mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i2-004

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ceived a report from the manager of the local office that he
had no interpreters who knew the language of the North Ameri-
cans, and that, therefore, requesting from him four baidars
[umiaks, or skin boats] and six Aleuts, he left that island
on the 19th. Going around St. Lawrence Island toward the NE
he saw ice, and found Kotzebue Sound completely covered with
it. This circumstance prompted him to sail for an inspection
of Ratmanov Island [Big Diomede].* Although he passed the
point where it should be visible in clear weather he did not
see any sign of land. Returning again to Kotzebue Sound, he
found no more ice there.

On July 18, C[aptain] V[asilev] put out to sea with both
sloops, and decided to sail northward along the American
shore for a most exact survey. Frequent fogs, an overcast
horizon, and ice in various directions did not permit Cap.
Vas. to execute this project. On the 29th, being at latitude
71[degree sign] 06', longitude 166[degree sign] 08' west of Greenwich, they approached
the ice itself and saw that the entire expanse that the eye
could see was covered with it. "It was possible to sail
westward along the ice," says C. V. in his report. "but as
we were 35 miles above Icy Cape and about four degrees farther
west in longitude, it was desirable for me to examine Icy
Cape and I turned around at a depth of 24 sazhens [168 feet]."

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*See the first part of this history, pp. 196, 197.³