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THE   WORKS 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


THE    WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE'BANCROFT. 


TOLTJME  XXXnL 


HISTORY  OF  ALASKA. 

1730-16^. 


^ 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 

A.  L.  BAKCBOFT  k  CQMPAtnT,  FDBLISHEBS. 

1886. 


Sntared  aooordlng  to  Aot  of  OongreH  In  tlM  Tear  1886^  by 

HUBERT  H.  BANCfiOFT, 
In  llw  Offloo  of  llw  LOwMlaa  of  OOBgraM^  §X  WMhingtoBc 


^fl  EigJUs  Euerved. 


(■: 


PREFACE. 


On  the  whole,  the  people  of  the  iTnited  States  have 
not  paid  an  exorbitant  price  for  the  ground  upon  which 
to  build  a  nation.  Trinkets  and  trickery  in  the  first 
instance,  followed  by  some  bluster,  a  little  fighting, 
and  a  little  money,  and  we  have  a  very  fair  patch  of 
earth,  with  a  good  title,  in  which  there  is  plenty  of 
equity,  humanity,  sacred  rights,  and  star-spangled 
banner.  What  we  did  not  steal  ourselves  we  bought 
from  those  who  did,  and  bought  it  cheap. 

Therein  we  did  well,  have  that  much  more  to  be 
proud  of,  and  to  confirm  us  in  our  own  esteem  as  a 
great  and  good  nation;  therein  lies  the  great  merit — 
the  price  we  paid.  Had  it  been  dear,  as  have  been 
some  meagre  strips  of  European  soil,  over  which 
France,  Germany,  and  the  rest  have  fought  for  cen- 
turies^ spending  millions  upon  millions  of  lives  and 
money,  all  in  the  line  of  insensate  folly,  and  for  that 
which  they  could  not  keep  and  were  better  off  with- 
out— ^then  we  would  cease  boasting  and  hold  our 
peace.  But  our  neighbors  have  been  weak  while  we 
are  strong;  therefore  it  is  not  right  for  us  to  pay  them 
much  for  their  lands. 

Ignoring,  as  we  do,  the  birthright  of  aboriginal 
races,  that  have  no  Christianity,  steel,  or  gunpowder, 
we  may  say  that  the  title  to  the  Mississippi  Valley 

(V) 


vi  PREFACE. 

was  settled,  and  the  Oregon  Territory  adjudged  to  be 
ours  by  divine  right.  Texas  came  easily;  while  one 
month's  interest,  at  the  then  current  rates,  on  the  gold 
picked  up  in  the  Sierra  Foothills  during  the  first  five 
years  of  American  occupation  would  repay  the  cost  of 
the  Mexican  war,  and  all  that  was  given  for  California 
and  the  adjoining  territory. 

In  the  case  of  Alaska  we  have  one  instance  where 
bluster  would  not  win;  fighting  was  not  to  be  thought 
of;  and  so  we  could  pay  for  the  stationary  icebergs 
or  let  them  alone.  Nor  with  money  easy,  was  Alaska 
a  bad  bargain  at  two  cents  an  acre.  It  was  indeed 
cheaper  than  stealing,  now  that  the  savages  receive  the 
teachings  and  diseases  of  civilization  in  reservations. 

In  1867  there  were  few  who  held  this  opinion,  and 
not  one  in  a  hundred,  even  of  those  who  were  best  in- 
formed, believed  the  territory  to  be  worth  the  pur- 
chase money.  If  better  known  to-day,  its  resources 
are  no  better  appreciated;  and  there  are  many  who 
still  deny  that,  apdrt  from  fish  and  fur-bearing  ani- 
mals, the  country  has  any  resources. 

The  area  of  Alaska  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
thirteen  original  states  of  the  Union,  its  extreme 
length  being  more  than  two  thousand  miles,  and  its 
extreme  breadth  about  fourteen  hundred;  while  its 
coast4ine,  including  bays  and  islands,  is  greater  than 
the  circumference  of  the  earth.  The  island  of  Una- 
laska  is  almost  as  far  west  of  San  Francisco  as  San 
Francisco  is  west  of  the  capital  of  the  United  States; 
while  the  distance  from  the  former  city  to  Fort 
St  Michael,  the  most  northerly  point  in  America 
inhabited  by  the  white  man,  is  greater  than  to  the 
city  of  Panamd. 


PREFACE.  vu 

With  the  limits  of  the  continent  at  its  extreme 
north-west,  the  limit  of  the  history  of  western  North 
America  is  reached.  But  it  may  be  asked,  what  a 
land  is  this  of  which  to  write  a  history?  Bleak, 
swampy,  fog-begirt,  and  almost  untenanted  except  by 
savages — can  a  country  without  a  people  furnish  ma- 
terial for  a  history?  Intercourse  with  the  aborigines 
does  not  constitute  all  of  history,  and  few  except  sav- 
ages have  ever  made  their  abiding-place  in  the  wintry 
solitudes  of  Alaska;  few  vessels  save  bidarkas  have 
ever  threaded  her  mvriad  isles:  few  scientists  have 
studied  her  geology,  or  catalogued  her  fauna  and  flora; 
few  surveyors  have  measured  her  snow-turbaned  hills ; 
few  miners  have  dug  for  coal  and  iron,  or  prospected 
her  mountains  and  streams  for  precious  metals.  Ex- 
cept on  the  islands,  and  at  some  of  the  more  accessible 
points  on  the  mainland,  the  natives  are  still  unsutduod. 
Of  settlements,  there  are  scarce  a  dozen  worthy  tho 
name;  of  the  interior,  little  is  known;  and  of  any  cor- 
rect map,  at  least  four  fifths  must  remain,  to-day, 
absolutely  blank,  without  names  or  lines  except  those 
of  latitude  and  longitude.  We  may  sail  along  the 
border,  or  be  drawn  by  sledge-dogs  over  the  frozen 
streams,  until  we  arrive  at  the  coldest,  farthest  west, 
separated  from  the  rudest,  farthest  east  by  a  narrow 
span  of  ocean,  bridged  in  winter  by  thick-ribbed  ice. 
What  then  can  be  said  of  this  region — this  Ultima 
Thule  of  the  known  world,  whose  northern  point  is 
but  three  or  four  degrees  south  of  the  highest  lati- 
tude yet  reached  by  man?        ^ 

Such  is  the  general  sentiment  of  Americans  con- 
cerning a  territory  which  not  many  years  ago  was 
purchased  from  Russia,  as  before  mentioned,  at  the 


viii  PREFACE. 

rate  of  about  two  cents  an  acre,  and  was  considered 
dear  at  the  price. 

To  answer  these  questions  is  the  purpose  of  the 
present  volume.  This  America  of  the  Russians  has 
its  little  century  or  two  of  history,  as  herein  we  see, 
and  which  will  ever  remain  its  only  possible  inchoation, 
interesting  to  the  story  of  future  life  and  progress  on 
its  borders,  as  to  every  nation  its  infancy  should  be. 

Though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  greater  por- 
tion of  Alaska  is  practically  worthless  and  uninhabit- 
able, yet  my  labor  has  been  in  vain  if  I  have  not  made 
it  appear  that  Alaska  lacks  not  resources  but  develop- 
ment. Scandinavia,  her  old-world  counterpart,  is  pos- 
sessed of  far  less  natural  wealth,  and  is  far  less  grand 
in  natural  configuration.  In  Alaska  we  can  count 
more  than  eleven  hundred  islands  in  a  single  group. 
We  can  trace  the  second  longest  watercourse  in  the 
world.  We  have  large  sections  of  territory  where  the 
average  yearly  temperature  is  higher  than  that  of 
Stockholm  or  Christiania,  where  it  is  milder  in  win- 
ter, and  where  the  fall  of  rain  and  snow  is  less  than  in 
the  southern  portion  of  Scandinavia. 

It  has  often  been  stated  that  Alaska  is  incapable  of 
supporting  a  white  population.  The  truth  is,  that  her 
resources,  though  some  of  them  are  not  yet  available, 
are  abundant,  and  of  such  a  nature  that,  if  properly 
economized,  they  will  never  be  seriously  impaired. 
The  most  habitable  portions  of  Alaska,  lying  as  they 
do  mainly  between  55"*  and  60°  n.,  are  in  about  the 
same  latitude  as  Scotland  and  southern  Scandinavia. 
The  area  of  this  portion  of  the  territory  is  greater  than 
that  of  Scotland  and  southern  Scandinavia  combined; 
and  yet  it  contains  to-day  but  a  few  hundred,  and 


PREFACE.  ix 

has  never  contained  more  than  a  thousand  white 
inhabitants;  while  the  population  of  Scotland  is  about 
three  millions  and  a  half,  and  that  of  Norway  and 
Sweden  exceeds  six  miUions. 

The  day  is  not  very  far  distant  when  the  coal  meas- 
ures and  iron  deposits  of  Scotland,  and  the  mines  and 
timber  of  Scandinavia,  will  be  exhausted ;  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  even  when  that  day  comes  the  re- 
sources of  Alaska  will  be  but  partially  opened.  The 
little  development  that  has  been  made  of  late  years 
has  been  accomplished  entirely  by  the  enterprise 
and  capital  of  Americans,  aided  by  a  few  hundred 
hired  natives.  Already  with  a  white  population  of 
five  hundred,  of  whom  more  than  four  fifths  are 
non-producers,  the  exports  of  the  territory  exceed 
$3,000,000  a  year,  or  an  average  of  $6,000  per  capita. 
Where  else  in  the  world  do  we  find  such  results  ? 

It  may  be  stated  in  answer  that  the  bulk  of  these 
exports  comes  from  the  fur-seal  grounds  of  the  Pry- 
bilof  Islands,  which  are  virtually  a  stock-farm  leased 
by  the  government  to  a  commercial  company;  but  the 
present  value  of  this  industry  is  due  mainly  to  the 
careful  fostering  and  judicious  management  of  that 
company;  and  there  are  other  industries  which,  if 
properly  directed,  promise  in  time  to  prove  equally 
profitable.  Apart  from  the  seal-islands,  and  apart 
from  the  trade  in  land-furs  that  is  diverted  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  production  of  wealth 
for  each  white  person  in  the  territory  is  greater  than 
in  any  portion  of  the  United  States  or  of  the  world. 
This  wealth  is  derived  almost  entirely  frdm  the  land 
and  pelagic  peltry,  and  from  the  fisheries  of  Alaska; 
for  at  present  her  mines  are  little   developed,  and 


X  PREFACE. 

her  forests  almost  intact.     And  yet  we  are  told  that 
the  country  is  without  resources  1 

It  may  be  supposed  that  for  the  history  of  such  a 
country  as  Alaska,  whatever  existing  information 
there  might  be  would  be  quite  accessible  and  easily 
obtained. 

I  have  not  found  it  specially  so.  Here,  as  elsewhere 
in  my  historic  fields,  there  were  three  classes  of  mate- 
rial which  might  be  obtained :  first,  public  and  private 
archives;  second,  printed  books  and  documents;  and 
third,  personal  experiences  and  knowledge  taken  from 
the  mouths  of  living  witnesses. 

Of  the  class  last  named  there  are  fewer  authorities 
here  than  in  any  other  part  of  my  territory  north  of 
latitude  32°,  though  proportionately  more  than  south 
of  that  line;  and  this  notwithstanding  three  distinct 
journeys  to  that  region  by  my  agent — a  man  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  Alaskan  afiairs,  and  a  Rus- 
sian by  birth — for  the  purpose  of  gathering  original 
and  verbal  information.  All  places  of  historical  im- 
portance were  visited  by  him,  and  all  persons  of  his- 
torical note  still  living  there  were  seen  and  ques- 
tioned. Much  fresh  information  was  thus  obtained; 
but  the  result  was  not  as  satisfactory  as  has  been  the 
case  in  some  other  quarters. 

The  chief  authorities  in  print  for  the  earlier  epochs, 
are  in  the  Russian  language,  and  published  for  the 
most  part  in  Russia;  covering  the  later  periods,  books 
have  been  published — at  various  times  in  Europe  and 
America,  as^rvvill  be  seen  by  my  list  of  authorities — 
and  have  been  gathered  in  the  usual  way. 

The  national  archives,  the  most  important  of  all 


PREFACE.  xl 

sources,  are  divided,  part  being  in  Russia  and  part  in 
America,  though  mostly  in  the  Russian  language. 
Some  four  or  five  years  were  occupied  by  my  assist- 
ants and  stenographers  in  making  abstracts  of  mate- 
rial in  Sitka,  San  Francisco,  and  Washington.  For 
valuable  cooperation  in  gaining  from  the  archives  of 
St  Petersburg  such  material  as  I  required,  I  am  spe- 
cially indebted  to  my  esteemed  friend  M.  Pinart,  and 
to  the  leading  men  of  letters  and  certain  officials  in 
the  Pussian  capital,  from  whom  I  have  received  every 
courtesy. 


CONTENTS  OF  THIS  Y0LU:ME, 


CHAPTEE  I. 

INTBODUCTOEY. 

PACI 

Kussia's  Share  in  Americft — Phyeical  Features  of  Alaska — Configuration 
and  Climate — The  Southern  Crescent — ^The  Tumbled  Mountains — 
Volcanoes  and  Islands — ^Vegetation — California-Japan  Current — Arc- 
tic Seaboard  and  the  Interior — Condition  and  Character  of  the  Rus- 
sians in  the  Sixteenth  Century — Serfs,  Merchants,  and  Nobles — The 
Far  Currency — Foreign  Commercial  Relations — England  in  the 
White  and  Caspian  Seas — Eastern  Progress  of  the  Russian  Empire —  • 
The  North-east  Passage. 1 


CHAPTER  n. 

THX  GSNTURT-MABCH  OF  THE  OOSSACKS. 

1578-1724. 
Siberia  the  Russian  Canaan — From  the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas  over  the 
Ural  Mountains — Stroganof,  the  Salt-miner — Visit  of  Ycrmak — 
Occupation  of  the  Ob  by  the  Cossacks — Character  of  the  Conquer- 
ors—Their Ostrog  on  the  Tobol— The  Straight  Line  of  March  thence 
to  Okhotsk  on  the  Pacific — The  Promyshlcniki — Lena  River  Reached 
— ^Ten  Cossacks  against  Ten  Thousand — Yakutski  Ostrog— Explora- 
tion of  the  Amoor — Discoveries  on  the  Arctic  Seaboard — Ivory  ver- 
sus Skins— The  Land  of  the  Chukchi  Invaded — Okhotsk  Estab- 
lished— Kamchatka  Occupied — Rumors  of  Realms  Beyond 14 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDiriOXS. 

1725-1740. 
Purposes  of  Peter  the  Great — ^An  Expedition  Organized — Sets  out  from 
St  Petersburg— Death  of  the  Tsar— His  Eflforts  Seconded  by  Cath- 
erine and  Elizabeth— Bering  and  Chirikof  at  Kamchatka^They 
Coast  Northward  through  Bering  Strait  and  Prove  Asia  to  be  Sepa- 
rated from  America — Adventures  of  Shestakof— Expeditions  of  Hens, 

(xlil) 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

VAxm 
Fedorof,  and  Gvozdef — America  Sighted — Oiganization  of  the  Sec- 
ond General  Expedition — ^Bibliography — Personnel  of  the  Expedi- 
tion— ^Bering,  Chirikof,  Spanberg,  Walton,  Croy6re,  Steller,  Miiller, 
Fisher,  and  Others — Russian  Religion — Easy  Morality — Model  Mis- 
sionaries— The  Long  Weary  Way  across  Siberia — Charges  against 
Bering — Arrival  of  the  Expedition  at  Okhotsk 35 

CHAPTER  IV. 

DISOOVEBT  OF  ALASKA. 

1740-1741. 
The  Day  of  Departure — Arrival  of  Imperial  Despatches — ^They  Set  Sail 
from  Okhotsk — The  Sv  Petr  and  the  Sv  Pavel — Bering's  and 
Chirikof *8  Respective  Commands — Arrival  at  Kamchatka — Winter- 
ing at  Avatcha  Bay — Embarkation — Dl  Feeling  between  Chirikof 
and  Bering — The  Final  Parting  in  Mid-ocean — Adventures  of  Ciiiri- 
kof — He  Discovers  the  Mainland  of  America  in  Latitude  55°  21' — 
The  Magnificence  of  his  Surroundings — A  Boat's  Crew  Sent  Ashore 
— Another  Sent  to  its  Assistance — All  Lost! — Heart-sick,  Chirikof 
«  Hovers  about  the  Place — ^And  is  Finally  Driven  Away  by  the  Wind 
— He  Discovers  Unalaska,  Adakh,  and  Attoo — The  Presence  of  Sea- 
otters  Noticed — Sickness — Return  to  Avatcha  Bay — Death  of  Croyfere 
—Illness  of  Chirikof 63 

CHAPTER  V. 

DEATH     OF    BEBINQ. 

.  1741-1742. 
Discovery  by  Rule — The  Land  not  where  It  ought  to  be— The  Avatcha 
Council  should  Know — ^Bering  Ekicounters  the  Mainland  at  Mount 
St  Elias — Claims  for  the  Priority  of  Discovery  of  North- westernmost 
America — Kyak  Island — Scarcity  of  Water — The  Return  Voyage — 
Illness  of  Bering — Longings  for  Home — Kadiak — Ukamok — Sickness 
and  Death —Intercourse  with  the  Natives — Waxel's  Adventure — 
Vows  of  the  Dane — Amchitka,  Kishka,  Semiche,  and  other  Islands 
Seen — At  Bering  Island — Wreck  of  lAie  Sv  Petr — Death  of  Bering 
— Gathering  Sea-otter  Skins — The  Survivors  Build  a  Small  Sv  Pelr 
from  the  Wreck — ^Return  to  Kamchatka — Second  Voyage  of  Chirikof.     75 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  8WABMIHG   OP  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 
1743-17C2. 

Effect  of  the  Discovery  in  Siberia — Hunting  Expeditions  in  Search  of 
Sea-otters — Voyages  of  Bassof,  Nevodchikof,  and  Yugof — Rich  Har- 
vests of  Sea-otter  and  Fur-seal  Skins  from  the  Aleutian  Archipelago 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAOB 

— ^The  Cimning  Promyshleniki  and  the  Mild  Islanders — The  Old 
Tale  of  Wrong  and  Atrocity — Bloodslied  on  Attoo  Island — Early 
Monopolies — Chuprors  and  Kholodilof 's  Adventures — Russians  De- 
feated on  Unalaska  and  Amlia — Yugof's  Unfortunate  Speculation 
— Further  Discovery — The  Fate  of  Golodof — Other  Adventures 99 


CHAPTER  YTI. 

FUBTHEB  ADVENTUBES  OF  THE  FBOMYSHLENIKI. 

1760-1767. 
Tolstykh'a  Voy&ge— Movements  of  Vessels — StflBhlin*s  Map— Wreck  of 
the  Ajidreian  i  Natalia — Catherine  Speaks — A  Company  Formed 
— Collecting  Tribute — The  Keue  Na/:hr%chtm — Voyage  of  the  Zdk- 
har  i  Elizaveta — ^Terrible  Ketaliation  of  the  Unalaskans — ^Voyage 
of  the  Sv  TroUaka — Great  Sufferings — Fatal  Onslaught — Voyage 
of  Glottof — Ship  Nomenclature — Discovery  of  Kadiak — New  Mode 
of  Warfare— The  Old  Man's  Tale— Solovief's  Infamies— The  Okhotsk 
Government — ^More  8t  Peters  and  St  Pauls — Queen  Catherine  and  the 
Merchant  Nikoforof — End  of  Private  Fur-hunting  Expeditions....  127 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

IMPEBIAL  EFFORTS  AMD  FAILURES. 

1764-1779. 
Synd's  Voyage  in  Bering  Strait — Stsehlin's  Peculiar  Report — ^The  Grand 
Government  Expedition — Promotions  and  Rewards  on  the  Strength 
of  Prospective  Achievements — Catherine  is  Sure  of  Divine  Favor —  » 
Very  Secret  Instructions — Heavy  Cost  of  the  Expedition — The  Long 
Journey  to  Kamchatka — ^Dire  Misfortunes  There — Results  of  the 
Effort — Death  of  the  Commander — Journals  and  Reports — More  Mer- 
cantile Voyages— The  Ships  Sv  Nikolai,  Sv  Andrei,  Sv  Prokop,  and 
Others— The  Free  and  Easy  Zaikof— His  Luck 157 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

1770-1787. 
Political  Changes  at  St  Petersburg — Exiles  to  Siberia — ^The  Long  Weary 
Way  to  Kamchatka — ^The  Benyovski  Conspiracy— The  Author  Bad 
Enough,  but  not  So  Bad  as  He  would  Like  to  Appear — Exile  Kegula- 
tions — Forgery,  Treachery,  Robbery,  and  Murder — Escape  of  the 
Exiles— Behm  Appointed  to  Succeed  Nilof  as  Commandant  of  Kam- 
chatka— Further  Hunting  Voyages — First  Trading  Expedition  to  the 
Mainland — Potop  Zaxkof — Prince  William  Soiuxd — ^Ascent  of  Copper 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

River — Treacherous  Chngaches— Plight  of  the  Russians— Home  of  the 
Fur-seals — Its  Discovery  by  Gerassim  Pribylof — Jealousy  of  Rival 
Companies 175 

CHAPTER  X. 

OFFICIAL   EXPl>OILATIONS. 

1773-1779. 
Russian  Supremacy  in  the  Farthest  North-west — ^The  Other  European 
Powers  would  Know  What  It  Means — Perez  Looks  at  Alaska  for 
^      Spain — ^The   Scmtiago  at   IHxon   Entrance— <^uadra  Advances  to 
,    Cross  Sound — Cook  for  England  Examines  the  Coast  as  Far  as  Icy 
Cape— Names  Given  to  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook  Inlet — Rev- 
elations and  Mistakes-^Ledyard's  Journey — Again  Spain  Sends  to 
the  North  Arteaga,  Who  Takes  Possession  at  Latitude  59"  8'— Bay  of 
La  Santisima  Cruz — Results  Attained 194 

CHAPTER  XI. 

COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUS-TRADB. 

1783-1787. 
«  First  Attempted  Settlement  of  the  Russians  in  America — ^Voyage  of  6ri- 
«>       gor  Sbelikof — Permanent  ESstablishment  of  the  Russians  at  Kadiak — 
Return  of  SheUkof— His  Instructions  to  Samoilof,  Colonial  Conunand- 
er — ^The  Historic  Sable  and  Otter — Skins  as  Currency — ^Trapping 
and  Tribute-collecting — Method  of  Conducting  the  Hunt — ^Regula- 
tions of  the  Peredovchiki — God's  Sables  and  Man's— Review  of  the 
Fur-trade  on  the  Coasts  of  Asia  and  America — Pernicious  System  In- 
«  troduced  by  the  Promyshleniki — ^The  China  Market— Foreign  Ri- 
vals and  their  Method — Abuse  of  Natives— Cook's  and  Vancouver's 
4    Opinions  of  Competition  with  the  Russians — ^Extirpation  of  Ani- 
mals   222  ' 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

FOBEION  YISITOBS. 

1786-1794. 
>  French  Interest  in  the  North-west — La  P^rouse's  Examination — ^Discov- 
ery  of  Port  des  Fran^ais — A  Disastrous  Survey — ^English  Visitors— 
Meares  is  Caught  in  Prince  William  Sound — Terrible  Struggles  with 
the  Scurvy — Portlock  and  Dixon  Come  to  the  Rescue — Their  Two 
Years  of  Trading  and  Exploring — Ismai'lof  and  Bocharof  Set  Forth 
to  Secure  the  Claims  of  Russia — A  Treacherous  Chief — ^Yakutat 
Bay  Explored — Traces  of  Foreign  Visitors  Jealously  Suppressed — 
.  Spain  Resolves  to  Assert  Herself — Martinez  and  Haro's  Tour  of  In- 
vestigation— Fidalgo,  Marchand,  and  Caamafko — Vancouver's  Expe- 
dition   255 


CONTEKTS.  xvii 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

THE  BILLINaS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

1785-1793. 

PAGB 

Flattering  Fixwpects — Costly  Outfit — The  Usual  Years  of  Preparation — 
An  Expectant  World  to  be  Enlightened — Gathering  of  the  Expedi- 
tion at  Kamchatka — ^Divers  Winterings  and  Ship-building — Prelim- 
inary Surveys  North  and  South — At  Unalaska  and  Eladiak — Russian 
Rewards — Periodic  Promotion  of  Billings — At  St  Lawrence  Island — 
Billings*  Land  Journey — Wretched  Condition  of  Russian  Hunters — 
End  of  the  Tribute  System — ^Result  of  the  Expedition— Sarychefs 
SoTYeys — Shelikof  8  Duplicity — Priestly  Performance 282 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

OSOANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLT. 

1787-1705. 
Shelikof  8  Grand  Conception — Governor-general  Jacobi  yf<xi  to  the 
Scheme — Shelikofs  Modest  Request— Alaska  Laid  under  Monopoly  ' 
— Stipulations  of  the  Empress— Humane  Orders  of  Kozlof-Ugreniu 
— Public  Instructions  and  Secret  Injunctions — ^Delarof 's  Administra- 
tion— Shel^of  Induces  Baranof  to  enter  the  Service  of  his  Com- 
pany— Career  and  Traits  of  the  New  Manager — Shipwreck  of  Ba- 
ranof on  Unalaska — Condition  of  the  Colony — ^Rivalry  and  Other 
Troubles — Plans  and  Recommendations— Engagement  with  the  Eal- 
jnshes — Ship-building — ^The  Englishman  Shields — ^Launch  and  Trib- 
ulatioDS  of  the  Phcenix '. 305 

CHAPTER  XV.  ^ 

STRITB  BETWEEN  BIVAL  COMPANIES. 
1791-1794. 

The  Lebedef  Company  Occupies  Cook  Inlet — Quarrels  between  the  Lebe- 
def  and  Shelikof  Companies — Hostilities  in  Cook  Inlet — Complaints 
of  Kolomin  against  Konovalof — ^War  upon  Russians  and  Indians 
Alike — ^life  of  the  Marauders — Pacific  Attitude  of  Baranof— His  Pa- 
tience Exhausted — Playing  the  Autocrat— Arrest  of  the  Ringleaders 

'  — Effect  on  the  Natives— Baranof  s  Speech  to  his  Hunters — Expedi- 
tion to  Yakutat — Meeting  with  Vancouveiv- The  Lebedef  Company 
Circumvented — ^Troubles  with  Kaljushes — Purtof  8  Resolute  Conduct 
— ZaSkofs  Expedition 334 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

OOLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

1794-1796. 
Mechanics  and  Missionaries  Arrive  at  Pavlovsk — Ambitious  Schemes  of 
Colonization — Agricultural  Settlement  Founded  on  Yakutat  Bay — 
Shipwreck,  Famine,  and  Sickness — Golovnin's  Report  on  the  AfiB&irs 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

PAOK 

of  the  Shelikof  Company — Discontent  of  the  Missionaries — Com- 
plaints of  the  Archimandrite — Father  Makar  in  Unalaska — Father 
Juvenal  in  ELadiak — Divine  Service  ab  Three  Saints — Juvenal's  Voy- 
age to  Ilyamna — His  Reception  and  Missionary  Labors — He  Attempts 
to  Abolish  Polygamy — And  Falls  a  Victim  to  an  Ilyamna  Damsel — 
He  is  Butchered  by  the  Natives 351 

CHAPTEE  XVn. 

THS  BUSSIAN  AMEBICAN  COMFANT. 

1796-1799. 
Threatened  Exhanstion  of  the  Seal-fisheries — Special  Privileges  Given  to 
Siberian  Merchants — Shelikof  Petitions  for  a  Grant  of  the  Entire 
North-west — He  is  Supported  by  Rezanof — Muilnikof 's  £Interprise — 
The  United  American  Company — Its  Act  of  Consolidation  Confirmed 
by  Imperial  Oukaz — And  its  Name  Changed  to  the  Russian  Ameri-  # 
can  Company — Text  of  the  Oukaz — Obligations  of  the  Company 375 

CHAPTEE  XVin. 

THB  FOUNDING  OF  SITKA. 
1798-1801. 

Baranofs  Difficulties  and  Despondency — Sick  and  Hopeless — Arrival  of 
the  Elizaveta— An  Expedition  Sails  for  Norfolk  Sound — Loss  of 
Canoes— The  Party  Attacked  by  Kolosh — Treaty  with  the  Sitkans — 
Yankee  Visitors— A  Fort  Erected— The  Yakutat  Bay  Settlement — 
Baranof  Desires  to  be  Relieved — His  Official  Tour  of  the  Colonies — 
The  Chief  Manager's  Piety — His  Complaints  of  Foreign  Encroach- 
ments— ^British  Aggressiveness 384 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THB    SITKA     MASSACRE. 
1802. 

Rumors  of  Revolt  among  the  Kolosh— They  Attack  Fort  Sv  Mikhail- 
Testimony  of  Abrossim  Plotnikof — And  of  Ekaterina  Lebedef — 
Sturgis'  Equivocal  Statement — Captain  Barber  as  a  Philanthropist — 
Khlcbnikofs  Version  of  the  Massacre — Secret  Instructions  to  Bara- 
nof— Tidings  from  Unalaska — Further  Promotion  of  the  Chief  Man- 
ager— ^He  Determines  to  Recapture  Sitka — Preparations  for  the  Expe- 
dition  401 

CHAPTEE   XX. 

SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

1803-1805. 
The  Nadeshda  and  Neva  Sail  from  Kronstadt — ^Lisiansky  Arrives  at 
Norfolk  Sound  in  the  Neva — Baranof  Sets  Forth  from  Yakutat — 
His  Narrow  Escape  from  Shipwreck — He  Joins  Forces  with  Lisiansky 


B 


CONTENTS.  xix 

PAOB 

— Fruitless  Negotiations — Defeat  of  the  Russians — The  Fortress  Bom- 
barded— And  Evacuated  by  the  Savages — The  Natives  Massacre 
their  Children — Lisiansky's  Visit  to  Kadiak — His  Description  of  the 
Settlements — A  Kolosh  Embassy — A  Dinner  Party  at  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk— The  Neva* 8  Homeward  Voyage — ^Bibliography ^  421 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

rezanof's  visit. 
1804-1806. 
Voyage  of  the  Nadeshda — A  Russian  Embassy  Dismissed  by  the  Japan-  / 

ese — ^Rezanof  at  St  Paul  Island — Wholesale  Slaughter  of  Fur-seals — 
The  Ambassador's  Letter  to  the  Emperor — The  Blnvoy  Proceeds  to 
Kadiak — And  Thence  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk— His  Report  to  the 
Russian  American  Company — Further  Trouble  with  the  Kolosh — 
The  Ambassador's  Instructions  to  the  Chief  Manager — Evil  Tidingi 
from  Kadiak— Rezanof's  Voyage  to  California — His  Complaints 
against  Naval  Officers — His  Opinion  of  the  Missionaries — His  Last 
Journey 443 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

SEVEN  MORE  TEARS  OF  ALASKA17  ANNALS. 
1806-1812. 

Ship-building  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk — The  Settlement  Threatened  by 
Kolosh— A  Plot  against  the  Chief  Manager's  Life — The  Conspira- 
tors Taken  by  Surprise — Arrival  of  Golovnin  in  the  Sloop-of-war 
Diana — His  Description  of  the  Settlement — Astor's  Vessel,  the 
Enterprise  J  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk — Negotiations  for  Trade — Golov- 
nin's  Account  of  the  Matter — Famum's  Journey  from  Astoria 
to  St  Petersburg — Wreck  of  the  Juno — Sufiferings  of  her  Crew 461 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

FOREIGN  VENTURES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY. 
1803-1841. 

Baranof  8  Want  of  Means — O'Cain's  Expedition  to  California — And  to 
Japan— The  Mercury  at  San  Diego — Trading  Contracts  with  Ameri- 
can Skippers — Kuskof  ^n  the  Coast  of  New  Albion — The  Ross 
Colony  Founded — Seal-hunting  on  the  Coast  of  California — Ship- 
building— Agriculture — Shipments  of  Cereals  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk — 
Horticulture — Stock-raising — Losses  Licurred  by  the  Company — 
Hunting-post  Established  at  the  Farallones — Failure  of  the  Enter- 
prise—Sale of  the  Colony's  Effects 476 


XX  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEB  ;s:xiv. 

FUBTHSB  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

1808-1818. 

VAoa 
HagcmeUter  in  the  Sandwich  Islands — ^Baranof  Again  D^res  to  be  Re- 
lieved—Eliot Sails  for  California  in  the  Iltnen — ^Hia  Captivity— 
Kotzebue  in  the  Rurik  in  Search  of  a  North-east  Passage — His  Ex- 
plorations in  Kotzebue  Sound — He  Proceeds  to  Unalaska — And 
thence  to  California  and  the  Sandwich  Islands — King  Kamehameha 
— A  Stonn  in  the  North  Pacific— The  Burik  Returns  to  Unalaska 
— ^Her  Homeward  Voyage— Bennett'jB  Trip  to  the  Sandwich  Islands — 
Captain  Lozaref  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk — His  Disputes  with  the  Chief 
Manager — Sheffer  Sails  for  Hawaii — And  thence  for  ELauai — ^His 
Agreement  with  King  Tomari — Jealousy  of  American  and  Engliah 
Traders — ^Flight  of  the  Russians 490 

^  CHAPTER  XXV. 

CLOSE  OF  BAKAN0F*S  ADUNISTRATIOV. 
181^1821. 

Hagemeister  Sails  for  Noto  Arkhangelsk — He  Supersedes  Baranof — 
Transfer  of  the  OMnpany's  Effects— The  Accounts  in  Good  Order- 
Sickness  of  the  Ex-manager — Baranof  Takes  Leave  of  the  Colonies — 
His  Death — Remarks  of  Khlebnikof  and  Others  on  Baranof — Kora- 
sokovsky's  Expedition  to  the  Kuskokyim — RoquefeuiPs  Voyage — 
Maanicre  of  his  Hunters — ^Further  Explorations — ^Dividends  and  In- 
creak  of  Capital — Commerce— Decrease  in  the  Yield  of  Furs — ^The 
Company's  Servants 510 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

SECOND  PKRIOD  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANT'S  OPERATIONS. 

1821-1842. 
Golovnin's  Report  on  the  Colooies— The  Company's  Charter  Renewed— 
New  Privileges  Granted — Mouravief  Appointed  Governor — Alaska 
Divided  into  Districts— Threatened  Starvation — Cbistiakof  Super- 
f      sedes  Mouravief— Foreign  Trade  Prohibited— The  Anglo-Russian 
and  Russo- American  Treaties— More  Explorations — Wrangeirs  Ad- 
ministration— He  is  Succeeded  by  Kupnanof — ^Disputes  with  the 
•-—Hudson's  Bay  Company— Their  Adjustment— Fort  Stikeen— Etholen 
Appointed  Governor— A  Small-pox  Epidemic — Statistical. . .   530 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN   COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

1842-1866. 
The  Charter  Renewed— Its  Provisions — The  Affair  at  Petropavlovsk — 
Outbreaks  among  the  Natives — The  Nulato  Massacre — A  Second 
Massacre  Threatened  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk — Explorations  —  The 


CX)NTENTS.  xxi 

PAOK 

Western  Union  Telegraph  Company — WcBtdahrs  Experience — The 
Company  Bequests  Another  Renewal  of  its  Charter — Negotiations 
with  the  Imperial  Government — Their  Failure — Population — ^Food 
Supplies— The  Yield  of  Furs— Whaling— Dividends— Trade —^Bib- 
liographical  568 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 

ALASKA  AB  A  UNITED  STATES  GOLONT. 

1867-1883. 
MotiTes  for  the  Transfer  by  the  Russian  Government — ^Negotiations  Com*  « 
menoed— Senator  Cole's  Eflforts— The  Treaty  Signed  and  Ratified— 
Reasons  for  and  against  the  Purchase — ^The  Territory  as  an  Invest- 
ment— Its  Formal  Cession — Influx  of  American  Adventurere^Meas- 
nres  in  Congress — ^A  Country  without  Law  or  Prolection— Evil  Effect 
of  the  Military  Ck»npation — ^An  l^meute  at  Sitka — Furtlier  Troubles 
with  the  Natives — ^Their  Cause^Hootchenoo,  or  Molasses-rum — Rev- 
enue—Suggestions for  a  Civil  Government — ^Want  of  Mail  Facilitiea 
— Surveys  and  Explorations 590 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GOHMBRCB,  BEVENX7S,  AND  FUBS. 

1868-1884. 
Imports  and  Exports— Cost  of  Collecting  Revenue — ^The  Hudson's  Bay^ 
Company—Smuggllbg— The  Alaska  Commercial  Company — It  Ob- 
tains a  Lease  of  the  Prybilof  Islands — The  Terms  of  the  Contract 
— ^Remuneration  and  Treatment  of  the  Natives — Their  Mode  of  Life 
— Investigation  into  the  Company's  Management — Statements  of 
Robert  Desty — And  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — Increase  in 
the  Value  of  Furs— Remarks  of  H.  W.  Elliott— Landing  of  the  Fur- 
seals — ^Their  Combats — ^Method  of  Driving  and  Slaughtering — Cur» 
ing,  Dressing,  and  Dyeing — Sea-otters — Land  Peltry 630 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

FISHERIES. 

1867-1884. 

Salmon  Packing— Price  and  Weight  of  the  Raw  Fish — Yukon  River 
Salmon — Alaskan  Canneries — Domestic  Consumption  and  Waste — 
The  Cod-banks  of  Alaska — Large  Increase  in  the  Catch  of  Cod-fish 
and  Decrease  in  its  Value — ^The  Halibut- fisheries —Herring  and  Her- 
ring-oil— Mackerel — ^The  Eulachon  or  Candle-fish — Value  and  Pros- 
pects of  the  Alaskan  Fisheries — Whaling  Enterprise— The  North 
Pacific  Whaling  Fleet — Gradual  Decrease  in  the  Catch— Threatened 
Exhaustion  of  the  Whaling-grounds 660 


xxii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SETTLBMENTSy  AOKICTTLTUBE,   SHIP-BUILDIira,  AKD  MINING. 

1794-1884. 

PAna 
Sitka  during  the  Russian  Occupation — ^The  Town  Half  Deserted — Social 

Life  at  the  Capital—The  Sitka  Library — Newspapers— Fort  Wran- 
•gell — ^Tongass — Harrisburg — Settlements  on  Cook  Inlet — Kadiak — 
Wood  Island — Spruce  Island — Three  Saints — Afognak — ^The  Aleutian 
Islands — Volcanic  Eruptions  and  Earthquakes — Saint  Michael— Fort' 
Yukon — ^Agriculture — Stock-raising — ^Timber — Ship-building — Coal- 
mining— Petroleum,  Copper,  Quicksilver,  Lead,  and  Sulphur — Silver 
and  Gold 671 


CHAPTEE  XXXn. 

CHURCHES,   SCHOOLS,   AND  HOSPITALS. 

1795-1884. 
The  First  Churches  in  Russian  America— A  Biocese  Established — ^Veni- 
aminof — The  Sitka  Cathedral — Con  version  of  the  Indians — The  Clergy- 
Held  in  Contempt — Protestant  Missions — Schools — The  Sitka  Semi- 
nary— The  General  Colonial  Institute — Meteorological — Diseases — 
Hospitals — ^The Company 's Pensioners — Creoles — ^Bibliographical. . . .  099 

CHAPTER  XXXm. 

ALAS&JL  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

1883-1885. 
The  Organic  Act— A  Phantom  of  Civil  Government— Proposed  Indian 
Reservations — Educational  Matters— Appointment  of  United  States 
Officials— Report  of  Governor  Kinkead— His  Successor  Appointed— 
Schwatka's  Voyage  on  a  Raft— Everette's  Exploration— Stoney's 
Expedition— Mining  on  the  Yukon  and  its  Tributaries— The  Takoo 
Mines— Thfe  Treadwell  Lode— Fisheries— Commerce  and  Navigation  717 


ATJTHOEITIES  QUOTED 
THE   HISTORY   OF   ALASKA. 


Acta  Petropolitana^  1750  et  seq.    In  LibraiT  of  Confess. 

Akademie  der  Wiasenachaften  SitzangBberichte  und  Abhandlangen.    Bsrlini 

1859  et  seq. 
Alaska,  Archives  from  Unalaska  and  St  Paul.     MS. 
A\lu^^ia^  Army  Sketches  by  an  Officer  of  the  U.  S.  Navy.    In  Army  and 

Navy  Journal,  1868-9. 
Alaska,  History  of  the  Wrongs  of.    San  Francisco,  1875. 
Alaska,  Report  of  the  Icelanuic  Committee.    Washington,  1875. 
Alaska,  Traders'  Protective  Association.     San  Francisco,  1869. 
Alaska  Conmiercial  Company,  Alaska  Far-Seal,  n.pl.,  n.d.;  By-laws.    S.  F., 

1870;  Extraordinary  Developments  in  regard  to  the  Monopoly,  n.pl. ,  n.  d. 
Alaska  Commercial  Company,  Taylor  vs  A.  C.  Co.  [12th  Dist.  Court,  1871]. 

MS. 
Alftalfft.  Fur-Seal  Fisheries,  Letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  [41st 

Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  129].     Washington,  1870. 
Alaska  Scrap  Book,  1868-76,  by  Agapius  Honcharenko.  2  vols. 
Alaska  Ship  Building  Company,  Petition  praying  for  grant  of  certain  lands. 


[43d  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Sen.  Mis.,  13.]    Washington,  1875. 
Albany  (Or. )  Kegister. 
Alegre  (Francisco  Javier),  Historia  de  la  CompafUa  de  Jesus  en  Nueva  Espafiia. 

Mexico,  1841.  3  vols. 
Altaras  (Cal.),  Modoc  Independent. 

Alvarado  (Juan  Bautiita),  Historia  de  California.  MS.  5  vols. 
American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society.    New  York,  1850  et  seq. 
American  Quarterly  Review.     Philadelphia,  1827  et  seq. 
American  State  Papers.     Boston,  1817-19.   12  vols.;   Washington,  1832-4; 

1858-61.  folio.  39  vols. 
Anaheim  (CaL),  Gazette. 
Anderson  (Adam),  Historical  and  Chronological  Deduction  of  the  Origin  ,of 

Commerce.    London,  1801.  folio.  4  vols. 
Anderson  (Alexander  C),  Northwest  Coast  History.     MS. 
Anderson  (Alexander  C),  Notes  on  Indian  Tribes  of  British  North  America. 

In  Historical  Mag.,  vii.  73. 
Annals  of  Congress.    [1st  to  18th  Congress.]    Washington,  1834-56.  42  vols. 
Antioch  (Cal. ),  Ledser. 

Apostdlicoe  Afanes  ae  la  Compa&ia  de  Jesus.    Barcelona,  1754. 
Arab,  Loff-book.  1821-5.    MS. 
ArchxYo  del  Arzobispado  de  San  Francisco.    MS.  5  vols. 

.AUkSKA.    3*  {xxiii) 


xsiv  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

•  Archivo  de  California.  MS.  273  vols.,  and  a  great  mass  of  loose  papers. 
Documents  preserved  in  the  U.  S.  Surveyor-general's  office  at  San  Fi'au- 
cisco.  Copies  in  my  Collection.  Divided  as  follows:  Prov.  St.  Pap.; 
Prov.  Rec;  Dept.  St.  Pap.;  Dept.  Rec. 

Archivo  de  las  Misiones.     MS.  2  vols. 

Archivo  del  Obispado  de  Monterey  y  Los  Angeles.     MS. 

Archivo  de  Santa  Bdrbara.  MS.   11  vols. 

Armstrong  (Alexander),  Personal  Narrative  of  the  Discovery  of  the  North- 
west Passage.     London,  1857. 

Arteaga  (Ignacio),  Tercera  Exploracion,  1779.     MS. 

Astoria  (Or.),  Astorian. 

Atalmafpa.  Journal  of  the  Ship.  MS.  In  Library  of  Department  of  State. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Atlantic  Monthly.     Boston,  1858  et  seq. 

A2anza  (Virey),  Ynstruccion,  1800.     MS. 

Baer  (Karl  Pr.  von).  See  Wrangell  (Contre  Admiral  V.),  Statistische,  etc. 

Baird  (Spencer  F.),  Fish  and  Fisheries  [41sfc  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Sen.  Mis.  Doc, 
108;  45th Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Sen.  Mis.  Doc,  4'JJ.     Waahingtpn,  1870,  1877. 

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Chamisso  (Louis  Charles  A.  tod),  Adelbcrt  von  Chamisso's  "Werke.     Vierte 
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Choris  (Louis),  Voyage  Pittoresque  autour  du  Monde.     Paris,  1822.  folio. 
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Cooley  (W.  D.),  Maritime  and  inland  discovery.     London,  1830-1.  3  vols. 
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the  relative  value  of  Abiska  to  the  United  States.  In  Wash.  Philosop. 
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Davis  (Horace),  Record  of  Japanese  vessels  driven  upon  Northwest  Coast. 

Worcester,  1872. 
Davis  (William  H.),  Glimpses  of  the  Past  in  California.     MS.  2  vols. 
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Cincinnati,  1839. 
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Annals  of  Con^.  1822,  ii.  2142. 
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York,  1847;  Voyages  aux  Montagues  Rocheuses.     LUle,  1859. 
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Erman  (A.)t  Archiv  fflr  wissenchaftllche  Kiinde  von  Rnssland.    Berlin,  1848. 
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Falconer  (Thomas),  On  the  Discovery  of  the  Mis8is8ix)pi.    London,  1844;  The 

Oregon  Question.     London,  1845. 
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Fernandez  (Josti),  Cosas  de  California.     MS. 

Fernandez  ( Jos<5),  Documentos  para  la  Historia  de  California.     MS. 
Fidalgo  (Salvador),  Tabla  de  Descubrimientos  de  1790.     MS. 
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beregu  Amerike.    [Voyage  of  the  Aiaks  toward  the  north-west  coast  of 

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Hartford  (Conn.),  Courant. 

HAr\'ey  (Mrs.  Daniel),  Life  of  John  McLouglilin.     MS. 

Haswell  (Robert),  Voyage  of  the  Columbia  Rediviva,  1787,  1791-2.     MS. 

Hazlitt  (Win.  Carew),  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver's  Island.     Loudoni 

1858. 
Healilsburg  (Cal.),  Russian  River  Flag. 
Heceta  (Bruno)i  Diario  del  Viage  de  1775.     MS. 
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Lettrea  Edifianies  et  Cnrienses.    Lyon,  1S19.  14  vols. 

Lippm9ott'8  Magazine.     Philadelphia,  1S6S  et  seq. 

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liaianaky  (Uri),  A  Voyaee  round  the  World,  1803-6.    London,  1814.  4to. 

Log  Books  of  Vessels  of  Russian- American  Company.  In  Sitka  Archives. 
MS.  15  vols. 

London,  Daily  Graphic,  Globe,  Times. 

London  Geographical  Society  Journal.     London,  1831-70.  40  vols. 

Los  Angeles  (CaL ),  Express,  News,  Star. 

Liitke  (Feodor  P.),  Puteshestvie  vokrug  svieta,  etc.,  Seniavln,  1826-9.  [Jour- 
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1835;  Voyage  autour  du  monde  sur  la  corvette  le  S^niavine.  Paris, 
1835-6. 

McOabe  (James  D.),  A  Comprehensive  View  of  our  Country  and  its  Kesources. 

Philadelphia,  etc.  n.d. 
McDonald  (J.  L.),  Hidden  Treasures,  etc.     Gloucester,  1871. 
McParlane  (James),  The  Coal-regions  of  America.     New  York,  1873. 
McGregor  (John),  The  Progress  of  America.     London,  1847.  2  vols. 
Mackenzie  (Alexander),  Voyage  from  Montreal  to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific 

Oceans,  1789-93.    London,  1801.  4to;  New  York,  1814. 
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London,  1818. 
Macpherson  (David),  Annals  of  Commerce.     London,  1801.  4to.  4  vols. 
Blalaspina,  Disertacion  sobre  la  legitimida^  de  la  navegacion  hecha  en  1588. 

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Mnanie  Gosudarstvennavo  sovieia,  1865   and   1866.     [Opinion  of  Imperial 

Council.]    MS.  copies. 
Mofras  (Eugene  Duflot  de);  Exploration  de  I'Or^gon,  des  Calif omies,  etc. 

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Neuo  Nachrichteu  von  denen  ueueutdekten  Insuln  in  der  see  zwischen  Asien 
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trated Christian  Weekly,  Journal  of  Commerce,  Post,  Sun,  Sunday 
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Nicolay  (C.  G.),  The  Oregon  Territory.     London,  1846. 

Niles' Register.     Baltimore,  etc.,  1811-49.  70  vols. 

Nordenskjold  (A.  E.),  Tlie  Voyage  of  the  Vega.     New  York,  1882. 

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1875. 
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( 'oiirier.  Territorial  llcpu))lipan,  Transcript. 
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Pacheco  (Joaquin  F.),  and  Cardenas  et  al.,  Coloccion  dc  Documcntos  Inc^di- 
to.j  relatives  al  Descubrimieuto,  CoiH]ui.sta  y  Coloiiizacion  dc  las  Pose- 
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Palmer  (A.  H.),  Memoir,  Greographical,  Political,  and  Commercial,  on  the 
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Wash.,  1848. 

Palou  (Francisco),  Noticias  de  la  California.  Mexico,  1857.  In  Doc.  Hist. 
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Papers  relating  to  the  Treaty  of  Washington.  Vol.  v.  Berlin  Arbitrntion. 
Washington,  1872. 

Patterson  (Samuel),  Narrative  of  Adventures  and  Sufiferings  in  Pacific  Ocean. 
Palmer,  1817. 

Payne  (John),  A  New  and  Complete  System  of  Universal  Geography.  New- 
York,  1708.  4  vols. 

Peirce  (Henry  A.),  Journal  of  Voyages,  1839-42.     MS. 

Pcirce  (Henry  A.),  Rough  Sketch.     MS. 

Pelham  (Cavendish),  The  World.     London,  1808.  4to.  2  vols. 

Pcna  (Tom^),  Diario  de  Viage  do  Perez,  1774.     MS. 

Pereleshin  (Nikolai),  Doldad.     [Report.]    In  Morskoi,  Sbomik. 

Perez  (Juan),  Relacion  del  Viage,  1774.     MS. 

Perez  (Juan),  Tabla  Diaria.  1774.     MS. 

Perry  (M.  C. ),  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  of  an  American  Squadron  to  the 
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Petalama  (Cal. ),  Argus,  Crescent,  Journal  and  Argus. 

Petit-Thouars  (Abel),  Voyage  autour  du  Monde,  183G-9.  Paris,  1840-4. 
5  vols. 

Petrof  (Ivan),  Alaska  as  it  is.  In  International  Review.  Feb.  1881;  Limit 
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1882;  Population  and  Resources  of  Alaska.  [4Gth  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  H.  Ex. 
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Petrof  (Ivan),  The  Management  of  the  Russian  American  0>mpany.     MS. 

Philadelphia,  Inquirer, 

Picolo  (trancisco  M.),  Memorial  sobre  el  estado  de  las  misloncs  nuevamente 
cstablecidas  en  la  Calitoniia.     In  Cartas  EdiUcantcs,  iii.  257. 

Pinart  (Alphonsc),  Les  Almontes  et  leur  Origine.  In  Revue  Orientale,  xii. 
155;  Jja,  Caveme  d'Akafiank  He  d'Ounga.  Paris,  1875;  Eskimaux  ct 
Kolochcs  Id^es  Religiciuses,  etc.  Paris,  1873;  Notes  sur  les  Koloches. 
Paris,  1873;  Note  sur  les  Atkahs.  Paris,  1873;  Voyages  ti  la  Cote  Nord 
Oucst  de  I'Amdriquo.  Paris,  1875.  folio;  La  cliasse  aux  ammaux  marins 
et  les  p^cheries  chez  les  Indigenes  de  la  cOte  N.  O.  Boulogne,  S.  M. ,  1 875. 
8vo. 

Pinkerton  (John),  General  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels.  London, 
1808-14.  4to.  17  vols. 

Pioclie  (Nev.),  Record. 

Placcrville  ((jal.),  Mountain  Democrat. 

Plcstcheief  (Sergi  I.),  Survey  of  tho  Russian  Empire.     London,  1792. 

Politofsky  (N.),  Kratkoie  Istorichcskoio  Obozrauie  Obrazovanio  y  Deist  vie 
Rossiysko-Amerik.,  etc.  [Brief  historical  review  of  origin  and  transac- 
tions of  Russian  American  Company.]    St  Petersburg,  IvJGl. 

Ponafidin  (Zakhar  I.),  Puteshestvie  iz  KiiUr.o  do  Sitklii  lSlG-18.  [Voyage 
from  CaUao  to  Sitka,  181G-18.]    In  Zapiski  Uydr.  vii. 

Portland  (Or.),  Bee,  Bulletin,  Commercial,  Deiitcho  Zoitung,  Herald,  Oregon 
Herald,  Oregonian,  Standard,  Telegram,  West  Shore. 

Portlock  (Nathaniel),  Voyage  round  the' World,  17S5-8.   London,  1785-8.  4to. 

PortTownsend  (Wash.),  Argus,  Democratic  Press,  Message. 

Potechin  (V.),  Settlement  of  Rosa.     St  Petcraburg,  18u9. 

Pouasin  (G.  T.),  Question  de  I'OrcSgon.  Paris,  184G;  The  United  States. 
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Prescott  (Ariz.),  Arizona  Miner. 

Quarterly  Review.     London,  1809^  et  seq. 


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Radio  (L.)>  Einige  Nachrichten  iiber  die  Sprache  der  Kaiganen.     St  Peters- 
burg, 1858. 
Randol^  (Edmund),  Oration  before  Society  of  Cal.  Pioneers,  Sept.  1860. 

In  Hutchings'  Mag.,  v.  263, 
Raymond  (Charles  W.),  Report  of  Yukon  River  and  island  of  St  Paul.    Jan. 

1,  1870  [4l8t  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  112].     Washington.  1870. 
Raynal  (G.  T.),  Histoire  Philosophique.     Paris,  1820-1.  12  vols,  and  atlas. 
Rechcrches  Philosophiques  sur  les  Americains.     London,  1770.  2  vols. 
Red  Bluff  (Cal.),  Independent,  Sentinel. 
-^Revilla  Gigedo  (Virey),  Informe  de  12  Abril,  1793.     In  Bustamante  Suple- 

mento,  iiL  112.    - 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes.     Paris,  1839  et  seq. 
Revue  Orientale  et  Americaine.     Paris,  1859  et  seq. 
Richardson  (Sir  John),  Arctic  Searching  Expedition.    London,  185U  2  vols.; 

The  Polar  Regions.     Edinburgh,  1861. 
Richardson  (J.)  et  al.,  Zoology  of  Beechey's  Voyage.  Lond.,  1839-40. 
Ridpath  (John  C),  A  Popular  History  of  the  U.  S.     New  York,  1877. 
Rivinus  (Edward  F. ),  Atlantis,  Journal  des  Neuesten  und  Wisscnswiirdigsten 

etc.     Leipzig,  1827. 
Rocky  Mountain  Presbyterian.     Denver,  1877  et  seq. 
Rogers  (Clommandcr  John),  Letters  on  Surveying  Expedition  to  North  Pacific 

Ocean,  Berings  Straits,  and  China  Seas,  Aug.  1854  to  June  1855.     MS. 

2  vols.     In  U.  S.  Navy  Department.     Washington,  D.  C. 
Roquefeuil  (Camille),  Journal  d  un  Voyage  autour  du  Monde^  1816-19.   Paris, 

1823.  2  vols.;  Voyage  round  the  World,  1816-19.     London,  1823. 
Roseburg  (Or.),  Western  Star. 
Ross  (John),  Narrative  of  a  second  voyage  in  search  of  a  N.  W.  Passage. 

London,  1835. 
Ross  Colony,  Documents  relating  to.    In  Russian  Amer.  Col.  v. 
Rossi  [L'Abb^),  Souvenirs  d*un  voyage  en  Oregon  et  en  Califomie.     Paris, 

1804. 
Rotchef  (Alex.),  Deed  of  Ross  to  Sutter,  1841.     MS. 

Rothrock  (Joseph  T.),  Flora  of  Alaska.    In  Smithsonian  Report  1867.  433. 
Rouliaud  (Hippolyte),  Les  Regions  Nouvelles.     Paris,  1868. 
Russia.     Imperial  Geographical  Society.   St  Petersburg,  etc.,  1863  et  seq. 
Russia,  Official  Documents.     Department  of  Foreign  .AJ^urs;  Ministry  of  the 

Interior;  Ministry  of  War. 
Russia,  Treaty  with.  Report  of  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs,  May  18,  1868. 

[40th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  H.  Report  37.]    Washington,  1868. 
Russian  America,  A  Collection.  7  vols.     MS. 
Russian  America,  Message  of  the  President  of  the  U.  S.  Feb.  17,  1868.  [40th 

Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  177.]    Washington,  1868. 
Russian  American  Company,  Archives.     St  Petersburg,  1799-1867. 
Russian  American  Company,  Charters  of  1799,  1821,  1842.     In  Tikhmenef 

1st.  Oboz.  and  Materialui. 
Russian  American  Fur  Company,  Accounts,  1847-50.     MS. 
Russian  American  Telegraph,  Statement  of  the  Origin,  Organization^  etc. 

Rochester,  1866. 

Sacramento  (Cal.),  Bee,  Record,  Record-Union,  Reporter. 

Saint  Amant  (M.  dc),  Voyages  en  Califomie  et  dans  I'Ordgon,    Paris^  1854, 

Saint  Petersburg,  Archives  of  History. 

Salem  (Or. ),  Capital,  Chronicle,  Mercury,  Oregon  Statesman,  Record. 

Salt  Lake  City,  Herald. 

SaIvatiorra(Juan  Maria),  Cuatro  Cartas  sobre  misiones  en  Calif omias,  Nov. 

1(31>7.   In  Doc.  Hist.  Mcx.,  serio  ii.,  torn.  i.  103;  luformo  al  Vircy,  I\Iay 

2.1,  1705.     In  Vencgas,  Noticia  ii. 
SaniTiilung  aller  Roisobc'ijclireibungcn.     Leipzig,  1747-74.  4to.  21  vols. 
L"iau  ]''raiici.sc<)  Newspapers.    Alaska  Appeal,  Alaska  Herald,  Alaska  Tribune, 

Alta  California,  Argonaut,  Call,  Christian  Advocate,  Chronicle,  Com- 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

mercial  Herald  and  Market  Review,  ETening  BuUetii],  Examiner,  Golden 
Era,  Herald,  Journal  of  Commerce,  Mining  and  Scientific  Press,  News 
Letter.  Occident,  Pacific  Churchman,  Pacific  Rural  Press,  Post,  Scientific 
Press,  Stars  and  Stripes,  Temperance  Advocate,  Times,  Tribune. 

San  Job6  (Cal.)«  Argus,  Mercury,  Patriot,  Santa  Clara  Argus. 

Sankt  Petersbnrger  Kalender  1750,  et  seq. 

San  Luis  Obispo  (Cal.)»  Tribune. 

Santa  Bdrbara  (Cal.),  Press. 

Santa  Clara  (Cal.),  News. 

Santa  Cruz  (Cal.),  County  Times,  Sentinel. 

Sarychef  (Gavrila  A.),  Puteshestvie  i  korabl  Othrytie,  [Voyage  of  sloop 
OtkryOe,^    St  Petersburg,  1802.  4to.  2  vols. 

Sauer  (^lartin).  Account  of  a  Creographical  and  Astronomical  Expedition  to 
the  Northern  Parts  of  Russia.     London,  1802. 

Scala  (Comte  de).  Influence  de  I'Ancien  Comptoir  Russe  en  Califomie.  In 
Nouv.  An.  Voy.,  cxliv.  375. 

Scammon  (Charles  M.),  Cod-Fishety,  in  Overland,  iv.  430;  Fur  Seals,  in 
Overland,  iii.  393;  Whaling,  Northern,  in  Overland,  v.  648;  A  Russian 
Boat- Voyage,  in  Overland,  xv.  554. 

Schcrer  (Jean  £),  Recherches  Hiatoriques  et  Geo,graphiques  sur  le  Nouveau 
Monde.     Paris,  1777. 

Schl5zer  (August  L.),  Allgemeine  Geschichte  von  dem  Norden.     Halle,  1771. 

Schmolder  (Capt.  B.),  Ncuer  Praktischer  Wegweiser  fur  Nord-Amerika. 
Mainz,  1849. 

Seattle  (Wash. ),  Intelligencer,  Pacific  Tribune,  Puget  Sound  Dispatch. 

Seeman  (Berthold),  Narrative  of  the  Voyage  of  the  Herald  1845-51.  London, 
1853.  2  vols. 

Seward  (William  H.),  Communication  upon  the  subject  of  an  intercontinental 
telegraph.  Wash.,  1864;  Our  North  Pacific  States  (Speeches),  Aug.  1S69. 
Wash.,  1869.  *s 

Sgibnef  (Alex.  S.),  Istoricheskie  Ocherki.  [Historical  Sketches.]  In  Morskoi 
Sbomik,  vol  ci-ciii. 

Shabelski  (Achille),  Voyaeeaux  colonies  russes  1821-23.    St  Petersburg,  1826. 

Shaw  (Francis  A.),  Brief  History  of  Russia.     Boston,  1877. 

Shelikof  (Grigor),  Pervoie  Stranstvovanie,  etc.  [First  Voyages  of  the  Russian 
Merchants,  1783  and  1787.]  St  Petersburg,  1790;  Prodolsbenie  [Further 
Voyages  1788].  St  Petersburg,  1792;  Puteshestoie  [Voyages].  St  Peters- 
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Sibir  Zolotni  Dno.    [Siberia's  Golden  Soil.]    St  Petersburg,  1768  et  seq. 

Sibirskaia  Istoria.     [History  of  Siberia.]    St  Petersburg,  1759  et  seq. 

Sibirskye  Viestnik  [Siberian  Messenger].     St  Petersburg,  1818  ct  seq. 

Simmouds  (P.  L.),  Sir  John  Franklin  and  the  Arctic  Regions.     Bufiiaio,  1852. 

Simpson  (Sir  Creorge),  Narrative  of  a  Journey  round  the  World.  London, 
1847.  2  vols. 

Sitka,  Alaska  Times,  MS.  and  print;  Post,  MS.  and  print. 

Sitka  Archives.  In  Library  of  Depai^ment  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 
1802-67.  182  vols.  MS. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  Annual  Reports.     Washington,  1853  et  seq. 

Sobranio  Sochinenie  (Literary  Collections).     St  Petersburg,  1760  et  seq. 

Socidt^  de  Geographies  Bulletin.    Paris,  1825  et  sea. 

Sokolof  (Alexander),  Bering  and  Chirikof.  St  Petersburg,  1849;  Istoria 
Sevemyikh  Puteshestviy  [History  of  Northern  expeditions  1733-43],  in 
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Sokolof  (Vasili),  Voyage  of  Alexander  Markoff  from  Okhotsk  to  Cal.,  1835. 
MS.  ^ 

Sonora  (CaL)  Herald,  Union  Democrat. 


xxxvi  AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 

Southeastern  Alaska,  Memorial  of  the  people  to  the  Presideot  and  Congress 

of  the  U.  S.  Aug.  10,  1881.     n.pl.,  1881. 
Southern  Quarterly  Kcview.     New  Orleans  etc.,  1842  et  seq. 
Spanberg,  Journal,  in  Tobolsk  Archives,  quoted  by  Sokolof .    In  Zapiski  Hydr. 
Sparks  (Jared),  Life  of  John  Ledyard.     Cambridge,  1828. 
"  Stoehlin  (J.  von),  An  Account  of  the  New  Northern  Archipelago.     London, 

1774. 
State  Papers,  Sacramento.     MS.,  10  vols,  in  Archivo  de  Cal. ;  Id.,  Missions 

and  Colonization.  2  vols. 
Steller  (George  W. ),  Beschrcibung  von  dem  Lande  Kamtschatka.   Frankf ui-t, 

etc.,  1774;  Keiso  von  Kamtschatka nach  Amerika.    St.  Petersburg,  1703. 
Stevens  (Isaac  I.),  Northwest  America,  address  Dec.  2,  1858.     Washington, 

1858. 
Stockton  (Cal.),  Gazette,  Herald,  Independent,  San  Joaquin  Republican. 
Sturgis  (William),  Northwest  Fur  Trade.     In  Hunt's  Merch.  Mag.,  xiv.  532. 
Sturgis  (William),  Remarks  on  Northwest  Coast.     MS.     [In  possession  of 

Dr  Emil  Bcssels.]    Washington,  D.  C. 
Sumner  (Charles),  Speech  on  the  Cession  of  Russian  America  to  the  U.  S. 

Washington,  18G7. 
'Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Relacion  del  Viage  hecho  por  las  Goletas.     Madrid,  1802. 

atlas.  4to. 
Sutter  (John  A.),  Examination  of  the  Russian  Grant.     Sacramento,  1860. 
Sutter  (John  A.),  Personal  Recollections.     MS. 

Syn  Otechestva.     [Son  of  the  Fatherland.]    St  Petersburg,  1820  et  seq. 
Synd,  see  Berg  ( Vasili),  Khronologicheskaia  Istoria,  etc.    St  Peterburg,  1820. 

Taylor  (Alexander  S. ),  Historical  Summary  of  Lower  California.  In  Browne's 
Min.  Res.;  Specimens  of  the  Press.     L^^  S.  F.  Mercantile  Library.] 

Taylor  (James  W.),  Northwest  British  America.     St  Paul,  18G0. 
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^  Fur  Company.     1802-78.  MS. 

Tebenkof  (MikhaTl  D.),  Atlaa  of  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America.  St  Peters- 
burg, 18.32. 

Teleskop  (The  Telescope).     Moscow,  1825  et  seq. 

Thornton  (J,  Quinn),  Oregon  and  California  in  1848.     N.  Y.,  1849.  2  vols. 

Thomas  (George  H.),  Report  of  tour  in  Alaska,  18G9.  [41st  Cong.,  2d  Scss., 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  1.]    Washington,  1869. 

Tikhmencf  (P.),  Istorichesftoie  Obozranie  Obrazovanie  Rossiysko  Amerikan- 
skoi  Kompaniy  [Historical  review  of  the  origin  of  the  Russian  American 
Company].     St  Petersburg,  1861,  186.3.  2  vols. 

Tilling,  Reise  un  die  Welt.     Aschaffenburg,  1854, 

T(>!)ol8k  Archives.    In  Zapiski  Hydr. 

Tooko  (William),  View  of  the  Russian  Empire.     Dublin,  1801.  3  vols. 

Truman  (Benjamin  C),  Occidental  Sketches.     San  Francisco,  1881. 

Tulubief  (Irciiarkh),  Puteshostvie  shloopa -4 /^o^/ona,  1821-24.  [Voyage  of  the 
ApoU'.n,  1821-24.]     In  Zapiski  Hydr,,  viii. 

Tuscarora  (Nov.),  Times  Review. 

Tuthill  (Franklin),  History  of  California.     San  Francisco, . 186(5. 

Twiss  (Travers),  The  Ore.ion  Question.  London,  1840;  The  Oregon  Terri- 
tory.    New  York,  1846. 

Tyler  (Robert  O.),  Revised  outline  descriptions  of  the  posts  and  stations  of 
troops  in  the  mihtary  division  of  the  Pacilic.     San  Francisco,  1872. 

