Beta Book

The names of the
Dane Bering, the Russians Shelikoff and Baranoff, should mean to us
something more than the name of a sea, strait or island. A man who
fitted out his expedition in Moscow, carried much of the building
material for his two boats across Siberia to the rough shores of
Kamtschatka, and sailed boldly eastward, deserves our warmest
admiration. Bering never reached home. He died on the return voyage,
and was buried on the small island of the Commander group which bears
his name. The story of the expedition is one of extreme hardship and of
splendid Russian courage.
At Orca we were transferred to the Newport, with Captain Moore in
command, and, as on the Excelsior, everything was done for our comfort.
We looked with envious eyes on Montague Island as we passed it in Prince
William Sound, for we were told that the natives avoid fishing and
shooting here, claiming that the big Montague brown bear are larger and
fiercer than any others.
Our boat made a brief call at Homer, in Cook Inlet, one of the starting
points for the famous Kenai shooting grounds.


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