New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1880-02-11

Sailing directly up to the sunken brow
seemed to be separated from the glacier
oaly by low, tide-leveled strip of
detritus, hundred yards or SO in
width; but on SO grand a scale are all
the magnitudes Of the main features Of
the valley that we afterward found it
to be mile or more.
The Captain ordered the Indians to
get out the canoe and take as many of
us ashore as wished to go, and accom-
pany us to the glacier, also, in case we
should desire them to do so. Only
three of the company, in the first place,
availed themselves of this rare Oppor-
tunity of meeting grand glacier in the
f1esh-the missionary, one of the doc
tors and myself. Padding to the near
est and dryest-looking portion of the
moraine, we stepped ashore, but gladly
wallowed back into the canoe; for the
gray mineral mud, a paste made from
fine mountain meal, and kept unstable
by the tides, at once took us in, swal-
lowing us feet foremost, with becoming
glacial deliberation. Our next attempt,
made nearer the middle of the valley,
was successful, and we soon found our
selves on good gravel ground. I made
haste in 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 elected to
70 along with rs promptly carried us
over the difficulty on his back. When
my turn came told him would ford,
but he bowed his shoulders in so ludi-
crously pensive manner I thought I
would try the queer mount, the only
one Of the kind I had enjoyed since
game-day boyhood. Away staggered
my perpendicular mule over the bowl
ders and cobble-stones into the brawl-
ing torrent. The sensations expert
enced were most nov 81 and most unsta-
bic, but, in spite of a dozen top-heavy
predictions to the contrary, we crossed
without fall.
At length, after being ferrled in this
way over several more of these outrush-
ing glacial streams, we reached the glo-
rious crystal wall, along which we
passed, admiring its noble architecture,
theplay Of light in the riffs and angles,
and the structure of the ice as displayed
in the less fractured sections, ETC., find
ing fresh beauty and facts for study at
every step. The doctor soon left us to
return to the boat, taking the Indian
with him for portage purposes, while
the missionary and I, by dint of patient
zigzagging and doubling among the
crevices, and vigorous use of our ak
in cutting steps on the slopes and cliffs,
made our way up over the snow and
back mile or so over the cascading
brow to height of about seven hum
bred feet above the base Of the wall.
Here we obtained glorious view.
The whole front and brow of this
majestic glacier is gashed and sculp-
turod into maze of yawning chasms,
and crevasses, and bewildering vari-
ETY. of strange architectural forms, ap-
palling to the strongest nerves, but
novel and beautiful: Ieyond measure
clusters Of glittering lance-tipped
spires, gables and obelisks, bold out.
standing bastions and plain mural cliffs,
adorned along the top with fretted cor
nice and battlement, while every gorge
and crevasse, chasm and hollow, was
filed with light, shimmering and
pulsing in pale blue tones of ineffable
tenderness and loneliness. The day
was warm, and back on the broad Wav-
ing bosom of the glacier water-streams
were outspread in a complicated net
work, each in its own frictionless chan
mel cut down through the porous de-
caying ice of the surface into the quick
and living blue, and flowing with a
grace of motion and ring and smgle
and flashing of light to be found only
on the crystal hills and dales of q
glacier.
Along tho sides We could see thu
mighty flood grinding against the
granite with tremendous pressure,
rounding the outswelling bosses, deep
ening and smoothing the retreating
hollows, and shaping every portion Of
the mountain walls into the forms they
were meant to have, when, in the full
ness of appointed time, the ice-tool
should be lifted and set aside by the
sun. Every feature glowed with in
tention, rejecting the earth-plans of
God. Back two or three miles from
the front the current is now probably
about one thousand two hundred feet
deep; but when we examine the walls,
the grooved and rounded features, so
surely glacial, show that in the earlier
days of the ice-age they were all over
swept, this glacier having flowed from
three thousand TO four thousand feet
above its present level. a1 81
Standing here, with facts so fresh
and telling, and held up so wildly be-
fore us, every seeing observer, not to
say geologist, must really apprehend
the earth-sculpturing, landscape-mak-
ing action of flowing ice. And here,
too, one easily learns that the world,
though made, is yet being made; that
this is still the morning of creation;
that mountains, long conceived, are
now being born, brought to light by
the glaciers, channels traced for rivers,
basins followed for lakes; that mo-
raine soil is being ground and out
spread for coming plants, coarse bowl
ders and gravel for the forests, finer
meal for grasses and flowers, while the
finest water-bolted portion of the grist,
seen fastening far out to sea, is being
stored away in the darkness, and build
ed, particle on particle, cementing and
orystalizing, to make the mountains,
and valleys, and plains of other land
scape which, like fluent, pulsing wa
ter, rise and fall, and pass on through
he ages in endless rhythm and beauty
We would gladly have remained on
this rugged, living, savage old mill of
God, and watched its work; but we had
no bread, and the Cassiar was scream
ing nervously for our return. There
fore, threading our way back across the
crevasses and down the blue cliffs in
mean haste, we snatched . few flowers
from warm spot on the edge Of the
ice, FLASHED across the moraine streams
without Indian ferry, and were padded
aboard, rejoicing in the possession Of
50 blessed day, and feeling that in
very foundational truth we had been to