The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-12-13
Study OF 4 GLACIER


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AItdouel We are Tar removed from
the re ais IN point OF time, the tourist
aee4i te1 have n1ade e easy Hor one
who has 4 sReek OF two TO spare and.
q few pounds n his POCKET. to visit
countries where glacial conditions still
prevail.
Probably the drst Impression of most
visitors to q glacier IS that e Is very
like Its picture There are the snow
crowned mountains. There Is the ice
filed valley. There are all the va
Heties Of moraine just as the text
books depict them The hrst impress
sion. however. Is q very superficial
one. Glaciers are just Ike most things
In this world. when we get to know
them we 6nd they are quite different,
In some respects. at least nom what
we expected
As acquaintance ripens we ind out
all sorts of little things which the
writer's of text books doubtless know
perfectly well, but never thought Of
mentioning. things which perhaps
were s0Sfamillar to them that to de-
scribe them would have seemed Ike
saying that rain Is wet or that snow
Is cold, but which nevertheless MI the
novice with the pleasure OF having dis
covered the Unexpected.
One of the things which drst struck
the writer when he hrSt spent q few
days In the near neEghborhood OF a.
glacier was to ind what noisy. crea-
ture It was. Somehow one associates
with snow and ice the idea OF intense
quiet, ana no doubt II one climbs high
up among the snow on the mountains
lower down on the surface OF the
glacier there Is, at least In summer
time, continuous noise. ISIS
The noise Is the voice of many wR-
tiers. All around are innumerabIe lit
tie rivulets caused 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 headlong down one
Of the numerous assures or creyasses.
Some seem to fall into a larger tor
rent far below. Others make their
way into some glacial mill where stones
are churned round and round, just as
one may see in the potholes In the
stream at East Linton
By listening intently one may be
able to hear this churning sound min
Cling with the voice of the waters.
Miniature avnlanches contribute their
quota of noise. Now some pinnacle of
ice topples over and splinters into a
thousand fragments. ANON handful
of stones come sliding down the side
of a ridge of Ice, perhaps to splash
into a pool. an these various causes
combine to produce wonderful amount
of noise
Another curious feature of glaciers
is that the surface OF the ice in many
instances appears quite extraordinarily
dirty. This does not seem as It should
be. Snow is one OF the symbols Of
purity. Surely the ice descending
from the pure white snow ON the
mountains should be pure also.
Yet when we view a glacier from
little distance we are often sur
prised ut the enormous amount Of de
brIs gathered on its surface. Besides
the central uIoralne or moraines-oftcn
there are several-coInposed Of consid-
cradle masses Of stone. we find E2cr
ice all over the surface, often in suf-
fcIent quantity to give 1t a 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 1t us n river bears along the sticks
and leaves that fall into It, But in
the case OF glacier we may have eX-
posed to view the accommodations of
hundreds of years. At the lower end
of the glacier there Is much Of inter
est In the first place. there is very
often a great cave In the Ice. and from
this there Issues the glacier stream.
This cave often looks as II 1t ou=:lt
to be explored. and it may be possible
to make ones way under the Ice for ~
distance.
But let the traveller beware. Expect
lions OF this kind are far from safe
The Interior OF glacier may be stud
led safely enough In the grottoes and
tunnels which are carved into the Iiv-
Ing ice of many show glaciers, such so
that Of the Rhone, but the ice at rise
debouche of the stream IS in an un-
stable condition. Every now and then
the cave partially coIIapses or greet
masses of ice fan from the roof, and IN
n moment an unwary tourist may bc
trapped or crushed to DEAN. Edin
burgh Scotsman.
Trces That whistle.