The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-14
QUEER THINGS IN CLIMATES


e, V. Smalley in Chicago Times Herald.
| have run about the United States a
good deal for the last thirty years and have
made memory notes Of such climatic Pc
culiarities as have come under my obser-
walton.
The place having the widest range of
temperature of any with which | am ia
miliar is Fort Keogh, in the Yellowstone
Valley. Not infrequentsy in the winter
the mercury tumblcs down to 50 degrees be-
low zero, and il has been known in sum-
mer to climb up to 100 above Here is an
extreme range of 40 degrees and vet peo-
PIE manage TO live very comfortably there
the year around. In the early summer the
grass on the plains and hills turns brown
ana yellow, and all green Vanishes from
the wide landscape, except where a fringe
OF cottonwood trees skirts a watercOurSe.
1t is popularity of the extreme high tenn
perature in the arid regions that you do
not sensibly perspire. The moisture is ali
evaDorated from your skin as fast as 1t
is formed by the extreme dryness of the
air. The heat is not nearly so oppressive
however, as IL is at a temperature of 80 or
20 degrees along along the Atlantic sea-
board If you are indoors. or under the
shade of a tree, you are quite comfortable
Anything that will break the nerce rays
all oppression from the high Temperatures
Travelling some years ago across the hot
billowy plain of the great basin of the
Columbia with a camping party looking
huge columnar rock of back basalt The
day was intensely hot. We STONED the
teams and, throwing ourselves down on
tn shady side of the rock we recalled the
phrase in the Bible about "the shadow of
a great rock in a weary land" and realized
that a little shade meant as much to the
people of arid Palestine as to use tired
travellers in arid America.
The hottest place in the Union States is
unquestionably Death Valley. in Southern
California. 1t is about 200 feet below tho
sea level and is trimmed around with
black bare mountains Birds flying across
this valley in the heated seasons offer drop
dead. Borax Is found here, but the MIN
ing processes cease in the heats of mid
summer. / read somewhere of a Marty ar
men who entered the valley in July.
knowing nothing of the deadly heat and
preserved their lives by lying ali dav i'm
the water of a little stream that came ont
of the mountains and was soon dried IN
in the fierce rays of the sun. They were
glad TO escape under the cooling shades of
night.
The rainest place in the United States
is Neah bay, on the Strait of Fuca. in tile
state of Washington. 1t actually rains
every day in the year, and the total an
nual precipitation is nearly 100 inches
There is an Indian reservation on the bay
me natives nave very pretty knacK OF
making ornamental basins and carving
wooden bowls. which they decorate with
high colors They make long. graceful
canoes from the trunks of cedar trees
which they hollow out with infinite labor
and with the aid of FIRE. / once employed
born
Neah Bay, WHOSE mother was a squaw
and whose father was an army officer on
duty In that region when he was a lieu
tenant. The father became "A famous con-
tederate general and was killed at Gettys-
burg. He had provided for the education
of the boy. and the young man was an
excellent landscape slSetchor. Evidently
here was combination of the artistic
talent of the Neah Bay Indian woman and
an inheritance of skill from the education
IN drawing received by the officers at
The most remarkable climatic barrier in
the united states IS that of the Cascade
mountains. in Washington. In winter time
the railway train tolls mp the eastern
slope OF these mountains between walls
OF snow higher than the roofs of the cars
in long winding lane scoOped out by the
rotary pillow. Once through the tunnel on
the Northern Pacific, or over the switch
back on the Great Northern, YOU suddenly
leave winter behind you, and, whirling
down the western slope of the mounta ms
in less than an hour you meet the fun
spring. The grass is green. water fowl
swim on the rivers and bays. the crows
are holding their annual conventions In
the tree tops with much oratorical clamor
and when you arrive at Tacoma YOU md
the flowers blooming In the dooryards
The change seems magical. and is as
great as II you should start from Chicago
IN January and travel to the Gulf OF
Mexico, yet the whole distance you have
traVersed TO bring about this wonderful
transformation rs less than 100 miles
The most peculiar climatic region with
which l am familiar Is the Puget Sound
basin In the state OF Washington II Isl
separated from the ocean on the west by
the rugged snow-clad range OF the Olym-
pic mountains, and its eastern boundary
Is the still lotter range OF the Cascades
The sound IS connected with the Pacific
by the broad strait OF Juan de Fuca. and
up TINS strait pOurs a grcats volume Of
moist air, brought by the Japan current
from FAR out TO sea. The mountains OF
vancouver Island on one side and the
Olympics on the other make OF the strait
an enormous funnel aud the moisture-,a-
den winds are condensed against the cold
snowy ranges on either hand.a are pre-
clpltated in frequent showers upon the
shores Of the sound. IL rarely SHOWS there