The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1906-07-12
IN COLDEST ALASKA
PHENOMENA RESULTING FROM
Low TEMPERATURES.
Vegetables, Fruit, Eggs, Etc, Al
lowed to Freeze Hard as Bull
lets and Thawed When
Used.

Strange manifestations appear Tin
Alaska) as a result of the extreme
cold, one is the way a fire burns in the
stove. It roars and crackles like a
great forge, and wood in the stove
seems to dissolve in the flames like a
chunk of ice: the wood is gone and we
wonder where the heat went. At 60
degrees below. every stovepipe throws
out a great white cloud of smoke and
vapor. resembling a steamboat In its
whiteness. and this cloud streams
away for so to 100 feet, writes Chester
w. Tenant. in Popular Mechanics.
Prospectors. in attempting to boil a
dish Of rice or beans upon a campfire
unprotected from the weather, find
that the side of the dish which is In
the fire will boil while the part Of the
dish exposed to the weather has
frozen. To remedy this. the dish is
set completely into the fire.
Edged tools subjected to this tenn
perature become as hard and brittle
as glass and will break as readily un-
der strain. I have seen a pop safety
valve blowing off steam when weather
was below 60 degrees, with icicles
which had formed by the condensa-
tion while II was blowing of hanging
from the outer rim of the valve.
All vegetables. potatoes, apples,
fruit, eggs. etc, can be allowed to
freeze until they become like bullets.
To make ready for use, place them in
cold water half a day before using,
and the frost will slowly withdraw
without injury to the article.
Exposed parts of the body would
freeze in this temperature while going
the distance of one block. Mr.. Ten
nant tells of remarkable results OBJ
tained by thawing out frozen feet,
hands or ears in coal oil. The men,
bers are immersed in the oil. some
times for four or five hours, and they
thaw without leaving any injurious
results. The hint from the north bay
may be well worth remembering TO
those exposed to the severer turns OF
temperature in our own winters. OF
the kerosene treatment Mr.. Tenant
says:)
This is absolutely a safe remedy,
and one thus escapes the surgeons
knife, as no bad results follow. This
is not hearsay, as a man was saved a
Few years ago at our office by the night
watchman who found him in the snow
-four degrees below zero) and both
hands frozen to the wrists. He was
taken into the Office and treated as
above for about five hours, when all
the frost was drawn out without SC
much as losing a finger tip.
The physicians were amazed, as they
thought amputation would have to be
resorted to. His hands were as white
and hard as marble, and when placed
in the oil they snapped and cracked
as the oil began to act upon the Ice
crystals.
This remedy should be remembered
by all residents of cold climates. as II
would save many limb. The temper
ature of the oil should be about the
same as that of the living room (abou
co degrees above zero)
One has to be careful about touch
ing things with unprotected hands. i
is dangerous to take hold of a dool
knob when it is go degrees below zero
or thereabouts. with the uncovered
hand, unless you are careful Instant!
to release your hold. for II you do l
will freeze your inner palm In fiv'
seconds, be very painful thereafter
and the result Is the same as from
touching redhot stove.
Coal oil begins to thicken at 40 de
grees below. and at 60 and 70 degrees
below becomes as thick as lard, or bu
very little darker, and can be Gu
out of the can with knife the sam
as you would cut lard or butter. 4
lighted lamp or lantern left exposed II
this temperature will freeze up and g
out in 80 minutes. have not seel
gasoline become stiff yet from any o
the low temperatures that We have ex
perienced