Chapter XXV: Section XI (1)

_Discoveries after leaving Norton Sound.--Stuart's Island.--Cape Stephens.--Point Shallow-Water.--Shoals on the American Coast.--Clerke's Island.--Gore's Island.--Pinnacle Island.--Arrival at Oonalashka.--Intercourse with the Natives and Russian Traders.--Charts of the Russian Discoveries, communicated by Mr Ismyloff.--Their Errors pointed out.--Situation of the Islands visited by the Russians.--Account of their Settlement at Oonalashka.--Of the Natives of the Island.--Their Persons.--Dress.--Ornaments.--Food.--Houses and domestic Utensils.--Manufactures.--Manner of producing Fire.--Canoes.--Fishing and Hunting Implements.--Fishes, and Sea Animals.--Sea and Water Fowls, and Land Birds.--Land Animals and Vegetables.--Manner of burying the Dead.--Resemblance of the Natives on this Side of America to the Greenlanders and Esquimaux.--Tides.--Observations for determining the Longitude of Oonalashka._

Having weighed, on the 17th in the morning, with a light breeze at east, we steered to the southward, and attempted to pass within Besborough Island; but though it lies six or seven miles from the continent, were prevented by meeting with shoal water. As we had but little wind all the day, it was dark before we passed the island; and the night was spent under an easy sail.

We resumed our course, at day-break on the 18th, along the coast. At noon, we had no more than five fathoms water. At this time the latitude was 63° 37'. Besborough, Island now bore N., 42° E.; the southernmost land in sight, which proved also to be an island, S., 66° W.; the passage between it and the main S., 40° W.; and the nearest land about two miles distant. I continued to steer for this passage, until the boats, which were ahead, made the signal for having no more than three fathoms water. On this we hauled without the island; and made the signal for the Resolution's boat to keep between the ships and the shore.

This island, which obtained the name of _Stuart's Island_, lies in the latitude of 63° 35', and seventeen leagues from. Cape Denbigh, in the direction of S., 27° W. It is six or seven leagues in circuit. Some parts of it are of a middling height; but, in general, it is low; with some rocks lying off the western part. The coast of the continent is, for the most part, low land; but we saw high land up the country. It forms a point, opposite the island, which was named _Cape Stephens_, and lies in latitude 63° 33', and in longitude 197° 41'. Some drift wood was seen upon the shores, both of the island and of the continent; but not a tree was perceived growing upon either. One might anchor, upon occasion, between the N.E. side of this island and the continent, in a depth of five fathoms, sheltered from westerly, southerly, and easterly winds. But this station would be wholly exposed to the northerly winds, the land, in that direction, being at too great distance to afford any security. Before we reached Stuart's Island, we passed two small islands, lying between us and the main; and as we ranged along the coast, several people appeared upon the shore, and, by signs, seemed to invite us to approach them.

As soon as we were without the island, we steered S. by W., for the southernmost point of the continent in sight, till eight o'clock in the evening, when, having shoaled the water from six fathoms to less than four, I tacked, and stood to the northward, into five fathoms, and then spent the night plying off and on. At the time we tacked, the southernmost point of land, the same which is mentioned above, and was named _Point Shallow-Water_, bore S. 1/2 E., seven leagues distant.

We resumed our course to the southward at day-break next morning, but shoal water obliged us to haul more to the westward. At length, we got so far advanced upon the bank, that we could not hold a N.N.W. course, meeting sometimes with only four fathoms. The wind blowing fresh at E.N.E. it was high time to look for deep water, and to quit a coast, upon which we could no longer navigate with any degree of safety. I therefore hauled the wind to the northward, and gradually deepened the water to eight fathoms. At the same time we hauled the wind, we were at least twelve leagues, from the continent, and nine to the westward of Stuart's Island. No land was seen to the southward of Point Shallow-Water, which I judge to lie in the latitude of 63°. So that, between this latitude and Shoal Ness, in latitude 60°, the coast is entirely unexplored. Probably, it is accessible only to boats, or very small vessels; or at least, if there be channels for large vessels, it would require some time to find them; and I am of opinion, that they must be looked for near the coast. From the mast-head, the sea within us appeared to be chequered with shoals; the water was very much discoloured and muddy, and considerably fresher than at any of the places where we had lately anchored. From this I inferred, that a considerable river runs into the sea in this unknown part.[1]

[Footnote 1: Mr Arrowsmith has filled up the coast betwixt the two points now mentioned, and supplied it also with rivers, according to the conjecture of Captain Cook. But it is obvious, that this is not sufficient authority; and therefore, unless better be given, Mr Coxe seems to have done more correctly, in indicating the space by a dotted line, the usual mark of an unexplored region.--E.]

