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On the 29th, one of the men, in returning on board from the daily
occupation of gathering sorrel, found in a hole upon the ice a
small fish, which appeared to be of the whiting species; and, on
going to examine the place where it was picked up, Mr. Edwards and
myself found two others exactly similar. As there was as yet no
communication between the sea and the upper surface of the ice
sufficiently large to admit these fish, it became a matter of
question in what manner they had got into the situation in which
we found them. It appeared most likely that they were frozen on
the surface of the water at the beginning of winter, when the
frost first commenced, and perhaps, therefore, had been floating
there dead. We remarked that, whenever any hard substance is laid
upon the ice in small quantities, it soon makes a deep hole for
itself, by the heat it absorbs and radiates, by which the ice
around it is melted. There were at this time upon the ice
innumerable holes of this kind, some forming small, and others
large pools of water; and in every one of these, without
exception, some extraneous substance, such as seaweed, sand, and
not unfrequently a number of small putrid shrimps were found. In
one of these holes the fish alluded to were found.
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