The signs of thaw, too, were unmistakeable.
Though the upper surface of the earth had seemed to be utterly devoid of
moisture of any kind, large drops fell freely from the roof of the
cave,[97] and the ice itself was wet. The _patron_ said there was no ice
whatever in the winter months, and that from June to September was the
time at which alone it could be found. He declined to explain how it was
that we found it so evidently in a state of general thaw in the very
height of its season. To give us some idea of the climate of the plain
in winter, he informed us that the snow lay for long up to the top of
the door of his chalet.
There were in all four columns of ice in the cave, only two of which
were of any considerable size. One of these was peculiarly striking from
the very large grain which its structure displayed; it measured 19 feet
across the base, being flat towards the extremity of the cave, and round
towards the entrance. Three thermometers in various parts of the
glaciere gave all the same temperature, namely, a fraction under 33 deg.
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