. We do not know that any account has yet been published of the attempts which have been made, subsequent to that of Colonel Beaufoy, to accomplish the same journey,-but we have reason to believe, that of late years the summit of the mountain has been frequently gained. ACCOUNT OF THE REMARKABLE CASE Who continued in a State of Sleep By the Rev. JAMES BREWSTER, Minister of Craig. (From the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Read Feb. 19, 1816.) 1 Manse of Craig, Feb. 19, 1816. MY DEAR BROTHER, THE enclosed account was drawn up at the request of Robert Græme, Esq. when all the circumstances were fresh in my own recollection, and that of all with whom I had occasion to confer on the subject. Since you requested me to send you a correct copy of the whole case, I have renewed my inquiries among the friends of the young woman, and submitted my account to several persons, who were most capable of supplying any omissions, or correcting any mistakes. I can confidently vouch for the general accuracy of the statement, but would not wish its credibility to rest entirely on my single testimony. I have therefore procured the signature of the young woman's father, and of several gentlemen, with whom you are more or less acquainted, and who frequently saw her during her illness. The account of her recovery, on the 8th of August, indeed, rests wholly on the testimony of the father, which there is not the smallest reason to doubt. I am sensible that many of the circumstances which I have mentioned may appear to be unnecessarily minute, or even altogether unimportant; but, in detailing so remarkable a case, I did not think myself qualified or entitled to select according to my own judgment; and considered it to be my business as a reporter, merely to relate, as clearly and correctly as possible, whatever was observable in the situation of the patient. I have noted, also, her previous employment, the places where she resided, and some of the individuals who attended to her case, partly to render the account more intelligible, and partly to enable others to make further inquiries for themselves. I may mention farther, in case you may not be aware of the circumstance, that there is a similar case recorded in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London for 1705, vol. xxiv. p. 2177. Yours, &c. To Dr. Brewster. JAS. BREWSTER. MARGARET LYALL, a young woman about twenty-one years of age, daughter of John Lyall, shoemaker in the parish of Marytown, served, during the winter half-year preceding Whitsunday 1815, in the family of Peter Arkley, Esq. of Dunninald, in the parish of Craig. At the last mentioned term, she went as servant to the Rev. Mr Foote of Logie; but, in a few days after entering her place, was seized with a slow fever, which confined her to bed rather more than a fortnight. During the latter part of her illness she was conveyed to her father's house; and, on the 23d of June, about eight days after she had been able to leave her bed, she resumed her situation with Mrs Foote, who had, in the mean time, removed to Budden, in the parish of Craig, for the benefit of seabathing. She was observed, after her return, to do her work rather in a hurried manner; and, when sent upon any errand, to run or walk very quickly, as if impatient to finish whatever she had in hand. Her health, however, appeared to be perfectly restored, except that her menses were obstructed. On Tuesday morning, June 27th, about four days after her return to service, she was found in bed in a deep sleep, ith the appearance of blood having flowed from her nose; and about half a Scotch pint of blood was perceived on the floor, at her bed-side. All attempts to awaken her were utterly ineffectual: and she was conveyed in a cart to her father's house, about half a mile distant from Budden. Dr Gib son, physician in Montrose, having been called, a pound of blood was taken from her arm; but she still remained in the same lethargic state, without making the slightest motion, or taking any nourishment, or having any kind of evacuation, till the afternoon of Friday, the 30th day of June, when she awoke of her own accord, and asked for food. At this period she possessed all her mental and bo dily faculties; mentioned distinctly, that she recollected her having been awakened on Tuesday morning at two o'clock, by a bleeding at her nose, which flowed very rapidly; said, that she held her head over the bed-side till the bleeding stopped; but de clared, that from that moment she had no feeling or remembrance of any thing, and felt only as if she had taken a very long sleep. An injection was administered with good effect, and she went to sleep as usual; but, next morning, (Saturday July 1,) she was found in the same state of profound sleep as before. Her breathing was so gentle as to be scarcely perceptible, her countenance remarkably placid, and free from any expression of dis tress; but her jaws were so firmly locked, that no kind of food or liquid could be introduced into her mouth. In this situation she continued for the space of seven days, without any mo tion, food, or evacuation either of urine or fæces. At the end of seven days she began to move her left hand; and, by pointing it to her mouth, signified a wish