SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS AND STORES AT THE HARBOUR OF SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL.—A PARTY SET OUT TO VISIT THE COMMANDER AT BOLCHERETSK.—PASSAGE UP THE RIVER AWATSKA.—ACCOUNT OF THEIR RECEPTION BY THE TOION OF KARATCHIN.—DESCRIPTION OF A KAMTSCHADALE DRESS.—JOURNEY ON SLEDGES.—DESCRIPTION OF THIS MODE OF TRAVELLING.—ARRIVAL AT NATCHEEKIN.—ACCOUNT OF HOT SPRINGS.—EMBARK ON THE BOLCHOIREKA.—RECEPTION AT THE CAPITAL.—GENEROUS AND HOSPITABLE CONDUCT OF THE COMMANDER AND THE GARRISON.—DESCRIPTION OF BOLCHERETSK.—PRESENTS FROM THE COMMANDER.—RUSSIAN AND KAMTSCHADALE DANCING.—AFFECTING DEPARTURE FROM BOLCHERETSK.—RETURN TO SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL’S, ACCOMPANIED BY MAJOR BEHM, WHO VISITS THE SHIPS.—GENEROSITY OF THE SAILORS.—DISPATCHES SENT BY MAJOR BEHM TO PETERSBURG.—HIS DEPARTURE AND CHARACTER.

Being now enabled to converse with the Russians, by the aid of our interpreter, with tolerable facility, our first inquires were directed to the means of procuring a supply of fresh provisions, and naval stores; from the want of which latter article, in particular, we had been for some time in great distress. On inquiry, it appeared, that the whole stock of live cattle, which the country about the bay could furnish, amounted only to two heifers; and these the serjeant very readily promised to procure us. Our applications were next made to the merchant, but we found the terms upon which he offered to serve us, so exorbitant, that Captain Clerke thought it necessary to send an officer to visit the commander at Bolcheretsk, and to inquire into the price of stores at that place. As soon as this determination was communicated to M. Port, he dispatched an express to the commander, to inform him of our intentions, and at the same time, to clear us from the suspicions that were entertained with respect to the designation and purposes of our voyage.

Captain Clerke having thought proper to fix on me for this service, I received orders, together with Mr. Webber, who was to accompany me as interpreter, to be ready to set out the next day. It proved, however, too stormy, as did also the 6th, for beginning a journey through so wild and desolate a country; but, on the 7th, the weather appearing more favourable, we set out early in the morning in the ship’s boats, with a view to reach the entrance of the Awatska at high water, on account of the shoals with which the mouth of that river abounds: here the country boats were to meet us, and carry us up the stream.

Captain Gore was now added to our party, and we were attended by Messrs. Port and Fedositsch, with two Cossacks, and were provided, by our conductors, with warm furred clothing; a precaution which we soon found very necessary, as it began to snow briskly just after we set out. At eight o’clock, being stopped by shoal water, about a mile from the mouth of the river, some small canoes, belonging to the Kamtschadales, took up us and our baggage, and carried us over a spit of sand, which is thrown up by the rapidity of the river, and which, they told us, was continually shifting. When we had crossed this shoal, the water again deepened; and here we found a commodious boat, built and shaped like a Norway yawl, ready to convey us up the river, together with canoes for our baggage.

The mouth of the Awatska is about a quarter of a mile broad; and as we advanced, it narrowed very gradually. After we had proceeded a few miles, we passed several branches, which we were told emptied themselves into other parts of the bay; and that some of those on the left hand flowed into the Paratounca river. Its general direction from the bay, for the first ten miles, is to the north, after which it turns to the westward: this bend excepted, it preserves, for the most part, a straight course; and the country through which it flows, to the distance of near thirty miles from the sea, is low and flat, and subject to frequent inundations. We were pushed forward by six men, with long poles, three at each end of the boat; two of whom were Cossacks, the others Kamtschadales; and advanced against a strong stream, at the rate, as well as I could judge, of about three miles an hour. Our Kamtschadales bore this severe labour, with great stoutness, for ten hours; during which we stopped only once, and that for a short time, whilst they took some little refreshment. As we had been told, at our first setting out in the morning, that we should easily reach an ostrog, called Karatchin, the same night, we were much disappointed to find ourselves, at sun-set, fifteen miles from that place. This we attributed to the delay occasioned in passing the shoals we had met with, both at the entrance of the river, and in several other places, as we proceeded up it; for our boat being the first that had passed up the river, the guides were not acquainted with the situation of the shifting sand-banks, and unfortunately the snow not having yet begun to melt, the shallowness of the river was at its extreme.

The fatigue our men had already undergone, and the difficulty of navigating the river, which would have been much increased by the darkness of the night, obliged us to give up all thoughts of continuing our journey that evening. Having therefore found a place tolerably sheltered, and cleared it of the snow, we erected a small marquÉe, which we had brought with us; and, by the assistance of a brisk fire, and some good punch, passed the night not very unpleasantly. The only inconvenience we laboured under was, the being obliged to make the fire at some distance from us. For, although the ground was, to all appearance, dry enough before, yet when the fire was lighted, it soon thawed all the parts round it into an absolute puddle. We admired much the alertness and expedition with which the Kamtschadales erected our marquÉe, and cooked our provisions; but what was most unexpected, we found they had brought with them their tea-kettles, considering it as the greatest of hardships not to drink tea two or three times a day.

