Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 2.djvu/273

254 At noon our progress was arrested by the glacier, which seemed to smile a defiance—"thus far, and no farther." Here, by this crystal wall, I stood, in admiration and awe beholding its beauty and grandeur. My Innuit companion seemed satisfied and gratified in witnessing the effect it had upon me. I turned and took a look seaward. A few degrees of opening between the points of land leading into the harbour in which we were gave a view bounded only by the sea horizon. My quickened thoughts almost made me exclaim, "Tell us, time-aged crystal mount, have you locked in your mirror chambers any images of white man's ships, that sailed up these waters near three centuries ago?" This train of fancy-painting was soon dissipated by the substantial reality of a lunch on cold rock pemmican and gold dust (Borden's pulverized meat-biscuit), washed down with chips from the glacier, after which we were prepared for an attempt to scale the ice mountain. This could be done only by ascending one of the rock ridges flanking the abutting arm of the glacier, and thence striking up its steep side. For the first quarter of a mile it was very abrupt, and difficult to climb. The most laborious and dangerous part of the ascent was accomplished by following the footsteps of a polar bear. My "illustrious predecessor" had evidently ascended the glacier some time previous, just after a fresh fall of snow, impacting it by his great weight into such hard steps that the gales had no effect in destroying them. These polar-bear steps made it feasible for us to ascend where we did. After the first quarter of a mile the inclination of the glacier was gradual, then for a quarter of a mile farther it became greater, but it did not so continue. Each side of this arm of the glacier was walled in by mountains, the east side by the group I called the President's Seat.

On making two miles—S. 16° E. true—we arrived where the glacier opens to a sea of ice. At this time and point the glacier was covered with snow, with a cropping out here and there of the clear crystal blue ice, giving relief to the view of an apparently illimitable sea of white around. My Innuit