Glacières; or, Freezing Caverns

The natural law in relation to time seems to be this: Ice may be formed in caves as soon as the outside temperature sinks below freezing point. In some caves it forms intermittently all through the cold months because there is a water supply. In other caves it only forms in the spring, because there is no water supply in the winter months. In all cases, however, the end of winter is the time when most of the ice is formed.

PART III.

LIST OF GLACIÈRES.

NORTH AMERICA.

Buried or Fossil Glaciers, North Greenland. (W. E. Meehan, Philadelphia Ledger, 1896.)—On Robertson’s Bay is the plateau of the Verhoef Glacier, which is about 1500 meters long and 400 meters wide, and stands back only a few meters from the edge of the sea. This plateau, both top and sides, is a mass of flourishing vegetation, chiefly grass, which reaches above a man’s knee. From among this verdure buttercups, poppies, cinquefoils and dandelions thrust their golden heads in wild profusion. Similar buried glaciers are found in many places along the fiords of North Greenland.

Mr. Meehan gives a simple explanation in connection with the Verhoef Glacier. He says that this glacier formerly extended out into the sea, and that while it moved forward, the clump moss, which struggles for existence in Greenland gorges, could do little more than hold its own. In course of time, from some unknown cause, the glacier receded to the point where it now discharges, the part in the water floating away in the shape of icebergs, and the part on the shore remaining stationary. This was the opportunity for the clump mosses. Caring nothing for the cold they crept slowly over the quiet mass of ice and made their way first in thin net-like layers, later in thick masses, till they reached the rocky shore. Year after year the mosses grew, the young plants trampling underfoot the older; until the latter, rotting, turned into a rich mould. The seeds of grasses and flowers found their way to this, blown by the wind or carried on the feet of birds. The plateau now is a garden of green, gold and white. How long this will last it is impossible to say, as any time nature may unloose its hold, and the frozen river once more pour down into the bay.

Subsoil Ice in Alaska. (I. C. Russell, A Journey up the Yukon River, page 149, and Second Expedition to Mount Saint Elias, page 19.)—Professor Russell found ice covered by rocks and vegetation in several places in Alaska, especially along the southern edge of the Malaspina Glacier and on the Yukon River. He gives the following interesting account in 1890 of these ice sheets: "Throughout the length of the Yukon, one is frequently reminded of the high latitude drained by the great river, by seeing strata of ice in the recently cut banks, beneath the dense layer of moss and roots forming the surface on which the forests grow. One may frequently find ice even on a hot summer’s day, by scraping away the moss at his feet. In some instances the frozen layer has been penetrated to the depth of twenty-five feet, but its full depth has never been ascertained. In the banks of some of the streams to the north of the lower Yukon, strata of ice over a hundred feet thick have been observed, and the indications are that its total depth is considerably greater than the portion exposed. This subsoil ice is stagnant and without the characteristics of glaciers."

Subsoil Ice in the Klondike Region. (Philadelphia Ledger, December 30th, 1897.)—The Klondike mining country is covered with snow most of the year. The ground is frozen for ten or twelve meters in depth, down to bed rock. In some places the ground, which is protected by a thick moss, is not thawed out by the sun in summer. The miner cuts off the moss with a shovel, and then builds a fire, which thaws out the ground for five or ten centimeters. He digs this out, rebuilds a fire, and then continues this process.

Ice Cliffs on the Kowak River, Alaska. (Lieutenant J. C. Cantwell, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1896.)—On the shores of the Kowak River are a series of ice cliffs of from about 25 meters to 45 meters in height. On top of these ice cliffs is a layer of black silt-like soil some 2 meters in thickness, and from this springs a luxuriant growth of mosses, grass and Arctic shrubbery. The melted ice shows a residuum of fine dust, which while fresh emits a pungent odor.

Subterranean Ice Sheet on Kotzebue Sound. (Otto von Kotzebue, Entdeckungsreise in die Südsee, etc. Weimar, 1821. Vol. IV., page 140.)—Dr. Eschholz discovered near Kotzebue Sound, in 1816, a mass of ice more than 30 meters thick, and entirely covered with a layer at least 15 centimeters thick of clay, sand, and earth, on which heavy, long grass was growing. In the ice and in the soil overlaying it, were many remains of extinct animals. On the side towards the ocean the ice was entirely bare, exposed to sun and air, and much of it was melting away in streamlets.

