aob' the country adjoining to Oonemak, is ufed by them when
«. —j—'.f fpeaking o f the American continent in general, w hich they
kn ow p erfe&ly well to be a great land.
This is all the information I got from thefe people, relatin
g to the geography o f this part o f the world ; and I have
reafonto believe that this was all the information they were
able to give. For they allured me, over and. over again,
that they k n ew o f no other illands, befides thofe which
were laid down upon this chart; and that no Ruffian had
ever feen any part o f the continent o f America to the Northward,
except that which lies oppolite the country o f the
T fchutlkis.
I f Mr. Stsehlin was not gro isly impofed upon, what could
induce him to publilh a map, fo Angularly erroneous ; and
in w hich many o f thefe illands are jumbled together in re,-
gu la r eonfufion, without the lead regard to truth I And yet,
he is pleafed to call it anery accurate little map *. Indeed, it
is a map to which the moil illiterate o f his illiterate fea-
fa r in g countrymen would have been alhamed to fet, his
name..
Wednef. ii ^ r‘ Ifrayloff remained with us t i l l the 21ft, in the evenin
g, when he took his final leave. T o his care I intruded a
letter to the Lords Commiffioners o f the A dmiralty; in which
was inclofed a chart o f all the Northern coafis I had vifited.
He faid there would be an opportunity o f fending it to
Kamtfchatka, or Okotfk, the enfuing fpr ing ; and that it
would be at Peteriburg the fo llow in g win ter. He gave me
a letter to Major Behm, Governor o f Kamtfchatka, who re-
fides at Bolfcheretik ; and another to the commanding O f-
* Staehlin’s N ew Northern Archipelago, p. 15.
m ficer
ficer at Petropaulowika. Mr. Ifmyloff feemed to have abili- w*-
ties that might entitle him to a h igh e r ftation in life, than ,Qa°b" , J
that in which we found him. He was tolerably well verfed
in adronoray, and in the mod u fe fu l branches o f the mathematics.
I made him a prefent o f an Hadley's odlant; and
though, probably, it was the fird he had ever feen, he made
h im fe lf acquainted, in a very ihort time, with mod o f the,
ufes to which that indrument can be applied.
In the morning o f the azd, we made an attempt to get to Thurfaayi*.
fea, with the wind at South Ead, which mifcarried. The
fo llow in g afternoon, we were vifited by one Jacob Ivanovitch Friday 23.
Sopofnicoff, a Ruffian, who commanded a boat, or fmall
velFel, at Oomanak. This man had a great lhare o f mo-
d e d y ; and would d r in k no drong liquor, o f which the red
o f his countrymen, whom we had met with here, were im moderately
fond. He feemed to know more accurately what
fupplies could be got at the harbour o f Petropaulowika, and
the price o f the different articles, than Mr. Ifmyloff. But, by
all accounts, every thing we ihould want at that place was
•very fcarce, and bore a high price. Flour, for indance, was
from three to five roubles the p o od * ; and deer, from three
to five roubles each. This man told us that he was to be at
Petropaulowika in May n e x t ; and, as 1 underdopd, was to
have the charge o f m y letter. He feemed to be exceedin
g ly defirous o f having fotne token from me to carry to
Major Behm.; and, to g ratify him, I fent a fmall fpying-
g la f s .
After we became acquainted with thefe Ruffians, fome o f
our gentlemen, at different times, vifited their fettlement on
* 3 6 lb .