Sir Roderick Murchison and his colleagues visited this cavern
on a hot day in August, with the thermometer at 90 deg. in the shade, in the
course of their travels under the patronage of the late Emperor of
Russia.[113] They found the hillock to be an irregular cone 150 feet in
height; the entrance was by a frail door, on a level with the village
street, and fully exposed to the rays of the sun; and yet, when the door
was opened, so piercing a current of cold air poured forth, that they
were glad to beat a retreat for a while; and on eventually exploring
farther, they found the quass and provisions, stored in the cave,
half-frozen within three or four paces of the door. The chasm soon
opened out into a natural vault from 12 to 15 feet high, 10 or 12 paces
long, and 7 or 8 in width, which seemed to have numerous small
ramifications into the impending mound of gypsum and marl. The roof of
this inner cavern was hung with undripping solid icicles, and the floor
was a conglomerate of ice and frozen earth. They were assured that the
cold is always greatest within when the external air is hottest and
driest, and that the ice gradually disappears as winter approaches, and
vanishes when the snow comes.
Pages:
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390