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

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had not seen.

On July 31, the sloop Discovery neared Cape Lisburne, from which, as was noted from the crosstree, the coast turned northward, but Cap. Vasilev says, "The fog or the variable winds and calm prevented coming closer; we saw only heights at some places. On the morning of August 2nd, we encountered several pieces of ice, upon which were lying many walruses. The wind springing from the south, we took a course toward Icy Cape. Although the ice was getting thicker, it was still possible to go northward.

"On August 3rd," continues Cap. Vasilev, "we were, by observation, at latitude 70° 40', longitude 161° 27' west of Greenwich. The depth of the sea increased from 13 to 21 sazhens. Judging by the latitude in which we were, we had passed Icy Cape. The ice was seen continuously from N to W; from N to E less frequently. Toward Z [south?] there was no ice."

Cap. Vasilev, desiring to inspect and identify Icy Cape, bore up toward it, and on August 4th saw it at latitude 70° 23'. A very strong wind continued until the 9th. The sloop was surrounded by ice several times, and as Cap. Vasilev says, "The sloop was pressing toward the ice; we lowered boards, trapdoors, and such small masts as we had, laid them round the entire side, so that the ice would not damage the sheathing. The crew were used as much as possible to hold back the ice to soften the blows. However, some were so

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strong that they broke three-inch thick planks.

On August 9th, Captain Vasilev sighted Cape Lisburne and the coast of Asia. On this date he says, "We came out of the Arctic Sea."

On August 13th, Captian Vasilev arrived at Cape Darby, and learning that Lieut. Avinov had not been there, went toward Stuart Island. Casting anchor there he sent Lieut. Boil ashore in an armed longboat. This officer, returning on the 16th, reported, "The inhabitants who had come to this island from Cape Stephens stated that they had never seen foreigners, and that no vessel had ever visited them. To the south of Cape Stephens," they continued, "flows into the sea a large river, Kuiukht-pak [Yukon], from which shoals extend far out."

"Not finding the boat," says Cap. Vasilev, "we weighed anchor, and taking a course W went to a depth of seven and eight sazhens. Having rounded the shoals we bore up to the eastern side of St. Lawrence Island, passed on the north side of [St.] Matthew Island and among the Commander, Bering, and Attu islands. On September 8 we arrived at the port of Petropavlovsk, where we found the sailing boat.

Avinov's Voyage, 1821

Lieutenant Avinov reported to Cap. Vas. that on July 6th he sailed from Bristol Bay toward Cap Newenham. A strong wind and heavy seas forced him to head for Hagenmeister [Hagemeister] Bay. Coming out of it on the 19th he surveyed the shore to Cape Newenham, and from it, northward. On the

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11th he arrived at Goodnews Bay, and collected reliable information from local inhabitants that along the whole American shore northward, so far as is known to them, lived one nation. The report by those who were in these places with the land expedition in the years 1818 and 1819 undertaken by the [Russian-] American company in Kadiak [Kodiak], that to the north of the Kuskokvin [Kuskokwim] River on the mainland coast lived some European people, proved to be incorrect.⁸

On July 13th, Lieut. Avinov came from Goodnews Bay, and extending a course northward, found shallow banks in many places, which in his opinion were dry at low water. In Goodnews Bay he noticed an approximate 13-foot tidal rise of water.

Captain Vailev says, "Lieuten. Avinov found sailing near the banks dangerous since the boat drew four feet (loaded), and with cross winds and light seas could not hold in the wind. The bottom was unsuited for anchoring in the open sea. In addition, the crew started to show signs of scurvy from continuing wet weather and crowding." For these reasons, he decided to sail to Kamchatka, and arrived at the port of Petropavlovsk August 19.

Shishmarev's Voyage, 1821

Captain-Lieutenant Shishmarev, on June [July] 27th, directed his way from Unalashka Island to Transfiguration Island, which was discovered in 1766 by Lieut. Sind, and not finding it, concluded, "If Transfiguration Island exists at all, it is not near that place where it is indicated on the maps."

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On July 4th, the sloop Good Intent was at latitude 62° 32', longitude east of Greenwich 193° 11', and from it they sighted a high shore extending from SETE to SE, at an approximate distance of 70 miles, but according to the map of [Editor: this is correct spelling for K. here] Mr. Khromchenko, it appears that Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev was only a distance of 45 miles from it.

Captain-Lieutenant Shishmarev, comparing it with all known maps, saw that this shore was located at a distance of 245 versts [a little more than 16 miles] from the mainland shore of America, and therefore acknowledged it very rightly as a new discovery. Wishing to survey this new unknown land, he directed his way toward it, but having gone 15 miles, he found the depth of the sea five sazhens, and for that reason did not dare to sail farther. Below we shall have occasion to talk about this new shore again.⁹

From this place, Captain Lieutenant Shishmarev went to St. Lawrence Island and surveying the northern part of it, collected much curious information about the inhabitants. On July 11, the sloop Good Intent entered St. Lawrence Bay and Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev compiled a very interesting description concerning the manners, customs, and character of the Chukchi people.¹⁰ It is noteworthy that he saw there two rifles, which they had received from an American brig [apparently the Pedler], which had come there because the Russians trading with them in Izhiga and Nizhne-Kovymsk [Lower Kolyma] may not sell them firearms.

Until July 21st, Captain Lieutenant Shishmarev sailed

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near the Asiatic shores, and everywhere met ice, and for the most part, bad weather. On that day he dropped anchor near the American shore at latitude 67° 34' in order to take on a supply of wood and water. This coast was low and covered with grass, and not far away, a lake was visible. One could see a great deal of driftwood, and some trees lay in places rising 40 feet above sea level at a considerable distance from the sea. Here they gathered wild onions, dock, wormwood, and they saw many different varieties of flowers and grasses. Besides the birds inhabiting the polar regions, they noticed gray snipes here. The ocean current proved to be 20 miles southward in 24 hours.

