578 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



where we hope he will find a good 

 market to reward him for under- 

 taking so new and hazardous an 

 adventure. The following ex- 

 tract from Capt. Gordon's narra- 

 tive begins where the greatest 

 interest begins, — after reaching 

 the sea of Ochotsk ; conducts us 

 with the vessel to the desired 

 port ; and ends vvith the §afe re- 

 turn of the Brothers to Calcutta. 

 " At sunset we had the un- 

 speakable joy to find ourselves 

 arrive at length in the long looked 

 for sea of Ochotsk ; and notwith- 

 standing the lateness of the 

 season, the frailty of our little 

 bark, and our want of knowledge 

 of the situation and nature of the 

 port of our destination, we could 

 not but anticipate a successful 

 issue to the voyage ; which at its 

 commencement, appeared to be 

 opposed by the elements and 

 every adverse circumstance. Our 

 hopes were more than realized ; 

 for we glided through this sea, if 



Kossible, more agreeably than we 

 ad passed through those of China 

 and Japan ; and on the evening 

 of the 27th September our eyes 

 feasted themselves in viewing the 

 coast of Siberia. In the course 

 of the night the wind headed us 

 off so, that we fetched in shore 

 considerably to the eastward of 

 the point for which our course 

 had been shaped. At noon being 

 within a league of the shore, in 

 pine fathoms, had to tack ship ; 

 the breeze freshening at N. W. 

 drove us offshore, and until the 

 3rd of October we were unable 

 to regain our station : then at 3 

 A. M. a fine little breeze favour- 

 ed us from the N. E. and carried 

 us by nine o'clock close in shore. 

 Having six fathoms, bore up and 



ran along the coast with regular 

 soundings, at the distance of two 

 miles oft' shore, eagerly looking 

 for our own port as well as for 

 some traces of human beings of 

 whom we might be able to enquire 

 concerning it. At ten o'clock we 

 descried a flag-staft' on the pitch 

 of a point ( Maruchan point), and 

 soon afterwards the flag-staff on a 

 small hill inland of it. Our hopes 

 were now all alive; every rock 

 and every valley was declared to 

 be a house or a village, until a 

 nearer approach' proved it other- 

 wise. At length we saw a house 

 in reality, but such an one as 

 made us all shudder; a few rough 

 logs of wood piled on each other, 

 enclosing a few feet of ground, 

 and covered in with moss and 

 rubbish, presented to our view 

 an hovel, which we could only 

 regard as the temporary abode of 

 unfortunates wrecked on this in-, 

 hospitable shore, and at the same 

 time thought that some of the 

 drift wood, which covered the 

 beach, resembled the bleached 

 remains of a vessel. We passed 

 near enough to ascertain that the 

 habitation had long been without 

 inhabitants ; and at half-past ten 

 rounded Maruchan point very 

 closely, hoping to find the river 

 of Ochotsk as we luffed round, 

 but in this we were disappointed, 

 and liad to heave to for a few 

 minutes, in order to commit to 

 the deep the body of a second 

 victim to the severity of the 

 climate. Having performed this 

 melancholy task we bore away 

 again and almost immediately got 

 sight of three steeples, and in a 

 few minutes saw other buildings 

 near them; our joy now was com- 

 plete, our toils were already for- 

 gotten, 



