1741.] DEATH OF BERING. 133 



" increased so fast, that not only the sick died, but those who pre- 

 tended to be healthy, when relieved from their posts, fainted and 

 fell down dead ; of which the scantiness of the water, the want of 

 biscuits and brandy, cold, wet, nakedness, vermin, and terror, were 

 not the least causes." At length, on the 5th of November, they 

 again saw land, which proved to be an island, in the latitude of 55 

 degrees ; and on it they resolved, at all hazards, to pass the winter. 

 With this view, they anchored in the most secure place which could 

 be found, close to the shore, and, having landed their stores and 

 other necessaries, they began the construction of huts out of sails 

 and spars ; but they soon had an abundant supply of materials from 

 the wreck of their vessel, which was dashed in pieces on the island 

 by the waves. 



On the 8th of December Bering expired, worn down by sickness, 

 fatigue, and disappointment, and thirty of the crew were consigned 

 to their graves on the island before the ensuing summer. The sur- 

 vivors recovered their health, and obtained a sufficiency of food, by 

 hunting the sea and land animals, which were found in great num- 

 bers on and about the shores. As soon as the mild season returned, 

 they collected the pieces of the wreck, of which they made a small 

 vessel ; and, having provisioned it as well as they could, they set 

 sail from the western side of the island on the 14th of August, 1742. 

 Two days after, they made the coast of Kamtchatka; and, continuing 

 along it towards the south, they, on the evening of the 27th, landed, 

 forty-six in number, at the place in the Bay of Avatscha from which 

 they had taken their departure fifteen months before. The island, 

 on which they had thus passed more than nine months, is situated 

 about eighty miles from the eastern shore of Kamtchatka, between 

 the latitudes of 54J and 55£ degrees, and has, ever since its dis- 

 covery, been called Bering's Isle ; it consists entirely of granite 

 mountains. 



Such were the occurrences, and the unfortunate termination, of 

 Bering's voyage. 



Tchirikof, likewise, pursuing an eastward course, discovered land 

 in the latitude of 56 degrees. It was a mountainous territory, with 

 steep, rocky shores, extending on the ocean from north to south ; 

 and, the weather being unfavorable for approaching it, ten men were 

 sent in a boat to make examinations. As these did not return, after 

 some time, nor make any signal from the shore, six others were 

 despatched in search of them, whose reappearance was also ex- 

 pected in vain ; and Tchirikof was obliged, at length, to quit the 



