

Fig1: Cover,
USAAF
Emergencies; Fig2:
USAAF
Patch Insignia
THE ARCTIC IN SUMMER:
The Arctic is not always ice, snow, and cold. In late
August, 80 per cent of all land north of the Arctic circle is free of snow. Most
of the remaining snow-clad 20 per cent is Greenland. Summer temperatures in the
lowlands, remote from mountains and seacoast, run around 85 to 90 deg. F. From
mid-June to September there are 10 times as many mosquitoes per square mile over
two-thirds of the land north of the tree line than in any equal area in the
tropics.
Fig3:
Summer Headnet
THE ARCTIC IN WINTER:
The world's coldest spots are not within the Arctic
Circle. There probably is no spot on any seacoast
within the Arctic Zone that can show a minimum a slow as the -90 deg. F.
temperatures recorded at Riverside, Wyoming. The lowest temperature recorded at
Pt. Barrow, Alaska, is -56 deg. Arctic winter climate on average is dry.
Actually relatively little snow falls. Frequently what appears to be a blizzard
is merely old snow being blown from one point to another by high wind. Annual
snowfall added to annual rainfall seldom exceeds 10 inches. Heaviest snows come
in Spring.
Fig4:
Winter Parka; Fig5:
Arctic Circle
LAND YOUR PLANE:
Fig6:
B-17
Belly Landing
When an emergency develops over the Arctic, LAND YOUR
PLANE if it is at all possible. Crash landings on snow or ice can be executed
with safety. Landings in snow should be made "wheels up" to avoid nosing over.
Make "wheels down" landing on ice that is free of snow.
Don't wander aimlessly if you are lost. Save enough
gasoline for a landing under full control with enough extra for exploratory
approach to your landing spot. Watch for blowing snow, it will indicate the
direction of the ground wind.
Don't pick an area of ice or snow that looks patchy from a
high altitude. It may be deeply drifted snow or rough crevassed ice. Tightly
packed snow drifts, known as sastrugi, look like ocean waves from an altitude.
If a landing must be made on such terrain, land parallel to the
drifts.
In searching for a good landing spot, make use of the
natural "sky map." It will save time. In the Arctic, a uniform overcast with
clouds at a high level reflects the terrain below it and gives a fairly
dependable indication of terrain and general ground conditions. A uniform white
"sky" for example, indicates a uniform covering of snow. If the "map" is
mottled, the region directly below is likely to be pack ice or drifted snow.
Blue (new) ice is indicated by grayish patches, and open water, timber, and
snow-free ground show up as black areas in the cloud reflection.
Bail out over the Arctic only in extreme emergency
and then stuff your maps, emergency rations, and as much loose equipment as you
can in your pockets and inside your flying coat. Landing with your plane is
important not only because it will provide you with shelter, food, fuel, and
equipment, but because it will serve as a marker for the planes that are sent
out in search of you. Men are hard to see on the snow even from a low altitude;
a plane stands out against the snow.
IF YOUR LANDING IS IN SNOW COUNTRY, DO TWO THINGS
IMMEDIATELY:
ONE - Drain several gallons of
lubricating oil from the engine oil sump In the far north this oil will be your
immediate source of fuel for heating and cooking. If you wait too long after
landing, the oil will become so stiff that it will be impossible to drain it. A
cowl section can be used as a receptacle. Drain a similar quantity of gasoline,
but don't spill any on you hands if in winter time - it will freeze
them.
Fig7:
Drain
residual oil and gasoline - they will be your main source of fuel if you
have been forced down in ice country.
TWO - If conditions allow you to make a
wheels-down landing and your plane is still flyable, drain all the
lubricating oil ( it will be simpler to heat the congealed oil than to heat the
engine if a take-off is attempted) and stake your plane to protect it from the
wind. In snow country, mooring anchors can be made by burying branches,
sacks, boxes, or cans in the snow and pouring water over the spot. On ice,
two holes can be dug a foot apart and a hole chopped through the intervening
bridge to take the mooring line. Mooring lines should be tight enough to prevent
the plane from rocking. Some measure should also be taken to prevent your
landing-wheel tires from freezing to the ice. A padding of boughs, canvas, or
straw under the wheels will do the job.
