Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-04-11

CbnFma OF winter spent In verIxhoyansls,

siberia.
TIE coolest inhabited place in the
world IL Yerkhoyansls, in northeastern
Siberia, with mean annual tempera
ture OF less than three degrees above
| zero Fahrenheit, and winter minimum
Of IS degrees below!
yerlxhoyansls Is In north latitude OF
degrees, on the great Arctic plain,
scarcely more than $50 feet above the
| level OF the sea. Probably there would
le no town tbere'ii 1t were not neces-
sary 70 Russian governmental purposes
Ito have an administrative center for
region where many thrifty Yakuts, the
fur-trading Jews Of Siberia" carry on
their operations.
! All its inhabitants, save few officials
and other Russians. are Yakuts. This
| does not prevent its being place of
some Importance, for the Yalkuts are
| the most progressive people in northern
Siberia, excelling the Russians them
selves In enterprise and adaptability to
Siberian conditions of existence.
The average temperature Of abe win
ter in ycrkhoyansk is SO degrees below
zero Fahrenheit. The rivers freeze to
| the bottom, and the small trees have
been known to snap and split with the
mere force Of the frost.
Yet with all this, Verkhoyansk is not
d disagreeable place Of residence, and
Is preferred by the Russian officials to
many more southern and warmer posts.
It's atmosphere in winter is always
clear, and for the little time that the
| sun is above the horizon its beams are
unobstructed. The air is still, too; no
billiards or drifting snowstorms make
life burden to the Inhabitants.
1 The Siberian dress completes the
comfort of the citizens of this arctic
city. 1t consists OF two suits of fur, an
outer and an inner suit. The inner suit
| is worn fur side inward, the outer fur
side outward. With his hood down,
and Just enough space left to see out of
and breathe through, the Verlehoyanslx-
er is vastly more comfortable in a tenn
| pcrature Of SO below than the Bostonian,
| In his cloth oyercoat, in temperature
of five above zero.
| The winter, indeed, is more enjoyable
than the summer, which is hotter than
might be expected. The average tenn
perature Of July in verkhoyansk is so
above zero, and very hot days are not I'M
common. The earth becomes green and
vegetation thrives immensely, though
only the surface of the ground is
thawed. At YakutslS, which is farther
south than Verkhoyansk, but not much
warmer in winter, the mercury rises
In July to 100 degrees.
| 1t is no wonder that the people well
come the return of winter, for their
ways of life are better adapted to that
season. Resides, the Siberian winter has
| positive charms of it's own.
"The sum-" says traveller, crises and
sets unsoftened by haze, and such is the
strength of it's rays that the snow
melts on the housetops exposed to its
| glare, while in the shade the tempera-
ture is so degrees below the freezing
point.
"At night, when the armament is not
aglow with the many-tinted lights and
coruscations of the aurora borealis, the
zodiacal light and the stars still shine
with intense brightness.
"Man dares to face these tremendous
frosts, while animals seek shelter in
their lairs. The raven alone risks the
open air with feeble and slow fight,
It's wake marked by slender, hazy
streak. But the people, warmly clad,
have naught 70 fear, for few climates
are more healthy than that of East
Siberia, with its perfectly dry, still and
| pure atmosphere. No case of consump-
ton has ever appeared in regions where
the mercury remains frozen in the Their
mometers for weeks together."-
Youths Companion.