Freezing Lava Caves, Washington. (R. W. Raymond, Overland Monthly, 3d November, 1869, page 421. Th. Kirchhoff, Reisebilder und Skizzen aus America, 1876, vol. II., page 211. Philadelphia Ledger, September 25th, 1899.)—These caves are distant about four hours from the foot of Mount Adams, and about 56 kilometers from the mouth of the White Salmon River, where it falls into the Columbia River. The caves are in basalt, and they are connected at both ends with the open air. Only a few of them contain any ice, which in the largest cave is about 6 meters below the entrance, from which one descends by a ladder. The cave opens on one side and is some 15 meters in depth, 6 meters or 8 meters in width and 3 meters or 4 meters in height. This part contains the most ice. The other side gradually narrows from the entrance, is longer, and reaches out through fallen rocks and rubbish to daylight. In the lower portion, there are a few ice stalactites and stalagmites: one a superb, transparent hillock, which rises nearly to the roof, is called the Iceberg. A strong draught flows into the cave in summer through the open arm.

The following paragraphs from the Philadelphia Ledger probably refer to the same locality:—

“Ice for the cutting, and that in August and early in September, is a novelty not often found in regions as far south as the Columbia River basin; but the novelty is enjoyed every year by people who visit the ice caves under the shadow of Mount Adams, about 100 miles northeast of Portland. It is a very extensive region. Frank McFarland, who has just returned from a six weeks’ vacation camping trip there, gives an interesting account of its general make up.

“At the ice caves, which are six miles from Trout Lake, the stalactites are more beautiful and wonderful this year than ever before, and this was Mr. McFarland’s fifteenth trip there. He broke off and took to camp chunks of ice weighing 100 pounds. Pleasure parties who come to the lake use considerable of the ice for packing their trout to take home. All you have to do is to take a torch of pitch pine or a lantern, and go into the big caves and pack off all the ice you want. It is a sure crop, and never fails.”

Ice Spring in the Rocky Mountains, Oregon. (G. Gibbs, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1853, Second Series, vol. XV., page 146.)—The Ice Spring is about 60 kilometers from the South Pass to the right of the Sweetwater River. It is situated in a low marshy swale, where the ground is filled with springs; and about 60 centimeters below the turf is a sheet of horizontal ice, some 10 centimeters to 30 centimeters thick, lasting throughout the year. The ice is clear and is disposed in hexagonal prisms; it has a slightly saline taste, the ground above it being impregnated with salt and the water near by tasting of sulphur.

Freezing Lava Caves in Modoc County, California. (Dispatch, Frankford, Pennsylvania, 22d January, 1897, reprinted from another paper.)—The lava beds, where the Modoc Indians made their last stand against the United States troops, are described as an immense field of lava covered with a beautiful forest of conifers. Numerous caves of varying shapes and dimensions are scattered throughout these lava beds. Some are mere covert ways, with an arch of stone thrown over them; others are immense chambers some meters from the surface; another kind sinks deeply and may be in a series of chambers united by a corridor that opens at the surface; while another kind seems to go directly to the centre of the earth without stopping. Some of these caves contain ice and from them the Modocs drew their water supply while besieged by the troops. Judging from what is reported of the caves the quantity of ice in them must be large. The thermometer in winter in the region is said to go as low as -30° C.

Freezing Lava Beds near Medicine Lake, Siskiyou County, Northern California. (M. S. Baker, Sierra Club Bulletin, 1899. Vol. II., page 318.)—"One other feature of the lava region must be mentioned—the ice caves. There are several of these known, and very likely many more remain undiscovered. Those located along the edge of the lava, near the cinder cone, I have known to contain ice and water as late as August. The largest I have seen is on the Mayfield Road, about twenty miles east of Bartles. It is situated in the barren lava, and in one of the warmest localities of the region,—and there are few cool spots in the lava anywhere. One enters the cave by crawling down a hole none too large. The instant the interior is reached the temperature falls in a surprising way. Not more than ten feet below the surface of the hot rocks is a bed of ice, covered by a foot or so of ice water. The body of ice was perhaps twelve or fifteen feet long, by five feet across in the widest places. This cave is formed by a fissure that extends a distance of twenty miles from the ice cave to Pittville, and nearly coincides with the 4000 foot level, as shown in the map. Along the southeastern half of this earth fissure the southwest wall has faulted, leaving a cliff, which, in places, must be nearly 200 feet high."