Fig8: If your plane is still flyable after landing,
protect
the tires with evergreen boughs. They will freeze to the ice if unprotected.
Fig9:
Secure your aircraft &
prepare signal fires.
SIGNALS:
Remove all snow and frost from your plane - it will stand
out better against the snow. Remove the cowl panels from your engine (or
engines) and place them, unpainted side up, on the wings. They will serve as
reflectors. If wood is available, lay up several large signal fires about fifty feet each side of the plane. Lubricating oil thrown on a fore will make a smudge
that will be visible for a good many miles. In snow county where there are
trees, distress messages can be written in the snow by forming 200-foot-high
letters with evergreen boughs. Keep your signal pistol or signal flares where
you can get them quickly.
If you are equipped with the basic parachute pack kit, or
life raft kit, make use of the blue-and-yellow signal panel. For a description of the universal signal
panel, mirror panel, and body signals, see
Fig10:
signal
panels, Fig11:
mirror
panel, Fig12:
body signals.
SNOW GOGGLES:
Snow goggles should be worn at all times. The snow goggles in your kit will
protect your eyes against the glare. If they have been lost or broken, you can
fashion a pair of Eskimo-type snow shields from a scrap of wood about six inches
long and an inch wide by burning holes or slits through it at eye width. The
goggles can be held on with a short length of shroud line cut from your
parachute. Don't make your snow goggles out of metal. Metal will
freeze to your skin. As an additional precaution against snow blindness, blacken
your cheeks and the bridge of your nose with soot, charcoal, or dirty engine oil.
The blackening will help cut down reflection.
Fig13:
Improvised
snow goggles can be made by cutting slits in
cardboard
or wood. As soon as possible after landing check your equipment.
SNOW BLINDNESS CAN OCCUR DURING A BRIGHT OVERCAST AS QUICKLY
AS DURING SUNNY WEATHER.
CLOTHING:
Several layers of light clothing are much warmer than
a single layer of heavy clothing. Inner clothing should be fluffy and porous;
outer clothing should be windproof.
AVOID TIGHT CLOTHING AND TIGHT SHOES:
In winter your cloths should be loose enough to allow a
free circulation of air so that your perspiration can evaporate. If it doesn't,
it will form frost inside your cloths and you will be well on your way to
freezing and frostbite. keep your clothes and your socks dry. If you must do
heavy work, loosen your clothing and remove some of it. Avoid becoming
overheated - an excess of perspiration will mean wet clothing and drying them in
sub-zero weather is difficult. If you get we, change to dry clothing as soon as
possible. Frost can be removed by turning the garment inside out and beating it
with a stick. To dry clothes with the heat from a fire build a rack to hold
them.
Fig14:
Clothes Drying Rack
Don't wear tight shoes. If the shoes you have
on are not big enough to allow you to wear at least two pairs of heavy socks
don't use them. Instead, improvise a pair by wrapping your feet in strips of
canvas cut from your wing covers, motor covers, or any other heavy material that
may be aboard your plane. If rescue fails, your feet will be your only means of
travel, so take care of them.
Fig15: If your shoes are tight,
improvise
boots from canvas and cord.
Keep your hands and feet warm and dry and you
will be fairly comfortable no matter what the temperature. An improvised warm
double sock can be made by putting one pair of wool socks inside another and
stuffing a layer of stuffing from a preserver cushion in the space between the
two.
Fig16:
Double socks filled with
cushion stuffing will protect your feet.
If you have them, a good combination for
keeping your hands warm consists of heavy woolen inner mitts with canvas or
other windproof outer mitts.
NEVER TOUCH COLD
METAL WITH YOUR BARE HANDS. IT WILL FREEZE TO THE SKIN.
If you do touch metal by
accident, thaw the metal loose from the skin. Don't pull it.
Tight-fitting face masks made of canvas or
other cloth should be avoided. They are more of a hazard than a protection.
Instead, fasten a piece of cloth across the front of your parka hood just below
the level of your eyes and let it hang down loosely below your collar. This type
of face shield not only protects your face, but allows your moist breath to
escape. DON'T GROW A BEARD if you can help it - moisture from your breath will
freeze on your beard and form an ice-mask that may freeze your face.
