THE SUMMER EXPEDITION TO THE ICE-CAP 



hundred miles back from the coast, was once ad- 

 vanced until it overwhelmed all the land and per- 

 haps rested upon the sea. Later it retired to some 

 line probably near its present front, thus leaving 

 all the land in the condition of that which we now 

 find along the coast ; that is to say, with an average 

 height today of about 1300 feet, with somewhat 

 sharp contours, and now so altered by weather- 

 ing that none of the glacial scorings which the ice 

 left behind can be made out, though weathered 

 boulders are to be found in profusion on all high 

 levels. Now at a much more recent time the ice- 

 cap once more waxed large, pushed its front out 

 as far as the gateway of Taserssuak, but only to 

 retire still later to its present position, thus leaving 

 the land only about two-thirds as high as in the 

 coastal zone and remoulded in softened outlines by 

 the glacial sculpture of this later glaciation. This 

 retirement has been so recent that the fine scorings 

 upon the rock and the wonderful glacial polish are 

 everywhere to be seen. 



We row laboriously against a stiff wind, keeping 

 to the southern shore and at mid-day go ashore for 

 luncheon. Here we make our first real acquaint- 

 ance with the luscious Greenland blueberries on 

 minute plants which push up hardly two inches in 

 the tundra, but which are widely distributed and 



69 



