Chapter XIX: Book IV (8)

Having continued to ply back all night, by day-break the next morning we had got into six fathoms’ water. At nine o’clock, being about a league from the west shore, I took two boats, and landed, attended by Mr. King, to seek wood and water. We landed where the coast projects out into a bluff head, composed of perpendicular _strata_ of a rock of a dark blue colour, mixed with quartz and glimmer. There joins to the beach a narrow border of land, now covered with long grass, and where we met with some _angelica_. Beyond this, the ground rises abruptly. At the top of this elevation, we found a heath, abounding with a variety of berries; and further on, the country was level, and thinly covered with small spruce trees; and birch and willows no bigger than broom stuff. We observed tracks of deer and foxes on the beach; on which also lay a great quantity of drift-wood; and there was no want of fresh water. I returned on board, with an intention to bring the ships to an anchor here; but the wind then veering to north-east, which blew rather on this shore, I stretched over to the opposite one, in the expectation of finding wood there also, and anchored at eight o’clock in the evening, under the south end of the northernmost island; so we then supposed it to be; but, next morning, we found it to be a peninsula, united to the continent by a low neck of land, on each side of which the coast forms a bay. We plied into the southernmost, and about noon anchored in five fathoms’ water, over a bottom of mud; the point of the peninsula, which obtained the name of _Cape Denbigh_, bearing N. 68° W., three miles distant.

Several people were seen upon the peninsula; and one man came off in a small canoe. I gave him a knife and a few beads, with which he seemed well pleased. Having made signs to him to bring us something to eat, he immediately left us, and paddled toward the shore. But meeting another man coming off, who happened to have two dried salmon, he got them from him; and on returning to the ship, would give them to nobody but me. Some of our people thought that he asked for me under the name of _Capitane_; but in this they were probably mistaken. He knew who had given him the knife and beads, but I do not see how he could know that I was the captain. Others of the natives, soon after, came off, and exchanged a few dry fish for such trifles as they could get, or we had to give them. They were most desirous of knives; and they had no dislike to tobacco.

After dinner, Lieutenant Gore was sent to the peninsula, to see if wood and water were there to be got; or rather water, for the whole beach round the bay seemed to be covered with drift-wood. At the same time a boat was sent from each ship, to sound round the bay; and at three in the afternoon, the wind freshening at north-east, we weighed, in order to work farther in. But it was soon found to be impossible, on account of the shoals, which extended quite round the bay, to the distance of two or three miles from the shore; as the officers who had been sent to sound reported. We therefore kept standing off and on with the ships, waiting for Mr. Gore, who returned about eight o’clock, with the launch laden with wood.

He reported that there was but little fresh water, and that wood was difficult to be got at, by reason of the boats grounding at some distance from the beach. This being the case, I stood back to the other shore; and at eight o’clock the next morning, sent all the boats, and a party of men, with an officer, to get wood from the place where I had landed two days before. We continued, for a while, to stand on and off with the ships; but at length came to an anchor in one-fourth less than five fathoms, half a league from the coast, the south point of which bore south, 26° W.; and Bald Head north, 60° E., nine leagues distant. Cape Denbigh bore south, 72° E., twenty-six miles distant; and the island under the east shore, to the southward of Cape Denbigh, named _Besborough Island_, south 52° E., fifteen leagues distant.

As this was a very open road, and consequently not a safe station, I resolved not to wait to complete water, as that would require some time, but only to supply the ships with wood, and then to go in search of a more convenient place for the other article. We took off the drift-wood that lay upon the beach; and as the wind blew along shore, the boats could sail both ways, which enabled us to make great dispatch.

In the afternoon I went ashore, and walked a little into the country; which, where there was no wood, was covered with heath and other plants, some of which produce berries in abundance. All the berries were ripe; the hurtle-berries too much so; and hardly a single plant was in flower. The underwood, such as birch, willows, and alders, rendered it very troublesome walking among the trees, which were all spruce, and none of them above six or eight inches in diameter. But we found some lying upon the beach, more than twice this size. All the drift-wood in these northern parts was fir. I saw not a stick of any other sort.

