Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1910-03-19
GUARDED BY ICY WIND
A Frigid Convict Station In the
Northeast of Siberia.
THE COOLEST SPOT ON EARTH
No Precautions Are Necessary Against
Escape at verhoyansk-When the
Wind Blows. Half an Hour In the
Fierce, Biting Cold Means Death.

would naturally expect TO be either
the north or the south pole. but 1t is
not. II Is village In the northeast OF
Siberia named verhoyansk.
There the average temperature OF
the three worst winter months Is 90
degrees +. below zero. which means
s. degrees Of frost During January
the average temperature Is sc degrees
below zero. or IS degrees Of frost. On
one occasion the thermometer regis
tered the remarkable figure of 100 de.
grces of frostl The average January
figure for London. on the other hand.
is degrees above freezing point
But In verhoyansk most months are
winter months. July. curiously enough.
IS as hot there as In London. but the
shadow OF the terrible winter hangs
over even the warmest months.
Even In midsummer the forests
which surround the desolate plain in
the center of which verhoyansk
stands are withered and gray. The
grass is colorless. The few flowers
are odorless. The bare soil of the
plain itself refuses to produce vcge-
tables of any kind. The ground is
frozen hard to IN Incredible depth.
No farming, of course. Is possible.
There are no cattle or poultry. All
food is imported. Why. then. does this
little village exist? 1t is convict sta
ton. and its population Of 400 Is made
up of officials and exiles.
No precautions against escapes are
needed. Prisoners are known to have
gone mad With the loneliness OF the
place. But no one has ever been mad
enough to try to escape. verhoyansk.
strange though II sounds. is guarded
by the wind. A gale when the Their
mometer stands at 80 or more below
zero will destroy every living thing
that Is not under shelter.
One Of the many curious facts about
cold Is that intense cold Is In itself
easy to bear provided the air Is still.
One traveller has declared that he has
often felt colder In Piccadilly OH
damp day In November than during
his entire stay In Verhoyansk. where
the thermometer sometimes showed %
degrees OF frost.
The reason is that at Verhoyansk
the air Is intensely dry. and dry cold
does not penetrate far. With tent
at night and warm furs IN the day.
time one can be quite comfortable.
however low the temperature.
But LET a wind once rise and things
are different AS verhoyansk Is the
coolest place In the world. the few
But then all winds carry moisture.
And so we have the curious fact that.
though one may be quite comfortable
with the thermometer showing 60 de-
grees of frost. II wind springs up
and adds 20 or 80 degrees of warmth
TO the air one has TO fly for dear
life TO shelter.
Half an hour In that fierce. biting
cold means death. But the intense
dry cold that is verhoyansk's normal
weather is. II not so dangerous. quite
as powerful In its effects. In that icy
stiffness an iron AK head dropped on
the ground snashes like glass. A
board OF unseasoncd wood. on the
other hand. freezes hard as iron.
De Windt In his travels in this re-
gion carried his milk IN solid cubes
in net attached TO his sleigh. His
thermometers all burst. for Mt the
verhoyansk temperatures quicksilver
freezes and can be hammered like
copper. II has indeed been turned into
bullets and shot through a deal board.
All he could find OF case OF claret
we're few Jumps of red ice and some
splintered glass. But what troubled
him most was the discovery that II
was impossible TO smoke. At 40 de-
grees below zero frozen nicotine blocks
the stem Of the pipe. while cigarettes
or cigars freeze TO the lips.
II must be embarrassing to end. a3
one does when the thermometer reach.
es so below. that ones very breath
falls at ones feet in fine white pow.
Qtt. n hhuSthNut DtNOtitc IL tOlAuIG-
heavy. solid lump OF Ice. To lay
bare hand on metal means that the
skin viii stay where II touches. A
careless traveller once wiilessIy left
shirt outside his hut 10 dry. When he
picked It up again II bent and almost
broke. When swung through the air
1t made noise like theatrical thun-
der
At these temperatures many usually
trusty articles. such as combs and
razors and knife handles. shrivel or
bend or break.
verhoyansk Is a huddle OF mud plas.
tered huts along one struggling street.
The windows are OF ice. so that can.
dies are needed both summer and win.
ter. Twenty miles away. across dis
mai plain OF snow. lies low. black
line Of pine forests.
On the other side is the frozen river.
from which dense. unhealthy mists
roll up for weeks together In the au.
tumn. There are not flowers In spring.
and summer is dingy. Perhaps they
are right at verhoyansk In looking
forward to the long months OF winter