1 00:00:08,370 --> 00:00:12,030 Hello and welcome to this pod episode 20. With Halloween 2 00:00:12,030 --> 00:00:15,930 coming up, everyone is sharing spooky stories. I wish to share 3 00:00:15,930 --> 00:00:19,950 with you a tale of terror. It doesn't involve monsters or 4 00:00:19,950 --> 00:00:25,080 aliens or even murderers. Just a simple tale of a man against one 5 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:31,920 of his greatest foes. Nature. And this case, extreme cold. For 6 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,440 those of you who are new here, some episodes of meat as Potter 7 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,460 full cast affairs with Foley in music, sometimes I just want to 8 00:00:38,460 --> 00:00:42,930 tell you a story like this one. Before we start, I'd like to 9 00:00:42,930 --> 00:00:45,720 thank those who have donated to me this pod via boosts, the 10 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,120 following people have donated Bitcoin via the value for value 11 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,570 feature and podcasting 2.0 If you aren't sure what that is, is 12 00:00:51,570 --> 00:00:54,480 when listeners using a modern podcast app like fountain or pod 13 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,540 verse, listen and press the boost button and stream 14 00:00:57,540 --> 00:01:01,140 micropayments to meet this pod as they listen. Find a better 15 00:01:01,140 --> 00:01:04,650 podcast app at new podcast apps.com. They're not a sponsor, 16 00:01:04,650 --> 00:01:08,520 folks. We don't do sponsors. We receive all of our support from 17 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,730 listeners just like you who found some value in the show and 18 00:01:11,730 --> 00:01:15,270 would like to return it. We received quite a few Satoshis 19 00:01:15,270 --> 00:01:19,560 from various listeners since the last show. The only ones that 20 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,610 left messages are snoopers Maximus on fountain who said 21 00:01:23,610 --> 00:01:29,070 love the stories and con on fountain who said Great show 100 22 00:01:29,100 --> 00:01:33,120 emoji. We'd like to thank everybody for their support, 23 00:01:33,150 --> 00:01:36,600 even if they didn't leave a message. All of the story folks 24 00:01:41,610 --> 00:01:47,700 to build a fire by Jack London. Day had dawned cold and gray 25 00:01:47,700 --> 00:01:52,320 when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail. He climbed 26 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,650 the high Earth bank where a little traveled trail led east 27 00:01:55,650 --> 00:02:00,360 through the pine forest. It was a high bank and a pause to 28 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:05,460 breathe at the top. He excused the act to himself by looking at 29 00:02:05,460 --> 00:02:10,830 his watch. It was nine o'clock in the morning. There was no sun 30 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:13,740 or promise of sun. Although there was not a cloud in the 31 00:02:13,740 --> 00:02:20,460 sky. It was a clear day. However, there seemed to be an 32 00:02:20,490 --> 00:02:25,350 indescribable darkness over the face of things. That was because 33 00:02:25,350 --> 00:02:30,030 the sun was absent from the sky. This factor did not worry the 34 00:02:30,030 --> 00:02:34,740 man he was not alarmed by the lack of sun. It had been days 35 00:02:34,770 --> 00:02:39,780 since he had seen the sun. The men looked along the way he had 36 00:02:39,780 --> 00:02:44,160 come. The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of 37 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:49,590 ice on top of the ice, whereas many feet of snow. It was all 38 00:02:49,590 --> 00:02:55,350 pure white. North and South, as far as I could see was an 39 00:02:55,350 --> 00:03:00,060 unbroken white. The one thing that relieved the whiteness was 40 00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:03,390 a thin dark line that curved from the pine covered Islands to 41 00:03:03,390 --> 00:03:07,350 the south. It curved into the north where it disappeared 42 00:03:07,350 --> 00:03:11,310 behind another pine covered Island. This dark line was the 43 00:03:11,310 --> 00:03:17,550 trail the main trail. It led South 500 miles to the Chilkoot 44 00:03:17,550 --> 00:03:23,310 pass and salt water. It led north 75 miles to Dawson and 45 00:03:23,310 --> 00:03:28,140 still further on to the north 1000 miles to new lotto. And 46 00:03:28,140 --> 00:03:34,110 finally, to St Michael on Bering Sea 1000 miles and a half more. 47 00:03:35,310 --> 00:03:39,540 But all this the distant trail, no sun in the sky, the great 48 00:03:39,540 --> 00:03:43,920 cold and the strangeness of it all had no effect on the man. It 49 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,980 was not because he was long familiar with it. He was a 50 00:03:46,980 --> 00:03:51,630 newcomer in the land, and this was his first winter. The 51 00:03:51,630 --> 00:03:56,550 trouble with him was that he is not able to imagine. He was 52 00:03:56,550 --> 00:04:01,140 quick and ready in the things of life, but only in the things and 53 00:04:01,140 --> 00:04:06,870 not their meanings. 50 degrees below zero meant 80 degrees of 54 00:04:06,870 --> 00:04:11,730 frost. Such facts told him that it was cold and uncomfortable. 55 00:04:12,060 --> 00:04:15,660 And that was all. It did not lead him to consider his 56 00:04:15,660 --> 00:04:19,680 weakness as a creature affected by temperature. Nor did he think 57 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,820 about man's general weakness, able to live only within a 58 00:04:23,820 --> 00:04:28,950 narrow limit of heat and cold. From there it did not lead him 59 00:04:29,100 --> 00:04:33,540 to thoughts of Heaven and the meaning of a man's life. 50 60 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:38,640 degrees below zero meant a bite of frost that hurt and that must 61 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,120 be guarded against by the use of mittens ear coverings, warm 62 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:47,400 moccasins and thick socks. 50 degrees below zero was to him 63 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,540 nothing more than 50 degrees below zero. That it should be 64 00:04:51,540 --> 00:04:54,750 more important than that was a thought that never entered his 65 00:04:54,750 --> 00:05:00,090 head. As he turned to go, he forced some water from it. His 66 00:05:00,090 --> 00:05:04,140 mouth as an experiment, there was a sudden noise that 67 00:05:04,140 --> 00:05:10,200 surprised him. He tried it again and again in the air before they 68 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,710 could fall to the snow. The drops of water became ice that 69 00:05:13,710 --> 00:05:19,260 broke with the noise. He knew that at 50 below zero water from 70 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:23,130 the mouth made a noise when it hit the snow. But this had done 71 00:05:23,130 --> 00:05:29,250 that in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than 50 below. But 72 00:05:29,250 --> 00:05:33,900 exactly how much colder he did not know. But the temperature 73 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:37,890 did not matter. He was headed for the old camp on Henderson 74 00:05:37,890 --> 00:05:42,000 