The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1924-08-06

dence that the Island was formerl
completely buried by an ice-cap TIL
, high ground of the interior is COY
cred with an everlasting neve, whic
consolidates at the sources of all tn
valleys to form tongues of ice, mos
OF which extend clear into the sea
ending In abrupt walls.
The one incomprehensible statemen
In Captain Cooks account of Soutl
Georgia is his emphatic testimony tina
he saw no brook or stream along the
whole coast. Certainly today The
rushing torrents are a great impedi
ment to progress on land, and during
January thaws cleaning cascades, Wis
1ble from far at sea, pour from the
Lodges of the coast hills.
The climate of South Georgia varies
relatively little throughout the year.
The mean annual temperature Is very
close to the freezing point, and the
sky Is prevailingly overloaded Feb
ruary Is the warmest month Snow,
generally in the form of hard, globu-
lar particles, which sting the skin like
hail, falls in every month, and rain
and sleet storms are both frequent and
prolonged during the summer Either
rain or snow falls on about flve-sixths
Of the days of the whole year.
The greatest proportion of clear
days Is in winter; but November and
December, the springtime of the south
ern world, are often made memorable
by few successive days Of sunshine,
while on rare midsummer afternoons
of January and February the jealous
Ice King is sometimes lulled to sleep,
the thermometer rises as high as 68
degrees Fahrenheit, and South Geor-
gia basks in a sparkling calm. Only
on such fleeting occasions is the
subtle feeling of the glaciers absent
from the land and sea.
Has Oceanic Climate.
South Georgia has an oceanic, as
opposed to a continental, climate; it
is under the continual equalizing in
fiuence of the sea, and 1t thoroughly
demonstrates how much more unfav-
orable to the production of varied
flora Is a constantly low temperature
than seasonal cold of the severest
kind
Owing to the same oceanic life con-
the land animals Of South |
Georgia are even fewer ths2 the
plants. There is no Indigenous ter
restrial mammal, but rats, horses and
have been introduced and are
thriving in wild state. The rats
we're probably first brought by sealing
Fessels hundred years ago.
Most remarkable OF all the living
-hings of South Georgia, perhaps, are
he great clumsy sea elephants. They
AVE contentious dispositions and are
given to Fighting among themselves
rom earliest puphood, yet fondness
or company Is one of their marked
rats. An animal coming out of the
ea Is obviously not contented on o
onely shore. 1t wanders about nerv
'usly between brief resting periods
nd soon returns to the water, per-
APPS feeling that 1t must find some
ne to quarrel with.
A sea-elephant, when landing, crawls
lowly up the strand, stopping to let
he waves break over 1t and taking
dvantage of every swell to aid its
rogress. When 1t has reached the
PIPER beach 1t rises to Its full height
nd reconnoiters; then, proceeding a
tile farther 1t repeats the action; or,
1t spies none of its kind, 1t may take
siesta before continuing the search.
The two dozen species of birds which .
reed on South Georgia offer fas-
mating field for the study Of certain
questions, notably the strug-
e for existence. OF special interest
'e the penguins. Two species are
i'll common at South Georgia,
The nobler tribe of pengulns, the
,ings,' form sort of hereditary arts. ;
cracy. They are stalwurt birds
hich stand a yard high They wear
gold collar round their necks, and !.
port themselves in a rather loft, "
I'd snobbish manner. =
A band of king pengulns makes .
orious display when the morning sun "
,ht shines on the golden throats
ID orange ear-patches OF the soldier L
birds. Sometimes the brigades =
altered here and there over thu ?,
aches and mOraines, hail and an. |.
Ter each other with long drawn, mar.
Il, bugle calls and then, as if at q ~
ncerted signal, all will start march. 1
3 toward the sea- Sometimes the nj
rds stand together on the sunny n
lie Of a snowdrlft, preening theii b.
athers, marking time" or even per. &C
rming the difficult stunt of BALANCING fl
on one foot and scratch al
their heads with the other. o.