Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1888-06-09
An TNEAPL0RED COUNTRY.
THE GREAT ICEBERG PRODUCING
REGION OF THE FROZEN NORTH.
\ Strange Arctic Mincrai-Thc Veg
citation formation of icebcrgs-
Animal Life in Greenland

u
As many As Il. oop souls manage to
live along Ihavis Straits and Ratiin's Bav,
from ,lulian>haab 10 tperravik: depend-
lnr chiefly on the fisheries, and small
trade IN oil. skins and eiierdown The
strange Arctic mineral. Crsolte, is also
exported b these hardy colonists 10 the
extent Of Il, 900 or II. 600 tons per an
mum, and there Is besides plenty of
metallic wealth In Greenland -lead, COP
per. zine aud iron. with rich stores of
1aIn"tS. iolite ani rock crystal If they
could only be got at. GOOD coal Is dug
on the Island of Disco, in latitude 70
degrees, aud about these paris black
cattle and sheep have been introduced
hy the missionaries. The interior Of this
enormous tract OF frozen earth remains,
however, almost utterly unknown. Its ci-
mate in the winter months is incredibly
severe, going 80 degrees or 20 degrees
below zero. There i \ short spring and
summer If about four months. those Of
May, lnnc, July an1 August. and during
July the sun, bcinS constantly above the
horizon, produces IN extraordinary de-
gre Of heat n high eighty four In
the shade. Vegetation then pushes
wonderfully the heritage, which is like
that OF northern Scotland, gtows apace.
the little stuntcd birchc~, never more
than eighteen inches tall, put forth their
feeble twigs aud foliage, and the SHOWS
upon the vast upland, and great central
Ildge Of mountains partially melt The
mountainous backbone stretches right
down the middle Of the country, and its
SNOW waters pour into the ilords and
sounds on either side loosening the
-t,,,- /, II
ing IN the winter time From ten thou
sand huge white cliffs the immense
masses Of ice break away, hurl
themselves down the precipices
with hldcous uproar, and sail off
into the open waters 10 crowd The North
Atlantic With fleets of icebergs, and with
vast hummocky ifocs Greenland is the
great mandatory of the beautiful but
dangerous ice argosics, which often
tower 800 feet out Of the green waves,
and cruise IN mighty squadrons south
ward chilling the northwinds to bitter
kecnness, and dAau,ing the loss of many
a stout whal.r One may partly Judge.
BY the rrodigiouS size of these detached
berg~, what the accumulation Of falling
snow mus be- IN the interior Of the coun-
try. For hundreds OF leagues. indeed, it
| lies in an unbrokcn and dazzling sheet Of
] deadly splcndor. draping all the irregu-
laritits OF the soil beneath with a smooth
ehroud Of white This universal mantle
dips into the ravinc>- and rise, up on the
ridges and peaks. lying III places perhaps
thousand icet deep .! solid snow, and
in:cr~ccted with terrible crevasscs, to fall
into which would bc like sinking into i
7 bOttomle-s gulf.
Avalanche and land-lips, storms of
binding blizzarls ani whIrlwlnds
which tear NJ the dllfis and bury alike
mountain top, and valleys, are common
incidents Of the dreadful Greenland win
ter which, however does not, somehow,
prevent an abundance Of animal life.
Just As the cold n.ighboring seas swarm
with rorqua narwhal. wha.e, porpoise,
cod. salmon and herring, 30 the white
wastes are ful! of polar bears, arctic
foxes and reindeer, which know how 10
exist whcrc IL should scam nature had
forbidden that lie would bc sustained.
It i the breeding ground Of many va
riet IS Of birds, and while sea fowl in
countle. iloc k throng Tlc islands and
foes in the summer season, plovcrs,
grouse and knots. with ravens, falcons,
and very large species # eagles, arc
seen III shore are dogs, also. Of the
,lcdgc drawing KIND. bat fierce a wolves
and powerful - na-tiffs run Wild upon
the nriand- aud u j. SAID that the au-
roch~, the primitive bison Oi the Arctic
circle, still inhabi' The inner tracts,
where ecan,y h"rha2c Is some
time laid bar The natives are the
well known et',ntoI. ignorant. and mis-
erably poor eorle 'allcf Esqnmaux,
whose existence from birth ~ death ia
one long -tru14Ie again til" forces OF a
world where nature h1rdty sears single
charm. ~ ever reIaHe- ier stern segerity.
ret the~c 'artclIn,- o the frozen region
are 4 ,onten.41 tui cheerful race. ae-
tQalIv lovln.t thor !cr country, and un
able - Iva ci-, y hcre III auy happiness.
30 fhl. the7c 81 tier number who have
Dren br6nrh, - i),nm1r1 Or Norway
aiways rc,4rn - die ~ nostalgia. i he
I.auIia4u< about the 2n.ah stations en-
lov ,hc adra1ta1s q hntlng imported
flour. brandy sofiee .,:1se. t9baeco and
frew00i Ihe rciuo'er 'rcenlandcrs
1--we mu h as 10 the ro.4f hclr., wander
in. from .-laoi - island sni inlet u IN
le,. .cr--ln- ti.n-els" ~ltEi -ral Ia and
Whale bIubt,af 4ltt-rL ~ 'hcir !gloas of
snpgs through h "s-tt months n3Cht Of
'ha. ifctf. continent sit hing ~lth
bnne nssdIs ti.e.t "a rasn's II t'ifl ~kin-.
or 1r.1d.sz %hale r.b, ~ rough stone
into runEers ter :he.r -lei2es. - Lohfpn
1>ess