Freezing Shafts, Montana.—Mr. Robert Butler, of San José, Cal., has given me much information about glacières in Montana. He visited one miners’ shaft which is situated about 80 kilometers up the Rosebud River from Rosebud Station on the Northern Pacific R. R., and about 10 kilometers northeast of the Cheyenne Indian Agency. It is on the north slope of the Little Wolf Mountains, near the summit, at the head of Greenleaf Creek. The canyon and surrounding slopes are covered with a dense growth of pine. The rock has the appearance of scoriæ caused by the burning of immense beds of coal in recent geological times. The rock is broken into comparatively small pieces. The altitude is some 1200 meters. The forest, the volcanic ash and the altitude, besides the loose rock formation, makes this place a natural ice house. Ten or twelve years ago three prospectors, looking for silver, sunk a shaft here. At a depth of about 4 meters it began to grow cold, and at 6 meters they found ice and imagined they could feel an upward draught. Being ignorant and superstitious, they became frightened and abandoned the shaft. During the winter, the snow fills the shaft half full of ice, which then remains over through the summer. There is a general report and belief among those who have visited the well, that it freezes in summer and thaws in winter. There are thousands of mining shafts in Montana, and if they are on the north slope of a mountain of considerable altitude and under a dense forest and not too deep, they generally have ice at the bottom during the summer. It is also said to be nothing new for a miner in following crevices to find them filled with ice, especially if near the surface on the north slope of a mountain.

Freezing Cave, Fergus County, Montana.—Mr. Robert Butler, of San José, Cal., visited this place, which is about 35 kilometers southeast of Lewistown. It is on the north side of a butte. Masses of ice and great icicles form in some parts of the cave in such quantities during the latter part of winter that the cave furnishes ice for cooling the drinking water for several dozen families. During July and August the people come from some distance around to get the ice. The people in the neighborhood believe that the ice forms in summer and thaws away in winter. They also speak of the ever upward draught of cold air coming possibly from some great hidden cavern in the lower recesses of the mountain.

Freezing Well at Horse Plains, Montana. (Levi Allen, Scientific American. New Series, 27th October, 1883.)—The well is described as 13.60 meters deep. It is dug through solid gravel, and in sinking it there was encountered, at a depth of 10.60 meters, a current of air strong enough to blow out a candle. It began to freeze in September, 1882, and in November it was frozen solid.

Freezing Silver Mine, Bighorn County, Wyoming.—This place is in the Sunlight Basin of the Shoshone Mountains. Mr. William Worrell Wagner, of Philadelphia, informs me that he visited it in August, 1897. It is a silver mine or tunnel, running straight into the mountain for about 60 meters, at an altitude of about 3300 meters. The peaks of the Teton range were in sight from the mouth of the tunnel. For the first half of the way in, a good many icicles were hanging from the rocks. The last half of the tunnel was thickly coated with ice and looked like a cold storage plant. Snow disappears on the rocks outside about June, and begins to fall again in September, so that Mr. Wagner’s visit was at about the hottest time of the year. Mr. Wagner presented the meat of a bull wapiti he had shot to the miners, and they stored it in the mine as if it had been an artificial refrigerator.

Rifts of Ice, Mount McClellan, Colorado. (Edward L. Berthoud, American Journal of Science and Arts. Third Series, 1876, vol. XI., page 108.)—Near the summit of Mount McClellan, is the Centennial Lode, which runs into the mountain, at an altitude of about 3900 meters. Intercalated in the mineral vein are three or four well defined veins of solid ice parallel with the bedding of the rock and filling all its inner side-cracks and fissures. The same frozen substratum is found in two other lodes near by on the same mountain. Nothing of the kind is known on other Colorado mountains. The soil is loose and largely made up of rocky débris, which shows that the ice is probably due to local causes.

