A Voyage of Discovery, into the South Sea and Beering's Straits, for the purpose of exploring a North-East Passage ... in ... 1815-1818 [Including the introduction by A. J. von Krusenstern; Instructions for Astronomical observations by Hörner, and an Appendix containing remarks on natural...

Front matter

KOTZEBUE'S VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. VOL. I. LoNnON : Printed by A. and R. Spottiswoode, New- Street- Square. /. -Z_«. K . 'ffiteuti ef 'JZnJa/w%m& f J%rfzeJu& ,frum/. A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, INTO THE SOUTH SEA AND BEERING'S STRAITS, for the purpose of EXPLORING A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE, UNDERTAKEN* IN THE YEARS 1815 1818, AT THE EXPENSE OF HIS HIGHNESS THE CHANCELLOR OF THE FMrsRE, COUNT ROMANZOFF, IN THE SHIP RURICK, UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE LIEUTENANT IN THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL NAVY, OTTO VON KOTZEBUE. ILLUSTRATED IVITH NUMEROUS PLATES AND MAPS. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWX, TATERNOSTFR-ROW. 1821. In laying before the public a work of such general interest, as Kotzebue's Voyage Round the World, the translator does not feel him self called upon to preface it with any laboured recommendation.

The circumstances relative to the origin and progress of the undertaking, which have from time to time transpired, through the public journals, have excited a great desire for the publication of these volumes, not merely in Germany, but in England and France. The expedition was known to have originated in the enlarged views of that great patron of the sciences, His Highness Count Romanzoff, Grand Chancellor of the Russian empire, and to have been fitted out with princely munifi cence at his sole expense. The conductor of the expedition was known to have already made a voyage round the world, with Commodore a VI Krusenstern, and to have been recommended by him to Count Romanzoff, as eminently quali fied for the command of such an undertaking. Extracts from many of the letters that Lieu tenant Kotzebue wrote to his father, during his voyage, were published in Germany, and even in England ; which not only made the public familiar with the expedition and its objects, but also excited expectations in its favour, which the translator ventures to affirm will be fully satisfied by a perusal of these volumes.

A few words respecting the translation it self may, perhaps, be required. The first object of the translator has been fidelity to his original : he has not sought to embellish, by superadded ornaments of style and colouring, the unaffected language of a plain, though well educated and accomplished seaman ; he has merely endeavoured to put it into such natural and manly language as it would become an English naval officer to write, and as an intelligent reader may peruse with satisfaction. The scientific parts of a work of this kind being of so great importance to geography and navigation, for the benefit of which sciences such expeditions are expressly undertaken, the most scrupulous attention has been paid to avoid even the smallest error, in the latitudes and longitudes ; the bearings of points of the coasts ; the measurements of the depths ofthe sea, of the strength of the currents ; and, in short, of every thing ex pressed in figures.

Introduction

. * I wo problems have engaged, for some centuries, tlie attention of the geographer, and still more ot' the navigator ; the discovery of a Southern Con tinent ; and that of a Northern Passage from the Atlantic to the Southern Ocean, or, vice versa, from tlie South Sea into the Atlantic. The first problem was solved by the immortal Cook ; who, in his second voyage, exploded the notion of a Southern Continent, the existence of which was thought to be necessary to preserve the balance between the two hemispheres, and in which the * In compliance with the wish of the author, a pupil of whom I am proud, I prefix some observations to his account of his voyage. This was also the wish of his unfortunate father, my lamented friend, with whom I lived for thirty years together in the most cordial intimacy ; whom I loved as my brother, and whose death I shall never cease to deplore, in common certainly with his numerous friends and all impartial persons to whom he was known. VOL. I. * B ■2

INTRODUCTION.

