New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-06-26

is mistaken IN his facts upon tnlS
Whenever we entered inlet opening at night angles
into the main channel and inersecting several paraei
ridges Of h 9S rSSs IN
direction they did also in the main cnannei oiUe
passed an opening through which seven parallel RIGGS
could be seen the eastern side and hye t9waTu bno
west all tending mainly n0rthWaru' anu P''i"'' ''
ing glaoIeT-wOTn surfaces.
PROOFS OFFERED BY THE STRAITS or MAGELLAN
Moreover. the Straits Of Magellan itself has main
trend from east TO west, and yet there Is no sign,
throughout tho whole length Of any transportation OF
eratcs from east TO west. or from west to east Daw'
SON has made similar mistake with reference to swift
verand He supposes that the erratcs Of tho 5a were
deposited by ioebergs sweeping up ana GOV tne ot
ia east Ho to know that the oldsr LsSnS ,
Won der Inth and Leopold Won Bach had alleauy ~,
demonstrated the line of their transportation across ne
valley of Switzerland from south 20 northwaTd anu
that 6uyot more than Is years ago. traced inc hs
tracks OF these powders separately through tho Co
valleys OF Switzerland, northward across lno 'oi'
road which Dawson wond nave them iOi4w c eostorn 70
the western coast Of Patagonia snn 0 Nahas in
Possession Bay at sandy Point, in all the ports Of the
Straits Magellan which we nave vstea Nv 9hs ban,
mel itself and upon the shores OF Chloe nave the same
character They consist OF mxuIe y. ,aceous
metamorphic rocks, among which the har1est slceou
rocks prevail Their geological identity Is iurther SHOWN
by the unfaing presence OF very LaIu
dotic rock, never absent from the eIIato S
yet never found In place, as lar as as, Ihoye
over the whole extent Of country through wtoneg IL
traced them. You viii remember that sia ~
among the loose pebbles OF San MAthlas Ba nor diu
|
yIi1 soon in stiii more interesting juxtaposOn THIS
fact IA of great Significance nasmueh as SHOWS tnat
,bo ,iT enome1a in this region cannot have been due
10 be Enlargement present glaciers, otherwise the
fer rom one locality TO the other And yet their glacial
origin "a unmstakabe, since consideraoe poPVIhuon
scratched, grOOved, and furrowed, Ike k.,r tne
eracs Of the t He En,fofty ana IN the Character
of the drift which has led me from the lIt 10 Inv
nae in Their greater extension short between
ali the phenomena connected wlth I0cal eqI ,ind
those belonging TO what have called the glacial peIUa,
| dTrinS which the two hemispheres must nave
been capped with sheet OF ice OF VI ~ n Icn
sheet both IN the northern aud southern hemisphere
the part of the problem upon wnGh We law nm
~ facts I'm our possession. In South America
have now traced the from the souhernmost Ioht
the continent yc 70 su cost Even mere
at 1alcahuano. large cratic b0uldeTs ana r0Ie9
tonnes exist at the mouth OF the boDO on Vno H' "
"D''i' GLACIERS FOLLOW VOLCANOES.
In San Carlos do Amend at the northern end OF Chloe
Island have observed fact which introduces new
element in the study Of the glacial period The ground
upon which San Carlos is built is volcanic the promon
tory Of San Carlos consists Of volcanic breccia, tho
precise age which had no means OF determining;
IRON the meteorological character, u must peiOhg 70 tG
ace of volcanoes proper Now, cratic materials, small
pebbles and large powders, among which SOME exhDit
Snantty upon this volcanic ground 1t is, Therefore,
pain that the glacial period In this part o, we
world, at least has followed the older Yolcamc
eruptions. Among these cratic materials, the green
epidote which had followed so far was sun 10 90
found. The facts observed by me at san CaOs taken
In connection with Pourtaess discovery OF great many
bity of climatic changes in this region which, should
similar facts be elsewhere, may account for tho
an the eacSl period and volcanic pbenoin
ena since finding drift upon volcanic ground a. Amend
powders Of volcanic rocks along the coast Of
Chill Their pres nee near the shore WouId
reached level after crossing the coast ranges IN
the temperate, and perhaps also in the tropical zone
Darwin that the erratcs of western Patagonia
have descended from tho Aoe ana e ne S tbe
COrderas with the chain Of the JuTa In its relations 10
the Alps But the errac; OF SSG t haYo she so
and OF San Matthias Bay, aud the Two ia1ter.
and those Of the two latter can d hdrdly s oe
indication of very largo glaciers coming down from
doubt that / shall find them further north Evidently
not yet sufficiently advanced In our journey from
the extremity of the continent northward that
the influences altitude should outweigh those OF lat
tude in the Increase and decrease OF those climatic con-
pended former ages During the waning Of the glacial
period the glaciers OF the Cordlera have unqueston-
Should hot be surprised to fnd, upon more careful
survey that the glacier of snow Bay in smyths chan
mel and those OF Eyre sound and perhaps some OF the
other part Of the Corder orce crossed the main chan
they reached the shores Of the Pacific ocean. 1t
at all events certain that the local glaciers OF the pres
time have had the power IN their greatest
tension or lasted long enough Oblterate even
the phenomena of the glacial period. To refer the
latter 10 present
SOUTH AMERICAN GLACIERS NOW EXISTING.
This leads naturally to some remarks about the
present glaciers OF South America of which we have
seen great numbers during journey. On the whole
the glaciers OF these southern regions recall those Of
Switzerland with which familiar. And yet there
marked differences also The form OF the mountains
i'm the Straits is not favorable the accumulation of
large masses of snow, in extensive depressiOns ard
lroughs like those from which the riyerke glaciers Of
my native country descend There are some Of that
character, It is true tho highest range bordering
Magdalena Bay and Gabriel Channel, such as Mount
sarmiento, Mount auckland, and no Doubt also Mount
Darwin though the latter were too far out of track
to be % ann oi % n we e nave the
seen more glaciers with an Alpine character. But
with indented edge marking the limits where the
glacial ice moved down beyond the neve. II is already
known to all students OF glacial phenomena that these
southern ice fields have the general aspect produce
the same effects, and bordered by the loose
materials as those OF other countries But interest
ing find that like the glaciers Of Switzerland OF
the straits OF Magellan have had much greater extern
present size and relations. / have studied those |
facts ,sa III 0 0n9 OF ane@ very carefully choosing
tho northern side OF the Straits. 1 preferred |
the northern sde because glacier moving from the
north southwark must necessarily have encroached upon
the area covered, at still earlier Time by the Antarctic
ieesheet moving from the south nortiward BY the |
way, party agreed, at suggestion, call this
glacier the Hassler Glacier" in remembrance OF the
Coast Survey and Of the vessel in which our trip was
made. 1t hes in what il known Glacier Bay, so |
marked the Admiralty maps made from the combined
expected find here an the facts now accepted by
geOogsts evidence Of the former greater
glaciers. looked in other words, for polished ground
and fmrowed surfaces, for dykes and strata edge
abTaded level with the surrounding rocks; for
oraines higher level and at greater distance from
the Ice than those at its present termnus for cratic
glacial materials OF all kinds In the trough formerly occu
pied by the ice and for the peculiar scooped sur
faces, called cous dc 0oge, on otherwise level slopes
OF rocks 1 was not disappointed All these |
signs are as leRibe about the HassIer
glacier they in the neighborhood OF the glacier
of the Aar that Of the RhOne, and found besides
what Is quite characteristics, namely. small lake
shut into It's basn and kept there by old mOrane
T. he val nor hat
doubt that this glacier filled the whole bay down
10 ats entrance into tho main channel OF the straits