As soon as we got into eight fathoms water, I steered to the westward, and afterward more southerly, for the land discovered on the 5th, which, at noon the next day, bore S.W. by W., ten or eleven leagues distant. At this time we had a fresh gale at north, with showers of hail and snow at intervals, and a pretty high sea; so that we got clear of the shoals but just in time. As I now found that the land before us lay too far to the westward to be Anderson's Island, I named it _Clerke's Island_. It lies in the latitude of 63° 15', and in the longitude of 190° 30'. It seemed to be a pretty large island, in which are four or more hills, all connected by low ground; so that, at a distance, it looks like a group of islands. Near its east part lies a small island, remarkable by having upon it three elevated rocks. Not only the greater island, but this small spot, was inhabited.[2]

[Footnote 2: It is somewhat singular, that neither Arrowsmith nor Coxe mentions Anderson's Island. The former, on additional authority, has marked but one island in the position specified, under the name of Eivoogiena, or Clerke's Island.--E.]

We got up to the northern point of Clerke's Island about six o'clock, and having ranged along its coast till dark, brought-to during the night. At day-break, next morning, we stood in again for the coast, and continued to range along it in search of a harbour till noon; when, seeing no likelihood of succeeding, I left it, and steered S.S.W. for the land which we had discovered on the 29th of July, having a fresh gale at north, with showers of sleet and snow. I remarked, that as soon as we opened the channel which separates the two continents, cloudy weather, with snow showers, immediately commenced; whereas, all the time we were in Norton Sound, we had, with the same wind, clear weather. Might not this be occasioned by the mountains to the north of that place attracting the vapours, and hindering them to proceed any farther?

At day-break, in the morning of the 23d, the land above mentioned appeared in sight, bearing S.W., six or seven leagues distant. From this point of view it resembled a group of islands; but it proved to be but one, of thirty miles in extent, in the direction of N.W. and S.E.; the S.E. end being Cape Upright, already taken notice of. The island is but narrow; especially at the low necks of land that connect the hills. I afterward found, that it was wholly unknown to the Russians; and therefore, considering it as a discovery of our own, I named it _Gore's Island_. It appeared to be barren, and without inhabitants; at least we saw none. Nor did we see so many birds about it as when we first discovered it. But we saw some sea-otters; an animal which we had not met with to the northward of this latitude.[3] Four leagues from Cape Upright, in the direction of S., 72° W., lies a small island, whose elevated summit terminates in several pinnacled rocks. On this account it was named _Pinnacle Island_. At two in the afternoon, after passing Cape Upright, I steered S.E. by S., for Samganoodha, with a gentle breeze at N.N.W., being resolved to spend no more time in searching for a harbour amongst islands, which I now began to suspect had no existence; at least not in the latitude and longitude where modern map-makers have thought proper to place them. In the evening of the 24th, the wind veered to S.W. and S., and increased to a fresh gale.

[Footnote 3: Mr Arrowsmith, as in the case of the island mentioned in the last note, has given the native name to this island, viz. Matwi, retaining also, however, the name of Gore.--E.]

We continued to stretch to the eastward, till eight o'clock in the morning of the 25th, when, in the latitude of 191° 10', we tacked and stood to the west; and soon after, the gale increasing, we were reduced to two courses, and close-reefed main top-sails. Not long after, the Resolution sprung a leak, under the starboard buttock, which filled the spirit-room with water before it was discovered; and it was so considerable as to keep one pump constantly employed. We durst not put the ship upon the other tack for fear of getting upon the shoals that lie to the N.W. of Cape Newenham; but continued standing to the west till six in the evening of the 26th, when we wore and stood to the eastward, and then the leak no longer troubled us. This proved that it was above the water line, which was no small satisfaction. The gale was now over, but the wind remained at S. and S.W. for some days longer.

At length, on the 2d of October, at day-break, we saw the island of Oonalashka, bearing S.E. But as this was to us a new point of view, and the land was obscured by a thick haze, we were not sure of our situation till noon, when the observed latitude determined it. As all harbours were alike to me, provided they were equally safe and convenient, I hauled into a bay, that lies ten miles to the westward of Samganoodha, known by the name of _Egoochshac_; but we found very deep water; so that we were glad to get out again. The natives, many of whom lived here, visited us at different times, bringing with them dried salmon and other fish, which they exchanged with the seamen for tobacco. But, a few days before, every ounce of tobacco that was in the ship had been distributed among them; and the quantity was not half sufficient to answer their demands. Notwithstanding this, so improvident a creature is an English sailor, that they were as profuse in making their bargains, as if we had now arrived at a port in Virginia; by which means, in less than eight and forty hours, the value of this article of barter was lowered above a thousand per cent.

At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 3d, we anchored in Samganoodha harbour; and the next morning the carpenters of both ships were set to work to rip off the sheathing of and under the wale, on the starboard side abaft. Many of the seams were found quite open; so that it was no wonder that so much water had found its way into the ship. While we lay here, we cleared the fish and spirit rooms, and the after-hold; disposing things in such a manner, that in case we should happen to have any more leaks of the same nature, the water might find its way to the pumps. And besides this work, and completing our water, we cleared the fore-hold to the very bottom, and took in a quantity of ballast.

The vegetables which we had met with when we were here before, were now mostly in a state of decay; so that we were but little benefited by the great quantities of berries every where found ashore. In order to avail ourselves as much as possible of this useful refreshment, one third of the people, by turns, had leave to go and pick them. Considerable quantities of them were also procured from the natives. If there were any seeds of the scurvy, in either ship, these berries, and the use of spruce beer, which they had to drink every other day, effectually eradicated them.

