The St. Louis Republic., 1903-11-22
Freak of Nature in the Winter
Affecting the Streams of
Alaska.
QUEER SIGNS ARE lNFALLIBLE.
When Tiny Ice Globules Begin to
Rise to Surface the River
Will Soon Be
Closed.

| REPUBLIC SPECIAL.
San Francisco, Nov. 20-The waters of
Alaska freeze from the bottom. One may
| be gliding along on a CLASSY lake, with a
gorgeous sun overhead, in a crisp, invig-
Grating atmosphere. There is not a sign
of ice except high up on the mountain
sides. a little circle appears on the sill
very surface, Us though a tiny pebble had
| fallen in-then another, and still another.
| There isn't sound, and not even a mos
quito to disturb the placid picture, but
still the little circles come.
Presently q CLASSY bead bubbles about in
| the center OF enc of the widening circles,
nx ee anS s, co
| bohbing up In rapid succession, then sew
eral together: In half an hour the surface
is covered They have grown as large as
| but crystal clear. In an hour they are
as large as a lady's watch, and each one
has little grains of sand sticking to it;
The old "sour dough" will row for the
shore when he sees these signs upon the
hours the whole surface will be a mass Of
slush ice, from which 1t will be impossible
to eXtricate rowboat, and equally i'm
| possible to leave 1t.
| BY morning the cold air Of the upper
world will have welded all this mass to-
| gether.
If one will take the trouble to peep into
some shallow rivulet at this time of year
| ne may see nature in her workshop MAX
| lng winter Each tiny grain OF sand is
| first given a coat Of ice. The coat grows
thicker on the upper side.
Finally 1t gets so thick that the buoy
ancy of the ice overbalances the weight
| OF the gravel: the mass leaves the bottom,
and. reaching stratum of warmer water,
the Ice melts little, releasing the gravel,
| and bobs merrily- to the surface. The fact
| OF its being anchored to the gravel at the
bottom has given it the name of anchor
ice:" and that. freeze-up Is expressively
| called the "ancEor-ice freeze-up"
| AFTER week or two of good. hard freez-
that comes up from the south for the last
! flying visit. and the ice is broken up into
huge cakes. These drift before the wind
| stopped by. some natural barrier they pile
up on each OTHER. sometimes many feet
hlgh. ,l., m making the ice Jams that are so
get over in travelling.
Then comes the real freeze-up. when
| the surface Of the lake and river is sealed
| solid.
AS. the cold grows more intense the wa
ter in the depths gives Off vapor, and
this, being warmer than the ice. melts t
| here and there. forming air notes.-the
rivers lungs. Woe betide the unwary pc.
destrfan who happens to strike one of
these air holes Just before 1t opens. for
In each Of them is written the internal
here" One may look out upon the frozen
surface Of lake or river and see many
OF these air holes. distinguished only by
the volumes of vapor rising like the
smoke of huge signal fires upon prairie.
When the weather moderates some of
these gigantic nostrils seem to be unnec-
them. Then they are more dangerous than
ever. because the channe! is just beneath.
ready to take victim instantly into the
bowels Of the ice.
After month or two Of freezing wealth
er the ice grows very thick The waters
beneath. dried up at their source. shrink
into smaller space. and the great mass
of ice Settles" Long cracks open up in
its surface with laundering noises like
volleys Of artillery; Then the water be
runs INTO and along gnd these tSsr. cracks the
ur1ace freezes up, aa9 Ser mere e Is 81 an art
More crooks open up and l. more Of these
little rivers form, until the great mass
Of ice contains a veritab!e network Ct
Independent streams
At this time Of the year the "chechako."
or tenderfoot. may dig with pick and Ak
and shovel for twenty feet down through