Fig17:
Protect
your face with a loose cloth fastened to your parka.
SHELTER:
Shelter can be provided in a number of ways.
Hard-packed snow drifts can be hollowed out to provide protection for two or
three men. If a semi-permanent type of camp is necessary, build an ice house.
The ice or snow can be cut into blocks with a machete or snow knife of metal
salvaged from your plane.
A good tent can be made out of your parachute
- with the shrouds serving as stake lines. When you cut your chute free of its
harness, save the harness. It can be used as an improvised pack.
Pitch your tent in a sheltered spot, but not
in the lee of a snow bank where it stands any chance of being buried by drifting
snow. If no natural windbreak is available, construct one out of snow and ice
blocks. The opening to your tent should be away from the direction of the
prevailing wind and the floor should be covered with boughs, canvas wing covers,
engine covers, or seat cushions.
Fig18:
Parachute
Tent - SAVE YOUR PARACHUTE
- the canopy makes up into a good tent.
In tree country, lean-to shelter can be
constructed by arranging a framework of poles and covering it on three sides
with a thick layer of evergreen boughs.
Here again, the floor of your shelter should
be lined with boughs, canvas, or seat cushions. If you are using a sleeping bag,
air and dry it at least once every three days. Wear as few clothes as possible
in your sleeping bag. Excessive body moisture will condense and form frost
inside the bag. When this happens, turn the bag inside out and beat it with a
stick. A damp or frosted sleeping bag is dangerous, keep it dry.
Fig19:
Improvised shelter:
In
tree country, a lean-to can be made from evergreen boughs.
Don't put your sleeping bag directly on the
snow or ice. Protect it with a layer of evergreen boughs if they are available
or with a wing cover, seat cushions, or engine covers.
HEAT:
In tree country, wood for heating and cooking fires is no problem. Various types
of fires and fireplaces can be used. Shield your fire from the wind and in snow
country, don't build it directly on the ice or snow. The melting snow will wet
the wood and reduce the heat of your fire. Build it on a crib of wood or metal
as shown on the next page.
Fig20:
Build your fire on
a platform of logs or metal salvaged from your plane.
The platform will prevent
the water from melting ice or snow from wetting the fire wood and putting out
the fire.
If no wood is available, your main source of
fuel will be the oil and gasoline drained from your engine. This can be burned
in several ways for cooking and heating. If the oil is congealed, mold it
into small balls. Place one of the pieces in the bottom of an open-top can or
any other receptacle that has a draft hole cut near the bottom. Cover it with
the kapok or other stuffing salvaged from your seat cushions, pour a very small
amount of gasoline over top, and light it. More fuel can be added as desired. If
the oil is liquid, mix a little gasoline with it, pour the mixture into the can
over an improvised wick consisting of four or five strands of twisted cord or
rag supported on a bent-wire tripod frame, and light the wick. A small flame
inside a closed heater of this type will provide enough heat for quick cooking.
The same type of tin-can heater can be used as an economical burner for small
quantities of wood.
Fig21:
A tin-can
stove. A large can makes a good stove, cut stoke-hole and flue.
A heater for use inside your improvised tent
or lean-to need be nothing more than a candle burning inside a small tin can.
Or, if you have no candles, a miniature of the cooking burner can be made.
Fig22:
A tin-can heater that
burns oil. wire tripod supports cord wick.
In some Arctic regions surface coal is available
as fuel. It can be found in some river valleys. On sea beaches, coal often can
be found in the windrows. This coal has been scooped from the sea bottom and
piled on the beach by the ice. Starting a fire with this coal may be difficult,
particularly if no wood for kindling is available.
Animal fats and hides also provide a source of
fuel. A small chunk of caribou suet, for instance, placed on a small piece of
wood and lighted, is sufficient to cook enough meat to last three men one day.
The hide of a musk ox or a grizzly bear will cook three or four pots of food.
Seal blubber also makes an excellent fuel.
