'779- T h e fame day, an enfign arrived from Bolcheretfk with a
September. , °
—v < letter from the Commander to Captain Gore, which we put
into the Serjeant’s hands, and, by his afliftance, were made
to underftand, that orders had been given about the cattle ;
and that they might be expedted here in a few days ; and,
moreover, that Captain ShmaleiF, the prefent Commander,
■would h im fe lf pay us a vifit immediately on the arrival o f a
floop which was daily expected from Okotzk. T h e youn g
officer, who brought the letter, was the fon o f the Captain
Lieutenant Synd, who commanded an expedition on difco-
very, between Afia and America, eleven years ago, and re -
fided at this time at O k o tzk *. He informed us, that he was
fent to receive our directions, and to take care to get us fup_
plied w ith whatever our fervice migh t require ; and that
he ffiould remain with us, till the Commander was h im fe lf
able to leave Bolcheretfk; after which he was to return, that
the garrifon there might not be le ft withou t an officer.
Sunday 5. On the 5th, the parties that were on fhore returned on
board, and were employed in fcrubbing the ffiip’s bottom,
* See all that is known o f his voyage, and a Chart o f his difcoveries, in M r. Coxe’ s
Account o f Ruffian Difcoveries between Afia and America. W e were not able to learn*
from the Ruffians in Kamtfchatka, a more perfeit account o f Synd than we now find
is given by M r . C o x e ; and yet they feemed difpofed to communicate all that they
really knew. Major Behm could only inform us, in general, that the expedition
had mifcarried as to its objedl, and that the commander had fallen under much blame*
I t appeared evidently, that he had been on the coaft o f America to the Southward o f
Cape Prince o f Wales , between the latitude o f 64° and 65° ; and it is moil: prpbable,
that his having got too far to., the Northward to meet with fea-otters,. which the
Ruffians, in all their attempts at difcoveries, feem to have principally in view, and
his returning "without having made any that promifed .commercial advantages, was the
caufe o f his difgrace, and o f the great contempt with which the Ruffians always fpoke
of.this officer’s voyage.
T h e dulle r o f iilands, placed inSynd’ s chart, between the latitude o f 6i° and 65°, is
undoubtedly the fame with the ifiand, called, by Beeringj St. Laurence’s , and thofe
we named Clerke’ s, Anderfon’ s, and K ing’ s Iilands j but their proportionate fize, and
relative fituation, are exceedingly erroneous.
• 3 and
and ge ttin g in eight tons o f ffiingle ballaft. We alfo got up St‘^ er
two o f our guns, that had been flowed in the fore-hold, and w— ,----
mounted them on the deck, b e in g now about to vifit nations,
our reception amongft whom migh t a good deal depend
on the refpetflability o f our appearance.
T h e Refolution hauled on ffiore on the.8th, to repair fome Wednef. s.
damages, w h ich ffie had alfo received among the ice, in h e f
cu tw a te r ; and our carpenters, in their turn, were fent to
he r afliftance.
About this time we began to brew, a flrong decodlion o f
a fpecies o f dwarf-pine that grows here in great abun dance,
thin k in g that it migh t hereafter be u fe fu l in
m a k in g beer, and that we fliould probably be able to procure
fugar or melafles to ferment with it at Canton. At all
events, I was fure it would be ferviceable as a medicine for
the fc u r v y ; and was more particularly defirous o f fupply-
in g m y fe lf w ith as much o f it as I could procure, becaufe
moft o f the preventatives we had brought out, were either
ufed, or fpoiled by keeping. By the time we had prepared
a hogffiead o f it, the Ihip’s copper was difcovered to be
v e ry thin, and cracked in many places. This obliged me
to defift, and to g iv e orders, that it Ihould be ufed as fpa-
rin g ly , fo r the future, as poflible. It might, perhaps, be
an ufe fu l precaution fo r thofe who may hereafter be engaged
in long voyages o f this kind, either to provide them-
felves with a fpare copper, or to fee that the copper ufu a lly
furniftied be o f the ftrongeft kind. T h e various extra-
fervices, in which it w ill be found neceflary to employ them,
and efpecially the important one o f m akin g antifcorbutic
decoflions, feem abfolutely to require fome fuch provifion;
and I -ihould rather recommend the former on account
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