Freezing Tunnel on the Hagerman Pass, Colorado. (Philadelphia Press, October 16th, 1897.)—The Hagerman Pass Railroad line is said to have been abandoned after the completion of the Busk-Ivanhoe tunnel, but to have been rebuilt. The Hagerman tunnel for a distance of over 700 meters was filled with solid ice, and it required blasting with dynamite, and a month’s continuous labor, day and night, to dig the ice out.

Freezing Cavern in Cow Mountain, Colorado. (Post Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., July 13th, 1897, and September 5th, 1897. Mail Order Monthly, St. Paul, Minn., October, 1899.)—The cave was discovered by parties doing assessment work on a group of claims. A man was picking in a three meter hole when he struck his pick into an opening, which was gradually enlarged and showed a deep pit underneath. The men got a rope and descended into an immense cavern full of ice. Later exploration led to a small hall, some 5 meters in diameter, full of icicles. From here a fissure led into a second rock chamber larger than the first. A small hole in the floor at an angle of some 45° gave access to a third and larger hall, about 25 meters by 40 meters. Great masses of ice were found in this, also a small lake, about 12 meters by 20 meters. “Some who have visited the wonderful discovery are of the opinion that it is a great cave or fissure in a glacier which for centuries has been slowly making its way down from Pike’s Peak and whose waters are now feeding the Arkansas River.”

Windhole, Arizona. (Christian Herald, March 24th, 1897.)—Mr. Cofman, while drilling a well on his place, is said to have opened a windhole from which the escaping air current was strong enough to blow off the hats of the men who were recovering the lost drill. Some days the air escapes with such force that pebbles the size of peas are thrown up, accompanied by a sound much like the distant bellowing of a fog horn. Again for days there will be a suction current, unaccompanied by sound, in which the current of air passes into the earth with somewhat less force than when escaping, and any light object, as a feather or a piece of paper, will be immediately sucked in. The account is probably exaggerated.

Freezing Lava Cave near Flagstaff, Arizona.—Professor W. B. Scott of Princeton University told me of this cave, which he had not visited himself. It lies 14.5 kilometers south of Flagstaff, on the Mesa table land, at an altitude of about 2000 meters. It was described to Professor Scott as a double cave, with two floors, one over the other, the lower containing the most ice. It is in lava, and can only be entered by crawling in on hands and knees.

Freezing Cave or Gorge, White Mountains, Arizona.—Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing has told me of this place. It is a cleft among lava rock, which being roofed at the further end, might be described as a cave. In this the ice remains until June or July, much later than anywhere else in the neighborhood. The Zuni Indians worship before this, calling the ice the breath of the Gods, the snow they consider as a sort of down. The region is arid, which makes any water precious, and this fact has developed the element of mysticism about snow and ice among the Indians.

Freezing Cave near Galena, Black Hills, South Dakota. (Miss L. A. Owen, Cave Regions of the Ozarks and Black Hills. Cincinnati, 1898, page 209): “At Galena, a new mining town of golden promise, there is reported to be an Ice Cave, where ice forms at all seasons, and during the warm weather is a source of comfort and pleasure to the miners.”

Windholes in the Ozark Mountains, Missouri.—Mr. H. F. Brinckerhoff, of Aurora, Mo., informs me that there are a number of cold air current caves in the Ozark Mountain region. One of them is some 19 kilometers south of Aurora, Lawrence County, and is used for cold storage in summer. There is a cave in a limestone bluff about 15 meters above a river, and in the rear is this windhole, which is an opening about 30 centimeters high and 3 meters wide. A strong current of air comes out from it in summer, and the hotter the air outside, the stronger is the outward coming current. In winter the current is reversed. The outward current is so strong in very hot weather that a handkerchief held in it is straightened out to an angle of about 45°.

Freezing Cave and Well at Decorah, Iowa. Described in Part I. (Dr. C. A. White, Report of Geological Survey of State of Iowa, 1870, vol. I., page 80. A. F. Kovarik, Scientific American Supplement, No. 1195, November 26th, 1898, pages 19,158, 19,159).

On June 1st, 1869, Dr. White found the ice dry and well frozen, and he thought it was then accumulating. The cave was cool and apparently dry, and no strong air current was passing through.

