184 BLASTING EXPERIMENTS. \June, 



when the charges for important purposes were placed 

 between layers of ice, affording the point d'appui ; the 

 action on those occasions only seemed to warrant such 

 heavy expenditure. Water is easily displaced by air ; 

 and from a depth of twenty-one feet, where there was 

 no solid matter to resist, it was thrown well above our 

 mastheads without beneficial displacement of the floe. 

 Its result in critical positions, and placed with judgment, 

 I have before noticed. 



May 28. Our day of rest. I cannot yet see much 

 beneficial effect resulting from the free use of gun- 

 powder. The heavy floe has not yielded in any sensible 

 masses ; indeed, my own conviction is adverse, that it 

 hinders more important cuttings with the saw. Our 

 work is confined to heavy quarrying and clearing out 

 the loose pieces resulting from small two or four pound 

 charges. 



June 1 is ushered in with sleety, snowy weather, and a 

 temperature of 40'5, without sun. A dog-sledge, with 

 Mr. Dean, Carpenter, of the ' Resolute,' and one man, 

 reached, bringing intelligence of the arrival of Captain 

 Kellett at Beechey Island, but suffering from illness. 

 This journey was effected with seven dogs in twenty -four 

 hours. 



June 3. I shall continue our report of blasting ope- 

 rations because I feel satisfied that the results may afford 

 information even to those engaged in more stubborn 

 materials, and possibly may be useful in ice-bound har- 

 bours, as affording some test of the available powers of 

 man, if judiciously directed. 



Our saw cuts had at length been completed on throe 



