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;\, >T GtOG MAG.
Carte ^//-«nr<v Snr /a Ulire de L-iminil Je FO^TE
par I Ecrmiw </<? la Cab/brntc.
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de 1 Amiral dc
cl .luircy N^avu/aletirs Eo-pat^nOi
pour la rcc/icrc/ic da Passay
/X Piir M.Dp lisle di' rAcademie /
Pu/yfiec a Piiris en Sev,
VOL III. 1891. I'l ?!
NERALEDES 1)KC01JVEK1T.S
de 1 Aniiral dc Fonte,
Vavufaleurs Eo-pot/no/o, AntjLus el Ritsses
\i rci-/icrc/ic du Piursat/e a /a .- VI cr c/u Sue/,
1 Isle i-/e I'Academie nv/a/e c/es Sciencci'
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VOL. Ill, PP. 205 230, PL. 21
January 28, i892
THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
THE (.'AirrOdKAI'IIY AND OBSERVATIONS
, . OF
BEUFNCI'S FIRST VOYAdE.
BY
(JENKKAL A. W. (IKEELY.
(Presented bcj'ore the Society March 20, 185)1.)
i-
I
j
It Wiis with no ordinary pleasure that the nicniliers of tlie
National CJeoj^raphic Society listened to the critical review and
admirable essay on Bering's first expedition, 1725-17oO, read
before this Society, together with a translation of Bering's re[)ort
on the expedition in ([ucstit)n, by one of our learned and distin-
guished nunnbers, Professor William H. Dall. The sul)ject tlien
under consideration is one of great interest, and this Society
owes a debt of gratitude to Professor Dall for his assiduous labor
in collating and translating the available data on this voyage,
and must indorse the general conclusions reached in a critical
essay which is the result of careful, conscientious research con-
joined to nuu'h erudition. It is especially fortunate, in view of
the vagueness of Bering's report, that it should have been trans-
lated and reviewed by a traveler and investigator so thoroughly
fixmiliar with the toi)Ography of Bering strait and the adjacent
region.
28-Nat. Gkog. Mac.., vol. Ill, 1K!)1.
(•Ji..-.)
T
\
JAN I ' '56
20(')
acneral A. U'. Cvrrhj—lUnnifx FIrsI Vnumje.
.1
It inivyapiK'ursoMunvhai prcsuiii|»lu<)us for the proscnt writer
to furtlicr dwell on some points of subonliimte inii)ortjuu'o,even
with tlu' view of .suppleincMitin^' the investijiiitions of I*rofess()r
Dall ; hut he is eneoiirujied to the etfort l>y the iidinirahle sj.irit
in whieh that -rentlenian works, which is so clearly indicated in
his own words : " I lun well aware Ihi; paper cannot he regarded
as a finality, hut as a contrihutit)n to the j,r(.ojrraphical history
of North America it will not he without its value." This spirit
encoura.iics every one to contrihute his mite to elucidate the
history of this interestinjj; and ill-known period.
The suppleiiieutary remarks now [»resented mainly relate to
two points : lirst, ihe cartojiraphic reproduction of Herinir's dis-
covc'.les; second, tlie alieij;ed ohservations of lunar eclii)scs in
Kamshatka hy lkM-in<!; and his lieutenants in IT'JS-'-Ji).
In attcmptin<«; to add to Professor Dall's essay or to elucidate
some points, it is init natural to felicitate (me's self that chance
has put in one's way rare data in the shape of text and ma]!.
Nevertheless, much ditllculty has heen exi)erienced in etVorts to
consult publications and charts hearing,' on this sul)iect, as sup-
plementary to the data in the writer's own lihrary. Fortunately,
among his i)ersonal books and maps arc the iVdlowintr, Avhieh
have escaped the critical, if not casual, ol)servation of Professor
Dall :
1. The original Hague* edition of Pere du liable, which Dall
was unable to consult ; it is entitled " Description (ieographi(|U(\
Historicjue, Chronologi(iue, Politi(pu>, et Physi(|ue de I'Kmpire
et de la Tartaric Chinoise," etc. 4 vols., 4°: a la Haye, 17H6. •
2. De risle's scattered essays, entitled " Memoires pour servir
a I'histoirc et au progres de I'Astronomic, de la Geographic, et
de la Physi<iuc, etc., etc. : a St. Petersbourg, de rim))rimeris de
I'Acadeniie des Sciences. MDCCXXXVI II [17:58]."'
3. "Atlas Russien: contenant une ("arte (Jenerale et dix-neuf
Cartes particulieres detout l'Kmi)irc de Hussie et des Pays limi-
tro])hes construites conformement aux regies de la (icograjdiic
et aux dernieros Observations. Par l'Academi(! Imperiale des
Sciences de St. Petersbourg. St. Petersbourg, 174')."
This was the first atlas pul)lished in Uussia in the nuip de[)art-
ment established by order (»f Peter the (!reat in the A< ademy of
Sciences of St. Petersburg. It includes a general map of the
Russian Empire and nineteen juaps of provinces. ■
*The fa-st edition, in French, was published at PiiriH, 4 vols., folio, ITAb.
(t:
'M
The dr n.Hlr Map.
207
Dall
4. ''("iirt(! (Ic 111 SiltrTi(! ft (Ics Pays voisiin. I'oiir sorvir a
Ilistoirc^n'iK'ralc (Ic.-i Voyu-io |»arl('S. lU'llin, Iiij;. dcla Marine,"
two parts, undated, hut to which K. Dul'osse, of Paris, assi«j;ns the
(hite of 174!). The athis for this work was ori^^inally |>ul)lisho(l
hy Ahhe IMwostat Paris, 1747, et sei].. the charts hoin^jjonjiravcd
hy Mellin.
This cliart appears on ca"^'!'' ins|»ection to )»e more accurate
than either that of d'Anville o of do I'lsle, or of the llussiaii
atlas.
o. The very intorestin<j; nd \,dual)le map of J. N. de I'lslc,
Paris, 170'J (without, liowcver, tlie ii> vompanyinu; memoir).
I do not thinlc tlie oriirinal nui[> has over fallen under the notice
of Professor |)all. although .i jiiirhled reproduction of it is men-
tioned in his review as follows :
" A chart wliicli deserves notice, tli'm(.'h aliiniHt wlmlly (Ictitious, beni^:
cliicdy ilovotecl t!> till' sparions (liH('iJverio.s of tlie ulle)4;e(l Adininil de
iMiiite, was issiK'il hy J. \. dc ITsK' witli the cDiu-nrreiice of M. P. Maiu'Iio
or at his sii,i.'j:i'stion. It appeared at I'arin in I"")-, and was ciipicd for
.hdH-ry's second edition of voyasre.w from Asia to America in 17f)4. I do
not know if this copy ap[)eared in the first edition, hiit presume it did."
;Vs the oriudnal of de ITsUvs chart (17o"J) is hero exhihitod to-
ni'iht. it is evident that JelVery was careless, and that the map,
which I infer Dall has never seen, is really more valualile than
is set forth in his address; otherwise so critical an oliservor as
Dall would not have said : " I sus[)oct this (roforriii^ to d'Anvillo's
map of 17'>'), with I'erin^' islan^l thereon) is the first imhlication
of a carto,<j;raphic kind on which Herinu; island is laid down, as
the map of the Im|)erial Ac^ademy of Sciences, emhodying the
,t!,ei).>;raphical results of iJerinif's voya,<!;o to the coast of America,
was not en.;ra\e:l until a year later, while de TIslo's of 175'2 does
not contain them." You will see that this is an error, tor the
" I (sle) de Beeri'iij " is plainly inscrihed t)n the map. (This map
has heon rei)ro(luced hy photolithograpliy and forms theaccom-
panvinjjf plate 21.)
Dall further doserii)es the copy of this map in the following
terms :
"(Connected with America and north of the ('hukclii peninsula is land
with an island olf it correspondinj^ not badly to Wranirell and Herald
ir lands and marked ' Discovered in 1722.' It is i)ossil)Ie that this land is
hyputlu'tical compound of the land reported liy the Chukchi.-- east of the
strait with that which they knew to he visilile in clear weather from Cajie
Yakan, more or less confused accounts of which had long been current
among persons interested in these regions."
1S4565
208 General A. W. Greely— Bering's First Voyciffe.
The legend on the original chart indicates that Dall's surmise
is correct, for the coi)y is not only abbreviated, l)nt is in error as
to date. On the original it runs : '* (Irande Terre decouverte en
1728 au s'enfeuit ies Tzutzy rors(}u'ils sont poursuivis par les
Russes que ne les ont pas encore sounds."
There is another important legend on a very large imaginary
island about five degrees of longitude to the east of Bering island.
On the northern side of this land the text runs thus : '* Terres
dont le Capitaine IJeering's a en des indices dans son premier
vovasres en 1728." On the southern edtic is the legend : " Cotes
vues par Mrs. Tchirikow et de I'Isle en Septend)re 1741." Im-
mediately south of the land are two route tracks, with these
legends : " Route du Kamtschatka a rAiuerique i)ar le Capitaine
Tchirikow et Mr. de I'Isle de la Croyere en Juin et Juillet,
1741," " Retour de rAmericpie au Kamtschatka en Aout et Se|>
tembre 1741." The latter route track touches an indentation in
the southwestern coast, as though the vessel had entered tlie bay,
which has five mountains in the backgiound.
The legend — "Terres vues par les Russes en 1741 ou le Cap-
taine Tchirikow perdit sa Chaloupe armee de 10 lionnnes '" — is
likewise of interest, as controverting the statement that " De
I'Isle's (chart) of 1752 does not contain * * -'■ thegeograi)lii-
cal results of Bering's voyage to the coast of America." It em-
bodies a large i)art, but not all, of the discoveries.
