THE GREAT DOUGLAS GLACIER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 89

THE GREAT DOUGLAS GLACIER.

DR MACKINTOSH BELL'S VISIT.

1 PAPER BEFORE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL' SOCIETY.

(Fbosc Oub Own Corkespondekt.) LONDON,- November 15. In connection with the Royal Geographical Society there was a large gatner--ing on Mondlay evening- to" hear a. lecture on, the Great Douglas Glacier and its neighbourhood, by Mr James Mackintosh Bell, A-M.Ph.D., Director of- tiie Geological Survey of New Zealand. Sir J. Taubman Goldie presided, and among tlio^e present were Lord Ranfurly, Mr W. Pember Reeve 3, Mr Faithful -Begs, Mr W. Weddell, and Mr H. C. Cameron.

In introducing the lecturer, the Chairman said it was rather a melancholy coincidence that about the same time that Mr Bell arrived in England news had been received of the death of his very distinguished predecessor,' Sir James Hector. Both Sir James Hector and Mr Mackintosh Bell >caane from the old Dominion of Canada to become directors-general of the survey of what was the new Dominion of New Zealand. Sir James Hector had been the society's gold medallist 16 years ago. and Dr Robert Bell, the uncle of the lecturer, received* the society's gold medal last year, while 'Mr Bell had contributed 1 'valuable articles x to the society's journal. - Dr" J Mackintosh' Bell then gave his lecture- on the Douglas Glacier and its neighbourhood, illustrating his remarks by 3. number of\ excellent photographs throughout. In the course of his observations he- said the Douglas Glacier was in one of the most inaccessible parts of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, and formed one of the most remarkable physical _ features of that splendid chain of Bnowdad mountains. During the x past summer a; reconnaissance was made by Mr Bell, with a small party, of the country in the neighbourhood of tne Douglas Glacier, their object being to gain a general geological and geographical knowledge of this wild and interesting section of New Zealand, with a view to entering upon a giore detailed .investigation at a later date. Owing to the inaccessibility of this portion of the country and to the extremely wet climate, the exploration was conducted with- considerable difficulty. All supplies Bad to be brought on pack-horses to Scott's house, situated near the mouth of the "Karangarua, on what is known as the great South road — a lonely and little frequented trail, which" has been cut for many Whiles through the dense forest of the district of Westland, — at a shore distance from the seashore. During the whole course of the reconnaissance, which lasted about four weeks, the party was able to obtain a " good general idea, of the maiit (geographical aid geological features in the Karangarua Valley, in the DouglasTwain Valley, in the upper Landsborough, Valley, and in the Copland Valley. From their camp in Fitzgerald Flat a splendid view was obtained, the majesty of the mountains being greatly enhanced by the depression 'of the ' snow-liney du# to the peculiar meteorological conditions characteristic of this portion of New Zealand. The picture was avwe-insriiring rather than beautiful, but there was a, certain wildr and' savage charm about it, whiclr ' brought its main features constantly back to one's memory long after, the- details of the wonderful ensemble had faded. To the north-west" stood out clear against l tne sky the rugged peaks of the Mooi-honse Range, Sefton. Erie, and MaungaMa: Behind were stately rock precipices, .sprinkled at the lower levels with a scant alpine vegetation, and at higher levels by numerous cliff glaciers of varyingsizes, riaing at lofty altitudes. Around ■were iihe moraines of the Douglas Glacier— the old one a veritable- alpine flower garden, the newer dark and gloomy in their stacks of bare rock debris. Down. ■tihJß broad, straight valley was dimly visible the Twain River, bordered by forest of matchless beauty, showing every shade of green, and brightened by the gorgeous Wood-Ted flowers of that -wonderful New Zealand" tree, -the rata. The -view in front, however, dwarfed every other aspect ofc th©i picture. There werer to "be seen the gigantic precipice of terraced ice-fall and vertical Tdek-face, over -which no fewer than 37 waterfalls issued from beneath the ice. The roar of • the avalanches constantly descending- was lite that of an unending cannonade. On the average over 25 descended- in an hour, the roar of one avalanche having scarcely ceased when another had begun. The sound echoed and re-echoed across that weird, wild valley, and with such terrible intensity that 'even at a -<mile away one could scarcely heaj; himself" speak when the noise was at its height. No other sound wae to be .heard save -the occasional strident shriek of the keaj or alpine parrot, and "the quaint and varied cry of the weka. Just below the Glacier the Twain River meantered' along; a broad grassy floor, buS 1 jiearer ita mouth its CQure© t?a§ through a

