GLACIAL PHENOMENA IN MAINE. 
143 
The extensive surfaces of polished and 
scratched rocks in this locality recall the cele¬ 
brated Helle-Platten of the valley of Hasli. 
From Southwest Harbor we followed the shore 
to Bass Harbor and Seal Cove. There are 
frequent indications of glacial action along 
this road, and one or two points of special 
interest. At Bass Harbor there is a large 
dike of green trap running at right angles 
with the tide current. Though regularly over¬ 
flowed at high-water, the action of the sea has 
not affected the glacial characters, which are 
peculiarly distinct at this spot. Not only is 
the surface of the dike itself deeply scored 
with stride and furrows running due north, 
but, being of a softer quality than the granitic 
rock which it intersects, it has been cut to a 
little lower level, and the vertical walls of the 
fissure are polished, scratched, and grooved in 
the same way. I met here with one of those 
incidents showing the character of the work¬ 
ing-class in America which always strikes a 
European with astonishment. There was a 
blacksmith’s shop near this dike, and being 
extremely anxious to obtain a specimen from 
it on account of the clearness of its glacial 
