FOOTNOTES:
[86] Dr. Stejneger, to whom the translator is indebted for various notes and corrections of scientific interest, says: "The mountains which Steller and his companions saw were not eruptive rocks. The whole island consists of a more or less coarsely grained sandstone or conglomerate,—Plutonic rock cropping out only in isolated spots. The mountain streams of Bering island are anything but 'seething'; on the contrary, they are as a rule very quiet."
[87] Dr. Stejneger, ever on the alert to honor Steller, says in Deutsche Geographische Blätter, 1885: "It was due to Steller that not only a majority of the participants survived, but that the expedition won a lasting name in the history of science. Bering left his name to the island upon which he died, and the group to which it belongs. Komandorski (Commander Islands), was named after his rank. Moreover, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, a peninsula in Asia, and a bay in America have been named in honor of him. But what is there in these regions to remind one of the immortal Steller, the Herodotus of these distant lands? Search the map of the island of which he has given such a spirited description. His name is nowhere to be found, while three capes have received the names of Bering's lieutenants and helmsmen, who were the authors of the whole misfortune: Waxel, Khitroff, and Jushin. The man that rescued and immortalized the expedition has fallen into oblivion. I consider it an honor that it has been granted to me to render long deferred justice to this great German investigator. The highest mountain peak on Bering's Island will henceforth be called Mount Steller."
In speaking of a description by Steller of some rock formations on the western coast that resembled ancient ruins, Dr. S. says in the same article: "I landed at the only remaining one of these arches, under which Steller had probably walked. It is a fine specimen of a natural triumphal arch, standing quite by itself. In honor of Steller I called it Steller's Triumphal Arch. No monument marks his resting-place on the desert steppes of Siberia; Russia has never forgiven him for his ingenuous criticism of the injustice of her courts; but Steller's name will nevertheless live. His Triumphal Arch, gaily decked with the variegated lichens Caloplaca murorum and crenulata, and adorned with the lovely white golden-eyed blossoms of the Chrysanthemum arcticum, is a monument that does fitting honor to the great naturalist."—Tr.
[88] Dr. Stejneger, in "Contributions to the History of the Commander Islands," published in Proceedings of U.S. Nat. Museum, 1882, p. 86, calls attention to Professor Nordenskjöld's erroneous statement, and gives the exact figures.—Tr.
[89] The correct name of this animal, Dr. Stejneger informs me, is Rhytina gigas.—Tr.
[90] Dr. Stejneger says, after a very careful and exhaustive discussion of this question: "It may thus be regarded as fairly proved that the unknown cetacean, which in 1846 was observed near the southern end of Bering Island, was a female narwhal. But, whatever it may have been, one thing is absolutely sure: it was not a sea-cow!" For references see Note 65.—Tr.
[91] These pits or earth huts lay in a direction from north to south. Next to Steller's hut was the miserable pit in which Vitus Bering, a hundred and forty-eight years ago, drew his last breath. August 30, 1882, Dr. Stejneger visited this place, of which he gives the following description in Deutsche Geographische Blätter, 1885, pp. 265-6: "I was first attracted to the ruins of the huts in which the shipwrecked crew passed a winter a hundred and forty-one years previous. On a projecting edge of the western slope of the mountain, in the northern corner of the valley, stands a large Greek cross. Tradition says that Bering was buried there. The present cross is of recent date. The old one, erected by the Russian company, was shattered by a storm, but the stump may still be seen. No one thought of erecting a new one, until Hr. von Grebnitski attended to the matter. Directly southeast of the cross, close to the edge of a steep declivity, about twenty feet high, lie the fairly well preserved ruins of the house. The walls are of peat, about three feet high and three feet thick. They were covered with a very luxuriant growth of grass, and, moreover, swarms of mosquitoes helped make investigation very unpleasant work. * * * The floor was covered with a thick turf, the removal of which was out of the question. I probed the whole surface with a bayonet, but nothing of significance was found. * * * A part of the crew were undoubtedly lodged in the sandpits under the barrow, of which Steller speaks. And in fact traces of the pits still exist, although they no longer have any definite form, being, moreover, so overgrown with vegetation that nothing could be ascertained from them. Some Arctic foxes had burrowed there. At our approach the whole brood came out, and in close proximity stood curiously gazing at us. Steller and his companions are gone, but the Arctic fox, which played them so many tricks, is still there. The pits, now merely an irregular heap of sand filled with burrows, lie close to the brook, where it curves sharply toward the west, cutting into the declivity on which the house stands."—Author's Note to American Edition.
[92] Old style
[93] Bancroft, who, strange to say, calls Chirikoff "the hero of this expedition," gives a detailed account of the voyage of the St. Paul after its separation from the St. Peter. Lauridsen does not do this, for the obvious reason that he considers Chirikoff's expedition of but comparatively little importance, although he doubtless would be willing to second Bancroft's estimate of Chirikoff as a man "who, amongst Russians, was the noblest and most chivalrous of them all." There seems to be no reason to doubt that Chirikoff sighted the coast of Northwest America about thirty-six hours before Bering did. On the 11th of July signs of land were seen, and on the 15th land was sighted in latitude 55° 21', according to Bancroft, who, at this point in his narrative, exclaims: "Thus was the great discovery achieved." Chirikoff's return voyage was fraught with hardships and suffering. Before the expedition reached Avacha Bay, October 8, twenty-one were lost. The pilot Yelagin alone of all the officers could appear on deck, and he finally brought the ship into the harbor of Petropavlovsk. Croyère, the astronomer, died as soon as he was exposed to the air on deck. Chirikoff, very ill, was landed the same day. Eventful as the expedition in some respects was, it nevertheless possesses no particular geographical or scientific interest, for there is great doubt even as to where landings were made and what islands were seen. Bancroft speaks very cautiously on these points. Sokoloff, however, declares emphatically that the land first discovered by Chirikoff was a slight projection of the coast between Capes Addington and Bartholomew of Vancouver's map. Moreover, the lands in these regions received no names from the St. Paul, whereas the St. Peter forged, along the islands of the North Pacific, a chain of names, many of which are still the permanent possession of geography. When it is furthermore remembered that Chirikoff was one of Bering's assistants, that the fitting out of the expedition was under the charge of Bering, and that upon him rested all responsibility to the government, it is certainly impossible for any fair minded person to accept the statement that Chirikoff "must ever be regarded as the hero of this expedition." Bancroft does not, however, approve of Sokoloff's vainglorious expressions concerning "the achievements of Chirikoff, a true Russian, as against Bering the Dane." Principally in the one fact of a few hours' priority of discovery, Solokoff finds proof of "the superiority of the Russians in scientific navigation!" Bancroft occasionally reminds the reader that "Russian historians are perhaps a little inclined to magnify the faults of Bering the Dane," and in this instance administers to Sokoloff the following reproof: "So the learner is often apt to grow bold and impudent and despise the teacher. The great Peter was not above learning navigation from Bering the Dane." In speaking of Bering's death, Bancroft further retrieves himself—indeed, seems quite to supersede his former opinion—by saying: "Thus passed from earth, as nameless tens of thousands have done, the illustrious commander of the expeditions which had disclosed the separation of the two worlds and discovered north-westernmost America." See History of Alaska, p. 68 et seq.—Tr.