We set out as soon as it was light in the morning, and had not advanced far, before we were met by the Toion, or chief of Karatchin, who had been apprized of our coming, and had provided canoes that were lighter, and better contrived for navigating the higher parts of the river. A commodious vessel, consisting of two canoes, lashed close together with cross spars, lined with bear-skins, and furnished with fur cloaks, was also provided for us. We now went on very rapidly, the Toion’s people being both stout and fresh, and remarkable for their expertness in this business. At ten we got to the ostrog, the seat of his command, where we were received at the water-side by the Kamtschadale men and women, and some Russian servants belonging to Fedositsch, who were employed in making canoes. They were all drest out in their best clothes. Those of the women were pretty and gay, consisting of a full loose robe of white nankeen, gathered close round the neck, and fastened with a collar of coloured silk. Over this they wore a short jacket, without sleeves, made of different coloured nankeens, and petticoats of a slight Chinese silk. Their shifts, which had sleeves down to the wrists, were also of silk; and coloured silk handkerchiefs were bound round their heads, concealing entirely the hair of the married women, whilst those who were unmarried, brought the handkerchief under the hair, and suffered it to flow loose behind.

This ostrog was pleasantly situated by the side of the river; and consisted of three log-houses; three jourts, or houses made under ground; and nineteen balagans, or summer habitations. We were conducted to the dwelling of the Toion, who was a plain decent man, born of a Russian woman, by a Kamtschadale father. His house, like all the rest in this country, was divided into two apartments. A long narrow table, with a bench round it, was all the furniture we saw in the outer; and the household stuff of the inner, which was the kitchen, was not less simple and scanty. But the kind attention of our host, and the hearty welcome we received, more than compensated for the poverty of his lodgings.

His wife proved an excellent cook; and served us with fish and game of different sorts, and various kinds of heath-berries, that had been kept since the last year. Whilst we were at dinner in this miserable hut, the guests of a people, with whose existence we had before been scarce acquainted, and at the extremity of the habitable globe, a solitary, half-worn pewter spoon, whose shape was familiar to us, attracted our attention; and, on examination, we found it stamped on the back with the word London. I cannot pass over this circumstance in silence, out of gratitude for the many pleasant thoughts, the anxious hopes, and tender remembrances it excited in us. Those who have experienced the effects that long absence and extreme distance from their native country produce on the mind, will readily conceive the pleasure such trifling incidents can give. To the philosopher and the politician they may perhaps suggest reflections of a different nature.

We were now to quit the river, and perform the next part of our journey on sledges; but the thaw had been too powerful in the day-time, to allow us to set out till the cold of the evening had again made the surface of the snow hard and firm. This gave us an opportunity of walking about the village, which was the only place we had yet seen free from snow, since we landed in this country. It stood upon a well wooded flat, of about a mile and a half in circumference. The leaves were just budding, and the verdure of the whole scene was strongly contrasted with the sides of the surrounding hills, which were still covered with snow. As the soil appeared to me very capable of producing all the common sorts of garden vegetables, I was greatly surprized not to find the smallest spot any where cultivated. If to this, we add that none of the inhabitants were possessed of cattle of any sort, nothing can be well conceived more wretched than their situation must be during the winter months. They were at this time removing from their jourts into their balagans, which afforded us an opportunity of examining both these sorts of habitations; and they will be hereafter more particularly described. The people invited us into their houses with great good humour; a general air of cheerfulness and content was every where visible, to which the approaching change of season might probably not a little contribute.

On our return to the Toion’s, we found supper prepared for us, which differed in nothing from our former repast; and concluded with our treating the Toion and his wife with some of the spirits we had brought with us, made into punch. Captain Gore, who had great generosity on all occasions, having afterward made them some valuable presents, they retired to the kitchen, leaving us in possession of the outward room, where spreading our bear-skins on the benches, we were glad to get a little repose; having settled with our conductors to resume our journey as soon as the ground should be judged fit for travelling.

About nine o’clock the same evening, we were awakened by the melancholy howlings of the dogs, which continued all the time our baggage was lashing upon the sledges; but, as soon as they were yoked, and we were all prepared to set out, this changed into a light cheerful yelping, which entirely ceased the instant they marched off. But, before we set out, the reader may expect to be made more particularly acquainted with this curious mode of travelling.