Next day a family of the natives came near to the place where we were taking off wood. I know not how many there were at first; but I saw only the husband, the wife, and their child; and a fourth person, who bore the human shape, and that was all, for he was the most deformed cripple I had ever seen or heard of. The other man was almost blind; and neither he nor his wife were such good-looking people as we had sometimes seen amongst the natives of this coast. The under-lips of both were bored; and they had in their possession some such glass beads as I had met with before amongst their neighbours. But iron was their beloved article; for four knives, which we had made out of an old iron hoop, I got from them near four hundred pounds’ weight of fish, which they had caught on this or the preceding day. Some were trout, and the rest were, in size and taste, somewhat between a mullet and a herring. I gave the child, who was a girl, a few beads; on which the mother burst into tears, then the father, then the cripple, and at last, to complete the concert, the girl herself. But this music continued not long.[84] Before night we had got the ships amply supplied with wood, and had carried on board about twelve tons of water to each.

On the 14th, a party of men were sent on shore to cut brooms, which we were in want of, and the branches of spruce trees for brewing beer. Toward noon every body was taken on board; for the wind freshening, had raised such a surf on the beach, that the boats could not continue to land without great difficulty. Some doubts being still entertained whether the coast we were now upon belonged to an island, or the American continent; and the shallowness of the water putting it out of our power to determine this with our ships, I sent Lieutenant King, with two boats under his command, to make such searches as might leave no room for a variety of opinions on the subject[85]. Next day the ships removed over to the bay, which is on the south-east side of Cape Denbigh, where we anchored in the afternoon. Soon after, a few of the natives came off in their small canoes, and bartered some dried salmon for such trifles as our people had to give them.

At day-break, on the 16th, nine men, each in his canoe, paid us a visit. They approached the ship with some caution; and evidently came with no other view than to gratify their curiosity. They drew up abreast of each other, under our stern, and gave us a song; while one of their number beat upon a kind of drum, and another made a thousand antic motions with his hands and body. There was, however, nothing savage, either in the song or in the gestures, that accompanied it. None of us could perceive any difference between these people, either as to their size or features, and those whom we had met with on every other part of the coast, King George’s Sound excepted. Their clothing, which consisted principally of deer skins, was made after the same fashion; and they observed the custom of boring their under lips, and fixing ornaments to them.

The dwellings of these people were seated close to the beach. They consist simply of a sloping roof, without any side-walls, composed of logs, and covered with grass and earth. The floor is also laid with logs; the entrance is at one end; the fire-place just within it; and a small hole is made near the door to let out the smoke.

After breakfast a party of men were sent to the peninsula for brooms and spruce. At the same time half the remainder of the people in each ship had leave to go and pick berries. These returned on board at noon, when the other half went on the same errand. The berries to be got here were wild currant-berries, hurtle-berries, partridge-berries, and heath-berries. I also went ashore myself, and walked over part of the peninsula. In several places there was very good grass; and I hardly saw a spot on which some vegetable was not growing. The low land which connects this peninsula with the continent, is full of narrow creeks, and abounds with ponds of water, some of which were already frozen over. There were a great many geese and bustards, but so shy that it was not possible to get within musket-shot of them. We also met with some snipes; and on the high ground were partridges of two sorts. Where there was any wood, musquitoes were in plenty. Some of the officers, who travelled farther than I did, met with a few of the natives of both sexes, who treated them with civility.

It appeared to me that this peninsula must have been an island in remote times; for there were marks of the sea having flowed over the isthmus. And, even now, it appeared to be kept out by a bank of sand, stones, and wood, thrown up by the waves. By this bank it was evident that the land was here encroaching upon the sea, and it was easy to trace its gradual formation.

About seven in the evening, Mr. King returned from his expedition, and reported that he proceeded with the boats about three or four leagues farther than the ships had been able to go; that he then landed on the west side; that, from the heights, he could see the two coasts join, and the inlet to terminate in a small river or creek, before which were banks of sand or mud, and every where shoal water. The land too was low and swampy for some distance to the northward; then it swelled into hills, and the complete junction of those on each side of the inlet was easily traced.

From the elevated spot on which Mr. King surveyed the sound, he could distinguish many extensive valleys, with rivers running through them, well wooded, and bounded by hills of a gentle ascent and moderate height. One of these rivers to the north-west appeared to be considerable; and, from its direction, he was inclined to think that it emptied itself into the sea at the head of the bay. Some of his people, who penetrated beyond this into the country, found the trees larger, the farther they advanced.