. most celebrated geographers ofthe middle of the last century, for instance, De Brosses and Dalrym ple, firmly believed, even assigning its limits and probable population. Before Cook, it sunk to the bottom of the ocean, " and, like the baseless fabric of a vision, left not a rack behind !" * The second problem remains, to this day, the subject of hypo thetical theories and practical researches. For three successive centuries the connection between the two oceans has been sought in vain ; the greatest navigators of all nations have participated in the attempt to solve this difficult problem, but in this, as in all other maritime enterprizes, the English were they who chiefly distinguished themselves. To them we are indebted for the first attempt ; with the most laudable perseverance they have continued their exertions, without intermission, up to the present time ; and to them we shall, in all probability, be obliged for finally and satisfactorily ascertaining the existence or non-existence of this remarkable passage.

Had Cook's life been spared, this object would, perhaps, have been attained j since, if the passage had not been explored by him, he would at least have demonstrated the im- * Cook, indeed, thought it possible that a continent might exist near the South Pole, because it was his opinion that ice cannot be formed except in the neighbourhood of land, and that, consequently, the immense masses of ice which we meet with in the south polar regions, must originate from a large continent near the South Pole ; but he was equally convinced that this south polar continent would never be discovered.

INTRODUCTION.

. possibility of exploring it ; for that which was im possible to Cook could hardly be possible for another Russia, too, which, since the time of Peter the Great, has possessed a navy, and never was in different to any thing that might tend to the im provement of science, would not be behind other nations in endeavouring to solve this interesting problem; and during two successive years, three vessels, commanded by the late Admiral Tschits chagoff, father of the present admiral, were em ployed to search for the passage, exactly in the North, between Greenland and Spitzbergen. This expedition shared the fate of all preceding attempts of the kind, without any blame being attributable to the admiral, any more than to Lord Mulgrave, who was sent from England seven years later, in the same direction, and proceeded only twelve minutes farther to the North than the Russian commander.

Cook's third voyage, though not finished by himself, seemed to have put an end to all doubts respecting the possibility of a Northern Passage; but we do not know whether the great man himself really despaired of it. His researches in Beering's Straits brought him, the first year, to the 70th degree, where the ice hindered him from proceeding ; yet he resolved to renew his researches there the succeeding year ; this design was frustra ted by his untimely end, but the resolution he had taken proves that he did not doubt the possibility, vol. 1. * b ■1.

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. if not of complete success, yet of penetrating farther to the North and East than he had done the year before. Cook's third voyage may be considered as the last attempt made in the eigh teenth century to solve the celebrated problem ; for the'object of Captain Vancouver's voyage was not to look for a Northern Passage, as the title of his work might lead one to suppose, but to under take an accurate examination of the whole coast of America, from the 30th degree of latitude to Cook's Inlet. If, during this examination, any connection had been found between some deep inlet, and Baffin's or Hudson's Bay, it would of course have been explored by Vancouver. But it was more than probable that no such connection would be found to the South of Cook's Inlet ; for, at the time Cook was sent out, it had been recognised that a connection, if it does exist, is not to be found to the south of 65°; the accurate researches of Captain Middleton, and of Captains Smith and Moore, having proved that a connection with the South Sea from Hudson's Bay was im possible.

The extremely careful survey of the west coast of America, by Vancouver, proved that those who drew up Cook's instructions had good grounds for assuming that the passage must be sought to the north of the 65th degree. Only a few years after the termination of Cook's voyage, a state of things commenced in Europe, which was highly unfavourable to such under takings. The French revolution brought such a

INTRODUCTION.

. 5 mass of misery on all the countries of Europe, that they had more urgent wants to attend to, than the undertaking of enterprises, the success of which was so problematical ; nay, even in those under taken during this period, which promised a more certain acquisition to the sciences, the consequences of the all-destroying spirit of the revolution were but too evident. This was the case at least with the voyages of discovery undertaken from France ; the expedition, for example, sent in search of La Peyrouse, under the command of one of the ablest officers ofthe French navy, having dissolved itself before its completion, and that fitted out some years later having likewise failed ; at least, the results were not so brilliant as might have been justly expected, from an expedition amply supplied with every requisite : the reason, doubtless, was, that the imperial French marine had not yet returned to the ancient spirit of order.

