mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i3-027

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wishing to bury it on shore.

When the fog lifted at five o'clock in the morning, we
saw a shore in the NNE at a distance of 15 miles. It was St.
Lawrence Island presenting itself to our eyes in all of the
majesty of its wild and infertile nature. Rather high in-
terior mountains were covered, even at this time of year, with
snow almost to their feet. Their slopes, extending from the
southern side of the island to the shore, presented a dismal
view, infertile, wild, and not obscured by the least vegetation.
When the sun, on its oblique heavenly journey rose a few deg-
rees from the horizon, a thick fog rose with it, concealing
this view from our eyes. We had despaired of the possibility
of giving our dead one a small place of rest from earthly bur-
dens in its bosom, but about ten o'clock, the fog started to
lift, and forming thick black clouds, covered the whole heaven-
ly dome. Meanwhile, we approached the southern cape and when
we rounded it, there was exhibited to our sight in the depth
of the open bay, a multitude of yurts [dwellings], from which
ten or twelve stood at a little distance, also along the/shore,
one situated close to the other. The latter were the summer abodes
of the island's inhabitants, and consisted of conically-shaped
tents covered with walrus skins. The other ones were earthen
huts similiar to those of Unalashka, except that they were more
spacious inside.

Nearing the shore at a distance of a half mile, we lowered
two skiffs. On one we loaded the body of the dead cook and