Evening star., 1899-02-03

the same origin as all the bad land buttes
Their SUBMITS. towering above All the other
buttes, have given them the name of noun
tains, but they are only of slightly over
1000 feet altitude.
lf ice were to be put into, the well during
the winter it would keep throughout the
summer nearly as well as If stored away in
ordinary ice houses BY chance nature has
formed almost the identical conditions that
man has made use of to preserve ice
throughout the hot weather. The shaft is
me cavity IN which to store the ice: the
volcanic ash. filling into the open space be-
tween the loosely piled rock serves the
purpose OF sawdust in Keeping out the warm
dfaughts of air: the altitude and the north
slope are favorable to the preservation of
the ice; tall, dense forest prevents the heat
ing OF the surface rock by the direct ravs
OF the sun: the rocks are too porous for
Ihe water to soak up. so TO speak. from be-
heath; the facts are that in many places
near the tops of the buttes on the sides
Where the rocks have fallen loosely to-
gether' they are perfectly dry for many feet
below the surface, being mostened by the
winter snow and rain as it NAV fall and
run down from above
During the winter the well is nearly fIJad
with snow; enough water from the early
spring rains finds its way through bet twean
the rocks to mix with the snow and freeze
INTO one solid mass of ice. The ice in the
well Is formed by the cold of the winter
season. but does not begin to form some
times till the winter Is half gone Tn tnrn
II Is melted by the heat Of the summer. but
does not begin to melt until the summer is
Eaf over. In the early part of the summer
II Is still freezing in the well and during
the first half of the winter il is still MELT
ing. The we'll acts as a refrigerator II
receives the heat slowly and then gives it
on Just as slowly. If the earth received
and gave off heat readily the hottest
weather would be i'm June and the coldest
In December-in fact. the seasons follow
heariy month behind the SUM- The condi-
TONS surrounding the ice well cause it to
IpllOW thS seasons from six to ight
later Those visiting the we'll during the
hrst half of the winter find water. and
those visiting during the early summer find
II stu freezing. even finding small icicles
forming as the water coming from above
dr1ps over the rocks on the sides down
near the ice. "
1t IS fact that If on hot day Won walk
rapidly into the cave to where the ice is A.
feeis as though strong current of cold air
were blowing against your face The SEN
sation Is so decidedly real that it requires
careful demonstration to prove to the COR
trary. and even then it almost seems as
though the demonstration has been a mis-
take. 1t can be easily tested by using
smoke. or, better still, a rather heavy col
ored glass. Again, if one should stand with
out the entrance to the cave on a very
warm day. near enough to feel any dra,,pht
that may be stirring. none can be felt com
ing from the cave. II one should stand di-
rectly above the ice wen on a hot. still day.
even putting the face down to the very
opening into the we'll. no upward draught
of cool air can be felt; but go down into
the well. and one would state positjveJy
that there was an upward draught of ex-
tremely cold air.