Things like Pogonip are dangerous

Western Native Americans called it “white death” because it would be inhaled into the lungs and the ice crystals would cause internal bleeding, pneumonia, and death. The “white death” was not what English settlers heard in the 19th century, they just heard “pogonip”.

Had they known the local language, they would have been able to interpret the cryptic meaning, but they didn’t, so they had to learn what it was the hard way. Pogonip is simply very extreme fog, the kind of fog that is so extreme that ice crystals hang suspended in the air.

It sounds like something from a fantasy novel, but Mother Nature’s brutal sense of humor is nothing like fantasy, it’s very real. In high, mountainous areas with low temperatures and high humidity, pogonip forms, and when it does, the world goes on hold.

Near the polar ends of the earth there is a similar phenomenon called diamond dust. This is comparable to but not to be confused with pogonip because this happens with little precipitation and extremely low temperatures.

Diamond dust is a ground-level cloud made of ice crystals, similar to pogonip but much smaller and much less dense. In pogonip you wouldn’t be able to see 20 feet in front of you, but in diamond dust the landscape remains pretty clear.

To protect yourself against these fantastically beautiful death traps, you need to have thick clothing and a mask of some kind. A tissue will serve to filter ice crystals and prevent them from entering your lungs.

The lungs are very susceptible to ice crystals, and if they are thick and cold enough, they may not melt right away, which could lead to an internal tear. When your lungs start to bleed into your chest, you’re in a pretty tough position.

Have you ever seen a movie where someone coughed up blood and didn’t die a few seconds later? Of course not, because blood in the lungs means emanation and immediate death.

That is why the natives called it “white death”. When this cold killer crawled through his little Indian camp, they would start dropping like flies, presumably running around yelling “it’s the white death!”

The best protection against these things is a house and some space heaters. That should keep you warm while the white death passes.

It’s really not as dangerous as it was in the past, but still some dumb and tough people go around thinking they’re stronger than 100 percent humidity and temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t be so silly.