I brought over with me one of these sledges, which is now in the possession of Sir Ashton Lever. The body is about four feet and a half long, and a foot wide, made in the form of a crescent, of light tough wood, strongly bound together with wicker work; which in those belonging to the better sort of people is elegantly stained of a red and blue colour, and the seat covered with bear-skins, or other furs. It is supported by four legs about two feet high, which rest on two long flat pieces of wood, five or six inches broad, extending a foot at each end beyond the body of the sledge. These are turned up before in the manner of a skate, and shod with the bone of some sea animal. The fore-part of the carriage is ornamented with thongs of leather and tassels of coloured cloth; and from the cross bar, to which the harness is joined, are hung links of iron, or small bells, the jingling of which they conceive to be encouraging to the dogs. They are seldom used to carry more than one person at a time, who sits aside, resting his feet on the lower part of the sledge, and carrying his provisions and other necessaries, wrapped up in a bundle behind him. The dogs are usually five in number, yoked two and two, with a leader. The reins not being fastened to the head of the dogs, but to the collar, have little power over them, and are therefore generally hung upon the sledge, whilst the driver depends entirely on their obedience to his voice for the direction of them. With this view, the leader is always trained up with a particular degree of care and attention, some of them rising to a most extraordinary value on account of their docility and steadiness; insomuch, that for one of these, I am well assured, forty roubles (or ten pounds) was no unusual price. The driver is also provided with a crooked stick, which answers the purpose both of whip and reins; as by striking it into the snow, he is enabled to moderate the speed of the dogs, or even to stop them entirely; and when they are lazy, or otherwise inattentive to his voice, he chastizes them by throwing it at them. Upon these occasions, their dexterity in picking it up again is very remarkable, and forms the principal difficulty of their art. But it is indeed not surprising, that they should labour to be skilful in a practice upon which their safety so materially depends. For they say, that if the driver should happen to lose his stick, the dogs will instantly perceive it; and unless their leader be of the most sober and resolute kind, they will immediately run ahead full speed, and never stop till they are quite spent. But as that will not be the case soon, it generally happens that either the carriage is overturned, and dashed to pieces against the trees; or they hurry down some precipice, and all are buried in the snow. The accounts that were given us of the speed of these dogs, and of their extraordinary patience of hunger and fatigue, were scarcely credible, if they had not been supported by the best authority. We were indeed ourselves witnesses of the great expedition with which the messenger who had been dispatched to Bolcheretsk with the news of our arrival, returned to the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, though the snow was at this time exceedingly soft. But I was informed by the commander of Kamtschatka, that this journey was generally performed in two days and a half; and that he had once received an express from the latter place in twenty-three hours.

The dogs are fed during the winter on the offals of dried and stinking fish; but are always deprived of this miserable food a day before they set out on a journey, and never suffered to eat before they reach the end of it. We were also told, that it was not unusual for them to continue thus fasting two entire days, in which time they would perform a journey of one hundred and twenty miles.^[19] These dogs are in shape somewhat like the Pomeranian breed, but considerably larger.

As we did not choose to trust to our own skill, we had each of us a man to drive and guide the sledge, which, from the state the roads were now in, proved a very laborious business. For, as the thaw had advanced very considerably in the valleys through which our road lay, we were under the necessity of keeping along the sides of the hills; and this obliged our guides, who were provided with snow-shoes for that purpose, to support the sledges, on the lower side, with their shoulders, for several miles together. I had a very good-humoured Cossack to attend me, who was, however, so very unskilful in his business, that we were overturned almost every minute, to the great entertainment of the rest of the company. Our party consisted, in all, of ten sledges; that in which Captain Gore was carried, was made of two lashed together, and abundantly provided with furs and bear-skins; it had ten dogs, yoked four abreast; as had also some of those that were heavy laden with baggage.

When we had proceeded about four miles, it began to rain; which, added to the darkness of the night, threw us all into confusion. It was at last agreed, that we should remain where we were till day-light; and accordingly we came to anchor in the snow (for I cannot better express the manner in which the sledges were secured), and wrapping ourselves up in our furs, waited patiently for the morning. About three o’clock we were called on to set out, our guides being apprehensive, that if we waited longer, we might be stopped by the thaw, and neither be able to proceed, nor to return. After encountering many difficulties, which were principally occasioned by the bad condition of the road, at two in the afternoon, we got safe to an ostrog, called Natcheekin, situated on the side of a small stream, which falls into the Bolchoireka, a little way below the town. The distance between Karatchin and Natcheekin is thirty-eight wersts (or twenty-five miles); and had the hard frost continued, we should not, by their account, have been more than four hours in performing it; but the snow was so soft, that the dogs, almost at every step, sunk up to their bellies; and I was indeed much surprised at their being at all able to overcome the difficulties of so fatiguing a journey.

Natcheekin is a very inconsiderable ostrog, having only one log-house, the residence of the Toion; five balagans, and one jourt. We were received here with the same formalities, and in the same hospitable manner, as at Karatchin; and in the afternoon we went to visit a remarkable hot spring, which is near this village. We saw, at some distance, the steam rising from it, as from a boiling caldron; and as we approached, perceived the air had a strong sulphureous smell. The main spring forms a bason of about three feet in diameter; besides which, there are a number of lesser springs, of the same degree of heat, in the adjacent ground; so that the whole spot, to the extent of near an acre, was so hot, that we could not stand two minutes in the same place. The water flowing from these springs is collected in a small bathing pond, and afterward forms a little rivulet; which, at the distance of about an hundred and fifty yards, falls into the river. The bath, they told us, had wrought great cures in several disorders, such as rheumatisms, swelled and contracted joints, and scorbutic ulcers. In the bathing-place the thermometer stood at 100°, or blood heat; but in the spring, after being immersed two minutes, it was 1° above boiling spirits. The thermometer in the air, at this time, was 34°; in the river 40°; and in the Toion’s house 64°. The ground where these springs break out, is on a gentle ascent; behind which there is a green hill of a moderate size. I am sorry I was not sufficiently skilled in botany to examine the plants, which seemed to thrive here with great luxuriance; the wild garlic, indeed, forced itself on our notice, and was at this time springing up very vigorously.