rocky gorge.' The Fitzgerald Glacier and Stream, the lower portion of the Douglas Glacier proper, and the Twain River formed together a valley, which, running in a general east and west direction, somewhat diagonally across the strike of the strata, was almost exactly straight. From the summit of Conical Hill, which sentinelled the •entrance of the Twain into the Karangarua, one could see the whole length of tho U-shaped valley — a distance of some 15 miles — from the mouth of the. stream in the dense, luxuriant forest, to the rook-girt cirque at the head of the Fitzgerald, into which the icefaPs descended from perched blocks of r-eve on the Mcorhouge Range. The whole form of the vaHey was typically ttie result of glacial excavation. Below the mouth of the Copland the Karangarua entered the narrow (Jensely-forcsfced coastal plain of West Land, and meandered with rapid current in many ever-changing channels^ separated by grassy or bush-clad river fiats, to the sea. The scenery of the upper Karangarua was markedly beautiful. On either side steep, even precipitous, glacially-smoothed rock slopes rose abruptly from the thick vegetation of the valley floor up to broken, snow-covered mountains. In many places waterfalls leapec? hundreds of feet from loftily-perched glaciers, over precipices, down into the forest beneath. The contrasts of the whole were truly wonderful. From beneath fifce shade of a great tree-fern one could look down on the deep blue water of the river, bordered by its forest of variegated green, brightened by the brilliant rata flowers, and up on to the dark rock slopes, and green and blue, much-broken ice of the cliff glaciers, and, ever behind, the white array of snow-clad mountains. Lord Ranfurly said he thought the great Douglas Glacier had not been known when he was in New Zealand. At anyrate, he had. not heard of it. He had visited the West Coast, but for the special purpose of getting birds for the Natural History Department of the British Museum, as the birds they had there— well, wanted replacing. — (Laughter.) No doubt glacier work in New Zealand was' extremely heavy, but the Government had always looked after the tourists, and provide 3 well-provisioned huts, for' them. The enormous glaciers of New Zealand were, he was informed', far larger than any in Europe. Major Darwin personally thanked the lecturer for showing a picture of Mount Darwin. That was the first ho had seen of the mountain named after Darwin. He himself had been in the Dominion to observe the transit of Venus, but he had been far too much engaged in looking at other planets to think about such a trifling thing as this earth. He should always remembei", however, the extraordinary kindness he had received from everyone in New Zealand. The Dominion had always been interesting to him, for one -of the things that had most impressed him as a boy relafed to New Zealand. Mis father told him that whan he was there he went to a picnic— he called it a picnic, though - probably it was a campsomewhere in the North Island, or on an island off the North Island, and had ther© tound the remains of another picnic. His father s knowiedgo of anatomy- had enabled him to detect that the remains of that other ' picnio" were human bones.— (.Laughter.) Dr Stragkan said New Zealand was one ii most rema r fc able countries of the world. Mr Bell had a magnificent) province of work before him. Mr Douglas- Freshfield said if there were nuts he should certainly recommend the younger members of the Alpine Club to hurry out to New Zealand. Mi- W. H. Garrison said he would have liked; to hear the name of Mr Malcolm, Koss mentioned in connection with the JSew Zealand Alps Mr Mackintosh Bell, replying to a vota of thanks said the reason He had not mention^ Mr Malcolm Ross was that that gentleman's work had been more in connection with the Tasman than with the Great Douglas Glacier