a western newspaper, 1896.)--The entrance is said to be overlapped by
trees and to resemble a mine shaft. The winding way leads to a hollow
some 15 meters below the surface, resembling a broad vaulted corridor,
which is known to the natives as the devil's chamber and where the
temperature is low. From this point several galleries lead further in,
and from one of them comes a blast of icy cold air. This passage is
similar to the one at the entrance to the cave, but after a few meters
frost is visible, and further on it is thick on all sides, like the
crust that is formed on the pipes of an ice plant. The narrow way leads
to a big chamber, known as the ice vault. In this dome, which is fully
30 meters in width, the ice forms a large stalagmite and is of unknown
depth.
Freezing Gully on Mount Abraham, Maine. (Jackson, _Report of the
Geology of Maine_, 1839, III.)--Ice was found in June at an altitude of
1032 meters among the boulders in one of the gullies of Mount Abraham.
[Illustration: FREEZING CAVERN AT BRAINARD.
From a Photograph by Mr. A. F. Kovarik.
]
Subterranean Ice in King's Ravine, Mount Adams, New
Hampshire.--Described in Part I., page 1.
Ice Gulch on Crescent Mountain, Randolph, New Hampshire.--Described in
Part I., page 83.
Ice in a Hole at Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.--Mr. John Ritchie, Jr.,
of Boston, has examined this place, which he is sure is a refrigerator.
It is in a hole north of the cliff and near its top.
Ice on Mount Garfield, New Hampshire.--Mr. John Ritchie, Jr., informs
me that ice was discovered among the boulders on the summit of Mount
Garfield during the summer of 1897.
Freezing Talus near Rumney, New Hampshire.--Described in Part I., page
85.
Freezing Talus near North Woodstock, New Hampshire.--Mr. John Ritchie,
Jr., has examined this locality. He thinks the ice was gone in July,
but judges it to be on the level of an old talus and a couple of meters
down.
Freezing Well at Lyman, Grafton County, New Hampshire. (_Geology of
Vermont_, 1861, I., page 197.)--A well in that town is reported as
having been frozen solid in June, 1816, at a depth of about 2.60 meters
from the surface.
Icy Wells at the Foot of Mount Mansfield, Vermont. (N. M. Lowe,
_Science Observer_, vol. II., page 58.)--These are described as being
really "incipient caves."
Freezing Cave near Manchester, Vermont.--Described in Part I., page 76.
Ice Bed of Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont. Described in Part I.,
page 99. (S. Pearl Lathrop, _American Journal of Science and Arts_,
1844, XLVI., page 331.)--Dr. Lathrop says that ice has been found at
the Ice Bed as late as September.
Freezing Wells at Brandon, Vermont. Described in Part I., page 77.
(_Geology of Vermont_, 1861, vol. I., page 192.)--Mr. Hager says that
the well was dug into a mass of sand and gravel, of the kind known
as modified drift. The gravel was frozen at the time of digging. The
Boston Natural History Society, in 1859, sank two wells, one 21 meters
southeast of the original one, the other 21 meters northwest. The first
was 10 meters in depth and did not reach ice; the second was 11 meters
in depth, and came to the layer of frozen gravel.
Cave near Brandon, Vermont. (_Geology of Vermont_, 1861, vol. I., page
197.)--Mr. Hager heard that about 3 kilometers north of Brandon village
was a cavern, in a hill, in which ice is found most of the summer.
Icy Gulf near Great Barrington, Massachusetts.--Mentioned in Part I.,
page 99.
Icy Glen near Stockbridge, Massachusetts.--Described in Part I., page
75.
The Snow Hole, New York: near Williamstown, Massachusetts. Described in
Part I., page 98. (Dewey, _American Journal of Science and Arts_, 1819,
vol. I., page 340; and 1822, vol. V., page 398.)--Mr. Dewey found, in
June, snow 2 meters deep on ice of unknown depth. On his second visit
he found less ice and snow than on his first visit, as the trees in the
neighborhood had been cut down.
Glacière near Williamstown, Massachusetts.--Described in Part I., page
101.
Freezing Well near Ware, Massachusetts.--(_Geology of Vermont_, 1861,
vol. I., page 197.)--Depth 11.5 meters. This is in a sand and gravel
formation much like that at Brandon, except that there is less clay,
and that none of the pebbles are limestone.
Wolfshollow near Salisbury, Connecticut. (C. A. Lee, _American Journal
of Science and Arts_, 1824, vol. VIII., page 254.)--In the eastern
portion of the township, at an altitude of about 800 meters, is a chasm
about 100 meters long, 18 meters deep and 12 meters wide. It is in
mica-slate, and is sheltered by large trees. At the bottom at one end
is a spring of cold water and a cave of considerable extent, in which
ice and snow is found the greater part of the year.
Natural Ice House, near Meriden, Connecticut. (Benjamin Silliman,
_American Journal of Science and Arts_, 1822, vol. IV., page 174.)--It
lies between New Haven and Hartford, about 32 kilometers from the sea,
at an altitude of about 60 meters. The ice is found in a narrow defile
of perpendicular trap rock, at the bottom filled with broken stones.
The defile is so placed that in summer the sun only shines into it for
about an hour each day; it is also well protected by surrounding trees,
the leaves from which form beds at the bottom among the rocks and help
to protect the ice.
Natural Ice House of Northford, Connecticut. (Benjamin Silliman,
_American Journal of Science and Arts_, 1822, vol. IV., page
177.)--About 11 kilometers from New Haven on the Middletown road
between Branford and Northford, is a gorge where ice remains throughout
the year. In this case the ice is mixed with a considerable quantity of
leaves and dirt; it has sometimes been brought to New Haven.
Ice in an Old Iron Mine, near Port Henry, Lake Champlain. (_Geology of
Vermont_, 1861, vol. I., page 199.)--Ice was found during the summer at
a depth of from 15 meters to 30 meters, and a current of cold air was
issuing from the opening. There seems to be more than one opening to
the mine.
Freezing Talus on Lower Ausable Pond, Essex County, New
York.--Described in Part I., page 79.
Freezing Talus at the South Base of the Giant of the Valley, Essex
County, New York.--Described in Part I., page 81.
Freezing Boulder Talus, Indian Pass, New York. See Part I., page 83.
Freezing Boulder Talus, Avalanche Pass, New York.--See Part I., page 83.
Freezing Cave near Carlisle, New York.--See Part I., page 93.
Ice among the Catskill Mountains, New York.--Mr. George Brinton
Phillips informs me that he has seen subterranean ice in August among
boulders in a gorge in the Catskills near the Stony Cloves road,
starting out from Haines' Falls. The people in the neighborhood speak
of the place as an ice cave.
Gorge in the Shawangunk Mountains, near Ellenville, Ulster County, New
York. Described in Part I., page 91. (Heilprin, _Around the World_,
1894, page 194.)--Professor Heilprin found in July a mass of ice
measuring about thirty meters in length and 1 meter in depth. The
thermometer near the ice read about 1° C. above freezing point, the day
being hot. Icicles hung from the ledges on the side of the gorge.
Freezing Gorge at Sam's Point, New York.--See Part I., page 93.
Ice Deposits and Windholes at Watertown, New York.--Described in Part
I., page 86.
Freezing Well near Tioga, New York.--Depth, 23 meters. No information.
Freezing Well near Prattsburg, New York.--Depth, 6.5 meters. No
information.
Freezing Well near Owego, New York. Described in Part I., page 74.
(D. O. Macomber, _American Journal of Arts and Sciences_, 1839, vol.
XXXVI., page 184. _Well's Annual of Scientific Discovery_, 1856, page
190.)--The thermometer is said to have stood at--1.2° at the bottom of
the biggest well when it registered--20° outside. When a candle was
let down, the flame became agitated and was thrown in one direction
at the depth of 9 meters; at the bottom the flame was still, but soon
died out. Large masses of ice were found in the biggest well as late
as July, and the men who made the well were forced to put on thick
clothing in June, and even so could not work for more than two hours at
a time.
Cave in the Panama Rocks, Chautauqua, New York. The Rev. Horace C.
Hovey informs me that he has been in a small cave in this locality, and
that he found ice in it.
Cave in Sussex County, New Jersey.--A clipping from a newspaper, with
neither name nor date, says that new ice is found daily on the land of
Peter Feather, in the mouth of an unexplored cavern. A small stream of
water runs out of the cavern and forms a pool at the opening, and here
it is that the ice forms. Enough has been taken in one day to freeze
two cans of ice cream. A cold draught of air issues continuously from
the cavern.
Hole Containing Ice on Blue Mountain, New Jersey. Reported; no
information.
Gorge Containing Ice on Bald Eagle Mountain, Clinton County,
Pennsylvania.--Mr. Henry Chapman Mercer, of Doylestown, learned of
the existence of this gorge during the summer of 1897. It is near the
village of McElhatten, in the neighborhood of Lock Haven, and is some
3 kilometers distant from the Susquehanna River. Ice is said to remain
over during the entire summer.
Freezing Cave and Windholes near Farrandsville, Clinton County,
Pennsylvania.--Described in Part I., page 93.
Underground Ice Formations, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, on the
southwestern borders of Lycoming County.--Mr. W. Coleman Hall of
Philadelphia, about twenty years ago, found ice in two or three
places, on Bear Creek, north of Muncy Creek, about 25 kilometers north
of the Susquehanna River, and southwest of Eagles Mere. The ice was
under rocks, in what may be described as limestone sinks. Since the
destruction of the forest, the ice has become less abundant, if indeed
any still forms.
Glacières in Abandoned Coal Mines near Summit, Carbon County,
Pennsylvania.--Described in Part I., page 95.
Ice Cave Railroad Station, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. On the Bowman
Creek branch of the Lehigh Valley R. R.--Mr. F. Holschuh, agent at
Luzerne, informs me that about 2 kilometers from Ice Cave Station is a
little waterfall on the side of a mountain which was formerly covered
with dense forest. A short distance below the fall, a large hollow
place has been worn out of the rocks by the action of the water. The
overhanging rocks give this almost the appearance of a cave. While
the forest was still thick and when the winter was cold, ice would
form under these rocks and would not disappear until summer was well
advanced. The station was called Ice Cave on account of this place.
Hole Containing Ice at Millerstown, Pennsylvania.--Reported; no
information.
Freezing Talus at Spruce Creek, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
Described in Part I., page 90. The _Philadelphia Ledger_ of July 6th,
1896, states that around the boulders where the ice lies, there are
found varieties of plants strongly arctic in character.
Ice Mountain, Hampshire County, Virginia. (C. B. Hayden, _American
Journal of Science and Arts_, 1843, vol. XLV., page 78.)--It lies on
the North River, near the road leading from Winchester to Romney, at
an altitude of from about 220 meters to 240 meters. One side of the
hill is entirely composed of loose stones, among which an abundance
of ice is found at all times, although the sun shines on the upper
surface of the stones from ten in the morning until sunset. The ice is
regularly used in summer by the people near by. Constant and strong air
currents issue from the crevices in the rocks. Similar, but smaller
accumulations, are said to occur in the same county. Mrs. George B.
Balch visited the Ice Mountain in August, 1878. She saw no ice, but the
air under the stones was very cold.
Blowing Cave, Bath County, Virginia.--Mrs. Horace Jayne informs me that
there is a blowing cave near the Cowpasture River, about half way on
the old stage road between Millboro and Warm Springs. A draught flows
out from it, strong enough to blow the grass about, three or four
meters away. The draught is cold, perhaps abnormally so. The cave has
not yet been explored.
SOUTH AMERICA.
Ice Sheets on Mount Chimborazo. (A. von Humboldt, _Travels to
the Equinoctial Regions_, London, 1814, vol. I., page 156.)--"On
Chimborazo, enormous heaps of ice are found covered with sand, and in
the same manner as at the Peak [of Teneriffe] far below the inferior
limit of the perpetual snows."
Tierra del Fuego. (A. Winchel, _Walks and Talks_, 1898, page 122.)--"On
Tierra del Fuego ice and lava are found interstratified for a great
depth, each winter's snow being covered by a new lava sheet."
TENERIFFE.
La Cueva de la Nieve or del Hielo. (Humboldt, _Travels to the
Equinoctial Regions_, 1814, vol. I., pages 154, 156. C. Piazzi Smyth,
_Teneriffe, an Astronomer's Experiment_, 1858, page 348.)--La Cueva de
la Nieve lies at an altitude of 3267 meters in the Malpays on the Peak
of Teneriffe, just below the snow line. It is in obsidian. The entrance
is 3.6 meters high and 2.7 meters broad. The grotto is 36 meters long,
6 meters wide, and 4 meters high. The descent into the cave is so steep
that it is necessary to be lowered by ropes. Professor Smyth found in
July an ice floor about 60 centimeters thick which was covered with
water. A good deal of snow was lying near the mouth of the cave. The
walls were covered with ice and icicles and a few small ice cones rose
on the ice floor.
