186 J. E. McGrath — The AlasJcan Boundary Survey. 



A careful estimate was niade of what wood we would need for 

 our three fires, and it was with much foreboding of its inadequacy 

 that we saw the winter start in while we had onl}^ enough wood 

 on hand to last, as it afterwards turned out, for two years, and 

 then have enough left over to give the steamboat Arctic four or 

 five cords when we abandoned the camp in 1891. 



During the first winter the temperature fell to — 59°, while the 

 second season gave us a still lower minimum, or — 60.5°. We 

 had a long spell in January and February, 1890, when the 

 temperature did not get above 82° beloAV the freezing-point 

 ( — 50°), but at no time did this cause any suffering. Our sys- 

 tems became gradually inured to the cold and, without any such 

 amount of extra clothing as v/ould excite comment in the middle 

 states in winter, we were able to go about attending to our reg- 

 ular duties, and taking the indoor exercise that was necessary 

 for our keeping in good health. Fur garments were worn only 

 when the members of the party went on journeys, and then they 

 were taken for use at night, as Ave used no tents in any of our 

 trips. In the quarters fires were not kept up beyond our time 

 for retiring, except when observations kept us up all night; but. 

 in spite of this, water never froze in the room the men occupied, 

 and in the roof of the officers' room-an opening eighteen inches 

 square was kept open summer and winter for ventilating pur- 

 poses. I suppose our capacity for assimilating fats was very 

 much increased from a little discovery I made last March. One 

 day, while looking over the report of the provisions used by the 

 party, I noticed an extraordinarily large amount of lard charged. 

 As it showed that the .man who Avas acting as cook Avas using 

 monthly tAvice as much of this article as his predecessor in office 

 (AA'ho was alloAved to return home in the previous August) had 

 used in six months, I called on him for an explanation. He 

 claimed that he was using it in a regular and proper Avay, and 

 when asked for Avhat purposes it Avent, he said that, for one 

 thing, he ahvays put a pound of it in the soup every day. No 

 one had developed any attack of dyspepsia during the season, 

 and I suppose Ave must thank our climatic surroundings for 

 being saved from the natural consequences of this practice. 



During the intense cold the mercury froze, of course. On 

 Forty Mile creek one experimenter made bullets of this metal, 

 Avhich he fitted into cartridges and fired from his rifle. We 

 amused ourselves Avith making mercury discs which Ave Avould 



