August 16th, the wind and weather being favorable, Madame Lariwanoff, her daughter, and man-servant, came on board, and we put to sea; and I have every reason to believe with the fervent prayers of every individual upon the island for God’s blessing upon their patroness, and good speed to our little craft. The next day we saw the new island, to which I was desirous to get near enough to send a baidarka, particularly as the Doctor was anxious to get some specimens of natural history; but a thick fog coming up, and having a leading wind, we concluded to continue our voyage without loss of time. On the 18th we lost sight of the islands, and, with a light wind and rain, slowly pursued our course to the westward, across the Sea of Kamtchatka, to the north of the Aleutian group; but such was our tardy progress, that by the 28th we had only reached the neighborhood of Atter, the most western island. Then for ten days in succession we had calms, fogs, and light adverse winds. Our patience was sorely tried, but the monotony of our life was alleviated by the numerous and great variety of sea-birds, which were constantly flying round us, and furnished endless sport with the musket. And here I feel bound to record the marvellous skill, or good luck, of the Doctor, as he killed a whole flock of four wild geese at one shot; and, what was still better, we got out our baidarka, and took them all aboard.
Still creeping along with the same dull winds and disagreeable weather, on the 3d of September we found ourselves in latitude 52° north, and longitude 170° east, which placed us a considerable distance southwest of Atter. We began to entertain fears lest we should not reach the port of our destination in season; but on the 6th, for the first time since leaving Oonalashka, we took a strong northeast gale, which carried us into the vicinity of the Kurile Islands. Our hopes began to revive, and the prospect of reaching Ochotsk to brighten; but again were we doomed to disappointment. A severe blow from the southeast obliged us to heave to, with a heavy sea running; and we drifted back over the course we had just sailed, at the rate of two miles an hour. A considerable quantity of the provisions for the sailors consisted of whale’s blubber, which was hanging on our quarter, and was of course well soaked with oil. This we found to be a great advantage, for it made a “slick” to the windward for nearly a mile, and prevented the sea from breaking over us.
Strong westerly winds continued to baffle us until the 14th, when, having no hope of reaching Ochotsk before the autumn was so far spent that we should be obliged to make a winter’s journey across Siberia, we concluded to alter our course, and sail for the harbor of St. Peter and St. Paul, or Petropowlowsk, in Kamtchatka. We made port on the 22d, and anchored abreast the village. We were kindly and hospitably received by the Company’s Superintendent, as well as by the officers of the military department, and especially by Major Antony Ivanah and lady, who showed me many civilities. Madam Lariwanoff and daughter were taken in charge by the Superintendent, and provided with comfortable quarters. The Doctor and myself at once took temporary lodgings on the shore, until we could make permanent arrangements for the winter. Having discharged all the cargo, and dismantled our little craft, we hauled her up on the beach at the first spring tide. Provisions and accommodations were provided at the settlement for the crew as well as ourselves; and in fact the people seemed desirous to do everything in their power to render our stay amongst them as comfortable and agreeable as the nature of the place would admit.
VI.
Settled for another Winter.—Arrival of old Friends.—Dogs and Sledging.—A Russian Christening.
Detained for another winter, we endeavored at once to make the acquaintance of the inhabitants of the village, and to become familiar with the country in its vicinity. We were introduced to all the people of note, and kindly entertained by them. We made pedestrian excursions for several miles in every direction, and visited all the common places of resort. The scenery was picturesque, and the view from the elevations was beautiful and grand. The Awatska Bay, or outer harbor, as it is called, is completely land-locked, and at the same time so extensive, that a thousand ships might ride at anchor in it with safety. The distant mountains, and particularly the high peak Awatska, add greatly to the landscape. The latter presents the imposing spectacle of a volcano in full blast, always overhung with a cloud of smoke, and constantly belching fire and lava.
We had only one source of annoyance at the village during the early part of our stay, and we soon became well used to that. I refer to the barking of the numerous dogs, though it can scarcely be called barking, for they howl like a wolf. At sunset regularly they would begin their serenade at one end of the settlement,—which, by the way, extended all round the harbor,—and in the course of half an hour all the voices would join in the chorus, and keep it up all night long. With this single temporary drawback, we passed our time very pleasantly until the first of November. By then we had visited on foot all the places in the more immediate neighborhood, and we concluded to make a short boat excursion to a small river named Paratunka, to see some warm springs situated several miles from its mouth. This spring issues from the ground in a boiling state, and spreads out over a basin excavated for its reception. It forms an excellent bathing-place, being of suitable depth, with a sandy bottom, and the bather can choose any degree of warmth he pleases. The water is impregnated with sulphur and other minerals. We found here some Russian invalids who had come to enjoy the use of the spring. All the rivers in the neighborhood abounded in salmon, though it was so late in the season; and we protracted our stay for a day or two, hunting and fishing, and boiling our game in the hot water of the spring.
PETROPOWLOWSK IN KAMTCHATKA