On July 22, Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev again got under sail and sailed toward the coast of Asia where the ice surrounding the sloop did not permit him to come near it. Cap. Lieut. Shishmarev says, "Turning in all directions we could not find free passage any place and were liberated [from the ice] only by making our way through solid ice and receiving three blows from large ice floes, without any damage, however, to the sloop."

After this unsuccessful trip, Mr. Shishmarev directed his way to the north and reached latitude 70° 11' where he saw very high solid ice and encountered fresh north winds. On August 1, Mr. Shishmarev was at latitude 70° 13' where he again encountered ice and rather thick snow that covered all the sails, rigging, and deck. On the 4th, we saw Cape Serdtse Kamen. Mr. Shishmarev says, "The shore from this cape has

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a general direction SE and of a chain of low mountains. Toward the sea, several cliff-like capes, about 500 feet in height, stand out. Between these capes, the shore is low and forms small inlets, but timber is nowhere to be seen, not even a little green grass is to be seen. What a contrast to the shores of America. In many places we saw large settlements, but could not approach them because of the ice.

Ice, head winds, and stormy weather prompted Mr. Shishmarev to abandon further attempts, and to sail to Mechegmenskaia Bay [Mechegmenan Bay] where he hoped to fortify his crew with fresh provisions. The Chukchi here received the Russians very amicably, and the chief delivered ten live deer to the sloop. Cap. Shishmarev collected, here, too, rather interesting information, discovering, at the same time, that among the Mechegmenskaia Chukchi lived four more nations, talking various languages different from the Chukchi dialect.

On Aug 15, Mr. Shishmarev left Mechegmenskaia Bay and went to St. Lawrence Island. Having surveyed its northern shore, and having established communications with the inhabitants, who, in his opinion, are much poorer than the Chukchi, Mr. Shishmarev went his way to St. Matthew Island, which was discovered in 1766 by Lieut. Sind. Determining the geographical location of this island and both [?] located near it, Mr. Shishmarev decided to end his voyage in arctic regions, and went toward the harbor of St. Peter and Paul ----------|

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[Petropavlovsk] where he arrived safely on September 21.

Both sloops departed in the middle of October on the return trip, and arrived safely in Kronstadt after nine months.

3

Alaska published before 1868 (Yale 1969), but I found that he discusses this book under his No. 88, page 312. However, he says that this is Wickersham's No. 6585, 5685 but in checking the Wickersham, I find that 6585 refers to Berkh's Aleutian Island history. Therefore, LadaMocarski's Bibliography is the first reference to this publication, although I vaguely recall a reference in some German account to something like "Berkh's journeys to the north" -- I can't dredge it up at the moment. The Library of Congress does not have Volume II of this history--only Volume I, which has only a little applicable [?? for] Alaska.

Therefore, my entire project is this: Combine Berkh's summary of the expedition, Hillsen's account of the Good Intent (1820-1821), Shishmarev's observations of the Chukchi (1821), and the short progress reports into one publication about this expedition. It will be tied together with my bibliographic observations and an introduction and notes that will place it historically and ethnographically, geographically, etc. with northern affairs at that time, including the overlapping journeys of Khromchenko and Etolin in 1821 and 1822.

I have just finished this chapter of Russian exploration so all of the material is still fresh in mind.

I shall forward the pages and translations as soon as Mrs. Josephson and I have been able to get together, hopefully this week-end.

With best of wishes, and many thanks,

Sincerely yours,

Dorothy Jean Ray

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Chapter 3

Part 1 of Hillsen's Journal, "Journey of the sloop, 'Good Intent' to explore the Asiatic and American shores of Bering Strait, 1819 to 1822"*

On March 16, 1820, having checked the chronometers and completed repairs to the rigging that was damaged by prolonged and heavy storms during the long trip from Cape of Good Hope to New Holland [Australia], and taking on a substantial quantity of various provisions since we would be directing our voyage for a long period of time to countries ＿＿＿＿＿＿ *This voyage, so far not described by anyone, either in whole or in part, althought completed 27 years before, contains so much that is curious, both in its goals and results, that its description will always arouse the most intense interest, the more so, because there was none completed similar thereafter.

The expedition, the exploits of which are described in this article, consisted of two sloops "Discovery" and "Good Intent" under command of Captain-Lieutenant (subsequently Vice-

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where there would be no hope of obtaining such things, we sailed from Port Jackson [Sydney, Australia], a charming and unique land that has nothing in common with other pars of the world either in the animal or the plant kingdom.

Upon leaving this port, our commander, Captain-Lieutentant Shishmarev, announced instructions received from the commander of the sloop "Discovery" and of the whole expedition, Captain-Lieutenant Vasilev, to sail separately to New California to stock up on wheat needed for biscuits, of which there was a shortage, because the greater part of them taken ＿＿＿＿＿＿ Admiral and General-Commissioner of the Fleet), Mikhail Nikolaevich Vasilev, and had the purpose of exploring the shores of America northward as far as possible beginning with the Alaska Peninsula, and the shores of Asia only from East Cape. The expedition reached the latitudes practicable in the two summers in the Arctic Ocean, overcoming almost insurmountable obstacles, and resolving the question concerning the feasibility of penetrating from this side [Asia?] as far north as the point reached by its vessels.

The author, Mr. Hillsen, chose as the beginning of his narrative the time of sailing from Port Jackson because places hitherto visited by him such as Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, and New South Wales are already well known.