Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-09-22

railway. I have met many peoplet
who have travelled in Europe, Asia and |
other far distant lands who have stat /
ed to me that nature has nothing
more beautiful to offer anywhere than
this. The Canadian Pacific railway at
taches an observation car to its day
trains, and every facility is offered the
traveller to see and note these won
drous works Of nature.
At Glacier is another Of the G. P.
RS hotels and half hours walk
from the hotel along an easy trail
brings one to the foot of the great !
glacier of the Selkirks, comprising al
together an enormous body of solid
ice covering nearly forty square miles.
The Seikirk Glacier.
Ever since my school-boy days, l
have wanted to see a real ice glacier,
and as climbed up on to the ice at
the foot of the great glacier Of the Sci |
kinks, though my expectations had
been high, l was not disappointed. II
was, however, somewhat surprised to
find that the ice is solid through and
through and that it is as clear as crys-
tai after scraping off an inch or two of
ed to learn that this glacier is grad |
ually receding instead of advancing
down the valley, and this, am in
formed Is the case with the majority
of the known glaciers in the world to-
day. The great glacier OF the Selkirks
at the point where visited IL, Is re-
ceding at the rate Of about thirty-five|
feet per year, which, since the first re-
corded observation, seventeen years
ago, makes quite a long distance of
mountain valley reclaimed from the
fee. But as there are still forty square
miles of the glacier remaining, 1t will
be several hundred years yet before
the ice in this particular glacier is all
melted away The question in my
mind isis this relic of the pre-his-
toric glacial period when most of
North America was covered with an
ice field or is the climate changing and
thus causing the Ice in this glacier to
melt away faster in the summertime
than it increases In the wintertime?
AS yet have been unable to find any
satisfactory answer to this inquiry.
While the ice of the glacier is as clear
as can be, the water in the mountain
stream flowing from it is OF pro-
nounced milky color. This is caused
by the water holding in solution large
quantities of the fine sand formed by
the perpetual grinding Of the tremen-
dous weight Of ice on the rocks and
boulders under the same.
Glacier is another of the delightful
mountain resorts where we planned to
stay one day and tarried four and then
left regretting that our stay could not
be still more prolonged Here, If one
wants it, Is to be found mountain
climbing of the severest sort, and
4 guides from the Alps in Switzerland
are brought here each season by the
railway company so that their services
i may be utilized for tourists who desire
this kind OF work or recreation, just as
you choose to call it. While the gla
cier itself is easily approachable, 1t is
not safe to attempt any extended trtI
| guides. At the Glacier hotel, we met
| young Scotchman who had tried II
| alone and who, as result, had met
with a fall that kept him out on the
glacier all night, where he suffered in
tensely with the cold and laid him uE
for three weeks afterwards, nursing 9
| badly sprained ankle. He would prob
ably have died from the cold if his alb
sense from the hotel had not been no
ticed and the Swiss guides sent in
search for him.
Il Vancouver.
From Glacier to Vancouver, the ter
minus on the Pacific OF the G. p R.
it is four hundred and twenty-thret
miles, and part of the trip was neces
sarily made by .us in the nighttime
: greatly to the regret of all because
along almost every mile of the wa.
is magnificent mountain or river seen
cry.
Vancouver Is modern city OF thir
: ty-five thousand people, having beef
built entirely during the last tWent.
years. Previous to the building OF tn
Canadian Pacific railway, the sit
! which it occupies was a wilderness Q
t big trees and underbrush. Fortunatel
! for the present and future generations
the people Of Vancouver have beel
|. wise in setting aside magnificen
9 tract as public park, and in preserH
f ing some of the monarchs of the fores
Y which are to be seen all through thi
k coast country. Vancouver's harbor
il one Of the best on the Pacific coast
> and from here steamship lines run t
Il China, Japan, Australia and cthe
e points in the Orient as well as
: Alaska, California and Mexico. Lun
& bering is an enormous industry her
/. and is being greatly stimulated by tn
It action of the Canadian government |
e placing so heavy a, export duty o
d logs that they can no longer be prof
It ably towed over for use by the lumbe
mills in the states One day at Val
IS couver suf11ces to see all of immed
d ate interest there, though muc
o. longer time could be spent in thu
Is city with pleasure, for here. ais
d is another of the always excellent
" .. R. hotels.
l. A Trip BY Boat.
e From Vancouver to Victoria 1t
d necessary to go by boat, the distant
e. being eighty miles. The sail is bea
i; tiful one. being made on large al
e fast steamer in four hours. Victoria
n the capital Of British Columbia and
n located on the southernmost point