Rurick underwent the necessary repairs, and these being completed, set sail for Kamtschatka. They looked in vain for Davis's Land and Wareham's Rocks, in the direction marked on Arrowsmith's chart; and Lieutenant Kotzebue is of opinion that the latter do not exist at all, but have been confounded with the Island of Sales. On arriving off Easter Island, they were surprised at being received by the natives with evident distrust and some hostile demonstrations. No women appeared among the multitudes assembled on the beach, whereas, preceding voyagers have had to complain of their importunity. And although the natives were eager to deal with the strangers, swimming to the boats with banana-fruits and sugar cane, which they bartered for any bits of iron, yet, on the attempt to land, the crew of the Rurick were saluted with showers of stones, to which they were obliged to put an end by some musket shots. They were obliged to have recourse to the same mode of self-protection in making good their retreat to the boats. This change in the behaviour of these hitherto friendly savages, was explained to Lieutenant Kotzebue on his arrival at the Sandwich Islands. The captain of an American schooner, who had employed himself in the year 1805, in catching a kind of seal, valuable for its skin, which is found in the little unin habited island of Massafuero, resolved to establish a colony there, to carry on the fishery; and as he had no hands to spare from his own crew, he bethought him of the old expedient of man-stealing. In pursuance of this nefarious design, he sailed to Easter Island, and landing at Cook's Bay, endeavoured to seize upon a number of the inhabitants.

The combat is said to have been bloody, as the brave islanders de fended themselves with intrepidity; but they were obliged to yield to the terrible arms of the Europeans: and twelve men, and ten women, fell into the merciless hands of the Americans. Upon this, the poor creatures were carried on board, fettered for the first three days, and not released till they were out of sight of land. The first use they made of their recovered liberty, was, that the men jumped overboard; and the women, who attempted to follow them, were prevented only by force. The captain made the ship lie to, in hope that they would return on board for refuge, when they were threatened by the waves. He, however, soon perceived how much he had been mistaken; for the savages, used: to the water from their infancy, thought it not impossible, notwithstanding the distance of three days' voyage, to reach their native country; and at all events they preferred perishing in the waves, to leading a miserable life in captivity. After they had disputed for some time as to the direction they should take, they separated; some took the direct way to Easter Island, and the others to the North. The captain, extremely enraged at this unexpected heroism, sent a boat after them, which returned after many fruitless efforts, as they always dived at the approach of the

boat, and the sea compassionately received them into its bosom. At last the captain left the men to their fate, and brought the women to Massafuero; and is said to have afterwards made many attempts to steal some of the people from Easter Island.'

What became of the women, we are left to conjecture from the atrocious character of this worse than savage. To acts of perfidy and violence like this, but which may never have been disclosed, there is reason to attribute much of the apparently causeless distrust or wanton cruelty of savage nations.

On the 10th of April, land was descried, which proved to be a small, low island, covered with thick bushes, and sur rounded with coral reefs, answering the description of the Dog Island of Schouten. As Lieut. Kotzebue could not discover the latter in the latitude assigned to it, there can be little doubt that his Doubtful Island is the same which Schouten discovered, its proper latitude being, 14°. 15'. 11". S. On the 20th and 22nd, they discovered two other islands, to which he gave the names of Romanzoff's Island and Spiridof's Island; lat 14°, 57'. 20", and 14°. 41'. At the former of these they landed, and found it to abound in cocoa and palm trees. No natives made their appearance, but the recent traces of visiters were every where visible. In some uninhabited huts were found several articles of savage workmanship, and some poles with fishing-nets, which confirmed the conjecture that the island was visited at a certain season of the year for the sake of the fishery. They also met with several well made reservoirs, containing some water of a good taste. On the 23d, to the North of Palliser's Islands, they fell in with a groupe of coral islands, to which Lieut. Kotzebue gave the name of Rurick's Chain. Dean's Island, which is incorrectly laid down on Arrowsmith's chart, was discovered to the West. This also is composed of a circle of small islands, joined by coral reefs. To another groupe, still further westward, thirteen miles in extent, and having in the centre a large lake with a thickly wooded island in it, they gave the name of Krusenstern's Islands. Baumann's Islands they could not find and Lieut. K. considers their existence as highly improbable. Penrhyn's Islands are another circle connected by coral reefs with a central lake, and are covered with a thick wood of cocoa trees. The population, which appeared to be numerous, bear a general resemblance to the people of the Marquesas: they differ, however, from the other South Sea Islanders, in not being tattoed; they are unusually bold and savage, and for the most part quite naked. Mulgrave Islands could not be descried in the direction they have been reported to occupy. On the 21st, after having passed during the night, as they afterwards discovered, between some

