VISIT TO GRINNELL GLACIER*. 



519 



ting glacier, which fully proved the truth of my anticipations that 

 there were iceberg discharges on Kingaite side. At noon our 

 progress was arrested by the glacier, which seemed to smile a de- 

 fiance — " thus far, and no farther." 



Here, by this crystal wall, I stood, in admiration and awe be- 

 holding its beauty and grandeur. My Innuit companion seemed 

 satisfied and gratified in witnessing the effect it had upon me. I 

 turned and took a look seaward. A few degrees of opening be- 

 tween the points of land leading into the harbor in which we were 

 gave a view bounded only by the sea horizon. My quickened 

 thoughts almost made me exclaim, " Tell us, time-aged crystal 

 mount, have you locked in your mirror chambers any images of 

 white man's ships, that sailed up these waters near three centuries 

 ago?" This train of fancy -painting was soon dissipated by the 

 substantial reality of a lunch on cold rock pemmican and gold- 

 dust (Borden's pulverized meat-biscuit), washed down with chips 

 from the glacier, after which we were prepared for an attempt 

 to scale the ice-mountain. This could be done only by ascend- 

 ing one of the rock ridges flanking the abutting arm of the glacier, 

 and thence striking up its steep side. 



For the first quarter of a mile it was very abrupt, and difficult 

 to climb. The most laborious and dangerous part of the ascent 

 was accomplished by following the footsteps of a polar bear. My 

 "illustrious predecessor" had evidently ascended the glacier some 

 time previous, just after a fresh fall of snow, impacting it by his 

 great weight into such hard steps that the gales had no effect in 

 destroying them. These polar-bear steps made it feasible for us 

 to ascend where we did. After the first quarter of a mile the in- 

 clination of the glacier was gradual, then for a quarter of a mile 

 farther it became greater, but it did not so continue. Each side 

 of this arm of the glacier was walled in by mountains, the east 

 side by the group I called the President's Seat. 



On making two miles — S. 16° E., true — we arrived where the 

 glacier opens to a sea of ice. At this time and point the gla- 

 cier was covered with snow, with a cropping out here and there 

 of the clear crystal blue ice, giving relief to the view of an appar- 

 ently illimitable sea of white around. My Innuit companion, be- 

 ing well experienced in all the coast from Karmowong, a place 

 on the north side of Hudson's Straits, to Eesolution Island, and 

 all about Frobisher Bay, said that this great glacier extended far, 

 far below where we then were, and also continued on northwest 