The next morning, we embarked on the Bolchoireka in canoes; and, having the stream with us, expected to be at our journey’s end the day following. The town of Bolcheretsk is about eighty miles from Natcheekin; and we were informed, that, in the summer season, when the river has been full and rapid, from the melting of snow on the mountains, the canoes had often gone down in a single day; but that, in its present state, we should probably be much longer, as the ice had broken up only three days before we arrived; and that our’s would be the first boat that had attempted to pass. This intelligence proved but too true. We found ourselves greatly impeded by the shallows; and though the stream in many places ran with great rapidity, yet every half mile, we had ripplings and shoals, over which we were obliged to haul the boats. The country on each side was very romantic, but unvaried; the river running between mountains of the most craggy and barren aspect, where there was nothing to diversify the scene; but now and then the sight of a bear, and the flights of wild-fowl. So uninteresting a passage leaves me nothing farther to say, than that this and the following night we slept on the banks of the river, under our marquÉe; and suffered very much from the severity of the weather, and the snow which still remained on the ground.

At day-light on the 12th, we found we had got clear of the mountains, and were entering a low extensive plain, covered with shrubby trees. About nine in the forenoon, we arrived at an ostrog, called Opatchin, which is computed to be fifty miles from Natcheekin, and is nearly of the same size as Karatchin. We found here a serjeant with four Russian soldiers, who had been two days waiting for our arrival; and who immediately dispatched a light boat to Bolcheretsk, with intelligence of our approach. We were now put into the trammels of formality; a canoe, furnished with skins and furs, and equipped in a magnificent manner, was prepared for our reception, in which we were accommodated much at our ease, but to the exclusion of the rest of our fellow-travellers. It was with much regret we found ourselves obliged to separate from our old companion Monsieur Port, whom we had observed to grow every day more shy and distant, as we drew nearer the end of our journey. Indeed, he had himself told us, before we set out, that we paid him a respect he had no title to; but as we found him a very modest and discreet man, we had insisted on his living with us during the whole of our journey. The remainder of our passage was performed with great facility and expedition, the river growing more rapid as we descended, and less obstructed by shoals.

As we approached the capital, we were sorry to observe, from an appearance of much stir and bustle, that we were to be received in form. Decent clothes had been, for some time, a scarce commodity amongst us; and our travelling dresses were made up of a burlesque mixture of European, Indian, and Kamtschatdale fashions. We therefore thought it would be too ridiculous to make a parade in this trim through the metropolis of Kamtschatka; and as we saw a crowd collected on the banks of the river, and were told the commander would be at the water-side to receive us, we stopped short at a soldier’s house, about a quarter of a mile from the town, from whence we sent Port with a message to his Excellency, acquainting him, that the moment we had put off our travelling dresses, we would pay our respects to him at his own house; and to beg he would not think of waiting to conduct us. Finding, however, that he persisted in his intentions of paying us this compliment, we lost no farther time in attiring ourselves, but made all the haste in our power to join him at the entrance of the town. I observed my companions to be as awkward as I felt myself, in making our first salutations; bowing and scraping being marks of good-breeding that we had now, for two years and a half, been totally unaccustomed to. The manner in which we were received by the commander, was the most engaging that could be conceived, and increased my mortification, at finding, that he had almost entirely forgot the French language; so that the satisfaction of conversing with him was wholly confined to Mr. Webber, who spoke the German, his native tongue.

In company with Major Behm, was Captain Shmaleff; the second in command, and another officer with the whole body of the merchants of the place. They conducted us to the commander’s house, where we were received by his lady with great civility, and found tea and other refreshments prepared for us. After the first compliments were over, Mr. Webber was desired to acquaint the Major with the object of our journey, with our want of naval stores, flour, and fresh provisions, and other necessaries for the ships’ crews; and at the same time to assure him, that we were sensible, from what we had already seen of the condition of the country about Awatska Bay, we could not expect much assistance from him in that quarter; that the impossibility of sending heavy stores across the peninsula, during the present season of the year, was but too apparent, from the difficulties we had met with in our journey; and that, long before any material change could take place, we should be under the necessity of proceeding on our voyage. We were here interrupted by the commander, who observed, that we did not yet know what they were capable of doing; that at least it was not his business to think of the difficulties of supplying our wants, but only to learn what were the articles we stood in need of, and the longest time we could allow him for procuring them. After expressing our sense of his obliging disposition, we gave him a list of the naval stores, the number of cattle, and the quantity of flour, we were directed to purchase, and told him, that we purposed recommencing our voyage about the 5th of June.

Our conversation afterward turned upon different subjects; and it will naturally be supposed, that our inquiries were principally directed to the obtaining some information respecting our own country. Having now been absent three years, we had flattered ourselves with the certainty of receiving intelligence from Major Behm, which could not fail of being interesting; and I cannot express the disappointment we felt, on finding, that he had no news to communicate of a much later date than that of our departure from England.