ICELAND.
The Surtshellir or Cave of Surtur. (Olafsen and Povelsen, _Voyage en
Islande_, Paris, 1802. Henderson, _Iceland_, 1819, 2d ed., page 420.
Guimard, _Voyage en Islande_, page 481.)--The Surtshellir lies in the
volcanic waste of Westisland, and is in lava which has flowed from the
Bald Jokul. The approach is through an open chasm. The length of the
cave is 1534 meters, with an average width of from 15 meters to 17
meters, and a nearly uniform height of from 9 meters to 11 meters. In
four places the roof is broken and allows daylight to enter. A great
deal of ice is sometimes found in the cave, in the shape of an ice
floor, transparent icy pillars, hanging icy pendants, and columns and
arches of ice along the walls. Some of the pillars have been found 2.50
meters high.
Kutlagaya. (A. Winchel, _Walks and Talks_, 1898, page 122.)--"In
1860 the crater of the mountain Kutlagaya, in Iceland, hurled out
simultaneously into the air lumps of lava and ice, all intermingled
together."
SCANDINAVIA.
Ice in the Mines of Nordmark. (Jars, _Voyages Métallurgiques_, 1774,
page 105.)--13 kilometers north of Philipstadt, Wermeland, Sweden, a
number of holes were dug, some to a depth of 120 meters. Ice of some
thickness formed in some of these towards the end of winter, and lasted
until about September, despite the fires of the workmen.
Persberg Iron Mines, Sweden. (J. Prestwich, _Collected papers_, etc.,
on page 206, quotes Dr. Clark's _Travels in Scandinavia._)--Ice is said
to have been found on the sides and bottom of the mine to a depth of
about 135 meters.
Ice Caves Reported in Norway.--I was told in Norway that some of the
caves in the mountains near the Swartisen ice field contained ice, but
I do not know whether this is true. I suspect that there are glacier
ice caves which have given rise to this report.
ENGLAND.
Helvellyn, Cumberland. (Wordsworth, _Fidelity_.)--The following verses
were pointed out to me by Mr. Bunford Samuel. As far as I know they are
the only poetry about glacières:--
"It was a cove, a huge recess
That keeps, till June, December's snow;
A lofty precipice in front,
A silent tarn below!
Far in the bosom of Helvellyn,
Remote from public road or dwelling
Pathway or cultivated land
From trace of human foot or hand."
Ice in an Old Copper Mine, Cumberland. (J. Clifford Ward, _Nature_,
vol. XI., page 310.)--Ice reported as a rare occurrence.
Ludchurch Chasm, Staffordshire. (R. K. Dent and Joseph Hill's _Historic
Staffordshire_, quote Dr. Plot, 1686.)--Mr. Bunford Samuel called my
attention to this book, in which Dr. Plot is quoted as saying that
as late as the 17th of July, snow has been found in Ludchurch Chasm.
Messrs. Dent and Hill do not mention anything of the kind as occurring
now.
Blowing Cave in Denbighshire, Wales.--A newspaper cutting says
that there are such strong eruptions of winds from a cave in this
neighborhood as to toss back to a great height in the air any article
of apparel thrown in.
Tin Croft Mine, Cornwall. (J. Prestwich, _Collected papers_, etc., page
206, quotes Mr. Moyle.)--Ice has been found in abundance in this mine
at a depth of nearly 100 meters.
CENTRAL EUROPE.
Glacière de Chaux-les-Passavant. Described in Part I., page 8.
(Poissenot, _Nouvelles Histoires Tragiques de Benigne Poissenot,
licencié aux lois. A Paris, chez Guillaume Bichon, rue S. Jacques, a
l'enseigne du Bichot, 1586, avec privilege du Roy_, pages 436-453.
Gollut, _Les Mémoires historiques de la Repub. Sequanoise, et des
princes de la Franche Comté de Bourgogne, par M. Lois Gollut, Advocat
au Parlement de Dôle; A Dôle, 1592_. Trouillet, _Mémoires de la
Société d'Émulation du Doubs, 1885_. Girardot, _Mémoires de la Société
d'Émulation du Doubs, 1886_.)
The earliest notice of a glacière which I have been able to find is in
the shape of a letter giving an account of a visit to the Glacière de
Chaux-les-Passavant in 1584, by Benigne Poissenot, a French lawyer.
The account, which I have translated as literally as possible, is in a
special chapter, as follows:--
"Sir:--Since our separation, I have had this pleasure (_heut_) to
hear news of you only once, having found your brother in Paris; who,
having assured me of your good health (_disposition_), informed me of
how since we had seen each other you had travelled to Italy, even as
far as Greece, of which you had seen a large portion: and that sound
and safe, after so long a journey, you had reappeared and landed at
Havre de Grace where you wished to go, that is to say at home. All the
pleasure which a friend can receive, knowing the affairs of another
self, joined to such a happy result, seized my heart, at the recital
of such agreeable news: and I did not fail shortly after, to write you
amply all which had happened to me since I left you until my return to
France: congratulating you at having escaped from marine abysses and
perilous passages on land, on which travellers are often constrained
to risk their life. From this time, I have always stayed in Paris or
in the neighborhood, according to the good pleasure of dame fortune,
who ruled me in her wise and fed me with her dishes the most common
and ordinary until the first day of January of the year 1584, when I
received my first gift in the shape of a strong and violent disease,
which tormented me more than a month: from which, having become cured
with the help of God, and having with time recovered my health and my
strength at the arrival of spring, I was seized with the desire to
smell the air of the country. And in fact having thrown away my pen
and travelled about (_battu l'estrade_) through high and low Burgundy,
I stopped at Bezenson, Imperial City, to spend the summer. This city
is still to day just the same as Julius Cæsar describes it, in the
notable mention he makes of it, in the first book of his commentaries
of the war in Gaul, there remaining there all the vestiges of the
most remarkable things, which he tells of in his description. There
are also very fine fountains, from all of which water streams from
the representation of some god of antiquity, as a Neptune, a Bacchus,
a Pan, a Nereide or others: except before the state house, where the
statue of Charles the Fifth, representing him in a most natural manner,
is placed on an eagle, which from its beak, pours out such a great
quantity of water that this is the most beautiful, among all the other
fountains. And as I do not doubt that while traversing Italy, you both
saw and examined with curiosity the most handsome singularities, which
presented themselves to your eyes and that on your return, passing
through Avignon and Dauphiné, as your brother informed me, you had
the advantage over me of seeing the wonders of the country, of which
you had heard me speak sometimes, regretting that the war, during the
time I was in that quarter, had prevented my going to the spot, to see
the burning fountain as in Dodone, and the fountain called Jupiter,
which torches of fire light up and which grows less till midday and
then grows till midnight, and then diminishes and fails at midday:
and another in Epirus which we call to day Albania, the tower without
venom and the inaccessible mountain: then as I said, since you have
contemplated these things and several others not less admirable, I
wish to entertain you about a marvel which I saw, during my sojourn
in Bezenson, to know from you, whether in all your journey, you saw
a similar thing. Know then that the day of the festival of St. John
Baptist, a young man, provided with an honest knowledge, with whom I
had made some little acquaintance, presented me with an icicle, to
cool my wine at dinner, and which I admired greatly, on account of the
time of the year in which we then were, begging him who gave it to me
to tell me where he had discovered this rare present for that time. He
answered me that every year, the day of the solemnity of the festival
of St. John Baptist, the inhabitants of a village, which he named, were
bound to come to offer the great church of St. John of Bezenson, a
goodly quantity of ice, which they got in a wood, and brought to town
at night on horses, for fear that by day it should melt, and that one
of his cronies had given to him what he had given to me.
"Suddenly there flamed up in me a desire to see this place, where
in the height of the summer, ice was to be found. When he who had
presented me with the icicle saw this, he promised to accompany me, not
having as yet, any more than myself, seen this marvel. I did not hatch
very long this decision, all the more as all those, to whom I mentioned
it, encouraged me to carry it out as soon as I could, assuring me that
I should see a strange thing, and that even the Duke of Alva on his
return from Flanders, passing through Franche Comté, had wished to
see this novelty. Therefore calling on the promise of the one who was
the cause of undertaking this journey, we went together to Versey, a
fine town, distant five leagues from Bezenson, turning a little off
our direct route, to go to see a literary man, at this said Versey,
who having called on me at Bezenson, had extracted from me the promise
of going to see him. There happened to me in this spot, what the poet
du Bellay says happened to him, on his return from Italy, passing
through the Grisons, to go into France: who, after having chanted the
troubles there are in the passage, says that the Swiss made him drink
so much, that he does not remember anything he saw in that country.
Likewise, I can assure you that my host, following the custom of those
of the country (who do not think they are treating a man properly if
they do not make him drink a lot, taking that from the Germans, their
neighbors) made us carouse so well, that when we went to bed, we were
very gay boys. For although we had both made an agreement on the road,
yet our host knew so well how to win us over, saying that those who
would not drink, gave reason to think badly of them, and that they had
committed, or wished to commit some great crime, which they feared to
give away in drinking, that in the end we let ourselves go, passing
the time in Pantagruelic fashion. The next morning having taken some
"hair from the beast" and a guide which our host gave to us to conduct
us to the _Froidiere_--we continued our wanderings, and arrived at a
little village called Chaud, joining a large wood, where our guide told
us, that although he had been more than six times to the _Froidiere_,
yet the road was so tortuous and so cut up by small paths, that if we
did not take a man from this village, to be more sure, we might spend
more than half a day in the wood, before finding what we were seeking.
Getting off our horses now, we added to our company a native of the
place, who having led us by crooked roads, about a quarter of a league,
through the forest, made us enter into a close thicket and by a little
path led us to a pleasant meadow; where, looking down, we saw a hole,
of difficult descent, at the bottom of which was the opening of a
grotto, pretty big, and so awful and terrifying to see, that one would
have said, it was the mouth of Hell. And in truth, I remembered then,
the hole of St. Patrick, which is said to be in Hibernia. We were not
brave enough knights, to try the adventure, my companion and I, if our
guides had not taken the lead. After whom we descended as magnanimously
as the Trojan Duke followed the Sybil to the Plutonic realms, the sword
half drawn from the scabbard, and well determined to make test of the
Platonic doctrine, which teaches that demons can be dissected, in case
any shade or spook should have come to meet us. About the middle of
the way, we began to feel in descending a very agreeable freshness;
for it was the second day of July and the sun shone very warmly, which
made us sweat drop by drop. But we had good opportunity to refresh
ourselves and put ourselves to cool, having reached the grotto which
we found of the length and breadth of a large hall, all paved with ice
in the bottom, and where a crystalline water, colder than that of the
mountains of Arcadia Nonacris, streamed from many small brooklets,
which formed very clear fountains, with the water of which I washed
myself and drank so eagerly, that I had wished the thirst of Tantalus,
or else that I had been bitten by a Dipsas, in order to be always
thirsty, amid such a pleasant beverage. A great lord, who in some
pleasure resort, should have such a refrigerator in summer, could boast
according to my judgment, to be better provided with drink, than the
kings of Persia were with their river Coaspis, which engulphs itself
into the Tigris, the water whereof was so sweet, that the use of it
was allowed only to the great King, for the retinue and cronies of his
household. Do not think, that among these delights, I was at all free
from fear, for never did I raise my eyes above that from terror my
whole body shivered and the hair stood up on my head, seeing the whole
roof of the grotto, covered with big massive icicles, the least of
which, falling on me, had been sufficient to scramble up my brains and
knock me to pieces; so much so that I was like to that criminal, whom
they say is punished in Hell, by the continual fear of a big stone,
which seems as though it must suddenly fall on his ears. There are
besides the large hall of the grotto, some rather roomy corners, where
the gentlemen of the neighborhood, put their venison to cool in summer,
and we saw the hooks, where they hang the wild fowl. It is true, that
when we were there, we saw neither game nor wild fowl, and I think,
that if we had found any of it, we were men to carry off some of it.
