BEACHING OF THE VESSEL 153 



twelve men were likewise taken sick who until now had worked 

 steadily and beyond their strength and who until the end of the 

 month often stood in the cold sea water to their armpits.^^^ 

 Altogether, want, nakedness, cold, dampness, exhaustion, ill- 

 ness, impatience, and despair were the daily guests.^^^ 



By a stroke of good luck the vessel, towards the end of Novem- 

 ber, was finally thrown up on the beach in a storm in a better 

 way than perhaps might ever have been done by human effort. ^^^ 

 As thereby the hope of preserving the food on hand, scant as it 

 was, as well as materials had been greatly raised, while at the 

 same time the task of wading through the water to the vessel 

 was rendered unnecessary, we began after a few days to give up 

 all work for the present and to recover. Only the necessary 

 household tasks ^^^ were continued. Three men^^s were again 



we were unable for the next three or four days to reach the vessel in the 

 boat; moreover, on account of Master Khitrov, although he had already- 

 been ordered a long while ago to beach the vessel, too many difficulties 

 occurred." 



85* In the MS this sentence reads: "In addition ten or twelve men who 

 until now had worked beyond their strength and without being relieved 

 and until the end of the month had often been obliged to wade in the cold 

 sea water up to their armpits, were so exhausted that complete cessation 

 of work was in prospect." 



355 The MS has this sentence in addition: "Even what little rest [we 

 had] was taken on the implied condition of gaining strength thereby for 

 still harder and more unceasing tasks, as far as could be foreseen." 



356 In the MS the following sentences are here inserted: "I consider it 

 unnecessary after this to note down everything that happened to us from 

 day to day in the order of my diary, as from this time on scarcely any- 

 thing particular presented itself, except the weather, which I am going 

 to treat of separately, and the everyday tasks. Nevertheless, extraor- 

 dinary happenings will not be omitted in the proper place with notation 

 of time." Steller's separate discussion of the weather and climate of 

 Bering Island forms part of the description of that island which in the 

 MS follows immediately after the narrative of the voyage. Pallas pub- 

 lished this description in Neue Nordische Bey tr age. Vol. 2, 1781, pp. 

 255-301 (discussion of weather, pp. 269-272), twelve years prior to his 

 publication of the journal in the same serial. This section appears in 

 Appendix A, below on pp. 205-207. 



3" The MS here has: "which, however, were very heavy." 



358 Anchiugov and two men from Kamchatka (see Khitrov's journal 