About seven o’clock, the commander, conceiving we might be fatigued with our journey, and desirous of taking some repose, begged he might conduct us to our lodgings. It was in vain that we protested against a compliment which we had certainly no title to expect, but that of being strangers; a circumstance which seemed, in the opinion of this generous Livonian, to counterbalance every other consideration. In our way, we passed by two guard-houses, where the men were turned out under arms, in compliment to Captain Gore; and were afterward brought to a very neat and decent house, which the major gave us to understand was to be our residence, during our stay. Two sentinels were posted at the door; and in a house adjoining, there was a serjeant’s guard. Having shown us into our apartments, the major took his leave, with a promise to see us the next day; and we were left to find out, at our leisure, all the conveniences that he had most amply provided for us. A soldier, called a putpropersckack, whose rank is between that of a serjeant and corporal, along with our fellow-traveller Port, were appointed to be our male domestics; besides whom, there was a housekeeper and a cook, who had orders to obey Port’s directions in dressing us a supper, according to our own mode of cookery. We received many civil messages, in the course of the evening, from the principal people of the town, purporting, that they would not add to our fatigues, by paying their respects to us at that time, but would wait on us in the morning. Such well-supported politeness and attention in a country so desolate and uncultivated, formed a contrast exceedingly favourable to its inhabitants; and to finish the piece as it began, at sun-set the serjeant came with the report of his guard to Captain Gore.

Early in the morning, we received the compliments of the commander, of Captain Shmaleff, and of the principal inhabitants of the town, who all honoured us with visits soon after. The two first having sent for Port, after we were gone to rest, and inquired of him, what articles we seemed to be most in want of on board the ships; we found them prepared to insist on our sharing with the garrison under their command, in what little stock of provisions they had remaining. At the same time they lamented, that we had arrived at a season of the year, when there was always the greatest scarcity of every thing amongst them; the sloops not being yet arrived, with their annual supply, from Okotsk.

We agreed to accept the liberality of these hospitable strangers, with the best grace we could; but on condition, that we might be made acquainted with the price of the articles we were to be supplied with; and that Captain Clerke should give bills to the amount, upon the Victualling-Office in London. This the major positively refused; and whenever it was afterward urged, stopped us short, by telling us, he was certain, that he could not oblige his mistress more, than in giving every assistance in his power to her good friends and allies the English; and that it would be a particular satisfaction to her, to hear, that in so remote a part of the world, her dominions had afforded any relief to ships engaged in such services as ours; that he could not therefore act so contrary to the character of his empress, as to accept of any bills; but that, to accommodate the matter, he would take a bare attestation of the particulars, with which we might be furnished; and that this he should transmit to his court, as a certificate of having performed his duty. I shall leave (he continued) to the two courts, all farther acknowledgments; but cannot consent to accept any thing of the kind alluded to.

When this matter was adjusted, he began to inquire about our private wants, saying he should consider himself as ill-used if we had any dealings with the merchants, or applied to any other person except himself.

In return for such singular generosity, we had little to bestow but our admiration and our thanks. Fortunately, however, Captain Clerke had sent by me a set of prints and maps belonging to the last voyage of Captain Cook, which he desired me to present in his name to the commander, who being an enthusiast in every thing relating to discoveries, received it with a satisfaction which showed that, though a trifle, nothing could have been more acceptable. Captain Clerke had likewise entrusted me with a discretionary power of showing him a chart of the discoveries made in the present voyage; and as I judged that a person in his situation and of his turn of mind would be exceedingly gratified by a communication of this sort, though out of delicacy he had forborne to ask more than a few general questions on the subject, I made no scruple to repose in him a confidence of which his whole conduct showed him to be deserving.

I had the pleasure to find that he felt this compliment as I hoped he would, and was much struck at seeing in one view the whole of that coast, as well on the side of Asia as on that of America, of which his countrymen had been so many years employed in acquiring a partial and imperfect knowledge.^[20]

Excepting this mark of confidence, and the set of prints I have already mentioned, we had brought nothing with us that was in the least worth his acceptance; for it scarce deserves noticing that I prevailed on his son, a young boy, to accept of a silver watch I happened to have about me, and I made his little daughter very happy with two pair of ear-rings, of French paste. Besides these trifles, I left with Captain Shmaleff the thermometer I had used on my journey, and he promised me to keep an exact register of the temperature of the air for one year, and to transmit it to Mr. Muller, with whom he had the pleasure of being acquainted.

We dined this day at the commander’s, who, studious on every occasion to gratify our curiosity, had, besides a number of dishes dressed in our own way, prepared a great variety of others, after the Russian and Kamtschadale manner. The afternoon was employed in taking a view of the town and the adjacent country. Bolcheretsk is situated in a low swampy plain, that extends to the sea of Okotsk, being about forty miles long, and of a considerable breadth. It lies on the north side of the Bolchoi-reka (or great river), between the mouth of the Gottsofka and the Bistraia, which here empty themselves into this river; and the peninsula on which it stands has been separated from the continent by a large canal, the work of the present commander, which has not only added much to its strength as a fortress, but has made it much less liable than it was before to inundations. Below the town the river is from six to eight feet deep, and about a quarter of a mile broad. It empties itself into the sea of Okotsk, at the distance of twenty-two miles, where, according to Krasheninicoff, it is capable of admitting vessels of a considerable size. There is no corn of any species cultivated in this part of the country, and Major Behm informed me, that his was the only garden that had yet been planted. The ground was for the most part covered with snow; that which was free from it appeared full of small hillocks, of a black turfy nature. I saw about twenty or thirty cows, and the major had six stout horses. These and their dogs are the only tame animals they possess; the necessity they are under in the present state of the country of keeping great numbers of the latter, making it impossible to bring up any cattle that are not in size and strength a match for them. For during the summer season their dogs are entirely let loose, and left to provide for themselves, which makes them so exceedingly ravenous that they will sometimes even attack the bullocks.