WARNING: DANGEROUS CARBON MONOXIDE FUMES ARE
PRODUCED WHEN ANY KIND OF FIRE OR HEATER IS BURNED IN AN UNVENTILATED SHELTER.
BE SURE TO PROVIDE VENTILATION.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the
greatest dangers in the Arctic. Carbon monoxide gas is colorless and odorless,
so your only means of combating it is through adequate ventilation, particularly
at night. A snow drift may cover your tent and reduce the normal ventilation
through the fabric of your tent, so provide some other means of ventilation
while your stove or fire is burning. Keep a burner or fire going only long
enough to cook your food, then put it out.
FOOD:
Eat as much fat as you can. Fat is a heat-producing food and very important to
your health in the Arctic. In the winter months, animals and fish will be about
your only source of natural food. The caribou provides the best meat of the land
animals and the seal provides the best of the sea animals.
Fig23:
Arctic
Game Animals
The best parts of the caribou for eating are
the head, brisket, ribs, backbone, and pelvis. As for seals, there is little
preference between the various parts, although most white people prefer the
liver, boiled or even frozen and raw. The heart and the kidneys provide good
meat for stews. Polar bear is very likely to be tough and stringy if cooked. It
is more tender if eaten raw and frozen.
AVOID POLAR BEAR LIVERS. THEY ARE
POISONOUS.
Musk oxen has a strong flavor, but
it is rich in fat.
Because of the importance of fats, under no
conditions limit yourself to a meat diet of rabbit just because they happen to
be plentiful in the region where you are forced down. Rabbits are generally so
lean that in order to get enough energy out of them you have to eat a little too
much for comfort. Try to supplement your diet with other things.
Some Arctic birds are well supplied with fat -
notably ducks, geese and swans. These water birds all go through a two or three
week flightless period while they are molting in midsummer. The best known
winter birds are the ptarmigan, or snow partridge, which is rarely fat; the
white owl, which usually is fat and tasty; and the raven, which is tough.
Make a point of finding all the gull and tern colonies you can. Here you
will be able to get a good supply of eggs and your birds even without a gun.
Such colonies are usually on small islands or cliffs.
Fig24:
Arctic
Birds
On the average, all fish have enough fat to make
them good Arctic food. The liver of the cod, for example, is an extremely good
form of fat and can be eaten boiled.
Although complete protection from scurvy can
be had from a prolonged meat-and-fat diet, the roughage value of greens is
important. In an emergency, almost any local green, pleasant to the taste and
succulent enough to be swallowed, can be eaten.
There are no poisonous flowering plants or
grasses in the Arctic. The only poisonous Arctic fungus is easily recognized by
its yellowish red cap. All other Arctic fungi found above the northern
timberline are edible.
EDIBLE PLANTS:
There are no known poisonous plants in the
Arctic above the timberline. However, play safe - avoid raw cow parsnip and moss like
lichens, they make you sick. Berries are plentiful and nutritious.
Fig25:
Salmon
Berry (Bake Apple):
A low creeping perennial. Edible berries are reddish, turning to yellow as they
ripen. They are juicy, about the size of a large raspberry, and ripen in July
and August. Common in the north to the Arctic Ocean.
Fig26:
Masu
(Licorice-Root):
A non-climbing perennial herb of the pea family. Grows about 1 to 2 feet high.
Pink flowers and flat seed pods. The root is edible and when cooked has a
taste not unlike carrots. It matures in August and can be gathered until late
fall.
Fig27:
Mountain
Cranberry:
A low-creeping shrub with dark green leathery leaves. The dark red edible
berries ripen in August and September and remain on the vines through winter.
Widely distributed throughout northern Canada and found as far north as the
Arctic seacoast.
Fig28:
Blueberry:
A low shrub with many branches. The edible berries, resembling commercial blueberries,
are deep blue, ripening around July and August. The flowers are greenish around
July and August. The flowers are greenish white.
Fig29:
Juneberry:
A low tree or shrub with bronzy-green foliage. The purplish-black berries ripen
in early summer. Found in damp woods and near swamps.
Fig30:
Black
Crowberry:
An evergreen shrub, freely branching. The black, shiny berries are juicy and
sweet. Found throughout northern Canada and even on some Arctic islands. Often
they can be gathered from under the snow. The berries keep well when frozen.