We also got plenty of fish; at first mostly salmon, both fresh and dried, which the natives brought us. Some of the fresh salmon was in high perfection; but there was one sort, which we called hook-nosed, from the figure of its head, that was but indifferent. We drew the seine several times, at the head of the bay; and caught a good many salmon-trout, and once a halibut that weighed two hundred and fifty-four pounds. The fishery failing, we had recourse to hooks and lines. A boat was sent out every morning, and seldom returned without eight or ten halibut; which was more than sufficient to serve all our people. The halibut was excellent, and there were few who did not prefer them to salmon. Thus we not only procured a supply of fish for present consumption, but had some to carry with us to sea. This enabled us to make a considerable saving of our provisions, which was an object of no small importance.

On the 8th, I received, by the hands of an Oonalashka man, named Derramoushk, a very singular present, considering the place. It was a rye loaf, or rather a pye made in, the form of a loaf, for it inclosed some salmon, highly seasoned with pepper. This man had the like present for Captain Clerke, and a note for each of us, written in a character which none of us could read. It was natural to suppose, that this present was from some Russians now in our neighbourhood; and therefore we sent, by the same hand, to these our unknown friends, a few bottles of rum, wine, and porter; which we thought would be as acceptable as anything we had besides; and we soon knew that in this we had not been mistaken. I also sent, along with Derramoushk, Corporal Lediard, of the marines, an intelligent man, with orders, that if he met with any Russians, he should endeavour to make them understand that we were English, the friends and allies of their nation.[4]

[Footnote 4: We must be allowed to notice some particulars in the history of this remarkable enough man, well known, it is probable, to most readers, who have been interested in the operations of the African Association, but, perhaps, not immediately recognised in the humble situation of a corporal of marines. Some years after this voyage, viz. in 1786, Lediard, by birth an American, resolved on a pedestrian excursion across his native continent; for which purpose, he, first of all, fixed on travelling to Siberia, whence he expected to be able to obtain a passage to its north-west coast. Sir Joseph Banks, and other gentlemen, favouring his project, subscribed a sum of money, not much exceeding fifty pounds, to enable him to put it into execution. He proceeded to Hamburgh; from thence to Copenhagen; and, as the gulf of Bothnia was not frozen over, actually walked round its shores by the way of Tornea, till he arrived at Petersburgh, in the beginning of March 1787. Here he remained till May, when he obtained permission to go with a convoy of military stores, intended for Captain Billings, formerly his ship-mate in Cook's voyage, and now waiting for it to commence his own examination of the American coast, &c. With this convoy, Lediard, in the month of August, reached Irkutsk, in Siberia, at which place, after having gone to Yakutsk, where he met with Billings, he purposed to remain a part of the winter, till an opportunity occurred of going to Ochotsk, from which his passage to America seemed very practicable. So far, then, he had to congratulate himself on his success. But his enterprise was speedily interrupted, and all his hopes frustrated, by an order from the empress; in consequence of which he was arrested, and, under the guard of an officer and two soldiers, hurried off in a sledge for Moscow, without being suffered to carry with him either his clothes, his money, or his papers. The reason of this extraordinary conduct has not been explained in the communication made by Sir Joseph Banks to the Biographia Britannica, from which we have collected these particulars. We are told, however, that the disappointed adventurer was successively conveyed from Moscow to Moialoff, in White Russia, and Tolochin, in Poland; at which last place, he was informed, that the empress had directed he should never enter her dominions again without her express permission. During the whole of his route, since he had been made a prisoner, he suffered extreme hardship from ill health, fatigue, and mortification. At last he reached Konigsberg; and, to use his own words, in a letter to his patron, after "a miserable journey, in a miserable country, in a miserable season, in miserable health, and with a miserable purse," arrived in England. The ardour of his mind, however, was still entire; and he appeared as ready as ever to engage in any service, however perilous, which promised to gratify his own curiosity, and was recommended by men whose judgment he respected. Accordingly, almost immediately on his return, it was proposed to him to undertake the first speculative excursion which the society alluded to projected. On this occasion it was, as is noticed by the ingenious Mr Forster, in his valuable Essay on Decision of Character, that he surprised the official person, who put the Question to him, "When he would be ready for his African journey?" by instantly answering, "To-morrow!" It may be doubted, if his acquirements were altogether equally well suited to this undertaking, as his undaunted spirit and enterprising disposition. These, indeed, promised interest; and no one could hesitate to believe, that he would zealously employ every faculty he possessed in accomplishing the objects committed to him. It was appointed him to traverse the continent of Africa from east to west, in the latitude of the river Niger. But this he never accomplished; as, on his arrival at Cairo, he was seized with a bilious disorder, which terminated in his death. So much, it seemed but justice to record in this place, of the person now employed by Captain Cook.--E.]

