182 FROM CONCEPTION BAY 



arrangements had never been previously thought 

 of at Kamtschatka. The commander of the har- 

 bour of St. Peter and St. Paul is informed by the 

 telegraph of the arrival of ships, which can be seen 

 while yet at a great distance, and he tluis has time 

 to send boats with anchors and ropes to meet them, 

 which are of very great service in the iiarrow passage 

 at the entrance of Avatscha Bay. We, in fact, saw 

 the safety-boat coming, but reached the bay with 

 the wind : it, however, suddenly fell, and we were 

 towed slowly into the harbour, where we cast 

 anchor at midnight. Lieutenant Rudokof, who 

 has filled the office of governor for the last two 

 years, had previously come to us in his boat, and 

 politely promised to supply all our wants. Every 

 thing looked quite winterly in the bay, as well as 

 in the harbour, and we looked in vain for a green 

 spot ; but the winter is said to have been uncom- 

 monly long this year. TJie day after I arrived 

 there, 1 found the longitude of the harbour, ac- 

 cording to the chronometers, 201° 15' 30'': the 

 true longitude, according to tlie observations of 

 Mr. Horn, the astronomer, is ^01° 16' 40". The 

 trifling difference of my chronometers, speaks 

 to their goodness, and proves that all the longi- 

 tudes, determined in this voyage by the chrono- 

 meters, may be depended upon as accurate. 



I shall enter into no description of Kamtschatka, 

 as so many travellers before me have done that 

 already, but merely speak as to our stay there. 

 My first care w^as to repair the Rurick, wliich had 



