Bering^ s Food Sapplies. 219 



the tar which we should have brought with us had not arrived." 

 This is confirmed by the additional note in du Halde, which 

 says that the provisions, iron, pitch, and tar did not arrive till 

 1728, conve3dng the inference that it came too late to be of serv- 

 ice. Bering appears to have had, on July 3, 1727, 2,300 poods 

 of flour, equal to about 8,300 pounds, which would be less than 

 a year's supply for his entire party. I cannot agree with Dall 

 that Bering had plenty of flour or meal and meat. 



I have said " From Bering's own report," because it seems incred- 

 ible that du Halde did not have a transcript of Bering's report, 

 since his narrative (du Halde's) follows almost word for word 

 Ball's translation. It is not surprising that different transcripts 

 should differ slightly on unimportant matters. 



HoAvever this may be, it is evident that Brooke's translation 

 of du Halde is careless. For instance, in Brooke's translation 

 (edition London, 1736) of du Halde, on page 430, the number of 

 Bering's party should be 33 instead of 30, and on page 440, where 

 the voyage froBi Ochotsk to Takutski is given as from July 23 

 to October 2, the first-named date should be July 29. 



Dall doubts that " carrots " were of Bering's provisions. Brooke 

 omits the italicized words of du Halde's narrative (p. 567, la 

 Haye, 1736) : " Les provisions consistoient en carottes et en 

 racinesy As indicated by context, the roots were radishes and 

 turnips. The word " carottes '' is explained by a passage in 

 Grieve's Kamshatka as folloAvs : "' The morkovai poushki, or 

 carrot bunches, are so called because they are like carrots in their 

 leaf as well as in taste. They likewise eat this green in the 

 spring, but they oftener sour it like sour crout or make a liquor 

 with it." Doubtless Bering took these '■ carrot bunches " with 

 him. 



Another question which has engaged my attention is that con- 

 cerning the lunar eclipses Avhich Bering or his party is said to 

 have observed in the winter 1728-'9. Dall says : " In none of 

 the published reports of the expedition is any mention made by 

 Bering or his officers of the occurrence or observation of an 

 eclipse. * * >i< However, Micldendorf states (Sib. Reise, iv. I. 

 p. 56) that Bering and his lieutenants in the years 1728 and 1729 

 observed in Kamtschatka two eclipses of the moon, by Avhich they 

 corrected the longitude. He gives," says Dall, " no authority for 

 this statement, and it is probable that an eclipse observed at 

 Ilimsk, in middle Siberia, by Chirikoflfis thus erroneously referred 



