The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-19

MEDICINE HAT, N. w. T, Nov. IL
Although all the signs indicate a hard
winter at this point none Of the inhabi-
tants of the town is seriously coltemp at
ing removal, for if there is anything
which the $50 people Of Me-ic.n ne Hat hav j.
become Injured to 1t is a hard winter
There Is usually more, \ atthtr. at tn s
town than any other Pic. IN tha North
west territory can beast Of and while tn !
people Of the States are getting In their
fall crops and preparing for big time
at Thanksgiving the residents Of Nedi Inc
Hat are laying in an extra stock of H. E.
wood and locking for signs of the first
snow. The weather observer office.
which Is located in a strong stone bu ID
ing. Is particularly we'll provided to wi h
stand the rigors Of the Medicine Hat win
ter, being stocked with coal Brought a
great distance over the Canadian Pacific
The little town, surrounded by an al
most perfectly fiat country is especially
open to the sweeping blasts frem the far
away Klondike, which bring with them
the billiards. which have made this place
famous. To the north and northwest are
the iIupenetrable forests of the great ter
ritory, dotted with lakes and filed with
game, and not a great distance to the
south IS the boundary line between the
Northwest territory and the state Of Mon
tana. The town Is a collection Of small
houses with few general stores, a
church and blacksmith shop. At the
railroad station is an express Office and
Of1Ca frnyT, xxrbir.t, he roSf-
dents telegraph home for money.
In the very center of the town Is the lit
tie structure from which go out the re-
ports which have made the name of this
place a household word throughout the
country. the weather mans Office. 1t is
not supplied with all of the delicate and
exact instruments which may be found IN
some of the large cities, but 1t will dc.
Fhe hardest worked instrument in the
place at this season of the year and from
how until May 1 is. the thermometer
Fiat Is constantly on duty and gets no
respite from work, Colonel Beverly. the
weather man. has often said he would be
lost without Il and has declared that IL
he ever retires from the service he wilt
endeavor to take the thermometer with
him and furnish a new one TO the weather
Office. 50 greatly has the cid instrument
cheered his leisure hours.
FITTED FOR THE POST.
Col James Beverly is we'll known to
the Northwest country. having been for
years connected with the Canadian
mounted police, and also served in the
militia. He was engaged In several
brushes with the Indians in the wild
country to the northwest OF this place
and was three times promoted for brav-
cry. With such a record he was deemed
the best equipped man to assume the haz-
ardous post of weather observer at Md
icfne Hat. and his appointment BY the
government was very generally COM
mended. In appearance he Is tall and
commanding, with an iron gray imperial
and hair worn rather long. He fears
nothing on earth. and, though he passed
through many winters here, still insists
that he will face more of than,
When the weather bureau was first es-
tablished 1t was located in an upper floor
of an elevator building in which wheat
equipped. The thermometers proved en-
tirely inadequate for the work, being or
binary Instruments which had been In
the use Of the provinces to the east They
had to be superseded by specially made
instruments which could stand the rigors
of the Medicine Hat climate. Col. Bever-
ly found that the man who had preceded
him in office was not at all careful to
preserve the records of the office for tbs
information of future generations, and
that the story of the famous winter Of ST,
when the mercury dropped to 6S below
zero, was fast becoming tradition which
was scoffed at by the "tenderfeet" ar
irving from the South and Fast. Since
that time an affidavit system has been
established whereby the records of the
Office are sworn to as fast as they are
made out and the Office of notaFNi public
to the weather observer Is zone Of the
i4s : TD0tH ~