The Hattiesburg news., 1910-08-25
The ARCTIC CROP.
Frigid Yitl1 From Greenlan'
3y <.,1u1ialns.
THe ~. ~ III lCEBEE

Huce In,.s o. Ice Mile Thick
Places Sl.s Down to the Sea,
as the ,.nds Become Too ne;
They Brsak OF and Form Berss.
At any time of the year ice may
encountered In the Atlantic NORTH
the fortirth parallel of latitude.
proximately that of New York. a'''
between ~ and 55 degrees west lonti |
tude, but it is in sprfhg. when the IL
creasing warmth Of the sun loosen7
the arctic foes and causes the bergs ir
melt and float from the places where
they have been stranded, that there s
the greatest danger TO the mariner.
The bergs have their origin almost
exclusively in western Greenland. al
though few may come around Cape
Farewell from the Spltzbergen sea and
some from Hudson bay
A huge sheet of Ice mile thick in
places covers the whole of Greenland.
This gradually slides down the valley
toward the sea. into which 1t is thrust
in great sheets fifty miles wide. AS
these ends become too heavy they
break off and become bergs. The proc
ess is known as "calying. The pieces
set adrift thus may be a Thousand feet
out of the water and a mile square.
but as they drift about they become
broken and continue to diminish in
size until they finally disappear com
pletely. The process sometimes takes
several years.
Once set adrift icebergs find their
way into the Labrador current and be-
gin their journey. But of all bergs so
set adrift only a very small proportion
ever find their way into the path of the
transatlantic steamships.
Nor do all bergs take the same
course Some 60 south: others lodge
against the shore or against islands
Two years may separate the time that
two bergs reach low latitude, though
they were "calved' at the same mo-
ment.
| Field ice also offers an obstruction TO
the icebergs, though by their great
size and bulk they often act as plows
| and aid materially In breaking up the
| ice fields which obstruct the arctic ba-
| sin.
Ice fields are more affected by the
wind than are icebergs. Bergs gener-
ally drift with the current, so that one
sometimes is seen moving into the
wind.
Advantage is taken of this by the
sealing and fishing boats when caught
in an ice field. They often moor to an
iceberg and are towed miles through
the ice, through which otherwise they
could make no headway. This is ac
complished by sinking an anchor into
the berg and using a strong towline
AS the berg advances open water. witt
small floating ice. is left astern.
But this is indeed dangerous thing
to do. All ice is brittle. but especially
icebergs. A blow of an AK has beer
known to split one. while the repor
of a gun at times will accomplish thu
same end. In July and August. wher
the bergs are breaking up along th'
coast of Labrador, the noise at time
is deafening, and the noise Of one of
ten causes another to break up.
From their very nature icebergs as
sumo an endless variety of shapes
Some resemble geometrical figures
while others carry fantastic domes
spires and nainarets. Sometimes the.
appear to be veritable ice bridges
with two separate supports. In man.
there are great caves and indenta
tions. AS they drift south and begi
melting cascades Of water pour dow
their sides or run from the tips of til
hundreds of icicles which depend fror
every ledge.
Frequently there are outlying spur
in the water, as dangerous to ships a
submerged reefs. For this reason yes
sells should always give them wild
berth. half a mile being considered th
nearest that one may be approache
with safety.
} Several years ago the British stean
ship Nessmore ran into an iceberg an
stove in her bows. When she wa
docked a scratch was found next tt
keel the full length of the ship, ii
, plates being almost cut through. III
. ship evidently struck a submerge
, spur. The government report says:
at is generally best for ships to c
to windward of them. because disil
tegrated fragments have tendency
drift to leeward. while open water wi
be found to windward."
, So nicely are icebergs balanced
. the water that the slightest melttn
sometimes will cause the center
gravity to shift, and the entire bel
will capsize or founder. Thus man
: ships have been wrecked.
Field ice is formed throughout Il
waters within the arctic circle sout
as far as Newfoundland. and eac
year vast foes leave the shores ar
: drift south into the maths of col