On the 10th, Lediard returned with three Russian seamen, or furriers, who, with some others, resided at Egoochshac, where they had a dwelling-house, some store-houses, and a sloop of about thirty tons burthen. One of these men was either master or mate of this vessel, another of them wrote a very good hand and understood figures, and they were all three well-behaved intelligent men, and very ready to give me all the information I could desire. But for want of an interpreter, we had some difficulty to understand each other. They appeared to have a thorough knowledge of the attempts that had been made by their countrymen to navigate the Frozen Ocean, and of the discoveries which had been made from Kamtschatka, by Beering, Tscherikoff, and Spanberg. But they seemed to know no more of Lieutenant Syndo, or Synd, than his name.[5] Nor had they the least idea what part of the world Mr Stæhlin's map referred to, when it was laid before them. When I pointed out Kamtschatka, and some other known places, upon that map, they asked, whether I had seen the islands there laid down; and on my answering in the negative, one of them put his finger upon a part of this map, where a number of islands are represented, and said, that he had cruized there for land, but never could find any. I then laid before them my own chart, and found that they were strangers to every part of the American coast, except what lies opposite this island. One of these men said, that he had been with Beering in his American voyage, but must then have been very young, for he had not now, at the distance of thirty-seven years, the appearance of being aged. Never was there greater respect paid to the memory of any distinguished person, than by these men to that of Beering.[6] The trade in which they are engaged is very beneficial; and its being undertaken and extended to the eastward of Kamtschatka, was the immediate consequence of the second voyage of that able navigator, whose misfortunes proved to be the source of much private advantage to individuals, and of public utility to the Russian nation. And yet, if his distresses had not accidentally carried him to die in the island which bears his name, and from whence the miserable remnant of his ship's crew brought back sufficient specimens of its valuable furs, probably the Russians never would have undertaken any future voyages, which could lead them to make discoveries in this sea, toward the coast of America. Indeed, after his time, government seems to have paid less attention to this; and we owe what discoveries have been since made, principally to the enterprising spirit of private traders, encouraged, however, by the superintending care of the court of Petersburg. The three Russians having remained with me all night, visited Captain Clerke next morning, and then left us, very well satisfied with the reception they had met with, promising to return in a few days, and to bring with them a chart of the islands lying between Oonalashka and Kamtschatka.

[Footnote 5: See the little that is known of Synd's voyage, accompanied with a chart, in Mr Coxe's Russian Discoveries, p. 300.--D.]

[Footnote 6: This may be considered as a very decisive testimony to the truth of the character given of him in Mr Coxe's publication. We are indebted to the same work for ample evidence in proof of the following remarks of Captain Cook--E.]

On the 14th, in the evening, while Mr Webber and I were at a village at a small distance from Samganoodha, a Russian landed there, who, I found, was the principal person amongst his countrymen in this and the neighbouring islands. His name was Erasim Gregorioff Sin Ismyloff. He arrived in a canoe carrying three persons, attended by twenty or thirty other canoes, each conducted by one man. I took notice, that the first thing they did after landing, was to make a small tent for Ismyloff, of materials which they brought with them, and then they made others for themselves, of their canoes and paddles, which they covered with grass; so that the people of the village were at no trouble to find them lodging. Ismyloff having invited us into his tent, set before us some dried salmon and berries, which, I was satisfied, was the best cheer he had. He appeared to be a sensible intelligent man; and I felt no small mortification in not being able to converse with him, unless by signs, assisted by figures and other characters, which however were a very great help. I desired to see him on board the next day; and accordingly he came, with all his attendants. Indeed, he had moved into our neighbourhood, for the express purpose of waiting upon us.

I was in hopes to have had by him, the chart which his three countrymen had promised, but I was disappointed. However, he assured me I should have it; and he kept his word. I found that he was very well acquainted with the geography of these parts, and with all the discoveries that had been made in them by the Russians. On seeing the modern maps, he at once pointed out their errors. He told me, he had accompanied Lieutenant Syndo, or Synd as he called him, in his expedition to the north; and, according to his account, they did not proceed farther than the Tschukotskoi Noss, or rather than the bay of St Laurence, for he pointed on our chart to the very place where I landed. From thence, he said, they went to an island in latitude 63°, upon which they did not land, nor could he tell me its name. But I should guess it to be the same to which I gave the name of Clerke's Island. To what place Synd went after that, or in what manner he spent the two years, during which, as Ismyloff said, his researches lasted, he either could not or would not inform us. Perhaps he did not comprehend our enquiries about this; and yet, in almost every other thing, we could make him understand us. This created a suspicion, that he had not really been in that expedition, notwithstanding his assertion.

Both Ismyloff and the others affirmed, that they knew nothing of the continent of America to the northward; and that neither Lieutenant Synd, nor any other Russian, had ever seen it. They call it by the same name which Mr Stæhlin gives to his great island, that is Alaschka. Stachtan Nitada, as it is called in the modern maps, is a name quite unknown to these people, natives of the islands as well as Russians; but both, of them know it by the name of America. From what we could gather from Ismyloff and his countrymen, the Russians have made several attempts to get a footing upon that part of this continent that lies contiguous to Oonalashka and the adjoining islands, but have always been repulsed by the natives, whom they describe as a very treacherous people. They mentioned two or three captains, or chief men, who had been murdered by them; and some of the Russians shewed us wounds which, they said, they had received there.

