The Snyder signal. (Snyder, Tex.) 1887-????, 1912-05-31
Their Menace to Navigation

sight to sec one OF these crystal palaces OF the
north suddenly change its center OF gravity, tdrn
turtle. dip It's mighty crest and reappear another
creature. Often the bergs arc so nicely balanced
that the slightest melting Of their surfaces cAiscs
a shifting OF the center OF gravity and turning
Of The mass as piece Of ice is otter seen to turn
over in a pitcher Vessels that are very neal
those icebergs when they turn over or break 80
pieces in great danger OF being crushed or cap
sized. Even falling pieces from tall iceberg
may break ship in two Portions OF an iceberg
under water NAV project far from its apparent
mass, and vessel may crash into this to its
destruction All these arc but lesser dangers
compared with the result OF running head on into
Que OF these ice monsters unaware.
The iceberg is but one form OF the danger
that Turks in the cold waters OF the north. Field
ice is little less to be dreaded than the solitary
monster chunks Of that material. Field ice forms
upon the surfaces of northern bodies OF water and
along the shores OF such inhospitable LANDS as
Labrador This ice grows thicker year after year
until il is fifteen or twenty feet deep. Then, some
summer, great OF IT becomes detached
from the shore and begins drifting 1t may be
taken up by some such influence the Labrador
current and borne on along This current IS
prone TO do strange things with the field ice.
The current may strike with but one portion OF
lhe ice while the rest OF il remains in sluggish
waters Winds NAV accentuate this motion.
Smaller :cebergs become part Of the mass, and
are liberated to the southwark. These are known
as GROWERS, and are among the most dangerous
of the ice masses that interfere with traffic 20
the north A growler, a low, dark, indigo col
orcd mass, is Just barely wash and with
rounded Top like whales back, is difficult 20
discern, and may cause the death OF any ship.
Great masses OF this field ice works steadily TO
the south, and is augmented by other areas that
it breaks loose from the Labrador post. The
whole moves on at an average rate OF ten miles
a dav until il reaches Belle Isle between the mid
die OF January and the middle OF February.
MANY strange experiences have been recorded
in tn, north in connection with the drift Of this
field ice The greatest journey ever made by
white men as part OF such drift was accom-
plished bv Captain Tyson in 1871. lie anG
party Of nineteen others were separated from
the United States survey ship in latitude seventy
eight north Being unable TO regain the ship
they remained on the flow and accomplished one
Of the most wonderful journeys on record. They
drifted 500 miles on this ice barge which ground
and broke and reunited itself continually beneath
them As they came further south they saw the
ice that kept them afloat gradually melting be-
meath thom. Every day for six months they
seemed to Be near the inevitable end. FINALLY the
Tigris sealing steamer from Newtoundlana.
picked them up near the strait OF beIle Isle III
latitude fiftv-three north.
or Belle Isle these areas OF fell ice find their
wav south in the Gull stream, where they arc
often 10 be seen in all manner Of shapes. sually
these ice areas are white, covered with snow. and
visible at long distance They are full Of
hummocks uneven blocks piled high upon each
other or stood on end and the whole mass forms
an inpenetrabe field which is dangerous 20 any
craft.
Old seadogs Of the north have many methods
bv which thev are able 70 sense the presence 81
icsbsrgs Before ice is seen from the deck %
ship what is known as a blink is detected by
the old mariner and indicates the presence Of dan
ger. This blink is sort Of flare OF light IN ny
skv and comes from the fact that the ice retracts
either moonlight or sunlight When in the region
where there is a possibility Of euoountering ice
the navigator always keeps his eye out tor the
blink. On clear day ieebergs can be seen at
a long distance owing 10 their brightness, and
at night because Of their effugence. Seen through
fog they can be made out because OF an ap-
narent blackness When in a region suspected
OF harboring icebergs the whistle or ioghorn Of
the ship is often sounded and great care Is eN-
ercised 20 determine whether or not there IS an
echo. When this echo is heard II indicates that
there Is some object which throws back the
sound. The distance Of that object from the ship