Smyrna times., 1899-02-15
SNOW EATING MANTA
A PECULIAR HABIT THAT DEVELOPS
IN THE KLONDIKE.

and to Indulge 1t Means short
Cut to the Grave.
Every great discovery in the world :
history has brought with it an accom-
panylng atfiiCtion, and it remained for
the hlondlke to develop a peculiar mania
that threatens to Outrivai oDium eotin,
Among the residents of the far north if
Is known as the ''snow habit" and if
IS sad to be incurable. A returned
Alondlker tells the strange story.
mere are many strange things in
the hlondlke. said the narrator. ..but
perhaps the Strangest and that about
winch nothing has been written so far
Is the dissipation caused bv cotino
snow In the north, when the thor
molheter reaches 30 to 40 degrees bolo,v
zero mouthful Of snow is like motion
metal 1t brings an inflammation to tbc
palate and tongue and it is impossible
TO quench the thirst The first adv-ico
an old tuner offers a newcomer i'm tba
region Is Don't eat snow. There ara
men In that country, once hearty. ro-
pust miners, now weak, effcminate crea-
lures whose fall can be traced directly
TO the time they began muncbing SNOW,
he matter has been but little in
vestlgated, but the scientists who b.,.o
examined the subject say that the VA
ters OF the north are rich with mineral
deposits which are being cous+antIv
"asiled down from the mountains A
certain per cent Of this mineral is taken
INTO the air when vapor rises. and tl,e
snow becomes imprcgnatcd with If
There have been several falls Of rod
snow near Point Barrow. The denosit
beng Of reddish brown color due on
tirely To minerals. Thus it can he soon
thdt person c;sting large quantities ,f
0he Sno" takes into his system Il core
spending amount of minerals"
while coming down the Conner river
last spring the narrator came unon -
party OF miners wherc one WAS dviro
from the effects of eating snow. He had
Deen a hard drinker, but had run short
OF whisky His thirst became Encndur.
abIe and as water was scarce in mid
winter he had taken to eating snow
soon ne claimed ii relieved his annette
Tor the liquor. bht his co.ntaui0ns mo-
tlced that his appetite for the snow in
creased until he was constantine enor.
nous quantities.. Gradually his skin
which was a dark bronze. prcw Iiqb+
has rugged stature became bent and
even his harsh voice changed to the
eitemlnato squeak Of an old woman
HIS strength gave way. ana his com
panlons tried to break him OF the habit
lie would lie on his pallet and moan
ptlfully for mouthful of snow and
whom opportunity offered would steal
unobserved to the doorway and puln
down huge handfuls At last. seeing
death was inevitable. his COMPANIONS
allowed him the snow, hoping to Dro-
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 a cloth. shows percep-
tlhle signs Of minerals, and often gold
Is found plentifully intermixed, but of
course not in paving quantities. Where
this comes from is a mystery. but if
may be brought from the far north bv
the heavy winter gales that sweep over
this part of the country It has been
said that if the snow coald be melted
away It would leave deposits of millions
OF dollars III gold dust on the ground.
The narrator had close call himself
from falling a victim to the snow habit, |
1T was in the winter Of 1867. " he |
said, land | was new to the country |
An old miner near Dawson had warned |
me against eating snow, but l, with nv |
partner, had gone back into the hills on |
a prospecting tour and had got caught |
in blizzard. We We're shy of pro |
visions and on our way up lost the |
package containing our cooking uten. |
sils This we remedieG 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.
''We decided to try it raw and we
did. Whether it was the food or the
snow ] don't know, but during the
week we waited for a chance to get out |
we had an ever increasing thirst, until, |
when we were finally able to strike the
trail, we were consuming snow at a
frightful rate. When we reached our
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
qualities. AT night we could
not sleep unless we took our snow.
"We were fast approaching the de-
stage when reached realiz-
ing sense of our condition and under
took to break off. l began by degrees
ana worked down. but up to the very
moment | 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 given way to the habit
would, like many another poor fellow,
have lost all ambition and filled an un-
known grave in that frozen wilderness.
( 'lpVplaOd Plain Daalor