PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 329 



Vitus Beering, and twenty -nine of the crew, found 

 their graves on this desolate spot. The island is now 

 visited occasionally by the Russians for the skins of S' 

 the sea otter and black fox. The highest part of 

 the island which we saw was towards its N. W. ex- 

 tremity, from whence the shore slopes gradually to 

 the coast, and is terminated by cliffs. At the foot 

 of these there are low rocky flats, which can only be 

 seen when quite close to them, and outside again are 

 breakers. Off the western point these reefs extend 

 about two miles from the shore, and off the northern, 

 about a mile and a quarter, so that on the whole it 

 is a dangerous coast to approach in thick weather. 

 The rock first seen was situated five miles and a half 

 off shore, and was so crowded with seals basking 

 upon it, that it was immediately named Seal Rock.* 



To the northward of this there were several small 

 bays in the coast, which promised tolerably good 

 anchorage, particularly one towards the eastern 

 part of the indentation in the coast line, off which 

 there was a small low island or projecting point 

 of land. This, in all probability, is the harbour 

 alluded to by Krenitzen, as there were near it 

 " two small hillocks like boats with their keels 

 upwards." 



We did not see the south-eastern part of this 

 island, as it was obscured by fog, but sailed along 

 the southern and western shores as near as circum- 

 stances permitted until seven in the evening, when 

 we got out of the region of clear weather, which 



* Kotzebue observes in his narrative that " this rock has not 

 been laid down in any chart:" I presume he alludes to those which 

 are modern, as on a reference to the map of Captain Krenitzen's 

 discoveries in 1768, it will be found occupying its proper place. 



