Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-07-30
The Frozen Ocean.

EXTRACTS FROM SERGEANT RICEs prARY-fHD
GLORIOUS BEAUTY or TIE sCESERY-THE SOLEMN
SILENCE OF THE ARcTic-sTARs SHINING AT NOON
DAY.
The New York Herald publishes extracts from
the diary Of Sergeant George b. Rice, who was q
member of the Greey party and persisted at Cape
Sabine. Sergeant Lice, describing his visit with
Dr. Pavy 10 Cape Union 10 obtain the outlook
afforded there, says: "From this point We were
treated to a beautiful si.ht- The sun was IN the
northeast part Of the heavens, pouring a food Of
light down the straits and. IRON its low altitude,
throwing deep ReIabro ndt shades from one side uf
the hGlllnOckS and bergs while the other glstened
and SpdrAied IN tiie rosy light like diamonds The
mountains OF The Greenland coast showed I'D with
ularveiouS dlstiHc,nrso being in some plac dis
turted 10y relracuoh into remarkable prominence.
With the exception Of narrow lane OF water that
lay Ike black ribbon IL cur feet and extended to
the EpTtnwdTd along one shore until hidden by the
intervening land, there nothing TO be seen but
Ice The ice was here. tie Ice was there the ice
WAS all around We were leaving the borders u
the frozen ocean, The open polar sea- OF enthus-
laStic naviyaturs, Were fam TO admit was Q
myth. Even our narrow lane OF water closed
up again next morning. My companion, with his
Intense arctic enthusiastic, Was In raptures, and
could not suiIicenty least his eyes with the pano-
rdIna-"
SILENCE AND DEsoLATIoN.
During October, 1ss2, considerable snow fell,
though this did not prevent small parties from
being on the hunt almost all the time 70 Cape Baird
and the Bellows for musk OK meat Mount Ovitus
was also assembled. though this was attended with
much OilracIifE IL Tl1fs above The snow valleys
and c,iIS 2600 feet. "iEcce was" writes sergeant
Rice, "sonetiIiHg awful Ia the impressive scene u
desolatlon spread around. No sign OF animal or
vegetable liIcbare. desOlate and chaotic; "A world
unfinished 10y the hand or It's CREATOR and such
s!.encei am sure that ordinary quiet would have
been an uprodr coIpaifed 10 that which surrounded
Us. Eugene Afaln s1UIld have been transported
10y the poet 10 such place to give rul play 10 his
study or a guilty CONSCIENCE All this while the
sun had been gradually cuTtaiiing IT'S light and on
october II II disappeared Tor l36 days, and In de-
scr.bing this change the diary reads: "We all rushed
ont al nocn. and. sure enough Old Sol only showed
part CT bis disk tor few moments, sprinkling the
ice and snow with silver aud crystals, and then
sank laz..y hack In beautiful glow OF warm, rosy
colors. II was or the lew glorious pictures
yCCchsafri the arctic solOGrneT but one which
Tied WIKI II too many shadows We thought of
the night OF months when ever the recreant sun
leaves and Is away with cur absent friends at
home Then succeeded a soft, misty, peariy
twilight, merging Few hours later into darkness.
ard each day the twilight decreased until, q week
later, JUPITER, Arcturus, Capea and Alpha GeInin-
nrCin twiIElet dn.y at midday. In a few days
they were joined by Mars, Poaris, Vega, Castor ara
Polux ana the Cygni."
CENTURY ICE.
A portion oftse diary is devoted to the trip made
by Sergeant Rice, Or. Pavy and the Esquimaux
wEeE they reached Floeberg Beach, the headqukf-
teTs CT the Alert In 1876. On this expedition
Sc rsearJ Rce met with ice formations which, un-
der The appeliatOn of .century Ice was described
by Captain Mares and his officers SIT Is mpossi-
ble, saws sergeant Rice, Ito convey q true I'm.
preston OF the character OF the north of
Grinnel Land, for We have nothing to which IL can
be compared. The general thickness or the roe0
fifty to seventy-flve feet as we could see
where occasional abutment OF the uniform
thickness was joined by new or season ice On
which We stood. and round the level OF the paleo-
crystc Zoe two feet above our heads This, ,withOuo
taking into consideration the elevation OF the new
ice, and considering only seyen-eighths 10 be sub
merged. would Indicate frozen sea OF Ice or over
nifty ieet IN thickness Yet the above conveys n
idea OF the nature OF the surface OF the great
frozen sea- At some seasons this Immense ice held
unoer the influence OF the sun OF endless summer
DAYS and the aclion OF the tides and currents has b.
come disrupted. and the Immense masses OF the
disintegrsted pack were hurled and Jostled against
one another by the mighty force OF storms and
currents. The collision OF these gigantic bodies
has resulted In breaking the edges Of EACH and In
forcing the Immense fragments upon the suFfaco
until the edge OF each ana every noe, great ana
small, is fringed with an irregular chaotic rampan
OF ice bristling with pyramids, heay,ed In rounded
masses and piled In confusion. Around this
nucleus OF Ice the eddying snow has LOGGED, ana
alternately pressed and melted by winters storm
and summers heat, ADDS It's layer after layer oe
icy coating until the original crystal block becomes
almost q mountain. The winter afuer the breaking
up OF the pack again letters IL together with icy
bands. pale0c-ystic noe OF any extent Furnishes
good travelling, rolling ana undulating Ike prair1O
land. such noeS we had met In Robeson chaunei
where they had drifted comparatively intact, bus
from our outlook nothing similar could be seen"
Gen. Logan viii deliver an address at the Rncnno
(Wis.) exposition Ia September