Page:Boy scouts in the White Mountains; the story of a long hike (IA boyscoutsinwhite00eato).pdf/248

 its base a huge snow-bank glimmering white, on the tenth day of July. Above the snow-bank the rocks glistened and sparkled with hundreds of tiny water streams. All about, at the feet of the cliffs, and even down the floor of the ravine to the boys, lay piled up in wild confusion great heaps of rock masses, the debris hurled down from the precipitous walls by centuries of frost and storm.

"It looks like a gigantic natural colosseum," said Lou. "The head wall is curved just like the pictures of the Colosseum in our Roman history."

"Right-o," cried Peanut. "Say, what a place to stage a gladiator fight, eh? Sit your audience all up on the debris at the bottoms of the cliffs."

"And have your gladiators come out from under the snow arch," laughed Mr. Rogers.

"Sure," said Peanut.

They now came to the snow arch, which is formed every June under the head wall, and sometimes lasts as late as August. The winter storms, from the northwest, blow the snow over Bigelow Lawn above, and pack it down into Tuckerman's Ravine, in a huge drift two hundred feet deep. This drift gradually melts down, packs into something pretty close to ice, and the water trickling from the cliff behind joins into a brook beneath it and hollows out an arch.

The Scouts now stood before the drift. It was per