Hello from Alaska
Hello from Alaska – Bering and Steller often disagreed with
each other. Steller wanted to spend as much time ashore as
possible gathering samples of plant life. Bering insisted upon
moving on as quickly as possible after going ashore for water.
Steller also had definite ideas about the causes of scurvy
(skar’vi). Many sailors were ill with it. This disease is caused
by lack of certain foods, such as citrus fruits (oranges, limes, lemons).
Steller believed certain plants crowing along the
shore would prevent scurvy if the sailors would eat them in
addition to their usual meals. Bering insisted that Steller’s
idea was silly.
Bering’s ship was wrecked in storm and fog, and the men
spent six months on an uninhabited island. It was December.
Bering, ill of scurvy, lay sheltered in a ditch.
Sand half covered him to protect him from the cold. Soon Bering, as well as many others in the party, died of scurvy. They were buried on the island.
