The San Francisco call., 1906-12-25
GLACIER IS NOISY
WITH RIVULETS

Although we are far removed from
the ice age in point of time, the tour
list agencies have made it easy for any
one who has a week or two to spare
and few pounds in his pocket to visit
countries where glacial conditions still
prevail. Probably the first impression
of most visitors to a glacier is that
il is very like its picture. There are
the snow-crowned mountains. There is
the ice filled valley. There are all the
varieties of moraine just as the text
books depict them This first impress
sion, however, is a very superficial one
Glaciers are just like most things in
this world. When we get to know them
we find they are quite different in
some respects at least, from what we
expected. AS acquaintance ripens we
find out all sorts of little things which
the writers of textbooks doubtless
know perfectly well. but never thought
of mentioning; things which perhaps
were so familiar to them that to de-
scribe them would have seemed like
saying that rain is wet or that snow
is cold. but which nevertheless I'LL the
novice with the pleasure of having dis
covered the unexpected.
One of the things which first struck
the writer when he first spent a few
"a
glacier was to find what a noisy
creature it was Somehow one asso-
ciates with snow and ice the idea of
intense quiet, and no doubt if one
climbs high up among the snow on the
mountains one will find ii quiet enough.
But lower down, on the surface of the
glacier, there is, at least in summer
time, continuous noise. The noise is
the voice of many waters. All around
a. fnn Ia rfrv =
by the melting OF the ice in the heat
of the summer sun. These trickle and
babble and splash their sinuous courses
for longer or shorter distances, but
none go very far before they plunge
i1eadlong down one of the numerous
assures or crevasses. Some seem to fall
into a larger torrent far below Others
make their way into some glacial mill
where stones are churned round and
round, just as one may see in the pot
holes In the stream at East Linton.
BY listening intently one may be able
to hear this churning sound mingling
with the voice of the waters Minfa-
ture avalanches contribute their quota
of noise. Now some pinnacle of ice
topples over and splinters into thou
sand fragments Anon a handful of
stones come sliding down the side of
a ridge of ice, perhaps to splash into
a DOOL All lHeSt various causes COM
bine to produce wonderful amount of
noise. Another curious feature of gla-
ciers is that the surface of the ice in
many instances apears quite extraordi-
nariiy dirty. This does not seem as il
should be. Snow is one of the symbols
of purity. Surely the ice descending
from the pure white snow on the noun
tains should be pure also Yet when
we view the glaciers from little dis
tance we are often surprised at the
enormous amount of debris gathered
on its surface Besides the central
moraine or moraines-often there are
several = composed of considerable
masses of stone. we find finer particles
of matter embedded in the ice all over
the surface. often in sufficient quantity
to give it grayish color.
All this solid matter has at one time
or another fallen upon the. surface of
the glacier. and is being borne along
by il as a river bears along the sticks
and leaves that fall into it. But in the
case Of a glacier we may have exposed
to view the accumulations of hundreds