The daily Alaskan., 1910-01-19
oUlCKSANO.
How lt lo Formed and It's erewsomo
 Characteristics.

EN9N AA AN VI litNN tAihs fN@
 Characteristics.
 To most persons the word quick sand" gives a sensation of horror sim liar to that produced by the thought of a snake, and many sensational ac- counts have given to Quicksand al- most human attributes. No ordinary observer would be able to distinguish dry qulcksand from any other sand, and the average person would be un- able to restore 1t to its "Quick" prop critics even if he tried. If water Is mixed with the Quicksand the mass does not become mobile, and If the water is drained off the sand will be found firmly packed.
 Qulcksand is comparatively very light. weighing about ninety-four pounds to the cubic foot, while other forms of sand run as high as I'll pounds. Quicksand when examined under the microscope will be found to have rounded corners, like river sand, as distinguished from sharp" sand. It is qulckSand that Is used in hour glasses and egg glasses, partly because of its fneueSs and partly because it does not eventually cloud the glass by scratching. as would the sharp sand. It is to its lightness that Quicksand owes It's deadly qualities, and a dem- onstratlon of how it becomes quick" may be given by placing a quantity in a bucket and adding water by pres sure through a hole in the bottom, al- lowing the water to overflow very slowly when It has worked up through the sand. The upward current will be found to loosen the sand and Go raise the surface very slightly, separating and lubricatng the particles so that they are easily displaced,
 The bucket now contains genuine oulcksand. The sand, owing to the support 1t receives from the water, has its weight, or supporting power, reduced proportionately, weighing in the water but thirty-two and a half pounds as against uinety-four pounds when dry. Bulk for bulk, the mixture is nearly twice the weight of man. but Is too mobile to give support and too thick to swim in. In it's natural state. presenting an apparently firm surface. resembling simply damp sand, 1t is .he most deadly man trap con- ceiyable.
 Ouicksaud requires in all eases an upward current which is not quick or strong enough to break through in the form of a spring Ordinarily wa ter flowing over Quicksand will not make 1t dangerous. 1t may be formed in tidal rivers and on the shores of tidal seas by the rising tide saturating a porous stratum of ground below high water mark, and when the tide falls return current is established through the porous sandy ground with suti- cient velocity to loosen the sand and make it quick"
 A permanent QuicEsand is found where a slow current of fresh water finds its way Co the surface of the sand bed either in the bottom of a stream or elsewhere. QuiCEsandS that are encountered during the sinking Of walls and foundations are due to the influx of water when the work gets below spring level" or the level of the water in the ground at that par ticular spot. The sand, being deprived of the lateral support of the water in the excavation, is pushed in from be- hind by the water currents flowing from all sides.
 One of the most peculiar and grew some characteristics of quicksand is that 1t will soon engult any object cast upon its surface, no matter how light that object may be, even a per. fectly dry k.-Harpers Weekly.