Creek, where the boys were already they had come across the 75 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,960 mountain from the Indian Creek Country. He had taken the long 76 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,710 trail to look at the possibility of floating logs from the island 77 00:05:49,710 --> 00:05:54,000 and the Yukon down the river when the ice melted. He would be 78 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,080 in camp by six o'clock that evening. It would be a little 79 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,590 after dark, but the boys would be there. A fire would be 80 00:06:01,590 --> 00:06:06,240 burning, and a hot supper would be ready. As he thought of 81 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,030 lunch, he pressed his hands against the package under his 82 00:06:09,030 --> 00:06:13,260 jacket. It was also under his shirt, wrapped in a 83 00:06:13,260 --> 00:06:17,070 handkerchief, and lying for warmth against his naked skin. 84 00:06:18,540 --> 00:06:23,100 Otherwise the bread would freeze. He smiled contently to 85 00:06:23,100 --> 00:06:27,390 himself as he thought of those pieces of bread, each of which 86 00:06:27,420 --> 00:06:29,790 enclosed a generous portion of cooked meat. 87 00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:35,760 He plunged among the big pine trees. The trail was not well 88 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,570 marked here. several inches of snow had fallen since the last 89 00:06:39,570 --> 00:06:45,090 sled had passed. He was glad he was without a sled. Actually, he 90 00:06:45,090 --> 00:06:49,200 carried nothing but the lunch wrapped in the handkerchief. He 91 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,820 was surprised, however, at the cold. It certainly was cold he 92 00:06:53,820 --> 00:06:57,660 decided as He rubbed his nose and face with his mittened hand. 93 00:06:59,670 --> 00:07:02,610 He had a good growth of hair on his face, but it did not protect 94 00:07:02,610 --> 00:07:06,120 his nose or the upper part of his face from the frosty air. 95 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:11,700 Following the man's heels was a big native dog, and was a wolf 96 00:07:11,700 --> 00:07:15,120 dog gray coated and not noticeably different from its 97 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:20,280 brother, the wild wolf. The animal was worried by the great 98 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:25,440 cold. It knew that this was no time for traveling. Its own 99 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:30,030 feeling was closer to the truth than the man's judgment. And 100 00:07:30,030 --> 00:07:33,960 reality it was not merely colder than 50 below zero. It was 101 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:40,260 colder than 60 below than 70 below. It was 75 below zero. 102 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,600 Because the freezing point is 32 above zero. It meant that there 103 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:50,790 were 107 degrees of frost. The dog did not know anything about 104 00:07:50,790 --> 00:07:54,930 temperatures, possibly and its brain there was no understanding 105 00:07:54,930 --> 00:07:58,590 of a condition of very cold, such as was in the man's brain. 106 00:07:59,610 --> 00:08:03,930 But the animals sense to the danger. It's fear made it 107 00:08:03,930 --> 00:08:06,930 question eagerly every movement of the man as if it were 108 00:08:06,930 --> 00:08:10,500 expecting him to go into a camp or seek shelter somewhere and 109 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:14,910 build a fire. The dog had learned about fire and it wanted 110 00:08:14,910 --> 00:08:19,320 fire. Otherwise it would dig itself into the snow and find 111 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:23,250 the shelter from the cold air. The frozen moistness of its 112 00:08:23,250 --> 00:08:27,720 breath had settled on its fur and a fine powder of frost. The 113 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,320 hair on the man's face was similarly frosted, but more 114 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:36,900 solidly. It took the form of ice and increased with every warm, 115 00:08:36,930 --> 00:08:41,730 moist breath from his mouth. Also, the man had tobacco in his 116 00:08:41,730 --> 00:08:46,890 mouth. The ice held his lips so tightly together that he could 117 00:08:46,890 --> 00:08:51,450 not empty the juice from his mouth. The result was a long 118 00:08:51,450 --> 00:08:56,520 piece of yellow ice hanging from his lip. If he fell down, it 119 00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:01,170 would break like glass into many pieces. He expected the ice 120 00:09:01,170 --> 00:09:05,340 formed by the tobacco juice, having been out twice before 121 00:09:05,340 --> 00:09:10,740 when it was very cold. But it had not been as cold as this. He 122 00:09:10,740 --> 00:09:14,550 knew. He continued through the level forest for several miles. 123 00:09:14,850 --> 00:09:18,270 Then he went down a bank to the frozen path of a small stream. 124 00:09:19,380 --> 00:09:23,580 This was Henderson Creek, and he knew he was 10 miles from where 125 00:09:23,580 --> 00:09:29,400 the stream divided. He looked at his watch. It was 10 o'clock. He 126 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:33,990 was traveling at the rate of four miles an hour. Thus, he 127 00:09:33,990 --> 00:09:37,200 figured that he would arrive where the stream divided at half 128 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:42,000 past 12 He decided that he would eat lunch when he arrived there. 129 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,130 The dog followed again at his heels and its tail hanging low 130 00:09:47,130 --> 00:09:51,270 as the man started to walk along the frozen stream. The old sled 131 00:09:51,270 --> 00:09:55,350 trail can be seen but it doesn't inches of snow covered the marks 132 00:09:55,380 --> 00:10:00,930 of the last sled. And a month no man had traveled up or down that 133 00:10:00,930 --> 00:10:06,240 silent Creek, the man went steadily ahead. He was not much 134 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:10,290 of a thinker. At that moment, he had nothing to think about, 135 00:10:10,650 --> 00:10:14,760 except that he would eat lunch at the streams divide. And then 136 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:19,080 at six o'clock, he would be in the camp with the boys. There 137 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:22,950 was nobody to talk to, and had there been speech would have not 138 00:10:22,950 --> 00:10:26,760 been possible because of the ice around his mouth. Once in a 139 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,000 while, the thought repeated itself that it was very cold, 140 00:10:30,510 --> 00:10:33,270 and that he had never experienced such cold as he 141 00:10:33,270 --> 00:10:36,030 walked along and rubbed his face and knows what the back of his 142 00:10:36,030 --> 00:10:39,810 mitten hand. He did this without thinking, frequently changing 143 00:10:39,810 --> 00:10:43,620 hands. But with all this rubbing, the instant he stopped, 144 00:10:43,770 --> 00:10:48,120 his face and nose became numb, his face would surely be frozen. 