Tytler  (Patrick  Fra^er),  Historical  View  of  the  Progress  of  Discovery.  Edin- 
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LTciah  (Cal.),  Democratic  Dispatch,  Mendocino  Democrat,  Mendocino  Her- 
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Umfreville  (Edward),  The  Present  State  of  Hudson's  Bay.     London^  1790. 
Union villo  (Nev.),  Register.  , 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED.  xxxvi| 

United  States  Coaat  and  Geodetic  Survey,  C.  P.  Patterson  Supt.     Pacific  - 
Coast  Pilot,  Alaska.     Washington,  1879. 

United  States  Exploring  Expedition  [Wilkes].  Philadelphia,  1844-58.  4to, 
17  vols.;  folio,  8  vols. 

United  States  Geolojg:ical  Surveys  of  the  Territories,  P.  V.  Hayden.  Annual 
SeportB,  Bulletins,  Miscellaneous  Publications,  etc.  Washington,  1872 
eteeq. 

United  States  Geological  and  Geographical  Surveys,  J.  W.  Powell.  Contri- 
butions to  North  American  Ethnology.     Washington,  1876. 

United  States  Government  Documents.  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Statistics, 
Census,  Coast  Survey,  Commerce  and  Navigation,  Commercial  Relations, 
Education,  Finance,  Indian  Affairs,  Interior,  Land  Office,  Ndvy  Report 
of  Secretary,  Postmaster  General,  Secretary  of  War,  Signal  Service  Re- 
ports, Treasury.     Cited  by  their  dates. 

United  States  Government  Documents.  House  Exec.  Doc,  House  Journal, 
House  Miscel.  Doc.,  House  Reports  of  Com.,  Message  and  Documents, 
Senate  Exec.  Doc,  Journal,  Miscel.  Doc,  Repts.  Com.  Cited  by  con- 
gress and  session.  Many  of  these  documents  have,  however,  separate 
titles,  for  which  see  author  or  topic. 

VaUejo  (Jose  de  Jesus),  Reminiscencias  Hist6rica.  MS. 
Vallejo  (Mariano  G.),  Correspondencia  Historica.  MS. 
Vallcjo  (Mariano  G.),  Documentos  para  la  Historia  dc  California,  17C9-1850. 

MS.  37  voU. 
Vancouver  ((jJeorge),  Voyage  of  Discovery  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.    Lond.,  1798. 

3  vols.  4to.  atlas  in  folio;  Lond.,  1801.  6  vols.;  Voyage  et  Decouvertes 

&  rOc^an  Pacifique,  etc.     Paris,  An.,  viii.  3  vols.  4to.  atlas  in  folio. 
Vassilief  (Ivan  P.),  Vuipiski  iz  Zhumale  etc     [Extract  from  log-book  of  ship 

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Vassilief  (Mikhail  N.),  O  plavanio,  etc     [Voyage  of  Othniitie  and  Dobroie 

Namerenie.]    In  Syn  Otechestva,  18*20. 
Venegas  (Miguel),  Noticia  de  la  California  y  de  su  Conquista  Temporal,  etc. 

Madrid,  1757.  3  vols. 
Veniaminof  (loann),  Schreiben  aus  Kamtschatka  [from  the  Moskow  Viedo- 

most];  Zapisky  ob  Ostrovakh  Oonalashkiuskago  Otdiela  [Letters  on 

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*  Veritas,'  Examination  of  the  Russian  Grant,  n.pl.,  n.d.;  Is  the  trade  of 

Ahuska  to  be  wrested  from  general  competition,  etc     San  Fmncisco, 

1871. 
Viagero  Universal  (El).     Madrid,  1796-1801.  43  vols. 
Viages  en  la  Costa  al  Norto  de  Calif omias.     Copy  from  Spanish  Archives, 

MS.  [From  Prof.  Geo.  Davidson.] 
Victoria  (B.  C. ),  British  Colonist,  Chronicle,  Express,  Standard. 
Villavicencio  (Juan  J.),  Vida  y  Virtudes  de  cl  venerable  P.  Juan  da  Ugarte. 

Mexico,  1752. 
Virginia  (Nev.),  Evening  Chronicle,  Territorial  Enterprise. 
Voyages,  Historical  Account  of,  round  the  World.     Lond.,  177-1-61.  6  vols.; 

New  Collection.     London,  17G7.  7  vols. 

Wallace  (D.  Mackenzie),  Russia.     New  York,  1878, 

Vi'alla  Walla  (Wash.),  Statesman. 

Ward  (James  C. ),  Three  Wrecks  in  Sitka.     MS. 

Washington  (D.  C.),  Capital,  Chronicle,  Critic,  Evening  Star,  Morning  News, 
Post,  Tribune. 

Westdahl  (Ferdinand),  ^Vlaska.     MS. 

White  (J.  W.),  A  Cruise  in  Alaska  [40th  Cong.,,  3d  Sess.,  Sen.  E.x.  Doc.  8]. 
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Whymper  (jyederick),  Journey  from  Norton  Sound  to  Fort  Yukon.  In  Lond. 
Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  xxxviii.  219;  Travel  and  Adventure  in  the  Territory  of 
Alaska.  New  York,  1869;  Voyage  et  Aventures  dans  TAlaaka,  Paris, 
1871. 

"Wilkes  (Charles),  Narrative  of  the  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition.  Philadel- 
phia, 1844,  4to.  3  vols.;  Philadelphia,  1845,  5  vols.;  London,  1845. 

Woodland  (Cal.),  News,  Yolo  Democrat. 

Wrangell  (Ferdinand  P.),  The  Americans  of  Upper  California.  In  Teleskop, 
1835,  Sketch  of  a  Journey  from  Sitka  to  St  Petersburg.  St  Petersburg, 
1836;  Statistische  und  Ethnographische  nacbrichten  uber  die  Kussischen 
Beaitzungen.  St  Petersburg,  1839;  Voyage  to  the  northern  shores  of 
Siberia,  etc.,  1820-24.     St  Petersburg,  1841. 

Wythe  (W.  T.),  Cook's  Inlet.  In  Overland,  xiii.  64;  Kodiak  and  Southern 
Alaska.    In  Id.,  yiii.  565. 

Yermolof  (M.),  Extrait  d'une  note  sur  I'Amerique  russe.    In  Nouv.  An.  Voy., 

cxi. 
Yezhemeslechnaie  Sochinenle    [Monthly  Magazine].     St   Petersburg,  1759 

et  seq. 
Yreka  (Cal.),  Journal,  Union. 
Yuba  (Jity  ((ial.),  Sutter  Banner,  Sutter  County  Sentinel. 

Zabriskie  (James  C),  The  Public  Land  Laws  of  the  U.  S.  San  Francisco, 
1870;  Supplement.    San  Francisco,  1877. 

Zagoskin  (A.),  Pieshekhodnaia  Opis  Chasty  Russkikh  Vladeniy  v  Amerikn 
[Pedestrian  Exploration  of  Parts  of  the  Russian  Possessions  in  America, 
1842-4].   .  St  Petersburg,  1847,  2  vols. 

Zaikof  (Stepan),  Kratkoie  obozranie  puteshestviy  na  Ostrovakh,  etc.  [Sum- 
mary of  the  voyages  to  the  islands  situated  between  Asia  and  America.] 
In  Sobranie  Soch. 

Zapiski  Admiralteistkago  Departamenta.  [Journal  of  the  Admiralty  Depart- 
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Zapiski  Hydrograiicheska^o  Departamenta.  [Journal  of  Hydrographic  De- 
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Zapiski  Kusskago  GeograHcheskago  Obshestva.  [Publications  of  the  Russian 
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Zapiski  ucheuago  komiteta  morskago  shtaba.  [Journal  of  Committee  on  In- 
struction of  Naval  Staff.]    St  Petersburg,  1828  et  seq. 

Zarcmbo(DionisF.),  Puteshestvieiz  KhronshtadtadoSitkhi,  1840-41.  *  [Voy- 
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Zavalishin  (Dmitri  I.),  Dielo  o  Koloniy  Ross  (Affairs  of  the  Ross  Colony). 
Moskow,  1866. 

Zelcniy  (N.),  Correspondence.     In  Sitka  Archives,  MS.,  voh.  i.-vii. 

Zhumal  departamenta  naroduago  prosvieshclienia.     [Jouma}  of  the  Depart-  -^ 
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\ 


'.:'"'  ^v--a- 


ftJ 


HISTORY  OF   ALASKA. 


CHAPTER  I.  •-:  -  V     V  .      •:;• : 

INTRODUCTORY.      *  /-\  :,.  \  V  \:  V-.  !'•: 

RxTssiA'd  Shabe  in  Amebiga— Physical  Featubes  of  Alaska — Confioura* 
TioN  AND  CuMATB— The  Southebn  Crescent— The  Tumbled  Moun- 
tains—Volcanoes  AND  Islands— Vegetation— Califobnia-Japan  Cub- 
bent— Abgtio  Seaboard  and  the  Interiors-Condition  and  Chabac- 
teb  of  the  Russians  in  the  Sixteenth  Centuby — Serfs,  Merchants, 
AND  Nobles— The  Fur  Curbenct— Fobeion  Commercial  Relations — 
England  in  the  White  and  Caspian  Seas— Eastebn  Pbogbbss  of 
the  Russian  Empire— The  Nobth-east  Passage. 

In  the  great  seizure  and  partition  of  America  by- 
European  powers  there  was  no  reason  why  Russia 
should  not  have  a  share.  She  was  mistress  in  the 
east  and  north  as  were  France  and  Spain  in  the  west 
and  south;  she  was  as  grasping  as  Portugal  and  as 
cold  and  cruel  as  England;  and  because  she  owned  so 
much  of  Europe  and  Asia  4n  the  Arctic,  the  desire 
was  only  increased  thereby  .to  extend  her  broadTTdtt 
quite  round  the  world.  It  was  but  a  step  across  from 
one  continent  to  the  other,  and  inWrcourse  between 
the  primitive  peoples  of  the  two  had  been  common 

.  from  time  immemorial.  It  was  but  natural,  I  say,  in 
the  gigantic  robbery  of*  half  a  world,  that  Russia 
should  have  a  share;  and  had  she  been  quicker  about 
it,^he  belt  might  as  ^cU  have  been  continued  to 

.Greenland  and  Iceland. 

Geographically,  Alaska  is  the  northern  end  of  the 
long  Cordillera  which  begins  at  Cape  Horn,  extends 


2  INTRODUCTORY. 

through  the  two  Americas,  and  is  here  joined  by  the 
Nevada-Cascade  range;  the  Coast  Range  from  Lower 
California  breaking  into  islands  before  reaching  this 
point.  It  is  not  always  and  altogether  that  cold  and 
desolate  region  which  sometimes  has  been  pictured, 
and  which  from  its  position  we  might  expect.  Its 
configuration  and  climate  are  exceedingly  varied.  , 
The  southern  seaboard  is  comparatively  mild  and 
habitable;  the  northern  frigid  and  inhospitable. 
...  .  StaiidiiAg  ^t: Mount  St  Elias  as  the  middle  of  a  cres- 
••(ioiit,  we"»e^'-,thfe  shore-line  stretching  out  in  either 
•  .  .(lir^?tioni:to  ward 'the  south-east  and  the  south-west, 
:•'•.:  ^fidiiig'^ih  tbfe-'ftktner  at  Dixon  Inlet,  and  in  the  latter 
sweeping  off  and  breaking  into  mountainous  islands  as 
it  continues  its  course  toward  Kamchatka.  It  is  a 
most  exceedingly  rough  and  uncouth  country,  this 
part  of  it;  the  shore-line  being  broken  into  fragments, 
with  small  and  great  islands  guarding  the  labyrinth  of 
channels,  bays,  sounds,  and  inlets  that  line  the  main- 
land. Back  of  these  rise  abruptly  vast  and  rugged 
mountains,  the  two  great  continental  chains  coming 
together  here  as  if  in  final  struggle  for  the  mastery. 
The  coast  range  along  the  Pacific  shore  of  Alaska 
attains  an  elevation  in  places  of  eight  or  nine  thou- 
.  sand  feet,  lying  for  the  most  part  under  perpetual 
snow,  with  here  and  there  glistening  white  peajts  four- 
teen or  sixteen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  And  the 
ruggedness  of  this  Sitkan  or  southern  seaboard,  the 
thirty-miles  strip  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  with  the 
Alexander  archipelago,  continues  as  we  pass  on,  to 
the  Alaskan  Mountains  and  the  Aleutian  archipelago. 
It  is  in  the  Alaskan  Range  that  nature  assumes  the 
heroic,  that  the  last  battle  of  the  mountains  appears 
to  have  been  fought.  The  din  of  it  has  as  yet  hardly 
passed  away;  the  great  peaks  of  the  range  stand 
there  proudly  triumphant  but. still  angry;  grumbling, 
smoking,  and  spitting  fire,  they  gaze  upon  their  fallen 
foes  of  the  archipelago,  giants  like  themselves,  though 
now  submerged,  sunken  in  the  sea,  if  not   indeed 


PHYSICAL  FEATUBES.  3 

hurled  thence  by  their  victorious  rivals.  These  great 
towering  volcanic  peaks  apd  the  quaking  islands  are 
superb  beyond  description,  filling  the  breast  of  the 
beholder  with  awe.     And  the  ground  about,  though 

.  cold  enough  upon  the  surface,  steams  and  sweats  in 
sympathy,  manifesting  its  internal  warmth  in  geysers 

,  and  hot  springs,  while  from  the  depths  of  the  sea 
sometimes  belches  forth  fire,  if  certain  navigators  may 
be  believed,  and  the  sky  blazes  in  northern  lights. 

All  along  thiif  sweep  of  southern  seaboard  Euro- 
peans may  dwell  in  comfort  if  so  inclined.  Even  in 
midwinter  the  cold  is  seldom  severe  or  of  long  dura- 
tion. An  average  temperature  is  42",  though  ex- 
tremes have  been  named  for  certain  localities  of  from 
19**  to  58°,  and  again  from  58°  below  zero  in  January, 
to  95°  in  summer.  Winter  is  stormy,  the  winds  at  Sitka 
at  this  season  being  usually  easterly,  those  from  the 
south  bringing  rain  and  snow.  When  the  wind  is  from 
the  north-west  the  sky  is  clear,  and  the  cold  nights 
are  often  lighted  by  the  display  of  the  aurora  borealis. 
Winter  breaks  up  in  March,  and  during  the  clear  cold 
days  of  April  the  boats  go  out  after  furs.  Yet,  for  a 
good  portion  of  the  year  there  is  an  universal  and  dis- 
mal dampness — fogs  interminable  and  drizzling  rain; 
clouds  thick  and  heavy  and  low-lying,  giving  a  w^ater  ' 
fall  of  six  or  eight  feet  in  thickness. 

Much  of  the  soil  is  fertile,  though  in  places  wet. 
Behind  a4ow  wooded  seaboard  often  rise  abruptly  icy 
steeps,  with  here  and  there  between  the  glacier  canons 
broad  patches  .c>f  sphagnum  one  or  Wo  feet  thick,  and 
well  saturated  with  water.  The  perpetual  snow-line 
of  the  Makushin  volcano  is  three  thousand  feet  above 
the  se^,  and  vegetation  ceases  at  an  altitude  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  feet.  Grain  does  not  ripen,  but  _grasses 
thrive  almost  everywhere  on  the  lowlands.  Berries 
are  plentiful,  particularly  cranberries,  though  the  sun- 
light is  scarcely  strong  enough  to  flavor  them  well. 
Immense  spruce  forests  tower  over  Prince  William 
Sound  and  about  Sitka.     Kadiak  is  a  good  grazing 


4  INTRODUCTORY. 

country,  capable  of  sustaining  large  droves  of  cattle- 
On  the  Aleutian  Islands  trees  do  not  grow,  but  the 
grasses  are  luxuriant.  In  a  word,  here  in  the  far 
north  we  find  a  vegetation  rightly  belonging  to  a  much 
lower  latitude. 

The  warm  Japan  current  which  comes  up  along 
tne  coast  of  Asia,  bathing  the  islands  of  the  Aleutian 
archipelago  as  it  crosses  the  Pacific  and  washing  the 
shores  of  America  far  to  the  southward,  transforms 
the  whole  region  from  what  would  otherwise  be  inhos- 
pitable into  a  habitation  fit  for  man.  Arising  off  the 
inner  and  outer  shores  of  Lower  California,  this  stream 
first  crosses  the  Pacific  as  the  great  northern  equa- 
torial current,  passing  south  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
and  on  to  the  coast  of  Asia,  deflecting  northward  as 
it  goes,  and  after  its  grand  and  life-compelling  sweep 
slowly  returns  to  its  starting-point.  It  is  this  that 
clothes  temperate  isles  in  tropical  vegetation,  makes 
the  silk-worm  flourish  far  north  of  its  rightful  home, 
and  sends  joy  to  the  heart  of  the  hyperborean,  even 
to  him  upon  the  strait  of  Bering,  and  almost  to  the 
Arctic  sea.  It  is  this  that  thickly  covers  the  steep 
mountain  sides  to  the  height  of  a  thousand  feet  and 
more  with  great  growths  of  spruce,  alder,  willow, 
hemlock,  and  yellow  cedar.  It  is  the  striking  of  this 
warm  current  of  air  and  water  against  the  cold  shores 
of  the  north  that  causes  nature  to  steam  up  in  thick 
fogs  and  dripping  moisture,  and  coippels  the  surcharged 
clouds  to  drop  their  torrents. 

Chief  among  the  fur-bearing  animals  is  the  sea- 
otter,  in  the  taking  of  whose  life  the  lives  of  thou- 
sands of  human  beings  have  been  laid  down.  Of  fish 
there  are  cod,  herring,  halibut,  and  salmon,  in  abun- 
dance.    The  whale  and  the  walrus  abound  in  places. 

Go  back  into  the  interior  if  you  can  get  there,  or 
round  by  the  Alaskan  shore  north  of  the  islands, 
along  Bering  sea  and  strait,  which  separate  Asia  and 
America  and  indent  the  eastern  border  with  great 
bays  into  which  flow  rivers,  one  of  them,  the  Yukon, 


RUSSIAN  CHARACTER.  5 

having  its  sources  far  back  in  British  Columbia;  ascend 
this  stream,  or  traverse  the  country  between  it  and  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  and  you  will  find  quite  a  different  order 
of  things.  Clearer  skies  are  there,  and  drier,  colder 
airs,  and  ice  eternal.  Along  the  Arctic  shore  runs  a 
line  of  hills  in  marked  contrast  to  the  mountains  of 
the  southern  seaboard.  Between  these  ranges  flow 
the  Yukon  with  its  tributaries,  the  Kuskokvim,  Sela- 
wik,  and  other  streams. 

Mr  Petrof,  who  traversed  this  region  in  _1880, 
says  of  it:  "  Here  is  an  immense  tract  reaching  from 
Bering  strait  in  a  succession  of  rolling  ice-bound 
moors  and  low  mountain  i-anges,  for  seven  hundred 
miles  an  unbroken  waste,  to  the  boundary  line  between 
us  and  British  America.  Then,  again,  from  the  crests 
of  Cook's  Inlet  and  the  flanks  of  Mount  St  Elias 
northward  over  that  vast  area  of  rugged  mountain 
and  lonely  moor  to  the  east,  nearly  eight  hundred 
miles,  is  a  great  expanse  of  country. .  .by  its  position 
barred  out  from  occupation  and  settlement  by  our 
own  people.  The  climatic  conditions  are  such  that 
its  imnaense  area  will  remain  undisturbed  in  the  pos- 
session of  its  savage  occupants,  man  and  beast." 

Before  speaking  of  the  European  discovery  and 
conquest  of  Alaska,  let  us  briefly  glance  at  the  con- 
dition and  character  of  those  about  to  assume  the 
mastery  here. 

It  was  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  that 
the  Bussians  under  Ivan  Vassilievich,  the  Terrible, 
threw  off  the  last  yoke  of  Tartar  Khans;  but  with  the 
independence  of  the  nation  thus  gained,  the  free  cities, 
principalities,  and  provinces  lost  all  trace  of  their 
former  liberties.  An  empire  had  been  wrung  from 
the  grasp  of  foreign  despots,  but  only  to  be  held  by  a 
despotism  more  cruel  than  ever  had  been  the  Tartar 
domination.  Ignorance,  superstition,  and  servitude 
were  the  normal  condition  of  the  lower  classes.  The 
nation  could  scarcely  be  placed  within  the  category 


6  INTRODUCTORY. 

of  civilization.  While  in  Spain  the  ruling  spirit  was 
fanaticism,  in  Russia  it  was  despotism. 

Progress  was  chained;  if  any  sought  to  improve 
their  lot  they  dared  not  show  their  gains  lest  their 
master  should  take  them.  And  the  people  thus  long 
accustomed  to  abject  servility  and  concealment  ac- 
quired the  habit  of  dissimulation  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  There  was  no  recognition  of  tjie  rights  of 
man,  and  little  of  natural  morality.  It  was  a  prees- 
tablished  and  fundamental  doctrine  that  the  weaker 
were  slaves  of  the  stronger.  In  feudal  times  the  main 
diflference  between  the  lowest  class  in  Russia  and  in 
other  parts  of  Europe  was  that  the  former  were  not 
bound  to  the  soil.  Their  condition  however  was  none 
the  less  abject,  their  slavery  if  possible  was  more  com- 
plete. And  what  is  not  a  little  singular  in  following 
the  progress  of  nations,  Russia,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  introduced  this  custom  of 
binding  men  to  lands,  just  when  the  other  states  of 
Europe  were  abolishing  it.  Freemen  were  authorized 
by  law  to  sell  themselves.  Insolvent  debtors  became 
the  property  of  their  creditors.  And  howsoever  bound, 
men  could  obtain  their  liberty  only  by  purchase. 

Women,  even  of  the  better  class,  were  held  in  ori- 
ental seclusion,  and  treated  as  beasts;  husbands  and 
fathers  might  torture  and  kill  them,  and  sell  the  oflf- 
spring,  but  if  a  wife  killed  her  husband  she  was  buried 
up  to  the  neck  and  left  to  starve. 

Pewter  was  unknown ;  only  wooden  dishes  were  in 
use.  Each  man  carried  a  knife  and  wooden  spoon  tied  to 
the  belt  or  sash.  Bedding  was  scarcely  used  at  court ; 
among  rich  and  poor  alike  a  wooden  bench,  the  bare 
floor,  or  at  the  most  a  skin  of  bear  or  wolf,  sufficed, 
for  sleeping.  The  domestic  ties  were  loose;  since  the 
crimes  of  individuals  were  visited  upon  the  whole  kin- 
dred the  children  scattered  as  soon  as  they  were  able. 
The  lower  classes  had  but  a  single  name,  which  was 
conferred  in  baptism,  consequently  the  nearest  rela- 
tives soon  lost  sight  of  each  other  in  their  wandering 


CUSTOMS  OF  THE  RUSSIANS.  7 

life.  Subsequently  the  serfs  were  attached  to  the 
soil,  but  everi  to  the  present  day  an  almost  irresistible 
disposition  to  rove  is  noticeable  among  the  Russian 
people. 

The  nobles,  reared  by  a  nation  of  slaves,  were  scarcely 
more  intelligent  than  they.  But  few  of  the  priests 
understood  Greek;  and  reading  and  writing  even  among 
the  nobles  was  almost  unknown;  astronomy  and  anat- 
omy were  classed  among  the  diabolic  arts;  calculations 
were  made  by  means  of  a  string  of  balls,  and  skins  of 
animals  were  the  currency.  I^unishments  were  as 
barbarous  as  manners.  The  peculator  was  publicly 
branded  with  a  hot  iron,  then  sent,  back  to  his  place, 
thus  dishonoring  himself  and  degrading  his  oflSce. 
When  a  person  was  punished  for  crime,  all  the  mem- 
bers of  his  family  were  doomed  to  suffer  likewise. 
Every  Russian  who  strayed  beyond  the  frontier  be- 
came a  rebel  and  a  heathen. 

Nobles  alone  could  hold  land;  the  tillers  were  as 
slaves.  True,  a  middle  or  merchant  class  managed 
amidst  the  general  disruption  to  maintain  some  of 
their  ancient  privileges.  The  gosti,  or  wholesale  deal- 
ers, of  Moscow,  Novgorod,  and  P^kov^  might  sit  at 
table  with  princes,  and  go  on  embassies;  they  were 
free  from  imposts  and  many  other  exactions.  Even  the 
small  traders  preserved  some  of  the  benefits  which  had 
originated  in  the  free  commercial  cities.  The  priests, 
seemg  their  influence  at  court  declining,  cultivated  the 
merchants,  and  married  among  their  families. 

Thus  all  combined  to  strengthen  the  trading  class 
as  compared  with  the  agricultural.  Taxes  and  salaries 
were  paid  in  furs;  in  all  old  charters  and  other  docu- 
ments penalties  and  rewards  are  given  in  furs.  The 
very  names  of  the  early  coins  of  Novgorod  point  to 
their  origin;  we  see  there  the  grivernik  grivnui,  from 
the  mane  or  long  hairs  along  the  back;  the  oushka 
and  poloushka,  ear  and  half-ear.  This  feature  in  the 
national  economy  explains  to  a  certain  extent  the 
slow  spread  of  civilization  over  the  tsar's  dominions. 


S  INTBODUCTOET. 

In  a  country  where  furs  are  the  circulating  medium, 
and  hence  the  great  desideratum,  the  people  must 
scatter  and  lead  a  savage  life. 

The  same  cause,  however,  which  impeded  social 
and  intellectual  development  furnished  a  stimulus  for 
the  future  aggrandizement  of  the  Muscovite  domain. 
For  more  than  two  and  a  half  centuries  the  Hanseatic 
League  had  monopolized  the  foreign  trade;  but  the 
decline  of  Novgorod,  the  growing  industry  of  the 
Livonian  cities,  and  the  appearance  of  the  ships  of 
other  countries  in  the  Baltic  were  already  threatening 
the  downfall  of  Hanseatic  commerce,  when  an  unex- 
pected discoverv  made  the  English  acquainted  with  the 
White  Sea,  which  aflEbrded  direct  intercourse  with  the 
inland  provinces  of  the  Russian  empire.  The  Hanse, 
by  its  superiority  in  the  Baltic,  had  excluded  all  other 
maritime  nations  from  Russian  commerce,  but  it  was 
beyond  the  reach  of  their  power  to  prevent  the  English 
from  sailing  to  the  White  Sea.  In  1553,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Sebastian  Cabot,  England  sent  three  vessels 
under  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby  in  search  of  a  north-east 
passage  to  China.  Two  of  the  vessels  were  lost,  and 
the  third,  commanded  by  Richard  Chancellor,  entered 
the  White  Sea.  No  sooner  did  he  know  that  the 
shore  was  Russia  than  Chancellor  put  on  a  bold  face 
and  said  he  had  come  to  establish  commercial  rela- 
tions. The  tsar,  informed  of  the  arrival  of  the  stran- 
gers, ordered  them  to  Moscow.  The  insolent  behavior 
of  the  Hanse  League  had  excited  the  tsar's  displeas- 
ure, and  he  was  only  too  glad  of  other  intercourse 
with  civilized  nations.  Every  encouragement  was 
offered  by  the  Russian  monarch,  and  trade  finally 
opened  with  England,  and  special  privileges  were 
granted  to  the  so-called  Russia  Company  of  English 
merchants. 

The  English  commercial  expeditions  through  Rus- 
sia, down  the  Volga,  and  adross  the  Caspian  to  Persia, 
were  not  financially  successful,  though  perhaps  valu- 
able as  a  hint  to  the  Portuguese  that  the  latter  did 


RUSSIAN  PUR-TRADE.  9 

not  hold  the  only  road  to  India.  To  Russia,  also, 
this  traffic  proved  by  no  means  an  unalloyed  blessing. 
The  wealthy  merchants  of  Dantzic  and  other  Hanse 
towns  along  the  Baltic,  who  had  enjoyed  a  monopoly 
of  Russian  commerce,  looked  on  with  jealousy,  and  it 
was  doubtless  owing  to  enmity  in  this  influential 
quarter  that  Ivan  failed  in  all  his  attempts  to  secure 
Esthonia  and  Livonia,  and  gain  access  to  the  Baltic 
seaports.  On  the  other  hand,  English  enterprise 
brought  about  commerce  with  different  nations,  and 
introduced  the  products  of  north-western  Europe  into 
the  tsar's  dominions.  Further  than  this,  the  Musco- 
vites copied  English  craft,  and  became  more  proficient 
in  maritime  affairs.  An  incident  connected  with  this 
traffic  may  be  considered  the  first  link  of  a  long  chain 
of  events  which  finally  resulted  in  Russia's  stride 
across  the  Ural  Mountains,  and  the  formation  of  a 
second  or  reserve  empire,  without  which  the  original 
or  European  structure  might  long  since  have  fallen. 
On  the  return  of  an  English  expedition  from  Persia 
across  the  Caspian,  in  1573,  the  ship  was  attacked  by 
Cossacks,  who  gained  possession  of  vessel  and  cargo, 
setting  the  crew  adrift  in  a  boat  furnished  with  some 
provisions.  The  Englishmen  made  their  way  to  Astra- 
khan, and  on  their  report  of  what  had  befallen  them 
two  armed  vessels  were  sent  out.  The  pirates  were 
captured  and  put  to  death,  while  the  cargo,  worth 
between  30,000  and  40,000  pounds  sterling,  was  safely 
landed  at  Astrakhan.  The  tsar  then  despatched  a 
numerous  land  force  to  destroy  the  nest  of  robbers 
infesting  the  Lower  Volga  and  the  Caspian.  His 
army  spread  dismay.  The  Cossacks  saw  that  sub- 
mission was  death,  and  many  leaped  from  the  blood- 
stained deck  of  their  rude  barks  to  the  saddle,  being 
equally  familiar  with  both.  Then  they  banded  under 
determined  leaders  and  set  out  for  countries  beyond 
the  reach  of  Russia's  long  arm.  Yermak  Timofeief 
headed  one  of  these  bands,  and  thus  the  advance  of 
the  Slav  race  toward  the  Pacific  began.     Rude  and 


10  INTRODUCrrORY. 

spasmodic  as  it  was,  the  traffic  of  the  English  laid 
the  foundation  of  Russian  commerce  on  the  Caspian. 
Previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  English  the  Rus- 
sians had  carried  on  their  trade  with  Bokhara  and 
Persia  entirely  by  land;  but  from  that  time  they 
began  to  construct  transport  ships  on  the  Volga  and 
to  sail  coastwise  to  the  circumjacent  harbors  of  the 
Caspian. 

Before  following  the  tide  of  conquest  across  the 
Ural  Mountains,  it  may  be  well  to  cast  a  brief  glance 
over  the  contemporaneous  efforts  of  English  and  Dutch 
navigators  to  advance  in  the  same  easterly  direction 
by  water,  or  rather  to  thread  their  way  between  the 
masses  of  floating  and  solid  ice  besetting  the  navigable 
channels  of  the  Arctic,  demonstrating  as  they  do  the 
general  impression  prevalent  among  European  nations 
at  the  time,  that  the  route  pursued  by  Cglumbus  and 
his  successors  was  not  the  only  one  leading  to  the  in- 
exhaustible treasures  of  the  Indies,  and  to  tibat  Cathay 
which  the  Latin  maritime  powers  were  making  stren- 
uous efforts  to  monopolize. 

The  last  English  expedition  in  search  of  the  north- 
east passage,  undertaken  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
consisted  of  two  barks  which  sailed  from  England  early 
in  1580,  and  were  fortunate  enough  to  pass  beyond  the 
straits  of  Vaigatz,  but  made  no  new  discoveries  and 
brought  but  a  moderate  return  to  their  owners.  The 
Russians  meanwhile  kept  up  a  vigorous  coasting- 
trade,  their  ill-shaped  and  ill-appointed  craft  generally 
being  found  far  in  advance  of  their  more  pretentious 
competitors. 

In  1594  the.  states-general  of  Holland  offered  a 
premium  of  twenty-five  thousand  florins  to  the  lucky 
navigator  who  should  open  the  much  desired  high- 
way. A  squadron  of  four  small  vessels  commanded 
by  Cornelis  Nay  was  the  first  to  enter  for  the  prize. 
A  merchant  named  Linschoten,  possessed  of  con- 
siderable scientific  attainments,  accompanied  the  ex- 


THE  NORTHEAST  PASSAGK  11 

pedition  as  commercial  agent,  and  Willem  Barentz, 
who  commanded  one  of  the  vessels,  acted  as  pilot. 
They  sailed  from  Holland  on  the  15th  of  June  1594, 
and  arrived  safely  at  the  bay  of  Kilduyn,  on  the 
coast  of  Lapland.  Here  they  separated,  Nay  heading 
for  "Vaigatz  Straits  and  Barentz  choosing  a  more 
northerly  route.  The  latter  discovered  and  named 
Ys  Hoek,  or  Ice  Cape,  the  northern  extremity  of 
Novaia  Zemlia,  while  the  other  vessels  passed  through 
the  straits,  where  they  met  with  numerous  Russian 
lodkas,  or  small  craft.  This  southern  division  entered 
the  sea  of  Kara,  called  by  Linschoten  the  sea  of  Tar- 
tary,  on  the  1st  of  August.  Wooden  crosses  were 
observed  at  various  points  of  the  coast,  and  the  inhab- 
itants bore  evidence  of  intercourse  with  the  Russians 
by  their  manner  of  salutation.  The  Samoiedes  had 
come  in  contact  with  the  advancing  Muscovites  in  the 
interior  as*well  as  on  the  coast. 

On  the  11th  of  August,  when  their  astronomical 
observations  placed  the  vessels  fifty  leagues  to  the 
eastward  of  the  straits,  with  land  still  in  sight  toward 
the  east,  this  part  of  the  expedition  turned  back,  evi- 
dently apprehensive  of  sharing  the  fate  of  their  Eng- 
lish predecessors,  who  had  been  unfortunate  in  those 
latitudes.  The  two  divisions  fell  in  with  each  other 
on  the  homeward  voyage,  and  arrived  at  Amsterdam 
on  the  25th  of  September  of  the  same  year. 

A  second  expedition  sailed  from  Amsterdam  on  the 
same  errand  in  1595.  It  consisted  of  not  less  than 
seven  vessels.  Willem  Barentz  was  chief  in  com- 
mand, assisted  by  Heemskerk,  Linschoten,  and  Cor- 
nelis  Rijp.  The  departure  of  this  squadron  was  for 
some  reason  delayed  until  July,  and  after  weather- 
ing the  North  Cape  a  few  of  the  vessels  sailed  di- 
rectly for  the  White  Sea  to  trade,  while  the  others 
proceeded  through  the  straits  of  Vaigatz.  They  met, 
as  usual,  with  Russian  lodkas,  and  for  the  first  time 
definite  information  was  obtained  of  the  great  river 
Yenissei,  which   the  Russians  had  already  reached 


12  INTRODUCTORT. 

by  land.  After  prolonged  battling  against  ice  and 
contrary  winds  and  currents,  the  expedition  turned 
back  on  the  15th  of  September  and  made  sail  for 
Amsterdam. 

After  this  second  failure  the  states-general  washed 
their  hands  of  further  enterprise  in  that  direction, 
but  the  city  of  Amsterdam  still  showed  some  faith  in 
ultimate  success  by  fitting  out  two  ships  and  intrust- 
ing them  respectively  to  Barentz  and  Rijp.  This 
expedition  made  an  early  start,  sailing  on  the  22d  of 
May  1596.  Their  course  was  shaped  in  accordance 
with  Barentz'  theory  that  more  to  the  north  there 
was  a  better  chance  of  finding  an  open  sea.  On  the 
9th  of  June  they  discovered  Bear  Island  in  latitude 
74"*  30'.  Still  keeping  on  their  first  course  they  again 
encountered  land  in  latitude  79"*  30',  Spitzbergen,  and 
in  July  the  two  ve^els  separated  in  search  or  a  clear 
channel  to  the  east.  On  the  26th  of  August  Barentz 
was  forced  by  a  gale  into  a  bay  on  the  east  coast  of 
Novaia  Zemlia,  on  which  occasion  the  ice  seriously 
damaged  his  vessel.  Here  the  venturesome  Hol- 
landers constructed  a  house  and  passed  a  winter  full 
of  misery,  a  continued  struggle  with  famishing  bears 
and  the  deadly  cold.  Toward  spring  the  castaways 
constructed  two  open  boats  out  of  remnants  of  the 
wreck,  fitted  them  out  as  well  as  they  could,  and  put 
to  sea  on  the  14th  of  June  1597.  Six  days  later 
Barentz  died.  In  July  the  unfortunates  fell  in  with 
some  Russian  lodkas  and  obtained  provisions.  They 
finally  reached  Kilduyp  Bay  in  Lapland,  one  of  the 
rendezvous  of  White  Sea  traders.  Several  Dutch 
vessels  were  anchored  there,  and  one  of  them  was 
commanded  by  Rijp,  who  had  returned  to  Amster- 
dam and  sailed  again  on  a  private  enterprise.  He 
extended  all  possible  aid  to  his  former  companions  and 
obtained  passage  for  them  on  several  vessels.  This 
put  an  end  in  Holland  to  explorations  in  search  of  a 
northern  route  to  India,  until  the  attempts  of  Hudson 
in   1608-9.     The   problem  was  partially  solved   by 


THE  FEAT  ACCOMPLISHED.  13 

Deshners  obscure  voyage  in  1648,  and  after  another 
failure  by  Wood  in  1676,  Kussia  made  the  attempt, 
Vitus  Bering  starting  from  Kamchatka;  afterward 
were  the  eflEbrts  of  ShaJatlrof  and  of  Billings.  Finally 
a  Swedish  expedition  undey  Nordenskjold  accom- 
plished the  feat  in  1879,  after  wintering  on  the  Arc- 
tic coast 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CENTURY- MARCH  OF'tHE  COSSACKS. 

1678-1724. 

SiBXBiA  THB  Russian  Canaan— Fbom  the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas  over 
THE  Ubal  Mountains — Stroganof,  the  Salt-miner — ^Visrr  of  Yeb- 
MAK — Occupation  of  the  Ob  by  the  CassACES — Character  of  the 
Conquerors — Their  Ostroo  on  the  Tobol — ^Thb  Straight  Line  of 
March  thence  to  Okhotsk  on  the  Pacifig— The  Promtshleniki — 
Lena  River  Reached — Ten  Cossacks  against  Ten  Thousand — Ya- 
kutski  Ostrog— Exploration  of  the  Ahoor— Discoveries  on  the 
Arctic  Seaboard — ^Ivory  versus  Skins — ^The  Land  of  the  Chukchi 
Invaded — Okhotsk  Established— Kamchatka  Occupied — ^Rumors  of 
Reai^ms  Beyond. 

While  the  maritime  nations  of  north-western  Eu- 
rope were  thus  sending  ship  after  ship  into  the  Arctic 
ice-fields  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  north-eastern  passage 
to  India,  the  Russians  were  slowly  but  surely  forcing 
their  way  over  Siberian  rivers  and  steppes,  and  even 
along  the  Arctic  coast  from  river-mouth  to  river- 
mouth,  and  that  not  in  search  of  any  India,  or  other 
grand  attainment,  but  only  after  skins,  and  to  get  far- 
ther and  farther  from  parental  despotism.  Their  an- 
cient homes  had  not  been  abodes  of  peace,  and  no 
tender  reminiscences  or  patriotic  ties  bound  them  to 
the  soil  of  Russia.  It  was  rather  a  yearning  for  per- 
sonal freedom,  next  after  the  consideration  of  the 
sohol,  that  drew  the  poor  Slav  farther  and  farther 
through  forests  and  swamps  away  from  his  place  of 
birth;  he  did  not  care  to  Tband  for  general  indepen- 
dence. Rulers  were  of  God,  the  church  said,  and  he 
would  not  oppose  them,  but  he  would  if  possible  es- 
cape.    In  view  of  these  peculiar  tendencies  the  open- 

(U) 


A  CENTURY  SABLE-HUNT.  15 

ing  of  the  boundless  expanse  toward  the  east  was  a 
blessing  not  only  to  the  oppressed  but  to  the  oppress- 
ors. The  turbulent  spirits,  who  might  have  caused 
trouble  at  home,  in  early  times  found  their  way  to 
Siberia  voluntarily,  while  later  the  *  paternal '  govern- 
ment gathered  strength  enough  to  send  them  there. 

A  century  sable-hunt  half  round  the  world  this  re- 
markable movement  might  be  called.  It  was  at  once 
a  discovery  and  a  conquest,  which  was  to  carry  Cos- 
sack and  Russian  across  the  vast  continent,  and  across 
the  narrowed  Pacific  to  the  fire-breathing  islands, 
and  the  glistening  mountains  and  majestic  forests  of 
Alaska.  The  shores  of  the  Black  and  Caspian  seas 
was  the  starting-point.  Russia's  eastern  bound  was 
then  the  Ural  Mountains.  Anika  Stroganof  set  up 
salt-works  there,  and  the  people  at  the  east  brought 
him  furs  to  trade.  They  were  pretty  little  skins,  and 
yielded  the  salt-miner  a  large  profit;  so  he  sent  his 
traders  as  far  as  the  great  river  Ob  for  them.  And 
the  autocrat  of  the  empire  smiled  on  these  proceed- 
ings, and  gave  the  salt-merchant  lands,  and  allowed 
his  descendants  to  become  a  power  and  call  them- 
selves counts. 

In  1578  the  grandson  of  the  first  Stroganof  received 
a  visit  from  a  Cossack  chieftain  or  ataman,  named 
Yermak  Timofeief,  who  with  his  followers  had  in 
Cossack  fashion  led  a  life  of  war  and  plunder,  and 
was  then  flying  from  justice  as  administered  by  Ivan 
Vassilievich  II. 

Yermak's  mounted  followers  numbered  a  thousand, 
and  Stroganof  was  anxious  they  should  move  on;  so 
he  told  them  of  places  toward  the  east,  fine  spots  for 
robber-knights  to  seize  and  settle  on,  and  he  sent 
men  to  guide  them  thither.  This  was  in  1578.  At 
the  river  Ob  the  Cossacks  found  a  little  Tartar  sover- 
eignty, a  fragment  of  the  great  monarchy  of  Genghis 
Khan.  The  warlike  spirit  with  which  Tamerlane  had 
once  inspired  the  Tartars  had  long  since  fled.  Their 
little  kingdom,  in  which  cattle-herding,  the  chase,  and 


16  THE  CENTURY-MABCH  OP  THE  COSSACKS, 

traflSc  were  the  only  pursuits,  now  remained  only 
because  none  had  come  to  conquer  them.  The  Cos- 
sacks were  in  the  full  flush  of  national  development. 
They  had  ever  been  apt  learners  from  the  Tartars, 
against  whom  they  had  often  served  the  Muscovites 
as  advance  guara.  Now  Yermak  was  in  a  strait. 
Behind  him  was  the  wrathful  tsar,  to  fall  into  whose 
hands  was  certain  death.  Though  his  numbers  were 
small,  he  must  fight  for  it.  Attacking  the  Tartars, 
in  due  time  he  became  master  of  their  capital  city, 
though  at  the  cost  of  half  his  little  army.  And  now 
he  must  have  more  men.  Perhaps  he  might  buy 
friendship  of  the  tsar.  A  rich  gift  of  sables,  with  in- 
formation that  he  had  conquered  for  him  the  kingdom 
of  Kutchum  Khan,  accomplished  the  purpose.  Re- 
enforcements  and  confirmation  of  rulership  were  the 
response.  Thus  was  begun  the  long  journey  of  the 
Russians  across  the  contment. 

Vast  as  is  the  area  of  Siberia  its  several  parts  are 
remarkably  similar.  Plants,  animals,  and  men;  cli- 
mate, conditions,  and  customs,  are  more  alike  than  on 
the  other  side  of  the  strait  of  Bering.  The  country 
and  its  contents  are  upon  a  dead  level.  A  net-work  of 
navigation  is  formed  by  the  upper  branches  of  rivers 
flowing  into  the  frozen  sea  through  the  tundras,  or 
ice-m"orass,  of  the  north,  so  that  the  same  kind  of  boats 
and  sledges  carry  the  traveller  across  the  whole  coun- 
try. The  fierce  and  cjfinning  Cossacks  of  Russia  were 
in  marked  contrast  to  the  disunited  semi-nomads  of 
Siberia,  busy  as  they  were  taming  the  reindeer,  hunt- 
ing with  dogs,  or  fighting  with  the  bow  and  arrow  and 
lance ;  and  if  they  could  conquer  the  Tartars  of  the 
Ob  there  was  no  reason  why  they  could  not  march 
on  to  the  Pacific. 

They  were  a  singular  people,  brave  as  Spaniards 
and  tough  as  gypsies.  Their  weapons,  the  later  Eu- 
ropean kind,  of  iron  and  gunpowder,  gave  them  a  vast 
superiority  over  the  tribes  of  Siberia,  and  their  boats 


/ 
( 

I' 


THE  SIBERIAN  LINE  OF  OSTROGS.  17 

arid  horses  seem  to  have  been  made  for  the  purpose. 
The  latter  were  small  and  enduring,  adequate  to  the 
long  day's  march,  and  like  their  masters  accustomed 
to  cold,  hunger,  thirst,  and  continuous  fatigue.  Like 
the  chamois  and  reindeer  they  would  scrape  off  the 
snow  from  their  scanty  nourishment,  or  if  grass  was 
wanting  they  were  glad  to  get  frozen  fish  to  eat. 

The  invaders  found  it  well  to  divide  their  forces, 
and  advance  in  small  scattered  bodies,  a  dozen  war- 
riors sometimes  subjugating  a  tribe;  then  again  some 
hundreds  were  required  for  the  occupation  of  a  river- 
territory  or  a  kingdom.  There  was  no  need  of  a  large 
united  army,  or  of  any  great  discipline.  This  also 
suited  Cossack  ideas  and  habits,  as  they  were  repub- 
lican in  their  way.  Born  equal,  they  everywhere  met 
on  a  common  footing.  They  chose  their  atamans  and 
sotniks,  or  centurions,  who,  if  they  did  not  rule  to  suit, 
w^ere  quickly  deposed  and  others  elected.  The  highest 
position  was  open  to  the  humblest  aspirant. 

It  was  on  the  Tobol  that  the  Cossacks  and  Rus- 
sians built  their  first  ostrog,  or  fort,  which  later  became 
Tobolsk,  the  head-quarters  of  their  organized  govern- 
ment, and  the  starting-point  of  their  expeditions. 
Thence  their  conquering  march  was  straight  through 
the  middle  of  Siberia,  the  line  being  equidistant  from 
the  mountains  of  the  south  and  the  morasses  of  the 
north,  and  it  later  became  the  principal  line  of  traflSc. 
On  this  line,  cutting  through  the  various  river  re- 
gions, the  chief  colonies  of  the  country  were  founded. 
Eastward  from  Tobolsk,  in  the  territory  of  the  river 
Ob,  the  city  of  Tomsk;  eastward  from  this,  on  the 
Yenissei,  the  city  of  Yenisseisk;  then  Irkutsk  and 
Yakutsk  in  the  Lena  district,  and  finally,  on  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  Okhotsk,  which  stands  upon 
about  the  same  parallel  as  that  of  the  starting-point. 
These  cities  grew  successively  one  out  of  the  other, 
and  for  every  new  river  province  the  last  served  as 
a  point  d'appui  for  the  various  enterprises,  military 

Hm.  ALASKA,     a 


18  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OP  THE  COSSACKS. 

or  commercial.  At  every  important  river  a  halt  was 
made,  during  which  they  settled  themselves  more 
firmly,  and  organized  their  new  territory.  They  built 
boats,  explored  up  the  rivers,  and  down  them  even 
to  the  frozen  ocean,  where  they  founded  little  settle- 
ments. 

The  Cossacks  themselves  were  a  light  troop,  but 
they  were  preceded  by  a  still  lighter,  a  flying  advance 
guard,  called  the  promyshleniki,  a  kind  of  Russian 
coureurs  des  hois.  They  were  freebooters  who  hunted 
on  their  own  account  and  at  their  own  risk.  No  one 
could  control  them.  They  flitted  everywhere  in  the 
v^'^oods  and  morasses,  companions  of  wild  beasts.  They 
made  the  several  first  discoveries  in  Siberia,  and 
brought  home  the  earliest  information  of  hitherto 
unknown  parts. 

In  the  spring  of  1628  the  Cossacks  reached  Lena 
River.  The  party  consisted  of  ten  men  under  Vassili 
Bugor,  who  had  crossed  over  from  the  Yenissei  on 
snow-shoes.  Arrived  at  the  Lena,  the  great  central 
stream,  lying  midway  between  the  beginning  and  end 
of  their  century-march,  they  built  a  boat  and  went 
down  and  up  the  river  for  some  distance,  spreading 
dismay  and  collecting  their  tribute  of  sable-skins. 
Ten'  Cossacks  against  the  inhabitants  of  that  great 
valley  I  I  know  of  nothing  in  American  history  that 
equals  it.  After  making  the  people  swear  submission, 
Bugor  posted  two  of  his  men  at  the  middle  point  on 
the  river,  and  two  each  at  points  two  hundred  miles 
above  and  two  hundred  miles  below.  After  three 
years  of  bluster  and  traflSc  Bugor  returned  to  the 
Yenissei.  In  1632  a  Cossack  chieftain  named  Beke- 
tof  sailed  far  down  the  Lena  and  built  the  first  ostrog 
on  this  river,  among  the  Yakut  nation.  This  was 
the  Yakutski  Ostrog,  out  of  which  rose  later  the  city 
of  Yakutsk,  the  capital  of  eastern  Siberia,  and  which 
finally  served  as  head-quarters  for  expeditions  to  the 
Arctic  and  to  the  Pacific.     From  the  Lena,  Siberia 


FBOM  RIVER  TO  RIVER. 


10 


extends^  gradually  narrowing,  about  five  or  six  hun- 
dred leagues  further  to  the  east.  The  length  of  the 
rivers  decreases  with  the  breadth  of  the  land,  and  the 
mighty  Lena  is  followed  by  the  smaller  Yana,  Indi- 
girka,  Kolima,  and  at  last,  in  the  farthest  corner  by 
the  Anadir  which  empties  into  the  Pacific.     The  dis- 


Eastebk  Siberia. 


covery  of  these  more  distant  rivers  of  Siberia  began 
in  1638.  Some  Cossacks,  under  the  leadership  of  a 
certain  Busa,  reached  the  Yana  by  water  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Lena,  while  others,  under  the  sotnik 
Ivanof,  penetrated  on  horseback  to  its  sources  from 


20  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OF  THE  COSSACKS. 

Yakutsk.    Here  they  heard  of  the  Indigirka,  and  the 
year  following  they  trotted  on  to  the  river. 

In  1639  the  rugged  mountains  on  the  eastern  bor- 
der of  Siberia  were  crossed  on  horseback  and  on 
snow-shoes,  and  an  ostrog  was  built  on  the  sea-shore 
to  which  the  name  of  Okhotsk  was  given.  Thus  the 
Pacific  Ocean  was  first  reached  by  the  Russians  on 
the  shore  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea,  a  place  destined  to  play 
an  important  part  in  the  advance  toward  America. 
The  discovery  was  achieved  by  Andrei  Kopilof,  a 
Cossack  leader,  who  made  his  way  thither  from  the 
Lena  at  the  head  of  a  small  party,  thus  completing 
the  march  across  the  continent  of  Asia,  in  its  broadesjb 
part,  in  about  sixty  years  from  the  time  of  Yermak's 
visit  to  Stroganof. 

The  ascent  of  the  Lena  brought  the  Russians  to 
Lake  Baikal,  and  showed  them  another  route  to  the 
Pacific,  through  China  by  way  of  the  Amoor.  The 
rich  silver  deposits  in  that  quarter  drew  population 
from  the  north-western  ostrogs,  something  after  the 
manner  of  a  California  mining  rush.  The  Mantchoo 
Tartars  w^ere  most  of  them  absent  from  home  at  the 
time,  completing  their  conquest  of  the  celestial  empire, 
which  left  the  Amoor  region  comparatively  defence- 
less. On  the  return  of  the  Tartars  the  Russians  were 
obliged  to  relinquish  some  of  their  pretensions,  though 
they  retained  their  hold  on  the  mines,  and  continued 
trade  with  China.  In  1643  Vassili  Posharkof  set  out 
from  Yakutsk  with  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men, 
and  following  the  course  of  the  Amoor  to  its  mouth, 
and  thence  proceeding  north  and  westward  some  dis- 
tance along  the  coast,  returned  to  Yakutsk  in  1646 
by  a  diflferent  route,  and  one  direct  from  the  Okhotsk 
Sea. 

Sixteen  Cossacks  on  the  Indigirka  took  captive  the 
ruling  prince  of  the  country.    On  their  neighing  steeds 


EASTERN  SIBERIAN  SEABOARD.  21 

• 

they  charged  his  forces,  armed  with  only  bows  and 
arrows,  and  vanquished  them  with  great  slaughter. 
In  1640  they  had  completed  the  conquest  of  the  whole 
river,  eight  hundred  miles  long.  Forthwith  they  again 
began  to  listen  to  tales  of  new  streams  in  the  east,  of 
the  Aliseia  and  the  Kolima.  Strengthened  by  addi- 
tional troops  they  proceeded  in  1646  to  subdue  this 
region.  East  of  the  Kolima,  where  Siberia  approaches 
its  termination,  dwelt  the  warlike  Chukchi,  the  Tschuk- 
tschi  of  German  writers.  Their  land  did  not  allure 
with  sables  or  silver-mines,  but  a  new  attraction  was 
found  for  the  European.  Dating  existence  from  pri- 
meval revulsions,  were  found  on  the  shores  and  along 
the  banks  of  rivers  vast  deposits  of  fossil  ivory,  the 
tusks  of  the  ancient  mammoth  elephant.  Similar  de- 
posits had  been  found  before  in  other  parts  of  Siberia, 
but  the  largest  were  in  the  far  north-east  along  the 
shores  of  the  land  of  the  Chukchi.  This  substance, 
which  was  called  precious  and  a  staple,  exercised  a 
powerful  influence  in  the  conquest  of  Siberia  and  in 
attracting  emigrants  to  the  north.  Even  at  the  pres- 
ent day  it  plays  an  important  part  in  Siberian  traffic, 
and  is  also  found  in  the  northern  regions  of  America. 

Isai  Ignatief,  with  a  company  of  promyshleniki, 
set  out  in  search  of  mammoth  tusks  toward  the  Chuk- 
chi country.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Kolima  ho 
proceeded  a  short  distance  along  the  Arctic  seaboard 
in  boats.  The  natives  were  shy  at  first,  but  after 
some  traffic  thev  told  the  Russians  of  a  largo  moun- 
tainous land  which  lay  westward  and  toward  the  north 
pole,  and  the  outline  of  whose  coasts  could  be  seen 
from  time  to  time  from  the  Siberian  shore.  This  land, 
they  said,  was  rich  in  ivory,  and  there  were  the  most 
beautiful  tusks  heaped  up  there  in  huge  banks  and 
mounds.  Many  believed  that  it  was  peopled  and 
connected  with  Novaia  Zemlia  in  the  west  and  with 
America  in  the  east. 

With  a  daring  which  the  well  prepared  Arctic  ex- 
plorer of  our  time  can  scarcely  understand,  the  Rus- 


22  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OF  THE  COSSACKS. 

sians  committed  themselves  to  their  fragile  lodhi^  or 
open  sail-boats,  of  rough  planks  tied  together  with 
thongs,  and  struck  out  for  that  land  of  ivory  toward 
the  north  pole.  They  sailed  without  compass  out 
into  that  sea;  they  battled  with  the  ice  found  there; 
their  barks  were  shattered ;  they  were  frozen  in  at  sea 
hundreds  of  versts  from  land.  They  even  wintered 
there  that  they  might  advance  a  little  farther  the  fol- 
lowing summer.  What  can  science  or  modern  adven- 
ture show  as  a  parallel?  Lost  on  a  wilderness  of  ice, 
all  warmth  departed,  hungry,  ill-clothed,  with  scarcely 
any  shelter,  yet  still  determined  to  achieve  the  land  of 
ivory.  Perhaps  some  of  them  did  reach  it;  let  us  hope 
so,  and  that  they  obtained  their  fill  of  ivory.  Nearly 
two  centuries  later  the  first  light  concerning  this  land 
,  came  through  the  travels  of  JBaron  Wrangell,  when  it 
was  recognized  as  a  group  of  islands  and  named  New 
Siberia. 

Ignatief  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Chukchi,  so  eager  had  he  been 
after  ivory.  But  better  success  attended  the  efforts 
of  the  Russians  a  little  later.  By  order  of  the  tsar 
Alexis,  seven  kotches,  a  small  decked  craft,  were  sent 
along  the  shore  in  search  of  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Anadir,  whose  head-waters  had  been  sighted  by  the 
venturesome  promyshleniki.  The  expedition  set  out 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Kolima  June  20,  1648.  Of 
four  of  these  vessels  nothing  further  is  mentioned;  but 
we  know  that  the  remaining  three  were  commanded 
respectively  by  Simeon  Deshnef  and  Gerassim  Anku- 
dinof,  Cossack  chiefs,  and  Fedot  Alexeief,  peredovchik, 
that  is  to  say,  leader  of  promyshleniki.  Deshnef,  who 
forwarded  a  detailed  account  of  his  adventures  to 
Yakutsk,  speaks  but  incidentally  of  what  happened  be- 
fore reaching  Cape  Chukotsk.  Then  he  says:  "This 
isthmus,  is  quite  different  from  that  which  is  bound  by 
the  River  Tschukotschia  west  of  the  River  Kolima. 
It  lies  between  the  north,  and  north-east,  and  turns 


DESHNEFS  VOYAGE.  23 

circular  towards  the  river  Anadir.  On  the  Russian, 
that  is,  the  west  side  of  it,  there  falls  a  brook  into 
the  sea,  by  which  the  Tschuktschi  have  erected  a 
scaffold  like  a  tower  of  the  bones  of  whales.  Over- 
against  the  isthmus  (it  is  not  mentioned  on  which 
side)  there  are  two  islands  in  the  sea,  upon  which 
were  seen  people  of  the  Tschuktschi  nation,  thro' 
whose  lips  were  run  pieces  of  the  teeth  of  the  sea- 
horse. One  might  sail  from  the  isthmus  to  the  river 
Anadir,  with  a  fair  wind,  in  three  days  and  nights, 
and  it  might  be  travelled  by  land  within  the  same 
time."  The  kotche  commanded  by  Ankudinof  was 
wrecked  at  the  cape,  but  the  inmates  were  saved  by 
the  other  vessels.  On  the  20th  of  September  Desh- 
nef  and  Alexeief  made  a  landing  and  had  an  engage- 
ment with  the  Chukchi,  during  which  Alexeief  was 
wounded.  After  this  the  two  kotches  lost  sight  of 
each  other  and  did  not  meet  again.  Deshnef  drifted 
about  until  October,  and  at  last  he  was  also  wrecked, 
as  it  appears,  some  distance  to  the  south  of  the  Ana- 
dir, in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  Olutorsk.  He  had 
only  twenty-five  men  left,  and  with  these  he  set  out 
by  land  in  search  of  the  Anadir;  but  having  no  guide, 
he  wandered  about  for  ten  weeks  and  at  last  reached 
its  banks  not  far  from  the  mouth.  One  half  of  his 
command  started  up  the  river,  but  hunger  compelled 
them  to  return.  The  following  summer  Deshnef  as- 
cended the  Anadir  in  boats.  He  met  with  a  tribe 
called  the  Ananli,  made  them  tributary  after  con- 
siderable resistance,  and  founded  the  settlement  of 
ostrog  Anadirsk.  Here  he  remained  till  1650,  when 
he  was  joined  on  the  23d  of  April  by  the  Cossack 
Motora  with  a  volunteer  expedition  from  Kolimsk. 
Another  expedition  under  Mikhail  Stadukhin  followed 
immediately  after;  but  the  latter,  jealous  of  the  suc- 
cesses already  achieved  by  the  others,  went  more  to 
the  southward  for  further  discoveries  and  was  never 
heard  of  again.  Deshnef  subsequently  encountered  a 
Yakut  woman  who  had  been  with  Fedot  Alexeief 


24  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OF  THE  COSSACKS. 

and  was  tx)ld  by  her  that  Fedot  and  Ankudinof  had 
been  wrecked  and  that  both  had  died  of  scurvy  among 
the  Koriaks.*  No  mention  is  made  by  any  of  this 
party  of  having  seen  the  American  continent,  though 
it  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  them  did  see  it. 
They  were  obliged  to  hug  the  Asiatic  shore,  and  the 
opposite  coast  can  be  seen  from  there  only  on  a  clear 
day. 

Another  account  of  Deshnef  s  voyage  places  it  at 
a  still  earlier  date,  between  1580  and  1590,  but  the 
inaccuracy  of  this  is  evident.^ 

Last  of  all  this  region  to  be  unveiled  was  that 
narrow  south-eastern  strip  of  Siberia,  the  Kamchatka 
peninsula,  which,  about  the  size  and  shape  of  Italy, 
projects  six  hundred  geographical  miles  from  the  con- 
tinent into  Bering  and  Okhotsk  seas.  The  Cossack 
Luka  Morosko  started  from  Anadirsk  in  1669  with 
a  roving  band  and  penetrated  far  to  the  southward, 
but  what  he  saw  was  not  known  until  some  time  after- 
ward. The  name  Kamchatka  was  known  in  Yakutsk 
by  report  from  1690.  Some  years  later  the  first  party 
of  riders  set  out  thither  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Cossack  colonel,  Atlassof,  who  passes  for  the  actual 

*  The  voyage  of  Deshnef  was  almost  forgotten  when  MiiUer  found  a 
record  of  it  in  Kolimsk.  Morskoi  Sbomikf  1764,  37-49;  Jefferys'  Muller^a 
Voy,^  v.-ix. 

^  An  anonymous  article  in  a  literary  monthly  published  in  St  Petersbnrg 
in  1709  contains  the  following:  *The  honor  of  having  taken  the  first  steps 
toward  the  discovery  of  these  new  islands  (which  on  account  of  their  nnml)er 
may  justly  be  termed  an  archipelago)  belongs  to  the  tsar  Ivan  Vassilievich 
II.  After  having  conquered  the  whole  of  Siberia  he  desired  to  know  its 
boundaries  north  and  east,  and  the  tribes  inliabiting  those  far-off  regions. 
For  this  purpose  he  sent  out  an  expedition,  which  only  returned  during  the 
reipn  of  his  son  and  successor,  Tsar  Feodor  Ivanovich,  bringing  the  first  news 
of  the  existence  of  the  Polar  Sea  on  the  northern  shore  of  Siberia,  and  another 
vast  ocean  in  the  east.  In  some  of  the  old  Siberian  archives  documents  have 
been  discovered  which  prove  that  the  above-mentioned  expedition  made  some 
important  discoveries  in  the  Arctic  Sea,  and,  following  along  its  shores  to 
the  north-east,  one  of  the  smaller  vessels  finally  rounded  the  extreme  point, 
Cap<i  Chukot sk,  and  arrived  safely  on  the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  The  troubled 
times  which  came  over  Russia  after  this  achievement  during  the  lawless  reigns 
of  the  usurper  Boris  Godunof,  and  of  the  False  Dmitri  after  him,  made  it 
imposbible  to  think  of  further  explorations  of  the  Kamchatka  country,  and 
oven  tlie  name  was  almost  forgotten  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years.*  YtBhe- 
.micufmchnaia  Sochinenia,  March,  1769,  336-7. 


THE  RUSSIANS  ON  THE  PACIFIC.  25 

discoverer  and  conqueror  of  Kamchatka.  The  Rus- 
sians found  in  Kamchatka  Japanese  writings  and  even 
some  Japanese  sailors  cast  ashore  there  by  shipwreck. 
From  the  latter  they  learned  that  the  land  stretched 
far  away  to  the  south,  and  were  at  first  induced  to 
believe  that  Kamchatka  reached  as  far  as  Japan,  as 
indeed  it  is  laid  down  on  the  oldest  maps. 

Like  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico,  the  first  Russians  in 
Kamchatka  were  highly  honored,  almost  deified,  by 
the  natives.  That  the  aboriginal  Americans  should 
have  ascribed  divinity  to  the  first  Spaniards  is  not 
strange.  They  came  to  them  from  oflT  the  limitless 
and  mysterious  water  in  huge  white-winged  canoes, 
in  martial  array,  with  gaudy  trappings  and  glittering 
armor;  they  landed  with  imposing  ceremonies;  their 
leaders  were  men  of  dignified  bearing  and  suave  man- 
ners, and  held  their  followers  in  control.  The  first 
appearance  of  the  Russians  in  Kamchatka,  however, 
presents  an  entirely  different  aspect;  surely  the  Kam- 
chatkans  of  that  day  were  satisfied  with  ungainly 
gods. 

The  Cossacks  who  came  with  Atlassof  were  rough- 
looking  fellows,  of  small  size,  clad  in  furs  like  the 
Kamchatkans,  most  of  them  the  offspring  of  unions 
between  half  Tartars  and  women  from  the  native 
tribes  of  Siberia.  They  were  filthy  in  their  habits, 
and  had  just  completed  a  weary  ride  of  many  months 
through  the  wilderness.  They  were  naturally  cruel 
and  placed  no  restraint  on  their  beastly  propen- 
sities; nevertheless  they  were  called  gods  by  beings 
of  a  lower  order  than  themselves,  and  it  were  well 
to  propitiate  them.  Indeed,  they  did  possess  one 
attribute  of  the  deity:  they  could  kill.  A  few  rusty 
firelocks,  a  few  pounds  of  powder,  and  they  were 
omnipotent.  Gods  are  prone  to  quarrel  as  well  as 
men,  but  can  they  die?  The  Kamchatkans  thought 
hot;  so  when  they  saw  one  of  Atlassof s  men  struck 
down  by  another,  saw  the  warm  red  blood  gush  from 
a  mortal  wound  to  stain  the  virgin  snow,  the  spell 


96  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OP  THE  COSSACKS. 

was  broken.  These  were  no  gods;  and  thenceforth 
the  Russians  had  to  fight  for  the  supremacy.  After 
many  expeditions  and  many  battles,  for  these  people 
were  in  truth  brave  and  lovers  of  liberty,  the  Rus- 
sians, in  1706,  reached  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  Kamchatka  peninsula,  where  they  saw  the  north- 
ernmost islands  of  the  Kurile  chain  which  points  to 
Japan. 

Thus  did  the  Russians,  after  the  lapse  of  a  century 
full  of  toil  and  ravages,  reach  the  extreme  end  of  the 
Old  World.  At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  they  found  themselves  on  a  separate  strip  of 
coast,  twelve  hundred  miles  long,  facing  another 
twelve  hundred  miles'  strip,  the  north-west  end  of 
America.  It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  they 
would  rest  contented  where  they  were. 

The  natives  of  Kamchatka  did  not  appear  to  have 
any  knowledge  of  America,  so  that  the  Russians  were 
left  to  learn  of  the  hohhaia  zemliay  or  'great  land' 
toward  the  east,  slowly  and  as  they  were  able.  Tall 
trunks  of  fir  and  other  trees  which  did  not  grow  in 
Kamchatka  were  thrown  from  time  to  time  by  cur- 
rents upon  the  shores  along  the  east  side  of  that 
country.  Large  flocks  of  land-birds  came  to  the  coast 
occasionally  from  the  east  and  disappeared  again  in 
the  same  direction.  Whales  came  from  the  east  with 
spear-heads  in  their  backs  different  from  any  used  in 
Kamchatka;  and  now  and  then  foreign-built  boats 
and  other  unusual  objects  were  washed  upon  the 
eastern  coast.  Even  the  waves  carrying  these  tokens 
did  not  have  as  long  a  swell  as  those  to  the  south. 
Hence  they  said  this  land  must  front  a  sea  wholly 
or  partially  enclosed,  and  that  toward  the  north  the 
sides  must  bo  nearest  together.  Surely  the  Chukchi 
should  know  something  about  it.  Indeed,  often  in 
their  fights  with  these  people  the  Russians  had  taken 
captives  with  pieces  of  walrus  ivory  thrust  through 
their  lips  and  cheeks,  and  speaking  a  language  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  Chukchi.     And  the  story  was 


THE  'GREAT  LAND'  TO  THE  EAST.  27 

that  the  great  land  was  no  island,  but  had  rivers  and 
chains  of  mountains  without  end.' 