We walked around for about a quarter of an hour, in this _Froidiere_
and we should have staid there longer if the cold had not driven us
out; which struck in to our backs, even to make our teeth crack; we
reascended the slope, not forgetting, all of us as many as we were, to
provide and load ourselves with ice, which served us at lunch in the
little village mentioned above to drink most delightfully, assuring
you that it is impossible to drink more freshly than we drank then. I
thought of those old voluptuaries, who cooled their wine with snow, and
it seemed to me, as though they might have had it much cheaper if in
their time there had been many such _Froidieres_, to refresh it with
ice, instead of with snow, as some of the gentlemen of the neighborhood
of the _Froidiere_ and some of the most notable persons of the
neighborhood of Bezenson do; who by night, have a good supply brought
on horses, which they keep in their caves, and use at their meals and
banquets. Turning back towards the Imperial city of Bezenson, I carried
for about two great leagues, a rather large icicle in my hands, which
little by little melted and was a pleasant and agreeable cooler, on
account of the great heat of the weather. After having thought over in
my mind, the cause of this _antiperistase_, I could find none other but
this: to wit, that as heat domineers in summer, the cold retires to
places low and subterranean, such as is this one, to which the rays of
the sun cannot approach, and that in such an aquatic and humid place,
it operates the results, which we have shown above. Which seemed to me
so much more likely, that on asking the peasants of the neighboring
village, if in winter there was ice in this _Froidiere_, they answered
me that there was none, and that on the contrary, it was very warm
there. Whatever may be the cause, whether this or another, I can assure
you, that I admired this singularity as much as any I have seen,
since a large church, cut into a rock which I had seen a few years
previously, in a little town of Gascony called St. Milion, distant
seven leagues from Bordeaux; on the steeple of which is the cemetery,
where they bury the dead; a thing to be marvelled at by him who has not
seen it.
"I have made trial, to enrich this missive, with all the artifice
which has come into my head, using the leisure, which the present time
brings me: as the temple of Janus is open, the air beyond breathing
nothing but war: which forces me, against my wish, to sojourn in this
place longer than I had intended. If these troubles settle down, and if
after the rain, God sends us fine weather as requires the calamitous
state in which is now the flat country, I shall return to my Parnassus;
from which if I go out hereafter, believe that it will be very much in
spite of myself, or that my will will have very much changed. You will
be able to let me hear from you there, and take your revenge for the
prolixity of this letter, by sending me one still longer, which you
will write to me with more pleasure, as I shall take much in reading
it. However as it is becoming time to sound taps, I will pray the
sovereign creator for my affectionate recommendations to your graces.
"Sir, and best friend, may you keep in health and have a long and happy
life. From Sens this 20th of June 1585.
"Your obedient friend, BENIGNE POISSENOT.
"End of the description of the marvel, called the _Froidiere_."
The next notice about the Glacière de Chaux-les-Passavant is by Gollut
in 1592, as follows:--
[Sidenote: "Ices in summer."]
"I do not wish however to omit (since I am in these waters) to bring to
mind the commodity, which nature has given to some dainty men, since
at the bottom of a mountain of Leugné ice is found in summer, for the
pleasure of those who wish to drink cool. Nevertheless at this time,
this is disappearing, for no other reason (as I think) except, that
they have despoiled the top of the mountain, of a thick and high mass
of woods, which did not permit that the rays of the sun came to warm
the earth, and dry up the distillations, which slipped down to the
lowest and coldest part of the mountain where (_by antiperistase_) the
cold got thicker, and contracted itself against the heats surrounding
and in the neighborhood during the whole summer, all the external
circumference of the mountain."
The ice at Chaux-les-Passavant is said to have been entirely cleared
out, by the Duc de Lévi, in 1727, for the use of the Army of the Saone.
In 1743, when de Cossigny visited the cave, the ice was formed again.
There are no reports about the intervening time between 1727 and 1743.
The ice probably all re-formed the winter after it was taken away.
Captain Trouillet in 1885 writes of Chaux-les-Passavant: "The following
winter had shown itself unfavorable to the production of ice, the
periods of humidity preceding too long ahead the periods of frost.
Finally last summer, coming after a wet spring, was exceptionally
warm. Such were the circumstances which brought about in the glacière
the ruin which could be seen at the end of last October. * * * On
the 11th of November, the first effects of frost are felt and the
temperature falls in the glacière to -2°: outside the thermometer
drops to -3°. On the morning of the 12th, same result, and ice makes
its appearance in the grotto, as the report of the observer shows: but
the quantity produced is so small that the internal thermometer soon
goes above 0°. It is only on the 9th of December that the frost wins
definitely; on the 11th, 12th and 13th the chill is intense and reaches
-19° outside, stopping at -15° in the glacière. The water coming from
the rains between the 5th and the 9th drip at this time through the
roof and the big side crevasse: circumstances grow favorable and the
ice accumulates. From the 17th, the entrance slope becomes almost
impracticable; the icicles grow on the roof, as big as the body of a
man. * * * From this time to the end of December, the ice sheet does
not increase, for water only arrives by the rare drip of the roof,
and only the stalactites increase slowly. Outside, however, the cold
continues vigorously, the thermometer on the 31st of December dropping
to -15° and to -13° in the glacière. If the production of the ice
stops, it is not the cold which is wanting, but the other element,
the one which as our former study showed, is the most rarely exact at
the meeting. The winter is only favorable on condition that it offers
alternating periods of freezing and thawing; so the observer writes in
his report: 'it is the water which is wanting, otherwise the glacière
would be magnificent.'"
Trouillet speaks of the difficulty of winter observations in the
following words: "Mons. Briot, the present lessor of the glacière, has
the unpaid mission of going every week to the bottom of the grotto to
get and put in place the interior thermometer. It is a really hard
piece of work at this time of the year: each journey takes about one
hour. Besides the chance that a visitor has of receiving on his head
one of those magnificent stalactites 1 meter or 2 meters long which
fall continually from the roof, it is perfectly disagreeable to him
to arrive at the base of the slope otherwise than on the sole of his
boots, and to face thus the frequent and painful meeting with rocks
whose angular edges dot the surface of the descent, smooth as a mirror
set at an angle of 30°."
Trouillet and Girardot obtained a series of observations with maxima
and minima thermometers at Chaux-les-Passavant during the winter of
1885-1886. At the end of November the temperature inside was +2°.
On the 2d of December it rose to +2.5°. On the 10th of December, it
sank to -1°, and after this date, it remained below freezing point
all winter. The observations were not continuous, but they showed
that every time the temperature outside dropped considerably, the
temperature inside immediately did likewise. For instance, on the
12th of January, the outside air dropped to -18°, and the inside air
responded by falling to -15°. On the other hand, when the temperature
outside rose above freezing point, the temperature inside remained
stationary or fluctuated only gently. For instance, from the 24th
of March to the 8th of April, the outside air went up and down
perpetually, the extremes being -2° and +16°; while in the same time
the inside air rose continuously from -2° to -0.5°.
Windholes and Ice Formations near Gérardmer, Vosges. (Rozet, in
_Encyclopédie Moderne_, Didot Frères, Paris, 1853, vol. XVI., page 503.)
L'Abime du Creux-Percé or Glacière de Pasques. (Martel, _Les Abimes_,
1894, page 394; _Annuaire du Club Alpin Français_, vol. XIX., page
38.)--On the plateau of Langres, Côte d'Or. It lies 15 kilometers
from Dijon, and is really a limestone rock gorge, of 55 meters in
depth, which at the top is 40 meters long and 20 meters wide, and at
the bottom is 15 meters long and 12 meters wide. In March 1892, Mons.
Martel found the north side covered with large icicles 15 meters long.
The ice seems to remain throughout the year. The bottom of the Abime
has been reached only by means of two long rope ladders.
Creux de Chevroche or Roche Chèvre, Côte d'Or. (Clément Drioton,
_Mémoires de la Société de Spéléologie_, 1897, vol. I., page 209.)--"In
the woods of Mavilly, near Bligny-sur-Ouches, is a little cave, called
Creux de Chevroche or Roche-Chèvre, where one can find ice until the
month of July."
Freezing Well of Marolles, at La Ferté-Milon, Aisne. (Martel, _Les
Abimes_, page 563, note 2.)--This well is 8.15 meters deep; the
altitude is 70 meters. During the winter of 1892-93 the water in
it froze for a thickness of 15 centimeters. The minimum outside
temperature that year was -17°.
Windholes near Pontgibaud, Puy de Dome. (G. Poulett-Scrope, _The
Geology and Extinct Volcanoes of Central France_, 1858, page
60.)--These windholes are in basalt. There are many cracks, whence cold
air currents issue, and where ice has been found, sometimes in summer.
There are cold storage huts over some of the cracks.
Le Creux-de-Souci, Puy de Dome. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, 1894, Page
387.)--This is situated 5 kilometers southeast of Besse-en-Chandesse.
It is a large lava cavern with the entrance directly in the middle of
the roof. The bottom is partly filled by a lake. The depth from the
surface of the ground to the lake is 33 meters; from the smallest part
of the opening to the lake the depth is 21.50 meters. Down this last
portion one can descend only by means of a rope ladder. The temperature
is extremely low; in general near freezing point. In June, July, August
and November 1892, Monsieur Berthoule, _maire_ of Besse, did not find
any snow. On the 10th of August, 1893, on the contrary, he found at the
bottom a heap of snow, which he thinks was formed in the cave itself,
by the freezing during their descent of the drops of water which are
constantly dripping from the roof. He reports landing on _une montagne
de neige, de neige blanche_. On several visits, Mons. Berthoule noticed
carbonic acid gas in dangerous quantities. There was none at the time
he observed the snow heap, but ten days later he found it impossible
to descend into the cave as the carbonic acid gas came up in puffs to
the entrance. In the lake, Mons. Berthoule discovered a variety of
Rotifer, _Notholca longispina_, and also several algæ and diatoms.
The _Asterionella formosa_ is the most remarkable from its abundance:
it exists in some of the lakes of the Alps, but not in those of the
Pyrenees.
Aven de Lou Cervi, Vaucluse. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 563.)--This is
a cold cave. It belongs to the class which Mons. Martel calls _avens
à rétrécissement_, or _abimes à double orifice_. In September, 1892,
Mons. Martel noted a temperature of 6.5° at 53 meters; of 6.8° at 64
meters. Mean temperature of locality, 8.75°.
Igue de Biau, Lot. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 304.)--Cold cave.
Temperature on 13th July, 1891: 5°.
Fosse Mobile, Charente. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 380.)--Cold cave.
Temperature on 11th April, 1893: 7°.
Aven de Deidou, Causse Méjean. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 223.)--Cold
cave. Temperatures on 14th October, 1892: outside air, 4°; at bottom,
6.5°.
Aven des Oules, Causse Méjean. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 227.)--Cold
cave. Temperatures on 21st October, 1892: outside air, 2.5°; at bottom,
4°.
Windhole Cold Caves near Roquefort, Aveyron.--They lie 13 kilometers
from Millau, at an altitude of about 600 meters, and are utilized in
the manufacture of Roquefort cheese.
Aven de Carlet, near la Roche Giron, Basses Alpes. (Martel, _Les
Abimes_, page 53.)--Lumps of ice are reported to have been taken from
it.
La Poujade, Cévennes. (Martel, _Les Abimes_, pages 212-215.)--An
intermittent spring in limestone rock. At the bottom of the first
gallery, on the 18th of September, 1892, the temperature of the air was
12.3°, and that of a pool of water supplied by drip 11.5°. Mons. Martel
thought that the drip brought to the pool the mean annual temperature
of the ground through which it had come. A little further within and 5
meters lower, the temperature of the air was 7.3° and that of another
pool of water 6.8°. This pool was not supplied by drip and must have
been left over by the last flow of the spring. Mons. Martel thought
that the lower temperatures at this spot were due to the cold air of
winter dropping to the bottom of the cave and on account of its density
not being able to get out.
Snow Preserved in Chasms in the Italian Mountains. (_The Penny
Magazine_, London, August, 1834, page 335.)--Mr. Bunford Samuel called
my attention to an article in which the Southern Italians are said to
dig wells or cellars on the mountain sides, and to throw snow into them
in winter. The snow is well pressed together and straw, dried leaves,
etc., is thrown on top. By having a northern exposure for these pits,
and seeing that they are in thick forest, or in rifts where the sun
does not penetrate, these depots may be safely placed as low down the
mountain as the snow falls and lies. Naples is largely supplied [1834]
with snow in summer from such snow wells situated on Monte Angelo, the
loftiest point of the promontory separating the Bay of Naples from the
Bay of Salerno.
Cold Caves of San Marino, Apennines. (De Saussure, _Voyages dans les
Alpes_, 1796, III., page 211.)--These are probably windholes.
La Bocche dei Venti di Cesi. (De Saussure, _Voyages dans les Alpes_,
1796, III., page 211.)--These windholes were in the cellar of the
house of Don Giuseppe Cesi, in the town of Cesi. The cellar acted as a
natural refrigerator. The air stream was so strong, that it nearly blew
out the torches. In winter the wind rushed into the holes. De Saussure
was shown the following Latin verses by the owner:--
"Abditus hic ludit vario discrimine ventus
Et faciles miros exhibet aura jocos.
Nam si bruma riget, quaecumque objeceris haurit.
Evomit aestivo cum calet igne dies,"
Windholes or "Ventarole" on Monte Testaceo, near Rome. (De Saussure,
_Voyages dans les Alpes_, 1796, III., page 209.)--There are a number
here among heaps of broken pottery. The temperatures seem abnormally
low.
