i82 STELLER'S JOURNAL 



As on August 8 all was in order and ready for the voyage, a 

 public prayer was offered up in the afternoon, in which we prayed 

 to God for a successful launching of the vessel, which we dedi- 

 cated to the apostle St. Peter and named after him. Whereupon 

 everybody lent a hand to the launching. To our great consterna- 

 tion the weight of the ship pressed down the too low foundation 

 and she stuck during the launching. However, we lifted her up 

 with jacks, retrieved the error by placing some planks under her, 

 and thus got her off the land. But by that time the high water 

 had already receded, and only on the following day at the next 

 flood could she be completely floated into the sea. 



After this, we worked day and night. On the nth the mast 

 was set and made fast with its shrouds. Water and provisions 

 were next brought on board, and lastly everybody's baggage, a 

 limited amount only being allowed each person. ^*° In the mean- 

 while the carpenters were still at work on a small boat which 

 could be placed on deck.*^^ Our supplies consisted of twenty-five 

 poods of rye 'flour, five barrels of salted sea cow, or manati, 

 meat, two poods of peas, and a barrel of salt beef that in spite of 

 all our want had nevertheless been saved for the home voyage. 

 Each man was handed, in addition, four pounds of butter; and 

 most of the men, who had managed economically, were able to 

 bake for themselves from the stores they had saved up perhaps 

 half a pood of biscuit for the trip; those, however, who could not 

 do this provided themselves with dried manati meat.'*^- 



On August 13 all left their huts with much inner emotion and 

 went on board the vessel, which was going either to bring us 

 back to our country or to decide our fate in some manner or 



**° Instead of the last clause the MS has: "Everyone had to submit in 

 writing how much in weight he wanted to take; what was in excess of the 

 agreed weight had to be left behind." For the text of the agreement and 

 the list of baggage see the log book (Vol. i, pp. 236 and 235, respectively). 



•»" The MS has in addition: "so that we could use it in case of any 

 eventuality." 



*« In the MS this clause reads: "those, however, who had previously 

 lived too luxuriously, made themselves biscuits of dried manati meat." 