About  this  time  the  stolnik  kniaSy  Vassili  Ivanovich 
Ga^rin,  was  present  at  Yakutsk,  sent  thither  by  his 
uncle,  the  governor,  Prince  Matvei  Petrovich  Gagarin, 
to  make  discoveries.  He  issued  several  orders  to  the 
voivody  or  nobleman,  Trauemicht,  who  commanded  in 
that  section,  one  of  them  being  that  he  should  "  make 
diligent  inquiry  about  the  islands  situated  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Kolima,  and  the  land  of  Kam- 
chatka; what  people  inhabited  them;  under  whose 
jurisdiction  they  were;  what  was  their  employment; 

'  MatreY  Strebykhin,  commaader  of  the  ostrog  of  Anadirsk,  was  infltracted 
in  1711  to  collect  information  concerning  the  Chukchi  and  an  island  or  conti- 
nent lying  to  the  eastward  of  their  country.  One  of  the  results  of  this  inves- 
tigation was  a  deposition  made  and  sworn  to  b^  the  Yakout  Cossack  Peter 
Elianovich  Popof ,  the  promyshlenik  Yegor  Vassihevich  Toldin,  and  the  newly 
converted  Yukagir  Ivan  Vassilievich  Tereshkin,  and  dated  Anadirsk,  Sept. 
2,  1711.  It  was  to  the  effect  that  on  the  13th  of  January  1711  Popof  and 
the  two  others,  who  served  as  interpreters,  were  sent  out  by  Governor  Fedor 
Kotovskoi  to  visit  the  valley  of  the  Anadir  and  receive  tribute  from  some  of 
the  Chukchi  tribes.  This  done  they  were  to  proceed  to  the  cape,  Chukotskoi 
Koss,  in  order  to  persuade  the  Chukchi  living  there  to  become  tributary  to 
Russia.  Popof  met  everywhere  with  a  peremptory  refusal  to  pay  tribute. 
The  Chukchi  said  that  formerly  the  Russians  had  come  to  their  country  in 
ships,  and  they  paid  no  tribute  then,  and  therefore  they  would  not  do  it  now, 
and  Popof  must  expect  no  hostages  from  them»  The  Chukchi  who  dwell 
near  the  cape  keep  tame  reindeer,  and  in  order  to  find  pasture  for  their  animals 
they  frequently  change  their  habitation.  Opposite  the  cape  on  either  side, 
in  die  sea  of  Kolima  as  well  as  in  that  of  Anadir,  islauds  have  been  seen, 
which  the  Chukchi  call  a  large  country,  and  they  say  that  the  people  living 
there  have  large  teeth  in  their  mouths,  projecting  through  the  cheeks.  Popof 
found  ten  of  these  men,  prisoners  among  the  Chukchi,  with  their  cheeks  still 
disfignred  by  the  projecting  ivory.  In  summer  time  they  sail  across  to  the 
Great  Land  in  one  day,  and  in  the  winter  a  swift  reindeer  team  can  make  it 
in  one  day  over  the  ice.  In  the  other  land  there  are  sables,  wolves,  and  bears. 
The  people  are,  like  the  Chukchi,  without  any  government.  They  have  the 
wood  of  cedar,  larch,  and  fir  trees,  which  the  Chukchi  sometimes  obtain  for 
their  bidars,  weapons,  and  huts.  About  2,000  people  live  at  and  near  the 
cape,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  country  are  said  to  be  three  times 
that  number,  which  is  confirmed  not  only  by  prisoners  but  also  by  one  of  the 
Chukchi,  who  has  often  been  there.  Another  statement  was  essentially  as 
follows:  Opposite  the  cape  lies  an  island,  within  sight,  of  no  ereat  extent, 
devoid  of  timber,  and  inhabited  by  people  resembling  the  Chukchi,  though 
they  speak  their  own  language.  It  is  half  a  day's  voyage  to  the  island  from 
the  cape.  Beyond  the  iuand  there  is  a  large  continent,  scarcely  to  be  seen 
from  it,  and  that  only  on  very  clear  days.  In  calm  weather  one  may  row 
over  the  sea  to  the  contiaent,  which  is  inhabited.  There  are  large  forests, 
and  great  rivers  i^  into  the  sea.  The  inhabitants  have  fortified  dwellings 
with  ramparts  of  earth.  Their  clothes  are  the  skins  of  sable  and  fox.  The 
Chukchi  are  often  at  war  with  them.  Yeshemiassacknaia  Sochineniay  1786, 
152-6;  MiUler^i  Voy.,  24-6. 


28  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OF  THE  COSSACKS. 

how  large  the  islands  were  and  how  distant  from  the 
continent."  The  commanders  and  Cossacks  ordered 
to  those  regions  were  all  commissioned  with  such  in- 
quiries, with  the  promise  of  special  rewards  for  such 
service  from  the  emperor,  who  should  be  informed  of 
any  discoveries  by  express  as  soon  as  any  authentic 
report  was  forwarded  to  Yakutsk. 

Orders  had  been  issued  as  early  as  1710  to  the 
commanders  of  Ust-Yana  and  Kolima  to  give  these 
discoveries  their  special  attention.  In  answer,  a  dep- 
osition was  sent  in  by  the  Cossack  Yakov  Permakof 
of  Ust-Yana,  stating  that  he  once  sailed  from  the 
Lena  to  the  River  !Kolima,  and  that  on  the  east  side 
of  Sviatoi  Noss  he  had  sighted  an  island  in  the  sea, 
but  was  unable  to  ascertain  if  it  was  inhabited.  There 
was  also  an  island  situated  directly  opposite  the  river 
Kolima,  an  island  that  might  be  seen  from  the  conti- 
nent. Mountains  could  be  seen  upon  it,  but  it  was 
uncertain  whether  it  was  inhabited. 

The  voivod  Trauernicht  was  further  encouraged,* 
and  prepared  two  expeditions,  one  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Yana  and  one  from  the  Kolima,  simultane- 
ously to  search  for  the  supposed  island;  for  which 
purpose  the  men  were  either  to  go  in  boats  or  travel 
on  the  ice  till  it  could  be  definitely  ascertained  if  such 
an  island  existed.  Concerning  the  first-named  expedi- 
tion, which  was  begun  by  Merkuri  Vagin,  a  Cossack, 
Miiller  found  several  reports  at  Yakutsk,  but  in  his 
opinion  the  documents  did  not  deserve  much  consid- 
eration. 

Vagin  departed  from  Yakutsk  during  the  autumn 
of  1711,  with  eleven  other  Cossacks,  and  in  May 

*  Enuw  Matvci*  Gagarin  wrote  to  the  voivod,  under  date  of  January  28, 
1711,  as  follows:  *I  have  heard  by  Cossacs  and  Dworanes  from  Jakutzk 
that  you  intend  to  send  a  party  of  Cossacs  and  volunteers  to  the  new  conn* 
try  or  island  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  river  Kolima,  but  that  you  hesitated 
about  doing  it  without  orders;  therefore  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  tell  you 
that  you  should  by  no  means  neglect  to  do  it;  and  if  other  islands  may  be 
discovered,  ^ou  wUl  be  pleased  to  do  the  same  with  respect  to  them.  But 
above  all  thmgs  the  expedition  is  to  be  made  this  present  year,  1711.  This 
I  write  to  you  by  order  of  his  Czarish  Majesty.'  Muller*s  Voy.,  Intr.,  xv.-xvi. 


EASTERN  EXPLORATIONS.  29 

1712  he  made  a  voyage  from  Ust-Yanskoie  Simovie 
to  the  frozen  sea.  On  this  occasion  the  Yakov  Per- 
makof,  previously  mentioned,  served  as  his  guide. 
The  party  used  sledges  drawn  by  dogs,  and  after  fol- 
lowing the  coast  to  Sviatoi  Noss,  they  emerged  upon 
the  frozen  ocean  and  travelled  directly  north.  They 
came  to  a  desert  island,  without  wood,  which  Vagin 
estimated  to  be  from  nine  to  twelve  days'  travel  in 
circumference.  From  this  island  they  saw,  farther  to 
the  north,  another  island  or  land,  but  as  the  spring 
was  already  too  far  advanced,  Vagin  dared  not  pro- 
ceed, and  his  provisions  running  short  the  whole  party 
returned  to  the  continent,  to  provide  themselves  with 
a  suflScient  supply  of  fish  during  the  summer.  The 
point  where  he  reached  the  coast  was  between  Sviatoi 
Noss  and  the  river  Khroma.  A  Cossack  had  formerly 
erected  a  cross  there,  and  after  him  it  was  named  Ka- 
taief  Krest.  Being  out  of  provisions,  they  failed  in 
an  attempt  to  reach  the  Khroma,  and  were  compelled 
to  eke  out  an  existence  on  the  sea-coast,  devouring 
even  the  sledge-dogs.  Vagin,  however,  still  intended 
to  prosecute  his  explorations;  but  his  Cossacks,  remem- 
bering their  sufferings,  to  prevent  a  repetition,  rose 
against  their  leader  and  murdered  him,  his  son,  the 
guide  Permakof,  and  one  promyshlenik.  The  crime 
was  revealed  by  one  of  the  accomplices  and  the  of- 
enders  were  brought  to  justice.  During  the  trial  it 
appeared  that  the  guide  Yakov  Permakof  did  not 
believe  the  supposed  large  island  to  be  really  an  island, 
but  only  vapor. 

The  other  expedition,  that  from  the  Kolima,  met 
with  no  better  success.  It  consisted  of  a  single  vessel 
commanded  by  the  Cossack  Vassili  Stadukhin,  with 
twenty-two  men.  He  merely  observed  a  single  prom- 
ontory, extending  into  the  sea  to  the  east  of  Kolima, 
surrounded  by  ice,  impenetrable  by  their  vessels.^ 

*  They  used  ehitiki,  or  boats,  the  planks  of  which  were  fastened  together 
with  rawhide  straps  and  thongs.  They  measured  about  30  feet  in  length  and 
12  feet  broad,  with  a  flat  bottom,  calked  with  moss.   The  sails  consisted  of  soft. 


so  THE  CENTURY-MARCH  OP  THE  COSSACKS. 

Another  expedition  was  undertaken  by  a  Cossack 
named  Amossof.  He  started  in  1723  with,  a  party 
to  search  for  an  island  reported  to  extend  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Yana  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Indigirka. 
He  proceeded  to  the  Kolima,  and  was  prepared  to 
sail  in  July  1724.  According  to  his  account  he  found 
such  shoals  of  ice  before  him  that  he  changed  his 
course  and  sailed  along  the  coast  eastward  to  the  so- 
called  habitation  of  Kopai,  which  he  reached  on  the 
7th  of  August.  Here  again  ice  drove  him  back,  and  he 
returned  to  the  Kolima.  The  dwelling  of  Kopai  was 
about  two  hundred  versts  east  of  that  river.  Amossof 
also  mentioned  a  small  island  situated  near  the  conti- 
nent, and  during  the  following  winter  he  made  another 
journey,  with  sledges,  of  which  he  sent  an  account  to 
the  chancellery  of  Yakutsk.  The  report  was  to  the 
effect  that  on  the  3d  of  November  1724  he  set  out 
from  Nishnoie  Kolimskoie  Simovie,  and  met  with 
land  in  the  frozen  sea,  returning  to  Kolima  on  the  23d 
of  the  same  month.  Upon  this  land  he  saw  nothing 
but  old  huts  covered  with  earth;  it  was  unknown 
to  what  people  they  belonged,  and  what  had  be- 
come of  them.  Want  of  provisions,  and  especially 
of  dog-food,  had  obliged  him  to  turn  back  without 
making  any  further  discoveries.  This  journey  was 
also  impeded  by  ridges  of  ice  piled  to  a  great  height, 
which  had  to  be  crossed  with  the  sledges.  The  place 
where  Amossof  left  the  continent  to  go  over  to  the 
island  is  between  the  Chukotcha  and  the  Aliseia 
rivers.  It  was  an  island,  in  circumference  about  a 
day's  travel  with  dogs,  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  continent,  whence  its  high  mountains  can 
easily  be  seen.  To  the  north  were  two  other  islands, 
likewise  mountainous  and  separated  by  narrow  straits. 
These  he  had  not  visited  and  did  not  know  their  ex- 
tent.   The  first  was  without  trees ;  no  tracks  of  animals 

dressed  reindeer-skin,  and  in  place  of  ropes,  straps  of  elk-skin  were  used.  The 
anchors  were  pieces  of  wood,  to  which  heavy  stones  were  fastened.  MuU6r*a 
Voy,,  Introd.,  xviii. 


KAMCHATKA  REACHED  BY  SEA.  31 

were  seen  but  those  of  reindeer,  which  live  on  moss. 
The  old  huts  had  been  constructed  of  drift-wood  and 
covered  with  earth.  It  is  probable  that  they  had 
been  made  by  Yukagirs  or  Chukchi,  who  had  fled 
before  the  first  advance  of  the  Russians,  and  subse- 
quently returned  to  the  continent.^  * 

Kopai,  mentioned  in  Amossof s  narrative,  was  a 
chief  among  the  Shelages,  living  at  the  mouths  of  the 
Kolima  and  Aliseia  rivers.  He  first  paid  tribute  to 
Russia  at  the  request  of  Vilegin,  a  promyshlenik,  and 
in  1724  he  paid  tribute  to  Amoss6f  Subsequently, 
however,  he  broke  his  allegiance  and  killed  some  of 
Amossof  s  party. 

The  first  passage  by  sea  from  Okhotsk  to  Kam- 
chatka took  place  in  1716.  One  of  the  sailors,  a 
native  of  Hoorn  in  Holland,  named  Bush,  was  alive 
when  Mtiller  visited  Yakutsk  in  1736,  and  he  related 
to  him  the  circumstances.  On  the  23d  of  May  1714 
a  party  of  twenty  Cossacks  and  sailors  arrived  at  Ok- 
hotsk under  command  of  Kosnia  Sokolof  These  were 
foUowed  in  July  by  some  carpenters  and  shipwrights. 
The  carpenters  built  a  vessel  for  sea-service,  resem- 
bling the  Russian  lodkas  in  use  between  Arkhangel, 
Pustozersk,  and  Novaia  Zemlia.  The  vessel  was  du- 
rable— ^fifty-one  feet  long,  with  eighteen  feet  beam,  and 
drew  when  laden  only  three  and  a  half  feet  of  water. 
Embarking  in  June  1716,  they  followed  the  coast 
north-easterly  till  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Ola,  where  a  contrary  wind  drove  them  across  the  sea 
to  Kamchatka.  The  land  first  sighted  was  a  promon- 
tory north  of  the  river  Tigil,  where  they  cast  anchor. 
Some  went  ashore,  but  found  only  empty  huts.  The 
Kamchatkans  had  watched  the  approach  of  the  vessel 
and  fled  to  the  mountains.  The  navigators  again 
set  sail,  passed  the  Tigil,  and  arrived  in  one  day  at 

*Mfiller  does  not  seem  to  have  placed  much  faith  in  Amoesof's  report. 
He  expresses  the  opinion  that  it  was  framed  to  serve  private  purposes  and 
■nbeequently  altered  to  suit  circumstances.   Voy»i  Introa.,  zz. 


32  THE  CENTURY-MAKCH  OF  THE  COSSACKS. 

the  mouth  of  the  little  river  Kharinzobka,  in  the 
vicinity  of  two  small  islands.  From  Kharinzobka 
they  went  the  following  day  to  the  river  Itcha,  keep- 
ing the  sea  at  night  and  making  for  the  land  in  the 
morning.  Here,  again,  some  men  were  put  ashore, 
but  they  could  find  neither  inhabitants  nor  houses. 
They  soon  returned  and  the  vessel  sailed  down  the 
coast  till  they  came  to  the  river  Krutogorova.  They 
intended  to  make  this  river,  but  missed  its  mouth, 
and  finding  a  convenient  bay  a  little  to  the  south 
they  anchored.  On  searching  the  country,  they  met 
with  a  girl  who  was  gathering  edible  roots  in  the 
field,  and  she  showed  them  some  huts,  inhabited  by 
twelve  Kamchatka  Cossacks,  stationed  there  to  receive 
tribute.  The  Cossacks  were  sent  for,  and  served  as 
guides  and  interpreters.  The  vessel  was  then  brought 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Kompakova,  and  it  was 
resolved  to  winter  there.^ 

Early  in  May  1717  they  put  to  sea,  and  on  the 
fourth  day  became  lodged  between  fields  of  ice,  and 
were  held  there  for  over  five  wrecks.  At  last  they 
regained  the  coast  of  Okhotsk  between  the  river  Ola 
and  Tanisky  ostrog,  w^here  they  stayed  several  days, 
and  then  returned  to  Okhotsk  about  the  middle  of 
July.  From  that  time  there-was  constant  navigation 
between  Okhotsk  and  Kamchatka. 

In  1719  the  Russian  government  sent  two  naviga- 
tors or  surveyors,  Ivan  Yevreinof  and  Fedor  Lushin, 
to  make  geographical  observations,  and  specially  to 
find,  if  possible,  among  the  Kurile  Islands  the  one 
from  Avhich  the  Japanese  were  said  to  obtain  gold  and 
silver.  They  arrived  at  Yakutsk  in  May  1720,  crossed 
over  to  Kamchatka  the  same  summer,  and  returned 
to  Yakutsk  in  1721.^     Yevreinof  left  Lushin  in  Sibe- 

^  During  tlio  stay  of  Sokolof  and  Bush  on  the  Kompakova,  a  whale  was 
cast  ashore,  which  had  in  its  hody  a  harpoon  of  European  make,  marked  with 
R<.)man  letters.  Mulkr's  Voy.,  In  trod.,  xlii. 

^The  results  were  kept  secret  and  Miiller  could  not  get  access  to  their  in- 
structions, so  that  nothing  more  is  known  about  thia  voyage.  MuUer'a  Voy., 
In  trod.,  xliii.  /- 


THE  AMERICAN  SIBERIA.  33 

ria  and  proceeded  to  Russia  to  report  to  the  tsar,  tak- 
ing with  him  a  map  of  the  Kurile  Islands  as  far  as  he 
had  explored  them.  For  the  next  three  years,  that  is 
to  say  to  1724,  rumors  and  ideas  concerning  the  east 
assumed  more  and  more  definiteness  in  Kamchatka, 
and  at  Okhotsk,  Yakutsk,  and  other  Russian  settle- 
ments, at  last  reaching  Moscow  and  St  Petersburg, 
there  to  find  attentive  listeners.® 

Obviously  the  Great  Land  opposite,  if  any  such 
there  was,  would  present  aspects  quite  different  to  the 
tough  Cossacks  and  to  the  more  susceptible  Europeans 
from  the  south.  The  American  Siberia,  this  farther- 
most north-west  was  once  called,  and  if  to  the  Amer- 
ican it  was  Siberia,  to  the  Siberian  it  wsts  America. 
The  eastern  end  of  Asia  is  lashed  by  the  keen  east- 
ern tempests  and -stands  bleak  and  bare,  without 
vegetation,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  year  wrapped 
in  ice  and  snow.  The  western  shores  of  America, 
though  desolate  and  barren  enough  within  the  limits 
of  Bering  sea,  are  wonderfully  different  where  they 
are  washed  by  the  Pacific  and  protected  from  the  east 
by  high  chains  of  mountains.  Here  they  are  open  to 
the  mild  westerly  winds  and  warm  ocean  currents; 
they  have  a  damper  climate,  and,  in  consequence,  a 
more  vigorous  growth  of  trees  and  plants.  In  com- 
paratively high  latitudes  they  are  covered  with  fine 
forests  down  to  the  sea-shore.  This  is  a  contrast 
which  repeats  itself  in  all  northern  countries.  The 
ruder  Sweden  in  the  east  contrasts  in  a  like  manner 
with  the  milder  Norway  in  the  west;   the  desolate 

*  Mitller  relates  '  that  in  the  year  1715  there  lived  at  Kamchatka  a  maa  of 
a  foreign  nation,  who,  upon  account  of  the  Kamchatkan  cedar-nuts  and  the 
low  shrubs  on  which  they  grow,  said  that  he  came  from  a  country  to  the  east 
where  there  were  large  cedara  which  bore  bigger  nuts  than  those  of  Kam- 
chatka ;  that  his  country  was  situated  to  the  east  of  Kamchatka ;  that  there 
were  found  in  it  great  rivers  where  he  lived  which  discharged  themselves 
westward  into  tlio  Kamchatkan  sea;  that  the  inhabitants  called  themselves 
Tontoli;  they  resembled  in  their  manner  of  living  the  people  of  Kamchatka 
and  made  use  of  skin  boats  or  baJdares  like  those  of  the  Kamchadales.  That 
many  years  ago  he  went  over  with  some  more  of  his  countrymen  to  Karag- 
inskoi  ostrow  where  his  companions  were  slain  by  the  inhabitants,  and  he 
alone  made  his  escape  to  Kamchatka.'  Voy.,  In  trod.,  xxviii. 
Hisx.  Alaska.   2 


34  THE  CENTITRY-MAECH  OP  THE  COSSACKS. 

eastern  coast  of  Greenland  buried  in  polar  ice,  with 
its  western  coast  inhabited,  and  at  times  gay  with 
flowers  and  verdure.  Thus  the  great  eastern  coun- 
try, the  holshaia  zerrUia,  rich  in  harbors,  shelter, 
woods,  and  sea  and  land  animals,  might  well  become 
by  report  among  the  north-eastern  Asiatics  a  garden 
of  paradise* 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 
1725-1740. 

POBFOSBS  OF  PeTEB  THE  GrKAT— An    EXPEDITION    ObOANIZED — SeTS    OFT 

FBOM  St  Petkrsbubo— Death  of  the  Tsar— His  Efforts  Seconded 
BT  Catherine  and  Elizabeth— Bering  and  Chirikof  at  Kamchat- 
ka— ^They  Coast  Northward  through  Berino  Strait  and  Prove 
Asia  to  be  Separated  from  America — Adventures  of  Shestakof — 
Expedition  of  Hens,  Fedorof,  and  Gvozdep — America  Sighted— On- 
ganization  of  the  second  general  expedition— bibliography — 
Personnel  of  the  Expedition — ^Bering,  Chirikof,  Spanberg,  Walton, 
CROYtRE,  Steller,  Mlller,  Fisher,  and  Others— Russian  Religion — 
Easy  Morality — Model  Missionaries — The  Long  "Weary  Way  across 
Siberia— Charges  against  Bering — Arrival  of  the  Expedition  at 
Okhotsk. 

The  excessive  curiosity  of  Peter  the  Great  extended 
further  than  to  ship-building,  astronomy,  and  general 
geography.  Vast  as  was  the  addition  of  Siberia  to 
the  Russian  empire  there  lay  something  more  beyond, 
still  indistinct  and  shadowy  in  the  world's  mind,  and 
the  astute  Peter  determined  to  know  what  it  was. 
The  sea  of  Okhotsk  had  been  found,  and  it  was  in  the 
same  latitude  as  the  Baltic;  the  ostrog  of  Okhotsk 
had  been  built,  and  it  stood  upon  almost  exactly  the 
same  parallel  as  St  Petersburg.  Might  not  there  be 
for  him  an  American  Russia,  as  already  there  was  a 
European  and  an  Asiatic  Russia?  And  might  not 
this  new  Russia,  occupying  the  same  relative  position 
to  America  that  the  old  Russia  did  to  Europe,  be 
worth  more  to  him  than  a  dozen  Siberias?  Ho  would 
see.  And  he  would  know,  too,  and  that  at  once, 
whether  the  continents  of  Asia  and  America  joined. 

(35)* 


36  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

This  would  be  a  good  opportunity  likewise  to  try  his 
new  ships,  his  new  discipline,  and  see  what  the  skilled 
gentlemen  whom  he  had  invited  from  Austria,  and 
Prussia,  and  Holland  could  iJo  for  him.  There  were 
many  around  him  whom  his  enthusiasm  had  inspired, 
and  who  wished  to  try  their  mettle  in  strange  ad- 
venture. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  arising  in  the  fertile  brain 
of  the  great  Peter  which  led  to  what  may  be  called 
the  two  Kamchatka  expeditions;  that  is,  two  prin- 
cipal expeditions  from  Kamchatka,  with  several  sub- 
ordinate and  collateral  voyages,  the  first  of  which 
was  to  ascertain  whether  Asia  and  America  joined  or 
were  separate,  and  the  second  to  thoroughly  explore 
eastern  Siberia,  to  discover  and  examine  the  American 
coast  opposite,  and  to  learn  something  more  of  the 
Kurile  Islands  and  Japan.  Both  explorations  were 
under  the  command  of  Vitus  Bering,  a  Danish  cap- 
tain in  the  Russian  service,  who  was  engaged  on  the 
first  about  five_  years,  the  second  series  occupying 
some  sixteen  years,  not  wholly,  however,  under  this 
commander. 

For  the  guidance  of  his  admiral.  Count  Apraxin, 
the  tsar  drew  up  instructions  with  his  own  hand. 
Two  decked  boats  were  to  be  built  at  Kamchatka, 
and,  to  assist  Bering  in  the  command,  lieutenants  Mar- 
tin Spanberg  and  Alexei .  Chirikof  were  appointed. 
Other  officers  as  well  as  ship-builders  and  seamen 
were  chosen,  and  on  February  5, 1725,  the  expedition 
set  out  overland  through  Siberia.  Three  days  there- 
after the  monarch  died;  but  his  instructions  were 
faithfully  carried  out  by  his  successors,  Catherine  the 
wife  and  Elizabeth  the  daughter. 

Much  trouble  was  experienced  in  crossing  the  con- 
tinent, in  obtaining  provisions,  and  in  making  ready 
the  ships;  so  that  it  was  not  until  the  21st  of  August 
1727  that  Bering  with  Chirikof  set  sail  in  the  Fortuna^ 
from  Okhotsk,  for  the  southern  end  of  the  KamcKat- 
kan  peninsula,  where  by  July  of  the  following  year 


BERmO'S  FIRST  VOYAGE.  37 

they  had  ready  another  vessel,  the  Gavril^  or  Gabriel. 
Leaving  the  river  Kamchatka  the  20iirof  July,  they 
coasted  the  eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula  northward, 
till  on  the  8th  of  August  they  found  themselves  in 
latitude  64°  30',  at  the  river  Anadir.  The  Chukchi 
there  told  them  that  after  rounding  East  Cape  the 
coast  turned  toward  the  west.  Continuing,  they 
passed  and  named  St  Lawrence  Island,  and  the 
16th  of  August  they  were  in  latitude  67°  18',  having 
passed  the  easternmost  point  of  Asia,  and  through  the 
strait  of  Bering.  There  the  coast  turned  abruptly 
westward,  as  they  had  been  told.  If  it  continued  in 
that  direction,  as  was  more  than  probable,  Asia  and 
America  were  not  united.^  Bering's  mission  w^as  ac- 
complished, and  he  therefore  returned,  reaching  Kam- 
chatka in  September. 

In  connection  with  this  first  voyage  of  Bering,  two 
expeditions  were  undertaken  in  the  same  direction 
under  the  auspices  of  Afanassiy  Shestakof,  a  chief  of 
the  Yakutsk  Cossacks.  This  bold  man,  whose  energy 
was  of  that  reckless,  obstinate  type  that  knows  no 
defeat,  went  to  St  Petersburg  and  made  several  pro- 
posals to  the  senate  forthe  subjection  of  the  independent 
Chukchi  and  Koriaks  and  the  unruly  Kamchatkans. 
The  eloquence  with  which  he  advanced  his  scheme 
procured  him  applause  and  success.  He  was  appointed 
chief  of  an  expedition  in  which  to  accomplish  his  heart's 
desire. 

The  admiralty  appointed  a  Hollander,  Jacob  Hens, 
pilot;  Ivan  Fedorof, second  in  command,  Mikhail  Gvoz- 
def,  "geodesist,"  or  surveyor;  Herdcbal,  searcher  of 
ores,  and  ten  sailors.  He  was  to  proceed  both  by 
land  and  by  sea.  From  the  arsenal  at  Catherincburg, 
Siberia,  he  was  to  be  provided  with  small  cannons  and 
mortars,  and  ammunition,  and  a  captain  of  the  Siberian 
regiment  of  dragoon^  at  Tobolsk,  Dmitri  Pavlutzki, 

^  MUUer,  Voy.  4,  is  in  error  when  he  says  that  *the  circumstances  on  which 
the  captain  founded  his  judmncnt  were  false,  he  bein^  then  in  a  bay  which, 
although  one  shore  did  trend  to  the  west,  the  opposite  shore  ran  again  to  the 
eut.'    Bering's  suppositions  were  correct  iu  every  partic\^lar.  \ 


SS  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIOXS. 

was  prdered  to  join  him,  each  receiving  command 
over  four  hundred  Cossacks,  while  at  the  same  time 
all  the  Cossacks  stationed  in  ostrogs  and  simovies,  or 
winter-quarters,  in  the  Chukchi  district,  were  placed 
at  their  disposal.  With  these  instructions  Shestakof 
returned  to  Siberia  in  June  1727.  At  Tobolsk  he  re- 
mained till  late  in  November,  wintered  on  the  upper 
Lena,  and  arrived  at  Yakutsk  the  next  summer.  There 
a  dispute  arose  between  Shestakof  and  Pavlutzki, 
which  caused  their  separation.  In  1729  Shestakof 
v.ent  to  Okhotsk  and  there  took  possession,  for  the 
l)urposes  of  his  expedition,  of  the  vessels  with  which 
Boring  had  lately  returned  from  Kamchatka.  On  the 
1st  of  September  he  despatched  his  cousin,  the  syn- 
ho f/a7*ski,  or  bastard  noble,  Ivan  Shestakof,  in  the  Gavril 
to  the  River  Ud,  whence  he  was  to  proceed  to  Kam- 
chatka and  begin  explorations,  while  he  himself  sailed 
in  the  Fort  una.  This  vessel  was  wrecked  near  Taniski 
ostrog,  and  nearly  all  on  board  perished,  Shestakof 
barely  saving  his  life  in  a  canoe.  With  a  small  rem- 
nant of  his  men  and  some  friendly  Tunguses  and  Kor- 
iaks  he  sot  out  for  Kamchatka  on  foot,  but  on  the 
14 til  of  March  1730  he  was  overpowered  near  the 
}_;'alf  of  Penshinsk  by  a  numerous  body  of  Chukchi 
(ind  received  a  mortal  wound.  Only  three  days  beforo 
tills  Shestakof  had  sent  orders  to  Taniski  ostrog  that 
the  Cossack  Tryfon  Krupischef  should  embark  for 
IJolsheretsk  in  a  sea-going  vessel,  thence  make  his 
way  round  the  southern  point  of  the  peninsula,  touch 
nt  Nishekamchatsk,  and  proceed  to  the  river  Ana- 
dir. The  inhabitants  of  the  **  large  country  lying 
opposite  to  this  river"  he  must  ask  to  pay  tribute  to 
llussia.  Gvozdef,  the  navigator,  was  to  be  taken  on 
board  if  he  desired,  and  shown  every  respect. 

Aft^r  battling  with  adverse  winds  and  misfortunes 
for  about  two  years,  the  explorers  passed  northward 
n\o\vr  tlio  Asiatic  shore,  by  the  gulf  of  Anadir,  noting 
i\\'.}  Diomedc  Islands,  and  perhaps  catching  a  glimpse 
oi'  the  American  shore.     The  leaders  vrere  quarrelling 


WHAT  MIKHAIL  GVOZDEF  SAW. 


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40  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

continually,  and  Fedorof,  the  navigator  in  command, 
was  lame  and  confined  to  his  bed  during  nearly  all 
the  voyage.  On  their  return  to  Kamchatka  they  made 
the  most  contradictory  statements  before  the  author- 
ities. Prom  Gvozdef  s  report  we  are  told  that  at  some 
time  during  the  year  1730  he  found  himself  between 
latitude  65**  and  66°,  "on  a  strange  coast,  situated 
opposite,  at  a  small  distance  from  the  country  of  the 
Chukchi,  and  that  he  found  people  there,  but  could 
not  speak  with  them  for  want  of  an  interpreter."^ 

The  land  expedition  was  more  successful.  In  Sep- 
tember 1730  Jacob  Hens,  the  pilot,  received  intelli- 
gence from  Pavlutzki,  dated  at  Nishnekolimsk,  to 
the  effect  that  Shestakof  s  death  would  not  delay  the 
expedition.  Hens  was  to  go  with  one  of  the  ves- 
sels left  at  Okhotsk  by  Bering,  to  the  river  Anadir, 
to  the  head-waters  of  which  Pavlutzki  was  shortly  to 
march.  Whereupon  Heps  proceeded  in  the  Gavril  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka,  where  he  arrived  in 
July  1731,  and  was  told  that  a  rebellious  band  of 
Kamchatkans  had  come  to  Nishnekamchatsk  ostrog, 
killed  most  of  the  Russians  there,  and  set  fire  to  the 
houses.  The  few  remaining  Russians  took  shelter  in 
the  vessel,  and  Hens  sent  men  and  reduced  the  Kam- 
chatkans to  obedience.  This,  however,  prevented  his 
going  to  the  Anadir  River. 

^MuUer's  Voyages^  8-11.  Of  the  commander  of  this  expedition,  Ivan 
Fedorof,  we  have  but  little  information  beyond  the  fact  that  he  died  in 
February  1733,  and  that  he  had  been  with  Shestakof 's  expedition  in  1727; 
that  he  had  been  ordered  to  join  him  together  with  the  mate  Hens,  and 
the  surveyor  Gvozdef.  His  companion  and  assistant,  and  finally  successor 
in  command,  Mikhail  Spiridonovich  Gvozdef,  began  his  education  in  1710,  at 
the  school  of  navigation,  and  in  1719  attended  the  St  Petersburg  Naval 
Academy,  l^eing  in  the  surveying  class.  In  17*21  he  was  sent  on  government 
duty  to  Novogorod,  where  he  remamed  till  1725.  In  1727  he  graduated  as 
surveyor,  and  was  sent  to  Siberia  to  join  Shestakof.  After  his  exploration  in 
Ikring  Strait,  he  was  arrested  in  1735  by  the  governor  of  Siberia  at  Tobolsk, 
upon  an  erroneous  accusation,  and  sent  back  to  Okhotsk  in  1736.  In  1741 
he  ex.plorcd  and  surveyed  tlie  Okhotsk  coast  for  200  vei-sts  southward,  and  in 
1742  he  accompanied  midshipman  Schelting  to  the  Shantar  Islands,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Amoor.  After  the  disbaudmeiit  of  the  Kamchatka  expedition 
he  remained  in  Siberia  till  1754,  when  he  was  appointed  teacher  in  the  naval 
corps  of  ca<lots.  The  date  of  his  death  is  not  known.  ZapUki^  Jiydrografi- 
chtshatjo  JJeparfamaita^  ix.  7S-S7. 

It  is  possible  that  Gvozdef 's  voyage  was  of  greater  importance  than  the 


HENS  AND  PAVLUTZia.  41 

Meanwhile  Pavlutzki  had  arrived  at  Anadirskoi 
ostrog  in  September  1730,  and  the  following  yeai'  he 
undertook  a  campaign  against  the  obstinate  Chuk- 
chi. On  the  12th  of  March  1731  he  put  in  motion 
his  column,  composed  of  215  Russians,  160  Koriaks, 
and  60  Yukagirs,  moving  along  the  head- waters  of 
some  of  the  northern  tributaries  of  the  Anadir,  and 
then  turning  northward  to  the  coast  of  the  Arctic. 
After  marching  two  months  at  the  rate  of  about 
ten  versts  a  day,  stopping  frequently  to  rest,  Pav- 
lutzki arrived  at  the  frozen  sea,  near  the  mouth 
of  a  river.  For  two  weeks  he  travelled  eastward  along 
the  coast,  mostly  upon  the  ice  and  far  from  the  shore. 
This  was  done,  probably,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
an  encounter  with  the  natives,  but  at  last,  on  the  7th 
of  June,  a  large  body  of  Chukchi  was  seen  advancing, 

writers  of  that  period  ascribed  to  it.  In  the  year  1743  Captain  Spanberg  of 
liering's  expedition  was  commissioned  by  the  imperial  government  to  inves- 
tigate the  results  of  this  voyage.  In  case  of  a  failure  to  obtain  satisfactory 
information,  Spanberg  was  to  take  command  of  another  expedition  to  review 
and  correct  the  work  of  Gvozdef  and  Fcdorof.  Spanberg  evidently  entered 
upon  this  duty  with  his  usual  energy,  and  as  upon  his  report  the  order  for  a 
new  expedition  was  countermanded  from  St  Fetersbui^,  we  may  suppose 
that  Spanberg  at  least  was  satisiiud  that  the  information  obtained  by  Gvozdef 
and  Fedorof  was  satisfactoiy.  Spanberg  found  in  addition  to  two  dcpositionB 
jnade  to  Gvozdef  on  the  subject  an  original  journal  kept  by  Fcdorof  alone, 
*for  his  own  personal  remembrance.  *  With  the  lielp  of  this  document  a  chart 
was  compiled  by  Spanberg  under  Gvozdef *8  supervision,  illustrative  of  tho 
voyage  in  question.  The  chart  was  finally  transmitted  to  tho  admiralty 
college,  where  copies  were  executed,  but  the  original  can  no  longer  bo  found. 
In  his  journal  we  find,  after  a  detailed  accurate  description  of  the  Diomedo 
Islands,  leaving  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  their  identity,  an  entry  to  the  clTect 
that  after  saUing  from  the  mouth  of  tho  Anadir  River  they  steered  in  an  east- 
erly direction,  and  after  sailing  five  days  with  favorable  wind,  they  saw  land 
on  their  left  side  (northerly  side),  and  hoped  to  find  it  an  island.  They  made 
directly  for  this  land,  but  when  they  had  approached  within  half  a  vcrst, 
they  saw  that  it  was  not  an  island,  but  a  continent.  The  coast  vraa  »aud  and 
there  were  dwellings  on  the  shore,  and  a  number  of  people.  There  was  a^oo 
timber  on  this  land,  spruce  and  larch.  They  coasted  along  this  land,  keeping 
it  on  the  left  side  for  five  days,  and  then,  not  seeing  the  end  of  it,  they  did 
not  dare  to  go  any  farther  in  that  direction  because  the  wator  became  too 
shallow  for  their  small  craft.  The  same  statement  was  condniicd  in  tho 
deposition  of  Shurikhin,  a  member  of  the  expedition,  also  examined  by  Sjxin- 
berg.  Gvozdef,  Fedorof,  and  Shurikhin  agree  in  the  statement  tliat  tlio 
natives  of  the  *  continent'  used  skin  boats  covered  on  top  or  the  Eskimo's 
kiak,  which  is  found  only  on  the  American  side  of  the  strait.  Tiio  descrip- 
tion of  the  land  would  fit  well  tho  country  about  Norton  Sound,  the  only 
point  on  all  that  coast  where  the  timber  approaches  tho  shore.  1  ho  Hhailow 
water  found  going  to  the  southward,  would  also  indicate  that  tliey  approached 
the  remarkable  shoals  lying  off  the  mouths  of  the  Yukon  lUver.  iSoLoLoj\ 
liUoria;  Monikoi  Stbornik^  passim. 


42  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

and  as  they  would  not  listen  to  Pavlutzki's  summons 
to  obedience,  he  attacked  and  put  them  to  flight. 
About  the  last  of  June  another  battle  was  fought 
and  with  the  same  result.  After  a  rest  of  three  days 
the  march  toward  Chukotskoi  Noss  was  resumed,  but 
another  larger  body  of  natives  was  met  with  there  and 
a  third  battle  ensued,  during  which  some  articles  were 
recovered  which  had  been  in  possession  of  Shestakof. 
Pavlutzki  claimed  this  engagement,  also,  as  a  victory 
and  declared  his  total  loss  in  the  three  battles  to  have 
been  but  three  Russians,  one  Yukagir,  and  five  Ko- 
riaks  killed.  But  the  Chukchi  were  by  no  means 
subdued.  After  reaching  the  cape  the  expedition  re- 
turned across  the  country  in  a  south-easterly  direction 
and  in  October  reached  ostrog  Anadirskoi.*  Pav- 
lutzki finally  died  at  Yakutsk  with  the  rank  of  voivod. 
His  explorations  were  carried  on  w^ith  indomitable 
courage  and  rare  ability,  and  altogether  his  achieve- 
ments furnish  a  worthy  prelude  to  those  of  Bering 
and  Chirikof  a  few  years  later.  The  feat  of  marching 
across  the  country  of  the  warlike  Chukchi  was  not 
repeated  till  half  a  century  later,  when  a  party  under 
Billings,  not  as  an  army  defying  interference,  but  as 
an  humble  expedition,  were  suffered  to  pass  by  the 
insolent  natives,  who  robbed  them  at  every  step  with 
impunity. 

The  second  Kamchatka  expedition,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  empress  Elizabeth,  was  the  most 
brilliant  effort  toward  scientific  discovery  which  up 
to  this  time  had  been  made  by  any  government.*    It 

^  Mulkr'n  Vm/.,  11-15;  Coxe*8  Russian  Discoveries,  237;  Bumey^s  Chron, 
IIviL,  128-37,  lOCetseq. 

*  The  Bourcca  of  informatioD  ooncerning  this  expedition  are  Dnmeroas,  but 
not  altogether  satisfactory.  The  first  account,  brief  and  wholly  unreliable, 
was  published  by  the  Parisian  geographer  De  L'Isle,  in  1752,  in  a  pamphlet 
entitleil  E£}>Vtcation  de  la  Carte  des  Nouvelles  Decouvertes  au  Nord  de  la  Mer 
du  Sud.  In  1753  there  was  printed  at  Berlin,  also  in  French,  and  immedi- 
ately translated  into  English  and  German,  though  never  published  in  Russian, 
a  Lcttfr  of  a  liu^sian  Aaval  Officer,  which  was  ascribed  to  Miiller,  who  con- 
tradicted the  statements  of  De  L'Isle,  and  gave  his  own  version.  Engel,  in 
his  Geo^jraphische  und  Kritische  XachridUai,  ii.  44,  47,  endeavors  to  prove 


ARCTIC  GEOGRAPHY.  43 

must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Siberia,  discovered  and 
named  by  the  Cossacks  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
was  in  the  earUer  part  of  the  eighteenth  but  little 
known  to  European  Russia,  and  the  region  round 

MiiUer  to  be  the  author  of  the  letter.  In  1758  Miiller  published  a  volume 
entitled  Vot/agea  and  Discoveries  of  the  Bttssians  in  the  Arctic  Seaj  and  the 
Eastern  Ocean,  in  both  German  ana  Russian,  which  was  translated  into  Ii)ng- 
lish  in  1771,  and  into  French  in  1776.  The  volume  is  accompanied  by  maps, 
and  covers  the  entire  ground,  without,  however,  going  into  minor  details,  and 
'U'ithout  doing  justice  to  the  vast  work  performed  by  the  attendant  scientisto. 
This  waa  the  chief  authority  until  Sokolof  took  up  the  subject  in  a  lengthy 
communication  to  the  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskago  Departamenta  in  1851. 

In  18'JO  another  brief  description  of  the  expedition  was  furnished  by 
Sarychef,  under  the  title  of  Voyages  of  Russian  Naval  Officers  in  the  Arctic 
iSecM,  from  1734  ^o  -^7-^,  printed  in  vol.  iv.  of  the  publications  of  the  Russian 
admiralty  department.  In  the  mean  time  other  publications  connected  MiUi 
or  resulting  from  the  expedition,  though  not  treating  of  it,  appeared  at  vari- 
ous times,  such  as  the  Flora  Siberica,  by  Gmelin,  published  serially  between 
1749  and  1769;  A  Voyage  through  Siberia,  also  by  Gmelin,  in  1752;  A  his- 
tory of  Siberia,  under  the  title  ol  Sammlunq  russischer  geschichten,  by  Miiller, 
in  1733-6;  Description  of  the  KamchcUha  Country,  by  Krashcnnikof,  in  1755; 
History  of  Siberia,  by  Fisher,  in  1768  (this  was  in  German,  the  Russian 
translation  appearing  only  in  1774);  Description  of  the  KamchcUha  Country, 
by  Steller,  in  1774;  Journal  of  a  Vojagefrom  Kamchatka  to  America,  also  by 
S teller,  published  in  1793,  in  Pallas,  Ncue  Nord.  Ikitr. ;  A  Detailed  Descrip- 
tittH  of  the  Voyages  from  the  White  Sea  to  the  Gulf  of  Obi  appeared  in  the 
Fo^ir  Voyages  of  Lulke,  in  1826;  in  1841  Wrangell  published  a  Voyage  in 
Siberia,  with  frequent  allu&ions  to  the  second  Kamchatka  expedition.  A 
few  articles  on  the  results  of  the  expedition  in  the  fields  of  natural  history, 
astronomy,  and  history  appeared  in  papers  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences, and  the  documents  collected  by  Miiller  from  the  Siberian  archives  for 
his  history  of  Siberia  have  been  published  from  time  to  time  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  imperial  Russian  historical  and  archieological  commission.  The 
most  reliable  source  of  infonnation  upon  this  subject  has  been  found  in  the 
archives  of  the  Russian  naval  department.  The  documents  concerning  the 
doings  of  the  Bering  expedition  comprise  25  large  bundles  of  over  30,000 
pages;  these  documents  extend  over  a  period  of  17  years,  between  1730  and 
1747.  The  archives  of  the  hydrograpnic  department  of  the  Russian  navy 
contain  the  journals  of  navigation  of  nearly  all  the  vessels  engaged,  all  in 
copies  only.  The  original  journals  and  maps  were  sent  in  1754  to  Irkutsk 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  Miatlef,  governor  of  Siberia,  with  a  view  to  a 
resumption  of  the  labors  of  the  expedition;  thence  the  papers  were  trans- 
ferred in  1759  to  Governor  Saimonof  at  Tobolsk,  and  they  were  finally  given 
to  Sokolof,  above  mentioned,  by  N.  N.  Muravief,  governor  general  of  eastern 
Siberia,  for  the  purpose  of  writing  an  account  of  the  expedition.  The  greater 
part  of  thes^  documents  were  copies  made  by  pupils  of  the  naval  corps  of 
cadets  and  of  the  nautical  academy,  and  though  written  clearly  and  care- 
fully, they  are  full  of  egregious  errors.  The  collection  comprises  over  60 
manuscript  volumes.  The  copies  of  the  oiiginal  maps  accompanying  the 
journals  were  also  carelessly  made.  In  the  archives  and  library  of  tlie 
imperial  academy  there  exists  tbe  so-called  *Muller  Portfolio,' containing  a 
large  number  of  reports,  letters,  and  journals  of  mcmlHii-s  of  the  aca<lciny 
accompanying  the  expedition,  writt^-n  in  Kup.sian,  Froncli,  Oennan,  an<l  L-itin. 
Tbe  only  naval  journal  found  in  this  collection  was  kept  ))v  MavSter  Khi.n^f, 
and  is  the  most  valuable  thing  in  the  porliolio.  Sokolof's  account  of  tlie 
B«icond  Kamchatka  expedition  \yc'j;ms  wiih  the  f.'.Uouiii'r  dedication  of  his 
work  to  Vc'jcr  the  Great:  *To  thee  I  dedicate  ihid  woi'k,  to  thee  v.ithout 


44  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

Kamchatka  scarcely  at  all.  The  maps  of  the  day 
were  problematical.  The  semi-geographical  mission 
of  the  surveyors  Lushin  and  Yevreinof  to  the  Kurile 
Islands  in  1719-21  had  been  barren  of  results.  The 
first  expedition  of  Bering  from  1725  to  1730  had 
advanced  along  the  river  routes  to  Okhotsk,  thence 
by  sea  to  Kamchatka,  and  northward  to  the  straits 
subsequently  named  after  him,  but  made  few  discov- 
eries of  importance,  determining  the  astronomical 
positions  of  points  and  places  only  by  latitude  without 
longitude,  but  revealing  the  trend  of  the  Kamchatka 
coast  to  the  northward.  The  expedition  of  Shestakof 
from  1727  to  1732  was  more  of  a  military  nature, 
and  resulted  in  little  Scientific  information.  The  ex- 
ploration of  Hens,  Fedorof,  and  Gvozdef,  made  about 
the  same  time,  was  scarcely  more  satisfactory  in  its 
results,  though  it  served  to  confirm  some  things  re- 
ported by  Bering  during  his  first  voyage. 

Kussia  wished  to  know  more  of  this  vast  uncovered 
region,  wished  to  map  its  boundaries,  and  mark  off 
her  claim.  The  California  coast  had  been  explored 
as  far  as  Cape  Mendocino,  but  over  the  broad  area 
thence  to  the  Arctic  there  still  hung  the  great  North- 
ern Mystery,'^  with  its  Anian  Strait,  and  silver  moun- 
tains, and  divers  other  fabulous  tales.  The  northern 
provinces  of  Japan  were  likewise  unknown  to  the 
enlightened  world;  and  now  the  Muscovite,  who  had 
sat  so  long  in  deep  darkness,  would  teach  even  the 
Celt  and  Saxon  a  thing  or  two. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  Bering  from  his  first  expe- 
dition, namely,  on  the  30th  of  April  1730,  the  com- 
mander presented  to  the  empress  two  letters  called 
by   him,    "  Proposals   for   the   Organization   of   the 

1%'hom  it  would  not  exist,  since  the  discoveries  described  in  the  same  are  the 
fruit  of  the  great  ideas  conceived  by  tliee,  the  benefactor,  father,  and  organizer 
of  this  vast  empire;  to  thee  are  thy  subjects  indebted  for  law,  good  order,  and 
influence  -within  and  without,  as  well  as  for  morality,  knowledge,  and  every- 
thing else  that  makes  a  nation  fortunate  and  important.*  Zapwki  HydrogrcLfi" 
cfieshifjo  Departamentay  ix.  109. 

*  For  a  full  exposition  of  which  see  IlisL  Northwest  Coast,  i.,  and  Hist,  CaL^ 
L,  passim,  this  series. 


iT^ 


SCIENTISTS  IN  SIBERIA.  ^-        4» 

Okhotsk  and  Kamchatka  country,"  and  advised  an"" 
immediate  discovery  of  routes  to  America  and  Japan 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  commercial  relations 
with  these  countries.  He  also  recommended  that  the 
northern  coast  of  the  empire  between  the  rivers  Ob 
and  Lena  be  thoroughly  explored.*  The  organization 
of  the  country  already  known,  commanded  the  first 
attention  of  the  empress,  to  which  end  she  issued,  on 
the  10th  of  May  1731,  an  oukaz  ordering  the  former 
chief  prokurovj  or  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  senate, 
Skomiakof  Pisaref,  then  in.  exile,  to  assume  control  of 
the  extreme  eastern  country,  and  be  furnished  with 
the  necessary  means  to  advance  its  interests.  The 
residence  of  the  new  official  was  to  be  Okhotsk,  to 
which  point  laborers  and  settlers  were  to  be  sent  from 
Yakutsk,  together  with  a  boat-builder,  three  mates, 
and  a  few  mechanics.^  The  exile-governor  did  not 
however  long  hold  his  position.  Scarcely  had  he 
assumed  office  when  the  second  Kamchatka  expedi- 
tion was  decided  upon  and  Vitus  Bering  received  the 
supreme  command  of  all  the  territory  included  in  his 
explorations. 

At  that  time  several  circumstances  combined  to 
carry  forward  the  plans  of  Bering  to  their  highest 
consummation.  The  empire  was  at  peace  and  the 
imperial  cabinet  was  presided  over  by  Count  Oster- 
mann,  who  had  formerly  been  secretary  of  Admiral 
Cruce,  and  had  devoted  considerable  attention  to  naval 
affairs.  In  the  senate  the  expedition  was  earnestly 
supported  by  the  chief  secretary  Kirilof;  in  the  ad- 
miralty college  Count  Golovin  presided  as  the  ruling 

*  Appendix -to  Sokolof 'b  Second  Expedition.  ZapisH  Hydrograficlieahigo 
Departamenta,  iz.  434. 

^  Grigor  Skorniakof  Pisaref  was  appointed  to  command  Okhotsk  as  an  in- 
dex^endent  district.  His  annual  salary  was  fixed  at  300  rubles,  100  Dushels  of 
rye  meal,  and  100  buckets  of  brandy.  This  individual  had  a  checkered 
career.  In  1715  he  was  a  captain  in  the  Preobrashenski  lifeguards,  and 
Attached  to  the  academy  of  naval  artillery;  in  1710,  he  was  made  coinman- 
der  of  tUe  naval  academy;  in  1720  he  published  a  book,  Pmctical  Manual  of 
StaUnticB  and  Mrchanies;  in  1722  he  was  made  *  chief  prokuror'  of  the  senate; 
in  1723  be  was  relieved  from  the  academy  by  Captain  Narishkin;  in  1727,  iie 
was  punished  with  the  knout  and  sent  to  Siberia  as  an  exile.  Morskoi  tSoor- 
mt,  I  11,  17. 


46  THS  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

spirit,  while  the  prokuror  was  Saimonof,  the  rival  of 
Kirilof.  The  foreign  members  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  in  order  to  preserve  their  prestige,  were 
looking  about  for  fields  of  activity,  anxious  to  serve 
their  new  fatherland.  The  spirit  of  Peter  the  Great 
was  yet  alive  among  the  leading  subjects  of  the 
empire;  his  plans  were  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of 
men,  and  all  were  eager  to  execute  his  progressive 
purposes.  And  soon  all  Siberia  was  flooded  with  men 
of  science  searching  out  things  both  larger  and  smaller 
than  sables,  and  throwing  Cossack  and  promyshlenik 
completely  into  the  shade.  By  toilsome  processes 
the  necessary  means  of  subsistence  and  materials 
were  collected  at  the  central  stations  throughout 
Siberia,  and  along  the  thirteen  hundred  leagues  of  Arc- 
tic sea-coast  were. placed  at  various  points  magazines 
of  supplies  for  explorers.  From  six  to  seven  months 
were  sometimes  occupied'  m  transporting  from  the 
forest  to  the  seaports  trees  for  ship-building.  And 
many  and  wide-spread  as  were  the  purposes,  every 
man  had  his  place.  To  every  scientist  was  given  hia 
work  and  his  field,  to  every  captain  the  river  he  was  to 
reconnoitre,  or  the  coast  he  was  to  explore.  And  when 
the  appointed  time  came  there  set  forth  simultane- 
ously, from  all  the  chief  river-mouths  in  Siberia,  like 
birds  of  passage,  little  exploring  expeditions,  to  begin 
their  battle  with  the  ice  and  the  morass.  Some  brought 
their  work  to  a  quick  and  successful  issue;  others 
encountered  the  sternest  difficulties. 

But  the  adventures  which  chiefly  concern  us  are 
those  pointing  toward  the  American  continent,  which 
were  indeed  the  central  idea  of  all  these  undertakings, 
and  by  far  the  most  important  outcome  from  this 
Siberian  invasion  by  the  scientists.  Before  embark- 
ing on  the  first  great  eastern  voyage  of  discovery,  let 
us  glance  at  the  personnel  of  the  expedition. 

Captain-commander  Ivan  Ivanovich  Bering,  so  the 
Russians  called  him,  notwithstanding  his  baptismal 
name  of  Vitus,  was  a  Dane  by  birth,  as  I  have  said,  who 


PETER*S  INSTRUCTIONS.  47 

had  been  in  the  Russian  naval  service  about  thirty 
years,  advancing  gradualljfrom  the  rank  of  sub-lieuten- 
ant since  1704.  He  was  strong  in  body  and  clear  of 
mind  even  when  nearly  sixty;  an  acknowledged  man 
of  intelligence,  honesty,  and  irreproachable  conduct, 
though  in  his  later  years  he  displayed  excessive  care- 
fulness and  indecision  of  character,  governed  too  much 
by  temper  and  caprice,  and  submitting  too  easily  to  the 
influence  of  subordinates.  This  may  have  been  the  effect 
of  a^,  or  of  disease;  but  whatever  the  cause,  he  was 
rendered  thereby  less  fit  to  command,  especially  so  im- 
portant and  hazardous  an  adventure  in  so  inhospitable 
a  region  as  Siberia  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  He  had  been  selected  by  Peter  the  Great 
to  command  the  first  expedition  upon  the  representa- 
tions of  admirals  Seniavin  and  Sievers,  because  "  he 
had  been  to  India  and  knew  all  the  approaches  to  that 
country."®     After  his  return  he  had  advanced  gradu- 

'  In  the  arcluveB  of  the  admiralty  coimcil  in  St  PeteiBbnig  there  is  Btill 
preserved  a  manuscript  copy  of  tho  original  instmctions  indited  by  Peter  the 
Gnsat  for  the  first  Bering  expedition.  The  instructions  were  finally  promul- 
gated by  the  admiralty  college,  or  perhaps  by  Count  Apraxin,  and  had  been 
corrected  in  the  great  tsar's  own  handwriting,  to  read  as  follows: 

'  1.  To  select  such  surveyors  as  have  been  in  Siberia  and  have  returned 
thence;  upon  which,  at  request  of  the  senate,  the  following  surveyors  were 
ordered  to  the  province  of  Siberia:  Ivan  Evreinof  (died),  Feodor  Lushin, 
Peter  Skobeltzin,  Ivan  Svostunof,  Dmitri  Baskakof,  Vassili  Shetilof,  and 
Grigor  Pntilof. 

'  2.  To  select  from  naval  lientenants  or  second  lieutenants,  such  as  are  fit  to 
be  sent  to  Siberia  and  Kamchat^.  In  the  opinion  of  Vice-admiral  Sievers  and 
Contre-admiral  Seniavin,  the  most  desirable  individuals  of  that  class  were  lieu- 
tenants Stanbeig  (Spanberg?),  Zveref  or  Kessenkof,  and  the  sub-lieutenants 
Chirikof  and  Laptiei.  It  would  not  be  bad  to  place  over  these  as  commander 
either  Captain  ^ring  or  Von  Vcrd;  Bering  has  been  to  East  India  and  knows 
the  ront^  and  Von  Verd  was  his  mate. 

'  3.  To  select  from  the  master-mechanics  or  apprentices  such  as  are  able  to 
bnild  a  decked  boat  according  to  our  model  used  with  big  ships;  and  for  the  same 
purpose  to  select  four  carpenters  with  their  instruments,  as  young  as  possible, 
andTone  quartermaster  and  eight  sailors.  The  boat-builder  apprentice,  Feo- 
dor Kozlof,  has  all  the  required  qualifications,  being  able  to  draught  plans  of 
decked  boats  and  to  build  them.  (In  Peter  tho  Great's  own  handwriting: 
It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  some  mate  or  second  mate  who  has  been  to 
Korth  America.) 

'  4.  The  usual  complement  of  sails,  blocks,  ropes  etc.,  and  four  falconets, 
with  the  necessary  anmianition,  should  be  increased  by  ludf— doubled,  in 
Peter's  own  handwriting. 

*  5.  If  such  a  mate  cannot  be  found  in  the  fleet  it  is  necessary  to  write  im- 
mediately to  Holland  for  two  men,  experienced  navigators  in  the  Northern  or 
Japan  seas,  and  to  forward  them  at  once  by  way  of  AnadirdL.    Vice-admiral 


48  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONa 

ally  to  the  rank  of  captain-commander,  and  had  re- 
ceived a  cash  reward  of  a  thousand  rubles,  an  amount 
commonly  granted  at  that  time  to  envoys  returning 
from  distant  countries.  He  was  now  anxious  to  ob- 
tain the  rank  of  contre-admiral  for  his  long  services 
and  discoveries.  The  admiralty  college  made  repre- 
sentations to  that  effect  to  the  imperial  cabinet,  but  no 
reply  was  received.® 

Next  in  command,  appointed  Avith  Bering,  and  who 
had  served  as  junior  officer  on  the  first  expedition,  and 
now  a  captain,  was  Alexei  Ilich  Chirikof,  one  of  the 
best  officers  of  his  day,  the  pride  and  hope  of  the  fleet. 
Russian  historians  are   perhaps  a  little  inclined  to 

SieveiB  promises  to  forward  these  men  immediately  if  they  can  be  found  in 
the  imperial  fleet  Another  addition  in  Peter's  own  handwriting:  The  rig- 
ging may  be  omitted,  the  rest  is  all  right.  Signed  on  the  23d  of  December, 
1724.' 

'  Berg  in  his  researches  into  Siberian  history  fomid  several  documents 
giving  biographical  details  concerning  Bering  and  his  family,  which  may  be 
of  some  interest  to  the  reader.  He  had  with  him  in  Siberia  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, two  sons  named  Thomas  and  Unos,  who  were  still  alive  in  the  city  of 
Ilevcl  wlien  Sokolof  wrote  his  history  of  the  expedition.  The  wife,  .Ajm& 
Matvcicvna,  w^as  a  young  and  lively  woman  and  apparently  not  without  influ- 
ence; possibly  a  little  unscrupulous.  At  all  events  it  is  known  that  in  conse- 
quence of  certain  rumors  the  senate  issued  an  order  in  September  1738  to 
keep  an  eye  on  the  wife  of  Captain-commander  Bering,  then  on  her  way  from 
Siberia,  as  well  as  on  other  members  of  the  expedition  al)out  to  return,  and 
to  detail  for  the  purpose  an  *able  man.*  This  supervision  was  proved  to  bo 
necessary  on  the  Siberian  frontier,  as  it  appeared  that  the  lady  carried  in  her 
baggage  a  large  quantity  of  furs  and  government  property.  However,  on  her 
arrival  at  Moscow  she  surrendered  everything,  made  a  few  presents  to  the 
customs  oflicials,  and  hurried  to  St  Petersburg,  where  she  informed  the  in- 
Bi)ectors  that  she  did  not  belong  to  Siberia  but  to  St  Petersburg.  In  1744, 
wlieu  she  asked  for  a  widow's  x)en8ion,  or  the  award  of  her  husband's  salary 
for  oue  year,  she  declared  that  she  was  39  years  of  age;  and  in  1750,  when  she 
again  petitioned  for  a  pension,  her  age  was  given  as  40 — not  an  uncom- 
mon mistake  made  by  ladies.  As  characteristic  of  Bering's  mind,  Sokolof 
T)ro<luces  a  letter  written  by  him  to  Lieutenant  Planting,  who  at  that  timo» 
1738,  was  (juarrclling  witli  the  commander  of  the  port  of  Okhotsk,  Pisaref. 
'You  know  yourself  better  than  I  what  kind  of  a  man  Pisaref  is,'  he  writes. 
•It  is  always  Ixjtter  when  a  rabid  dog  is  alx)ut,  to  get  out  of  his  way  in  order 
not  to  be  bitten  when  it  is  none  of  our  business.  You  are  yourself  somewhat 
to  blame,  and  perhaps  you  think  that  as  an  oflicer  you  are  exempt  from  pun- 
ishment, but  if  Captaiu -commander  Villebois  was  your  commander,  you  would 
have  been  punished  though  you  are  an  officer.  I  know  not  under  what  weak 
coinman(l(?r8  you  have  served  to  cause  you  to  act  as  you  do;  remember  this 
and  take  care  of  yourBclf  in  the  future,  if  you  would  avoid  a  sore  head.  No- 
])0<ly  knows  liia  fate,  perhaps  you  will  be  an  admiral  yet,  as  has  happened 
to  Nikf)lai  Fedorovich  CJolovin,  president  of  the  admiralty  college,  but  for- 
merly ho  was  only  a  aub-licu tenant  under  my  command;  and  look  at  Shafirof» 
wliat  honors  have  been  l)e8towed  ujwn  him,  oceording  to  our  latest  letters. 
IMsarct  'n  fato  in  fortunately  hidden  from  him.  That  may  be  your  consolation.* 
Zap.  JJt/Ur.,  ix.  iiOO^lO. 


BERING  AXD  HIS  OFFICERS.  49 

magnify  the  faults  of  Bering  the  Dane  as  v/ell  as  the 
merits  of  Chirikof  the  Russian.  The  latter  they  say- 
was  well  educated,  courageous,  and  straightforward, 
bright  of  intellect  as  well  as  thoughtful,  and  whose 
kind  heart  the  exigencies  of  the  cruel  naval  service  had 
never  been  able  wholly  to  debase.  He  had  graduated 
from  the  naval  academy  in  1721,  and  had  been  at  once 
promoted  to  a  sub-lieutenancy,  skipping  the  rank  of 
midshipman.  He  was  at  first  attached  to  the  fleet, 
but  subsequently  received  an  appointment  at  the  naval 
acadenjy  as  instructor  of  the  marines  of  the  guard. 
V  While  in  that  position  he  was  presented  to  Peter  the 
Great  by  Sievers  and  Seniavin  as  one  of  the  oflScers 
selected  to  join  the  first  Bering  expedition.  He  was 
placed  under  the  immediate  command  of  Bering,  to- 
gether with  Spanberg,  in  1725.  Before  setting  out 
he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant,  and  gave  evidence 
throughout  the  expedition  of  great  courage  and  com- 
mon-sense. On  his  return  in  1730  he  was  made  a 
captain-lieutenant;  two  years  later,  in  1732,  he  was 
again  promoted  and  made  full  captain,  "  not  by  sen- 
iority but  on  account  of  superior  knowledge  and 
worth,"  as  they  said.  At  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment he  was  on  special  duty  at  Kazan,  and  he  re- 
turned to  St  Petersburg  only  a  few  days  before  the 
departure  of  the  expedition  in  February  1733;  but 
he  still  found  time  to  give  most  valuable  assistance  in 
framing  the  final  instructions.^^ 

The  third  in  command  was  Captain  Martin  Petrovich 
Spanberg,  a  countryman  of  Bering,  a  native  of  Den- 

>^  It  is  remaiicable  that  in  all  the  accounts  of  quarrels  between  the  heada  of 
the  variouB  detachments  of  scientists  and  naval  officers  8er\'ing  under  Bering's 
command,  the  name  of  Chirikof  is  never  found.  He  seems  to  have  had  the  good- 
will of  every  one  and  escaped  all  complaints  from  superiors;  he  had  with 
him  in  Siberia  a  wife  and  daughter.  On  his  return  from  the  American  coast 
be  lived  in  the  town  of  Yenisseisk,  suffering  from  consumption  until  174G;  in 
that  year  he  was  ordered  to  St  Petersburg,  and  upon  his  arrival  was  aeain 
appointed  to  the  naval  academy.  In  the  same  year  he  was  transferred  to 
Moscow  to  look  after  some  naval  affidrs  of  fmportanoe,  and  on  that  occasion 
he  made  several  propositions  for  the  organization  of  further  exploring  expe- 
ditions. He  died  in  1747  with  rank  of  captain-commander,  ilorskoi  iibor- 
nil:,  iv.  213-14. 