Krypta Sorana. (Kircher, _Mundus Subterraneus_, 1664, page 118 and
page 239.)--This has been spoken of as a glacière cave, but as there
is much doubt in the matter, I quote the passages, on which the
reports are based, in the original Latin: "Cryptae sunt naturales,
quarum innumerae sunt species, juxta vires naturales iis inditas. Sunt
nonnullae medicinali virtute praeditae, quaedam metallicis vaporibus,
exhalationibus, aquis scatent, sunt et glaciales, plenae nivibus et
crystallo, uti in Monte Sorano me vidisse memini." And further: "Vidi
ego in Monte Sorano cryptam veluti glacie incrustatam, ingentibus in
fornice hinc inde stiriis dependentibus, e quibus vicini montis accolae
pocula aestivo tempore conficiunt, aquae vinoque, quae iis infunduntur,
refrigerandis aptissima, extremo rigore in summas bibentium delicias
commutato."
Subterranean Ice Sheet, Mount Etna, Sicily. (Lyell, _Principles of
Geology, 11th Edition_, chapter XXVI.)--This ice sheet is near the
Casa Inglese. Sir Charles Lyell ascertained the fact of its existence
in 1828, and in 1858 he found the same mass of ice, of unknown extent
and thickness, still unmelted. In the beginning of the winter of
1828, Lyell found the crevices in the interior of the summit of the
highest cone of Etna encrusted with thick ice, and in some cases hot
vapors actually streaming out between masses of ice and the rugged and
steep walls of the crater. Lyell accounts for this ice sheet by the
explanation that there must have been a great snow bank in existence
at the time of an eruption of the volcano. This deep mass of snow
must have been covered at the beginning of the eruption by volcanic
sand showered on it, followed by a stream of lava. The sand is a bad
conductor of heat and together with the solidified lava, preserved the
snow from liquefaction.
Glacière on the Moncodine. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 13.)--The
Moncodine is described as a Dolomite near the Lago di Como. The cave
lies up the Val Sasina, two hours from Cortenuova, at an altitude of
1675 meters. The entrance faces north, and is 2.5 meters high and 1.5
meters wide. The average diameter of the cave is 16 meters. The floor
is solid ice, which has been sometimes cut for use in the hotels on the
Lago di Como and even been sent to Milan.
La Ghiacciaia del Mondole. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 8.)--The Mondole
is a mountain 2375 meters high, near Mondovi, south of Turin. The cave
lies on the eastern slope, at an altitude of about 2000 meters. It is
hard to get at. The entrance is to the east, and is 2 meters wide and
1.5 meters high. A passageway some 25 meters long leads to a large
chamber where there is plenty of ice. In hot summers ice is brought
from the cave to Mondovi. _Ghiacciaia_ means freezing cavern in Italian.
La Ghiacciaia del Val Séguret. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 8.)--It lies
near Susa at the base of chalk cliffs, at an altitude of about 1500
meters. The cave is said to be about 40 meters deep, 50 meters wide and
50 meters high. Bonetti in May, 1874, found many icicles and ice cones.
La Borna de la Glace. (Chanoine Carrel, _Bibliothèque Universelle de
Genève_, 1841, vol. XXXIV., page 196.)--It lies in the Duchy of Aosta,
commune of La Salle, on the northern slope of the hills near Chabauday,
in a spot called Plan Agex. The altitude is 1602 meters. The entrance
opens to the east and is 60 centimeters wide and 80 centimeters high.
One can descend for 4 meters. There are two branches in the rear of
the entrance. Chanoine Carrel found an ice pillar 1 meter high in the
western branch. He recorded these temperatures on the 15th of July,
1841: Outside +15°. Entrance +2.9°. East branch +0.9°. West branch
+0.5°.
Windholes in the Italian Alps. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, pages 94-97.)--A
number of these seem to have abnormally low temperatures. Some are in
the mountains around Chiavenna, and are sometimes, by building small
huts over them, utilized as refrigerators. Some are reported in the
neighborhood of the Lago di Como near Dongo, near Menaggio, and in the
villa Pliniana near Curino; in the neighborhood of the Lake of Lugano
at the base of Monte Caprino, near Melide, near Mendrisio and near
Sertellino; and in the Val Maggia near Cevio.
The Glacière de Font d'Urle, or Fondurle, Dauphiné. (Héricart de Thury,
_Annales des Mines_, vol. XXXIII., page 157; G. F. Browne, _Ice Caves_,
etc., page 212; E. A. Martel, _Mémoires de la Société de Spéléologie_,
vol. I., page 37; L. Villard, _Spélunca_, 1896, vol. II., page 39.)--It
lies on the Foire de Font d'Urle, 16 kilometers north of Dié, 48
kilometers east of Valence, and 80 kilometers south of Grenoble. The
glacière consists of two large pits, lying east and west, and with
underground communication. From this tunnel a long low archway leads to
a broad slope of chaotic blocks of stone, which is 60 meters long and
42 meters in greatest width. The ice begins half way down this slope,
fitfully at first and afterwards in a tolerably continuous sheet. Thury
found many icicles hanging from the roof. Browne found four columns
of ice, of which the largest was 5.80 meters across the base. On his
visit, in the middle of August, the ice was strongly thawing. Both
explorers noted the extremely prismatic character of the ice. Browne
found a temperature of +0.5°. Martel gives a section and plan of Font
d'Urle. Mons. Villard says about this cavern: "A curious thing: I found
in this cave, motionless on a piece of rock, entirely surrounded by ice
for a distance of several meters, a blind specimen of a coleoptera,
_Cytodromus dapsoïdes_."
The Chourun Clot. (E. A. Martel, _Sous Terre_. _Annuaire du Club Alpin
Français_, vol. XXIII., 1896, pages 42, 43; _Mémoires de la Société
de Spéléologie_, vol. I., page 31.)--In Dauphiné, half way between
Agnières and the Pic Costebelle, at an altitude of 1,740 meters. There
is first a pit 18 meters long, 4.50 meters wide and 25 meters deep. In
the bottom of this is a vertical hole 15 meters deep and from 1 meter
to 2 meters in diameter, in which there was much ice on the 31st of
July, 1896. Then the pit changes to a sloping gallery which terminates
in a little hall, full of ice, at a depth of 70 meters. Martel gives a
cut and section of this glacière.
The Glacière du Trou de Glas. (E. A. Martel, _La Géographie_, 1900,
vol. I., page 52.)--In the range of the Grande Chartreuse.
The Chourun Martin. (E. A. Martel, _La Géographie_, 1900, vol. I., page
53.)--In the range of the Dévoluy, Hautes-Alpes; altitude 1,580 meters.
An extremely deep pit, which on July 31st, 1899, was much blocked up
with snow.
The Chourun de la Parza. (E. A. Martel, _La Géographie_, 1900, vol. I.,
page 54.)--In the range of the Dévoluy, Hautes-Alpes; altitude 1,725
meters. A fine pit, 25 meters in diameter, and 74 meters in depth.
Filled with snow or rather névé, in which are deep holes.
The Glacière de l'Haut-d'Aviernoz. Described in Part I., page 2. (C.
Dunant, _Le Parmelan et ses Lapiaz_, page 26; Browne, _Ice Caves_,
etc., page 157.)--Mons. Dunant calls this glacière l'Haut d'Aviernoz;
Mr. Browne calls it the Glacière du Grand Anu. By a plumb line held
from the edge of the larger pit, Browne found that the ice floor was
about 35 meters from the surface, which would give a level for the ice
floor closely identical to the one I found. In July, 1864, he recorded
a temperature of +1.1°.
The Glacière de l'Enfer. (G. F. Browne, _Good Words_, November, 1866;
T. G. Bonney, _The Alpine Regions_, 1868, pages 95, 96; C. Dunant, _Le
Parmelan et ses Lapiaz_, page 25.)--On Mont Parmelan. A pit cave with
a steep slope of broken rock leading to a rock portal in the face of
a low cliff. This opens into a roughly circular hall about 22 meters
in diameter and 3 meters to 4 meters in height. A chink between the
rock and the ice permitted Mr. Browne to scramble down three or four
meters to where a tunnel entered the ice mass. Throwing a log of wood
down this tunnel, a crash was heard and then a splash of water, and
then a strange gulping sound. "The tunnel obviously led to a subglacial
reservoir and this was probably covered by a thin crust of ice; the
log in falling had broken this and then disturbed the water below,
which then commenced bubbling up and down through the hole, and making
a gulping noise, just as it does sometimes when oscillating up and down
in a pipe."
Mons. C. Dunant of the _Club Alpin Français_ describes a visit to
the Glacière de l'Enfer. He mentions also a legend of a witch from a
neighboring village who would get the ice from these caves and bring
it down in the shape of hail on the crops of the peasants who were
inhospitable to her.
The Glacière de Chapuis. Described in Part I., page 5. (Browne, _Ice
Caves_, etc., page 182, and _Good Words_, November, 1866.)--Mr. Browne
calls it the Glacière de Chappet-Sur-Villaz. Mr. Browne and Professor
T. G. Bonney found several flies in the Glacière de Chapuis. Three of
them were specimens of _Stenophylax_, the largest being probably, but
not certainly, _S. hieroglyphicus_ of Stephens. Two smaller caddis
flies were either _S. testaceus_ of Pictet or some closely allied
species. One other insect was an ichneumon of the genus _Paniscus_,
of an unidentified species. It differed from all its congeners in the
marking of the throat, resembling in this respect some species of
_Ophion_. Mr. Browne thinks that the case flies may have been washed
into the cave somehow or other in the larva form, and come to maturity
on the ice where they had lodged. But this explanation will not hold
in the case of the ichneumon, which is a parasitic genus on larvæ of
terrestrial insects.
The Glacière de Le Brezon. (Pictet, _Bibliothèque Universelle de
Genève_, 1822, vol. XX., page 270, and Thury, _Bibliothèque Universelle
de Genève_, 1861, vol. X., pages 139 and 152.)--It lies southeast of
Bonneville near the foot of Mount Lechaud, at an altitude of 1276
meters. The cave is 9.7 meters long, about 8 meters wide and the
greatest height is about 4 meters. The entrance is small and is at the
base of a cliff, in some places of which cold air currents issue. The
ice lies on the floor. Some of it is probably winter snow.
The Glacière de Brisons.--Described in Part I., page 1.
The Grand Cave de Montarquis. Described in Part I., page 70.
(Thury, _Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève_, vol. X., pages
135-153.)--Professor Thury describes two visits to this cave. On the
16th of August, 1859, he found no ice stalactites or stalagmites. On
the 19th of January, 1861, he did not find a single drop of water in
the cave, but many stalactites and stalagmites of beautiful clear ice,
one of which resembled porcelain more than any other substance. In
August, Thury found an air current streaming into the cave at the rear,
but this did not, however, disturb the air of the interior, for in one
part it was in perfect equilibrium: along the line of the draughts
the ice was more melted than elsewhere in the cave. In January, the
current was reversed and poured into the fissure, with the temperature
varying between -1.5° and -2.5°. He observed the following temperatures
at the Grand Cave:--
TIME. OUTSIDE. INSIDE.
16th August, 1859 +8.6° +2.5°
19th January, 1861 1.25 P. M. +2.6° -4.°
" " " 2.12 " +2.1° -4.°
" " " 3.50 " -1.1° -4.°
The Petite Cave de Montarquis. Mentioned in Part I., page 71. (Thury,
_Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève_, 1861, vol. X., page 150. Also
quotes Morin.)--At the end of a crooked fissure 10 meters deep, a
passage 6 meters long, leads into a cave 8 meters high and 5 meters in
diameter. In August, 1828, Morin found an ice stalagmite of 5 meters in
height in the middle of the cave.
Cave Containing Ice on the Southern Shore of Lake Geneva.--Reported; no
information.
The Glacière and Neigière d'Arc-Sous-Cicon. (Browne, _Ice Caves_,
etc., page 118.)--These lie close together in the Jura about twenty
kilometers from Pontarlier. The little glacière is formed by a number
of fissures in the rock, disconnected slits in the surface opening into
larger chambers where the ice lies. The neigière is a deep pit, with a
collection of snow at the bottom, much sheltered by overhanging rocks
and trees. A huge fallen rock covers a large part of the sloping bottom
of the pit, which forms a small cave in the shape of a round soldier's
tent, with walls of rock and floor of ice.
The Glacière de la Genollière. Described in Part I., page 48. (Browne,
_Ice Caves_, etc., page 1.)--Mr. Browne observed in 1864 a temperature
of +1.1°, and two days later of +0.8°. He also found a number of flies
running rapidly over the ice and stones. He was told in England,
from the specimen he brought away, that it was the _Stenophylax
hieroglyphicus_ of Stephens or something very like that fly.
The Glacière de Saint-Georges. Described in Part I., page 62. (Thury,
_Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève_, 1861, vol. X.)--Professor Thury
obtained the following temperatures at the Glacière de Saint-Georges:--
OUTSIDE. INSIDE.
