EFFECTS OF EXTREME COLD. 377 



One must be cautious in handling instruments or 

 other articles of metal in extreme cold, as the bare 

 skin is apt to stick to them on contact, and the 

 sensations then experienced are identical with those 

 of burning : v^ frequently when incautiously drink- 

 ing from a tin-cup which we carried on our journeys, 

 one's lips were for an instant glued to its edge ; and in 

 a very low temperature ice when put into our mouths 

 would cleave for a second to the tongue. The most 

 curious instance I ever experienced of the eflPects of 

 cold was one whose relation has been received with less 

 credibility than any other I have made : this was the 

 existence of ice in the nostrils, and, strange to say, 

 it was neither painful nor troublesome. I had heard 

 the fact mentioned at an early period of our arrival, 

 and must confess that I was myself suspicious of an 

 attempt to impose upon my credulity, but experience 

 proved its truth in my own person. 



Our fare at Fort Simpson — Englishmen always think 

 feeding an important item of existence — was no 

 doubt luxurious, compared to that which myself and 

 companions at Bear Lake had subsisted on the 

 preceding winter, yet it favoured neither gout nor 

 bilious tendency. Generally, as is customary in 

 the country during the winter, two meals a day 

 were provided : the first occurred at about 10, and 