Mr. Alois F. Kovarik, of the Decorah Institute, has made a valuable series of observations about the Decorah Cave. The temperatures he observed were the following:

On the 1st of July, 1897, a cold breeze was noticed coming from the cave to a distance of at least 30 meters. At the entrance the breeze was strong enough to blow out a candle. This breeze was not noticed at other times. From December to February inclusive, on the contrary, the breeze was reversed. From July to October, 1897, the walls of the cave were moist. From October to February they were dry. In February frost began to appear on the walls. On March 12th, 1898, the walls were covered with frost. The ice appeared at a spot nearly at the end of the cave on the 26th of March, 1898. At a place about 6.50 meters nearer the entrance, however, is where most ice forms. This place Mr. Kovarik calls Locus Glacialis. The ice appeared here about the 29th of May, 1898. It increased rapidly up to June 12th, when it was at its maximum, and was about two meters in width. It generally covers the north wall from top to base. The greatest thickness in 1898 was 29 centimeters.

The temperature which Mr. Kovarik recorded on the 16th of April at Locus Glacialis of +1.1 seems an anomalous one. On writing to him he sent me the following explanation: "April 16th, after I left the thermometer at Locus Glacialis the usual time, I noticed that it registered +1.1° C. It seemed singular, for at both the Division and the End, the thermometer registered considerably lower. I left the thermometer at its place for about an hour longer, and noticed then that it did not register differently. I would suggest this explanation: This is true about water that upon freezing it gives off its latent heat. Now on April 16th some water dripped into the cave on the wall near where the thermometer was, about 1.50 meters from the floor. The amount of water was very small, but as it came in contact with the cold wall it began to give out its latent heat which affected the close by thermometer. The temperature of the rock was without doubt between -1.° and -3°."

Freezing Cavern at Brainard, Iowa. (Alois F. Kovarik, Decorah Public Opinion, September 20th, 1899.)—This little cave is situated on the north side of a hill about 1.5 kilometers northwest of Brainard. It is about 4.50 meters deep. On June 10th, 1899, Mr. Kovarik found the floor and walls covered with ice. The temperature was 0° C. The owner claims to have taken enough ice out of it on July 4th, 1897, to freeze cream.

Freezing Cave near Elkinsville, Brown County, Indiana. (Clipping from a western newspaper, 1896.)—The entrance is said to be overlapped by trees and to resemble a mine shaft. The winding way leads to a hollow some 15 meters below the surface, resembling a broad vaulted corridor, which is known to the natives as the devil’s chamber and where the temperature is low. From this point several galleries lead further in, and from one of them comes a blast of icy cold air. This passage is similar to the one at the entrance to the cave, but after a few meters frost is visible, and further on it is thick on all sides, like the crust that is formed on the pipes of an ice plant. The narrow way leads to a big chamber, known as the ice vault. In this dome, which is fully 30 meters in width, the ice forms a large stalagmite and is of unknown depth.

Freezing Gully on Mount Abraham, Maine. (Jackson, Report of the Geology of Maine, 1839, III.)—Ice was found in June at an altitude of 1032 meters among the boulders in one of the gullies of Mount Abraham.

Subterranean Ice in King’s Ravine, Mount Adams, New Hampshire.—Described in Part I., page 1.

Ice Gulch on Crescent Mountain, Randolph, New Hampshire.—Described in Part I., page 83.

Ice in a Hole at Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.—Mr. John Ritchie, Jr., of Boston, has examined this place, which he is sure is a refrigerator. It is in a hole north of the cliff and near its top.

Ice on Mount Garfield, New Hampshire.—Mr. John Ritchie, Jr., informs me that ice was discovered among the boulders on the summit of Mount Garfield during the summer of 1897.

Freezing Talus near Rumney, New Hampshire.—Described in Part I., page 85.

Freezing Talus near North Woodstock, New Hampshire.—Mr. John Ritchie, Jr., has examined this locality. He thinks the ice was gone in July, but judges it to be on the level of an old talus and a couple of meters down.