9th January, 1858 7.36 P. M., -4.5° 7.16 P. M., -0.6°
" " " 7.20 " -1.2°
" " " 7.27 " -2.5°
" " " 7.50 " -2.9°
Minimum of night -5.8° -4.9°
10th January, 1858 10.53 A. M., -3.4° 10.12 A. M., -4.6°
" " " 11.14 " -3.1° 10.30 " -4.5°
" " " 11.45 " -2.2° 11.20 " -4.4°
" " " 12.32 P. M., -2.4° 12.14 P. M., -4.4°
" " " 1.12 " -0.9° 1.30 " -4.2°
" " " 3.03 " -2.9° 2.30 " -4.1°
" " " 3.56 " -3.5° 3.14 " -4.0°
" " " 4.26 " -3.7° 4.00 " -3.8°
Minimum of night -7.6° -6.8°
11th January, 1858 9.34 A. M., -5.6°
2d April, 1858 6.20 P. M., +0.7° -0.2°
Minimum of night + 1.1°
3d April, 1858 10.00 A. M., +4.0° 9.00 A. M., -1.0°
Professor Thury's winter excursions caused him to accept as proved that
part of the mountaineers' belief, which holds that there is no ice
formed in caves in winter. One of the main grounds for his opinion was
the series of observations he made in the Glacière de Saint-Georges.
He found no ice forming there in winter and the natives said it did
not because the cavern was not cold enough. So he placed large dishes
filled with water in the cave and found that they froze solid during
the night, which he had been assured was impossible. Thury also found
violent movements of the air at Saint-Georges in January, 1858. A
candle burned steadily for some time, but at 7.16 P. M. it began to
flicker and soon inclined downwards through an angle of about 45°; and
in the entrance, the flame assumed an almost horizontal position. At 8
P. M., the current of air nearly disappeared. Thury thought that this
violent and temporary disturbance of equilibrium was due to the fact
that as the heavier air outside tended to pass into the cave, the less
cold air within tended to pass out; and the narrow entrance confining
the struggle to a small area, the weaker current was able for a while
to hold its own.
The Glacière du Pré de Saint-Livres. Described in Part I., page
65. (Browne, _Ice Caves_, page 40.)--Mr. Browne found, in 1864, a
temperature of 0°.
The Petite Glacière du Pré de Saint-Livres. (Browne, _Ice Caves_, page
46.)--This is near the last cave at a slightly higher altitude. There
is first a small pit, then a little cave, in which there is an ice
slope. This passes under a low arch in the rock wall, and leads down
into another small cave. Mr. Browne descended this ice stream, which
was itself practically a fissure column and spread into the fan shape
at the base. The lower cave was 22 meters long and 11 meters wide, and
contained an ice floor and several fissure columns.
The Glacière de Naye, above Montreux, Switzerland. (E. A. Martel, _Les
Abimes_, page 397; _Spélunca_, 1895, vol. I., pages 107, 108; _Mémoires
de la Société de Spéléologie_, vol. III., pages 246-254.)--This is
called a _glacier souterrain_. It was discovered in 1893 by Professor
Dutoit. There are fifty-four caves known among the Rochers de Naye, and
only this one contains ice. It is a long narrow cave with two entrances
and widest towards the base, which opens over a precipice. The altitude
is high, the upper entrance being at an altitude of 1820 meters, and
the lower of 1750 meters. The place is both a passage cave and a
windhole. The snow falls into the upper entrance, and slides down,
becoming ice in the lower portion. There are other connecting passages
and hollows where the cold air cannot get in, and there ice does not
form. Mons. Martel thinks that the ice formed during the winter is
preserved by the draughts--due to the difference in level of the two
openings--causing an evaporation and chill sufficient for the purpose.
The Creux Bourquin. (E. A. Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 397.)--At
Mauberget, near Grandson. This is a rock gorge 25 meters deep. At the
bottom, on the 9th of July, 1893, was a mass of ice 38 meters long and
8 meters wide.
The Glacière de Monthézy. (Browne, _Ice Caves_, page 97.)--This lies
to the west of Neufchâtel, between the Val de Travers and the Val de
Brévine, on the path between the villages of Couvet and Le Brévine,
at an altitude of 1100 meters. The cave is nearly oval in shape, with
a length of 34 meters and a width of 29 meters. The roof is from 1
meter to 3 meters high. There are three pits, about 20 meters deep, on
different sides of the cave. The descent is made through the largest
pit. On the 6th of July, 1864, Mr. Browne found the floor of the cave
covered with ice, and icicles and columns in some places; he also saw
a clump of cowslips (_primula elatior_) overhanging the snow at the
bottom of the pit through which he descended.
Pertius Freiss. (T. G. Bonney, _Nature_, vol. XI., page 327.)--It lies
on the way to the Pic d'Arzinol, near Evolène, in the Val d'Hérens.
A slip or subsidence of part of a cliff has opened two joints in the
rock, in both of which fissures Professor Bonney found ice on July 23d.
The Schafloch. Described in Part I., page 21. (Körber, _Jahrbuch des
Schweizer Alpen Club_, 1885, vol. XX., pages 316, 343.)--Herr Körber
gives some of the dimensions as follows: Entrance 14 meters wide
and 4.70 meters high. Length of cave 206.8 meters: average width
20 meters and greatest width 23.5 meters. Height from 5 meters to 7
meters. Length of ice slope 29 meters and breadth 12.5 meters; for 16
meters the slope has an inclination of 32°. Körber made the following
observations in the Schafloch:--
14 METERS 100 METERS 160 METERS
DATE. OUTSIDE. FROM FROM FROM
ENTRANCE. ENTRANCE. ENTRANCE.
21 September, 1884, 10.5° 5.6° 0.2° 0.2°
18 January, 1885, 2.7° -1.0° -1.3° --
The Rev. G. F. Browne, in 1864, found a temperature of +0.5°.
The Eisloch of Unterfluh. (Baltzer, _Jahrbuch des Schweizer Alpen
Club_, 1892-93, pages 358-362.)--Twenty minutes from Unterfluh near
Meiringen. A long narrow rock crack, some 30 meters deep and running
some distance underground.
Windholes and Milkhouses of Seelisberg.--Described in Part I., page 45.
Windholes on the Spitzfluh. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 92.)--These are
situated between Oltingen and Zeylingen, Canton Bâle: they generally
contain ice till the end of July.
Windholes on the Blummatt. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 93.)--On the
northwestern slope of the Stanzerberg. Ice sometimes lies over in these
windholes.
Windholes near Bozen. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 97.)--On the Mendel
ranges in Eppan, southwest of Bozen, among porphyry rocks. There are
strong wind-streams. Ice is said to remain till late in the summer.
Grotto on Monte Tofana, Dolomites. (T. G. Bonney, _Nature_, vol. XI.,
page 328.)--This is probably a rudimentary glacière.
Holes with Ice near Lienz. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 97.)--One hour
and a half distant near Aineth, is a small cave containing ice, and
further up the valley towards Huben, are several windholes.
Eishöhle am Birnhorn. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 131.)--Near Leogang in
the Pinzgau. Altitude 2150 meters. There are two entrances, from which
a slope 10 meters long, set at an angle of 25°, leads to an ice floor
12 meters long and 3 meters high. Then comes a small ice slope, and a
little horizontal floor at the back. Explored by Fugger.
Glacières on the Eiskogel. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 19.)--The
Eiskogel is in the Tennengebirge, a mountain mass lying east of Pass
Lueg. At an altitude of about 1900 meters, are two small caves, about
30 meters to 40 meters apart. They are some 25 meters in length and get
smaller towards the bottom.
Holes with Ice in the Tennengebirge, between the Schallwand and the
Tauernkogel. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 20.)--In this gorge are some
small holes at an altitude of about 2000 meters, which are said to
contain ice in summer.
The Seeofen. (A. Posselt-Csorich, _Zeitschrift des Deutschen und
Oesterreichischen Alpen Verein_, 1880, page 270.) On the Hean Krail in
the Tennengebirge, at an altitude of about 1900 meters. The entrance
faces southwest, and is 6 meters high and 4.5 meters wide. The cave is
25 meters long, and 8 meters wide. The floor of the cave is 13 meters
below the entrance.
The Posselthöhle. (A. Posselt-Csorich, _Zeitschrift des Deutschen
und Osterreichischen Alpen Verein_, 1880, page 273.)--Named after
its discoverer. It lies on the Hochkogel in the Tennengebirge, at an
altitude of about 1900 meters. The entrance faces southwest, and is
about 8 meters high and 8 meters wide. From the entrance the cave first
rises, then sinks again below the level of the entrance, where the
ice begins. The cave is about 20 meters wide. About 180 meters were
explored, to a point where a perpendicular ice wall, 6 meters high,
barred the way. About 125 meters from the entrance, there was an ice
cone about 7 meters high.
The Gamsloch or Diebshöhle. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 14.)--It lies
on the Breithorn of the Steinernes Meer, near the Riemannhauss, at an
altitude of about 2180 meters. The entrance faces south. There is first
a small, then a larger chamber. The latter is some 40 meters long, by
5 meters or 6 meters wide. The ice is in the large chamber.
Eishöhle am Seilerer. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 15.)--On the
eastern side of the Seilerer arête on the Ewigen Schneeberg, west of
Bischofshofen, at an altitude of about 2400 meters, is a small glacière
cave.
Cave in the Hagengebirge, West of Pass Lueg. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
15.)--It lies about 2 kilometers east of Kalbersberg, at an altitude of
about 2000 meters. A snow slope, with an ice floor at the bottom, leads
into a long cave, about which little is known.
The Nixloch. Described in Part I., page 57. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_,
page 98.)--Professor Fugger gathered some valuable data in connection
with the Nixloch. In August, 1879, he found the air current entering
downwards; on September 14th, 1879, there was no current either way.
On Christmas day, 1878, on the contrary, the draughts were reversed,
pouring out of the hole with a temperature of +7.4°: the outside air
then being -7.4°. At this time the known lower opening was in existence.
The Kolowratshöhle. Described in Part I., page 18. (Fugger,
_Beobachtungen_, etc., page 7.)--This cavern has been more carefully
studied than any other glacière cave. Some of its dimensions are given
by Professor Fugger as follows: From the entrance to the ice floor,
26.6 meters; surface covered by ice as measured on a plane, 2940
square meters; approximate cubical measure of entire cave, 92,000 cubic
meters. The height of the entrance is 7 meters, with a width at the
base of 2.7 meters, and at the top of 6.6 meters.
On the entrance slope occurred the only fatal accident I know of in
glacières. In 1866, the Bavarian minister Freiherr von Lerchenfeld
tried to descend; a wooden handrail which had been erected over the
snow broke under his weight; von Lerchenfeld fell to the bottom of the
cave and died a few days after from the injuries he received.
Of the Kolowratshöhle, we have numerous thermometric observations by
Professor Fugger, of which I select a few.
DATE. OUTSIDE. ENTRANCE. INSIDE. REAR.
21 May 1876 +6.5° +0.7° +0.03° 0°& +0.08°
18 June 1876 +5.1° +1.6° +0.23° +0.4°
24 June 1876 +10.° +1.6° +0.4° --
5 July 1876 -- -- +0.4° --
22 July 1876 +11.3° +1.5° +0.4° +0.2°
29 July 1876 +15.2° +2.4° +0.3° +0.2°
22 Aug. 1876 +19.8° +4.0° +0.4° +0.25°
20 Sept. 1876 +7.2° +3.0° +0.45° +0.6°
22 Sept. 1876 -- -- +0.30° --
16 Oct. 1876 +14.8° +2.05° +0.2° +0.2°
22 Oct. 1876 +5.6° +2.5° +0.25° +0.4°
26 Nov. 1876 +4.4° +0.4° -1.0° --
6 Jan. 1877 +2.1° +1.2° -1.65° -0.6°
The Schellenberger Eisgrotte. (Fugger, _Beobachtungen in den Eishöhlen
des Untersberges_, page 80.)--On the southeast slope of the Untersberg
near Salzburg, at an altitude of 1580 meters. The path leads past the
Kienbergalp over the Mitterkaser and the Sandkaser. In front of the
entrance is a sort of rock dam, 30 meters long and 5 meters or 6 meters
higher than the entrance. Masses of snow fill the space between the
two. The entrance is about 20 meters wide and from 2 meters to 3 meters
high. A snow slope of 25 meters in length, set at an angle of 25°,
leads to the ice floor. The cave is 54 meters long, from 13 meters to
22 meters broad and from 4 meters to 10 meters high. The cave has been
repeatedly examined by Fugger, who has always found most snow and ice
in the beginning of the hot weather, after which it gradually dwindles
away.
Of the Schellenberger Eisgrotte, we have the following thermometric
observations by Professor Fugger:--
DATE. OUTSIDE. ENTRANCE. INSIDE.