145 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,440 He knew that he was sorry that he had not worn the sort of nose 146 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:57,480 guard bud wore when it was cold. Such a guard passed across the 147 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:01,260 nose and covered the entire face. But it did not matter 148 00:11:01,260 --> 00:11:05,940 much. He decided what was a little frost, a bit painful. 149 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:12,120 That was all. It was never serious. Empty as the man's mind 150 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,530 was of thoughts, he was most observant. He noticed the 151 00:11:16,530 --> 00:11:20,430 changes in the creek, the curbs and the bends, and he always 152 00:11:20,430 --> 00:11:24,900 noted where he placed his feet. Once coming around the bend, he 153 00:11:24,900 --> 00:11:27,990 moved suddenly to the side, like a frightened horse. 154 00:11:29,460 --> 00:11:31,980 He curved away from the place where he had been walking and 155 00:11:31,980 --> 00:11:36,150 retracted his steps several feet along the trail. He knew the 156 00:11:36,150 --> 00:11:40,530 creek was frozen to the bottom. No Creek could contain water in 157 00:11:40,530 --> 00:11:44,640 that winter. But he also knew that there were streams of water 158 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,880 that came out of the hillsides and ran under the snow and on 159 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,930 top of the ice of the creek. He knew that even in the coldest 160 00:11:51,930 --> 00:11:55,710 winter the streams were never frozen. And he also knew their 161 00:11:55,710 --> 00:11:59,970 danger. They hid pools of water under the snow that might be 162 00:11:59,970 --> 00:12:05,160 three inches deep, or three feet. Sometimes a skin of ice 163 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,330 half an inch thick covered them and in turn was covered by the 164 00:12:09,330 --> 00:12:15,120 snow. Sometimes there were both water and thin ice. And when a 165 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,530 man broke through, he could get very wet. That was why he had 166 00:12:19,530 --> 00:12:23,880 jumped away so suddenly, he had felt the ice move under his 167 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,020 feet. He had also heard the noise of the snow covered ice 168 00:12:28,020 --> 00:12:31,800 skin breaking and to get his feet wet in such a temperature 169 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:37,530 meant trouble and danger. At the very least emit delay, because 170 00:12:37,530 --> 00:12:41,400 he would be forced to stop and build a fire. Only under its 171 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,130 protection could he bear his feet while he dried his socks 172 00:12:44,130 --> 00:12:48,480 and moccasins. He stood and studied the creek bottom and its 173 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,230 banks. He decided that the flowing stream of water came 174 00:12:52,230 --> 00:12:56,220 from the right side. He thought a while rubbing his nose and 175 00:12:56,220 --> 00:13:01,410 face. Then he walked to the left. He stepped carefully and 176 00:13:01,410 --> 00:13:05,250 tested the ice at each step. Once away from the danger, he 177 00:13:05,250 --> 00:13:09,420 continued at his four mile pace. During the next two hours he 178 00:13:09,420 --> 00:13:14,340 came to several similar dangers. Usually the snow above the pool 179 00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:18,720 has sunken appearance. However, once again, he came near to 180 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:23,430 falling through the ice. Once since in danger, he made the dog 181 00:13:23,430 --> 00:13:27,990 go ahead, the dog did not want to go. It hesitated until the 182 00:13:27,990 --> 00:13:31,920 man pushed it forward. And then it went quickly across the white 183 00:13:31,950 --> 00:13:36,570 unbroken surface. Suddenly it fell through the ice, but 184 00:13:36,570 --> 00:13:40,470 climbed out on the other side which was firm. It had wet its 185 00:13:40,470 --> 00:13:43,740 feet and legs. Almost immediately the water on them 186 00:13:43,740 --> 00:13:47,190 turned to ice. The dog make quick efforts to get the ice off 187 00:13:47,190 --> 00:13:50,520 his legs. Then it lay down in the snow and began to bite out 188 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,690 the ice that had formed between its toes. The animal knew enough 189 00:13:54,690 --> 00:13:58,800 to do this. To permit the eyes to remain would mean sore feet. 190 00:13:59,580 --> 00:14:03,900 It did not know this. It merely obeyed the command that arose 191 00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:07,950 from the deepest part of its being. But the man knew these 192 00:14:07,950 --> 00:14:11,460 things having learned them from experience. He removed the 193 00:14:11,460 --> 00:14:14,340 mitten from his right hand and help the dog tear out the pieces 194 00:14:14,340 --> 00:14:18,930 of ice. He did not bear his fingers more than a minute and 195 00:14:18,930 --> 00:14:22,770 was surprised to find that they were numb. It certainly was 196 00:14:22,770 --> 00:14:27,360 cold. He pulled on the mitten quickly and beat the hand across 197 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:32,580 his breast. At 12 o'clock the day was at its brightest. Get 198 00:14:32,580 --> 00:14:36,840 the sun did not appear in the sky at half past 12 on the 199 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,920 minute he arrived at the divide in the creek. He was pleased at 200 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,790 his rate of speed. If he continued he would certainly be 201 00:14:44,790 --> 00:14:48,600 with the boys by six o'clock that evening. He unbuttoned his 202 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,680 jacket and shirt and pulled forth his lunch. The action took 203 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,710 no more than a quarter of a minute. Yet in that brief 204 00:14:55,710 --> 00:15:00,450 moment. The numbness touched his bare fingers he didn't not put 205 00:15:00,450 --> 00:15:03,600 the mitten on, but instead struck his fingers against his 206 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:08,760 leg. Then he sat down on a snow covered log to eat. The pain 207 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,400 that followed the striking of his fingers against his legs 208 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:16,140 ceased so quickly that he was frightened. He had not time to 209 00:15:16,140 --> 00:15:20,670 take a bite of his lunch. He struck them fingers repeatedly, 210 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,690 and returned them to the mitten. Then he bared the other hand for 211 00:15:24,690 --> 00:15:28,410 the purpose of eating. He tried to make a mouthful, but the ice 212 00:15:28,410 --> 00:15:34,740 around his mouth prevented him. Then he knew what was wrong. He 213 00:15:34,740 --> 00:15:38,760 had forgotten to build a fire and warm himself. He laughed at 214 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,060 his own foolishness. As he laughed he noted the numbness of 215 00:15:42,060 --> 00:15:46,800 his bare fingers. Also, he noted that the feeling which had first 216 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,950 come to his toes when he sat down was already passing away. 217 00:15:51,270 --> 00:15:53,940 He wondered whether the toes were warm or whether they were 218 00:15:53,940 --> 00:15:58,620 numb. He moved them inside the moccasins and decided that they 219 00:15:58,620 --> 00:16:05,790 were numb. He pulled them at non hurriedly and stood up. He was 220 00:16:05,790 --> 00:16:10,320 somewhat frightened. He stamped forcefully until feeling 221 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,610 returned to his feet. It certainly was cold, was his 222 00:16:14,610 --> 00:16:20,070 thought. That man from Silver Creek had spoken the truth when 223 00:16:20,070 --> 00:16:23,850 telling how cold is sometimes gotten in this country. And he 224 00:16:23,850 --> 00:16:28,260 had laughed at him at the time. That showed one must not be too 225 00:16:28,260 --> 00:16:29,160 sure of things. 