Joseph Billings

In 1785, the Russian government of Catherine II commissioned a new expedition in search for the Northeast Passage[?], led by English officer Joseph Billings, who had previously sailed with Captain Cook, and the Russian officer Gavril Sarychev[?] as his deputy. This enterprise operated till 1795.

Though considered a failure because the expenditures outweighed the results, it nevertheless had a substantial record of achievement. Accurate maps were made of the Chukchi Peninsula[?] of Eastern Siberia, the west coast of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. Members of the expedition landed on Kodiak Island[?] and made an examination of the islands and mainlands of Prince William Sound.