Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1906-01-27
REAL NINE Of ICE
WARM WEATHER RESORT o.
PENNSYLVANIA PEOPLE.
Discovery Of an Old Soldier Prove
Of Great Value-It Il = Great
Attraction on Hot
Sundays. -


for a great influx Of visitors. Crowds
drove in from the surrounding villages
for the reason that the weather wa
hot, some even coming from as far ava
as Austin. IL miles away over the noun
tain. Visitors will continue to flock her
every Sunday throughout the summer
says a Coudersport (Pa.) report
This town never was planned for
summer resort. 1t is in gorge whe
not a breath of air stirs and the the
mometer frequently registers 95
grees. Nevertheless, the people Of Pc
ter county come here. because it Is no
to get cool. ~
This is the home of the now celebrat'
Potter county Ice mine" Here wil'
humanity may enjoy an arctic atm.
phere by descending into the shaft.
can moderate the temperature by me
ing to OF from its mouth, to catch t.
currents Of chilled air which the mil
sends forth.
The hotter the day the cooler the mine
Atmospheric condensation goes on
great rate when the mercury a.
proaches the 100 degree mark. and cur
rents of cool air are produced whic
circulate as far as so or 60 feet from the
mouth Of the shaft. o.
1t Is now seven or eight years Bincf
the fact became known that during tn
GUNNER ice formed freely on woode
hillside two miles southeast Of Couders
port. on the Sweden Valley road. Thu
village of Sweden Valley. consisting O.
half hundred empty houses, is. in fact
deserted Villages, 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 so yards from their doors
veritable field OF ice was spread GU
during the summer. 1t Is hardly likel,
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.
An old union soldier became possessed
with the idea some years ago that the
countrys rich store OF treasures had not
been exhausted. He determined tc
search for mineral wealth on the for
est-cIad mountainside southeast Of Swe-
den Valley, Shouldering q pick, he
toiled up the mountain one scorchinp
day for 100 yards. Selecting an open
space on little plateau, he struck his
pick into the earth. The implement
met. with no. resistance from the loos<
soil at the first blow.
On the second attack some hard sub
stance gave forth a crunching, crack
ling sound. The veteran withdrew tho
Dick and examined the point. Severa
glistening and rapidly dissolving crys
tails adhered to it. They were alike de
void Of taste and odor. The rapid melt
ing Only served to arouse his curiosity
The veteran threw on his faded blu'
coat and hacked away with renewe,
vigor until at the end of an hour he hat
laid bare a fairly large mass of the glis
tening substance. He examined 1T care
fully and then calculated: lice, b,
gum!" 81.
The old soldier guarded his secre
closely. and returned day after day t
work at the excavation. In the cours
of week he had cleared out circula
space ten feet In diameter and doze'
feet deep. He lowered ladder into tn
hole, covered it with boards and wen
away for Few days, When next he Wis
tied the place he found that masses O
ice covered the sides Of the excavation
These were shaped like huge iciclef
Then ne began systematic observations
He soon learned that on the days c
greatest heat the amount of ice In tn
excavation was far in excess OF tina
found there on cold days.
Rumors Of the Potter county ic
mine" had spread far aneld. Incred,
lous persons visited the spot and lef
fully satisfied that the story was n
myth 1t was not long before learne
professors from colleges and univers
ties came 10 examine the ice mine an
the ne.ghboring territory. None. how
ever. was able to account for the form;
ton of the ice.
While digging around one day the Of
: soldier cleared away the loose cart
from small opening. which proved
be cleft in the rock. A current of col
. air rushed out and led him to belle,
that q small tunnel led to ce~crn
the body of the mountain. Chemic
action Of some sort going on in some su
terranear eXpapse may account for Il
Manifestations on the local excayatio
This solution of the problem. howeve
: never has been verified.
A BARROW stairway was constructt
: from the roadway up the steep mou
: tainside TO the rude platform surroun
Ing the shaft and here the discover
4 and owner of the mine began in mode
way to reap the profits of his find Mi
re< rech r>,eT.s were diSDenSed and