The Inhabitants Also Informed Him, That, In Very Clear
Weather, They Were Able, From The Top Of Their Highest Mountains, To Descry
Land To The East.
Encouraged by these circumstances, Behring resolved to undertake a second
voyage from Kamschatka:
In this voyage he was accompanied by a Russian,
named Tchirikoff. They steered east, and first sought for land, which was
said to have been discovered between the latitude of 40 deg. and 50 deg.; but
finding none, they separated, and steering further north, the Russian
discovered the continent of America in about 56-1/2 deg., and Behring 2 deg.
further north. On his return, the latter was wrecked in the island which
bears his name, where he died.
About four years after the death of this navigator, which happened in 1741,
the sea between Asia and America was visited by some Russian merchants, who
obtained permission from the government to make discoveries, hunt and
trade; the vessels employed for this purpose were formed of a few boards
fastened together with leathern thongs; yet in these were discovered the
Aleutian Islands. Soon afterwards another group of islands were discovered;
and then a third group, the Black Fox Islands, which are near the American
continent. It was not, however, till the year 1760, that the Russians
learnt that Ochotsk was only separated from America by a narrow strait; and
it is said that in 1764, a Russian mercantile company sent out some
vessels, which passed through a strait to some inhabited islands in 64 deg.
north latitude; these were supposed to belong to the continent of America;
but if a strait was discovered by these adventurers, there must be an error
in the latitude, as in 64 deg. there is no opening known to exist.
It was reserved for an English navigator to ascertain the truth of the
report which the Russians had received from the inhabitants of Ochotsk,
that their country was separated from America only by a narrow strait.
This was done during the third and last voyage of Captain Cook; the
principal design of which was to ascertain the existence and practicability
of a passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, either to the
north-east or north-west. For this purpose he carefully examined the north-
west coast of America, beginning this examination in the latitude of 44 deg.
33' north. Previously to this voyage an act of Parliament was passed,
granting a reward of 20,000_l_. to any person who should discover any
northern passage by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in any
parallel to the northward of the 52 deg. of northern latitude. This voyage
of Cook began in 1778; on the 9th of August, in that year, he ascertained
the position and latitude of the western extremity of America, and soon
afterwards he determined the width of that strait which divides the two
continents. He then steered to the north, and continuing up the strait till
he was in the latitude 70 deg.
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