24 



the other hand, was occurring frequently because of the compara- 

 tively high temperature of the day and the steady advance of the 

 glacier into deep Avater along a broad front. When the larger ice 

 blocks calved off there were thunderous noises and the swells set 

 up often made the ship roll suddenly and the rocky shores of the 

 sheltered anchorage resound with breaking waves. Thousands of 

 sea gulls were resting on the water near the ice front, particularly 

 about the entrance to the ice cavern. These birds would fly about 

 w^ith excited screaming Avhenever ice masses crashed down in their 

 vicinity. Figures 19, 20, and 21 illustrate conditions about the end 

 of the glacier at Port Quervain. 



A GLACIAL SCENE 



FiGUKB 19. — The Coast Guard patrol boat Marion anchored at Port Quervain on the west 

 coast of Greenland in latitude 69° 45' N. This glacier, Ekip Sermia, calves a con- 

 siderable amount of ice yearly but never in pieces the size of a large iceberg. 



At 8.30 a. m. on August 10 the ship w^as left with a few ship 

 keepers only, while most of the officers and crew were boated ashore 

 for a hike to the inland ice. The latter is easily accessible at this 

 point, and it was from here that Dequervain, the Swiss glaciologist, 

 scaled it and crossed in 1912 to Greenland's east coast. We found 

 the Avalking inland from the end of the glacier good, but it entailed 

 much going up and down hill, tiring for sailors, though probably 

 easy enough for experienced mountaineers. 



There were many blueberries near the sea level, but as the altitude 

 increased the cold i3ecame greater, the soil poorer, and the vegetation 

 scantier and scantier. About noon the party, most of them now very 

 lirecl from the rapid pace set by the native guide, began toiling up 



