LANDING ON SHUMAGIN ISLANDS 273 



if these violent head winds held on we should not advance very fast. At 

 this time we had only 25 barrels of water, and to attempt with no more 

 on hand to reach the Harbor of St. Peter and St. Paul, assuming even 

 that headwinds would no longer trouble us, would be very dangerous and 

 might lead to a great misfortune. 



Taking these possibilities into consideration it was agreed on this 27th 

 day of August to go in search of water on the land which according 

 to our calculation was about 60 miles away. On the 29th we saw many 

 islands [Shumagin], towards which we steered closer and closer, having 

 55. 50. 45. and 15 fathoms of water, with an even, sloping, sandy bottom. 

 When we had come near enough we lowered the small yawl and sent 

 the Assistant Navigator Yushin to find anchorage among the islands. 

 While he was gone we anchored in 24 fathoms. When he returned and 

 said that he could not find good anchorage we weighed anchor, put over 

 the longboat, and went in its tow into the bay among the islands, where 

 we had 25 and 15 fathoms of water. Near one of the islands we anchored 

 and sent the navigator ashore to look for water, and, on returning, he 

 reported to the Captain Commander that he found plenty of it. The 

 mainland was seen behind these islands about 12 miles away. During 

 the night we saw fire on one of the islands to the NNE, about a mile and 

 a half away from us. 



The following morning, August 30, Fleet Master Khitrov was sent 

 in the small yawl to the place where fire had been seen, with instructions 

 that, if he found people, he should treat them kindly; and with that in 

 view he was given a number of things to present to them. In the mean- 

 time a strong wind was blowing, accompanied by squalls, so that it 

 was not safe to remain longer near the island, as we were wholly unpro- 

 tected. We were therefore obliged to seek shelter, though it was slight, 

 among the islands, where we anchored. On September 2 we sent the 

 longboat to Khitrov because, owing to the violent wind, he could not 

 get off shore in the small yawl. The next day, September 3, he came 

 safely aboard but without the small yawl, which he had to leave behind 

 owing to the strong wind and heavy surf. He made a report to the Cap- 

 tain Commander that he was at the place where fire had been seen, that 

 he found the fireplace but did not meet any people. This same day we 

 weighed anchor and tacked among the islands, going around the first 

 island to the island [Bird Island] which was to the east of it, about two 

 miles distant, and there anchoring in 15 fathoms. Here we remained, 

 September 4. About noon of the 5th we heard a loud noise and saw two 

 men, who sat in two baidarkas rowing towards our ship. When they 

 came within 50 fathoms of us they stopped and called to us in their 

 tongue, which our interpreters of the Chukchi and Koriak languages 

 could not make out. Our interpreters hailed them in Koriak and in 

 Chukchi, and it was evident that they could not understand, because 