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other low coral chains, they arrived at two other groupes, extending twenty-five miles from North to South, the channel between them being in lat. 11°. 11'. 20". N. To these were given the names of Kutusoff and Suwaroff. On approaching the former island, a large boat, with nine islanders in it, came off towards them under full sail, and approached within a hundred fathoms of the Rurick.

'The modest and agreeable manners of these islanders,' says Lieut. K. ' which differed so entirely from the savage behaviour of those of the Penrhyns, astonished us greatly, as we could not expect to find this in the South Sea, in an island that had never been visited. They were all unarmed, and the strictest subordination was evident. The chief sat on the left side with his legs under him, on an elevation, placed on the outrigger, which was ornamented with coloured mats, having his head adorned with flowers and shell-wreaths...... We admired the rapidity with which their boat sailed close to the wind: it had only one disproportionately large sail, of fine woven mats, which was in the shape of an acute-angled triangle, the acute angle being undermost. The skill and quickness with which they put about their boat in tacking, deserved the admiration of every seaman. These islanders were of a black colour, tall, and slender; their straight black hair was tastefully interwoven with wreaths of flowers; their neck and ears singularly ornamented. Their clothing consisted of two curiously woven coloured mats, tied to the waist, one before and the other behind, descending to the knee; the other part of the body was naked. One could read the expression of obligingness and good nature on their countenance; and yet they have some resemblance to the Malays.'

They entered Avatscha Bay on the 19th of June, and in less than a month, their repairs and other arrangements being completed, the Rurick sailed for Beering's Strait. On the 26th July, (misprinted June,) she made Beering's Island, and on the 27th stood off the south-western part of St. Lawrence's Islands. Here Lieut. Kotzebue landed with a detachment of the crew, well armed, and had a friendly interview with the natives, who are described as resembling the inhabitants of Norton Sound, their language also being similar. Their clothing, which consists of skins, is filthy to the highest degree. They appear to visit this part only in the summer, for the purpose of carrying on the whale, morse, and seal fishery; their only dwellings being small tents made of the ribs of whales; and covered with morse-skin. The land has a most dismal appearance, consisting of mountains covered with snow. Not a single tree, not even a bush adorns the gray rocks. Only short grass sprouts up here and there between the moss, and a few stinted plants rise above the ground; and yet, many a flower blows

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here. On learning that Kotzebue was the commander, the natives invited him to their tent.