Freezing Well at Lyman, Grafton County, New Hampshire. (Geology of Vermont, 1861, I., page 197.)—A well in that town is reported as having been frozen solid in June, 1816, at a depth of about 2.60 meters from the surface.

Icy Wells at the Foot of Mount Mansfield, Vermont. (N. M. Lowe, Science Observer, vol. II., page 58.)—These are described as being really “incipient caves.”

Freezing Cave near Manchester, Vermont.—Described in Part I., page 76.

Ice Bed of Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont. Described in Part I., page 99. (S. Pearl Lathrop, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1844, XLVI., page 331.)—Dr. Lathrop says that ice has been found at the Ice Bed as late as September.

Freezing Wells at Brandon, Vermont. Described in Part I., page 77. (Geology of Vermont, 1861, vol. I., page 192.)—Mr. Hager says that the well was dug into a mass of sand and gravel, of the kind known as modified drift. The gravel was frozen at the time of digging. The Boston Natural History Society, in 1859, sank two wells, one 21 meters southeast of the original one, the other 21 meters northwest. The first was 10 meters in depth and did not reach ice; the second was 11 meters in depth, and came to the layer of frozen gravel.

Cave near Brandon, Vermont. (Geology of Vermont, 1861, vol. I., page 197.)—Mr. Hager heard that about 3 kilometers north of Brandon village was a cavern, in a hill, in which ice is found most of the summer.

Icy Gulf near Great Barrington, Massachusetts.—Mentioned in Part I., page 99.

Icy Glen near Stockbridge, Massachusetts.—Described in Part I., page 75.

The Snow Hole, New York: near Williamstown, Massachusetts. Described in Part I., page 98. (Dewey, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1819, vol. I., page 340; and 1822, vol. V., page 398.)—Mr. Dewey found, in June, snow 2 meters deep on ice of unknown depth. On his second visit he found less ice and snow than on his first visit, as the trees in the neighborhood had been cut down.

Glacière near Williamstown, Massachusetts.—Described in Part I., page 101.

Freezing Well near Ware, Massachusetts.—(Geology of Vermont, 1861, vol. I., page 197.)—Depth 11.5 meters. This is in a sand and gravel formation much like that at Brandon, except that there is less clay, and that none of the pebbles are limestone.

Wolfshollow near Salisbury, Connecticut. (C. A. Lee, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1824, vol. VIII., page 254.)—In the eastern portion of the township, at an altitude of about 800 meters, is a chasm about 100 meters long, 18 meters deep and 12 meters wide. It is in mica-slate, and is sheltered by large trees. At the bottom at one end is a spring of cold water and a cave of considerable extent, in which ice and snow is found the greater part of the year.

Natural Ice House, near Meriden, Connecticut. (Benjamin Silliman, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1822, vol. IV., page 174.)—It lies between New Haven and Hartford, about 32 kilometers from the sea, at an altitude of about 60 meters. The ice is found in a narrow defile of perpendicular trap rock, at the bottom filled with broken stones. The defile is so placed that in summer the sun only shines into it for about an hour each day; it is also well protected by surrounding trees, the leaves from which form beds at the bottom among the rocks and help to protect the ice.

Natural Ice House of Northford, Connecticut. (Benjamin Silliman, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1822, vol. IV., page 177.)—About 11 kilometers from New Haven on the Middletown road between Branford and Northford, is a gorge where ice remains throughout the year. In this case the ice is mixed with a considerable quantity of leaves and dirt; it has sometimes been brought to New Haven.

Ice in an Old Iron Mine, near Port Henry, Lake Champlain. (Geology of Vermont, 1861, vol. I., page 199.)—Ice was found during the summer at a depth of from 15 meters to 30 meters, and a current of cold air was issuing from the opening. There seems to be more than one opening to the mine.

Freezing Talus on Lower Ausable Pond, Essex County, New York.—Described in Part I., page 79.

Freezing Talus at the South Base of the Giant of the Valley, Essex County, New York.—Described in Part I., page 81.

Freezing Boulder Talus, Indian Pass, New York. See Part I., page 83.

Freezing Boulder Talus, Avalanche Pass, New York.—See Part I., page 83.

Freezing Cave near Carlisle, New York.—See Part I., page 93.