226 00:16:30,870 --> 00:16:35,850 There was no mistake about it. It was cold. And he walked a few 227 00:16:35,850 --> 00:16:39,600 steps, stamping his feet and waving his arms until reassured 228 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:44,280 by the returning warm. Then he took some matches and proceeded 229 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:49,050 to make a fire. And the bushes the high water had left some 230 00:16:49,050 --> 00:16:54,420 live sticks. From here, he got wood for his fire. Working 231 00:16:54,420 --> 00:16:57,540 carefully From a small beginning, he soon had a roaring 232 00:16:57,540 --> 00:17:03,450 fire. Bending over the fire, he first melted the ice from his 233 00:17:03,450 --> 00:17:07,560 face. With the protection of the fires warmed he ate his lunch. 234 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,960 For the moment, the cold had been forced away. The dog took 235 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,050 comfort in the fire lying at full length close enough for 236 00:17:16,050 --> 00:17:20,640 warmth and far enough away to escape being burned. When the 237 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,940 man had finished eating, he filled his pipe with tobacco and 238 00:17:23,940 --> 00:17:28,830 had a comfortable time with a smoke. Then he pulled on his 239 00:17:28,830 --> 00:17:33,540 mittens, settled his cap firmly about his ears and started along 240 00:17:33,540 --> 00:17:39,300 the creek trail toward the left. The dog was sorry to leave and 241 00:17:39,300 --> 00:17:45,600 look toward the fire. This man did not know cold. Possibly none 242 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:51,360 of his ancestors had known cold, real cold. But the dog knew and 243 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,990 all of his family do. And it knew that it was not good to 244 00:17:54,990 --> 00:17:59,970 walk outside and such a fearful cold. Who has the time to lie in 245 00:17:59,970 --> 00:18:04,680 a hole in the snow and wait for the awful cold to stop. There 246 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,100 was no real bond between the dog and the man. The one was the 247 00:18:08,100 --> 00:18:12,570 slave of the other. The dog made no effort to indicate its fears 248 00:18:12,570 --> 00:18:16,320 to the man. It was not concerned with the well being of the man. 249 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,360 It was for its own sake that looked toward the fire. But the 250 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,450 man whistled and spoke to it with the sound of the whip and 251 00:18:24,450 --> 00:18:29,310 his voice. So the dog started walking close to the man's heels 252 00:18:29,310 --> 00:18:32,580 and followed him along the trail. The man put more tobacco 253 00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:35,370 in his mouth and started a new growth of yellow ice on his 254 00:18:35,370 --> 00:18:39,720 face. Again, the moist breath quickly powdered the hair on his 255 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:45,600 face with white. He looked around. There did not seem to be 256 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,480 so many pools of water under the snow on the left side of 257 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,740 Henderson Creek. And for half an hour the man saw no signs of 258 00:18:52,740 --> 00:18:58,170 any. And then it happened. At a place where there were no signs 259 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:03,060 the man broke through. It was not deep. He was wet to the 260 00:19:03,060 --> 00:19:07,410 knees before he got out of the water to the firm's know. He was 261 00:19:07,410 --> 00:19:10,800 angry and cursed his luck allowed. He had hoped to get 262 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,250 into the camp with the boys at six o'clock and this would delay 263 00:19:14,250 --> 00:19:18,600 him an hour. Now he would have to build a fire and dry his 264 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,590 moccasins and socks. This was most important at that low 265 00:19:22,590 --> 00:19:27,750 temperature. He knew that much. So he turned aside to the bank, 266 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:32,790 which he climbed on top under several small pines. He found 267 00:19:32,790 --> 00:19:35,490 some firewood which had been carried there by the high water 268 00:19:35,490 --> 00:19:39,510 of last year that were sticks but also some larger branches 269 00:19:39,900 --> 00:19:44,820 and some dry grasses. He threw several large branches on top of 270 00:19:44,820 --> 00:19:48,300 the snow. This served for a foundation and prevented the 271 00:19:48,300 --> 00:19:52,200 young flame from dying in the wet snow. He made a flame by 272 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,870 touching a match to a small piece of tree bark that he took 273 00:19:54,870 --> 00:19:59,700 from his pocket. This burned even better than paper, placing 274 00:19:59,700 --> 00:20:02,880 it on the foundation he fed the young flame with pieces of dry 275 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:08,100 grass, and with the smallest dry sticks. He worked slowly and 276 00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:12,660 carefully realizing his danger. Gradually, as the flame grew 277 00:20:12,660 --> 00:20:15,900 stronger, he increased the size of his sticks with which he fed 278 00:20:15,900 --> 00:20:21,840 it. He sat in the snow, pulling the sticks from the bushes under 279 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,640 the trees and feeding them directly to the flame. He knew 280 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:32,310 he must not fail. When is 75 below zero, a man must not fail 281 00:20:32,310 --> 00:20:36,600 in his first attempt to build a fire. This is especially true 282 00:20:36,690 --> 00:20:41,310 when his feet are wet. If his feet are dry, and he fails, he 283 00:20:41,310 --> 00:20:44,250 can run along the trail for half a mile to keep his blood moving. 