The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1888-01-19
sIXTY-TWO BELOW ZERO.
The Coolest Night Ever Recorded
in Civilization.

/ IN his having recorded the lowest tempera-
/ ture ever observed within the bounds Of
civilization. His name Is George A Garden.
| Il was on New Years morning 1855, that
! Mr.. Garden. then the Signal-Service OBJ
server ~ Poplar River, N. T., sent on the
solitary telegraphic wire that connected
him with the world outside this brief but
startling announcement:
Temperature 81. / degrees below zeron
Mr.. Garden WAS succeeded by Vernon P.
Chapel, now observer In charge Of. the St.
Louis station. The two were swapping
"reminiscences OF that frigid region to which
the IneKorableness Of military discipline
had ct one time banished them, when q re-
porter joined them Mr.. Garden Is a good
looking young man, above the average
height, sturdily built, and with the
dark complexion and accent Of . born
Southerner.
''YOu haven't forgotten the coolest day Of
your life, Mr. Carden.r asked the reporter.
"Wsll, hardly" said he, and be gave
suggestive twist to his coat collar. al
never shall. either hr went on. IL came
nearer freezing 10 death than 1 ever want
10 again
weren't you in the signal station at the
timer
Eyes, I was" he answered, and then both
the signal men laughed sarcastically 'The
station, you must understand. was simply
cabin ten by twelve, made Of cottonwood
ogs, pinned together. the chinks being plas-
ored with mud. Tue roof was also mud,
and the floor was formed with cottonwood
boards, which, having been put down green,
bad shrunk till they left cracks which would
easily swallow up the legs Of the only chair
= 81 Ha- 81 al. l..
the room habitable was the fact that the hut
had been banked up with dirt that reached
up half way 10 the roof
SIN that little room I went TO bed on the
night Of December 81, 1884 The bed was
within arms length Of a big drum stove,
large enough to receive fOur-fOOt cord wOod,
Is we dare not get out in the cold 70 keep
up the fire. had begun observations at the
place q year before, December II, 1883, and
was not much surprised on retiring the last
night Of 1884 70 ind the spirit In the
ofdcial thermometer down In the neigh
borhoOd Of fifty degrees below. had
often recorded fifty below before, but
| thought that night before retiring
that = pretty low temperature would be
reached, IS the air was painfully still and
the stars looked brighter and nearer than
ever. tossed about all night, trying 70
keep warm. The big stove / kept nearly
rsd-hot, but still the little room would not
get warm. II seemed a. cold as the outer
air. Upon me had piled covering equiva-
lent 20 twenty thielnesses Of blankets.
Army blankets, buffalo robes, buffalo coats,
cloth coats, every thing in the shape Of pro
loctiOn Was heaped upon my little bed, yet
still shiverod under it all No one can
form an idea Of the cold that night had
70 wear the heaviest mittsns and my seal
akin cap was pulled down over my ears.
Once IP8ached my bare hand over the bed
10 throw another stick Of wood on the fire
and before / could get the wood in my
hand IVES 90 bsnumbed that ! had 20 drop
the stick. Mind you, all this time, the Ere
was roaring and cracking.
''WeIl, At last the night wore away and
about sight O'Clock. guess il was, got up
didn't have 10 dress, though, but Just
slipped on my big buffalo shoes and made
for tho minimum thermometer. There the
alcohol spirit YVES on the One-tenth line be-
low the siXty-t,vo degree mark. When /
saw that my heart jumped fast enough 70
warm me up q little. as l knew that no
other thermometer but mine had ever e ne
90 low except IN Arctic exploration. That
remarkable degree Of cold was reached Just
as It was that morning The atmosphere it.
solf seemed frozen, sud my eye could see
further down the snow glistening prairies
than Il ever hal before. There was not =
sound 10 break the stiffness, and felt like
the Arctic explorer who stands In the
silence Of the eternal SHOWS The only
thing that bound me TO civilization was the
smoke that came up from the distant army
post, for United States troops are stationed
there 10 watch the Indians. That day the
temperature rose to about thirty below, and
fur days later 1t rained. In those four
asys the range was one hundred degrees,
the greatest range ever recorded"
'Was any lower temperature ever record
sdP'
ayes, but only in the arctic regions, By
greely and his lowest reading was only nine
tsnths Of degree lower than mine. Mt
Washington, which is considered the cold
est place In the United States. has recorded
81 low as ~ , degrees. l. IA hard 10 con-
ceive the cod getting much intenser than !
felt II that morning"
"Well. should saw" broke in Observer
Gray, who, being fresh frUm his entrance
examination, was able 10 add: "BOOmis
says that the temperature Of interplanetary
space Is only sNty-four degrees below"
hDid many persons freeze 10 death that
ulghtT
steadily for q week, every body was pre-
pared for IT, The soldiers had become 80
accustomed % the cold that the usual guard
duty Wss done that night The Indians, Of
course. suffer most They seem TO b starry
Ing and freezing all the time up there in cold
weather. They haven't the least Idea Of
20 a HssA
bresch-clouts and loose blanket is little pro
lection against cold that freezes mersury."
" What is the usual clothing worn there
n the winteri''
Well, used 70 wear 81 ordinary han-
mel shirt next 10 the skin. thea very heavy
Woolen shirt over that. and then vest
and coat Of unusual thickness. That ls,
eround q are. Of course, whea people
laaye . FIRE and travel q mile or
tWo, they pie IS many OFerooats On -
thsy osn- It is quite amusing sometimes o.
. forty-degree day 70 see men come IN from
eome distance down the prairie and take on
NE layers OF Overc0ats. Over every thing
= worn the buffalo coat without which
tooro would be no standing the cold. lido
nos zee what the people will do up there
aen the supply Of buffalo gives out Why,
- HoVernmeqt distributes to the soldiers
buaAlo coats, musk-rat oaps aud buffalo
shoes The lower sKtremIties are clad
. double thickness Of wool Most ire
guently the soldiers just take their army
blankets, fold them double and make them
lneo drawers. Over These -
iest pants o6tsinabie. snd ibe lower ends
are tucked into thick 'Cfermaa' stockings. |
- they call them, one-fourth inch thick |
Over these are pulled on the buffalo shoes.
90 oteen 2 PaiF q loose arctic OvershOet
notlD -
enc, indeed, they don't mlnr clear. stll
1old They get into the canyons and stav /
mere I'll Il gets warmer. What plays havo,, /
Nth the cattle u the blizzard. That drives
hem into q frenzy Of fear and pain. AT /
Poplar river, which Is fifty miles west Of
ne Dakota line and fifty miles south OF the
British possessions there Is no timber en-
'ept little patch on either side Of The river.
Which there empties into the Missouri. Il
= a. awful thing 70 look ACROSS those pral-
1es and see nothing but q sweeping mas
= snow, worse than any sand-storm that
yer caught the CARAVANS. Before enc Of
hese blizzards . herd Of cattle viii BE-
irtyen lste . ship before q gale. There IL
% stopping them and they plunge on TN |
hey drop one By one or hlindly find . shel-
er- i e so11ethilg horrible 10 sit in ones
iouse In the isolation Of the storn- aud hear
q the distance the rumble Of a herd svoeu-
ng on like chad before the wind You
ouldn't see them even n they were only .
lock sway, 20 impenetrsble is the sheet Of
'ylng snow Another danger 70 cattle is