The houses in Bolcheretsk are all of one fashion, being built of logs and thatched. That of the commander is much larger than the rest, consisting of three rooms of a considerable size, neatly papered, and which might have been reckoned handsome if the talc with which the windows were covered had not given them a poor and disagreeable appearance. The town consists of several rows of low buildings, each consisting of five or six dwellings connected together, with a long common passage running the length of them, on one side of which is the kitchen and store-house, and on the other the dwelling apartments. Besides these are barracks for the Russian soldiers and Cossacks, a well-looking church, and a court-room; and at the end of the town a great number of balagans, belonging to the Kamtschadales. The inhabitants taken altogether amount to between five and six hundred. In the evening the major gave a handsome entertainment, to which the principal people of the town of both sexes were invited.

The next morning we applied privately to the merchant Fedositsch, to purchase some tobacco for the sailors, who had now been upward of a twelvemonth without this favourite commodity. However this, like all our other transactions of the same kind, came immediately to the major’s knowledge, and we were soon after surprised to find in our house four bags of tobacco, weighing upward of a hundred pounds each, which he begged might be presented, in the name of himself and the garrison under his command, to our sailors. At the same time they had sent us twenty loaves of fine sugar, and as many pounds of tea, being articles they understood we were in great want of, which they begged to be indulged in presenting to the officers. Along with these, Madame Behm had also sent a present for Captain Clerke, consisting of fresh butter, honey, figs, rice, and some other little things of the same kind, attended with many wishes that, in his infirm state of health, they might be of service to him. It was in vain we tried to oppose this profusion of bounty, which I was really anxious to restrain, being convinced that they were giving away not a share but almost the whole stock of the garrison. The constant answer the major returned us on those occasions was, that we had suffered a great deal, and that we must needs be in distress. Indeed, the length of time we had been out since we touched at any known port, appeared to them so very incredible, that it required the testimony of our maps, and other corroborating circumstances, to gain their belief. Amongst the latter was a very curious fact which Major Behm related to us this morning, and which he said but for our arrival he should have been totally at a loss to account for.

It is well known, that the Tschutski are the only people of the north of Asia, who have maintained their independence, and resisted all the attempts that have been made by the Russians to reduce them. The last expedition against them was undertaken in the year 1750, and terminated, after various success, in the retreat of the Russian forces, and the loss of the commanding officer. Since that time, the Russians had removed their frontier fortress from the Anadyr to the Ingiga, a river that empties itself into the northern extremity of the sea of Okotsk, and gives its name to a gulf, situated to the west of that of Penshinsk. From this fort, Major Behm had received dispatches the day of our arrival at Bolcheretsk, containing intelligence, that a tribe, or party, of the Tschutski, had arrived at that place with propositions of friendship, and a voluntary offer of tribute; that on enquiring into the cause of this unexpected alteration in their sentiments, they had informed his people, that toward the latter end of the last summer, they had been visited by two very large Russian boats; that they had been treated by the people who were in them with the greatest kindness, and had entered into a league of friendship and amity with them; and that relying on this friendly disposition, they were now come to the Russian fort, in order to settle a treaty, on such terms as might be acceptable to both nations. This extraordinary history had occasioned much speculation, both at Ingiginsk and Bolcheretsk; and had we not furnished them with a key to it, must have remained perfectly unintelligible. We felt no small satisfaction in having, though accidentally, shown the Russians, in this instance, the only true way of collecting tribute, and extending their dominions; and in the hopes that the good understanding which this event hath given rise to, may rescue a brave people from the future invasions of such powerful neighbours.

We dined this day with Captain Shmaleff, and in the afternoon, in order to vary our amusements, he treated us with an exhibition of the Russian and Kamtschadale dancing. No description can convey an adequate idea of this rude and uncouth entertainment. The figure of the Russian dance was much like those of our hornpipes, and was danced either single, or by two or four persons at a time. Their steps were short and quick, with the feet scarce raised from the ground; the arms were fixed close to the sides; the body being all the while kept upright and immoveable, excepting when the parties passed each other, at which time the hand was raised with a quick and awkward motion. But if the Russian dance was at the same time both unmeaning and ridiculous, the Kamtschadale joined to the latter quality the most whimsical idea that ever entered into any people’s heads. It is intended to represent the awkward and clumsy gestures of the bear, which these people have frequent opportunities of observing in a great variety of situations. It will scarcely be expected that I should give a minute description of all the strange postures which were exhibited on these occasions; and I shall therefore only mention, that the body was always bowed, and the knees bent, whilst the arms were used in imitating the tricks and attitudes of that animal.

As our journey to Bolcheretsk had taken up more time than we expected, and we were told that our return might prove still more difficult and tedious, we were under the necessity of acquainting the commander, this evening, with our intention of setting out the next day. It was not without the utmost regret we thought of leaving our new acquaintance; and were therefore most agreeably surprised, when the Major told us, that if we could stay one day longer, he would accompany us. He had, he said, made up his dispatches, and resigned the command of Kamtschatka to his successor Captain Shmaleff, and had prepared every thing for his departure to Okotsk, which was to take place in a few days; but that he should feel great pleasure in putting off his journey a little longer, and returning with us to Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s, that he might himself be a witness of every thing being done for us, that it was in their power to do.

