Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-01-10
Su0duV Scientists.
The regular meeting of the Sunday Science
class was held yesterday afternoon, with fair

The regular meeting Of the Sunday Science
class was held yesterday afternoon, with fair
attendance. The newly elected president, C.
D. Dubois, took the chair, and, after thanking
the class for his election, stated that the OBJ
ject of the class was not to enter into any con-
troversy over subject but to discuss it as
students. The president then stated that the
paper on the subject of sThe Indians" which
had been assigned the section OF the class on
natural science, and would come under the
head of sociol science, and would be referred
to the section having that branch in charge.
Mr.. M. A. Morey, then read the paper writ
ten by William Denton, entitled "How the
lakes of Minnesota were formed" the follow
| ing of which is an abstract
There are in the State more than Z, 0G0 lakes,
which, it is calculated, cover an area of 2,7OO,-
| 600 acres, and there has never been any partic-
ular theory advanced to account for the null
| tiplicity of lakes in this district But after
examining some of the lakes around Alexan-
dria, found, l think, the key TO the forma-
ton. Before the glacial period the climate of
Great Britain was very warm, and trees such
as now exist in temperate countries grew in
Greenland and Spitzenberg, and it does not
seem possible that the magnetic poles could
have been then where they are now. My opin-
ion is that a large portion of a comet, with a
very eccentric orbit, struck our planet near the
island of Disco, off the western coast Of Green
land, south of the presenG pole, making that
spot magnetic pole. This gave
to New England, New Brunswick and a con-
siderable portion Of the United States the eli
mate of Greenland and to Siberia q pleasant
climate. This condition must have continued
for ages. The indications are that change as
great as the one previously mentioned occurred
and the cold center shifted suddenly and
changed the climate of a large portion of the
globe.
The great ice sheet formed during the gla-
eal period was suddenly introduced to tenn
perate climate like this lake district of Mime
sofa, where it had a thickness of one or two
miles, it was cut up by the streams of water
produced by melting which flowed over it
and formed ice islands that
stood I'D as Duties and mounds do now in the
bad lands.
When the ice island melted, every place be-
came cavity, and filling with water, became
one of the lakes which dot Minnesota, to-day.
As consequence OF this method of forma
ton, the lakes are destitute of islands. ST.
IBERIA, which had temperate climate during
this period, was at once introduced to an Arc
tic climate. The bisons, elks, and other an
finals were buried, and their frozen remains
are found repeatedly.
Many of our river valleys show evident
marks Of tremendous floods, as the banks of
the st. Louis river near Duluth, there
are terraces two hundred feet above
the present level of the river.
At the conclusion Of the paper the subject
was discussed, after which Mr.. Alexander rta
an interesting paper on the subject of "Mi-
nority Representation" in which he handled
without gloves the present system reflections,
more particularly in the twenty fifth, twenty
sixth and twenty seventh Legislative districts,
in which he claimed that the minority, which
were the Democrats, had no voice in the legis
latve halls, and the idea that the majority
represented the minority, was a farce. The
speaker explained the manner in which the
Senatorial and legislative votes were cast in
the State of Illinois, and recommended its
adoption. The paper was discussed at length
by the members, and the idea expressed by Mr..
Alexander fully concurred in.
The meetings of the class are held every
Sunday afternoon, at 212 Nicollet avenue,
and all are cordially invited.