The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1886-11-27

Enormous Trees Surrounded by Vast
Fields OF Ice.

enormous trees " NSss
Fields OF Ice.
lLieutentant Schwatka in New York Times ]
Wandering around near camp was
struck with astonishment at the great
size of the trees of the forest into which
we had crept. Within twenty feet OF
our camp fire were two trees, one of
which measured twelve feet seven
inches, and the other seventeen feet in
circumference, at the height of per-
son ) arm from the ground. The latter
had its thick, shaggy bark stripped off
nearly to the ground, being dead
tree. and thus losing much of its meas
urement. About thirty yards from
camp was tree that gave twenty -one
feet in circumference, at about six from
the ground. The most astonishing
part was that such . forest should be
found actually surrounded by ico ten
to twenty miles across in every direc-
tion. Of course ii is reasonable to
suppose that trees were here before
the ice, and that this forest was prob
ably once connected with the forests
OF the great fiat lands. Here was un-
doubted evidence that this small forest
Was being Obliterated rapidly by the
advancing front of the Guyot glacier,
the foot ice grinding the huge trees
into pulp and splinters as surely as
quartz crasher grinds the rock into
powder. Trees five and six feet
through were bent over and splintered
as if they were brush, while some of
the fallen trunks were split longitud-
ally into perfect kindling-wood. Ii
was the mills of the gods grinding
slowly, etc. Nor were they grinding
SO very slowly, either, as one could
Aee by comparing them with other
glacial action near by. But N little
way off, probably half d mile to mile
away, was IA small clump "f woods,
into which the glacier ot the past had
protruded, rs shown by thu fallen
shattered trunks that lay near the edge
OF small morniue, from which the
< acirr had noe rrtreated great mum
! Der of rads. Out from the bristllng
| lius uf shattered tree trunks, plied over
each Other Tor nearly OF fully lOO yards.
but still standing, their whltened
tunks an long, :aunt limbs contrast
ing strangely and conspiciously With
the trees still covered with foliage that
formed their background. These dead
evergreens had been actually killed by
the proximity to the ice without its
touching them, and either by its chill.
ling influence, kept up throughout the
year for probably centuries, or the
constant application of ice water about
their roots preventing their growth
for along this foot-ice there was always
q marshy stream of ice-water draining
off to the nearest muddy creek or rill.
This was true of the glacier foot, not
over fifty yards from our camp In the
forest, for here we got our water for
cooking purposes, but here, also, the
ice of the glacier had evidently come
forward so fast that the trees were
rather killed by direct crushing OF
their trunks and limbs than by the
slower one of the influence of great
masses of ice near by, and 1t was pos
sible to sit down on this foot-ics of the
Guyot glacier, probably ten to twenty
feet thick at that point, and at the
same time be under the shade of huge
evergreen tree. if person desired two
such cooling influences at tho same
time Thus | came to the conclusion
that the fr mt of this great glacier was
like the fingers of some huge, radiating
animal protracting themselves outward
and retracting again at long intervals,
that would require many human lives
one after the other to measure q single
stride and its backward flow.