The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-15
SEVENTY BELOW ZERO
Arctic Explorer Schwatka Tells
of His Polar Trips.
COOLEST PLACES ON EARTH.
They Are South OF the Polar Ssa-En-
Smokes Of Big Game.

The coolest temperatures ever experienced
by the different expeditions to the polar
regions of the earth have always formed the
most salient points Of interest connected
with them; and when one has taken away
from the average polar expedition the IN
teresting literary material it has produced.
there is generally nothing left to be &C
counted for. Occasionally more sensa-
tionaily interesting part OF polar picnic
than the cold itself is found in the way
the participants have lunched off OF each
other; may be polar bear hunt is more
exciting and the aurora borealis gives a
finer chance for the display of the college
rhetoric acquired in foot ball and boat
racing, but take it all around the subject
of intense cold holds its own on the aver
age attention especially when the ther-
mometer in our own sizzling land is about
100 in the shade-and no shade.
The coolest points in the polar regions
are not those that are the furthest north,
but are always found on or near the great
continental land masses, the Arctic
ocean north of these moderating the
weather to degree that the coolest ex-
perienced in the furthest north is seldom
greater than that we have IN our own
boundaries in some of the northern Rocky
mountain states. All of the observations
We have GO to show that the coolest weather
we have on the American continent. at or
near the sea level, is somewhere near King
Williams Land. a large island in the north
polar sea just off the mainland; in fact, in
sight of it and lying in lower ATTITUDES
than the most northern capes of the main
land The pole of minimum cold for the
eastern hemisphere is in Siberia, quite q
ways south from the shores of the Arctic
ocean. the coolest recorded being at Yer
ioansk. As the greater land masses are
found on the eastern side SO the greater
cold, nearly 80 below zero. has there been
recorded. Seventy-four below zero. found
by Sir Robert Mcclure, Il. N, is the lowest
on our side of the earth, while II below
zero is the temperature enjoyed by your
humble servant, and also the lowest ever
recorded by white men travelling in the
field.
1t was on the Sd of January, 1879. about
4 o'clock In the afternoon, that the Taglia-
bue spirit thermometer indicated this de-
gree of GOODNESS for US. We were on the
high, rolling hill land, about half way be-
tween the Arctic sea and Hudson's bay,
towards the shores of which--the latter
we were travelling. We had made some
twelve miles of sledging that day, and
were just going into camp, SO while the
Eskimo were prodding the snow with
barbless seal spears to determine its avail
ability for building igloos, or snow-houses,
it occurred to some one to take a peep at
the thermometer, with the above result.
1t was proud moment for US. So far
DIR. l. 1. Hayes had held the palm of the
minimum weather at 6S.5 degrees Fahren-
heit while travelling, and we all knew it
would be a cold day when DR.. Hayes
record got left, but here it was, right un-
der land all through) our noses, and our
spirits assembled as those of the thermome-
ter travelled the other way. This was not
o surprising surprise that surprised us
very much, however, for We had had some
chilly weather before this. The 18th of
December gave US 6s degrees below zero.
Just an even 100 degrees below the freezing
point, and the signal service gave Us q
Christmas present of even one degree
lower. As a Christmas present it was q
signal failure. There being no Christmas
tree to tie it to. they hung it up on a
branch of the river near by. The ID Of
January, day on which We remained in
camp to give the Eskimo hunters a chance
to kill some game. as We had but little
meat, We also enjoyed IS degrees below
zero.
That day Toolooah killed three reindeer
with Winchester, the gun acting per-
fectly. At these intensely low tempera-
lures the nimrod of the North, if provided
with civilized firearms, keeps them out of
doors, or generally resting against the side
of the igloo or snow-house. If brought
into the snow-house, with its 20 to 50 de-
grees warmer temperature, the iron barrel
smokes like stick of pitchy wood that
has Just ceased burning and rusts in q lit
tie while SO that none of its working parts
can be moved. No oil or lubricant of
any sort is used, but all the parts
are wiped rs dry from this as they
would be from water, and in many
cases | have known them to polish and
sandpaper them. Thus treated, the Win
chesters will work as well at 100 degrees
below freezing az they will at 100 degrees
above zero. If there is no wind blowing
at these very low temperatures-and it is
an agreeable fact that there seldom is any,
or at the worst only the iightest breezes-
the vapors that come from these animals,
the reindeer, make them discernible for
six to eight miles distant, and the Eskimos
claim that from high hills and favorable
heights they have been made out at dis
tances of even fifteen TO twenty. 1t looks
like putting the case in strong way to
say that it sometimes took them two days
to reach the animals but when one reflects
that the Arctic day about this time is only
an hour or two in length the statement
then is not SO startling. Even at these
great distances the Eskimos will tell you
that they can tell whether the herd is one
OF reindeer or OF musk-oxen by some mys-
FERROUS difference in the signal smoke
which they thus produce. and which dis
closes them to their enemies. These
clouds OF vapor emanate from everything
that lives. and dog chasing reindeer
looks like two locomotives making thirty
miles an hour under heavy steam. Al.
though the human foot is covered bv four
thickuesses of the reindeer clothing. still
one can notice a little puff of smoke tloa,
away from the spots where the feet are
lifted in walking. as If very light clouds OF
dust were kicked up al each step often
had the three sledges separated by day'.
march apart in order to increase the
chances of securing game en- route. anc
when thus stretched out. if a high hill b,
near by, my chief Eskimo hunter, Too
looah, could always make out the position
of the rear parties if they were cooking il
their igloos, and whether they were keep
ing up with us or not. On Backs Grea
Fish river in the latter part of December