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Paul_, under the stanch, level-headed Russian
lieutenant, Alexei Chirikoff, were seventy-six men, with La Croyere
d'Isle as astronomer. Not the least {21} complicating feature of the
case was the personnel of the crews. For the most part, they were
branded criminals and malcontents. From the first they had regarded
the Bering expedition with horror. They had joined it under compulsion
for only six years; and the exploration was now in its eleventh year.
Spanberg, the other Dane, with his brutal tongue and constant recourse
to the knout, who had gone to St. Petersburg to report on Japan, they
cordially hated. Chirikoff, the Russian, was a universal favorite, and
Bering, the supreme commander, was loved for his {22} kindness; but
Bering's commands were subject to veto by the Russian underlings; and
the Russian underling officers kept up a constant brawl of duels and
gaming and drink. No wonder the bluff Dane sailed out from the
snow-rimmed peaks of Avacha Bay with dark forebodings. He had carried
a load of petty instructions issued by ignoramus savants for eight
years.


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