THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA FROM THE EAST.--STELLER INDUCED TO JOIN THE
EXPEDITION.--THE SEPARATION OF THE ST. PETER AND THE ST. PAUL.
In the course of the month of May the vessels were equipped and
supplied with provisions for five and a half months, several cords
of wood, 100 casks of water, and two rowboats each. The St. Peter,
commanded by Bering, had a crew of 77, among whom were Lieutenant
Waxel, shipmaster Khitroff, the mates Hesselberg, and Jushin, the
surgeon Betge, the conductor Plenisner, Ofzyn (whom we remember as
the officer who had been reduced in rank), and Steller. On board the
St. Paul, commanded by Lieut. Alexei Chirikoff, were found the marine
officers Chegatchoff and Plautin, La Croyère, and the assistant surgeon
Lau,--in all about 76 men. Before his departure, Bering had a very
difficult matter to arrange. His instructions directed him to take
with him to America a mineralogist; but when Spangberg had started out
on his unexpected expedition to Japan, Bering had sent with him the
mineralogist Hartelpol, and now he found it impossible in East Siberia
to get a man to fill his place. Hence, as early as February, Bering
applied to Steller and tried to induce him to take upon himself the
duties of naturalist and mineralogist on this expedition.
Steller was born at Windsheim, Germany, in 1709. He first studied
theology and had even begun to preach, when the study of science
suddenly drew him from the church. He studied medicine and botany,
passed the medical examinations in Berlin, and lectured on medicine in
Halle. Then, partly as a matter of necessity and partly from a desire
to travel, he went to Danzig, where he became surgeon on a Russian
vessel, and finally, after a series of vicissitudes, he landed in St.
Petersburg as a lecturer in the Academy of Science. According to his
own desire he went to Siberia as Gmelin's and Müller's assistant, and,
as these gentlemen found it altogether too uncomfortable to travel
any farther east than Yakutsk, he took upon himself the exploration
of Kamchatka. He was an enthusiast in science, who heeded neither
obstacles nor dangers, a keen and successful observer, who has enriched
science with several classical chapters, and had an ardent and
passionate nature that attacked without regard to persons every form of
injustice. His pen could be shaped to epigrammatic sharpness, and his
tongue spared no one. In 1741, he wished to extend his investigations
to Japan, and had, when Bering sought to secure his services, sent to
the Academy a request to be permitted to participate in Spangberg's
third expedition. Steller had, however, great hesitancy about leaving
his special field of investigation without orders or permission, and
Bering had to assume all responsibility to the Senate and Academy,
and also secure for him from a council of all the ship's officers an
assurance of the position as mineralogist of the expedition, before he
could be induced to accept. Bering is said to have charged him verbally
to make observations in all the departments of natural history, and
promised him all necessary assistance. Steller accuses Bering of not
having kept his promises, and, although he preserved until the last
a high regard for Bering's seamanship and noble character, there
nevertheless developed, during the expedition, a vehement enmity
between Steller and the naval officers, especially Waxel and Khitroff,
and this enmity found very pregnant expression in Steller's diary,[73]
which, in this respect, is more a pamphlet than a description of
travel. It is impossible, however, with our present resources, to
ascertain the true state of affairs. Concerning Bering's voyage to
America, we have only the St. Peter's journals kept by Waxel, Jushin,
and Khitroff, and an account by Waxel, all of which have been used
by Sokoloff in the preparation of the memoirs of the hydrographic
department. Steller's diary, which goes into a detailed account of
things in quite a different way than the official reports, was also
used by Sokoloff, but as the latter had but little literary taste
and still less sympathy for the contending parties, especially for
Bering, he does not attempt to dispense justice between them. Steller's
criticism must be looked upon as an eruption of that ill-humor which
so often and so easily arises in the relations between the chief
of an expedition and the accompanying scientists, between men with
divergent interests and different aims. Bering and Steller, Cook and
his naturalists, Kotzebue and Chamisso, are prominent examples of this
disagreement. It is well known that Cook called the naturalists "the
damned disturbers of the peace," and that he more than once threatened
to put them off on some island or other in the ocean. Steller accuses
Bering of having too much regard for his subordinate officers, but
in all likelihood these had made the countercharge that he gave too
much heed to the scientists. At any rate, Bering has often been blamed
for--in accordance with his instruction--letting La Croyère take part
in the councils at Avacha. But we must not forget that Steller was a
hot-headed and passionate fellow who persistently maintained his own
opinions. From many points in his accounts, it appears that during this
whole expedition he was in a state of geographical confusion; and even
after his return he seemed to imagine that the two continents were
separated by simply a narrow channel. He was guided by observations of
a scientific nature, and, as the course of the St. Peter was no farther
from the Aleutian Islands than the appearance of seaweed, seals, and
birds indicated, he constantly imagined that they were off the coast of
the New World. The naval officers, on the other hand, sought guidance
in sounding; but as their course carried them out upon the great depths
of the Pacific, the northern wall of which very precipitously ascends
to the Aleutian Islands, their measurements were of no assistance, and
in various points Steller was undoubtedly correct. The principal reason
for Steller's complaint must be sought in Bering's illness, and it is
easily perceived that, if the scurvy had not at a very early stage
undermined his strength, his superior seamanship would have secured the
expedition quite different results than those that were obtained.
