ICE WORK. 573 



or less difficult to get about, a light freeze is not very 

 troublesome. The gunner, standing in the stern of 

 the skifif, throws the boat's nose out of the water, and 

 pushes her up on the ice, which before long breaks 

 under her weight, and he then pushes her forward 

 again. All very thin ice can be shoved through, but it 

 is necessary where much work is done in the ice to have 

 the boat sheathed with light copper from her nose, on 

 both sides, to beyond the swell. If this is not done, 

 the ice will cut the sides and leave them ragged with 

 splinters, which makes the boat hard to row or sail. 

 Sometimes, however, the ice may become so thick that 

 the boat can neither be shoved through nor over it, 

 and when the bow is pushed up onto the ice, it hangs 

 there, or, at most, merely bends down the ice without 

 breaking through. On the other hand, over warm 

 springs, and in places where the current moves a little, 

 the ice may be so thin that it will not support a man's 

 weight. It is sometimes recommended that iron shoes ' 

 be fastened to the bottorn of the boat, that it may be 

 shoved over the ice by the gunner, who walks behind 

 holding to the stern. In case he comes to an air-hole, 

 or a weak spot, he can then draw himself aboard the 

 skiff. This does not appear to be a profitable way of 

 arranging for ice work. The ordinary gunning skiff, 

 with its wide beam, made to hold a great stand of de- 

 coys, two or three men, and possibly some goose coops 

 in forward, is too large to be used on the ice. 



Much better than this is to have a very small and 

 light skiff for ice work, and fitted to the bottom of the 