Fig31:
Wild
Rhubarb:
A perennial herb 3 to 6 feet high with reddish stem and pointed leaves. Very
common in the Yukon and on the Mackenzie and its tributaries, but does not occur
farther east. The young, juicy stems are edible and when cooked resemble
rhubarb.
Fig32:
Bistorta:
A low-growing herb 5 to 10 inches high. The flowers are white or pink in the
form of spikes. The root, about the size of a pecan, is edible and best when
cooked. Common in dry country, chiefly north of the tree limit.
Fig33:
Parsnip:
(AVOID)
Parsnip root should be avoided. Although not poisonous, it may make you ill.
Usually has a disagreeable taste. If Peeled, stems and leaf stalks can be eaten
cooked in the spring.
Fig34:
Reindeer
Moss:
A low, bushy, coral-like lichen that grows on the ground. Common throughout
northern Canada. This and other similar lichens must be thoroughly boiled or
soaked in water for several hours before being eaten.
COOKING:
In the Arctic, boiling is the easiest and the best method of cooking. Boiling
not only conserves fuel, but preserves the essential elements of the food. In
summer and autumn, fresh water will be available excepting on the ice cap or on
the sea. In the winter, ice or snow can be used.
To cook meat in water from ice or snow, melt
small bits until you have an inch or two of water, fill the pot about
three-quarters full with the ice or snow, cut the meat into inch chunks and
place it on top of the ice, and then put the pot on the fire. As the ice melts,
the meat will sink and as the water is gradually warmed the meat will thaw.
After the water has boiled for two or three minutes remove the pot from the fire
and place it on evergreen boughs or a piece of wood to cool to eating temperature.
When the meat has been eaten, the liquid remaining should be drunk.
NEVER
OVERCOOK MEAT, overcooking destroys the vitamins. For a variation in diet,
chunks of meat can be broiled over the fire in any one of a number of ways, but
the bulk of your fish and meat should be boiled.
WATER:
AT SEA ice that is a year or more old can be used for drinking or cooking water.
old ice can be distinguished from the current year's ice by its rounded corners
and by its bluish color in contrast to the milky grayish-ness of salt ice. Ice a
year old rarely has only noticeable saltiness, while ice two or three years old
is generally fresher than average river or spring water. In the summer, fresh
water can be found in the hollows in old ice. Water fresh enough for drinking
can be found even in the hollows on new ice, which itself is salty in midsummer.
ON LAND, drinking and cooking water offers no
great problem. In the winter it is perfectly safe to eat snow or cracked ice in
small quantities during the day when you are traveling and don't want to take
the time necessary to melt it down. Eaten in large quantities, however, it
chills the stomach and reduces your body temperature.
When melting down snow or ice, don't fill the
pot at once. If you do, the snow on top will soak up the first water like a
blotter and leave a cavity directly over the heated bottom of the pot and the
pot may burn through. This is particularly so when, as the case probably will
be, you are using tin cans for cooking containers. When possible, always melt
ice for water, it requires less heat and takes less time.
Fig35:
Melt ice instead of
snow for drinking water, it takes less heat.
In the summer there are innumerable sources of
fresh water. Lakes and streams are seldom more than a mile or so apart in the
land north of the Arctic circle.
ARCTIC TRAVEL:
If you were on your flight course when you were forced down, stay with your
plane. Rescue planes will be out looking for you and will find you, but remember
- any search takes time. Don't give up hope of rescue too quickly. The men who
are out looking for you are trained in their jobs and if it is humanly possible
to find you and get you out they will do it. You can help them by staying with
your plane. If they cannot land and bring you out by airplane, they will drop
you necessary equipment and supplies to help you trek out. Travel in the Arctic
is difficult. You will need every aid in the way of clothing and equipment that
can be made available to you.
If rescue fails and you decide to walk your
way out, lay your plans carefully and then stick to them. What course you decide
to follow should be determined largely by your location and the terrain.