In return for the few trifles I had given to the children of Major Behm, I was next morning, the 15th, presented by his little boy, with a most magnificent Kamtschadale dress, which shall be described in its proper place. It was of the kind worn by the principal Toions of the country, on occasions of great ceremony; and, as I was afterwards told by Fedositsch, could not have been purchased for one hundred and twenty roubles. At the same time, I had a present from his daughter of a handsome sable muff.

We afterward dined with the commander, who, in order to let us see as much of the manners of the inhabitants, and of the customs of the country as our time would permit, invited the whole of the better sort of people in the village, to his house this evening. All the women appeared very splendidly dressed after the Kamtschadale fashion. The wives of Captain Shmaleff, and the other officers of the garrison, were prettily dressed, half in the Siberian, and half in the European mode; and Madame Behm, in order to make the stronger contrast, had unpacked part of her baggage, and put on a rich European dress. I was much struck with the richness and variety of the silks which the women wore, and the singularity of their habits. The whole was like some enchanted scene, in the midst of the wildest and most dreary country in the world. Our entertainment again consisted of dancing and singing.

The next morning being fixed for our departure, we retired early to our lodgings, where the first things we saw were three travelling dresses, made after the fashion of the country, which the major had provided for us, who came himself to our house soon after, to see all our things packed up, and properly taken care of. Indeed, what with his liberal presents, and the kindness of Captain Shmaleff, and many other individuals, who all begged to throw in their mite, together with the ample stock of provisions he had sent us for our journey, we had amassed no inconsiderable load of baggage.

Early in the morning, every thing being ready for our departure, we were invited to call on Madame Behm, in our way to the boats, and take our leave of her. Impressed, as our minds were, with sentiments of the warmest gratitude, by the attentive, benevolent, and generous treatment we had met with at Bolcheretsk, they were greatly heightened, by the affecting scene which presented itself to us, on leaving our lodgings. All the soldiers and Cossacks belonging to the garrison, were drawn up on one hand, and the male inhabitants of the town, dressed out in their best clothes, on the other; and, as soon as we came out of the house, the whole body of the people joined in a melancholy song, which, the major told us, it was usual, in that country, to sing on taking leave of their friends. In this manner we marched down to the commander’s house, preceded by the drums and music of the garrison, where we were received by Madame Behm, attended by the ladies, who were dressed in long silk cloaks, lined with very valuable furs of different colours, which made a most magnificent appearance. After partaking of some refreshment, that was prepared for us, we went down to the water side, accompanied by the ladies, who now joined the song with the rest of the inhabitants; and as soon as we had taken leave of Madame Behm, and assured her of the grateful sense we should ever retain of the hospitality of Bolcheretsk, we found ourselves too much affected, not to hasten into the boats with all the expedition we could. When we put off, the whole company gave us three cheers, which we returned from the boat; and, as we were doubling a point, where for the last time we saw our friendly entertainers, they took their farewell in another cheer.

We found the stream, on our return, so exceedingly rapid that notwithstanding the Cossacks and Kamtschadales used their utmost exertions, we did not reach the first village, Opatchin, till the evening of the 17th, which was at the rate of about twenty miles a-day. We got to Natcheekin on the 19th; and on the 20th, we crossed the plain to Karatchin. We found the road much better than when we had passed it before, there having been a smart frost on the night of the 19th. On the 21st, we proceeded down the Awatska River; and, before it was dark, got over the shoals which lie at the entrance of the bay. During the whole course of our journey, we were much pleased with the great good-will with which the Toions, and their Kamtschadales, afforded us their assistance, at the different ostrogs through which we passed; and I could not but observe the pleasure that appeared in their countenances, on seeing the major, and their strong expressions of sorrow, on hearing he was so soon going to leave them.

We had dispatched a messenger to Captain Clerke, from Bolcheretsk, with an account of our reception, and of the major’s intention of returning with us; at the same time, apprizing him of the day he might probably expect to see us. We were therefore very well pleased to observe, as we approached the harbour, all the boats of the two ships coming toward us, the men clean, and the officers as well dressed as the scarcity of our clothing would permit. The major was much struck at the robust and healthy appearance of the boats’ crews, and still more at seeing most of them without any other covering than a shirt and trowsers, although at the very moment it actually snowed.

As Major Behm had expressed his intentions of visiting the ships before he landed, as soon as we arrived off the town, I desired to receive his commands; when remarking, that from the account we had given of the very bad state of Captain Clerke’s health, it might be imprudent to disturb him at so late an hour (it being now past nine o’clock), he thought it, he said, most adviseable to remain that night on shore. Accordingly, after attending him to the serjeant’s house, I took my leave for the present, and went on board to acquaint Captain Clerke with my proceedings at Bolcheretsk. It was with the utmost concern I found, that in the fortnight we had been absent, this excellent officer was much altered for the worse, instead of reaping that advantage we flattered ourselves he might, from the repose of the harbour, and the milk and vegetable diet with which he was supplied.

