New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-04
GLACIERS AND ICEBERGS.

isI@oi>AIAOllf-c IN me OkIENEAND OOAols
EXPLORATIONS BY LIEUTENANT HAMMER, OF THE
DANISH NAVIGATE OF GLACIAL MOVEMENT
ICEBERGs OF sTUPENDOUs sIZE-CURIOsITIEs OF
THE GREENLAND LANGUAGE.
An expedition sent out TO Greenland by tho
Danish Government in the fall OF 1879 to explore
the great JakObshayn glacier has recently made an
interesting report to the Royal Commission for the
Exploration OF Greenland. Its chief purpose, 20
determine tue speed of the great glaciers progress
toward the sea in the winter months. accom-
pished under exceptionally discouragng circunl-
stances Oy K. Hammer Lieutenant in the Navy,
who commanded the expedition. Previous lnYestl-
cations by Rink in 1850, and by Holland in 1873.
had shown that the JakObshavn glacier in the
summer moved seward at the rate Of fully sixty
feet in twenty-four hours while the Swiss glaciers
travel only a few inches in that time The dIscov-
cry that in the depth Of the Arctic winter its speed
fell very little short Of this was however, an unex-
pected conclusion; the measurements made by
Mr. Hammer, nevertheless, fully prove this.
The Jakobshavn ice-ford $50 - north latitudel
was chosen as the point OF observation because the
glacier which through 1t reaches the sea fIom tho
uneXpored interior is the greatest and sends forth
the largest number Of the icebergs that crowd tho
Polar Sea- The belt Of coast land that is not COW
cred with perpetual ice is at Jakobshayn about
twenty miles wide. Beyond it the inland ice covers
packs the inner ford at all seasons. The mouth CT
the ford in Disco Bay is closed by bar Of mud.
upon which the larger Icebergs ground as they
break of at the end of the glacier, choking up the
ford and preventing all communication between
JakObshavn and Claushavn at the south side OF tho
ford. except by boat outside the bar. When largo
icebergs from time to time slip over this bar, an
opening is made through which quantities of ice
push out into the bay, to the great danger of any
A.. 10, lo tba
always sudden and Unforeseen. But when the
glacier kalver III e.. when the outer end breaks
OIL and forms icebergs that turn over and over in
the effort to attain their balance-the disturbance
OF the waters extends far out into the bay and ~
times may be traced many miles down the coast
Ice three OF four feet thick is broken miles away
like fragile glass. The Danes in Greenland under
stand well the cause Of this connection, though the
actual process of the kanel" has only been OBJ
served by a European once but the natives believe
that it is the work OF the spirits Of the glacier,
whose Businesses are far in the Unknown interior Of
the country During the winter Of SO this phe-
| nOmenon occurred thrice.
Hammer started FOR The glacier from Claushavn
! in September expecting 10 make his base of obser-
walton ID the little inlet kOngerdlukasik. which
1873 had been passed and entirely shut off by the
| glacier on its seaward march lie reached it after
great hardships only 80 find that the glacier had
receded M the ford far that il could not he
| seen from that point. The mountain sides of tho
inlet we're too steep to climb, and in an attempt TO
do so the explorers were surprised by a terrible
| snOw-storm and had to spend the night in rayine
IN imminent danger Of being frozen 10 death. After
ascertaining that the glacier since 1880 had moved
Jayh fully fyuI mites, they we're compelled 10 to-
turn to Jakobshavn to spend the long Arctic night.
It was only on January - that half of the suns
disk appeared above the horizon again. and travel
in Gog-sleds became possible. Several attempts
were made to reach Kongerdlukaslk. and the trip
| 10 Ilmenak distance of 100 miles over mountain
ranges 1000 feet high, made in a sled with one
team of eight dogs in three days and half, with
the Thermometer at 10. c.. but the object was not
attained till the middle Of March. The glacier had
pushed ahead and again visible from the inlet
but this closely packed with lee screwed mp IN
all sorts of shapes that twenty-four hours hard
work only brought the party 400 feet nearer the
ice.f ford and another way had to be found. 1t was
noted by measurements, accurate as the distance
! would permit that IN that night the end Of the
glacier advanced perceptibly. though the thermo.
! meter showed c. On March p the main ce-
ford was Mt last reached and from that day until
| the end of April numerous measurements were
made from both ends of fixed base 10 ascertain the
| speed with which the glacier moving. As 10
! get upon the moving mass was impossible, the tall
peaks and blocks of ice that projected from its I'M
even surface were used as landmarks; quite fire.
| quently these would suddenly tumble down and
| disappear and the work would 20 for naueht.
MOVEMENTS OF A GLACIER.
The glacier at this point tLIee miles wide. and
! Its end was perpendicular wall 200 feet above the
ice surface of the ford The roughness Of IFS sur
/ face was greatest nearer the sides; toward the
middle it disappeared entirely. Although the OBJ
,etvations were made at time when the winters
frost was most severe and had lasted long enough
TO penetrate as far into the glacier as its effect
! might be felt the whole was found to be NOV
ing steadily ahead It's velocity increased greatly
from the edges OF the glacier toward its middle. On
/ account Of the lack OF projecting points near the
middle the speed of that portion could not be as
accurately measured rs that of the flank sections,
but was estimated to reach at least fifty feet in
twerty-four hours. The aycra ye speed Of a point
in the glacier 40 feet from the edge of the ford
was 39s feet IN twenty-four hours Constant de-
donations, sometimes like the firing of heavy guns
but more frequently like pistol shCts accompanied
the movement Of the glacier. IL was faster on
some DAYS than others. and apparently without
regard to time of day night. or to the temperature
of the atmosphere. From the top Of the adjacent
hills two lines could be observed running length
wise on the glacier. dividing it into three nearly
equal Parts; they marked the lines OF friction
whore the central part moved Independently of the
TANKS The natural conclusion was that the
latter drag on the shore and the rocky bottom aud
that the resistance they meet with makes them
move more slowly and the Ioughness on their
top while CLe central pant Of the glacier, floating
ON water preserves It's even surface and moves
aong faster The fact that the middle of the glacier
seemed TO lie higher than the rest supported this
! theory Floating free. the end of the glacier Is
buoyed up az last by the tdcwater until II breaks
/ oil in huge masses l hese are the lcebergs; Tho
/ largest are from the solid middle OF the glacier,