G. Buache's memoir and maps entitled : '■ Considerations geo-
gra[)hiques et physiipies sur les Nouvelles Decouvertes au Nord
de la Grande ]\Ier, api)ellec vulgairement la ^Nler du Sud ; avec
des Cartes qui y sont relatives. Bar BhiHppe lUiaclie, Brcniier
Geograi>he," etc. A Paris M.DCC.LIII [17o;*,], 4°, loS pp. With
my copy tliere is a sei)arate pamphlet, consisting of 18 maps.
foHo, with a preface and index, (piarto. The preface (4°,
two leaves uni)aged) is entitled: '"Expose des Dc'couvertcs au
Nord de la Grande Mer. etc., etc. Bresente au Boy le 2. Sej)-
tembre 17o8, par Bhilippe Buache, etc" The IikU'x (4°, 4 ]))>.)
runs: '• Liste des Cartes concernant les Nouvelles Drcouvertes
au Nord de la Grande Mer, <tc. Bar BliilipDc liuache, I'cc.
Janvier, 1755."
These thirteen mai)s are very interesting. The first and second
(•harts bear particularly on the subject of this paper. The first
elles Decouvertes entre la partie
?i?%'
is entitled: "('arte des Nouv
Orient 'le de I'Asie et I'Occid'le de I'A
hi Gr'de Terre reconnue par les Russes en 1741 Ac, &c. l)r
mcri(iue avec des Vues sur
essee
The Buache Maps.
200
: iivcc
111:1])^,
■
(4°,
^1
tt'S au
.jj||
I. Scj)-
:9
4 i.i».)
S
vcrtc'S
^M
(', i^'O.
m
ccontl
1
c first
--^p
partio
<•! 'i
es SI If
rc'Hsi'o
par Philipi)o Buache. Presentee a TAcad. ties Sciences le 9. Aout
17r)2 et api)roiiV('e dans son Assemhli'eduGSeptenibresuivant."
This map, somewhat fuller in details than that of de I'Isle,
shows : " Di'couvertes dcs Russes depuis 20 ans." There are
route tracks of the lirst expedition marked : " Route des Russes
au N.E. et au N. en 1728 et IT-'U,"' and " Retour en 1781." Two
route tracks of the later voyage liave the legends : " Route de
Kamtchatka a I'Americpie en 1741. Retour des Russes au
Kamtcliatka." Other legends are as follows : " Isle Beering ; "
" Detroit du Nord " (Bering strait) ; " Terre dec. en 1728 par les
Russes, ou Isle dont le P. Avril a i)arle " (large land near Wran-
gell island) ; " Terres reconnues par les Russes " (American coast
in latitude 56 N.) ; " Cotes vues par les Russes en 1741 ; Port ou
les Russes ont aborde " (fictitious and extensive land east of
Bering island, on which are also the following : " Puchochotskes
selon Strahlenherg," and "Terre hal)itee, ou Presqu' Isle, que je
suppose jt)indre les decouvertes des Russes avec celles de I'Am'l
de Fonte ").
The second nia[), " ('arte des Decouv'tes de I'Am'al de Fonte
avec les Terres vui'S et reconnues par les Russes, ])ar Philippe
P)Uache," has other pertinent and interesting legends. In Ber-
ing strait appears : " Peering a trouve au N. et a I'F. de co parage
([Ue la Mer y etoit lihre," and immediately eastward on the
American coast below the parallel of the arctic circle: "Terre
decouv. en 1781, et ou les Russes ont rencontre un home qui
s'cst (lit habitant d'un gr'd Continent." On the American coa^^'t
from 0.")° t() ")7° north latitude: " Terres dec. en Juill., 1741, et
oil les Russes ont laisse 10 homes (|u' ils n' ont pu rejoindre."
lOver " Terre habiti'e," a large land just east of Bering island ;
1" Le (^ipitaine Beering a trouvr dans ce parage de 50 a (50 deg.
Jles Indices (Pune Cote et une gr. I{iv. ou il a envoye quelqu's
homes (pii ne sont revenus."
It is evider.t that these maps must have been actually pub-
lished as early as September 2, 1758, the date on which was
presented the " Expose des Decouvertes, etc., au Roy," l)ut the
(fharts give no further indication than the legend: " Pul)liee
sous U; ]»rivilege de PAcad. U'le. des Sc. du (i Sei)t'bre, 1752: a
I'aris.' The actual date of issue may or may not have been
earlier than the maj) (if de PLsle of Se|)tember 0, 1752.
7. ( Possibly most im[)ortant of all) a letter of an otlici^'r of the
Russian Navy. This ai)pcared first in Russian, presumably
v.*^
T'
210 General A. W. Greelij — Berliufs First Voyayc.
printed at St. Potcrsbiir^ in 1752 or 1753 ; the orifrinal Russian
I have not seen. It was translated, however, into Frencli and
printed at Berlin (not dated) in 17'")IJ, under the followinij; title :
" Lettre d'un olficier de la Marine Russienne. A un Sei<j;neur
de la Cour eoncernant la carte des nouvelles deeouvertes au nord
de la mer du Sud et le memoire qui y sert d'explication. Pub-
liee par M. de I'lsle. a Paris en 1752. Traduit de I'Original
Russe, il Berlin, chez Haude et Si)erer. Libraires de la Cour et
de I'Academic Royale (175'))."
This edition forms part of my library, and is the only copy
which I know of in the United States. It is not to be found in
the Library of Con<>;ress, the Astor Library, the Boston Athe-
nanim, or the Boston Public Library. It is iiot even in the
Royal Library at St. Petersburg!;, l)Ut, as niiiflit be anticipated, is
in the British Museum. I lind it iiowhere catalogued in any
biblio<ira[)hy of arctic or sul)arctic works. The French edition
was inserted, with some chanjies, it is believed, in the eighteenth
volume of the Nouvelle liibliotheque Germani(|Ue.
8. "A letter from a Russian Sea-Oihcer to a Person of Distinc-
tion at the Court of St. Peterslnirg, containing Remarks on Mr.
de I'Isle's Chart and Memoir relative to the Xew Discoveries
North and East from Kamtschatka, together with some Observa-
tions on that Letter l)y Arthur I)()])l)s, (Jovernor of East Carolina,
to which is added Mr. de ITsle's Ex[)lanatory Memoir on his
Chart." <Svo, 85 i>p., London. 1754.
The "Arthur Dobbs " who published this edition, and who
])oss.ibly was the translator thereof, is well known as the energetic
))romoter of the discovery of the " northwest passage," and was
personally interested in discovery voyages to Hudson buy. The
explanatory memoir of de I'Isle's chart is a translation of the
memoir previously mentioned as belonging to the map of 1752,
which memoir I have not been able to con^^ult in the original
French. It may be added that Dobbs' reproduction of the
" Letter from a Russian naval officer " is not a(U'urate, the transla-
tion in places being so carelessly or inditVcrently made that the
text cannot Ite relied on for critical pur})oses.
This English translation is to be found neither in the fiibrary
of Congress, the Boston Public Li])rary, the Boston Athena'um,
nor in the Lil)rary of the American (leographic Society. It is,
however, in the Astor Library, and a second copy at one time
belong(*l to the library of Mr. J. C Jii'evoort.
OvUjin of de risle\i Map.
211
9. '' Mappo iMoiido. Carte Univorsello do la Terre. Par J. B.
Nolin, Goof^raphe." 17")o. "201 x 27 iuclios. On tliis api)ear the
legends: " I. de Ikering ; Detroit de Nord ; Terre-? deeouvertes
par les Ruses [sic] en 1741 ; Terres veuea en 1741."
It is (juite possible that this is the first map of the world on
which Ikn-infr island was charted.
10. John Christopher Adelung's very interesting history of sea
voyages for the discovery of a "northeast passage," which was
Ipublished in quarto form under the following title : " Creschichte
der Schiffahrten und Versuche W(;lche 7Air Entdeckung dcs
Xordcistlichen \\'eges nach Japan und China von vcrschiedenen
, Nationen unternommen worden. Zum Behufe der Erdbeschrei-
bungund Naturgeschiclitedieser(}egendenentworfenvonJohann
Christoj)h Adelung, llerzoglich Hachsichen Rath Halle bey Jo-
hann Justinus Gebauer, 1708."
11. Notice des Ouvrages de M. d'Anvillo. 8°, Paris, An. X
[1802], 120 pp. By Barbie du Bocage. >
In addition to these and other works from my OAvn collection,
I have consulted at the library of the United States Xaval Observ-
atory, in this city, " Histoire de rAcademie Royale des Sciences,
Annee 1750," Paris, 17o4, and the same, " Annee 1754." Paris,
1757, which contain articles on de I'Isle's manuscript ma])s of
17^1 and 1752, the latter being substantially identical Avith the
published maj) of 1752. '
lof the
1752.
•iginal
j>f the
[ansla-
|at the
I >rary
^icum,
It is,
time
From Dall's review we learn that Lauridsen is resj)onsible for
the statement that the discoveries of Bering in his first voyage
were shown on a chart made at Moscow in 17H1, Inii no authority
is given as to the cartographer. Later I shall adduce evidence
to confirm Dall's opinion that the Moscow map was merely a
copy, such as were <listributed to personages of inij)ortance or to
those ct)nne('ted with the expedition. It is further suscei)tible
of, as I think, tolerably satisfactory proof that the outlines of
Kamshatka, with fairly corrcH-t meridians of h)ngitude, Avere
made public in a chart by de Tlsle not in 1781, but the year
following, 17'>2, and it i;f likely that the lost map of that year
was substantially rei)rodnced in the chart of 1752, which I have
the pleasure of now pn>senting for your examination.