for food. She took readily whatever was given to her, and shewed an inclination to eat more than was thought advisable by the medical attendants. Still, however, she discovered no symptoms of hearing, and made no other kind of bodily movement than that of her left hand. Her right hand and arm, particularly, appeared completely dead and devoid of feeling, and even when pricked with a pin, so as to draw blood, never shrunk in the smallest degree, or indicated the slightest sense of pain. At the same time, she instantly drew back the left arm, whenever it was touched by the point of the pin. She continued to take food, whenever it was offered to her; and when the bread was put into her left hand, and the hand raised by another person to her mouth, she immediately began to eat slowly, but unremittingly, munching like a rabbit, till it was finished. It was remarked, that if it happened to be a slice of loaf which she was eating, she turned the crust when she came to it, so as to introduce it more easily into her mouth, as if she had been fully sensible of what she was doing. But when she had ceased to eat, her hand dropped upon her chin or under lip, and rested there, till it was replaced by her side, or upon her breast. She took medicine, when it was administered, as readily as food, without any indication of disgust; and, in this way, by means of castor oil and aloetic pills, her bowels were kept open; but no evacuation ever took place without the use of a laxative. It was observed, that she always gave a signal, by pushing down the bed clothes, when she had occasion to make any evacuation. The eye-lids were uniformly shut, and, when forced open, the ball of the eye appeared turned upwards, so as to shew only the white part of it. Her friends shewed considerable reluctance to allow any medical means to be used for her recovery; but, about the middle of July, her head was shaved, and a large blister applied, which remained nineteen hours, and produced an abundant issue, yet without exciting the small est symptom of uneasiness in the patient. Sinapisms were also applied to her feet, and her legs were moved from hot water into cold, and vice versa, without any appearance of sensation. In this state she remained, without any apparent alteration, till Tuesday the 8th day of August, precisely six weeks from the time when she was first seized with her lethargy, and without ever appearing to be awake, except, as mentioned, on the afternoon of Friday the 30th of June. During the whole of this period, her colour was generally that of health; but her complexion rather more delicate than usual, and occasionally changing, sometimes to paleness, and at other times to a feverish flush. The heat of her body was natural; but, when lifted out of bed, she generally became remarkably cold. The state of her pulse was not regularly marked; but, during the first two weeks, it was generally at 50; du as at ring the third and fourth week, about 60; and, on the day before her recovery, at 70 or 72; whether its increase was gradual, was not ascertained. She continued, during the whole period, to breathe in the same soft and almost imperceptible manner first; but was observed occasionally, during the night time, to draw her. breath more strongly, like a person who had fallen asleep. She discovered no symptoms of hearing, till about four days before her recovery; when, upon being requested (as she had often been before, without effect) to give a sign if she heard what was said to her, she made a slight motion with her left hand, but soon ceased again to shew any sense of hearing. On Tuesday forenoon, the day of her recovery, she shewed evident signs of hearing; and by moving her left hand, intimated her assent or dissent in a tolerably intelligent manner; yet, in the afternoon of the same day, she seemed to have again entirely lost all sense of hearing. About eight o'clock on Tuesday evening, her father, a shrewd intelligent man, and of a most respectable character, anxious to avail himself of her recovered sense of hearing, and hoping to rouse her faculties by alarming her fears,* sat down at her bed-side, and told her that he had now given consent, (as was in fact the case,) that she should be removed to the Montrose Infirmary; that, as her case was remarkable, the doctors would naturally try every kind of experiment for her recovery; that he was very much distressed, by being obliged to put her entirely into their hands; and would "fain hope" that this measure might still be rendered unnecessary, by her getting better before the time fixed for her removal. She gave evident signs of hearing him, and assented to his proposal of having the usual family-worship in her bedroom. After this was over, she was lifted into a chair till her bed should be Lest it might be supposed, that this procedure of the father implied a suspicion on his part of some deception being practised by the young woman, it may be proper to state, that it was suggested by his own experience in the case of another daughter, who had been affected many years before in dance, or, as it is termed in this country, a very extraordinary degree with St Vitus's "The louping ague ;" and who was almost instantaneously cured by the application of terror. |