Ice among the Catskill Mountains, New York.—Mr. George Brinton Phillips informs me that he has seen subterranean ice in August among boulders in a gorge in the Catskills near the Stony Cloves road, starting out from Haines’ Falls. The people in the neighborhood speak of the place as an ice cave.

Gorge in the Shawangunk Mountains, near Ellenville, Ulster County, New York. Described in Part I., page 91. (Heilprin, Around the World, 1894, page 194.)—Professor Heilprin found in July a mass of ice measuring about thirty meters in length and 1 meter in depth. The thermometer near the ice read about 1° C. above freezing point, the day being hot. Icicles hung from the ledges on the side of the gorge.

Freezing Gorge at Sam’s Point, New York.—See Part I., page 93.

Ice Deposits and Windholes at Watertown, New York.—Described in Part I., page 86.

Freezing Well near Tioga, New York.—Depth, 23 meters. No information.

Freezing Well near Prattsburg, New York.—Depth, 6.5 meters. No information.

Freezing Well near Owego, New York. Described in Part I., page 74. (D. O. Macomber, American Journal of Arts and Sciences, 1839, vol. XXXVI., page 184. Well’s Annual of Scientific Discovery, 1856, page 190.)—The thermometer is said to have stood at—1.2° at the bottom of the biggest well when it registered—20° outside. When a candle was let down, the flame became agitated and was thrown in one direction at the depth of 9 meters; at the bottom the flame was still, but soon died out. Large masses of ice were found in the biggest well as late as July, and the men who made the well were forced to put on thick clothing in June, and even so could not work for more than two hours at a time.

Cave in the Panama Rocks, Chautauqua, New York. The Rev. Horace C. Hovey informs me that he has been in a small cave in this locality, and that he found ice in it.

Cave in Sussex County, New Jersey.—A clipping from a newspaper, with neither name nor date, says that new ice is found daily on the land of Peter Feather, in the mouth of an unexplored cavern. A small stream of water runs out of the cavern and forms a pool at the opening, and here it is that the ice forms. Enough has been taken in one day to freeze two cans of ice cream. A cold draught of air issues continuously from the cavern.

Hole Containing Ice on Blue Mountain, New Jersey. Reported; no information.

Gorge Containing Ice on Bald Eagle Mountain, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.—Mr. Henry Chapman Mercer, of Doylestown, learned of the existence of this gorge during the summer of 1897. It is near the village of McElhatten, in the neighborhood of Lock Haven, and is some 3 kilometers distant from the Susquehanna River. Ice is said to remain over during the entire summer.

Freezing Cave and Windholes near Farrandsville, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.—Described in Part I., page 93.

Underground Ice Formations, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, on the southwestern borders of Lycoming County.—Mr. W. Coleman Hall of Philadelphia, about twenty years ago, found ice in two or three places, on Bear Creek, north of Muncy Creek, about 25 kilometers north of the Susquehanna River, and southwest of Eagles Mere. The ice was under rocks, in what may be described as limestone sinks. Since the destruction of the forest, the ice has become less abundant, if indeed any still forms.

Glacières in Abandoned Coal Mines near Summit, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.—Described in Part I., page 95.

Ice Cave Railroad Station, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. On the Bowman Creek branch of the Lehigh Valley R. R.—Mr. F. Holschuh, agent at Luzerne, informs me that about 2 kilometers from Ice Cave Station is a little waterfall on the side of a mountain which was formerly covered with dense forest. A short distance below the fall, a large hollow place has been worn out of the rocks by the action of the water. The overhanging rocks give this almost the appearance of a cave. While the forest was still thick and when the winter was cold, ice would form under these rocks and would not disappear until summer was well advanced. The station was called Ice Cave on account of this place.

Hole Containing Ice at Millerstown, Pennsylvania.—Reported; no information.

Freezing Talus at Spruce Creek, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Described in Part I., page 90. The Philadelphia Ledger of July 6th, 1896, states that around the boulders where the ice lies, there are found varieties of plants strongly arctic in character.

