The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-09-14
LAND OF. HEAT.
HOW MERCURY BOUNDS UP
WARD IN ARIZONA.
SUMS Rays SO Intense as to Make
Life to Animals Torture-No 2
Metal Could be Touched
without Gloves.

Arizona, the sun-kissed land, has al
ready more than local reputation ior
summer heat, blunt June "a she proceeded
to beat her previous records by az least
five degrees. For Marty two weeks the
mercury had danced attendance between
100 degrees ana ia degrees. On the fate
full Tuesday d neighbor's thermometer
went up to 120 iegrees in the shade, tnen
burst. In the Mesa bank ~ degrees was
reached. Our yn thermometer hung UNI
der the brush ned in the coolest place
we could find, registered ll9 degrees
while the Weather Bureau in Phoenix,
where observations are taken high enough
to avoid the reflection from the pave
ment, announced 115 degrees as the max
imum. This is the highest record mace
since the establishment OF the Unueo
States Weather Bureau at Phoenix twen-
ty years ago. From June to June 10;
1896 was the longest continuous perlod
of extremely hot weather within the
memory of the Oldest inhabitant YET the
maximum heat recorded was but Has.
The sky on that Tuesday morning was
a blue gray, with no single fieck Of
cloud. At clock the Thermometer was
100 degrees and rising. Breakfast was
untasted. too hot to eat, being the uni
versal verdict
Suffer From the Heat.
The family dog, an old hound with
strain of coyote, which had an interest
ing family of young pups, showed her
natural sagac!ty by digging deep nole
in the sun-baked earth, into which she
retired with her family. Although en-
tireiy hidden from sight her breathing
could be heard yards away IKE , Ihe
rapid pulsing of a gasoline engine Ine
cats sat in the shade with RED loiiing
tongues The COWS ana ,,r caves RS, ke bnrs up
were irritable and restless, biting ana
kicking each other viciously, and when
the watering troughs ran dry by reason
Of the unparalleled demand upon them
khatr Afc wi
such vigor that two Of them gave way.
Then some of the widest bronchos,
which never made friends nor allowed
anyone near them, came voluntarily to
into the yard, begging to be let in. The
hens. with wide-open bills and runled
dragging feathers, ran protesting from
the shade of the ricks to the water jars
and back again, many of the little chick
ems dropping dead from the oyerpowerins
heat A big tarantula dropped out of the
well. too stupid to show fight, and even
the house flies. Arizona's greatest In
sect pest. dropped dead by the hundreds.
SUMS Terrible Rays.
At 10 o'clock the mercury was 112 and
climbing. Then sprang up breeze still
lingly hot, like the blast from a furnace.
The cottonwood trees wilted. the sun
flowers bent their heads. spectacies
taken off and laid down moment where
the sun touched them blistered the nose.
Shell and bone hairpins split and twisted
out of all shape, vaseline In jars became
liquid. candles turned over their sticks
and dropped a talowy stream on the
floor. Shoes standing on shelf in the
tent gave out a smell like burned leather
and butter fresh from the ice box with
ice in the dish. liquified before 1T reached
the bread. No metal could be touched
without thipk gloves. The expressman
driving UP from town wore heavy buck
skin mittens to enable him to handle the
machinery he was bringing. At the zee
factory near by cakes of ice exposed to
the sun as they were being loaded into
cling sound and were biistered just as a
Vanished chair is when IT Is alloweo
to stand too close to red-hot stove
Water running through the pipes was
Clothing, even the. ligdtest seemed
to ogrievous to be borne. All mental
labor was impossible, but physical labor
in the shade was really blessing. II
the humidity meanwhile had compared
with the usual average on the coast there
must inevitably have resulted IN gre At
loss of life, but dryness Is the saving
clause in Arizona heat. The average re-
lative humidity on that memorable day
was but IL per cent. and not single
case of sunstroke or heat prostration
was reported, although most of the
ranchers and cattleman Kept at their
work as usual.
Nights Are Cool.
Among the amusing INSTANCES CoLlesl-
ed with this squirt of the mercury was the
experience of a New York man. He
reached Phoenix on that hot morning
having made arrangements by letter 70
spend the sume- at one of the valley
ranches. He was a sufferer from some
sort Of kidney disease, for which the dry
heat Of the territory is almost certain
cure The rancher met him at the sta
ton and. loading him and his trunk in
the farm wagon, struck off for his drive
of Twelve miles across the desert. They
reached their destination early in the
afternoon, but the New York man was
scared out. Never mind the cure" he
said New York Is good enough for
me- Take me back" The horses couldn't
make the trio again that day. but We'd
nesday morning early saw the New
Yorker and his trunk on their way back,
his ticket was bought and he is again
In the city of his choice.
While the heat of the day here in the
valley is undeniably trying. it is atoned
for by the nights. Nowhere on earth
are the nights superb as here. One lives
through the day in blissful anticipation
of the night coming. Everyone sleeps
out of doors and evervo'e is re'dr -
retire at $50 o'clock. There Is no ap-
drops below the horizon darkness settles.
A fresh breeze springs out of the West.
The deep blue of the bending skies opens
its thousand radiant eyes like the fairy
lighting of the electric towers at the
Pan-American. The air, soft fragrant,
balmy enfolds the tired body like the
caressing waves of a summer sea and
on it's bosom one floats away to dream
lands happy shore, forgetful of the fact
that the mercury has recorded 119 de-
grees and doubtless will do the same to-
morrow.