De I'Isle [)resented this ma|) to the Academy of Sciences of
Pji'-is on April S, 1750. The circumstances connected with the
212
General A. W. Grcely— Bering's First Voyage.
presentation have hcen drawn from the official records of the
Royal Academy of Sciences, and are as follows:^-
Cette annoe (1750) M. do I'Tslc hit a rasweinbk'e i)ubli(]uc> do rAoadoniio,
un Momoiro siir los Nouvollos Docouvertes an iKinl do la mor du Slid ; ot
prosentii en inenie teiui)s uue Carte (iiie M. Buaclio avoit droHS(''o Hur sos
Meinoires, et qui roprosentoit ooh Doconvortes avoo tonto la partio du i Jlobe
terrostro, X laquelle olios ajjpartioiinont. L\'.s Ouvrajros, alors luanuscrit,
furont depuis publit's on 17o2, ^I. Huaclio presonta danscotto niouu' aiinoo
la promiore partio de sen Considorations yo()j»rai)liiquos' sur le memo sujot,
avoo los Cartos qui y otoiout rolativos.f
" Muni do cos proniioros connois-sancos [roforrinfj: to tlio difscovorios of
1729-17159] M. de I'lslo tra(;a uno carto cpii n'i)rosontoit I'oxtroniito oriontalo
de I'Asio, ivyec la i)artie oppoHoe de I'Aniorifiuo soptontrionale qui y rei)ond,
afin de faire voir aisoniont oo qui roi«toit a dt'couvrir, ot il drossa un ^fo-
nioiro dans lequel il oxiMjsoit la nianiC're (pi'il jugooit la plus avantagouti-e
pour fairo cos docouvertos." J
" Mais los vaisfseaux Knssos (pii avoiont oto onvoyos jwur los doconvortes
dent nous vonons do ])arlor (17;)i-i741), n'otant pas oiu-oro rovonus lors-
qn'olle lui fui onvoyo il extroniit IVxamon apivsson rotouron Franoo, (jui
^toit assoz proohain. A son arrivoo, il ooinmuniqua sos vuos ot ootto rela-
tion a M. Buaoho; oolni-oi, qui ]n\r la," otc, otc.'i
"Cette Monioiro [do IMslo, 17r)0] etoit aooonipagnoo d'uno carte ,iu
6toit comme I'esquisso du systonic goograi>liique do M. de ITslo sui Ue
partio."*
It has been pointed out by several authorities that some of
M. de risle's statements in his^memoir of 1752 are to be received
with caution, especially his elaborate endeavors to impress the
Paris Academy with the belief tliat the discoveries of Ikn-inj,^
sul)sequent to the first voyage were the resuh of his (de ITsle's)
own carefully considered instructions. In this connection Ade-
lung says :
"De rislo, in his Exi)lication do la carto des nouvollos docouveilos an
Nord [1752], traces out his projxjsed route quite difforoutly [roforring to
de rislo's i)revious statomonts in his rojun-t to the St. I'otorslnirg Academy
in 17:i2], somewhat as if it had boon (.utiinod in view of acH-omnlishoIl
facts."
* Extracts from Tlistoiro do I'Acadomio Kovalo dos Sciences Anneo
MDCCL (1750), 4°, Paris, 1754; an.l the same, Anneo 175;i, 4°, Paris, 1757.
■fLoc. fit., "Anm'o MDCCI.," p. 142
f //'/(/., p. 151.
X ibid,, p. 145.
* Loc. ('it., "Ann(''o 1751]," p. 20:1.
;
]Jc Vhles own. Statements.
218
of the
•adi'iiiie,
Slid ; ot
In (ilobe
u> aniu'e
ue f*ujt.'t,
vcrit's (if
)ru'iitiik!
,• repoml,
II iin ^16-
ntagonse
'ouvertes
nms lors-
•aiuv, <|ui
vttt* iH'la-
carte ^iii
sni ♦te
some of
•OSS the
l}orin<>-
Tsk'V)
n Ado-
.(■rtc's an
■rrin;; to
Aradciny
inplislit'd
's, Aiini'-t'
iris, 17o7.
It hehooves us, then, to in(|uirc carefully into the authenticity
of the alleged niai) of do I'lsle of 17ol, since if he antedated
his opinions as to tlu; route he niight also have antedated his
map. Fortunately we do not liaveto depend only on de I'Isle's
own slatenicnt, cither in 17o0 Itcforc the Academy of Sciences
at Paris, or as ]>ul)lish(><l in IToH at Ht. Peterslturg and printed at
the printiiiji oflice of the Royal Academy; for we also have ex-
traneous and convincing evidence, even from sources critically
hostile to the French astronomer.
M. de ITsle, in his Memoires sur les Nouvelles decouvertes au
Nord de la m(H' du Hud, Paris, 17o2, says:
"After 1 liad, near twenty years ajfo, jrot these tii-st informations of the
longitude of Kanisehati<a l)y means of Captain Bering's ma]) and journal,
I made use of tlieni in eonstnieting tlie map, representing the eastern
extremity of Asia, witli the oi)])osite coast of Xortli Ameriea, in order to
show at once what still remains for discovery hi'tween two large parts of
the world.
"This map I had the honor of presenting to the Empress Anne and the
Senate, in order to animate the Russians to luidertake these discoveries,
and it took effect, this i)rincess ordering a second voyage to be made
according to the plan which 1 had drawn up for it." •
'' Two ma[)s,'' he adds, were i»resented to the Academy in
Paris, '• one heintj; a coj)}' of the map which I had drawn at St.
Petersl)urg-, IT-it, on Captain Perin<>'s first voyage, and had the
honor of presenting to the Em[)ress Anne and the Senate, with a
manuscri])t memoir exjilaining its use and construction."' The
other ma|» (from whicli the litliograpli before you was lat(;ly
reproduced) was, according to (U> I'lsle, only changed l)y adding
the later discoveries of Ikn-ing and his lieutenants.
De I'lsle further says of this chart :
"The second maimscript map which I laid before the At-ademy at Paris
was in all respects like the former, only with the advantages of the new
discoveries made since ITol."
Ph. IJuache, the ' 'cnch geographer, made for de I'lsle a re-
duced cojty of the second chart, an<l it is supposed that the map
before you is a sul).stantial reproduction of that copy.
In the })reface to de I'Isle's scattered essays, 1738, St. Peters-
burg, ])age 2, we find :
"Aiant comjiare la situation du Kam«chatkaet des pais voisins, avec
cellt! dela Chine, du roiaume de Corce, du Jaiton, et de la terre d'Yeco,
qui m'etoit connue d'aillcurs, je me suis fait un sistenu', i^c j'ai dressc Tan
;i'j— Nat. Gkoc, Mag., vol. IU, 18U1.
214
General A. W. Circehj— Bering'^ First Voyage.
1731, uno carte do oetto oxtivniito oriontalo <li' ^A^<lc^ .I'ai marque aussi
8ur cette carte k\s dorniircs terres connueH de rAiiierkiiie, Ioh i)1u8 voisines
de cette partie sei)tentri()nale de I'Asie, afiii de faire voir ce (]ui rest(»it en-
core d'inconnu entre-deux. ( )n trouvera dans ce recueil une reduction de
cette carte, avec le Meuioire que j'ai dresse dans i-e ti'Uisla, it lu a I'Acade-
mie, dans lequel ,je rends niison de la construction de cette carte."
Only one volume of de I'lsle's essays api^etived, so tluit the
map and memoir ])romised in the introduetit)n were never, so
far as can be learned, published in their original form. The
statements made by de I'Isle, however, unless definitely refuted,
should be (jiven full credit, seeing that the work was pul)lished
by the Academy of Sciences at 8t. Petersburg, to which the map
and memoir were presented, as is claimed, only seven years
earlier. A doubt does, however, exist as to the date of the map
made by de lisle. On this point Adelung, in his " History of
Northeastern Voyages." Halle, 17<)'S, i)age 5()9, evidently quoting
from Midler, says :
"Oio the 17th of April, 17:52, tlie order was, therefore, .sent froui the
privy Cahinet to the Senate, which thereupon imiuired of the Academy
of Sciences of St. Petei-shur<r what and how mucli liad as yet heen found
out about Kamscliatka, tiie surrounding coimtries and waters. Tiie
Academy confided the making of the report to Mr. Delisle, who prepared
a chart upon whidi Kamscliatka, Jeso, according to the description of the
crew upon the Castricoin, the Staten island. Company island, and the coa.«t
of (Jama were designated. This chart was supi)lemente<l by a memoir in
which he descrihed the discoveries alrea<ly made and suggested various
routes for making new ones. He expressed inuiself in regard to those
routes in the following manner : ' If one have attained the northern bound-
ary of Asia, and at the same time the eastern limits, as far as ('ai)tain Ber-
ing went on his lirst voyage, one cannot fail to arrive in America, and
might even choose the route, either northeast or southeast, whichever he
prefers, as he would have, at most, only (KM) miles to pass over. 2. Or,
without venturing so far, it would perhaps hehetter and more comfortable
to sail from the east coast of Kamschatka, go directly east, to look for the
neighboring country which Bering found traces of in his first voyage. :>.
