FIRST DAYS OX BERING ISLAND 137 



but now they were thrown without ceremony neck and heels 

 into the sea, because some superstitious fellows, at the beginning 

 of the terror, regarded the dead bodies as the cause of the 

 commotion. 



The night was otherwise very pleasant and light. On Novem- 

 ber 7311 we had again a very pleasant day and a northeast wind. 

 I spent the morning in packing so much of my baggage as I 

 could get hold of near by. Because I could see plainly that our 

 vessel could not hold together longer than till the first violent 

 storm, when it must either be driven out to sea or dashed to 

 pieces against the beach, I, with Mr. Plenisner, my cossack, and 

 several of the sick men went ashore first. 



We had not yet reached the beach when a strange and dis- 

 quieting ^^2 sight greeted us, inasmuch as from the land a number 

 of sea otters came towards us in the sea, which from a distance 

 some of us took for bears, others for wolverines, but later on we 

 learned to know, unfortunately, only too well. — ^As soon as we 

 had landed, Mr. Plenisner went to hunt with the gun, while I 

 investigated the natural conditions of the surroundings. After 

 having made various observations, I returned towards evening 

 to the sick men, and there I also found Lieutenant Waxel, who 

 was very weak and faint. We refreshed ourselves with tea. 

 Among other things I remarked: "God knows whether this is 

 Kamchatka!" — receiving, however, from him [Waxel] the reply: 

 "What else can it be? We shall soon send for podvods (horses); 

 the ship, however, we shall cause to be taken to the mouth of 

 the Kamchatka River by cossacks, the anchors can be had any 

 time, the most important thing now is to save the men." — In the 



pp. 208 and 209) are mentioned as having been cast into the sea. Also, 

 there is no mention of a trumpeter among the dead prior to landing on 

 Bering Island; subsequent to that date, however, on November 11 

 (astronomical; November 10, civil) is recorded {ibid., p. 215) the death 

 of the trumpeter Mikhail Toroptsov. 



311 According to the log book, on November 6, as far as events can be 

 correlated from the brief record in that document. 



312 The words "and disquieting" are not in the MS. 



