82 Arctic Natural History. 



used as food in China. — (Sutherland's Journal of Captain 

 Penny's Voyage to Wellington Channel.) 



13. On the Magnitude of Arctic Glaciers — and their advance 

 towards and termination in the Sea. 



To the eastward of Cape Hay, we observed a glacier, of 

 not very large size, entering the sea from a valley, through 

 which it could be traced until it was lost among the rugged, 

 sharp-pointed, and bleak-looking, almost inaccessible heights, 

 on both sides. The main valley appeared to be entered by 

 smaller ones, which also contained ice ; some of them entered 

 at right angles, while others seemed to be a sort of division 

 of the main one into smaller branches. The edge of the 

 glacier protruded into the sea considerably beyond the coast 

 line, and it looked as if an iceberg was to be detached very 

 soon, — the water marked its sides with lines corresponding 

 with the high and low water marks ; and in this respect 

 there was a striking resemblance with what we had often 

 observed, on the sides of icebergs, on the eastern shore of 

 Davis Straits, which had taken a firm lodgment on the bot- 

 tom during very high tides. The protruding edge was quite 

 perpendicular, just as it had been left by the last iceberg that 

 had floated away from it, and it rose to a height of forty to 

 fifty feet above the water ; this would give the part under 

 water about three hundred and fifty or four hundred feet. 

 In many parts of its surface the glacier was very dirty, and 

 masses of rock could be seen resting upon it, but there ap- 

 peared to be very little order in their arrangement, except 

 that, about the middle, the larger fragments followed the 

 direction of the valley ; and at the west side, there seemed 

 to be a collection of a dark colour and muddy consistence, 

 which also followed the direction of the valley, but gradually 

 thinned away as it ascended ; while the east side was per- 

 fectly white from the very edge, until it was lost sight of in 

 the distance. From the appearance of the mud, I had no 

 other idea than that it had been brought down by water in a 

 running stream, which must have made its escape into the 



