96 
VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 
1819. which had been entirely formed since our last visit to this place. I landed 
on the west side of the harbour, and being soon after joined by a boat from 
the Griper, which vessel was beating up from Cape Hearne, I was informed 
by Mr. Skene, that a second bay or harbour had been seen by the officers 
on the former occasion, a short distance to the westward of this. We lost no 
time, therefore, in rowing there, having first laid down a buoy, near which 
the Hecla was to anchor, and made the necessary signal to Lieutenant 
Beechey. 
In going to the westward, we passed a shoal and open bay, immediately 
adjacent to the harbour which we were now about to examine, and soon after 
came to a reef of rocks, in some parts nearly dry, extending about three- 
quarters of a mile to the southward of a low point on the south-eastern side 
of the harbour. On rounding the reef, on which a quantity of heavy ice 
was lying aground, we found that a continuous floe, four or five inches in 
thickness, was formed over the whole harbour, which in every other respect, 
appeared to be fit for our purpose ; and that it would be necessary to cut a 
canal of two miles in length through the ice, in order to get the ships into a 
secure situation for the winter. We sounded the channel into the harbour 
for about three-quarters of a mile, by making holes in the ice and dropping 
the lead through, and found the depth from five to six fathoms. 
Having ascertained thus far, it remained for me to sound the bar of Fife’s 
harbour, and then to choose between the two places. I returned on board, 
therefore, for the boats’ crews to dine, and then proceeded in execution of 
this object. The entrance into Fife’s harbour is extremely narrow, which 
enabled us the sooner to determine the utter impracticability of getting the 
ships into it, as we found the depth on the bar to be barely twelve feet at 
high water and a spring tide. I returned on board, therefore, and deter- 
mined on taking the ships round the reef to the entrance of the westernmost 
harbour, on the following morning. A good deal of snow fell this evening, 
and the young ice formed on the surface after sun-set. 
Frid.24. The ships weighed at six A.M. on the 24th, the wind being still at north, 
and the weather moderate and fine. As soon as the Hecla was under sail, I 
went a-head in a boat to sound, and to select an anchorage for the ships. 
In running to the westward towards the point of the reef, we had no less 
than three fathoms and three quarters; and, by keeping farther off shore, we 
might have had much deeper water, but the wind being scant, it was neces- 
sary to keep well to the northward. Near the south-western point of this 