284 00:20:45,390 --> 00:20:48,450 But the blood and wet feet freezing cannot be kept moving 285 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:54,270 by running when it's 75 degrees below. No matter how fast he 286 00:20:54,270 --> 00:21:01,350 runs, the wet feet will freeze even harder. All this the man 287 00:21:01,350 --> 00:21:05,610 knew. The old man on Silver Creek had told him about it. And 288 00:21:05,610 --> 00:21:10,950 now he was grateful for the advice. Already, all feeling was 289 00:21:10,950 --> 00:21:15,270 gone from his feet. To build the fire, he had been forced to 290 00:21:15,270 --> 00:21:18,570 remove his mittens, and the fingers have quickly become 291 00:21:18,570 --> 00:21:23,340 numb. His pace so four miles an hour had kept his heart pushing 292 00:21:23,340 --> 00:21:26,970 the blood to all parts of his body. But the instant he 293 00:21:26,970 --> 00:21:29,490 stopped, the action of the heart slowed down. 294 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,320 He now received the full force of the cold. The blood of his 295 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,880 body drew back from it. The blood was alive, like the dog. 296 00:21:39,930 --> 00:21:43,290 Like the dog, it wanted to hide and seek cover away from the 297 00:21:43,290 --> 00:21:48,000 fearful cold. As long as he walked four miles an hour, the 298 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,530 blood rose to the surface. But now it sank down into the lowest 299 00:21:52,530 --> 00:21:57,510 depths of his body. His feet and hands were the first to feel its 300 00:21:57,510 --> 00:22:02,370 absence. His wet feet froze first, his bare fingers were 301 00:22:02,370 --> 00:22:07,350 numb. Although they had not yet begun to freeze, nose and face 302 00:22:07,350 --> 00:22:11,790 were already freezing, while the skin of his body became cold as 303 00:22:11,790 --> 00:22:18,450 it lost its blood. But he was safe. Toes and nose and face 304 00:22:18,810 --> 00:22:22,470 would be only touched by the frost. Because the fire was 305 00:22:22,470 --> 00:22:26,550 beginning to burn with strength. He was feeding it with sticks 306 00:22:26,550 --> 00:22:30,390 the size of his finger and another minute he would be able 307 00:22:30,390 --> 00:22:34,170 to feed it with larger branches. Then he could remove his wet 308 00:22:34,170 --> 00:22:38,880 moccasins and socks. While they dried, he could keep his naked 309 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:43,950 feet warm by the fire, rubbing them first with snow. The fire 310 00:22:43,950 --> 00:22:50,010 was a success. He was safe. He remembered the advice of the old 311 00:22:50,010 --> 00:22:54,090 man at soul for Creek and smiled. The man had been very 312 00:22:54,090 --> 00:22:56,940 serious when he said that no man should travel alone in the 313 00:22:56,940 --> 00:23:02,610 country after 50 below zero. Well, here he was. He had had 314 00:23:02,610 --> 00:23:08,850 the accident. He was alone, and he had saved Himself. Those old 315 00:23:08,850 --> 00:23:13,200 men were rather womanish he thought all A man must do is 316 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:18,600 keep his head and he was all right. A man who was a man could 317 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:23,130 travel alone. But it was surprising the rapidity of which 318 00:23:23,130 --> 00:23:26,370 his face and nose were freezing. And he had not thought his 319 00:23:26,370 --> 00:23:30,360 fingers could lose their feeling and so shorter time without 320 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,780 feeling they were because he found it very difficult to make 321 00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:38,460 them move together to grasp the stick. They seemed far from his 322 00:23:38,460 --> 00:23:43,140 body and from him. When he touched a stick, he had a look 323 00:23:43,140 --> 00:23:47,100 to see whether or not he was holding it. All of which 324 00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:51,480 mattered little. There was a fire promising life with every 325 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:56,370 dancing flame. He started to untie his moccasins. They were 326 00:23:56,370 --> 00:24:01,050 coated with ice. The thick socks were like iron, almost to the 327 00:24:01,050 --> 00:24:06,930 knees. The moccasins strings were like ropes of steel. For a 328 00:24:06,930 --> 00:24:11,310 moment, he pulled them with his unfeeling fingers. Then 329 00:24:11,370 --> 00:24:16,440 realizing the foolishness of it. He grasped his knife. But before 330 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:21,330 he could cut the strings, it happened. It was his own fault. 331 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,920 Or instead his mistake. He should not have built the fire 332 00:24:25,980 --> 00:24:30,660 under the pine tree. He should have built it in an open space. 333 00:24:31,980 --> 00:24:35,100 It had been easier to pull the sticks from the brush and drop 334 00:24:35,100 --> 00:24:39,270 them directly into the fire. Now the tree under which he had done 335 00:24:39,270 --> 00:24:43,800 this carried a weight of snow on its branches. No wind had been 336 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:48,000 blowing for weeks and each branch was heavy with snow. Each 337 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,380 time he pulled a stick. He shook the tree slightly. There had 338 00:24:52,380 --> 00:24:55,920 been just enough movement to cause the awful thing to happen. 339 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,950 High up in the tree one branch dropped. It's load of snow that 340 00:25:01,950 --> 00:25:06,450 fell on the branches beneath. This process continued spreading 341 00:25:06,450 --> 00:25:10,020 through the whole tree. The snow fell without warning upon the 342 00:25:10,020 --> 00:25:16,020 man and the fire and the fire was dead. Where it had burned 343 00:25:16,020 --> 00:25:21,600 was a pile of fresh snow. The man was shocked. It was like 344 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:26,100 hearing his own judgment of death. For a moment he sat and 345 00:25:26,100 --> 00:25:29,640 stared at the spot where the fire had been. And he grew very 346 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:35,250 calm. Perhaps the old man on Silver Creek was right. If he 347 00:25:35,250 --> 00:25:39,300 had a companion on the trail, he would be in no danger. Now, the 348 00:25:39,300 --> 00:25:43,710 companion could have built the fire. Now he must build the fire 349 00:25:43,710 --> 00:25:49,500 again, and the second time, he must not fail. Even if he 350 00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:54,810 succeeded, he would be likely to lose some toes. His feet must be 351 00:25:54,810 --> 00:25:58,890 badly frozen by now. And there will be some time before a 352 00:25:58,890 --> 00:26:04,770 second fire was ready. Such were his thoughts. But he did not sit 353 00:26:04,770 --> 00:26:08,190 and think them. He was busy all the time they were passing 354 00:26:08,190 --> 00:26:11,910 through his mind. He made a new foundation for the fire, this 355 00:26:11,910 --> 00:26:18,270 time in an open space where no tree would be above it. Next, he 356 00:26:18,270 --> 00:26:21,870 gathered dry grasses and tiny sticks. He could not bring his 357 00:26:21,870 --> 00:26:24,360 fingers together to pull them out of the ground, but he was 358 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,220 able to gather them by the handful. 359 00:26:27,570 --> 00:26:31,170 And this way, he also got many pieces that were undesirable, 360 00:26:31,740 --> 00:26:35,910 but it was the best he could do. He worked carefully, even 361 00:26:35,910 --> 00:26:38,700 collecting an arm full of the larger branches to be used when 362 00:26:38,700 --> 00:26:42,690 the fire gathered strength. And all the while the dog sat and 363 00:26:42,690 --> 00:26:47,370 watched him. There was anxious looking at ties, but it depended 364 00:26:47,370 --> 00:26:51,390 on him as the fire provider, and the fire was slow and coming. 