St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1891-11-21
An ICE CAVE.
Ne WooAeFfal WORK q Naauro q Do.
cOfah. In.

AN ICE CAVE.
tAs WeoAerfal WORK q Mature - d
corah. In.
Hidden deep among the hills 1,
oortheastern Iowa there exists ono oi
the wonder.works Of nature. Tho ic>
cave st Decorah. In Winneskseik county
Ia. while it presents NO particula,
feature OF beauty Is one Of the two OF
three ice caves In the world. Nature In.
dealt bountifully with the little towI
OF Decorah It nestles in one Of thu
most beautiful and picturesque valleys
In the state Of Iowa-"The Land Of the
Beautiful View" To the north Of thu
town about . half . mile extend,
Tor mile east and west what Is callet
the Palisade. This ID . precipitou.
formation, worn by the action Of the
water ages and ages ago. The cli6 i:
two hundred and afty feet high, and at
it, base winds in and out among the
trees tho beautiful Iowa river. A STEEP
ascent OF nearly two hundred feet and
the visitor comes to the mouth Of the
cave. It must be visited in the sum.
mer, however. as it is at that time that
its remarkable feature Is disclosed in Ill
its glory. .-
Take the very hottest day in July OF
August md after having clambered
mp tho cliff to the mouth Of the cave,
one l. in excellent condition to appre-
ciate this natural ice-box. There d .
ledge extending ont perhaps forty feet
F0NVvN fhA A~A Ahs~ =
reached one can already feel the icy
drsught caused by the air currents
passing in and out Of the cave. The
people Of Decorah have placed . large
frame 1t the entrance to the cave in or
der to prevent it from being closed by
rocks. which are continually falling
from the cliff above.
Entering the cave the air grows colder
and colder. There are two compart-
ments to the cave. The first extends
in and downward nearly seventy five
feet, when = sharper slope Of fifteen
feet il reached. and II the thsrmometer
registered 100 degrees in the shade out
side you may be sure to find hero . nat
ural tobogGan slide. This Is the first
indication Of ice and some visitors are
allowed to take the lead at this point.
owing to the astonishing surprise await
ing them. A step or two on this in
cline and the visitor is precipitat-
ed clear to tho bottom. the slope
being glazed with coating Of ice about
three inches thick. Tho slide brings
rather-to the ice cave proper.
This l. . cavern forty feet in length.
ranging from eight to ten feet wide.
and % high In places that the top can
not b seen. It Is formed by q rift in
the rock. and while there Is an opening
above somewhere, it eludes all search,
and % far - is known, has never been
found
Beneath, above and at the sides is
ono mass Of pure ice, two, three and in
some places eight inches thick. The
Ice Is as transparent Is . pane Of glass,
and in the rock beneath the ice the re-
mains Of snails fish and eels may be
seen. If you chip of the ice and break
OF . piece Of the rock it will remain
damp and cool for IN hour after having
left the cave. A few minutes Is as long
- ono dare remain in this natural re-
frigerator. owing to the high tcmpera-
ture Of the blood at this time of the
year.
The hotter and dryer the atmosphere
The thicker the ice will be in the cave;
md. on the other hand. when il is cold
enough TO nip your ears while walking
half . block. inside the cave il II warm
and damp. and the drip drip Of water.
ls il continually falls from the rocks
Ibove. reminds one Of spring or the
dropping Of rain after IN April shower
from the caves of . summer cottage.
The cave IL renowned in the legends
81 the Chickasaw and Winnesheik In
1ians Less than sixty years ago ola
Decorah, chief Of all the Winnesheils,
used it for preserving dressed game,
,uch rs deer and antelope. Decorah is
! town Of four thousand inhabitants,
about one hundred and twenty five
niles northwest Of Dubuque. Chicago
Inter Ocean.