oms, boats, and other top weight.

'The ice still continuing very close on the 9th, all hands were
employed in attempting, by saws and axes, to clear the Hecla, which
still grounded on the tongue of ice every tide. After four hours'
labour, they succeeded in making four or five feet of room astern,
when the ship suddenly slided down off the tongue with considerable
force, and became once more afloat. We then got on shore the Hecla's
cables and hawsers for the accommodation of the Fury's men in our
tiers during the heaving down; struck our topmasts, which would be
required as shores and outriggers; and, in short, continued to occupy
every individual in some preparation or other.

'These being entirely completed at an early hour in the afternoon, we
ventured to go on with the landing of the coals and provisions from
the Fury, preferring to run the risk which would thus be incurred, to
the loss of even a few hours in the accomplishment of our present
object. As it very opportunely happened, however, the external ice
slackened to the distance of about a hundred yards outside of us, on
the morning of the 10th, enabling us by a most tedious and laborious
operation, to clear the ice out of our basin piece by piece. The
difficulty of this apparently simple process consisted in the heavy
pressure having repeatedly doubled one mass under another, a position
in which it requires great power to move them, and also by the corners
locking in with the sides of the bergs.

'Our next business was to tighten the cables sufficiently by means of
purchases, and to finish the floating of them in the manner and for
the purpose before described. After this had been completed, the ships
had only a few feet in length, and nothing in breadth to spare, but we
had now great hopes of going on with our work with increased
confidence and security. The Fury, which was placed inside, had
something less than eighteen feet at low water; the Hecla lay in four
fathoms, the bottom being strewed with large and small fragments of
limestone.

'While thus employed in securing the ships, the smoothness of the
water enabled us to see, in some degree, the nature of the Fury's
damage; and it may be conceived how much pain it occasioned us,
plainly to discover that both the stern-post and fore-foot were broken
and turned up on one side with the pressure. We could also perceive,
as far as we were able to see along the main-keel, that it was much
torn, and we had