365 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,920 When all was ready, the man reached his pocket for the 366 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,430 second piece of tree bark. He knew the bark was there, 367 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,900 although he could not feel it with his fingers. He tried again 368 00:27:04,020 --> 00:27:08,640 and again. But he could not grasp it all the time. In his 369 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:13,410 mind. He knew that each instant his feet were freezing. This 370 00:27:13,410 --> 00:27:18,090 thought alarmed him. But he fought past it and kept calm. He 371 00:27:18,090 --> 00:27:20,640 pulled on his mittens with his teeth and began swinging his 372 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,120 arms. Then he beat his hands with all his strength against 373 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:28,530 suicides. He did this while he was sitting down. Then he stood 374 00:27:28,530 --> 00:27:32,460 up to do it. All the while the dog sat in the snow its tail 375 00:27:32,460 --> 00:27:36,630 curled warmly over its feet, and it sharp wolf ears bent behind 376 00:27:36,630 --> 00:27:40,920 it as it looked at the man. And the man as he waved his arms and 377 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,220 hands looked with longing at the creature that was warm and 378 00:27:44,220 --> 00:27:48,960 secure, and the covering provided by nature. After a time 379 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,680 he began to notice some feelings in his beaten fingers. The 380 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,820 feeling grew stronger until it became very painful. But the man 381 00:27:56,820 --> 00:28:00,330 welcome to the pain. He pulled them in from his right hand and 382 00:28:00,330 --> 00:28:03,990 grasped the tree bark in his pocket. The bear fingers were 383 00:28:03,990 --> 00:28:08,190 quickly now again. Next, he brought out a pack of matches. 384 00:28:08,610 --> 00:28:11,430 But the awful cold had already driven the life out of his 385 00:28:11,430 --> 00:28:15,750 fingers and has ever to separate one match from the others the 386 00:28:15,750 --> 00:28:19,590 whole pack fell in the snow. He tried to pick it out of the snow 387 00:28:19,590 --> 00:28:23,280 but failed, the dead fingers could neither touch nor hold. 388 00:28:24,870 --> 00:28:28,590 Now he was very careful. He drove the thought of his 389 00:28:28,590 --> 00:28:34,440 freezing feet and nose and face from his mind. He devoted his 390 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,860 whole soul to picking up the matches. He followed the 391 00:28:37,860 --> 00:28:41,340 movement of his fingers with his eyes, using his sense of sight 392 00:28:41,370 --> 00:28:45,480 instead of that of touch. When he saw his fingers on each side 393 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:50,940 of the packet, he closed them. That is He willed to close them. 394 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,710 Because the fingers did not obey. He put the mitten on his 395 00:28:55,710 --> 00:28:59,670 right hand and beat it fiercely against his knee. Then, with 396 00:28:59,670 --> 00:29:04,020 both mittened hands, he lifted up the pack of matches, along 397 00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:08,340 with much snow to the front of his jacket. But he had gained 398 00:29:08,340 --> 00:29:12,360 nothing. After some struggling, he managed to get the pack 399 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,290 between his mittened hands. In this manner, he carried it to 400 00:29:16,290 --> 00:29:20,220 his mouth. The eyes broke as he opened his mouth with a fierce 401 00:29:20,220 --> 00:29:24,600 effort. He used his upper teeth to rub against the pack in order 402 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:29,100 to separate a single match. He succeeded and getting one which 403 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:34,110 he dropped on his jacket is good condition was no better. He 404 00:29:34,110 --> 00:29:38,070 could not pick up the match. Then he thought how he might do 405 00:29:38,070 --> 00:29:42,630 it. He picked up the match in his teeth and drew it across his 406 00:29:42,630 --> 00:29:48,660 leg 20 times he did this before he succeeded in lighting it. As 407 00:29:48,660 --> 00:29:52,560 it flamed he held it with his teeth to the tree bark. But the 408 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,880 burning smell went up his nose causing him to cough. The match 409 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:02,460 fell into the snow and the flame died. The old man on sulphur 410 00:30:02,460 --> 00:30:06,060 Creek was right. He thought in the moment of controlled despair 411 00:30:06,060 --> 00:30:11,220 that followed. After 50 below zero, a man should travel with a 412 00:30:11,220 --> 00:30:15,990 companion. He beat his hands but failed to produce any feeling in 413 00:30:15,990 --> 00:30:20,400 them. Suddenly, he buried both hands, removing the mittens with 414 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,640 his teeth. He caught the whole pack of matches between his 415 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:27,360 hands, his arm muscles were not frozen, and he was able to press 416 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,050 his hands tightly against the matches. Then he drew the whole 417 00:30:31,050 --> 00:30:36,210 pack along his leg, it burst into flame 70 matches at once. 418 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,560 There was no wind to blow them out. He kept his head to one 419 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,130 side to escape the burning smell and held the flaming pack to the 420 00:30:44,130 --> 00:30:50,310 tree bark. As he so held it, he noticed some feeling in his 421 00:30:50,310 --> 00:30:55,800 hand. His flesh was burning, he could smell it. The feeling 422 00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:00,240 developed into pain, he continued to endure it. He held 423 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,210 the flame of the matches to the bark that would not like readily 424 00:31:03,390 --> 00:31:06,390 because his own burning hands were taking most of the flame. 425 00:31:07,890 --> 00:31:12,510 Finally, when he could endure no more, he pulled his hands apart, 426 00:31:12,780 --> 00:31:16,050 the flaming matches fell into the snow, but the tree bark was 427 00:31:16,050 --> 00:31:16,530 burning. 428 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:21,510 He began laying dry grasses and the tiniest sticks on the flame. 429 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:24,450 He could not choose carefully because they must be pieces that 430 00:31:24,450 --> 00:31:27,810 could be lifted between his hands. Small pieces of grass 431 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,690 stayed on the sticks, and he bid them off as well as he could 432 00:31:30,690 --> 00:31:35,370 with his teeth. He treated the flame carefully. It meant life 433 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,510 and it must not cease. The blood had left the surface of his 434 00:31:39,510 --> 00:31:44,070 body, and he had now began to shake from the cold. A large 435 00:31:44,070 --> 00:31:48,330 piece of wet plant fell on a little fire. He tried to push it 436 00:31:48,330 --> 00:31:51,090 out from his fingers, his shaking body made him push it 437 00:31:51,090 --> 00:31:55,050 too far, and he scattered the little fire over a wide space. 