pedition that was set on foot with unbounded liberality by the most. magnanimous sovereign in the world; which had raised the expecta tion of all nations to the highest pitch, and induced mankind, to anticipate the satisfaction of obtaining the most complete knowlege of the geography of this unknown part of the globe, together with a conviction of the existence or non-existence of a north-west passage. But, alas! after so many years of danger and fatigue; after putting the government to such an extraordinary expence; after having advanced so far in the attempt, even at the very time when we were in hourly expectation of our consort, and, as appeared to me, being just entering upon the grand part of the undertaking, thus to abandon it, was the most unaccountable and unjustifiable of actions.

I despaired of seeing Captain Hall again, at least until our return to Kamtshatka, or perhaps St. Petersburg, unless we should be so fortunate as to join company before leaving this island, which might, perhaps, alter the present plan, and lead us to pursue the real object of the expedition.

The remonstrances of Captain Saretsheff at the Kovima, on the Icy Sea, &c. &c. and in fact the representations of every officer who had hitherto presumed to have an opinion, were always treated by the Commander with petulant and illiberal retorts. I have, indeed, had too frequent opportunities of observing, that rank and power intoxicate the possessor, unless they have been the reward of real merit, or the consequences of seniority in actual service; in which cases, the value of authority is known, as wealth gained by labour and not used as the accidental and unexpected inheritance of a prodigal.'

After having passed several islands, and touched at the coast of America, the Slava Rossie anchored on the 4th of Angust in the bay of St. Lawrence. Captain Billings now proceeded to accomplish one of the last objects of the expedition; viz. to survey the Tshutski coast. He was recommended in his instructions, indeed, to endeavour to enter the Icy Sea by Bering Straits: but this he did not attempt; why, we cannot say but the author seems to blame him for the omission. The plan settled was, that Captain B. and eleven of the party should proceed through the country of the Tshutski to the Kovima, and thence to Kamtshatka; at which place Captain Saretsheff, (on whom the command of the ship devolved,) after having visited Oonalashka, was to meet him early in the spring. On the 13th of August, the baidars of the Tshutski took Captain Billings's baggage on shore, and the expedition separated. The distance between the two continents at the bay of St, Lawrence is, according to Mr. Sauer, 48 miles.

Captain Saretsheff sailed directly to Oonalashka; and a few. days after he reached it, Captain Hall arrived in the smaller ship. Both vessels were hauled into the bay, and secured by mooring ropes from the violence of the winds: the officers

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and most of the seamen slept on board, but Mr. S. and three others constructed a hut on shore. The individuals of the expedition lived cordially, and with as much comfort as could be expected in such an island. During their residence, inhabitants came from Kadiak and the neighbouring islands, to procure remedies against the lues venerea; with which, former adventurers, intent only on their own pleasures, had cursed the unfortunate islanders.

In the chapters in which the residence at Oonalashka is re lated, the author gives an account of the productions of the island, of the inhabitants, customs, religion, &c.—Their instructions and other accounts had warned the party against the scurvy and its dreadful ravages; and thinking,' says Mr. S. the best way to guard against it was, to copy the natives in their mode of living, I made the chief part of my diet consist of raw fish, muscles, and limpets; using, instead of tea in the morning, a teaspoonful of essence of spruce in a small tea kettle full of boiling water; and in the evening, we boiled beer with berries, sugar, and pepper, which, with the addition of some corn-brandy, was our substitute for punch.'

The scurvy, however, was not to be avoided; the greater part of the expedition were affected; and those, who were apparently the strongest, were most speedily and violently attacked. In March, the weather changing, and the damps and mists happening less frequently, the disease abated, and the Oonalashkans were able to procure abundance of fish for the use of the crew.

According to the author, the Oonalashkans are very ingenious, but suffer much from the cruelty of the Russian hunters; and on account of the remoteness of these Aleutan islands from the seat of government, this inhumanity is not likely to be checked, and will terminate only with the extirpation of the animals of the chace: an event which Mr. S. considers as by no means improbable. Shelikoff, whose station was at Kadiak, is likely to engross the whole of the trade, in these parts.

On the 16th of May,' says Mr. S. our vessels were hauled into the outer bay. We were now elated at the prospect of once more revisiting Kamtshatka, after the melancholy sensations that we had endured for eight months and sixteen days, passed in one continual state of anxiety upon this island, the grave of seventeen of our stoutest hands; where, during the whole of our stay, we had only • been cheered eighteen times with the sight of the sun, and never experienced one clear day. On the 17th we sailed out of the Bay of Amoknak, and the same day saw the very remarkable solitary rock, resembling a pillar, situated about 30 miles north of the eastern point of Oomnak.'

REV. MAY, 1803.

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On their arrival at St. Peter and St. Paul, they found an English vessel from Bengal with commodities, (ironmongery, cordage, rum, &c.) which, as Mr. S. observes, were at Kamtshatka invaluable; the English Captain, however, was obliged to return without disposing of his cargo, because the Governor was afraid to purchase on account of government, and the merchants, a set of roving pedlars, had neither capital nor credit. In July, Captains Hall and Saretsheff left Kamtshatka, for Ochotsk; and shortly after their departure, the author received a letter from Mr. Main, acquainting him that the party under Captain Billings, after having suffered innumerable hardships, and the dread of being murdered by the Tshutski, had reached the River Angarka *.

