Northwest History. Alaska. General.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1906
• Subjects: upper Yukon; coal oil; Winnipeg; frozen; E. L. Parson; Yukon miner; Dawson City; icicles; temperature; leakage; canned goods; pneumonia; remedy; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Alaska; Pacific; Steamboat; Yukon; Dawson
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/91798

Freaks Of Cold On Upper Yukon: Half The Kettle Boils And The Other Half Freezes, At 60 Below./Icicles On A Safety Valve./Frozen Hands And Limbs Saved From Amputation By Saved From Amputation By Soaking Them In Coal Oil. FREAKS OF COLD ON UPPER YUKON HALF THE KETTLE BOILS AND THE OTHER HALF FREEZES, AT GO BELOW. ICICLES ON A SAFETY VALVE Frozen Hands and Limbs Saved From Amputation" by Soaking Them in Coal Oil. . WINNIPEG, Man—E. L. Parsons, an old time Tukon miner, has arrived here from the frozen north, and tells some remarkable stories of happenings at Dawson City when the thermometer drops many degrees below the zero mark. He said: "Strange manifestations appear as a result of the extreme cold. One is the way a Are burns in a stove. It roars ickles like a great forge and wood the stove seems to dissolve flames like a chunk of ice; the wood is gone and we wonder where the heat went. At 60 below every stovepipe throws out a great white cloud of smoke and vapor, resembling a steamboat In its whiteness, and this cloud streams away for 50 or 100 feet, mingling with the other white gray mist or haze that remains permanent In the atmosphere of the town like a dense fog whenever it is 40 or more degrees below zero. "The white gray fog is not a fog as you know it, but a frozen mist, and every man, woman, child, animal and even the fire that burns Is throwing out moisture into the air, which is immediately turned Into a cloud of frozen vapor, which floats away and remains visibly suspended In the air. The Breath Roars. "Exposed hands, ears and nose," Mr. Parson says, "freeze in this temperature while going a few yards unless they are well protected. The breath roar like a mild Jet of steam, while a dipper of boiling water thrown out into the air emits a peculiar whistling hiss as It drops through the frosty air. "Prospectors in attempting to boil a dish of rice or beans upon a camp fire unprotected from the weather, find that the side of the dish which Is in the fire will boll while the part of the dish exposed to the weather will freeze. Edged tools subjected to this temperature become as hard and as brittle as glass and will break as readily under strain. "I have seen a safety valve blowing off steam with the temperature 60 below zero with icicles hanging to the valve, having formed from, condensation, the icicles not melting with the outrushing steam, but remaining there for many days, through blow-offs. "All vegetables, apples, fruit, eggs, etc., can be allowed to freeze until they become like bullets. To make ready for use place them in cold water for half a day before using, and the frost will slowly withdraw without Injury to the article. To attempt to thaw them out by more rapid process by fire or hot rater spoils them for use." How to Thaw Out. Mr. Parsons tells some remarkable Stories cf thawing out a frozen foot, ear or hand by Immersing the frozen often for several hours. He says: "This Is absolutely a safe remedy and one thus escapes the surgeon's knife, as no bad results will follow. Thi is not hearsay, for a man from our camp was found several years ago after he had been out all night with the thermometer 50 degrees below zero and both his hands were frozen to the was taken into camp and his hands soaked in coal oil for five hours and all ths frost came out of his hands without him even losing a finger up. The doctors were amazed, as they thought amputation would have to be resorted to. His hands were as white 3 as hard as marble and when placed the oil they snapped and cracked the oil began to act upon the ice crystals. This remedy is often resorted to by those who live in cold climates, and saves many a limb. "The temperature of the oil should be about the same as that of the living room. Great caution must be exercised during the extremely cold weather not to freeze the lungs, which one will Quickly do if he hustles about at the ordinary pace. Quick and fatal pneumonia can be contracted in a few moments. Many a fine team of horses lost In this way up In the Yukon. One has to be careful about touching things with unprotected hands. It is dangerous to take hold of a door-knob when it Is 60 below, or therewith the unprotected hands, unless you are careful to release your hand instantly, for if you do not it will freeze your inner palm in five second, be very painful thereafter, and the result is the same as from touching a redhot stove. "Canned goods undergo frightful extraction ourta* extreme cold, and suck in air, in summer, with a temperature of 90 degrees, the reverse condition occurs, causing leakage and loss.