*94
of the Tfchutski in their intercourfe with the Ruffians.
Vao ue and uncertain accounts, drawn from a barbarous
people, cannot deferve implicit credit; but as they have
been uniformly and invariably propagated by the inhabitants
of thofe regions from the middle of the laft century
to the prefent time, they muft merit at leaft the attention
of every curious enquirer.
The Reports Thefe reports were firft related in Muller’s account of concerning the -T
imerSof the Ruffian difcoveries, and have been lately thought
the^coaft. worfhy o f notice by Dr R0bertfon *, in his hiftory of
America. Their probability feems ftill further increafed
by the following circumftances. One Plenifner, a native
of Courland, was appointed commander o f Ochotsk,
in the year 1769, with an exprefs order from the court
to proceed as far as t Anadirsk, and to procure all pofr
lible intelligence concerning the North Eaftern part of
Siberia^ and the oppofite continent. In confeqtience of
this order Plenifner repaired to Anadirsk, and proceeded
likewife to Kovimskoi Oftrog: the former of thefe Ruffian
fettlements is lituated near the Southern 5 the latter near
the Weftern limits of the Tfchutski. Not content however
with colledting all the information in his power from
the neighbouring K.oriacs, who have frequent intercourfe
* Hift. of America, vol. I. p. 274—277*
f Anadirik'has been lately deftroyed by the Ruffians themfelves.w
ith
with the Tfchutski; he alfo fent one Daurkin into their
country. This perfon was a native Tfchutski, who
had been taken prifoner, and bred up by the Ruffians :
he continued two years with his countrymen, and made
feveral expeditions with them to the neighbouring iflands,
which lie off the Eaftern coaft of Siberia..
The fum of the intelligence brought back by this
Daurkin was as follows : that Tfchukotfkoi-Nofs is a
very narrow peninfula; that the Tfehutfki-carry on a
trade of barter with the inhabitants o f America; that
they employ fix days in paffing the ffcrait which feparates
the two continents : they diredt their courfe from ifland
to ifland, and the diftance from the one to the other is
fo fmall, that they are able to pafs every night afhore.
More to the North he defcribes the two continents as approaching
ftill nearer to each other, with only two iflands
lying between them.
This intelligence remarkably coincided with the accounts
collected by Plenifner himfelf among the Koriacs.
Plenifner returned to Peterfburg in 1776, and brought,
withhim feveral* maps and charts of.the North Eafternparts
* The molt important of thefe maps comprehends the country, of the ■
Tfchutlki, together with the nations which border immediately upon-
them. This map was chiefly taken during a fecond expedition made by
major»