29 June, 1877 +18° -- +0.38°
24 " 1881 +21° +2.3° +0.24°
28 Aug., 1878 +14.6° -- +0.2°
12 " 1879 +17.8° -- +0.3°
4 Oct., 1876 +16.7° +1.4° +0.3°
9 " 1880 +3.6° +3.5° +0.3°
2 " 1887 +5.4° -- +0.4°
9 " 1887 +8.2° -- +0.4°
11 Nov., 1877 +7.4° -- +0.2°
The Grosser Eiskeller or Kaiser Karls Höhle. (Fugger, _Beobachtungen_,
etc., page 58.)--On the Untersberg, between the Salzburger Hochthron
and the Schweigmüller Alp. Altitude 1687 meters. A stony slope of 26
meters in length leads to an ice floor which is 26 meters long and 6
meters to 8 meters wide.
The Kleiner Eiskeller. (Fugger, _Beobachtungen_, etc., page 73.)--Near
the last. A small cave 8 meters long, 6 meters wide, 8 meters high.
The Windlöcher on the Untersberg. (Fugger, _Beobachtungen_, etc., page
73.)--On the Klingersteig, at an altitude of 1300 meters. Four small
caves of about 12 meters each in length and 8 meters in depth, and
communicating at the bottom. There are strong draughts among them. In
one of the caves is a small pit of great depth.
The Eiswinkel on the Untersberg. (Fugger, _Beobachtungen_, etc., page
77.)--Between the Klingeralp and the Vierkaser, at an altitude of 1600
meters. A small cave or rather rock shelter.
Windholes on the Untersberg. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, pages 103,
104.)--Windholes have been found by Fugger on the lower slopes of the
Untersberg:
Near the Hochbruch at Fürstenbrunn.
In the débris of the Neubruch.
In the débris of the Veitlbruch.
Hotel Cellar at Weissenbach on the Attersee. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
20.)--There is a small cave here, at an altitude of 452 meters, which
is utilized as a cellar, and which is said to contain ice in summer.
Cave near Steinbach. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 20.)--A small cave
containing ice on the northwest slopes of the Höllengebirge. Altitude
about 700 meters.
The Kliebensteinhöhle or Klimmsteinhöhle. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
20.)--On the north slope of the Höllengebirge, near the Aurachkar Alp,
between Steinbach and the Langbath Lakes. Altitude about 1300 meters.
Length about 40 meters, width 20 meters, height 15 meters.
The Wasserloch. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 21.)--On the south slope of
the Höllengebirge, near the Spitzalpe. Altitude about 1350 meters. At
the bottom of a gorge is a snow heap and a small cave. The snow becomes
ice in the cave.
Cave on the Zinkenkogl near Aussee. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
21.)--Altitude about 1800 meters. A snow slope leads to an ice floor 18
meters long and 4 meters wide.
Cave on the Kasberg. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 22.)--South of Grünau
near Gmunden. Altitude about 1500 meters. Small cave 12 meters long, 4
meters wide.
The Wasseraufschlag on the Rothen Kogel. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
22.)--A tunnel near Aussee. The ice in it was formerly used.
The Gschlösslkirche. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 22.)--On the Dachstein
range, facing the Lake of Gosau. A small cave, mostly filled with snow.
Cave with Ice on the Mitterstein. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 23.)--On
the Dachstein, one hour and a quarter from the Austria hut. Altitude
about 1800 meters. Cave 5 meters to 6 meters wide, 30 meters long. In
the rear a passage leads apparently to a windhole where there is a
strong draught.
Windholes in the Obersulzbach Valley in the Pinzgau. (Fugger,
_Eishöhlen_, page 105.)--Fugger found ice among these on the 1st of
August, 1886.
Ice in an Abandoned Nickel Mine on the Zinkwand, in the Schladming
Valley. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 105.)
Windholes on the Rothen Kogel near Aussee. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
106.)--These were found to contain ice on the 2d of September, 1848.
Cave on the Langthalkogel. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 23.)--On the
Dachstein plateau between Hallstatt and Gosau. A small cave which
contains ice.
Eislunghöhle. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 24.)--A small cave between the
Hochkasten and Ostrowiz in the Priel range.
The Geldloch or Seelücken on the Oetscher. (Schmidl, _Die Höhlen
des Ötscher and Die Oesterreichischen Höhlen_; Cranmer and Sieger,
_Globus_, 1899, pages 313-318, and 333-335.)--The second known notice
of a glacière cave is the account of a visit to the Oetscher Caves
in 1591. After lying in manuscript for two and a half centuries, it
was published by Dr. A. Schmidl in 1857, in _Die Höhlen des Ötscher_,
pages 21-36. According to the account, which is naive, but evidently
truthful, Kaiser Rudolf II. ordered Reichard Strein, owner of the
Herrschaff Friedeck, to investigate the Ötscher and especially its
caves. He did so, with the title of _Kaiserlicher Commissarius_, and
accompanied by the _Bannerherr_ Christoph Schallenberger, Hans Gasser,
and eleven porters. On September the 16th, 1591, they visited the
Seelücken, where they found a lake in the front of the cave, and where
the party had great difficulties in climbing round on to the ice.
The Seelücken on the Oetscher is situated at an altitude of 1470
meters. It opens nearly due south. The ice floor is about 20 meters
below the entrance and is about 38 meters long and 24 meters wide; at
the rear, it rises for some 15 meters as an ice wall at an angle of
about 60°, and then forms a second ice floor about 45 meters long by
19 meters wide. The front part of the ice is sometimes, about July,
covered with water. The cave continues further back, in two branches,
and Professors Cranmer and Sieger consider that it is a large windhole,
in which draughts are infrequent, on account of its length and because
the openings are near the same level. There are also several up and
down curves and in these cold air remains and acts something like a
cork in stopping draughts.
On the 13th of September there were no draughts, and the temperatures
between 11 A. M. and 12 M. were:--
Outside air +7.1°
Inside near entrance +1.5°
A little further in +1.1°
At the lowest point near ice +0.8°
On the 31st of October, 1897, there was a draught, which followed the
curves of the cavern, and which flowed out at the southern end. The
temperatures were:--
Outside air +3.7°
Inside near entrance +1.3°
At the lowest point near ice +0.8°
On the second, higher ice floor +1.0°
In the main passage behind ice +1.4°
Cave on the Kühfotzen near Warscheneck. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
25.)--A small cave containing ice.
Eiskeller on the Rax. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 25; Cranmer,
_Eishöhlen_, etc., page 61.)--Altitude about 1660 meters. A doline with
a small cave at the bottom, in which melting snow was found on the 19th
of September, 1896.
The Tablerloch. (Cranmer, _Eishöhlen_, etc., pages 19-60.)--On the
Dürren-Wand in the mountains south of Vienna, 2 hours distant from
Miesenbach R. R. station. Altitude about 1000 meters. Entrance 7 meters
wide, 3.5 meters high. Slope 30° from entrance. Lowest point 22 meters
below entrance. Extreme length of cave 50 meters, width 23 meters,
height 15 meters. Professor Cranmer found fresh ice beginning to form
on the 12th of November, 1893; on the 1st of December, 1894; and on
the 20th of October, 1895. He found it melting away on the 3d of June,
1894; on the 1st of June, 1895; and on the 31st of May, 1896. The rates
at which the ice formed or melted, however, were not always the same in
different parts of the cave. The greatest amount of ice observed seems
to have been in March and April. In the summer months no perceptible
movements of air seem to have been noticed. This was also sometimes the
case in the winter months, during which, however, movements of air were
at other times plainly perceptible.
The Gipsloch. (Cranmer, _Eishöhlen_, etc., page 60.)--A small cave on
the Hohen-Wand near Wiener-Neustadt. It is rather a cold cave than a
glacière.
The Windloch. (Cranmer, _Eishöhlen_, etc., page 61.)--On the Hohen-Wand
near Wiener Neustadt. Small cave. Snow found in it on June the 2d, 1895.
Eisloch in the Brandstein on the Hochschwab. (Cranmer, _Eishöhlen_,
etc., page 64.)--Altitude about 1600 meters. A moderately large cave.
On the 21st of August, 1895, there was an ice floor 10 meters long and
5 meters broad. Temperature in rear of cave, -0.2°.
Caves on the Beilstein. (Krauss, _Höhlenkunde_, 1894, pages 207-219;
Cranmer, _Eishöhlen_, etc., page 63.)--These lie about 4 hours on foot
from Gams in Steiermark, at an altitude of 1260 meters, in a place
where the mountain is much broken up by fissures and snow basins. The
large cave has two openings, from which steep snow slopes descend.
The cave is 60 meters long, 15 meters to 18 meters broad, and about 7
meters high. Clefts in the rock in two places lead to two lower, small
ice chambers. In the neighborhood of the large cave are two small ones.
Prof. Cranmer found fresh ice in the Beilsteinhöhle on the 20th of
August, 1895. Two days before, fresh snow had fallen on the neighboring
mountain peaks.
Eishöhle on the Brandstein. (Cranmer, _Eishöhlen_, etc., page 62.)--A
small cleft cave near the Langriedleralm near Gams in Steiermark. On
the 20th of August, 1895, it contained some ice.
The Frauenmauerhöhle.--Described in Part I., page 37.
The Bärenloch near Eisenerz. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 28.)--In the
neighborhood of the Frauenmauerhöhle. Altitude 1600 meters. A steep
snow slope leads to an ice floor 13 meters long.
The Katerloch. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 29.)--On the Göserwand near
Dürnthal, Glemeinde Gschaid in Steiermark. A large cave, some 190
meters long and 80 meters wide. A thin ice crust has been found on
parts of the walls in the rear.
Caves in the Stein Alps. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 29.)--The plateau
of Velica Planina lies, at an altitude of 1600 meters, 9 kilometers
north of Stein in the Duchy of Krain. There are three caves containing
ice on the plateau. The first is a big one and is called V. Kofcih. The
second is called Mala Veternica. The third and biggest is called Velika
Veternica; its length is about 100 meters and its breadth 30 meters.
Glacière Caves on the Nanos Mountain. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page
34.)--In the southwestern Krain, 5 kilometers from Präwald. There are
four caves containing ice reported on the Nanos mountain. Two of them
are big. The altitude of one of these is 1300 meters, of the other 1350
meters.
Brlowa Jama. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 36.)--Seven kilometers from
Adelsberg. Small glacière cave.
Kosova Jama. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 38.)--Near Divacca. Forty
meters long, 20 meters broad.
Glacière near Adelsberg. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 36.)--Small cave.
One hour from Adelsberg.
Kacna Jama. (J. Marinitsch, _La Kacna Jama_, _Mémoires de la Société de
Spéléologie_, vol. I., page 83.)--A great pit near the railroad station
of Divacca. Herr Marinitsch observed the following temperatures on
January 2d, 1896:--
At Divacca -2° C.
In the Kacna Jama at 40 meters -1.1° C.
" " " " " 100 meters +1.2° C.
" " " " " 210 meters +2.1° C.
Sanct Canzian, Karst. (E. A. Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 564,
note.)--During the winter of 1889-1890, Herr Marinitsch found
stalactites of ice as far as the seventeenth cascade of the Recca; 1000
meters from the third entrance of the river. The temperature of the
Recca was then at 0°; during the summer, the temperature of the water
rises to 27° (?).
The Grosses Eisloch of Paradana. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 36.)--On
the high plateau of the forest of Tarnowa, east of Görz. A large pit
cave, 30 meters to 40 meters deep. Professor Fugger says of it: "The
flora in the basin-like depression has the character of high mountain
vegetation, with every step it resembles more this flora as it exists
in the neighborhood of glaciers, until finally in the deepest point of
the basin all vegetation stops."
The Kleines Eisloch of Paradana. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 37.)--A
small pit glacière, 500 meters distant from the Grosses Eisloch of
Paradana.
Suchy Brezen. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 37.)--A small pit glacière,
situated about midway between the Grosses and Kleines Eisloch of
Paradana.
Prevalo Cave. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 37.)--In the Buchenhochwald,
south of Karnica. Small glacière.
Cave of Dol. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 38.)--On a mountain near
Haidenschaft. Small glacière.
Glacière near Matena in Bezirke Radmansdorf. (Petruzzi in Haidinger's
_Berichte_, etc., vol. VII., page 68.)--On a wooded height. The ice
commences to melt in the early summer.
Glacière on the Schutzengelberge near the Golac. (Petruzzi in
Haidinger's _Berichte_, etc., vol. VII., page 64.)--A small glacière.
