Journey of the sloop Good Intent to explore the Asiatic and American shores of Bering Strait, 1819 to 1822. Part three

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several beams from both sides. The ice, pressing the left side, moved the right to the firm ice, and shortly surrounded us on all sides. Our unfortunate sloop squeaked and creaked in all its joints and finally, it was lifted on its port side and heeled at a 45˚ angle. We remained in this position almost 24 hours and we would have been unavoidable crushed if the ice floes had not pressed against firm ice, and were, therefore, not able to move farther. After midnight, a light wind blew at first from the WNW, which, gradually increasing, reached to unter-zeilia* toward morning. This served as our deliverance. Masses of ice pressing us got into motion and ceared a route for us so that we, toward evening, safely freed ourselves from the labrynth of enormous ice floes floating near us. Removing ourselves to a considerable distance, the captain ordered us to sail close hauled and to hold only under the staysail while waiting for favorable weather.

Being stormbound a whole 24 hours, we again went north when the wind died down, moving there slowly among floating ice. Dense fog, almost always accompanying the north wind, prevailed now, often falling apart as thick snow, which so covered the deck that the sailors on duty were constantly busy shoveling it off. The temperature fell sometimes to two, three, or more degrees below zero [Réaumur].

* A wind in a navy parlance equal in strength to a storm.

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We were in such a situation until the fifth. On this day we were at latitude 17˚ 13' [67˚ 13'] and reached the pack ice located in the direction from SW to NE. Seeing the impossibility of penetrating farther north, the captain ordered us to return to the Asiatic shore to make a survey of its parts that were free of ice. So on this day, following this plan we moved away forever from the ice, and with clear weather and a light SW breeze, manuevered toward the Asiatic shore. We still had not moved far when I, standing on the quarterdeck, heard a roar astern and the thump of rudder chains. Surprised by this noise, I looked across the mainboom and saw an enormous polar bear grabbing the chains with his front paws. Moving quietly away, I reported it to the captain, who ordered us to lower the sixth, and to catch the marauder (since on account of the calm we were standing almost in one place). But scared by the noise, it started to swim toward the ice so that the skiff could hardly overtake it. We did not want to shoot it with rifles because we were afraid that it would go to the bottom when killed, but wanted to stab it with spears. But this attempt was unsuccessful because every time we wanted to stab it, the bear dove with astonishing agility and swam to the surface a great distance away. Tired by such pursuit, they fired at it with several rifles, but whether or not a single one hit, is not known. It dove and did not come up any more. The skiff hurried toward the sloop from which it was quite far, and the shifting wind started to

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bring in fog. We scarcely had time to lift the skiff when the fog thickened so much that it was impossible to distinguish the nearest objects. With a NW wind we held toward the SW under least sail so as not to hit against the ice floating around us in the fog. This precaution served us well. In an hour after the fog descended, the boatswain shouted from the forecastle that nearby, directly in front of the bow of the vessel, was a large ice floe, but it was sighted through the fog only at the time when it was impossible to avoid hitting, because the lieutenant on watch did not have time to order a port turn, and by removing the slackened sails, at least to lessen the impact, the sloop hit the stern against the ice, and the masts started to creak in the steps. We immediately hoisted the sails in such a way that the wind would strike them from the front, and in this manner we succeeded in moving backward to move away from the ice floe and then to round it from leeward. This was not a single ice floe, but a whole part of an ice field being about a half mile long and a quarter mile wide. Having safely avoided this danger, we removed some more sails and remained in this position until the next morning. Then the fog cleared and we went under full sail in the former direction. Coming into sight of the Asiatic shore, we found ice near it as before. Sailing southward near the ice, finally at a distance of 50 miles from East Cape we were able to approach for us to start surveying it, to which we attended at once, and before 8 o'clock, reached the

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mentioned cape. Here we had to rush into the open sea because the wind started to increase by the minute, and toward midnight turned into a veritable storm with terrible gusts. We found ourselves in such a position until the ninth when it started to abate.

Toward morning of the 11th, being at the south side of the Gvozdev Islands, we sighted the "Discovery" coming out of Bering Strait. We went toward it immediately. Approaching closely, the commander of the expedition asked about the condition of our crew by way of the telegraph, and summoned our captain to him. To execute this order, we lay to and lowered a tender because the swell was still too great for small vessels. The captain and the officers who were free from watch went on the tender. Getting there, our first question was about the fate of the boat, which we did not see with the "Discovery." We learned that the boat was at Cape Newenham, seperated from the "Discovery," that this vessel, under command of Lieutenant Avinov (who is now a vice-admiral) who was given an assistant Midshipman Hall and Pilot Korgruev, was detailed to survey Bristol Bay, and afterward, in order to join the "Discovery," had instructions to attempt to be in Norton Sound by August 15, where the latter was presently directing its course.

After remaining with our comrades until evening, we went back to our sloop, and we no sooner arrived, when we lost the "Discovery" from sight. We took a course toward

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Metchigmenskaia Bay [sic] to stock up on deer, the need for which increased daily, because more and more, the greater part of our crew started to suffer from scurvy. Three men were very sick, and one was hopeless.

After midday the next day we reached the mentioned bay, but because of a headwind could not enter. Therefore, we dropped anchor opposite it at a depth of six sazhens. At this time the sailor about whom I previously spoke, died. We buried him the next morning because those who die from scurvy are subject to incredibly fast decay.

As soon as we dropped anchor, our old friend, Leicheigu, came to us with a promise that in three days the deer would be delivered, but as the captain did not want to believe him, he offered himself as a hostage and immediately sent his son ashore. He acted so successfully that toward evening on the next day we received six deer, and on the following, four more. For this, Leicheigu received two cast-iron kettles, some tobacco, an axe, beads, and other knicknacks.

Having obtained the desired provisions, we weighed anchor on dawn of the 15th and went to finish the surveying of St. Lawrence Island. We started it on the 16th from the point at which we had to leave it on the previous year. In this manner, we surveyed the whole northern side of the island, and on the 17th, started the survey of the remaining southeastern, but fog and strong winds hindered us in it, and we were forced to abandon this project until the 23rd.