FAR AND NEAR 



The captain naturally hesitated to enter it; it 

 was unmapped and unsounded water. 



" Go ahead, Captain," said Mr. Harriman, " I 

 will take the risk." 



We went on under a ojood head of steam up 

 this new inlet, where no ship had ever before passed. 

 It was one of the most exciting moments of our voy- 

 age. We could see another huge glacier about ten 

 miles ahead of us, with its front on the water barrincr 

 the way. Glaciers hung on the steep mountain-sides 

 all about us. Some of them, as Mr. Elliot said, 

 looked like the stretched skin3 of huge polar bears. 

 The scene was wild and rugged in the extreme. One 

 of the glaciers was self-named the Serpentine by 

 reason of its winding course down from its hidden 

 sources in the mountains, — a great white serpent 

 with its jaws set with glittering fangs at the sea. An- 

 other was self-named the Stairway, as it came down 

 in regular terraces or benches. A Colossus of Rhodes 

 with seven-league boots would have been an appro- 

 priate figure upon it. As we neared the front of this 

 last glacier, the mountains to the left again parted 

 and opened up another new arm of the sea, with 

 more glaciers tumbling in mute sublimity from the 

 heights, or rearing colossal palisades across our 

 front. A ten-mile course brought us to the head 

 of this inlet, which was indeed the end of naviga- 

 tion in this direction. Here we left Gannett and 

 Muir to survey and bring to map our new bit of 



76 



