St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-02-12

eraI occasions they have been Obliged
TO pass one or two nights under these
rude coverings until relief was sent.
At the upper depot the. carriers, in
descending, change their ice creepers
for snow shoes, and IN ascending leave
their SNOW shoes and substitute ice
creepers. 1t is usual for one of the
men to go dowu 70 FSbyan's every
fortnight so that each Que leaves the
station only once in six. weeks. Tbs
rest of the time
-....- THEY ARE ,C0oPEp Up. -. ~
in the little house; for the gr6und il
SD rough and the wind is,so high and
the cold SO severe that thsy soon lose
all desire for more exercise than they
are obliged to take. ...-.......- :.
1t may be asked how the signal men
pass the long winter months In the
first place they take FIVE observations
u day, three of which are telegraphed
to Washington. At the end of each
month and year the work has to be
arranged aud sent to the chief Office al
Washington. This last duty takes
some time and great care. For amuse-
meDt the men play cards for sulphur
matches instead of money, and various
games, such as checkers, etc. Private
Cahill often enlivens the house with
the violin. or frightens the cats by
sounding the .bugls calls. The great
est dissipation is to pop corn. -.
The first two days we were on the
mountain were foggy, but the beauty
OF the frost work fully compensated us
for the loss of the view. This frost
work is formed by the fog being frozen,
and every object exposed TO the wealth
er becomes covered with delicate white
feathers from an inch to a foot long.
After long continued fog and cold
these feathers sometimes grow to eROr-
nous size. The telegraph wires look
like long lines of frisge, only the feath-
ers point toward the wind. The plain
little signal station has the appearance
of a most beautiful frosted cake In
deed, everything is covered with frost
work, so that the mountain, even when
there is no snow, is Of dazzling
Wilderness. .....
One may sit at hoIae and laugh al
the cold of Mt. Washington, or one
may go up and down in thaw and
still be sceptical, but let such person
walk along the railroad, with the wind
blowing 20 miles an hour and the ther-
mOmeter 208 below zero, and | think
every doubt would be dispelled. The
temperature does not go lower there
than in many other places, but the
wind blows with greater velocity
than at any known place in the world
and with a strong wind cold is unbear-
able. A velocity of $50 miles an houl
has been attained by the wind on Mt
Washington, while at Pixies Peak, 5000
feet higher the greatest velocity is JOG
miles, and in Boston As miles is a
heavy gale. OF course the air has less
power as the density decreases, and it
has been estimated that four miles at
sea level is equal to five at height OF
5000 feet. But oven with this reduc-
ton the velocity at Mt Washington is
extraordinary.
THE COLD Is so INTENSE
that if one covers every part of the
body, leaving only the eyes exposed,
these are soon coated with frost which
closes the lids and often makes it al
most impossible to see. The moisture
of the breath soon freezes under the
coverings of the face, and frost bite
is the consequence.
Such was our experience when we
attempted to descend during the cold
snap of Jan. 2. Not only was the cold
intense, but every few moments we
were forced to stop and hold on to the
track to keep from being blown away.
We turned back, resolving not to leave
the mountain until the temperature
rose. -....
The signal men have had various
narrow escapes while carrying the
mails to and from the base. On one
occasion, Private Cahill started down
the railroad on a sled of his own con-
struction, none of the regular sledges
having been left at the snnmit. He
went as far as the place called Jacobs
Ladder, and there the brakes were
fonnd Insufficient to retard velocity
of almost a mile a minute, and the sled
jumped the track. Cahill was shot of
on to the rocks below, where he rolled
over aud over, breaking his leg in two
places aud cutting his head severely.
Here he lay, almost dead from cold and
loss of blood, until the sergeant, rot
being appraised by telegraph of his
arrival below sent the cook down to
see what had happened. Sergt. Beals
had ordered the cook to cut the wire
and signal to him if Cahill was serious
~ hurt. The cook did so, and then
spliced the wire. The sergeant, know
ing that a dangerous accidsnt had
taken place, teIegraphed to the base
and TO Fabyan's for assistance. The
track men immediately went up the
railroad with two sledges, and, with
great difficulty, carried the wounded
me IN fha lao hap.a 40
procured, and he was
TAKEN TO FABYAN'S.
The unfortunate observer had lost his
cap IN his fall, and to keep his head
warm the mail bag had been put oyer
it. This, of course, covered the weath-
er reports in the bag with blood. but,
Notwithstanding that, they were sent
OF to Washington, where they are now
said to be keptas evidence of the trials
which the observers have to undergo.
Private Cahill, who seems to have as
many lives as a cat, recovered aud
lived to be struck by lightning last
summer while sitting at his desk in the
signal station. He saw the wires fash
and thought he was to be killed, but
after few seconds, seeing he was still
of this world. and remembering his
former experience, he tried to move.
This he could do, and, with the excep-
ton of slight paralysis 10 one side,
which lasted a few minutes, he was
unhurt.
But enough of the terrors of Mt.
Washington. On the night of Jan. 2
the sky was clear and the moon nearly
full. To Que standing at tile door of
the signal station a magnificent view
itself. The mountains
Adams and aforementioned
up in the north. Their white peaks
respleDdent in the moonlight, shone
with a brilliancy made greater by the
contrast with the deep black valleys in
front of them. On all sides were noun