, 1876-06-10

,mu''y increased in volume by snow
ayumnchc- which sometimes rush down
cmons 1000 tect deep with a roaring
sound like great waterfall, and during
tine grmt snow.storms Of the Scrras their
invisible sweep can be heard ON every
side
HTDlNG oS AN AVALANCHE.
The lecturer then described Il ride
which he once unwillngly took upon An
avalanche while climbing one Of the
peaks Of the Yosemite after snow
storm The snow upon the steep noun.
tain flank became loCscned 10y his tread,
and began to move toward the valley,
slowly at first, but with increasing We
loCity, gathering greater masses ot snow
us it proceeded, until it was moving at
the rate of more than mile minute.
/ llaw thorne has spoken Of steam spirltu-
uiz.ng travel; to the lecturers mind
there wa, little spiritual in the jar and
roar OF train when compared to the
| smooth and silent rush of a snow ava
/ lanchc. THIS was the fastest ride he had
ever taken. and the slowest was, perhaps,
one upon glacier, when he calculated
thar his progress was at the rate OF n
mile in 500 years.
TIE REMNANTS OF ANCIENT GLACIERS
HOW DuMEs WE'RE ROUNDED.
The glaciers Of California are only the
fragments OF ancient and larger glaciers,
and being small, their motion is slower
than that of the Swiss icc-streams.
Glaciers had been compared to streams
of water, but there were some important
differences. Water will never flow up
hill, but seeks declivity in every particu
lar; glaciers seek only the direction Of
general declivity, and frequently are
forced over ridges hundreds of feet in
height, and the large one on Mount
Dana formerly flowed over an accliyity
500 feet high which separates the McrcCd
river and Tuolumne valleys. Traces of
the ancient glaciers progress are dis
tinctly seen even now, and though the
distance from the mountain to the divid
ing ridge was over ten miles, the initial
impetus given by the slope of the noun
tain was sufficiently maintained to carry
the glacial stream over the ACTIVITY.
When pushed over uneven surfaces, AS Is
often the case, the ice cracks open in
huge Crcvasscs, sometimes 40 feet deep,
and when moved on the old gap is closed
up and new one formed, at the same
point, and 30, though the ice constantly
moves down stream, the crevasse remains
stationary.
DISCOVERY OF THE FIRST GLACIER--DiF-
FACULTIES OF EXPLORATIONS.
The first California glacier discovered
was that upon the sides of Mount Black,
where it was suspected one existed from
the finding of a stream flowing from the
heights with very muddy water. a
muddy stream is so rare a phenomenon
in the Sierra Nevada that it was fol-
lowed up, and terminal morainc 100
feet high discovered, from which the
muddy water flowed, Climbing this
moraine living glacier was found, and
near the summit of the mountain huge
crevasse, 30 feet deep, into which he de-
scendcd to note the peculiar formations.
The ice near the surface was granulatcd
and sugary, but further down 1t became
solid, and near the bottom WAS of pure
deep blue color, rejecting the light from
above IN most wonderful manner, and
recalling to mind the .jeweled cayerns OF
fairy stories, Every glacier subsequently
found had creyasse near its summit,
caused by the more rapid movement of
the stream at that point. Having made
the above discovery the lecturer deter
mined to thoroughly explore the range,
and was rewarded in his search by find.
ing new living glacier nearly every
week. On these expeditions ho was at
least a weeks travel from civilization,
and had to take with him all the bread
he could carry, discarding even blankets,
and going as lightly weighted as posi-.
bic with anything except "the stall of
life Here he passed the time from
early spring to December, swinging be
tween the snow line and the "bread
line" and descending into the timber
line at night, where lie slept before
n,,s,,, g.