TliE LAND. 27<l 



Farbes as being known only through native report no 

 traveller having seen it. This was the Skars fiord in lat. 

 67 N. The mere fact of this glacier" being unknown, 

 except by report, induced us to turn into the fiord with 

 all the zest of explorers. A run of twelve miles brought 

 us within sight of the object of our search, the first 

 glance at which filled us with awe and admiration. But 

 the longer we stayed and explored this magnificent "ice- 

 river," the more were we amazed to find how inadequate 

 were our first conceptions of its immense size. 



Appearances here are to our eyes very deceptive, 

 owing, doubtless, to our being unaccustomed to scenery 

 of such grandeur and magnitude. 



This glacier of the Skars fiord appeared to be only a 

 quarter of a mile wide. On measuring the valley, which 

 it entirely filled up, we found it to be nearly two miles in 

 breadth. Its lower edge appeared to be a few feet thick, 

 and about twenty yards or so from the sea, the shore of 

 which was strewn with what appeared to be large stones. 



On landing, we found that the space between the ice 

 and the sea was upwards of half a mile in extent ; the 

 large stones turned out to be boulders, varying in size 

 from that of a small boat to a large cottage ; while the 

 lower edge of the glacier itself was an irregular wall of 

 ice about fifteen or twenty feet in height. 



Standing at its base we looked up the valley over the 

 fissured surface of the ice to that point -where the white 

 snow of its upper edge cut clear and sharp against the 

 blue sky, and, after much consultation, we came to tb* 



T 



