My own investigations confirm the statements of Middendorf, and in support of this I refer to de l'Isle and to the author of the "Letter." In this connection, however, we have the clear and definite statements of de l'Isle, both in his essays of 1738 at St. Petersburg and his memoir of 1752 at Paris. These statements are fully confirmed by the evidence of the Russian marine officer, who certainly served with Bering in his later expeditions if not in the first, and whose familiarity with all the records and papers should have enabled him definitely to contradict de l'Isle on the main question instead of correcting him in details. In his St. Petersburg memoirs of 1738 (page 10) de l'Isle writes: "On verra a cette occasion la situation du Kamtchatka de terminée par deux eclipses de Lune, que M. le Capitaine Bering & ses gens y sont observées dans leur premier voyage [the expedition 1725-'30], & dont j'ai rendu compte a l'Academie aussi-tot que ces observations m'ont ete communiquées." In the paper of Paris, 1752 ("Nouvelles découvertes au Nord de la Mer du Sud") de l'Isle says on this point: "Captain Beering and his lieutenant likewise took observations at Kamschatka of two eclipses of the moon in the years 1728 and 1729, which helped me to chart the longitude of that eastern extremity of Asia with all the precision which the nature of these observations, made by seamen and with their own instruments, would admit of; but these first determinations have been since confirmed by observations on Jupiter's satellites, taken in that place with the utmost accuracy by my brother and some Russians conversant in this kind of observations and who were provided with the best of instruments." It appeared to me possible that the report on the eclipses of the moon made by de l'Isle to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences might be traced up among the archives of that society. In searching for information on this point it was learned from Mr. O. Fassig, librarian of the Signal Office, that among the unpublished manuscripts in the Pulkova library, St. Petersburg, were a number by de l'Isle. A list of the manuscripts of M. de l'Isle was compiled and published in 1844 by the distinguished astronometer O. Struve, and among the number is one entitled: "Observations pour la longitude du Kamchat, d'ou se conclut aussi de Tobolsk. 1729, MSS." {221} It was reasonable, in view of de l'Isle's statements in 1738, to suppose that this is the report made to the Academy by him as soon as the observations were furnished him. I had hoped to present with this sketch definite information on this point, since a kinsman of the collator of the manuscripts (I refer to the very distinguished representative of Russia to the United States, M. de Struve) most courteously offered his valuable mediation in the matter. Unfortunately, I have as yet no further information, but I expect a communication as to the contents of the MSS. at an early day.