The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-03-14

were thoroughly Ir1ghtened. They coul4
feel currents Of cold air rushing up from
tho crevicss in tho rock. They Imagined
they were digging Into some mysterious
underground cavern. They had heard just
enough Of. wonderful adventures Of dig
ging into caves and underground Lakes,
aud being alone In this wilderness, where
the very stiffness permitted the ear to
hear and the mind to imagine all manner
Of grewsome powers hid beneath the rock,
80 thoroughly filled them with fear of Ina.
pending danger that they abandoned the
work which has since gained such fenown.
The summits Of Little Wolf mountains
are covered with scoria, which has all The
appearance and texture Of q good grade Of
thing. II Is usually red, but varies In COL
or through all the shades down to black.
These varying cplors give the beautiful
tints to the thousands Of huttes through.
out the bad lands. In comparatively TO
cent geological times vast beds Of ignite
ooal were formed over tho eastern half Of
Montana, extending into western Dakota.
The burning Of these beds Of coal was tia
beginning of the bad land formation. Ths
ine deposits Of clay above the coal were
burned as brick are burned In Q kiln and
formed the scoria. Where the heat was
greater and rock and sand were present II
melted and mixed with the coal and coal
Ah, forming large oindsrlike rocks, which
Mo sometimes mistaken for lava. Az the
poal burned out from beneath the clay,
nov baked into scoria and melted into Gin.
ders, 1t broke Into small diviGions and fell
promiscuously down into the pits thus
formed. Volcanic ash L. found scattered
over tho Little Wolf mountains and tho
eastern portion Of Montana. i must have
drifted with the wind from powerful erup-
lions in the Rocky mountains athsrs aIN
no Indications o. any volcanic action In
the vicinity Of the Ice vol. The Little
Of buttes apparently Of the Same origin -
all tho bad land buttes- Their SUBMITS,
towering above all tho other buttss, have
given them the name Of mountains, but
they are only Of slightly oven 1000 fest a.
titude. II Ice were to be put into the we'll
during the winter, 1t would keep through
out the summer nearly a. we'll - II stored
away In ordinary icehouses. B ohanee ma
ture has formed almost the Identical GOA.
ditions that man has made use Of to pro
serve Toe throughout the hot wesaher. Tho
shaft - the cavity In which 10 store TIA
Ice. The volcanic ash, filling Into tho open
space between the loosely piled rock, serves
the purpose Of sawd9st IA keeping out ths
warm drafts Of AiE. The altitude and the
north slope are favorable to the preservar
ton of the Toe. Tall, dense forest preveuts
the heating Of the surface rock by tho d.
rect rays Of the sun. The rocks m too
porous for the water to soak up, 0 to
speak, from beneath. The facts are that in
many places neal the tops Of the buttes,
ON the sides where the rocks have fallen
loosely together, they arc perfectly dry fo9
many feet below tho surface, being mois-
tened by tho winter snow and rain q h
may fall and run down from above.
During the winter the well L nsa1y
filed with snow. Enough water from tn
early spring rains finds It's way through
between the rocks to mix with tho NOV
and freeze into p solid msss Of ta. The
Ice In the well u formed by the cold Of
tho winter season, but does not begin -
form sometimes till the winter L. half
gone.
In turn, 10 Is melted by tho hast Of ths
summer, but does not begin to malt until
the summer L. half over. In tho early
part of the summer it Is still freezing IN
the well, and during the first halt Of the
winter 1t Is still melting. The well asts
% g refrigerator. 1t receives the heat
slowly and then gives 1t of just as alowly:
II tho earth received and gave e2 heat
readily, tho hottest weather would be In
June and tho coolest IN Decsmber-tn
tact, tho seaaona follow nearly month
behind tho sun.
1t 10 q fact that II on ahot day you walk
rapidly into the osve to whore the Toe L. u
feels as though q strong current Of cold
air were blowing against your face. Tho
sensation Is so decidedly real that : .
quires careful demonstration to prove TO
the contrary, and even then 1t almost
seems ss though tho demonstration hAs
been q mistake. II can be easily tested BY
using smoke, or batter still, . rather
heavy colored GlAsa- Again, II ono Rhould
stand without the entrance to the cave 90
q very warm day near enough to feel any
draft that may be stirring, none can DO
felt coming fron the cave. II n should
stand directly above the Ice well on . hot,
still day, even putting the taco down to
tho very opening into the well, no upwAr4
draft Of cool air can be felt but 20 down
into the we'll and one would state positive
" that there was an upward draft OF "a
Eemely cold sr.-Boston Advertiser.