FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94  
95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   >>   >|  
red on arrival in America. I fancy this disease was closely allied to that which attacked Admiral Von Wrangell's party early in the nineteenth century.[29] But all things considered, summer is the most trying season here, not only on account of the heat, which is far greater than that of Yakutsk, but of the mosquitoes, which make their appearance before the snow is off the ground and do not disappear until late in the fall. The exiles said that they were often deprived of sleep for nights together on account of these pests, which swarm in and out of doors, and inflict a nasty poisonous bite. Children had died from the fever produced from the irritation and consequent sleeplessness. This, and continual (and therefore distressing) daylight, made the advent of winter, even with all its cold and darkness, a welcome one. For this season also brings another blessing to these poor outcasts, news from home, which reaches here once a month by reindeer-sledge, whereas in summer a mail is only once despatched from Yakutsk, and frequently fails to arrive at its destination.[30] [Footnote 29: In 1820 Von Wrangell wrote: "During my stay in Verkhoyansk a kind of epidemic catarrhal fever prevailed throughout the district; the symptoms were violent depression of the chest, noise in the ears, headache, etc.... A Cossack whom I had previously sent forward with my papers died of the epidemic; every one was more or less ill."] [Footnote 30: The telegraph wire ceases at Yakutsk.] In addition to his literary pursuits Mr. Abramovitch had kept a record of the temperature during his term of exile, and the result of his careful observations for a period of twelve years was as follows: Mean temperature for the whole year, 4 deg. below zero Fahrenheit. In hard winters the thermometer was frequently 75 deg. below zero, and once touched the almost incredible point of 81 deg. below zero. During our stay only 65 deg. below zero was registered, but at the first _stancia_, two hundred miles north of Verkhoyansk, we experienced 78 deg. below zero, a cold so intense that the breath froze as it left our lips and fell in a white powder to the ground. And yet, I can assure the reader that I have suffered more from cold in Piccadilly on a damp, chilly November day than in the coldest weather in this part of Siberia. For the atmosphere here is generally dry and does not permeate the frame like that of our sea-girt, foggy island. Also, during extreme cold t
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94  
95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Yakutsk

 

temperature

 

Footnote

 
frequently
 
ground
 

During

 
Wrangell
 

Verkhoyansk

 

summer

 

epidemic


season
 

account

 

papers

 

forward

 

thermometer

 
winters
 

arrival

 

Fahrenheit

 

America

 
period

addition

 
touched
 

ceases

 

record

 

pursuits

 

literary

 

Abramovitch

 
telegraph
 

observations

 

twelve


careful

 

result

 

November

 

coldest

 

weather

 

Siberia

 

chilly

 

reader

 

assure

 

suffered


Piccadilly

 

atmosphere

 

generally

 

island

 

extreme

 

permeate

 
stancia
 

hundred

 

registered

 

incredible