“The Crews of the H.M.S. Hecla & Griper cutting into Winter Harbour. Sept. 26th 1819” [drawn and engraved by W. Westall from a sketch by Frederick William Beechey]

I should, on every account, have been glad to make this a day of rest to the officers and men; but the rapidity with which the ice increased in thickness, in proportion as the general temperature of the atmosphere diminished, would have rendered a day's delay of serious importance. I ordered the work, therefore, to be continued at the usual time in the morning; and such was the spirited and cheerful manner in which this order was complied with, as well as the skill which had now been acquired in the art of sawing and sinking the ice, that, although the thermometer was at 6 in the morning, and rose no higher than 9 during the day, we had completed the canal at noon, having effected more in four hours than on either of the two preceding days. The whole length of this canal was four thousand and eighty-two yards, or nearly two miles and one third, and the average thickness of the ice was seven inches. At half past one P.M. we began to track the ships along in the same manner as before, and at a quarter past three we reached our winter-quarters and hailed the event with three loud and hearty cheers from both ships' companies. The ships were in five fathoms' water, a cable length from the breach on the north-western side of the harbour, to which I gave the name of WINTER HARBOUR . . . [Parry, p. 98.]