764 UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY. 



On the 4th of April, 1728, all the party joined in beginning the construction of the vessel. 

 Bering issued a bountiful allowance of wine to all hand-;. By observation the latitude (of Lower 

 Kamchatka) was found to be 50° 10'. On the 30th of May Lieutenant Chirikolf arrived with all 

 the remaining people of the command. In March, April, and May, strong southerly gales were 

 experienced. 



On the 9th of June the newly built vessel was dedicated and named the Gabriel, with religious 

 services, and successfully launched. The commander celebrated the occasion by the free distribu- 

 tion of two and a half buckets of .wine. 



On the 9th of July all was put on board the vessel, and on the 13th, with all sail set, they left 

 the mouth of the river Kamchatka and entered the sea. The surveyor, Luzhiu, was left behind on 

 account of illness. [He was the man who had been sent by Peter the Great, in 1719, to explore for 

 gold the six Kurile Islands.] Four soldiers were also left as a guard for the barracks and stores. 



Lieutenant Chirikoff says : " Below this place, near the mouth of the Kamchatka River, on 

 the coast, the point from which we took our departure was reckoued in longitude as the first 

 meridian to which it is necessary to add the difference of longitude from St. Petersburg. Starting 

 with the longitude obtained by the observation of an eclipse at Ilimsk, October 10, 1725, the sum 

 of all the calculated lougitudes to this place (Lower Kamchatka) is 120° 01' 49"." 



"The respected Chirikoff, in his statement of the longitude observed at Ilimsk," says Bergh, 

 "has made au important error. Observations of his on shipboard are much more accurate. His 

 journal of the river voyage from Tobolsk to Ilimsk makes the whole longitude 36° 44', which is 

 admitted at present; the observation above mentioned only 31)° 13'. From correct observations, or 

 from the chart of Captaiu Cook between the position of Kamchatka Cape aud St. Petersburg, the 

 total longitude is 132° 3L', that of Chirikoff only 12l>° OP, to which, if we add 6° 31', we also obtain 

 132° 32'. This 0° 31' is the difference between the marine observations aud that of the eclipse at 

 Ilimsk (p. 31). Those who know how difficult the observations of such phenomena are will not 

 give the less praise to our sea navigator, Captain Chirikoff, for the discrepancy between his obser- 

 vations and those made on board ship." 



July 14, 1728. — Captain Bering sailed southward for 24 hours in order to round the Kamchatka 

 Cape, which projects far out into the sea. His calculations started from the Lower Kamchatka 

 meridian, and the latitude adopted in the journal for the point of departure is 36° U3', with a varia- 

 tion of the compass of 13° 10' easterly. 



July 15. — Cloudy weather, with little wind, so that at midnight only 18 miles had been made. 

 From 3 o'clock a. m. fog completely hid the shore near which the vessel was sailing. At sunrise the 

 variation of the compass was observed to be 14° 45' easterly. The total run for the day was 35 

 miles ENE. 



July 16. — At noon [from which the nautical day is calculated] the wind was fresh from the 

 SSW., aud the vessel was making G£ knbts an hour. At sunset the variation of the compass was 

 observed to be 1G° 59' easterly. In the evening the wind was light, the horizon foggy, and hoar 

 frost was noted. In the morning the variation was observed to be 16° 59' easterly. 



July 17. — Wind light, weather thick aud foggy. At 6 p. m. white mountains were seen, cov- 

 ered with snow, revealing the proximity of the shore, fit is supposed that this was Ozernoi Point.] 

 Beyond, directly to the north, land was seen [probably Ukinskoi Point, which on old charts is 

 shown as mountainous aud visible at a distance, though shown as lower on new maps], 



July 18. — Calm and hazy weather. Only 8 miles northing was made this day. For fear lest 

 they should approach Ukinskoi Point too closely, the vessel stood for some hours to the SSE. aud 

 ESB. The latitude was observed to be 57° 59', and the variation 18° 48' E. 



July 19. — Cloudy, calm weather. Only 22 miles were made NE. by N. this day, but Karagin- 

 skoi Island was seen by Bering, who notes driftwood on the shores and, though uncertain, sup- 

 posed it to be insular. 



July 20, 172S. — Fresh winds and fog. This day 92 miles were made NE. by E., and Kara- 

 ginskoi Point [which juts out 22 miles seaward] was rounded. 



July 21. — Fresh winds aud fog. One hundred miles were run this daymud numerous points 

 of land seen to which Bering gave no name. [He only says in his journal, "saw mountains cov- 



