Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1910-03-05
GUARDED BY ICY WIND
A Frigid Convict Station In the
Northeast of Siberia.
THE COOLEST SPOT ON EARTH
No Presentations Are Necessary Against
Escape st vsrheyanSk-whsn the
Wind Blows. HALT an Hour IN the
Fierce. Biting Cold Means Death.

Fierce. Biting Cold Means Death.
The coldest place IN the world one
would naturally expect 20 be either
the north or the south pole. but h Is
not II il q village In the Dortheasi OF
Siberia named verhoynnsk
There the average temperature OF
the three worst winter months is 80
degrees r. below zero. which means
Sc degrees OF frost During January
the average temperature II 81 degrees
below zero. or s. degrees OF frost. On
one occasion the Thermometer regis
tered the remarkable figure OF 10 de
grees Of FROST The average January
figure for London. on the other hand.
is degrees above freezing point
But In verhoyansk mosi mouths are
winter months July. cur1ously enough.
is as bot there as In London. but the
shadow OF the terrible winter hangs
over even the wArmest mouths.
Even in midsummer the forests
which surround the desolate plain in
the center of which Eerboyansk
stands are withered and gray The
grass is colurless The few bowers
are odorless The bare soil OF the
plain Itself refuses TO produce vege-
tables Of any kind The ground Is
frozen hard 10 an incredible depth.
No farming. OF course. IL possible.
There are no cattle or poultry All
food is imported Why. then. does this
little village EXIST IL is a convict sta
ton. and its population Of zoo Is made
up OF officials and exiles.
No preCB urionS against escapes are
needed frisubers are known TO have
gone mad with the IoDeliness of The
place But no one has ever been mad
enough 10 try TO escape VerhoyaDsk.
strange though IL sounds. rs guarded
by the wind A gale when the Iher-
mumeter stands al 80 or more below
zero will destroy every living thing
THAI is moi under shelter.
One Of the many curious facts about
cold is thai intense cold Is In itself
easy to beaI provided the aiE Is still
One rrnveier has declared that ne has
often felt colder IN I'iccaoilly ON
damp day In November than during
his entire stay in NerbOyansk. WHERE
the Thermometer sometimes showed -
degrees OF frost
The reason is that al NerhOyausk
the air is Intensely dry. and dry cold
does not penetrate far With q tent
AT might and warm furs IN the day
time one can be quite comfortable.
however low the temperature
But let q wind once rise and things
are different AS NerhOyansk Is the
coolest place IN the world. the few
winds thai come must bring warmth
BuI then all winds carry moisture
And SO we have the curious fact that.
though one may Toe quite comfortable
with the Thermometer showing 80 de
grePs OF frost II wind springs Mp
and adds 10 or 80 degrees Of warmth
10 the air one has TO ly for dear
life TO shelter
Half an hour in that tierce. biting
cold means death. But the intense
dry cold that is NerhUyansk's normal
weather is. II not 50 dangerous. quite
as powerful In its efTects- In that ICY
Stiffness an iron Ak head dropped on
the ground smashes ike glass. A
board OF unseasoned 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 nel attached TO his sleigh. His
thermometers all burst for al 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 ne could find Of case of riarp1
were a few humps of red ice and some
spliDtered glass But what troubled
him most was the discovery thai IL
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.
1t must be embarrassing to ind. as
one does when the Thermometer reach
es 50 below that ones very brearh
falls at ones feet IN fine white pow
der. A mustAche becomes q torture
a heavy. solid lump OF Ire. To lay
bare hand on metal means thai the
skin will stay where Il touches. A
careless Traveller once wiflessly left a
shirt outside his hut TO dry. When he
picked il mp again II bent and almost
il made a noise Ike theatrical thun
der
At these temperatures many usually
frusty articles. such as combs and
razors and knife handles. shrirel OF
bend or break.
Verhoyansss is a middle OF mud plas-
tered huts along one struggling street
The windows are OF ice SO that cRn
dies are needed bafh summer and win
ter Twenty miles away. across a dis
mai plain of SNOW lies a low. blnrk
Tine Of pine forests
On the uIher side is the frozen river
from whirb dense unhealthy misTs
roll up for weeks together In the au-
tumn There are not flowers In spring.
and summer is dingy. Perhaps ihp1
are right al verboransk in looking
forward TO the long months OF winter
But II In NOT a cheerful place Pear
sons Weekly.