CHAPTER IV. 



LEDYARD'S FURTHER ADVENTURES IN SIBERIA. 



Ledyard arrived at Yakutsk, he desired to 

 proceed immediately to Ochotsk, which is six hun- 

 dred miles farther eastward. This town is situated 

 on the sea of that name, and marks a portion of the 

 extreme eastern limits of the continent of Asia. It 

 was Ledyard's intention to embark at Ochotsk in a 

 vessel hound for the North American continent, 

 which would thus have brought him directly to the 

 locality around which centred all his golden dreams 

 in reference to the lucrative fur-trade. But he was 

 destined to proceed no farther than Yakutsk. He 

 was at first persuaded to postpone his journey, in 

 consequence of the severity and the perils of the 

 weather, till the ensuing spring, through the most 

 earnest solicitations of the commandant of Yakutsk. 

 This personage seemed most mysteriously to take a 

 profound interest in his welfare. He represented 

 to Ledyard that to proceed at that time would entail 

 certain death upon him ; although Ledyard knew 



that the journey had been frequently made by others 



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