

CHAPTER VIII 



FURTHER TRIPS ON THE PENINSULA 



Fortune brings in some ships that are not steer'd 



Cymbeline 



AFTER the Izenbeck Bay hunting, during which we 

 bagged two fine specimens of Ursus dalli gyas, our 

 pilot, whose knowledge of the Bering Sea was said 

 to be like Sam Weller's acquaintance with London, 

 " extensive and peculiar," advised making for a bay 

 in the vicinity of Cape Rodgnof, and the Lily set her 

 nose into a bank of fog which rose, white and insidi- 

 ous, before us. But if one waits for the fog to clear 

 in these parts one may wait for ever. Fog is the 

 normal condition of the Bering Sea. 



Captain Clemsen did not profess to have any great 

 knowledge of the coves and inlets where we would 

 fain hunt; his acquaintance with the regions north- 

 ward was confined to the ordinary route taken by 

 sailing vessels. He struck me as being most cordi- 

 ally thankful to have some one aboard who would 

 undertake to manoeuvre our craft through the rocky, 

 treacherous sea which lay ahead of us. 



The following morning, very early, our new man, 

 a canny Scotchman too, surpassed himself and 

 inaugurated his reign with eclat, and no mistake 

 about it. 



