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A man named Tom Vincent was going land traveling/seafaring in the Klondike up in the north.
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• He was a powerfully made man, big boned and big muscled, who was confident in himself.
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• He left the Calumet Camp in the Yukon towards Paul Creek.
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• Fifteen miles in the trip, he stopped to rest and eat. This is when his hands first started to get frost bitten.
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• While walking, Tom fell through the ice into 12 inches of water. Knowing he would lose a limb to the cold, he started working on building a fire.
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• He knew he had to make a choice between continuing with wet socks or building a fire. If he built a fire then he had one chance to do it right.
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• He gathered sun withered twigs and small branches.
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• In order to light a fire, he would have to take his gloves off but if he did so, he would risk losing his fingers/hands as well.
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• He worked for 3 hours to restore warmth to his body so he wouldn’t lose a limb.