"We killed many of them," Steller adds, "with our hatchets and knives.

They annoyed us greatly, and we were unable to keep them from entering our shelters and stealing our clothing and food." The survivors built a small vessel from the wreck, and succeeded in reaching Avatcha in the following summer.

"We were given up for dead," says the historian, "and the property we left in Kamchatka had been appropriated by strangers." The reports concerning the abundance of fur-bearing animals on Bering's Island and elsewhere, induced private parties to go in search of profit.

Various expeditions were fitted out in ships of clumsy construction and bad sailing qualities.

The timbers were fastened with wooden pins and leathern thongs, and the crevices were caulked with moss.