438 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,830 He tried to push the burning grasses and sticks together 439 00:31:58,830 --> 00:32:01,560 again. Even with the strong effort that he made, his 440 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,250 trembling fingers would not obey and the sticks were hopelessly 441 00:32:05,250 --> 00:32:10,530 scattered. Each stick smoked a little and died. The fire 442 00:32:10,530 --> 00:32:16,320 provider had failed. As he looked about him, his eyes 443 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,470 noticed the dog sitting across the ruins of the fire from him. 444 00:32:20,490 --> 00:32:24,330 It was making uneasy movements, slightly lifting one foot and 445 00:32:24,330 --> 00:32:28,500 then the other. The side of the dog put a wild idea into his 446 00:32:28,500 --> 00:32:33,240 head. He remembered a story of a man caught in a storm, who 447 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,660 killed an animal and sheltered himself inside the dead body, 448 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:42,030 and thus was saved. He would kill the dog and bury his hands 449 00:32:42,030 --> 00:32:45,900 in a warm body until the feeling returned to them. And then he 450 00:32:45,900 --> 00:32:50,610 could build another fire. He spoke to the dog, calling it to 451 00:32:50,610 --> 00:32:55,020 him. But in his voice was a strange note of fear that 452 00:32:55,020 --> 00:32:58,500 frightened the animal. It had never known the man to speak in 453 00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:02,970 such a tone before something was wrong. And it's since danger. It 454 00:33:02,970 --> 00:33:06,240 knew not what danger. But somewhere in its brain arose a 455 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:10,050 fear of the man. It flattened to tears at the sound of the man's 456 00:33:10,050 --> 00:33:14,160 voice. It's uneasy movement and the liftings of its feet became 457 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:18,840 more noticeable, but it would not come to the human. He got 458 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,720 down on his hands and knees and went to the dog. For this 459 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:25,800 unusual position again excited fear and the animal moved away. 460 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:31,020 The man sat in the snow for a moment and struggled for 461 00:33:31,020 --> 00:33:35,310 calmness. Then he pulled on his mittens using his teeth, and 462 00:33:35,310 --> 00:33:39,240 then he stood on his feet. He glanced down to assure himself 463 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,510 that he was really standing because the lack of feeling his 464 00:33:42,510 --> 00:33:47,370 feet gave him no relation to the earth. His position, however, 465 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,660 removed the fear from the dog's mind. When he commanded the dog 466 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:56,790 with his usual voice, the dog obeyed and came to him. As it 467 00:33:56,790 --> 00:34:01,290 came within his reach, the man lost control. His arm stretched 468 00:34:01,290 --> 00:34:04,740 out to hold the dog and he experienced real surprise when 469 00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:08,190 he discovered that his hands could not grasp. There was 470 00:34:08,190 --> 00:34:11,430 neither bend nor feeling in the fingers. He had forgotten for 471 00:34:11,430 --> 00:34:14,820 the moment that they were frozen and that they were freezing more 472 00:34:14,820 --> 00:34:18,390 and more. All this had happened quickly and before the animal 473 00:34:18,390 --> 00:34:22,230 could escape he encircled its body with his arms. He sat down 474 00:34:22,230 --> 00:34:25,110 in the snow and in this fashion held the dog while It barked and 475 00:34:25,110 --> 00:34:30,630 struggled. But it was all he could do. Hold its body and 476 00:34:30,630 --> 00:34:35,340 circled in his arms and sit there. He realized that he could 477 00:34:35,340 --> 00:34:40,470 not kill the dog. There was no way to do it. With his frozen 478 00:34:40,470 --> 00:34:45,060 hands he could neither draw nor hold his knife. nor could he 479 00:34:45,060 --> 00:34:50,670 grasp the dog around the throat. He freed it and dashed wildly 480 00:34:50,670 --> 00:34:54,810 away still barking. It's not 40 feet away and observed him 481 00:34:54,810 --> 00:35:00,180 curiously, with ears sharply bent forward. The man looked out 482 00:35:00,180 --> 00:35:03,420 of his hands to locate them and found them hanging on the ends 483 00:35:03,420 --> 00:35:08,010 of his arms. He thought it curious that it was necessary to 484 00:35:08,010 --> 00:35:12,300 use his eyes to discover where his hands were. He began waving 485 00:35:12,300 --> 00:35:16,860 his arms, beating the mitten hands against his sides. He did 486 00:35:16,860 --> 00:35:21,330 this for five minutes. His heart produced enough blood to stop 487 00:35:21,330 --> 00:35:27,570 the shaking, but no feeling was created in his hands. A certain 488 00:35:27,570 --> 00:35:32,910 fear of death came upon him. He realized that it was no longer a 489 00:35:32,910 --> 00:35:36,630 mere problem of freezing his fingers and toes, or of losing 490 00:35:36,630 --> 00:35:42,510 his hands or feet. Now, it was a problem of life and death, with 491 00:35:42,510 --> 00:35:46,770 the circumstances against him. The fear made him lose control 492 00:35:46,770 --> 00:35:50,520 of himself, and he turned and ran along the creek bed. On the 493 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:54,300 Old Trail, the dog joined him and followed closely behind him. 494 00:35:55,020 --> 00:35:57,990 The man ran blindly in fear, such as he had never known in 495 00:35:57,990 --> 00:36:02,430 his life. Slowly, as he struggled through the snow, he 496 00:36:02,430 --> 00:36:06,120 began to see things again, the banks of the creek, the bear 497 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:07,260 trees and the sky. 498 00:36:08,610 --> 00:36:11,700 The running made him feel better, he did not shake 499 00:36:11,700 --> 00:36:15,810 anymore. Maybe if he continued to run, his feet would stop 500 00:36:15,810 --> 00:36:20,730 freezing. Maybe if he ran far enough, he would find the camp 501 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:25,830 and the boys. Without doubt, he would lose some fingers and toes 502 00:36:25,830 --> 00:36:29,310 and some of his face, but the boys would take care of him, and 503 00:36:29,310 --> 00:36:33,210 save the rest of him when he got there. And at the same time, 504 00:36:33,210 --> 00:36:35,820 there was another thought in his mind. That said he would never 505 00:36:35,820 --> 00:36:39,720 get to the camp and the boys. It told him that it was too many 506 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:43,680 miles away, that the freezing had to greatest art, and that he 507 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:47,940 would soon be dead. He pushed this thought to the back of his 508 00:36:47,940 --> 00:36:52,620 mind and refuse to consider it. Sometimes it came forward and 509 00:36:52,620 --> 00:36:56,250 demand to be heard. As he pushed it away, he tried to think of 510 00:36:56,250 --> 00:37:01,440 other things. It seemed strange to him that he could run on feet 511 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,470 so frozen, that he could not feel them when they struck the 512 00:37:04,470 --> 00:37:08,460 earth and took the weight of his body. He seemed to be flying 513 00:37:08,460 --> 00:37:11,610 above the surface, and to have no connection with the earth. 