In mountainous or wooded areas, your best
course, unless you know exactly where you are and have some definite
destination, will be to FOLLOW STREAMS AND RIVERS DOWNSTREAM. They will lead you
eventually either to some post of civilization or to the coast where your
chances of finding food and a native village will be good. There is just one
exception to this rule - in Siberia rivers and streams should be FOLLOWED
UPSTREAM. The rivers in Siberia flow north, while civilization is to the south.
DON'T WANDER AIMLESSLY. Use your compass to
maintain a general direction, but don't try to travel in a straight line. Follow
the contour of the land for the easiest going in the general direction that you
want to go. If you have no pocket compass, remove the compass from your plane.
WHEN YOU CAMP, camp on the mountains and not
in the valleys. Slopes and ridges in the Arctic are always warmer than the
valleys.
In thick woods, blaze a trail on the trees as
you go, just in case you have to double back on your course.
Fig36:
Trail
Marking - Mark a trail, it will keep you from wandering
around in circles.
PLENTY OF FOOD AND REST is the secret of
Arctic travel, particularly in the winter. Don't rush, cook at least one hot
meal a day, and be sure to get adequate sleep. You can survive many days without
food if you will relax and avoid exhaustion, DON'T WORRY ABOUT FREEZING TO DEATH
WHILE YOU SLEEP. Unless you are exhausted you will wake up before you freeze.
Before you leave your plane make sure that you
are taking everything that will help you make your way back to civilization.
Snowshoes, sledges, and shelters can be made out of various parts of the plane.
Cabin doors, main landing wheel doors, and bomb-bay doors make good sledges.
Skis and snowshoes can be made by removing inspection panels, the cover strips
over-root joints, or tail-wheel doors, and lashing them to your feet with thongs
or parachute shrouds. A section of engine cowl can be used as a container for
melting water for cooking, as a head shelter and windbreak for use with a
sleeping bag, or as a fire shield for reflecting the heat of your fire into your
lean-to or tent.
In the case of a forced landing made wheels
down on an ice floe when no rubber boat is available, an improvised raft can be
made by removing the tires from your plane and lashing them together with wire
and control cables. The wheels can be removed by stacking ice blocks under the
wings so they will support the airplane and permit partial retraction of the
landing gear. If there is sufficient time, fuel tanks also can be removed and
used as floats. Such improvised rafts will help you to cross open leads and
short stretches of sea, PROVIDING THE WATER IS CALM.
BEFORE LEAVING YOUR PLANE BURN ALL PAPERS,
TECHNICAL ORDERS, AND TRIP DATA THAT MIGHT BE RESTRICTED, CONFIDENTIAL OR
SECRET. SECRET INSTRUMENTS SHOULD BE SMASHED AND THE PARTS BURIED OR THROWN INTO
THE SEA.
ARCTIC HEALTH:
FROSTBITE, or local freezing is a constant
danger to anyone exposed to the sub-zero temperatures of an Arctic winter.
Strictly speaking, frostbite cannot be prevented, but the risk can be minimized.
To neglect a frostbitten spot is to invite gangrene.
There is no particular pain with frostbite. Quite
to the contrary, there is an absence of sensation, a numbness. Frostbite can
occur without a person knowing it, so examine your face, hands, and feet
frequently. The symptoms are stiffness and a grayish or whitish color of the
part affected.
If you are frostbitten, DON'T APPLY SNOW OR
ICE. There is no fact in the old recommended cold treatment. Instead, warm the
affected part gradually. Don't rub the spot. Even the gentlest massage can do a
great deal of harm. If frostbite appears on your face, warm it by pressing your
warm fingers against it. If a wrist is frozen, warm it by grasping it with the
other hand. Frozen hands and fingers can be thawed by holding them against your
chest or under your armpits inside your cloths.
Frozen feet are particularly serious. try to
keep your feet from freezing, but should they get frostbitten, take care of them
immediately. Change to a warmer footgear if you can, or wrap them in cloth or
fur until they thaw. Warm them, but don't put them close to a heater or a fire.
Warm them gradually.
A burning sensation follows the warming and
thawing of a frozen part. The actual thawing may be extremely painful. After
frostbite there may be blistering and peeling just as in sunburn.