Nay, if we would at tribute its failure only to the ignorance of the commander*, who was not at all animated with the spirit of discovery and science, still it may be easily imagined that, under a different order of things, no such choice would have been made. And, then, * It is remarkable, that in the journal of the voyage of the Geographe and Naturaliste, edited by Perron, the name of the commander is not once mentioned, as if it had been feared that the name of a man should go down to posterity, whom fate had so undeservedly favoured, as to place him at the head of a voyage of discovery. B

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. what shall we say to the treatment of Captain Flinders ? Confiding in the inviolability of the passports given him, not conceiving it possible to disgrace the French government, by the seizure of a ship engaged in a voyage of discovery, Captain Flinders placed himself, and his small vessel, which was in a sinking state, under the protection ofthe governor, who not only detained him and his ship, but even seized his journals. To deprive a man like Flinders, the greatest seaman that has appeared since Cook, of his liberty at such a time, was equivalent to killing him ; in fact, he survived but a short time the cruel inactivity of his imprison ment, in which he was condemned to languish above six years. There are doubtless more dreadful facts to be met with in the records of naval history, but I know of no one that excites more indigna tion than this treatment ofthe unhappy Flinders.

The almost uninterrupted wars in which Europe was engaged, and partly, too, the certainty which the last attempts of the English were supposed to have afforded, that a northern passage was impossi ble, were the causes that this problem had been laid aside as insoluble; and itis a question, whether another attempt would ever have been made, had not Count Romanzoff, who is distinguished for elevated views, and for whom bold enterprises have a particular charm, given the first impulse. He frequently conversed with me on the subject, and expressed his wish to see such an attempt ao-ain

INTRODUCTION.

. made. The political situation of Russia, even pre vious to the dreadful war of 1812, 1813, rendered it indeed quite impossible, even for the govern ment, to undertake such an enterprise : the Count, however, did not give up the idea of it, and, in or der to obtain for himself more information on the subject, as well as to acquaint the captain, to whom the command of the projected expedition should be confided, with all the attempts of preceding navigators, to find a northern passage, as well as with the opinions of those who had particularly studied the subject, I undertook, according to his wish, to draw up a view of all the Polar Voyages since the first attempt of the celebrated Sebastian Cabot, in the year 1497. to the last voyage of Cook. From this view it was evident, that a passage in the north was more than doubtful, but that another attempt, either from the west to the east, or from the east to the west, might perhaps not be a vain enterprize.

As soon, therefore, as the war with England was concluded, Count Romanzoff resolved to proceed to the execution of the plan at his own expense. With respect to the possibility of the success of such an enterprise, so much has been said both for and against it, on occasion of the expedition to the North Pole made by order of the English government, that it seemed unnecessary for me to repeat the arguments. According to my view of the matter, a passage to the north seems impossib

INTRODUCTION.

. ble ; so many attempts to approach the pole have been made by the most intrepid navigators of England and Holland, and not one has been able to penetrate to 81°. It is said, indeed, that since the east coast of Greenland has been free from ice, ships have reached 83°, but these rare in stances, connected, too, as they are, with a phenomenon, which, in all probability, will be of short duration, namely, the clearing of the coast of Greenland from ice, do not prove the possibility of reaching the pole itself. The case is different with a north-west passage, which seems to be less decidedly impossible. In order to go on sure grounds, it was requisite to seek for this passage as well from west to east, as from east to west; the first way had the advantage, that the western boundaries of Baffin's Bay, and the countries to the north of Hudson's Bay might be explored; which, not much to the credit of the nineteenth century, were still quite unknown : the other, on the con trary, had the advantage, that it included a voyage through the South Sea, and that the examination of the northern coast of America might be of advantage to our possessions in those countries.

