still at
north, and the weather moderate and fine. As soon as the Hecla was
under sail, I went ahead in a boat to sound, and to select an
anchorage for the ships. Near the southwestern point of this
harbour there is a remarkable block of sandstone, somewhat
resembling the roof of a house, on which the ships names were
subsequently engraved by Mr. Fisher. This stone is very
conspicuous in coming from the eastward, and, when kept open to
the southward of the grounded ice at the end of the reef, forms a
good landing mark for the channel into the harbour. Off the end of
the reef the water deepened to six fathoms, and the Hecla's anchor
was dropped in eight fathoms, half a mile within the reef, and
close to the edge of the ice through which the canal was to be
cut. The Griper arrived soon after, and by half past eight A.M.
both ships were secured in the proper position for commencing the
intended operations.

As soon as our people had breakfasted, I proceeded with a small
party of men to sound and to mark with boarding-pikes upon the ice
the most direct channel we could find to the anchorage, having
left directions for every other officer and man in both ships to
be employed in cutting the canal. This operation was performed by
first marking out two parallel lines, distant from each other a
little more than the breadth of the larger ship. Along each of
these lines a cut was then made with an ice saw, and others again
at right angles to them, at intervals of from ten to twenty feet;
thus dividing the ice into a number of square pieces, which it was
again necessary to subdivide diagonally, in order to give room for
their being floated out of the canal. On returning from the upper
part of the harbour, where I had marked out what appeared to be
the best situation for our winter-quarters, I found that
considerable progress had been made in cutting the canal and in
floating the pieces out of it. To facilitate the latter part of
the process, the seamen, who are always fond of doing things in
their own way, took advantage of a fresh northerly breeze, by
setting some boats sails upon the pieces of ice, a contrivance
which saved both time and labour. This part of the operation,
however, was by far the most troublesome, principally on account
of the quantity of young ice which formed in the canal, and
especially about the entrance, where, before sunset, it had become
so thick that a passage could no longer be found for the detached