The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-05-10
fflanltcmoc pilot.
THURSDAY, NAY 10.
How 1t Feels to Freeze.

Early in January, 1854, I left Red
| Wing in company with S. j. Willard,
John Day, and Albert Olson for a
place fourteen miles distant, near
where Vasa church now stands, for the
purpose of cutting and hauling logs
preparatory for our settlementat that
point the following spring. 1t was a
clear beautiful day with the shermom-
eter 20 degrees above zero. We had
span of good horses, a sleigh partly
/ loaded with lumber, forage and pro-
visions for a few days.
We arrived at the spot just before
dark, and camped in a ravine well
sheltered with timber. After making
ourselves comfortable with a good
supper, and blazing log fire, all four
laid down to sleep on bed made on
the snow, with a thin layer of hay on
top of some boards, and were well
wrapped up in blank is. During the
night the temperature changed to
terrible cold, thermometer falling
to As degrees below zero, as we
| learned afterward. Had we known
this and kept our fire burning, there
would, of course have been no danger.
But being very comfortable we all fell
asleep early IN the night, and were
unconscious of the danger we were in
until awakened by the pain of intense
cold, and then we were already so
overcome with the cold that we lacked
power Of energy to get up or even to
move.
! Comparing notes afterward we found
that all had experienced like .sensa-
| ton. namely: first. an acute pain, like
| the point of needle in every pore,
but free from all mental anxiety, ex-
cept a dull conception of something
wrong and desire to get up, but with
out sufficient energy to do so. This
| feeling. however, did not last long,
and subsidized gradually into one of
| quiet rest and satisfaction until con-
seriousness ceases altogether, and with
out any struggle or pain, either bodily
or mental. We had all reached that
stage when, by an accident, the arm
and bare hand of Mr.. Day, who lay
on the outside, fell into the snow.
! This started the circulation in his body
| and gave him such intense pain that
he quickly aroused himself and got on
| his feet, and, of course we were saved.
! 1t took a long time before we could use
our limbs sufficiently to rebuild the
| fire, and during that time we suffered
much more pain than we had before.
4 am satisfied from that experience
that person perishing in that way
! has very easy death, because he
! sinks gradually into a stupor, which
/ blunts his sensibility both to physical
/ pain and mental agony long before
/ life becomes extinct.
1t was about 30 degrees in the morn
| ing when we got up. We did not lie
down or attempt to haul our building
! logs, but started in few hours on a
| bee line for a ravine that would lead
us back to Red Wing. 1t was strug-
gle of life and death to get across the
rolling prairie, and had the cold been
accompanied by blizzard we would
not have got across.
TO keep warm we took turns to walk
or run behind the sleigh, and Mr.
Willard was walking when lie was
suddenly missed, and the team turned
back, following its tracks a short dis
lance to hillside, where we found
him sitting in the snow apparently
comfortable and with no desire to
move. He rather censured us for
coming back after him, claiming that
he was ali right and would have come
along when he got ready; but the fact
was that he was already SO stupefed
with the cold that he would never
have made an exertion to move.
After a drive of ten miles we arrived
at the first and only inhabited house
between Fasa and Red Wing; and it
was high time that we found shelter
both for ourselves and the horses.
That was the coolest day of that year,
and TO me tue coolest in the history of
| MINNESOTA