In honour of Sir Fletcher Norton[86], Speaker of the House of Commons, and Mr. King’s near relation, I named this inlet _Norton’s Sound_. It extends to the northward as far as latitude of 64° 55ʹ. The bay, in which we were now at anchor, lies on the south-east side of it, and is called by the natives _Chacktoole_. It is but an indifferent station, being exposed to the south and south-west winds. Nor is there a harbour in all this sound. But we were so fortunate as to have the wind from the north and north-east all the time, with remarkable fine weather. This gave us an opportunity to make no less than seventy-seven sets of lunar observations, between the 6th and 17th inclusive. The mean result of these made the longitude of the anchoring-place, on the west side of the sound, to be

197° 13ʹ

Latitude 64 31

Variation of the 25 45 east.
compass

Dip of the needle 76 25

Of the tides it was observed, that the night-flood rose about two or three feet, and that the day-flood was hardly perceivable.

Having now fully satisfied myself that Mr. Stæhlin’s map must be erroneous; and, having restored the American continent to that space which he had occupied with his imaginary island of Alaschka, it was high time to think of leaving these northern regions, and to retire to some place during the winter, where I might procure refreshments for my people, and a small supply of provisions. Petropaulowska, or the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, in Kamtschatka, did not appear likely to furnish either the one or the other, for so large a number of men. I had, besides, other reasons for not repairing thither at this time. The first, and on which all the others depended, was the great dislike I had to lie inactive for six or seven months; which would have been the necessary consequence of wintering in any of these northern parts. No place was so conveniently within our reach, where we could expect to have our wants supplied, as the Sandwich Islands. To them, therefore, I determined to proceed. But before this could be carried into execution, a supply of water was necessary. With this view, I resolved to search the American coast for a harbour, by proceeding along it to the southward, and thus endeavour to connect the survey of this part of it, with that lying immediately to the north of Cape Newenham. If I failed in finding a harbour there, my plan was then to proceed to Samganoodha, which was fixed upon as our place of rendezvous, in case of separation.

CHAP. XI.

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 THEIR 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° 37ʹ. 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° 35ʹ, 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° 33ʹ, and in longitude 197° 41ʹ. 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 the 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 a 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 lying 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 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 larger 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.

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 N., 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° 15ʹ, and in the longitude of 190° 30ʹ. 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.

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 N., 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 that 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 further?

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 north of this latitude. Four leagues from Cape Upright, in the direction of S., 72° W., lies a small island, whose elevated summit terminates in several pinnacle 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.

We continued to stretch to the eastward till eight o’clock in the morning of the 25th, when, in the latitude of 58° 32ʹ, and in the longitude of 191° 10ʹ, 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 north-west 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 the 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 were 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 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 any thing we had beside; 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, in order to gain some farther information, 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.

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 Spangenberg; but they seemed to know no more of Lieutenant Syndo[87], or Synd, than his name. 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 was represented, and said, that he had cruised 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. 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.

On the 15th, 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 Nos, 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 of late. 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[88], and yet he wrote down the year, and marked the islands on the chart. 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 he 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 Petersburg; 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.

The next morning he would fain have made me a present of a sea-otter skin, which he said was worth eighty roubles 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.[89] 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 _Penshinskian 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 Irkechoff, 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 Penshinskian Sea, except Okotsk, till we come to the river Amur. The Kurile islands afford only one harbour; and that is on the north-east side of Mareekan, in the latitude of 47-1/2°; where, as I have before observed, the Russians have a settlement.

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 his 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 east by south, or east south-east, lies _Maidenoi Ostroff_, or the Copper Island. The next island is _Atakou_, laid down in 52° 45ʹ of latitude, and in 15° or 16° of longitude. This island is about eighteen leagues in extent, in the direction of east and west; 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 east north-east.

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° 30ʹ, and 28° of longitude from Awatska; and its extent, east and west, is four degrees. These are the isles that Mr. Ismyloff said were to be removed four degrees to the east, which is here 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° 45ʹ, and 4° of longitude to the west) was brought.

Nothing more need be said to show 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 may be said to extend as far as Halibut Isles, which are forty leagues from Oonalashka toward the east north-east. 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.

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_[90], the largest of Schumagin’s Islands; for it had no name upon the chart produced by him. 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 not existence.

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 Ooneemak, 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 map_[91]. Indeed, it is a map to which the most illiterate of his illiterate sea-faring countrymen would have been ashamed to have set his name.

Mr. Ismyloff remained with us till the 21st, in the evening, when he took his final leave. To his care I entrusted a letter to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; in which was enclosed 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 Petersburgh 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 south-east, 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[92]; 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.

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 were, 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, Ismyloff 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.