Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-10-01
LIFE IN THE ARCTIC
Mistaken Ideas About Conditions in
the Far North.
EFFECTS OF COLD And DARKNESS
How Men and Animals Adapi
Themselves to Circumstances.
OVER TRACKLESS WASTES

+. A. Cook. NJ. n. in the Medical Record
There is such a perverted impression in
the popular mind about the actual arctic
conditions that always find il difficult To
impress my listeners with a real knowl-
edge Of polar phenomena. The surround
ings are. of course. wild enough TO satisfy
the most savage longings, but II must not
be inferred that the temperature Of the
air is always below zero, nor that tho land
is completely buried by perennial snow. nor
that the sea is always covered by paleo-
crystic ice foes or mountainous ice MASSES.
During the long arctic night such condi-
tons are fairly constant. but for much of
the year the genial rays of the sun are felt.
Our headquarters Qhe first Peary cxpe-
oitionJ in 1891 were pitched ON the north
west coast OF Greenland. near the seventy
eighth parallel Of latitude. which is about
midway between the north pole and the
arctic circle. In this latitude the seasons
are briefly as follows: A long nIghtless
summer day of nearly four months and an
extended dayless winter night Of nearly
four months. These periods are separated
from each other by a season Of advancing
night during the autumn when the sun
gradually recedes. but reappears for a
shorter period every succeeding day. until
II finally remains below the horizon on Oc-
tober -. In the spring there is n similar
period, but il is the dawn OF the coming
Gay. The sun reappears on February H.
Ii hrst remains only few minutes. but
each succeeding day it rises higher aud
sweeps more OF the southern sky, until
about May 1 IT remains above the horizon
and then the long arctic day, with its sill
very glory, begins.
Cold and Darkness.
The specific effects OF cold and darkness
and light are difficult Of analysis more so
among the members OF our party than
! among the native people and animals. The
effect of isolation, of change Of food. cloth
ing and habits OF life are so potent that
any physical or mental pecuuarities must
necessarily include these elements
The withdrawal Of heat is so gradual
that the animal organisms have an oppor-
tcnity to protect themselves. During the
| summer (he only time when the extreme
north is Accessibility the Temperature and
some or the meteorological conditions are
| much like our March and April weather.
Incredible myrfads of birds in summer
| pfumage, fresh from the temperate zone,
| how congregate on the ofY-lying Islands
| and moss-covered rocky cliffs. But with
the frst warning of the polar night as the
sun drops below the southern sky they
quickly erniGrate TO more consenia1 land.
| leaving apparently Hfeless the Geld shores
which nave been animated by their wild
Dhrllis OF love and JOY. Their powers and
instincts are such that they have only TO
| seek the lands which are best adapted TO
! their manner OF living. Many Of the forms
| Va Std IKE are able 10 DO the IUt
| men and all other land animals must re-
| main and become adapted 10 the changing
conditions.
the polar bear changes his fur during the
summer TO protect him from the expected
| cold next winter, but life is TO him an aw-
| full struggle during the long night Never
| theless he carly develops an ability to fast
| for prolonged periods, which is a faculty
| possessed by all other arctic land life. The
| nearly complete covering Of the SEA by the
winter ice deprtves him OF his accustomed
| Source of food. Hence he must either hi
| bernate or find his way far out over a
| lifeless sea of Ice TO the open water where
| varying fortunes may put him In possess
| sion of dn unwary seal. But With all
| bruins ingenuity and bard-earned adapta-
| biDt? long periods of famine are always be-
| fore him.
Can Withstand Hanger.
The native people. like the animals have
evolved a system Of life aud adaptation 20
their habitat which could not be much i'm
proved by civilized aid. They are able to
| withstand long periods of famine like the
| deer and bear with no apparent injury, ex-
| cept loss of bodily weight. Their Gu
! taneous circulation is always profuse. The
| muscular outlines are largely obiiterated
| by an development Of fibro-fatty tissue like
| that Of the seal and wairus. The Intestinal
| capacity is greatly increased 20 afford
greater surface for the absorption OF nitro
| genous and fatty foods.
! I shall always remember our camps while
| travelling over the trackless wastes of snow
| during this period. particularly the stormy
scenes. We undressed in the open air. crept
into our sleeping bags, and with rare de-
| light stretched out upon the virgin fields
of snow for q long sleep. There was moth
| ing but the high blue sky above us, and
often there We're many hundred feet OF
snow and ice beneath US. At first after
reclining. We Were nearly stin from cold,
but this was soon followed by glowing
treaction, when we were conscious of bound
| nf I'D ant DIM
| through tense arteries We fell doubly the
wild pleasures of primitive life, as We heard
| the rearing storms and felt the snow
| charged winds blasting against our pro-
tected bodies.
Comforts In the Arctic.
Such storms always brought us to sharp
consciousness of the superb animal COM
forts. comforts go in the arctic All OF
this served to enhance our admiration for
the wonderful mechanisms of the human
| body. Nothing could bring one to a keener
| realization of this than cur experience. To
feel the heart force heat and life to the
| surface while resting over md sometimes
under blanket of protecting snow is to
feel the, electric glow which for the want
| OF better term We call life.
| In conclusion, / wish to emphasize the
| fact that 1t is not the low temperature of
| the arctic from which explorers suffer. IL
| is the long and dntense darkness and the
inability to carry sufficient food and &C
customed aids to personal comfort. But
| this is easily counterbalanced by the acute
passions Of life they are brought out by
| the prolonged monday splendor after rest
! ing in the long darkness. The white lights
| and dark shades entering into the soul
! make life a long dream-the spirit now
enervescing, then smothered again, almost
frozen, only to be thawed out for ascent
into an atmosphere Of heavenly purity. In
my Judgment, polar grandness lifts the
minds horizon. and. as a whole. the expert
ence affords a Wild weird and poetic exist
ence long TO be remembered.