The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-01-14
GETTING COLDER.
A Prospect for Long winters aud shor,
Summers.


That the climate OF more than on,
region near or within the Arctic Cir
ole Is growing more aud more inhos
pitablc, Is indicated by several circum
stances. For several years past Their,
has been 9 considerable immigration
OF the people OF iceland into that par
Of North America which lies Just north
Of Minnesota. II the winters Of thai
hyporborean section are more merciful
than those Of their own country. 1t car
DO no cause for wonder that the people
of Iceland arc so eager to quit their na'
tive land. For thousand years theil
ancestors had lived on that lionel,
northern Isle, and got along comforta,
bly,, 80 TAR as is known; but the iucreas.
ing rigors Of the climate for the past
twenty or thirty years appear to have
disheartened evon the native Iceland
ers. DIR. Kane speaks Of a simiAr
state Of things existing among the U.s.
9uimaux along the shores OF Bufiii's
Bay and Smiths Sound; no says th,se
poor people arc rapidly and surely ".
ing ont, and will soon DO extorminat,d.
Once there were thousands wh,re
there are now but a few scores. The
same thing seems to be killing Of. or
driving of, the people Of the Labrador
coast. These poor fishermen, whos4
huts are perched among the rocks OF
the desolate northern shore Of the Gull
Of St. Lawrence. have suffered serie
Of years Of famine. Every spring, 70
some years past, the report has com
that they wero dying Of starvation
Their fisheries have failed. On thes,
they have relied for subsistence, sine
the cold and rocky shore, with its sum
mer frosts, affords no chance for farm
and gardens. The fish (mostly cod
and mackereD seem to have beer
driven out OF that part Of the gulf b,
the increasing GOODNESS of the wateE
at all events they have Disappeared
and the fisheries have failed misorably
this year. People are obliged to beg
for a living, of the few who havethe
means to give. A government steamer
left Quebec last Saturday, loaded With
fuel and flour to alleviate the suffer-
ings of the poor fishermen and their
families on the Labrador coast. 1t is
fearful region-as gloomy and for
bidding as the shores Of Greenlatd,
though in summer without their snow.
In Greenland itself the cllmat, is
known to be far more severe thln it
was when the Mortimer discovered
and named that country for vedure
and'its vines. That, to be sure was
in the south part Of that vast island;
but, even there, all now is DISSOLUTION.
As to the poor people Of Labrador, .
Quebec dispatch says:
Their supply of flour has been en-.
tirely exhausted, and, to add to their
sufferings and privations, scury has
made its appearance, and many have
died Of it. The sulferings of women
and children beggar description. Lit
tie ones are dying in the arms Of their
mothers, who have no nourishment to
give them"
New England lies far enough to the
north for winter habitation. That
angle Of 234 degrees which is called
'rhe obliquity OF the ecliptic" gives us
about all the winter We want-and a
little more than is always agreeable.
After the sun has left our Northern
hemisphere, it is pleasan,er to think
Of isles and shores that he still will
brighten and warm, even when these
Northern lands are dark in shadow
and buried in snow, or shivering in
polar blasts. The climatic changes we
have referred to do not seem TO BIO linz
tied to the far Northern regions; they
affect the more temperate parts Of the
globe. 1t is known that the climate of
ancient Greece was much more salu.
brious $500 years ago than it is now;
and tho same thing seems to be true OF
many other countries. Is the planet
slowly entering upon another Of its
cold cycles?-Haryort Tines.