The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1905-08-24
REAL MINE OF ICE.
WARM WEATHER RESORT OF
PENNSYLVANIA PEOPLE.
Discovery of an Old Soldier Proves
Of Great value-It II a Great
Attraction on Hot
Sundays.


The high temperature which has pre-
vailed here recently was responsible
for a great influx of visitors. Crowds
drove in from the surrounding villages
for the reason that the weather was
hot, some even coming from as far away
as Austin. IL miles away over the noun
tain. Visitors will continue to flock here
every Sunday throughout the summer
says Coudersport tPa.) report.
This town never was planned for a
summer resort. 1t is in a gorge where
not a breath of air stirs and the ther.
mometer frequently registers 95 de.
grees. Nevertheless, the people Of Pot.
ter county come here. because II is hot
to get cool.
This is the home of the now celebrated
Potter county ice mine" Here wilted
humanity may enjoy an arctic atmos.
phere by descending into the shaft, or
can moderate the temperature by NOV.
ing to or from its mouth, to catch the
currents of chilled air which the mine
sends forth.
The hotter the day the cooler the mine.
Atmospheric condensation goes on at
great rate when the mercury ap-
proaches the 100 degree mark, and cur
rents of cool air are produced which
circulate as far as so or go feet from the
mouth Of the shaft.
II is now seven or eight years since
the fact became known that during the
summer ice formed freely on wooded
hillside two miles southeast OF Couders-
port. on the Sweden Valley road The
village of Sweden Valley, consisting OF
half hundred empty houses, is, in fact.
a deserted village. Some milling or fac
tory project which finally failed was the
occasion of laying It out. Had the in
habitants known that in the pine for.
est less than 80 yards from their doors
veritable field of ice was spread out
during the summer. It is hardly likely
that they would have pulled up stakes,
for there is profit in the ice mine and its
possibilities have hardly begun to be de-
veloped. E-aa1nanDAr~~
An old union soldier became possessed
with the idea some years ago that the
country's rich store of treasures had not
been exhausted. He determined to
search for mineral wealth on the for.
est-clad mountainside southeast Of Swe-
den Valley. Shouldering pick, he
toiled up the mountain one scorching
day for 100 yards. Selecting an open
space on q little plateau. he struck his
pick into the earth. The implement
met with no resistance from the loose
soil at the first blow.
On the second attack some hard sub
stance gave forth a crunching, crack
ling sound. The veteran withdrew the
pick and examined the point. Several
glistening and rapidly dissolving crys-
tails adhered to 1t. They were alike de-
void Of taste and odor. The rapid melt
ing only served to arouse his curiosity.
The veteran threw of his faded blue
coat and hacked away with renewed
vigor until at the end Of an hour he had
laid bare fairly large mass Of the glis-
tening substance. He examined 1t care
fully and then calculated: 'lce, by
gum!"
The old soldier guarded his secret
closely. and returned day after day to
work at the excavation. In the course
of week he had cleared out circular
space ten feet in diameter and dozen
feet deep. He lowered a ladder into the
hole. covered it with boards, and went
away for few days. When next he WIS.,
hA ha hat ~
ice covered the sides of the excavation.
These were shaped like huge icicles.
Then he began systematic observations
He soon learned that on the days of
greatest heat the amount of ice in the
excavation was far in excess OF that
found there on cold days.
Rumors of the Potter county ice
mine" had spread far afield. Incredu-
lous persons visited the spot and left.
fully satisfied that the story was no
myth. 1t was not long before learned
professors from colleges and universi-
ties came to examine the ice mine and
the neighboring territory. None, how
ever, was able to account for the forma-
tion Of the ice.
While digging around one day the old
soldier cleared away the loose earth
from q small opening. which proved to
be q cleft In the rock. A current of cold
air rushed out and led him to believe
that small tunnel led to Q cavern in
the body of the mountain. Chemical
action Of some sort going on In some sub
t@rsnean sxpanse may account for the
on the local excavation
This solution Of the problem, however,
never has been verified.
A narrow stairway was constructed
from the roadway up the steep noun
to the rude platform surround
ing the shaft, and here the discoverer
and owner Of the mine began in modest
way to reap the profits Of his find. Mild
refreshments were dispensed and q
small admission fee was changed.
As the cool nights of the high alti-
tudes came on with the advance of the
season, the ice began to disappear, and
at the onset Of winter 1t was gone, leav-
ing. the interior Of the excavation per-
fectly dry, and many degrees warmer
than 1t had been throughout the entire
summer. The same phenomena have
been observed each year since the dis
covery of,the place. The ice formation
and the frigid atmosphere at and near
the mouth Of the mine shaft are never
ceasing sources of wonder to all who
visit the place, when the heat is ex-
treme an examination Of the gray moss
which covers the ground In the adjacent
forest discloses the fact that its inter.
stiees are filled with ice.
There has been talk Of building a big