196 Rocks and Debris on the Ice. 



some one at some particular time altoiward, -svliile it was wasting away, drifting 

 and straggling about, no doubt but tbe anvil would have appeared as though 

 deposited on it. 



I come now do^vn to the present time, to what can now be seen on and 

 mar the shore of this island. The present spring-tides have opened a rich 

 lieJd for study. They have by their wonderful action shown me how quickly 

 they can transform the "thrice-ribbed ice" into dancing sparkling waters; how 

 (luickly tht',^■ can tear away and destroy mountaiu barriers of ice, giving free 

 waters for ships to sail in. These spring-tides have just been ripi)ing up huge 

 masses of ice lining the shores, and such ice as the winter's cold formed over the 

 shallow waters near to the island on its western side. Could Parry and others 

 who weie puzzled extretnely to account for the manner in which stones, sand, 

 shells, and weed found their way upon the Hoe, but have seen what I have wit- 

 nessed this evening, they would no longer have had any question about the 

 matter. There is one mass of ice lying within a couple of stone-throws of my 

 tupU:^ which is some G feet in thickness and .50 by 100 feet square. The ebbing 

 tide has left one corner of this resting on another j)iece equally thick, which lies 

 directly flat on the rocky bottom that is now bare from low tide. The position of 

 this piece of ice, with its corner thus resting on another piece, is on an incline, 

 showing its top, sides, and bottom most favorably. The whole mass consists of 

 strata of stones, rocks, and sand and ice, the strata running jjarallel with the top 

 and bottom of this frozen mass. From the top of this piece, stones are peei-ing 

 out. Near one end is a rock of 150 pounds weight, or more, nearly denuded of ice. 

 As can be seen at the sides and ends, megular thicknesses of layers of stones and 

 sand occur. The upper part of this ice is much freer of those substances than 

 thr lower hall'. Comparatively, but few stones and small collections of sand are 

 in the upper i)ortion, while the beds below consist of an astonishing quantity. 

 Indeed, the bottom is a stratum of nothing but rocks, stone, and sand that are 

 glue<l together by invisible ice. Just above this bottom layer is a sheet of six 

 inches in tliickness of sea-ice, and then a little higher up, comes another layer of 

 rocks, stones, and sand, following which is clear ice again. I should judge that 

 at least tic<> or three torn of earthy matter is frozen into that one piec(; of ice that 

 1 have just described. Hut thi.s piece of ice is only one of the many that are now 

 to be seen lying around on the rocks left bare by the ebb-tide. Some have only 

 a few ston<'s uj)on and in llieni. This feature is, however, plainly to be seen in 

 nearly all, that the stones and ice are in strata. During the day much ice has 



