170 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



We rounded East Cape about three of the afternoon of the 

 28th ; it was then cloudy, no observations, running by dead 

 reckoning. The East Cape loomed very bold and bluff. We 

 could not see the Diomedes in the straits. 



On the 29th I saw, from the crow's-nest, huts on the beach. 

 We stood in and found a summer settlement. Captain De- 

 Long and a party of officers started ashore in the whale-boat, 

 but could not land owing to the surf breaking on iceward. 

 Seeing the difficulty, the natives launched a bidarah, or large 

 skin boat, very skilfully, and came off to the ship, bringing 

 their chief with them. We had a long interview with them 

 in the cabin, but as neither party could understand the other 

 the results of the conversation were not great. They made 

 us understand, however, by bending the elbow and saying 

 " Schnapps " what they wanted, but the captain refused to 

 listen to their request. Lieutenant Chipp then went ashore 

 and succeeded in landing about midnight, and from an old 

 woman from King's Island who could talk with our Indians, 

 we learned that Nordenskiold with the Vega had wintered to 

 the north of them, and had passed east to Bering's Strait in 

 the month of June. The next day we cruised along the 

 coast to the westward. Met two other parties of natives, 

 who came alongside, but took a look at us only. 



On Sunday, August 31st, we fell in with some drift ice, and 

 at daylight discovered a few huts on the beach. The drift 

 ice extended about four miles off shore. Lieutenant Chipp, 

 Ice-Pilot Dunbar and I, went ashore in the whale-boat to inter- 

 view the natives. After a two hours' pull through the drift- 

 pack, and seeing many seals, we reached the beach and found 

 several carcasses of recently slain walrus. The natives 

 seemed rather shy, and we had to look them up in their skin 

 tents. There we found a sailor's trypot, and a cask marked 

 " Centennial brand of whiskey," conclusive proof that the 

 people were in occasional communication with American 

 traders. 



We met an intelligent young Chukche, who offered to 

 show us the spot where the Vega had wintered. We took a 