Finally, he thought that if they should sail southeast from Kamscliatka
they would perhaps more spi-eilily and more certainly discover the ( ountry
seen hy Juan de (iama.' "
Can the incon.-^istency lietween the dat(>s. as given l)y Miiller
and Adelung on the one hand, and by de I'lsle on liie other. l)e
reconciled, or is it apparent rather than real ? As llerir.g. accord-
ing to the lUissian marine oflicer (Waxel ?) returned to St. Peters-
burg on March 1, \im, it is reasonable to supjio.^e that de I'lsle,
Statements of the Russian Officer.
21.")
Avhose duties were tlioso of u cartograplu'r, had finished Avithin-
the next year and a lialf his repnxhictiun of Jierinjjj's workinji;
chart. The fact tliat the order of inijuiry about the results of
the voya<>e did not leave the i)rivy council until April 17, 1782,
does not necessarily indicate that the map at least, if not the
memoir, was not ah'eady i)repared. even if not in possession of
the Academy of Sciences. It ai)pears probal)le that the map
nuiy have been drawn by de I'lsle in 1781, but it is (luite certain
that it was not made public until 1782.
fjauridsen speaks of a map in IWoscow in 1781, and, as it is
evident from '" Lettre d'un " that there was no difiicnlty in per-
sons of iidluence procurin^f copies iroin the Senate, it is likely tiiat
the Moscow chart was a coin' of the map of de I'lsle, and that
the date of 1781 is correct ; but this theory must rest on Laurid-
sen producing evidence tliat such a map existed in Moscow in
1781.
The Russian officer speaks with authority as to the map of
1782. rommenting on de I'lsle's account of the circumstances
under which he compiled the map of 1782, he continues as
follows :
"Tlic Empress Aiiiu' liaving (lirocted her Senate to give instructions to
M. Berinfi: for the second voyairo, tliat body believed that it could not act
with success unless it <)l)taine<l from the Academy the fullest information
relative to the situation of the lands and seas to be traversetl. Therefore
the Academy was so ordered by the Senate, which enjoined on M. de
risle the construction of the map of which I speak, and, for a clearer
understand inij;, an e^iilanatory memoir; which beintidone, both map and
memoir were presented to the Academy by the Senate. Consetiuontly,
there is no reason to doul)t that, far from excitinji the Russians to new
discoveries.' far from l)einj,' the cause of liering's secoi>d voyajje, M. de
risk' only workt>d under si)ecitic orders, it is ipiite another question
whether or not the memoir contributed to the success of the c-spedition,
which I will discuss later. 1 lowever that may be, the Senate jrave a coi)y
of it, as well as of the mai), to M. Herinj;. I took a second copy of the
memoir, which enabled me to compare it with what M. <le I'l.^lc has uoAV
.said to us of it in his later metuoir of Paris."
These and otlier statements confirm those of de TLsle as to the
dat • of the map, in which year d'Anville engraved it (1782, or
1781 at the earliest), and likewise indicate that coi)ies of both
map and memoir were obtainal^le without great difficulty.
An interesting note as to the authenticitv and origin of the
I-
rsBBBsasm
i
216 General A. W. GrccUj—Bcrincj s First Voijcu/c.
chart of d'Anvillo, ll'M, api)C!iM in the narnitivo of A(k'lui\;',
who speaks with a certain air of autiiority. He says :
"Tlit'so BeoriiiK maps wiv, iiftorthc caiitaiiiV rotiirii, sent from Russia
to the Kinjrof I'oland, wlio jjivsi'iiteil tliein to Mr. dii llaldi' or, rather,
to Mr. d'-Anville, who iiuide tho charts for liis work. Dii Ilalde is tliere-
foro very correctly infoiined when he, in the Mi'nioires di' Trcvonx (7:57
pa^es, L',.'{Si) f.) considei-s these cliarts (inestionablcund inia,i;ines that tiiey
' wert! merely made by d'Anville from Hcering's journal."
Jiut further evidonoe from an un(iU'\stional)le source is avaihihh^
as to (hite. The cliarts in (hi HahU^'s •' China " were enuraved
between the years 1729 and ITol, and all hut the general maps
were completed i)rior to 17;>'>. The date l~'-V2 is assigned by
d'Anvillc's colleague to the map of Bering's journey. Of these
mai)S it is further said :
"They form what is connnonly known as d'Anvillc's Atlas of China.
Nevertheless this j^eographerdid not iiarticipateciiually in the production
of all. The<letailed niai>s (of which the Bering inaji isonc) were furnished
by the Jesuits and heotdy supervised theenj,'ravin<r, but the general charts
were entirely the work of d'Anville, who reconstructed and amplified tliem
from all possible sources. They were reproduced at Hague under the title
'New Atlas of China,' etc., by Sr. d'Anville."
These statements of d'Anvillc's colleague, M. IJarhic du liocage,
are thus verified by du Halde, page Ixix :
" Pour les Cartes (tenemles, nous y avons pen touche tt celle du Voyage
du Capitaine Beerings paroifsans le moindre changenient."
In the Russian atlas, 1745, the cxi)lanator3' text regarding map
19, whereon appears the extreme northeastern coast of Siberia
and the greater part of Kamshatka, runs as follows :
"We have determined the location of these provinces in part by astro-
nomical observations which have been made there, and in part upon cer-
tain geographical and hydrogmphic maps which have been transmitted
to us."
So far as Kamshatka and the Bering strait regions go, it it
reasonable to believe that this chart, since it was published ))}
the Royal Academy of Sciences, is sul).stantially a reproductioi.
of the map transmitted to the Academy by de I'lsle in 17;}2,
especially as this geograi)her was cn^idoyed for about thirteen
years in amassing data for the atlas in (piestion.
s
)y
n\
'•'■i
Date of <le rhlea Map.
217
ieiiccs, St. Petorshurj;.
lusHian otHcer is sijiuift-
Th(3 writer liiVH very ciircruUy compared the eliart of Kaiu-
shatka and adjoininjr re,:j;ion.s as pultlished in d'Auville's atlas
of 17')<), in the Hussian atlas of ITlo, and in the de IMsle ehart
of 1752. From eom|)arisoiis he is led to believe that these maps
have substantially the same )>asis — that is, the chart i»repared
by do risle in 1732 for the Academy of S
In this connection tlie criticism of the I
cant. He says: '' 1 will now finish with a <>eneral observation
about the part of Siberia that we see on M. de Tlsle's chart
(17")2). Jt is simjjly a copy of the Ivussian atlas (174.')), without
even corrections of the errors of drawinji and writinjj; which have
crept into that work." Elsewhere he adds: "We can correct
the error of M. de IMsle, who places Meriuj;- island at ")4 degrees,
only a short distance fron< Avatscha, whereas it is on the oOth
])arallel, (JO miles off Avatscha and 40 Dutch miles from the
mouth of tlu' Kamschatka river."
It is worthy of note that on Bellin's map of 174*.)(?) Bering
island is crossed by the -Kith parallel of latitude, and that along
the southern edge of the .\rctic ocean is a route track, marked
" Voyage fait par Mer en 1(>4S ])ar •") vaisseaux Russiens dont un
est parvenu a la Kamtschatka." On de I'lsle's chart of 17o2
also ai)])ears the route of 1(»4S, but P>ering island is in latitude
04°. As to the position of jiering isle, the trutli, as the Wise
Man tells us is oft the case, •,ibi<les between the two, as the o^th
l)arallel intersects the land in ([Ucstion. At ('a[)e Shelagskoi,
d'Anville, 1737, the Russian titlas of 174-") and the de lisle of
17o2 agree in charting four islands northeast of the cape instead
of two islands to the west. This indicates a common origin to
the charts, and where else can it l)e ascribed than to the de I'lsle
map of 1732? The Russian oflicer. ht)wever. gives a clue as to
the date when work on the map was commenced. He says:
" At that time I visited ^I. di' I'lsle. I was a witness of his j,'eo<:raithic'al
hd)ors as far as tliey iia4 new discoveries for tlieir ehjcct. I acted as in-
terpreter to M. IJerin,!.' in tlie cdnversatinns wliicii he liad with iiim ; and
I can assert positively tiiat whiMi M. de IMsle hi'^ran tiiat ciiiirt tiie second
expedition was already ordered, iind Captain llerlr.jr, Ixnowin.ij: what was
still wanting to iiis discovt-ries, oli'cred to continne tlieni and liis lieuten-
ants with him, and they rireived promotion in consequence."
Lauridsen says :
"On January 5, 17:V2, the Senate «j;ave him leave of absence to go to St.
Petersburg. * * * Ahnost sinuiltaneously ho was promoted, in regular
k :
f
i!
I i
II
218 General A. W. Gvedy—Ikrint/x Fivd ]^oyar/e.
ancccssion, to tlu' position of niptnin-coiiniian<U'r in the KiiHsian (Icct, tiic
iioxt position Ik'Iow that of rcar-athniral."
Tlii.s indictiU'S that tlu! oxpiMlition was (Uridcd on at least as
early as January '), IT.'i'i; possibly earlier. Fortunately we arc
not left to inference, for elsewhere the lUissian oflieer says :
" Mr. dc rislc ' throws discredit on onr discoveries by ii'avin^' on his
cluirt the llctitious land of (runm, which, in order to avoid conliictin^r
witli our accounts, lie places (in 17')2) a little more to the west and south
than he did on his chart of 17:!-.' "
This (lelinitely lixes the year in whieh de Tlslo presented the
ina|) to the Senate.
