Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1907-02-22

Glaciers.
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 week or two to
spare and few pounds in his pockets
to visit countries where glacial condi-
lions still prevail. Probably the first
impression of most visitors to gla-
cier is that 1t is very like its picture
f. There are the snow crowned noun
tains. There is the ice filed valley.
There are all the varieties of moraine
just as the textbooks depict them. This
nrst impression, however, is 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 ae-
| qualntance 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 describe them would
have seemed like saying that rain
is wet or that snow is cold, but which
nevertheless fill the novice with the
pleasure of having discovered the uh-
expected.
One of the things which first struck
the writer when he first spent few
days In the near neighborhood of a
glacier was to find what noisy Great
ure 1t was. Somehow one associates
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 it 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
are innumerable little rivulets caused
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 crevasses, Some seem to
fall into larger torrent far below.
Others make their way into some gla-
cial 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 the churning sound min
Cling with the voice of the waters.
Miniature avalanches contribute their
quota of noise. Now some pinnacle of
ice topples over and splinters into
thousand fragments. Anon a hand
full of stones come sliding down the
side of ridge of ice perhaps to splash
into the pool. All these various causes
combine to produce a wonderful
amount of noise. Another curious feat
ure 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 the glaciers
from little distance we are often
surprised at the enormous amount Of
debris gathered on its surface, Be-
sides the central moraine or moraines
| often there are several-eomposed
of considerable masses of stone, We
find finer particles of matter embed
ded In the ice all over the surface,
often in sufficient quantity to give 1t
a grayish color.
| All this solid matter has at one time
fallen upon the surface of the glacier
and is being borne along by it 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 of
years. At the lower end of the glacier
there is much of interest 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 If it ought to be explored
and it may be possible to make ones
way under the ice for considerable
distance But let the traveller beware.
Expeditions of this kind are far from
safe. The interior of glacier may
be studied safely enough in the grot-
| toes and tunnels which are carved into
the living ice of many show glaciers,
such as that of the Rhone, but the ice
at the debouche of the stream is in
an unstable condition. Every now and
them the cave partially collapses, or
great masses of ice fall upon the roof
and in moment an unwary tourist
may be trapped or crushed to death
Edinburgh Scotsman.