St. Peter's Return

Leaving the Shumagins (named after a Russian sailor who died there), the Russians continued west to return to Kamchatka. Storms and headwinds slowed their progress as they traveled through the Aleutian Islands and damaged their ship. The crew also had to contend with scurvy, which was always a problem during long voyages in this period.  A lack of vitamin C from the poor diet of long sea journeys causes this disease. Its signs are spongy gums, loosening of teeth, bleeding into the skin, and extreme weakness. By October, the crew of the St. Peter was severely affected.  Few sailors were healthy enough to run the ship properly.  Crew members were beginning to die, and Bering himself was seriously ill. 

On the 4th of November, they sighted land and decided to run into a small bay. They hoped they were on the Kamchatka coast, but they were actually on the Commander Islands, 120 miles east of the coast of Kamchatka. The ship ran aground in shallow water. The few remaining able men carried their sick comrades ashore. A storm wrecked the stranded St. Peter several days later, leaving them marooned on the island.

The survivors would spend the winter and the next 10 months on the barren, deserted island. They dug pits in the frozen sand and covered them with sailcloth to shelter the dying and the weak. On December 8, 1741, Captain-Commander Bering died on the island that now bears his name. Others died daily as they struggled against scurvy and the elements. By spring, 37 of the original crew of 83 had died.  When summer arrived, those who had survived built a small boat from the wreckage of the St. Peter and sailed for Kamchatka. They arrived at Petropavlovsk in August of 1742.

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