Hxar.  AxosxA.    4 


so  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

mark.  It  is  not  known  when  he  entered  the  Husslan 
service,  but  he  accompanied  the  first  expedition  as 
senior  oflScer.  He  was  illiterate,  with  a  reckless  au- 
dacity, rough,  and  exceedingly  cruel,  avaricious  and 
selfish,  but  strong  in  mind,  body,  and  purpose,  of  great 
energy,  and  a  good  seaman.  His  bad  reputation  ex- 
tended over  all  Siberia,  and  was  long  preserved  in  the 
memory  of  the  people.  Sibiriaks  feared  him  and  his 
wanton  oppression.  Some  of  them  thought  him  a 
great  general,  while  others  called  him  an  escaped  ex- 
ecutioner. He  was  always  accompanied  by  a  dog  of 
huge  dimensions,  which  it' was  said  would  tear  people 
to  pieces  at  his  master's  command.  Chirikof  thought 
him  possessed  of  some  sparks  of  a  noble  ambition,  but 
all  was  put  down  by  his  subordinates  to  a  love  of 
tyranny.  His  knowledge  of  the  Russian  language  was 
exceedingly  limited.  Having  been  made  a  captain- 
lieutenant  during  the  first  expedition,  he  was  now  a 
captain,  like  Chirikof,  but  higher  on  the  list  Little 
is  said  of  his  share  in  the  work  performed  by  the  expe- 
dition, but  his  name  occurs  in  hundreds  of  complaints 
and  petitions  from  victims  of  his  licentioucness,  cruelty, 
and  avarice.  He  was  just  the  man  to  become  rich. 
On  his  return  from  Siberia  he  brought  with  him  a 
thousand  yards  of  army  cloth,  a  thousand  bales  of  fur, 
and  whole  herds  of  horses.  He  carried  to  Siberia 
his  wife  and  son,  and  they  accompanied  him  at  sea.^^ 
Such  is  the  character  of  the  man  as  presented  by 
Russian  authorities,  which  are  all  we  have  on  the 
subject.  Again  it  will  be  noticed  that  while  Chirikof, 
the  Russian,  is  highly  praised,  Spanberg,  the  Dane, 
is  roundly  rated,  and  we  may  make  allowance  accord- 
ingly- 

"  He  returned  to  St  Petersburg  from  Siberia  without  orders  in  1745,  and 
was  promptly  placed  under  arrest  and  remanded  for  trial.  His  sentence  was 
death,  but  in  the  mean  time  other  charges  had  been  preferred,  based  upon  com- 
plaints of  the  people  of  Siberia,  and  the  sentence  was  postponjBil.  Aft<3r  many 
delays  he  was  released  at  the  request  of  the  Danish  ambassador.  In  1749  ho 
was  given  the  command  of  a  newly  constructed  man-of-war,  which  foundered 
on  leaving  the  harbor  of  Arkhangelsk;  for  this  he  was  a^ain  tried  by  court- 
martial  nnd  again  acquitted.  He  died  at  last  in  17G1,  with  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain of  the  first  class.  Sokolof,  in  Zap.  IJydr,,  ix.  215-2G. 


THE  GREAT  MAP-MAKER.  51 

Of  the  other  officers  of  the  expedition  there  18  not 
much  to  be  said,  as  they  were  not  prominently  con- 
nected with  the  discovery  of  the  American  coast. 
Lieutenant  Walton,  the  companion  of  Spanberg,  was 
an  Englishman  who  had  entered  the  Russian  service 
only  two  years  before.  Midshipman  Schelting  was  an 
illegitimate  son  of  Contre-admiral  Petrovski,  a  Hol- 
lander. He  was  twenty-five  years  of  age  and  had 
been  attached  to  the  fleet  only  two  years.  Lieutenant 
Lassenius,  the  senior  officer  of  the  Arctic  detach- 
ments, who  was  instructed  to  explore  the  coast  beyond 
the  Lena  river,  was  a  Dane.  He  had  also  but  recently 
entered  the  Russian  service.  According  to  Gmelin 
he  was  a  skilful  and  experienced  officer;  later  he  was 
relieved  by  Lieutenant  Laptief,  also  an  old  lieutenant 
who  had  been  recommended  to  Peter  the  Great  for 
the  first  expedition  as  a  considerate  and  courageous 
man.  The  less  said  of  the  morals  of  any  of  these 
mariners  the  better.  Neither  the  age  nor  the  nation 
was  conspicuous  for  justice  or  refinement.  Drinking 
and  gambling  were  among  the  more  innocent  amuse- 
ments, at  least  in  the  eyes  of  the  sailors,  among  whom 
were  the  most  hardened  villains  that  could  be  picked 
out  from  the  black  sheep  of  the  naval  service.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  an  almost  brutal  discipline  was 
sometimes  necessary,  but  the  practice  of  it  was  com- 
mon. In  regard  to  honesty,  we  must  not  suppose  that 
the  appropriation  of  public  property  by  officers  of  the 
government  was  then  regarded  as  a  greater  crime  than 
now. 

Upon  the  request  of  the  senate  the  imperial  acad- 
emy had  instructed  its  member,  Joseph  de  L'Isle, 
to  compile  a  map  of  Kamchatka  and  adjoining  coun- 
tries; but  not  satisfied  with  this,  the  senate  demanded 
the  appointment  of  an  astronomer  to  join  the  expedi- 
tion accompanied  by  some  students  advanced  in  astron- 
omy, and  two  or  three  versed  in  mineralogy.  Two 
volunteers  for  this   service  were  found  among  the 


C2  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

academicians,  Johann  Gmclin,  professor  of  chemistry 
and  natural  history,  and  Louis  de  L'Isle  do  la  Croyfere, 
a  brother  of  the  map-maker  and  professor  of  astron- 
omy. These  were  joined  by  a  third,  Gerhard  Miiller, 
professor  of  history  and  geography.  The  senate 
accepted  these,  but  ordered  further  twelve  students 
from  the  Slavo-Latin  school  at  Moscow  to  be  trained 
in  the  academy  for  the  proposed  expedition.  The 
admiralty  college  urged  the  necessity  of  extending 
the  exploration  over  the  whole  northern  coast  of 
Siberia,  and  it  was  then  that  were  appointed  as  com- 
manders subordinate  to  Bering,  Spanberg,  and  Chi- 
rikof,  one  lieutenant,  three  sub-lieutenants,  and  a 
command  of  servants  and  soldiers  numbering  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-seven  in  all.  A  few  members  of  the 
college  pro]30sed  to  send  the  whole  expedition  to  the 
coast  of  Kamchatka  round  the  world  by  sea,  the 
earliest  plan  toward  circumnavigation  conceived  by  a 
Russian;  but  their  counsel  did  not  prevail." 

The  command  of  the  proposed  expedition  to  Japan 
was  given  to  Captain  Spanberg,  assisted  by  Lieuten- 
ant Walton  and  Midshipman  Schelting.  The  explor- 
ation of  the  northern  coast  was  intrusted  to  lieutenants 
Muravief  and  Pavlof;  lieutenants  Meygin,  Skuratof, 
and  Ovtzin  were  also  appointed  but  subsequently  re- 
lieved by  Masters  Minnin,  Pronchishchef,  and  Las- 
senius.  The  two  latter  died  and  were  replaced  by  two 
brothers,  the  lieutenants  Hariton  and  Dmitri  Laptief. 
Another  detail  consisted  of  three  lieutenants,  Waxel, 
Plunting,  and  Endogarof,  four  masters,  twelve  master's 
mates,  ship  and  boat  builders,  three  surgeons,  nine 
assistant  surgeons,  a  chaplain,  six  monks,  commissaries, 
navigators,  a  number  of  cadets  and  sailors,  all  num- 
bering five  hundred  and  seventy  men.  From  the 
academy  the  final  appointments  were  the  naturalist 
Gmelin  and  the  historian  Miiller,  who  were  subse- 
quently relieved  by  Stellor  and  Fisher;  the  a.stronomcr 

'^Both  Berg,  in  his  LiirAof  Admirah,  ii.  238,  and  Gmclin,  in  his  Voyage 
ill  Siberia,  mako  mention  of  these  proposals. 


SOMETHING  OF  THE  SCIENTISTS.  53 

I 

De  Li'Isle  de  la  Crojhre,  with  five  students,  four  sur- 
veyors, who  were  increased  in  Siberia  by  four  more, 
an  interpreter,  an  instrument-maker,  two  artists,  and 
a  special  escort  of  fourteen  men.  An  engineer  and 
architect  named  Frederick  Stael  was  also  attached  to 
the  expedition  for  the  construction  of  roads  and  har- 
bors, but  he  died  on  his  way  to  Siberia. 

Miiller  and  Gmelin  were  both  young  men,  the  first 
being  twenty-eight  and  the  other  twenty-four.  They 
were  learned  and  enthusiastic  German  scientists  who 
had  come  to  Kussia  several  years  before,  one  as  a 
doctor  of  medicine  and  professor  of  chemistry  and 
natural  history,  the  other  as  professor  of  history  and 
geography.  Both  attained  distinction  in  the  scientific 
world.  De  L'Isle  de  la  Croy^re  was  also  well  edu- 
cated, though  conspicuous  rather  as  a  lover  of  good 
eating  and  drinking,  than  as  a  learned  man.^' 

Another  scientific  member  of  the  expedition,  who 
joined  it  somewhat  later,  was  George  Wilhelm  Steller. 
He  was  born  in  Winsheim,  Franconia,  on  the  lOth 
of  March  1709.  He  studied  theology  and  natural 
science  in  the  universities  of  Wittenberg,  Leipsic,  and 
Jena,  and  settled  in  Halle,  devoting  himself  chiefly 
to  anatomy,  botany,  and  medicine.  He  proceeded  to 
Berlin  and  passed  a  brilliant  examination,  and  in  1734 
he  joined  the  Kussian  army  before  Dantzic,  doing 
duty  as  staff-surgeon.  In  December  he  was  sent  to 
St  Petersburg  with  a  ship-load  of  wounded  soldiers. 
Here  he  accepted  the  position  of  leib  medictis,  or.  body- 
surgeon  to  the  famous  bishop  of  Novgorod,  Theo- 
phanos  Prokopovich,  a  favorite  of  Peter  the  Great, 
and  with  him  he  remained  till  his  death,  except  when 
serving  in  Siberia. 

When  Bering  left  St  Petersburg  to  enter  upon  his 

^According  to  Bei^  and  Sokolof,  Gmelin  retained  to  his  own  country 
shortly  after  retnming  from  this  expedition  in  the  year  1749,  having  obtaincil 
his  final  diacliarge  from  the  Russian  service.  He  died  in  1755.  Miiller  w:.3 
appointed  historian  in  the  Academy  of  Science  in  1747;  from  1754  to  1705  he 
was  conference  secretary  of  the  academy;  in  1705  he  was  appointed  director 
of  the  Foundling  House  of  Moscow,  and  in  17CG  he  was  placed  in  charge  oi 
the  Moscow  archives  of  the  foreign  office.    He  died  in  1783. 


U  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

second  expedition,  Steller,  then  of  the  imperial  acad- 
emy, was  ordered  to  join  the  expedition  specially  to 
examine  the  natural  history  of  Kamchatka.  He 
reached  his  new  field  in  1738.  In  1740,  after  giving 
ample  proof  of  his  ability  and  energy  by  making  fre- 
quent and  valuable  shipments  of  specimens  for  the 
museum  of  the  academy,  he  forwarded  a  petition  to 
the  senate  for  permission  to  accompany  Lieutenant 
Spanberg  on  his  voyage  to  Japan.  While  awaiting 
an  answer  he  was  importuned  by  Bering  to  join  his 
expedition.  Steller  replied  that  in  the  absence  of 
orders  he  would  draw  upon  himself  the  displeasure 
of  the  authorities,  but  the  commander  said  he  would 
assume  all  responsibility  and  provide  him  with  an 
official  memorandum  to  that  effect,  and  a  regular  ap- 
pointment to  take  charge  of  the  department  of  natural 
science  in  his  expedition.  Steller  finally  consented, 
and  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  some  of  the  most  re- 
liable information  concerning  the  Russian  discoveries 
on  the  American  coast. ^* 

In  consideration  of  distance  and  privations  the 
empress  doubled  every  salary.  The  departure  of  the 
expedition  began  in  February  1733.  Bering  and 
Chirikof  were  instructed  to  build  at  Okhotsk  or  in 
Kamchatka,  wherever  it  was  most  convenient,  two 
vessels  of  the  class  then  called  packet-boats,  and  then 
to  proceed,  in  accordance  with  the  plans  of  Professor 
De  la  Croy^re,  without  separating,  to  the  exploration 
of  the,  American  coast,  which  was  supposed  to  lie  but 
a  short  distance  from  Kamchatka.  After  reaching 
that  shore  they  were  to  coast  southward  to  the  forty- 
fifth  parallel,  and  then  return  to  the  north,  crossing 

^*  These  scientists  had  a  way  of  marryiBg,  with  the  view  of  throwing  somo 
part  of  their  infelicities  upon  their  wives.  Steller  tried  it,  as  Mllller  and 
Fisher  had  done,  and  as  the  rough  old  sea-captains  used  to  do,  but  he  found 
his  wife  one  too  many  for  him.  She  was  the  widow  of  a  certain  Doctor  Mes- 
serchraidt,  and  daughter  of  a  Colonel  Von  Bochler,  and  did  not  at  all  object  to 
become  tlic  wife  of  the  rising  young  scientist,  but  to  go  to  Siberia,  Kamchatka, 
perhaps  to  the  north  pole,  was  quite  a  different  matter.  True,  she  promised 
him,  but  that  was  before  marriage,  which  of  course  did  not  count.  And  the 
sorrowful  Steller  was  ut  la«t  obliged  to  go  wifeless  to  his  ice-fields,  leaving  hia 
spouse  to  flirt  the  weary  hours  away  at  the  gay  capital.  Momhoi  Sbomih^  c.  145. 


ACROSS  SIBERIA.  d5 

back  to  Asia  at  Bering  Strait.  If  the  season  proved 
too  short  they  were  authorized  to  go  into  winter-quar- 
ters, and  conclude  the  work  the  following  season. 
Captain  Spanberg  was  to  proceed  from  Okhotsk  in 
the  direction  of  Japan  with  one  ship  and  two  sloops, 
beginning  his  explorations  at  the  Kurile  Islands.  In 
order  to  facilitate  the  progress  of  the  expedition  the 
local  Siberian  authorities  were  instructed  to  erect  on 
the  banks  of  the  principal  rivers,  and  on  the  Arctic, 
beacons  to  indicate  the  location  of  the  magazines  of 
provisions  and  stores  for  the  various  detachments,  and 
also  to  inform  all  the  nomadic  natives  of  Siberia  and 
the  promyshleniki,  that  they  must  assist  the  members 
of  the  expedition  as  far  as  lay  in  their  power. 

One  important  purpose  of  the  expedition  was  to 
discover  a  new  route  to.  the  Okhotsk  Sea  without 
passing  Yakutsk,  by  going  through  the  southern  dis- 
tricts of  Siberia,  and  striking  the  head-waters  of  the 
Yuda,  which  had  been  reported  navigable.  A  warn- 
ing was  attached  to  the  instructions  against  crossing 
the  Amoor,  "in  order  not  to  awaken  the  suspicions  of 
the  Chinese  government."  The  academicians  Gmelin 
and  Miiller  were  intrusted  with  the  exploration  of 
the  interior  of  Siberia  and  Kamchatka,  assisting  each 
other  in  their  researches,  and  making  a  general  geo- 
graphical survey  with  the  assistance  of  the  cadet  en- 
gineers attached  to  their  detachment.  Croyfere,  with 
some  of  the  students  who  had  been  in  training  at 
the  observatory  of  the  academy  for  several  years,  was 
to  make  astronomical  observations  along  the  route 
of  progress,  and  accompany  Bering  to  the  coast  of  • 
America.  He  was  granted  great  liberty  of  action,  and 
furnished  with  ample  means,  the  best  instruments  to 
be  obtained  at  that  time,  and  a  numerous  escort  of 
soldiers  and  laborers. 

It  was  an  unknown  country  to  which  they  were 
all  going,  and  for  an  unknown  time.  The  admiralty 
college  had  thought  six  years  sufficient,  but  niort 
were  going  for  sixteen  years,  and  many  forever.     Bo- 


56  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

sides  nearly  all  the  officers,  a  number  of  the  rank  and 
file  were  taking  with  them  their  wives  and  children. 
Lieutenant  Ovtzin  and  one  naval  officer  were  the  first 
to  leave  for  Kazan  in  order  to  begin  their  prepara- 
tions. Captain  Spanberg  with  ten  mechanics  set  out 
next  to  erect  temporary  buildings  along  the  road  and 
in  the  towns  of  Siberia,  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
expedition.  In  March  1733  other  members  took  their 
departure,  followed  by  lengthy  caravans  loaded  with 
supplies  from  the  storehouses  of  the  admiralty.  The 
scientists  from  the  academy  tarried  in  St  Petersburg 
till  August,  and  then  proceeded  to  Kazan  to  join  their 
companions.  At  the  beginning  of  winter  the  whole 
force  had  advanced  as  far  as  Tobolsk,  where  they  went 
into  winter-quarters.  In  the  spring  of  1734  the  ex- 
pedition embarked  on  small  vessels  built  during  the 
winter  on  the  rivers  Ob,  Irtish,  and  Yenissei.  The 
main  body  arrived  at  Yakutsk  in  the  summer  of  1735, 
after  having  wintered  at  some  point  beyond  Irkutsk. 
Bering  himself  had  proceeded  by  land  from  Tobolsk 
and  reached  Yakutsk  in  October  1734,  in  advance  of 
nearly  all  his  assistants.  Here  the  winter  was  again 
utilized  for  the  construction  of  boats,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1735  the  lieutenants  Pronchishchef  and  Lassenius 
proceeded  northward  down  the  Lena  River,  with  the 
intention  of  sailing  eastward  along  the  Arctic  coast. 
The  transportation  of  men  and  stores  to  Okhotsk 
was  accomplished  partly  in  boats,  and  partly  on  horse- 
back over  a  rugged  chain  of  mountains.  This  proved 
to  be  the  most  laborious  part  of  the  journey.  Captain 
Spanberg  had  been  the  first  to  arrive  at  Okhotsk, 
having  travelled  in  advance  of  the  expedition;  but 
on  arrival  he  discovered,  to  his  dismay,  that  nothing 
had  been  done  by  the  local  commander  to  prepare  for 
the  reception  of  so  large  a  body.  Not  a  building  had 
been  erected,  not  a  keel  laid,  and  the  only  available 
logs  were  still  standing  in  the  forest.  Spanberg  went 
to  work  at  once  with  his  force  of  mechanics,  but  lack 
of  provisions  caused  frequent  interruptions  as  the  men 


YEARS  OF  PREPARATION  AND  TROUBLE.        67 

were  obliged  to  go  fishing  and  hunting.  After  a 
while  the  conoimander  of  the  Okhotsk  countrj^  Skor- 
niatof  Pisaref,  made  "his  appearance.  He  offered  no 
excuse  and  his  presence  did  not  mend  matters.  Pisa- 
ref and  Spanberg  had  both  been  invested  with  extra- 
ordinary powers,  independent  of  each  other,  and  both 
were  stubborn  and  inclined  to  quarrel.  The  former 
lived  in  a  fort  a  short  distance  up  the  river,  while 
the  latter  had  built  a  house  for  himself  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  where  he  intended  to  establish  the  port. 
Each  had  his  separate  command,  and  each  called  him- 
self the  senior  oflficer,  threatening  his  opponent  w^ith 
swift  annihilation.  Each  lorded  it  over  his  dependants 
and  exacted  abject  obedience,  and  we  may  well  im- 
agine that  the  subordinates  led  a  wretched  life. 

Bering  at  Yakutsk  encountered  much  the  same 
difficulties  as  Spanberg,  but  on  a  larger  scale.  His 
supplies  were  scattered  along  the  road  from  the  fron- 
tier of  Asia  to  Yakutsk  awaiting  transportation,  and 
the  most  urgent  appeals  to  the  Siberian  authorities 
failed  to  secure  the  requisite  means. ^*  It  had  been 
the  captain-commander's  intention  to  facilitate  his  in- 
tercourse with  the  natives  of  Kamchatka  by  means 
of  missionary  labor.  Immediately  after  his  return 
from  the  first  expedition,  he  had  petitioned  the  holy 

^  Sgibnef ,  in  his  History  of  KcxmcJuUka,  gives  the  reasons  for  the  delay. 
It  would  seem  after  all  that  government  was  none  too  rigorous  in  Siberia.  It 
appears  that  the  quarrels  between  Spanberg  and  Pisaref  were  preceded  by 
petty  altercations  between  the  latter  and  the  voivod  in  command  at  Yakutsk. 
As  early  as  1732  Pisaref  had  been  instructed  to  draw  all  necessary  8up{)lies 
from  Yakutsk,  but  the  voivod  Shadnvski  refused  to  give  him  anything. 
Pisaref  complained  to  the  governor  at  Irkutsk  and  received  an  oukaz  empow- 
ering him  to  confine  Shadovski  in  irons  until  he  issued  what  was  needed  for 
the  prosecution  of  work  at  Okhotsk.  Subsequently  another  oukaz  came  to 
Tobolsk  ordering  Shadovski  to  arrest  Pisaref,  which  was  no  sooner  done  than 
the  order  was  revoked.  Meanwhile  working  parties  were  forwarded  to 
Okhotsk  every  year,  but  want  of  provisions  forced  them  to  desert  before  any- 
thing had  be^  accomplished.  Numbers  of  these  workmen  died  of  starvation 
on  the  road.  Morshoi  Sbornikt  cv.  25-7.  Under  date  of  October  7,  1738,  an 
order  was  issued  from  the  chancellerv  of  Irkutsk  providing  for  the  preparation 
of  *  sea-Btores  *  for  the  Bering  expedition  in  Kamchatka.  The  quantity  was 
determined  to  the  i>ound,  as  well  as  the  quality,  and  special  instructions  wera 
given  for  the  manufacture  of  liquor  from  saraiia,  a  kind  of  fern,  and  for  its 
preservation  in  casks.  If  necessary,  the  whole  population  of  Kamcliatka  was 
to  be  eniployed  in  gathering  this  plant,  and  to  be  paid  for  their  labor  in 
tobacco.  Sgibnef,  in  Morshoi  Sbornik,  ci.  137-40. 


68  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

synod  for  missionaries  to  undertake  the  conversion  of 
the  Kamchatkans.  The  senate  promulgated  a  law- 
exempting  all  baptized  natives  of  that  country  for  tea 
years  from  the  payment  of  tribute  to  the  government. 
The  first  missionary  selected  for  the  new  field  was  the 
monk  Filevski,  a  great  preacher  and  pillar  of  the 
church,  but  before  reaching  Kamchatka  he  was 
arrested  on  the  river  Aldan,  for  assaulting  and  half 
killing  one  of  the  monks  of  his  suite,  and  for  refusing 
to  hold  divine  services  or  to  read  the  prayers  for  the 
imperial  family.  Religion  in  Siberia  had  seemingly 
run  mad.  After  his  arrival  in  Kamchatka  he  added 
much  to  the  general  confusion  by  acts  of  violence  and 
a  meddlesome  spirit,  which  stirred  up  strife  alike 
among  clergy  and  laity,  Russians  and  natives. 

The  position  of  Bering  was  exceedingly  trying;  on 
him  must  fall  the  odium  attending  the  faults  and 
misfortunes  of  them  all.  Throughout  the  journey, 
and  afterward  to  the  end,  complaints  were  forwarded 
to  Irkutsk,  Tobolsk,  and  St  Petersburg.  That  he 
was  a  foreigner  made  it  none  the  less  a  pleasure  for 
the  Russians  to  curse  him.  The  senate  and  admiralty 
college  were  exasperated  by  reason  of  the  slow  move- 
ment, being  ignorant  of  the  insurmountable  obstacles. 
First  among  the  accusers  was  the  infamous  Pisaref, 
who  charged  both  Bering  and  Spanberg  with  licen- 
tiousness and  "excessive  use  of  tobacco  and  brandy." 
He  reported  that  up  to  that  time,  1737,  nothing  had 
been  accomplished  for  the  objects  of  the  expedition, 
and  nothing  could  be  expected  beyond  loss  to  the 
imperial  treasury;  that  the  leaders  of  the  expedition 
had  come  to  Siberia  only  to  fill  their  pockets,  not 
only  Bering,  but  his  wife,  who  was  about  to  return  to 
Moscow;  and  that  Bering  had  received  valuable  pres- 
ents at  Irkutsk  from  contractors  for  supplies.  An- 
other officer  in  exile,  a  captain-lieutenant  of  the  navy, 
named  Kozantzof,  represented  that  Bering's  force  was 
in  a  state  of  anarchy,  that  all  its  operations  were 
carried  on  at  a  wasteful  expenditure,  and  that  in  his 


ATTITUDE  OF  AFFAIRS  IN  OKHOTSK.  50 

opinioa  nothing  would  come  of  it  all.  Spanberg  him- 
self began  to  refuse  obedience  to  Bering,  complaining 
bitterly  of  the  delay  in  obtaining  stores  for  his  voy- 
age to  Japan.  Bering's  immediate  assistant,  Chirikof, 
received  instructions  from  St  Petersburg  to  inquire 
into  some  of  these  complaints.  Another  of  the  oflScers 
of  the  expedition,  Blunting,  being  dissatisfied  with 
Bering's  non-interference  in  his  quarrel  with  Pisaref, 
insulted  the  former  and  was  tried  by  court-martial 
and  sentenced  to  the  ranks  for  two  months.  To  re- 
venge himself,  the  young  lieutenant  sent  charges 
to  St  Petersburg,  reflecting  on  Bering's  conduct,  one 
of  which  was  illicit  manufacture  of  brandy  and  the 
expenditure  of  powder  in  making  fireworks,  as  well  as 
the  "employment  of  the  drum  corps  for  his  own  amuse- 
ment, though  there  was  nothing  to  rejoice  over. " 

The  members  of  the  academy  also  became  dissatis- 
fied and  complained  of  abuse  and  ill-treatment  on  the 
part  of  Bering,  asking  to  be  relieved  from  obedience 
to  him  as  commander.  In  1738  the  expense  of  the 
expedition,  which  had  not  then  left  the  sea-coast,  was 
over  three  hundred  thousand  rubles  in  cash  paid  from 
the  imperial  treasury,  without  counting  the  great 
quantities  of  supplies  furnished  by  the  various  dis- 
tricts in  kind.  At  this  rate  Alaska  would  cost  more 
than  it  could  be  sold  for  a  hundred  years  hence.  The 
empress  issued  an  oukaz  on  the  15th  of  September 
1738,  instructing  the  senate  and  the  admiralty  col- 
lege to  review  the  accounts  of  the  Kamchatka  expe- 
dition, and  ascertain  if  it  could  not  be  carried  on 
without  such  a  drain  on  the  treasury.  The  senate 
reported  that  the  cost  thus  far  made  it  necessary  to 
continue  the  work  or  all  would  be  lost.  Much  time 
was  wasted  in  correspondence  on  these  matters,  and 
only  at  the  beginning  of  1739  did  the  main  body  reach 
Okhotsk.  In  July  an  oflScer  named  Tolbukhin  arrived 
with  orders  from  the  empress  to  investigate  the  *'  doings 
of  Bering."  He  was  followed  in  September  by  Lari- 
onof,  another  ofl&cer  who  had  been  ordered  to  assist 


eo 


THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 


him.  The  supply  of  provisions  at  Okhotsk  was  alto- 
gether inadequate  to  the  large  number  of  men  stationed 
there.  During  the  winter  following  the  suffering 
became  so  great  that  Bering  was  obliged  to  send  large 
detachments  away  to  regions  where  they  could  support 
themselves  by  hunting.  At  that  time  the  whole  force 
consisted  of  141  men  at  Okhotsk,  192  employed  in  the 
magazines  and  in  the  transportation  of  stores,  70  at 
Irkutsk,  39  in  attendance  upon  the  various  officers 


Bolldingi  Meordtag  to 
Ptu  of  I7« 

A.U«>lI>i.aiM        l.Cli«i*k 
i.CkMMiMti  umi  TfA«t«Oin«i 

[Ckank      X3l»rjYtH        CPwUbb 

B.XipdlliwW7  DIrtaUa      T.Biriii(-. 
t-Hymmhrnt't^mt  •.CklriboT* 

l«.W«UM'*teaM    ll.pMraTakMW  12.1 


Plan  of  Okhotsk. 

and  scientists,  and  141  on  the  three  vessels  already 
built,  in  all  583  men.  Under  Spanberg's  active  super- 
vision two  vessels  had  been  built,  the  brigantine,^?7i:/i- 
aiujel  Mikhail,  and  the  double  sloop,  Nadeshda,  or 
Hope;  and  two  old  craft,  the  Fortuna,  reconstructed 
in  some  degree  from  the  first  of  that  name,  and  the 
Gavril,  had  been  repaired.  Spanberg  was  ready  to 
go  to  sea  in  September,  but  lack  of  provisions  detained 
him.^®   In  October  the  sloop  Fortuna  was  sent  to  Kam- 

'«  According  to  Bering's  report  of  November  29,  1737,  the  quantity  of 
provi'^ioiis  on  hand  in  all  his  magazines  in  Okhotsk  and  Kamchatka  consisted 
of  l().4(i0  pounds  of  flour;  1,784  lbs.  grits;  249  lbs.  hanl  bread;  GoO  lbs.  salt; 
182  l})s.  dried  fish;  21 1  lbs.  butter;  48  lbs.  oil;  and  GS,3  buckets  of  brandy.  At 
the  same  timo  he  forwarded  a  requisition  for  1738  for:  1,912  lbs.  flour;  2,5G0 


ALL  READY.  61 

chatka  for  a  cargo  of  pitch  for  the  ship-builcling  at 
Okhotsk.  The  mate  Kodichef,  and  the  surveyor 
Svitunof,  in  charge,  were  instructed  to  carry  the  pro- 
visions that  had  accumulated  in  the  Kamchatkan 
magazines  to   Bolsheretsk,  as  the  most  convenient 

S)rt  from  which  to  transfer  them  to  the  vessels  of 
ering  s  expedition.  The  student  Krashcnnikof  also 
went  to  Kamchatka  in  the  Fortuna.  On  the  13th 
of  October,  when  about  to  enter  the  river  at  Bol- 
sheretsk, the  wretched  craft  was  overtaken  by  a  gale 
and  thrown  upon  the  shore.  The  future  historian  of 
Kamchatka,  Krashcnnikof,  reached  the  land  "clad  in 
one  garment  only." 

Despite  the  apparently  insurmountable  diflSculties 
resulting  from  want  of  transportation  and  lack  of  sup- 
plies, Bering  and  Chirikof  found  themselves  in  readi- 
ness to  go  to  sea  in  the  month  of  August  1740.  At 
that  time  the  number  of  men  at  Okhotsk  belonging 
to  the  expedition  was  166,  with  80  engaged  in  the 
transportation  of  stores  over  the  mountain  trails. 
During  the  summer  the  astronomer  Croyfere  with 
his  suite  had  arrived  at  Okhotsk,  accompanied  by  the 
naturalist  Steller.  Toward  the  end  of  August  an 
event  occurred  that  filled  Bering  and  his  officers  with 
joy.  The  great  stumbling-block  of  the  expedition  and 
its  most  persistent  enemy,  Pisaref,  was  relieved  from 
his  official  position  by  another  exile,  Antoine  Devi  ere, 
a  former  favorite  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  chief  of 
police  of  St  Petersburg."  According  to  Sgibnef, 
Deviere  was  the  first  honorable  and  efficient  com- 

IbH.  meal;  2,360  Ibe.  hard  bread;  1,026  lbs  meat;  410  lbs.  fish;  554 Ibe.  butter; 
7.')  lbs.  oil;  and  320  buckets  of  brandy.  For  the  year  1739  his  requisition  for 
his  own  and  for  Spanberg's  expedition  was:  930  lbs.  flour;  2,565  lbs.  meal; 
4,017  lbs.  liard  bread;  1,025  lbs.  meat;  410  lbs.  fish;  546  lbs.  butter;  163  lbs. 
salt,  and  060  buckets  of  brandy.  With  the  flour  it  was  not  only  necessary 
to  make  k\'as8,  but  to  bake  hard  bread;  the  meal  waa  oatmeal,  which  was 
issued  because  pease  and  barley  could  not  be  obtained.  Zap.  Jlydr.f  ix.  337. 
>'  It  was  in  1738  that  Antoine  Devi6re  was  chief  of  police  of  the  Russian 
capital,  but  falling  into  disgrace  he  was  sent  to  Siberia.  In  1741  he  was 
made  commander  of  Okhotsk,  and  in  1742  recalled  to  St  Petersburg  by 
Elizabeth,  made  a  count,  and  restored  to  his  former  position.  He  died  in 
1745.  Morskoi  Sbornik,  cv.  31,  33. 


e2  THE  KAMCHATKA  EXPEDITIONS. 

mander  of  Okhqtsk.  He  sold  the  property  which  his 
predecessors  had  dishonestly  obtained,  and  with  the 
proceeds  paid  the  arrears  of  salaries.  Under  his 
active  supervision  buildings  were  erected,  a  school 
established,  and  everything  arranged  for  a  quick 
despatch  of  the  American  expedition." 

'*  It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Bering  that  Devi^re  opened  this  the  first 
school  in  Kamchatka  in  1741;  it  was  located  at  Bolsheretsk  and  began  iti 
operations  with  20  pupils.  Moraboi  Sbomik,  d.  142. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA. 

1740-1741. 

Tm  Day  of  Depabtubs— Abbiyal  of  Imfkbial  Despatches— Thet  Set 
Sail  fbom  Okhotsk— The  *  Sv  Petb*  and  the  *  Sv  Pavel'— Bebino*s 

AND   ChIRIKOF's    RESPECTIVE    COMMANDS — ^AbBIVAL  AT  KAMCHATKA — 

Wintebing  at  Avatcha  Bay— Embabxation— Ill-fe£Lino  betw^een 
Chibikof  and  Bering— The  Pinal  Parting  in  Mid-ocean— Adven- 
turt;  of  Chibieof^He  Disgovebs  the  Mainland  oF  Amebica  in 
Latititdb  65**  21'— The  Magnificence  of  his  Subboundings — A 
Boat's  Cbew  Sent  Ashore — Anotheb  Sent  to  its  Assistance — All 
Lost! — Heabt-sick,  Chibikof  Hovebs  about  the  Place — And  is 

FINALLY    DbIVEN    AWAY    BY    THE    WiND — He    DiSCOVKBS    UnALASKA, 

Adakh,  and  Attoo — ^The  Pbesence  of  Sea-ottebs  Noticed— Sick- 
ness—Retubn  TO  Avatcha  Bay— Death  of  CnoYiRE— Illness  of 
Chibikof. 

Six  years  the  grand  expedition  had  occupied  in 
crossing  Siberia;  no  wonder  subordinates  swore  and 
the  imperial  treasurer  groaned.  But  now  the  de- 
voutly wished  for  hour  had  come,  the  happy  consum- 
mation was  at  hand.  New  islands  and  new  seas  should 
pay  the  reckoning,  while  the  natives  of  a  new  conti- 
nent should  be  made  to  bleed  for  all  this  toil  and 
trouble. 

The  15th  of  August  1740  had  been  fixed  as  the  day 
of  departure,  but  just  as  they  were  about  to  embark 
Captain  Spanberg  arrived  from  Yakutsk  with  the  in- 
telligence that  an  imperial  courier  was  at  hand  with 
despatches  requiring  answers.  This  delayed  the  ex- 
pedition till  the  1st  of  September,  when  the  double 
sloop  with  stores  was  despatched  in  advance.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  river  she  ran  aground,  and  the  transfer 

(63) 


64  DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA. 

of  cargo  became  necessary,  after  which  she  was  again 
made  ready.  On  the  8th  of  September  the  expedition 
finally  embarked.  Bering  commanded  the  Sv  Petr, 
and  Chirikof  the  Sv  Pavel,  the  two  companion  vessels 
having  been  named  the  St  Peter  and  the  St  Paul. 
Bering's  second  was  Lieutenant  Waxel,  while  with 
Chirikof  were  lieutenants  Chikhachef  and  Plunting.^ 
The  double  sloop  was  comnianded  by  Master  Khitrof 
and  the  galiot  by  second  mate  Rtishchef.  Passengers 
on  the  double  sloop  were  Croyfere,  Steller,  the  sur- 
veyor Krassilnikof,  and  the  student  Gorlanof.  The 
vessels  were  all  fitted  out  with  provisions  for  a  year 
and  eight  months,  but  the  grounding  of  the  double 
sloop  caused  considerable  loss  in  both  provisions  and 
spare  rigging. 

In  crossing  the  Okhotsk  Sea  the  vessels  parted  com- 
pany, but  they  all  reached  the  harbor  of  Bolsheretsk 
in  safety  about  the  middle  of  September.  Here  they 
landed  the  two  members  of  the  academy  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  the  Kamchatka  peninsula,  and  took 
on  board  the  mate  Yelagin.  The  little  fleet  then 
passed  round  the  southern  end  of  the  peninsula  to  the 
gulf  of  Avatcha,  where  the  Sv  Pavel  arrived  the  27th 
of  September,  and  the  Sv  Petr  the  6th  of  October. 
The  sloop  met  with  a  series  of  disasters  and  was  com- 
pelled to  return  to  Bolsheretsk  on  the  8th  of  October, 
and  to  remain  there  for  the  winter.  The  galiot  also 
returned  for  the  winter,  unable  to  weather  Cape  Lo- 
patka  so  late  in  the  season,  and  this  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  transport  supplies  overland  from  Bolsheretsk 

*  With  Waxel  was  a  young  son.     The  other  officers  of  the  Sv  Petr  were 

Kselberg,  mate;  Yiishin,  second  mate;  Lagimof,  commissary;  Khotiaintzof, 
master;  Jansen,  boatswain;  Ivanof,  boatswain's  mate;  Rossiiius,  ship's  con- 
stable; Feich,  suigoon;  Bctge,  assistant  surgeon;  Plenisner,  artist  and  corporal 
of  Cossacks ;  and  among  the  sailora  the  former  Lieut.  Ovtzin,  who  had  been 
reduced  to  the  ranks.  In  Kamchatka  the  force  was  incrcase<l  by  Khitrof,  the 
marine,  and  Joliann  Synd,  a  son  of  Feich,  the  father  returning  to  St  Peters- 
burg on  account  of  ill- health.  On  the  Sv  Pavel  were:  Demcnticf,  maatcr; 
Shiganof  and  Yurlof,  second  mates;  Chaglokof,  commissar}*;  Korostlcf, 
master;  Savclicf,  lioatswain;  Kachikof,  ship's  constable;  the  monk  Lau,  who 
also  served  as  assistant  surgeon ;  the  force  being  further  increased  in  Kam- 
cliatka  by  Yelagin,  mate,  and  the  marine  Yurlof.  The  second  mate  Shiganof, 
and  Yurlof,  were  subsequently  promoted  in  Kamchatka. 


BE  L'ISLE'S  CHART.  65 

to  Avatcha  during  the  winter,  an  operation  attended 
\vith  great  diflSculties  and  loss.^  Bering  approved  of 
the  selection  of  Avatcha  Bay  as  a  harbor,  by  Yelagin, 
it  being  the  best  on  the  coast.  A  few  buildings  had 
been  erected,  and  to  these  the  commander  proceeded 
at  once  to  add  a  church.  The  place  was  named  Pe- 
tropavlovsk.* 

Beaching  his  vessels  for  the  winter,  Bering  secured 
the  services  of  the  natives  for  the  transportation  of 
supplies  from  Bolsheretsk,  and  then  distributed  his 
command  in  small  detachments,  requiring  them  to 
live  for  the  most  part  on  such  game  and  fish  as  they 
could  catch.  Removed  from  the  interference  of  local 
authorities,  which  had  been  troublesome  at  Okhotsk, 
Bering  passed  a  quiet  winter  and  concluded  the  final 
preparations  for  sea  in  accordance  with  his  plans. 
Croyfere  and  Steller  joined  him  in  the  spring;  and 
with  the  opening  of  navigation,  in  accordance  with 
instructions,  on  the  4th  of  May  1741  the  commander 
assembled  his  oflBcers,  including  the  astronomer,  for 
general  consultation.  Each  present  was  to  give  his 
views,  and  a  majority  was  to  decide.  All  were  of 
opinion  that  the  unknown  shore  lay  either  due  east 
or  north-east;  but  this  sensible  decision,  the  adoption 
of  which  would  have  saved  them  much  suflTering  and 
disaster,  was  not  permitted  to  prevail.  Science  in 
Kussia  was  as  despotic  as  government.  The  renowned 
astronomer  De  L'Isle  de  la  Croybre  had  made  a  map 
presented   by  the  imperial  academy  to  the  senate. 

*The  sloop  finally  reached  Avatcha  the  following  summer  but  only  after 
two  exploring  vessels  had  gone  to  sea.  According  to  Steller  a  supply-ship 
met  the  vessels  of  the  expedition  in  the  outer  harbor,  and  the  greater  portion 
of  the  cargo  was  transferred  to  the  Sv  Pctr.  Steller,  Beschreibung  von  Kam- 
tschatka^i,  1 12.  The  galiot  returned  to  Okhotsk  during  the  summer  in  charge 
of  second  mate  Shigonof ,  and  carrying  as  passengers  Krashennikof ,  with  a  valu- 
able collection  of  notes  as  the  result  of  his  investigations.  Zap.  Jiydr.,  ix.  .37 1 . 

*  Accoi^ing  to  MilUer  the  church  was  dedicated  to  the  apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  the  harbor  derived  its  name  therefrom;  but  subsequent  investi.i^a- 
tions  of  the  local  archives  by  Sokolof  and  Polonaki  seemed  to  indicate  that 
the  church,  a  small  wooden  structure,  was  erected  in  memory  of  the  birth  of 
the  virgin,  and  tliat  the  Irnrbor  was  named  after  the  two  ships.  Its  nan;e 
occurs  on  the  earliest  pages  of  the  joui-nals  of  the  expedition.  Sliiller,  Shmm- 
lung  rwsi-ffcher  gegchichten,  i.  22;  Sokolof,  in  2kip,  IJydr.,ix,  372. 
BzBT.  Alaska.   5 


€6  DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA. 

That  august  body  had  forwarded  it  to  Bering,  and 
the  author's  brother,  present  at  the  council,  also  had 
with  him  a  copy.  No  land  w^as  set  down  upon  this 
chart  toward  the  east,  but  some  distance  south-east 
of  Avatcha  Bay,  between  latitudes  46°  and  47'',  there 
was  a  coast  extending  about  lb""  of  longitude  from  west 
to  east.  The  land  was  drawn  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
indicate  that  it  had  been  sighted  on  the  south  side, 
and  the  words  Terres  vues  i^ar  clom  Jean  de  Garnet 
were  inscribed  upon  it.  The  absurdity  of  sending  out 
an  expedition  for  discovery,  requiring  it  to  follow 
mapped  imagination,  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to 
the  Solons  of  St  Petersburg,  and  this  when  they 
knew  well  enough  that  the  continents  were  not  far 
asunder  toward  the  north. 

The  mariners  thought  it  safer  to  go  by  the  chart, 
which  after  all  must  have  some  influence  on  the  land, 
the  drawing  having  passed  through  such  imperial 
processes,  and  hence  arrived  at  the  fatal  determination 
to  steer  first  south-east  by  east  in  search  of  the  Land 
of  Gama,  and  after  discovering  it  to  take  its  northern 
coast  as  a  guide  to  the  north-cast  or  east;  but  if  no 
land  was  found  in  latitude  46°,  then  the  course  should 
be  altered  to  north-east  by  east  till  land  was  made. 
The  coast  once  found,  it  was  to  be  followed  to  latitude 
C5°.  The  action  of  the  several  officers  under  every 
conceivable  emergency  was  determined  by  the  council. 
All  were  to  return  to  Avatcha  Bay  by  the  end  of 
September.*  Yet  with  all  the  care,  when  put  into 
practice,  their  plans  were  found  to  be  exceedingly  de- 
fective. Steller  went  on  the  Sv  Pet)\  while  Croybre 
was  attached  to  Chirikof  s  vessel.    The  crew  of  the 

^It  ia  not  known  who  Juan  de  Gama  was,  nor  when  the  pretended  disoov- 
•ery  was  made  by  him.  In  1049  Texeira,  cosmographer  to  the  king  of  Porta* 
cal,  published  a  map  on  which  10  or  12  degrees  north-east  from  Japan,  in 
latitude  44*  and  45",  were  represented  a  multitude  of  islands  and  a  coast  ex- 
tending toward  the  cast,  lalwllcd:  'Terre  vue  par  Jean  de  Gama,  Indien,  en 
allant  de  la  Chine  h,  la  Nouvelle  Espagne.'  The  situation  of  the  *Land  of 
Gama,'  on  Texeira's  maps,  seems  to  no  the  eame  as  the  H'ompany's  Land' 
discc^'ered  by  the  Kastrikum  under  Martin  Geritzin  de  Vries,  in  1043,  or 
perhaps  earlier.  MiiUera  Voy.,  i.  37-8;  Bwney's  Chronol,  JJisL,  102-3. 


IN  MID-OCEAN.  67 

Sv  Petr  numbered  seventy-seven,  and  that  of  the  Sv 
Pavel  seventy-five.  Both  ships  had  still  provisions 
left  for  five  and  a  half  months,  with  one  hundred 
barrels  of  water,  sixteen  cords  of  wood,  and  two  boats 
each. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  June  1741,  after 
solemn  prayer,  the  two  ships  sailed  from  Avatcha  Bay 
with  a  light  southerly  wind.''  Noon  of  the  second 
day  saw  them  thirty  miles  from  Light  House  Point. 
Chirikof,  who  was  about  five  miles  to  windward  of 
Bering,  noticed  that  the  latter  steered  southward 
of  the  course  proposed.  Signalling  Bering  that  he 
would  speak  with  him,  Chirikof  proposed  that  they 
should  keep  as  near  together  as  possible  to  avoid  final 
separation  in  a  fog.  He  also  spoke  of  the  manifest 
change  from  the  agreed  course,  whereat  Bering  ap- 
peared annoyed,  and  when  later  Chirikof  signalled  to 
speak  with  him  a  second  time  the  commander  paid  no 
attention  to  it.  As  we  proceed  we  shall  find  serious 
defects  in  the  character  of  both  of  these  men.  For  a 
commander-in-chief,  Bering  was  becoming  timid,  and 
perhaps  too  much  bound  to  instructions;  for  a  sub- 
ordinate, Chirikof  was  dogmatic  and  obstinate.  About 
noon  of  the  6th  of  June  Bering  ordered  Chirikof 
to  proceed  in  advance,  trusting  apparently  more  to 
his  skill  and  judgment  than  to  his  own.  On  the  7th 
of  June  the  wind  changed  to  the  north  and  increased. 
In  the  course  of  the  next  few  days  the  two  ships 
approached  each  other  occasionally  and  exchanged 
signals,  but  Chirikof  remained  in  the  lead.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  12th  they  found  themselves  in  lati- 
tude 46,"*  and  came  to  the  concluision  that  there  was 
no  Gama  Land  such  as  given  in  the  chart,  and  at  3 
o'clock  they  changed  their  course  to  east  by  north. 
On  the  14th  the  wind  drew  ahead,  blowing  strong 

^  Details  of  Bering's  voyase  in  the  archives  of  St  Petersbnrg  consist  of 
reports  and  journals  by  Waxel,  Yuskin,  and  Khitrof,  the  first  two  in  copies, 
the  latter  in  the  original.  Of  Chirikof 's  voyage  there  are  copies  of  journals 
by  himself  and  by  Yclagin  his  mate.  A  few  other  details  have  been  obtained 
from  Steller  and  Milller.  Zap,  Jiydr,,  passim. 


68  DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA. 

from  the  eastward,  and  compellihg  to  a  more  north- 
erly course  for  nearly  two  days,  till  they  found  them- 
selves in  latitude  48°,  Bering  keeping  to  the  windward 
of  Chirikof  on  account  of  the  better  sailing  qualities 
of  his  vessel.  Chirikof  finally  signalled  for  instruc- 
tions, and  asked  how  long  the  northerly  course  was 
to  be  pursued.  Bering's  answer  was  to  follow  him 
and  he  would  see. 

A  few  hours  later  the  course  was  changed  to  the 
southward.  On  the  15th  the  wind  was  a  little  more 
to  the  south  and  the  northerly  course  was  resumed. 
On  the  18th,  in  the  morning,  Bering  informed  Chiri- 
kof that  as  they  were  in  latitude  49°  they  must  turn 
south,  but  Chirikof  said  that  with  the  prevailing  wind  a 
change  was  impracticable,  and  it  would  be  best  to  con- 
tinue the  course  east  by  north.  The  following  day  in 
latitude  49°  30'  the  wind  increased,  blowing  violently 
from  the  east,  and  sails  were  shortened  during  the  night. 
Next  morning  Chirikof  sighted  the  Sv  Fetr  about 
three  leagues  to  the  north,  but  Bering  did  not  see 
him,  and  thinking  himself  to  the  windward  shaped  his 
course  to  the  north-west.  This  manoeuvre  completed 
the  separation  of  the  vessels  forever.  Bering  made 
every  effort  to  find  the  consort;  he  spent  three  days 
between  latitudes  50°  and  51°,  and  finally  sailed  south- 
east as  far  as  45°,  but  all  in  vain.  Chirikof  had  taken 
an  easterly  course  and  his  subsequent  movements  were 
entirely  distinct  from  those  of  his  commander. 

First  let  us  follow  the  fortunes  of  Chirikof,  who 
must  ever  be  regarded  as  the  hero  of  this  expedition. 

After  losing  sight  of  the  Sv  Petr,  w^iich  he  thought 
was  to  the  northward,  Chirikof  allowed  the  Sv  Pavel 
to  drift  a  while,  so  that  his  commander  might  find 
him.  Then  he  steered  south-east  in  search  of  him, 
and  after  making  two  degrees  of  longitude  to  the 
eastward,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  June  he  found 
himself  in  latitude  48°.  A  council  of  oflBcers  decided 
that  it  was  folly  to  waste  time  in  search  of  Bering, 


ADVENTURES  OF  CHIRIKOF.  69 

and  that  they  would  prosecute  the  object  of  the  voy- 
age, which  was  to  find  land  toward  the  east.  Hence 
with  light,  favorable  winds,  the  Sv  Pavel  went  for- 
ward, occasionally  shaping  her  course  a  little  more  to 
the  north,  until  on  the  11th  of  July  signs  of  land 
were  seen  in  drift-wood,  seals,  and  gulls.  Without 
slacking  his  speed,  but  casting  the  lead  constantly, 
Chirikof  proceeded,  and  during  the  night  of  the  15th 
he  sighted  land  in  latitude  55°  21.'  Thus  was  the 
great  discovery  achieved.  The  high  wooded  moun- 
tains looming  before  the  enraptured  gaze  of  eyes  long 
accustomed  to  the  tamer  glories  of  Siberia,  were  at 
once  pronounced  to  belong  to  the  continent  of  Amer- 
ica.* 

Day  broke  calm  and  clear;  the  coast  was  visible  in 
distinct  outlines  at  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles; 
the  lead  indicated  sixty  fathoms,  and  the  ship  was 
surrounded  by  myriads  of  ducks  and  gulls.  At  noon 
it  was  still  calm,  and  an  observation  gave  the  latitude 
as  5  5"*  41'.  A  boat  was  lowered  but  failed  to  find  a 
landing-place.  In  the  evening  a  light  wind  arose, 
and  the  vessel  stood  north-westward  along  the  shore 
under  short  sails.  Toward  morning  the  wind  increased 
from  the  eastward  with  rain  and  fog,  and  the  bright 
green  land  which  they  had  found  was  lost  to  them 
again.  At  last,  some  time  after  daylight,  high  moun- 
tains once  more  appeared  above  the  clouds,  and  at 
noon  of  the  17th  the  entrance  to  a  great  bay  was 
observed  in  latitude  57**  15'.  The  mate,  Dementief, 
was  ordered  to  explore  the  entrance  in  the  long-boat 
manned  with  ten  armed  sailors.'' 

The  party  was  furnished  with  provisions  for  several 
days,  with  muskets,  and  other  arms,  including  a  small 

*Sokolof  declares  emphatically  that  the  point  of  land  made  was  a  slight 
projection  of  the  coast  oetween  capes  Addington  and  Bartholomew  of  Van- 
couver's map.  Zap,  Hydr.y  ix.  399. 

'  The  mate,  Abram  Mikha'ilovich  Dementief,  is  spoken  of  by  Miiller  in  his 
Letter  of  a  Rusman  Naval  Officer^  as  a  man  of  cood  family,  young,  gootl-look- 
ine,  kind-hearted,  skilled  in  his  profession,  and  anxious  to  serve  his  country. 
8<3colof  in  his  history  of  the  expedition  bints  at  a  love  affair  at  Okhotsk, 
which  bad  ended  unhappily.  Morskoi  Sbomik^  cv.  113;  Zap,  IJydr.,  iy.  400-1. 


•70  DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA. 

brass  cannon.  Chirikof  issued  instructions  to  meet 
probable  emergencies,  and  explained  how  they  were  to 
communicate  with  the  ship  by  signals.  The  boat  was 
seen  to  reach  the  shore  and  disappear  behind  a  small 
projection  of  land;  a  few  minutes  later  the  precon- 
certed signals  were  observed,  and  it  was  concluded 
that  the  boat  had  landed  in  safety.®  The  day  passed 
without  further  information  from  the  shore.  During 
the  next  and  for  several  successive  days,  signals  were 
observed  from  time  to  time,  which  were  interpreted 
to  mean  that  all  was  well  with  Dementief  At  last, 
as  the  party  did  not  return,  Chirikof  began  to  fear 
that  the  boat  had  suffered  damage  in  landing,  and  on 
the  23d  Sidor  Savelief,  with  some  sailors,  a  carpenter 
and  a  calker,  was  sent  ashore  to  assist  Dementief,  and 
repair  his  boat  if  necessary. •  The  strictest  injunctions 
were  issued  that  either  one  or  both  of  the  boats  should 
return  immediately.  Their  movements  were  anxiously 
watched  from  the  ship.  The  small  boat  was  seen  to 
land,  but  no  preparation  for  a  return  could  be  observed. 
A  great  smoke  was  seen  rising  from  the  point  round 
which  the  first  crew  had  disappeared. 

The  night  was  passed  in  great  anxiety;  but  every 
heart  was  gladdened  when  next  morning  two  boats 
were  seen  to  leave  the  coast.  One  was  larger  than 
the  other,  and  no  one  doubted  that  Dementief  and 
Savelief  were  at  last  returning.  The  captain  ordered 
all  made  ready  for  instant  departure.  During  the 
bustle  which  followed  little  attention  was  paid  to  the 
approaching  boats,  but  presently  they  were  discovered 
to  be  canoes  filled  with  savages,  who  seemed  to  be  as 
much  astonished  as  the  Russians,  and  after  a  rapid 
survey  of  the  apparition  they  turned  shoreward, 
shouting  Agail  Aga'il     Then  dread  fell  on  all,  and 

"  Sokolof  omita  in  his  account  the  mention  of  Dementief 'a  signal  after  reach- 
ing the  land,  but  the.  fact  is  confirmed  by  Chirikof 's  own  journal  in  both  the 
original,  and  the  translation  in  Sammhmfj  aller  lifisbexchr.,  xx.  372. 

•This  date  is  differently  given  by  different  authors;  in  the  SamnUting 
the  date  is  the  2]8t;  the  number  of  Savelief 's  companions  is  also  variously 
X>laced  at  from  three  to  six.  MuUer's  Voycuje,  41;  Zap,  IIydr»,  ix.  401. 


TWO  BOATS'  CREWS  LOST.  71 

Chirikof  cursed  himself  for  permitting  the  sailors  to 
appear  on  deck  in  such  numbers  as  to  frighten  away 
the  savages,  and  thus  prevent  their  seizure  and  an 
exchange  of  prisoners.  Gradually  the  full  force  of 
the  calamity  fell  upon  him.  His  men  had  all  been 
seized  and  murdered  on  the  spot,  or  were  still  held 
for  a  worse  fate. 

He  was  on  an  unknown  and  dangerous  coast,  with- 
out boats,  and  his  numbers  greatly  reduced.  A 
strong  west  wind  just  then  sprang  up  and  compelled 
him  to  weigh  anchor  and  run  for  the  open  sea.  His 
heart  was  very  sore,  for  he  was  a  humane  man  and 
warmly  attached  to  his  comrades.  He  cruised  about 
the  neighborhood  for  several  days,  loath  to  leave  it, 
though  he  had  given  up  the  shore  parties  all  as  lost, 
and  as  soon  as  the  wind  permitted  he  again  approached 
the  point  which  had  proved  so  fatal  to  his  undertak- 
ing. But  no  trace  of  the  lost  sailors  could  be  discov- 
ered. A  council  of  officers  was  then  called  to  deter- 
mine what  next  to  do.*® 

All  agreed  that  further  attempts  at  discovery 
were  out  of  the  question,  and  that  they  should  at 
once  make  for  Kamchatka.  With  his  own  hand 
Chirikof  added  to  the  minutes  of  the  council,  "Were 
it  not  for  our  extraordinary  misfortunes  there  would 
be  ample  time  to  prosecute  the  work."  The  Sv  Pavel 
was  then  headed  for  the  north-west,  keeping  the  coast 
in  sight.  The  want  of  boats  prevented  a  landing  for 
water,  which  was  now  dealt  out  in  rations;  they  tried 
to  catch  rain  and  also  to  distil  sea-water,  in  both  of 
which  efforts,  to  a  certain  extent,  they  were  success- 
ful. 

On  the  31st  of  July,  at  a  distance  of  about  eighteen 
miles  to  the  north,  huge  mountains  covered  with  snow 
were  seen  extending  apparently  to  the  westward.    The 

i^Sokolof  gWes  the  date  of  this  council  as  the  26tb,  11  days  after  the  dis- 
covery of  land.  Chirikof  and  M filler,  as  well  as  the  Snmmlungs  make  it 
the  27th.  All  accounts  agree  that  the  latitude  observed  on  the  day  of  the 
council  was  56°  21'.  The  quantity  of  water  on  hand  was  then  45  cabks. 
IltMcr's  Voyaijt,  42;  Zap,  liydr.,  ix.  402. 


72  DISCOVERY  OP  ALASKA. 

wind  increased  and  veered  to  the  westward,  with  rain 
and  fog.  The  course  was  changed  more  to  the  south- 
ward, and  on  the  2d  of  August  they  again  sighted 
land  to  the  westward  ,^^  but  it  soon  disappeared  in 
the  fog. 

On  the  4th  of  September  in  latitude  52"*  30'  they 
discovered  high  land  in  a  northerly  direction,  proba- 
bly the  island  of  Unalaska.  Two  days  later,  after 
considerable  westing  with  a  favorable  wind,  land  was 
again  sighted  in  latitude  51°  30';  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  8th,  while  becalmed  in  a  fog,  they  were  alarmed 
by  the  roar  of  breakers,  while  soundings  showed 
twenty-eight  fathoms.  Chirikof  anchored  with  diffi- 
culty owing  to  the  hard  rocky  bottom,  and  the  follow- 
ing morning  when  the  fog  lifted  he  found  himself  in 
a  small  shallow  bay  less  than  a  mile  in  width  and 
surrounded  by  tremendous  cliffs,  probably  Adakh 
Island.  The  mountains  were  barren,  with  here  and 
there  small  patches  of  grass  or  moss.  While  await- 
ing a  favorable  wind,  they  saw  seven  savages  come 
out  in  seven  canoes,  chanting  invocations,  and  taking 
no  notice  of  the  presents  flung  to  them  by  the  Rus- 
sians.^^  A  few  canoes  finally  approached  the  ship, 
bringing  fresh  water  in  bladders,  but  the  bearers  re- 
fused to  mount  to  the  deck.  Chirikof  in  his  journal 
describes  them  as  well  built  men  resembling  the  Tar- 
tars in  features;  not  corpulent  but  healthy,  with 
scarcely  any  beard.  On  their  heads  they  wore  shades 
made  of  thin  boards  ornamented  with  colors,  and 
feathers  of  aquatic  birds.  A  few  also  had  bone  carv- 
ings attached  to  their  head-dross.^^  Later  in  the  day 
the  natives  came  in  greater  numbers,  fourteen  kyaks, 
or  small  closed  skin  boats,  surrounding  the  vessel, 

"  Sokolof  in  Zap.  Hyrlr.,  ix.  403,  inaists  that  this  land  was  the  point  dis- 
covered by  Berine  10  days  before;  but  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  it 
was  the  island  of  Andiak. 

^^  Sokolof  on  the  authority  of  Chikhachef  asserts  that  these  natives  refused 
beads,  tol>acco,  pipes,  and  other  trifles,  asking  only  for  knives,  but  how  tlie 
savages  expressed  this  desire  he  does  not  explain,  nor  does  he  show  how  they 
knew  anything  about  iron  implements.  Zap.  ////'/r.,  ix.  404. 

*'  Chirikof  8  Jmimal,  in  Imperial  Naval  Archives^  xvi. 


SEVERE  SUFFERINGS.  73 

which  they  examined  with  great  curiosity,  but  thoy 
refused  to  go  on  board.  Toward  evening  by  slip- 
ing  an  anchor  they  got  to  sea,  and  on  the  21st  high 
was  sighted  again  in  latitude  52''  36',^*  probably 
the  island  of  Attoo,  the  westernmost  of  all  the  Aleu- 
tian chain.  Chirikof  supposed  that  all  the  land  he 
saw  hereabout  was  part  of  the  American  continent; 
for  when  he  pressed  northward,  indications  of  land 
were  everywhere  present,  but  when  he  turned  south- 
ward, such  indications  ceased.  The  presence  of  sea- 
otters  was  frequently  remarked,  though  they  could  not 
realize  the  important  part  this  animal  was  to  play  in 
shaping  the  destinies  of  mau  in  this  region.  The  21st 
of  August  orders  were  issued  to  cook  the  usual  quan- 
tity of  rye  meal  once  a  day  instead  of  twice,  and  to 
decrease  the  allowance  of  water.  As  an  offset  an 
extra  drink  of  rum  was  allowed.^ 

Despite  the  scurvy  and  general  despondency  disci- 
pline was  rigidly  enforced,  and  finally,  when  the  water 
for  cooking  the  rye  meal  could  be  spared  but  once  a 
week,  no  complaints  were  heard.  Yet  cold,  excessive 
moisture  and  hunger  and  thirst  were  making  con- 
stant and  sure  inroads.  By  the  16th  Chirikof  and 
Chikhachef  were  both  down  with  the  scurvy,  and  one 
man  died  the  same  day.  Five  days  later  the  captain 
was  unable  to  leave  his  berth,  but  his  mind  remained 
clear  and  he  issued  his  orders  with  regularity  and 
precision.  Midshipman  Plunting  was  also  unable  to 
appear  on  deck.  The  ship's  constable,  Kachikof,  died 
the  26th,  and  from  that  time  one  death  followed 
another  in  quick  succession.  On  the  6th  of  October 
Lieutenant  Chikhachef  and  one  sailor  died,  and  on  the 
.8th  Plunting's  sufferings  were  ended.     The  sails  were 

I*  In  hia  description  of  the  expedition  the  astronomer,  Croy^re,  becomes 
oonfnsed,  saying  that  after  losing  sight  of  knd  on  the  4th^  no  more  was  seen 
till  the  20th,  when  the  ship  came  to  anchor  200  fathoms  from  a  mountainous 
uoast  in  latitude  51"  12^,  where  21  canoes  appeared.  Sammlung,  xx.  395. 

^  From  the  journal  of  the  mate  Yelagin  we  learn  that  on  the  14th  there 
remained  only  12  casks  of  water,  and  that  the  rye  mush  was  furnished  once 
a  day,  the  other  meals  consisting  of  hard  bread  and  butter.  Salt  beef  was 
boiled  in  sea- water.  Naval  Archives,  xvi 


74  DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA. 

falling  in  pieces  owing  to  constant  exposure  to  rain 
and  snow,  and  the  enfeebled  crew  was  unable  to  re- 

{)air  them.  Slowly  the  ship  moved  westward  with 
ittle  attempt  at  navigation.  The  last  observation  had 
been  made  the  2d  of  October,  but  only  the  longitude 
was  found,  indicating  a  distance  of  eleven  degrees  from 
the  Kamchatka  shore.  Fortune  helping  them,  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th  land  appeared  in  the  west,  which 
proved  to  be  the  coast  of  Kamchatka  in  the  vicinity 
of  Avatcha  Bay.  A  light  contrary  wind  detained 
them  for  two  days,  and  having  no  boats  they  dis- 
cliarged  a  cannon  to  bring  help  from  the  shore. 

Of  those  who  had  left  this  harbor  in  the  Sv  Pavel 
less  than  five  months  before,  twenty-one  were  lost. 
The  pilot,  Yelagin,  alone  of  all  the  officers  could  appear 
on  deck,  and  he  finally  brought  the  ship  into  the  har- 
bor of  Petropavlovsk,  established  by  him  the  preced- 
ing winter.  The  astronomer,  Croy^re,  who  had  for 
weeks  been  confined  to  his  berth,  apparently  keeping 
alive  by  the  constant  use  of  strong  liquor,  asked  to  be 
taken  ashore  at  once,  but  as  soon  as  he  was  exposed  to 
the  air  on  deck  he  fell  and  presently  expired.  Chiri- 
kof,  very  ill,  was  landed  at  noon  the  same  day.^* 

"  Sokolof  with  much  national  pride  exults  in  the  achievements  of  Chirikof, 
a  true  li^nssian,  as  against  Bering  the  Dane.  *  And  thus  having  discovered 
the  American  coast  30  hours  earlier  than  Bering,'  he  writes,  'eleven  degrees 
of  longitude  farther  to  the  east;  having  followed  this  coast  three  degrees 
further  to  the  north;  and  after  having  left  the  coast  five  days  later  than 
Bering,  Chirikof  returned  to  Kamchatka,  eight  degrees  fartlier  west  than 
lieriiig'a  landing-place,  a  whole  month  earlier;  having  made  on  his  route  the 
same  diaoovcrica  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.  During  this  whole  time  the  sails 
were  never  taken  in,  and  no  supply  of  fresh  water  was  obtainetl;  they  suffered 
equally  from  storms,  privations,  disease,  and  mortalitv — the  officers  as  well 
as  tlic  men.  How  dilicrent  were  the  results,  and  what  proof  do  they  not 
fumisli  of  the  superiority  of  the  Russians  in  scientific  navigation !  *  So  tho 
Icanier  ia  often  apt  to  grow  bold  and  impudent  and  despise  the  teacher.  Tho 
great  Peter  was  not  above  learning  navigation  from  Beiing  the  Dane.  Zap, 
JJydr.,  ix.  407-8. 


y 


CHAPTER  V, 

DEATH    OF    BERING- 

1741-1742. 

