The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-18
AMID SEAS OF ICE.
SCENES AMONG THE GLACIERS OF
THE UPPER eNGADINE.

Glacier TabIes"-,foulins.
As far as my vision extended there was
nothing in sight but ice aud snow. and
the snow was exceedingly white. assure
you. Tho driven snow yOl have In towns
and plains is decided brown compared
with the dazzling snow we saw up there
at the tops Of Swiss mountains Forever
and forever this virgin gown lies On Gil
the peaks, a. IL also covers tho lower VAL
leys in winter. 1t has the soft look Of
doves breast, il rests on rocks thing of
beauty, and often it is very dangerous
1t falls in soft pure fakes. ciings TO oil
the projections, covers rocks with charm
ing traceries, and spreads itself like q
sheet Of white satin over the upper wales.
But the touch Of passing eagles wing.
the light weight Of a chamois, or the
careful step Of an expert climber will de-
tach IL from it's crest and send IL down.
Then 1t goes sliding. rumbling along,
breaking and reforming as it falls, ever
increasing in volume and velocity, and,
pursuing It's way, becomes "A devastating,
terrible avalanche that bends and breaks
trees, gathers up eayih aud stones, and
sound, spreading destruction and dismay
in It's path They call these sort OF things
staublawinen, or dust avalanches because
they consist at the start Of cold, dry.
powdery snow only, and they are often
far more powerful than raging hurri.
cane. But the avalanches usually seen
lying in high Alpine valleys. covered with
dust, earth and stones and great trunks
of trees, arc known as grundlawineu or
compact avalanchcs.
II was grand sight on which we Cazod.
Glaciers filed every valley and ravinc.
and the ice stood up in tall ramparts
wherever the spscc was too narrow TO
hold its rigid waves. Glacier ice is snow
that has for n considerable time been sub
jccted TO enormous pressure. II yOu
squeeze u SNOWFALL in your hand until it
is very hard It becomes icy So in the
Alps the continual fall Of snow is the
pressure and the suns heat tho warmth
which produces those seas of ice that are
called glaciers. There are over GOO Of
them in Switzerland. and some are coeval
with the glacial period OF this continent,
while others are now IN process Of forms
ton. Winter IS their season Of rest, but
with the spring they resume their onward
motion, dne 10 the combined action of
heat and grayitation. Tor ia spite Of their
apparent immobility ali Alpine glaciers DO
move constantly, although with different
degrees OF speed and. lso liquid s.rc1mJ,
they carry with item debris Of all sorts,
but principally tho si0ac5 tlat fan o.
their surface from the mountains hiacs
The glacier starting II Is purity iro;a
some white unsulli,i pea. loses before
many years its spoilcsJ character. Tho
wintry ircsts gathering intJ iron bouc5
the streams that tricl,c down tha noun
tain sides expand the water in ir'c-iu5
and shattor rocks with q force that tho
most solid cliffs cannot possibly resist.
Thus brlkca fragments drop on 90 tie
once uuspOttcd bosom of the ice SEA and
swell It's burden with advancing years
The debris thus brought down form what
are called moraincs Each glacier has q
morainc on either side of IL, its end is a
terminal moraine. and when two glaciers
unite their lateral mOraines join and form
"a medal morainc. One of the largest
medal moraines hereab0ut ! saw as We
came down from this excursion. II is In
the center OF the Morteratsch Glacier and
IS about fifty feet or more broad and per
haps twenty feet high in its center
We were struck by The infinite white
ness of everything, and | have since
learned that it IS owing TO the presence Of
glacier corn There is on glacier clad
mountains neve, or finely crystall1ed
snow. which is never fully melted. and
this is the pressure that forms the glacier
ice. Now. glacier leo IS quite different
20 that which results from freezing
water and is found 10 consist Of crystals
varying ia size from that Of hens egg
10 pins head, these particles are known
as granulcs or glacier corn, and in minute
holes air is imprisoned. Where the air
bubbles are absent the glacier las blue
ish tint. and is no longer that pure white
which puzzles 50 many persons With
the oldest guide carefully leading the
way We walked over the ice sea Of Dia
volezza. Before we had gone far on its
level surface ! saw powders supported at
some height on ice pedestals and stopped
to examine them. Glacier tables said
the guide at the tail end Of our process
sion, but his remark conveyed no useful
information soon saw that they re-
suited from the presence of a block Of
stone Ii had fallen on the sea. and had,
so to speak, protected the ice directly be-
meath it from the heat Of the sun. In
consequence, while the glacier all round
has been dissolving and sinking, the ice
under these powders has but slightly
melted, and gradually a pillow is forming
under each rock.
But the bowlder is not balanced evenly
on the top observed the Boston lady.
II was explained to her that because the
sun is able 10 reach these ice pedestals
more freely on the south side than Oh the
north the thing naturally inclines toward
the south. Is we walked along We
noticed line OF sand covered mounds
ABOUT four or i've 1eet Esh and culmlnat-
ing in a sharp ridge. We scraped OF
little Of the sand aud earth and found
that a mound was composed of ice which
looked quite black when it was uncovered.
The reason for the existence of these
cones was obvious. The ice protected by
the sand had remained unmelted, and the
wind had thinned the drifted heap into
a pointed shape. Suddenly we heard a
cracking sound which was accompanied
BIZ a noise like that of a distant explosion,
and the guide said this announced the
formation OF another creyasse. Presently
the sound OF falling water, which grew