He

The straights to the third island are 100 versts across. travelled along the shore; and on the 21st May discovered a very considerable river, near which he found the kettle, palma, and some cut wood, in the same place and situation as they had been left by Lachoff's companions three years before Chvoinoff's arrival. This river he called Tzarevaia Reka, in consequence of having discovered it on the 21st of May. The shores were covered with drift wood, all of it extremely shattered. Ascending to the top of a very lofty mountain, he saw a mountainous land as far as his eye could trace in clear weather, extending east, west, and north. Continuing his Foute along the coast 100 versts, he observed three rivers, each of which brought down a great quantity of wood, and abounded in fish; and here the nerk, a species of salmon frequenting Ochotsk and Kamtshatką, was in abundance, though not found in the Kovima or Indigirka. On this land he passed the summer, and returned in the autumn to Swatoi Noss.

I asked, whether he observed any regular ebb or flow of the tide? He said, that "he did not observe any remarkable alteration.” Whether he recollected how the current set?" He believed to the west." Whether the water was salt? "Yes, and very bitter." He further observed, that there were whales and belluga, white bears, wolves, and rein-deer. No growing wood was to be seen, and the mountains were bare stone. None of these travellers took any notice of the depth of the water, nor were they acquainted with the nature of tides.'

It is remarkable that, since Chvoinoff, no traveller has visited this land.

Captain B. and Mr. S. reached Ochotsk on the 6th of September. Every thing was going on with alacrity: but, as the ships were not ready, they returned to Jakutsk; and, in this part of his narrative, the author dryly introduces a satirical remark on the officious zeal of the officers of government:

'I now observed, (says he,) that the officers of government at Yakutsk were suddenly become wealthy; that some, who with difficulty procured the common necessaries of life on our first arrival in this town two years ago, were now enabled to keep a carriage, with every thing suitable to that style of living; and, upon the strictest inquiry, I found, that these gentlemen were the volunteers who were so active in procuring horses for the use of the Expedition.'

Chapter x. of the present work contains an account of the manners, customs, religion, policy, and arts of the Yakuti. It is too long for our insertion, yet too much compressed for abridgment.

The party at Jakutsk again went to Ochotsk on the 21st of June. Towards the middle of July, the largest ship was launched, called by order of the Empress the Slava Rossie (Glory of Russia); and on the 8th, the smaller ship: but, in carrying

her

her over the grounds, the boats casting off their tow lines, she struck, by the swell, on the beach, and was lost.

While the Slava Rossie was in the port of Ochotsk, news arrived from St. Petersburgh that a war had broken out between Russia and Sweden; and it is a remarkable fact, that such was the want of naval officers and men, that, in case the expedition had not left Ochotsk, it was ordered to return to St. Petersburgh. Captain Billings, however, set sail for Kamtshatka, where he arrived Sept. 27. At this place, the voyagers passed their winter very pleasantly; and again endeavouring to accomplish one of its objects, in March 1790, they steered for the North-west coast of America. On the 3d of June, the Slava Rossie anchored in a bay belonging to the island of Oonalashka (lat. 53°, 56', long. 194°. 20', variation of compass 19°, 35' east), and Captain Billings took his astronomical tent on shore. The Oonalashkans, according to Mr. S.'s account, seem to be an ingenious people; and their baidars, or boats, he particularly praises, as superior to those of any other island. The following is a description of one, but it is not, in our opinion, clear and satisfactory :

