158 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MIRANDA. 



especially favorable for outdoor photography. It is much 

 more so than that of the Eastern States, yet, contrasting the 

 atmosphere of the three, as to the physical characters, that 

 of Greenland stands at the opposite extreme from that of 

 California, and our photographs, as a whole, were strikingly 

 good. There were nearly a score of cameras on board, and 

 even the most inexperienced amateurs were brilliantly suc- 

 cessful in getting good views. 



During our detention at Sukkertoppen, awaiting the 

 arrival of a rescue vessel, I made frequent trips to the sur- 

 rounding heights, some of which commanded wide and ex- 

 ceedingly grand views. This is considered the boldest and 

 most picturesque portion of Western Greenland. The head- 

 lands are lofty and precipitous, and the mainland and some 

 of the larger islands are studded with pinnacled and inacces- 

 sible rocky peaks, furrowed by numerous narrow gorges con- 

 taining more or less perpetual snow. The mainland is cut by 

 three fiords, which run up the country for from forty to sixty- 

 four miles. Beyond these are high and precipitous mountains, 

 the higher ones being pinnacles of granite, with the great inte- 

 rior snow-cap surrounding them, and coming in grand glaciers 

 down through the gaps between them to the fiords. The 

 aspect of the region, as seen from the summits back of the 

 colony, was impressively grand and striking. 



There was absolutely no softening by blue haze, as we have 

 over the landscapes of temperate climes. The sharp, rugged 

 peaks rising from the desolate ice and snow of the interior, 

 and the rounded, naked rocks nearer the sea, under the cold 

 gray light had a scenic aspect very unlike any other land- 

 . scapes I have ever seen. They -had a sublimity of their own, 

 which awed while it fascinated. They were indescribably 

 impressive, but were not picturesque. The clouds which hung 

 about the peaks much of the time were ragged, and had ill- 

 defined edges. I saw none of the cumulus masses of cloud 



