is not 4 braided one, Cividing and rejoining, as) among. overloaded 
streams, -they were net cut ty the «same streams of ‘glacial meltwater 
that once constructed the viain. is kas been suggested that'after 
the plain was essentially; conslste, the extra supply of water ‘from 
ice melting west and north of the moraines saturated the loose gravy- 
uis\e This ground wate rave reacned the surface as springs 
part way down the fan or the surface. from there to the 
sea. - A seconda-: 3 is tnt there was-a period of barren, 
treeless climate, 3 oy drouth or cold, during which 
ephemeral rains cu 3 sis in the gravels. Another sug- 
gestion is frozen ground, generated by the 
t 
rigorous cold conditions while the ice shéet . still covered ‘the: ir 
terior of New England, x=sce-+alil excest surface-.gravels- “impermeable 
to water, and induced tting in closely-spaced channels. 
Persistence of Buried Ice 
The duration of all tre everts that contributed to the shaping 
of the present Mashpee pitced plain is very impressive, The first 
event was the separation of larzse masses of stagnant ice from the 
wasting ice sheet. Then,oraided streams of meltwater deposited sand 
and gravel, layer d and over many of those bodies 
of ice before h fhe period - required for the con- 
struction of: s: ee ia nich now contains more than two 
cubic -miles -of must ce estimated in many tens -and perhaps 
hundreds of years. 
“In the surface of the pla here are many thousands of stones 
which were plainly c : 2 faceted by the wind. ‘These may 
be found sinsly or in cz oy nearly half of the pits now exca- 
vated in the plain. of these ventifacts and their 
abundance impress « muwith the vigor and ‘duration of 
the wind acti tha m responsible for them. No com- 
parable wind most of the Cape-today. Ilany -of 
fe) 
these eancient venti 
nei 2 ly in the beds of gravel near the 
surface of the plaiz : ould not have rolled far in the 
streams which built- = i vane plain or the delicate polish 
Dif i rave been’ obliterated. It rs -nec= 
% | 
completion of even the upper layers 
ps hundreds of years ‘during 
sand and gravel of the plain all 
fer none of the sand or’silt that 
teols for’ the sandblast is found 
rmors, the furrows were cut before 
Z rurreyws are found to enter and exit 
1 
El o 
the ice 
Pa) 
ii 
rom grouss' of ket ro change of direction. There is 
no sign that raing one kettle-hole to another. - Dozens 
of small pits occu of furrows, and in-sSome places 
large pits interrur wnole headward section of furrow 
from its -lower flo SEA. Had these low kettle-hole 
depressions existed rs were cut, they would certainly 
