Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1899-06-30
A MONTANA. ICE NINE.
MAJ URE ACTS THE PART OF ICE MAN
IN LITTLE WOLF MOUNTAINS

Contrary to the Usual Order of Things
in This Montana We'll the Thaw Comes
in Winter and the Freezing Comes in
Summer.
Seven miles to the north and a little
| to the east of the Cheyenne Indian
lagency in Custer County, Mont, is
we'll filled with ice that excites much
curiosity among the ranchers and cat
ltlemen of that section. Every cowboy
who visits the well has much to tell
and invariably advances his own ex-
PLANTATION. 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 we'll
during the summer and that it actually
thaws during the winter. This appa-
rent contradiction of the natural laws
that govern the outside world has car
ried the fame of the well for miles
around and people have travelled great
distances to witness the formation Of
Iicicces during the hot weather Of July.
Several years ago three men pros
pecting for silver, mistaking certain
colors in the rocks, began sinking a
shaft; at fifteen feet it was disagreeably
cold; at twenty feet the cold had in
creased so rapidly that they were thor
oughly frightened They could feel
currents of cold air rushing up from
the crevices in the rock; they imagined
they were digging into some myster-
ious underground cavern; they had
heard just enough of wonderful adven-
lures of digging into caves and under
lowe 1a1y nd hnif q In hi q
wilderness where the very stiffness per-
mitted the ears to hear and the mind
to imagine all manner of grewsome
powers hid beneath the rock, so thor
oughly filled them with the fear of i'm
pending danger that they abandoned
the work which has since gained such
lrenOwn.
In comparatively recent geological
times vast beds of Ignite coal were
formed over the eastern half of Mon
tana, extending into western Dakota.
The burning of these beds of coal was
the beginning of the bad land fOrma-
ton. The fine deposits Of clay above
the coal were burned as brick are
burned in a kiln and formed the scoria.
Where the heat was greater and rock
and sand were present it melted and
mixed with the coal and coal ash. form
ing large, cinder-like rocks, which are
sometimes mistaken for lava. AS the
coal burned out from beneath the clay.
now baked into scoria and melted into
cnders, it 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. 1t must have drifted with
the wind from powerful eruptions in
the Rocky Mountains, as there are no
indications of any volcanic action in
the vicinity of the ice well.
If ice were to be put irto 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 the cavity in which to store the ice;
the volcanic ash, filling into the open
space between the loosely piled rock,
serves the purpose of sawdust in keep
ing out the warm draughts of airs.
During the winter the we'll is nearly
filled with snow enough water from
the early spring rains finds its way
through between 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 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 it is still freezing in the we'll
and during the first half of the winter
it is still melting.
The well acts as a refrigerator. 1t
receives the heat slowly and then gives
it off just as slowly. If the earth re-
ceived and gave off heat readily the
hottest weather would be in June, and
the coolest in December-in fact. the
seasons follow nearly a month behind
the sun. The conditions surrounding
the ice we'll cause it to follow the sea-
sons from six to eight weeks later
Those visiting the well during the first
half of the winter find water, and those
visiting during the early summer find
it still freezing, even finding small lei
cles forming as the water coming from
above drips over the rocks Gu the side;
down near the ice.
1t is a fact that if on a hot day you
walk rapidly into the cave to where
the ice is, it feels as though a strong
current of cold air were blowing
against your face. The sensation is sc
decidedly real that ii requires careful
demonstration to prove to the contrary
and even then it almost seems as
though the demonstration las been {
mistake 1t can be easily tested by us
ing smoke, or better still, a rather
heavy colored glass. Again, if on,
should stand without the entrance t
the cave on a very warm day, nea,
enough to feel any draught that may b.
stirring, none can be felt coming from
: the cave. If one should stand direct!
| above the ice well on a hot, still day
even Dutting the face down to the YER,