The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1910-03-30
GUARDED BY ICY WIND
A Frigid Convict Station In the
Northeast of Siberia.
THE COOLEST SPOT ON EARTH
Ne Precautions Are Necessary Against
Escape at veshoysnsk-When the
Wind Blows. Half, an Hour Ia tho
Fierce. Biting Cold Means Death.

Escape ae Veshoysnsk-When the
Wind Blows. Half, an Hour Ia tho
Fierce, Biting Cold Means Death.
The coolest place IL the world one
would naturally e1pec, 20 be either
the north OF the south pole. but It IS
not. II IS village IN the northeast o.!
Siberia named verhoyansk.
There the average temperature OF
the three worst winter months IS 50
degrees F. below zero. which means
s. degrees OF frost During January
the average temperature is Sc degrees
below zero. or SIS degrees OF frost. On
one occasion the thermometer regis
tered the remarkable figure Of i2O de-
grees Of frost! The average January
figure tor London. on the other hand.
IS degrees above freezing point
But Ia Se-hoyansk mos; months are
winter months. July. cur!ously enough.
Is as hot there as In London, bu, 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 Eerhoyansk
stands are withered and gray. The
grass Is coloriess. The few towers
ere odorless. The bare soil Of the
Nn
tables Of any sind The ground *
frozen hard 20 an incredible depth
No farming. Of course. IS possible.
There are 90 cattle or poultry. Al!
food Is imported. Why. then. does this
little village exist? It Is convict sta
ton. and its population OF 400 IS made
up OF officials and e1iles-
No precautions against escapes arc
needed. Prisoners are known TO have
gone mad with the !oueliness OF the
place. But 10 one has ever been mad
enough 70 try 10 escape EerhoyanSS.
strange though II sounds. Is guarded
By the wind 4 gale when the 'heT-
mometer stands At 80 OF more below
zero will destroy every living thirS
;ha, is not under shelter.
One OF the ul;ny curious facts about
cold is that intense cold Is In Itself
easy to bear provided the air is still.
One traveller has declared that BE- has
often felt colder tr Piccad!l!y on
damp day IN November than during
his entire stay in Ve7hoyarss. where
the ;hc-Io.actc. sometimes showed 10
degrees Of frost
The reason Is tha, at ve.hoyansk
the air IS intensely dry. and dry cold
does not penetrate far With teat
ut night and warm turs IN the day
time one can be quite confortaol
however low the temperature.
But le, = wind once rise and things
are different, AS Verhoyansk Is the
coolest place IN the world. the Few
winds that come must bring warmth.
But then all winds carry moisture.
and so we have the curious fact that.
though one may be quite comfortable
with the thermometer showing GO de-
srees Of frost. II wind springs up
and adds &C or 80 degrees Of warmth
,c the air one has 20 fy for dear
life to shelter.
Half an hour In that derce. biting
co.'s 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 az head dropped on
the ground smashes like glass. a
board OF rnseasoned wood. on the
othe. hand. freezes hard as iron.
De Wlndt In bis travels In this re-
sion carried bis milk IN solid cubes
in net attached to his sleigh. His
Thermometers all burst. cor at the
verhoyansk temperatures quicksilver
freezes and can be hammered like
copper. II has indeed been turned into
bullets and shot through deal board.
Al! be could find OF case Of ciaret
were few Jumps Of red ice and some
spi!ntered glass. But what troubled
him most was the discovery that II
was impossible to smoke. AZ 20 de-
grees below zero frozen nicotine blocks
the stem Of the pipe. while cigarettes
OF cigars freeze to the lips.
II must be embarrassing to frd. IS
one does when the thermometer reach
es 50 below. that ones very breath
falls at ones teet IN 3 fne white pow
der. A mustache becomes torture
Z heavy. solid lump OF ice. To lay
bare hand on mesal means that the
skin VIII stay where 1t touches. a
careless traveller once witlesSsy left q
shirt outside his hut to dry. When hc
picked 1t up again 1t bent and almost
broke. When swung through the air
Il made ooise like theatrical thun-
der.
At these temperatures many usually
trusty articles. such as combs and
razo-s and knife handles. shriTel OK
bend OF break.
Terhoyaask is g hrddls 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 d!s-
NAL plain Of snow. lies lew. 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 TerhoyaasS IN looking
forward to the long months OF winter.
But II Is not cheerful place.-PeaT-
sons Weekly.
The order Of society Is founded on