mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i3-014

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years, and because of that, one rarely returns from such a
voyage without having become a rich man.

The heat still persisted with the same intensity. Al-
though the trade wind blew from the right direction, it was
so weak that it could not cool the air. The crew was completely
weakened, and the least movement at midday induced an un-
bearable headache. At this time, one would think that the
whole crew had died. Each one tried to move as little as
possible, and lying in one place, waited impatiently for the
setting of the sun. Then the burning heat decreased, the ship
came to life, and the crew began to eat dinner, postponed to
this time. To this heat we attributed the loss of one of our
best sailors. Standing at the helm, he suddenly fell down on
the deck, and no efforts of the doctor could bring him back
to life.

On the 23rd, we crossed longitude 171° 34' at the equator
for the second time, and on the 25th, the day of the mentioned
misfortune, the sun stood at the zenith, for which reason our
bodies did not cast any shadows. The rays of the sun fell
vertically on our heads. The sailors said that they saw Kuzmin
(that was the name of the dead helmsman) a few hours before
his death on the foredeck without a cap, and from that time
on he complained of a severe headache. Our ship's surgeon,
Mr. Zaozerski, stated that he could have been saved if he had
spoken about it in good time. For this reason, the strictest
order was given not to go bareheaded, and to report the slightest