United States Army Air force
Arctic Survival Manual
World War II
(1941-1945)
editors note: Although this manual contains
some good information, the text and ideas are not current; therefore, this
manual should be considered out dated, and used only as a historical document.
Arctic:
You can beat the Arctic if you...
Get Plenty of rest.
Avoid Tight Clothing.
Eat plenty of fat.
Keep dry and warm.
THE ARCTIC IN SUMMER:
The Arctic is not always ice, snow, and cpld. In late
August, 80 per cent of all land north of the Arctic circle is free of snow.
Most of the remaining snpw-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.
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.
Newfoundland - Rolling densely forested
hills and low mountains with numerous
small lakes.
Quebec and Labrador - Low rolling
hills, mostly forested in the south, with innumerable lakes. Rugged mountains
along the coast rising to more than 5,000 fett in the north.
Northwest Canada and Interior Alaska
- Mountainous and densely forested coutry with broad valleys and some flats;
few peaks above 8,000 feet. Rivers are abundant and large; travel down
any river is lakely to lead to habitation. Game and fish abound.
Southern Alaska - One of the highest
aand most rugged mountainous regions in the world, including one peak nearly
20,000 feet high. Large glaciers are numerous.
Arctic Siberia - The coast of Siberia
resembles that of Arctic Alaska. There are no glaciers on the mainland.
Some large areas are completely free of persisting snowbanks. Franz
Josef Land - a ground of islands in the northern and westernmost
are - are mainly ice-covered plateaus rarely more than 1,000 feet high.
Greenland - An island 1,600 miles
long, with lenghtwise mountains up to 11,000 feet high. An ice cap 10,000
feet high covers all the coastal margins of the island.
LAND YOUR PLANE:
When an emergency developes over the Arctic, LAND
YOU 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 aviod
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 recepacle. Drain a similar quantity of gasoline,
but don't spill any on you hands if in winter time - it will freeze them.
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.
If your plane is still flyable after landing, protect the
tires with evergreen boughs. They will freeze to the ice if unprotected.
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 fiftey 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 discription
of the universal mirror panel, and body signals, see pages 15
through 20.
SNOW GOGGLES:
Improvised snow goggles can be made by cutting slits in wood.
As soon as possible after landing check your equipment.
Snow goggles shoud 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 nlindnss, blacken
your cheeks and the bridge of your nose with soot, charcoal, or dirty engine
ol. The blackening will help cut down reflection.
SNOWBLINDNESS 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. (See page 28)
(Page 28 illustration)
Don't wear tight shoes. If the shoes you have ao 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.
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 anoyher and stuffing a layer of stuffing
from a preserver cushion in the space between the two.
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.
Protect your face with a loose cloth fastened to your parka.
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.
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.
SAVE YOUR PARACHUTR - 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 fros
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.
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. Sheild 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.
If no wood is available, your main source of fuel will
be the oil and gasolne 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 receptical 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.
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.
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.
A tin-can stove. A large can makes a good stove, cut stoke-hole
and flue.
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 exellent 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 oderless, 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.
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.
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 mosslike
lichens, they make you sick. Berries are plentiful and nutritious.
Salmon Berry (Bake Apple)
Salmon Berry (Bake Apple):
A low creeping perennial. Edible berries are reddish,
turning to yellow as they ripen. They are juciy, about the size of a large
raspberry, and ripen in July and August. Common in the north to the Arctic
Ocean.
Masu (Liquorice-Root)
Masu (Liquorice-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.
Mountain Cranberry
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.
Blueberry
Blueberry:
A low shrub with many branches. The edible berries, resembling
commercial bluberries, are deep blue, ripening around July and August.
The flowers are greenish around July and August. The flowers are greenish
white.
Juneberry
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.
Black Crowberry
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.
Wild Rhubarb
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.
Bistorta
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.
Parsnip
Parsnip: (AVOID)
Parsnip root ahould 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.
Reindeer Moss
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 chuncks 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 boild 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 temerature. 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 broild
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 yer or more old can be used for drinking
or cooking water. old ice can be distinguished from the curren year's ice
by its rounded corners and by its bluish color in contrast to the milkish
grayishness 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 wter 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.
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.
Melt ice instead of snow for drinking water, it takes less
heat.
