RESUMPTION OF VOYAGE 6i 



and contrary for going into the harbor. When a few days later 

 a light gale arose, there was consequently no little rejoicing over 

 the fact that we were out of the bay and far from land. The 

 Captain Commander then announced his opinion, which was to 

 the following effect: Because of the approach of August and our 

 ignorance of the land, the winds, and the sea, we should be satis- 

 fied for this year with the discovery already made and should 

 not follow up the land farther nor hug the coast closely in making 

 the home trip but should sail back on our former course. 

 Although it might now be inferred that the land continued 

 farther in a westerly direction, nobody could know whether it 

 did not extend farther south towards Kamchatka, in which case 

 we might run blindly on land at night or in a fog or be wrecked 

 during the autumn gales on islands in an unknown sea. However, 

 as this decision was given only in conversation and without 

 being submitted to a sea council and though I did not hear the 

 reply, I could clearly see from the subsequent actions of Lieu- 

 tenant Waxel and Master Khitrov that they were not pleased 

 with the project, and consequently we continued to keep near 

 land until July 26, as these gentlemen thought it necessary always 

 to follow the land along the coast, instead of which it might 

 have been sufficient every time after sailing a hundred versts^^s 

 to try to go north one or two degrees. Thus it happened that 

 during the night of July 27 with a light gale we got bottom at 

 60 fathoms, being a bank extending from shore into the sea, 

 though fortunately for us the land itself was so far away that it 

 was not seen. ^26 



On July 28 and 29 we had continuous stormy and wet weather. 

 We had signs of the nearness of land by the same kind of floating 



125 The MS has "miles" (i.e. German miles), which seems more 

 plausible. 



126 The MS here continues: "and they might then already have been 

 able to understand the danger, to which, by running too close to land, 

 we all were afterwards wantonly exposed to no purpose whatever and 

 without there being exercised even a semblance of experience in nautical 

 affairs." The location was probably south of Tugidak Island (see 

 Vol. I, p. 335, end of footnote 5). 



