Beds Of Snow And Ice Filling Extensive
Hollows, And Giving An Enamelled Coat To Adjoining Valleys,
One Of Which Commencing
At the foot of the mountain where
we stood extended in a continued line towards the north,
as far as
The eye could reach - mountain rising above
mountain, until by distance they dwindled into
insignificancy - the whole contrasted by a cloudless canopy
of deepest azure, and enlightened by the rays of a blazing
sun, and the effect aided by a feeling of danger, seated
as we were on the pinnacle of a rock almost surrounded
by tremendous precipices, - all united to constitute a
picture singularly sublime.
"Our descent we found really a very hazardous, and in
some instances a painful undertaking. Every movement
was a work of deliberation. Having by much care, and
with some anxiety, made good our descent to the top of
the secondary hills, we took our way down one of the
steepest banks, and slid forward with great facility in a
sitting posture. Towards the foot of the hill, an expanse
of snow stretched across the line of descent. This being
loose and soft, we entered upon it without fear; but on
reaching the middle of it, we came to a surface of solid
ice, perhaps a hundred yards across, over which we launched
with astonishing velocity, but happily escaped without
injury. The men whom we left below, viewed this latter
movement with astonishment and fear."
So universally does this strange land bristle with peaks
and needles of stone, that the views we ourselves obtained
- though perhaps from a lower elevation, and certainly
without the risk - scarcely yielded either in extent or
picturesque grandeur to the scene described by Dr.
Scoresby.
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