THE WHITE WORLD 



border as well as the interior was covered with glacial ice. 

 Everywhere on the mountain sides there were remnants 

 of glacial deposits and of glacial scratching and polishing, 

 which bore evidence that formerly all the channels open- 

 ing out to the sea had been full to the top with moving 

 glacial ice. Whether the volume of ice was sufficient to 

 entirely fill Davis Strait and join Greenland to North 

 America is more than any one can tell. But that the whole 

 mountainous western border was enveloped with the ice 

 mass, and that icebergs, far more numerous than those 

 which now incumber the North Atlantic, were poured 

 forth from the fiords of Southern Greenland as well as 

 from the northern portion of the vast island, is rendered 

 certain. 



Soon after returning to Sukkertoppen, we were cheered 

 by the appearance of the white sails of the splendid fish- 

 ing yacht " Rigel," from Gloucester, Massachusetts, under 

 charge of Captain Dixon, one of the noblest specimens 

 of humanity that ever lived. By rare good fortune the 

 party we had sent north had succeeded in finding him, 

 and he with all his crew had heartily hastened to our 

 relief. Thinking it was still possible for the "Miranda" to 

 steam across Davis Strait to the coast of Labrador, it 

 was resolved to place all the excursionists upon the 

 " Rigel," and to let the " Miranda " take us in tow. 



The " Rigel " was a fast sailing yacht, about one hun- 

 dred feet in length and of one hundred tons burden. It 

 was already half full of fish, but these were spread over 

 the bottom of the middle hold and covered with salt, over 

 which a tarpaulin was laid. There were fifty-one excur- 

 sionists to find room in the craft, in company with the 

 eighteen members of the crew, making sixty-nine in all. 

 With such crowded quarters, of course we were not able 

 to take anything with us but the barest necessities of 

 clothing; every superfluous moving thing belonging to the 

 boat was cast overboard. Those who were assigned to 

 the middle hold were packed together like sardines in a 

 box, it being scarcely possible for one to turn over with- 

 out the whole companv doing the same. 



It was a beautiful bright morning when we set out upon 

 our homeward voyage. Our hospitable Danish friends 



2T6 



