Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 August 1882 — Ocean Icebergs. [ARTICLE]

Ocean Icebergs.

During a recent passage of the steamer Helvetia from Antwerp to New York, the wind blowing a nice breeze from the westward, a sudden change in the temperature was noticed. An hour before the weather was quite sultry, awnings being spread fore and aft; but at about three o’clock in the afternoon, although the sun was shining brilliantly, a cold blast from the northwest set in. The rapidity of a change from a sweltering summer’s day To an Arctic frost naturally caused considerable amazement, especially among the greener members of the crew. The more experienced knew what was coming, and when the cry of “Icebergs on the starboard bow !”• followed immediately by the notification that others.were visible on the port side, the mystery was explained. Then, right in the track of vessels were seen monstrous mountains of ice, some of them pure white, others crossed in many directions by broad stripes of blue. Some of them were 200 feet high and 1,000 feet long. There were at least thirty of them, extending for many miles. » The sea broke against them, forcing torrents of spray up the steep acclivities of their sides. The rays of the sun had melted the upper parts of many of them into the most fanciful shapes, and imaginary likenesses of crags, cliffs, and castles could be traced in those parts more exposed to the lines of heat. Streams of water in picturesque cascades were flowing down into the sea, and the huge, majestic masses seemed to be moving slowly to the southeast. The Helvetia passed near enough to several of them to distinguish plainly the noise of the waves as they broke against the rugged sides of the bergs. As night closed in a., bac moon arose the sight was indeed ujuutiful. The British steamer Altmorc. from Liverpool, also encountered a number of icebergs, probably the same the Helvetia met with. Her commander, Cap tain Watson, describes one as being a mile long and 200 feet high. The late-lamented Carlyle once called us “18,000,000 of bores,” gauging the whole country by the few cheeky American tourists who used to invade his work-room.