July 24.—Land in sight all the forenoon. At 5 p .m . we were off the “ Ice
Blink,” or Great Glacier, about thirty miles to the northward of Frederickshaab.
This gigantic mass of ice is said to be twelve miles in diameter, although, from
the circumstance of its forming a curve, it appears considerably less. On either
flank, the lofty mountain-ranges slope down and form the broad valley on which
the glacier rests. Far back in the distance some bold peaks rise suddenly from
the general mass, and mark its boundai-y in that direction ; whilst stretching
across an arc of twenty degrees, and at a probable distance of not less than
thirty miles, the still unbroken contour of the mighty glacier cuts the horizon.
But, withal, the scene is tame, and, compared with that observable on the
eastern coast, almost uninteresting. The long regular sweep of the surface of
the glacier is unbroken save by the innumerable little channels worn into it by
the melting of the upper layer during the short northern summers, and, instead
of presenting the pure whiteness of the peaks on either side, is stained and
muddy from the deposits that have taken place upon it. Seen from a distance
of ten or fifteen miles, the angle of inclination appears exceedingly small ; and
along the shore-line the vast mass descends so gradually as to afford no indication
of the point at which it terminates and the land-ice begins. According to
Crantz (Hist. Greenland, translated from the Danish ; London, 1820, p. 5), “ The
“ points of land, which run out a great way into the sea on both sides, consist
“ of banks of sand so fine and light that, when agitated by the slightest breeze, it
“ darkens the air like a cloud, and fills the eyes and mouth of all who approach
“ within eight leagues of the shore.” This accounts for the peculiar colour of the
surface of the glacier ; but it is somewhat remarkable that, although the narrator
of the above fact visited the “ Ice Blink” at precisely the same period of the
year as we did, no other trace of the presence of this dust-bank was observable.
An extensive shoal, called the “ Tallert bank,” reaches out to sea for many
miles in front of the gi-eat glacier. I was extremely desirous of ascertaining the
character of the deposit constituting this bank ; but the state of the weather and
ice afforded no opportunity. This is the more to be regretted, as, from the
appearance and form of the glacier, the fact of its never “ calving” (that is,
giving off bergs), and the existence of an extensive shoal, I am inclined to
believe that the glacier now under notice covers a large river which takes its
rise in the far interior, and debouches below low-water mark, bringing with it
the detritus to build up the bank. Under no other set of conditions does it seem
possible that such a shoal should form. The fact of other glaciers both on this
and the east coast giving off bergs is of itself proof of the presence of deep
water, inasmuch as the stranding of masses of sufficient size to offer resistance
to the downward progress of the glacier itself would inevitably be overcome in
time by the accumulated pressure. The first operation of this pressure would be
to heap up a pile of gigantic bergs. Gradually it would overcome the resistance
of these and hurl them onwards, ploughing out chasms in the sea-bottom, and
eventually creating channels of sufficient depth to float the detached masses
subsequently given off. By degrees the boundary-walls of these channels would
be broken up and deposit their silt along the deepest portions. Again obstruction
would take place by the grounding of the bergs. Again the channels
would be cleared. Again the silt would be deposited, but in diminished
quantity,—until at last, under the combined and long-continued repetition of
these causes, the depth of the sea-bed would become sufficient to permit the
unimpeded descent and advance of the newly-detached bergs. I f we bear in
mind that these ice-masses do not glide into the sea from their parent glacier,
like Naiads gliding into a crystal lake, but plunge headlong with a crash
which raises the water around into a perfect tempest, extending for several
miles, and that the detached mass does not recover from its drunken gyrations
for days after leaving the land, we shall be able perhaps to form some estimate
of the stupendous force that an accumulation of these masses would engender.
In Crantz’s narrative already referred to, he gives an extract from a communication
made to him by an old Danish factor who had resided many years at
Frederickshaab. Speaking of the difficulty of accounting for the immense
quantities of ice discharged from Disco Bay, the narrator says, “ I received
“ some explanation of this difficulty from a journey I made with some Green-
“ landers along the ‘ Ice Blink Bay ’ as high up into the interior as any Green-
“ lander had ventui-ed. I then discovered that, though nothing but firm land
“ coated with ice appears seaward, there may still be open water on the land side.
“ I also learned the manner in which the fragments of ice are carried down into
“ the sea by the current, under the solid surface. When and how the mouth of
“ the bay was blocked up, is unknown. Probably, during a long season of calm
“ weather attended with severe frost, in the middle of winter, the drift-ice may