The following is an account of an earthquake which happened at Kamtshatka:

On the 11th August, in the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, I observed a number of swallows flying about, apparently much frightened. They were red breasted, a species never remembered to have been seen here; and the inhabitants immediately predicted some remarkable event; they were, however, only seen during the morning. The next morning, about five o'clock, we were alarmed by a violent shock of an earthquake, preceded by a rumbling noise, little short of thunder. The motion of the earth was undulatory for nearly the space of a minute. I was dressing myself, and was thrown down, which induced me to get out of the house as quickly as possible. The water in the bay was agitated like a boiling cauldron. The shock came from the north-east, and appeared to me to continue upwards of two minutes; but other gentlemen were of opinion that it did not last more than one. A sailor, one of the watchmen on board the ship, was thrown out of his hammock. At Paratounca it was more violent; the earth opened in many places, and water and sand were thrown up to a considerable height; all the buildings in the village were more or less damaged; one balagan was thrown down; some of the ovens (the only brick-work about the buildings) were also shaken in; and all the paintings, &c. in the church, except Captain Clerke's escutcheon, were thrown from their fastchings.

At Neizshni Kamtshatka the inhabitants were extremely terrified; nor could they explain whether the noise or the shock preceded. The situation of the town is on a neck of land formed by the discharge of the Raduga, a considerable river, into the Kamtshatka; the bed of the former was dry, and the inhabitants ran across it toward the mountains. They, as well as the cattle, were thrown down; and the continuance of the trembling was, according to their account, near an hour; the earth opened in many places, and sunk considerably in some. The volcano Klutshefskoi emitted a vast co

*Mr. S. varies his spelling. This word is Ansarka in the map; and Tshuan in his page is Ishuan in the map.

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lump of black smoke; a noise like thunder seemed to issue from the bowels of the earth; the bells of the two churches rang violently; and the howling of the dogs, and screams of the people, surpassed all description, for the latter expected every moment to see the complete destruction of the town. But when the shock was over, the lost water of the river resumed its former channel, and the inhabitants returned to their dwellings. Not a single brick chimney or oven was left standing. The altar of one of the churches was separated from it about a foot, inclining a contrary way; and the greater part of the balagans were thrown down.

It is remarkable, that the inhabitants of the village at the foot of the burning mountain only heard the noise, and did not feel the shock; nor did it cross the mountains to the western shores of the peninsula.'

In the 21st chapter, the peninsula of Kamtshatka is described; and the account forms a valuable addition to our knowlege of that country derived from Captain King and other sources. On the 2d of August 1792, Mr. S., &c. took their departure from Kamtshatka in a galliot, and arrived at Ochotsk on the 19th. On the 1st of September, they departed for Yakutsk; which place Mr. S., leaving his baggage and companions behind in the woods, reached alone on the 2d of October. Captain Billings was at Yakutsk, but he does not appear to have communicated to Mr. S. any account of what he saw and observed in the land of the Tshutski: Mr. Sauer, however, inserts all the intelligence which he could procure respecting this part of the expedition, and which he obtained from the journal of one of the party. We find in it nothing very remarkable. It may be useful for the speculators on the origin of Gothic Architecture, to know that the roofs of the huts of the Tshutski consist of whale's ribs and cheek bones arched.

The succeeding passage shews that the character of the Gipsy is the same in Siberia as in England:

I was surprised at the appearance of detached families of Gipsies throughout the government of Tobolsk; and upon inquiry I learned, that several roving companies of these people had strolled into the city of Tobolsk. The Governor thought of establishing a colony of them; but they were too cunning for the simple Siberian peasant; which induced him to separate each family. He placed them on the footing of the peasants, and allotted a portion of land for cultivation, with a view of making them useful to society. They, however, reject houses even in this severe climate, and dwell in open tents or sheds; nor can they be brought to any regular course of industry; but they watch every traveller, and pretend to explain the mysteries of futurity, by palmistry or physiognomy. The peasant dreads their power, and from motives of fear contributes to their support, lest

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they should spoil his cattle and horses. It is said, that they are very skilful farriers and cowleeches,'

On the 10th of March 1794, the author returned to St. Petersburgh, dreadfully afflicted with the rheumatism. Dr. Rogers and the British merchants behaved with great kindness to him; and, to use his own words, they prevented the miseries of penury from being added to his misfortunes.'

The appendix, besides the instructions to Captain Billings, already mentioned, contains a vocabulary of the Yukagir, Yakut, and Tungoose or Lamut languages; a vocabulary of the languages of Kamtshatka, the Aleutan islands, and of Kadiak; a list of the different stages from St. Petersburgh to Yakutsk; and an account of the full pay of the different ranks, with other dependencies, attendant on the Expedition.

Such are, in outline, the contents of a large book, which we have read without tedium, and even with alacrity; although, when we endeavour to sum up in our minds the knowlege which it has conveyed to us, the amount does not appear to be considerable. Plain narrative pleases, while it presents us with a continual change of scene: it requires no great attention or mental exertion; we glide along its pages, and are freed from the trouble of marching:-plain narrative is like plain food, which may be taken every day with undiminished appetite : while the consequences of the highly stimulant intellectual luxuries are debility and exhaustion; and they can be taken but rarely and sparingly.

That considerable advantage has been derived from this expedition, cannot be denied: but it is clear that all its objects were not accomplished. We dare not positively assert that they might have been attained, with a greater exertion of skill and intrepidity; yet Mr. Sauer evidently censures Captain Billings for desisting so soon in his attempt to penetrate the Icy Sea; for not endeavouring to pass Bering's Streights from the sea between Kamtshatka and America; and for not exploring the coast to the South of Cook's River. The author and Captain B., however, were not cordial; and, putting aside the present narrative, there is a considerable presumption in favour of Captain B.; he was an English officer, and had attended the celebrated Cook in his last voyage.

In a geographical point of view, the benefits resulting from this expedition consist in ascertaining the position of several places on the Kovima, and in a more exact determination of the

* Dr. Robertson, in his History of America, vol. ii. note, p. 439. (octavo edition,) mentions the plan of Captain Billings's Expedition.

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