Glacière Cave near Lazhna-gora or Latzenberg. (Valvasor, _Die Ehre des
Herzogthumes Crain_, vol. I., pages 242, 243; Hacquet, _Oryctographia
Carniolica_, 1778, III., page 159.)--In the neighborhood of Vishnagora
in the Krain. The entrance is under a church. It is a large cave, 40
meters long and 20 meters high, where the ice all melts by the end of
the summer. Valvasor gives the following account of this cave in 1689,
which seems the first printed notice of a glacière in German:--
"Near to Lazchenberg up by the church of St. Nicholas, where a _Thabor_
stands, one finds a big hole, which sinks into the stony rocks. Through
this one descends deep with torches: there opens then underneath as
big a cavity as the biggest church could be, and the same is extremely
high, in the form of a cupola. One sees there different teeth, formed
and hardened from the water turned to stone. Further down one arrives
to a deep gully: into which, however, I have not been. On the other
side one must again ascend, and then one comes again to a cupola: in
which cupola ice stands up like an organ from the earth.
"There also one sees icicles of pure ice of different sizes and
heights, of which many are one or two _klafters_ high and as thick as
a man; but many only two or three spans high or higher, and as thick
as an arm, and some also thinner. This ice is formed from the drops
of falling water; and indeed in summer; for in winter there is no ice
therein. Over such ice one must then ascend, as there are then said to
be separate holes and grottoes. But no one has been any further."
Glacière on the Dini Verh. (Petruzzi in Haidinger's _Berichte_, etc.,
vol. VII., page 67.)--Near Tomischle in the Krain. Small glacière.
Eiskeller near Rosseck. (Petruzzi in Haidinger's _Berichte_, etc., vol.
VII., page 64.)--On the Pograca Mountain in the Krain, northeast of the
Hornwald, near the Meierhof Rosseck. Small glacière cave.
Gorge near Rosseck. (Valvasor, _Die Ehre des Herzogthumes Crain_, vol.
I., page 243 and page 517 ; Petruzzi in Haidinger's _Berichte_, etc.,
vol. VII., page 64.)--Behind the ruined castle of Rosseck, on the
Pograca Mountain in the Krain, is a gorge, at whose bottom are four
little holes containing ice most of the year.
Valvasor wrote of this cave in 1689: "Near Rosseck immediately back
of the castle there opens a mighty cavern entirely in stony rock, and
yawns in the shape of a cauldron down into the earth. Above as wide as
a good rifle shot, but below quite narrow. And there underneath there
are many holes where the ice remains through the whole summer. From
such ice have Duke Frederick Graf and Duke von Gallenberg daily made
use in summer to cool their wine. Six years ago I descended there in
the month of August, and found ice enough in all the holes."
In the same volume Freiherr Valvasor elaborates his remarks about this
cave and that at Latzenberg, repeating in the main the observations
in the paragraph just given. He says: "There hang also long icicles
which are quite pleasant to look at. * * * This ice breaks all too
easily and quickly. * * * Contrarywise, however, this ice lasts much
longer in the sun and the heat than other ice. * * * Some might think
it would eventually turn into stone: this, however, does not happen:
for it remains only in summer and disappears in winter: as I can say
for certain, as I have been in myself in the winter as well as in the
summer time. * * * For as in the summer the floor is quite covered with
ice: it makes walking so dangerous and bad that one cannot take a step
without climbing irons; but in the winter time one goes safely and
well. * * *"
Freiherr Valvasor was evidently an accurate observer, and, if for his
word "winter" we substitute "autumn," his account will be much more
nearly correct than might have been expected two centuries ago.
The Kuntschner Eishöhle. (Petruzzi in Haidinger's _Berichte_, etc.,
vol. VII., pages 65, 66.)--This is known also as the Töplitzer,
Unterwarmberger or Ainödter Grotto. It lies 2 kilometers from
Kuntschen, and 12 kilometers from Töplitz near Neustädtel, in the
Krain. Altitude about 630 meters. Petruzzi says: "Of all so far
noticed ice grottoes it is the most wonderful and splendid." In August
and September, 1849, the temperatures near the ice were about two
degrees above freezing. On the 16th of August, there were many long
ice stalagmites and stalactites; on the 29th of September they had
diminished materially. Petruzzi says also: "One leaves the abundant
vegetation of the Alpine summer flora, and through bushes and dwarf
underbrush, through bare and half moss covered rocks and débris,
through rotten and twisted tree stems, one comes to the hall of eternal
winter, where the microscopic mosses of the north surround the thousand
year old stalactites, hanging from the dripping vault, with an always
passing, always freshly forming, tender sulphur colored down." Dr.
Schwalbe has also examined this cave.
The Friedrichsteiner or Gottscheer Eishöhle.--Described in Part I.,
page 51.
The Handler Eisloch.--7 kilometers south of Gottschee and about twenty
minutes from the village of Handlern, near Rieg. Altitude 596 meters.
Small cave. Professor Hans Satter of Gottschee told me he doubted
whether ice ever formed there now.
The Suchenreuther Eisloch.--Described in Part I., page 55.
Ledenica na Veliki Gori. (Petruzzi in Haidinger's _Berichte_, etc.,
vol. VII., page 67.)--In the Krain, 11 kilometers from Reifnitz, on the
Balastena Mountain. Altitude 1253 meters. Much ice was found there on
the 10th of July, 1834.
Mrzla Jama. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 34.)--On the Innerkrainer
Schneeberg, 13 kilometers from Laas.
Glacière Caves on the Kapella. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 39.)--On a
pass in the neighborhood of Piacenza. Altitude 800 meters.
Glacière Cave in West Bosnia. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_. page 39.)--West of
Kljuc, county Petrovac, district Smoljama, near village Trvanj. Called
Trvanj, also Ledenica. Altitude about 1000 meters, length 170 meters,
breadth from 4 meters to 30 meters.
Rtanj, Servia. (A. Boué, _La Turquie d'Europe_, 1840, vol. I., page
132; Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II., 1896, pages 72-74.)--This
glacière is on the south side of Siljak, near the village Muzinac. A
passage 60 meters long leads to a hall about 10 meters in height. Dr.
Boué found snow here in August, the thermometer standing below freezing
point. The people in the neighborhood told Dr. Boué that the snow is
formed in June and disappears in September and that it is sometimes
carried to Nisch. He also heard of similar cavities on the Bannat
Mountain. Dr. Cvijic observed in the hall a temperature of +0.4° C.
Ledena Pec, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II., 1896, pages
68, 69.)--On the Ledini Verh or Glacial Peak, at an altitude of 800
meters; distant one hour and a half from the village of Souvold. Length
of passage 108 meters; at entrance about 6 meters, at end about 15
meters in height. On the 10th of May, 1893, there was plenty of ice and
snow. Temperature of outside air +19° C.; inside air at rear +0.5° C.
Probably permanent glacière.
Dobra Ledenica, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II., 1896,
page 70.)--West of Ledeno Brdo. Probably periodic glacière. On July
25th, 1890, the temperature of the outside air was +26° C.; of the
inside air +3.5°C. _Ledenica_ is the name for a glacière in Servia.
Ledenica in the Mala Brezovica, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_,
vol. II., 1896, page 70.)--Length 43 meters. A large, permanent
glacière. On July 28th, 1890, the outside air was +23°: inside air +2°.
Ledenica Treme in the Souva Planina, Servia. (Cvijic, Dr. A.,
_Spélunca_, vol. II., 1896, page 71.)--Altitude 1600 meters to 1700
meters. A rather large, probably permanent glacière. Plenty of ice in
it on April 21st, 1894.
Zla Ledenica, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II., 1896, page
72.)--On the Kucaj. A permanent glacière, 7 meters or 8 meters deep. On
July 25th, 1890, outside air +25°; inside air at snow +6°.
Glacière on the Devica, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II.,
1896, page 74.)--Under the peak Lazurevica. Altitude 1000 meters. A
narrow passage leads to a hall 17 meters long by 12 meters wide and
20 meters high. On June 30th, 1893, there was plenty of snow in the
passage and ice in the hall.
Glacière Vlaska Pecura, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II.,
1896, page 74.)--On the Devica, under the Golemi Vech. A small periodic
glacière.
Glacière in the Zdrebica, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II.,
1896, page 74.)--On the southeast side of the Souva Planina, near the
village Veliki Krtchimir. A small periodic glacière. On April 20th,
1874, plenty of snow and ice.
Glacière Stoykova, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_, vol. II., 1896,
pages 75, 76.)--On the Kucaj. A large pit cave with a total depth of 23
meters. Probably a permanent glacière. On July 21st, 1890, plenty of
ice and snow. Outside air +21°; inside air in hall +0.5°.
Glacière on the Topiznica Mountain, Servia. (Dr. A. Cvijic, _Spélunca_,
vol. II., 1896, page 76.)--Altitude 1100 meters. A large pit cave with
an extreme depth of 27 meters. In August, 1893, there was plenty of
snow and ice, and the inside temperature was +1°.
Glacière Cave near Borszék. (Bielz, _Siebenbürgen_, 1885, page
334.)--About an hour distant from the baths, in broken limestone. It
seems to be a rock fissure, at the end of which ice is found till
towards the middle of July.
Glacière Cave near Sonkolyos in the Korös Valley. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_,
page 51.)--Small cave.
Glacière near Zapodia. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 50.)--Near Petrosc in
the Bihar Mountains. Altitude 1140 meters; length 20 meters, width 7
meters.
Pescerca la Jesere. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 50.)--Between Vervul la
Belegiana and the Batrina in the Bihar Mountains. Small freezing cave.
Glacière Cave near Verespatak, in Transylvania. (Bielz, _Siebenbürgen_,
page 52.)--Small cave.
Gietariu near Funacza. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 50.)--In the Bihar
Mountains. Small glacière cave.
Cave of Skerizora. (Karl F. Peters, _Sitzungsbericht der K. K.
Akademie der Wissenchaften_, Wien, vol. XLIII., 1861, page 437; Bielz,
_Siebenbürgen_, 1885, page 37.)--This is one of the greatest glacière
caves known. It lies in the Bihar Mountains, three hours from the
village of Ober-Girda, which can be reached from Gyula Fehérvar, via
Topánfalva. It is a pit cave, in limestone, at an altitude of 1127
meters. The pit is about 57 meters broad, and 45 meters deep, with
exceedingly steep walls. The entrance is in the northeast wall and
is about 10 meters high. This leads into a nearly circular hall 47
meters in diameter and about 20 meters high. The floor is ice. In the
southeast corner is a hole over 75 meters deep. In the northwest wall
is an opening 14 meters wide, which forms the beginning of a sort of
gallery 54 meters long and which at its further end is 24 meters wide
and 8 meters high. This is also covered with a flooring of ice, which
in some places can only be descended by step cutting. This passage
is also richly adorned with ice stalactites and stalagmites. At its
end is another also nearly circular hall, 21 meters in diameter and
about 22 meters high. This is called the '_Beszerika_' or church. In
one place there is a magnificent collection of ice stalagmites called
the "Altar." Peters found in dirt on the sides of the cave remains
of bats not very different from those now living in the vicinity. He
thinks the bats may have come there before the cave became a glacière;
or else that they may even now sometimes get into the first hall and
there perish from cold. This makes it uncertain, therefore, whether the
remains can be considered as of the past or the present.
Eishöhle bei Roth.--Described in Part I., page 35.
Mines on the Eisenberg. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 59.)--These lie near
Blankenburg in the Thüringer Wald and have been known to contain ice.
The Ziegenloch or Grosses Kalte Loch, and the Kleines Kalte Loch.
(Behrens, _Hercynia Curiosa_, pages 68, 70.)--These lie near
Questenberg in the Southern Harz Mountains, at an altitude of about 300
meters. The Grosses Loch is described as a sort of small pit some 8
meters deep, in one side of which opens a small fissure some 10 meters
long. Ice has been found in this in April; Schwalbe found none there in
July. The Kleines Loch was another small cold cave near the Ziegenloch,
but it has been filled up. Behrens says that the dampness at the cave
at Questenberg is precipitated as snow.
Holes with Ice near Sanct Blasien. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 109.)--In
the Black Forest, among boulders at an altitude of 820 meters.
Holes with Ice near Hochenschwand. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 109.)--In
the Black Forest, among boulders at an altitude of 820 meters.
Eisstollen and Eiskeller at the Dornburg. Described in Part I., page
59. (Poggendorff's _Annalen der Physik und Chemie, Ergänzungsband_,
1842, pages 517-519.)--Ice appears to have been discovered at the
Dornburg in June, 1839. It was found from a depth of 60 centimeters
down to 8 meters. The width of the ice-bearing talus was from 12
meters to 15 meters; and it is said that it becomes wider in winter and
narrower in summer.
Beschertgluck Mine, Freiberg District. (Prestwich, _Collected papers_,
etc., page 206.)--Mr. Prestwich quotes Daubuisson as having seen the
shaft of the mine lined with ice to a depth of 80 toises (144 meters?).
Ice in the Zinc Mines on the Sauberg. (Reich, _Beobachtungen über die
Temperatur des Gesteines_, 1834, pages 175 and 205.)--These are near
Ehrenfriedersdorf in Saxony and formerly contained ice in winter. They
are reported now to be destroyed.
