COLD. 



drawn in by breathing, hurts the lungs and excites a 

 cough : even the effects of fire, in a great measure, seem 

 to cease ; and it has been observed, that though metals 

 are kept for a considerable time before a strong fire, they 

 will freeze water when thrown upon them. When the 

 French mathematicians wintered at Tornea, in Lapland, 

 the external air, when suddenly admitted into their 

 rooms, converted the moisture of the internal air into 

 flakes of snow. The same circumstance occurred to our 

 hardy seamen under Captain Parry when wintering in 

 the Frozen Ocean. 



Extreme cold often proves fatal in those countries 

 where the winters are very severe ; thus 700O Swedes 

 perished at once, in the year 1*19, in attempting to pass 

 the Dofrafield mountains to attack Drontheim. But it 

 is not necessary that the cold, in order to destroy hu- 

 man life, should be so very intense ; it is only requisite 

 to be a little below thirty-two degrees of Fahrenheit, or 

 the freezing point, accompanied with snow or hail from 

 which shelter cannot be obtained. The snow which falls 

 upon the clothes, or the uncovered parts of the body, 

 melts, and by a continual evaporation carries off the ani- 

 mal heat to such a degree, that a sufficient quantity is 

 not left for the support of life. In these cases the person 

 first feels himself extremely chilled and uneasy ; he be- 

 comes listless, unwilling to walk, or to use exercise to 

 keep himself warm ; and at last feels drowsy, sits down 

 to refresh himself with sleep, but awakes no more. 



A striking illustration of the effect of cold is related 

 by Captain Cook in an occurrence during a botanical ex- 

 cursion of Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander among 

 the hills of Terra del Fuego. The party, consisting of 

 eleven persons, were overtaken by darkness during ex- 

 treme cold} and Dr. Solander, who had more than once 

 crossed the Dofrafield mountains, well knew that extreme 

 cold, especially when united with fatigue, produces a" 

 torpor and sleepiness that are almost irresistible ; he 

 therefore conjured the company to keep in motion, at 

 whatever pains it might cost them: "Whoever sits 

 down," said he, " will sleep ; and whoever sleeps will 

 wake no more." Being thus admonished, they set for- 

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