Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-03-17
PREVIOUS COLD WINTERS.
ELI PERKINS EXPERIENCE WITH COLD
WEATHER.
rToleao Commercial, March 81

y
Eli Perkins spent yesterday at the
Island House. He was lying still and
getting ready for his lecture at Owosso
tonight. When Commercial reporter
called on the great truth teller he was
musing about the weather.
Then you have seen colder winters
than we have had this winter, have
you, Mr.. Perkins 2" asked our reporter.
Certainly young man. / have seen
a great many very cold winters. Now
there was the winter Of l558-."
"But you wer'nt alive then, Mr.. Per-
kins, were you Z"
81 wer'nt hey Who says | wasn't =?
Now if you want information don't
interrupt me- I'm telling you the truth.
As was saving. the winter Of 1888
especially remember. That winter |
was engaged doing missionary work
on whaling vessel in the Adriatic
sea. remember the Adriatic froZe
over eighty-four feet thick that winter.
OF course we couldn't navigate our
boat but we raised it up and drew it
over the ice. The ice was very clear,
and when we saw whale frozen up
we used 10 blast our way down through
the ice and get him"
WAS that the coolest winter you
ever saw, Mr. Perkins ~
"Oh. no. I've seen good deal colder
weather than that. The winter Of 1910
was colder. That year the snow drifted
50 deep down on the equator, that
when the sun returned north in the
spring we had to all turn out and
shovel out path for her to return
through. That year the crater OF
Mount Vesuvius froze over and they
used il for skating rink. Cows gave
frozen milk that winter, and the only
way we could raise chickens was to
let the hens set in the retorts of the
pig-iron furnaces"
But history don't speak of these
things, Mr.. Perkins" suggested the re-
porter.
''Oh, darn history. There amt any
truth in the histories nowadays.
Wasn't | there? Then there was 1861,
another cold winter The temperature
changed 50 suddenly on the 80 Of Feb
ruary that the flames in the gas lamps
froze stiff The heat was gone but the
light was left. This was the only time
ever saw cold flame. but frozen
light seemed to light the streets as well
as warm light This year Charles
Francis Adams was born. He was
frozen stiff ut his birth and remained
80 for eighteen years He informs me
that his feet have never been thoroughly
warmed since. Boys skated over the
crater of Mount Vesuvius again this
winter"
"But we can hardly believe these
things, Mr.. Perkins. History don't
substantatc what you say"
What do | care about history !
tell you, young man, Pm telling you
the truth, but if you don't want lnfor-
nation you needn't listen. I've been tell
ing you about some pretty cold weather,
but the winter Of 1901 was colder than
any Of the others That year joined
an Arctic expedition but we got stuck
in the ice off Florida and remained
frozen up in the Gulf of Mexico for
four years. The Esquimaux skated
down the coast from Greenland that
winter and wintcrcd in Mexico All
the rivers and lakes froze solid and
LIQUID water was worth hundred dol
lars a barrel. Whiskey barnls froze
stiff. The only way kept thawed out
was by saturating my clothes in kero-
sene and Keeping them constantly
burning, while my feet hung in re-
tort heated to bell iron in, and--and--
and"
Our reporter looked up and the old
man had fallen asleep. His teeth chat
tered and his eyes glistened with an
unearthly lustre. Too much truth in one
day had exhausted bin.
D-~-.ED--<p
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