Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-03-23
GUARDED BY ICY WIND
A Friojd Convict Station In the
Northeast of Siberia.
TIE COOLEST SPOT ON EARTH
Al. Precautions Are Necessary Against
e.,ape az verhoyansk-When the
Wind Blows. Half an Hour In the
Fierce. Biting Cold Means Death.

No Precautions arc NeSoss~'I NS~'e'
e.,,,. al verhoyanxk-When the
Mind Blows. Half an Hour In the
e;,,ee. Biting Cold Means Death.
rho coolest place Ia the world one
uon1 naturally expect TO be either
,be north or the south pole. but IL Is
M, II isa village In the northeast of
Siberia named Verhoyansk
There the average temperature OF
,hs three worst winter months Is 50
darrees r below zero. which means
:, degrees Of FROST During January
the average temperature Is IS degrees
hollow zero. or ~ degrees of frosi. On
ope occasion the Thermometers regis
,ered the remarkable figure OF TO de-
erees OF FROST The average January
figure for London. on the other hand.
ia 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 Verhoysnsk
stands are withered and gray The
grass is coloriess The few towers
are odorlcSs The bare soil OF the
plain itself refuses TO produce vege-
tables Of any kind The ground Is
frozeu hard To an 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? IL Is a convict sta
ton. and It's 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 10 try 10 escape. VerhoyanSk.
strange though 1t sounds. Is guarded
by the wind A gale when the Their
momcter stands az 30 or more below
zero will destroy every living thing
that Is not under shelter.
one 81 the many curious facts about
cold Is that intense cold In I'm itself
easy to bear provided the air Is stlli.
One traveller has declared that he has
often felt colder In Piccadilly on a
damp day In November than during
his entire stay In Verhoyansk. where
the thermometer sometimes showed 10
degrees ~ frost
90 NJ A.
the air Is Intensely dry. and dry cold
does not penetrate far With n tent
al 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
winds thar come must bring warmth
Bur 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 trust. II wind springs up
and adds ~ or 80 degrees OF warmth
TO the air one has TO hy for dear
life 10 shelter
Hall an hour In thar fierce. biting
Cold means death. But the intense
dry cold that Is Nerhoyansk'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 smashes like glass. 4
BOARD or uaseasoned wood. on the
other hand. freezes hard as iron.
DE Windt In his travels In this re-
gion carried his milk In solid cubes
10 net attached 10 his sleigh. His
thermometers all burst, for ut the
NerhoyanSk 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 lind OF a case of claret
were lew Jumps of red ice and some
Sp'ihiered glass But what troubled
uiih most was the discovery that Ii
was impossible 10 smoke. At 40 de-
sreeS below zero frozen nicotine blocks
Tue stem OF the pipe. while cigarettes
VI cigars freeze 10 the lips.
u must be embarrassing 10 find. as
pne does when the thermometer reach
- ~ below. that ones very breath
t"'is at ones feet In n fine white pow.
ue,' mustache becomes a torture
9 "eaVy. solid lump OF Ice. To lay a
pare hand ON metal means that the
sAin VIII stay where II touches. A
.ste'eSS traveller once witlessly left a
SURF outside his hut to dry. When he
pNeeu II UP again II bent and almost
o'oAe When swung through the air
der '"''''" '""N'
A' heSe temperatures many usually
uuS'y articles. such as combs and
,"-ors and knife handles. shrivel or
bend or break.
'ernoyansk is a huddle of mud plas-
tn. leu puts along one struggling street.
ue WINDOWS are OF ice, so that cam
'eS are needed both summer and win
% twenty miles away, across a dis
"' pam or snow. lies n low. black
me OF pine forests.
On the other side is the frozen river
..Un which dense. unhealthy mists
.on up Tor weeks together In the au.
suIn' There are not flowers I'm spring
srO N summer Is dingy. Perhaps they
80 right at verhoyansk In iookine
bn,"aFu to the long months of winter
cons Weekly.
me Ordar A<