1779. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. ^77 



church. The congregation consisted of his own fa- 

 mily, three Kamtschadale men, and three boys, who 

 assisted in singing part of the service, the whole of 

 which was performed in a very solemn and edifying 

 manner. The church is of wood, and by far the best 

 building either in this town, or in that of Saint Peter 

 and Saint Paul. It is ornamented with many paint- 

 ings, particularly with two pictures of Saint Peter 

 and Saint Paul, presented by Beering ; and which, 

 in the real richness of their drapery, would carry oft 

 the prize from the first of our European perform- 

 ances ; for all the principal parts of it are made of 

 thick plate of solid silver, fastened to the canvass, 

 and fashioned into the various foldings of the robes 

 with which the figures were clothed. 



The next day, I set on foot another hunting party, 

 and put myself under the direction of the clerk of 

 the parish, who was a celebrated bear-hunter. We 

 arrived, by sun-set, at the side of one of the larger 

 lakes. The next step was to conceal ourselves as 

 much as possible ; and this we were able to do very 

 effectually, among some long grass and brush-wood, 

 that grew close to the water's edge. We had not 

 lain long in ambush, before we had the pleasure to 

 hear the growlings of bears in different parts round 

 about us ; and our expectations were soon gratified 

 by the sight of one of them in the water, which 

 seemed to be swimming directly to the place where 

 we lay hid. The moon, at this time, gave a con- 

 siderable light ; and when the animal had advanced 

 about fifteen yards, three of us fired at it, pretty 

 nearly at the same time. The beast immediately 

 turned short on one side, and set up a noise, which 

 could not properly be called roaring, nor growling, 

 nor yelling, but was a mixture of all three, and hor- 

 rible beyond description. We plainly saw that it 

 was severely wounded, and that with difficulty it 

 gained the bank, and retreated to some thick bushes 

 at a little distance. It still continued to make the 



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