Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1897 — How Icebergs Are Formed. [ARTICLE]

How Icebergs Are Formed.

The birth of a huge Iceberg, a phenomenon that has been seen only once or twice by a European, and, to a certain extent, has remained a matter of theory, was observed by the Danish explorers on the east coast of Green : land last summer. The bergs are formed by breaking off from the end of glaciers extending from the perpetual ice of the unexplored interior to the coast and into the sea- The water buoys up the sea end of the glacier until it breaks by its own weight, with a noise like loud thunder miles away. The commotion of the water, as the iceberg turns over and over in the effort to attain its balance, is felt to a great distance along the coast. The natives regard it as the work of evil spirits, and believe that to look upon the glacier In Its throes Is death. The Danish officers, when observing the breaking off of the great glacier, at Puissortok, through their telescope, were roughly ordered by their Esquimaux escort, usually submissive enough, to follow their example and turn their backs on the interesting scene. They had happily completed their observations, and avoided an embarrassing conflict with their crew by a seeming compliance with the order.