MEETING WITH NATIVES ON ADAK 303 



the surf on the beach to the SW, but owing to the mist we could not see 

 the land. 



At the ninth hour in the morning the fog lifted a bit, and we saw the 

 shore^* about 200 fathoms away. High, snow-covered mountains and 

 tall green grass were seen, but no trees. In places cliffs came down to 

 the very sea, and close to the shore were many rocks above and below 

 the water. We caught sight of two men walking through the grass across 

 the hills from north to south. They were close to a high hill out of which 

 ran a small stream. It was evident that they had caught sight of us 

 and came a little nearer so as to have a good look at our ship. We called 

 to them in Russian and in Kamchadal that they should come to us. 

 At the end of the hour we heard people shouting to us from the shore 

 in the direction SSW, but we could not see them and owing to the surf 

 could not make out their words. We replied, through the speaking 

 trumpet and without it, asking them to come out to us. 



At the tenth hour in the morning seven small boats, one man in each, 

 were seen rowing towards us. Each of these boats was about 15 feet 

 long, 3 feet wide, the bow very sharp, the stern somewhat rounded and 

 blunt, and the whole covered with hair seal and sea lion skins. The 

 deck was roundish and, like the sides, was sewed with some kind of 

 skins except one spot between the center and the stern, where there 

 was a round hole in which the man sat. He was dressed in a kind of 

 shirt which covered his head and his arms and was made from the 

 intestines of a whale or some other animal. There was something outside 

 the hole that resembled leather breeching and which tied around the 

 man. Some of these breechings were not tied, and we could see that 

 there were rocks in the boats. They have light double paddles, made of 

 birch wood, with which they paddle on both sides; and, as far as we 

 could make out, the men were quite fearless in the water. They were 

 not deterred by any kind of waves or seas and went through the water 

 at a rapid rate. When they came within 50 fathoms of the ship they 

 began to shout, turning first to one side and then to the other, not in 

 the manner as if they wished to speak but as the Yakuts and Tungus do 

 in their incantations. From this act we concluded that the people before 

 us were doing the same thing and were praying that no harm might come 

 to them from us. Whether this is the true explanation of their behavior 

 or not I cannot tell. After they had carried on like this about seven or 

 eight minutes they began to converse with one another in the usual tone 

 of voice. While they were doing this we looked pleasant, bowed to them, 

 and waved our hands as an invitation for them to come nearer our ship; 

 but they did not quite dare to do so. They made a gesture with their 

 hands as if drawing a bow, which showed that they were afraid we might 



18 Adak Island. 