Count Romanzoff resolved to make both attempts at the same time, only with this difference, that the attempt from west to east should be made by a ship (but not of too large a size), to be dispatched from Russia, and that the other should be undertaken from America, also at his expense,

INTRODUCTION.

. 9 under the direction of some enterprising American captain, for which purpose the Count had already opened a correspondence with America. This latter attempt, however, was not made ; because it was my opinion, that it should not be com menced till the first expedition had returned : it might then have the advantage of being under taken from Russia ; and not by Americans, but by Russians. The expedition fitted out from England two years later, of course rendered the execution of this second part of the plan quite unnecessary. With regard to the attempt to find a passage from the sea of Kamtschatka to the Atlantic Ocean, or from west to east, the endeavours of Captains Cook and Clerke in Beering's Straits, left but little hope of penetrating farther to the north than they had done ; but there were parts of the coast of Ame rica, both to the north and south of Beering's Straits, which those celebrated navigators could not explore ; a circumstance which, at least, left a spark of hope that some inlet might be found in those parts, connected, if not directly with Baffin's Bay, yet with some river falling into the Frozen Sea, (of which we already know two, the Copper mine River and Mackenzie River), from which it would be easier to penetrate into the Atlantic Ocean than through Beering's Straits and round Icy Cape. However little probability there might appear of finding a passage just here, its existence cannot be positively denied, till this part of the

INTRODUCTION.

. coast, particularly that to the south of Beering's Straits, which is 100 miles in extent, shall have been explored. But supposing that the wished-for discovery of a connection between the two seas should not be made in the intended voyage, yet many important advantages would accrue from it to the sciences, and especially to navigation. — 1. The conviction obtained by a new attempt, that it is impossible to penetrate farther to the north from Beering's Straits than Cook and Clerke have done, and consequently that no passage to the Atlantic Ocean can exist there. 2. The examination of the coast of America, which was not seen by the celebrated English navigator, on account of the shallowness of the water, which was now to be done, as well by water in Baidares, as by land.* 3. In case the examination of the coast of Ame rica northward of Beering's Straits could not be continued as far as Icy Cape, which, considering the small size of the vessel, was not possible, ex cept under very favourable circumstances, it was intended to prosecute the examination by land, in order to learn how far the coast extends to the north, and under what degree of latitude it begins to decline towards the east.

This land journey could not fail to afford important information * Captain Golownin was charged, in 1811, to examine this part of America, between Shoal Ness and Point Shallow ; but before he could execute this part of his instructions, he was taken prisoner by the Japanese.

INTRODUCTION.

. 11 respecting the internal state of this wholly un known part of America, if the inhospitable regions in which it was to be made would allow of its execution. 4. The crossing of the whole South Sea twice, in quite different directions, would cer tainly not a little contribute to enlarge our know ledge of this great ocean, as well as of the inhabit ants of the very numerous islands scattered over it ; and a rich harvest of objects of natural history was to be expected, as the Count had appointed, besides the ship's surgeon, an able naturalist to accompany the expedition. The projected under taking was therefore of the highest importance to science ; and, to speak without partiality, worthy of the greatest praise, because it is without a parallel. In the centuries immediately succeeding Vasco de Gama's doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and Magellan's voyage to the South Sea, there were indeed rich individuals who fitted out vessels at their own expense, to make discoveries in the seas so lately made known ; but this zeal has long since expired, and besides, the voyages of discovery in early times were not undertaken with such liberal motives as those which inspired the author of this expedition.

It was natural that an individual could not ex pend any very considerable sum on such an enterprize, and this could least of all be expected from Count Romanzoff, because he already dedicates the greater part of his revenues to the most ex-

INTRODUCTION.

