The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-11-26
Perils Near the Pole.

The scientific features of the recent
Franklin Search Expedition were pre-
scented by Lieut.. Schwatka, at the meet
ing OF the New York Academy of Sci
ences. Beginning with the use of alco-
| hol, Lieut.. Schwatka emphasizes the fact
that not drop of ardent spirit of any
kind was used in his sled journey Of
1921 miles. In short journeys and
hunting expeditions, where there was
ample room for baggage, it was consid.
cred that alcohol might be carried, and,
If used in moderation, would raise the
temperature of the body slightly, and
tend, as elsewhere, to increased COM
forts But, on lang journeys, ardent
spirits could not be carried in bulk with
out displacing other indispensable arti-
Giles. Alcohol was not regarded as
necessary and was not considered a
good heating agent. The injurious eff
fects of intense cold, however, had
sometimes been wrongly ascribed to the
use of liquor. On shipboard the gene
raj use of alcohol stimulants was consid.
cred bad, and only allowable when
every possible chance of scurvy was re-
moved by the character of the food.
In regard to temperature, Lieut..
Schwatka said that his party had en-
countered the most intense cold ever re-
corded by white men II degrees
Fahrenheit, or 103 degrees below the
freezing point. On that day the camp
was moved ten miles, and no unusual in
convenience was felt. It was not the in
tensity of the cold that was unpleasant.
II c11ffo1i ~ x,.ae ,o17co1 I11y tho 1i-oo&;oV1
and violence of the wind. With the
thermometer at go degrees Fahren-
heit, no especial trouble was met with,
but at a temperature fifteen degrees
higher, with wind blowing straight in
the face of the men, frost-bites and great
suffering were common. The white men
would freeze their noses or the exposed
portions of their cheeks. The coolest
days were perfectly calm on warmer
days, with the exception of a few days
in midsummer, the wind blew constant
ly. But it was considered that to men
clad in warm clothing temperature was
not material, and the longest journeys
could be undertaken without fear. When
the thermometer sank to II degrees
Fahrenheit, the sky was of leaden hue,
varied with brownish red near the sun.
Clouds of vapor rolled from everything |
animal. When the expedition stopped |
it was enveloped In steam. Musk oxen |
and deer could be detected at distance |
of five or six miles by the vapor about
them, and the Esquimaux claimed to be |
able to distinguish the kind of animals
by peculiarities in this vapor. Water
poured on ice caused a cracking like /
miniature fre-crackers, and the surface
of sheets of ice was gray and Opaque
from the unequal expansion. The
sound of the runners was like that
caused by resined bow or tuning-fork,
and, heard at distance, resembled an
Eolean harp. In the most extreme
cold the acclimatization of the white
men proved as perfect as that of the ma
tives. At very low temperature the |
beard became block of ice, and the
lips and nostrils were nearly glued to-
gether. Drowsiness was not expert
enced In connection with great cold, and
it was considered as resulting usually
from a sudden change from ship-board
acclimatization.
In very cold weather the huts were
buried two or three feet deep In snow.
If was advisable to change these huts as
often as possible, because the constant
freezing and thawing made them mass
Of translucent ice, and exhalations from
the breath, bodies and fires became con-
gealed upon the walls, and, continually
falling OF, caused a little snow-storm In
the interior.