A filthy piece of leather was placed on the ground for me to sit on; and then they came up to me, one after the other-each of them embraced me, rubbed his nose hard against mine, and ended his caresses by spitting in his hands and wiping them several times over my face. Though these signs of friendship were not very agreeable to me, I bore all patiently. To suppress their further tenderness, I distributed some tobacco-leaves, which they received with much pleasure, and were going to repeat all their caresses again. I hastily took some knives, scissars, and beads, and thus happily prevented a second attack. An almost still greater misery awaited me; when, in order to refresh me, they brought forth a wooden trough of whale-blubber, (a great delicacy among all the northern inhabitants of the sea-coasts), and I bravely took some of it, sickening and dangerous as this food is to an European stomach. This, and some other presents, which I afterwards made them, sealed the bond of our friendly acquaintance. My host, the proprietor of the tent, and probably the chief of his countrymen present, after our meals ordered a dance; one of them stept forwards, made the most comical motions with his whole body, without stirring from his place, making the most hideous grimaces; the others sung a song, consisting of only two notes, sometimes louder, sometimes lower, and the time was beat on a small tambourine. After I had amused myself, with my friends, in this manner, for two hours, I took a short walk into the interior of the island, but was soon obliged to return on account of the fog. As I feared that it might increase before we reached the ship, I was obliged to quit the island, sooner than I should have done, had the weather been fine. The savages appeared affected at our leaving them, and promised to visit us on board.'

pp. 192, 3.

Two days after, they received a visit from a detachment of natives from the northern side of the Islands, where a low tongue of land, extending to the west, has a singular appearance, arising from the subterranean dwellings of the natives, and the number of whale ribs set up perpendicularly between them.

'As soon as they perceived us, they pushed off from shore three baydares) each containing ten men. They left off rowing, when they had approached the Rurick within ten yards: and then, with doleful voices, commenced a mournful song. Upon this, one in the middle arose, holding up a small black dog, and after speaking some words in an expressive manner, drew a knife, with which he gave the dog a mortal wound, and then threw the poor victim into the sea. After the conclusion of this ceremony, during which the deepest silence was observed in the

A baydare is a large open boat, quite flat, made of the skin of the sea-lion. The Kamtschadales use them on shore by way of tents.

baydares, they approached the ship, but only a few ventured on board. I found no difference between these and our friends of yesterday. They call themselves, like them, Tschibocko; and the coast of Asia, opposite to them, Wemen.

There can be litle doubt, we think, that this was meant as a religious rite, either of augury or of propitiation. On the 30th of July, they were off the American shore, between Cape Prince of Wales and Guozdoff's Islands, which were discovered to be four in number, instead of three, as Captain Cook supposed. The habitations which cover this part of the coast, indicate a numerous population. On landing, the voyagers went into the jurtes or subterranean dwellings, which are described as cleanly and convenient.

The entrance at the S.E. side was an opening, three feet high, supported by wood, which on the outside was prolonged on each side by mud walls. We entered, first, into an apartment ten feet long, seven broad, and seven high the walls and the top were covered with wood. To the left hand, in a pit which extended all along the room, lay pieces of black blubber, about a foot square, and besides these lay sieves with long handles. To the right was a rather narrow pit, two feet and a half deep, and seven long, through the end of which we had to creep to get into an apartment, which was, indeed, six feet high, though not broader than the pit. Now we had a wooden partition before us, in the middle of which was a round opening one foot and a half in diameter, through which we were obliged to creep into a spacious anti-room, the four walls of which were ten feet long, and six feet high; the height increased towards the middle, and at the top was a small four cornered bole, covered! with a bladder, which served for a window. On the wall opposite the entrance, broad boards, fastened one foot and a half above the floor, served for sleeping places, which only took up a third part of the room, and at the side walls they had placed some ladders quite horizontally, to set up their utensils.. The walls and top, consisted of small beams, the visible sides of which were made even. All the habitations were built according to this plan, with the exception of one, where a more numerous family appeared to reside, as this had two more small siderooms. Their floors are raised three feet above the earth, under which there are store-rooms, and perhaps dog-kennels, as they are only three feet high; the walls and floors are also made of wood: they have likewise windows, but no sleeping benches. Several utensils, and other very neat work of the inhabitants, lay scattered about in their dwellings. I particularly remarked two very neatly made sledges of morse and whale-bones, which likewise shows, that they are used to be drawn by dogs. pp. 200, 1.

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The inhabitants were supposed to have fled at the approach of the strangers, but several dogs came fawning up to them. After exploring this island, (for such it proved to be, and it re