Dtsooysry  bt  Bulb — Thx  Land  not  whebe  It  ought  to  be — Thb 

AVATCHA  C0U>'CIL  SHOULD  KnOW — ^BeBINO  EnCOUNTEBS  THE  MAIN- 
LAND AT  Mount  St  Euas — Claims  fob  the  Priority  ov  Discoyeby  of 

NOBTH- WESTERNMOST  AmEBICA— KyAK  IsLAND — SCABCITY  OF  WaTEBt— 

Ths  Retubn  Voyage — ^Illness  of  Bering — ^Longings  fob  Home — 
Kadiak — Ukamok — Sickness  and  Death — Intercourse  with  the 
Natives — Waxel's  Adventube— Vows  of  the  Dane — Amchitka, 
KisHKA,  Semiche,  and  otheb  Islands  Seen-^At  Bebing  Island — 
Wreck  of  the  *  Sv  Petb*— Death  of  Bebing — Gathebing  Sea-otteb 
Skins— The  Subvivobs  Build  a  Small  *Sv  Petb*  from  the  Wreck — 
Beturn  to  Kamchatka— Second  Voyage  of  Chirikof. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  commander.  Possibly 
we  might  imagine  Chirikof  easily  reconciled  to  a 
separation  from  his  superior,  who,  instead  of  striking 
out  intelligently  for  the  achie,vement  of  a  purpose, 
allowed  himself  to  be  carried  hither  and  thither  by 
omnipotent  winds  and  imperial  instructions.  But  not 
so  Bering.  With  the  loss  of  Chirikof  and  the  Sv 
Pavel  his  right  arm  was  gone.  For  a  whole  day  he 
drifted  in  a  strong  gale  under  reefed  sails  before  he 
would  leave  the  spot  to  take  the  direction  in  which 
he  supposed  Chirikof  to  be.  Then  he  was  obliged  to 
lie  to  again,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  22d,  finding 
himself  twelve  leagues  south  of  the  point  of  separa- 
tion, it  was  concluded  in  a  council  of  officers  to  aban- 
don further  search  and  resume  their  course,  not  the 
last  course  of  east  by  north  as  it  should  have  been, 
but  to  the  southward  till  latitude  46*"  was  reached, 
where  they  had  already  been  and  seen  nothing.     It 

(75) 


76  DEATH  OF  BERING. 

was  now  evident  that  Bering  was  becoming  incompe- 
tent; that,  deprived  of  the  assistance  of  Chirikofs 
stronger  mind  and  sounder  judgment,  he  intended  to 
follow  strictly  the  resolutions  of  the  Avatcha  council. 
He  would  steer  south-east  by  east  to  latitude  46°, 
then  change  the  course  to  east  by  north,  and  thus 
waste  in  mid-ocean  the  brief  days  of  the  short 
northern  summer.  The  24th  saw  Bering  at  the 
southernmost  point  named,  where  numbers  of  birds 
seemed  to  indicate  land  ahead,  and  tempted  him  to 
continue  to  latitude  45**  16',  when  finding  nothing, 
and  convinced  for  a  second  time  of  the  inaccuracy  of 
Croy^re's  chart,  he  again  bent  his  course  east  by 
north,  which  was  changed  the  third  day  to  north- 
north-east  to  compensate  for  having  gone  below 
latitude  46''.  The  wind  changed  repeatedly  from 
south-west  to  south-east,  being  always  light  and  ac- 
companied with  clouds  and  fogs;  but  .nothing  special 
occurred  until  the  9th  of  July,  when  a  strong  east- 
erly wind  compelled  them  to  head  more  to  the  north 
until  they  reached  latitude  51°  30'.  The  wind  then 
changed,  allowing  them  to  steer  north-east  by  east. 
From  time  to  time  they  were  misled  by  land-floating 
drift,  and  weeds,  and  marine  mammals,  but  the  lead 
indicated  a  depth  of  between  one  hundred  and  ninety 
and  two  hundred  fathoms. 

The  second  month  was  now  at  hand,  and  Bering 
ordered  a  reduced  allowance  of  water.  From  the  1 2th 
of  July  he  was  so  firmly  convinced  of  the  close  prox- 
imity of  land  that  he  hove  to  at  night  lest  he  should  run 
aground.  Five  weeks  had  elapsed  since  the  Sv  Petr 
had  left  Avatcha  Bay  and  the  ship's  log  showed  that 
forty-six  degrees  of  longitude  separated  them  from 
their  point  of  departure,  and  still  the  land  remained 
invisible.  The  wind  became  more  favorable,  blowing 
from  the  west,  and  Bering  concluded  to  change  his 
course  to  the  northward  in  order  to  fall  in  the  sooner 
with  the  land. 

On  the  13th,  in  latitude  54°  30',  in  a  council  of 


DUBING  THE  SEARCH. 


77 


ZMX 


I 


1'  t    , 

'.VI 


DEATH  OF  BERING. 


officers,  another  change  to  north-north-east  was  deter- 
mined on.  These  frequent  changes  and  the  general 
indecision  in  the  management  of  the  expedition  proved 
almost  fatal;  but  about  noon  of  the  16th,  in  latitude 
58*"  14',  the  lookout  reported  a  towering  peak  and  a 
high  chain  of  snow-covered  mountains,  without  doubt 
Mount  St  Elias,  and  the  extending  range.     A  north 


1 

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■-■'d^ -  "■   -^:^:^^ 

' 

■^              '                                  li^'^    S              2f.tun.^:.i--|]..iii.';          -   -_ 

>  it^K^                -i.-iSLi:.,,.    :n, 

^-  *                                                                   ',    ^V^                     --_3nEUA-. 

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/      ^ 

Kyak  Island. 

wind  held  them  off  from  the  point  first  seen,  but  on  the 
evening  of  the  20th  they  came  upon  an  island  in  dd"" 
40V  which  was  Kyak,  but  which  they  called  St  Elias 
from  the  day. 

*  In  his  calculation  of  latitude  Bering  waa  seven  minutes  in  error,  while 
in  longitude  he  was  eight  degrees  out  of  the  way.  Such  a  diflference  may  bo 
accounted  for  on  the  ground  that  Bering's  observations  were  based  upon  dead 


THE  FIRST  DISCOVERER.  70 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Chirikof  found  land  on 
the  night  of  the  15th  while  Bering  saw  Mount  St 
Elias  at  noon  of  the  16th,  which  would  give  the  former 
priority  in  the  honor  of  discovery  by  say  thirty-six 
hours.^  But  even  Chirikof,  who  amongst  Russians 
was  the  noblest  and  most  chivalrous  of  them  all,  if 
we  may  believe  the  story  of  Gvozdef,  may  not  justly 
set  up  the  claim  as  first  discoverer  of  north-western- 
most America.  True,  Gvozdef  saw  only  what  any  one 
might  see  in  sailing  through  the  strait  of  Bering — 
he  says  he  saw  or  found  himself  on  the  land  opposite 
to  Asia.  Other  Europeans  had  passed  that  way 
before  Gvozdef,  and  the  savages  had  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  before  ever  Europeans  were  there;  so  we  may 
well  enough  leave  out  these  two  sides  of  the  northern 
strait,  and  call  Chirikof  the  first  discoverer  of  land 
opposite  Kamchatka,  which  it  was  the  object  of  this 
imperial  expedition  to  find,  and  which  he  certainly  was 
the  first  to  achieve. 

After  these  years  of  preparation  and  weeks  of 
tempest-tossing  we  should  expect  to  see  the  Dane  de- 
lighted on  reaching  the  grand  consummation  of  the 
united  ambitions  of  monarchs  and  mariners.    But  if 

reckoning,  without  allowing  for  the  ocean  and  tidal  t^urrents  which  in  those 
waters  often  cause  a  gain  or  loss  of  seven  leagues  a  day.  The  identity  of 
Kyak  is  established  by  comparing  Bering's  with  Cook's  ob3er\'ations  which 
would  be  enough  even  if  the  chart  appended  to  Khitrof 's  journal  had  not 
been  preserved.  At  first  both  Cook  and  Vancouver  thought  it  Yakutat  Bay, 
which  they  named  after  Bering,  but  both  changed  their  minds.  As  late  as 
1787  the  Russian  admiralty  college  declared  that  the  island  of  Tzukli  (Mon- 
tague of  Vancouver)  was  the  point  of  Bering's  discovery,  but  Admiral  Sary- 
chef,  who  examined  the  journals  of  the  expedition,  pointed  at  once  to  Kyak 
Island  as  the  onlv  point  to  which  the  description  of  Bering  and  Steller  could 
apply.  Sarychef  xnade  one  mistake  in  applying  the  name  of  Cape  St  Elias 
to  the  nearest  point  of  the  mainland  called  Cape  Suckling  by  Cook.  Zap, 
Hydr,,  ix.  383-4. 

'  The  date  of  Bering's  discovery,  or  the  dav  when  land  was  first  sighted 
by  liis  lookout,  has  been  variously  stated.  MQller  makes  it  the  20th  of  July, 
and  Steller  the  18th;  the  ICth  is  in  accordance  with  Bering's  journal,  and 
according  to  Bering's  observation  the  latitude  was  58°  28'.  Tliis  date  is  con- 
firmed by  a  manuscript  chart  compiled  by  Petrof  and  Waxel  with  the  help 
of  the  original  log-books  of  both  vessels.  The  claim  set  up  by  certain  Spanish 
writers  in  favor  of  Francisco  Gali  as  first  discoverer  of  this  region  is  based  on 
a  misprint  in  an  early  account  of  his  voyage.  For  particulars  see  llii^,  CcU., 
L,  this  series. 


80  DEATH  OF  BERING. 

we  may  believe  Steller,  when  his  officers  gathered 
round  with  their  congratulations  Bering  shrugged  his 
shoulders  as  he  glanced  at  the  rugged  shore  and  said, 
"A  great  discovery  no  doubt,  and  the  accomplishment 
of  all  our  desires;  but  who  knows  where  we  are,  when 
we  shall  see  Russia,  and  what  we  shall  have  to  eat  in 
the  mean  time?"* 

Beating  up  with  a  light  wind  Bering  succeeded  in 
gaining  anchorage  on  a  clay  bottom  under  the  lee 
of  the  island  in  twenty-two  fathoms.  Two  boats 
were  sent  ashore,  one  under  Khitrof  to  reconnoitre, 
and  another  in  which  was  Steller  in  search  of  water. 
Khitrof  found  among  the  small  islands  in  the  gulf  a 
good  harbor.  He  saw  some  rude  deserted  huts  whose 
owners  had  probably  retreated  on  the  approach  of  the 
Russians.  The  habitations  were  constructed  of  logs 
and  rough  planks,  and  were  roofed  with  bark  and  dried 
grass.  A  few  semi-subterranean  structures  of  sods 
evidently  served  as  storehouses.  On  entering,  the 
Russians  picked  up  some  rough  cordage,  a  whetstone 
on  which  copper  implements  had  been  sharpened,  a 
small  box  of  poplar  wood,  a  rattle  made  of  baked  clay, 
several  broken  arrows,  and  articles  of  household  fur- 
niture.* In  another  place  the  men  came  upon  a  cellar 
in  which  was  a  quantity  of  dried  salmon.  Of  this 
Khitrof  took  two  bundles.  There  were  several  red 
foxes  which  seemed  not  at  all  frightened  at  the  sight 
of  the  Russians.  To  compensate  the  natives  for  the 
fish  taken,  some  trifles  of  Russian  manufacture,  tobacco 
and  clay  pipes,  were  left. 

Steller  s  party  landed  on  another  island  and  found 
a  cellar  or  subterranean  storehouse  with  some  red 
salmon,  and  herbs  dressed  in  a  manner  customary 
with  the  Kamchatkans.  He  also  found  ropes  made 
of  sea-weed,  and  various  household  utensils.  Going 
inland  he  came  to  a  place  where  some  savages  had 
been  eating,  and  had  left  there  an  arrow  and  an  in- 

^  Stdler'8  Diary,  190. 

*  For  lull  description  of  these  people  Bee  Naiive  Races,  i.,  thia  Beii|&8. 


STELLER*S  DISAPPOINTMENT.  81 

strument  for  lighting  fire  by  friction.  Steller  also 
gathered  plants  to  analyze  on  shipboard.  He  regretted 
that  no  more  time  was  granted  him  in  which  to  ex- 
amine the  American  coast,  his  whole  stay  covering 
only  six  hours,  while  the  sailors  were  filling  the  water- 
casks.*^  The  latter  reported  having  found  two  fire- 
places lately  in  use.  They  saw  pieces  of  hewn  wood, 
and  the  tracks  of  a  man  in  the  grass;  some  smoked 
fish  was  also  brought  on  board  and  was  found  quite 
palatable. 

Early  next  morning,  the  21st  of  July,  contrary  to 
his  custom  Bering  came  on  deck  and  ordered  anchor 
up.  It  was  no  use  for  the  oflScers  to  call  attention  to 
the  yet  unfilled  water-casks,  or  beg  to  see  something 
of  the  country  they  had  found.  The  Dane  was  deaf 
alike  to  argument  and  entreaty.  For  once  during 
the  voyage  he  was  firm.  He  and  a  hundred  others 
had  been  working  for  the  past  eight  years  to  the  one 
end  of  seeing  that  land;  and  now  having  seen  it,  that 
was  the  end  of  it;  he  desired  to  go  home.  It  would 
have  been  as  well  for  him  had  he  tarried  long  enough 
at  least  to  fill  his  water-casks. 

Dense  clouds  obscured  the  sky  as  Bering  began  his 
return  voyage,  and  rain  fell  incessantly.  Dismal  forces 
were  closing  in  round  the  Dane,  to  whom  Kussia  was 
very  far  away  indeed.  By  soundings  a  westerly  course 
was  shaped  along  a  depth  of  from  forty  to  fifty 
fathoms,  by  which  means  he  was  enabled  to  avoid  the 
coast  he  could  not  see.  On  the  25th  the  general 
opinion  in  council  was  that  by  steering  to  the  south- 

^  Steller  in  vain  begged  the  commander  to  let  him  have  a  small  boat  and  a 
few  men  with  which  to  examine  the  place.  Perched  upon  a  steep  rock  the 
enthusiastic  scientist  was  taking  in  as  much  as  possible  of  America  when  the 
crusty  Dane  ordered  him  aboard  if  he  would  not  be  left.  In  his  journal,  edited 
by  Pallas,  Steller  describes  the  situation  as  follows:  *0n  descending  the 
monntain,  covered  with  a  vast  forest  without  any  trace  of  road  or  trail,  I 
found  it  impossible  to  make  my  way  through  the  thicket  and  consequently 
reascended;  looking  mournfully  at  the  limits  of  my  observation  I  turned  my 
eyes*  toward  the  continent  which  it  waa  not  in  my  power  to  explore,  and 
observed  at  the  distance  of  a  few  versts  a  smoke  ascending  from  a  wooded 
eminence.  Again  receiving  a  positive  order  to  join  the  ship  I  returned  mourn- 
fully with  my  collection.'  Pailaa,  Steller^s  Journal,  passim. 
Hnr.  AxjyuA.    6 


82  DEATH  OF  BEBIXG. 

west  the  coast  of  Kamchatka  must  be  finally  reached. 
Easterly  winds  drove  the  vessel  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  some  shore  invisible  through  the  fog,  and 
the  greatest  caution  had  to  be  observed  in  keeping 
away  from  the  banks  and  shoals  indicated  by  the 
soundings.  On  the  26th  land  was  made  once  more, 
probably  the  coast  of  Kadiak,  but  an  easterly  wind 
and  shallow  water  prevented  a  landing.  Too  much 
land  now,  to  avoid  which  a  more  direct  course  south 
was  taken;  but  progress  was  impeded  by  the  numer- 
ous islands  which  skirted  the  continent,  hidden  in  im- 
penetrable fog. 

On  the  30th  an  island  was  discovered  which  Bering 
named  Tumannoi,  or  Foggy  Island,  but  no  landing 
was  made.*  Little  progress  was  made  among  the 
islands  in  August,  owing  to  the  thick  mist  and  con- 
trary winds.  As  the  water  gave  out  and  scurvy  came 
the  ship  once  more  found  itself  among  a  labyrinth  of 
islands  with  high  peaks  looming  in  the  distance.  The 
largest  then  in  view  was  named  Eudokia.  A  small 
supply  of  water,  consisting  of  a  few  casks  only,  was 
obtained  there,  the  heavy  surf  making  the  landing 
dangerous.  At  a  new  council  held  the  10th,  in  lati- 
tude SS"",  to  which  petty  oflScers  were  admitted,  it  was 
determined  that  as  it  had  been  decided  to  return  to 
Kamchatka  at  the  end  of  September,  and  it  was  then 
already  near  the  middle  of  August,  and  the  harbor  of 
Petropavlovsk  was  at  least  1,600  miles  distant,  while 
twenty-six  of  the  company  were  ill,  a  further  explora- 
tion of  the  American  coast  had  become  impracticable, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  proceed  to  the  parallel  of 
Petropavlovsk,  and  then  sail  westward  to  Kamchatka. 

Now,  it  is  very  plain  to  one  having  a  knowledge  of 
the  currents  that  it  was  much  easier  to  make  such  a 
resolution  than  to  carry  it  out.    Further  than  this,  all 

•  The  charts  of  the  imperial  academy  at  St  Petersburg,  in  the  last  quarter 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  located  this  point  variously  as  a  portion  of  Kfdiak 
and  as  the  island  of  Trinidad,  of  the  Spanish  discoverers.  It  is  now  known 
that  Foggy  Island  was  Ukamok,  named  Chirikof  Island  by  Vancouver,  in 
latitude  55^  4d'. 


ILLNESS  OF  THE  COMMANDER.  83 

attempts  to  proceed  to  the  westward  were  baffled  by 
the  barrier  of  land.  Then  they  must  have  water,  and 
so  they  anchored  on  the  30th,  at  a  group  of  islands 
in  latitude  54''  48'.  Here  the  first  death  occurred — a 
sailor  named  Shumagin  succumbed  to  scurvy.  His 
name  was  given  to  the  island,  and  a  supply  of  brackish 
water  was  obtained.^ 

The  commander  now  fell  ill,  and  was  soon  confined 
to  his  cabin.  The  Sv  Petr  was  at  this  place  six  days. 
One  night  a  fire  had  been  observed  on  a  small  island 
toward  the  north-east,  and  while  the  larger  boats  were 
engaged  in  watering,  Khitrof  went  there  with  five 
men,  but  only,  after  a  long  pull,  to  find  the  people 
gone.  In  attempting  to  return,  a  strong  head-wind 
threw  them  upon  the  beach  of  another  island,  and 
kept  them  there  till  the  2d  of  September,  when  they 
were  relieved  by  the  larger  boat.  During  the  next 
two  days  several  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made 
to  proceed,  for  the  ship's  position  was  perilous.  After 
a  violent  storm,  which  lasted  all  night,  loud  voices 
were  heard  on  the  nearest  island  on  the  morning  of 
the  5th.  A  fire  was  plainly  visible,  and  to  the  great 
joy  of  the  discoverers  two  canoes,  each  containing  a 
native,  advanced  toward  the  ship;  They  stopped, 
however,  at  a  considerable  distance  displaying  sticks 
adorned  with  eagles'  feathers;  and  with  gestures  in- 
vited the  Russians  to  come  ashore.  The  latter,  on 
the  other  hand,  threw  presents  to  the  savages,  and 
endeavored  to  induce  them  to  approach  the  vessel, 
but  in  vain.  After  gazing  with  mingled  wonder  and 
dread  for  a  time  at  the  strange  craft,  the  natives  pad- 
dled for  the  shore. 

Lieutenant  Waxel,  accompanied  by  nine  men  well 
armed,  went  to  pay  them  a  visit.  They  beckoned 
them  to  come  to  the  boat;  the  savages  in  return  beck- 
oned the  strangers  to  disembark.     At  last  Waxel 

^  Mliller  states  that  the  name  was  applied  to  the  gronp,  while  an  officer 
of  the  navy,  with  the  expedition,  in  a  letter  published  anonymonsly,  says  that 
only  tlie  island  which  furnished  the  water  was  named  after  the  deceased  sailor. 


84  DEATH  OF  BERING. 

ordered  three  men  to  land,  among  them  the  inter- 
preter, while  he  moored  the  boat  to  a  rock.® 

Expressions  of  good-will  were  profuse  on  both 
sides,  the  natives  oflFering  a  repast  of  whale-meat. 
Their  presence  on  the  island  was  evidently  temporary, 
as  no  women  or  children  or  habitation  could  be  seen, 
and  for  every  man  there  was  just  one  hidarka,  or  skin 
canoe  having  two  or  three  seats — the  Russian  term 
for  an  improved  kyak.  No  bows,  arrows,  spears,  or 
any  other  weapons  which  might  have  alarmed  the 
strangers,  were  visible,  and  the  Russians  went  about 
freely  among  the  natives,  taking  care,  in  accordance 
with  strict  injunctions  of  Waxel,  not  to  lose  sight  of 
the  boat.  Meanwhile  one  of  the  natives  summoned 
courage  to  visit  Waxel  in  the  boat.  He  seemed  to 
be  an  elder  and  a  chief,  and  the  lieutenant  gave  him 
the  most  precious  thing  he  had — brandy;  the  savage 
began  to  drink,  but  immediately  spat  it  out,  crying  to 
his  people  that  he.  was  poisoned.  All  Waxel's  efforts 
to  quiet  him  were  unavailing;  needles,  glass  beads,  an 
iron  kettle,  tobacco,  and  pipes  were  offered  in  vain. 
He  would  accept  nothing.  He  was  allowed  to  go, 
and  at  the  same  time  Waxel  recalled  his  men.  The 
natives  made  an  attempt  to  detain  them,  but  finally 
allowed  the  two  Russians  to  go,  keeping  hold  of  the 
interpreter.  Others  ran  to  the  rock  to  which  the 
boat  was  moored  and  seized  the  rope,  which  Waxel 
thereupon  ordered  cut.  The  interpreter  in  the  mean 
time  pleaded  with  the  Russians  not  to  abandon  him, 
but  they  could  afford  no  aid.  As  a  final  effort  to  save 
the  interpreter  two  muskets  were  discharged,  and  as 
the  report  echoed  from  the  surrounding  cliffs,  the  sav- 
ages fell  to  the  ground  while  the  interpreter  sprang 
into  the  boat.  As  the  ship  was  making  ready  to  sail 
next  day  seven  of  these  savages  came  and  exchanged 
gifts.     This  was  on  the  6th  of  September.     After  a 

'  The  interpreters  accompanying  the  expedition  belonged  to  the  Koriak 
and  Chnkcbi  tribes,  and  were  of  no  use  in  conversing  with  the  natives,  but 
they  were  bold  and  inspired  the  islanders  with  confidence,  being  in  outward 
appearance  like  themselves. 


EXTREME  SUEFEBINaS.  85 

very  stormy  passage  land  was  sighted  again  on  the 
24th,  in  latitude  51°  27'.®  There  was  a  coast  with 
islands  and  mountains,  to  the  highest  of  which  Bering 
gave  the  name  of  St  John,  from  the  day. 

The  position  of  the  ship  was  critical.  Finally  they 
escaped  the  dangerous  shore,  only  to  be  driven  by  a 
storm  of  seventeen  days'  duration  down  to  latitude  48°. 
Disease  spread.  Every  day  one  or  more  died,  until 
there  were  scarcely  enough  left  to  manage  the  ship. 
"  The  most  eloquent  pen,"  said  S teller,  "  would  fail  to 
describe  the  misery  of  our  condition."  Opinion  was 
divided  whether  they  should  seek  a  harbor  on  the 
American  coast  or  sail  directly  to  Kamchatka.  Bering 
was  profuse  in  his  promises  to  celestial  powers,  slight- 
ing none,  Catholic  or  Protestant,  Greek  or  German. 
He  vowed  to  make  ample  donations  to  the  Bussian 
church  at  Petropavlovsk  and  to  the  Lutheran  church 
at  Viborg,  Finland,  where  some  of  his  relatives  re- 
sided. 

A  northerly  course  was  kept  until  the  22d  of  Octo- 
ber, when  an  easterly  breeze  made  it  possible  to  head 
the  unfortunate  craft  for  Kamchatka.  Only  fifteen 
casks  of  water  remained,  and  the  commander  was  so 
reduced  by  sickness  and  despondency  that  the  burden 
of  affairs  fell  almost  wholly  on  Waxel.  On  the  25th 
land  was  sighted  in  latitude  51°  and  named  St  Maka- 
rius.  This  was  the  island  of  Amchitka.  On  the 
28th  another  island  in  latitude  52°  was  named  St 
Stephen  (Kishka).  On  the  29th  in  latitude  52°  30' 
still  another  island  was  discovered  and  named  St 
Abram  (Semichi  Island).  On  the  30th  two  other 
islands  were  sighted  and  mistaken  by  the  bewildered 
navigators  as  the  first  of  the  Kuriles.  On  the  1st 
of  November  in  latitude  54°  they  found  themselves 
wnthin  about  sixteen  miles  of  a  high  line  of  coast. 

*  The  latitude  of  the  land  whb  Tariously  reported  by  Waxel,  and  subse- 
quently by  Chirikof  from  his  examination  of  journals,  at  sr  27',  52'  SC,  and 
6r  12'.  It  is  safe  to  presume  that  the  St  John's  mountain  of  Bering  -was 
situated  either  on  the  island  of  Umnak  or  on  one  of  the  Four  Peaks  Islands. 
Sokolof  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  Atkha  Island.  Zap,  Hydr,,  ix.  303. 


86  DEATH  OF  BERING. 

The  condition  of  the  explorers  still  continued  critical. 
Notwithstanding  sickness  and  misery  the  decimated 
crew  was  obliged  to  work  night  and  day,  in  rain,  snow, 
and  cold;  the  sails  and  rigging  were  so  rotten  that 
it  was  dangerous  to  set  much  canvas,  even  if  the  crew 
had  been  able.^^  At  last,  on  the  4th,  the  lookout  sighted 
land.  It  was  distant;  only  the  mountain  tops  appear- 
ing above  the  horizon;  and  though  the  Sv  Petr  was 
headed  directly  for  the  land  all  day,  they  could  not 
reach  it.     An  observation  at  noon  made  the  latitude 

"  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe,"  says  Steller, 
"the  joy  created  by  the  sight  of  land;  the  dying 
crawled  upon  deck  to  see  with  their  own  eyes  what 
they  would  not  believe;  even  the  feeble  commander 
was  carried  out  of  his  cabin.  To  the  astonishment 
of  all  a  small  keg  of  brandy  was  taken  from  some 
hiding-place  and  dealt  out  in  celebration  of  the  sup- 
posed approach  to  the  coast,  of  Kamchatka." 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  another  misfortune  was 
discovered.  All  the  shrouds  on  the  starboard  side 
were  broken,  owing  to  contraction  caused  by  frost. 
Lieutenant  Wax  el  at  once  reported  to  the  commander, 
who  was  confined  in  his  berth,  and  from  him  received 
orders  convoking  a  council  of  officers  to  deliberate 
upon  the  situation.  It  was  well  known  that  the  fresh 
water  was  almost  exhausted,  and  that  the  ravages  of 
scorbutic  disease  were  becoming  more  alarming  every 
day.  The  continuous  wetting  with  spray  and  rain 
became  more  dangerous  and  insupportable  as  the  cold 
increased,  covering  with  a  coat  of  ice  the  surface  of 
every  object  exposed  to  its  action,  animate  or  inani- 

**•  Miiller  writes:  *  The  Bicknesa  was  so  dreadful  that  the  two  saUors  who 
used  to  be  at  the  rudder  were  obliged  to  be  led  to  it  by  two  others  who  could 
liardly  w^alk,  and  when  one  could  sit  and  steer  no  longer  another  in  but  little 
better  condition  supplied  his  place.  *  Midler's  Sammlungj  51.  The  commander 
was  still  confined  to  his  cabin;  the  ofBccrs  though  scarcely  able  to  walk,  were 
quarrelling  among  themselves;  the  crew  were  dying  at  the  rate  of  one  or  two 
every  day;  no  hard  bread,  no  spirits,  and  but  very  little  water;  dampness  and 
cold;  and  to  all  this  was  added  the  almost  certainty  of  impending  disaster. 
Sokdo/f  in  Zap.  IJydr,,  ix.  395. 


SHIPWKECK  OF  THE  'SV  PETR.'  87 

mate.  Soon  the  council  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  necessary  to  seek  reUef  at  the  nearest  point  of 
land,  be  it  island  or  continent. ^^  The  wind  was  from 
the  north,  and  the  soundings  indicated  between  thirty 
and  forty  fathoms  over  sandy  bottom.  After  steering 
south-west  for  some  time  the  soundings  decreased  to 
twelve  fathoms,  and  the  vessel  was  found  to  be  only 
a  short  distance  from  the  shore.  Then  at  the  com- 
mand of  Waxel,  over  the  bows  of  the  doomed  ship, 
down  went  the  anchors  of  the  Sv  Petr  for  the  last 
time.  It  was  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  sea 
began  to  rise,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  a  cable  broke. 
Then  other  cables  were  lost;  and  just  as  the  despair- 
ing mariners  were  about  to  bend  the  last  one  on  board, 
a  huge  wave  lifted  the  vessel  over  a  ledge  of  rocks 
into  smooth  water  of  about  four  fathoms,  but  not 
before  seriously  injuring  the  hull.  This  action  of  the 
elements  settled  the  fate  of  the  expedition;  there  was 
no  alternative  but  to  remain  for  the  winter  on  that 
coast,  ignorant  of  its  extent  and  location  as  they 
were.  It  was  on  a  calm  moonlit  night  that  the  stormy 
voyage  of  over  four  months  was  thus  suddenly  ter- 
minated." 

All  able  to  work  were  landed  to  prepare  for  disem- 
barking the  sick.  A  preliminary  shelter  was  con- 
structed by  digging  niches  into  the  sandy  banks  of  a 
small  stream  and  covering  them  with  sails.  Drift- 
wood was  found  along  the  shore,  but  there  was  no 
sign  of  any  timber  which  might  be  made  useful.  No 
trace  of  human  occupation  was  visible.    On  the  morn- 

"  Steller  mamtains  that  Bering  refoaed  to  give  the  necessary  orders,  siip- 
posing  that  it  would  still  be  possible  to  reach  Avatcha,  and  that  he  was 
supported  in  his  opinion  by  Ovtzin ;  but  the  contrary  opinion  of  Waxel  and 
Khitrof  prevailed.  Sokolofy  in  Zap.  Hydr,,  ix.  397. 

1'^  A  letter  of  one  of  the  officers  says:  'In  endeavoring  to  go  to  the  west 
we  were  cast  on  a  desert  isle  where  we  had  the  prospect  of  remaining  the 
greater  part  of  our  days.  Our  vessel  was  broken  up  on  one  of  the  banks  with 
which  tne  isle  is  surrounded.  W^e  failed  not  to  save  ourselves  on  shore,  with 
all  such  things  as  we  thought  we  had  need  of;  for  by  a  marked  kindness  of 
providence  the  wind  and  waves  threw  after  us  upon  the  shore  the  wreck  and 
the  remains  of  our  vessel,  which  we  gathered  together  to  put  us  in  a  state, 
with  the  blessing  of  God,  to  quit  this  desolate  abode.  *  Bamey^s  Chronol.  Hist,, 
172-3.     See  alBO  Sokolqf,  in  Zap.  Hydr.,  ix.  309. 


88  DEATH  OP  BERING. 

ing  of  the  8tli  preparations  for  landing  the  sick 
were  completed  and  the  work  began.  Many  of  the 
unfortunates  drew  their  last  breath  as  soon  as  they 
come  in  contact  with  the  fresh  air,  while  others  ex- 
pired during  the  process  of  removal.  During  the  day 
following  Commander  Bering  was  carried  ashore.  He 
had  been  daily  growing  weaker,  and  had  evidently 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  must  die.  Four  men  car- 
ried him  in  a  hand-barrow  well  secured  against  the 
air.  Shortly  afterward  the  last  remnant  of  the  unfor- 
tunate ship  was  torn  from  its  single  cable  and  came 
upon  the  shore.  Steller  searched  in  vain  for  anti- 
scorbutic herbs  and  plants  under  the  deep  snow,  and 
there  was  no  game  or  wild-fowl  at  hand.  The  only 
animals  visible  on  land  were  the  pestsi  or  Arctic  foxes, 
exceedingly  bold  and  rapacious.  They  fell  upon  the 
corpses  and  devoured  them  almost  before  the  survivors 
could  make  preparations  for  their  burial.  It  seemed 
to  be  impossible  to  frighten  them  away.  The  stock 
of  powder  was  small,  and  it  would  not  do  to  waste 
it  on  beasts;  it  must  be  kept  for  killing  men.  The 
sea-otter  was  already  known  to  the  Russians  from  a 
few  specimens  captured  on  the  coast  of  Kamchatka, 
and  among  the  Kurile  Islands.  Soon  the  castaways 
discovered  the  presence  of  these  animals  in  the  sur- 
rounding waters.  The  flesh  seemed  to  them  most  pal- 
atable, and  Steller  even  considered  it  as  anti-scorbutic. 
The  skins  were  preserved  by  the  survivors  and  subse- 
quently led  to  the  discovery  of  a  wealth  that  Bering 
and  Chirikof  had  failed  to  see  in  their  voyages  of 
observation.^^ 

Some  relief  in  the  way  of  provisions  was  afforded 
by  the  carcass  of  a  whale  cast  upon  the  beach.     It 

^'  At  that  time  the  Chinese  merchants  at  Kiakhta  paid  from  80  to 
100  rubles  for  soa-ottcr  Bkins;  000  sea-otters  were  killed  on  the  island  by 
the  crew  of  the  Sc  Petr;  the  skins  were  divided  c(^ually  among  all,  but 
Steller  was  motit  fortunate.  In  liis  capacity  of  physician  he  received  many 
presents,  and  lie  bought  many  skins,  the  property  of  persons  who  in  the  uncer- 
tainty of  living  held  them  in  light  esteem.  His  share  alone  is  said  to  have 
amounted  to  300  choice  skins,  which  he  carried  with  him  to  Kamchatka.  Sid'" 
le/s  Jour/icU,  172,  17o,  pajBsim;  Muller,  Sammlung,  54-^. 


THE  LAST  HOUR.  89 

was  not  very  delicate  food,  but  proved  of  great  ser- 
vice when  nothing  better  could  oe  had.  It  afforded 
also  the  material  for  feeding  lamps  during  the  long 
dreary  nights  of  winter.  No  distinction  was  made  in 
the  division  of  food  between  officers  and  men;  every 
one  had  a  fair  and  equal  portion.  Lieutenant  Waxel 
was  now  recognized  as  general  manager,  the  com- 
mander being  beyond  duty.  Misfortune  and  misery 
had  toned  down  the  rough  aggressiveness  of  the  lieu- 
tenant^ and  nearly  all  of  the  wise  regulations  there- 
after adopted  must  be  credited  to  him,  though  he 
frequently  acted  upon  Steller's  advice.  Both  did 
their  utmost  to  give  occupation  to  all  who  were  able 
as  the  only  remedy  against  their  mortal  enemy,  the 
scurvy. 

Toward  the  end  of  November  Khitrof  and  Waxel 
also  were  prostrated  by  disease,  and  the  prospect 
before  the  castaways  was  indeed  a  gloomy  one.  The 
excursions  to  different  parts  of  the  island  in  search 
of  food  and  fuel  became  more  and  more  contracted, 
and  dull  despair  settled  upon  the  whole  community. 

As  for  the  commander,  no  wonder  he  had  longed 
to  return;  for  it  was  now  apparent  to  all,  as  it  may 
have  been  to  him  these  many  days,  that  he  must  die. 
And  we  can  pardon  him  the  infirmities  of  age,  dis- 
ease, and  temper;  the  labors  of  his  life  had  been 
severe  and  his  death  was  honorable,  though  the  con- 
ditions were  by  no  means  pleasing.  Toward  the  last 
he  became  if  possible  more  timid,  and  exceedingly 
suspicious.  He  could  hardly  endure  even  the  pres- 
ence of  Steller,  his  friend  and  confidant,  yet  this 
faithful  companion  praises  his  firm  spirit  and  dignified 
demeanor. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  Vitus  Bering 
died — on  this  cold  forbidding  isle,  under  the  sky  of 
an  Arctic  winter,  the  8th  of  December  1741,  in  a 
miserable  hut  half  covered  by  the  sand  which  came 
trickling  down  upon  him  through  the  boards  that  had 
been  placed  to  bar  its  progress.     Thus  passed  from 


90  DEATH  OF  BEBING. 

earth,  as  nameless  tens  of  thousands  have  done,  the 
illustrious  commander  of  the  expeditions  which  had 
disclosed  the  separation  of  the  two  worlds  and  dis- 
covered north-westernmost  America. 

On  the  10th  of  December  the  second  mate,  Kho- 
tiaintzof,  died,  and  a  few  days  later  three  of  the  sailors. 
On  the  '8th  of  January  death  demanded  another  vic- 
tim, the  commissary  Lagimof,  making  thirty-one  up 
to  this  time." 

At  length  the  survivors  began  slowly  to  improve  in 
health.  The  ship's  constable,  RossiUus,  with  two  men, 
was  despatched  northward  to  explore;  but  they  learned 
only  that  they  were  on  an  island.  Later  the  sailor, 
Anchugof,  was  ordered  southward, and  after  an  absence 
of  nearly  four  weeks  he  returned  half-starved,  with- 
out information  of  any  kind.  Another  was  sent  west, 
but  with  the  same  result.  It  was  only  then  that  many 
would  believe  they  were  not  on  the  shore  of  Kam- 
chatka, and  that  it  depended  upon  their  own  exertions 
whether  they  ever  left  their  present  dwellings,  cer- 
tainly not  very  attractive  ones,  these  excavations  in 
the  earth  roofed  over  with  sails.^^  The  foreigners 
formed  a  separate  colony  in  one  large  cavity.  There 
were  five  of  these,  Steller,  Rossilius,  Plenisner,  Assist- 
ant Surgeon  Betge,  and  a  soldier  named  Zand.  Waxel 
occupied  a  dwelling  by  himself  and  another  private 
domicile  had  been  constructed  by  the  two  boatswains, 
Ivanof  and  Alexeief.  All  the  others  lived  together 
in  one  large  excavation. 

The  provisions  were  by  no  means  abundant,  but 

**  A  Hat  of  the  effects  of  Bering  and  the  petty  officers,  preserved  in  the 
naval  archives,  contains:  3  quadrants,  1  chronometer,  1  compass,  1  spy-^lajss, 
1  gold  watch,  1  pair  of  pistols,  8  copper  drinking-cups,  a  few  pipes,  11  books 
on  navigation,  a  bundle  of  charts,  2  bundles  of  csdculations,  7  maps,  and  8 
dozen  packs  of  playing-cards.  With  the  exception  of  the  playing-cards,  all 
were  sold  at  auction  in  Kamchatka,  and  brought  1,000  rubles.  Sobolof,  in  Zap. 
Ilydr,,  ix   10,  11. 

'^  Xagai'ef ,  an  assistant  of  Sokolof  in  the  collection  and  digestion  of  docu- 
ments concerning  the  expedition,  states  that  he  found  original  entries  of  Waxel 
and  Khitrof  in  tbe  journal,  to  the  effect  that  after  Bering's  death  the  only  two 
remaining  officers  declared  their  willingness  to  temporarily  resign  their  rank 
and  put  themselves  on  an  equality  with  the  men,  but  that  the  mtter  refused, 
and  continued  to  obey  their  superiors.  Morskoi  Sbomiky  cvi.  215. 


A  NEW  CRAFT  BUILT.  91 

great  care  was  exercised  in  distributing  them,  keeping 
always  in  view  the  possibility  of  a  further  sea- voyage 
in  search  of  Kamchatka.  The  principal  food  was  the 
meat  of  marine  mammals  killed  about  the  shore,  sea- 
otters,  seals,  and  sea-lions.  Carcasses  of  whales  were 
east  ashore  twice  during  the  winter,  and  though  in 
an  advanced  state  of  putrefaction  they  yielded  an 
abundant  supply  to  the  unfortunates,  who  had  ceased 
to  be  very  particular  as  to  the  quality  of  their  diet. 
In  the  spring  the  sea-cows  made  their  appearance  and 
furnished  the  mariners  with  an  abundance  of  more 
palatable  meat.  The  only  fuel  was  drift-wood,  for 
which  they  had  to  mine  the  deep  snow  for  eight  or 
ten  miles  round.  The  winter  was  cold  and  stormy 
throughout,  and  the  approach  of  spring  was  heralded 
by  dense  fogs  hanging  about  the  island  for  weeks 
without  lifting  sulBSciently  to  afford  a  glance  at  the 
surrounding  sea. 

A  council  was  now  held  and  some  proposed  sending 
the  single  remaining  ship's  boat  for  assistance ;  others 
were  of  the  opinion  that  the  ship  itself,  though  half 
broken  up,  might  still  be  repaired;  but  finally  it  was 
determined  to  take  the  wreck  entirely  to  pieces  and 
out  of  them  construct  a  new  craft  of  a  size  suflScient 
to  hold  the  entire  company.  A  singular  question 
here  presented  itself  to  these  navigators,  accustomed 
as  they  were  to  the  iron  discipline  of  the  imperial 
service.  Would  they  not  be  punished  for  taking  to 
pieces  a  government  vessel?  After  some  discussion 
it  dawned  on  their  dim  visions  that  perhaps  after 
all  the  punishment  of  their  dread  ruler  might  be 
no  worse  than  death  on  that  island.  Hence  it  was 
solemnly  resolved  to  begin  at  once;  the  wreck  was 
dismantled,  and  in  May  the  keel  was  laid  for  the 
new  vessel. 

The  three  ship's  carpenters  were  dead,  but  a  Cossack 
who  had  once  worked  in  the  ship-yard  at  Okhotsk 
was  chosen  to  superintend  the  construction,  and  he 
proved   quite   successful  in  drawing   the   plans  and 


92  DEATH  OF  BERING. 

moulding  the  frames. ^^  The  lack  of  material  and 
tools  naturally  delayed  the  work,  and  it  was  the  10th 
of  August  before  the  vessel  could  be  launched.  She 
was  constructed  almost  wholly  without  iron,  and  meas- 
ured thirty-six  feet  in  length  at  the  keel,  and  forty- 
one  feet  on  deck,  with  a  beam  of  twelve  feet  and  a 
depth  of  hold  of  only  five  and  a  half  feet.  She  was 
still  called  the  Sv  Petr,  The  vessel  had  to  be  provi- 
sioned wholly  from  the  meat  of  sea-animals." 

On  the  16th  of  August,^^  after  a  stay  of  over 
nine  months  on  this  island,  to  which  they  gave  the 
name  of  Bering,  at  the  suggestion  of  Khitrof,  and 
after  protracted  prayers  and  devotions,  this  remnant 
of  the  commander's  crew  set  sail  from  the  scene  of 
suffering  and  disaster.  On  the  third  day  out,  as  might 
be  expected  from  such  construction,  the  vessel  was 
found  to  be  leaking  badly,  and  within  half  an  hour 
there  were  two  feet  of  water  in  the  hold.  Some  lead 
and  ammunition  were  thrown  out,  and  the  leak  was 
stopped.  On  the  ninth  day  the  hearts  of  the  unhappy 
crew  were  gladdened  by  a  full  view  of  the  Kamchatka 
shore,  and  on  the  following  day,  the  26th  of  August, 
the  juvenile  Sv  Petr  was  safely  anchored  in  the  bay 
of  Avatcha.  The  survivors  were  received  by  the  few 
inhabitants  of  Petropavlovsk  with  great  rejoicing; 
they  had  long  since  been  given  up  as  dead.  They 
remained  at  the  landing-place  to  recuperate  for 
nearly  a  year,  and  finally  proceeded  to  Okhotsk  in 
1743.^^ 

^*  He  succeeded  bo  well  in  his  undertaking  that  he  received  as  reward  from 
the  grateful  empress  the  patent  of  nobility.  Sammlung^  xx.  304. 

^^ Zap.  Flydr,,  ix.  413.  The  author  of  the  Sammlungen  states  that  when 
the  sea-otters  disappeared  in  March  the  Kussians  had  recourse  to  dogs,  bears, 
and  lions,  meaning  of  course  seals  {aeehuTid),  fur-seal  [seebdr],  and  sea^hons. 
Samrnlung^  xx.  393. 

^^Sokolof  makes  the  date  of  departure  the  12th.  Zap.  Hydr.,  ix.  413; 
obviously  an  error  on  the  part  of  some  one. 

"In  the  church  of  Petropavlovsk  there  is  still  preserved  a  memorial  of 
this  event;  a  silver  mounted  image  of  the  apostles  reter  and  Paul  with  the 
inscription,  *An  ofTering  in  memory  of  our  miraculous  rescue  from  a  barren 
island,  and  our  return  to  the  coast  of  Kamchatka,  by  lieutenant  Dimitri 
Ovtzin,  and  the  whole  company,  August  1741.'  Polonski,  Kamchalba  Archivts, 
MS.,  vol.  xiii. 


CHIRIKOF'S  SUBSEQUENT  VOYAGE.  93 

Before  he  had  fairly  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
his  last  voyage,  Chirikof  made  another  effort  to  see 
something  more  of  the  American  coast  which  he  had 
found.  He  commanded  the  Sv  Pavel  again,  but  the 
only  oflBcer  of  the  former  voyage  now  with  him  was 
the  pilot  Yelagin.^  Sailing  from  Avatcha  Bay  the 
25th  of  May  1742,  he  shaped  his  course  due  east. 
His  progress  was  slow,  and  on  the  8th  of  June  he 
sighted  the  first  land  in  latitude  52°.  Only  the  snow- 
covered  tops  of  high  mountains  were  visible  above  the 
fog  and  clouds  which  enveloped  the  island  called  by 
Chirikof,  St  Theodore,  but  which  we  know  to-day  as 
Attoo.  A  series  of  southerly  gales  then  set  in  which 
carried  the  ship  northward  to  latitude  54°  30'.  On 
the  16th  of  June,  owing  to  the  wretched  condition  of 
the  vessel,  it  was  deemed  best  to  return  to  Kamchatka. 
On  the  way  back  the  Sv  Pavd  passed  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  island  where  at  that  moment  Bering's 
companions  were  still  suffering.  Chirikof  sighted  the 
southern  point  of  the  island  and  named  it  St  Julian. 
The  expedition  reached  Petropavlovsk  the  1st  of  July.^ 

••Miiller,  Voyaje,  112,  inaintainB  that  Chirikof  intended  to  search  for 
Bering;  but  Sokolof  Bconts  the  idea  upon  the  ground  that  he  could  not  have 
had  the  faintest  suspicion  of  his  whereabouts;  it  was  then  believed  that  Bering 
and  all  his  crew  had  perished.  Sokolof,  in  Zap.  Hydr.,  ix.  414. 

*'  As  this  last  attempt  of  Chirikof  ends  the  operations  of  the  expedition 
which  accomplished  the  discovery  of  the  American  coast,  the  official  list  of 
all  those  engaged  in  the  enterprise  in  its  various  branches,  taken  from  Bering's 
private  jounim,  will  not  be  out  of  place.  The  names  are  arranged  according 
to  rank  as  follows:  Captain-commander,  Vitus  Bering;  captains,  Martin 
Spanbergand Alexe'i' Chirikof;  lieutenants, Dmitri  Laptief ,  Yegor Endogurof, 
William  Walton,  Peter  Lassenius,  Dmitri  Ovtzin,  Stepan  Muravief,  Mikhail 
Pavlof,  Stepan  Malygin,  Alexel'  Skuratof,  Ivan  Sukhotin,  Hariton  Laptief, 
Ivan  Chikhachef ;  midshipman,  Alexei  Schelting;  mates,  Sven  Waxel,  Vassili 
Promchishchef ,  Mikhail  Plunting,  Andre'ian  Eselbcrg,  Lev  Kazimerof,  Ivan 
Kashelef,  Fedor  Minin,  Sofron  Khifcrof,  Abram  Dcmentief ;  second  mates, 
Ivan  Vereshchagin,  Ivan  Yelagin,  Matvei  Petrof,  Dmitri  Sterlegof,  Semen 
Cheliuskin,  Vassili  Rtishchef ,  Vassili  Andreief,  Gavril  Eudnef ,  Peter  Pazni- 
akof,  Marko  Golovin,  Ivan  Biref,  Kharlam  Yushin,  Moissei  Yurlof,  Andrei 
Shigonof;  marines,  Vassili  Perenago,  Joann  Synd,  Andreian  Yurlof;  naval 
cadets,  MikhaU  Scherbinin,  Vassili  Khmetevski,  Ossip  Glazof,  Emilian 
Rodichef,  Andrei  Velikopolski,  Fedor  Kanishchef,  Sergeif  Spiridof,  Sergei 
Sunkof ;  commissaries,  Agafon  Choglokof,  Fedor  Kolychef,  Stepan  Ivashenm, 
Ivan  Lagunof;  naviraitors,  Ivan  Belui,  Mikhail  Vosikof;  assistant  navigators, 
Dmitri  Koroetlef,  T^ikita  Khotiaintzof;  boatswains,  Niels  Jansen,  Sidor 
Savclief;  boatswain's  mate,  Fedor  Kozlof;  boat-bail ders,  Andrei  Kozmin, 
'William  Butzovski,  Henrich  Hovins,  Caspar  Feich;  assistant  surgeons, 
Ivan  Stupin,  William  Berensen,  Peter  Brauner,  Sim  Gren,  Thomas  Vinzen- 


04 


DEATH  OF  BEBING. 


In  the  August  following,  and  before  the  survivors  of 
Bering's  party  could  reach  that  port,  Chirikof  sailed 
for  Okhotsk. 

dorf,  Henrich  Schaffer,  Ellas  Giknther,  Eiril  Shemchiuhnykof ,  Morite  Ar- 
menus,  Andreas  Heer,  Ivan  Paxin,  Henrich  Hebel,  MikhaU  Brant,  Matthias 
Betge,  Johann  Lau;  academicians,  Grerhard  MuUer,  Johann  Gmelin,  Louis 
Croy^re;  Professor  Johann  Fischer;  adjunct,  Geon^e  Wilhelm  Steller;  stu- 
dents, Stepan  Krashennikof,  Fedor  Popof«  Luka  fvanof,  Alexeli  Tretdakof, 
Alexel  Gorlonof;  instrument-maker,  Stepan  Ovsiannikof;  painter,  Johann 
Berkhan;  draughtsman,  Johann  Lursenlno;  translator,  Ilia  Yakhoutof;  sur- 
veyors, Andrei  Krassilnikof,  Nikifor  Chekin,  Mo\aa&t  Oushakof,  Alexander 
Ivanof,  Peter  Skobeltzin,  Dmitri  Baskakof,  Ivan  Svistunof,  Vassili  Shetilof, 
Vassili  Selifontof,  Ivan  Kindiarof,  Vassili  Somof,  MikhaU  Gvozdef ;  assistant 
surveyors,  Mikhail  Vuikhodzef,  Fedor  Prianishnikof,  Alexei'  Makshei'ef, 
Ivan  Shavri^;  assayer,  Simon  Gardebol;  mineralogists,  Dmitri  Odintzof, 
Friedrich  Weidel,  Elias  Schehl,  Zakar  Medvedef,  Agapius  Leskin,  Ivan 
Samoilof .  There  was  also  one  parish  priest,  with  six  subordinate  members  of 
the  clergy.  The  following  is  the  naval  roster  of  Bering's  command  as  dis- 
tributed among  the  various  divisions  of  the  expedition. 

Roster  of  Bering's  CoMMAin>  in  1740. 


KA17E. 


On  the  Ships  of 


Bering. 


Chiri- 
kof. 


Span- 
berg. 


On  the  Doable 
Sloops 


of 
Span- 
berg. 


with 
Arctic 
Exped. 


In  the 

^ITilte 
Sea. 


TotaL 


Captain  Commander. 

Captains 

Lieutenants 

Midshipmen 

Mates 

Second  Mates 

Naval  Cadets 

Surgeons 

Ass^  Surgeons 

Medical  Cadets 

Boatswains 

Boatswain's  Mates. . 

Quartermasters 

Commissaries 

Buglers 

Constables 

Cannoneers 

Writers 

Na%ngators 

Sailors 

Rope-makers 

Sail-makers 

Carpenters 

Cooi)ers 

Sergeants 

Corporals 

Privates 

Drummers 

Total 


1 

i 
*i 

2 

*i 
1 

2 

1 

2 
2 

1 

2 
1 
6 
1 
1 

12 
3 
3 
3 
3 
1 
1 

24 
1 


1 
1 

*i 

2 

*i 

1 
2 
1 
2 
2 
1 

i 

6 

1 

1 

12 
3 
3 
3 
3 
1 
1 

24 
1 


1 

1 
1 
2 
1 
2 
2 

i2 
4 
2 
3 
2 
1 

20 

1 


4 
4 
4 
6 
4 
2 

52 


78 


4 
4 
4 
6 
4 
2 

52 


1 

2 

8 

1 

4 

12 

7 

3 

0 

4 

2 

12 

12 

3 

4 

10 

28 

7 

2 

50 

27 

25 

30 

22 

6 

2 

250 

3 


77 


75 


61 


92 


147 


d4 


546 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  OTTER. 


95 


Call  it  science,  or  patriotism,  or  progress,  there  is 
this  to  be  said  about  the  first  Russian  discoveries  in 
America — ^little  would  have  been  heard  of  them  for 
some  time  to  come  if  ever,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
beautiful  furs  brought  back  from  Bering  Island  and 

According  to  the  ledgers  of  t|ie  admiralty  college  the  expenditure  in 
behalf  of  the  expedition  np  to  the  end  of  the  year  1742  has  been  as  follows : 


Bublea. 

K. 

/ 

For  pay  and  uniform 

90,383 

684 

3,103 

73 

6,206 

7? 

For  provisions 

At  St  Petersburg           ^ 

For  transportation 

648 

For  scientific  instruments 

For  various  stores 

Total 

39,451 

4,754 

1,107 

10,801 

554 

At  KftTATI.  t ,  .  ,    T  , , ,  , 

Cash 

At  Arkhaiig<^l»V. ...... 

Rigging,  lumber,  and  provisions. 

254 
47* 

Total 

56,114 

2,178 

229,525 

72,840 

82i 
73 

AtUinsk 

In  the  Province  of  Siberia. 

Cash,  provisions,  and  stores 

Sundry  expenditure 

33 
79i 

Qrand  total 

360,659 

13J 

Sokolqf,  in  Zap.  Hydr,,  ix.  446-52. 

Spanbeig  made  a  reconnoissance  in  the  sea  of  Okhotsk  in  1740.  In  Sep- 
tember 1741  he  crossed  from  Okhotsk  to  Kamchatka  with  the  packet-boat 
6v  loaim,  the  brigantine  Arkhangd  MlkhaV,  the  double  sloop  Nadfshdaf  and 
the  sloop  BoUherelaky  this  being  the  beginning  of  an  official  expedition  to 
Japan.  Although  the  squadron  was  so  pretentious,  and  had  on  board  many 
learned  men  who  were  to  ex^und  the  mysteries  of  those  parts,  nothins  of 
importance  came  from  it.  This  was  one  branch  of  the  explorations  included 
in  Bering's  scheme.  Another  was  a  survey  of  the  coast  of  Okhotsk  Sea  by 
Lieutenant  Walton  in  1741. 

Explorations  were  also  carried  on  alongthe  Kamchatka  coast.  In  1 742  Sur- 
veyor Oushakof  explored  the  coast  from  Bolshcretsk  northward  to  Figil,  and 
from  the  Bay  of  Avatcha  to  Cape  Kronotzkoi.  A  portion  of  this  work  had 
previously  been  attempted  by  tne  pilot  Yelagin  in  1739,  and  maps  prepared 
by  him  are  still  preserved  in  the  naval  archives  at  St  Petersburff,  but  for 
some  reason  the  later  survey  was  adopted  as  authority.  Steller  ana  Gorlanof 
continued  their  investigations  in  Kamchatka  until  1744.  In  accordance  with 
instructions  they  also  experimented  in  agricultural  pursuits,  meeting  with  no 
success  in  their  attempts.'  When  the  combined  commands  of  Chirikof, 
Waxel,  and  Spalding  arrived  at  Okhotsk,  they  found  orders  awaiting  them  to 
proceed  to  Yakutsk  and  remain  there  for  further  instructiona  This  order 
virtually  ended  the  expedition.  The  leaders  claimed  that  all  its  objects 
bad  beoi  attained  as  far  as  possible.    Many  of  the  officers  and  scientists 


96  PEATH  OF  BERING. 

elsewhere.  Siberia  was  still  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
tsar  for  purposes  of  expatriation,  and  the  Kussians 
were  not  such  zealots  as  to  undertake  conquest  for 
the  sake  of  conversion,  and  to  make  religion  a  cloak 

had  already  returned  before  accomplishing  their  task;  others  were  still 
detained  by  sickness  and  other  circumstances ;  others  again  had  died  and  the 
force  still  ut  for  duty  of  any  kind  was  very  mnch  reduced.  The  provisions 
amassed  with  such  immense  labor  and  trouble  had  been  expended,  the  rigging 
and  sails  of  ships  were  completely  worn  out,  the  ships  themselves  were  unsea- 
worthy,  and  the  resources  of  all  Siberia  had  been  nearly  exhausted.  Tho 
native  tribes  and  convict  settlers  had  been  crashed  by  the  most  oppressive  re- 
quisitions in  labor  and  stores,  and  even  the  forests  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  settlements  had  been  thinned  out  to  an  alarming  extent  for  the  require- 
ments of  the  expedition.  In  1743  a  famine  raged  in  eastern  Siberia  to  such 
an  extent  that  m  the  month  of  September  an  imperial  oukaz  ordained  the 
immediate  suspension  of  other  operations.  The  force  was  divided  into  small 
detachments  and  scattered  here  and  there  in  the  more  fertile  districts  of 
Siberia.  The  temporary  suspension  of  the  labors  of  the  exj)edition  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  entire  abandonment  of  the  work.  The  Siberian  contingents 
returned  to  their  proper  stations,  the  sailors  and  mechanics  belonging  to  the 
nsLVj  were  ordered  to  Tomsk  and  Yenisseisk.  Through  intrigues  at  the 
imperial  court  the  commanders  were  long  detained  in  the  wilds  of  Siberia; 
Chirikof  and  Spanberg  until  1746,  Waxel  until  1749,  and  Rtishchef  until 
1754,  when  a  new  expedition  was  already  on  the  tapis.  The  original  charts 
and  journals  of  the  expedition  were  forwarded  to  Irkutsk  only  in  1754,  though 
official  copies  had  certainly  been  token  pre\iou8  to  that  time.  From  Irkutsk 
they  were  removed  in  1759  to  the  city  of  Tobolsk,  and  again  copied.  No 
reason  was  given  for  retainiiig  the  originals,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  were 
destroyed  during  a  fire  in  Tobolsk  in  1788.  Zap.  Hydr.^  v.  265.  Records  of 
promotions  conferred  upon  a  few  members  of  the  expedition  have  been  pre- 
served. Ovtzin  and  Laptief  were  made  lieutenants  on  WaxePs  recomraenda- 
"Bon  in  1743;  Alexe'i  Ivanof  and  Yelagin  were  promoted  to  the  same  rank  on 
Chirikof 's  recommendation  in  1744.  On  the  20th  of  November  1749  an  im- 
perial oukaz  bestowed  a  money  reward  upon  all  the  survivors  of  Berin  ;'s 
command  on  the  Sv  Petr,  'for  having  suffered  many  unheard  of  hardships.' 
Khitrof  was  made  a  lieutenant  and  finally  captain  of  the  first  rank.  Waxel 
was  promoted  to  a  captain  of  the  second  rank  in  1744,  whUe  all  his  command 
obtamed  a  reward  in  money  from  the  admiralty  college.  In  1754  the  force 
of  Lieutenant  Rtishchef  at  Tomsk  consisted  of  42  men,  and  that  of  Lieutenant 
Khcnetcvski  at  Okhotsk,  of  46  men;  the  last  two  officers  evidently  remained 
in  Siberia,  as  they  are  mentioned  again  in  the  archives  of  Okhotsk  as  captains 
in  1773. 

The  marine  Synd,  who  undertook  the  unfortunate  expedition  to  Bering 
Straits,  also  remained  in  Siberia,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and 
died  at  Okhotsk  in  1779.  Sihrrian  Archives;  Mailer^  9th  ser.;  Zap.  Hydr.^  v. 
2C8.  The  young  widow  of  the  astronomer  De  la  Croydre  in  1774  married 
Captain  Lcbedof,  who  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  Kamchatka.  Sgibnef, 
in  MoraJ:oi  Shornikf  cii.  6,  55.  Tho  town  of  Okhotsk  had  received  a  great 
impetus  during  tho  operations  of  the  Bering  expedition,  for  which  it  served 
as  the  maritime  base.  A  few  rude  vessels  were  constructed  at  Okhotsk 
during  the  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  official  records  are  still 
in  existence  of  all  the  shipping  constructed  at  that  port  from  the  year  1714 
to  modem  times.  Up  to  tne  time  when  Bering's  expedition  left  Okhotsk  for 
the  interior  of  Siberia  19  vessels  were  enumerated  m  this  list.  The  first  of 
these  vessels  was  a  lodka,  a  craft  with  one  mast,  half -decked  over,  27  feet  in 
length,  with  18  (!)  feet  beam,  drawing  with  a  full  cargo  only  three  feet  and 
fk  half  of  water.     The  keel  was  laid  at  Okhotsk  in  May  1714,  and  she  was 


HISTORICAL  VESSELS.  97 

for  their  atrocities;  hence,  but  for  these  costly  skins, 

•each  of  which  proclaimed  in  loudest  strains  the  glories 

of  Ala^a,  the  Great  Land  might  long  have  rested 

Uunchcd  in  May  1716.  The  builder  was  carpenter  Kiril  Plotnitzki(?).  The 
vessel  had  a  brief  existence,  for  she  stranded  in  1721,  and  was  finally  bumed 
for  the  iron  in  1727.  The  second  vessel  was  of  the  same  class.  The  keel  was 
laid  in  1718  for  the  first  Kamchatka  expedition,  but  she  was  never  finished, 
and  rotted  on  the  stocks.  The  third  was  also  a  lodka,  54  feet  in  length  by  18 
in  width;  she  was  constructed  at  Oudsk,  near  Okhotsk,  in  1719,  by  one  Teta- 
rinof.  This  craft  also  was  never  launched,  and  finally  fell  to  pieces.  The 
fourth  vessel,  also  a  lodka,  was  begun  by  a  carpenter  named  Karsopoltzcf, 
in  1720,  and  launched  In  1723.  Bering  caused  her  to  be  retimbered  in  1727, 
and  in  1734  the  vessel  was  beached  as  unseaworthy,  but  she  was  finally 
repaired  in  1741  and  wrecked  on  the  Kurile  Islands  in  the  same  year.  The 
fifth,  a  lodka,  was  built  near  Okhotsk  in  1724,  but  was  never  finished  'for 
want  of  matcriaL '  The  sixth  vessel  constructed  at  Okhotsk  was  the  shitika 
Fortuna,  built  in  one  year  by  a  marine,  Chaplin,  probably  an  Englishman, 
and  launched  in  June  1727.  In  1730  the  Fortuna  was  hauled  up  as  unsea- 
worthy, but  in  1731  she  was  repaired  once  more  and  finally  retmibered  in 
1737,  and  wrecked  in  the  same  year  near  Bolsheretsk.  The  seventh  on  the 
list,  the  Sv  Oavril,  was  constructed  under  Beriug's  immediate  supervision  at 
Nishekamchatsk  in  the  year  1728.  In  1737  she  was  retimbered  by  Lieu- 
tenant Spanber^  at  Okhotsk.  In  1738  she  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Kam- 
chatka, but  again  repaired  in  the  following  year,  1739.  She  was  finally  broken 
up  as  unseaworthy  in  1755.  The  eighth  vessel  constructed  at  Okhotsk  was 
the  V^ottochnui  Oavrii,  or  Eastern  Gabriel,  built  in  1729  by  Sphanef  for  Shes- 
takofs  expedition.  After  Gvozdef's  voyace  to  Bering  Strait  the  Eastern 
Oahriel  was  wrecked  in  October  1739  by  Fedoref  near  Bolsheretsk.  The  Lev 
(Lion)  was  also  built  by  Sphanef  at  Okhotsk  in  1729,  but  was  bumed  by  the 
hostile  Koriaks  in  September  of  the  same  year.  A  lodka  built  by  Churekaicf 
in  1729  is  the  tenth  on  the  list.  The  navigator  Moshkof  used  this  craft  for 
an  exploration  of  the  Shantar  Islands,  but  she  proved  unseaworthy  and  was 
abandoned.  Next  on  the  list  ia  the  brigantine  Arkhangel  MikhdUy  begun  at 
Okhotsk  in  173o  and  launched  in  1737  for  Bering's  second  expedition.  The 
builders  were  Ilogachcf  and  Kozmin,  superintended  by  Spanberg  himself. 
The  bri^jantine  did  good  service,  but  was  finally  wrecked  in  1753.     The  12th 


by  one  Naoumof  on  the  Kurile  Islands.  The  sloop  Bolsheretsk  was  built  by 
Spanberg  in  1739  of  birch  timber,  and  provided  with  18  oars.  She  was 
declared  to  be  unseaworthy  in  1745.  The  galiot  Okhotsk^  the  14th  on  the 
list,  was  built  by  Roeachef  at  Okliotsk  in  1737.  Ten  years  later  she  was 
repaired,  and  wrecked  the  year  after.  The  packet-boat  Sv  Pefr^  the  vessel 
in  which  Berine  sailed,  was  also  built  by  Kogachef  and  Kozmin  in  1741. 
She  was  wrecked  and  rebuilt  on  Bering  Island  in  the  same  year,  as  we  have 
seen.  The  vessel  of  Chirikof,  the  big  Sv  Pavel^  was  built  by  the  same  per- 
sons in  Okhotsk  and  launched  in  1740,  and  only  four  years  later  she  was 
abandoned  as  unseaM'orthy.  The  next  on  the  list  is  the  packet-boat  loan 
KrestiUl,  or  St  John  the  Baptist,  built  in  Okhotsk  by  Kozmin  1741,  for  Span- 
berg's  expedition,  and  wrecked  near  Bolsheretsk  in  October  1743,  under  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Khmetevski.  The  sloop  Elizaveta^  the  18th  on  the  list, 
was  built  at  Okhotsk  by  Kozmin,  wrecked  on  the  Kamchatka  coast  in  1745, 
repaired,  and  wrecked  again  in  1755.  The  small  Sv  Petr,  built  on  Bering 
Island  out  of  the  remains  of  the  larger  vessel,  was  sunk  on  the  coast  of  Kam- 
chatka in  1753,  but  raised  and  beached  in  1754.  Okhotsk  Archives;  Syibnef, 
MoUhn  Sbomik,  1855,  12-210. 
BisT.  Alaska.    7 


08  DEATH  OF  BERING. 

undisturbed.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  was  chiefly  on  the 
voyages  of  Bering  and  Chirikof  that  Kussia  ever  after 
based  her  claim  to  the  ownership  of  north-western- 
most America.^ 

'^  The  voyages  of  Vitus  Bering  have  famished  iDAtexial  for  much  learned 
discussion.  The  French  astronomer  Be  Lisle  de  la  Croy^re  advanced  the 
claim  of  having  been  largely  instrumental  in  their  accomplishment,  more  so  per- 
haps than  he  was  justly  entitled  to,  though  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  had 
much  to  say  in  the  organization  of  the  second  expedition  under  Bering.  With 
the  honor  of  having  planned  the  expedition,  he  should  not  attempt  to  escape 
the  odium  of  having  furnished  it  with  such  villainous  charts,  to  which  may  be 
attributed  most  of  that  suffering  and  loss  of  life  which  followed.  Nor  is  he  by 
any  means  just  to  Bering,  seeking  as  he  does  in  his  account  to  deprive  him  of 
any  part  in  the  discovery,  claiming  that  Chirikof's  P&rty  made  the  only  dis- 
covery worthy  of  mention.  He  does  not  even  state  that  Bering  touched  upon 
the  American  coast  at  all;  according  to  his  narrative  Bering  *  sailed  from  Kam- 
chatka, but  did  not  ^o  far,  having  been  compelled  by  a  storm  to  anchor  at  a 
desert  island  where  lie  and  most  of  his  companions  perished.'  An  author 
makes  nothing  by  such  trickery.  His  attempted  deceit  is  sure  sooner  or 
later  to  fall  back  upon  his  own  head.  Nor  will  it  do  to  pretend  ignorance. 
Professor  Miiller,  of  the  imperial  academy  of  science,  accompanied  Bering 
on  his  lost  voyage.  At  the  time  Do  L'Isle  was  writing  his  treatise  Muller 
was  living  in  the  same  street  in  St  Petersburg,  and  meeting  as  they  must 
have  done  daily,  it  would  have  been  easy  to  ascertain  the  truth  if  he  had 
wished  to  know  it.  That  such  wretched  maps  as  Croy^re's  should  Imve  been 
given  to  the  world  by  Russia,  or  in  her  name,  is  all  the  more  to  be  deplored, 
because  the  Russians,  though  they  had  then  scarcely  gained  a  place  among 
seafaring  nations,  had  made  the  most  strenuous  efforts  at  discovery  in  waters 
so  inhospitable  that  people  less  inured  to  the  rigors  of  climate,  and  less  de- 
spotically governed,  would  never  have  thought  of  navigating  them.  Others 
may  have  furnished  the  idea  which  the  Russians  alone,  who  to  be  sure  would 
reap  the  iirst  benefits  from  such  discoveries,  were  possessed  of  power  and 
endurance  to  carry  out. 


