Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-27

slight breeze sprang up. It was the
merest kind of zephyr. and would hardly
have stirred the leaves on tree at home,
but slight as it was it cut to the bone every
part of the body exposed to it. This, for
tunately, was only the face from the eye
brows to chin. We turned our backs to it
as much as possible, and especially after we
had reached camp and were at work making
our snow-houses and digging through the
much the intensity of the cold as expressed
in degrees on the thermometer that deter
mines the unpleasantness of an Arctic win
ter as is the force and direction of the wind,
for have found it far pleasanter with the
thermometer at even 700 below zero, with
little or no wind blowing, than to face a
rather stiff breeze when the little indicator
showed even 500 warmer temperature.
Even a white man acclimated to Arctic
weather, and facing strong wind at 200 or
300 below zero, is almost sure to freeze the
nose and cheeks, and the thermometer does
not have to go many degrees lower to in
duce the Eskimo themselves to keep within
their snug snow-houses under the same cir
cumstances, unless absolute need of food
forces them outside. 1t is one of the con-
soling things about Arctic weather that the
intensely low temperatures are almost al
breeze, it is very light one.
The Whole Party Frost Bitten.
Early one morning the thermometer
showed us it was $50 degrees below zero,
but as it was calm we paid nc attention to
it, but harnessed our dogs and loaded our
sledges for the days journey, which was to
where the Eskimo thought they could get
food for ourselves and dogs. We were Just
ready for the start when sharp wind sprang
up, and it fell like score of razors cutting
the face. Had the. wind arisen a little
sooner we would n : have thought of start
ing, but as we were all ready and the dis
tance short we concluded to 60 ahead rather
than unload and go back into the old camp.
We kept the dogs at good round trot and
ran alongside of the sledges the whole dis
tance, and can assure nv readers that
when We reached the snow house of some
Rimrepetro Eskimo it WIS as welcome O
refuge as if it had been frst-ciass hotel
was frozen along my left arm from my
shoulder to my wrist, and it was quite pain
full for number of days, and almost all the
others, Eskimo as we'll as white men, were
frozen more or less severely When we
reached the end of our journey I again
looked at the thermometer and found it
indicated $50 below zero-that is, it had
grown 13o warmer during the time we were
out, although it seemed 20 US it must be at
least 800 colder. 1 told the Eskimo who
bad been with us that it was much colder,
as shown by the instrument before we
started than it was when the wind was at its
highest, but from their incredulous glances
at each other they wondered how we could
be duped by such ideas directly against our
common sense and personal observation.
Credulity OF the Eskimos.
They might believe our statements that
the world was round and turned over every
day, without the polar bears sliding off the
slippery icebergs when it was upside down,
simply because the white man had told
them SO, but nothing would persuade them
that when they felt perfectly comfortable
and warm loading the sledge it was colder
than when their arms and legs were frozen
and their noses ''nipped" by the frost 1
tried to explain to them the effect of the
wind to blow them off their feet in summer
and not freeze them particle They said !
they knew it seemed colder when the wind |
blew, but that was because it actually was |
colder, and here they stood firm in the be- |
lief we we're wrong.
When the thermometer was at 10 |
below, the cloudless sky in the vicinity of |
the sun hanging low in the Southern hori-
zon assumes dull leaden hue, tinged with
a brownish red, looking something like the
skies OF cheap chrome Autographs. At night
the stars glitter like diamonds, and fairly
seem on fire with their unusual brilliancy |
Should you pour water on the surface OF the
ice it greets you with an astonishing crack
ling noise, and the ice that was so clear you
felt timid about putting your foot on it
urns instantly as white as marble. Many
Eskimo children amuse themselves trying |
his simple experiment, and the white spots
IN the clear ice give it moss-mottled look.
Music of the SIedges.
The iced runners dragging over the fine,
,ritty SHOWS give forth a clear, musical ring
hat can be heard many miles in the still
'old of the Arctic. Sometimes when BREATH
ng this extremely cold air my tongue
vould feel a II u were freezing in my