mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i4-041

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at the mouth, where, forced back, it returned to the cape,
and meeting a new current, formed a whirlpool so strong that
in a moment the longboat started to whirl around, and we were
able to row out of it only with difficulty. Here, on the
islet, lay a large number of seals, but they did not let us
approach them, and swiftly plunged into the water.

We had approached the cape by three o'clock, and find-
ing it very convenient for camping, pulled the longboat into
a small river flowing here into the bay, and put up the tents.
This cape rose as a vertical cliff almost 250 feet above the
surface of the water and supported the end of a chain of moun-
tains extending from the interior of the land to the seashore.
With our telescopes we climbed the nearest mountain, and
finally saw the object of our expedition, the Great River.
Its mouth was located at the east end of the bay. From it
was seen a wide blue strip of water, losing itself beyond the
horizon and bordered, as it seemed to us, by woodless green
meadows. For a distance of from five to seven miles from the
shore at the right of the cape, extended the mentioned mountains, from
which flowed the small river that served as a harbor for our
longboat. On its shore not far distant from the mouth, we
saw for the first time, a few huts of the wild Indians, and
in the river, three or four boats made of pine bark [dugouts?].
From the commotion near the huts we concluded that the savages
had noticed us also, and, fearing an attack, wanted to abandon
their camp. The captain did not want to alarm them at first,