We learn, however, from Lauridsen that "as early as .April
17 (17''>2) the Empress ordered that Merin<,''s proposition should
be executed, and charged the Senate to take the necessary steps
for that i)uri)ose. * •'" * On May 'J it [/. f., the Senate] pro-
mulgated two ukases, in which it declared the objects (jf the ex-
pedition and sought to indicate the necessary means." It is
very improbal)le that, in the case of so dilatory a man as de
I'Isle, this chart could have been elaborated and drawn, the
memoir written, a report made by the Academy to the Senate,
and action be taken in the fifteen days which elapsed between
the order for the chart and Jiering's instructions. It is ])()ssible
that the chart was drawn at the end of IT-')!, and that de I'lsle,
for obvious reasons, gave it the earliest j)Ossible date.
In giving an account of Bering's provisions, as Dall says, every
historian has followed a mutilated, if not garbled, paragraph
from liering's original rei)ort. The excerpts from Hrooke's trans-
lation of du Halde, which was followed in ('ampl)eirs edition of
Harris' Voyages, are as follows :
" The provisions consisted of carrots for want of corn [ - jTrain or wheat],
the fat of fish, uncured, served instead of butter, and salt lisli sui)pru>d the
place of all other meats."
" Fish oil was his butter and dried fish his l)eef and pork. Salt he was
obliged to get from the sea ; * * * he distilled spirits from ' sweet
straw.' "
Tt appears from Bering's own journal, as well as from du
Halde's account, that in 1727 liering ordere<' one of bis olliccrs
to endeavor to " deliver to the command at Kamschatka some
l)art of the provisions, iron, and tar." lUa-ing himself said that
he was obliged to use tar made from the native spruce, " since
Iier!iif/K Food Siipplir.a.
21!)
tlio till- whicli we should have liroii-ilil with us had not arrivt'd."
This is confinucd hy the additional note in du llaldc, which
says that the provisions, iron, pitch, and tar did not arrive till
1728, couvcyin^' the inference that it canictoo late to he of
serv-
ice. Herin<j; ajipears to have had, on .Inly .'5, 1727, 2..")<»() poods
of Hour, efpial to ahout S,;;0() pounds, which would he less than
a year's su[)ply for his entire party. 1 cannot ajiree with Dall
tiiat Herinj>; had plenty of Hour or meal and meat.
Ihavesaid" From Berinji sown report,"' hecause ilseems incred-
ii)le that du Halde did not have a trauscri])t of Herinj^'s report,
since his narrative (du Ilalde's) follows almost word for word
Dall's translation. It is not surprising; that different transcrii)tH
should differ sli<rhtly on unimportant matters.
lloAvever this may he, it is evident that Urooke's translation
of du I [aide is careless. For instance, in Hrooke's translation
(edition London, 17o())t»f du Halde, on pa«>e 4;>(), the numher of
lU'rinf>;'s i)arty should l)e f\i> instead of ;{(), and on \K\<iv 440, whore
tile voyajie from Ochotsk to 'I'akutski is given as from July 23
to Octoher 2, the (irst-named date should he July 21).
Dalldouhts that "carrots" were of P>erin<r's provisions. IJrooke
omits the italicized words of du Ilalde's narrative (p. r)iu, la
Ha\'o, 17o(>): " liCS j)rovisions consistoient en carottes d en
racinctty As indicated by context, the roots were radishes and
turnips. The word " carottes '' is explained oy a j;assage in
Grieve's Kamshatka as follows: " The morkovai poushki, or
carrot hunches, are so called hecause they are like carrots in their
leaf as well as in taste. They likewise eat this urecn in the
sjirinjf, hut they ofteiier sour it like sour crout or make a li(juor
with it." Doubtless ]5orin<j; took these '" carrot hunches " with
him. .
Another (luestion which has entraued my attention is that con-
cerning; the lunar eclipses which lierimi or his party is said to
have observed in the winter 172.S-"*,). Dall says: "In none of
the pul)lished reports of the expedition is any mention made by
Bering or his otlicers of the occurrence or observation of an
ecli
pse.
* However, Middendorf states (Sib. Reise, iv. I,
]).5G) that Bering and his lieutenants in the years 1728 and 1729
observed in Kamtschatka two eclipses of the moon, by Avhich they
corre(!ted the longitude, i le gives," says Dall, " no authority f' r
this statement, and it is iirobable that an eclipse observed at
Ilimsk, in middle Siberia, by Chirikotfis thus erroneously rei- , . ,
II H
i'
t 1
220
acncral A. H' (lr(rh/—B('rin(/s Fird Voijnffr.
to." Mr. Marcii.'^ Hakor, in a paper a|»iH'n(U'(l to DallV accomit,
luaki's it evident that suclicclipscs. ifaiiy, were tluKsi! of Kchruary
2") (local ealeiidar), 172S, or Fehruary 24, 1721).
My own investijiations eonlirm the statemontH of Middendorf,
and in .support of this I refer to de I'lsle and to the author of the
" Letter." In this connection, however, we have the clear and
definite .statements of de Tlsle, ht)th in his essays of 17;5S at St.
Fetershurfi and his memoir of 17")2 at Paris. Thes(! statements
are fully confirmed hy the evidence (»f the Russian marine ollicer,
who certainly served with l?erin>,' in his later expeditions if not
in the lir.st,and whose familiarity with all the records and papers
should haveenahled him definitely to contradict de I'lsle on the
main (piestion instead of correctini; him in details In his St.
Petershurji; memoirs of 17;)S (pajie 1<>) de I'lsle wn :
"On verra a cctto occasion la situation dn Kanitcliatka de tcrniincc par
deux eclipscH de Lune, (luc M. le Capitainc l?criii>.' i^ ses yens y sont ol)-
servccH (lan.s leur piviuier voya^'c [the expedition 172.")-':U)], i^ •li>nt j'ai
rendu coniptc a r.\cadcniic aussi-tot jue ces ohscrvatioTis ni'oiit etc coui-
nuuiiciuces." •
In the paper of Paris, 17o2 (" Noiivelles (lecouvert(>s an .\'ord
de la Mcr du Sud ") de Tlsle says on this point:
"Captain lieerinjiand his lieutenant likewise took ol)servationsat Kani-
schatka of two eclipses of the moon in tiie years ITU'S and 1721», wiiicii
helped me to chart the longitudeof that eastern exieniity of Asia witli ail
the precision which the nattnv of tlicse observations, niaile hy .seamen and
with their own instruments, would ailmit of ; hut these Hrst <letermina-
tions liave hcen since confirmed hy ohservations on Jupiter's .siteilites.
taken in that place with the utmost accurai-y hy my hrother an<l some
Russians conversant in this kind of observations and wlio were provided
with the best of instruments."
It appeared to me i)ossil)le that the report on the eclipses of
the moon made hy de I'lsle to the St. Petershurjj; Academy of
Sciences might he traced up among the archives of that society.
In searching for information on this jwint it was learned from
Mr. 0. Fassig, lil)rarian of the Signal Oflice, th-it among the un-
puldished manu,scripts in the Pulkova library, St. Petershurg,
were a numher hy de I'lsle. A list of the manuscrijjts of M. de
I'Lsle was compiled and puhli.shed in 1<S44 hy the distinguished
astronometer O. Struve, and among the number is one entitled :
"Ohservations ])our la longitude du Kamchat, d'ou se oonclut
aussi de Tobolsk. 1729, MSS."
Berin(/\s lu-UpHc Olmrvallony
MM 1
It WiiM rciisoMiililc, ill view of dc I'Islc's stiitciiiciits ii) 17:!S, to
supiiosc that this is the iv|M.rt iiiailr to the Aciidi'my hy him as
sttoii as the oliscrvatioiis Wfiv t'liniishcil him. I ha«l hojx'd to
ln'cscMt with this sketch (Iclinitc iiit'ormal
ion oil this |»oint. since
a kinsniaii of the conator of the mamiscri|its ( I refer to the very
(listiii^iuislied represeiitalive of iJiissia to tiie I'nited States, M.
dcStruve) most coiirteonsly olVereil his vaiiiahU' mediation in
the matter, rnfortnnateiy. I havens yet no hiilheriid'Tmation.
but I ex|iect a conimnnicatioii as to tiie contents ol' the MSS. at
an ojirly day.
Criti'
th
nticisin^Mh-' memoir of (h' I'Ish' of 17-")2. the Uussiau ollicer
rldicuh's the author for s|iealdnir '>f Kamsliatka as a, town, hut
he a(hls : -'=
"It is certain likewise that M. I'.eriiiy; aiul his lieutenant, M.TscliirikdW
[< Kitiiijf from <li' risles .Memoir nf 17")1.'], iiad, in tlie years I72S:ni(l 17L'!t,
uhsorved at Kanischatka two c(li|ises of the nioeii; Imt that hy tiiesceh-
servations !\1. dc I'lsle \\;is cnalilni tiHlcicnninc the liaiLMtinIe of tills most
eastern part of Asia, w ith snch |irecisi(tii tiiat the same hatl lieeii cunlh'meil
in the second I'xpi'dilioii, hy precise ohservatiniis nf tiie satclHtcs nChipi-
ter is what I cannot well cnnci'ivc, Mr. dc I'lsle himself iiitiinMtes that
Messienrs l5erinLrand 'IVchirikuw were imt provided with astr(ni()mical
Instniments. Tliey oh.scrved hntii these eclipses hy tiie lielp, not of pcn-
(hdnnis, lait of their watches, withont lieiiij; al)lc to know wiiethcr tlii-y
went ri<.dit or wroyir: which makes it almost incrc(lihlc that adi'termina-
tion hased on the.se t wo eclipses should exactly ajiive with that deduced
from the olwervatitais of .Inpiter's satellites."
