Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-01-22
Ny First Glacier.

My first glacier, must confess, rath
disappoints me. have had visions OF
lofty ridge of ice, with peaks and pin
nacles, and deep abysses stretching its
glittering length through a Earrow
chasm in the dark pine forrest, with
the flowers blossoming at its feet. So
when Mr.. Neville who knows the road
and is always on the watch TO point out
any new feature of interest, levels his
white umbrella at a sort of notch la the
mountain opposite, where the snow
seems TO be a little duller in sheen and
little lumpier i'm form than elsewhere
and murmurs, 'Glacier-Argentiers
| stare for momeut at him, rather
than at it, wonderingly. Then he
points out to me the pale blue tints
streaking the white masses here and
there, which have taken TO be shad-
ows, hut which he now explains TO be
the bare walls of the solid ice, where
they are too steep to carry their white
robe of snow. And then by degrees,
trace out the whole form of the great
ice torrent, pouring down from the
wide mountain cleft at the rate of so
many feet in the year.
Still, gtand as il is. am dissapoint-
ed There are no peaks or pinnacles
at all. II looks rather as though per-
fectly smooth and even sheet of ice had
been flung from the cleft over the face
of the mountain, and had split and
sunk from its own weight. Nor does
il seem to reach the valley at all so the
lovely contrasts with the dark frs and
the gay flowers are altogether lost.
Mr.. Neville tells me this lower portion
of the glaciers, many of which, not so
many years ago, used to extend right
down into the very bottoms of the val !
leys is disappearing almost everywhere.
when he visited il last year, had lost
nearly two miles of it, length when he |
knew it first, and had now compsra- |
lively little remaining but the almost
perpendicular wall of ice of which its
portion consists, and which seems from |
here, at all events, TO constitute SINH |
larly the chief part OF the glacier now
before US. He is inclined to fancy that |
before this process shall have gone on
for very many years longer, the lower |
part of the glacier will become too light |
to act any longer as sort of skid to the |
upper part, which must then come |
down with crash into the valley, |
sweeping everything before it. Which |
is view that am bound TO say does |
not add decided fascination TO the as
pect of that mighty mass Of ice, the |
vastness of which grows upon you
every moment your eyes rest upon It,
This, however, is not by any means
the general view among us. The
mounted party especially, whom We
have now oyerta ken, aud who seem TO
find the down hill road decidedly more
trying than tue up, do not seem TO re-
gard this new feature of the landscape /
as worthy 80 much "a a glance.
fancy CheckSuite, who with dangling |
rein, and both hands planted on the |
pommel. lifts himself bodily every now |
and then off the rack of his by no |
means "too easy" saddle, fully eX-l
presses the sentiments of his comrades,
hen he replies with a certain grim !
aud melancholy humor:
"Oh, glaciers be 'ansed. Joseph,s
GOT : own little broken bottles 10 sit
upon
The carriage company" are more at
their ease, though even they find the
seats trihe hard and slippery, and
have to hold on with considerable ten
acity to prevent themselves from slid
ing over on to the horses backs. Still
they have time To look about them, and
look dutifully accordingly at the new
phenomenon rs a part of the appointed
programme, whice being paid for,
must of course be gone through. But
beyond an occasional 'Oh, that's II, l.
it?" Don't think much of that, and
so forth, the only comment it draws
forth. is from worthy old lady in dim
black satin. " no evidently smitten with
Il great awe OF the daring feat she l.
performing, has never yet been heard
to speak above her breath, and who at
home, | take il, devOtes herself 70 pro-
noting the general happiness of man
kind, through the medium of furnished
apartments.
"Lor' musy. Alexandrina, my
dear" she cries 10 her buXom daugh-
ter-after gazing intently for several
minutes at the irregular pile of grey
blue fragments thickly powdered with
whlte-"whateyer do it remind me
Off"
And her buxum daughter answers
promptly:
81 know ma" of course so II does.
| "Starch -