The weekly tribune., 1893-09-01
A ROCKY MOUNTAIN GLACIER.
1t Rivals in Size Some of the Famed AL
plne lee Fields.

1t Rivals in Size some of the Famed AL
pine lee Fields.
Did you ever hear OF the great glacier
near the summit Of the Rocky mount
aims not many miles south of the Ca
nadian line? Well there is one there,
and SO far as is known no human being
has ever been able to reach it. For sew
eral years different parties have tried to
get up TO it, but they have invariably
given up the project after no end of
mountain climbing. A representative OF
Forest and Stream. with reliable guide,
mas made the attempt three or four sea-
sons when camping in that section OF the
mountain range, and. though an expert
ence Alpine climber has had to abandon
the idea. This great glacier. said to
rival those of the Alps in size, is on
spur of mountains branching from the
main range on the west side of the sum-
nit and is thought to lie about thirty
miles north of McDonald's lake. Those
who have seen it frOn the summit of an
adjacent peak say it is one vast iceiieid
about twenty miles square. covering the
top and sides of an Immense mountain.
1t appears to be 800 or 400 feet in thick
ness and is cracked and wrinklcd in
wavelike manner. As it partially melts in
summer the water rushes down the
precipitous sides of the mountain in 81
gantic cataracts several hundred feet at
a leap and at the bottom forms
the source of two or three distinct
rivers. \ party of Erglishmen who saw
the glacier last summer through field
glass pronounced it greater than any
tield of ice they had ever seen IN the
Alps They had been trying every con
ceivable way to even reach the base OF
the huge mountain which supports
this mammoth blanket of ice but II was
no use they could not do it, SO they
had to content themselves with looking
at it from a distance Of fifteen miles by
the aid of a powerful field glass. George
Treat. ex-city marshal. of Great Falls.
has quite q record as d hunter and an
all around mountain climber. but ne
confessed to a TRIBUNE reporter recently
that trying to reach the big glacier was
too much for him. lie was hunting in
that wild remote section last summer
With party of Iowa and Montana pno-
pie and some Of them made several in
etfectual efforts to get somewhere near |
to the glacier. He says one time they
we're three or four days from camp and |
mad no end of narrow escapes climbing |
the almost perpendicular mountains
That was the time he killed some Rocky |
mountain sheep and goat. for which an |
agent Of the Smithsonian Institute of
fered him good sum. The second day
out while on the peak of mountain
Just at daybreak. they saw something |
glistening way to the west of them. AS
the sun came up and its rays struck the
object they were looking at, they real
lied it was the great glacier of which
they had often heard, but never before
seen. As the rays of the rising sun be-
came brighter the glacier appeared to
come nearer them until they Imagined
it was at their very feet. Without the
aid of glass they could see it easily,
even the great creasses or chasns scat
tered all over il. Some of these hugh
cracks looked to be several hundred
feet in width and no one could tell how
deep. as the atmosphere became warm
er mist arose from the glacier which
gradually hid it from view and left the
party standing spell bound and un-
of the fact that they were near
~ exhausted from hunger and fatigue