. pensive scientific and many patriotic undertakings: it was therefore, perhaps, as difficult a problem as the north passage itself, properly to plan such an undertaking, without its exceeding the ability of the Count. It was first resolved to send the timber for a small vessel of 25 or 30 tons on board one of the ships belonging to the American Com pany, to the north-west coast of America : the officer to whom the undertaking was to be confided, was to embark at the same time with his pilot and some chosen men, and have the vessel put toge ther at Oonalashka or Kodiak. This plan, which would have been the cheapest, was given up, be cause the frame of the vessel would have taken up too much room on board one of the Company's ships, which are but small vessels. It was then resolved to have a vessel of 70 or 80 tons, with moveable keels, on the plan of the English Cap tain Shank, built of oak in the imperial dock-yard, by the able ship-builder Rasumoff; this plan, how ever, could not be executed, and as there is no private dock-yard in St. Petersburg, and the oak timber is exclusively in possession of the admiralty, the only alternative was either to purchase abroad a ship built of oak timber, which would have been too expensive, or to have one built of fir ; and as very durable ships are built of this timber in Fin land, it was determined to have such a one built at Abo, or Wasa, though it seemed a hazardous experiment, to undertake a voyage which might

INTRODUCTION.

. last three or four years, on board a ship built of fir. It was likewise determined to build this ship larger than was at first intended, not only because, for the money destined for the purchase of the vessel, one of double the size might be built of fir ; but because another circumstance was to be parti cularly considered, to which, if it had been built of oak, as at first intended, no regard could have been paid. It was now decided that it should tra verse the great ocean, and would therefore often come in contact with the inhabitants ofthe islands already known, as well as of those that might be discovered. Were the ship small, the crew must be small in proportion, and be therefore in danger of being attacked by the savages, of which there have been instances in the South Sea. The size of the ship was fixed at 180 tons instead of 80, with a crew of 20 sailors.

Even a ship of 180 tons is certainly small for such a voyage, not from any danger of being swallowed up by the waves in a violent storm, as some readers, who are not seamen, might believe, but from the want of accommoda tion for officers and men, as well for their repose as for their scientific labours ; no trifling consider ation on a long and fatiguing voyage ; and like wise from want of room for the collections of natu ral history. On the other hand, the smallness of a vessel designed for a voyage of discovery has ad vantages which are useful even to the sciences ; a small ship, for instance, can approach much nearer

INTRODUCTION.

. to the shore, and can therefore examine, and more accurately determine many things than it is pos sible to do on board a large vessel. Thus, for ex ample, in the present voyage, the Coral islands were more accurately and closely examined than was ever done before ; and the discovery of the great bay on the coast of America, to the north of Beer ing's Straits, which escaped Captains Cook and Clerke, would not have been made with a larger vessel than the Rurick. As conductor of this expedition, I proposed Lieutenant Kotzebue, of the navy, son of the cele brated writer : he had accompanied me when very young, that is, as cadet on board the Nadeshda in my voyage, and had laid a good foundation for the service to which he had resolved to dedicate him self; I had especially remarked that he used to exercise himself in astronomical observations, and in drawing charts, and never failed to take part in the trigonometrical operations, which was of great advantage to him, because he could have no op portunity after the voyage was ended of improving himself in this part of the naval duties ; whereas he could annually improve in practical seamanship, as far as may be done by the navigation ofthe Baltic : he had also the good fortune, when he sailed, in 1812, under the command of Admiral Crown and Captain Hamilton, from Archangel to the Baltic, to gain, in a high degree, the approbation of both those officers. He had long cherished a wish to

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. 15 revisit those seas which had first given him a taste for the sea-service : he offered himself to the American Company, to conduct their ship Suwa roff, which sailed for their colonies in 1813. The directors of the Company however declined his offer, because they feared that he was too young. Count Romanzoff, on the contrary, was so taken at the first acquaintance, with the enthusiastic zeal of this young man in his profession, that he did not hesitate to confide to him the command of the expedition to Beering's Straits, not doubting that his zeal was accompanied with the qualifications and knowledge requisite for such an undertaking. Having obtained, at the beginning of 1814, per mission from His Majesty the Emperor, to make a journey to England, I resolved to go by way of Sweden, in order to bespeak the ship at Abo, to be built after a design of Mr. Rasumoff.

