Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-05-25
Ice in Tie Arctic REGIONS,

The urlrcsy prisoner in tho field Of loo dur
ing the imposing, unbIoken Loneliness of the
long Arctic night, when the wiGL is CAIN, can
hear the ctIcklo Of the sIow uAdcr the sioal!hy
tread OF the polar bear oil ca astonishing dis
ta1cc, aad heor what man, speaking loud
says at 900 meters distance Ii can there
fore, bo we'll understood how tho sound OF the
lc, prcssurcs must trsvcl TO his car from cncr-
nous distances.
Sometimes. the author writes, ";ho uoisc
OF Tho Ico movements Was scaic i TO Eo heard
"a nero mutmuI-and cjm) TO cur cer9 a.
docs tho play OF tho waves On steep coast
from tic ter dlstsnc'. Sometimes it hutomcd
and loarcd closer to uH, rs if mfoc clluLan Ct
heavily laden waGous waro hticg drawn over
the uneven leo surIac'. ln iEo enurd were
oGblned all m,rn,r O! nGissz c!iis2d by c!tuk
ing, slladlrg. ial'iog OF blocks. c,rsbiug, auJ
mapy other pbcnomenu Of icJ li!c. IL is as'
toplshing how lsr and how Clearly ovcI7 nois:
ls conducted on tho Ice. The noise st the yer;
margln Of the fed on which no wIrc. seemed
TO occur Immediately at our feet. II wo plac:t;
our car 70 Tho .cJ tho soUtd was heard so loud
ly that VIC might have expected tho ice to open
under our feet tho next moment. Tho whc!e
dry 100 covering Was as YES, sounding board.
Whenever as | lay down to sleep. placed ny
car agaiGst the dry, wooden ship'sti3c, heard
hummlog and tuzz!Dg wh;ch was nothing
olSe bat the sum of oil the noises wh:cl occur
rcd III tho leo a. great distances from tho ship"
curious feet is described By tho author,
that tho surlac, OF an txoaBsc Of y6uog salt water
leo on which no snow has yet fallen is sot, so
that the footstcp Is impressed upon lis white
coVeilog Us 10 melting snow. This is to bo oh.
served even at temperature Of icrty degrees
q. Tho uofrczon 4 aid is not water, but . c1n
c,niratod solution Of sslS thrown On, by the
FREEZING f,ho leo beneath.
When summer begins. The thaWiOg that oc
cuts is vtrg local and uut qnal. Ary dark BODY.
| such IS heap Of ashes or Tho drnr0iugs of
bears. cats It's way into the soow. absorbing the
rays oil heat which arc r, h,ctcd off again by the
gcneral white surface. Tho boar droppiugs cat
their way lotO tho snow. and thcn toto tho ice,
| and the clDical hoo thus formed fills itstlfwith
Wn.cr. lt may. at last. cat its way ripht
| through the lca where not very thick Thus
| arc formed the greater part OF these holes 10
| dtlit ICE wbco sro usually ascribtd To seals. -
| mo author never saw seals hole 10 winter.
loebc1gs are sui iaoted to disutcgra,icn after
somewhat the samu mauntr as rocks so csm-
motl are. They are full of cGcvasscs, into
which the water formed by mehios pcnctrales;
10 winter this water freezes, md ty It's t1oau.
sion all through the glacier rupture Of tho
mas epsuss. 1t is highly probable that most
OF the iccberas afloat iu the water arc ia such
q oonGlnon that very slight cause is sufficient
to make them burst btcluSU Cf their slate OF
int'roal tension. Every polar trsv. | r can tell
hOW shot, the driVipg 10 Of IN &c! Ctchor. or
any ether sudden vibration, has brought sb,ut
q catastrophe, cases hivs oven Ccsurred 10
| which he souud OF the Voice tlono Was suthcicn!
| 40 lc -btrg IL AlSayS an unpleasant ucrhb0r.
| so many arc the ciuScs which tGnd. to destroy
| lccbergs thGt the author concludes "nu btrg
eZls's which could wltrs:aud them ln0ro than
ten years aud thai cJmm0Uly the lie Of bcry
Is much shorter However ths nay be,
doubtless the much larger Artartc berss lss,
| very muoh ioukcr, ns must necessarily occur
because OF the much greater unIormirv of tie
climate to which they era exposed. .-Nniurc
| WASTED Lives. Some time sisco tho whole
natloo was startled by aterribo t1ag:dy. Three
maiden ladies' who wero sisters aud lived to
gcther in Chicago, resolved to put on e1d to
their lives. They deliberately talked the mat
Ter over. and mado arrangements to accomaish
their objcc. and TO avoid Intrusion. When the
hour that had been set apart for the fatal deed
oamo tho heart OF the youngest sister failed
her. Sbc sat above shivcliag and mospinp
while her two sisters carried cut their insane
resolutions, and by their own act passed from
thiI world to ttcir lloal account.
Thesc women belonged to a respectable FAM
| lily. They were people Of edueation aud refnc
ment CT habit and tastes. They had lost &c
tllends, suffered from 40 disease Their oply
| grievance IL lito was that they bad rccently
les: Lawsuit which deprived them of their in
| c)mo.
Ihtrc was DO earthly Eoason Why, like ,hol
sands Ol other women, they should not have
cone heartily to wcrk to earn their oWp living
honestly. But 1t appears that they had beer
taught when children that tho oil joct Of life
w's to mako display in the fashionable So
c'etg OF their toWD. When they failed in thi:
so morbid was their ambition that sooner thar
60 TO Wolk and 50 lose este iu the eyes Of thei
fonti5h, fashionable atIlaiutarccs, they prc-
ferref death.
This extreme case will 20 doubt, shock uauy
mother aud young girl whose ACTIONS aud
aims 10 itc arc every whit as foolish and false
10 order TO wear certain trimming, or Gu. O
gown, or to visit 10 some pretty clique 10 their
town or village, they saclifc, all the great am
| real uses OF lie.
I We have sen tirl disappointed in not mar
ryine rich MAD whose weslth would hav,
given hfr these poltry social dlsic ctious, as Sd,
grew older settle down into bitter, selfish
wrotchcd wnmas. Was not this, ,o,. self
murder and that OF tho soul2
=