“ have continued stationary at the mouth of the fiorde, and being exposed in spring
“ to an alternation of thaw and frost, have been consolidated in a mass firm enough
“ to resist the summer’s warmth, and the action of the winds and cun*ent. The
“ frozen snow accumulating for ages has swollen this mass to so huge a bulk, that
“ the narrow arches through which the stream impetuously rushes are in many
“ places 20 fathom high. The pieces of ice yearly precipitated from the moun-
“ tains into the open bay are hurried down by the stream upon this icy bridge.
“ The smaller fragments float through ; the larger dash against it until they are
“ broken into pieces small enough to pass through also*.”
Now, although the character of the glacier must have undergone great modification
since the period to which the above account refers—no less than 104 years
ago—inasmuch as its sea-margin does not rise to half the height to which the
arches are stated to have reached, there is quite sufficient evidence to show that
a vast subglacial efflux of water must have been present at that date.
July 25.—After steaming slowly to the southward all night, it is found that the
passage into Frederickshaab is impracticable. The whole coast-line is blocked
up with an impenetrable barrier of ice extending for many miles out to sea. It
is usual for the coast-ice to begin to disappear considerably before this period ;
and as the movement takes place from the northward, it is but too probable
that the settlements to the southward, namely Julianshaab and Nenortalik, are
equally unapproachable. The collier therefore can hardly have reached either
of these places. I believe we have one week’s supply of coal left. The barometer
is again falling rapidly, and already it is blowing a gale. So once more
we are off to sea. Towards evening steam shut off, and ship under sail only.
Besides the main body of the pack hemming in the coast as a long unbroken
barrier, a number of bergs of very large size are to be seen on every side. These
vary in height from 50 to 150 feet or even more. One appeared to be about
200 yards in length. The detached pieces of pack generally indicate a thickness
of from 15 to 20 feet, whilst in diameter they are at times as much as 100 yards.
A curious appearance is observable in some of the bergs. As already mentioned,
the entire mass above water is generally of the purest whiteness, there being
little or no transparency visible until within a few feet of the line of floatation.
But in some bergs delicate yet well-defined lines may be seen, of a rich ultra-
* Crantz, ‘Historj-- of Greenland/ p. 19.
marine colour, traversing the faces from side to side or from top to bottom. At
a little distance these lines look like fissures ; and so in reality they are, although
completely filled up with transparent ice, which contrasts strongly with the pure
whiteness of the body of the berg. I t is probable that these fissures have occurred
prior to the separation of the berg from the parent glacier, and that the transparent
streaks of ice are due to the infiltration and congelation of fresh water
which has flowed into them ; for, had they occurred subsequently to the separation
of the bergs, the split portions must have fallen asunder. The nature of
the blue streak was clearly exhibited in a berg the nearest face of which appeared
to have been recently split off. In this case the summit of the mass was somewhat
concave, or rather had been concave, before the face alluded to fell asunder
from it ; and towards the central portion of its upper edge was to he seen the
sectional view of a trough, from the base of which the blue streak extended down
to the water’s edge, both the trough and the fissure proceeding from it being
filled up with a beautiful clear blue vein of ice. Here, then, it is evident that
the infiltration of water into the fissure, and the trough-like cavity fi'om whence
it sprung, were due to the thawing of the upper sm-face of the berg.
July 27. There is something singularly deceitful in these northern summers.
For a few hours last evening the sky shook off the foggy mantle it had assumed
the day before and gave token of returning sunshine. The wind lulled almost to
a calm, and with it the sea. But it was only to take breath and recover their
energies for another hubbub. The glass fell rapidly after midnight ; and by 6 a.m.
the gale was blowing as fiercely as ever from south-west, the quarter of all others
the most certain to accumulate more drift-ice along the coast, and impact it into
a denser barrier than ever.
Last evening, the moment the state of the sea admitted, I let down my surface-
nets ; but, with the exception of the common forms of Etitomostraca, some cilio-
grade Medusæ and an Annelid closely aUied to Tomojteris (Esch.) {theJohmtmella
of Gosse), I captured nothing.
July 31.—The weather having moderated somewhat, yesterday afternoon
the ship started under steam once more for Frederickshaab. The scattered
state of the ice through which we passed this morning induced a hope that the
coast might now be sufficiently clear to allow of our entrance. But we are doomed
to disappointment ; for after forcing our way, in a dense fog, through many miles