The winds in these lofty regions obey very regular laws;
every day a fresh breeze blows up the valley, and at night, an hour
or two after sunset, the air from the cold regions above descends
as through a funnel. This night it blew a gale of wind, and the
temperature must have been considerably below the freezing-point,
for water in a vessel soon became a block of ice. No clothes seemed
to oppose any obstacle to the air; I suffered very much from the
cold, so that I could not sleep, and in the morning rose with my
body quite dull and benumbed.
In the Cordillera farther southward people lose their lives from
snow-storms; here, it sometimes happens from another cause. My
guide, when a boy of fourteen years old, was passing the Cordillera
with a party in the month of May; and while in the central parts, a
furious gale of wind arose, so that the men could hardly cling on
their mules, and stones were flying along the ground. The day was
cloudless, and not a speck of snow fell, but the temperature was
low. It is probable that the thermometer would not have stood very
many degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on their
bodies, ill protected by clothing, must have been in proportion to
the rapidity of the current of cold air.
Pages:
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706