VAIN ATTEMPTS TO SAVE THE SHIP 229 



November 26, 1741'^'^^ 



Today I am quite ill with scurvy and can barely stand on my feet. 

 Nevertheless, this morning I went to the boatswain's mate, Alexei 

 Ivanov, and [told him to go] to the Captain Commander and say that I 

 am ready to go aboard the ship in order to lay it up if this can be done. 

 The Captain Commander told Ivanov that in case the ship could not be 

 hauled up we should at least bring ashore as much of the provisions as we 

 could. When I walked down to the beach to go on board I was told by 

 the above-mentioned Ivanov, who was on watch that day, that he had 

 only five able-bodied men. In pushing out the yawl one of them, the 

 soldier Elizar Zaikov, got wet and had to go back to the tent; and this 

 left four men, namely the sailor Timofei Anchiugov, the soldier Grigori 

 Izmailov, the Kamchatka servant Ivan Partinyagin, and the Chukchi and 

 Koriak interpreter Alexei Lazukov. They were so weak that I realized 

 that they could never weigh the best bower anchor. In addition, the 

 wind was between north and west straight on the rocky reef which 

 lay from the ship between south and east not more than 150 fathoms 

 away. 



The shrouds and yards were also down. Although we might have 

 enlisted a few more men, yet because of the reef and the wind it did not 

 seem safe to try to lay up the ship as we had recommended in the report. 

 When I saw the impossibility of carrying out the task I went to Lieu- 

 tenant Waxel and verbally explained the situation. He told me to report 

 to the Captain Commander, which I did at ten o'clock in the morning 

 and gave him the reasons already mentioned. When I left him I went 

 to see the sailor Dimitri Ovtsin who acted as the captain's adjutant, 

 and told him to make a written statement of what has taken place and 

 enumerate the reasons I gave. 



November 27, 17 41 

 Today I was so ill that I could not leave the tent for any reason. In 

 the same tent are Lieutenant Waxel and a number of the crew. 



126 Yushin's journal: 



Various Happenings in 1741 After November 6 



This month from the 6th to the 22nd we had at times fair wind and weather, but at 

 other times the winds were so strong that it was impossible to come ashore. The sick 

 were landed, and huts were made for them by digging holes in the ground and covering 

 them over with sails. After the 22nd we were all ashore and the St. Peter was at anchor 

 without a man on board, for there was no one well enough to stand watch or to unrig 

 the ship; some of the men could not even move from their places and others were at 

 the point of death. 



According to our reckoning we were in Kamchatka, and therefore the assistant con- 

 stable Roselius, with two men from Kamchatka, was sent north to examine the shore. 

 Poselius returned in six days, after having walked more than 50 versts, because he and 

 his men were so exhausted that they could not go farther. 



