RECREA TION. 



49 



the face, and it is not until we return to 

 the water's edge and follow the smooth 

 sandy beach back to nearly the foot of 

 the wall that we realize how high it really 

 is. We cannot reach the very foot of 

 the wall of ice, for in the angle just 

 where this is joined by the almost as 

 steep wall of the lateral deposit, there 

 rushes out a great river of light muddy 

 water. This is the waste weir of the Muir 

 glacier, and one naturally wonders how 

 long it can stand such a drain ; for the 

 torrent as it rushes out is wide and deep. 



In spite of the showers of gravel 

 which every now and then rush down 

 upon us from the steep bank on our 

 right we stand for a long time gazing 

 with delight upon the beautifully tinted 

 wall before us. Occasionally a crash is 

 heard, accompained with a noise as of 

 distant thunder, and it is only by seeing 

 a shower of splintered ice break out from 

 some gorge in the great ice precipice 

 'hat we realize some vast pinnacle has 

 fallen into one of the crevasses which 

 intersect the glacier in variousdirections. 

 None, however, of any size detach them- 

 selves from the great wall in front of us, 

 and we begin to fear we are too late in 

 the season to witness that of which we 

 have heard so much. However, luck 

 favored us in the end. Four o'clock 

 was the hour set for our departure, and 

 before that time all the sight-seers were 

 aboard. 



Our captain, when his uniform cap 

 was off, had ridiculed my estimate of 

 the distance within which we had ap- 



proached the face of the glacier in the 

 morning before anchoring ; and to prove 

 to me how far wrong I was, proposed, 

 when his anchor was up, to run in even 

 closer than before and still not get within 

 my estimate. As the wheels began to 

 turn, the passengers all assembled on the 

 forward deck to take a last view of the 

 glacier and see how close the captain 

 would go. I should not like to say how 

 near he did run, but it was nearer than 

 before, and still some hundreds of yards 

 intervened. This could be determined 

 by comparing our position with a point 

 on shore the distance of which, from the 

 foot of the glacier, had, as the captain 

 said, been measured. We went quite 

 close enough to satisfy even the bravest, 

 and every one was relieved when the 

 engines were reversed, and we com- 

 menced to back. Just as this move- 

 ment to the rear commenced a great 

 mass fell, or rather slid off, from the 

 face of the cliff not far to our left. With 

 a thunder-like roar it plunged into the 

 sea ; sending up great columns of water 

 around it and then, having almost dis- 

 appeared beneath the surface, it shot up 

 into the air again, rolled over as its cen- 

 tre of gravity demanded, and floated 

 away to become an iceberg, down the 

 bay. The delighted passengers, who 

 had been looking all day for just such 

 an exhibition, recognized this display as 

 a sort of farewell salute and broke 

 into a hearty cheer. Our Polar bear on 

 the bridge actually looked pleased, in 

 uniform, for once in his life. 



TO BE CONTINUED. 



