Olafsen had found in his earlier visit that the way was stopped, far
in the recesses of the cave, by a lake of water, which filled the
tunnel to a depth of 3 feet or more, lying on ice; but in 1753 there
was not more than a foot of water, through which they waded without
much difficulty. The air soon became exceedingly cold and thick, and
for some hundreds of paces they saw no light of day, till at length
they reached a welcome opening in the roof. Beyond this, the air grew
colder and more thick, and the walls were found to be sheeted with ice
from roof to floor, or covered with broad and connected icicles. The
ground also was a mass of ice, but an inch or two of fine brown earth
lay upon it, which enabled them to keep their footing. This earth
appeared to have been brought down by the water which filtered through
the roof. 'The most wonderful thing,' Olafsen remarks, 'that we
noticed here, was, that the stalactites of ice were set with regular
figures of five and seven sides, joined together, and resembling those
seen on the second stomach of ruminating animals.
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