Some other information which we got from Ismyloff is worth recording, whether true or false. He told us, that in the year 1773, an expedition had been made into the Frozen Sea in sledges, over the ice, to three large islands that lie opposite the mouth of the river Kovyma. We were in some doubt, whether he did not mean the same expedition of which Muller gives an account; and yet he wrote down the year, and marked the islands on the chart.[7] But a voyage which he himself had performed, engaged our attention more than any other. He said, that on the 12th of May, 1771, he sailed from Bolscheretzk, in a Russian vessel, to one of the Kuril islands, named Mareekan, in the latitude of 47°, where there is a harbour, and a Russian settlement. From this island, he proceeded to Japan, where be seems to have made but a short stay. For when the Japanese came to know that he and his companions were Christians, they made signs for them to be gone; but did not, so far as we could understand him, offer any insult or force. From Japan, he got to Canton, and from thence to France, in a French ship. From France, he travelled to Petersburgh, and was afterward sent out again to Kamtschatka. What became of the vessel in which he first embarked, we could not learn, nor what was the principal object of the voyage. His not being able to speak one word of French, made this story a little suspicious. He did not even know the name of any one of the most common things that must have been in use every day, while he was on board the ship, and in France. And yet he seemed clear as to the times of his arriving at the different places, and of his leaving them, which he put down in writing.[8]

[Footnote 7: The latest expedition of this kind, taken notice of by Mr Muller, was in 1724. But in justice to Mr Ismyloff, it may be proper to mention, which is done on the authority of a MS. communicated by Mr Pennant, and the substance of which has been published by Mr Coxe, that, so late as 1768, the Governor of Siberia sent three young officers over the ice in sledges to the islands opposite the mouth of the Kovyma. There seems no reason for not supposing, that a subsequent expedition of this sort might also be undertaken in 1773. Mr Coxe, p. 324, places the expedition on sledges in 1764, but Mr Pennant's MS. may be depended upon.--D.]

[Footnote 8: There is nothing at all unlikely in the voyage now spoken of. According to Captain Krusenstern, whose information is in all probability quite unexceptionable, the Kuril islands and Jesso have been often visited by Russian merchants since 1741, when Spanberg and Walton reached the coast of Japan; though without any positive advantage, he says, accruing either to science or commerce from their visits.--E.]

The next morning, he would fain have made me a present of a sea-otter skin, which, he said, was worth eighty rubles at Kamtschatka. However, I thought proper to decline it; but I accepted of some dried fish, and several baskets of the lily, or _saranne_ root, which is described at large in the History of Kamtschatka.[9] In the afternoon, Mr Ismyloff, after dining with Captain Clerke, left us with all his retinue, promising to return in a few days. Accordingly, on the 19th, he made us another visit, and brought with him the charts before-mentioned, which he allowed me to copy, and the contents of which furnish matter for the following observations:--

There were two of them, both manuscripts, and bearing every mark of authenticity. The first comprehended the _Penschinskian Sea_, the coast of Tartary, as low as the latitude of 41°, the Kuril islands, and the peninsula of Kamtschatka. Since this map had been made, Wawseelee Irkecchoff, captain of the fleet, explored, in 1758, the coast of Tartary, from Okotsk, and the river Amur, to Japan, or 41° of latitude. Mr Ismyloff also informed us, that great part of the sea-coast of the peninsula of Kamtschatka had been corrected by himself, and described the instrument he made use of, which must have been a _theodolite_. He also informed us, that there were only two harbours fit for shipping, on all the east coast of Kamtschatka, viz. the bay of _Awatska_, and the river _Olutora_, in the bottom of the gulf of the same name, that there was not a single harbour upon its west coast, and that _Yamsk_ was the only one on all the west side of the Penschinskian Sea, except Okotsk, till we come to the river Amur. The Kuril islands afford only one harbour, and that is on the N.E. side of Mareekan, in the latitude of 47-1/2°, where, as I have before observed, the Russians have a settlement.

[Footnote 9: English translation, p. 83, 84.]

The second chart was to me the most interesting; for it comprehended all the discoveries made by the Russians to the eastward of Kamtschatka, toward America, which, if we exclude the voyage of Beering and Tscherikoff, will amount to little or nothing. The part of the American coast, with which the latter fell in, is marked in this chart, between the latitude of 58° and 58-1/2°, and 75° of longitude from Okotsk, or, 218-1/2° from Greenwich; and the place where the former anchored, in 59-1/2° of latitude, and 63-1/2° of longitude from Okotsk, or 207° from Greenwich. To say nothing of the longitude, which may be erroneous from many causes, the latitude of the coast, discovered by these two navigators, especially the part of it discovered by Tscherikoff, differs considerably from the account published by Mr Muller, and his chart. Indeed, whether Muller's chart, or this now produced by Mr Ismyloff, be most erroneous in this respect, it may be hard to determine, though it is not now a point worth discussing. But the islands that lie dispersed between 52° and 55° of latitude, in the space between Kamtschatka and America, deserve some notice. According to Mr Ismyloff's account, neither the number nor the situation of these islands is well ascertained. He struck out about one-third of them, assuring me they had no existence, and he altered the situation of others considerably, which, he said, was necessary, from his own observations. And there was no reason to doubt about this. As these islands lie all nearly under the same parallel, different navigators, being misled by their different reckonings, might easily mistake one island, or group of islands, for another, and fancy they had made a new discovery, when they had only found old ones in a different position from that assigned to them by their former visitors.