The otiieer, from his own account, served with Berinii. In the
intro(hu'tion t.t •' I'ne Lettre" he says:
"The orders of your Kxcelleiicy [to whom the ict'cr was addn-ssed a.s
written l»y hisonlers] will he c(imi)lied with by me with mure than one
iiiHiiirinfr motive, and 1 shall not dwell on my niilitness, althon^di 1 could
find excellent pretexts for such an ex<Mise, inasuuich as many of j:reafer
experience and e«|nal application participatc(l with me in the discoveries
which resulted from tlu' two voya.ires, called hy us the Kamtschatkan ex-
pocUtions. Tlie (uiiy grounds on which preference could he shown me
ovortiiem arise from my lieinir chariieii. after my return from America,
with the comparison of the .iournals (.f the various vessels tojiether and
with whatever was el.sewhere to he found relative to lands situated in the
South Sea, in order to tlieivfmm construct a map whicli should accurately
represent them all."
*"l)ne Lettrc." Ilerlin, p. 1!».
;«i— Nat. C.i:oc,. Mac;., vol. HI. IH'JI.
I
■
I
i
222 General A. W. Grechj—BcrhgH First Vo!/a</(\
This ofiioer, then, .should l)c tlu- very Ix'st authority on this
question, esjjewially as he jrives details, is always exact in his
dates, and sets no value on the ohservations. \Miether or not
such ohservations of lunar ecliitses took place, these extracts
tend to confirm Dall's opinion that they served no purpose in
determining the longitude of Kamshatka.
The letter and its author are worth some attention at our hands.
As has l)een said, it was published anonymously, and 1 do not
know that its authorshii) has ever ))een traced. It appears in»m
the letter that the writer was an oHici'r of the Kussian navy ;
tnat he was a Russian ; that he was on familiar terms with l)(>tli
Bering and de I'lsle ; that he acted as interpreter between them
in 1730-17;]1 ; that he was with Herin.g in his last voyage to
America, and was one of the ship-Avrecked mariners on Bering
island, and that on his return to tSt. Petersl)urg he was charged
with the compilations from the various ship journals. As the
naval officer states he was with Bering on Bering island, it is
evident that it must have been either Swen Waxel, Sophron
Chitrow, or Steller, the well-known scientiHc professor serving
with Bering's expedition. It (;ould not have been Steller. since
the professor was a (Jerman, and moreovi'r he died in November,
1746, prior to the date of the letter. It is imi)robal,le that it was
Chitrow, who was originally in a sul)ordinate j)Osilion as a master-
of-fleet, but while serving in Kam.shatka and prior to Bering's
second voyage was made a lieutenant. It is not likely that a
subordinate of ('hitrow's position should have l)een so situate(l
in St. Petersburg as to have served as an int* ri)reter l>etwi en
Bering and de lisle. It is therefore more than proVtable that
Lieutenant Swen Waxel was the author of the letter. In further
confirmation, this offi^or says that he is charged with the \m'\r.\-
ration of a chart out of the material furnislied l)y the maps and
journals of the separate vessels. As we know from other sources.
Waxel later made a chart of the Kamscbatka region.
Waxel displayed great energy and excellent judgment in con-
ducting afiairs on Bering island, both before and after Bering's
death, and it is gratifying to note his intellectual discrimination
in dealing with de ITsle's fictitious ac(!ount of a journey in
America said to have ))een made by one .Vdmiralde Fontc
Waxel skilfully dissects this geographical invention, clearly
provingitsinc()nsistencies,wbilege(.m-iiphical writers in Knglanil
were engaged years later in endeavoring to {.rove its truthfulness.
1
Itincrarij of the Russim OJIicer (Waxel). 223
r
It is si<j;nificiuit that iilthoii-ih Waxd omits any rcfeivuco to it,
the tbll()win,<r i)ara,i;Ta])h, wliidi is cvidciitly iiiteiidcd to be oxcul-
patory of liering's turning l)aclv at the most nortlicrly j.oint of
his first voyage, forms part of Bering's report as translated by
Dall: "Neither from the Chukchi eoast nor to the eastward
could any extension of the laud he observed." This very impor-
tant sentence does not ap])earii) du Tlaldcs account, and evi-
dently was not in the copy which was furnished iiim. Possibly
the person who furnished the copy to du Ilalde omitted it.
Elsewhere Waxel adds :
"I say nothiivj; licro wliicli 1 hiivo not rcpcateilly heard .AI. IKn-ing say.
i iilt-o saw liis iiistnu'tions."
This gives valui; to his statenu'uts in reference to Bering's
elforts to find land east of Avatscha bay, whereof W^axel ([uotes
de risle as saying:
"Oil his return to Kanitschatk-a (in 17i'!i) M. IJcrin;.' Icanicd that there
was a huid to tlio cast, whicli could ho seen in clear, line weather. He
attenii)tecl to yo tliitiio!', after liaviiiLr repaired tlie daniaue his vessel Lad
sutfered in a storm. The second atterupt was fruitless, for after sailing
ahout for;\' leagues to the east without seeing land, he was assailed hy a
violent tempest and a contrary wind, which (juickly drove him hack to
the jiort whence he had emerged."
In criticism \\'axt'l adds :
" Wo\dil not thi^ narrative K-ad one to helieve tiiat tlie second attempt
of M. Bering had been made inunediately after the lirst voyage [in 172(1]?
However, it was cmtirely otherwise: i'.efore maUini: this journey ^r. tier-
ing wintered at Kamtschatka, set sail only on .buie ."), ITl'H. and. iiillioiit
intnidliH/ lit nfiirn l<i llic port irlilrl, he iruM ijii itil ikj, i\im\Avd the southern
i>oint of Kamtschatka ami went straight to the mouth of the river Bol-
schaia-Keka and thenci" to ( )chozk.'"
in con-
ering's
nation
ley in
■''ontc.
•leariy
igla nd
liiiess.
He further says:
" Perhaps it may appear strange that M. Bering during tliis voyage did
not fall in v-itli tlie island llVring islan-i) whereon he was shi|)wrecked
during his secon.l eviH'dition; 'out ,he isle might have been hidden hy
fogs, which are very connn m in thai sea."
Waxel's account .d" tlie second voyage is worth translating.
l)eing the plain tale of a partieipaid. who is as modest as he is
truthful, for Waxel nowhere nu'ntious Ids own nani.> nor the
224
General A. W. Greelij—Benmfs First Voyage.
emcient service he rendered first to his chief iind hitcr to his
shipwrecked comrades. He writes in " Hue Lettre '' us foUows :
" Let us now come to the details of tlie second expedition, which M. de
risle pretends owes its orijrin to ii nuii) of///* and v.asun.lertaken accord-
in- to a memoir made hy himself. ' I had the honor,' he says, ' in 1731 to
present this chart to the Empress Anne and to the Senate, in order to
stimulate the Kussians to exi)lorations of what still remained to be dis-
covered, and it had its eticct.' Was it time or age which caused M. de
risle to commit this error? Could he have forj;otten the orders winch
led him to make the chart in question ? Ihid he r.-membered it, perhaps
he would not have said that he presented the chart to the Kmpress, and
Htill less that he made it in order to excite the Russians to ni'W <lis-
coveries. At that time I visited M. de I'lsle ; I was a witness of his geo-
f.'rai)hical laboi-s, as far as they had new discoveries for their object; I
acted as interpreter to ]M. Bering in the convi-rsations which he had with
him ; and I can assert positively that when M. de I'lsle began that chart
the second expediti(m\,-as already ordered, and Captain liering, knowing
what was still wanting to his discoveries, otlere(l to contimie them and
his lieutenants with him; and they each received i»romotion in conse-
(|uence.
" It is therefore true that ^f. de I'lsle's work must be attributed to the
orders of his sui)eriors; and I remember that the Hmi)ress Anne having
commissioned her secretary to give the necessary instructions to M. Bering
for his new voyage, the latter did not think he could carry it on success-
fully without getting frnm the Acailemy all the iiiformalion possible con-
cerning the countriesantl waters where he wasto navigate. The Academv
was therefore called ujMtn by the Senate, and it ordered ^1. de I'lsle to
compile the chart of which 1 speak, and in order that it might l)e better
understood, to explain it in a memoir; wiiich having lieen done, the chart
and the memoir were i)resente<l t<» the Senate by the Academy; so that
there can be no jwssible doubt that, so far from having stimulated the
Ihissians to new discoveries, so lar from having occasioned the new voyage
of ^1. Bering, M. de ITsle only worked according to the orders he had
reccivcul. There arises another (juestion, as to wlietherthe memoircaused
the success of the expedition, which T will treat later on. However tiiat
may be, tiie Senate gave a copy of it to M. Bering as well as of the chart.
I took a sec(md copy, which enables me to compare it with what .M. de
risle tells us about it in his last memoir from I'aris.
"lie pretends to havt" proposed three ditVcreiit routes to be followed in
order to disf(>v. •vhat was still unknown. The first, to sail straight
to Jai)au, j)ass Yeco, or rather the straits which sei)arate it fi(tm the
islaml of the States and the land of the Company, to discovt'r what is to
the north of Yeco and search for the passage between that country ami
the coast of eastern Tartary. This is what is called giving advice after
the event. In the original memoir there is not a word said about any
such researches. M. de I'lsle contents himself with proposing tiiree ilifl"»'r-
ent routes for lindingthe countrii's lying near to Kamshatka on the east.
Accovjiit of the liassian OJjiccr {Waxcl).
