The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-07-04
IT'S A VERY COLD HOLE
A NATURAL sIcErcAvE IN AN
IOWA HILLSIDE.
IcIcics Hang Down from the Ceiling. and
the Floor-Makes q First-Class
Skating Rink--It Il ms Cold
as Greenland.

Hidden among the hills in north
eastern Iowa there exists one OF the
wonder-works OF nature a phenomenon
which again proves that everything in
art or in mechanics has for its suggest
i've idea some popularity or freak in
nature.
Somewhere along the icy coast Of
Finland In Russia, there Is a great cave
having for its walls, its floor, and its
ceiling great masses of glittering. SHIN
mering ice, which throws back like a
mirror the pale electric rays Of the
aurora borealis as it quivers and scin-
tillates far in the mysterious north.
The ice-cave at DEBORAH. in Winnie
shiek county, Iowa, while it presents
no particular feature of beauty in it
self, bears the encyclopediacal honor
of being the only ice-cave in the world
besides the one mentioned in the far
off land of the Firms.
Nature has dealt lavishly with the
little town of DEBORAH; much more so
than art has or ever can do. 1t nestles
sleepily in the most picturesque and
beautiful valley in the state of Iowa
the ''land of the beautiful view" To
the north OF the town, perhaps half
mile. there extends for mile east and
west what is called ''thc Palisades"
This is a percipitous formation of rock
work perpendicular by the action of
water ages and ages ago. The cliff is
250 feet high and at its base winds in
and out among the trees the beautiful,
Upper Iowa river. A steep ascent of
nearly 200 feet and You come to the
mouth of the cave. 1t must be visited
in the summer time for il is then that
its remarkable feature is disclosed in
all its prestine glory. Take the very
hottest day in July or August and
after having scrambled up the cliff to
the mouth of the cave one is in excel
lent condition to appreciate the natural
refrigerator.
There is ledge extending out per-
haps forty feet from the entrance, and
as soon as this is reached you already
feel the icy draught caused by the air
currents passing in ar1 ont of the
cave.
The good people of DEBORAH have
placed n large frame at the entrance
to prevent it from being closed up by
the rocks that are continually falling
from the cliff above.
Entering the cave the air grows
colder and colder. There are two
compartments TO the cave. the first cx-
tending downward and inward a dis
lance of fifty or seventy-five feet when
a sharp decline is reached--a decline
of ten or fifteen feet-and If the Their
mometer registers los in the shade
outside you may be sure to find here u
natural toboggan slide. This is the
first indication of ice, and nearly every
visitor is allowed to take the lead at
this point, because of the astonishing
surprise awaiting him. A step or two
on this incline and he is percipitated
clear to the bottom, the decline being
glazed with coating of ice two or
three inches in thickness.
But the slide brings up, or down
rather. to the ice-cave proper. This
is cavern forty feet long, ranging
from eight to ten feet in width, and so
high that in PLACES the top can not be
seen. Beneath, above, and at the
sides it is one mass of pure crystalline
ice two, three, and in places eight
inches in thickness. The ice is as trans
parent as a pane of glass, and in the
rock beneath can be discerned small
petrifed snails, fish, and miniature
cells. II you chip off piece of ice
and break off some OF the rock it will
remain damp and cool for an hour
after you have left the cave. A few
minutes is as long as one dare remain
in this natural ice-box, owing to the
high temperature Of the blood at this
time Of the year.
What makes the cave so remarkable
is the fact that the thickness Of the ice
inside is apparently regulated by the
condition of the atmosphere outside.
The hotter and dryer the air the thick
err the ice on the inside of the cave.
And on the other hand, when it is cold
enough tc nip your ears while walking
half block, inside the cave is DAMP
and warm. and the drip. drip OF the
water as it falls from the rocks above
would remind one OF spring, or the
dripping of rain after an April shower
from the caves Of a summer cottage.
The cave is renowned in the legends
OF the Chickasaw and Wikneshiek In
dams. Not more than sixty years ago
old DEBORAH, chief OF tie Winneshieks,
used it for preserving dressed game,
such as deer, antelope, etc.