; 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PBO^nTSHLENIKL 

1743-1762. 

Efpbct  of  the  Discovert  in  Sebeeia— Hunting  Expeditions  in  Search 
OF  Sea-otters — ^Voyages  of  Bassof,  Nevodchikof,  and  Yugof — 
Rich  Harvests  of  Sea-otteb  and  Fub-seal  Sions  from  the  Aleu- 
tian Abchifelaoo— The  Cunning  Promtshleniki  and  the  Mild 
Islanders — ^The  Old  Tale  of  Wrong  and  Atrocity — Bloodshed 
ON  Attoo  Island — ^Early  Monopolies — Chuprof's  and  Kholodilof's 
Adventubes^Russians  Defeated  on  Unalaska  and  Amlia— Yu- 
oof's  Unfobtunatb  Speculation — ^Fubtheb  Discoveby — The  Fate  of 
GoLODOF — Otheb  Adventubes. 

One  would  think  that,  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
sufferings  and  dangers  encountered  by  Bering's  and 
Chirikof  s  expeditions,  men  would  hesitate  before  risk- 
ing their  lives  for  otter-skins.  But  such  was  not  the 
case.  When  a  small  vessel  was  made  ready  to  follow 
the  course  of  the  Sv  Petr  and  the  Sv  Pavel  there  was 
no  lack  of  men  to  join  it,  though  some  of  them  were 
still  scarcely  able  to  crawl,  from  the  effects  of  former 
disaster.  As  the  little  sable  had  enticed  the  Cossack 
from  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Volga  across  the  Ural 
Mountains  and  the  vast  plains  of  Siberia  to  the  shores 
of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  and  the  Pacific,  so  now  the  sea- 
otter  lures  the  same  venturesome  race  out  among  the 
islands,  and  ice,  and  fog-banks  of  ocean. 

The  first  to  engage  in  hunting  sea-otters  and  other 
fur-bearing  animals,  east  of  Kamchatka,  was  Emilian 
Bassof,  who  embarked  as  early  as  1743,  if  we  may 
believe  Vassili  Berg,  our  best  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject.^    Bassof  was  sergeant  of  the  military  company 

*  Berg,  Khr<mologiche$la%a  Istoria  Otkryiiy  Aleutskikh  Oatrovakhy  2,  3,  pas- 

C99) 


100  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

of  lower  Kamchatka,  whose  imagination  had  become 
excited  by  the  wealth  brought  home  by  Bering's  crew. 
Forming  a  partnership  with  a  merchant  from  Moscow, 
■  Andrei  Serebrennikof,  he  built  a  small  shitika^  which 
he  called  the  Kapiton,  sailed  to  Bering  Island,  passed 
the  winter  there,  and  returned  to  Kamchatka  in  the 
following  year.*  A  second  voyage  was  made  the  fol- 
lowing July,*  with  Nikofor  Trapeznikof  as  partner, 
the  same  vessel  being  employed.  Besides  Bering 
Island,  Bassof  also  visited  Copper  Island,  and  col- 
lected 1,600  sea-otters,  2,000  fur-seals,  and  2,000  blue 
Arctic  foxes.  From  this  trip  Bassof  returned  on  the 
31st  of  July  1746.  A  third  voyage  was  undertaken 
by  Bassof  in  1747,  from  which  he  returned  in  the 
following  year,  and  embarked  for  a  last  voyage  in 
1749.' 

sim.  Most  authorities  are  silent  concemiiig  this  expedition,  but  Sgibnef, 
Morshoi  Sbomik,  cii.  74,  states  that  Bassof  sailed  on  his  first  voyage  in  1743. 

'  The  shitikas,  from  the  Russian  shi-ity  to  sew,  were  vessels  made  almost 
without  iron  bolts,  the  planks  being  *  sewed'  together  or  fastened  with  leather 
or  seal-skin  thongs. 

'  From  papers  preserved  in  the  chancellery  of  Bolsheretsk.  See  also  Berg, 
KhronoUxjkheskaia  Istoriay  3,  4. 

*  The  author  of  Neue  Nachrickten  doubts  the  authenticity  of  these  state- 
ments. But,  as  Berg  had  access  to  all  the  archives,  we  may  safely  accept  his 
statement,  though  iu  the  chronological  table  appended  to  his  work  the  expcdi-^ 
tion  of  the  Kapiton  is  omitted,  lierg,  Khronol.  Istoria^  Ajyjtendix,  Sgibnef 
states  that  l^ssof  formed  a  partnership  with  Trapeznikof  in  1747  to  undertake 
*  tlie  second  voyage,'  from  which  they  realized  a  return  of  112,220  rubles. 
Morskxn  Sbortiik,  cii.-v.  74. 

5  A  report  to  the  commander  of  Okhotsk  with  reference  to  the.  third  voy- 
age was  (liscovered  by  Prince  Shakhovskoi  in  the  archives  of  Okhotsk.  From 
this  document  Berg  gives  the  following  extracts:  'Most  respectful  report  of 
Sergeant  Emilian  Ba«sof  to  the  councillor  of  the  port  of  Okhotsk: — After  hav- 
ing set  out  with  some  Cossacks  upon  a  sea- voyage  last  year  (1747),  in  search 
of  unknown  islands,  in  the  shitika  Sv  Petr,  at  our  own  expense,  we  arrived 
at  a  previously  discovered  small  island,'  Copper  Island.  *  On  the  beach  about 
50  ponnds  of  native  copper  was  gathered.  On  the  south-eastern  side  of  the 
same  island  we  found  some  unknown  material,  some  ore  or  mineral,  of  which 
we  took  d  pound  or  two.  Our  men  picked  up  20o  pebbles  on  the  beach  great 
and  small,  and  among  them  were  two  yellow  ones  and  one  pink.  We  also 
found  a  new  kind  of  fish . . .  We  brought  with  us  to  the  port  of  Nishekam- 
ch.itsk  sea-otters  male  and  female  970  skins,  and  the  same  number  of  tails, 
and  1  ..VJO  blue  foxes.  These  furs  were  all  divided  in  shares  among  those  who 
were  with  me  on  the  above-mentioned  voyage ...  Sergeant  Emilian  Bassof.* 
Bergy  Khroiwl.  Istoiia,  4.  The  ship  Sv  Petr^  Captain  limilian  Bassof,  is  like- 
wise mentioned  in  Berg's  tabular  list  of  voyages  under  date  of  1750.  *A  for- 
tunate event  which  occurred  while  I  was  engaged  in  collecting  information 
with  rogard  to  these  voyages,'  says  Berg,  'placed  me  in  possession  of  palmers 
containing  the  names  of  owners  of  vessels  and  the  furs  shipped  on  those  occa- 


VOYAGES  OF  BASSOP.  101 

All  was  still  dark  regarding  lands  and  navigation 
eastward.  But  when  ^assof s  reports  reached  the 
imperial  senate  an  oukaz  was  forwarded  at  once  to 
the  admiralty  college  ordaining  that  -any  charts  corp-. 
piled  from  Bering's  and  Chirikofs  jourfifcds/^geth^r. 
with  their  log-books  and  other  papers,  -should,  b.e. 
sent  to  the  senate  for  transmittal •  to. ihergoiKaiiOr: 
general  of  Siberia.  The  admiralty  college  intrusted 
the  execution  of  this  order  to  the  eminent  hydrog- 
rapher  Admiral  Nagaief,  who  finally  compiled  a  chart 
for  the  guidance  of  hunters  and  traders  navigating 
along  the  Aleutian  Islands.* 

Bassof  was  scarcely  back  from  his  first  voyage  and 
it  was  noised  abroad  that  he  had  been  successful,  when 
there  were  others  ready  to  follow  his  example.  A 
larger  venture  was  set  on  foot  early  in  1745,  while 
Bassof  was  still  absent  on  his  second  voyage,  under  the 
auspices  of  Lieutenant  Lebedef,  he  who  had  married 
Croy^re's  widow.  While  in  command  at  Bolsheretsk 
he  issued  a  permit  for  a  voyage  to  the  newly  discov- 
ered islands,  on  the  25th  of  February,  to  the  mer- 
chants Afanassi  Chebaievskoi  of  Lalsk  and  Arkhip 
Trapeznikof  of  Irkutsk.  Their  avowed  purpose  was 
to  hunt  sea-otters  and  make  discoveries  eastward  of 
Kamchatka.    Associated  with  them  were  Yakof  Chu- 

aions:  let,  pax)er8  obtained  from  Court  Ck)ni)sellor  Ivan  Ossipovich  Zelonski; 
2d,  some  incomplete  data  compiled  by  myself  while  livins  at  Kadiak  from 
verbal  tradition  and  private  letters;  3d,  letters  I  found  in  Mr  Shclikof's 
archives;  and  4th,  letters  I  received  between  the  years  1760  and  17S5  from 
the  merchant  Ivan  Savich  Lapin,  of  Solikamsk.'  The  dates  given  of  Bassof 's 
four  voyages  are  1743,  1745, 1747,  and  1749.  Berff^  Khronol.  Istoria,  6. 

^MoruxH  Sbomik,  cii.  11,  55.  The  editor  of  the  Sibirsky  Viestiiik  (Sibe- 
rian Messenger),  G.  I.  Spasski,  in  1822,  devoted  four  numbers  of  his  pub- 
lication to  a  minute  description  of  Copper  Island,  accompanied  by  a  chart 
indicating  Bassof 's  occnjtation  of  the  place,  as  on  its  northern  side  two  bays 
are  named  Bassofskaya  and  Petrofskaya  respectively,  after  Bassof  and  one  of 
his  vessels.  From  the  description  in  the  Vkstnik  it  is  evident  that  l^asaof 
wintered'  on  Copper  Island  in  1749,  and  obtained  most  of  his  furs  there.  A 
cross  which  was  preserved  on  the  island  for  many  years,  lx)re  an  inscription 
to  the  effect  that  Yefim  Kuznetzof,  a  new  convert  (probably  a  Kamchatka 
native),  was  added  to  BaasoFs  command  on  the  7th  of  April  1750.  It  is  probable 
that  the  baptism  of  this  convert  took  place  on  the  island,  and  that  the  name 
of  the  man  was  added  to  Bassof s  list  only  when  he  l)ccame  a  Christian.'  Sib. 
Vi^tfnik,  1823,  numbers  2  to  6,  passim.  I3u8sof  died  in  1754,  leaving  a 
daughter  with  whom  the  merchant,  Lapin,  one  of  Beit's  authorities,  was  per- 
•onally  acquainted.  Khronol,  Istoria,  passim. 


102  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

prof,  Radion  Yatof,  Ivan  Kholchevnikof,  Pavel  Kar- 
abelnikof,  Larion  Beliaief,  Nikolai  Chuprof,  Lazar 
Karmanof,  and  Kiril  Kozlof.^  They  built  a  large 
•  .stitika^ij^  Ja^^ied  it  the  YevdoJcia.  As  morekhod,  or 
'imvigatOT/:  tfefy- engaged  a  Tobolsk  peasant  named 
\  :  ^ikJi^ilNievpdcWkof,  who  had  been  with  Bering,  and 
**•"  ^'h<)'Was*-5v€lh**6rfedited  by  various  authors  with  the 
discovery  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.®  In  these  expedi- 
tions the  bold  promyshleniki  were  ever  the  main-stay. 
Nevodehikof  was  doubtless  aware  that  Bassof  had  col- 
lected his  furs  at  Bering  and  Copper  islands,  but  trust- 
ing to  his  memory,  or  perhaps  following  the  advice  of 
other  companions  of  Bering,  he  passed  by  these  isl- 
ands, shaping  his  course  south-east  in  search  of  the  land 
named  by  Bering  Obmannui,  or  Delusive  Islands.  The 
YevdoJcia  had  sailed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kam- 
chatka on  the  19th  of  September  1745,^  and  after  a  voy- 
age of  six  days  the  adventurous  promyshleniki  sighted 
the  first  of  the  Blishni  group  of  the  Aleutian  isles. 
Passing  by  the  first,  Attoo,  Nevodehikof  anchored  near 
the  second,  Agatoo,  about  noon  of  the  24th.  Next 
morniiig  over  a  hundred  armed  natives  assembled  on 
the  beach  and  beckoned  the  Russians  to  land,  but  it 
was  not  deemed  safe  in  view  of  their  number;  so  they 
threw  into  the  water  a  few  trifling  presents,  and  in 
return  the  natives  threw  back  some  birds  just  killed. 
On  the  26th  Chuprof  landed  with  a  few  men  armed 
with  muskets  for  water.     They  met  some  natives,  to 

^  Bohhtretsk  Archives;  Neue  Nachr.y  9,  10. 

®  From  the  fact  that  Nevodehikof  was  called  a  peasant  we  must  not  infer 
that  ho  was  an  agricultural  laborer,  but  siniply  of  the  peasant  class,  one  of 
the  numerous  castes  into  which  Russian  society  was  divided.  The  so-called 
*  civil  classes*  of  society  outside  of  government  officials  were  merchants, 
hiptzui,  again  divided  into  first,  second,  and  third  guild;  tradesmen,  niesk' 
chajihiuif  and  peasants,  krestianimti;  but  many  of  the  latter  class  were 
engaged  in  trade  and  commerce.  Ivan  Lapin  told  Berg  that  he  knew  Ne- 
vodehikof personally,  and  that  he  had  served  with  Bermg  on  his  voyage  to 
America  in  1741.  Nevodehikof  was  a  silversmith  from  Oustiong,  and  came 
to  Siberia  in  search  of  fortune.  Meeting  with  no  success  he  went  on  to  Kam- 
chatka, and  there  finding  himself  without  a  passport  he  was  taken  into  the 
government  service.  Lapin  was  in  possession  of  a  silver  snuffbox,  the  work 
of  Nevodehikof.  Khronol.  Istoria,  7. 

^ Neue  Nachr^t  10;  Khronol.  let.,  7. 


VIOLENCE  AND  BLOOD.  103 

whom  they  gave  tobacco  and  pipes,  and  received  a  stic^k 
ornamented  with  the  head  of  a  seal  carved  in  bone. 
Then  the  savages  wanted  one  of  the  muskets,  and 
when  refused  they  became  angry  and  attempted  to 
capture  the  party  by  seizing  their  boat.  Finally  Chup- 
rof  ordered  his  men  to  fire,  and  for  the  first  time  the 
thundering  echoes  of  musketry  resounded  from  the 
hills  of  Agatoo.  One  bullet  took  effect  in  the  hand 
of  a  native;  the  crimson  fluid  gushed  forth  over  the 
white  sand,  and  the  long  era  of  bloodshed,  violence, 
and  rapine  for  the  poor  Aleuts  was  begun.^*^  As  the 
natives  had  no  arms  except  bone-pointed  spears,  which 
they  vainly  endeavored  to  thrust  through  the  sides 
of  the  boat,  shedding  of  blood  might  easily  have  been 
avoided.  At  all  events  the  Russians  could  not  now 
winter  there,  so  they  worked  the  ship  back  to  the 
first  island,  and  anchored  for  the  night. 

The  following  morning  Chuprof,  who  seems  to  have 
come  to  the  front  as  leader,  and  one  Shevyrin,  landed 
with  several  men.  They  saw  tracks  but  encountered 
no  one.  The  ship  then  moved  slowly  along  the  coast, 
and  on  the  following  day  the  Cossack  Shekhurdin, 
with  six  men,  was  sent  ashore  for  water  and  to  recon- 
noitre. Toward  night  they  came  upon  a  party  of  five 
natives  with  their  wives  and  children,  who  immedi- 
ately abandoned  their  huts  and  ran  for  the  mountains. 
In  the  morning  Shekhurdin  boarded  the  ship,  which 
was  still  moving  along  the  shore  in  search  of  a  suit- 
able place  for  wintering,  and  returned  again  with  a 
larger  force.  On  a  bluff  facing  the  sea  they  saw  fif- 
teen savages,  one  of  whom  they  captured,  together 
with  an  old  woman  who  insisted  on  following  the 
prisoner."     The  two  natives,  with  a  quantity  of  seal- 

*•  When  the  natives  perceived  the  woimd  of  their  comrade  they  "threw  off 
their  gannents,  carried  him  into  the  sea,  and  endeavored  to  wash  off  Uie 
blood.  Khronol.  1st.,  8;  Neue  Nachr. ,  13.    See  Native  Races j  vol.  i. ,  this  series. 

i<  'Es  gelang  ihren  anch,  ungeachtet  der  Gegeniwehr,  welche  die  Insulaucr 
mit  ihren  iCn5chemen  Spiessen  leisteten,  selbise  herunter  zn  jagen  und  einen 
davon  gefangen  zu  nehmen,  der  sogleich  aols  Schiff  gebracht  ward.  Sie 
ergriffen  auch  ein  altes  Weile,  welche  sie  bis  zur  Hutte  verfolgt  hatten,  und 
brachten  anch  diese,  mit  dem  zugleich  erbeuteten  Seehondsfett  und  Fellen,. 
zom  Schiff.'  Neue  NachricfUen,  14,  15. 


104  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

blubber  found  in  the  hut,  were  taken  on  board  the 
Yevdohia.  A  storm  arose  shortly  after,  during  which 
the  ship  was  driven  out  to  sea  with  the  loss  of  an 
anchor  and  a  yawl 

From  the  2d  to  the  9th  of  October  the  gale  con- 
tinued ;  then  they  approached  the  island  and  selected 
a  wintering-place  for  the  ship.  The  natives  were  less 
timid  than  at  first,  though  they  found  in  the  hut  the 
bodies  of  two  men  who  had  evidently  died  from 
wounds  received  during  the  scufile  on  the  bluff.  The 
old  woman,  who  had  been  released,  returned  with 
thirty-four  of  her  people;  they  danced  and  sang  to 
the  sound  of  bladder-drums,  and  made  presents  of 
colored  clay,  receiving  in  return  handkerchiefs,  needles, 
and  thimbles.  After  the  first  ceremonial  visit  both 
parties  separated  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  Before 
the  end  of  the  month  the  same  party  came  again 
accompanied  by  the  old  woman  and  several  children, 
and  bringing  gifts  of  sea-fowl,  seal-meat,  and  fish. 
Dancing  and  singing  were  again  indulged  in. 

On  the  26th  of  October  Shevyrin,  Chuprof,  and 
Nevodchikof,  with  seven  men,  set  out  in  search  of 
their  new  friends  and  found  them  encamped  under  a 
cliff.  On  this  occasion  they  purchased  a  bidar,^^  with 
an  extra  covering  of  skin,  for  two  cotton  shirts.  They 
found  stone  axes  and  bone  needles  in  use  among  the 
natives,  who  seemed  to  subsist  altogether  upon  the 
flesh  of  sea-otters,  seals,  and  sea-lions,  and  upon  fish. 

The  reign  of  violence  and  bloodshed  already  inaug- 
urated on  the  island  of  Agatoo  was  quickly  established 
on  Attoo.  Two  days  prior  to  his  visit  to  the  friendly 
natives,  Chuprof,  anxious  to  acquire  a  more  minute 
knowledge  of  the  island,  sent  out  one  of  his  subordi- 
nates, Alexei  Boliaief,  with  ten  men  to  explore.  This 
man  discovered  several  habitations  with  whose  in- 

*'  *Und  fanden  sie  nnter  eincm  Felsen  (C/«««),  Kauften  von  ihnen  ein 
Bnidar  (ledemen  Kahn)  und  eine  Baidarenhaut,  wovor  sie  ihnen  zwey  Hemden 
caben  und  zuriikkehrten,  ohnedie  geringete  Feindseligkeiterfahren  zn  baben. 
AVue  Nachr.,  15.  The  bidar  was  an  open  skin  boat,  and  the  largest  of  the 
class. 


FURTHER  OUTRAGES.  105 

mates  he  managed  to  pick  a  quarrel,  in  the  course  of 
which  fifteen  of  the  islanders  were  killed.^^  Even  the 
Cossack  Shekhurdin,  who  had  accompanied  Beliaief, 
was  shocked  at  such  proceedings  and  went  and  told 
Chuprof,  who  said  nothing,  but  merely  sent  the 
butchering  party  more  powder  and  lead." 

These  and  like  outrages  of  the  promyshleniki  w^ere 
not  known  in  Russia  until  after  several  years,  and  if 
they  had  been  it  would  have  made  little  difference.^* 
Their  efforts  were  successful;  but  we  may  easily 
believe  that  the  interval  between  December  1745  and 
the  day  when  the  Yevdohia  departed,  which  was  the 
14th  of  September  1746,  was  not  a  time  of  rejoicing 
to  the  people  of  Attoo.  To  this  day  the  cruelties 
committed  by  the  first  Russians  are  recited  by  the 
poverty-stricken  remnants  of  a  once  prosperous  and 
happy  people. 

The  return  voyage  was  not  a  fortunate  one;  for  six 
weeks  the  heavily  laden  craft  battled  with  the  waves, 
and  at  last,  on  the  30th  of  October,  she  was  cast  upon 
a  rocky  coast  with  the  loss  of  nearly  all  her  valuable 
cargo.  Ignorant  as  to  their  situation  the  men  made 
their  way  into  the  interior,  suffering  from  cold  and 
hunger,  but  finally  they  succeeded   in  finding  some 

''There  ia  little  doubt  that  this  encounter  was  wilfully  provoked,  and 
the  male  natives  slaughtered  for  a  purpose.  Berg  merely  hints  that  women 
were  at  the  bottom  of  it,  but  in  the  Neue  Nachr.  it  is  distinctly  charged  that 
Beliaief  caused  the  men  to  be  shot  in  order  to  secure  the  women.  Some  dis- 
pute about  an  iron  bolt  that  had  disappeared,  and  which  the  natives  could  or 
would  not  return,  was  seized  upon  as  an  excuse.  Berg,  Khr&nol,  Ist.,  8,  9; 
Neue  Nachr.,  16. 

'^In  the  Neue  Nachr.,  16,  Chuprof  is  accused  of  a  plan  for  the  destruc- 
tion  of  a  number  of  natives,  by  means  of  a  porridge  seasoned  with  corrosive 
sublimate. 

1^  An  islander,  Teiflfiak,  was  carried  away  to  Kamchatka  on  the  Yevdoha. 
He  claimed  to  be  a  native  of  At  (Attoo?).  In  1750  he  was  sent  to  Okhotsk 
with  Kevodchikof,  after  having  been  baptized  at  Nisbekamchatsk  by  the  mis- 
nonary  Osoip  Khotumzevskoi.  He  was  fitted  out  with  clothiue  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  government  and  named  Pavel  Nevodchikof,  the  pilot  having  acted 
as  his  godfather,  and  finally  adopting  him.  'Schon  am  24sten  October  hatte 
Czjuprow  zehn  Mann,  iinter  Anrahi^g  des  Larion  Beajew  zu  kundschaften 
ansgeschikt.  Dieser  fand  verschiedene  Ivrlen  (Wohnungen),  der  Insulaner 
nncf  weil  er  ihnen  feindselig  begefi;nete  und  die  wenigen  £isulaner  sich  dalier 
mit  ihren  Kndchemen  Lanzen  zwi  Wehre  setzten,  so  nahm  er  daher  Gelegen- 
heit  alle  Mi&nner  fun^hn  an  der  Zahl  zu  erschiessen,  un  die  zwritkgebliebe- 
nen  Weiber  znr  Unzocht  gebrauchen  zu  Konnen.'  Neue  Nachr.  ^  11. 


106  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

tuman  habitations.  On  questioning  the  natives  they 
learned  to  their  consternation  that  they  were  not  on 
the  mainland,  but  on  the  island  of  Karaghinski  off 
the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  The  Koriaks  were  already 
tributary  to  the  Russians,  and  treated  their  visitors 
kindly  until  Beliaief  made  advances  to  the  wife  of  the 
yessaul,  or  chief,  whose  wrath  was  with  difficulty  as- 
suaged. Finally  in  May  1747  a  descent  was  made 
on  the  island  by  an  armed  party  of  Olutorski,  a  war- 
like tribe  living  near  the  mouth  of  the  Olutorsk  river 
on  the  mainland.^^ 

In  a  bloody  fight  during  which  many  natives  and 

"  The  origin  of  the  -word  alevl  may  perhaps  be  referred  to  these  people. 
The  first  mention  of  the  Olutorski  tribe  was  in  a  report  of  the  Cossack  Atlas- 
sof,  the  conqueror  of  Kamchatka,  in  1700.  He  states  that  on  the  coast  of 
Kamchatka  the  Liutortzi  are  called  strangers  by  the  surrounding  Koriaks, 
whom  they  much  resembled.  Morskoi  Sbornik^  cL  4-73.  In  1714  Afanassi 
Petrof,  a  nobleman,  built  on  the  Olutorsk  river  an  ostrog  of  the  same  name; 
he  was  freely  assisted  by  the  natives.  In  the  following  year  Petrof  forwarded 
all  the  tribute  he  had  collected,  consisting  of  141  bundles  of  sables,  of  40  skins 
each,  5,640  red  foxes,  10  cross  foxes,  137  sea-otters,  two  land-otters,  and  22 
ounces  of  gold  taken  from  a  wrecked  Japanese  junk.  Subsequently  the 
natives  revolted  and  killed  Petrof  and  nearly  all  bis  followers.  Morskoi 
Sbomiky  ci.  4-82,  296.  It  is  probable  that  when  the  Russians  first  encoun- 
tered the  natives  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  being  already  acquainted  with  the 
Olutorski,  they  applied  that  name,  pronounced  by  them  Aliutorski,  to  a  race 
that  certainly  resembles  the  latter.  On  the  whole  coast  of  Kamchatka  these 
Olutorski  were  the  only  whale-hunters,  a  pursuit  followed  also  by  Aleuts. 
Russian  authors  generally  derive  the  name  from  the  Aleut  word  o/a^*.  What 
dost  thou  want?  If  this  phrase  ever  was  in  general  use  it  has  entirely  dis- 
appeared, and  it  certainly  is  no  nearer  the  word  Aleut,  or  Aleutski,  as  the 
Russians  pronounce  it,  than  is  Olutorski.  Vhoris,  pt.  vii.  12.  Kngel,  in  Oeo- 
graphische  und  KritiAche  Nachrichten,  i.  v.  6,  7;  vi.-vii.,  refers  to  an  article 
in  the  Leydener  ZeUumj,  Feb.  26,  1765,  where  it  is  said  that  'the  traders 
from  the  Kovima  (Kolima),  sailed  out  of  that  river  and  were  fortunate 
enough  to  double  the  cape  of  the  Chukchi  in  latitude  74°;  they  then  sailed 
southward  and  discovered  some  islands  in  latitude  64*,  where  they  traded 
with  the  natives  and  obtained  some  fine  black  foxes  of  which  some  speci- 
mens were  sent  to  the  empress  as  a  present.  They  named  these  islands 
Aleyut,  and  I  think  that  some  of  them  adjoined  America.'  Engel  then 
goes  on  to  say :  'These  sailors  called  these  islands  "Aleyut ;"  the  word  seems 
to  me  to  be  somewhat  mutilated.  Muller  says  that  the  island  situated 
half  a  day's  journey  from  Chukchi  land,  is  inhabited  by  people  named  Ak- 
hyukh-Alial,  and  it  apx)ears  that  these  traders  actually  come  to  this  island, 
or  perhaps  to  another  one  also  situated  in  that  neighborhood,  the  people  of 
which  Muller  calls  Peckale;  he  also  speaks  of  a  great  country  lying  farther 
to  the  east  named  Kitchin  Aliat.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  the  said  Aleyut 
is  nothing  but  the  Aliat  or  Aeliat  which  forms  the  ending  of  both  of  the  above- 
mentioned  names.'  It  is  e\'ident  that  En^el  confounds  the  voyages  of  the 
promyshleniki  to  the  Aleutian  Islands  wi3i  the  discovery  of  the  Diomede 
Islands  in  Bering  Straits.  The  Kitchin  Aliat  may  bear  some  relation  to 
either  the  Kutchm  tribes  of  the  American  coast  or  more  probably  to  the 
Innuit  or  Eskimos. 


NEVODCHIKOF,  SUPEBINTENDENT.  107 

several  Russians  were  killed,  the  invaders  were  de- ' 
feated,and  as  they  left  the  island  the  Olutorski  declared 
their  intention  to  return  with  reenforcements  and  to 
exterminate  the  Russians  and  all  who  paid  tribute  to 
them.  The  promyshleniki  were  anxious  to  be  off, 
and  the  islanders  freely  assisted  them  in  constructing 
two  large  bidars.  On  the  27th  of  June  they  departed, 
and  arrived  at  the  ostrog  of  Nishekamchatsk  on  the 
21st  of  July  with  a  little  over  three  hundred  sea- 
otter  skins,  the  remnant  of  the  valuable  cargo  of  the 
Yevdokia}^ 

Immediately  upon  receiving  information  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Aleutian  isles,  Elizabeth  issued  as  pecial 
oukaz  appointing  Nevodchikof  to  their  oversight  with 
the  rank  of  a  master  in  the  imperial  navy,  in  which 
capacity  he  was  retained  in  the  government  service 
at  Okhotsk.  In  accordance  with  the  old  laws  which 
exacted  tribute  from  all  savage  tribes,  Cossacks  were 
to  be  detailed  to  make  collections  during  the  expedi- 
tion that  might  be  sent  forth. 

Meanwhile  the  several  reports,  and  the  rich  cargoes 
brought  back  by  Bassof's  vessels,  had  roused  the 
merchants  of  Siberia. ^^  In  1746  the  Moscow  mer- 
chant Andrei  Rybenskoi,  through  his  agent,  Andrei 

^^  Some  discrepancy  exists  in  our  authorities  with  regard  to  dates  and  de- 
tails of  the  latter  part  of  this  expedition.  Berg  briefly  states  that  Nevodchikof 
sailed  from  Attoo  Sept.  14,  1746,  oind  that  his  yessel  was  wrecked  the  30th 
of  Oct.  on  an  island,  where  he  was  obliged  to  pass  the  winter.  KhronoL  IsL, 
10,  11.  A  few  lines  farther  on  we  are  told  that  the  party  returned  to  Kam- 
chatka in  July  1740,  with  300  sea-otters  and  with  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
original  crew,  having  lost  52  men  on  the  voyage.  The  same  author  states 
that  on  the  strength  of  a  report  of  the  outrages  committed  upon  natives,  pre- 
sented by  the  Cossack  Shekhnrdin,  all  the  survivors  were  subjected  to  legal 
process.  To  add  to  the  confusion  of  dates  and  data,  Berg  subsequently  tells 
us  ^at  the  value  of  the  cargo  brought  back  to  Kamcha^a  by  Nevodchil^of 
was  19,200  rubles  (much  more  than  300  sea-otters  would  bring  at  that  timft;), 
and  that  the  Yevdokia  was  wrecked  in  1754!  KhronoL  Ifi.f  11,  12.  In  the 
Xeue  Nachr.y  17,  18,  the  dates  are  less  conflicting,  and  we  are  informed  that 
Nevodchikof 's  party  returned  in  two  bidars  with  §20  sea-otters,  of  which  they 
paid  ODO  tenth  mto  the  imperial  treasury.  The  number  of  lives  lost  during 
the  voyage  is  here  placed  at  only  12  Russians  and  natives  of  Kamchatka. 

'*  Makinc  due  allowance  for  the  low  prices  of  furs  at  that  time,  and  the 
comparatively  high  value  of  money,  Bassof  's  importations  cannot  be  consid- 
ered over-estimated  at  half  a  million  dollars.  Berg,  KhronoL  let,,  11. 


108  THE  SWAEMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

'  Vsevidof,  also  Feodor  Kholodilof  of  Totemsk,  Nikofor 
Trapeznikof,  and  Vassili  Balin  of  Irkutsk,  Kosiiia 
Nerstof  of  Totma,  Mikhail  Nikilinich  of  Novo  Yansk, 
and  Feodor  Shukof  of  Yaroslavl,^®  petitioned  the  com- 
mander of  Bolsheretsk  for  permission  to  hunt,  and  two 
vessels  were  fitted  out.  The  navigator  selected  for 
Kholodilof  s  vessel  was  Andrei  Tolstykh,  a  merchant 
of  the  town  of  Selengisk,  who  was  destined  to  play  a 
prominent  part  in  the  gradual  discovery  of  the  Aleu- 
tian chain.  The  two  vessels  sailed  from  the  Kam- 
chatka River  within  a  few  days  of  each  other.  One, 
the  Sv  loann,  commanded  by  Tolstykh,  sailed  the 
20th  of  August  manned  by  forty-six  promyshleniki 
and  six  Cossacks.  They  reached  Bering,  or  Com- 
mander, Island,  and  wintered  there  in  accordance  with 
the  wishes  of  Shukof,  Nerstof,  and  other  shareholders 
in  the  enterprise.  After  a  moderately  successful  hunt- 
ing season  Tolstykh  put  to  sea  once  more  on  the  31st 
of  May  1747.  He  shaped  his  course  to  the  south  in 
search  of  the  island  reported  by  Steller  on  June  21, 
1741.**  Failing  in  this  he  changed  his  course  to  the 
northward,  and  finally  came  to  anchor  in  the  road- 
stead of  Nishekamchatsk  on  the  14th  of  August. 
During  the  voyage  he  had  collected  683  sea-otters 
and  1,481  blue  foxes,  and  all  from  Bering  Island. 
Vsevidof  sailed  from  Kamchatka  the  26th  of  August 
1746,  and  returned  the  25th  of  July  1749,  with  a 
cargo  of  over  a  thousand  sea-otters  and  more  than 
two  thousand  blue  foxes.^ 

"iVVue  Nachr.y  18,  19;  Berg,  Kkrmol.  Tst,,  11,  12.  These  merchants  de- 
sired to  build  two  vessels  at  their  own  expense  '  to  go  in  pursuit  of  marine 
animals  during  the  following  year;'  they  also  asked  for  permission  to  employ 
native  Kamchatkans  and  Russian  mariners  and  hunters,  and  to  make  tempo- 
rary use  of  some  nautical  instruments  saved  from  a  wreck.  Neue  Nachr, ,  20. 
This  Trapeznikof  was  evidently  the  same  who  was  in  partnership  with  Bassof 
tlio  preceding  year. 

**^  Steller' 8  Journal^  i.  47. 

^^  Berrjy  KhronoL  hL^  app.  It  is  probable  that  Vsevidof  passed  the  winter 
following  his  departure  on  Copper  Island,  as  on  the  earliest  charts  a  bay  on 
the  north-eastern  side  of  that  island  is  named  Vsevidof 's  Harbor.  In  a  descrip- 
tion of  Copper  Island,  published  in  the  SihirsH  VieHniL\  it  is  stated  that  on 
tlie  2d  of  March  1747  two  promyshleniki  named  Yurlof  and  Vtoruikh  fell 
from  a  cliff  and  died  of  their  injuries.    These  men  could  only  have  be- 


EFFORTS  TOWAKD  MONOPOLY.  109 

About  this  time  a  voyage  was  accomplished  over 
an  entirely  new  route.  Three  traders  in  the  north, 
Ivan  Shilkin  of  Solvicbegodsk,  Afanassi  Bakof  of 
Oustioug,  and  one  Novikof  of  Irkutsk,  built  a  vessel 
on  the  banks  of  the  Anadir  River  and  called  it  Pro- 
Jcop  i  Zand.^  Thev  succeeded  in  making  their  way 
down  the  river  ana  through  the  Onemenskoi  mouth 
into  the  gulf  of  Anadir.  From  the  lOth  of  July  1747 
to  the  15th  of  September  these  daring  navigators 
battled  with  contrary  winds  and  currents  along  the 
coast,  and  finally  came  to  anchor  on  the  coast  of  Be- 
ring Island.  On  the  30th  of  October,  when  nearly  the 
whole  crew  was  scattered  over  the  island  hunting  and 
trapping  and  gathering  fuel,  a  storm  arose  and  threw 
the  vessel  upon  a  rocky  reef,  where  she  was  soon  demol- 
ished. Bethinking  themselves  of  Bering's  ship,  with 
remnants  of  that  and  of  their  own,  and  some  large 
sticks  of  drift-wood,  the  castaways  built  a  boat  about 
fifty  feet  long.  In  this  cockle-shell,  which  was  named 
the  Kapiton,  they  put  to  sea  the  following  summer. 
Despite  their  misfortune  the  spirit  of  adventure  was 
not  quenched,  and  the  promyshleniki  boldly  steered 
north-eastward  in  search  of  new  discoveries.  They 
obtained  a  distant  view  of  land  in  that  direction,  and 
almost  reached  the  continent  of  America,  but  the 
land  disappeared  in  the  fog,  and  they  returned  to 
Commander  Islands.  After  a  brief  trip  to  Copper 
Island  they  reached  the  coast  of  Kamchatka  in  Au- 
gust 1749.^ 

longed  to  Vsevidof's  vessel.  Berg  says  that  Ivan  Kybinskoi  of  Moscow  and 
Stephen  Tyrin  of  Yaroslaf  in  1747  despatched  a  vessel  named  loann,  which 
sailed  for  the  nearest  Aleutian  Islands  and  returned  in  1749  with  1,000  sea- 
otters  and  2,000  blue  foxes,  the  cargo  being  sold  for  52,590  rubles,  which  is 
but  another  account  of  Vsevidofs  voyage.  Khronol.  Ist.y  14. 

^  Berfjt  Khronol.  Jst.^  16.  This  name  is  given  in  the  Russian  edition  of 
Berg,  Perkup  i  2!anL  The  latter  will  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  sailors 
with  Bering's  expedition,  and  the  former  is  a  common  Russian  name.  The 
men  of  that  name  were  probably  employed  to  build  the  vessel. 

"•The  cargo  of  the  Kapiton  was  valued  only  at  4,780  rubles,  and  it  is  diflS- 
cult  to  understand  how  they  could  curry  furs  representing  even  this  small 
value  in  a  vessel  of  that  size.  On  account  of  the  rigging,  artillery,  and  ship's 
stores  of  various  kinds  left  by  Bering's  companions  on  the  island  named  after 
him,  an  order  had  been  issued  from  Okhotsk  prohibiting  tradei's  from  hmding 


110  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PBOMYSHLENIKI. 

The  first  effort  to  obtain  a  monopoly  of  traffic  with 
the  newly  discovered  islands  was  made  in  February 
1748,  by  an  Irkutsk  merchant  named  Emilian  Yugof, 
who  obtained  from  the  senate  for  himself  and  partners^ 
an  oukaz  granting  permission  to  fit  out  four  vessels 
for  voyages  to  the  islands  "in  the  sea  of  Kamchatka," 
with  the  privilege  that  during  their  absence  no  other 
parties  should  be  allowed  to  equip  vessels  in  pursuit 
of  sea-otters.  In  consideration  of  this  privilege  Yugof  s 
company  agreed  to  pay  into  the  imperial  treasury  one 
third  of  the  furs  collected.  A  special  order  to  this 
effect  was  issued  to  Captain  Lebedef,  the  commander 
of  Kamchatka,  from  the  provincial  chancellery  at  Ir- 
kutsk under  date  of  July  1748.  Yugof  himself,  how- 
ever, did  not  arrive  at  Bolsheretsk  till  November  1749, 
and  instead  of  four  ships  he  had  but  one  small  vessel 
ready  to  sail  by  the  6th  of  October  1750.  This  boat, 
named  the  Sv  loann^  with  a  crew  of  twenty-five  men 
and  two  Cossacks,  was  wrecked  before  leaving  the  coast 
of  Kamchatka.  Over  a  year  passed  by  before  Yu^^of 
was  ready  to  sail  again.  He  had  received  permission 
to  employ  naval  officers,  but  his  associates  were  un- 
willing to  furnish  money  enough  for  an  expedition  on 
a  large  scale.  The  second  ship,  also  named  the  Sv 
loann,  sailed  in  October  4 751.  For  three  years  noth- 
ing was  heard  of  this  expedition,  and  upon  the  state- 
ment of  the  commanderof  Okhotsk  that  the  instructions 
of  the  government  had  been  disregarded  by  the  firm, 
an  order  was  issued  from  Irkutsk,  in  1753,  for  the  con- 
fiscation of  Yugof  s  property  on  his  return.^    Captain 

there  until  the  government  property  could  be  diapoeed  of.  The  craft  con- 
structed by  Baasof  and  Serebrennikof  was  consequently  seized  by  the  govern- 
ment authorities  immediately  after  entering  port.  The  conjQscated  vessel  was 
subsequently  delivered  to  the  merchant  Ivan  Shilkin,  with  permission  to 
make  hunting  and  exploring  voyages  to  the  eastern  islands.  NeueNachr.y  .30. 
The  prohibitory  order  concerning  Bering  Island  was  disregarded  altogether 
by  the  promyshleniki,  who  made  a  constant  practice  of  landing  and  wintering 
there.  Berg^  Khrorwl.  let.,  16. 

"  These  were  Ignatiy  Ivanof  and  MatveX  Shchorbakof  of  St  Petersburg, 
and  Petr  Maltzof,  Arkhip  Trapeznikof,  Feodor  Solovief,  and  Dmitri  Yagof 
of  Irkutsk.  Neue  Nachr.,  20. 

^  Kamchaiha  Archives^  1754. 


NIKOFOR  TRAPEZNIKOF.  Ill 

Cheredof,  who  had  succeeded  Captain  Lebedef  in  the 
command  of  Elamchatka^  was  at  the  same  time  author- 
ized to  accept  similar  proposals  from  other  firms,  but 
none  were  made.  On  the  22d  of  July  1754,  the  Sv 
loqfin  unexpectedly  sailed  into  the  harbor  of  Nishe- 
kamchatsk  with  a  rich  cargo  which  was  at  once  placed 
under  seal  by  the  government  oflScials.  The  leader  of 
the  expedition  did  not  return,  but  the  mate  Grigor 
Nizovtzof  presented  a  written  report  to  the  efiect  that 
the  whole  cargo  had  been  obtained  from  Bering  and 
Copper  islands,  and  that  Yugof  had  died  at  the  latter 
place.  The  cargo  consisted  of  790  sea-otters,  7,044 
blue  foxes,  2,212  fur-seals.^ 

It  is  evident  that  the  authorities  of  Bolsheretsk  did 
not  consider  this  first  monopoly  to  extend  beyond 
Bering  and  Copper  islands,  as  even  before  Yugof 
sailed  other  companies  were  granted  permission  to  fit 
out  sea-otter  hunting  expeditions  to  "such  islands  as 
had  not  yet  been  made  tributary."  Andrei  Tolstykh, 
who  had  served  as  navigator  under  Kiolodilof,  obtained 
permission  from  the  chancellery  of  Bolsheretsk  to  fit 
out  a  vessel,  and  sailed  on  the  19th  of  August  1749, 
arriving  at  Bering  Island  the  6th  of  September.  Here 
he  wintered,  securing,  however,  only  47  sea-otters, 
and  in  May  of  the  following  year  he  proceeded  to  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  first  visited  by  Nevodchikof  Here 
he  met  with  better  luck,  and  finally  returned  to  Kam- 
chatka the  3d  of  July  1752,  with  a  cargo  of  1,772  sea- 
otters,  750  blue  foxes,  and  840  fur-seals.^ 

The  enterprising  merchant  Nikofor  Trapeznikof  of 

''The  fan  were  subseqaently  released  on  the  payment  of  the  stipulated 
one  third.  NeueNachr.y  33. 

^  Tolstykh  reported  that  he  came  to  an  island  the  inhabitants  of  which 
had  not  previoosiy  paid  tribute ;  they  seemed  to  be  of  Chukchi  extraction,  as 
they  tattooed  their  faces  in  a  similar  manner  and  aUo  wore  labrets  or  orna- 
ments of  walrus  ivory  in  their  cheeks.  According  to  his  statement  these 
'  Alents'  had  killed  two  natives  of  Kamchatka  without  the  least  provocation. 
Od  another  island  the  natives  voluntarily  paid  tribute  in  sea-otter  skins.  Neue 
Naehr,,  26.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  from  this  report  which  island  Tolstykh 
visited;  the  description  of  the  natives  would  point  to  St  Lawrence  Island, 
but  the  tribute  paid  in  sea-otter-skins  can  only  have  come  from  the  Aleutian 
chain.  Probably  he  bad  sailed  to  the  northwaj*d  first  and  then  changed  his 
coune  to  the  Aleutian  Islands.    See  Native  Haces,  voL  i  this  series. 


112  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PBOMTSHLENIKL 

Irkutsk  also  received  permission  to  sail  for  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands  in  1749  under  promise  of  delivering  to 
the  government  not  only  the  tribute  collected  from 
the  natives,  but  one  tenth  of  the  furs  obtained.  Tra- 
peznikof  built  a  ship,  named  it  the  Boris  i  Gleh,  and 
sailed  in  August.  He  passed  four  winters  on  vari- 
ous islands,  returning  in  1753  with  a  cargo  valued  at 
105,736  rubles.  The  Cossack  Sila  Shevyrin  acted 
as  tribute-gatherer  on  this  adventure.^  During  the 
same  year,  1749,  the  merchants  Rybinskoi  and  Tyrin 
sent  out  the  shitika  Sv  loann  to  the  Near  Islands,  the 
vessel  returning  in  August  1752  with  700  sea-otters 
and  700  blue  foxes.* 

Late  in  1749  Shilkin  built, the  Sv  Sinieon  i  Anna 
and  manned  her  with  fourteen  Russians  and  twenty 
natives  of  Kamchatka.  The  Cossack  Alexei  Vorobicf, 
or  Morolief,  served  as  navigator;  Cossacks  Ivan  Mi- 
nukhin  and  Alexei  Baginef  accompanied  the  ship  as 
tribute-gatherers.  They  left  the  coast  of  Kamchatka 
the  5th  of  August  1750,  but  after  sailing  eastward 
two  weeks  the  vessel  was  wrecked  on  a  small  un- 
known island.  Here  the  party  remained  till  the  fol- 
lowing autumn,  during  which  time  Vorobief  succeeded 
in  constructing  a  small  craft  out  of  the  wreck  and 
drift-wood.  This  vessel  was  named  the  Yeremy  and 
carried  the  castaways  to  Kamchatka  in  the  autumn 
of  1752,  with  a  cargo  of  820  sea-otters,  1,900  blue 
foxes,  and  7,000  fur-seals,  all  collected  on  the  island 
upon  which  they  were  wrecked.^ 

^  It  seems  that  the  island  of  Atkha  was  first  discovered  during  the  voyage 
of  Tra^KJziiikof.  Cook  and  La  P^rouse  call  it  Atghkay  and  Holmberg  I  Acha. 
Cartor/.  Pac.  Coast,  MS.,  iii.  470.  Shevyrin  acknowledged  that  he  had  re- 
ceived tribute  to  the  amount  of  one  sea-otter  each  from  the  following  natives : 
I^^ja,  Oeknu,  Ogogoetakh,  Shalukiankh,  Alak,  Tukun,  Ononushan,  Kotog- 
sioga,  Oouashayupu,  lAk,  Yoreshugilaik,  Ungalikan,  Shati,  and  Chyipaks. 
BoUhn-etjtk  Ar(:hvH>R,  1754;  A'ewe  Nachr,  24-5;  Berg^  KhronoL  Ist.y  18. 

"  She  was  a  lucky  craft,  making  continuous  voyages  till  1763,  and  bring- 
ing over  6,000  sea-otters  from  the  islands.  Berg^  Khronol.  Istf  18,  19. 

^^ N^te  Nachr.,  19.  Berg  states  that  the  Simeon  %  Anna  carried  a  crew 
of  14  Russian  and  30  natives  of  Kamchatka,  and  that  the  party  returned  with 
1,980  sea-otters,  collected  on  one  of  the  small  islands  adjoining  Bering  Island. 
Khronol.  hi.,  24.  The  fact  that  fur-seals  formed  a  part  of  the  careo  would 
coDtirm  the  assumption  that  tlie  locality  of  the  wreck  was  one  of  the  group 
of  the  Commander  Islands. 


THE  BENEFITS  OP  DESPOTISM.  113 

By  this  time  the  merchants  of  Siberia  and  Kam- 
chatka had  gathered  confidence  regarding  the  traffic, 
and  ship-building  became  the  order  of  the  day.  Un- 
fortunately, even  the  first  principles  of  naval  archi- 
tecture were  ill  understood  at  Kamchatka,  and  so  late 
as  1760  the  promyshleniki  made  exceeding  dangerous 
voyages  in  most  ridiculous  vessels — ^flatboats,  shi- 
tikas,  and  similar  craft,  usually  built  without  iron 
and  often  so  weak  as  to  fall  to  pieces  in  the  first  gale 
that  struck  them.  As  long  as  the  weather  was  calm 
or  nearly  so,  they  might  live,  but  let  a  storm  catch 
them  any  distance  from  land  and  they  must  sink.  We 
should  naturally  suppose  that  even  in  these  reckless, 
thoughtless  promyshleniki,  common  instinct  would 
prompt  greater  care  of  life,  but  they  seemed  to  flock 
like  sheep  to  the  slaughter.  We  must  say  for  them 
that  in  this  folly  their  courage  was  undaunted,  and 
their  patience  under  privations  and  suflfering  mar- 
vellous.    Despotism  has  its  uses. 

He  who  would  adventure  here  in  those  days  must 
first  collect  the  men.  Then  from  the  poor  resources 
at  hand  he  would  select  the  material  for  his  vessel, 
which  was  usually  built  of  green  timber  just  from  the 
forest,  and  with  no  tool  but  the  axe,  the  constant  com- 
panion of  every  Russian  laborer  or  hunter.  Rope  for 
the  rigging  and  cables  it  was  necessary  to  transport 
on  pack-horses  from  Irkutsk,  whence  they  generally 
arrived  in  a  damaged  condition,  the  long  hawsers  being 
cut  into  many  pieces  on  account  of  their  weight. 
Flour,  meat,  and  other  provisions  were  purchased  at 
Kirensk  and  Yakutsk  at  exorbitant  prices.  In  such 
crazy  craft  the  promyshleniki  were  obliged  to  brave 
the  stormy  waters  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  and  navigate 
along  the  chain  of  sunken  rocks  that  lined  the  coast 
of  Kamchatka.'^ 

'^  Mailer  sajs  the  price  of  iron  in  Okhotsk  in  1746  was  half  a  mble,  or 
about  40  oenU,  a  pound.  Toy.,  1.  82.  The  crews  were  obtained  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  The  merchant  would  notify  his  agent,  or  correspondent,  liTing  at 
Irkntek,  Yakutsk,  or  Kirensk,  who  would  engage  himters  and  laborers;  each 
agent  hiring  a  few  men,  providing  them  with  clothing,  and  sending  them  to 


114  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PEOMYSHLENIKL 

Nikofor  Trapeznikof  haxi  been  very  fortunate  in  his 
first  venture  with  the  Boris  i  Gleb,  and  therefore 
concluded  to  continue.  In  1752  he  sent  out  the  same 
vessel  in  command  of  Alexei  Drushinnin,  a  merchant 
of  Kursk.  This  navigator  shaped  his  course  for  Ber- 
ing Island,  but  wrecked  his  vessel  on  a  sunken  rock 
when  approaching  his  destination.  No  lives  were  lost 
and  enough  of  the  wreck  was  saved  to  construct 
another  craft  of  somewhat  smaller  dimensions,  which 
they  named  the  Ahram.  In  this  vessel  they  set 
out  once  more  in  1754,  but  after  a  few  days'  cruising 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  another  shipwreck  confined 
them  again  to  the  same  island  in  a  worse  predicament 
than  before. 

Meanwhile  Trapeznikof  had  fitted  out  another 
shitika,  the  /Sv  Nikolai^  with  the  Cossack  Radion 
Durnef  as  commander,  and  the  Cossack  Shevyrin 
as  tribute-gatherer.  Durnef  called  at  Bering  Island 
and  took  from  there  the  greater  part  of  the  crew 
of  the  Boris  i  Gleb,  leaving  four  men  in  charge  of 
surplus  stores  and  the  wreck  of  the  Abram.  The 
Sv  Nikolai  proceeded  eastward  and  made  several 
new  discoveries.  Durnef  s  party  passed  two  winters 
on  some  island  not  previously  known  to  the  promy- 
shleniki,  and  finally  they  returned  to  Kamchatka  in 
1757  with  a  cargo  valued  at  187,268  rubles.     This 

Okhotsk.  There  they  were  first  employed  in  building  and  equipping  the 
ship;  and  we  may  imagine  what  kind  of  ship-caipenters  and  sailors  they 
made.  There  waa  one  benefit  attending  this  method,  however;  as  these  men 
had  never  seen  a  ship  or  the  ocean  they  could  not  realize  the  danger  of  com- 
mitting their  lives  to  such  vessels,  though  the  na victors  could  not  have  been 
i^orant  of  the  risk  to  their  own  lives.  Before  sailing,  an  agreement  with  the 
hat  of  shares  was  drawn  up  and  duly  entered  in  the  book.  This  each  signed 
or  affixed  his  mark  thereto.  For  example:  If  the  vessel  carried  a  crew  of  40 
men,  including  the  navigator  and  the  peredovchik,  or  leader  of  hunters,  acting 
also  as  ship's  clerk,  the  whole  cargo,  on  the  return  of  the  vessel,  was  divided 
into  two  equal  shares,  one  half  going  to  the  owners,  and  the  other  half  being 
again  divided  into  45,  46,  or  perhaps  48  shares,  of  which  each  member  of  the 
ship's  company  received  one,  while  of  the  additional  five  or  six  shares  three 
went  to  the  navigator,  two  to  the  peredovchick,  and  one  or  two  to  the  church. 
It  sometimes  happened  that  at  the  end  of  a  fortunate  voyage  the  share  of 
each  hunter  amounted  to  between  2,000  and  3,000  rubles;  out  when  the 
voyages  were  unsuccessful  the  unfortunate  fellows  were  kept  in  perpetual 
indebtedness  to  their  employer. 


ANOTHER  SEARCH  FOR  THE  CONTINENT.  115 

was  the  most  successful  venture  of  the  kind  under- 
taken since  the  first  discovery  of  the  island.^ 

In  1753  three  vessels  were  despatched  from 
Okhotsk,  the  respective  owners  of  which  were  An- 
drei Serebrennikof  of  Moscow,  Feodor  Kholodilof  of 
Tomsk,  and  Simeon  Krassilnikof  of  Tula.  They  ex- 
pressed their  intention  to  search  for  the  Great  Land, 
as  the  American  continent  was  then  called  by  these 

gjople.  Serebrennikof  s  vessel  was  commanded  by 
etr  Bashnakof,  assisted  by  the  Cossack  Maxim 
Lazaref,  as  tribute-collector,  and  carried  a  crew  of 
thirty-four  promyshleniki.  Serebrennikof  sailed  in 
July  1753,  shaping  his  course  directly  east  from 
Kamchatka,  and  arrived  at  some  unknown  islands 
without  touching  any  of  those  already  discovered. 
The  ship  was  anchored  in  an  open  bight  not  far  from 
shore,  when  an  easterly  gale  carried  it  out  to  sea. 
During  the  storm  four  other  islands  were  sighted,  but 
as  no  one  on  board  was  able  to  make  astronomical 
observations  the  land  could  not  be  located  definitely 
on  the  chart.^  For  some  time  the  heavy  sea  pre- 
vented the  navigators  from  landing,  and  the  wind  car- 
ried them  still  farther  to  the  east.  At  last  three 
islands  suddenly  appeared  through  the  fog,  and  before 
the  sails  could  be  lowered  the  ship  was  thrown  upon 
one  of  them.  When  the  mariners  reached  the  shore 
they  were  met  by  armed  natives,  who  threw  spears 
and  arrows  at  them.  A  few  discharges  of  fire-arms, 
however,  soon  scattered  the  savages.^ 
The  wrecked  hunters  remained  on  the  island  till 

^Nem  Nachr.f  31.  The  carco  was  itemized  as  follows:  2,295  sea-otters 
killed  by  the  ship's  company,  and  732  sea-otters  purchased  of  the  natives  for 
articles  of  trifling  value,  making  a  forn*idable  total  of  3,027  sea-otters.  The 
immense  quantity  of  these  animals  killed  by  the  promyshleniki  themselves, 
is  proof  that  the  islands  upon  which  they  wintered  had  not  been  visited  before. 

"AVw^ocAr.,  35-6. 

**  According  to  Bashnakof  this  island  was  70  versts  in  length  and  sur- 
rounded by  12  smaller  islands.  This  description  is  applicable  to  the  island 
of  Tanaga,  and  on  the  strength  of  this  circumstance  Count  Benvovski,  the 
Kamcbatkan  conspirator,  ascribes  the  discovery  of  the  eastern  Aleutian  or 
Fox  Islands  to  Serebrennikof,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  ship.  BenyovakVa 
Memoirs  and  TraveU,  I  83. 


116  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

June  1754,  and  then  sailed  for  Kamchatka  in  a  small 
boat  built  out  of  the  remains  of  the  other.  The  cargo 
landed  at  Nishekamchatsk  was  of  too  little  value  to 
be  registered  in  the  official  lists  of  shipments.^* 

Kholodilofs  vessel  sailed  from  Kamchatka  in 
August  1753,  and  according  to  the  custom  generally 
adopted  by  the  promyshleniki  was  hauled  up  on 
Bering  Island  for  the  winter,  in  order  to  lay  in  a 
supply  of  sea-cow  meat.  Nine  men  were  lost  here 
by  the  upsetting  of  the  bidar,  and  in  June  of  the 
following  year  the  voyage  was  continued.  A  serious 
leak  was  discovered  when  running  before  a  westerly 
gale,  but  an  island  was  reached  just  in  time  to  save 
the  crew.  There  they  remained  till  July  1755.^  This 
expedition  returned  to  Kamchatka  late  in  1755  with 
a  cargo  of  sixteen  hundred  sea-otter  skins. 

The  vessel  fitted  out  by  Krassilnikof  did  not  sail 
until  the  summer  of  1754,  immediately  after  Captain 
Nilof  assumed  command  of  the  military  force  at 
Okhotsk,  and  temporary  command  of  the  district.^^ 
Bering  Island  was  reached  in  October,  and  after  lay- 
ing in  a  stock  of  sea-cow  meat  and  preparing  the 
vessel,  Krassilnikof  set  out  once  more  in  August  of 
the  following  year.  A  stormy  passage  brought  him 
to  an  island  that  seemed  densely  populated,  but  he 
did  not  deem  it  safe  to  land  there;  so  he  faced  the 
sea  again,  was  tossed  about  by  storms  for  weeks  and 
carried  to  the  westward  until  at  last  Copper  Island 
came  in  sight  again,  on  which  a  few  days  later  the 
ship  was  totally  wrecked.^     The  crew  was  saved  and 

*^  Bashnakof  was  wrecked  again  in  1764,  when  Tolstykh  picked  him  np  on 
Attoo  Island.  Attoo,  the  westernmost  of  the  Aleutian  Islaods.  Holmbcrg, 
18r)4,  writes  Attn,  and  near  it  another  [  Agattii.  Carloy,  Pac,  Coasts  MS.,  iii. 
482;  Berg,  Khroiiol.  ht.,  25-7;  Nem  Nnchr,,  35-^6. 

*''•  This  was  the  island  previously  visited  by  Trapeznikof .  In  the  spring, 
before  Kholodilof 's  party  sailed,  they  were  joined  by  a  Koriak  and  a  native 
of  Kamchatka,  who  stated  that  they  had  defeerted  from  Trapeznikof 's  ship, 
intending  to  live  among  the  natives.  There  had  been  six  deserters  originally, 
but  four  had  been  killed  by  the  natives  for  trying  to  force  their  wives.  Tiie 
other  two  had  been  more  cautious,  and  were  provided  with  naves  by  their 
hosts,  and  well  treated.  Kvue  Nachr.t  54;  Berg,  KhronoL  Int.,  21. 

'^  Mornloi  Shorn ik,  cv.  U,  40. 

^^ytueXachr.,  37-8. 


VOYAGE  OF  TOLSTYKH.  117 

a  small  quantity  of  provisions  stored  in  a  rudely  con- 
structed magazine.  The  ship's  company  was  then 
divided  into  several  small  hunting  parties,  five  men 
remaining  near  the  scene  of  the  wreck  to  guard  the 
provisions.  Three  of  the  men  were  drowned  on  the 
15th  of  October.^  And  as  a  crowning  disaster  a 
tidal  wave  destroyed  their  storehouse,  carrying  all 
that  remained  of  their  provisions  into  the  sea.  After 
a  winter  passed  in  misery  they  packed  up  their  furs 
in  the  spring,  a  poor  lot,  consisting  of  150  sea-otters 
and  1,300  blue  foxes,  and  managed  to  make  the  cross- 
ing to  Bering  Island  in  two  bidars,  which  they  had 
constructed  of  sea-lion  skins.  From  Bering  Island  a 
portion  of  the  company  returned  to  Kamchatka  in 
the  small  boat  Ahram,  built  by  Trapeznikof  s  men.**^ 
In  1756  the  merchants  Trapeznikof,  Shukof,  and 
Balin  fitted  out  a  vessel  and  engaged  as  its  com- 
mander the  most  famous  navigator  of  the  time, 
Andrei  Tolstykh.  The  ship  was  named  after  the  com- 
mander and  his  wife,  who  accompanied  him,  Andreian  i 
Natalia,  almost  the  first  departure  from  the  estab- 
lished custom  of  bestowing  saint's  names  upon  ships. 
Tolstykh  sailed  from  the  Kamchatka  River  in  Sep- 
tember, with  a  crew  of  thirty-eight  Russians  and 
natives  of  Kamchatka,  and  the  Cossack  Venediet 
Obiukhof  as  tribute-collector.  The  usual  halt  for  the 
winter  was  made  on  Bering  Island,  but  though  an 
ample  supply  of  meat  was  obtained  not  a  single  sea- 
otter  could  be  found.  Fifteen  years  from  the  first 
discovery  of  the  island  had  sufficed  to  exterminate 
the  animal.  Nine  men  of  the  Krassilnikof  expedi- 
tion were  here  added  to  the  crew,  and  in  June  1757 
Tolstykh  continued  his  voyage,  reaching  the  nearest 
Aleutian  island  in  eleven  days.     They  arrived  at  a 

^Berg,  Khronol,  lat.y  29, 

^Finding  that  the  Abram  could  not  carry  tne  whole  cai^  of  furs  and 
crew,  12  men  were  selected  from  the  ship's  company  to  return  on  that  small 
Tesael,  while  11  others  were  taken  away  by  the  ships  of  Serebrennikof  and 
Tobtykb.  Two  were  engaged  by  the  trader  Shilkin  for  another  voyage  of 
discovery.  Note  Nachr.,  3(M0. 


118  THE  SWABMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

favorable  moment;  Trapeznikof s  ship,  the  Sv  Nikolai^ 
was  on  the  point  of  sailing  for  Kamchatka  and  sev- 
eral chiefs  had  assembled  to  bid  their  visitors  farewell. 
Satisfactory  arrangements  were  at  once  entered  into 
for  the  collection  of  tribute  and  a  continuation  of 
peaceful  intercourse.  The  most  influential  chief,  named 
Tunulgasan,  was  received  with  due  solemnity  and  pre- 
sented with  a  copper  kettle  and  a  full  suit  of  clothes 
of  Russian  pattern.  This  magnificent  gift  induced 
him  to  leave  several  boys  in  charge  of  the  Russians, 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  learning  their  language, 
but  really  to  servo  as  hostages. 

In  accordance  with  instructions  from  the  Okhotsk 
authorities  Tolstykh  endeavored  to  persuade  the  chief 
of  Attoo  to  visit  Kamchatka  in  his  vessel,  but  in  this 
he  failed.  After  living  on  this  island  in  peace  with 
the  natives  for  over  a  year,  Tolstvkh  departed  with 
5,360  sea-otters  and  1,190  blue  K>xes,  and  reached 
Kamchatka  in  the  autumn  of  1758.*^ 

An  unfortunate  voyage  was  made  about  this  time 
by  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  merchant  Ivan  Shilkin, 
the  Kapiton,  which  it  will  be  remembered  was  built 
out  of  a  wreck  by  Bakof  and  Novikof  **  Ignaty 
Studentzof  was  the  Cossack  accompanying  this  expe- 
dition, and  upon  his  report  rests  all  the  information 
concerning  it  extant.  They  sailed  from  Okhotsk  in 
September  1757,  but  were  forced  by  stress  of  weather 
to  make  for  the  Kamchatka  shore  and  pass  the  win- 
ter there,  to  repair  a  damage.  Setting  sail  again  in 
1758  they  touched  at  Bering  Island,  passed  by  Attoo 

*^  Neits  Nachr.,  43;  Berg,  Khronol  Ist.,  app. 

^'  The  Kapiton  had  been  confiscated  by  the  government,  but  whb  finally 
delivered  to  Shilkin  to  reimburse  him  for  losses  incurred.  Berg  mentions 
especially  that  iron  bolts  were  freely  used  in  repairing  this  vessel.  As  early 
as  1752  a  trader  named  Glazachef  established  iron-woncB  at  Nishekamchatsk, 
and  bein^  enabled  to  sell  Buch  iron  as  he  could  manufacture  cheaper  than  it 
could  be  imported,  he  made  a  fortune.  Subsequently  Behm,  commander  of 
Kamchatka,  persuaded  him  to  transfer  the  works  to  the  government,  and 
remain  in  charge  at  a  fixed  salary.  Glazachef  finally  left  the  service,  and  his 
successors  not  understanding  the  business,  failed.  The  whole  annual  yield 
of  the  works  never  exceeded  one  thousand  pounds  of  metal,  and  under  Behm 's 
successor  the  enterprise  was  abandoned  altogether.  Morskoi  Sboniik^  ciii. 
13, 14. 


ADYENTUBES  OF  GLOTTOF.  -"  119 

where  Toktykh  was  then  trading,  and  went  on  to  the 
eastward^  finally  bringing  up  near  an  unknown  island. 
A  party  sent  ashore  by  Studentzof  to  reconnoitre  were 
beaten  off  by  a  band  of  natives,  and  immediately  after- 
ward a  sudden  gale  drove  the  ship  from  her  anchorage 
to.sea.*®  The  mariners  were  cast  upon  a  rocky  island 
in  the  neighborhood,  saving  nothing  but  their  lives, 
a  small  quantity  of  provisions,  and  their  fire-arms. 
While  still  exhausted  from  battUng  with  the  icy  waves 
they  beheld  approaching  a  large  bidar  with  natives. 
There  were  only  fifteen  able  to  defend  themselves,  but 
they  put  on  what  show  of  strength  and  courage  they 
could  command  and  went  to  meet  the  enemy.  One 
of  the  men,  Nikolai*  Chuprof,  who  had  **been  to  the 
islands"  before  and  spoke  the  Aleut  language,  implored 
the  natives  for  assistance  in  their  distressed  condition, 
but  the  answer  was  a  shower  of  spears  and  arrows,** 
A  volley  from  the  guns,  however,  killing  two,  put 
them  to  flight  as  usual.  Starvation  followed,  and 
there  were  seven  long  months  of  it.  Sea-weed  and 
the  water-soaked  skins  of  sea-otters  washed  ashore 
from  the  sunken  vessel  were  their  only  food.  Seven- 
teen died,  and  the  remainder  were  saved  only  by  the 
putrid  carcass  of  a  whale  cast  ashore  by  the  sea. 
Housing  themselves  they  built  a  boat  out  of  drift- 
wood and  the  remains  of  their  wreck,  killed  230  sea- 
otters  within  a  few  days  prior  to  their  departure,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  island  where  Serebrennikof  s 
vessel  was  then  moored,  and  near  which  they  anchored. 
But  a  gale  arising,  their  cables  snapped,  and  the  boat 
went  down  with  everything  on  board  save  the  crew. 
Only  thirteen  of  this  unfortunate  company  of  thirty- 
nine  finally  returned  to  Kamchatka  on  Serebrennikof  s 
vessel.**  After  an  absence  of  four  years  in  search  of 
a  fortune  they  landed  destitute  even  of  clothing. 

