Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/26

 But then Huc goes on to talk foolishness about 'the carbonic acid gas which we know is heavier than atmospheric air'—and so forth, and to tell how this carbonic acid gas caused a difficulty about lighting a fire. Marco Polo mentions the latter fact, but, belonging to the pre-scientific age, he attributes it to the great cold.

In a Chinese Itinerary through Tangut and Tibet, already cited, I find a perfect explanation of Huc's strange talk. At a great many stations on both sides of the Murui-ussu (or Upper Yangtse), it is noted that there are 'noxious vapours' at the camping-ground; so no doubt Huc merely accepted and embellished the phrase of his travelling companions.

A more amusing illustration of this notion is given in Dr. Bellew's recent book, 'Kashmir and Kashgar,' where an Afghan follower, to whom he had given chlorate of potash, says: 'Yes! I'll take this, and please God it will