The Garische Stollen. (Lohman, _Das Höhleneis_, etc., page 3.)--Near
Ehrenfriedersdorf in the Freiwald. Lohman found much ice in this in
January, less in March, and scarcely any in May.
The Ritterhöhle. (Lohman, _Das Höhleneis_, page 5.)--Near
Ehrenfriedersdorf in the Freiwald. Small ice deposit. The rock is
granite.
The Stulpnerhöhle. (Lohman, _Das Höhleneis_, page 6.)--Near the
Ritterhöhle. Small ice deposit in granite rock.
Eisloch and Eishöhle near Geyer in Saxony. (Lohman, _Das Höhleneis_,
page 7.)--These are in a place called die Binge. Both are small.
The Alte Thiele. (Lohman, _Das Höhleneis_, page 8.)--Near Buchholz in
Saxony. Small ice deposit.
Mine Pits in the Saxon Erzgebirge. (Reich, _Beobachtungen über die
Temperatur des Gesteines_, 1834.)--Extremely low temperatures have been
found in several of these pits:--
In the Churprinz Friedrich August Erbstollen near Freiberg.
In the Heinrichs-Sohle in the Stockwerk near Altenberg.
In the Henneberg Stollen, on the Ingelbach, near Johanngeorgenstadt.
In the Weiss-Adler-Stollen, on the left declivity of the valley of the
Schwarzwasser, above the Antonshütte.
Holes Holding Ice on the Saalberg. (_Annalen der Physik und Chemie_,
1850, LXXXI., page 579.)--These lie between Saalberg and the Burgk. Ice
is found here on the surface from June to the middle of August. From
the observations of Professor Hartenstein, Fugger deduces that this
place must be the lower end of one or more windholes.
Millstone Quarry of Niedermendig. (M. A. Pictet, _Mémoires de la
Société d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève_, 1821, vol. I., page 151.)--On
the Niederrhein. There are many connecting pits and galleries here, in
which ice has been found in the hottest days of summer as well as in
March. The abandoned shafts are utilized as beer cellars.
Eisgrube on the Umpfen. (Voigt, _Mineralogische Reisen durch das
Herzogthum Weimar_, 1785, vol. II., page 123.)--In the Rhöngebirge,
twenty minutes from Kaltennordheim, are some irregular masses of
columnar basalt, at an altitude of about 500 meters, among which
abundant ice has been found up to late in the summer.
Cave near Muggendorf, Franconia.--The landlord of the Kurhaus Hotel at
Muggendorf, told me that there was a small cave in the vicinity where
there was ice in the winter and spring, but that it all melted away
before August.
Cave on the Dürrberg. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 59.)--Near Zwickau in
Bohemia. Small cave which sometimes contains ice.
The Schneebinge. (Lohman, _Das Höhleneis_, page 11.)--Near Platten in
Bohemia. A small ice deposit in an old mine.
Ice among Basaltic Rocks on the Pleschiwitz. (Pleischl, in
Poggendorff's _Annalen der Physik und Chemie_, vol. LIV., 1841,
pages 292-299.)--Above Kameik near Leitmeritz in Bohemia. Professor
Pleischl, in May, 1834, found ice under the rocks a little distance
from the surface. The surface of the rocks was then warm. On the 21st
of January, 1838, Professor Pleischl found snow on the outside of
the rocks, but no ice underneath. He was assured by the people of the
district that the hotter the summer, the more ice is found.
Glacière on the Zinkenstein. (Pleischl, in Poggendorff's _Annalen der
Physik und Chemie_, vol. LIV., 1841, page 299).--The Zinkenstein is one
of the highest points of the Vierzehnberge, in the Leitmeritz Kreis.
There is a deep cleft in basalt, where ice has been found in summer.
Eislöcher on the Steinberg. (Pleischl, in Poggendorffs _Annalen der
Physik und Chemie_, vol. LIV., 1841, page 299.)--In the Herrschaft
Konoged. Small basalt talus where ice is found in the hottest weather.
Windholes in Bohemia. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 109.)--In the
neighborhood of Leitmeritz. These are in basaltic rock. Ice sometimes
forms at the lower extremity. The most notable are--
On the Steinberg near Mertendorf on the Triebschbach;
On the Kelchberg near Triebsch;
On the Kreuzberg near Leitmeritz;
On the Rodersberg near Schlackenwerth;
In the Grossen Loch near Tschersink.
Ice in a Pit near Neusohl. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 109.)
The Frainer Eisleithen. Described in Part I., page 33. (Fugger,
_Eishöhlen_, page 163.) Professor Fugger quotes the following
observations by Forester Wachtl at Frain:--
1861. 1862.
January -7° to -2° -5°
February -2° to 0° -5° to -2°
March 0° to +1° -1° to 0°
April +1° to +2° 0°
May +2° +2° to +5°
June +2° to +3° +3° to +6°
July +3° +3° to +5°
August +3° to +7° +5°
September +7° to +6° +3° to +6°
October +6° +5°
November -- +5°
December -1° to -3° 0° to -2°
Démenyfálva Jegbarlang. Described in Part I., page 24.
Dóbsina Jegbarlang. Described in Part I., page 13. (Pelech; _The Valley
of Stracena and the Dobschau Ice Cavern_; Schwalbe, _Über Eishöhlen und
Eislöcher_, page 31.)--Pelech gives the following measurements: The
Grosser Saal is 120 meters long, 35 meters to 60 meters wide, and 10
meters to 11 meters high, with a surface area of 4644 square meters.
The ice mass is estimated as 125,000 cubic meters in volume. The length
of the Korridor is 200 meters; the left wing being 80 meters, and the
right wing 120 meters long. The cave was first entered on July 15th,
1870, by Herr Eugene Ruffiny, of Dóbsina, and some friends. He had
happened to fire a gun in front of it, and hearing a continuous muffled
rolling echo within, determined to explore it.
Dr. Schwalbe quotes the following series of observations in Dóbsina
during the year 1881:
DEEPEST POINT FROM KORRIDOR
ENTRANCE. GROSSER SAAL. OF KORRIDOR. TO KLEINEN SAAL.
January -2.2° -4.2° -2.2° -0.6°
February -1.2° -3.4° -1.9° -0.3°
March -1.4° -2.1° -0.9° -0.2°
April -0.25° -1.25° -0.7° +0.3°
May +0.7° +0.9° -0.5° +0.5°
June +1.0° +1.5° -0.5° +0.5°
July +1.8° +2.1° +0.2° +1.1°
August +3.4° +3.8° +0.24° +0.80
September +2.00 +2.3° -0.3° -0.15°
October -0.2° +0.2° -0.5° -0.2°
November -1.3° -1.9° -0.6° -0.3°
December -2.2° -3.2° -0.65° -1.75°
------ ------ ------ ------
Year +0.04° -0.44° -0.69° -0.02°
The Philadelphia _Evening Bulletin_, March, 1st, 1899, printed the
following note about Dóbsina: "In this cave, some sixteen years ago,
a couple named Kolcsey elected to pass the week immediately following
their marriage. They took with them a plentiful supply of rugs,
blankets and warm clothing, but notwithstanding all precautions,
their experience was not of a sufficiently pleasant nature to tempt
imitators."
Lednica of Szilize. (M. Bel, _Philosophical Transactions_, London,
1739, vol. XLI., page 41 _et seq._; Townson, _Travels in Hungary_,
1797; Terlanday, _Petermann's Mittheilungen_, 1893, page 283.)--It lies
1.5 kilometers from the village of Szilize, near Rosenau, in Gomör
County, in the Carpathians, at an altitude of 460 meters. A pit about
35 meters deep, 75 meters long, and 48 meters wide opens in the ground,
and at the southern end, in the perpendicular wall, is the cave. The
entrance is 22 meters wide, 15 meters high, and faces north. A slope 4
meters long sinks with an angle of 35° to the floor of the cave, which
is nearly circular in form, with a diameter of about 10 meters. On
the east side of the cave there seems to be a hole in the ice some 10
meters deep.
In 1739, there was published in London a curious letter in Latin from
Matthias Bel, a Hungarian _savant_, about the cavern of Szilize. He
says: "The nature of the cave has this of remarkable, that, when
outside the winter freezes strongest, inside the air is balmy: but it
is cold, even icy, when the sun shines warmest. As soon as the snow
melts and spring begins, the inner roof of the cave, where the midday
sun strikes the outside, begins to sweat clear water, which drops
down here and there; through the power of the inner cold it turns to
transparent ice and forms icicles, which in thickness equal large
barrels and take wonderful shapes. What as water drops from the icicles
to the sandy floor, freezes up, even quicker, than one would think.
"The icy nature of the cave lasts through the whole summer, and what
is most remarkable, it increases with the increasing heat of the sun.
In the beginning of the spring the soft winter's warmth begins to give
way soon thereafter, and when spring is more advanced, the cold sets
in, and in such a manner, that the warmer does the (outside) air
grow, the more does the cave cool off. And when the summer has begun
and the dog days glow, everything within goes into icy winter. Then do
the drops of water pouring from the roof of the cave change into ice,
and with such rapidity that where to-day delicate icicles are visible,
to-morrow masses and lumps, which fall to the ground, appear. Here
and there, where the water drips down the walls of the cave, one sees
wonderful incrustations, like an artificial carpeting. The rest of the
water remains hanging on the ice, according to the warmth of the day.
For when for a longer time it is warmer, the ice of the stalactites,
of the walls and of the floor increases; but when the ruling heat, as
sometimes happens, is diminished through north winds or rainstorm,
the waters freeze more slowly, the ice drips more fully and begins to
form little brooklets. When however the temperature gets warmer, the
icy nature of the cave begins once more. Some have observed, that the
nature of the grotto receives the changes of temperature ahead, like a
barometer. For, when a warmer temperature sets in outside, the waters
change into ice, several hours before the heat sets in, while the
opposite takes place, when by day the temperature is colder; for then
even by the warmest sky the ice begins to melt noticeably.
"When the dog days have passed and the summer has already changed
into fall, the cave with its own nature follows the conditions of the
external air. In the early months and while the nights are growing
colder, the ice diminishes visibly; then when the air cools off more
and more and when the brooks and side are rigid with frost, it begins
to melt as though there was a fire built underneath, until, when winter
reigns, it is entirely dry in the cave, without a sign of ice being
left behind. Then gentle warmth spreads into the entire cave, and this
icy grave becomes a safety resort for insects and other small animals,
which bear the winter with difficulty. But besides swarms of flies and
gnats, troops of bats and scores of owls, hares and foxes take up their
abode here, until with the beginning of spring, the cave once more
assumes its icy appearance."
These assertions of Bel are the most inaccurate ones made about
glacières. Yet, strange to say, they have colored the literature of
the subject down to our own times; and have been repeated many times,
sometimes with, sometimes without, the hares and foxes; the latest
repetition seeming to occur in 1883.
Cave near the Village of Borzova, Torna County, Carpathians. (Fugger,
_Eishöhlen_, page 52.)--Reported to contain ice, but nothing certainly
known.
CRIMEA.
Ledianaia Yama. (Montpeyreux, _Voyage autour du Caucase_ V., page 440;
Hablizl, _Description physique de la Tauride_, 1783, pages 43-45.)--On
the Karabi-Yaïla, 32 kilometers southwest of Karasubazar. Altitude
about 1800 meters. A fairly large pit glacière cave. The name means an
abyss of ice.
Glacière Cave on the Yaïla of Oulouzène at Kazauté. (Montpeyreux,
_Voyage autour du Caucase_, II., page 380.)--A small pit cave.
CAUCASUS.
Glacière Cave in the Khotevi Valley. (Montpeyreux, _Voyage autour
du Caucase_, II., page 379.)--In the province of Radscha, near the
Monastery Nikortsminda. A large pit cave which must be of the same
order as that of Chaux-les-Passavant and from which the inhabitants of
Koutaïs get ice.
Glacières near Koutaïs. (E. A. Martel, _Les Abimes_, page 397.)--"Dr.
A. Sakharov, it appears, has recently discovered in the government of
Koutaïs caves containing ice."
Cave of Sabazwinda. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 126.)--Near the town of
Zorchinwall, on the river Liachwa, province of Gori, in Georgia, near
the Ossete Mountains. Ice has been found in the cave in summer. In
December there was none.
URAL.
Glacière Cave near Sukepwa. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 63.)--On the
Volga, province of Zlatoust. Small cave on the river bank.
Glacière Cave on the Tirmen Tau. (Lepechin, _Tagebuch der Reise_, etc.,
vol. II., page 28.)--Near the village of Chaszina, 160 kilometers from
Orenburg. Small cave.
Glacière Cave of Kurmanajeva. (Lepechin, _Tagebuch der Reise_, etc.,
vol. II., page 5.)--Near Kurmanajeva, a village 49 kilometers from
Tabinsk, in the Government of Orenburg. A large cave. Lepechin found
ice in one part of the cave and deep water in another. There were
draughts in some places.