" MAEION " EXPEDITION" TO DAVIS STRAIT AND BAFFIN BAY 41 



fast to walk up to one of the hanging glaciers that fed the near-by 

 stream. The day was mostly cloudy, but calm and pleasant, with 

 very good visibility. There were many plants and flowers and ciiiite 

 a few blueberries along the shore. 



It appeared but a short distance up to the glaciers, but it took 

 about two hours of steady climbing to reach the ice. The ground 

 became rockier and rockier after the fiord w^as left, while the vege- 

 tation became scantier and scantier. Finally the way was over 

 a surface made up of nothing but angular rock fragments of all 

 sizes. Their source was undoubtedly the enormous cliffs that rose 

 above the small glaciers ahead. 



Just before reaching the ice, several old end moraines had to be 

 scaled. In some places glacial lakes not much larger than puddles 

 were imprisoned between these moraines. Finally a last steep slope 



THE •• MARION " IS DWARFED BY HER SURROUNDINGS 



Figure 31. — The mouth of the stream from which water was being boated is directly 

 over the officer standing in the right foreground. The Marion is anchored a little 

 to the left of the stream's mouth. Across the fiord are the heights of the southern 

 end of Aulalsivik Island, Labrador. Note how the stream, which is backed up into 

 a tiny lake in the left foreground, disappears into the crevices among the loose rocks. 



of rock fragments was ascended, and the melting ice of the nearest 

 glacier was reached. View^s taken during this excursion into the 

 Torngats are shown in Figures 29-33. 



The walk back to the ship w^as accomplished wdthout incident and 

 at 1.35 p. m. the Marlon got under way and stood eastward tow^ard 

 the sea. The country about the fiord just south of Aulalsivik Island 

 is a real wdlderness. " No trace of human habitation or visit could be 

 found. This was in contrast to all the other northern places visited, 

 for everywhere else at least a few people were seen. 



Before leaving the fiord an oceanographic station was taken. 

 Numerous fathometer soundings were recorded in the fiord and off 

 its entrance. (See fig. 14.) Attempts to catch fish were made with 

 hand lines, but none of them met success, possibly because we did 

 not have the right kind of bait. 

 68165—32 4 



