Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-05-03
LIFE AT 90 BELOW ZERO.
Some Strange Manifestations Of Cold D.
the Yukon Region.

the YUKON keHions
Strange manifestations OF extreme
cold observed in the Yukon region
where 90 degrees below zero is not an
uncommon temperature described
by Chester W. Tenant of Dawson,
Yukon Territory, in Popular Mechan-
les.
One Of these manifestations is the
way fire burns in a stove. According
TO Mr.. Tenant:
IL roars and crackles like q great
forge, and wood in the stove seems
to dissolve in the flames like q chunk
Of ice; the wood is gone and we
wonder whore the heat went.
Az 30 degrees below, every stovepipe
throws out great white cloud Of
smoke and vapor, resembling @ steam.
boat in its whltenesa, and this cloud
streams away for 30 to 100 feet,
mingling with the other white-gray
mist of haze that remains permanent
in the atmosphere of the town like
o great fog, when it IS 40 degrees or
more below zero. This white gray
fog is not fog as you know it but is
frozen fog, and every man, woman,
child, animal, and even the fire that
burns, is throwing out moisture into
the air, which rs Immediately turned
into a cloud Of frozen yapor which
floats away and remains visihly sus-
pended in the air. Very slowly this
settles to earth; and in the morning,
about the steps and any protected place,
one can see very fine film of Hour
like dust deposited, which is composed
of frozen vapOr-
Exposed ears, hands and nose, Mr..
I ~ n atH NHHm NuHf
perature in going the distance Of
about one block, unless well protected.
Tho breath roars like "a mild JET Of
steam, while dipper Of boiling water
thrown ont into the air emits "a
peculiar whistling hiss as it drops cir
Gle through the frosty atmosphere.
To quote again:
prospectors, in attempting to boil a
! dish of rice OF beans upon "a campfire
unprotected from the weather, find
that side of the dish which is in the
/ fire will boil, while the part of the
dish exposed tolthe weather has frozen.
! To remedy this, the dish is set CT m
pletely in the fire. Edged tools
/ subjected to this temperature, become
as hard and brittle as glass, and VIII
/ break readily under strain. / have
/ rtfn pup HuAttf fNAfN At"ftt"r W.
steam when weather was below ga
/ degrees, with icicles which had formed
by the condensation while it was blow
/ ing of hanging from the outer rim OF
| the valve. The icicles We're not
melted by the out-rushing steam, but
remained there for days through many
/ blow-ofs. All vegetables can be al
| lowed 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 with
draw without any injury to the article.
/ To attempt TO thnw them out by a
more rapid process by fire or hot water
/ spoils them for use.
Mr.. Tennant tells some remarkable
tales Of thawing out a frczen foot, ear,
or hand, by immersing the member M
coal oil for some time-often several
hours. He says:
This is absolutely a safe remedy,
and one thus escapes the surgeons
| katie. as no bad results follow. A
man was saved q few days ago at our
/ Office by the night watchman, who
| found him in the snowl45 degrees below
| zerol and both hand frozen TO the
wrists. lie was takento into the Office
and treated as above for about hv,
hours, when all the frost was drawn
out without so much as losing hdger-
tip. The physicians were amazed
Great spikes. used IN constructing
the frames Of buildings, when sub