tributary to Ruffia. The mouth of the river is from,
fixty to eighty vards broad, from three to four fathoms
deep, and abounds in fifli. From thence they put again,
to fea, and after having beat about for fome time, they
up- at length reached Beering’s Ifland. Here they lay at
anchor from the 15th of September to the 30th of October,
Shipwreck
on Beering
Ifland. •
when a violent ftorm blowing right from the fea,
drove the veffel upon the rocks, and dalhed her to pieces..
The crew however were faved : and now they looked
out for the remains of Beering’s wreck, in order to employ
the materials for the conftructing of a boat. They
found indeed fome remaining materials, but almoft entirely
rotten, and the iron-work corroded with, ruft..
Having fele&ed however the beft cables, and. what ironwork
Was immediately neceffary,, and collected,
drift-wood during the winter, they built with great difficulty
a fmall boat, whofe keel was only feventeen Ruf.
fian ells and an half long,, and which, they named. Capiton..
In this they put to. fea, and failed in fearch of an unknown
ifland, which they thought they faw lying,
N o r th - e a f tb u t finding themfelves miftaken, they,
tacked about,, and flood far Copper Ifland: from,
thence they failed to Kamtchatka, where they arrived at
the time above-mentioned..
The new conftrufted veffel was granted in property to
Ivan Shilkin as fome compenfation for his Ioffes, and
with the privilege o f employing it in a future expedition
to
to thé New Difcovered Iflands. Accordingly he failed
therein on the 7th of October, 1757, with a crew of
twenty Ruffians, and the fame number of Kamtchadals:
he was accompanied by Studentzoff a Coflac, who was
fent to collect the tribute for the crown. An account of
this expedition will be given hereafter *.
Auguft, 1754, Nikiphor Trapefnikoff fitted out the SjÉgjflfthe
Shitik St. Nicholas,, which failed from Kamtchatka under
the command of the Coflac Kodion DurnefF. He firft
touched, at two of the Aleutian Ifles, and afterwards upon
a. third, which had. not been yet difcovered. He returned
to Kamtchatka in 1747.. His cargo confifled of the
fkins of 1220 fea-otters, of 410 female, and 665 cubs;,
befides which, the crew, had obtained in barter from the
iflanders the ikins of 65 2 fea-otters, of 30 female ditto,,
and 50 cubs..
From an account delivered in the 3d'o f May, 1758,.^“™ "^
by DurnefF and Sheffyrin, who was fent as collector of
the tributes, it appears that they failed in ten days as far
as Atakuj one of the Aleutian Iflands ; that they remained’
there until the year 1757; and lived upon amicable terms,
with the natives.
The fecond ifland, which is neareft to Ataku, and DefcrWon °r
which contains the greateft number of inhabitants, is,I!Us"
See Chap. V . .
called