The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-07-02
A FREAK OF NATURE.
MoNTANA'S PULLING AND CONTRA
piCTORY WELL.


olCToRY WELL.
and In the winter the Ice Melts
and the Water nrremes warm-A
Myaterious Current OF Air.
Seven miles to the north and little TO
the east OF tho Cheyenne agency In Custer
county, Mon, is n we'll filled with ice that
sxcitcs much curiosity among the ranchcrs
and cattlernen 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 we'll during the summer and that
is actually thnws during tho winter. Thia
apparent contradiction of the natural laws
That govern tho outside world has carried
tho 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 few hundred feet
Of the summit OF Little Wolf mountains,
on the north slope, at the very beginning
of Greenleaf crock, 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 . shaft. At IS
fest it was disagreeably cold, at 20 feet
the cold had increased 30 rapidly that they
were thoroughly frightened They could
feel currents Of cold DIR 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
ring 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 erewsome powers hid beneath tho rock,
20 thoroughly filed them with fear Of I'm
pending danger that they abandoned tho
work which has since gained such renown.
Tho SUBMITS Of Little Wolf mountains
sre covered with scoria, which has all the
appearance and texture Of good grade Of
tiling. It IL usually red, but varies In col
or through all the shades down to black.
These varying colors give tho beautiful
tints to the thousands Of buttes through
out the bad lands. In comparatively 10
sent geological times vast beds Of ignite
coal were formed over tho eastern half Of
Montana, extending into western Dakota
Tho burning of these beds Of coal was the
beginning Of tho bad land formation. The
ono deposits Of clay above the coal were
burned as brick arc burned In kiln and
formed the scoria. Where the heat wa
zreater and rock and sand were present II
melted and mixed with tho coal and coal
ssh, forming largo cinderlike rocks, which
sre sometimes mistaken for lava. A. tho
poal burned out from beneath tho clay,
nov baked into scoria and melted into cin.
ders, IL broke Into small divisions and foil
promiscuoasly down into the pits thur
formed. Volcanic ash Il found scattered
over tho Little Wolf mountains and thu
eastern portion of Montana. Il must have
drifted with the wind from powerful erup-
lions In the Rocky mountains, a. thero ars
no indications Of any volcanic action In
the vicinity Of tho leo well. The Little
Wolf mountains are merely rough range
Of buttes apparently Of the Same origin a.
NIL the bad land buttes. Their summtts,
towering above all the other buttes, hsvs
Riven them tho name Of mountains, but
they are only Of slightly over 1000 foet a.
titude. II leo wero to be put into tho wei
during tho winter, 1t would keep through
out the summer nearly as well ss II stored
away in ordinary icehouses. By chance na-
ture has formed almost the identical con-
ditions that man has made use OF to pro
serve Ice throughout the hot weather. The
shaft is tho cavity In which to storo the
Ice. Tho volcanic ash, filling into tho open
space between the loosely piled rock, serves
the purpose Of sawdust In keeping ont the
warm drafts Of air The altitude and the
north slope are favorable to the preserve
ton Of the ice Tail, dense forest prevents
the heating Of tho surface rock BY tho d.
rect rays Of the sun. The rocks azo toe
porous for the water to soak up, % "a
sneak, from beneath. Tho facts are that In
many places near tho tops Of the buttes,
ON the sides where the rocks have fallen
loosely together, they are perfectly dry foz
many feet below the surface, being mois-
tened by the winter snow and rain % q
may fall and run down from above.
During the winter the we'll II nearly
filed with snow. Enough water from tha
early spring rains finds It's way through
between tho rocks to mix with tho snow
and freeze into ono solid mass Of loo. Tha
Ice In the well IL formed by tho cold oz
tho winter season, but does not begin "a
farm sometimes till tho winter 10 hald
gone.
In turn, It Is melted by the heat Of tha
summer, but does not begin to malt until
tho summer Is haH over. In tho early
part Of the summer 1t Is still freezing In
the well, and during the Arst half Of the
winter It is still melting. Tho we'll acta
a. q refrigerator. It receives tho heat
slowly and then gives 1t Of just a. slowly.
II tho earth received and gave OF heat
readily, tho hottest weather would be In
Juno and the coldcst In Decemba-in
facs, the seasons follow nearly month
behind tho sun.
It is 0 fact that II on hot day you walk
RAPIDLY into the cave to where tho loo u 10
feels as though o strong current OF cold
air were blowing against your face. Tbs
sensation IL 80 decidedly real that 10 10
uuires careful demonstration to prove 70
the contrary, and even then It almost
seems as though tho demonstration hAs
been o mistake. Il can be easily tested BY