514 00:37:12,870 --> 00:37:15,810 His idea of running until he arrived at the camp with the 515 00:37:15,810 --> 00:37:22,560 boys presented one problem. He lacked the endurance. Several 516 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:27,360 times he caught himself as he was falling. Finally, he dropped 517 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:32,640 to the ground, unable to stop his fall. When he tried to rise, 518 00:37:32,670 --> 00:37:39,630 he failed. He must sit and rest, he decided next time he would 519 00:37:39,630 --> 00:37:44,670 merely walk and keep going. As he sat and regained his breath, 520 00:37:44,850 --> 00:37:48,570 he noted that he was feeling warm and comfortable. He was not 521 00:37:48,570 --> 00:37:52,380 shaking, and it even seemed that a warm glow had come to his 522 00:37:52,380 --> 00:37:57,450 body. And yet, when he touched his nose or face, there was no 523 00:37:57,450 --> 00:38:02,940 feeling running would not bring life to them, nor would it help 524 00:38:02,940 --> 00:38:06,780 his hands or feet. Then the thought came to him that the 525 00:38:06,780 --> 00:38:10,950 frozen portions of his body must be increasing. He tried to keep 526 00:38:10,950 --> 00:38:15,030 this thought out of his mind and to forget. He knew that such 527 00:38:15,030 --> 00:38:17,910 thoughts caused a feeling of frightened him, and he was 528 00:38:17,910 --> 00:38:23,640 afraid of such feelings. But the thought returned and continued 529 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:29,250 until he could picture his body totally frozen. This was too 530 00:38:29,250 --> 00:38:34,950 much. And he again ran wildly along the trail once he slowed 531 00:38:34,950 --> 00:38:38,640 to a walk, but the thought that the freezing of his body was 532 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:42,990 increasing made him run again. And all the time the dog ran 533 00:38:42,990 --> 00:38:47,310 with him at his heels. When he fell a second time, the dog 534 00:38:47,310 --> 00:38:50,610 curled its tail over its feet and sat in front of him facing 535 00:38:50,610 --> 00:38:56,130 him. Curiously eager. The warmth and security of the animal 536 00:38:56,130 --> 00:39:00,930 angered him. He cursed it, and it flattened to tears. This 537 00:39:00,930 --> 00:39:05,640 time, the shaking because of the cold began more quickly. He was 538 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:09,030 losing the battle with the frost. It was moving into his 539 00:39:09,030 --> 00:39:15,180 body from all sides. This thought drove him forward, but 540 00:39:15,180 --> 00:39:21,780 he ran no more than 100 feet when he fell headfirst. It was 541 00:39:21,780 --> 00:39:25,620 his last moment of fear. When he had recovered his breath in his 542 00:39:25,620 --> 00:39:28,500 control, he sat and thought about meeting death with 543 00:39:28,500 --> 00:39:33,660 dignity. However, the idea did not come to him in exactly this 544 00:39:33,660 --> 00:39:38,940 manner. His idea was that he had been acting like a fool. He had 545 00:39:38,940 --> 00:39:41,430 been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. 546 00:39:42,150 --> 00:39:46,380 He was certain to freeze in his present circumstances, and he 547 00:39:46,380 --> 00:39:51,000 should accept it calmly. With this newfound peace of mind that 548 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:56,940 came the first sleepiness a good idea he thought to sleep his way 549 00:39:56,940 --> 00:40:02,280 to death. Freezing was as an Not as bad as people thought. There 550 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:06,810 were many worse ways to die. He pictured the boys finding his 551 00:40:06,810 --> 00:40:12,150 body the next day. Suddenly he saw himself with them, coming 552 00:40:12,150 --> 00:40:17,100 along on the trail and looking for himself. And still with 553 00:40:17,100 --> 00:40:20,550 them. He came around a turn of the trail and found himself 554 00:40:20,550 --> 00:40:24,810 lying in the snow. He did not belong with himself anymore. 555 00:40:25,860 --> 00:40:29,760 Even then, he was outside of himself, standing with the boys 556 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:34,830 and looking at himself in the snow, and certainly was cold was 557 00:40:34,830 --> 00:40:39,390 his thought. When he returned to the United States, he could tell 558 00:40:39,390 --> 00:40:44,490 the folks what real cold was. His mind went from this to the 559 00:40:44,490 --> 00:40:48,180 fall of the old man at sulphur Creek. He could see him quite 560 00:40:48,180 --> 00:40:53,850 clearly warm and comfortable and smoking a pipe. You're right old 561 00:40:53,850 --> 00:40:58,830 fellow. You're right. he murmured to the Old Man of 562 00:40:58,830 --> 00:41:03,750 sulfur Creek. Then the man dropped into what seemed to him 563 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,630 the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever 564 00:41:06,630 --> 00:41:07,020 known. 565 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:12,690 The dogs that facing him and waiting. The brief day ended in 566 00:41:12,690 --> 00:41:16,830 a long evening. There are no signs of a fire can be made. 567 00:41:17,700 --> 00:41:21,060 Never in the dog's experience hadn't known a man to sit like 568 00:41:21,060 --> 00:41:25,620 that in the snow, and make no fire. As the evening grew 569 00:41:25,620 --> 00:41:30,510 darker, its eager longing for a fire mastered it. With much 570 00:41:30,510 --> 00:41:34,560 lifting of its feet, it cried softly than it flattened its 571 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:39,420 ears, expecting the man's curse, but the man remained silent. 572 00:41:40,650 --> 00:41:46,500 Later, the dog Howard loudly, and still later, it moved close 573 00:41:46,500 --> 00:41:50,850 to the man and caught the smell of death. This made the animal 574 00:41:50,850 --> 00:41:56,100 back away. A little longer, a delayed, howling at the stars 575 00:41:56,100 --> 00:42:00,900 that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then 576 00:42:01,260 --> 00:42:04,140 it turned and ran along the trail towards the camp it knew 577 00:42:04,980 --> 00:42:09,270 where there were the other food providers and fire providers 578 00:42:16,470 --> 00:42:19,050 meet us pause and meet US media production. All rights reserved 579 00:42:19,050 --> 00:42:22,530 unless otherwise stated. Our music comes to us from odd 580 00:42:22,530 --> 00:42:25,530 Sprite, you can hear more of their music at odds bright.com. 581 00:42:26,460 --> 00:42:31,290 Remember, if it's more than 50 below, travel with a buddy. Have 582 00:42:31,290 --> 00:42:33,360 a good one, folks. We'll see you next time.