THE SEA OF OKHOTSK 267 



sugar-loaf-shaped mountain, which the captain told us 

 was one of the Kuriles. We were crossing at that 

 time the Fourth or Amphitrite Straits into the 

 Sea of Okhotsk. The heavy swell which had accom- 

 panied us the first two days gradually smoothed down 

 as we left the Pacific, and a dense fog set in, together 

 with a nasty cold drizzle, which is the usual pheno- 

 menon at that time of year, and renders navigation so 

 dano-erous in that northern sea. The mist lasted three 

 long, dreary days, with occasional rare intervals, until 

 we neared the Straits of La Perouse, between the 

 Island of Sakhalin and Jezzo. 



Time seemed endless during this monotonous pas- 

 sage on board our providential collier ; at times the 

 thick, milky fog would partially clear, unveiling a 

 mile or two of water round the ship, when we could 

 perceive a few whales spouting or the sharp spike 

 of a swordfish emerging between the waves. Our 

 skipper was as silent as the other had been talk- 

 ative, and the conversation on his part consisted of 

 short and concise answers to our inquiries. As we 

 mounted the deck on August the 8th he informed 

 us that we were advancing at half-speed, and that 

 if the mist did not lift he would have to stop the 

 enofine for fear of runningf ashore. According" to his 

 calculations, we were now oft' the south-east coast of 