225
The first two, wo must !i<lmit, iv^wc well (mioiiij;!! with tlic i^ecoiKl and
x]>ivss('(.l in tlu'se
Tl
I'varci
third routes UK'ntioncd in thi' Paris nicnidir.
terms :
" 1. ' If one julvanccs to tlic most northcm cxtruiuity of Asia, and at tlie
same time the most easti'rn point reached by Captain iVrin^M \vron<r sup-
position, as 1 have already remari<i'd i, one oinnot fnil to reaeli Aineriea, no
matter what route one ta Ives l)et\v('cn tlie :iortli',ast and southeast, at a
(Hstanee of not more tlian (iOO ieuunes iirreat ei'ror in estiniatin<i tlie
distance of the o])posite lands of Asia and Ainericn. since they are only
separated in tlie ii'
-rth 1
IV a narrow strait wliicli widens as it "oes south
"2. Without ^'oiiiir so lar, it would perhaps he easiiT to ^^tart from the
eastern coast of Kamshatka, sail directly i-ast and rt'connoitre the neif^h-
horinv' land, of whi<'h M. I'x-riiiv' discovi'red indications on his first
voyage.'
"In re)j:ard to the third route. M. dc I'lsle conjectures as follows:
";i ' IVrha])S the countries seen liy Don Juan de (iaina mi^dit be found
more sp(>edily and with more cei'titnde by se<'l;i,nr them to the southeast
of Kamshatka;' the outcome of which proj"ct showed him his mistake,
which is apparently the reason that indiaied him to chaiij.'e it to that
of the route by .lajian and 'I'eco.
"Nothing' is so imperfect in detail, and withal so dry, as the recital
of ^I. Herin;j:'s voyaue witi
1 wliicli
M.
risii
L'ales us. He makes h
mi
•itart in 17-11 to look to the east of Kamshatka for the land which he had
seen indications of in his lirst voyage. " He diil not j^o very far,' he says,
led bv a violent storm durinir thick weather, he could not
a desert island in latitude .■■)4°, onlv a
for, I
H'liur assai
remain at st'a, and brou-ht n\> on
short distance from the Port of Avatclia from whence he had sailed.'
".M. BeriiiL', then, did nothiu'j; but tail, and he did so soon after leaving
Jiort. I must therid'ore supplement the mea'j-i'eness of M. <li' I'lsle's rela-
tion by <.'iviiitr an a(
col
lilt of the vovai;i'<if M. Peri iil;- and the other odi-
eers, chiefs of these expedition-, which wi
11
so much the more t'asvas
I took part in them ai
111 a^
I can, besides, refer to the charts and journals
of
each ve
as j
iMiofs of mv correctness.
'Tlie Captain Commai
dinu P'crinu- and Captains Siiannenberir and
Tsehirikow, with several other naval olii
cer.-
li'ft St. Petersbui'i: in the
■'prinj.'of '7;;:!. They waited ;it Vakoiixk and Oclio/k until tlu' ves.^els
heiiifr built at this laitt'r place f -r their exiieditioii were completed, and
when all was ready for the departure of M. .le Siianireii
comma
H'Yg he was dis
"eiiatc. He started, then,
havinu' tlirt'c vessels under his
nd to whicli he a.lded a larLrc covered row-boat of iM oars, which
jiatched lirst, accord iiii,' to the order.-
from Ochozk in the month o
.Inn
he caused to be constructed at P.olscherezkoi Osti
iiu ill
Kamshatka, wlu'
lie Wiiiten
il. This boat was {<
tween the islands that tlie\ mi
ised (i) lio into the narrow straits be-
;ht liiid and where the ships could not jro.
f I7:l!' he went lo.lapan. tlielony:i
In the sunimerfi
between .la|>an and Kamshatka serviiit
different i)laces in .lapan and was receive
■liaiii of islands situated
to Linide him. He landed at two
d with u'reat civility by the
people of the coun
trv; but he iievt'r went
to Matsmai.thepriiiciiial place
22G (knerai A. II'. Ureely— Bering's First Voyage.
on the island of Yccn, as "Si. do I'ThIo I'l-ronoouHly states. lie thoufrht lie
had suflk'iently eoini)lied with his instnietions without doinji; so, and re-
tnrninf,' to ( k-ho/k, passeil the winter at Yakouzk. As soon as a detailed
account of this voyage was seen in St. Petershurg tliey concluded ])y the
route which M. Spangenberji; had followed that he must have passed near
the coast of Corea, and he was tlu'refore ordered to niake a second voyage
in order to confirm the first. He started in 1741 and 1742, but his ship,
built hastily and of unseasoned wood, leaked and ol)liged him to return.
"inr. Bering and Tschirikow left Ochozk the 4th of September, 1741).
They both had the same destination; the second was to follow the track
of the first. They only took different vessels so as to be al»le to assist each
other more efficaciously in case of any accident. Without entering the
Kolschaia-lieka river, as is customary in coming from Ochozk, tluy im-
mediately rounded the southern point of Kamshatka and anchored at
Avatscha, or port of St. Peter and St. Paul, as they called it. While
wintering in these places, they made all their i)reparations for commenc-
ing in spring their principal voyage, which was to have .Vnierica as its
object. Owing, however, to the uncertainty as to the route which they
were to follow, ^I. B^'ring assL'mbled a naval council on the 4th of May,
1741, and it was resolved to endeavor first to discovei- the land of Don
Juan de (xama, a fatal resolution which was the cause of all of our
disasters. The 4th June we put to sea. M. Bering bad on his vessel, sent
by the Academy, an adjutant, M. Steller, physician by profession, but
above all well versed in all that pertained to natural history. M. de la
(■royere was with M. Tschirikow. .\lthough M. Bering and M. Tschiri-
kow were not to separate, according to their instructions, they coidd not
avoid it, for eigiit days after sailing they were separated by storms an<l
fogs. The search for the pretended land of (lama caused them to direct
their course southeast ; they continued to sail in that di»'tction as far as
the 4()tb degree without, however, finding the slightest vestige of if.
They then changed their course to the northeast and both reached the
coast of America, l)ut in different places and without knowing of the
whereabouts of the other. ^1. Bering and we who accompanied him saw
land for the first time after being six weeks at sea. We then calculated
that we were about five hundred Dutch leagues from Avatscha. We pro-
vided ourselves with fresh water. AVe saw indications of inhabitants, but
could i)erceive no one. .\fter l)eing at anchor three days, M. tiering con-
sulted with his officers, and it was resolveil to return. The 21st July we
weighed anchor before sunrise. There was noihing to do but to follow
the coast, which stret<'hed westward; but navigation was si'riously em-
barrassed by frecjuent islands, and when we tried to i)Ut to sea we were
met by storms and contrary winds, which caused us new delays every
ilay. In order to procure fresh water, we returned towards the coast,
from which we had kept as far as jjfissible. Soon it was in sight, seem-
ing about ten miles distant. We anchored between the islands, and the
one where we landed was Schoumagin-( )strow. The water was good, bat
although taken from a lake, there was, nevertheless, some sea water in it
brought by the tide, which sometimes inundated the island. Af+erwr.rds
AccoiiiU of thr, J:nn.v'aii ({{jUrr ( Wnxel). 227
wo felt (lisastrout< oflbct.s from its use, in sickiicss iuid (lie loss of several
of our iiu'n, who died. We tried in vain durint;; three or four days to
diHcover some nativivs of the country, whose tires we could see at ni<rht
on the coast. The 4tli of Sejttemher those sava^^es finally came, of tliem-
solves, in little canoes, and, havinu; announced their arrival to us hy a
loud cry, they ])resented us with their calumets, in si«n of i)eace. These
calumets were sticks witli the wind's ,,i' falcons attaciied to the end. Wo
understood from their ^'osturos that thi'v were invitiu",' us to come on
land in order to furnish us with jjrovisions and fresh water. We wished
to profit hy the opportunity, and some of us ventured to follow them ;
but sooii, however, misunderstandings arose and all connuunication was
broken off.
•• The ()th <»f Soi)tember, after havinyr at first had a toleral)ly <,'0od wind
for the voyajxi', we began to find that as wo advanced the obstacles were
incroasin<r, nothiiiji; but coasts and islands on every side. .M. Bering
wished to get away from them by sailing more southwards, and, in truth,
for several days the sea ai)peared much more free. ( )ur joy, however, was
of short duration. The 24tb of Septond)er, in latitude -lA degrees, wo
came upon coasts bordered with a number of islands, and at the same time
a violent tom])ost arose, which lasted sevt'nteen days and sent us back a
distance of eighty miles. An (;ld pilot acknowK'(lged that diu'ing thi' fifty
y«'ars that he bad followed the sea he had never seen such a storm. We
should then stop calling this oci'an " Pacific.'' This name may, iH'rhai)S,
]>e suihd)Io to it in the trojjics, but certainly is wrongly given t<i it here.
The weather became calm again, l)ut our provisions were by this time
considerably diminished and tlu-re was only about a third of our crew
who remained well and serviceable after all the hardships to whicli tliey
had been oxposetl. There was still more than half of our way to make,
counting from the e.Ktreme [)oint of our voyage in the lOast to Avatscha.
