No occurrence worth mentioning took place till the 30th, when Captain Gore went to Paratounca, to put up in the church there an escutcheon, prepared by Mr Webber, with an inscription upon it, setting forth Captain Clerke’s age and rank, and the object of the expedition in which he was engaged at the time of his decease.  We also affixed to the tree under which he was buried, a board, with an inscription upon it to the same effect.[40]

Before his departure, Captain Gore left orders with me to get the ships out of the harbour into the bay, to be in readiness to sail.  We were prevented from doing this by a violent gale of wind, which lasted the whole day of the 1st of October.  However, on the 2d, both ships warped out of the harbour, clear of the narrow passage, and came to anchor in seven fathoms, a quarter of a mile from the ostrog.

The day before we went out of the harbour the cattle arrived from Verchnei; and, that the men might receive the full benefit of this capital and much-longed-for supply, by consuming it fresh, Captain Gore came to a determination of staying five or six days longer.  Nor was this time idly employed.  The boats, pumps, sails, and rigging of both ships, thereby received an additional repair.  And Captain Gore sparing me some molasses, and the use of the Resolution’s copper, I was enabled to brew a fortnight’s beer for the crew, and to make a farther provision of ten puncheons of strong spruce essence.  The present supply was the more acceptable, as our last cask of spirits, except a small quantity left in reserve for cases of necessity, was now serving out.

The 3d was the name-day of the Empress, and we could want no inducement to shew it every possible respect.  Accordingly, Captain Gore invited the priest of Paratounca, Ivaskin, and the serjeant, to dinner; and an entertainment was also provided for the inferior officers of the garrison; for the two Toions of Paratounca and Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and for the other better sort of Kamtschadale inhabitants.  The rest of the natives, of every description, were invited to partake with the ships’ companies, who had a pound of good fat beef served out to each man; and what remained of our spirits was made into grog, and divided amongst them.  A salute of twenty-one guns was fired at the usual hour; and the whole was conducted (considering the part of her dominion it was in) in a manner not unworthy so renowned and magnificent an empress.

On the 5th, we received from Bolcheretsk a fresh supply of tea, sugar, and tobacco.  This present had met Captain Shmaleff on his return, and was accompanied by a letter from him, in which he informed us, that the sloop from Okotzk had arrived during his absence; and that Madame Shmaleff, who was entirely in our interests, had lost no time in dispatching a courier with the few presents, of which our acceptance was requested.

The appearance of foul weather on the 6th and 7th, prevented our unmooring; but on the morning of the 8th, we sailed out toward the mouth of the bay, and hoisted in all the boats, when the wind, veering to the southward, stopped our farther progress, and obliged us to drop anchor in ten fathoms; the ostrog bearing due north, half a league distant.