The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-18
NIAGARA FETTERED WITH ICE.
Prof. Bickmore Describes This Winters
Unprecedented Ice Formation.
(From the New York Times. J

(From the New York Times
| Prof. Albert S. Bickmore Of the State
Department of Public Instruction de-
| livered an additional lecture to the teach.
ers of New York yesterday morning at
the American museum of natural his
tory. THIS lecture was the result of the
trip made by Prof. Biokmore TO Niagara
Falls last February, when the ice scenery
was unparalleled in the history of the
falls. The lecture was begun with q dis
chssion of the glacial period in North
America in relation to Niagara, and
first were shown two maps of the whole
ice sheet. Then followed maps showing
the recession of this ice sheet. These
showed the curious area in central Wis
consin which was never covered with
ice
''The ice receded,' said the lecturer,
and formed a wall, crossing the ST.
Lawrence just below the Thousand Is
lands At that time great lake extend
ed over what is now Lake Ontario, and
far out on Its borders. This was the
glacial Lake Iroquois, which had an
outlet at Rome through the Mohawk val
ley to tine Hudson, and thence to the sea.
As the ice reoeded to point below Que
bee the drainage changed and flowed
thorrugh the Champlain into the Hud-
| son. -
Coming to Niagara, a bird's-eye view
of the country was shown, and the meth
| cd of measuring time since the glacial
period was explained. The river is be-
lieved to have worn the gorge from Lew
| lston to the present cataract since the
ice age, and from this as .. basis it has
been computed that the ico must have
| melted some %, 600 or 80 00O years ago.
The amount of water which passed
over the falls last fall was the smallest
known in the history of Niagara, and
this it was after explained was the
cause of the unprecedented ice formation
of January and February, 1896. The
| sheets of ice coming over the cataract In
the early winter lodged in the shadows,
and formed a nucleus for the upbuilding
of the ice bridge.
To better contrast the views which fol-
lowed, Prof. Biokmora showed, as far as
possible, picture taken in summer side
by side with one of the same place taken
in winter. One of the first pictures was
near Bath Island in summer, with the
water bubbling and boiling over con-
siderable area. Opposed to this was the
same scene last winter, with crowds of
showed the bowldcr at Outer Sister is
land, the presence of which in SUNNI
can only be told by the spray which is
thrown up over it many feet high. In the
winter view this rock could be plainly
seen.
Thee we'll known pictures of the Amor
ican Falls in summer were followed bg a
view of this part of Niagara in winter.
Booths for the sale of refreshments took
the place of the water going over the
rock, and people could be seen every
where. The snow had covered up the in
clined railway far above the level of the
track.
closer view of this locality showed
the house at the foot Of the railway,
which take the place of the old round
structure destroyed by the masses of ice
sliding down the railway slope as il
began to melt. Some interesting views
of icicles were given, which illustrated
the formation of long, taper ioiole
above the melting water from which
forms All ice cylinder below.
Some of these We're of enormous size,
and Prof. Bickmore told of walking un-
der one 60 feet long and as big round rs a
barrel, which hung from the roof above.
The lecturer also told of his trip into the
Gave of the Winds voyage accom-
panied with much danger, as it was TAX
en- after the ice formation was at its
height, and when their was much dam
ger of NEEDING.
Those wonderful views, which Prof.
Bickmole thinks cannot be duplicated,
were taken, many of them, especially
for the museum by Charles Bierstadt,
brother of Albert Bierstadt, who has
won fame as painter of the scenery of
the falls.