Ice Mountain, Hampshire County, Virginia. (C. B. Hayden, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1843, vol. XLV., page 78.)—It lies on the North River, near the road leading from Winchester to Romney, at an altitude of from about 220 meters to 240 meters. One side of the hill is entirely composed of loose stones, among which an abundance of ice is found at all times, although the sun shines on the upper surface of the stones from ten in the morning until sunset. The ice is regularly used in summer by the people near by. Constant and strong air currents issue from the crevices in the rocks. Similar, but smaller accumulations, are said to occur in the same county. Mrs. George B. Balch visited the Ice Mountain in August, 1878. She saw no ice, but the air under the stones was very cold.

Blowing Cave, Bath County, Virginia.—Mrs. Horace Jayne informs me that there is a blowing cave near the Cowpasture River, about half way on the old stage road between Millboro and Warm Springs. A draught flows out from it, strong enough to blow the grass about, three or four meters away. The draught is cold, perhaps abnormally so. The cave has not yet been explored.

SOUTH AMERICA.

Ice Sheets on Mount Chimborazo. (A. von Humboldt, Travels to the Equinoctial Regions, London, 1814, vol. I., page 156.)—“On Chimborazo, enormous heaps of ice are found covered with sand, and in the same manner as at the Peak [of Teneriffe] far below the inferior limit of the perpetual snows.”

Tierra del Fuego. (A. Winchel, Walks and Talks, 1898, page 122.)—“On Tierra del Fuego ice and lava are found interstratified for a great depth, each winter’s snow being covered by a new lava sheet.”

TENERIFFE.

La Cueva de la Nieve or del Hielo. (Humboldt, Travels to the Equinoctial Regions, 1814, vol. I., pages 154, 156. C. Piazzi Smyth, Teneriffe, an Astronomer’s Experiment, 1858, page 348.)—La Cueva de la Nieve lies at an altitude of 3267 meters in the Malpays on the Peak of Teneriffe, just below the snow line. It is in obsidian. The entrance is 3.6 meters high and 2.7 meters broad. The grotto is 36 meters long, 6 meters wide, and 4 meters high. The descent into the cave is so steep that it is necessary to be lowered by ropes. Professor Smyth found in July an ice floor about 60 centimeters thick which was covered with water. A good deal of snow was lying near the mouth of the cave. The walls were covered with ice and icicles and a few small ice cones rose on the ice floor.

ICELAND.

The Surtshellir or Cave of Surtur. (Olafsen and Povelsen, Voyage en Islande, Paris, 1802. Henderson, Iceland, 1819, 2d ed., page 420. Guimard, Voyage en Islande, page 481.)—The Surtshellir lies in the volcanic waste of Westisland, and is in lava which has flowed from the Bald Jokul. The approach is through an open chasm. The length of the cave is 1534 meters, with an average width of from 15 meters to 17 meters, and a nearly uniform height of from 9 meters to 11 meters. In four places the roof is broken and allows daylight to enter. A great deal of ice is sometimes found in the cave, in the shape of an ice floor, transparent icy pillars, hanging icy pendants, and columns and arches of ice along the walls. Some of the pillars have been found 2.50 meters high.

Kutlagaya. (A. Winchel, Walks and Talks, 1898, page 122.)—“In 1860 the crater of the mountain Kutlagaya, in Iceland, hurled out simultaneously into the air lumps of lava and ice, all intermingled together.”

SCANDINAVIA.

Ice in the Mines of Nordmark. (Jars, Voyages Métallurgiques, 1774, page 105.)—13 kilometers north of Philipstadt, Wermeland, Sweden, a number of holes were dug, some to a depth of 120 meters. Ice of some thickness formed in some of these towards the end of winter, and lasted until about September, despite the fires of the workmen.

Persberg Iron Mines, Sweden. (J. Prestwich, Collected papers, etc., on page 206, quotes Dr. Clark’s Travels in Scandinavia.)—Ice is said to have been found on the sides and bottom of the mine to a depth of about 135 meters.

Ice Caves Reported in Norway.—I was told in Norway that some of the caves in the mountains near the Swartisen ice field contained ice, but I do not know whether this is true. I suspect that there are glacier ice caves which have given rise to this report.

ENGLAND.

Helvellyn, Cumberland. (Wordsworth, Fidelity.)—The following verses were pointed out to me by Mr. Bunford Samuel. As far as I know they are the only poetry about glacières:—