The islands of St Macarius, St Stephen, St Theodore, St Abraham, Seduction Island, and some others, which are to be found in Mr Muller's chart, had no place in this now produced to us; nay, both Mr Ismyloff, and the others, assured me, that they had been several times sought for in vain. And yet it is difficult to believe how Mr Muller, from whom subsequent map-makers have adopted them, could place them in this chart without some authority. Relying, however, on the testimony of these people, whom I thought competent witnesses, I have left them out of my chart, and made such corrections amongst the other islands as I was told was necessary. I found there was wanting another correction; for the difference of longitude, between the Bay of Awatska, and the harbour of Samganoodha, according to astronomical observations, made at these two places, is greater by five degrees and a half, than it is by the chart. This error I have supposed to be infused throughout the whole, though it may not be so in reality. There was also an error in the latitude of some places, but this hardly exceeded a quarter of a degree.

I shall now give some account of the islands, beginning with those that lie nearest to Kamtschatka, and reckoning the longitude from the harbour of Petropaulowska, in the Bay of Awatska. The first is _Beering's Island_, in 55° of latitude, and 6° of longitude. Ten leagues from the south end of this, in the direction of E. by S., or E.S.E., lies _Meidenoi Ostroff_, or the Copper Island. The next island is _Atakou_, laid down in 52° 45' of latitude, and in 15° or 16° of longitude. This island is about eighteen leagues in extent, in the direction of E. and W., and seems to be the same land which Beering fell in with, and named _Mount St John_. But there are no islands about it, except two inconsiderable ones, lying three or four leagues from the east end, in the direction of E.N.E.

We next come to a group, consisting of six or more islands, two of which, _Atghka_ and _Amluk_ are tolerably large, and in each of them is a good harbour. The middle of this group lies in the latitude of 52° 30', and 28° of longitude from Awatska, and its extent, E. and W., is four degrees. These are the isles that Mr Ismyloff said were to be removed four degrees to the E., which was done. And in the situation they have in my chart, was a group, consisting of ten small islands, which, I was told, were wholly to be struck out, and also two islands lying between them and the group to which Oonalashka belongs. In the place of these two, an island called Amoghta (which in the chart was situated in the latitude of 51° 45', and 4° of longitude to the W.) was brought.

Nothing more need be said to shew how erroneous the situation of many of these islands may be, and for which I am in nowise accountable. But the position of the largest group, of which Oonalashka is one of the principal islands, and the only one in which there is a harbour, is not liable to any such errors. Most of these islands were seen by us, and consequently their latitude and longitude were pretty exactly determined, particularly the harbour of Samganoodha in Oonalashka, which must be looked upon as a fixed point. This group of islands maybe said to extend as far as Halibut Isles, which are forty leagues from Oonalashka toward the E.N.E. Within these isles, a passage was marked in Ismyloff's chart, communicating with Bristol Bay, which converts about fifteen leagues of the coast, that I had supposed to belong to the continent, into an island, distinguished by the name of _Ooneemak_. This passage might easily escape us, as we were informed, that it is very narrow, shallow, and only to be navigated through with boats, or very small vessels.[10]

[Footnote 10: This passage is marked on all the modern maps, no doubt on the somewhat scanty authority here given. With respect to most of the islands now alluded to, the opinion entertained of their utter insignificance, will account for and perhaps justify the sparing solicitude we have used to ascertain their number and position. Some less suspicious data than are to be met with in the accounts of early Russian voyages, would be requisite, to induce much attention to a subject of even greater importance.--E.]

It appeared by the chart, as well as by the testimony of Ismyloff and the other Russians, that this is as far as their countrymen have made any discoveries, or have extended themselves, since Beering's time. They all said, that no Russians had settled themselves so far to the east as the place where the natives gave the note to Captain Clerke, which Mr Ismyloff, to whom I delivered it, on perusing it, said, had been written at Oomanak. It was, however, from him that we got the name of _Kodiak_, the largest of Schumagin's Islands; for it had no name upon the chart produced by him.[11] The names of all the other islands were taken from it, and we wrote them down as pronounced by him. He said, they were all such as the natives themselves called their islands by; but, if so, some of the names seem to have been strangely altered. It is worth observing, that no names were put to the islands which Ismyloff told us were to be struck out of the chart, and I considered this as some confirmation that they have no existence.

[Footnote 11: A Russian ship had been at Kodiak in 1776, as appears from a MS. obligingly communicated by Mr Pennant.--D.]

I have already observed, that the American continent is here called by the Russians, as well as by the islanders, Alaschka; which name, though it properly belong only to the country adjoining to Oonemak, is used by them when speaking of the American continent in general, which they know perfectly well to be a great land.

This is all the information I got from these people, relating to the geography of this part of the world; and I have reason to believe that this was all the information they were able to give. For they assured me, over and over again, that they knew of no other islands, besides those which were laid down upon this chart; and that no Russian had ever seen any part of the continent of America to the northward, except that which lies opposite the country of the Tschutskis.

