BEERING, BEIIRING, or BEntxo's ISLAND, lies in the North Pacific Ocean, in 55° North Lat. and about 167° of East Long. : the southern extremity bearing north the harbour of St Peter and St Paul, 192 miles distant. It is 104 miles in length, and 15 in breadth : the west side mountainous, but the northern point low land : the mountains are of granite and sandstone, and in their recesses contain many caverns. There arc two bays in the island, whither merchantmen engaged in the fur trade arc wont to winter ; but they are shallow, of dangerous access, and exposed to the north winds. Minerals of value have been said to exist here ; and sometimes after violent storms, pieces of native copper are cast ashore.
This island, which some geographers incline to unite to the Aleutian isles, while others detach it from them, was discovered by dommodoreBehring, a Dane, who is mentioned in the subsequent article. He and Captain Tschirikow left,Kamtschatka on a voyage of discovery, in 1740, and sailing northward, made the coast of America, in 60° of North Lat. They after wards encountered continued tempests, in which they lost their reckoning, and were tossed about in un known seas. In endeavouring to regain the coast of Kamtschatka, they came in sight of Behring's island, in November 1741, under circumstances of uncommon distress. Great sickness prevailed among the ship's company ; and tile Commodore himself, incapable of motion, was carried ashore by his 'people. But the island being utterly destitute of shelter, they had re course to holes in the ground between the rocks, which they covered over with sails, to exclude the rain and snow, it then being the winter season. Behring was lodged in one of the most commodious of these, and a kind of tent was erected over him. But the sand' within the hole falling down,.covered his feet every Moment : at first it was removed ; thinking, however, that it somewhat promoted the vital warmth, he would not allow it to be taken away. Thus he remained antil the gradual accumulation of the sand covered him up to the belly, and then he sunk under the se verity of hardships, combined with a painful and ling ering disease. His remains were actually dug out of the earth, that they might be restored to it in a manner more creditable to the memory of a gallant officer ; and to preserve them from being devoured by ravenous beasts of prey. Many more of this- un fortunate crew fell victims to the same evils ; and among them M. de la Croyere, an astronomer, who
had embarked for the purpose of discovery. On board also was M. Steller, a naturalist, one of the royal academicians of Petersburgh, to whose narra tive we owe some of these particulars, though he did not himself survive to return to that metropolis. To complete the disasters of the Russians, their vessel was totally wrecked, and they were compelled to win ter on Behring's island, almost entirely destitute of shelter. At length they contrived to build a bark out of the fragments of their ship, in which the survivors reached Kamtschatka. It is not to Behring only that the island, bearing his name, has proved fatal. In the year 1787 or 1788, an English vessel, built solely of mahogany, (as is said,) commanded by Captain Peters, sailed from Bengal, with the design of collect ing copper at Behring's or Copper island. After a successful traffic with Kamtschatka, Oonalashka, and other parts of the Russian dominions, she was cast away on the former island ; and of the whole com pany, consisting of 70 men, only a Portuguese and a Lascar were saved. On Behring's first arrival in this island, it swarmed with black and blue foxes, which never having had to dread the destructive hand of man, were perfectly tame. They ravenously devour ed the dead animals thrown ashore by the waves.; and the Russians, in contending with them for what was to prove their own .subsistence, had sometimes to destroy two or three at once with their knives : be fore they could inter their deceased companions, also, the hands and feet were often gnawed from the bo dies, by these rapacious creatures. Several marine ani mals frequented the shore, especially the sea otter, -whose skin is extremely valuable, and bears a high :price in China. Before they had likewise learned to 'dread their enemies, 900 of their skins were collected, and afterwards turned out a great prize to the Rue •ians. When the sea otter disappears in March, it is 'replaced by great numbers of the sea lion, and seve ral tribes of phocz. The sea cow was commonly an I object of pursuit, by Russian adventurers to Behring's island ; but the race has either been extinguished, or is deterred by danger from approaching the shore, and none have been killed since 17G8. Whales are ex tremely numerous in the surrounding seas : a dead one cast up, formed for some time the principal article of subsistence of Behring's crew. (c)