A Voyage Round the World, from 1806 to 1812

A number of sunk rocks lie about half a mile to the south of this place, with an intricate and narrow channel, through which we were piloted by the overseer, who came out to meet us in a bidarka.

After remaining here three days, we sailed again on the 13th, having met with the same hospitable treatment we had uniformly experienced from these islanders. They liberally supplied us with berries and oil, bear’s flesh, and dried salmon. Soon after leaving Schutcum, we doubled a bluff head, and opened up a strait12 that separates Kodiak from the main land; a short way beyond it passed a narrow entrance leading into a spacious bay or inlet; the pilot told us that it stretched twenty or thirty versts13 into the country, and afforded an excellent shelter for ships. We then stood over to Kodiak, which we reached in the evening; the wind W. S. W. with fine weather; we run along shore during the night. Next day, about two o’clock, we passed near a rock, on which several outches, or sea-lions, were sitting; some of them swam towards us, uttering loud yells; but as the boat was going at a great rate through the water, we soon lost sight of them.

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1

Dr. Douglas, Bishop of Salisbury.

2

For some account of these papers, see Note A.

3

The concluding sentence in Captain Cook’s journal affords a striking proof of the high value he attached to “a discovery, which, though the last, seemed in many respects the most important of any that had hitherto been made by Europeans throughout the extent of the Pacific Ocean”.

4

A short historical account of the revolutions that have taken place in the Sandwich Islands, from their discovery in 1779, till the arrival of the author in 1809, collected from the voyages of Cook, Meares, Portlocke, Vancouver, Broughton, Turnbull, and Lisianski, will be found in the Appendix, No. IV.

5

Edinburgh Review, Vol. IX. p. 332.

6

For an account of the dispute, see Appendix, No. IV. Note B.

7

It appears from Dr Langsdorf’s Voyage, that the amour propre of the Russian ambassador, Von Resanoff, was so much mortified by his reception at Japan, that he despatched in October, 1806, an expedition against the most southern of the Kurile islands, where the Japanese have settlements. A second expedition was undertaken in May, 1807. —Vide Langsdorf, Vol II. p. 298.

8

Those friendly invitations seem to be somewhat inconsistent with the inhospitable character of the Japanese. It is most likely, however, that the author is mistaken in the nature of the signals they made, which were more probably those of reproach than kindness, similar to those captain Saris was assailed with – “Core, core cocori ware,” – “you Coreans, with false hearts.”

Vide Quarterly Review, Vol. IV. p. 379.

9

The inscriptions will be found in Captain Krusenstern’s Voyage. The Monument was erected by the officers of his ship, the Nadeshda, near the tree where Captain Clerke was buried.

Krusenstern, Vol II. p. 203.

10

It appears from Captain Krusenstern’s voyage, that this was the Slawa Rossii, the ship commanded by Captain Billing, and afterwards by Admiral Sarytscheff.

Krusenstern, Vol. II. page 29.

11

This observation, made without the assistance of an ephemeris, or tables of declination, can only be considered as an approximation. It however proves that Sannack and Halibut island is the same, the latitude of that island, as ascertained by captain Cook, being 54 deg. 27 min. As the observation was made about the time of the equinox, the correction for declination might be estimated within a few minutes.

12

Captain Mears, in the Snow Nootka, navigated this strait in 1786; he named it Petrie’s Strait. In the chart affixed to Coxe’s Russian Discoveries, and by Dr. Langsdorf, it is named the Strait of Chelekoff.

13

A verst is about two thirds of a mile.