The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-07-26

A FREAK OF NATURE.
MoNTANA's PuZzLING AND CONTRA
oIcToRY WELL.
In the Summer It's Water Freezes
and In the Winter the Ice Melts
and the Water Becomes Warm-A
Mysterious Current of Air.
Seven miles to the north and little to
the east Of the Cheyenne agency in Custer
county, Mon., is a well filed with Ice that
s1cites much curiosity among the ranchers
and cattlemen Of that section. Every cow
boy who visits the well has much to tell
and invariably advances his own explana-
tion.
Many ingenious theories are given
which tend to indicate that mankind Of
all degrees of scientific knowledge put
forth an effort to find the origin Of things
However, they all agree that the Ice forms
in the well during the summer and that
1t actually thaws during the winter. This
apparent contradiction Of the natural laws
that govern the outside world has carried
the fame Of this well for miles around and
people have travelled great distances to
witness the formation Of icicles during the
hot weather Of July.
This well Is within q few hundred feet
Of the summit Of Little Wolf mountains,
on the north slope, at the very beginning
Of Greenleaf creek, which empties into
Rosebud eight miles from where the Rose
bud joins the Yellowstone river. This
portion Of the mountain Is covered with
growth Of tall pines.
Fourteen years ago three men prospect
ing for silver, mistaking certain colors in
the rocks, began sinking q shaft. At Is
feet it was disagreeably cold, at 20 feet
the cold had increased 80 rapidly that they
were thoroughly frightened. They could
feel currents of cold air rushing up from
the crevices in the rock. They imagined
they were digging into some mysterious
underground cavern. They had heard just
enough Of wonderful adventures Of dig
ging into caves and underground lakes,
and being alone in this wilderness, where
the very stiffness permitted the ears to
hear and the mind to imagine all manner
of grewsome powers hid beneath the rock,
30 thoroughly filed them with fear Of i'm
pending danger that they abandoned the
work which has since gained such renown.
The SUBMITS of Little Wolf mountains
are covered with scoria, which has all the
appearance and texture Of good grade OF
tiling. 1t is usually red, but varies in col
or through all the shades down to black.
These varying colors give the beautiful
tints to the thousands Of buttes through
out the bad lands. In comparatively re-
cent geological times vast beds Of ignite
coal were formed over the eastern half OF
Montana, extending into western Dakota.
The burning Of these beds Of coal was the
beginning Of the bad land formation. Tho
dne deposits Of clay above the coal were
burned as brick arc burned in kiln and
formed the ecoria. Where the heat was
greater and rock and sand were present 1t
melted and mixed with the coal and coal
lsh, forming large cinderlike rocks, which
IRE sometimes mistaken for lava. As tho
coal burned out from beneath the clay,
now baked into scoria and melted into Gin
ders, 1t broke into small divisions and fell
promiscuously down into the pits thus
formed. Volcanic ash Is found scattered
over the Little Wolf mountains and the
eastern portion of Montana. It must have
drifted with the wind from powerful erup-
tions In the Rocky mountains, as there are
no Indications Of any volcanic action in
the vicinity Of the ice well. The Little
Wolf mountains are merely rough range
Of buttes apparently Of the same origin as
all the bad land buttes. Their SUBMITS,
towering above all the other buttes, have
given them the name Of mountains, but
they are only Of slightly over 1000 feet al
titude. If ice were to be put into the well
during the winter, it twould keep through
out the summer nearly as well as II stored
away In ordinary icehouses. By chance ma
ture has formed almost the identical con-
ditions that man has made use Of to pre-
serve ice throughout the hot weather. The
shaft Is the cavity in which to store the
ice. The volcanic ash, filing into the open
space between the loosely piled rock, serves
the purpose of sawdust In keeping out the
warm drafts of air. The altitude and the
north slope are favorable to the preserve
the heating Of the surface rock by the d.
rect rays Of the SUN. The rocks are too
porous for the water to soak up, 30 to
speak, from beneath. The facts are that In
many places near the tops Of the buttes,
on the sides where the rocks have fallen
loosely together, they are perfectly dry for
many feet below the surface, being mois-
tened by the winter snow and rain as IL
may fall and run down from above.
During the winter the well is nearly
filed with SNOW. Enough water from the
early spring rains finds its way through
between the rocks to mix with tho 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 sometimes till the winter Is half
gone.
In turn, it Is melted by the heat Of the
summer, but does not begin to melt until
the summer is half over. In the early
part of the summer 1t is still freezing In
the well, and during the first half Of the
winter it is still melting. The well acts
as a refrigerator. It receives the heat
slowly and then gives it of just as slowly.
II the earth received and gave OH heat
readily, tho hottest weather would be IN
June and the coldest in December-in
fact, the seasons follow nearly month
behind the SUN.
It is fact that If on a hot day you walk
rapidly into the cave to where the Ice Is 1t
feels as though q strong current OF cold
air were blowing against your face. The
sensation is 80 decidedly real that 1t re-