Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-01-26
SNOW EATING MANIA.
A PECULIAR HABIT THAT DEVELOPS
IN THE KLoNDiKE.

The Appetite, When Once Acquired,
Is Extremely Difficult 10 Control,
and to Indulge ii Means a short
Caf to the Grave.
Every great discovery in the worlds
history has brought with it an accom-
panying afiiction, and it remained for
the Klondike to develop a peculiar mania
that threatens to outriya1 opium eating.
Among the residents Of the far north it
IS known as the snow habit, . and it
is said to be ineurable A returned
Kiondiker tells the strange story.
There are many strange things in
the Klondike. said the narrator, ssbut
perhaps the strangest and that about
which nothing has been written 50 far,
is the dissipation caused by eating
snow. In the north, when the ther-
mometer reaches 80 to 40 degrees below
zero, a mouthful of snow is like molten
metal 1t brings an inflammation to the
palate and tongue and it is impossible
to quench the thirst. The first advice
an old timer offers q newcomer in the
region is Don't eat snow There are
men in that country. once hearty, ro-
bust miners, now weak, effeminate crea-
lures, whose fall can be traced directly
to the time they began munching snow.
The matter has been but little in
vestigated, but the scientists who have
examined the subject say that the wa
ters of the north are rich with mineral
deposits which are being constantly
washed down from the mountains. A
certain per cent of this minerals taken
into the air when vapor rises, and the
snow becomes impregnated with it.
There have been several falls of red
snow near Point Barrow. the deposit
being of a reddish brown color, due en-
tirely to minerals Thus it can be seen
that person eating large quantities Of
the snow takes into his system CORE
spending amount of minerals ,,
While coming down the Copper river
last spring the narrator came upon a
party of miners where one was dying
from the effects of eating snow. He had
been hard drinl1er, but had run short
Of whisky His thirst became unendur-
able and as water was scarce in mid
winter he had taken to eating snow.
Soon he claimed it relieved his appetite
for the liquor, but his companions no.
ticed that his appetite for the snow in
creased until he was consuming enor-
nous quantities. Gradually his skin,
which was dark bronze, grew light,
his rugged stature became bent, and
even his harsh voice changed to the
effeminate squeak of an old woman
His strength gave way, and his COM
panions tried TO break him of the habit.
He would lie on his pallet and moan
pitifully for mouthfuI of snow and
when opportunity offered would steal
unobserved to the doorway and gulp
down huge handfuls At last. seeing
death was inevitable, his companions
allowed him the snow. hoping to pro-
long his life. 1t proved unavailing,
however, and one morning the man was
found dead
There are some spots on the Copper
river where the snow. when melted and
strained through cloth, shows percep-
tible signs of minerals, and often gold
is found plentifully intermixed. but Of
course not in paying quantities Where
this comes from is mystery, but it
may be brought from the far north by
the heavy winter gales that sweep over
this part of the country. It has been
said that if the snow could be melted
away it would leave deposits of millions
of dollars in gold dust on the ground.
The narrator had close cali himself
from falling a victim to the snow habit
''It was in the winter of 1896-7, he
said, ''and I was new to the country.
An old miner near Dawson had warned
me against eating snow, but I, with my
partner, had gone back into the hills on
a prospecting tour and had got caught
in a blizzard. We were shy of pro
visions and on our way up lost the
package containing our cooking uten-
sils. This we remedied by broiling cur
cooked foods, but we had nothing IN
which to melt the snow It is claimed
that melted snow is harmless, as the
metallic deposits it contains sink TO the
bottom of the receptacle.
Eve decided to try it raw, and We
did Whether it was the food or the
snow I don't know, but during the
week we waited for a chance to get out
we had am ever increasing thirst. until,
when we were finally able to strike the
trail, we were consuming snow at
frightful rate When we reached our
companions, we attempted to assuage
our thirst with water, but it did no
good We had acquired taste for the
frozen water. and it seemed TO have in
vigorating qualities. At night we could
not sleep unless we took our snow.
1--WE were fast approaching the de-
generate stage when I reached realiz-
ing sense of our condition and under
took to break off I began by degrees
and worked down. but up to the very
moment I left the country the sight Of
the snow always raised in me an inor-
dinate craving. 1t cost me many sleep
less nights and weary days to restrain
myself. Had I given way to the habit
would, like many another poor fellow.
have lost all ambition and filed an IN
known grave in that frozen wilderness.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.