ON BERING ISLAND 237 



no habitations on the island and no signs that there ever were any. It is a treeless 

 region; there is no wood on it at all except in a few spots where a few willows grow, 

 and they are so small that they are worthless for [fire] wood. There are mountain 

 ridges, many volcanoes, and rocky bluffs; and therefore [it is] quite unsafe for ships 

 to come near. The shore is everywhere rocky, some of the rocks extend a verst or 

 more into the sea. In high water they are covered up, and in low water they are 

 exposed. In those places where the shore is not rocky a heavy surf runs. There 

 is no spot where a vessel drawing five or six feet of water may winter. We put our- 

 selves to a great deal of trouble in looking for such a place — the boatswain's mate, 

 Alexei Ivanov, was sent to the northern cape, and I went to the southern. There 

 is only one spot, on the other [W] side of the island from our cape, where a vessel 

 might go in. There is a lake over there which has an outlet to the sea, and in time 

 of high water a ship might enter the lake and remain during the winter. But one 

 cannot be sure even of this; for each year the old channel fills up, and a new channel 

 is formed. Whether the entrance is always as [open?] as when we were there it is 

 impossible to say. 



When the west wind blew, it brought from Kamchatka to this island building 

 timber which had been in use, [such as] smashed boats and Koriak deer sleds. When 

 the east wind blew it brought from America big pine trees, oars, and weapons such 

 as are used by the natives of America but not by those of Kamchatka. 



When the weather was clear many of our men claimed that from the western 

 side of our island they saw more than once snow-covered volcanoes to the west- 

 ward. We assumed from our reckoning that they must be on Kamchatka but we 

 could not be sure. 



During the whole time that we were on this island we suffered great hardships. 

 Our habitations were holes in the sand covered over with sails. We had to search 

 the beach for driftwood, which we had to carry on our shoulders lo and 12 versts. 

 At that very time nearly all of us were very ill with scurvy which hung on so long 

 that some of the men did not completely recover until spring, when green grass 



the mouth of the river is covered with driftwood, and the surf plays there. The lake is 

 deep enough, I think. I have sounded and got 3 feet [along the shore?], and at the mouth 

 of the river the depth is 6 feet. On the western side of the island there is a breeding place 

 for fur seals and sea lions. They came in the beginning of April, and soon their large 

 numbers covered the beach. We used them for food when the sea otters became scarce 

 in the spring. 



By common consent we began to break up the St.' Peter in April, and in May we laid 

 the keel of the new vessel, which measured 36 feet at the keel. Ten men were detailed 

 for shipbuilding, the others, petty officers and crew, broke up the old ship and brought 

 the meat from the south side, a distance of about 15 versts over the hills. Each man 

 carried about 2 poods, and it was hard work. An additional hardship was the fact that 

 we ran out of shoes. From the middle of June we began to hunt the sea cow. These 

 are huge beasts, each giving from 50 to 60 poods of meat and even a greater amount 

 of fat. They have two forefeet and t . . ? ] 



Position of Bering Island 



In the north there is a cape NNW 8 German miles. From this cape there is a pro- 

 jection NW 5 miles. To the south of us there is a point ESEKE J^ of a mile. From 

 this point the shore continues south 4 miles. From that point the shore extends NW 

 to the northern point. 



About 10 German miles away, in the direction NE by N from Bering's Cross, there 

 is an island which is not seen at all times. [There is no island in the direction indicated, 

 and what Yushin saw was probably a cloud bank. Chirikov tells of sighting land on 

 June 26-27, which, on further examination, proved to be a cloud bank]. 



Another island is seen E^N 6 German miles, a third island E by S 7 German miles. 

 These two islands extend NE and SW; they seem to be small but very high. [In 

 the direction indicated there is only one island. Copper Island, which, when viewed 

 from Bering Island, looks like two islands and is so noted on the early charts.] 



The latitude of Bering's Cross, when I took it on the 7th day of July, was 55° 05' N, 

 variation of the compass 13° 58'. which I accepted as 1% rhumb E. 



