RECREA TION. 



47 



of ice breaking away from the face. 

 Now and then we do hear heavy splashes 

 in the water, accompained by a dull, 

 roaring sound, and on looking in its di- 

 rection can see a considerable commo- 

 tion in the water ; but no such disturb- 

 ance as we have been led to expect, 

 and we are told to wait till we see and 

 hear one of the great bodies come off. 



As soon as our anchor is down all the 

 small boats are manned and the passen- 

 gers invited to go ashore. Soon the 

 boats are busy plying between the 

 steamer and the land, carrying loads of 

 curiosity seekers, and coming back for 

 more. It is understood that the thing 

 to do is to climb the sloping bank of 

 gravel which lines the shore and make 

 your way back until you stand on the top 

 of the glacier field. Accordingly a long 

 line of pedestrians is soon seen stretch- 

 ing itself along this slope, heading for 

 the designated point. With one or two 

 of our party I join the crowd, which 

 scatters out more and more as we ad- 

 vance, and it soon becomes apparent 

 that we are ascending one of the lateral 

 moraines of this glacier which has been 

 depositing for ages past. It is remarked 

 that the higher up we get the worse the 

 walking becomes, and when we reach a 

 point where, beyond several intervening 

 ridges and valleys, the head of the column 

 of sight- seers can be seen half a mile 

 off, walking evidently on the top of the 

 glacier, the ground under our feet has 

 became not only damp, but in places 

 muddy and boggy. We have to step 

 from one stone to another to keep 

 out of the mud. At this point an ex- 

 clamation from one of the lady pedestri- 

 ans is heard, which reminds one of the 

 little girl when she announces the dis- 

 covery that her doll is stuffed with saw- 

 dust. Looking towards the victim of 

 misplaced confidence we see a lady en- 

 deavoring to balance herself on one foot, 

 planted on a stone, while the other, 

 covered with mud, is held aloft and the 

 disgusted wearer says " Well, /am going 

 back." 



Leaving her to pick her way back 

 alone, the rest of us go on, still wonder- 

 ing how it is that away up here the soil 

 should be wet and marshy as we used to 

 find the "black-jack" uplands in Vir- 

 ginia, after a rain, in war times. Sud- 

 denly a light breaks in upon the subject, 

 for we come across the edge of a block 



of ice, projecting from the surface of the 

 ground, surrounded by soil made into 

 mud by the melting of the ice. We are 

 walking over a mass of ice blocks 

 covered with a thin layer of soil depos- 

 ited by other blocks which have in turn 

 melted ; and the heat of the sun during 

 the day, by converting the upper blocks 

 into water, maintains this a permanent 

 marsh. Years hence, when the sun's 

 power has been exerted a sufficient 

 length of time on this mass of blocks; 

 the mud, and rocks and rubbish of all 

 kinds will lie here in a long ridge, show- 

 ing the future explorer where the Muir 

 glacier deposited its lateral moraine. 

 Perhaps then, if the explorer should 

 travel up the valley now filled with this 

 immense ice field, he may find, after he 

 leaves the water's edge, a similar deposit 

 stretching across the valley, and he may 

 recognize it as a terminal moraine left 

 after the glacier, upon which we are now 

 gazing, shall have drawn itself back into 

 the colder regions of the mountains far 

 to the eastward. 



In the meantime we have reached a 

 point on this glacial deposit nearly in the 

 prolongation of the face, and have not 

 only a good side view of that, but a fine 

 view of the top surface of the glacier 

 broken up nearest to us into great ridges, 

 spires and gorges, across which it would 

 be utterly impossible for any traveller 

 to make his way. Farther back it does 

 not appear quite so rugged, while away 

 to the right, where the more advanced 

 of our party is standing, it is apparently 

 quite smooth, and in some places the 

 solid ice is bare of snow. 



Leaving the top of this lateral deposit, 

 we pick our way toward the glacier, 

 slipping every now and then on a half 

 concealed bed of melting ice and stop- 

 ping occasionally to gaze on the field 

 before us, which changes as we change 

 our position. One of the striking fea- 

 tures of the picture is the brilliant hues 

 presented by the ice. At different 

 points, especially where a mass has re- 

 cently broken away or the water con- 

 stantly dripping, has worn a deep cav- 

 ern. Here the eye ranges back through 

 all the different tints of blue, till it rests 

 at the far end on the darkest marine 



We get here, a more correct idea of 

 the height of the face, for although we 

 are fully 150 feet above the water we 

 are not yet on a level with the top of 