In view of those; facts, many of us were of opinion that it would bo better
to winter somewhere in .\merica, rather than run the risk of encounter-
ing now dangers worse, perhaps, tlian those we had just escaped; and
these counsels came near prevailing over thos(> who were of opinion that
we should make a supreme effort to reach Avatsciui, and that it would be
time to thvnk of seeking another refuge when we had lost all hope of suc-
ceeding in so doing. Tlu' month of October, however, was pas.^od as fruit
les.sly as the preceding ones. The DOth of that month wo camoupon two
islaiv<ls, which sei'ined to us to Ix'ar some ri'sembiance to the first two of
those islands which stretch from the .southern extremity of Kamshatka
to Japan. Thereupon we directed our course northwards, and tlu- 4th
November, having observed the latitude, we found that wo were under
the ."idtli piirallel. The .")th, however, finished our voyage. Wishing to
sail to the west, we struck upon a desert island, where we bad a good pros-
pect of finishing our lives. (»m- vessel wont to pieces upon one of those
banks with which the island is surrounde<l, and wo were not long in sei'k-
ing lan<l. which we fortunately reached witii everythin. which we thought
we should nee i. I'.y a special dispensation of Providence, the winds and
waves threw the remains of our vessel on shore; wo gathered them to-
228 General A. W. Gr< hj — Bering's First Voymic.
pother to try, with the aid of God, to jnit «mr8(>lv(>s in ii position to leave
this sorry (Iwcllinj,'. Tlie island wlicre we now found ourselv.'s was des-
titute of trees. We were, therefore, obliifod to de])end upon the wood that
the sea hrouglit us to build our cabins and warm ourselves. We jjave to
this desert i)la('e the name of Uerinji; island, in honor of the ehief of our
exi)edition, and it was tiiere that he died, on the Sth of December, of
{jrief and sorrow at liavinj? to give up all hope of retuviiinn; to Kamshatka.
He refused to eat or (h'ink, and disdained the shelter of our cabins; his
advanced age could not rally under such a disaster. We young men kept
our courage up, resisted with (irmuess all discouragement, made it a duty
to still enjoy life and to makeasniueh as we could out of our prison Jionie.
Before our arrival, Bering island was the refuge only of the inhabitants
of the , sea, who came there to breathe the air and deposit their young.
We were, therefore, able at iirst to ol)serve these creatures very closely
without their taking fright. It was only after having seen several of their
number fall before our guns that they lied at our a; -oacli. We killed a
great iuiird)er of them, as nnich to furnish us with food as for their skins.
It was by these valuable spoils, sjdendid castor skins, that we were icpaid
in some measure for our sufferings.
"At the ai)proach of spring the following year we built of the remains
of our vessel, as we had intendeil, a large covered boat, furnished with
anchors and sails and able to live at sea if not exposed to storms. In
this boat we confided ourselves to the sea, trusting in Trovidence, the
17th of August, 1742, and after nine days at sea, with beautiful calm
weather, we arrive<l safely at Avatscha on the 2()th, giving thanks to the
Almighty, who had delivered us from sucli great dangi'rs, and indjued us
with gratitude such as time can nevi'r efface.
" From this account we can correct the error of M. de I'lsle, who places
Bering i.'^land at the 54th degree, only a short distance from Avatscha,
whereas it is on the ."ilitli parallel, sixty miles from Avatscha and forty
Dutch miles from the mouth of the Kamshatka river.
" The voyage of M. Tschirikow, although attended with less fatigue and
danger, was not less painful to him. His tender heart, which bis profes-
sion of mariner had not ren<lered indifferent to the sufferings of others,
was indeed sorely tried. After partii>g from M. Bering, sailing north-
west, he came on the loth of July to a country the shon>s of whitji were
lined with rugg(>d rocks, at the foot of which rolled a deep sea. He pru-
dently refrained from ai)proaching too near the shore, Imt at the end of
three days sent the pilot, Abraham Dementiew, with a cri'^ of ten men,
to reconnoiter the country. Neither Dementiew nor any of those who
accomi)anie<l him ever returned; and most sinceri'ly was he mourned,
and deservedly so, for he was young, good-looking, of an honorable
fannly, steadj' and clever in his profession, and zealous in the service of
his country, .\fter waiting six days, ^I. Tschirikow sent the boatman,
Sidor Sawelef, with three men, but they did not return anymore than
the others. While waiting for their return we constantly saw smoke on
the shores, ami the day after the dei)artnre of the boatnnin two men, in
different b(Kits, came from the spot where Deiiu'ntiew and Sawelew had
Account of the //^.w/a/i Oflict'.r {\\\lccI).
220
IuikUmI. Wlu'ii tlicy liiid apprdjiclu'd near ciioiij.'!! to ))c lioaiil tlicy Ir--
^'an to call out, 'Ajjai, ai.'ai,' and then went hack. y\. Tscliirikow did not
know wliat to think of tiicir con(hict, and now, dcspairinj,' of tlic vcturii
of his men and havin^r no more hoats t*
send on shore, lie dctcnninod,
on the 27th of July, to leave tiie place, follow the coawt
an much as i)ossi-
hle.and tlien return to Kainshatka. M. de I'lsle, then, makes an addition
of liis own when he says that ' M. Tscliirikow madt" many excursions
into'the country, duvin-;- the month of August, while waitinjf for the re-
■ turn of his men.' To return to the truth, :\r. Tscliirikow, in a <listance of
one hundred miles, never lost sight of land; he hattled often with con-
trary winds, had much anxiety on account of the heavy fogs, and lost an
anchor which he had put out, not far from the coast, in a inoinent of
great (hinger. ITe was visited by twenty-one canoes, of tanned skins,
ea«'h one containing a man; hut this wa.s all— for he was uiiahle to
converse with them. The scarcity of water and the scurvy carried off
many of his iiu>n. .\mong the olticers he lost two lieutenants — Licliat-
schew and IMautiii. tine iiion and excellent mariners — who miglit have
rendered good service had they livi'd. M. Tscliirikow liim.«elf began to
have the symptoms ofdisea.se, but good food and the air on land restored
him to health. M. de la Croyere was not so fortunate; he ajipeared to
luive hell! his own until he was just at the [loint of death. Ilis compan-
ions marveled at the good effects of the large ([uantities of brandy which
he drank every day ; but they soon saw that the only good it did him was
to make him forget his sufferings. Ife died on the lOtli of October, as
they were entering the [xirt of .\vatscha, having dressed himself to go on
shore and having celebrated his arrival by new t'xcesses. AVe cannot
ignore the imixirtant service rendi-red by M. de la Croyere to the exi>edi-
tioii, when he recognized the .\mericans who came to ^l. Tscliirikow as
bearing great resemblance to the inhabitants of Canada, whom he had
met while serving in that country seventeen years before <'oniing to
Russia, with the King of France's troops."
NoTK. — A pamphlet which has just come into my jiossession, entitled
" Lettre de Monsieur dWnville au R. V. C'astel, .lesiiit. .\u sujetdes Paj-s
de Kanitchatka," etc (L'4nio, Paris, l".'!?), throws some light on the map
of (hi Ilalde (I7.">2), and definitely fixes the date and locality of the obser-
vation of tlie-eclii)se of the moon referred to by de I'lsle and the Russian
oflicer, as well as later geograjihers.
D'Anville says: "The map of Bering's voyage is attributed to me.
* * * The only part I had therein was to rechice it from the much
'arger original map, of which 1 had made a tracing by means of oiled
paper.- * * * I first learned of Heriug's voyage liy lettei-s from de ITsle,
then in liussia ; and finally an account of this voyage having been sent to
R. P. du Halde by His >rajesty Stanislas, King of Poland, it was placed in
my )iands.
:U— Nat. Gkoc, Mao., VOL. Ill, 1S!U.
230 General A. W. (Jvcehj-^Benng's First Voyage.
" Likewise, botli l»y a Hlieet of oxtrdnomicttl olrn'rintiotm iniuif hi/ Jltrlinj
which came to mi' later, and by the Huine letterw of M. de I'lsle, I kiK^w that
the nioutli of tiie river of Kaiuteliatka was found by aHtioiionueal determi-
nation to be in latitude 5()° and some minuteH.
" l?erin;i in bin naviKntion doubled the southern point of thiss continent
[Kamwhatka] in latitude .")1° UK'', as is expressly noted in the sheet of
uliHerntliinis which is now befoiv me.
" Jlut though the solution of the diHiculty in the case of the Land i-,
Jeeo may be very siiuj)le and natural, yet it was not obvious to me, it may
)>e s;iid, for JSering's voyav;e and observations caused int; to recur to this
subject, and J can no longer doubt that theeastern coast of Ti'r'.ary should
be moved to the east as far as the maps of the Jesuits tirst indicated ; for
althoujih M. de .Strahlenberg in his excellent map of Siberia shows oidy
Vh)^ of longitude between Tobolsk and Okhotsk, and there are even less in
de I'Isle's map of Tartary, yet Bering's map indicates that there are 74°.
"It was found that it (Ohkfttz) is 25° off of the meridian of Peking,
which the observations of P. Gaubil placed in li;>° tift}--odd minutes from
Paris, so that it closely ai>proximates the l;>i>° which we have found it to
i)e from Bering's observations. This determination does not differ nnich
from the result of some astronomical obHervations, which, as I learn from
China, ^I. de I'Isle, iiow in Russia, contemj)lated using in order to ascer-
tain approximately the longitude of Kamtchat. The observation ui)on
which I })lace the most dt'pendence, and which likewise gives the greatest
diflerence, is of an eclipse of the moon of February 2."), 1728, of which tlie
end was (»bserved on the west coast of Kamtsiiat in latitude r)2° -Hi' X.,
."<irius having an altitude <»f 10° 18' to the west, wherefrom M. de I'Isle
calculated that the true time answered to Oh. 52m. p. m.
" This eclipse, the end especially, fell throughout Europe in the daytime,
but having l)een observed at Carthagena, West Indies, by I>. Jean Ilerrem,
where it ended at ;5h. ;{4in. a. m., a difference of 8h. 42m. is deduced l)e-
tween the meridians of Carthagena and the coast of Kamtshat."
It is thus evident that Bering ol)served an eclipse of the moon in Ivam-
siiatka, and that the observations came into the hands of M. d'Anville.
•J'
.V
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JAMtAHY 21, 18512.
A. AV. (}.
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