The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1899-02-22

A PECULIAR HABIT THAT DEVELOPS
IN THE KLONDlKE.

u Extrcmciy Difficult 10 Cont't
and to Indulge ~ Means n short
Cut to the Grave.
Every great discovery in the worlds
history hcs brought with it an acco.l'
panying affection. and it remained Cor
the Klondikc to develop peculiar manin
that thr, tens to outrival opium eating
Among the residents of the far north 1t
is known as the "snow habit. and il
is said to he incurable. A returned
Klondiller tells the strange story.
-'There are many strange things in
the Klondike. said the narrator, "but
perhaps the Strangest and that abo 't
which nothing has been written so far.
is she dissipation caused by eatins
snow In the north, when the thg
mometer reaches 30 to 40 degrees below
zero. mouthful of snow is like moltcz
metal 1t brings an inflammation to the
palate and tongue and il is impossible
TO quench The thirst. The first advice
an old timer offers newcomer in the
region is Don't eat snow. There are
men in that country, once hearty. ro-
bust miners. now weak. effeminate crca-
lures. whose fall can be traced directly
to the time they began munching snow
1.-THE matter has been but little in
vestigatcd, 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 mineral is 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 q 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 drinker, 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 il relieved his appetite
for the liquor. but his companions ro-
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 a mouthful 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. 1t 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 call himself
from falling victim to the snow habit.
"It was in the winter of 1867" he
said, "and l was new to the country.
An old miner near Dawson had warned
me against eating snow, but /. with my
partner, had gone back into the hills on
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 oui
cooked foods, but we had nothing il
which to melt the snow. 1t is claimed
that melted snow is harmless, as the
metallic deposits it contains sink to tn,
bottom of the receptacle.
"We decided to try it raw, and WI
did Whether it was the food or tn,
snow l don't know. but during tn,
week we waited for a chance to get ou
we had an ever increasing thirst, until
when we were finally able to strike tn,
trail, we were consuming snow at
frightful rate When we reached ou
companions, we attempted to assuag
our thirst with water, but it did n,
good We had acquired a taste for tn
frozen water. and it seemed to have in
vigorating qualities. AT night we coul'
not sleep unless we took our snow.
'We We're fast approaching the de
generate stage when / reached realiz
ing sense of our condition and under
took to break off l began by degree
and worked down, but up to the ver
moment / left the country the sight @
tho snow always raised in me an inor
dinate craving, 1t cost me many SLEEP
less nights and weary days to restrai
myself. Had / given way to the habi
! would, like many another poor fellow
have lost all ambition and filled an III
known grave in that frozen wilderness.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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