mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i3-032

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o'clock, we went through the Strait, and, entering the Arctic
Sea, set our course for Kotzebue Sound. Having a favorable
wind, we approached the entrance to this sound at ten o'clock
on July 1, but found it blocked with ice. Having no way of
entering it, the captain ordered us to turn again to Bering
Strait to explore it and to verify the existence of the island
seen by Captain Kotzebue and named Ratmanov Island by him.

Approaching the Gvozdev Islands, near which should have
been situated Ratmanov Island, we determined, in completely
clear weather, that this island did not exist, and Kotzebue
was proably deceived by an ordinary phenomenon here, that is,
an optical effect of light rays on clouds that are on the hori-
zon. This was thought to be the case by our captain who was
with him at that time on the brig "Riurik." Having corrected
this error, we, under least sail, tacked to the sound, often
encountering large thick blocks of ice, accompanied by almost
constant fog. It lifted toward evening of the ninth, and we
again saw the entrance to the sound still covered with ice.
The wind was very light, and for this reason, in order not to
be carried by the current, we dropped anchor at a depth of 12
sazhens. Near midnight, such thick ice started pressing against
us that we were forced to cast off and go under sail. The
rest of the night we spent in frequent tackings and shifting
of our course to avoid being hit by an ice floe. Toward morn-
ing of the 10th, the sea cleared and we saw the entrance free.
Not wasting time, we entered the harbor, but having a very