Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-08-19

above the sea level and brought beyond
the snow line. In North America the
high plateau Of Labrador and the Lau
rentian highlands began to condense the
atmospheric vapors to snow, and grad
ually vast and enormously deep sheet
of glacier-ice was formed, which spread
cold in all directions and began to
move in generally southern direction
carrying along with it a vast amount
OF debris collected on its way, which 1t
finally deposited all along its tracks
from the neighborhood of Hudson's Bay
TO the Ohio and Missouri. In some
localities this glacier-ice was from 5000
to 5000 feet deep, as is inferred from
the scratches made along mountains or
from boulders, ETC., deposited on great
heights. The cold proceeding from this
immense icesheet made itself felt as far
as the Mexican Gulf
The great pressure made by the i'm
mense amount of glacial ice on the crust
of the earth gradually caused the same
to sink from 500 to 900 feet below its
present level, thus bringing the ice sheet
beneath the ranges of the snow line
Now the glacial ice began to gradually
melt away from its southern terminus
towards the north, and to deposit all
along the lines of its retreat the boulders,
stones, sand, wood, copper, etc, which
it had carried along from the north.
Hence, for instance, granite boulders,
red sandstones, pieces of copper, etc,
from the Lake Superior reg ons may be
found scattered over Minnesota and Wis
consin and as far south as Ohio and
Indiana.
The ice having melted away and the
vast amount of water having been to a
great extent carried off into the ocean by
rivets then of great extent the crust of
the earth, being relieved of its depress-
ing load, gradually began to elevate it.
self to its present level, and the physical
geography of our continent with its CHI
mate attained its present state.
/ Thousands of little lakes, scattered
throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and
other States, as also countless hills ele-,
vations, rolling prairies and hill ranges
were formed during this geological pc
Rod Besides, the glacial ice contributed
in scattering seeds, collected on its way
over the vast area which it had covered.
Hence one may often notice that on the
soil thrown out from digging or excava-
tions species of plants begin to grow
which before had been utterly unknown
in the neighborhood. For thousands of
years these seeds have preserved their
vitality, which they began to exhibit
when brought within the reach of solar
action. Illinois, after the melting of the
ice, remained yet for long time part of
the immense sheet of water formed by
the union OF the lakes Superior, Huron
and Michigan During this time deep
beds of mud were formed over the pres
ent area of Illinois and the pre-glsci Il
and glacial seeds were covered to depth
which made their termination impossi-
bic. After rising out of the water, the
muddy service of Illinois was gradually
covered with seeds of grasses, which
the winds carried there from various di-
rections. But as some seeds of trees, as
acorns, nuts and the like, could not be
so easily transported, Illinois remained
nearly treeless prairie-land up to the
present century.
OF the animals which lived in Nortl
America when the glacial ice sheet begar
to encroach on their domains the follow
ing may be mentioned The mammoth
about twice as large as any elephant now
existing; the mastodon. which seems tt
have been the largest quadruped eve
known; it was over twelve feet higl
and, with its tusks, about twenty-five
! feet long Besides, there was yet a kline
: Of elephant, two species of enormous
bisons, gigantic horses, stays, magazine
ria, and beavers five feet long. Finally
bears, lions, armadillos and tapirs. Tn
greater part of the animals of the glacia
: period has since then gradually died out
| Some retreated before the advancing ic
: sheet toward the tropics to find NOR
: congenial homes, where they still exist
: And a few continued to survive up t
: modern or recent and present times
! Since the glacial ice sheet began t
: melt away in the neighborhood of 81
: Paul, Mimi, and of Buffalo, N. Y
: about s, 600 or TO- 600 years have passec
: as is inferred from the known rates {
!, the annual recessions of the Falls of S
!, Anthony and Niagara.
= AS far as apparently reliable paleontt
y logical discoveries indicate, it WI
:. towards the close of the glacial epocl
. when the great ice sheet which ha
" covered large portions of North AmeriC
: and Europe began to. retreat, that ma
began to wander in various direction
over the earth from his original home.
, With his appearance this terrestri
!, world received its last aud best addition
its crown and lord under God, and hi
. man history began = Rev. John Cine
ner, in Philadelphia Catholic Times