36 VITUS BERING. 



does exist a Northeast passage, and that from the Lena 

 River it is possible, provided one is not prevented by 

 polar ice, to sail to Kamchatka, and thence to Japan, 

 China, and the East Indies." This correspondence, 

 which appeared immediately after his return on the 

 first of March, 1730, originated either with him or with 

 some of his immediate friends, and shows that he fully- 

 appreciated the extent of his discovery.* It was this 

 conviction that led him to undertake his next great 

 enterprise, the navigating and charting of the North- 

 east passage from the Obi Eiver to Japan, — from the 

 known West to the known East. 



Unfortunately, however, the principal result of his 

 work remains as above stated. An unhappy fate pre- 

 vented him from discovering the adjacent American 

 continent. At the narrowest place, Bering Strait is 39 

 miles wide; and hence, under favorable conditions, it is 

 possible to see simultaneously the coast-lines of both 

 continents.! Cook, more fortunate than Bering, was 

 enabled to do this, for when he approached the strait, 

 the sun dispersed the fog, and at one glance both con- 

 tinents were seen. With Bering it was otherwise, for, 

 as we have seen from his journal, the weather during 

 the whole time that he was in the strait, both on the 

 voyage up and back, was dark and cloudy. Not until 

 the 18th of August did the weather clear up, but as 

 the Gabriel was sailing before a sharp breeze, he was 

 then too far away to see land on the other side. 

 ^' This,'' Von Baer exclaims, ^' must be called bad 

 luck.'' 



♦ Note 10. t Note 11. 



