160 THE SEA. 



February 5th, 1725, and proceeded overland through Siberia to the Ochotsk Sea. It 

 certainly gives some idea of the difficult nature of the trip in those days when we find 

 that it occupied them two years to transport their stores and outfit to Ochotsk. A vessel 

 was specially constructed, in which they crossed to Bolcheretsk, in Kamchatka,* and the 

 following winter their provisions and naval stores were transported to Nishni (new) Kam- 

 chatka, a small town, or rather village, which is still one of the few settlements in that great 

 peninsula. "On the 4th of April, 1728," says Miiller, "a boat was put upon the stocks, 

 like the packet-boats used in the Baltick, and on the 10th of July was launched, and 

 named the boat Gabriel." On the 20th of the same month Behring left the river, and 

 following the east coasts of Kamchatka and Siberia, reached as far north as 67 18' in the 

 straits which now bear his name. Here, finding the land trend to the west, he came to 

 the conclusion that he had reached the extreme point of Asia, and that the continent of 

 America, although contiguous, did not join it. Of course we know that in the latter and 

 main point he was right. He discovered St. Laurence Island, and in the autumn returned 

 successfully to the tow r n from which he had sailed. In a second voyage contrary winds 

 baffled all his efforts to reach and examine the coasts of America, and eventually he 

 doubled the southern point of Kamchatka, and returned via the Siberian overland route 

 to St. Petersburg. 



It is to the third voyage of Behring that the greatest interest attaches. His first 

 attempt had been successful in its main object, and both the leader and his officers were 



fired with an ambition to distinguish themselves in further explorations. Miiller says : 



"The design of the first voyage was not brought on the carpet again upon this occasion, 

 since it was looked upon as completed; but instead of that, orders were given to make 

 voyages, as well eastward to the continent of America as southward to Japan, and to dis- 

 cover, if possible, at the same time, through the frozen sea the north passage (the italics 

 are ours ED.), which had been so frequently attempted by the English and Dutch. The 

 Senate, the Admiralty Office, and the Academy of Sciences, all took their parts to complete 

 this important undertaking. " Behring and his faithful lieutenants were promoted, and a 

 number of naval officers were ordered to join the expedition. Several scientific professors, 

 John George Gmelin, Lewis de Lisle de la Croyere, S. Miiller, and one Steller, a student, 

 volunteered to accompany Behring. Two of these latter never went to sea a probably 

 fortunate circumstance for themselves, as the sequel will show but confined themselves 

 to land researches in Siberia. 



After long and tedious journeyings, and great trouble in transporting their stores 

 across the dreary wilds of Siberia, they at length reached Petropaulovski, Kamchatka, and 

 having constructed vessels, left that port on July 4th, 1741, on their eventful voyage. 

 Early in its history the ships became separated during the continuance of a terrible gale. 



* The writer has spelt the word phonetically. It is impossible to render more than the sound of a Eussian 

 word in English, and any attempt to Anglicise the Russian spelling must end in failure, as there are thirty-six letters 

 in that language. But from intercourse with educated Russians in Kamchatka during two visits in 1865 and 

 1866, he knows that his mode more nearly represents the sound than the versions commonly adopted, one of 

 which may be noted above in the quotation from Miiller, where the English translator has made the word 

 Kamtschatka. 



