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does exist a Northeast passage, and that from the Lena
River it is possible, provided one is not prevented by
polar ice, to sail to Kamchatka, and thence to Japan,
China, and the East Indies.” This correspondence,
which appeared immediately after his return on the
first of March, 1730, originated either with him or with
some of his immediate friends, and shows that he fully
appreciated the extent of his discovery.[1] It was this
conviction that led him to undertake his next great
enterprise, the navigating and charting of the
Northeast passage from the Obi Biver to Japan,—from the
known West to the known East.
Unfortunately, however, the principal result of his
work remains as above stated. An unhappy fate
prevented him from discovering the adjacent American
continent. At the narrowest place, Bering Strait is 39
miles wide; and hence, under favorable conditions, it is
possible to see simultaneously the coast-lines of both
continents.[2] Cook, more fortunate than Bering, was
enabled to do this, for when he approached the strait,
the sun dispersed the fog, and at one glance both
continents were seen. With Bering it was otherwise, for,
as we have seen from his journal, the weather during
the whole time that he was in the strait, both on the
voyage up and back, was dark and cloudy. Not until
the 18th of August did the weather clear up, but as
the Gabriel was sailing before a sharp breeze, he was
then too far away to see land on the other side.
“This,” Von Baer exclaims, “must be called bad
luck.”
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