186 Captain Parry and Mr Fisher’s Journals of a 
some places scarcely a fathom of water, and between that reef 
and the land there is a bar, with only 8J fathoms in some places. 
The harbour itself being about three miles long, it was thought 
proper that the ships should be stationed about half a mile 
from the top of it ; but the whole being completely frozen over, 
it was necessary to cut a canal for the ships through the solid 
ice. The following account of this arduous operation is given 
by Captain Parry. 
“ 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 ancho- 
rage ; 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 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 rectangular 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 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 piece 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 sun-set, it had become so thick, that a passage could 
no longer be found for the detached pieces, without considerable 
trouble in breaking it. At half past seven P. M., we weighed our 
anchors, and began to warp up the canal, but the northerly wind 
blew so fresh, and the people were so much fatigued, having been 
almost constantly at work for nineteen hours, that it was midnight 
before we reached the termination of our first day’s labour. T di- 
rected half a pound of fresh meat per man to be issued as an extra 
allowance, and this was continued daily till the completion of our 
present undertaking. All hands were again set to work on the 
morning of the 25th, when it w r as proposed to sink the pieces of ice 
as they were cut under the floe, instead of floating them out, the 
latter mode having now become impracticable, on account of the 
lower part of the canal through which the ships had passed being 
hard frozen during the night. To effect this it was necessary for a 
certain number of men to stand upon one end of the piece of ice 
which it was intended to sink, while other parties hauling at the 
same time upon ropes attached to the opposite end, dragged the 