SNOW BLINDNESS is caused by the brilliant
reflection or glare from the surface of snow. Avoid it like the plague, for once
you have a case, reoccurrences are likely to follow. Wear your goggles, either
your flying goggles or your homemade wooden sun shields, at all times during the
daylight. Don't be fooled by an overcast day, and on a bright day remember that
merely lifting your goggles a half dozen times may bring on snow blindness.
The first warning of snow blindness comes when
you can no longer detect variations in the levels of ground. Later, your
eye will begin to burn, they will become inflamed and increasingly
sensitive. They will pain when exposed even to a weak light.
The best medicine for snow blindness is COMPLETE DARKNESS. During the long periods of daylight this will mean some
sort of dark bandage to exclude all light. An ice compress or cold water will
bring some relief providing there is no danger of freezing.
In most cases, snow blindness will disappear
in two or three days under care. When first used again, the eyes see two of
everything, but normal focus soon returns.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING.
Among the dangers
of the Arctic, the danger of suffocation by carbon monoxide is one of the
greatest. Particularly for one who has never been subjected to extreme cold for
extended periods, the desire to get warm and stay warm often overrules a man's
better judgment and common sense. You must depend on your clothing to keep you
warm. in temporary shelters, stoves, fires and heaters should be used only for
cooking and then put out. A stove burning for a half-hour in a poorly ventilated
shelter can produce a dangerous amount of carbon monoxide fumes. carbon monoxide
is odorless and can overcome a sleeping person without warning.
The treatment is fresh air. If you are
in a shelter and begin to fell drowsy, watch out for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Go outdoors, moving slowly; crawl if necessary. Breathe evenly and don't move
about. Cover yourself with robes and blankets to prevent freezing.
ABOVE ALL,
REMOVE THE SOURCE OF THE CARBON MONOXIDE.
GENERAL. When an accident happens in the cold,
shock is very likely to take place, especially if there is pain or bleeding. An
injured person should be covered immediately with blankets, a tarpaulin, extra
cloths, or a sleeping bag. Keep the head and upper parts of the body lower than
the legs and lower parts. Administer warm, non-alcoholic drinks and apply heat
if possible to the chest, stomach, and thighs.
If it is necessary to use a tourniquet, don't
apply pressure to long at a stretch, as freezing may result. Even tight bandages
can dangerously reduce blood circulation. If a tourniquet is necessary, keep the
part beyond the tourniquet warm, but do not heat it above body temperature.
ARCTIC PESTS:
FROM THE MIDDLE OF JUNE TO ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER WHEN THE FIRST OF THE
HEAVY FROSTS COME, the worst arctic pest is the mosquito. During those months
there are ten times as many mosquitoes per square mile over two-thirds of the
land north of the tree line than the average over the same area in the tropics.
Fortunately, Arctic mosquitoes are not disease carriers, but are bothersome and
during the mosquito season head nets, leggings, and gloves will be important
parts of your clothing.
Fig37:
Arctic
Pests
SAND FLIES, found in large numbers on
the mainland, are most bothersome in the early afternoon, decreasing their
activity as the evening cools. Known as pinkies, midges, and
"no-see-ums," they are persistent blood-suckers small enough to go
through the usual netting or head net.
BULLDOGS, sometimes called moose flies,
deerflies, or horseflies, look like overgrown house flies. Their bite is like
the cut of a scalpel, drawing blood in a trickle. Bulldogs are most annoying on
hot days. A head net, leggings, and gloves offer the best protection.
BLACK FLIES are bad pests in certain Arctic
areas, particularly in the forests during the summer months. Their bite causes
severe swelling. Protection against them is the same as for mosquitoes and
Sand flies.
ESKIMO WORDS AND PHRASES:
Syllables spelled like familiar English words
are to be pronounced just that way. Syllables printed in heavier type are to be
accented.
