ENPages That Mention Bering Strait
The Chronological History of all the Voyages to the Arctic
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| [Karl Karlovich Hillesem] | Helinsgem | (This is K. K. Hill |
|---|---|---|
| sen) [Good Intent] |
| Pilots: | ||
|---|---|---|
| [Mikhail Rydalev] | Rydalev | [Discovery] |
| [Vladimir Petrov ] | Petrov | [Good Intent] |
| Astronomer | ||
|---|---|---|
| [Pavel Tarkhanov] | Tarkhanov |
| Naturalist | ||
|---|---|---|
| [Fedor Shtein] | Shtein |
Captain Vasilev, with the sloop entrusted to him, arrived safely at Kamchatka. He sent Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev to Unalashka [ Unalaska ] Island to take on interpreters, instructing him to sail from there to the shores of America to the sound described by Lieutenant Kotzebue in 1816.
On , Cap. Vasilev left the harbor of Petropavlovsk and made his way toward Bering Strait. Near St. Lawrence Island he sighted an American brig [the Pedler] and upon questioning it, learned that it had come here from the Sandwich Islands [ Hawaiian Islands] to buy furs from the Chukchi. On June [July] 16, Cap. Vasilev arrived at Kotzebue Sound where he found Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev, who had been at anchor near Chamisso Island for five days.
Captain-Lieutenant Shishmarev reported to Cap. Vas., that on June 32d he had arrived at Unalashka Island and re-
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by means of which the mentioned driftwood is carried out to the seacoast. The above-mentioned sea current, from NE to SW, also serves as new and very strong evidence in confirming this conclusion.
"Above latitude 68° 30' we did not see any inhabitants. From afar, their drying racks look like masts with yards." Cap. Vasilev concludes, "We had no intercourse with the inhabitants because of the inconvenience at shore anchorages, bad weather at times, and not having interpreters."
From Cape Prince of Wales, Cap. Vasilev went to East Cape, and passing the Gvozdev Islands [Diomede Islands], set his course for St. Lawrence Bay [Gulf of Anadry], which was closed by ice. "This ice," he says, "must have been carried by the NE wind from the Arctic Sea. But one has to take into consideration that St. Lawrence Bay is still not free of ice." According to new infomation about the polar regions, and in considering the remarks of various travelers, one must conclude that arctic waters begin to be free of ice in the middle of August. The voyage of Cap. Parry serves as strong evidence to that. Among the journals of Captain Shmakva, at one time the commander of Izhiga, are found the answers of a Chukotski [ Chukchi ] chief to questions asked of him.
"The chief said when the Bering Strait becomes free of ice, then a multitude of whales, walruses, and seals go north and remain there until October and then return south. Therefore, it must be assumed that it is possible to sail in
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Bering Strait during the whole of September."
Coming into sight of St. Lawrence Island, Cap. Vasilev instructed Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev to finish surveying it, and he sailed toward the American shore. The gradual decrease in the depth of the sea from the eastern end of St. Lawrence Island was the reason that Cap. Vasilev turned west. and sailed toward the islands of [St.] Paul and [St.] George. Determining their geographic position, he continued his way to Unalashka and arrived there on August 19.
"Being in the Arctic Sea," says Cap. Vasilev, "I saw the necessity for a small sailing vessel, which could keep quite close to shore." On the sloop Good Intent there were parts of a disassembled boat in the hold. Therefore, Cap. Vasilev set his course from Unalashka to Novo-arkhagelsk port [NovoArkhangelsk, or Sitka ] where there were more facilities than elsewhere to assemble that boat. He arrived there on September 15, and entrused Lieutenant Ignatev with the assembling of the mentioned boat, sailed from there on October 25.
Having spent the winter season in southern regions, Cap. Vasilev arrived in Sitka on , at the port of NovoArkhangelsk. Finding that the boat was completely ready, he took on a reserve of water and wood,and receiving interpreters from the Chief Ruler of the American district, Fleet Cap. Lieut. Matveia Ivanovich Muravev, he put out to sea with all three vessels on May 30.
Taking in consideration that the newly assembled boat
Capt. Shishmarev's information about the Chukchi
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Chapter 6
Shishmarev's Article
This article by Shishmarev is apparently the only published account of the expedition dealing with a topical subject. It appeared in 1851, and except for the opening and closing paragraphs was taken directly from his journal.
Captain Shishmarev's Information about the Chukchi in 1821
In addition to information about the Chukchi of the northeast coast of Siberia collected by Plenisner (1765),1 Billings (1791), Sarychev (1791), and Litke (1828), we are adding information gathered by Captain Shishmarev on the sloop "Good Intent" in 1821 on St. Lawrence Island and in St. Lawrence and Mechigmenskaia (bay) bays during his famous expedition with Captain Vasilev in Bering Strait, described in Berkh's chronological history and in the article, "Russian voyages round the world" by G. Ivashintsov of parts VII and VIII of our journal.2 This information, in its comprehensiveness surpassing everything before it, is taken from Mr. Shishmarev's journal preserved in the archives of the Hydrographic Department.
"With good weather and a slight breeze from the WSW (on July 9, 1821), we succeeded, while sailing, in surveying
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by poles and hung with skins, forming the warmest part, the bedroom.
"The baidars, the same as all of the inhabitants of both shores of Bering Strait, are all almost the same size with room for eight oarsmen and one helmsman.
"Their weapons are spears, bows and arrows. The spears are made mostly from wood with bone hafted on both ends, one end for animals, the other for men, but they have some of iron as well, received from Kolyma. The bows are bound with sinew, with arrows also from wood with bone or flint tips and feathers at the base. The bowstring is drawn on by a special plate of bone or iron. The quivers, sewn from deerskin, painted, and embroidered, are very pretty. But the main weapon is a large knife, about an arshin long, always carried with them and kept in a case, often likewise embroidered. Some have, in addition, one or two smaller knives, usually hidden in a pocket or behind a sleeve. We saw on one Chukchi, two muskets of English manufacture, probably received from Americans, because it is prohibited to sell firearms at the Kolyma fair.
"The men make small statues of men, animals, and birds from walrus bone, rather roughly however, and from wood--also in the likeness of men--small wooden boards which are rubbed to obtain fire. Women sew and embroider quivers, gloves, and other things, being much inferior in this art to the women of the Aleutian Islands.