New Voyage Round the World in the Years 1823, 24, 25, and 26. Vol. 1

von Kotzebue Otto

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pubOne.info present you this wonderfully illustrated edition. In the month of March of the year 1823, I was appointed by his Imperial Majesty Alexander the First, of glorious memory, to the command of a ship, at that time unfinished, but named the Predpriatie (the Enterprise). She had been at first destined for a voyage purely scientific, but circumstances having occurred which rendered it necessary to change the object of the expedition, I was ordered to take in at Kronstadt a cargo to Kamtschatka, and to sail from the latter place to the north-west coast of America, in order to protect the Russian American Company from the smuggling carried on there by foreign traders. On this station my ship was to remain for one year, and then, being relieved by another, to return to Kronstadt. The course to be followed, both in going and returning, was left entirely to my own discretion.

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 06 novembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819939429
• Langue: English

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INTRODUCTION.
In the month of March of the year 1823, I wasappointed by his Imperial Majesty Alexander the First, of gloriousmemory, to the command of a ship, at that time unfinished, butnamed the Predpriatie (the Enterprise). She had been at firstdestined for a voyage purely scientific, but circumstances havingoccurred which rendered it necessary to change the object of theexpedition, I was ordered to take in at Kronstadt a cargo toKamtschatka, and to sail from the latter place to the north-westcoast of America, in order to protect the Russian American Companyfrom the smuggling carried on there by foreign traders. On thisstation my ship was to remain for one year, and then, beingrelieved by another, to return to Kronstadt. The course to befollowed, both in going and returning, was left entirely to my owndiscretion.
On the first of May, the ship, whose Russian name,Predpriatie, I shall for the future omit, was declared complete.She was the first vessel built in Russia under a roof, (a veryexcellent plan, ) was the size of a frigate of a middling rank,and, that she might not be unnecessarily burdened, was providedwith only twenty-four six-pounders.
My crew consisted of Lieutenants Kordinkoff,Korsakoff, Bordoschewitsch, and Pfeifer; the Midshipmen Gekimoff,Alexander von Moller, Golowin, Count Heiden, Tschekin, Murawieff,Wukotitsch, and Paul von Moller; the Mates, Grigorieff, Gekimoff,and Simokoff, eight petty officers, and one hundred and fifteensailors. We were accompanied by Professors Eschscholz and Lenz asNaturalists; Messrs. Preus and Hoffman as Astronomer andMineralogist; and Messrs. Victor and von Siegwald as Chaplain andPhysician; so that, in all, we reckoned one hundred and forty-fivepersons.

We were richly stored with astronomical and otherscientific instruments: we possessed two pendulum apparatus, and atheodolite made expressly for our expedition by the celebratedReichenbach. This valuable instrument was executed with wonderfulprecision, and was of the greatest use in our astronomicalobservations on shore.
In June the ship arrived at Kronstadt, and on the14th of July (old style, according to which all reckonings will bemade in this voyage, ) she lay in the harbour fully equipped andready to sail. On that day the cannon of the fortress and of thefleet in the roads announced the arrival of the Emperor, whom wehad the pleasure of receiving on board our vessel.
His Majesty, after a close examination of the ship,honoured us by the assurance of his imperial satisfaction; thesailors received a sum of money, and I and my officers a writtenexpression of thanks.
With the gracious cordiality peculiar to him, theamiable monarch wished us a happy voyage, and retired followed byour enthusiastic blessings.

