The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-02-20
Low Temperature Effects.
From the Chicago Times-Herald.

| have no familiarity with the arctic
regions and my personal experience OF low
ranges of temperature is limited to the
States OF our norther belt and to the ada
cent provinces of Canada. Among army
officers the coolest place in the United
States is commonly believed to be Fort
AsSinaboine, Mon An officer | met on
the train the other day said 81 degrees
below was as cold weather as he had ex
perienced while at that post, but that the
post records showed that in many winters
the mercury dropped to 81 degrees below.
The coolest region in the United States,
leaving Alaska out of the account, is the
Red River Valley, from Fargo to Pembi
ma. Forty below zero is not uncommon
extreme winter temperature in that valley.
When | say that is our coolest region, [
mean that the Government records show
that the mean temperature during the three
winter months is lower in the valley than
that at any other observation points. Yet,
as all the world knows, this valley is one
of the most productive agricultural dis
tricts in the world, and is often called the
bread basket of America" from its enor-
nous yield of wheat. Extremely cold
winter weather has no effect on the fertil-
ity of the soil, and if it were not for the
short growing season and the irosts Of the
summer nights you could raise just as good
wheat on the Mackenzie river as in Kan
sas.
In our Northern States, when the Their
mometer marks from 30 to 40 degrees be-
low the air is perfectly still and the sun
shines brightly. When you first step out
of doors the weather seems mild and the
sting Of the air has feeling of heat rather
than cold. In few minutes, however,
it begins to take hold Of your cheeks and
nose. / write this in Chicago with mer-
curry of II degrees below zero. Hardly
man or woman | meet on the streets is
properly dressed for such extreme cold
In more northern countries everybody who
has business out of doors in very cold
weather wears appropriate clothing All
the cabmen teamsters and farmers wear
long fur overcoats of coon skin, wolf skin,
dog skin or bear skin, with fur caps and
high collars that come up over the ears
and protect the cheeks. With such gar
ments and with fur mittens and big buff
falo robe you can drive all day with toler-
able comfort when the temperature is 30
degrees below zero, carefully shifting your
nose from one side Of the aperture in the
fur collar to the other and breaking the
icicles Of your mustache.
The fimsy little overcoats which men
wear in Chicago in winter in our northern
regions would be thought suitable only for
use in October and April y Minnesota
man, fairly equipped in the matter of
clothing, has four oyercoats; one for late
spring and early fall, thicker one for late
fall and early spring, heavy ulster for walk
ing in winter, and fur coat for driving in
all sorts Of cold weather and for walking
when it is extremely cold In ordinarily
cold weather he wears cloth cap, and in
very cold weather sealskin. How the
women manage to exist in the costumes
which ! see them wear ON the Chicago
streets is mystery to my mind, like many
other things concerning the sex. Go out
in Winnipeg on cold winter day and
your will see every woman dressed in fur
cap which can be pulled down over the
ears, and in heavy fur coat of astrakhan
or buffalo skin Sealskin is much too thin
to make warm winter wrap for those high
ATTITUDES
Crossing the main divide of the Rockies
in Montana before the days of railroads in
that region [ heard this story from one of
my fellow passengers about the presence of
mind of an old stage driver who used to
run on the line between Helena and Deer
Lodge-ffty miles over the mountains,
with only three or four houses ON the entire
route Zone day when the mercury was so
degrees below zero the only passengers were
a woman and her baby the vehicle was an
open sleigh The driver observed, after
he had been out three or four hours, that
the woman was growing drowsy and was
falling into that peaceful sleep which al
ways DESICuCo uCdIh mum CAlICuiC COlN
He tried in vain to arouse her by shaking
her vigorously and telling her of the dan
ger Of giving way to the sleepy feeling.
Finally, when she had dropped off to sleep
he seized her rudely and threw her out of
the sleigh into the snow, driving off with
the baby The shock brought the woman
to consciousness and the mother instinct
was alarmed when she saw that her baby
was being carried off She ran after the
sleigh, and when the driver thought she
was thoroughly warmed up by the exercise
be stopped and took her in and brought
her safely to the halfway house. That
man deserved medal for saving human
life. Z"
The jewellers in northern regions enjoy
'ome curious and beautiful and natural
phenomena unknow to those who live in
nilder chimes One of these is the sun
logs, which are seen only on very clear