The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-03-29
SOME COLD WEATHER.
Letter From KlOndike Written by w. s.
Keene.

Keene.
The following letter is from w. S.
Keene, former Mankato man, writ
! ten to relatives:
Dawson, Yukon Ter, Feb 10, 1901.
We are having cold weather here at
Dawson. This, no doubt, is right in
line with the reputation that the Yu
kOn country has gained for itself, but
it may be of interest to learn just how
cold it does get and what the cold
weather is like.
The small spirit thermometer in
front of our cabin indicated so de-
grees below zero this morning-which
is nothing remarkable. About month
ago, however, we had spell of cold
| weather lasting about eight days,
| which was colder than at any other
time in the memory Of the oldest in
habitants. According to Governor
Oglivie's thermometer, the lowest
point reached was 6S. 8 degrees below
| with an average temperature during
the whole time of about 60 degrees
below. Other thermometers went
much lower. Quoting from the
News" published during the cold
snap: SIN the meantime, the News
| thermometer is faithful and clings to
| so below with a pertinacity worthy of
better caus e. - The ordinary small
spirit thermometers generally indicat-
ed from 70 to so degrees below l am
able to speak from experience as to
what the weather is like, as another
party and myself were out in the
mountains living in tent. We suffer
ed no particular inconvenience on &C
count of the cold except for the first
| two days when we were on our way
from Dawson out to camp with a dog
/ team and sled of provisions One of
the dogs got his feet badly frozen and
both my partner and myself had sew
eral frost bites but nothing serious.
1t is not safe to be out in such
weather as the extremely cold air
taken into the lungs is liable to effect
them and cause death. There was not
a day passed during the cold weather
in which there was not several deaths
caused in this way
During such weather the atmosphere
is almost invariably still and dry.
Unless one has a thermometer he may
be very much mistaken as to the tenn
perature and think when first coming
out of warm place that it is mild,
pleasant day. The first indication of
! the extreme cold will be the issuing of
the breath in white sheet as it in
stantly freezes with a peculiar sound
If one stays out long enough there
will be other indications far more con-
vincing, the first of which is usually
the freezing of the nose.
| In view of the above, it may seem
| almost incredible to you that the
subject was almost seriously discussed
| in one of the late issues of the Daw-
son News as to whether this may not
have been the original abiding place
of the human race, the Garden Of
Eden. There are certainly some very
strong indications that this was at one
time tropical climate.
A great many relics of mammoth
animals have been unearthed, such as
tusks, teeth, jaw bones, etc. had
the opportunity to measure the tusk
taken out of Di covery Claim on Bon
ANA, which measured nearly nine feet
in length and about eight inches in
diameter at the base. A party with
whom [ am acquainted possesses a
tooth which | should estimate to
weigh from 10 to 20 lbs.
Very recently the whole skeleton Of
some mammoth beast was unearthed
on Fox Gulch. 1t is larger than any
of which | know and I believe it is
the first to have been discovered COM
plete. The tusks measured nine feet,
six inches in length and the skull
measured thirtysix inches between
the eyes 1t is to be regretted that
many of the bones of this skeleton
crumbled to piecesa fter having been
exposed to the air. The skull, tusks
and hip bone-which they say is an
enormous thing-remain in good shape
Whatever the country may have
been, it certainly is not now a con-
genial place in which to live and 1
presume that 95 per cent of the people
who live here have no intention of
making this their permanent home but
expect to go back to whatever place
from which they may have come as
soon as they have the wealth for
which they came or have had enough
of the hardships and privations of the
country.
Yours respectfully,
w G REENE