«  Berg,  Khronol.  IsL,  35-6. 

**  Thia  was  the  brother  of  the  notorious  Yakof  Chuprof  who  committe'l 
the  infamons  outrages  upon  the  natives  during  NevodchiKof's  first  voyage  to 
tbe  islands;  Nikolai  accompanied  his  brother  then.  />err/,  Khronol.  Ist.,  37. 

*»  NeuA  Sachr,,  37-8;  Berg,  KhronoL  Ist.,  45-6. 


120  THE  SWARMINQ  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

Thus  from  year  to  year  the  promyshleniki  pushed 
eastward  step  by  step.  A  merchant  of  Turinsk,  Stepan 
Glottof,  was  the  first  to  visit  and  carry  on  peaceful 
traflSc  with  the  inhabitants  of  Umnak  and  Unalaska. 
He  commanded  the  small  craft  Yulian^  built  at  Nishe- 
kamchatsk  by  Nikoforof,  in  which  he  sailed  on  the  2d 
of  September  1758,  accompanied  by  the  Cossack  Savs 
Ponomaref,  who  was  instructed  to  persuade  the  Aleuta 
to  become  Russian  subjects  and  pay  tribute.  Niko- 
forof intended  the  vessel  to  go  at  once  in  search  of 
new  islands  without  stopping  at  any  of  those  already 
known  to  the  promyshleniki;  but  long-continued  con- 
trary gales  compelled  Glottof  to  winter  at  Bering 
Island,  where  he  remained  till  the  following  August. 
Thence  he  sailed  eastward  for  thirty  days  and  landed 
on  an  unknown  island.*®  There  the  hunters  con- 
cluded to  spend  the  winter;  but  they  found  the  na- 
tives so  friendly  that  three  seasons  passed  before 
Glottof  thought  of  returning  to  Kamchatka.  The 
Yulian  arrived  at  Bolsheretsk  on  the  31st  of  August 
1762,  with  a  large  and  valuable  cargo  containing  be- 
sides cross  and  red  foxes  the  first  black  foxes  from 
the  Aleutian  Islands.*^ 

Two  other  vessels  are  said  to  have  been  despatched 
to  the  islands  in  1758,  by  the  merchant  Simeon 
Krassilnikof,  and  Nikofor  Trapeznikof,  but  only  of 
one  of  them,  the  Vladimir,  have  we  any  information. 
The  leaders  of  this  expedition  were  the  peredovchik, 
Dmitri  Paikof,  and  the  Cossack  Sava  Shevyrin.  They 
put  to  sea  from  Nishekamchatsk  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 

*^  Umnak,  according  to  Berg,  KhronoL  ht. ,  36. 

*^  In  Berg's  summary  of  fur  shipments  the  cargo  of  the  Yulian  is  itemized  * 
as  follows:  Tribute  to  the  government,  11  sea-otters  and  26  black  foxes; 
cargo,  1,465  sea-otters,  280  sea-otter  tails,  1,002  black  foxes,  1,100  cross 
foxes,  400  red  foxes,  22  walrus- tusks,  and  58  blue  foxes;  the  whole  valued  at 
130,450  rubles.  Khronol.  lat.y  App,  In  the  Neue  Nachr,^  no  mention  of  this 
voyage  is  made;  Coxe  also  is  silent  on  the  subject.  The  fact  of  the  presence 
of  walrus-tusks  shows  that  there  was  traffic  in  the  article  between  the  Una- 
laskans  and  the  natives  of  the  Alaska  peninsula,  where  the  huge  pennipods 
still  abound.  The  Cossack  Ponomaref  sent  to  the  authorities  at  Okhotsk 
quite  a  correct  map  of  the  Aleutian  archipelago,  indicating  eicht  large  islands 
north-east  of  Uualaska.  He  says  that  the  merchant  Peter  Shishkin  assisted 
him  in  compiling  a  chart.  Berg,  Khronol  let,  37. 


PAIKOP  AND  SHEVYRIKr.  121 

tember,  with  a  crew  of  forty-five  men,  made  the  pas- 
sage to  Bering  Island  in  twenty -four  hours,  and  there 
hauled  up  their  vessel  for  the  winter.  On  the  16th 
of  July  1759  Paikof  set  sail  once  more,  taking  at  first 
a  southerly  course.*® 

It  is  not  known  how  far  Paikof  pursued  his  south- 
erly course,  but  he  discovered  no  land  and  returned 
to  the  north,  arriving  in  the  vicinity  of  Atkha  Island 
the  1st  of  September.  Finding  no  convenient  harbor 
he  went  on  to  Umnak  Island  and  made  preparations 
to  pass  the  winter.  The  ship's  company  was  divided 
into  three  artelsy  or  parties,  the  first  of  which  was 
commanded  by  Alexei  Drushinnin  and  stationed  on 
the  island  of  Sitkhin.**  The  Cossack,  Shevyrin,  took 
ten  men  to  Atkha  and  the  remainder  of  the  crew 
established  their  winter-quarters  in  the  immediate 
vicinit}'^  of  the  vessel  under  command  of  Simeon  Pole- 
voi. Pfiakof  was  evidently  only  navigator  and  had 
no  command  on  shore.  The  first  season  passed  in 
apparently  peaceful  intercourse  with  the  natives.^ 

''A  general  impression  preyailed  among  the  promyshleniki  of  the  time 
that  there  was  land  to  the  southward  of  the  Aleutian  Isles.  Ivan  Savich 
Lapin,  from  whom  Berg  obtained  much  information,  stated  that  Gavril  Push- 
korcf,  a  companion  of  Bering,  who  had  survived  the  terrible  winter  on 
Bering  Island,  always  assert^  positively  that  there  must  be  land  to  the 
southward.  The  sea-otters  and  fur-seals,  he  said,  thoagh  found  about  Bering 
Island  and  its  vicinity  during  the  summer,  invariably  disappeared  in  a 
southerly  direction.  1^  was  known  that  they  did  not  go  to  Kamchatka  or  to 
the  Knrile  Islands,  and  though  ignorant  as  to  the  actual  whereabouts  of  the 
otters  and  seals,  Fushkaref  frequently  assured  Lapin  and  Trapeznikof  that 
they  could  make  their  fortune  by  discovering  the  winter  haunts  of  these 
animals  in  the  south.  Berg,  Khronol,  IH.,  38. 

^Accordixig  to  Cook,  Seetien;  and  La  P^rouse,  and  Holmberff,  SUchin. 
Cartog.  Pac.  Goast,  MS.,  iii.  474.  In  Neue  Nachr.  it  is  spelled  Sitkin,  while 
Berg  has  Sigdak.  Khronol.  lat,,  39;  Umnak  Islaml,  south-west  of  Unalaska. 
On  Cook's  AtlaSy  1778,  written  Umanak;  La  P^rouse,  1786,  Oumndk;  Holm- 
bcrff,  1864,  /  Umnak.  Cartog.  Pac.  Coast,  MS.,  iii.  458;  Neue  Nachr.,  49. 

*^The  custom  of  the  promyshleniki  after  establishinff  themselves  on  an 
island,  was  to  divide  the  command  into  small  parties,  each  of  which  was  sta- 
tioned in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  native  village,  whose  chief  was  induced 
by  presents  to  assist  in  compelling  his  people  to  hunt,  on  the  pretext  perhaps 
that  the  empress,  who,  although  a  woman,  was  the  greatest  and  most  l^enig- 
nant  being  on  earth,  required  such  service  of  them.  When  they  returned 
their  catch  was  taken  and  a  few  trifling  presents  made  them,  such  as  beads 
and  tobacoo-leaf.  Two  objects  were  at  once  accomplished  by  the  cunning 
promyshleniki.  While  all  the  able-bodied  men  were  thus  away  gatliering 
skins  for  them,  they  were  having  their  o^n  way  with  the  women  of  the  villages. 
Actual  trade  or  exchange  of  Russian  manufactures  for  skins  was  carried  on 


122  THE  SWABMING  OP  THE  PBOMYSHLENIKI. 

At  first  the  Kussians  believed  the  island  of  Amlia 
to  be  uninhabited^  but  during  a  hunting  expedition  a 
boy  of  eight  years  was  discovered  hidden  in  the  grass. 
He  was  unable  or  unwilling  to  give  any  information, 
but  was  taken  to  the  Russian  camp,  baptized  and 
named  Yermola,  and  instructed  in  the  Kussian  lan- 
guage. Subsequently  a  party  of  four  men,  two  women, 
and  four  children  were  discovered  and  were  at  once 
employed  by  the  promyshleniki  to  dig  roots  and  gather 
wood  for  them.  In  time  other  natives  visited  the 
strangers  in  canoes,  and  exchanged  seal-meat  and  fish 
for  needles,  thread,  and  glass  beads." 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  when  the  de- 
tached hunting  parties  came  back  to  the  ship,  it  was 
found  that  only  one  Kussian  on  Atkha  Island  had  lost 
his  life  at  the  hands  of  the  natives,  and  that  he  met 
his  fate  through  his  own  fault.  Polevoi  was  much 
pleased  with  the  quantity  of  furs  obtained  and  con- 
cluded to  send  the  detachments  again  immediately  to 
the  same  localities.  Shevyrin  had  only  just  returned 
to  Atkha  with  eleven  men  when  the  natives,  who 
doubtless  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Russians 
during  the  winter,  fell  upon  the  party  and  killed  them 
all.  Drushinnin  heard  of  this  through  the  natives  on 
Sitkhin  Island  and  returned  at  once  to  the  vessel  at 
Amlia.  The  crew  of  the  Vladimir  was  now  reduced 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  hunters  felt  serious  appre- 
hensions as  to  their  safety,  and  consequently  they 
began  to  make  the  necessary  preparations  for  return- 
ing to  Kamchatka  at  once.  These  preparations  were 
interrupted,  however,  by  the  unexpected  arrival  of 
the  Gavrilj  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  merchant  Be- 
chevin." 

only  where  the  natives  refused  to  hunt  for  the  Russians  without  reward.  All 
kinds  of  outrages  were  constantly  practised  on  the  timid  islanders  by  the  ruf- 
fianly taskmasters. 

^^Nette  Nachr.,  50.  Amluk  acoordiiig  to  Cook,  whilst  Holmberg  writes 
lAmfja,  Cartog,  Pac.  Coast,  MS.,  iii.  466. 

^'  Bechevin,  a  rich  merchant  of  Irkutsk,  despatched  in  1760  the  largest 
vessel  hitherto  sent  to  the  Aleutian  Islands.  It  is  not  known  where  the 
Oavril  was  built;  her  length  was  62  feet»  and  she  carried  40  Kussians  and  20 


VOYAGE  OP  THE  'GAVRIL.'    '  123 

The  Gavril  had  passed  through  the  Kurile  Islands 
in  July  and  arrived  at  Atkha  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember.'' The  fears  entertained  by  the  Vladimir's 
weakened  crew  vanished  at  once,  and  a  written  agree- 
ment was  entered  into  by  the  members  of  the  two 
expeditions  to  hunt  in  partnership.  Strong  detach- 
ments were  sent  out  to  the  stations  occupied  during 
the  previous  season,  and  also  to  the  island  of  Signam, 
north-east  of  Atkha.  The  result  of  the  season's 
work  proved  gratifying;  about  900  sea-otters  and  400 
foxes  of  various  kinds,  and  432  pounds  of  walrus- 
tusks  were  ready  for  shipment*^ 

A  consultation  was  held  in  the  following  spring, 
when  it  was  concluded  that  the  Vladimir  should  remain 
at  Amlia  a  little  longer,  and  then  return  to  Kamchatka 
with  as  many  of  the  furs  as  she  could  carry,  while  the 
Gavril  would  proceed  in  search  of  new  discoveries. 
The  joint  force  was  equally  divided  between  the  two 
vessels,  and  the  Gavril  set  sail  once  more,  taking  an 
easterly  course  and  touching  first  at  Umnak  Island. 
There  they  found  a  vessel  belonging  to  Nikoforof^ 
engaged  in  hunting,  and  consequently  they  limited 
their  operations  to  mending  the  sails  and  replenishing 

iifttiyes  of  Kamchatka.  The  anthoritiee  of  Bolsheretsk  placed  on  board  a 
serffeant  of  CoMacks,  Gavril  Pnshkaref,  and  three  men,  Andrei  Shdanofy 
Yakof  Sharipof,  and  Prokop  Lobaskhef .  Bechevin  also  sent  two  of  his  confi- 
dential clerks,  Nikofor  Golodof  and  Afanassiy  Askolkof.  Neve  Nachr.^  51. 
Two  other  vessels  were  recorded  by  Bere  as  liaving  sailed  for  tlie  islands  in 
1759.  Kybinskoi  and  his  partners  buUt  a  ship  named  the  Sv  Pttr  i  Sv 
Ptxvely  and  sent  her  ont  to  search  for  land  sonth  of  the  Aleutian  Isles.  She 
had  a  crew  of  33  Russians  and  natives  of  Kamchatka  under  Andrei  Serebrenn- 
ikof,  the  former  partner  of  Sergeant  Bassof.  All  that  is  known  of  this  voy- 
age is  that  the  vessel  returned  in  1761,  with  a  cargo  of  2,000  sea-otters,  but 
withoat  havinff  made  any  new  discoveries.  In  the  same  year,  1759,  a  ship 
adlod  the  ZcSckar  i  Elkaveta  was  fitted  out  by  a  company  consisting  of 
Portnikof  of  Shuysk,  Krassilinikof  of  Tula,  and  Knlkof,  a  citizen  of  Vologda. 
Stepaa  Oherepanof  was  navigator.  The  vessel  sailed  Arom  Nishekamchatsk, 
and  after  an  abeence  of  threie  years  arrived  at  Okhotsk  in  1702,  with  1,750 
•ea-^ytters  and  530  blue  foxes.  Berg,  Khronol.  I&t,,  40-1. 

^According  to  the  Neue  Naehr,  the  Gavril  touched  at  one  of  the  Aleutian 
Isles  on  the  24th  of  August,  but  finding  the  vessels  of  Poetnikof,  Trapezuikof, 
and  Serebvennikof,  at  anchor  there,  they  pushed  on  to  the  eastward.  Ncue 
Nachr,,  52. 

^Berg,  KhronoL  Ij4.,  App,  Here  was  another  evidence  of  constant  traffic 
between  the  islanders  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Alaskan  peninsula. 

**  The  Yviiany  according  to  Neue  Nachr.,  53. 


124  THE  SWARMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

their  stock  of  wood  and  water.  They  then  proceeded 
to  what  they  considered  to  be  the  island  of  "  Alaksha," 
but  whether  this  party  actually  wintered  on  the  penin- 
sula of  Alaska  is  not  quite  clear.  As  soon  as  a  suit- 
able harbor  had  been  found  the  ship  was  beached,  and 
the  crew  proceeded  to  erect  winter-quarters  on  shore. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity  received  the  Russians 
in  a  friendly  manner;  they  traded  honestly,  and  gave 
their  children  as  hostages.^  However,  this  peace 
and  good-will  were  not  of  long  duration.  The  lawless 
promyshleniki  of  Bechevin's  soon  gave  the  natives 
much  trouble,  fully  justifying  them  in  any  retaliation. 

In  January  1762  Grolodof  and  Pushkaref,  with  a 
party  of  twenty  hunters,  coasted  in  bidars  in  search 
of  food,  and  landed  upon  an  adjoining  island. ^^  While 
indulging  in  their  customary  outrages  they  were  sur- 
prised by  a  body  of  natives  who  killed  Golodof  and 
another  Russian,  and  wounded  three  more.  Shortly 
afterward  the  Russian  camp  was  attacked,  four  men 
killed,  as  many  wounded,  and  the  huts  reduced  to 
ashes.  In  May  the  Cossack  Lobashkof  and  one  of 
the  promyshleniki  went  to  bathe  in  a  hot  spring 
situated  about  five  versts  from  the  harbor,  and  were 
killed  by  the  natives.'^  In  return  the  Russians  put 
seven  of  the  hostages  to  death.  The  islanders  again 
attacked  the  Russian  camp,  but  were  repulsed. 

As  it  was  evident  that  the  natives  had  determined 

^  The  Russians  receivecl  nine  children  as  hostages,  and  in  ^addition  they 
engaged  two  men  and  three  women  to  work  for  them.  Nme  Nach?-,,  5«3-4. 

*'  It  is  impossible  to  determine  which  island  tliis  was.  In  ^etie  Nackr, 
it  is  called  Uniunga,  a  name  not  to  be  found  on  any  chart.  Berg  calls  it  Ounga, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  to  indicate  that  the  men  of  Bechevin's  expedition  pro- 
ceeded around  the  peninsula  and  north-eastward  as  far  as  the  Shumagin  Isl* 
ands.  Neue  Nachr.^  54;  Berg^  Khronoi,  /«<.,  43.  The  name  of  Ounungun, 
applied  to  the  Unalaska  people  by  their  western  neighbors,  according  to  Pinart, 
may  throw  some  light  upon  this  question;  it  is  probable  that  the  locality  of 
Golodof 's  and  Pushkaref 's  exploits  was  not  the  peninsula  at  all,  but  A^n- 
alaksli,  the  Aleut  name  of  Unalaska,  which  was  subsequently  abbreviated  by 
the  I<4i8sians. 

^Xeue  Ndchr. ,  55.  Tliis  is  another  point  in  support  of  the  theory  that  the 
Gavril  landed  on  Unalaska.  Five  versts  (three  and  a  half  miles)  from  the 
])rincipal  settlement  on  Unalaska  Island  are  hot  springs,  aboriginally  resorted 
to  for  curing  rheumatic  and  skin  diseases.  liot  springs  exist  also  near  tho 
settlement  of  Morshcvoi  on  the  south  point  of  the  peninsula,  but  they  are 
witliin  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the  shore. 


PUSHKAEEF*S  CRUELTIES.  125 

upon  the  destruction  of  the  entire  company,  the  out- 
lying detachments  were  recalled.  The  ship  was  then 
repaired  and  the  whole  command  returned  to  Umnak 
Island.  There  they  took  on  board  two  natives  with 
their  families,  who  had  promised  to  pilot  them  to  other 
islands ;  but  as  soon  as  the  vessel  had  gained  the  open 
sea  a  violent  gale  from  the  eastward  drove  her  before 
it  until  on  the  23d  of  September  the  mariners  found 
themselves  near  an  unknown  coast,  without  masts, 
sails,  or  rudder,  and  with  but  little  rigging.  The  land, 
however,  proved  to  be  Kamchatka,  and  on  the  25th 
the  helpless  craft  drifted  into  the  bay  of  Kalatcheva, 
seventy  versts  from  Avatcha  Bay.  Bechevin  landed 
his  cargo,  consisting  of  900  sea-otters  and  350  foxes, 
valued  at  52,570  rubles.^  The  cove  where  the  landing 
was  effected  subsequently  received  the  name  of  Beche- 
vinskaia. 

Charges  of  gross  brutahties,  committed  during  this 
voyage,  have  been  made  against  Sergeant  Pushkaref. 
On  leaving  the  Aleutian  Isles  the  crew  of  the  Gavril, 
with  Pushkaref's  consent,  took  with  them  twenty -five 
young  women  under  the  pretext  that  they  were  to  be 
employed  in  picking  berries  and  gathering  roots  for 
the  ship's  company.  When  the  coast  of  Kamchatka 
was  first  sighted  a  boat  was  sent  ashore  with  six  men 
and  fourteen  of  these  girls.  The  latter  were  then 
ordered  to  pick  berries.  Two  of  them  ran  away  and 
were  lost  in  the  hills,  and  during  the  return  of  the 
boat  to  the  ship  one  of  them  was  killed  by  a  man 
named  Korelin.**  In  a  fit  of  despair  the  remaining 
girls  threw  themselves  into  the  sea  and  were  drowned. 
In  order  to  rid  himself  of  troublesome  witnesses  to 
this  outrage,  Pushkaref  had  all  the  remaining  islanders 
thrown  overboard,  with  the  exception  of  one  boy, 
Moise,  and  Ivan,  an  interpreter  who  had  been  in 
the  service  of  Andrei  Serebrennikof     Three  of  the 

*'J5tfrj,  Khronol,  Ifft.,  app. 

^^  ^Uve  J^achr.,  56.  Berg  states  that  it  was  Pushkaref  himself  who  had 
accompanied  the  women  to  the  shore.  Khronol.  Int. ,  45. 


126  THE  SWAEMING  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

women  had  died  before  leaving  the  islands.^  An  im- 
perial oukaz  issued  from  the  chancellery  at  Okhotsk 
to  a  company  consisting  of  Orekhof,  Lapin,  and  Shilof. 
who  asked  permission  to  despatch  an  expedition  to 
the  islands,  enjoins  on  the  promyshleniki  the  great- 
est care  and  kindness  in  their  intercourse  with  the 
natives.  The  eleventh  paragraph  of  the  oukaz  reads 
as  follows:  "As  it  appears  from  reports  forwarded  by 
Colonel  Plenisner,  who  was  charged  with  the  inves- 
tigation and  final  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Bechevin  company,  that  that  company  during  their 
voyage  to  and  from  the  Aleutian  Islands  on  a  hunt- 
ing and  trading  expedition  committed  indescribable 
outrages  and  abuses  on  the  inhabitants,  and  even  were 
guilty  of  murder,  inciting  the  natives  to  bloody  re- 
prisals, it  is  hereby  enjoined  upon  the  company  about 
to  sail,  and  especially  upon  the  master,  Ismailof,  and 
the  peredovchik,  Lukanin,  to  see  that  no  such  barbar- 
ities, plunder,  and  ravaging  of  women  are  committed 
under  any  circumstances."  The  whole  document  is 
of  a  similar  tenor  and  goes  far  to  prove  that  the  au- 
thorities were  convinced  that  the  outrages  reported 
to  them  had  in  truth  been  committed.®^ 

From  this  time  forward  the  authorities  of  Siberia 
evidently  favored  the  formation  of  privileged  companies, 
and  the  Bechevin  investigation  may  be  considered  as 
the  beginning  of  the  end  of  free  traflSc  in  the  Ameri- 
can possessions  of  the  Kussian  empire. 

«iV€M«  Naehr,,  67;  Berg,  KhronoL  1st.,  46. 

^Berg,  Khronol.  1st.,  46-62.  The  oukaz  is  signed  by  Gaptaan-lieatenant 
Sava  Zubof,  and  dated  August  29,  1770.  Bei^  found  in  some  letters  written 
by  the  collegiate  chancellor  Anton  Ivanovich  Lasaef,  a  civil  engineer  of  the 

government  at  Irkutsk,  a  notice  tQ  the  effect  that  Bechevin  suffered  much 
uring  a  penal  inquisition  with  torture,  conducted  against  him  in  1764  by 
K*A*Sl*,  probably  Knias  (Prince)  Alexander  Korzakof,  who  is  mentioned  bi 
having  been  detailed  on  a  government  mission  to  Irkutsk  about  that  time. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIEL 

1760-1767. 

Tolsttkh's  Votaob— Movbmbnts  of  Vb&sbls — Stjshlin'8  Map— Wreck 

OF    THE    'AnDBEUK  I  NaTALIA' — CATHERINE    SfEASS  — A    COMPANT 

Formed— OoLLEcnNG  Tribute — The  *Neue  Nachrichten*— Voyage 

OF  THE   'ZaKHAR  I  ELIZAVETA '—TERRIBLE  RETALIATION  OF  THE  UnA- 

LASKANS — ^Voyage  of  the  *SvTroi"Tska*— Great  Sufferings— Fatal 
Onslaught— Voyage  of  Glottof — Ship  Nomenclature- Discovery 
OF  BLadiak— New  Mode  of  Warfare— The  Old  Man's  Tale— Solo- 
vief's  Infamies— The  Okhotsk  Government— More  *St  Peters'  and 
•St  Pauls'— Quren  Catherine  and  the  Merchant  Nikoforof— End 
of  Private  Fur-hunting  Expeditions. 

The  first  vessel  which  sailed  to  the  Aleutian  Islands 
under  protection  of  a  special  imperial  oukaz  was  the 
Andreian  i  Natalia,  owned  and  commanded  by  An- 
drei Tolstykh,  a  man  of  courage  and  perseverance, 
who  during  his  three  previous  voyages  had  amassed 
some  fortune,  and  concluded  to  adventure  it  on  this 
turn.* 

The  Andreian  i  Natalia  left  Kamchatka  the  27th 
of  September  1760.  In  two  days  Bering  Island  was 
reached,  when  in  accordance  with  custom  the  ship  was 
hauled  up  for  the  winter.  In  the  June  following  Tol- 
stykh again  put  to  sea,  steering  at  first  southerly,  then 
northward,  arriving  at  Attoo  Island  the  5th  of  August.* 

'  Tolstykh  be^ran  his  official  report  as  follows:  *By  virtue  of  an  oukaz  of 
her  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Empress  Elizabeth  Petrovna,  issued  through  the 
ChaDcellery  of  Bolsheretsk  in  Kamchatka,  on  the  4th  day  of  August  17^,  and 
in  pursuance  of  an  order  deposited  with  Lieutenant  Vasaili  Snmalef ,  I  was 
permitted  to  put  to  sea  with  the  Cossacks  Petr  Vassiutinski  and  Maxim 
Lazaref,  detailed  for  this  service.'  Berg,  Kkronol.  Ist.,  63;  Neue  Nachr.,  69; 
Sheliko/,  Puteshestvie,  134;  Orewmgh,  Beitrag  zur  Kenntnisa  der  nordtoegt- 
huBte  Amtrikas,  316. 

'He  met  a  vessel  returning  to  Kamchatka,  probably  the  Sv  Peter  %  8v 

(127) 


128       FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

Three  vessels  were  there  trading,  belonging  respect- 
ively to  Chebaievski,  Postnikof,  and  Trapeznikof. 
Tolstykh  had  hoped  to  find  the  friendly  chief  Tunul- 
gasan,  whom  he  had  met  before,  but  the  aboriginal 
had  died,  and  his  successor,  Bakutun,  told  the  new- 
comers that  there  were  too  many  Russians  on  his 
island  already,  and  they  might  as  well  pass  on,  but 
appeased  with  presents  the  monarch  finally  gave 
Tolstykh  some  of  his  own  relatives  as  hostages,  who 
were  also  to  serve  as  interpreters  and  guides  to  other 
islands.  After  a  sojourn  of  two  weeks  the  vessel  con- 
tinued to  the  eastward,  and  on  the  28th  of  August 
reached  an  island  which  was  subsequently  ascertained 
to  be  Adakh.' 

Pavel,  with  over  2,500  sea- otters  on  board  valued  at  150,000  rablee.  Neve 
Nachr.,  CS-9;  KhronoL  1st.,  app.;  Orewingh^  314. 

^  In  Keiie  Nachr.,  61,  the  island  is  named  Ajaga  or  Kajachu,  names  not  to 
be  found  in  any  chart.  Grewingk  states  that  Tolstykh  brought  news  of  the 
islands  Kanaga,  Tchechina,  Tagalak,  Atchu,  Amlag,  and  Atach.  Grewhifjh^ 
Beitragy  315;  Shelikof,  Puteshaivie,  135.  There  was  necessarily  great'con- 
fusicin  in  the  application  of  names  to  the  newly  discovered  islands.  On  tho 
map  of  Stiehlin,  an  offspring  of  Croy^re's  abortion  published  in  English  in 
1774,  the  new  northern  archipelago  was  laid  down  m  the  most  remarkable 
manner.  By  colorings  the  islands  were  divided  into  four  groups,  the  largest 
of  which  was  called  Anadirsk  group,  and  Included  Alaska,  a  large  island  ex- 
tending east  and  west  in  latitude  65**,  and  Unalaska,  and  Amchitla,  Umnak, 
Sannakh,  Yunaska,  and  a  number  of  other  islands  with  imaginary  namt;8. 
This  group  is  placed  in  a  wide  passage  between  the  continents  of  Asia  and 
America.  To  the  south-west  and  extending  from  latitude  60**  to  55**,  we  find 
the  Aleutian  group  comprising  Amlia,  Atkha,  Bulldir,  *Kadiak,'aud  *StHer- 
mogen.'  To  the  north- west  of  this  group,  in  latitude  00°,  Staihlin  placed  the 
Olutorskoi  Islands,  containing  Kanaga,  Ayak  (Adakh?),  and  Copper  Island. 
To  the  southward  of  the  latter  we  find  Beiing  Island,  with  two  pretty  large 
adjoining  islands,  and  still  farther  south  a  group  of  imaginai-y  discoveries  to 
which  the  names  bestowed  by  Bei*ing  upon  the  nearest  Aleutian  islands  were 
applied.  Stiehlin's  introduction  to  this  description  of  the  archipelago  is  sulli- 
ciently  original  to  merit  a  place  in  these  pages.  He  begins  as  follows :  '  It 
appears,  from  the  accounts  of  our  illiterate  sea-faring  men,  that  there  is  no 
essential  difference,  in  any  respect,  between  these  several  islands,  and  their 
inhabitants;  and  that  they  seem  to  be  pretty  much  alike.  It  is  needless  to 
name  every  one  of  the  islands  which  compose  our  new  northern  archijMjlago, 
as  they  arc  set  down  in  the  map  hereto  annexed,  with  their  situation  and  size. 
As  to  the  absolute  accui-acy  of  the  two  first  articles,  namely,  the  true  situa- 
tion, as  to  geographical  latitude  and  longitude,  and  their  exact  dimensions,  I 
would  not  be  answerable  for  them,  until  they  can  be  ascertained  by  astronom- 
ical observations.  Of  these  islands  we  know  in  general,  and  for  certain,  that 
those  which  are  situated  between  latitude  50th  to  the  55th  degree,  resemble 
the  islands  of  the  Kurilci,  with  regard  to  the  weather,  the  productions,  as  also 
in  the  figure,  appearance,  clothing,  food,  way  of  life,  and  manners. .  .of  the 
inhabitants,  whereas  those  from  tho  55th  to  the  60th  degree,  which  are  tho 
isLands  of  Olufora  and  Aleuta,  are  in  all  these  particulars  very  like  Kam- 
chatka.    Those  of  the  third  division  have  a  diilerent  aspect,  and  are  situated 


DISCOVERY  OF  ISLANDS.  129 

There  was  every  indication  of  multitudes  of  sea- 
otters  in  this  vicinity,  and  as  soon  as  a  convenient 
harbor  had  been  found  all  hands  were  set  to  work  on 
Adakh  and  the  adjoining  island  of  Kanaga.  Parties 
were  also  despatched  to  other  islands  as  far  eastward 
as  Atkha  and  Amlia,  meeting  everywhere  a  friendly 
reception.  After  a  stay  on  these  islands,  subse- 
quently named  after  him  the  Andreianovski,  of  nearly 
three  years,  Tolstykh  collected  quite  a  valuable  cargo 
of  furs,  and  finally  started  homeward  on  the  14th  of 
June  1764.  He  stopped  at  Attoo  Island  to  land  his 
interpreters  and  repair  his  vessel,  which  was  leaking 
badly.  Some  shipwrecked  Russians  were  also  taken 
on  board,  and  on  the  27th  of  August  the  Andreian  i 
Natalia  took  her  final  departure  for  Kamchatka.  On 
the  4th  day  of  September  the  coast  was  sighted,  but 
Tolstykh  lost  his  vessel  in  attempting  to  weather  the 
cape  of  Kamchatka.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  sav- 
ing both  crew  and  cargo.* 

As  Tolstykh  and  Vassiutkinski  claimed  to  have  per- 
suaded the  inhabitants  of  six  islands  to  become  sub- 
between  the  60th  and  67th  degree  of  north  Uititade.  The  former,  which  are 
like  KamUchatka,  are  full  of  moantaina  and  volcanoes,  have  no  woods,  and 
bnt  few  plants.  The  more  northern  islands  abound  in  woods  and  fields,  and 
consequently  in  wild  beasts.  Aa  to  the  savage  inhabitants  of  these  newly 
discovered  islands,  they  are  but  one  remove  from  brutes,  and  differ  from  the 
inhabitants  of  the  ishmds  lately  discovered  in  the. .  .South  Sea,  being  the 
very  reverse  of  the  friendly  and  hospitable  people  of  Otaheite.*  StcehUn^s  New 
2<i'orth.  Archi/telagOy  16-20.  The  author  begins  his  description  of  the  islands 
'with  Ajak,  which  he  represents  as  150  versts  in  circumference,  with  high 
rocky  mountains,  valleys,  dry  slopes,  plains,  morass,  turf,  meadows,  and 
'roads,'  adding  astutely,  'so  that  you  may  easily  co  over  all  the  island.'  He 
also  states  tliat  the  inhabitants  of  Ajak  cannot  be  numbered,  because  they 
move  from  island  to  island,  crossing  straits  in  bidars.  In  a  note  the  rather 
remarkable  explanation  is  given  that  'bidars  are  large  boats  made  of  whales' 
ribs.'  Id.,  25.  The  account  given  by  Stcehlin  of  Kodiak  Island  is  evidently 
based  on  Soloviefs  experience  in  17G'2,  but  oh  the  chart  the  island  is  altogether 
out  of  place,  lacing  south  of  the  Aleutian  islands.  The  inhabitants  are  painted 
in  tlie  blackest  colors,  in  accordance  witli  Soloviefs  impressions.  He  every- 
where displays  the  grossest  i.i,^iorance.  The  word  torbassa,  a  Kamchatka 
expression  for  fur-boots  or  skin-boots,  StjKblin  applies  to  snow-shoes,  and 
kamishf  signifying  thread  made  of  reindeer  sinew,  ho  defines  as  thread  made 
of  the  librc  of  a  reed. 

*  The  reports  of  Tolstykh's  voyage  are  conflicting;  the  Neue  Xcwhr.  r'^vo 
biA  catch  as  only  1,880  full  grown  sea-otters,  778  yearlings,  and  'SJ2  pr.pj. 
Berg  places  it  at  3.0130  sea-otters,  and  532  blue  foxes,  in  addition  to  govern- 
ment tribute  of  100  sea-otters,  and  values  the  cargo  at  120,000  rubles. 
Khronol,  /x/.,  54,  app.;  Nciie  Nadir,,  02. 
Hm.  AXiAsxA.  0 


130   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

jects  of  Russia  and  to  pay  tribute,  the  voyage  was 
duly  reported  to  the  empress,  who  subsequently  re- 
warded Tolstykh  and  the  two  Cossacks.*^ 

One  vessel  was  despatched  to  the  islands  in  1760, 
but  our  information  concerning'it  is  meagre.  It  was 
built  and  fitted  out  under  the  auspices  of  the  mer- 
chant Terentiy  Chebaievski,  and  under  the  immediate 
superintendence  of  his  clerk  Vassili  Popof  Berg 
claims  to  have  found  a  notice  in  the  papers  of  Zelon- 
ski  to  the  eflfect  that  Chebaievski's  vessel  returned 
in  1763  with  a  cargo  valued  at  104,218  rubles.® 

A  plan  had  been  formed  by  this  combination  of 
wealthy  merchants  for  making  a  thorough  examina- 
tion of  the  Aleutian  chain  and  the  adjoining  con- 
tinent, and  then  to  decide  upon  the  most  favorable 
locality  for  opening  operations  on  a  larger  scale.  The 
object  of  the  expedition  was  well  conceived  and  de- 
serving of  success,  but  a  chain  of  unfortunate  circum- 
stances combined  to  frustrate  their  designs.  Three  of 
the  ships  fitted  out  by  the  partners  were  destroyed 
with  all  on  board,  and  the  fourth  returned  without 
even  paying  expenses.^  We  have  the  names  of  only  two 
of  the  three  vessels  destroyed,  the  Zakhar  i  Elizaveta 

*  Berg  states  that  among  the  papers  of  the  former  governor  of  eastern 
Siberia,  Dennis  Ivanovich  Checherin,  he  found  a  rescript  of  the  empress 
Catherine  of  which  he  gives  the  following  copy:  *Dennis  Ivanovich:  Your 
communication  concerning  tlie  subjection  into  allegiance  to  Me  of  six  hitherto 
unknown  islands,  as  well  as  the  copies  of  reports  of  Cossack  Vassiutkinski  and 
his  companions,  I  have  read  with  satisfaction.  Sucli  enterprise  pleases  Us 
very  much.  It  is  to  be  deplored  that  the  papers  giving  a  more  detailed 
description  of  the  islands  and  their  inhabitants  have  been  lost  during  the 
\iTeck  of  the  vessel.  The  promise  of  reward  from  Me  to  the  merchant  Tol- 
stykh, returning  to  him  the  tenth  part  of  proceeds  accruing  to  Our  treasury 
from  each  sea-voyage,  I  fully  approve,  and  hereby  order  you  to  carry  out 
this  design.  You  will  also  promote  the  Cossacks  Vassiutkinski  and  Lazarof  for 
their  services  to  the  rank  of  Nobles  in  your  district.  ^May  God  grant  thcni 
good  success  in  their  projected  voyage  next  spring  and  a  safe  return  at  its 
conclusion.  You  will  impress  upon  tiie  huntera  that  they  must  treat  their 
new  brethren  and  countrymen,  the  inhabitants  of  Our  newly  acquired  islands, 
with  the  greatest  kindness  and  without  any  oppression  or  abuse.  March  *2, 
170(3.    Catherine.'  Ber<j^  KhronoL  Ist.^  GC-7;  Ureir'unjky  Bcifrctf/.^  315. 

®  KhronoL  If^t.,  app.;  Oremnijky  Biitrnij,  315.  It  was  evident  that  Popof 
<lid  not  sail  with  this  expedition,  for  wc  see  him  mentioned  as  an  active  partner 
in  the  more  extensive  enterprises  undertaken  in  1702  by  Trapeznikof,  Protassof, 
and  Lapin,  Berg's  best  and  mo^^t  frequently  quoted  authority  of  the  history 
of  tliat  period.     See  also  L'Auhrochc,   Vcywje  tn  >iUu:riey  ii.*113;  A)didoi€y  i. 

'  I'enlami/ioj]  i.   i IS- 131. 


NEUE  NACHrJCHTEN.  131 

commanded  by  Drushinnin,  owned  by  Kulkof,  and  the 
*Sv  Troitska,  or  Holy  Trinity,  commanded  by  Ivan 
Korovin.  The  third  is  known  to  have  been  com- 
manded by  Medvedef,  a  master  in  the  nav}^  The 
fourth  vessel  was  the  property  of  Trapeznikof,  but 
who  commanded  her  is  not  known.® 

The  Zakhar  i  Elizaveta  sailed  from  Okhotsk  the 
6th  of  September  1762,  wintered  at  Avatcha  Bay, 
and  proceeding  the  following  July  reached  Attoo, 
where  seven  of  the  shipwrecked  crew  of  the  Sv  Petr  i 
Sv  Pavel  were  taken  on  board.  One  of  these  was 
Korelin,  who  alone  survived  this  expedition  and  fur- 
nished a  report  of  it.  From  Attoo  Drushinnin  pro- 
ceeded to  Adakh,  where  another  vessel,  the  Andreian 
t  Natalia  was  then  anchored,  but  as  the  natives  all 
produced  receipts  for  tribute  signed  by  Tolstykh, 
Drushinnin  contented  himself  with  filling  his  w^atcr- 
casks  and  moved  on.^ 

From  Adakh  the  Zakhar  i  Elizaveta  proceeded  to 
Umnak  where  a  party  of  Glottof's  men  were  then 

•  Veniaminof,  i.  118.  The  ship  of  Medvedef  was  lost  at  Umnak;  the 
fhip  coininanded  by  Drushinnm  was  manned  with  34  Russians  of  whom  threo 
<»Dly  returned.  Among  them  was  Bragin  who  is  mentioned  in  Sarychr/y  ii. 
37,  as  having  wintered  on  Kadiak  Island  in  1765.  Berc  claims  that  Ihii- 
shinuin's  crew  consisted  of  8  natives  of  Kamchatka  and  34  Russians,  iuchiding 
the  percdovchik  Miasnikh.  Khronol.  Ist.,  58. 

*Nev£  Nachr,^  72-3.  The  Neue  Nachrichten  is  a  small  octavo  printed  in 
Oerman  black  letter  and  published  in  Hcimburg  and  Leipsic  in  1 770.  It  ijcara 
r.o  authorship  on  the  title-page  but  the  initials  J.  L.  S.  Mcst  bibliopraphcrrj 
have  pronounced'it  anonymous,  as  the  autliorship  is  involved  in  some  uncer- 
tainty. The  library  of  concress  has  the  work  catalogued  under  Stiihlin  or 
Strahlin.  M.  J.  Von  Stwhlin  published  an  account  of  the  new  northern 
archipelago  in  the  PeterMburger  (JeoiirapkUrher  Kalemler  in  1774.  Tliis  was 
translated  into  English  in  London,  during  the  same  year,  in  a  flinall  octavo  vol- 
ume. There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  believe  that  Sta'hlin  was  the  J.  L.  S. 
of  JWm«  Nachrichieiit  as  many  of  his  statements  in  the  other  work  do  not  ai^Tt  o 
^th  the  text  of  the  latter.  A  man  named  A.  L.  Sehlozer  publiHlied  iu  tl.o 
year  1771,  at  Halle,  Germany,  a  quarto  volume  of  over  40()  papen  ciititlr-d 
All/jemeine  Gffichirkte^  Vondem  Nordeii^  treating  on  kindred  subjects.  It  i^ 
pmliable  that  in  Mr  Sehlozer  we  find  the  original  J.  L.  S.,  as  the  Ihst  nf  tlio 
initials  might  easily  have  been  inadvertently  changed.  It  is  a  siguilicant  fjirt 
tljat  in  Shelikofs  voyage  we  find  whole  passages  and  pages  almust  the  voibal 
translation  from  the  Nachrichten.  Explanations  and  corrections  of  this  voliin.o 
were  subsequently  publishe^l  under  the  auspices  of  Buftbn  in  the  Sept  E/toqtK  s 
de  la  Kntttre^  Gmriiigk.j  Beitrag  and  Pallas  Xordische  Bfrtrufjr.y  i.  '273. 
Further  than  this,  in  Acta  Pefro/wlUana,  vi.  126,  J.  A.  L.  Von  Sehlozer  is 
mentioned  as  author  of  Neve  Xachrichien,  and  corresponding  member  of  the 
Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences. 


132   PUHTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLEXIKI. 

hunting.  The  peredovchik  Miasnikh  was  sent  out 
with  thirty-five  men  to  explore  the  coast.  They  wont 
to  the  north-eastern  end  of  the  island,  and  after  meet- 
ing everywhere  with  indications  of  the  recent  presence 
of  Russians,  they  returned  to  the  ship  about  the  mid- 
dle of  September.  On  the  day  of  their  return  letters 
were  also  received  through  native  messengers  from 
the  vessels  commanded  by  Korovin  and  Medvedef, 
who  had  lately  located  themselves  on  the  islands  of 
Umnak  and  Unalaska.  Drushinnin  at  once  sent  out 
a  reconnoitring  party  to  the  latter  island,  and  in  due 
time  a  favorable  report  was  received  inducing  the 
commander  to  move  his  craft  to  Unalaska,  where  he 
anchored  the  22d  near  the  northern  end  of  the  island. 
When  the  cargo  had  been  landed  and  a  foundation 
had  been  laid  for  a  winter  habitation,  two  of  the  chiefs 
of  neighboring  villages  voluntarily  opened  friendly 
hitercourse  by  offering  hostages.  Others  from  more 
distant  settlements  soon  followed  their  example. 

This  friendly  reception  encouraged  Drushinnin  to 
adhere  to  the  old  practice  of  dividing  his  force  into 
small  parties  for  the  winter  in  order  to  secure  better 
results  both  in  hunting  and  in  procuring  subsistence. 
The  peredovchik  accordingly  sent  out  Petr  Shekalef 
with  eleven  men;  another  party  of  eleven  men  under 
Mikhail  Khudiakof,  and  a  third  of  nine  men  under 
Yefim  Koshigin.  The  last  named  remained  at  the 
harbor;  Khudiakof  located  his  party  at  Kalekhtak; 
while  Shekalef  went  to  the  little  island  of  Inaluk, 
about  thirty  versts  distant  from  the  ship.  Drushinnin 
accompanied  the  latter  party.  Stepan  Korelin,  who 
subsequently  alone  survived  to  relate  the  occurrences 
of  that  disastrous  winter,  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Inaluk  party  who  had  constructed  a  cabin  in  closo 
proximity  to  the  native  habitation,  containing  some 
twenty  inmates.  The  relations  between  the  promysh- 
leniki  and  the  natives  appeared  to  be  altogether 
fjimdly,  and  no  trouble  was  apprehended  until  the 
beginning  of  December.     On  the  -Ith  a  party  of  five 


SLAUGHTER  OP  THE  RUSSIANS.  133 

men  set  out  in  the  morning  to  look  after  the  fox- 
traps.  ^^  Drushinnin,  Shekalef,  and  Shevyrin  then  paid 
a  visit  to  the  native  dwelling.  They  had  just  entered 
the  low  aperture  when  they  were  set  upon  by  a  num- 
ber of  armed  men,  who  knocked  down  Shekalef  and 
Drushinin  with  clubs  and  then  finished  them  with  the 
knives  they  bought  of  them  the  day  before.  Shevyrin 
had  taken  with  him  from  the  house  an  axe,  and  when 
the  excited  savages  turned  their  attention  to  him  ho 
made  such  good  use  of  his  weapon  that  he  succeeded 
in  regaining  the  Russian  winter-quarters  alive,  though 
severely  wounded.  Bragin  and  Korelin  at  once  began 
to  fire  upon  the  Aleuts  with  their  muskets  from 
within,  but  Kokovin,  who  happened  to  be  outside, 
was  quickly  surrounded,  thrown  down,  and  assaulted 
with  knives  and  spears  until  Korelin,  armed  with  a 
huge  bear-knife,  made  a  gallant  sortie,  wounded  tv/o 
of  the  islanders,  put  the  others  to  flight,  and  rescued 
his  half-dead  comrade." 

A  close  siege  of  four  days  followed  this  sanguinary 
onslaught.  The  fire-arms  of  the  Russians  prevented 
a  charge  by  the  enemy,  but  it  was  unsafe  to  show 
theniselves  outside  the  hut  even  for  a  moment,  in 
search  of  water  or  food.  To  add  to  their  apprehensions, 
the  savages  displayed  in  plain  view  the  garments  and 
arms  of  their  comrades  who  had  gone  to  visit  the  fox- 
traps,  a  sure  indication  that  they  were  no  longer  among 
the  living.  Under  the  shelter  of  night  the  Russians 
launched  a  bidar  and  pulled  away  out  of  the  harbor, 
the  natives  watching  their  movements,  but  making  no 
attempt  to  pursue.  Once  out  of  sight  of  their  en- 
emies Korelin  and  the  other  fugitives  landed,  pulled 

10  Ber^  states  that  DmshiDnin  sent  out  these  men  and  then  resolved  to  visit 
the  dwelling  of  the  natives  with  the  remainder  of  liis  men,  Korelin,  Bragin, 
Shevyrin,  Kokovin,  and  one  other.  In  the  Neue  Nachrichten  we  find  an 
account  of  the  occurrence  differing  considerably  in  its  details.  Drushinnin 'a 
name  is  not  mentioned,  while  the  number  remaining  at  home  is  given  as  five, 
Shekalef,  Korelin,  Bratrin,  Shevyrin,  and  Kokovin.  There  is  every  reason  to 
believe,  however,  that  Berg  was  correct,  as  Drushinnin  was  with  the  i>arty  and 
does  not  appear  in  any  account  of  subsequent  events.  KhronoL  Int.,  59;  JVewe 
Nwhr.^  75-6. 

^^  Neue  Xachr.y  77;  Coxe'a  Husaian  Discoveries,  i.  38;  Veniamino/,  i.  22. 


134   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

their  boat  upon  the  beach,  and  set  out  across  the  hills 
to  Kalekhtak,  where  they  expected  to  find  Khudiakof 
and  his  detachment.  It  was  after  dark  when  they 
reached  the  neighborhood.  They  fired  signal-guns, 
but  receiving  no  reply  they  wisely  kept  at  a  distance. 
Before  long,  however,  they  found  themselves  pursued 
by  a  horde  of  savages,  and  discovering  an  isolated,  pre- 
cipitous rock  near  the  beach  which  could  be  defended 
for  a  time,  they  concluded  to  make  a  stand  there.  With 
their  fire-arms  they  finally  beat  oflf  the  pursuers  and 
resumed  their  retreat,  this  time  with  but  little  hope 
of  finding  those  alive  who  had  remained  with  the  ship. 
Presently  an  object  caught  their  eyes  which  confirmed 
their  worst  apprehensions.  It  was  the  main-hatch 
lying  on  the  beach,  having  been  washed  up  by  the 
waves.  Without  waiting  further  confirmation  of  their 
fears  the  four  men  took  to  the  mountains,  hiding  in 
the  ravines  until  nightfall  Under  cover  of  darkness 
they  approached  the  anchorage,  only  to  find  the  ship 
broken  up,  and  some  stores  with  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  comrades  scattered  on  the  beach.  Gathering  a 
few  packages  of  dried  fish  and  some  empty  leather 
provision-bags  they  stole  away  into  the  hills,  where  a 
temporary  shelter  was  hastily  constructed.  Thence 
they  made  occasional  excursions  at  night  to  the  scene 
of  disaster,  which  must  have  occurred  simultaneously 
with  those  of  Inaluk  and  Kalekhtak,  in  search  of 
such  needed  articles  as  had  been  left  by  the  savages.^- 
The  leather  provision-bags,  though  cut  open,  w^ero 
very  acceptable  as  material  for  the  construction  of  a 
small  bidar. 

From  the  9th  of  December  17G3  until  the  2d  of 

^'-'Bavulof  tells  a  story  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Aleuts  aecured  a  eimnl- 
taneous  onslaught  upon  all  three  of  the  Russian  detachments.  According 
to  him,  they  resorted  to  the  old  device  of  distributing  among  the  chiefs  of 
villages  bundles  of  sticks,  equal  in  number,  one  of  which  was  to  be  bomcd 
each  day  till  the  Last  designated  the  day.  Dvuhrainoie  Puttahestoie^  ii.  1C7. 
A'eniaminof  ridicules  the  story  and  declares  it  to  be  an  invention  of  Da\'idof, 
as  the  Aleuts  had  numbers  up  to  a  thousand  and  could  easily  have  appointed 
any  day  without  the  help  of  sticks.  Veniaminof,  Zapiski,  i.  118.  No  mention 
of  it  is  made  in  Ncue  Nachrkhtcn,  Berg  also  quotes  Davidof.  Shelikqfs  Vot/' 
O'je,  97. 


KOROVIN'S  EXPEDITION.  135 

February  1764  these  unfortunates  remained  in  hiding, 
but  on  the  latter  date  their  bidar  was  successfully- 
launched,  and  before  morning  the  party  had  emerged 
from  Kapiton  Bay,  coasting  to  the  westward  in  search 
of  one  of  Trapeznikof  s  vessels  commanded  by  Koro- 
vin.^*  Though  travelling  only  at  night  and  hiding 
among  the  cliffs  by  day,  they  were  soon  discovered  by 
the  natives,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Makushin  village 
they  were  compelled  to  sustain  a  siege  of  five  weeks 
in  a  cave,  exposed  to  constant  attacks."  During  this 
whole  time  they  suffered  intensely  from  hunger  and 
thirst,  and  would  certainly  have  succumbed  had  it  not 
been  for  an  ample  supply  of  powder  and  lead  which 
prevented  their  enemies  from  engaging  them  at  close 
quarters.  At  last  on  the  30th  of  March  the  fugitives 
succeeded  in  joining  their  countrymen  under  Korovin, 
who  were  then  stationed  on  the  southern  shore  of 
Makushin  Bay.  Shevyrin  died  at  Unalaska  during 
the  same  year;  the  other  three,  Korelin,  Kokovin, 
and  Bragin,  recovered  their  strength,  but  only  the 
former  finally  reached  Kamchatka  with  Solovief  s  ves- 
sel, after  passing  through  additional  vicissitudes. 

The  ship  Sv  Troltshay  which  Korovin  commanded, 
was  fitted  out  in  1762  by  Nikofor  Trapeznikof,^^  and 

"Veniaminof  in  relating  this  occurrence  adds  that  a  charitable  native 
fonnd  the  fugitives  during  the  winter,  and  not  only  failed  to  betray  thorn,  but 
supplied  them  with  provisions,  paying  them  occasional  stealthy  visits  at  night. 
Veniaminof,  Zap.^  i.  99. 

^^Berg,  Khrtmd.  hi.,  72;  Drmkr,  Put,  ii.  113. 

^  Berg  succeeded  in  collecting  the  following  data  concerning  the  transac- 
tions of  this  enterprising  citizen  of  Irkutsk.  In  the  course  of  25  yeai-s  ho 
desjiatched  10  vessels  upon  voyages  of  discovery  to  the  eastward  of  Kam- 
chatka. His  shitika  Nikolai  made  three  voyages  between  1762  and  1706. 
A  small  boat  named  the  .^A  returned  in  1 757  with  an  exceedingly  rich  cargo, 
valued  at  254,900  rubles.  The  Sv  Traitftka,  the  Sv  PHr  i  Sv  Puvfl,  and  oiio 
other  vessel  which  returned  in  1763  with  a  cargo  valued  at  105,730  ruble:-., 
also  belonged  to  Trapeznikof.  The  sea -otter-skins  alone  brought  by  tlioso 
expeditions  numbered  over  10,000.  Berg  concludes  as  follows:  *  It  would  be 
of  interest  to  know  how  much  wealth  Trapeznikof  realized  out  of  uU  tlieso 
enterprises.  Ivan  Savich  Lapin  told  me  that  through  losses  sustained  in  some 
of  his  undertakings,  and  through  the  bankruptcy  of  some  of  liis  diil)t(H-s, 
'i'l-apcznikof  suddenly  found  himself  reduced  from  wealth  to  poverty.'  Hid 
old  rgc  v.'as  passed  in  straitened  circum-itanecs,  riid  lie  left  barely  ciiuu^,h  to 
dclray  the  expenses  of  his  burial.  Khronoi.  Jat.,  G2-3,  Aj^p. 


136       FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

sailed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka  River  on 
the  15th  of  September,  with  a  crew  of  thirty-eight 
Russians  and  six  Kamchatkans.  They  passed  the 
winter  on  Bering  Island,  remaining  until  the  1st  of 
August  of  the  following  year.  The  ship  fitted  out 
by  Protassof  and  commanded  by  Medvedef  Had  also 
wintered  there,  and  before  sailing  the  two  commanders 
made  some  exchanges  in  their  crews.  After  sustain- 
ing some  loss  by  death,  Korovin  had  at  the  time  of 
his  departure  from  Bering  Island  thirty-seven  men 
and  Medvedef  forty-nine.  Both  vessels  made  a  short 
run  to  the  Aleutian  Islands,  reaching  the  straits  be- 
tween XJmnak  and  Unalaska  on  the  15th  of  August. 
Medvedef  concluded  to  remain  on  Umnak  Island 
while  Korovin  selected  an  anchorage  on  the  Unalaska 
shore.  The  native  villages  on  the  coast  appeared  to 
be  deserted,  but  a  short  distance  inland  some  inhabited 
dwellings  were  found.  The  chief  of  the  settlement 
offered  several  small  boys  as  hostages,  and  produced 
tribute  receipts  signed  by  the  Cossack  Ponomaref 
Korovin  evidently  was  satisfied  with  his  reception,  as 
he  returned  immediately  to  the  ship,  landed  his  whole 
cargo,  erected  a  large  hut  of  drift-wood,  and  built 
several  bidars  for  his  hunting  parties.^* 

In  a  few  weeks  all  the  arrangements  for  the  winter 
were  made,  and  Korovin  set  out  with  two  boats 
manned  by  nine  men  each,  one  of  them  commanded 
by  Barnashef,  who  had  visited  the  island  previously 
with  Glottof  They  visited  three  villages  in  succes- 
sion, meeting  everywhere  with  a  friendly  reception  on 
the  part  of  the  chiefs,  but  nearly  all  the  adult  males 
appeared  to  be  absent  from  home.  After  the  safe 
return  of  this  party  another  expedition  was  sent  out 
to  the  east  side  of  the  island  whence  they  also  re- 
turned unmolested  accompanied  by  some  hostages, 
having  met  during  their  journey  with  some  men  of 
Drushinnin's  party.  Feeling  now  safe,  Korovin  sent 
out  a  hunting  party  of  twenty -three  under  Barnashef, 

^^PcdlaSy  Nordiache  Beitrage,  i.  274. 


FURTHER  HOSTILITIES. 


137 


in  two  bidars,  to  the  west  end  of  the  island.  Each 
boat  carried  eight  muskets  and  every  man  had  a  pistol 
and  a  lance;  provisions  had  been  prepared  for  the 
winter. 

At  various  times  during  the  season  letters  were 
received  from  the  detached  parties  reporting  their 
safety,  but  about  the  middle  of  December  Korovin. 
received  warning  that  a  large  force  of  natives  was 
marching  toward  the  ship  with  hostile  designs.  The 
Russian  commander  at  once  called  his  men  under  arms 


3f 


•CENC  OF.  THE  CONFUCT 

PROMYSHLENIK  8c  NATIVES 

OB  THB  ULAHD  09 

UMHAK  A   UNALA8KA 

Trnb 

17CS-11M. 

*yl   PctniflBlsra. 


LEGEND 


1  n  I.<LMk<ilUg*.Kc[«iiii'ikUlloa. 

I  P.K.ru««»l'Kj>-'.ii.'ti«rt{  iBitMhilh. 

I  {f. Kur.n in' •  w  1  Biar  aueaun^..  -U**r  tktlot iaf*)  A* 


Scene  of  Conflict. 

and  kept  a  strict  watch.  The  following  day  about 
seventy  savages  made  their  appearance  carrying  bun- 
dles of  sea-otter  skins  in  order  to  throw  the  promysh- 
leniki  off  their  guard;  but  Korovin  would  allow  only 
ten  of  them  to  approach  his  house  at  the  same  time. 
The  savages  perceiving  that  their  design  was  known, 
and  that  surprise  had  become  impossible,  disposed  of 
their  furs  quietly  and  retreated.  On  the  same  even- 
ing, however,  three  natives  of  Kamchatka  came  to 
the  house  in  a  great  fright,  reporting  that  they  be- 


138   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

longed  to  Kulkofs  ship,  that  is  to  say  Drushinnin's 
party,  and  that  the  vessel  had  been  destroyed  and  all 
their  comrades  killed. 

The  promyshleniki,  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  pre- 
pared for  defence.     After  remaining  unmolested  for 
two  days,  a  large  force  attacked  and  besieged  them 
closely  for  four  days,  during  which  time  two  Russians 
were  killed  with  arrows,  and  five  natives  were  counted 
dead  on  the  field.     On  the  fifth  day  the  enemy  re- 
treated to  a  cave  near  by,  keeping  up,  however,  a 
vigilant  blockade,  and  making  it  dangerous  to  proceed 
any  distance  from  the  house.     Worn  out  with  con- 
stant watching  and  firing,  Korovin  at  last  concluded 
to   bury  his   iron,  the  article  most  coveted  by  the 
savages,  and  his  stores  of  blubber  and  oil  under  the 
house,  and  to  retreat  to  the  ship.     His  plan  was  car- 
ried out,  and  the  ship  anchored  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  shore.     The  danger  of  sudden  attack  was  thus 
lessened,  but  hunger  and  the  scurvy  were  there  as 
relentless  as  the  savages.     At  length,  on  the  26th  of 
April,  reenforced  by  the  three  fugitives  from  Dru- 
shinnin's'command,  Korovin  put  to  sea,  but  so  reduced 
was  his  crew  that  the  ship  could  scarcely  be  worked. 
During  a  gale  on  the  28th  the  unfortunate  promy- 
shleniki were  wrecked  in  a  cove  on  Umnak  Island. 
Several  of  the  sick  died  or  were  drowned,  and  eight 
of  the  hostages  made  their  escape.     The  arms,  am- 
munition, some  sails,  and  a  few  sea-lion  skins  were  all 
that  could  be  saved.    A  temporary  shelter  and  fortifi- 
cation was  constructed  of  empty  casks,  sails,  and  skins, 
where  the  remaining  sixteen,  including  three  disabled 
by  scurvy,  the  three  hostages,  and  the  faithful  inter- 
preter, Kashmak,  hoped  to  secure  some  rest  before 
beginning  a  new  struggle.     Their  hope  was  in  vain. 
During  the  first  night  a  large  party  of  savages  ap- 
proached stealthily  from  the  sea  and  when  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  miserable  encampment  discharged 
their  spears  and  arrows  with  terrible  efiect,  piercing 
the  tent  and  the  barricade  of  sea-lion  skins  in  many 


THE  RUSSIANS  CLOSELY  PRESSED.  139 

places.  Two  of  the  Russians  and  the  three  hostages 
were  killed,  and  all  the  other  Russians  severely 
wounded." 

The  onslaught  was  so  sudden  that  there  was  no 
time  to  get  ready  the  fire-arms,  but  Korovin  with  four 
of  the  least  disabled  seized  their  lances  and  made  a 
sortie,  killing  two  of  the  savages  and  driving  away 
the  remainder.  Covered  with  wounds,  the  five  brave 
men  returned  to  their  comrades,  now  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened. In  the  mean  time  the  gale  had  continued 
unabated,  breaking  up  the  stranded  vessel  and  scat- 
tering the  cargo  upon  the  beach.  Soon  after  day- 
light the  natives  returned  to  resume  the  work  of 
plunder,  the  Russians  being  too  feeble  to  interfere. 
They  carried  off  what  booty  they  could  and  remained 
away  two  days,  during  which  time  such  of  the  wounded 
promyshleniki  as  were  still  able  to  move  about  picked 
up  what  fragments  of  provisions  and  furs  the  savages 
had  left,  also  a  small  quantity  of  iron.^^  On  the  29th 
died  one  of  the  wounded  men,  who  was  also  suffer- 
ing from  scurvy.  Three  days  afterward  one  hundred 
and  fifty  islanders  approached  from  the  east  and  fired 
at  the  Russians  with  muskets,  but  the  bullets  fell  wide 
of  the  mark.^®  They  then  set  fire  to  the  dry  grass  in 
order  to  bum  out  the  fugitives.  A  constant  firing 
of  the  Russians,  however,  foiled  their  efforts,  and  at 
last  the  savages  retired.  The  victors  found  themselves 
in  such  a  state  of  prostration  that  they  remained  on 
the  same  spot  until  the  21st  of  July,  when  the  few 
survivors,  twelve  in  number,  six  of  whom  were  natives 
of  Kamchatka,  embarked  in  a  roughly  constructed 
bidar  in  search  of  Medvedef 's  party.  After  ten  days 
of  coasting  the  sufferers  arrived  at  a  place  where  the 
charred  remains  of  a  burned  vessel,  of  torn  garments, 
sails  and  rigging,  gave  evidence  of  another  disaster. 

"  Vtniamiof,  Zap.,  i.  132-4;  SarycTwf,  Putesh,,  ii.  30. 

**  A  portion  of  this  iron  "wm  set  aside  as  an  offering  to  the  shrine  of  thj 
saint  whose  assistance  they  implored  in  their  distress.  iVeue  Nachr. ,  {Y^-^. 

^*  This  is  the  first  instance  recorded  of  the  use  of  fire-arms  by  the  native 
Aleutians.  Neut  Nackr.,  lK5j  Sgibnef,  in  Morskoi  Sbomik,  c.  40. 


140   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OP  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

Filled  with  alarm  the  fugitives  landed  and  hastened 
up  to  a  house  which  had  escaped  destruction.  It  was 
empty,  but  in  an  adjoining  bath-house  twenty  dead 
bodies  were  found,  among  them  that  of  the  commander 
Medvedef  There  was  some  indication  of  the  corpses 
having  been  dragged  to  the  spot  with  straps  and  belts 
tied  around  their  necks,  but  no  further  details  of  the 
catastrophe  could  be  obtained,  and  not  a  soul  sur- 
vived to  tell  the  tale.^  Necessity  compelled  Korovin 
to  remain  at  this  ghastly  spot,  and  preparations  were 
made  to  repair  the  house  for  the  approaching  winter, 
when  Stepan  Glottof,  who  in  the  mean  time  had  ar- 
rived on  the  other  side  of  Umnak  Island,  made  his 
appearance  with  eight  men.  The  so  lately  despairing 
promyshleniki  were  wild  with  joj,  and  forgetting  on 
the  instant  their  hunger  and  diseases,  they  planned 
further  ventures,  agreeing  with  Glottof  to  hunt  and 
trade  on  joint  account. 

The  voyage  of  Glottof,  covering  the  four  years 
from  1762  to  1765  inclusive,  was  by  far  the  most 
important  of  the  earlier  expeditions  to  the  islands, 
and  constitutes  an  epoch  in  the  swarming  of  the  pro- 
myshleniki. 

A  new  vessel  to  which  was  given  the  old  name  of 
Andreian  iNataliaP'  was  built  in  the  Kamchatka  River 
by  Terentiy  Chebaievski,  Vassili  and  Ivan  Popof,  and 
Ivan  Lapin,  and  sailed  on  the  1st  of  October  17G2, 
under  command  of  Glottof,  wintering  at  Copper  Isl- 
and.^ 

»  Neue  Nachr,,  105;  Veniaminofj  Zap.,  i.  98;  Berg,  KhronoL  1st,,  70. 

''*  Ship  nomeDclature  in  Alaskan  waters  at  this  time  is  confusing.  St  Peter 
and  St  Paul  were  the  favorites,  but  there  were  other  names  continued  from 
one  ship  to  another,  and  the  same  name  was  even  given  to  two  ships  afloat  at 
the  same  time. 

