Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-03
BY WILLIAM r. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
c1IAcT4 STlDJNCS oI

Sacramento river, is supposed to come
not only from the glaciers that cover
from subterranean beds OF ice which
in ages past have been overlaid with
earth by the mysterious processes of
nature and have thus been preserved
son they may be renewed. or their dis
indignation may at least he arrested.
However. there is no doubt that large
area in. this locality is undertake with
ice Of the glacial period, and that forests
OF fir. pine and hemlock trees have been
Ice-Filled Mountain.
Five or six years ago a gang of work
men. excavating gravel for ballast at
Black Buttes. on the Southern Pacific
railway, fifteen miles from here, uncov-
cred a large body of dark green ice,
which evidently extended away back into
the heart of the mountain. 1t lay like
a seam of coal. When the edge Of it.
nearest the gorge. was uncovered by the
pick of an Italian laborer. freezing
blast burst out like an explosion, with
such force as to throw the entire gang
of men from their feet.
Prof. John G.. Branner of the chair OF
geology at Stanford University was sent
for, and made an investigation Prof
Fairchild Of the University of Rochester,
who happened to be in the vicinity. also
examined it closely, but neither would
venture to give a definite opinion as to
whether the ice was the remains of the
glacial period, or had gradually &C
cumulated by water percolating through
the soil and freezing.
The ice was uncovered for about sixty
feet. Behring'S we're made In several
places, which showed great depth: but
the limits were not found in any drec-
ton. There was every evidence of a
great deposit
Before an investigation was finished.
however. landslide filled the gravel
pit. Nobody cared to pay the expense
of digging 1t out again
The investigators came to the conclusion
that there were large cavities behind or
beneath the ice, and that the blast Of
ed by continual current of air with a
temperature below freezing, which is be-
lieved to have come from the Ice caves
concealed behind or below the glacier.
Subterranean Ice Water Streams.
All the hundreds of streams that burst
out OF the north on the slopes of Mount
Shasta come from subterranean sources.
There is only one small surface stream.
is fed from springs on the mountain
side.
It is believed that the surface of the
earth on the slopes of Mount Shasta are
underlaid. with glaciers similar to those
which ffl the canyons upon the upper
slopes, and that the water from them
finds its way through subterranean chan
nels to the walls Of the canyon, where it
breaks out and falls in a succession OF
cascades into the Sacramento river.
The phenomenon is similar to that in
the canyon Of the Snake river. near Ha-
german, Idaho, where streams of water
burst from the cliffs in thousand
streams from an artesian basin or sub
three or four hundred feet In thickness.
The water of the Thousand Springs is
Of normal temperature. however, while
that at Shasta is icy cold.
The residents here will tell you of an
Irish saloonkeeper at a cross roads on the
rnountainside who has natural refrig-
orator. His establishment is built against
a cliff, where, In excavating for the foun-
dalton, he uncovered a bed Of ice similar
to that found in the gravel bed. so he
Bride Trail to Summit.
Mount Shasta may be climbed by
bride trail about ten miles long, and
parties go up to the summit every few
days. They start out from the hotel at
Shasta Springs about 10 In the morning
with three days rations. camp at the base
overnight. make the timber line. which
is about 5000 feet. the next day, and fin
ish the ascent by starting before sunrise
the following morning.
There is an easier route from Sisson
tavern, eight miles south, near the
Southern Pacific station of that name. 1t
is no nearer. but there Is a better trail,
which permits the ascent to be made In
two full days. Neither route is danger
Gus or difficult, but those who attempt
1t must observe reasonable precautions
and obey the guides.
Early In the summer a Wisconsin man,
who thought he knew more about such
things than the guide, left party or
climbers and started off on his own &C
count He was not heard from again for
several days, when he appeared exhausted
and famiShed at a sawmill on McLOud
river and fell into the hands of party OF
Good Samaritans.
According to his own statement he lost
his way within a few hours after leaving
the party. and wandered about in the for
est trying every direction to reach the
main trail, without success. He finished
his supply Of food the second day. and for
sixty hours was without anything to eat.
although he found plenty of water in the
woods
His wife, who was stopping at Berry
Vale Inn, was sent for and came to Nc
Loud, where she looked after him until he
had recovered from his fatigue. He went
back to Wisconsin much wiser man for
his experience.
The hotel at Shasta Springs is comfort
able, with a central pavilion and dining
hall. surrounded by twenty-six cottages,
named after the letters Of the alphabet,
which contain from two to six rooms with
baths. About 175 people can be accommo-
dated. and during the summer months the
place is crowded with San Francisco
people.
W. F. Heron. general counsel of the
Southern Pacific railway. and Col. Dan
Burns. well known politician and former
republican boss, have their own cottages
situated a little distance from the hotel
1t is proposed to build a new hotel here, a
picturesque structure like Old Faithful
Inn in the Yellowstone, or Ell Tower at the
Grand Canyon OF the Colorado, at a cost
of half a million dollars or more, and
make Shasta Springs national instead of
q local resort.
John S. Matheson. the manager, is al
ready engaged upon the plans of an orig
inal character. He hopes to begin the
work of construction next year.
No attempt has ever been made to ad-
vertise the attractions of the place. 1t has
rather been used as a quiet and exclusive
retreat for a few San Francisco families.