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Story
December 9, 1905
Newport Daily Independent
Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas
What is this article about?
A narrative describes awakening in a frozen wilderness camp at 40 degrees below zero, where men rise in the dark to chop wood, light a stove, and prepare a simple breakfast amid the harsh cold and starry night.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Waking in the Wilderness
How to Get Out of Bed When the Thermometer Registers Forty Below Zero.
You are awakened in the bitter darkness of the early morning by the sound of the camp dogs moving among the frozen pails of refuse. You hear their padding footsteps passing this way and that outside of the tents and the brushing of their bodies against the canvas walls. Then you hear the sound of chopping wood where someone is at work in the starlight, says the Boston Globe. One of the men stirs and rises in the darkness. The tent is bitter cold, with everything frozen as hard as iron. You hear the man fumbling around in the darkness for the matches, and presently he strikes one and lights a candle.
Presently he begins chopping the wood for the stove, and his big round shadow moves uncouthly and grotesquely about the walls as the flame of the candle wavers in the draught of cold air. He makes a fire, and in a moment the flame is roaring up the stovepipe, which gradually becomes dull red with the gushing heat. He stands with his back to the stove and presently the other man rises and joins him.
Then you yourself move reluctantly in your warm swaddling of furs, and with some effort crawl out into the bitter cold and join the others around the stove.
None of you speak, but each absorbs the scanty heat in silence. By and by, warmed to some return of life, you peep out of the tent; the sky is like black crystal, the stars shining with incredible effulgence.
From the stovepipe of the other tents rockets of flame are gushing up into the air; showers of sparks rise up into the night high overhead—hover, waver, and then sink dwindling upon the tent and the surrounding snow.
You look at the thermometer hanging against a tree and see by the light of a match that it is 40 degrees below zero. By this time the smell of cooking is filling the silent frozen space of the darkness and you reenter the tent to hug again the warmth of the stove, with a huge appetite for a rude breakfast of melted grease and griddle cakes.
How to Get Out of Bed When the Thermometer Registers Forty Below Zero.
You are awakened in the bitter darkness of the early morning by the sound of the camp dogs moving among the frozen pails of refuse. You hear their padding footsteps passing this way and that outside of the tents and the brushing of their bodies against the canvas walls. Then you hear the sound of chopping wood where someone is at work in the starlight, says the Boston Globe. One of the men stirs and rises in the darkness. The tent is bitter cold, with everything frozen as hard as iron. You hear the man fumbling around in the darkness for the matches, and presently he strikes one and lights a candle.
Presently he begins chopping the wood for the stove, and his big round shadow moves uncouthly and grotesquely about the walls as the flame of the candle wavers in the draught of cold air. He makes a fire, and in a moment the flame is roaring up the stovepipe, which gradually becomes dull red with the gushing heat. He stands with his back to the stove and presently the other man rises and joins him.
Then you yourself move reluctantly in your warm swaddling of furs, and with some effort crawl out into the bitter cold and join the others around the stove.
None of you speak, but each absorbs the scanty heat in silence. By and by, warmed to some return of life, you peep out of the tent; the sky is like black crystal, the stars shining with incredible effulgence.
From the stovepipe of the other tents rockets of flame are gushing up into the air; showers of sparks rise up into the night high overhead—hover, waver, and then sink dwindling upon the tent and the surrounding snow.
You look at the thermometer hanging against a tree and see by the light of a match that it is 40 degrees below zero. By this time the smell of cooking is filling the silent frozen space of the darkness and you reenter the tent to hug again the warmth of the stove, with a huge appetite for a rude breakfast of melted grease and griddle cakes.
What sub-type of article is it?
Survival
Adventure
Journey
What themes does it cover?
Survival
Nature
Misfortune
What keywords are associated?
Wilderness Awakening
Extreme Cold
Camp Life
Subzero Survival
Morning Routine
Where did it happen?
Wilderness Camp
Story Details
Location
Wilderness Camp
Story Details
Awakening in a bitterly cold tent at 40 degrees below zero, men chop wood, light a stove, gather warmth, observe the starry sky and flames from other tents, check the thermometer, and prepare breakfast.