If Mr Stæhlin was not grossly imposed upon, what could induce him to publish a map so singularly erroneous, and in which many of these islands are jumbled together in regular confusion, without the least regard to truth; and yet he is pleased to call it _a very accurate little map_.[12] Indeed, it is a map to which the most illiterate of his illiterate sea-faring countrymen would have been ashamed to set his name.

[Footnote 12: Stæhlin's New Northern Archipelago, p. 15.]

Mr Ismyloff remained with us till the 21st, in the evening, when he took his final leave. To his care I intrusted a letter to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, in which was inclosed a chart of all the northern coasts I had visited. He said there would be an opportunity of sending it to Kamtschatka, or Okotsk, the ensuing spring, and that it would be at Petersburg the following winter. He gave me a letter to Major Behm, governor of Kamtschatka, who resides at Bolscheretsk, and another to the commanding officer, at Petropaulowska. Mr Ismyloff seemed to have abilities that might entitle him to a higher station in life, than that in which we found him. He was tolerably well versed in astronomy, and in the most useful branches of the mathematics. I made him a present of an Hadley's octant; and though, probably, it was the first he had ever seen, he made himself acquainted, in a very short time, with most of the uses to which that instrument can be applied.

In the morning of the 22d, we made an attempt to get to sea, with the wind at S.E., which miscarried. The following afternoon, we were visited by one Jacob Ivanovitch Soposnicoff, a Russian, who commanded a boat, or small vessel, at Oomanak. This man had a great share of modesty, and would drink no strong liquor, of which the rest of his countrymen, whom we had met with here, were immoderately fond. He seemed to know more accurately what supplies could be got at the harbour of Petropaulowska, and the price of the different articles, than Mr Ismyloff. But, by all accounts, every thing we should want at that place was very scarce, and bore a high price. Flour, for instance, was from three to five roubles the pood,[13] and deer from three to five roubles each. This man told us that he was to be at Petropaulowska in May next, and, as I understood, was to have the charge of my letter. He seemed to be exceedingly desirous of having some token from me to carry to Major Behm, and to gratify him, I sent a small spying-glass.

[Footnote 13: 36 lb.]

After we became acquainted with these Russians, some of our gentlemen, at different times, visited their settlement on the island, where they always met with a hearty welcome. This settlement consisted of a dwelling-house and two store-houses. And, besides the Russians, there was a number of the Kamtschadales, and of the natives, as servants, or slaves, to the former. Some others of the natives, who seemed independent of the Russians, lived at the same place. Such of them as belonged to the Russians were all males, and they are taken, or perhaps purchased, from their parents when young. There was, at this time, about twenty of these, who could be looked upon in no other light than, as children. They all live in the same house; the Russians at the upper end, the Kamtschadales in the middle, and the natives at the lower end, where is fixed a large boiler for preparing their food, which consists chiefly of what the sea produces, with the addition of wild roots and berries. There is little difference between the first and last table, besides what is produced by cookery, in which the Russians have the art to make indifferent things palatable. I have eat whale's flesh of their dressing, which I thought very good; and they made a kind of pan-pudding of salmon roe, beaten up fine, and fried, that is no bad _succedaneum_ for bread. They may, now and then, taste real bread, or have a dish in which flour is an ingredient; but this can only be an occasional luxury. If we except the juice of berries which they sip at their meals, they have no other liquor besides pure water; and it seems to be very happy for them that they have nothing stronger.

As the island supplies them with food, so it does, in a great measure, with clothing. This consists chiefly of skins, and is, perhaps, the best they could have. The upper garment is made like our waggoner's frock, and reaches as low as the knee. Besides this, they wear a waistcoat or two, a pair of breeches, a fur cap, and a pair of boots, the soles and upper leathers of which are of Russian leather, but the legs are made of some kind of strong gut. Their two chiefs, Ismyoff and Ivanovitch, wore each a calico frock, and they, as well as some others, had shirts, which were of silk. These, perhaps, were the only part of their dress not made amongst themselves.

There are Russians settled upon all the principal islands between Oonalashka and Kamtschatka, for the sole purpose of collecting furs. Their great object is the sea-beaver or otter. I never heard them enquire after any other animal; though those, whose skins are of inferior value, are also made part of their cargoes. I never thought to ask how long they have had a settlement upon Oonalashka, and the neighbouring isles; but to judge from the great subjection the natives are under, this cannot be of a very late date.[14] All these furriers are relieved, from time to time, by others. Those we met with arrived here from Okotsk, in 1776, and are to return in 1781; so that their stay at the island will be four years at least.[15]

[Footnote 14: The Russians began to frequent Oonalashka in 1762. See _Coxe's Russian Discoveries_, ch. viii. p. 80.--D.]