A keel eighteen feet long, four inches thick on the top, not three inches deep, and two inches, or somewhat less, at the bottom. Two upper frames, one on each side, about an inch and a half square, and sixteen feet long, join to a sharp flat board at the head, and are about sixteen inches shorter than the stern, joined by a thwart which keeps them about twelve inches asunder. Two similar frames near the bottom of the boat, six inches below the upper ones, about one inch square. Round sticks, thin, and about six inches distant from each other, are tied to these frames, and form the sides; for the top thwarts, very strong sticks, and nearly as thick as the upper frames, curved so as to raise the middle of the boat about two inches higher than the sides. There are thirteen of these thwarts or beams : seven feet from the stern is one of them; twenty inches nearer the head is another; a hoop about two inches high is fastened between them, for the rower to sit in. This is made strong, and grooved to -fasten an open skin to, which they tie round their body, and it prevents any water getting into the boat, although it were sunk. This frame is covered with the skin of the sea lion, drawn and sewn over it, like a case. The whole is so extremely light, even when sodden with water, that it may be carried with ease in one hand. The head of the boat is double the lower part, sharp, and the upper part flat, resembling the open mouth of a fish, but contrived thus to keep the head from sinking too deep in the water; and they tie a stick from one to the other to prevent its entangling with the sea weeds. They row with case, in a sea moderately smooth, about ten miles in the hour, and they keep the sea in a fresh gale of wind. The paddles that they use are double, seven or eight feet long, and made equally neat with the other articles.'

The

The Oonalashkans could not be induced to explain their religious rites: which, says the author, may be attributed to the extraordinary and superstitious zeal of our illiterate and more savage priest, who upon hearing that some of our gentlemen had seen a cave in their walks, where many carved masks were deposited, went and burnt them all.' In the following note, he justifies the use of these opprobrious epithets :

I have called the priest more than savage, and shall relate a circumstance that happened in proof. While he was travelling from Yakutsk to Ochotsk, he lost some provision on the road. On a mere supposition that his two Tartar guides had taken it, he tied each of them up by an arm to a tree, and had them flogged to such a degree, that one of them died, and the other never recovered the use of his arm: it was afterwards known, that some runaway exiles hid in the woods were the thieves. The priest said, there was no barm done; they were not Christians.”

On the 13th of June, the expedition left the island of Oonalashka, passed the island of Sannaek; on the 27th, was in sight of the lofty mountains of Kadiak; and on the 29th entered the bay where Shelikoff has his establishment. The latitude of the harbour (Treeh Svatiteley) is 57°. 5', its longitude 205°. 30, variation of the compass 26° east. describes the island, its productions, inhabitants, &c.

Mr. S.

On the 6th of July, Captain Billings set sail towards Prince William's Sound, and was in hopes of meeting with a Spanish frigate commanded by Captain Mendoza, which was at the entrance of Cook's river. Passing Point Banks, the voyagers fell in with a cluster of islands; which, according to the account of a young American, bore fine timber to the water's edge. When within 3 miles of one of these islands, no soundings could be found with a line of 100 fathoms. On the 19th, the Slava Rossie anchored in Prince William's Sound, near the place where Captain Cook was at anchor in 1778. Mr. S. made one or two excursions, and gained from the natives considerable information. From the relation of an old man, he is convinced. that Cape Saint Elias is not the southern point of Montague island, but Kag's island; and

'Another observation of his, (says Mr.S.) I think it very necessary to mention it was a positive assertion, that there were straits and islands as far as we could see; and that to the south-east there was "A GREAT SALT WATER," with many entrances to it. I repeatedly asked the question, and could not be mistaken in the answer; and I would most willingly have stayed on the coast alone, to explore these unknown parts from tribe to tribe, until I had lost myself, or found my way to Europe through some of these cranny passages. I am aware, that I was thought a madman for it; but this madness, this enthusiastic confidence, would, I am certain, have assisted my

success;

success; nor would I have left unexplored a river of which we had such confirmed accounts, without good reason for it; for I never met with any men that would refuse assistance to one individual, who, without the means of being their enemy, was at all times in their power. Over and above all this, I declare, that I have complete confidence in a Supreme Being, who governs every thought, and inspires means of expression to secure the devotee in exploring his wisdom.

• I hope that my rhapsodies will not offend my readers: they are notes penned at the instant when my feelings were most acute, and with a view of making them known to the public on a future day.

Captain Billings had received intelligence of this river from Mr. Delareff, the director of Shelikoff's companies at Kadiak, Afognak, and Cook's River; who gave the natives the character of good people; and said, that they ate, drank, and slept together in the most friendly manner; and I firmly believe what he said.'