Fig38:
Dialect Map
| English Phrase | WESTERN ESKIMO: | EASTERN ESKIMO: |
| I am
hungry Our food is gone Water I am thirsty; I need fresh water Give me a drink of tea! (literally, I need tea) I am cold My boots are wet My clothing is wet Bring a dog sled! Yes No Look! (at my frostbitten wrist, etc.) I don't understand (what has been said) I need food Bring men to help How far is it to the trading post? Matches, or fire Native stove or seal-oil lamp Come quickly Gun To the right! (dog driver's term) To the left! (dog driver's term) Which way Tobacco Where is there a white man |
Kish-tu-ah
(the i long, as in mice) Neck-out-voot nahng-ock Meck (fresh); Mahk (salt) Meck-soosh-too-ah Shy-oo-mick merry-sing-a Crow-too-ah Comic-sig-kah maht-soong-uk Aht-koo-kah maht-soong-uk Ick-calm-erak ahk-fah-loo-kick Ahng Khang-ah Tahng Ah-yo-koo-chett-oo-a Neck-a-mick pee-yoosh-tu-ah Ahng-oh-tit tide-loo-kay Kite-loon yock-shig-ta kip-oosy-vig-a-moon Spitz-cot; Keen-o-gak Kah-minny-ock; Keen-o-gak Pah-tah-gah-mick tight-ah Noo-tick Jee! Haw! Nah-goon? To-bak-u-mick; Chew-yah-mik Nah-ne Kah-sah tahng-tah |
Kah-poong-ah Ner-key-voot peeto-hung-i-tu-goot Ee-mick (fresh); Ee-mock (salt) Kee-poong-ah; Ee-mick pee-yuma-voong-ah Tee-mick pee-yuma-voong-ah Oo-voong-ah ick-key Kah-mig-ga cow-shook-toot Ah-no-wog-ga cow-shook-toot Comma-tee-nick eye-shook-too Ee-mah; Ah-high; Ah-high-la Nowk; Nah-ga; Ah-guy Tah-koo! Two-key-siggy-lahng-ah Ner-key pee-yuma-voong-ah Ahng-oo-tee-nick ky-ko-see-geet Kah-bloona-tah-lick conn-oak oo-ah-sick-pa? Ee-koo-mock Koo-di-lick Kigh-geet or Kigh-sa-geet Cook-e-oo Owk! or Howk! Owk-a or Ow-ha! Huh-da! Now koot? Tobacco-mik Kah-bloon-ah nowk? |
PRINCIPAL EMERGENCY KITS:
Alaskan Emergency Parachute Kit (Type B-1) - Compass, matches, emergency
rations, gloves, mosquito headnet, cooking kit, iodine, three-bladed knife, fish
line and hooks, camphor gum, insect repellent, and bouillon cubes.
Jungle Emergency Parachute Kit (Type b-2) -
Compass, emergency rations, matches, iodine, quinine, signal flare, gloves,
mosquito headnet, machete, sharpening stone, fish line and hooks, insect
repellent, and first-aid kit.
Emergency Sustenance Kit (Rations) Type E-1 -
This kit is intended to supply the necessary rations for operations in northern
climates. One kit for every two men. The components include: U. S. Army Mountain
Rations, drinking water in cans, matches, hunting knife, mess kit, mosquito
headnet, gloves, fork and spoon, mukluks, ice creepers, solid fuel, grill,
sewing kit.
Emergency Sustenance Kit (Implements) Type E-2 -
This kit is intended to supply the necessary implements for use in northern
climates One kit for each large airplane. The components include: Combination
.22-caliber and .410-gage shot-gun, ammunition, matches, camphor cubes,
flashlight, candles, fry-pan, stew pan, large spoon, butcher knife, cooking oil,
machete, fishing kit, and signal flares.
Emergency Sustenance Kit (Type E-5) (Over
Water) - This kit intended for carrying in large airplanes operating mainly over
water. One kit per large airplane. The components include: Field Ration K,
drinking water in cans, flashlight, bailing bucket, compass, matches, knife,
hand axe, mirror, candles, fishing kit, flares, paulin, sea markers, and tomato
juice. This kit is used in addition to the kit supplied in the life raft.
OTHER KITS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT.
ON ALL FLIGHTS WHERE EMERGENCY KITS MIGHT BE OF USE, IT IS ADVISABLE TO CHECK
WITH THE SUPPLY OFFICER. DETERMINE BEFOREHAND WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR THE LOCALE
OVER WHICH THE FLIGHT IS TO TAKE PLACE.
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