y 1725, and took the land route across Siberia,
carrying with them the necessary materials with which in Kamchatka
to build and equip the vessel with which they should make their
voyage of exploration. More than three years were required for this
voyage, or rather for this geographico-scientific campaign, in which
for the transport of the stores and the shipbuilding material that
had to be taken from Europe the rivers Irtisch, Ob, Ket, Yenisej,
Tunguska, Ilim, Aldan, Maja, Yudoma, and Urak were taken advantage
of. It was not until the 15th/4th April that a beginning could be
made at Nischni Kamchatskoj Ostrog of the building of the vessel,
which was launched on the 21st/10th July, and on the 31st/20th of
the same month Behring began his voyage.

He sailed in a north-easterly direction along the coast of
Kamchatka, which he surveyed. On the 19th/8th August in 64 deg.
30' N.L. he fell in with Chukches, who had still a reputation among
the Russians for invincible courage and ferocity. First one of them
came to the vessel, swimming on two inflated seal-skins, "to inquire
what was intended by the vessel's coming thither," after which their
skin-boat lay to. Conversation was carried on with them by means of
a Koryaek interpreter. On the 21st/10th August St. Lawrence Islands
as discovered, and on the 26th/15th of the same month the explorers
sailed past the north-eastern promontory of Asia in 67 deg. 18'
and observed that the coast trends to the west from that point, as
the Chukches had before informed them. Behring on this account
considered that he had fulfilled his commission to ascertain whether
Asia and America were separated, and he now determined to turn,
"partly because if the voyage were continued along the coast ice
might be met with, from which it might not be so easy to get clear,
partly on account of the fogs, which had already begun to prevail,
and partly because it would be impossible, if a longer stay were
made in these regions, to get back the same summer to Kamchatka.
There could be no question of passing the winter off the coast of
the Chukch Peninsula, because that would have been to expose the
expedition to certain destruction, either by being wrecked on the
jagged rocks of the open unknown coast, or by perishing from want of
fuel, or finally by dying under the hands of the fierce unconquered
Chukches". On the 1st Oct/20th Sept the vessel returned to Nischni
Kamchatskoj Ostrog.[316] It was during this voy