It has been said that the whole ice-floor sloped slightly towards one
side of the cave, the slope becoming rather more steep near the edge.[52]
Clearly, ever so slight a slope would be sufficiently embarrassing, when
the surface was so perfectly smooth and slippery; and this added much to
the difficulty of walking in a bent attitude. On coming out of one of
the domes, I tried progression on all-fours--threes, rather, for the
candle occupied one hand,--and I cannot recommend that method, owing to
the impossibility of putting on the break. The pace ultimately acquired
is greater than is pleasant, and the roof is too near the floor to allow
of any successful attempt to bring things to an end by the reassumption
of a biped character.
We placed a thermometer in the line of greatest current, and another in
a still part of the cave. The memorandum is lost of their register--if,
indeed, we ever made one, for we were more concerned with the beauties
than the temperature was surprisingly high in the line of current, as
compared with the ordinary temperature of ice-caves.
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