Lieutenant Hoppner returned on the evening of the 29th from his hunting excursion to the southwest, bringing with him some game, and, what was to us much more acceptable, the welcome information that the ice had been observed in motion in the offing on the 22d.  This circumstance was first observed by Messrs. Skene and Fife, who were of Lieutenant Hoppner’s party, and who were awakened by a loud grinding noise, which, as they had soon the satisfaction to find, was occasioned by the heavy field-ice setting rapidly to the eastward, at the distance of five miles from the land, and apparently at the rate of a mile an hour.  The wind was at this time moderate, but on the preceding day it had blown a fresh northerly gale.

For some days past Scott had been gradually growing worse, and on the evening of the 29th he was so far exhausted that Mr. Edwards did not expect him to survive through the night.  At two A.M. on the 30th I was informed by that gentleman that Scott was dying; and, before I could get my clothes on, he had breathed his last, without any apparent pain.

On Sunday, the 2d of July, after divine service had been performed, the body of the deceased was committed to the earth, on a level piece of ground about a hundred yards from the beach; with every solemnity which the occasion demanded, and the circumstances of our situation would permit.  The ensigns and pendants were lowered half-mast during the procession, and the remains of our unfortunate shipmate were attended to the grave by every officer and man in both ships.  A neat tombstone was afterward placed at the head of the grave by Mr. Fisher, who carved upon it the name of the deceased, with the other usual information.

The dissolution of the ice of the harbour went on so rapidly in the early part of July, that we were greatly surprised, on the 6th, in finding that, in several of the pools of water on its upper surface, holes were washed quite through to the sea beneath.  On examining several of these, we found that the average thickness of the ice in the upper part of the harbour, where the ships were lying, did not exceed two feet, which was much less than we had any idea of.  Towards the mouth of the harbour, however, where the water was deeper, no such holes made their appearance for some days after this.  It must here be remarked, that in all cases we found the ice to be first thawed and broken up in the shoalest water, in consequence, I suppose, of the greater facility with which the ground, at a small depth below the surface of the sea, absorbed and radiated the heat of the sun’s rays; and as it is in such situations that water generally freezes the first, this circumstance seems a remarkable instance of the provision of nature for maintaining such a balance in the quantity of ice annually formed and dissolved, as shall prevent any undue or extraordinary accumulation of it in any part of the Polar regions of the earth.