A Cold Weather Record

"No, I didn't," protested the lieutenant at the Army and Navy Club. "Didn't vvhat?" inquired a captain coming in with a frosty sheen on liis ricli, dark whiskers. "Why, these fellows here say I said the cold was so intense out in the Northwest one winter that I saw the candle flames freeze stiff, and the farmers sold them for strawberries." "Didn't you say it?" inquired the captain kindly. "No, sir; Idid not." "Tiien 111 say for you, sir. It happened when I was out there twenty years ago, and then again when I was there three years ago. That same winter one of my men was frozen to death in a most peculiar manner. I was jroing to send him ten miles to the railroad station, and the day being sharper than usual, 1 gave him a big drink of some whisky I had in my tent. He took a tremendous long dram and started away. A half hour later I remembered it was St. Louis whiskey, and at once feared the worst and sent our surgeon after him. But, alas! it was too late. A post-mortem examination showed that the whiskey was frozen solid causing death." "How sad," sighed a retired coldnel, who had liad years of experience in the Northwest, wiping his eyes. "I almost liad an even more dire disaster than that happen to my wliole force on one occasion. I was a lieuteuant at the time, and was out with ten men on a scouting expedition in January. We were on the way back, and had reached a point not far from the post, where soDie planks had been pilled up witli nhich to build ashackas soon as spring opened. We were not more than twenty miles from the post, and went into camp, so as to get a good early start in the morning and reach home before dark. We used the planks for extra shelter, because it was bitter cold and getting colder every minute, with indications of a blizzard. At the first streak of day the wind was blowing a gale, and by the time it was light, there was a hurricane and the boards were flying every which way. Tents conldn't stand it at all, and had gone long ago, and it looked very much as if the whole squad would be frozen right there. If we could have built a hut of the boards we might have stood a chance, but there wasn't a nail within twenty miles of us and the only hammers we liad were our bayoneta. Necessity, however, is the mother of invention, and daring a In 11 in the storm I noticed sorae sharp little icicles onsome roots under a sheltered bank, a foot orsoabove the little stream thatranby. At once I gotone of them, and taking the bilt of my sword for a hammer I found I could drive it into the plank. " 'Saved!' I yelled, and at once gave the comuiand for all hands to liustle tliose planks together ' while the lull lasted, and to gather in all the cicles obtainable and nail the boards up with theui. The men thought I was crazy for a minute, but only fora minute, and then with a hurrah they went for planks, cicles, and bayoneta, and in fifteen or twenty minutes we had nailed together a shack three or four feet high so the wind couldn't strike it so hard, and wide enough for all of us. We got into it just in time, for presently the storm came again, and it was something terrific. ïwenty-four hüurs later it seemed quiet outside, and I made an investigation and discovered that we were under about six feet of snow, but were all right, as the wind hád fallen and the sky was clear, though it was intensely cold. We got out at once, and, af ter a terriffic day's march, we reached the post. Four weeks later I went back to our camp - Salvation Camp we called it - and found that those.icicles were still frozen so hard that they held the shack together fully as well as nails of the same size woufd have done." Nobody af ter that said a word - words