THE GREENLAND EXPEDITION OF 1895. 895 
of Ubekyendt Island, and until the Svartenhuk Peninsula was 
reached, they were constantly in sight in great numbers. 
Through Melville Bay, bergs were rarely seen. This may 
have been due partly to the fact that much of this stretch was 
passed in a foggy atmosphere, and vision was correspondingly 
limited. About Cape York, bergs were found in extraordinary 
numbers a little later, as also for a considerable distance east of 
this point. So abundant were they at Cape York toward the end 
of August that from a single position 1200 feet above the settle- 
ment just east of the Cape, about 700 were counted. Many of these 
were of great height, and of great areal extent as well. On the 
whole, this was much the noblest assemblage of bergs seen. 
They were not more remarkable for their size than for their free- 
dom from débris, and for the extent to which they had been 
sculptured by the waves. Though without the marked serration 
of the bergs at some other points, their forms were often exceed- 
ingly tantastic. Here was seen the most unique berg observed 
at any point. From the bluff above Cape York its surface was 
seen to be marked by a huge, steep-sided depression, circular in 
outline. Its depth was considerable, its bottom appearing to be 
at least as low as the level of the sea. It was filled with water, 
the level of which appeared to correspond with that of the water 
in which the berg floated. The color of the water was such as 
to suggest that it was salt, and therefore that the depression 
extended quite through the berg from top to bottom. This was 
not, however, demonstrated. The origin of such a depression is 
not altogether clear, but it was probably developed while the 
berg was in another position. Other bergs about the Cape were 
notable for their huge amphitheatral reéntrants, sometimes 200 
or 300 feet deep. 
The bergs at Cape York were in process of rapid dissolution. 
At the time of our visit, the weather chanced to be sunny and 
warm, and the bergs appeared to have been afloat long enough 
for the ice to have become rotten. There was no period of more 
than a few minutes duration at any time during the fifty odd 
hours spent in this vicinity when reports due to their disruption 