As soon as I had dispatched this business, I returned to the major, and the next morning conducted him to the ships; where, on his arrival, he was saluted with thirteen guns, and received with every other mark of distinction that it was in our power to pay him. He was attended by the commander of one of the Russian galliots, the master of a sloop that lay in the harbour, two merchants from Bolcheretsk, and the priest of the neighbouring village of Paratounca, for whom he appeared to entertain the highest respect, and whom I shall hereafter have occasion to mention, on account of his great kindness to Captain Clerke.

After visiting the captain, and taking a view of both the ships, he returned to dinner on board the Resolution; and, in the afternoon, the various curiosities we had collected in the course of our voyage, were shown him, and a complete assortment of every article presented to him by Captain Clerke. On this occasion I must not pass over an instance of great generosity and gratitude in the sailors of both ships; who, when they were told of the handsome present of tobacco that was made them by the major, desired, entirely of their own accord, that their grog might be stopped, and their allowance of spirits presented, on their part, to the garrison of Bolcheretsk, as they said they had reason to conclude that brandy was scarce in the country, and would be very acceptable to them, since the soldiers on shore had offered four roubles a bottle for it. We, who knew how much the sailors always felt, whenever their allowance of grog was stopped, which was generally done in warm weather, that they might have it in a greater proportion in cold, and that this offer would deprive them of it during the inclement season we had to expect in our next expedition to the north, could not but admire so extraordinary a sacrifice; and that they might not suffer by it, Captain Clerke, and the rest of the officers, substituted in the room of the very small quantity the major could be prevailed on to accept the same quantity of rum. This, with a dozen or two of Cape wine, for Madame Behm, and such other little presents as were in our power to bestow, were accepted in the most obliging manner. The next morning the tobacco was divided between the crews of the two ships, three pounds being allotted to every man that chewed or smoked tobacco, and one pound to those that did not.

I have before mentioned, that Major Behm had resigned the command of Kamtschatka, and intended to set out in a short time for Petersburg; and he now offered to charge himself with any dispatches we might trust to his care. This was an opportunity not to be neglected; and accordingly Captain Clerke acquainted him, that he would take the liberty of sending by him some papers relating to our voyage, to be delivered to our ambassador at the Russian court. Our first intentions were to send only a small journal of our proceedings; but afterward Captain Clerke being persuaded that the whole account of our discoveries might safely be trusted to a person who had given such striking proofs both of his public and private virtues; and considering that we had a very hazardous part of the voyage still to undertake, determined to send, by him, the whole of the journal of our late commander, with that part of his own, which completed the period from Captain Cook’s death, till our arrival at Kamtschatka; together with a chart of all our discoveries. Mr. Bayly and myself, thought it also proper to send a general account of our proceedings to the board of longitude; by which precautions, if any misfortune had afterward befallen us, the Admiralty would have been in possession of a complete history of the principal facts of our voyage. It was also determined, that a smaller packet should be sent by an express from Okotsk, which, the major said, if he was fortunate in his passage to that port, would reach Petersburg by December, and that he himself should be there in February or March.

During the three following days, the major was entertained alternately in the two ships, in the best manner we were able. On the 25th, he took his leave, and was saluted with thirteen guns; and the sailors, at their own desire, gave him three cheers. The next morning, Mr. Webber and myself attended him a few miles up the Awatska River, where we met the Russian priest, his wife and children, who were waiting to take the last farewell of their commander.

It was hard to say, whether the good priest and his family, or ourselves, were most affected on taking our leave of Major Behm. Short as our acquaintance had been, his noble and disinterested conduct had inspired us with the highest respect and esteem for him; and we could not part with a person to whom we were under such obligations, and whom we had little prospect of ever seeing again, without feeling the most tender concern. The intrinsic value of the private presents we received from him, exclusive of the stores which might be carried to a public account, must have amounted, according to the current price of articles in that country, to upward of two hundred pounds. But this generosity, extraordinary as it must appear in itself, was exceeded by the delicacy with which all his favours were conferred, and the artful manner in which he endeavoured to prevent our feeling the weight of obligations, which he knew we had no means of requiting. If we go a step further, and consider him as supporting a public character, and maintaining the honour of a great sovereign, we shall find a still higher subject of admiration, in the just and enlarged sentiments by which he was actuated. “The service in which you are employed,” he would often say, “is for the general advantage of mankind, and therefore gives you a right, not merely to the offices of humanity, but to the privileges of citizens, in whatever country you may be thrown. I am sure I am acting agreeably to the wishes of my mistress, in affording you all the relief in our power; and I cannot forget either her character, or my own honour, so much, as to barter for the performance of a duty.” At other times, he would tell us, that he was particularly desirous of setting a good example to the Kamtschadales, who, he said, were but just emerging from a state of barbarism; that they looked up to the Russians as their patterns in every thing; and that he had hopes they might in future look upon it as a duty incumbent upon them to assist strangers to the utmost of their power, and believe, that such was the universal practice of civilized nations. To all this must be added, that, after having relieved, to the utmost of his abilities, all our present distresses, he showed himself not much less mindful of our future wants; and, as he supposed it more than probable we should not discover the passage we were in search of, and therefore should return to Kamschatka in the fall of the year, he made Captain Clerke give him a list of what cordage and flour we should want, and promised they should be sent from Okotsk, and wait our arrival. For the same purpose, he gave Captain Clerke a paper, enjoining all the subjects of the empress, whom we might happen to meet, to give us every assistance in their power.