[Footnote 15: Captain Cook says nothing of the condition of these furriers, and probably indeed knew nothing of it. According to Krusenstern, who cannot be supposed to seek for occasion to censure his countrymen, it is wretched in the extreme. He himself admits that his transcript, though softened down from his original notes made at the time, will nevertheless expose him to the anger of a number of persons for whom, in other respects, he entertains the highest regard. But one may question if any of the accounts that have been given of the African slave-trade produce greater horror than this modified description occasions. The reader must not imagine that the physical difficulties of the climate constitute the misery of these deluded beings. These are certainly very formidable, and of themselves present a sufficient barrier to the enjoyment of any thing bearing the shape of comfort. But evils of another sort, arising from avarice and the abuse of power, are so galling, as would induce a man "to fly from even the most beautiful and the best-gifted country," if his residence in it subjected him to their tyranny. The agents of the Russian-American Company, as the reader will instantly divine, are chargeable with the enormous barbarity and injustice to which these remarks apply; and the fearless seaman does not scruple to expose them to public indignation, in consequence. We shall communicate a few particulars, referring those who desire more information on the subject to the work itself. The persons who engage in the Company's service, we are informed, are vagabonds and adventurers,--but not criminals, be it remembered,--to whom the fabulous reports of the state of affluence to be easily attained, which are industriously circulated, operate as an incentive to sail to America in the condition of Promiischleniks, a word originally signifying any who carry on a trade, but here, as it is the only occupation, restricted to those who collect furs. Their misery commences with their voyage, which is generally performed in vessels so exceedingly crowded, that a large proportion of the passengers are necessitated to sleep upon the deck, which, in such a climate, it is obvious, must expose them to almost certain disease and death. This last, indeed, is the most desirable destiny they can experience, as those who have the misfortune to survive are subjected to almost incalculable calamities from the want of proper food and clothing, under the rigours of the climate, and the still more relentless severity of their task-masters. From the treatment which the sick receive, we may perhaps, with some exercise of imagination, infer, what the mode of life must be, of those whom superior force of constitution preserves in health. Speaking of a particular case which he had an opportunity of witnessing, Captain K. says, "We went to visit the sick, and it is impossible for me to describe the shocking, the disgusting state in which we found them; nearly all appeared to labour under incurable scorbutic and venereal sores, although they had been ten months on shore, and had enjoyed the assistance of the surgeon of St Peter and St Paul. Even of this they were now about to be deprived, and on the point of being removed, by a long and tedious navigation, to places where they must either forego all surgical attendance, or obtain it from people totally unskilled in the practice. I was curious to learn on what food the sick were kept, and was shewn two casks of salt meat destined for them. I requested to see a piece of it; but, on opening the cask, so disgusting and pestilential a smell took possession of the hold as compelled me instantly to quit it. Two tons of this stinking salt meat, and some sacks of mouldy black biscuit, were the only nourishing provisions on board for twenty invalids, for, to this number, (out of seventy,) they actually amounted before the Maria (the vessel they were on board) left St Peter and St Paul (for Kodiak)." Was not the practice said to have been adopted at Jaffa by an extraordinary character, to be esteemed for mercifulness in comparison of this? Train oil and the flesh of the sea-lion, with a mixture of rye-meal and water, form the choicest provisions of those who are well, either on board a ship or on shore; these, it must be owned, are quite suitable to the iron rule of the agent, under whom there can be neither personal property nor individual security, because he is subject to no law, and there are no courts of justice in Kodiak, or any other of the company's possessions. Few of these wretched outcasts ever again reach Russian ground, very few indeed attain the object of their wishes (we dare not say hopes) to return to Europe. Disease, disappointment, innumerable sufferings, continual drunkenness, the only solace in which, for obvious reasons, they are indulged, bring them speedily to the end of their unhappy existence, and leave a vacant stage for the miseries of new victims. Should a remnant have a more lengthened career, and having, by infinite pain and trouble, amassed a little property, get back to Ochotsk, thinking to return home and spend their days in comfort with their relatives, they are beset by fresh and perhaps still more aggravated vexations. They cannot leave that place, it seems, till they have closed accounts with the agents, and, as this is frequently protracted, no doubt with the most diabolical design, they become idle, spend what they had acquired, run into debt, (for sufficient credit is allowed them), and at last are necessitated to revert to their former slavery with perhaps far less ability than formerly, and with no other expectation of relief than what is afforded by the certainty of their dissolution. It is impossible to contemplate this distressing picture a moment longer. Let us leave it.--E.]

It is now time to give some account of the native inhabitants. To all appearance, they are the most peaceable, inoffensive people, I ever met with. And, as to honesty, they might serve as a pattern to the most civilized nation upon earth. But, from what I saw of their neighbours, with whom the Russians have no connection, I doubt whether this was their original disposition, and rather think that it has been the consequence of their present state of subjection. Indeed, if some of our gentlemen did not misunderstand the Russians, they had been obliged to make some severe examples, before they could bring the islanders into any order. If there were severities inflicted at first, the best apology for them is, that they have produced the happiest consequences, and, at present, the greatest harmony subsists between the two nations. The natives have their own chiefs in each island, and seem to enjoy liberty and property unmolested. But whether or no they are tributaries to the Russians, we could never find out. There was some reason to think that they are.[16]

[Footnote 16: See the particulars of hostilities between the Russians and the natives, in Coxe, as cited above.--D.