Graham guardian. [volume] (Safford, Ariz.) 1895-1923, 1911-10-27

needed no such mishap as b.
ell the Anchor liner Columbia
while 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 fot.
blanket Is laid across the sea. sped
Ia reduced and whistle blasts awlk-
en- the wastes: when q sudden lower
ing of temperature presages lei in
close proximity, the throb OF thu en-.
gines ceases at intervals and yol may
hear the calls Of lookouts and the an
swers from the bridge these are
trying moments Of anxiely. for no
one has yet devised an instrument
that will penetrate binowins cloud
of sea mist. Nayigators must keep
control Of their vessels aud trust to
their own good Judgment
The veterans OF the nortS Atlantic
lanes are thoroughly familiar w:.h the
signs that indicate Ice. Long befS-e
the berg IL seen from deck. its
blink" or reflection. may be noted
in the sky and the navigator can cas-
lily fix its direction by watching tho
changing color Of the horizon. which
is usually much paler In the vicinity
Of ice. Or clear day bergs can be
seen long distance away: at night
their effulgence proclaims them. In
the fog, II berg ID visible at all. It
will look black In comparison with
the mist around It but usually It II
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 It was the mockery Of the
Ice wall ahead. Seamen have long
known that It 10 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 Tale. Too.
| Another Indication OF icebergs 10
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 focks OF birds far from
land. The temperature OF the ocean
sometimes is lowered whsn ice il
near by. and there is, of course. the
chilly breath that strikes the face
| when ice 10 almost aboard.
Peculiar conditions near Newfound-
land are responsible for the fog banks
that sweep over the trar satlantic
lanes. Here are two currents. the
Labrador. cold and moving south
from the arctic. and the gulf stream.
warm and flowing northward 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 uergs usually originate in west
ern Greenland. Everywhere. accord
Ing to a bulletin Of the photographic
office Greenland's mountainous belt
rs 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.
jections 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 OF 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- ESQ feet In height and
whose length may be from 300 to 800
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 tbs height above: this is incor-
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 It is deep below the surface.
for II 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-
thentic case on record Is that OF
berg, grounded In the Strait OF Belle
Isle In sixteen fathoms of water that
had thin spire about 100 feet In
height.
rhousands SET AdrIft
"Bergs are made all the year round.
but in greater numbers during the
summer season; and thousands are
Get adrift each year. Once adrift IN