Also here from an 1865 issue of the Knickerbocker:
Some more examples:
In Burnaby, British Columbia, 2007:
Marion Bronner, eastern PA (Doylestown/Quakertown area?), 1935:
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2009:
British Columbia?? I’m losing confidence in the hypothesis that this expression is a northeastern US/eastern Canada thing.
My late mother-in-law of Scottish descent, who grew up on a small farm near Cape Cove (Gaspé Co., Quebec, Canada – Google Maps) in the 1930s and 40s (as well as her sister) would commonly use the word ‘glib’ not as an adjective meaning slippery, but as a noun meaning a slippery surface, as in: “After the ice-storm, the sidewalk was a glib of ice.” She also frequently described her daughter as being “stubborn as a pig on ice,” but that’s another story…
[1] Use of ‘GLIB OF ICE’
*Anon. 1865. A Trip; With an Adventure. The American Monthly 65(2):122-126 (appears p. 124)
“The landlord promptly replied that i could not go on that night; that the mountain I had to ascend was one glib of ice, and my team could never get up it.”
*Erdman, Jacob. 2008. Life in the rear-view mirror. Kings County Record (Sussex, New Brunswick). Dec 30, 2008, p. A7
“We got the snow that night and the next day-a foot at least and more at the bottom of the driveway where the snow plow likes to store the extra. Life, the rest of the month, went on in the midst of storms of snow, then rain, then ice pellets, then ended with a nice flourish as the driveway, in country terms, became a ‘glib’ of ice. The glib continued to make going up and down the driveway quite interesting until a good friend came by early in February with some sand from the government garage. More sand, left sometime later by another neighbour after the first lot had been vanquished by another glib, served to foil several later glibs and the question seemed to be whether the sand or the glibs would run out first. As in the opera, the good guys won.”
*Anon. 1914. [No title]. Altoona Tribune (Altoona, PA). 31 December 1914, p. 4.
“Officer T. N. Dunmire early yesterday morning slipped on a ‘treacherous glib of ice near Fifth avenue and Seventh street’ and fell with sufficient force to break the large bone of his right forearm.”
A*non. 1895. [No title] The News (Frederick, MD). 6 February, 1895, p. 4.
“Several of oar citizens have been badly injured by severe falls on pavements that are a perfect glib of ice.”
*A Diary of the Life of Daniel Howell Hise From the Year 1846 to 1878 [living near Salem, Columbiana County, Ohio] [see http://www.salem.lib.oh.us/files/HiseJournals.pdf]
“Dec 23.[1853] Cloudy & rained some early but soon turned colder. wind blew hard & very cold before night. frose up and the roads are one glib of ice.”
[2] Use of ‘GLIB ICE’ (no ‘of’)
*Anon. 1896. "Speed on the Glib Ice. Local Skaters Beaten by J.F. Davidson – To Try for the Record. The Washington Post. 12 March 1898, p. 8
[‘glib ice’ only appears in title]
*Anon. 1900. Editorial Points. Boston Daily Globe 1 Jan, 1900, p. 6
“The skaters are on the glide, but hockey and polo are not especially conducive to the perpetuation of glib ice.”
*Anon. 1896. New Records on Steel. Donoghue Lowers the Best Time for Two and Five Miles. The Washington Post. 16 February, 1896, p. 8
“In the evening, at 8 o’clock, he lowered the world’s record for five miles from 14:59 to 14:48 ¾. This was done on the glib ice before the skating commenced.”
*Bruce, Harry. 1988. Why P.E.I. people need many words to describe ice. The Ottawa Citizen. 12 November 1988, p. C4
“Black ice has two meanings on P.E.I. [Prince Edward Island] On a highway, it’s a thin, dangerous coating that’s almost invisible. On a lake or pond, it’s a layer so thin and transparent it looks dark. Black ice is thinner than Glib or Glibby Ice, which is very hard, smooth, and slippery. Glib Ice is perfect for skating.”
*Thomas, William Beach. 1947. In the Low Country. The Observer (London, UK). 2 March 1947, p. 2
“What specialists in ice the Fen people are! They speak of anchor ice – a curious formation of ice in two layers – of “glib” ice, or black and white and snow ice, and traverse it, even if it has become rib ice, on pattens, a better word than skates as the bandy they delight in is a better word than ice hockey.”
*Curtis, W.A., Capt. 1892. The Fox-Tail Torches: A Thrilling Tale of the Wisconsin Backwoods. Los Angeles Times. 28 March 1892, p. 4
[also The Atlanta Constitution, 20 March, 1892, p. 16.]
[Also, author unattributed, in Qu’Appelle Progress (Qu’Appelle, N.W.T., Canada) 14 April, 1892, 7(26), page 2]
“I told her he had probably remained at the settlement over night, and that, even if he had not, no wolf could overtake him skating on the glib ice.”
*Hurton, William. 1850. Winter Pictures from the North of Europe. Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine 17(195): 154-165. [on page 162]
“Often have I keenly relished a long homeward stroll [through Copenhagen] on such a night, with the strong-handed wind pinning my dear old cloak tightly around me, and propelling me swiftly along the slippery street, which oft presents at night one surface of glib ice.”
*Anon. 1906. Stories of the Town. The Old Time Barbers. Lewiston Evening Journal (Lewiston, MA). 30 January, 1906, p. 5.
“It was the winter when the whole Androscoggin was frozen over; glib ice from here to Southward Bend.”
*Anon. 1904. Some of the Damage Done by the Storm. Effects of the Flood not Serious to Business Interests. Personal Gossip. The Day (New London, CT) 23 February 1904.
“In some parts of the place the hard coating of ice which was formed during the early winter had not yet been destroyed and on Monday the young people were coasting down hill on the glib ice, which made the sport very enjoyable.”
I think the term “black ice” is widespread among English speakers. My mother from New Jersey always told me to watch out for black ice in winter. Black ice, of course, was very dangerous because it was so thin it was difficult to see. Therefore, you had to be careful when walking or driving in sub-zero weather even if the path or road ahead looked clear, because it might not actually be clear.