We did not then anticipate that we had seen him forthe last time. On our return, his lofty spirit had ascended to theregions of bliss: from whence he looks down on his beloved brother,rejoicing to be even surpassed by him in the virtues of asovereign.
VOYAGE TO BRAZIL.
We remained in the roads of Kronstadt till the 28thof July, when, after a painful parting from a beloved andaffectionate wife, the wind proving favourable, I gave the order toweigh anchor.
The whole crew was in high spirits, and full ofhope: the task of weighing anchor and setting sail was executedwith alertness and rapidity; and as the ship began her course,cutting the foaming billows, the men joyfully embraced each other,and with loud huzzas expressed their hearty wishes for the successof our undertaking. To me this scene was highly gratifying. Such adisposition in a crew towards an enterprise from which toils anddangers must be anticipated, afforded a satisfactory presumptionthat their courage and spirits would not fail when they should bereally called into exercise. With a good ship and a cheerful crewthe success of a voyage is almost certain. We fired a salute ofseven guns, in reply to the farewell from the fortress ofKronstadt, and, the wind blowing fresh, soon lost sight of itstowers.
As far as Gothland all went well, and nothingdisturbed the general cheerfulness; but here a sudden storm fromthe west attacked us so unexpectedly as scarcely to give time forthe necessary precautions. Tossed to and fro by the swelling andboisterous waves, I was not, I must confess, altogether free fromanxiety.
With a new and untried ship, and men somewhat out ofpractice, a first storm is naturally attended by many causes ofdisquiet not afterwards so seriously felt. In the present instance,however, these untoward circumstances were rather productive of theludicrous than the terrific; and whatever might be my solicitude ascommander, I experienced but little sympathy from my officers. Thestrength and extent of the motion to which we were about rejoicedthat the latter had greatly the preponderance. She was a friend onwhom I might rely in case of need. Such a conviction is necessaryto the captain: through it alone can his actions acquire thedecision and certainty so indispensable in time of danger, and soessential to success. In the course of four-and-twenty hours thestorm abated; a favourable wind again swelled our sails, and weenjoyed it doubly after the little troubles we had undergone. Atdaybreak on the 8th of August we left the island of Bornholm, andfound ourselves surrounded by a Russian fleet cruising under thecommand of Admiral Crown. This meeting with our countrymen was anagreeable surprise to us: they could carry to our beloved homes theassurance, that thus far at least our voyage had been prosperous.We saluted the Admiral with nine guns, received a similar number inreturn, and continued our course with full sails.
On the 10th of August we anchored opposite thefriendly capital of Denmark, where we received on board thetheodolite, which had been prepared for us at Munich byReichenbach, and sent hither. Before the sun appeared above thehorizon on the 12th, we were again under sail, with a good wind anda tranquil sea. The sail along the Danish coast was interestingfrom its beautiful prospects, and numerous buildings illumined bythe morning sun.
We passed the Sound the same day, and entered theCategat. Here we were visited in the night by another violentstorm. The sky, pealing with incessant thunder, hung heavy andblack above us, and spread a fearful darkness over the sea, brokenonly by tremendous flashes of lightning. The electric fluid, inlarge masses of fire, threatened us momentarily with destruction;but thanks be to the strong attractive power of the sea, whichforms so good a conductor for ships, — without it we had been lost!In the North Sea our voyage was tedious, from the continuance ofcontrary winds; and in the English Channel dangerous, from theuninterrupted fog. We however reached Portsmouth roads in safety onthe 25th of August.
Since it was my intention to double Cape Horn in thebest season, namely January or February, it was necessary to loseno time in England. I therefore hastened to London, and resistingall the allurements offered by the magnificence of the capital,immediately procured my charts, chronometers, and astronomicalinstruments, and returned on board my ship on the 2nd of September,to be in waiting for the first fair wind. The wind however chose,as it often does, to put our patience to the proof. Itsperverseness detained us in the roads till the 6th; and though atemporary change then enabled us to sail, we had scarcely reachedPortland point when a strong gale again set in directly in ourteeth.
The English Channel, on account of its numerousshallows and strong irregular currents, is at all times dangerous:vessels overtaken there by storms during the night are in imminentperil of wreck, and thus every year are great numbers lost.
I myself, on my former voyage in the Rurik, shouldhave infallibly suffered this fate, had the day dawned only half anhour later. Warned therefore by experience, I resolved not to trustto the chance of the night; and fortunately our English pilot, fromwhom we had not yet parted, was of the same opinion. — ThisStrengthened and full of courage, he seized the helm, and ourdestiny depended on his skill.
It was now barely possible to reach Portsmouth withdaylight by taking the shortest way through the Needles, a narrowstrait between the Isle of Wight and the mainland, full ofshallows, where even in clear weather a good pilot is necessary.The sun was already near setting, when an anxious cry from thewatch announced the neighbourhood of land, and in the same instantwe all perceived, at about a hundred fathoms' distance, a highfog-enveloped rock, against which the breakers raged furiously.
Our pilot recognised it for the western point of theIsle of Wight at the entrance of the Needles, and the danger wewere in only animated his spirits. He seized the helm with bothhands, and guiding it with admirable dexterity, the ship flew,amidst the storm, through the narrow and winding channels to whichthe shallows confined it, often so close upon the impending rocks,that it seemed scarcely possible to pass them without a fatalcollision.
A small vessel that had sailed with us for some timeat this moment struck, and was instantly swallowed by the waveswithout a possibility of saving her. This terrible sight, and theconsciousness that the next moment might involve us in a similarfate, made every one on board gaze in silent anxiety on thedirection we were taking: even the pilot said not a word.
The twilight had nearly given way to total darknesswhen we reached Portsmouth roads; the joy with which we hailed thishaven of safety, and our mutual congratulations on ourpreservation, may be easily imagined: our pilot now fell back intohis former phlegm, and seating himself with a glass of grog by thefireside, received our thanks and praises with equalindifference.
This equinoctial storm raged itself out during thenight, and the first rays of the sun again brought us fine weatherand a fair wind,