Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-12-19
AN ALASKAN GLACIER
Plucking Flowers from the Edge Of the
Mighty Mass Of Ice.

Arriving opposite the mouth of the
ford, we stcered straight inland between
wooded shores surprisingly beautiful,
and the grand glacier came in sight, ly-
ing at home in its massive granite valley,
glowing in the early sunshine, and ex-
tending most noble invitation to come
and see. After we are fairly between
two majestic mountain rocks that guard
the gate Of the ford, the view that was
unfolded fixed every eye in wondering
admiration. No written words, however
built together, can convey anything like
an adequate conception of its sublime
grandeur-the noble simplicity and the
tineness of the. sculpture of the walls ;-thei1
magnificent proportions; the cascade
garden and forest adornments; the placid
waters between them; the great white
ice wall stretching across in the middle
and the snow-ladcn mountain peaks be-
You'd.
Sailing directly up to the sunken brow
OF the terminal moraine, VIC then seemed
to be separated from the glaciers only by
low, tide-leveled strip Of detritus, a
hundred yards or SO in width; but on so
grand scale are all the magnitudes of
the valley that we afterwards found it to
be mile or more.
The Captain ordered the Indians to get
out the canoe and take as many ct us
ashore as wished to go, and accompany
US to the glacier also, in case we should
desire them to do SO. Padding to the
nearest and dryest looking portion of the
moraine we stepped ashore but gladly
wallowed back into the canoe, for the
gray mineral mud, paste made from the
mountain meal and kept unstable by the
tides, at once took us in, swallowing us
feet foremost. Our next attempt, made
nearer the middle of the valley, was sue
cessful and we soon found ourselves on
good gravely ground. made haste in a
direct line for the huge ice wall, which
seemed to recede as we approached. The
only difficulty we met was network of
icy streams, at the largest Of which we
halted, not willing to get wet IN fording.
The Indian we had with US promptl y car,
ried us over the difficulty on his back.
Standing in the gateway of this glori-
GUS temple, and regarding it only as a
pANVuA0s ASo ONVlAucS mdy 00oAysUe IEdCcU.
There is the water foreground Of a pale
mlky-blue color, from the suspended
rock mud issuing from beneath The grind
ing glacier-one smooth sheet sweeping
back five or six miles like one of the
lower reaches Of / great river. At the
head the water is bounded BY a barrier
wall of bluish-white ice from 500 to 600
feet high, a few mountain tops crowned
with snow appearing beyond it. In eth
er hand stretches d scenes 81 majestic
granite rocks from 8, 1000 to 900 feet high
on some place bare, in some forrested
and we'll patched With yellow:green chap
arral and fowery 5 gardens especially
half way up from top to bottom, and the
whole built together in a. general varied
way into walls, like those Of Yosemite
Valley, extending far beyond the ice bar
rier, while their bases are buried in the
glacier. This is. in fact, q Yosemite
Valley in process of for nation, the mod.
cling and sculpture Of the walls nearly
completed and wellsplanted. &7s,l =. =
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