Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1871-11-02

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Z arrangements of their dwellings, are vert
much alike. A platform about foot
j high oceapies one-half of the apartment
| Upon this all the, he,occupapts sleep. and in
the daytime It is, used ior scat, where
the women do their sewing, nurse their
babies, receive their yisitoandrs, do all
! the village gossiping. uai}le4 ban 19a.
! The food consists of the fewest possible
] articles of diet, and cooked in the simplest
J style. A single pot snfices for culinary
purposes, and in this fsh' is. boiled but
if even this short process of preparing
food is inconvenient. they are satisfied
| with the raw walrus2 or seal meat. Al
though they enjoy all the various forms of
food which come to them from civilized
life, but few of them have ambition or
energy enough to acquire the skill neces-
/ sary to prepare decent food.
Their enjoyments consist of dancing,
which the women execute with great sup
pleness and agility. The men are fond Of
wrestling. and various feats of skill in
general and lofty tumbling. But the
most entertaining of all their fcats is the
''Aiak" race and somersaults. The '.kiak"
is a little seal-skin water-tight boat, six
or eight feet long and fifteen inches broad
| with hole in the middle of the deck
large enough to admit mans body /:
while he sits on the bottom of the boat,
and works his way with as@zsingle oar
They acquire such skill in the manage
ment of this little craft that they can out
strip an ordinary row-boat, ride over the
toughest waves, turn upside down, right
themselves in few minutes, throw the
harpoon into the seal or walrus, and even
spear birds on the wing. They gave us
some exhibitions of their skill in aquatic
gymnastics, that showed a capacity which,
if the development theory" were correct
would long since have made them civil
lied people. But sober and sad facts
show that ''development' is in the oppo-
site direction, from. man to the monkey.
The primitive condition. of the race was
the highest type of civilization, and the
tendency always has been downward, to-
ward the savage state. Take away from
any individual or community the outward
restraints of social life in the form Of edu-
cation, government and Christianity, and
the inward impulses OF emotion. energy,
and good moral purposes, and he or that
community will gradually subsidc into
barbarism.
Under the leadership of the 'Inspcc-
tor" with an Esqumax guide, small
party of us set out to gain a more inti-
mate acquaintanceship with that peculiar
feature OF Greenland scenery, the glacier.
After severe tramp of five miles, over
the most abominable course that ever the
feet of man trod, we were gratificd with
the sight and touch Of one of those prolific
mothers whose progeny dotted our course
for the better half of our voyage. and
threatened to test the ships tinbers-the
icebergs.
These glaciers arc vast masses Of ice,
more or less soiled. formed with creyasses,
andholding, locked in firm embrace.
masses of earth and stone. When the
suns rays strike the mass of ncwly-fallen
snow in its feathery state, it undcrgoes
partial, superficial melting, and presents
an appearance somewhat like our boiled
hominy. 1t is now in a granulated state.
This fills up the sentire valley. Then
down upon this mas flow the meltiugs of
the snow from the mountains above. The
freezing nights, which are long and severe
ly cold, gradually convert the entire val
ley into mass of solid ice, which is call
ed glacier ..f
But here is the wonderful thing. These
ice masses, which fill the mountain gorges
are found to be in motion, creeping slow
ly, but surely, down to the plain. at rate
ranging from two to sour feet per day
In fact, the glacier is river of ice, con-
veying the moisture in this solid shape
from the mountain tops to the plains just
as an ordinary river drains the surface OF
country at lower temperature.
Whatever be the cause of the motion,
it is certain that they are travelling down |
ward steadily, bearing with them rock
masses, often of enormous size, torn from
the mountain sides, and thus creeping
along, tearing out the very bowels of the
mountains and carrying them to the plains
below. These immense fragments, mixed
with earth, arc deposited in the valleys,
where the higher temperature melts the
ice. and the muddy streams rush down
ward. giving origin to the rivers Glaci- |
ers are thus gigantic mountain leve 'ers.
Here on this continent have these silent
workers been toiling ever since the earth
cooled sufficiently to allow of the forma
tion of ice. They carry giant masses into
the plains, where the rivers take up the
PARTICLES and deposit them at the bottom
of the seas to form new continents Age
after age has this work been going on,
and the whole interior of Greenland pre-
sents such surfaces as these, defying the
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and explore its solitudes.
In some cases this glacier terminates in
an ice-covered ocean, so that It's masses
cannot be thawed They are accordingly
hurled off into the sea and foatcd by the |
ocean currents hundreds and thousands of
leagues in all directions.
Far up in the icy gorges of the Arctic
Mountains, hundreds of miles from the |
coast, where human foot has never trod,
the glacier is formed. Slowly it presses
with its giant forces toward the sea, and |
lines its margin with an enormous crystal |
precipice. But the great propelling power
behind forces the masses onward into the |
deep sea and now, in fearful throes, the |
iceberg is born. Agreat cliff of ice over
hangs the waves, whose tides have worn
away its base so that slight cause will
bring it down. Presently a loud noise
is heard. The ice monster has snapped
asunder. The detached mass comes grind
ing. crushing down; he leaps into the
waves, that start back as if in terror at
his approach, fling up clouds of spray and
madly toss themselves, as if in agony.
high upon the shore. * ship four miles
off feels the shock: beat mile distant
is swallowed up or hurled upon the shore