ENPages That Mention Unalaska
The Chronological History of all the Voyages to the Arctic
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| [Karl Karlovich Hillesem] | Helinsgem | (This is K. K. Hill |
|---|---|---|
| sen) [Good Intent] |
| Pilots: | ||
|---|---|---|
| [Mikhail Rydalev] | Rydalev | [Discovery] |
| [Vladimir Petrov ] | Petrov | [Good Intent] |
| Astronomer | ||
|---|---|---|
| [Pavel Tarkhanov] | Tarkhanov |
| Naturalist | ||
|---|---|---|
| [Fedor Shtein] | Shtein |
Captain Vasilev, with the sloop entrusted to him, arrived safely at Kamchatka. He sent Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev to Unalashka [ Unalaska ] Island to take on interpreters, instructing him to sail from there to the shores of America to the sound described by Lieutenant Kotzebue in 1816.
On , Cap. Vasilev left the harbor of Petropavlovsk and made his way toward Bering Strait. Near St. Lawrence Island he sighted an American brig [the Pedler] and upon questioning it, learned that it had come here from the Sandwich Islands [ Hawaiian Islands] to buy furs from the Chukchi. On June [July] 16, Cap. Vasilev arrived at Kotzebue Sound where he found Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev, who had been at anchor near Chamisso Island for five days.
Captain-Lieutenant Shishmarev reported to Cap. Vas., that on June 32d he had arrived at Unalashka Island and re-
Journey of the sloop Good Intent to explore the Asiatic and American shores of Bering Strait, 1819 to 1822. Part one
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without a big loss of time.
On August 14, at six o'clock in the morning, the mentioned island came into our sight. Its forerunners were an infinite multitude of sea birds such as puffins, murres, seagulls, and loons. About noon we neared the island and determined its latitude, 60° 13' 48" N and longitude, 187° 45' 48" E of Greenwich. It consists of high bare rocks in which nest millions of the mentioned birds. Near the northern end is located a separate little islet, and at the southern, an immense rock resembling a saddle and named by Captain Clerke, Pinnacle [Pinnacle Island] . This large island is about 60 miles long, but completely sterile and uninhabited. The existence of multitudes of sea lions, seals, and sea otters on its low shore prompted Mr. Baranov, former manager of the colonies of the [Russian-]American Company, to settle a few score Aleuts there for hunting these animals, but after three years he was compelled to abandon this undertaking and to transport the rest of the people back to Unalashka and Umnak from where they had been taken. I say "the rest" because the greater part of them perished from the cruel colds existing on the high, unprotected island, and from scurvy. Furthermore, in autumn, ice brought a terrible scourge for the people and animals living in this land; that is, polar bears, by whom several persons also perished every winter.
At Unalaska
From here we went to Unalashka, and on the 17th saw St.