Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 November 1882 — The Alpine Glacier. [ARTICLE]

The Alpine Glacier.

From Brieg we went by rail alongside the rapid-rolling Rhone to Vernayaz, a village which is the point of departure for the noted valley of Chamonix. The water of the Rhone is not very clear. It

is a sort of soapstone blue. That is the color of all the rivers and mountain streams that are fed from glaciers. The glacier, though it shows no more motion than an inch or so a year, is a river of ice continually flowing down the mountain gorges and melting away. It rolls the stones beneath it over and over till it polishes them off round and grinds their sharp corners to powder. As the ice melts and the water flows away this limestone dust mingles with, saturates and colors it. Thus the streams that flow from the glaciers are always of an opaque blue-gray color from the grinding of the glacier over rocks, while the mountain brooks from melted snow are clear and pure as crystal. You can tell which is which the moment you see a stream of water. Cor. Cincinnati Commercial.