THE ANTAECTIC QUESTION MACHAT. 469 



as far as latitude 75° S. The formation of ice would actually be 

 greater at the Balleny Islands, where the cold is not so intense, but 

 precipitations are considerabh' greater.'^ Briefl}^ stated, a new conti- 

 nent is emerging right before our eyes, from under the glacial ice. 

 The glacier still hides the frontal moraines, partly covered by the 

 sea, and which Doctor Charcot studied at Wandel Island.'' If the 

 receding of the ice should continue it ma}^ disclose the secrets of life 

 in those regions during the Tertiary age. 



Floating ice is the first formation met by the vessels coming from 

 the north. This is chiefly ice debris, carried by the winds and cur- 

 rents far from their original source, floes of different sizes, or frag- 

 ments from the ice bank. This drift ice sometimes almost completely 

 covers the sea; it is agitated by the ocean swell, and swiftly floats 

 in compact masses toward confined spaces, such as the straits of 

 West Antarctide." In the open sea as far as latitude 55° N. large 

 icebergs drift; some of them, broken from the land ice, having a 

 peculiar tabular shape, have attracted the attention of travelers. 

 But who can describe these icebergs when upturned, their bases 

 dented by fusion, cut into pyramids, into sharp peaks, and hollowed 

 with caves or tunnels, where shines a, strange blue light. It must 

 be stated, however, that great floating icebergs are not numerous. 

 The West Antarctide glaciers yield only fragments. Doctor Charcot 

 saw no launching of large icebergs, and he does not believe that the 

 great masses of ice, measuring 500 meters in height, can come from 

 the region explored by the Frangais. Toward Victoria Land only 

 two glaciers emissary from the ice cap, seen by Scott, gave forth 

 icebergs. The Koss barrier would be the only known source of 

 great icebergs, a region where there is activity to be compared to 

 the great glaciers of Greenland. At Mount Gauss, Von Drj^galski 

 noted that the movement of the inland ice is very slow and the break- 

 ing not frequent. Here, moreover, as everywhere, the great blocks 

 from the neighboring land rest long amid the coast ice and the ice 

 bank before starting on their drift. 



The ice bank visible from afar by its peculiar glimmer, called " ice- 

 blink," incloses the polar lands in an almost continuous line, totally 

 different from what takes place in the arctic seas. Seldom even in 

 summer is any part of the shore found bathed by free water. 

 Between latitude 62° and latitude 69° S., south of the Atlantic and 

 Indian oceans, lies the long wall that forms the edge of the sea of 

 ice, whence the drift ice is detached. This is the " icekant," gen- 

 erally several meters high. It affords access, always difficult, to a 



"■ Scott : The Voyage of the Discovery, Vol. I, pp. 209, 383 ; Geogr. Journ., 

 1905, p. 353. 



* Doctor Charcot : Op. cit., p. 74. 



'^ Scott : Op. cit.. Vol. I, p. 152. Doctor Charcot : Op. cit., p. 46. 



