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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The general skepticism regarding the existence of this phenomenon 

 has been illustrated many times of late and has furnished the people of 

 Coudersport with an endless source of amusement. 



In the eaily part of the summer of 1911 a certain man of Detroit, 

 Michigan, came to visit relatives in Coudersport. He was, of course, 

 taken to see the ice mine, which was in its prime at that season of the 

 year. Upon his return to Detroit he wrote a short article for one of 

 the Detroit papers in which he told of this wonder that he had seen 

 near Coudersport and offered to bet any one and every one $100 or more 

 that his fictitious-sounding story was true. A millionaire ice manu- 

 facturer took the bet and eight other business men of Detroit followed 

 suit. Two newspaper men were selected as stake-holders to decide the 



Petrified Wood taken from the Sweden Valley Ice Mine. 



bets. They visited the mine and, of course, verified the newspaper story, 

 much to the disgust of the nine losers. 



It is claimed by a great many persons who hear of this phenomenon, 

 never by those who actually see it, in the summer time, that the ice is 

 not formed during the summer, but is only an accumulation from the 

 preceding winter. It was to prove the falsity of this claim that the 

 writer visited the mine many times during the winter and spring of 

 1912. The existing conditions were found to be as follows: 



The pit or shaft is about eight feet in diameter by twelve feet deep 

 and, as shown in the sketches, is located at the base of a steep hill. In 

 the winter time the pit is comparatively dry and free from ice. The 

 temperature inside is the same as that prevailing outside. In the 