Lieutenant Kotzebue accompanied me to Abo, and at the latter end of May, I contracted with a ship-builder, named Erick Malm, to build us, for the sum of 30,000 roubles, a vessel of 180 tons burthen ; which should be launched at the beginning of May in the following year. According to the wish of Count Romanzoff) it was to be called the Rurick. It is but justice to Mr. Malm, to say, that he neglected nothing on his part, to build the vessel with a degree of durability, that could hardly be expected from a fir ship ; and no greater proof can be given of the excellence of the workmanship,

INTRODUCTION.

. and the care with which the timber had been pre pared, than that, upon an accurate survey after its return, it was found so good, that the purchasers* resolved to send it on another voyage to the South Sea. I bespoke the astronomical and physical instru ments in England of the justly celebrated Trough ton ; they consisted of several sextants, compasses, two marine barometers, a dipping-needle, an aero meter, several thermometers, hygrometers, &c. ; to these I added the log and sounding-machine in vented by Massey, a Six-thermometer, a mountain barometer, a camera lucida ; the last articles by the ingenious artist, Thomas Jones, a pupil of the celebrated Ramsden, and two telescopes by Tully. 1 bespoke two chronometers ; a pocket chrono meter by Barraud, who makes more chronometers than any other artist, and for this reason alone deserves the greatest confidence ; the instrument which he furnished was in fact excellent, and very much better than another, which I had bespoke of him at the same price for the Admiralty, which stopped soon after my arrival at St. Petersburg, and was obliged to be given to Mr. Wenham, the partner of Breguel, to be repaired.

Each of these chronometers cost 50 guineas. The other chro- * As Count Romanzoff had no farther use for the ship, he disposed of it to the American Company, with all its tackling, &c, even including the chronometers and astronomical instruments.

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. 17 nometer I had made by Hardy, who had acquired great reputation by a very fine astronomical clock, which he had made for the Observatory at Green wich, and by some new inventions, of which I will only mention a new compensatorium. He had, it is true, made only one chronometer in his life ; no account of the going of which ever reached England, the ship being lost in her voyage to the West Indies ; and for this reason he could not be recommended to me ; but I had so high an opinion of the skill of this indefatigable artist, that I got him to make me one. The event proved that I had done right* in placing great confidence in his ability ; the instrument (a box chronometer) was excellent, as will appear by the account of the voyage. The price was eighty guineas. Besides the astronomical and physical instruments, and an extensive collection of maps by Horsburgh, Arrowsmith and Purdy, I had the ship provided with numerous other articles indispensa bly necessary in such a voyage, which are no where to be had better and cheaper than in London ; such as surgical instruments, medicines, spices, clothing, &c. The ship was likewise provided with a life, or safety boat, which the English Admiralty had ordered to be built for the Rurick, at my request.

During my stay in England I had visited the harbour of Plymouth, and there seen a life-boat of the invention of Mr. Fincham, a master ship builder. The judicious contrivance, and the small vol. I. c

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. size of this boat, which was provided with air-chests, made me anxious of having such a one for Lieu tenant Kotzebue's expedition ; Mr. Fincham, how ever, being in the service of the Government, the strictness of the English regulations did not allow him to execute such a commission without the per mission of the Admiralty. On my return to Lon don, therefore, I made an application, in writing, to the Admiralty, and received on the same day, an answer from the secretary, Mr. Barrow, who enjoys a most honorable reputation both as a traveller and a writer, stating, that the Lords of the Admiralty had immediately issued an order to build such a boat for Count Romanzoff 's expedition, according to the dimensions given by me. This was done, and when the Rurick put into Plymouth on her voyage, the boat was delivered to Lieutenant Kot zebue, without any payment whatever being asked for it : the expences of it amounted to 1000 roubles.