Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-31
CANADA's MOVING MOUNTAIN.
The GIacIer-LIke Progress Of a Huge
Mass OF sand.
PsctO" Correspondence Toronto Globe.

Efctoa correspondence Toronto Globe
More interesting still, and even grand.
are the famous sand banks near yelling.
ton Bay, on Lake Ontario. They are
reached BY a beautiful drive of ten miles
from PictOn. Apart from the sand hanks
the locality is such as should make II one
of the favorite summer resorts ON Lake
Ontario. The lake shore near the sand
banks is indented with a succession of
rock paved bays, whose gradually shoaI.
ing margins afford rare bathing grounds
East aRd West lakes, each Eve miles
long, and the latter dotted with islands
are separated from Lake Ontario by
narrow strips of beach. Over the two
mile wide isthmus separating the little
lakes, the sand banks, whose glittering
heights are visible miles away, are an.
preached. On near approach thew are
hidden by the cedar woods, till the road.
way in front is barred by the ADVANCING
bank, to avoid which a roadway
through the woods has been con-
structed up to the cistern end of the
sand range. The sand banks stretch
like a crescent along the shore. the con-
cave side turned to the lake, along which
it leaves a pebbly beach, The length of
the crescent is over two miles, the width
600 to 8, 900 or 4 900 feet If the distant
view, or the steep, white front of the
bank, advancing and overwhelming the
cedar woods and the grain fields, is
grand, the view from the top of the
range is doubly so; it rivals Niagara.
Clambering up the steep end of the
range among trees aud grapevines, the
summit is gained at an elevation of
nearly $50 feet Passing along TIE top
the woods soon disappear, and we emerge
on wild waste of delicately tinted SAT.
from, rising from the slate colored beach
in gentle undulation, and sleepily falling
on the other side down to green pastures
and into the cedar woods. The whole
surface of this grandly undulat-
ing mountain desert is ribbed by little
wavelets few inches apart, but the gener
al aspect is one of perfect smoothness. The
sand is almost as fine as -four, and con.
tains no admIxture of dust. The foot
sinks only an inch or two in walking
over it; children roll about on if and
down its slopes, aud rising shake them.
selves till their clothing loses every trace
of sand. Occasionally gusts stream over
the wild waste, raising dense drift to
height of foot Or two only, and stream
ing like a fringe over the steep
northern edge. Though the sun is
blazing down on the glistening
wilderness, there is little sensation of
heat, for the cool lake breeze is ever
blowing. On the landward side the
insidious approach of the devouring sand
is well marked. One hundred and fifty
feet below the foot of this moving
mountain is sharply defined against the
vivid green of the pastures, on which
the grass grows luxuriantly to within an
inch of the sand wall. The ferns of the
cedar woods almost droop against the
sandy slope. The roots of the trees are
bare along the white edge; foot or two
nearer the sand buries the feet of the
cedars; a few yards nearer still the
bare trunks disappear; still nearer only
the withered topmast twigs of the sub.
merged forest are seen, and then far
over the tree top stands the sand range.
Perpetual ice is found under the foot of
this steep slope, the sand covering and
consolidating the SHOWS drifted over the
hill during the winter months. There
is something awe inspiring in the slow,
quiet, but resistless advance of the
mountain front Field and forest alike
become completely submerged. Ten
years ago farm house was swallOwedup,
not to emerge into the light until the
huge sand wave has passed over.