After a prayer service, the ships weighed anchor on the 4th of June,
1741. Expectations on board were great,--the New World was to open up
before them. According to the plan adopted, a southeasterly course was
taken, and in spite of some unfortunate friction, Bering gave Chirikoff
the lead, so as to leave him no cause for complaint. They kept their
course until the afternoon of June 12, when they found themselves,
after having sailed over six hundred miles in a southeasterly
direction, in latitude 46° 9' N. and 14° 30' east of Avacha. According
to De l'Isle's map they should long before have come to the coasts of
Gamaland, but as they only saw sea and sky, Bering gave the command
to turn back. With variable and unfavorable winds, they worked their
way, during the few succeeding days, in a direction of N. N. E. up to
latitude 49° 30', where Chirikoff, on the 20th of June, in storm and
fog, left Bering and sailed E. N. E. in the direction of the American
coast, without attempting to keep with the St. Peter. This was the
first real misfortune of the expedition. For forty-eight hours Bering
kept close to the place of separation, in hopes of again joining the
St. Paul, and, as this proved fruitless, he convened a ship's council,
at which it was decided to give up all further search for the St. Paul;
it was also resolved--in order to remove every doubt--to sail again
to the 46th degree to find Gamaland. Having arrived here, some birds
were seen, whereupon they continued their course to 45° 16' N. and
16° 28' east of Avacha, but of course without any results. During the
four succeeding weeks, the ship's course was between north and east,
toward the western continent, but as on their southern course they
had come out upon the depths of Tuscarora, which, several thousand
fathoms deep, run right up to the Aleutian reef, their soundings
gave them no clue to land, although they were sailing almost parallel
with this chain of islands. But Bering was now confined to his cabin.
The troubles he had passed through, his sixty years of age, and the
incipient stages of scurvy, had crushed his powers of resistance, while
his officers, Waxel and Khitroff, dismissed Steller's observations
with scornful sarcasm. Not until the 12th of July did they take any
precautions against a sudden landing. They took in some of the sails
during the night and hove to. They had then been on the sea about six
weeks. Their supply of water was about half gone, and according to
the ship's calculations, which show an error of 8°, they had sailed
46-1/2° (_i. e._, 54-1/2°) from the meridian of Avacha. The ship's
council therefore concluded, on the 13th of July, to sail due north,
heading N. N. E., and at noon on the 16th of July, in a latitude by
observation of 58° 14' and a longitude of 49-1/2° east of Avacha, they
finally saw land to the north.[74] The country was elevated, the coast
was jagged, covered with snow, inhospitable, and girt with islands,
behind which a snow-capped mountain peak towered so high into the
clouds that it could be seen at a distance of seventy miles. "I do
not remember," says Steller, "of having seen a higher mountain in all
Siberia and Kamchatka." This mountain was the volcano St. Elias, which
is about 18,000 feet high. _Bering had thus succeeded in discovering
America from the east._ As they had a head wind, they moved very slowly
toward the north, and not until the morning of the 20th did they cast
anchor off the western coast of an island which they called Sct. Ilii
(St. Elias) in honor of the patron saint of the day. On the same day,
Khitroff with fifteen men went, in the ship's boat, to search for a
harbor and to explore the island and its nearest surroundings. Steller,
who had desired to accompany him, was put ashore with the crew that
brought fresh water from St. Elias, and endeavored, as well as it was
possible in a few hours, to investigate the natural history of the
island. Khitroff circumnavigated the island and found various traces
of human habitation. Thus, on one of the adjacent islands, a timbered
house was found containing a fireplace, a bark basket, a wooden spade,
some mussel shells, and a whetstone, which apparently had been used
for sharpening copper implements. In an earth-hut another detachment
had found some smoked fish, a broken arrow, the remains of a fire, and
several other things. The coast of the mainland, which was mountainous
with snow-capped peaks, was seen at a distance of eight miles. A good
harbor was found on the north side of the large island. All the islands
were covered with trees, but these were so low and slender that timber
available for yards was not to be found. On his venturesome wanderings
here, only now and then accompanied by a Cossack, Steller penetrated
these woods, where he discovered a cellar, which contained articles
of food and various implements. As some of these things were sent on
board, Bering, by way of indemnification, caused to be placed there an
iron kettle, a pound of tobacco, a Chinese pipe, and a piece of silk
cloth.
FOOTNOTES:
[73] Note 56.
[74] H. H. Bancroft, History of Alaska, p. 79, has the following note:
"The date of Bering's discovery, or the day when land was first sighted
by the lookout, has been variously stated. Müller makes it the 20th of
July, and Steller the 18th; the 16th is in accordance with Bering's
journal, and according to Bering's observation the latitude was 58°
28'. This date is confirmed by a manuscript chart compiled by Petroff
and Waxel, with the help of the original log-books of both vessels.
The claim set up by certain Spanish writers in favor of Francisco
Gali as first discoverer of this region is based on a misprint in an
early account of his voyage. For particulars see Hist. Cal., I., this
series."--TR.