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 civilzation 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
conyour 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. (for illustration
of trail markings, see p. 22.)
Mark a trail, it will keep you from wandering around in circles
(Page 22, illustration)
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 engin cowl can be used
as a container for melting water for cooking, as a head shelter and winbreak
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,
frosbite 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.
SNOWBLINDNESS is causedby 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 snowblindness.
The first warning of snowblindness 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 snowblindness 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, snowblindness 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 warmoften 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 oderless and can overcome a sleeping person without warning.
The treatment is freah 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.
D uring 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.
SANDFLIES, 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 mooseflies, 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.
BLACKFLIES 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 Sandflies.
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.
WESTERN ESKIMO:
I am hungry......................................Kish-tu-ah
(the i long, as in mice)
Our food is all gone..........................Neck-out-voot
nahng-ock
Water..............................................Meck (fresh); Mahk (salt)
I am thirsty.......................................Meck-soosh-too-ah
Give me a drink of tea.......................Shy-oo-mick
merry-sing-a
I am cold..........................................Crow-too-ah
My boots are wet..............................Comic-sig-kah
maht-soong-uk
My clothing is wet.............................Aht-koo-kah
maht-soong-uk
Bring a dog sled.................................Ick-calm-erak
ahk-fah-loo-kick
Yes...................................................Ahng
No.....................................................Khang-ah
Look! (at my frostbitten wrist, etc.).....Tahng
I don't understand...............................Ah-yo-koo-chett-oo-a
I need food.........................................Neck-a-mick
pee-yoosh-tu-ah
Bring men (to help)............................ Ahng-oh-tit
tide-loo-kay
How far is it to the trading post?..........Kite-loon
yock-shig-ta kip-oosy-vig-a-moon
Matches; fire.......................................Spitz-cot;
Keen-o-gak
Native stove (seal-oil lamp)..................Kah-minny-ock;
Keen-o-gak
Come quickly!.....................................Pah-tah-gah-mick
tight-ah
Gun.....................................................Noo-tick
To the right! (dog driver's term)............Jee!
To the left! (dog driver's term)..............Haw!
Which way?.........................................Nah-goon?
Tobacco..............................................To-bak-u-mick;
Chew-yah-mik
Where is there a white man?.................Nah-ne
Kah-sah
tahng-tah
EASTERN ESKIMO:
I am hungry............................................................Kah-poong-ah
Our food is gone....................................................Ner-key-voot
peeto-hung-i-tu-goot
Water....................................................................Ee-mick
(fresh); Ee-mock (salt)
I am thirsty; I need fresh water.................................Kee-poong-ah;
Ee-mick
pee-yuma-voong-ah
Give me a drink of tea! (literally, I need tea).............Tee-mick
pee-yuma-voong-ah
I am cold.................................................................Oo-voong-ah
ick-key
My boots are wet.....................................................Kah-mig-ga
cow-shook-toot
My clothing is wet....................................................Ah-no-wog-ga
cow-shook-toot
Bring a dog sled!......................................................Comma-tee-nick
eye-shook-too
Yes...........................................................................Ee-mah;
Ah-high;
Ah-high-la
No............................................................................Nowk;
Nah-ga;
Ah-guy
Look! (at my frostbitten wrist, etc.)............................Tah-koo!
I don't understand (referring to what has been said).....Two-key-siggy-lahng-ah
I need food.................................................................Ner-key
pee-yuma-voong-ah
Bring men to help........................................................Ahng-oo-tee-nick
ky-ko-see-geet
How far is it to the trading post?..................................Kah-bloona-tah-lick
conn-oak
oo-ah-sick-pa?
Matches, or fire...........................................................Ee-koo-mock
Native stove or seal-oil lamp........................................Koo-di-lick
Come quickly..............................................................Kigh-geet
or Kigh-sa-geet
Gun............................................................................Cook-e-oo
To the right! (dog driver's term)...................................Owk!
or Howk!
To the left! (dog driver's term).....................................Owk-a
or Ow-ha! Huh-da!
Which way..................................................................Now
koot?
Tobacco......................................................................Tobacco-mik
Where is there a white man..........................................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, mucklucks, 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 DEVELOPEMENT. 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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