The Ely miner., 1911-09-29

- needed no such mishap as be
fell the Anchor liner Columbia
awhile ago to emphasize the dan
ger that turks in the huge masses
of polar ice which. enveloped IN
fog banks, drift in summer across the
northern transatlantic lanes. In the
open season for icebergs as every
steamship approaches the Newfound
land banks the vigilance of the watch
on deck is redoubled. When the fog
blanket is laid across the sea. speed
is reduced and whistle blasts awak
en- the wastes; when a sudden lower
ing Of temperature presages Ice In
close proximity. the throb of the en-
hear the calls of lookouts and the an
swers from the bridge. These are
trying moments of anxiety. for nc
one has yet devised an instrument
that will penetrate billowing cloud
of sea mist. Navigators must keeI
( control of their vessels and trust to
.heir own good judgment.
The veterans of the north Atlantic
lanes are thoroughly familiar with the
signs that indicate ice. Long before
The berg is seen from deck. its
rblink." or reflection. may be noted
IN the sky and the navigator can cas-
lily fix its direction by watching the
changing color of the horizon, which
is usually much paler in the vicinity
of ice. Or clear day bergs can be
seen a long distance away; at night
their effulgence proclaims them. In
the fog, if berg is visible at all. 1t
will look black in comparison with
the mist around 1t. but usually 1t is
completely hidden.
One Of the dramatic features of the
Columbia's accident was the echo of
her whistle against the berg she
struck. When the first blast sounded
and an answer came back, the men
on the bridge were inclined to think
they were near another fog bound
steamship; but when the second whis-
tie was answered promptly they real.
lied that 1t was the mockery of the
ice wall ahead. Seamen have long
known that it is possible to detect
bergs by the echo of the whistle or
foghorn and that by noting the time
between whistle blast and echo, the
distance of the object may be found
approximately by multiplying by $50.
Seals Tell a Tale, Too.
Another indication of icebergs is
the crack and thunder of falling
powders. while the absence of swell
or wave motion carries its meaning,
too. Still another is the appearance
OF seals or fiocks of birds far from
land. The temperature of the ocean
sometimes is lowered when ice is
near by. and there is, of course, the
chilly breath that strikes the face
when Ice is almost aboard.
Peculiar conditions near Newfound.
land are responsible for the fog banks
that sweep over the transatlantic
lanes. Here are two currents. the
Labrador. cold and moving south
from the arctic. and the gulf stream,
warm and flowing nortEward from
tropical seas. When south winds pass
over the gulf stream and encounter the
Labrador current they are chilled and
reduced to the dew point, thus pro-
ducing fog. Among the dolling banks
drift cragky bergs, field ice and grow.
lers," or little Jumps that accompany
the greater masses
The bergs usually originate in west
ern Greenland. Everywhere, accord
ing to a bulletin of the photographic
office. Greenland's mountainous belt
is penetrated by deep fiords. which
reach to the inland ice, and are ter
minated by the perpendicular fronts
of huge glaciers. while in some places
the Ice comes down in broad pro.
jectiuns close to the margin of the
sea. All of these glaciers are max.
ing their way toward the s,a, and, as
their ends are forced out into the wa
ter, they are broken off and set adrift
as bergs. This process is called calv
ing. The size of the pieces set adrift
varies greatly. but berg from sixty
to 100 feet to the top Of its walls
whose spires or pinnacles may reach
from 200 to $50 feet in height and
whose length may be from 300 to SOC
yards, is considered to be of ordinary
size in the arctic.
These measurements apply to the
part above water, which is about one
eighth or one-ninth of the whole mass
Many authorities give the depth un
der water as being from eight to nine
times the height above; this is Me-or
rect, as measurements above and be
low water should be referred to mass
and not to height. 1t is even posi-
Bile to have berg as high out OF wa
ter as 1t is deep below the surface
for If we imagine large. solid lump
of any regular shape. which has
small sharp high pinnacle in the cen
ter, the height above water can easily
be equal to the depth below. An au
1hentic case on record is that of 9
berg, grounded in the Strait of Belle
Isle in sixteen fathoms of water tha
had a thin spire about 100 feet II
height
Thousands Set AdrIft.
"Bergs are made all the year round
but in greater numbers during the
summer season: and thousands are
set adrtft each year. Once adrift ir