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– 52 –

where there would be no hope of obtaining such things, we
sailed from Port Jackson [Sydney, Australia] , a charming and
unique land that has nothing in common with other parts of
the world either in the animal or the plant kingdom.

Upon leaving this port, our commander, Captain-Lieutentant
Shishmarev, announced instructions received from the commander
of the sloop "Discovery" and of the whole expedition,
Captain-Lieutenant Vasilev, to sail separately to New California
to stock up on wheat needed for biscuits, of which
there was a shortage, because the greater part of them taken
＿＿＿＿＿＿
Admiral and General-Commissioner of the Fleet), Mikhail Niko-
laevich Vasilev, and had the purpose of exploring the shores
of America northward as far as possible beginning with the
Alaska Peninsula, and the shores of Asia only from East Cape.
The expedition reached the latitudes practicable in the two
summers in the Arctic Ocean, overcoming almost insurmountable
obstacles, and resolving the question concerning the feasibility
of penetrating from this side [Asia?] as far north as the
point reached by its vessels.

The author, Mr. Hillsen, chose as the beginning of his
narrative the time of sailing from Port Jackson because places
hitherto visited by him such as Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, and
New South Wales are already well known.