Three Accounts of the Vasil'ev-Shismarev Expedition of 1819-1822

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Chapter 2

Berkh's Summary

Berkh wrote his account of this expedition as a summary in The Chronological History of all Voyages to the Arctic, and, therefor it is in somewhat dry, outline form. But this first and most complete account of the activities of both ships provides the context for the voyage of the Good Intent as described by Hillsen.

Captain-Lieutenants Vasilev and Shishmarev 1819

The famous reign of the Alexander I, so glorious in the annals of Russia so far as it concerns its political benefit to all of Europe, will also remain very memorable for its geographical discoveries.

Although Russia had a fleet from the beginning of the eighteenth century, her ships cruising the Baltic, the North, and the Mediterranean seas did not extend beyond the Arctic Circle. The Pillars of Hercules [at the Strait of Gibraltar] were the limits of their voyages. In 1803, they went beyond this point and made their first trip around the world. But because there are to be included in this work only voyages made to the northern arctic regions, in that case not mentioning various [other] voyages undertaken by the Russians during the period of 16 years, I direct my attention to the year 1819.

In that year a highest sovereign edict was made concerning the equipping of two expeditions. The first one, under

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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

The Voyages of 1820

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 June 27, 1820, 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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New obstacles did not permit Cap. Vas. to carry out this intention either, and therefore, he cruised southward on July 31. "Toward 8 o'clock in the morning," he continued, "we saw Cape Lisburne, and against it, ice toward the shore from the ENE to the NNE. The thermometer rose 2 1/2° [Réaumur]. I cannot say whether the ice, seen by us from Lisburne toward the north at the shore, was stationary." This observation of Cap. Vas. is very correct; the great [James] Cook said, says [Sir John] Barrow: "But C. cook observes, he dit not sypposesuppose any part of this ice to be fixd; on the contrary, he considered the whole as a movable mas,"⁴ that is, Captain Cook noted, that in his opinion, all of the ice sighted by him was not stationary, but on the contrary, he considered all of it to be shifting.

All of the above-mentioned circumstances probably prompted Cap. Vasilev to leave the arctic regions. On this day, he said, "August 9 came out of the Arctic Ocean, was therein for 26 days. The shore was rather well explored from Cape Lisburne to Cape Krusenstern, except that we could not see Cape Mulgrave because of the haze. The American shore has no bays whatsoever. We did not see any rivers flowing into the sea. In some places water was seen beyond low-lying banks." This remark leads to the conclusion that the whole coast of America from Icy Cape to Cape Newenham consists of islands. The Honorable Davis concluded back in the year 1587 that the northern shores of America were formed of islands."⁵

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Here are the interesting remarks of C. V. about the northern shores of America. "The current of the sea was observed from NE to SW at about a half knot per hour, but near the shore it was swifter and changed direction. The declination of the compass was at its greatest, 35° 45' ,at latitude [?]⁶ but at Cape Lisburne, 35°." Remarkably, Cap. Cook, being at Cape Lisburne 42 years before Captain Vasilev (1778), had almost the same declination of the compass. At latitude 69° 57', longitude 193° 41', he found its declination 35° 32' east.

"At latitude 71° the declination of the magnetic needle was found to be 78° 30'. The Réaumur thermometer rose to about 11 1/2° and fell to 2 1/2° below freezing, but mostly it was 5° to 6° [43° to 45° Fahrenheit].⁷ Near shore, the depth of the ocean was sometimes found to be between five and seven sazhens [35 and 49 feet]. Being 80 miles west of the shores of America, we did not find the depth of the sea to be more than 30 sazhens. The land was completely bare. Here and there in the valleys moss showed itself, but standing timber was nowhere to be found. On the shores was seen a quantity of driftwood; the trees were very large poplars and fir [spruce] with roots." This remark about the forest and shallow depth near the ocean shores serves as indisputable evidence that there must be deep harbors and rivers flowing from the interior of the continent at various places on the continental shores of America between latitudes 70° and 65°,

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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