On the 30th of July 1790, Captain B. and his companions quitted Prince William's Sound; purposing to return to Kamt shatka, on account of the small quantity of provisions in the ship, and in order to superintend the building of a smaller vessel. Mr. S. says that he was the only person who felt re gret on returning to Kamtshatka. Desirous of exploring the country, he proposed to Captain Billings to be put on shore, and to meet the expedition, in the ensuing summer, at a certain part of the coast: but the proposal was rejected. The author conjectures that, although Mount Saint Elias may constitute part of the continent, yet Cape Elizabeth does not; nor, perhaps, Alaksa.

On the 14th of October, the Slava Rossie entered the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul at Kamtshatka. This settlement is not destitute of its pleasures; and, according to Mr. S.'s account, the individuals of the expedition passed their time very agreeably in excursions, in dancing, and in card parties. The frost was at times very severe, and the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul remained blocked up with ice until the 8th of May. On the 16th, the ship got out into the bay of Avatska, on the 27th passed Bering's Island, and on the 9th of June came to an anchor in a bay of the island of Tanaga *.

• The inhabitants dress exactly like those at Oonalashka; but the women have not so many ornaments. They speak different dialects of the same language as at the above-mentioned island: their dances and diversions, however, seem different. They are more graceful in their motion, extremely modest in all their actions; and quite unlike all other savages that I have seen, by being free from lasciviousness. Young men amuse themselves with jumping on

* P. 221. Here an instance occurs of Mr. S. not having reduced his journal into a narrative: In the fog yesterday, we must have passed this mountain very close indeed.'

the

the skin of a large sea lion, held in the air by four or six men. They leap and lighten (alight) upon their feet, and by degrees are thrown up to an immense height when they are tired, they leap off upon the ground. I attempted to leap in this manner, but could not succeed; for the sudden jerk either caused my knees to bend, or else threw me out of the centre; and they explained the cause by telling me, that I looked upon the skin, whereas I ought to keep my body erect, and look upwards; at the same time I should not leap, but let the men throw me up. Their boats are larger and more heavy than those of Oonalashka, though made upon the same principle.

In the orders given to Captain Billings, it was recommended that such persons of the expedition as had been lately wounded, or had some internal disorder, or such as even long ago had been infected with the lues venerea, should be prevented from eating whale's flesh; because, according to the words of the instructions, "the wounds will open again, and the venereal disease will be renewed within three days, as may be seen in Captain Krenitzin's journal." The utility of this precaution seems warranted by the following passage:

One species of whale is frequently cast on shore both on these islands and on the coast of Kamtshatka, which the natives never eat, but only use the fat to burn. They know no difference in its appearance; but observe that neither gulls, nor any bird of prey, or fox, will eat of it. They say, that the Russian hunters have used it for food; that its fat turns in the stomach to an oil of so subtile a nature, as to pass through all the pores of the body, while the fleshy parts are emitted in an undigested state; and that if those who have eaten it have formerly had wounds or ulcers, although these have been cured for years, they break out afresh. Several of the hunters told me, that they had caten of this whale, and that the ac, count which the natives gave of the subtileness of the fat, and the undigested state in which the more substantial parts passed through them, was true; and that some of their companions, who had been eured of the venereal distemper, became again violently affected with that dismal disease, merely from this food. The same property, however, is attributed to the flesh of whales in general.'

Leaving Tanaga, the voyagers reached Oonalashka on the 25th of June; and here Captain Billings declared his intention of sailing to the bay of St. Lawrence, and of not attempting to explore the country to the south of Cook's river. Mr. Sauer, we collect from many expressions, extremely disapproves the conduct of the Captain; and the subsequent passage not only reflects on him, but conveys this truth, that the great object of the expedition failed:

Nothing in the world could have afforded me less satisfaction than this resolution, which I regarded as the conclusion of an ex

pedition