Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1910-03-18
GUARDED BY ICY WIND
A Frigid Convict Station In the
Northeast Of Siberia.
THE COOLEST SPOT ON EARTH
Ne Preeagtisns Are Necessary Against
escape az Vsrhsya1ss-Hasn t-s
Wind Bl-,~s. Half a. Hsu- IN the
Fie--., Biting Geld Means Death.

Wfn5 5i-r~s- Taf a. -7z- IN tne
Fierce, Biting Geld Means Death.
The coolest place II the world ous
would naturally expect 70 De either
the north or the south pole. but it l.
not II i village II 1ze northeast o.
Siberia named Yerhoyalsk
There the average temperature Of
the three worst winter months i =
degrees 2 below zero. which means
s. degrees ot frnst During January
the average temperature i IS degrees
below zero. or $ degrees Of frost on
one occasion the Thermometer regis
tered the remarkable figure Of I'd de
grees ot trosr. Tie average January
figure for London OF the other hand
Is degrees above freezing point
But in yerhoyarsk most months are
winter months. Ju.y. cu-igusly enough
IS as hot there as n London. but The
shadow Of the terrible winter hang
over even the war-est uoCths.
Even Il midsummer the forests
which surround the desolate plain IL
the center Of which Yerhoyansk
stands are withered and gray The
grass IS coIorless. The few towers
are odorless- TIE bare soil ot the
plain Itself refuses to produce vege
tables OF any kind The ground :
truzen hard 10 AZ incredible depth
No farming. OF course, Is possible
There are 10 cattle or poultry. AL
food IS imported Why, then. does this
little village eIist5 Il Is 3 convict sta
ton. and its population q 40 is made
up Of officials and eIles.
No precautions against escapes are
needed Prisoners are known 70 have
gone mad with the loLellLess u tbs
place But 10 one has ever been mad
enough to Try 70 escape Ne-loyaCsk-
strange though il sounds, Is Euarded
by the wind A gaze when the ther-
uoneter stands st 81 o. more below
zero viii destroy every living thing
that Is not under shelter.
one OF the many curious facts about
cold i that intense cold : IN Itself
easy to bear provided the air l. Still
One traveller has declared that be las
often felt colder n F!ccadi-y % :
damp day il November than during
his entire stay II FeCaoyaEsk, where
the Thermometer sometimes showed -
degrees ot frgs-
TIE reason : that az Yerh1ya1sz
the air = intensely dry. and dry cold
does Lot penetrate f2r. With q teut
al night and warm fu-s in the day
tine oae can be quite cOufo-t2 be.
however low tie temperature
But let E wind o1ce r-se and things
are different A. VerhovaIsk IS the
coolest place IN tie world, the few
winds that come must bring warmth
But then ali winds carry moisture
And 50 We have tie curious fact that
though one may be quite comfortable
with the Thermometer showing % de-
grees ot frost, Il Z wind springs Up
and adds - or 81 degrees ct warmth
TO the air one has to IL for dear
life to shelter
HaIt an hour IN that fierce, biting
cold means death But the Intense
dry cold that IS YertoyaCsk's normal
weather is, II not SO dangerous, quite
as powerful IN irs effects. n that icy
stiffness an iron az head dropped on
the ground suashes ike glass. 4
board OF unseasozed wood. OF 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 sIl burst FOR at the
Verhoysnsk temperatures quicksilver
freezes and can be hammered ike
copper. II has indeed been turned into
bullets and shot through q deal board.
All he could erd Of case u c!aret
were few Jumps o. red ice and some
splintered glass But what troubled
him most was the discovery that il
was impossible 10 smoke Al - 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 find, as
one does when the thermometer reach
Is 81 below. that ones very breath
falls st ones feet il 4 ine white pow
der. 4 musAche becomes torture
a heavy. solid lump q ice. To lay a
hare hand on metal means thar the
skin viii stay where it touches. 4
careless traveller once witlessly left q
shirt outside his hut 10 dry. When be
picked It up again It bent and almost
broke. When swung through the air
it made noise Ike 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 g huddle Of mud pIas-
tered huts along one struggling street.
The windows are Of ice. 50 that can
dies are needed both summer and win
ter. Twenty miles away. across & dis
nal plain Of snow. lies Z 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 spriu.
and summer is dingy. Perhaps thu.
are right at verdOyansk in Iooki1 =
forward TO the long months Of winter
But it IS not a cheerful place Pear
sons Weekly.
The nr,lar az srrIafr q fnrr1a.i a..