A PART OF THE VINCENXES’S WORK. 501 
southward, after having found blue water where a pre- 
vious English explorer had located high land. She had 
also made many other valuable discoveries, and collected 
material for the construction of charts the want of which 
had been severely felt by whalers for the last few years. 
Returning through Behring’s Straits, she picked up the 
astronomical paiiy, and continued her line of deep-sea 
soundings to San Francisco, where she annved shortly 
before us, with half of her crew disabled from scurvy. I 
quote the following extract in regard to her cruise from 
our late summary to Congress showing what work we 
had accomplished, and asking that we be compensated 
for the unusual service, as was the similar expedition 
which sailed under Wilkes some eighteen years since : — 
“The Vincennes passed up along the coast of Asia, 
(after leaving us at Ila-ko-da-di,) determining prominent 
points and headlands. She then entered Behring's Straits, 
where, on the peninsula of Yerguine on the Asiatic coast, 
among the warlike and barbarous Tsclmktchis^ she left a 
party of ten persons for the purpose of making astrono- 
mical, magnetic, and other observations, and to complete 
the survey of the Straits of Seniavine, and to investigate 
the flora and fauna of that country. On leaving that 
place for the North, the Vincennes had on board but 
three month’s wood and provisions. 
“To accomplish the survey in the limited period during 
which the Arctic is open, it was necessary to carry all the 
sail the ship would^hear, through fog and mist, thus in- 
curring the danger of wreck on shoals, bergs, or rocks, 
(for the Arctic is not deep.) She visited Herald Island^ 
and sailed over the position assigned land claimed to 
