g already showed +23.4 deg. at the surface. This indicated that we had
come from the cold current favourable to us into Kuro-sivo, the Gulf
Stream of the Pacific. The wind was now at times unfavourable and the
heat oppressive, notwithstanding the frequent rain showers accompanied
by lightning and heavy squalls. In such unfavourable weather on the 31st
August the mainmast of the _Vega_ was struck by lightning, the flash and
the report being of excessive violence. The vane was broken loose and
thrown into the sea along with some inches of the pole. The pole itself
was split pretty far down, and all on board felt a more or less violent
shaking, the man who felt it most standing at the time near the
hawse-hole. The incident was not attended by any further noteworthy
unpleasant consequences.

On our arrival at Yokohama we were all in good health and the _Vega_
in excellent condition, though, after the long voyage, in want of
some minor repairs, of docking, and possibly of coppering. Naturally
among thirty men some mild attacks of illness could not be avoided
in the course of a year, but no disease had been generally
prevalent, and our state of health had constantly been excellent. Of
scurvy we had not seen a trace.

[Footnote 356: In February 1871 the right of hunting on these islands
was granted by the Russian government to Hutchinson, Kohl,
Philippeus &c. Co., who have made over their rights to the Alaska
Commercial Company of San Francisco. ]

[Footnote 357: According to a communication made to me by Mr. Henry
W. Elliot, who, in order to study the fur-bearing seals in the North
Behring Sea, lived a considerable time at the Seal Islands
(Pribylov's Islands, &c.) on the American side, and has given an
exceedingly interesting account of the animal life there in his
work, _A Report upon the Condition of Affairs in the Territory of
Alaska_, Washington, 1875, the statement in my report to Dr.
Dickson, founded on oral communications of Europeans whom I met with
at Behring Island, that from 50,000 to 100,000 animals are killed
yearly at Behring and Copper Island, is thus probably somewhat
exaggerated. ]

[Footnote 358: Original accounts of the wintering on Behring Island
are to be found in Mueller's _Sammlung Russischen Geschichte_, St
Petersburg, 1768, iii, pp. 228-238 and 242-268, (Steller's)
_Topographische und physikalische Beschreibung der Beringsinsel_
(Pallas' _Neue Nordische Beytraege_, St. Petersburg and Leipzig,