doing any execution. They alfo fet fire to the high grafs, which being blown by the wind in the direction of the tent, was with extreme difficulty extinguished. The Ruffian firearms being now effectually used against the favages, taught them forbearance, and they molefted Korovin and his men no more.

Sicknefs and mifery, however, detained them. here till the 21ft of July. They then put to fea in a baidar eight yards long, which carried twelve perfons, to which number they were now reduced; and fteered in order to make a veffel, which they knew to be on the coast, and with whofe fate they were yet unacquainted.

After rowing ten days, they landed on a different quarter of the Ifle of Umnak, where they faw, the remains of a veffel that had been burnt, and other figns of devastation. At a small distance from the beach was an empty Ruffian dwelling, and near it a bath-room, in which, to their inexpreffible terror, they found twenty dead bodies in their ufual drefs. Each of them had a thong of leather, or his own girdle, faftened about the neck, with which, it was evident, he had been dragged along.

Korovin and his companions had the affliction to recognise fome of the corpfes, and were well convinced that they belonged to the veffel they were in fearch of. But no traces of the remaining crew could be difcovered, nor have any circumftances ever come to light, which could explain this catastrophe.

While Korovin and his companions were employed in burying their dead countrymen, and conftructing a hut, they were agreeably furprifed by the arrival of Captain Glottof and a hunting party,

party, whofe veffel lay at a small diftance from this part of the coaft.

On board her, Korovin and his affociates entered. Thus this was the third fhip during this expedition, in which Korelin and his three friends had failed; and fortune, in the fequel, determined that they fhould arrive at Kamtfchatka in a fourth.

But to return-foon after this junction, Korovin and a party of twenty men were fent to coaft the island, in order to discover if any of the crew belonging to Protaffof's veffel were ftill in being; but his enquiries were without effect.

In the courfe of this expedition, a great number of favages, in a hundred baidars, made an attack upon them with a volley of darts. The Ruflians fired, and foon threw the iflanders into confufion. Korovin took fome women prifoners; and afterwards proceeded to a dwelling of the natives, which he found deferted, but containing many articles which he knew must have belonged to his murdered countrymen.

Towards winter, Korovin and a large party was fent out on a hunting expedition to the weftern point of Unalathka. When he arrived here, he was informed that a Ruffian fhip, commanded by Soloviof, was then lying before Unalathka, on which he immediately rowed towards her. In his courfe he had a fharp encounter with the natives, ten of whom were killed on the spot, and fome women and children taken prisoners.

Korovin having ftaid a few days on board Soloviof's veffel, returned to the place where he had been lately attacked. The inhabitants now received him in the moft friendly manner, delivering hoftages, and giving him liberty to hunt without moleftation. They alfo entered into a friendly

traffic,

traffic, and were prevailed on to restore several muskets and other things taken from the Ruffians who had been maffacred.

Afterwards, however, thefe favages gave indications of renewed hoftility; but the Ruffians were on their guard.

Korovin, on leaving Unalafhka, was again driven by a form on the beach of Umnak, and detained there in great diftrefs till the 6th of April 1765. On the 22d of that month, they returned to Glottof; but the party afterwards dividing, Korovin and five other Ruffians, among whom were Korelin, Kokovin, and Bragin; joined Soloviof, with whom they returned to Kamtfchatka, after a feries of diftreffes which claim our commiferation, while they exalt our ideas of the courage and perfeverance of the fufferers.

From different concurring teftimonies, and the journals of feveral voyages not worthy of a detail, it appears that the natives of Umnak, and particularly that of Unalafhka, are fanguinary and treacherous, without religion and morals, without laws or government, and fwayed by momentary impulfes, which render it unfafe to place confidence in their profeflions or engagements. They frequently barter their children and their wives for fuch commodities as they want; and have fcarcely any rule of action but what their own caprice fuggefts.

VOYAGE OF

CAPT. KRENITZIN AND LIEUT, LEVAȘHEF,

UNDERTAKEN BY ORDER OF

THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA.

WE now come to the firft voyages under the patronage of the Ruffian government, fince the reign of Peter the Great. During that long interval, the progress of discovery had been left to interested adventurers, who, intent folely on gain, conveyed very little information that could be depended on to the rest of the world. For want of proper aftronomical obfervations, the relative fituation of many iflands was little known, and the confufion arifing from arbritary names was fuch, that what was a new or an old difcovery could with difficulty be afcertained. It is not to be fuppofed that a fingle voyage, however, fedulous and intelligent its conductors might be, would be able to fettle difficulties of fuch magnitude; but it laid the foundation, on which the requifite fuperftructure was to be raised.

On the 23d of July 1768, Captain Krenitzin failed in the galliot St. Catharine, from the mouth of the Kamtfchatka river, towards the coast of America, accompanied by Lieutenant Levashef, in the hooker St. Paul.

Regulating their courfe according to the information derived from Behring's expedition in 1741, they found themselves farther to the north than they expected, and open fea, where, according to the fallacious accounts that had been given them, a continent was to have been looked for. They

They foon came in fight of Behring's Ifland, which is generally low and rocky; and afterwards touched at Copper Ifland, fo called from the amazing quantity of copper found on the north-east coast. This metal is washed up by the fea, and covers the thore in fuch abundance, that many fhips might load with it at the fame time. It is chiefly in a metallic or malleable ftate, and frequently appears as if it had undergone a fufion, which probably has been the cafe, as many extinct volcanoes are ftill to be feen on this ifland; and the whole chain appears to have arifen from fome convulfion of nature, at no very remote period. The evident novelty of every thing juftifies this conjecture, and the violent and frequent earthquakes, to which they are fubject, fhews their volcanic origin.

After leaving Copper Ifland, the fhips parted in a fog. Such fogs are very frequent in those latitudes; and the hunters, who at least may be fuppofed to be well acquainted with the climate, fay it is very rare to have five days of clear weather in fucceffion, even during the most favoura ble season of the year.

The St. Catharine wintered in the Straights of Alaxa, where he was hauled into fhoal water. In the inftructions communicated to the captain, previous to the commencement of his voyage, it was ftated that a private ship had found a commodious haven there, but he locked for it in vain.,

The entrance of this straight from the north-eaft was found to be extremely difficult on account of the fhoals and currents; but in the oppofite direction, it was afterwards difcovered to be more practicable and fafe.

VOL. X.

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