NEW ARCHANGEL.
NEW ARCHANGEL.
The swallows brought us no good fortune. The very day after we left Kamtschatka, one of our best sailors fell from the mast-head into the scuttle, and immediately expired. He had climbed thither in safety in the most violent storms, and executed the most difficult tasks with ease; now, in fine weather, on a tranquil sea, he met this fate.
These accidents happen most frequently to the best and cleverest sailors: they confide too much in their own ability, and consider too little the risks they run. It is impossible to warn them sufficiently.
This fatal accident produced a general melancholy among us, which the cloudy, wet, cold weather we soon encountered perpetually increased, till we reached the coast of America. Fortunately, we had all the time a strong west wind; by its help we passed the southern coasts of the Aleutian Islands, and on the 7th of August already approached the American coast. On this day the sun once more smiled on us; the sky afterwards continued clear, and the air became milder and pleasanter as we neared the land.
From our noon observation we were in latitude 55° 36', and longitude 140° 56'. In this region, some navigators have imagined they observed a regular current to the north; but our experience does not confirm the remark. A current carried us from twenty to thirty miles in twenty-four hours, setting sometimes north, and sometimes south, according to the impulse of the wind; close to shore only the current is regularly to the north. The inhabitants concurred in this observation.