^^Sarychefy  PuUsh.,  it.  37.  During  the  winter  Yakof  Malevinakoi,  with  13 
men,  was  sent  to  Bering  Island  in  a  bidar  with  instructions  to  gather  up  what 
useful  material  still  remained  of  Bering's  vessel,  which  seems  to  have  ueen  a 
magazine  of  naval  stores  for  the  promyshleniki  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. Malcvinskoi,  who  died  shortly  after  his  voyage  to  Bering  Island,  was 
very  successful  in  his  mission.  He  secured  between  eight  and  nine  hundred 
pounds  of  old  iron,  400  pounds  of  rigging  and  caljle,  some  lead,  several  thou- 
sund  strings  of  beads,  and  some  copper.  Ncue  Xachr.,  105.     For  a  time  the 


VOYAGE  OF  GLOTTOF.  141 

On  the  26th  of  July  1763  Glottof  again  put  to 'sea, 
and  after  a  tedious  and  stormy  voyage  sighted  Um- 
nak  on  the  24th  of  August.  Having  previously 
visited  this  island  and  Unalaska,  whence  he  brought 
the  first  black  foxes  to  Kamchatka,  the  commander 
concluded  not  to  loiter  there,  but  to  sail  on  in  search 
of  new  discoveries.  Passing  eight  large  islands  and 
a  multitude  of  smaller  ones,  Glottof  finally  anchored 
on  the  8th  of  September  off  the  coast  of  a  large  and 
mountainous  island,  called  Kikhtak  by  the  natives, 
but  now  known  as  Kadiak.  The  first  meeting  of  the 
Hussians  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  isle  was  not 
promising.  A  few  of  the  savages  approached  the 
ship  in  their  kyaks,  but  the  Aleut  interpreter,  Ivan 
Glottof,  a  godchild  of  the  commander,  could  not  con- 
verse with  them,  and  when  on  landing  some  habita- 
tions were  discovered,  they  were  found  to  be  deserted. 
A  few  days  later  a  party  came  to  the  Russian  camp 
with  an  Aleutian  boy  who  had  been  captured  several 
years  before  during  a  hostile  descent  of  the  Kadiak 
people  upon  the  island  of  Sannakh,  and  through  him 
intercourse  was  held.  Glottof  endeavored  to  per- 
suade the  savages  to  pay  tribute  to  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment and  to  furnish  hostages,  but  they  refused. 
The  natives  here  were  of  fiercer  aspect,  more  intelli- 
gent and  manly,  and  of  finer  physique  than  those  of 

anthorities  at  Kamchatka  had  forbidden  the  promyshleniki  to  visit  Copper 
Island,  under  the  impression  that  valuable  deposits  of  copper  were  locate<l 
there.  In  1755  Peter  Yakovlef,  a  mining  engineer,  was  ordered  to  the  island 
to  investigate  the  matter.  On  the  north-wesst  point,  nrhere  the  native  copper 
had  been  reported  to  exist,  was  a  narrow  reef  of  rocks  some  20  or  30  fathoms 
in  width,  partially  covered  at  flood  tide,  but  Yakovlef  stated  that  he  coald 
not  discover  any  indication  of  copper  there.  On  another  reef,  ninning  still 
farther  out  into  the  sea,  he  noticed  two  veins  of  rcrMi>h  and  greenish  appear- 
ance, but  the  metal  liad  long  since  been  removed  with  the  aid  of  picks  and 
aflzcs.  At  the  foot  of  this  reef,  however,  he  f(>mid  pieces  of  copper  evidently 
smoothed  by  the  action  of  the  sea.  Caiitain  Krenitzin  in  1708  reported  t!iat 
niuc^  copper  was  found  on  the  ibland,  tLnt  it  was  washed  up  by  the  sea  iii 
such  fjTiantities  that  ships  could  W  loarled  witli  it.  PoJInM^  Xord.  B^itr.^  i.  2.').3. 
The  f.uthor,  however,  remarks  tliat  at  th**  time  of  hi:*  wTitiriL',  HMJ,  the  coj)p'.r 
had  greatly  diminished  in  quantity  and  hut  few  piec.-s  Lir;:er  tlian  a  be;ni 
ootild  !«  found.  Zaikof,  anotiicr  iiavi^-at^^r,  rrf/orteil  ah'/ut  the  bame  time 
that  copper  was  washed  up<^>n  the  Ix-acli.  hut  tiiat  one  of  tiie  promontr^rics 
prcsenteu  every  appearance  of  a  copx>''r-miue. 


142   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

the  more  western  isles.  At  first  they  would  not  even 
allow  the  interpreter  to  remain  temporarily  with  the 
Russians,  but  a  few  days  later  the  boy  made  his 
appearance  in  the  Russian  camp,  and  subsequently 
proved  of  great  service  to  his  new  patrons/'^  Under 
such  circumstances  Glottof  deemed  it  best  not  to  dis- 
charge the  cargo,  but  to  keep  the  ship  moored  in  a 
bay  near  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  where  she  floated  at 
every  high  tide.  A  strict  watch  was  kept  night  and 
day.  Early  one  morning  a  large  body  of  armed 
islanders  crept  up  to  the  anchorage  unobserved,  and 
sent  a  shower  of  arrows  upon  the  Russian  sentinels 
hidden  behind  the  bulwarks  on  the  deck.  The  guards 
discharged  their  muskets,  and  the  deafening  sound 
sent  the  savages  scattering.  In  their  wild  alarm  they 
left  on  the  ground  rude  ladders,  packages  of  sulphur, 
dried  moss,  and  birch  bark,  a  proof  of  their  intention 
to  fire  the  ship,  and  also  of  the  fact  that  the  Kadiak 
people  were  a  race  more  warlike  and  more  dangerous 
to  deal  with  than  the  Aleuts.  They  were  certainly 
fertile  in  both  oifensive  and  defensive  devices;  for 
only  four  days  after  the  first  attack,  previous  to  which 
they  had  been  unacquainted  with  fire-arms,  they 
again  made  their  appearance  in  large  force,  and  pro- 
vided with  ingeniously  contrived  shields  of  wood  and 
wicker-work  intended  to  ward  oflf  the  Russian's  bullets. 
The  islanders,  however,  had  not  had  an  opportunity 
of  estimating  the  force  of  missiles  propelled  by  powder, 
for  the  Russians  had  purposely  fired  high  during  their 
attack,  and  another  rout  was  the  result  of  a  second 
charge. 

The  defeated  enemy  allowed  three  weeks  to  pass  by 
without  molesting  the  intruders,  but  on  the  2Gth  of 
October  there  was  yet  another  attack.  The  elaborate 
preparations  now  made  showed  wonderful  ability  for 
savages.     Seven  large  portable  breastworks,  conceal- 

**  This  boy  was  subsequently  taken  to  Kamchatka  and  baptized  under 
the  name  of  Alexander  Popof.  Xruc  Narhr.^  KKJ;  Vcmamhwf,  Zap.^  i.  102. 
For  Tiifinncrs  and  customs  of  the  aborigines  see  AcUive  Hacid,  vols.  1.  and  iii,, 

tiiia  series. 


THE  RUSSIANS  AT  KADTAK.  143 

ing  from  thirty  to  forty  warriors  each,  were  seen  ap- 
proaching the  vessel  early  one  morning,  and  when 
near  enough  spears  and  arrows  began  to  drop  like  hail 
upon  the  deck.  The  promyshleniki  replied  with  vol- 
ley after  volley  of  musketry,  but  this  time  the  shields 
appeared  to  be  bullet-proof  and  the  enemy  kept  on 
advancing  until,  as  a  last  resort,  Glottof  landed  a 
body  or  men  and  made  a  furious  charge  upon  the 
islanders,  who  were  growing  more  bold  and  defiant 
every  moment.  This  unexpected  attack  had  the 
desired  effect,  and  after  a  brief  struggle  the  savages 
dropped  their  shields  and  sought  safety  in  flight. 
The  result  of  this  third  battle  caused  the  natives  to 
despair  of  driving  off  the  Russians,  and  to  withdraw 
from  the  neighborhood.^ 

Deeming  it  dangerous  to  send  out  hunting  parties, 
Glottof  employed  his  men  in  constructing  a  house  of 
drift-wood  and  in  securing  a  good  supply  of  such  fish 
as  could  be  obtained  from  a  creek  and  a  lagoon  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  anchorage.  Late  in  Decem- 
ber two  natives  made  their  appearance  at  the  Russian 
camp.  They  held  a  long  parley  with  the  interpreter 
from  a  safe  distance,  and  finally  came  up  to  the  house. 
Kind  treatment  and  persuasion  seemed  to  have  no 
effect;  nor  did  presents  even;  instinctively  these  most 
intellectual  of  savages  felt  that  they  had  met  their 
fate.  They  went  away  with  some  trifling  gifts,  and 
not  another  native  was  seen  by  the  disappointed  Glot- 
tof till  April  of  the  following  year.'^'^  Four  men  then 
came  to  the  encampment  and  were  persuaded  to  sell 
some  fox -skins,  taking  glass  beads  in  payment.  Ah, 
the  vanity  of  humanity  I  Cotton  and  woollen  goods 
had  no  attractions.  Ornament  before  dress.  They 
appeared  at  last  to  believe  in  Glottof's  professions  of 
friendship,  and  went  away  promising  to  persuade  their 
people  to  come  and  trade  with  the  Russians.     Shortly 

'*  Neue  Kachr, ,  109-10;  Berg,  Khranol.  M. ,  6(3.  The  point  at  which  Glottof 
made  his  first  landing  was  near  the  southern  end  of  the  island,  probably  near 
the  present  village  of  Aiakhtalik. 


144       FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

afterward  a  party  brought  fox  and  sea-otter  skins, 
accepting  glass  beads;  and  friendly  intercourse  ensued 
until  Glottof  was  ready  to  sail  from  the  locality,  where 
his  party  had  suffered  greatly  from  disease  without 
deriving  much  commercial  advantage.^ 

Glottof  felt  satisfied,  however,  that  he  was  near  to 
the  American  continent,  because  he  noticed  that  the 
natives  made  use  of  deer-skins  for  dress.  In  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  Russian  encampment  there  was 
no  timber,  but  the  natives  said  that  large  forests  grew 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  island.^ 

Through  Holmbcrg  s  researches  in  Kadiak  we  pos- 
sess the  deposition  of  a  native  of  the  island,  which 
evidently  refers  to  Glottofs  sojourn  on  Kadiak. 
Holmberg  states  that  he  passed  two  days  in  a  hut 
on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  and  that  he  there 
listened  to  the  tales  of  an  old  man  named  Arsenti 
Aminak,  whom  he  designates  as  the  "only  speaking 
monument  of  pagan  times  on  Kadiak."  A  creole 
named  Panfilof  served  as  interpreter,  and  Holmberg 
took  down  his  translation,  word  for  word,  as  follows: 
"  I  was  a  boy  of  nine  or  ten  years,  for  I  was  already 
set  to  paddle  in  a  bidarka,  when  the  first  Russian  ship 
with  two  masts  appeared  near  Cape  Aliulik.  Before 
that  time  we  had  never  seen  a  ship;  we  had  inter- 
course with  the  Aglegnutes  of  Aliaska  peninsula,  with 
the  Tnaianas  of  the  Kenai  peninsula,  and  with  the 
Koloshes;  and  some  wise  men  oven  knew  something 
of  the  Californias;  but  ships  and  white  men  we  did 
not  know  at  all.  When  we  espied  the  ship  at  a  dis- 
tance we  thought  it  was  an  immense  whale,  and  were 
curious  to  have  a  better  look  at  it.  We  went  out  to 
sea  in  our  bidarkas,  but  soon  discovered  that  it  was  no 
whale,  but  another  unknown  monster  of  which  we  were 

**  During  the  winter  the  scurvy  broke  out  among  the  crew  a&d  nine  Rus- 
sians died,  ^ntf  ^adir. ,111;  Bercj^  KhronoL  1st. ,  GO;  Saryck^,  Putesh,,  ii.  38. 

*''**0n  the  25th  of  April  Glottof  sent  Luka  Vtorushin,  mdth  11  men,  in 
search  of  material  to  make  hoops  for  water-casks;  he  returned  the  following 
day  with  a  supply,  and  rejwrtcd  groves  of  alder  and  willow  at  a  distance  of 
about  30  miles.  Neue  iiachr.,  llo. 


AMINAK'S  STORY.  145- 

afraid,  and  the  smell  of  which  (tar  probably)  made  us 
sick.  The  people  on  the  ship  had  buttons  on  their 
clothes,  and  at  first  we  thought  they  must  be  cuttle- 
fish, but  when  we  saw  them  put  fire  into  their  mouth 
and  blow  out  smoke  we  knew  they  must  be  devils,  as 
we  did  not  know  tobacco  then.  The  ship  sailed  by  the 
island  of  Aiakhtalik,  one  of  the  Goose  Islands  at  the 
south  end  of  Kadiak,  where  then  a  large  village  was 
situated,  and  then  passed  by  the  Cape  Aliulik  (Cape 
Trinidad)  into  Kaniat  (Alitak)  Bay,  where  it  anch- 
ored and  lowered  the  boats.  We  followed  full  of  fear, 
and  at  the  same  time  curious  to  see  what  would 
become  of  the  strange  apparition,  but  we  did  not  dare 
to  approach  the  ship.  Among  our  people  there  was  a 
brave  warrior  named  Ishinik,  who  was  so  bold  that  he 
feared  nothing  in  the  world;  he  undertook  to  visit 
the  ship  and  came  back  with  presents  in  his  hand,  a 
red  shirt,  an  Aleut  hood,  and  some  glass  beads.  He 
said  there  was  nothing  to  fear, '  they  only  wish  to  buy 
our  sea-otter  skins  and  to  give  us  glass  beads  and 
other  riches  for  them.'  We  did  not  fully  believe  his 
statement.  The  old  and  wise  people  held  a  council  in 
the  kashima,^  and  some  said :  *  Who  knows  what  sick- 
ness they  may  bring  us;  let  us  await  them  on  the 
shore,  then  if  they  give  us  a  good  price  for  our  skins 
we  can  do  business  afterward.' 

"  Our  people  formerly  were  at  war  with  the  Fox 
Island  people,  whom  we  called  Tayaoot.  My  father 
once  made  a  raid  upon  Unalaska  and  brought  back 
among  other  booty  a  little  girl  left  by  her  fleeing 
parents.  As  a  prisoner  taken  in  war  she  was  our 
slave,  but  my  father  treated  her  like  a  daughter,  and 
brought  her  up  with  his  other  children.  We  called 
her  Plioo,  which  means  ashes,  because  she  had  been 
taken  from  the  ashes  of  her  house.  On  the  Russian 
ship  which  came  from  Unalaska  there  were  many 

"  A  large  building  where  the  men  work  in  the  winter,  and  also  used  for 
ooandU  and  festivities.     For  a  full  description  of  Uiese  people  see  Native 
Kacea^  vol.  i.,  this  series. 
Hot.  Alaska.    10 


146   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

Aleuts  and  among  them  the  father  of  our  slave.  He 
came  to  my  father's  house,  and  when  he  saw  that  his 
daughter  was  not  kept  like  a  slave  but  was  well 
cared  for,  he  told  him  confidentially,  out  of  gratitude, 
that  the  Russians  would  take  the  sea-otter  skins  with- 
out payment  if  they  could.  This  warning  saved  my 
father,  who,  though  not  fully  believing  the  Aleut, 
acted  cautiously.  The  Russians  came  ashore  together 
with  the  Aleuts  and  the  latter  persuaded  our  people 
to  trade,  saying:  'Why  are  you  afraid  of  the  Rus- 
sians? Look  at  us,  we  live  with  them  and  they  do  us 
no  harm.'  Our  people,  dazzled  by  the  sight  of  such 
quantities  of  goods,  left  their  weapons  in  the  bidar 
and  went  to  the  Russians  with  their  sea-otter  skins. 
While  they  were  busy  trading,  the  Aleuts,  who  car- 
ried arms  concealed  about  them,  at  a  signal  from  the 
Russians  fell  upon  our  people,  killing  about  thirty  and 
taking  away  their  sea-otter  skins.  A  few  men  had 
cautiously  watched  the  result  of  the  first  intercourse 
from  a  distance,  among  them  my  father.  These  at- 
tempted to  escape  in  their  bidarkas,  but  they  were 
overtaken  by  the  Aleuts  and  killed.  My  father  alone 
was  saved  by  the  father  of  his  slave,  who  gave  him 
his  bidarka  when  my  father's  own  had  been  pierced 
with  arrows  and  was  sinking.  In  this  bidarka  he  fled 
to  Akhiok.  My  father's  name  was  Penashigak.  The 
time  of  the  arrival  of  this  ship  was  the  month  of 
August,  as  the  whales  were  coming  into  the  bays  and 
the  berries  were  ripe.  The  Russians  remained  for 
the  winter,  but  could  not  find  sufficient  food  in  Kaniat 
Bay.  They  were  compelled  to  leave  the  ship  in  charge 
of  a  few  watchmen  and  moved  into  a  bay  opposite 
Aiakhtalik  Island.  Here  was  a  lake  full  of  herrings 
and  a  kind  of  smelt.  They  lived  in  tents  here  through 
the  winter.  The  brave  Ishinik,  who  first  dared  to 
visit  the  ship,  was  liked  by  the  Russians  and  acted 
as  a  mediator.  When  the  fish  decreased  in  the  lake 
during  the  winter  the  Russians  moved  about  from 
village  to  village.    Whenever  we  saw  a  boat  coming  at 


DEPAETURE  FROM  KADIAK.  U7 

a  distance  we  fled  to  the  hills,  and  when  we  returned 
no  yukala  (dried  fish)  could  be  found  in  the  houses. 
In  the  lake  near  the  Kussian  camp  there  was  a  poison- 
ous kind  of  starfish;  we  knew  it  very  well,  but  said 
nothing  about  it  to  the  Russians.  We  never  ate 
them,  and  even  the  gulls  would  not  touch  them; 
many  Russians  died  from  eating  them.  But  we  in- 
jured them  also  in  other  ways.  They  put  up  fox- 
traps  and  we  removed  them  for  the  sake  of  obtaining 
the  iron  material.  When  the  Russians  had  examined 
our  coast  they  left  our  island  during  the  following 
year."^*  .  .^ 

On  the  24th  of  May  Glottof  finally  left  Kadiak, 
and  passing  through  the  numerous  islands  lining  the 
south  coast  of  the  Alaska  peninsula  made  a  landing 
on  Umnak  with  the  intention  to  hunt  and  trade  in 
the  same  locality  which  he  had  previously  visited. 
When  the  ship  entered  the  well  known  bay  the  houses 
erected  by  the  promyshleniki  were  still  standing,  but 
no  sign  of  life  was  visible.  The  commander  hastened 
to  the  shore  and  soon  found  signs  of  death  and  de- 
struction. The  body  of  an  unknown  Russian  was 
there;  Glottofs  own  house  had  been  destroyed,  and 
another  building  erected  near  by.® 

On  the  5th  of  July  an  exploring  party  of  sixteen 
discovered  the  remains  of  Medvedefs  ship,  and  the 
still  unburied  bodies  of  its  crew.  Upon  consultation 
it  was  decided  to  take  steps  at  once  to  ascertain 
whether  any  survivors  of  the  disaster  were  to  be 
found  on  the  island.    On  the  7th  of  July  some  natives 

'"This  narrative  of  which  we  have  ffiven  above  only  the  portion  relating  to 
Glottofs  visit,  coming  as  it  does  from  tue  mouth  of  an  eye-witness,  is  interest- 
ing, but  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  determine  its  historical  value,  as  it  is  im- 
possible to  locate  or  identify  all  the  various  incidents.  The  first  part  e\'idently 
refers  to  the  landing  of  Glottof,  though  there  is  a  wide  discrepancy  between 
the  latter^s  account  and  that  of  Arsenti  Aminak;  in  his  estimate  of  time  the 
latter  is  certainly  mistaken  and  he  does  not  mention  the  hostile  encounters 
between  natives  and  Russians  related  by  Glottof.  He  also  ascribes  the  mor- 
tality among  the  invaders  to  the  consumption  of  poisonous  fish  instead  of  to 
the  actual  cause,  the  ravages  of  scorbutic  disease.  Holmhergy  Ethnographische 
Blaasen;  Sarychef,  PnUsh,,  n.  42-3;  Grewivgk  Beitr,,  316. 

'^Berg,  KhronoL  Jat.,  70;  PaUas,  Nord.  BeUr.,  I  276. 


148       FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PRO^fTSHLENIKL 

approached  the  vessel  and  endeavored  to  persuade 
Glottof  to  land  with  only  two  men,  for  the  purpose 
of  trading,  displaying  at  the  same  time  alar^e  number 
of  sea-otter  skins  on  the  beach.  When  tney  found 
that  their  devices  did  not  succeed,  they  retreated  to 
a  distance  and  began  to  fire  with  muskets  at  the  ship, 
without,  litowever,  doing  any  damage.  Later  in  the- 
day  a  few  natives  came  off  in  their  canoes  and  pad- 
dled round  the  ship.  As  Glottof  was  desirous  of  ob- 
taining information  concerning  the  recent  occurrences 
on  the  island,  the  bold  natives  were  not  molested,  and 
finally  one  of  them  ventured  on  board  the  ship,  par- 
taking of  food,  and  told  freely  all  that  had  happened 
since  Glottof's  visit,  hinting  also  at  the  existence  of 
Korovin's  small  party  in  some  part  of  the  island. 
He  acknowledged  that  it  had  been  the  intention  of 
the  natives  to  kill  Glottof  after  enticing  him  to  land, 
imagining  that  they  would  have  no  difficulty  in  deal- 
ing with  the  crew  after  the  leader  was  despatched. 
After  a  vain  attempt  to  find  Korovin's  camp,  some 
natives  advised  the  Russians  to  cross  the  island  to 
the  opposite  side,  where  they  would  find  their  country- 
men engaged  in  building  a  house  beside  a  brook.  The 
information  proved  correct,  and  the  hearts  of  Korovin 
and  his  men  were  soon  gladdened  by  the  appearance 
of  their  countrymen. 

Glottof  evidently  did  not  intend  to  feed  the  addi- 
tional members  in  idleness.  In  a  few  days  he  sent 
out  Korovin  with  twenty  men  in  a  bidar  to  reconnoi- 
tre the  coast  of  Umnak  and  search  for  fugitive  Rus- 
sians who  might  have  survived  the  various  massacres. 
For  a  long  time  he  could  find  no  living  soul,  Russian 
or  native;  but  at  last,  in  September,  he  fell  in  with 
some  parties  of  the  latter.  They  greeted  the  Rus- 
sians with  musket-shots,  and  would  not  listen  to 
overtures.  At  various  places  where  Korovin  at- 
tempted to  stop  to  hunt  the  natives  opposed  his 
landing,  and  engagements  ensued.  At  the  place  of 
the  massacre  of  Barnashef  and  his  crew,  his  bidar 


KOROVIN  AND  GLOTTOP.  14Q 

and  the  remains  of  his  cargo  were  found,  and  a  few 
women  and  boys  who  lingered  about  the  place  were 
taken  prisoners  and  questioned  as  to  the  details  of 
the  bloody  episode. 

Later  in  the  winter  Korovin  was  sent  out  again 
with  a  party  of  men  and  the  Aleut  interpreter,  Ivan 
GlottoL  They  proceeded  to  the  western  end  of  Un- 
alaska  and  there  learned  from  the  natives  that  a  Rus- 
sian vessel  commanded  by  Solovief  was  anchored  in 
one  of  the  harbors  of  that  island.  Korovin  at  once 
shaped  his  course  for  the  point,  but  reached  it  only 
after  several  sharp  engagements  with  the  natives, 
inflicting  severe  loss  upon  them.  He  remained  with 
Solofief  three  days  and  then  returned  to  the  scene  of 
his  last  encounter  with  the  natives,  who  seemed  to 
have  benefited  by  the  lesson  administered  by  Korovin, 
being  quite  tractable  and  willing  to  trade  and  assist 
in  hunting.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  the  deep- 
rooted  hatred  of  the  Russian  intruders  again  came  to 
the  surface,  and  the  hunters  concluded  to  return  to 
the  ship.  On  the  passage  from  Unalaska  to  Umnak 
they  had  two  engagements  and  were  finally  wrecked 
upon  the  latter  island.  As  it  was  midwinter  they 
were  forced  to  remain  there  till  the  6th  of  April  fol- 1 
lowing,  subject  to  the  greatest  privations.  After 
another  tedious  voyage  along  the  coast  the  party  at 
last  rejoined  Glottof  with  a  small  quantity  of  furs 
as  the  result  of  the  season's  work.  On  account  of 
Korovin's  failures  in  hunting,  Glottof  and  his  part- 
ners declared  the  agreement  with  them  void.  The 
brave  leader,  whose  indomitable  courage  alone  had  car- 
ried his  companions  through  an  appalling  succession  of 
disasters,  certainly  deserved  better  treatment.  The 
Kamchatkans  belonging  to  his  former  crew  entered 
Glottof s  service;  but  five  Russians  concluded  to  cast 
their  lots  with  him.  In  June  they  found  Solovief, 
who  willingly  received  them  into  his  company,  and  in 
his  vessel  they  finally  reached  Kamchatka.®^ 

••  The  Teasel  commanded  by  Solovief  was  owned  by  Ouledovski,  a  mer- 


150       FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

Solovief  had  been  fortunate  in  his  voyage  from 
Kamchatka  to  Umnak,  passing  along  the  Aleutian 
isles  with  as  much  safety  and  despatch  as  a  trained 
sea-captain  could  have  done,  provided  with  all  the 
instruments  of  modern  nautical  science.  In  less  than 
a  month,  a  remarkably  quick  passage  for  those  days, 
he  sighted  the  island  of  Umnak,  but  finding  no  con- 
venient anchorage  he  went  to  Unalaska. 

A  few  natives  who  still  remembered  Solovief  from 
his  former  visit,  came  to  greet  the  new  arrivals  and 
informed  them  of  the  cruel  fate  that  had  befallen 
Medvedef  and  his  companions.  The  Cossack  Kore- 
nef  was  ordered  to  reconnoitre  the  northern  coast  of 
the  island  with  a  detachment  of  twenty  men.  He 
reported  on  his  return  that  he  had  found  only  three 
vacant  habitations  of  the  natives,  but  some  fragments 
of  Russian  arms  and  clothing  led  him  to  suspect  that 
some  of  his  countrymen  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
the  savages  in  that  vicinity.  In  the  course  of  time 
Solovief  managed  to  obtain  from  the  natives  detailed 
accounts  of  the  various  massacres.  The  recital  of 
cruelties  committed  inflamed  his  passions,  and  he 
resolved  to  avenge  the  murder  of  his  countrymen. 
His  first  care,  however,  was  to  establish  himself  firmly 
on  the  island  and  to  introduce  order  and  discipline 
among  his  men.  He  adhered  to  his  designs  with 
great  persistency  and  unnecessary  cruelty.** 

chant  of  Irkutsk.  It  was  the  8v  Pctr  i  8v  Pavel  which  we  have  so  often 
met ;  it  had  sailed  from  the  month  of  the  ELamchatka  river  on  the  24th  of 
Auffuat  1764.  Berg,  Khronol,  hi.,  73. 

3^  Berg,  while  faithfully  relating  the  cruelties  perpetrated  by  Solovief, 
seems  to  have  been  inclined  to  palliate  his  crimes.  Me  says:  *  A  quiet  citizen 
and  friend  of  mankind  reading  of  these  doings  will  perhaps  execrate  the 
terrible  Solovief  and  call  him  a  barbarous  des^yer  of  men,  but  he  would 
change  his  opinion  on  learning  that  after  this  period  of  terrible  punishment 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  never  again  dared  to  make  another 
attack  upon  the  Russians.  Would  he  not  acknowledge  that  such  measures 
were  necessary  for  the  safety  of  future  voyagers?  Curious  to  know  how 
Solovief  succeeded  in  his  enterprise,  and  how  he  was  situated  subsequently, 
I  questioned  Ivan  Savich  Lapin  concerning  his  fate,  and  received  the  follow- 
ing answer:  His  many  fortunate  voyages  brought  him  great  profits,  but  as 
he  was  a  shiftless  man  and  rather  dissipated  in  his  habits,  he  expended  dur- 
ing every  winter  passed  at  Okhotsk  or  in  Kamchatka  the  earnings  of  three 
years  of  hardships,  setting  out  upon  every  new  voyage  with  nothing  but  debts 


SOLOVIEPS  PEOCEEDINGS.  161 

Solovief  had  not  quite  finished  his  preparations 
when  the  savage  islanders,  made  bold  by  frequent 
victories,  attempted  the  first  attack,  an  unfortunate 
one  for  the  Aleuts.  The  promyshleniki,  who  were 
ready  for  the  fray  at  any  moment,  on  this  occasion 
destroyed  a  hundred  of  their  assailants  on  the  spot, 
and  broke  up  their  bidars  and  temporary  habitations. 
With  this  victory  Solovief  contented  himself  until 
he  was  reenforced  by  Korovin,  Kokovin,  and  a  few 
others,  when  he  divided  his  force,  leaving  half  to 
guard  the  ship  while  with  the  others  he  set  out  in 
search  of  the  "blood-thirsty  natives,"  who  had  de- 
stroyed Drushinnin  and  Medvedef. 

The  bloodshed  perpetrated  by  this  band  of  avengers 
was  appalling.  A  majority  of  all  the  natives  con- 
nected with  the  previous  attacks  on  the  Russians  paid 
with  their  lives  for  presuming  to  defend  their  homes 
against  invaders.  Being  informed  that  three  hundred 
of  the  natives  had  assembled  in  a  fortified  village, 
Solovief  marched  his  force  to  the  spot.  At  first  the 
Russians  were  greeted  with  showers  of  arrows  from 
every  aperture,  but  when  the  natives  discovered  that 
bullets  came  flying  in  as  fast  as  arrows  went  out,  they 
closed  the  openings,  took  down  the  notched  posts 
serving  as  ladders,  and  sat  down  to  await  their  fate. 
Unwilling  to  charge  upon  the  dwellings,  and  seeing 
that  he  could  not  do  much  injury  to  the  enemy  as 
long  as  they  remained  within,  Solovief  managed  to 
place  bladders  filled  with  powder  under  the  log  foun- 
dation of  the  structure,  which  was  soon  blown  into  the 
air.  Many  of  the  inmates  survived  the  explosion  only 
to  be  despatched  by  the  promyshleniki  with  muskets 
and  sabres.** 

behind  him.  He  lost  his  life  in  the  most  miserable  manner  at  Okhotsk.' 
Berg,  KhronoL  Isl.y  75-6.  Among  his  companions  Solovief  acquired  the 
nickname  of  'Onshasnui  Soloviy,'  the  'terrible  nightingale/  a  play  upon  his 
name,  Solovey  being  the  Russian  for  nightingale.  Baer  and  WrangelU  Bussische 
BetfUztengen,  192. 

»» Davidof  states  that  Solovief  put  to  death  3,000  Aleuts  (?)  during  this 
campaign.  Dvukr.  Purtenh. ,  ii.  108.  Berg  writes  on  tho  authority  of  Lapin  that 
*  only '200  were  killed.  Khrotwl.  1st.,  75.  Veniaminof  discusses  the  deeds 
of  Slolovief  and  his  companions  in  a  dispassionate  way,  reljring  mainly  on 


152       FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

At  the  end  of  his  crusade,  Solovief,  having  suc- 
ceeded in  subjugating  the  natives,  established  '  friendly 
intercourse'  with  them.  A  few  of  the  chiefs  of  Una- 
laska  tendered  their  submission.  During  the  winter 
his  men  suffered  from  scurvy,  and  many  died.^  Ob- 
serving which  the  savages  regained  courage  and  be- 
gan to  revolt.  The  people  of  Makushin  vulage  were 
the  most  determined,  but  Solovief  managed  to  en- 
trap the  chief,  who  confessed  that  he  had  intended 
to  overpower  the  Russians  and  burn  their  ship.  In 
J  une  two  more  of  the  scurvy-stricken  crew  died,  and 
Solovief  was  only  too  glad  to  accept  of  the  offer  of 
Korovin  and  his  companions,  who  had  only  just  ar- 
rived, to  join  his  expedition.  The  Cossack  Shevyrin 
died  on  the  third  of  August  and  another  Russian  in 
September." 

Late  in  the  autumn  Solovief  again  despatched 
Korenef  with  a  detachment  of  promyshleniki  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  island.  He  did  not  return  until 
the  30th  of  January  1766,  and  was  immediately  or- 
dered out  again  to  explore  the  west  coast.  During 
the  first  days  of  February  a  young  Aleut  named 
Kyginik,  a  son  of  the  chief,  came  voluntarily  into  the 
Russian  camp  and  requested  to  be  baptized,  and  to  be 
permitted  to  remain  with  the  promyshleniki.  His 
wish  was  willingly  complied  with,  and  if  the  promysh- 
leniki claimed  a  miracle  as  the  cause  of  the  action,  I 
should  acquiesce.     Nothing  but  the  mighty  power  of 

what  he  heard  by  word  of  mouth  from  Aleut  eye-witnesses  of  the  various 
transactions.  He  accused  Berg  of  attempting  to  make  Soloviefs  career 
appear  less  criminal  and  repulsive,  and  declares  that  *  nearly  a  century  has 
elapsed  since  that  period  of  terror,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  concealing  what 
was  done  by  the  first  pTOmyshleniki,  or  for  palliating  or  glorifying  their  cruel 
outrages  upon  the  Aleuts. '  He  hatl  no  desire  to  enlarge  upon  the  great  crimes 
committed  by  ignorant  and  unrestrained  men,  especially  when  they  were  his 
countrymen;  but  his  work  would  not  be  done  if  ho  failed  to  tell  what  people 
had  seen  of  the  doings  of  Solovief  and  his  companions.  Veniaminof  stated 
on  what  he  calls  good  autliorit}^  that  Solovief  experimented  on  the  i)enetra- 
tive  power  of  muaket-balls  by  tying  12  Aleutians  together  and  discharging  his 
rifle  at  them  at  short  range;  report  has  it  that  the  bullets  lodged  in  the  ninth 
man.  Zap.^  ii.  101. 

^  One  died  in  February,  five  in  March  and  April,  and  six  in  May;  all  these 
were  Russians  with  the  exception  of  one,  a  Eamchatkon.  Neut  Nadir.,  141. 

**Neue  Nachr.,  143. 


MIRACULOUS  CONVERSION.  153 

God  could  have  sanctified  the  heart  of  this  benighted 
one  under  these  bright  examples  of  Christianity.  In 
May  Solovief  began  his  preparations  for  departure,  col- 
lecting and  packing  his  furs  for  the  voyage  and  repair- 
ing his  vessel.  He  sailed  the  1st  of  June  and  reached 
Kamchatka  the  5th  of  July.^  ^^^^ 

At  Okhotsk  there  was  great  disorder,  amounting 
almost  to  anarchy,  under  the  administration  of  Cap- 
tain Zybin,  up  to  1754,  when  the  latter  was  relieved 
by  Captain  Nilof,  who  subsequently  became  known 
and  lost  his  life  during  the  famous  convict  revolt  of 
Kamchatka  under  the  leadership  of  Benyovski.^  In 
1761  Major  Plenisner  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  Kamchatka  for  five  years;  he  held  this  position  until 
relieved  by  Nilof^ 

In  1765  a  new  company  was  formed  by  Lapin, 
Shilof,  and  Orekhof,  the  latter  a  gunsmith  from  Tula. 
They  built  two  vessels  at  Okhotsk,  naming  them  after 
those  excessively  honored  apostles  the  Sv  Petr  and  the 
Sv  Pavely  and  crossed  over  to  Bolsheretsk,  where  they 
remained  till  August.*^  The  Sv  Petr  was  commanded 
by  Tolstykh  and  carried  a  crew  of  forty-nine  Rus- 
sians, twelve  natives  of  Kamchatka,  and  two  Aleuts. 
Acting  under  the  old  delusion  that  there  must  be  land 
somewhere  to  the  southward,  Tolstykh  steered  in  that 
direction,  but  after  a  fruitless  cruise  of  two  months 
he  concluded  to  make  the  port  of  Petropavlovsk  to 
winter;  but  on  the  2d  of  October  in  attempting  to 
anchor  near  Cape  Skipunskoi,  in  a  gale,  the  vessel  was 
cast  upon  the  rocks  and  broken  in  pieces.*^ 

^  The  cargo  collected  during  this  mnrderous  expedition  consisted  of  500 
black  foxes  and  500  sea-otters,  a  portion  of  the  latter  having  been  brought 
into  the  joint  company  by  Koroyin  and  his  companions.  Neue  Nachr,^  146. 

**  Morskoi  Sbornik,  cv.  40;  Sgibnef,  in  Jd,,  cii.  76. 

*^  Plenisner  was  to  receive  double  pay  while  in  command,  and  he  was  in- 
ttrncted  to  send  out  the  naval  lieutenant  Synd  with  two  ships  to  explore  the 
American  coast,  and  also  to  send  another  expedition  to  explore  the  Kurile 
Islands.  Sgibne/f  in  Morskoi  Sbomik,  cii.  37-3. 

**  The  authorities  of  Bolsheretsk  asserted  that  the  party  sailed  only  after  all 
the  liquor  obtained  for  the  voyage  had  been  drank.  Berg^  Khronol,  ht.,  76-7. 

"  Neue  Nachr.f  49.  Berg  mentions  that  in  this  wreck  only  three  out  of  a 
crew  of  G3  were  saved,  but  he  does  not  state  whether  Tolstykh  was  among 
the  survivors. 


164   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OP  THE  PROMYSHLENIKI. 

The  Sv  Pavel  was  commanded  by  Master  Afanassiy 
Ocheredin,  and  carried  a  crew  of  sixty  men.  Sailing 
from  Bolsheretsk  the  1st  of  August  they  steered  for 
the  farther  Aleutian  Isles,  and  went  into  winter- 
quarters  the  Ist  of  September  in  a  bay  of  Umnak. 
At  first  the  natives  were  friendly,  but  as  soon  as 
tribute  was  demanded  intercourse  ceased  for  the  win- 
ter, and  the  Russians  suffered  greatly  from  hunger 
and  disease.  Scarcely  had  the  promyshleniki  begun 
to  overcome  the  dread  disease  in  the  spring,  with  the 
help  of  anti-scorbutic  plants,  when  Ocheredin  sent  out 
detachments  to  demand  tribute  of  the  natives.  In 
August  1767  a  peredovchik  named  Poloskof,  was 
despatched  with  twenty-eight  men  in  two  boats  to 
hunt.  Having  heard  of  the  massacre  of  Medvedef 
and  Korovin,  he  passed  by  Unalaska  and  estab- 
lished himself  at  Akutan,  distributing  small  detach- 
ments of  hunters  over  the  neighboring  islands.  In 
the  following  January  he  was  attacked  and  four  of  his 
men  killed.  Onslaughts  were  made  by  the  natives  at 
the  same  time  upon  Ocheredin's  vessel  and  another 
craft  commanded  by  Popof,  who  was  then  trading  at 
Unalaska.  In  August  Poloskof  rejoined  Ocheredin, 
and  their  operations  were  continued  until  1770.*^ 

Ocheredin's  share  of  the  proceeds  was  600  sea- 
otters,  756  black  foxes,  1,230  red  foxes;  and  with  this 
rich  cargo  he  arrived  at  Okhotsk  on  the  24th  of 
July  1770.*^  The  partners  in  this  enterprise  received 
in  addition  to  a  large  return  on  their  investment 
gracious  acknowledgments  from  the  imperial  govern- 
ment.    In  1764,  when  the  first  black  fox-skins  had 

^^  In  the  month  of  September  1768  Ocheredin  was  notified  by  Captain 
Levashef,  of  the  Krenitzin  expedition,  to  transfer  to  him  (Levashef)  all  the 
tribute  collected.  With  an  armed  vessel  anchored  in  Kapiton  Bay,  Popof 
and  Ocheredin  met  with  no  further  opposition  from  the  natives.  UtuUaika 
to  the  south-west  of  the  Alaska  peninsula.  On  Cook  s  atlast  1778,  written 
Ooncdasha;  La  P6rouso,  1736,  Ounalasha;  Sutil  y  Mex.^  Vicujet  L  l/nalaska; 
Holmberg,  /.  (Jnalaschka.  CarUxj.  Pac,  Coast,  MS.,  iii.  454. 

*^Berij,  KhronoL  IsL,  app.  Two  natives  of  the  island,  AlexeY  Solovief 
and  Boris  Ocheredin,  were  taken  to  Okhotsk  on  the  Sv  Pavel  with  the  inten- 
tion of  sending  them  to  St  Petersburg,  but  both  died  of  consumption  on  their 
journey  through  Siberia.  Xeue  Nachr.^  162-3. 


OTHER  VESSELS.  165 

Leen  forwarded  to  the  empress,  gold  medals  were 
awarded  to  the  merchants  Orekhof,  Kulkof,  Shapkin, 
Panof,  and  Nikoforof.  Desirous  of  obtaining  a  more 
detailed  account  of  the  doings  of  her  subjects  in  the  far 
east,  Catherine  ordered  to  be  s^nt  to  St  Petersburg  one 
of  the  traders,  promising  to  pay  his  expenses.  When 
this  order  reached  Okhotsk  only  one  merchant  engaged 
in  the  island  trade  could  be  found,  Vassili  Shilof  He 
was  duly  despatched  to  the  imperial  court,  and  on 
arriving  at  St  Petersburg  was  at  once  granted  an 
interview  by  the  empress,  who  questioned  him  closely 
upon  the  locality  of  the  new  discoveries,  and  the  mode 
of  conducting  the  traffic.  The  empress  was  much 
pleased  with  the  intelUgent  answers  of  Shilof,  who 
exhibited  a  map  of  his  own  making,  representing  the 
Aleutian  Islands  from  Bering  to  Amlia.  This  the 
empress  ordered  to  be  deposited  in  the  admiralty 
college.*^ 

Three  other  vessels  w^ere  despatched  in  1766-7,  but 
of  their  movements  we  have  but  indefinite  records. 
The  Vladimir,  owned  by  Krassilnikof  and  commanded 
by  Soposhnikof,  sailed  in  1766,  and  returned  from  the 
Near  Islands  with  1,400  sea-otters,  2,000  fur-seals, 
and  1,050  blue  foxes.     In  the  following  year  the  Sv 

''In  the  Shumal  Admircdttiestv  KoUegiy^  under  date  of  Feb.  5,  1767,  the 
following  entry  can  be  found:  *  The  Oustioushk  merchant,  Shilof,  laid  before 
the  college,  in  illustration  of  his  voyages  to  the  Kamchatka  Islands,  a  chart 
cm  which  their  location  as  far  as  known  is  laid  down.  He  also  gave  satisfac- 
tonr  verbal  explanations  concerning  their  inhabitants  and  resources.  The 
college  having  mspected  and  examined  this  chart  and  compared  it  with  the 
one  compiled  by  Captain  Chirikof,  at  the  wish  and  wiU  expressed  by  Her 
Imperial  Majesty,  and  upon  careful  consideration,  present  most  respectfully 
the  following  report:  The  college  deems  the  report  of  Shilof  concerning  navi- 
gation and  £ade  insufficient  for  official  consideration,  and  in  many  respects 
contradictory;  especially  the  chart,  which  does  not  agree  in  many  miportant 
points  with  other  charts  in  the  hands  of  the  college;  and  moreover  it  could 
not  be  expected  to  be  correct,  being  compiled  by  a  person  knowing  nothing 
of  the  science  and  rules  of  navigation.  On  the  other  hand,  as  far  as  this 
document  Ib  concerned  we  must  commend  the  spirit  which  instigated  its  con- 
ception and  induced  the  author  to  undergo  hardships  and  dangers  in  extend- 
ing the  navi^tion  and  trade  of  Russia.  And  we  find  in  it  the  base  upon 
which  to  build  further  investigation  and  discoveries  of  unknown  countries, 
which  well  deserves  the  approra.tion  of  our  most  Gracious  Imperial  Majesty.' 
Two  imperial  oukazes  were  issued,  dated  respectively  April  10  and  April  20, 
1767,  granting  Shilof  and  Lapin  exemption  from  military  duty  and  comerring 
upon  each  a  gold  medal  for  services  rendered.  Berg^  Khnmol.  let,,  70-2. 


156   FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  PROMYSHLENIKL 

Petr  i  Sv  Pavel,  owned  by  the  brotliers  Panof,  sailed, 
and  returned  after  a  cruise  of  three  years  with  a  very 
rich  cargo  composed  of  5,000  sea-otters  and  1,100  blue 
foxes.  The  loann  Oustioushhi,  owned  by  Ivan  Popof, 
made  two  voyages  between  1767  and  1770,  returning 
the  second  time  with  3,000  sea-otters,  1,663  black 
foxes,  230  cross-foxes,  1,025  red  foxes,  and  1,162  blue 
foxes.**  The  merchants  Poloponissof  and  Popof  also 
sent  out  a  ship  in  1767,  the  Joann  Predtecha,  which 
returned  after  an  absence  of  five  years  with  60  sea- 
otters,  6,300  fur-seals,  and  1,280  blue  foxes.**  This 
ends  the  list  of  private  enterprises  prior  to  the  resump- 
tion of  exploration  by  the  imperial  government. 

^  The  cargo  as  giyen  by  Berg  seems  extraordinarily  large,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  Panof  exjsedition  consisted  of  two  vessels,  for  Sgibnef  states  that  a 
ship-builder  named  Bubnof  constnicted  in  1767  two  yessels,  the  gallot  Sv 
Pavd,  66  feet  long,  at  a  cost  of  5,737  rubles;  and  the  galiot  Sv  Petr,  of  the 
same  len^h,  19  feet  beam  and  9  feet  depth  of  hold,  at  a  cost  of  6,633  rubles. 
The  riggmg  for  these  ships  was  brought  from  Tobolsk,  and  500  pounds  of 
iron  were  carried  all  the  way  from  Arkhangel,  being  two  years  en  route. 
Sgibnef,  in  Morskoi  Shomik,  cv.  47-8.  According  to  CSpt.  Shmalef  the  locum 
OustioushiH  made  a  third  prosperous  trip  from  which  she  returned  in  1772  with 
a  cargo  yielding  a  not  profit  of  1,000  rubles  to  each  share.  Berg,  KhroTioL  let.  ^ 
83;  Pallas,  Nord.  Beitrage,  i.  276;  Sarychef  Putesh.,  ii.  37. 

^^Berg,  Khronol,  I  at,,  app.;  Grewingh,  Borage,  315. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Imperial  efforts  and  failures. 

1764-1779. 

Sykd's  Voyage  ik  Bering  Strait— Stjs&lin*s  Peculiah  Report— The 
Grand  Goverkment  Expedition — Promotions  and  Rewards  on  the 
Strength  of  PRosFEcrrns  Achieveicents— Catherine  is  Sure  of  Di- 
vine Favor— Vert  Secret  Instructions — Heavy  Cost  of  the  Expe- 
dition—  The  Long  Journey  to  Kamchatka — Dire  Misfortunes 
There — Results  of  the  Effort— Death  of  the  Commander— Jour- 
nals and  Reports — More  Mercantile  Voyages — The  Ships  'Sv 
KiKOLAl/  *Sv  Andrei,'  *Sv  Prokop,'  and  Others— The  Free  and 
Easy  Zaikof— His  Luck. 

I  WILL  briefly  mention  here  a  voyage  by  a  lieuten- 
ant of  the  imperial  navy  named  Synd,  or  Syndo, 
though  there  is  no  proof  of  his  having  touched  any 
part  of  Alaska.  Under  orders  of  Saimonof,  then 
governor  of  Siberia,  Lieutenant  Synd,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  youngest  companions  of  Bering,  sailed  from 
Okhotsk  in  1764,  upon  a  voyage  of  discovery  in  the 
direction  of  Bering  Strait,  in  a  vessel  called  by  way  of 
variety  the  Sv  Pavel,  During  the  first  season  Synd 
did  not  get  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Kharinzof  River 
on  the  west  coast  of  Kamchatka  in  the  vicinity  of 
Tigil.  His  craft  proved  unseaworthy;  and  after  win- 
tering at  his  first  anchorage  he  sailed  again  in  June 
1765,  in  the  ship  Sv  Ekaterina,  and  wintered  at  the 
Ouka  River  a  little  to  the  southward  of  Karagin 
Island.^  He  sailed  northward  the  following  year, 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Bering  Strait  within  a  month, 
dotting  down  upon  his  chart  as  he  moved  along  a 

^  Zap,  Bydr,,  z.  70^. 

(167) 


158  IMPERIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 

multitude  of  imaginary  islands  extending  up  to  lati- 
tude 64""  59',  and  reported  a  mountainous  coast  not  far 
from  the  land  of  the  Chukchi,"  between  latitude  64° 
and  ee"*,  which  he  conjectured  to  be  the  American 
continent.  On  the  2d  of  September  he  began  his 
return  voyage,  following  the  coast  down  to  Nishe- 
kamchatsk,  but  not  until  1768  did  his  expedition 
return  to  Okhotsk.^ 

Another  and  far  more  important  expedition  under 
the  immediate  auspices  of  the  imperial  government 
was  organized  by  Chicherin,  governor  of  Siberia, 
under  instructions  of  the  admiralty  college.  As  early 
as  1763  Chicherin  had  reported  to  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment the  latest  discoveries  among  the  Aleutian 
Isles  by  Siberian  traders,  pointing  at  the  same  time 
to  the  necessity  of  having  these  discoveries  verified 
by  officers  of  the  navy,  who  might  be  appointed  as 

*  Staehlin  in  his  Account  of  the  New  Northern  Archipelago,  12-15,  gives  a 
strangely  garbled  report  of  this  expedition,  as  follows:  'The  empress. . .  erect- 
ing a  commercial  company  composed  of  Russian  merchants  for  trading  with 
the  new  islands,  and  to  further  promote  this  end,  the  admiralty  CHffioe  at 
Okhotskoi,  on  the  sea  of  Penshinsk,  had  orders  from  her  Majesty  to  assist  this 
trading  company  of  Kamchatka  in  the  prosecution  of  their  undertaking;  to 
provide  them  with  convovs,  and  to  endeavor  to  procure  all  possible  informa- 
tion relative  to  the  islands  and  coast  they  intended  to  visit  to  the  north  and 
north-east  beyond  Kamchatka.  In  the  year  1764  these  traders  accordingly 
sailed  from  the  harbor  of  Ochotskoi  M'ith  some  two- masted  ealiots,  and  single- 
masted  vessels  of  the  kind  in  Siberia  called  dostchenniko/ {covered  barges), 
under  a  convoy  from  the  aforesaid  admiralty  office,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
S^oido.  They  passed  the  sea  of  Ochotskoi,  went  round  the  southern  cape  of 
Kamchatka  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  steering  along  the  eastern  coast,  keeping 
northward,  and  at  last  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Peter^Paul,  ana 
wintered  in  the  ostrog  or  palisaded  village.  The  next  year  they  pursued  their 
voyage  farther  northward,  and  in  that  and  the  following  year,  1766  and  1766, 
they  discovered  by  degrees  the  whole  archipelago  of  islands  of  different  sizes, 
which  increased  upon  them  the  farther  they  went  between  the  66th  and  67th 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  they  returned  safely  in  the  same  year.  The 
reports  they  made  to  the  government  chancellery  at  Irkutsk,  and  from  thence 
sent  to  the  directing  senate,  together  with  the  maps  and  charts  thereto 
annexed,  made  a  considerable  alteration  in  the  regions  of  the  sea  of  Anadir 
aud  in  the  situation  of  the  opposite  coast  of  America,  and  gave  them  quite  a 
different  appearance  from  that  in  the  above-mentioned  map  engraved  in  the 
year  1758.  This  difference  is  made  apparent  by  comparing  it  with  the  amended 
map  published  last  year,  1773,  by  tne  academy  of  sciences,  and  is  made  still 
moro  visible  by  the  accurate  little  map  of  the  newly  discovered  northern 
archipelago,  hereto  annexed,  which  is  drawn  up  from  original  accounts.'  The 
'accurate  little  map*  referred  to  is  perhaps  the  most  preposterous  piece  of  im- 
aginary geography  in  existence,  a  worthy  companion  of  the  charts  of  Ooy^re. 


EXTENSIVE  PREPARATIONS.  169 

commanders  of  the  trading  vessels  and  instructed  to 
keep  correct  journals  of  their  exploring  voyages. 
This  report  was  duly  considered  by  the  empress  and 
resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  Krenitzin  expedi- 
tion.' 

The  empress  issued  a  special  oukaz  instructing  the 
admiralty  college  to  detail  a  number  of  officers  of  the 
navy,  intrusting  the  command  to  the  most  experienced 
among  them  versed  in  the  science  of  navigation  and 
kindred  branches  of  knowledge.* 

The  expedition,  having  been  recommended  to  the 
special  attention  of  the  admiralty  college  with  instruc- 
tions to  keep  its  destination  secret,  was  at  once  set  on 
foot.  The  command  was  given  to  Captain-lieutenant 
Petr  Ktfliiich  Krenitzin,  who  was  to  select  his  com- 
panions.^ All  were  placed  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  the  governor  of  Siberia,  and  were  to  proceed 
to  the  newly  discovered  islands  on  the  vessels  of 
traders,  one  on  each,  without  assuming  any  command, 
turning  their  attention  solely  to  taking  astronomical 
observations  and  to  noting  all  they  saw.     At  the  same 

•  The  retults  of  this  expedition  were  published  by  Coxe  in  1780.  He  ob- 
tained his  information  principally  from  the  historian  Robertson,  who  had  been 
gnuited  access  to  the  arshives  of  the  navy  department  by  the  empress.  Pallas 
transUted  Coxe's  account  into  his  Nordische  Beitrage.^  published  in  1781;  and 
in  the  same  year  a  Russian  translation  appeared  in  the  Acudfmic  Monthly  and 
was  repubUahed  in  the  selections  from  the  monthly.  Robertson,  however, 
bad  no  opportunity  to  look  into  the  details  of  the  organization  and  manage- 
loent  of  tne  expedition,  and  confined  himself  to  results;  conseq^^i^^^y  ^® 
actoal  detadls  oi^ the  enterprise  remained  unknown  until  Sokolof  investigated 
the  subject,  having  access  to  the  original  journals  and  charts.  Zap,  Jiydr., 
^  17-71. 

'A  portion  of  the  oukaz  reads  as  follows:  *  We  promise  our  imperial  good- 
^m  not  only  to  the  commander  of  the  expedition  but  to  all  his  subordinates, 
and  assure  them  that  upon  their  safe  return  from  their  voyage  every  participant 
Bhall  be  advanced  one  step  in  rank  and  be  entitled  to  a  life  pension  in  propor- 
tion to  the  saJarv  received  during  the  voyage.  On  account  of  the  distance  ^o 
be  traversed  ana  the  hardships  to  be  encountered,  I  grant  to  each  member  of 
^he  expedition  doable  pay  and  allowance  of  subsistence  from  the  time  of  de- 
parture to  the  day  of  return;  this  extra  allowance  to  continue  for  a  period  of 
t^o years.'  Sokoiqfi  Irkutsk  Archives.  With  the  final  instructions  the  gra- 
cioaa  sovereign  forwarded  to  Governor  Chicherin  a  gold  watch  for  each  of  the 
officers  in  command. 

*In  order  to  mislead  the  public  with  regard  to  the  objects  of  the  expedi- 
tion the  admiralty  college  gave  it  the  official  name  of  'An  Expedition  for  ti^e 
^ploration  of  tne  Forests  on  the  rivers  Kama  and  Brela.^  Sokolqf,  Zap, 
^ydr.,  75. 


162  IMPERIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 

At  last,  in  August  1766,  the  ships  were  completed 
and  launched,  a  brigantine  called  the  Sv  Ekaterina 
and  a  hooker,  the  Sv  Pavel;  two  others,  old  vessels, 
had  also  been  fitted  out,  the  galiot  Sv  Pavel  and  the 
Gavi^il}^  The  squadron  sailed  from  Okhotsk  the  10th 
of  October.  The  third  day  out,  at  a  distance  of  only 
ten  leagues  from  Okhotsk,  all  the  vessels  became  sep- 
arated from  each  other.  On  the  17th  Krenitzin  first 
sighted  land  in  latitude  53""  45',  and  the  following  day 
the  brigantine  was  discovered  to  be  leaking  badly, 
rendering  it  necessary  to  run  for  the  land.  A  gale 
arose,  and  the  result  was  a  total  wreck  twenty-five 
vcrsts  north  of  Bolsheretsk,near  the  small  river  Ontok, 
the  crew  reaching  the  shore  in  safety  the  24th.  Lev- 
ashcf,  on  the  hooker  Sv  Pavel,  sighted  the  coast  of 
Kamchatka  on  the  18th,  and  on  the  22d  approached 
the  harbor  of  Bolsheretsk,  but  waited  to  take  advan- 
tage of  a  spring  tide  to  cross  the  bar.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  a  st6rm  came  up,  causing  the  vessel  to  break 
from  her  cables.  Levashef  attempted  to  put  to  sea, 
but  failing  he  finally  ran  the  ship  ashore  on  the  24th, 
about  seven  vecsts  from  Bolsheretsk  River.  The 
crew  and  the  greater  part  of  the  cargo  were  landed. 
The  Sv  Gavril  succeeded  in  entering  Bolsheretsk 
harbor,  but  was  overtaken  by  the  same  storm  and  cast 
upon  the  beach.  The  galiot  Sv  Pavel  drifted  out  of 
her  course  into  the  Pacific,  and  after  more  than  two 
months  of  agony  the  thirteen  survivors,  among  whom 
was  the  commander,  found  themselves  on  one  of  the 

ments,  I  give  yon  permission  to  report  directly  to  her  Imperial  Majesty,  and 
to  the  admiralty  college,  but  I  hope  that  God  will  not  let  it  come  to  that, 
and  that  He  will  pve  you  peace  and  good -will.  Such  is  my  sincere  wish.' 
Irkut'^k  Archills;  Zap,  Ilydr.,  x.  80;  MorAkni  Sbomik,  cv.  49-50. 

"  The  expeditionary  force  was  distributed  as  follows :  the  Sv  Ekaterina, 
commanded  oy  Krenitzin,  carried  72  men;  the  hooker  Sv  Pavel,  commanded 
by  Txivashef,  52;  the  galiot  Sv  Pavel,  commanded  by  Dudin  2d,  43;  and  the 
Sv  Oavril,  commanded  by  Dudin  Ist,  21.  The  cost  of  fitting  out  the  expedi- 
tion reached  the  sum  of  100,837  rubles,  then  a  large  amount  of  money.  The 
empress  wrote  C'hicherin  on  the  subject  of  expense  under  date  of  May  28, 
17(^:  '  Perhaps  the  execution  of  my  plans  will  involve  some  expenditure  of 
money,  and  tlierefore  I  authorize  you  to  employ  for  the  purpose  the  first  funds 
comin^^  into  your  treasury,  sending  a  strict  account  of  expenditure  to  the 
admiralty  college'  Zap.  iiydr.y  x.  81. 


THE  SQUADRON  SCATTERED. 


163 


Kurile  Islands  with  their  vessel  a  wreck.  Such  was 
the  beginning,  and  might  as  well  have  been  the  end, 
of  the  empress'  grand  scientific  expedition. 

The  shipwrecked  crews  passed  the  winter  at  Bol- 
sheretsk,  where  they  were  joined  during  the  following 
summer  by  mate  Dudin  2d,  and  the  survivors  of  the 
crew  of  the  wrecked  galiot.  The  hooker  Sv  Pavel  and 
the  Sv  Gavril  were  repaired,  Levashef  taking  com- 
mand of  the  former  with  a  crew  of  fifty-eight,  while 
Krenitzin  sailed  in  the  latter  with  a  crew  of  sixty- 
six.  Each  vessel  was  provided  with  a  large  bidar. 
Sailing  from  Bolsheretsk  the  17th  of  August  17G7, 
the  expedition  arrived  at  Nishekamchatsk  on  the  6th 
of  September.  Here  another  winter  must  be  passed. 
The  Sv  Gavril  was  unfit  for  navigation,  and  Kren- 
itzin concluded  to  take  the  galiot  Sv  Ekateinna,  Synd, 
commander,  just  returned."  Chichagof,  about  the 
meeting  with  whom  the  admiralty  college  had  been 

"  For  a  description  of  bidars  and  bidarkas  see  Native  Baces^  vol.  i.,  this 
series.  The  caliot  ^t7  Ekalerina  had  3  mates,  1  second  mate,  3  cadets,  1 
boatswain,  1  boatswain's  mate,  2  quartermasters,  1  clerk,  1  surgeon,  1  ship's 
corporal,  1  blacksmith,  1  carpenter,  1  boat-builder,  1  sail -maker,  1  inf an  try- 
soldier,  41  Cossacks,  0  sailors,  and  2  Aleuts — a  total  of  72.  The  hooker  fiv 
Partly  carried  4  mates,  4  cadets,  4  quartermasters,  1  surgeon,  1  ship  s  corporal, 
i  locksmith,  1  carpenter,  1  turner,  1  soldier,  38  Ck>9sacks,  5  promyshleniki, 
2  Aleuts,  and  1  volunteer,  a  Siberian  nobleman.  The  provisions  were  dis- 
tributed as  follows: 


PonndB. 

Hooker,  Bv  Pava. 

Pounds. 

Hard  bread 

51 

476 

47 

52 

134 

13 

280 

20 

27 

47 

8 

20 

Flour 

Flour 

504 

Groats 

Groats 

1G8 

Salt 

Salt 

53 

Batter 

Butter 

103 

Meat           

Meat 

100 

Dried  fish,  bundles  of. 

Salt  fish,  barrels 

Dried  fish,  bundles  of. 

Salt  fish,  barrels 

201 
13 

Brandy,  bi^cVets  --»,,-. 

Brandy,  buckets 

Casks  of  water 

45 

Casks  of  water 

34 

Wood,  fathoms 

Wood,  fathoms 

0 

Powder 

Powder 

17 

The  annament  consisted  of  2  copper  half-pound  falconets,  2  small  iron 
falconets  and  1  large  iron  cannon,  39  muskets,  G  musketoons,  and  13  rifles. 
IrhUtk  Archives;  Zap,  Hjfdr,,  ix.  6S-9. 


164  IMPERIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 

SO  anxious,  had  in  the  mean  time  already  accomplished 
two  journeys,  17G5-6,  also  attended  by  misfortune. 
The  winter  was  passed  by  the  men  in  boiling  sea- 
water  for  salt,  and  in  making  tar  out  of  spruce.  They 
also  constructed  two  large  bidars  and  some  water- 
casks,  and  in  the  spring  all  hands  were  busy  6shing. 
By  the  first  of  April  the  ice  began  to  disappear  from 
the  river,  and  on  the  1st  of  July  both  vessels  were 
ready  for  sea.  The  Krenitzin  expedition  was  not 
only  unlucky,  but  it  seemed  to  carry  a  curse  with  it. 
One  of  the  crew  of  the  Sv  Pavel,  a  Cossack  named 
Taborukin,  landed  in  Kamchatka  not  quite  cured  of 
an  attack  of  small-pox  and  infected  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood. In  two  years  the  population  was  more  than 
decimated.^' 

On  the  21st  of  June  the  ships  were  towed  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka  River,  and  on  the  22d 
they  spread  their  sails,  steering  an  easterly  course  and 
stopping  at  Bering  Island  for  water.  Owing  to  con- 
trary wmds  their  progress  was  slow,  and  on  the  11th 
of  August,  in  latitude  54^*  33',  the  two  ships  became 
separated  during  a  strong  south-south-west  gale  and 
thick  weather.  On  the  14th  of  August  Krenitzin 
sighted  the  islands  of  Signam  and  Amukhta;  on  the 
20th  of  the  same  month  he  reached  the  strait  between 
Umnak  and  Unalaska,  called  by  him  Oonalaksha. 
Here  he  met  with  the  first  Aleuts,  whom  he  was  to 
know  only  too  well  in  the  future.  These  natives  were 
evidently  acquainted  with  Russians,  for  on  approach- 
itig  the  vessel  they  cried  "zdorovol"  good  health; 
they  also  asked,  '*Why  do  you  come?  Will  you  live 
quietly  and  peacefully  with  our  people?"  They  were 
assured  that  the  new  arrivals  would  not  only  live  in 
peace  but  make  many  presents.  This  was  the  1st 
of  November,  and  the  Aleuts  returned  to  Unalaska. 
On  the  22d  Levashefs  craft  also  appeared  and  both 
vessels  proceeded  together  to  a  bay  on  the  north  side 
of  Unalaska,  Captain  Harbor.     Here  they  laid  in  a 

"  Sgibn^,  in  Morahoi  Sbomik,  cii,  40-7. 


THE  RUSSIANS  AT  UNALASKA.  165 

supply  of  fresh  water  with  the.  assistance  of  the  na- 
tives. On  the  following  day  an  Aleut  reported  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Akutan  and  Unalga  had  killed 
fifteen  of  Lapin's  crew  who  had  wintered  on  Unga. 
Without  investigating  the  report  both  commanders 
hoisted  their  anchors  and  proceeded  northward.  On 
the  30th  of  August  they  entered  the  strait  between 
Uniraak  and  the  peninsula.  The  hooker  grounded, 
but  was  released  next  day  without  damage,  and  the 
search  for  a  wintering  harbor  was  continued.^* 

On  the  5th  of  September  the  two  ships  separated 
not  to  meet  again  until  the  following  spring.  On  the 
18th  of  September  Krenitzin  succeeded  in  finding  a 
beach  adapted  to  haul  up  his  vessel  for  the  winter  on 
the  island  of  Unimak,  while  Levashef  proceeded  to 
Unalaska  and  anchored  on  the  16th  of  September  in 
the  innermost  cove  of  Captain  Harbor,  still  known  by 
his  name.^** 

About  the  middle  of  October,  before  Krenitzin  had 
succeeded  in  erecting  winter-quarters  of  drift-wood, 
the  only  material  at  hand,  two  large  bidars  appeared 
filled  with  natives  who  demanded  presents.  They 
received  some  trifles  with  a  promise  of  additional  gifts 
if  they  would  come  to  the  ship.  In  the  mean  time 
the  strangers  had  questioned  the  interpreter,  anxious 
to  discover  the  strength  of  Krenitzin's  crew,  when 
suddenly  one  of  the  natives  threw  his  spear  at  the 
Russians.  Nobody  was  injured  and  the  savages 
retreated  under  a  severe  fire  of  muskets  and  cannon 
from  ship  and   shore.     Fortunately   the   cannonade 

^*  Erenitzin's  instmctions  contained  a  statement  that  a  good  harbor  had 
been  discovered  in  that  locality  by  Bechevin's  vessel  commanded  by  Golodof 
and  Pushkaref  in  17C2.  2^eu^  Nachr,y  52.  It  has  already  been  intimated 
above  that  Bechevin  did  not  actually  reach  the  peninsula,  then  called  Alalcslia 
Island,  but  wintered  on  Unalaska,  which  abounds  in  good  hu-bors.  Accord- 
ing to  Cook,  Oonemah;  La  P^rouse,  Ouinnak;  Suiily  Mex.^  Viage,  Ida  Uni- 
mak;  Holmberg,  /.  Unimah,  Cartog,  Pac,  Coast,  MS.,  iiL  450. 

1*  Levashef  chose  for  his  wintering  place  an  anchorage  at  the  head  of  the 
inner  bay  of  lUiuliuk,  sheltered  by  two  little  islands  from  the  north  wind, 
and  near  the  mouth  of  two  excellent  trout-streams.  The  location  of  his  camp 
can  still  be  trcecd,  the  cronnd-plan  of  four  great  subterranean  wintcr-huta 
being  still  plfiinly  visible,  though  now  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of 
groKM  and  ihrabs. 


166  IMPEBIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 

proved  as  harmless  as  the  spear-throw ing.  Insignifi- 
cant as  was  this  encounter,  it  proved  the  beginning  of 
bitter  strife.  All  the  subsequent  meetings  with  the 
natives  were  of  a  hostile  character.  While  exploring 
the  peninsula  shore  two  Cossacks  were  w^ounded  by 
spears  thrown  by  hidden  savages,  and  one  night  a 
native  crawled  up  stealthily  to  within  a  few  yards  of 
the  Russian  huts,  but  was  discovered,  and  fled.^^ 

In  the  month  of  December  scurvy  appeared,  the 
first  victim  being  a  Cossack  who  had  been  wounded 
by  the  savages.  In  January  1769  the  number  of 
sick  had  reached  twenty-two,  and  in  April  only  twelve 
of  the  company  were  free  from  disease,  and  those  were 
much  weakened  by  hunger.  The  whole  number  of 
deaths  during  the  winter  was  thirty-six.  During 
December  and  January  the  savages  kept  away,  but 
in  February  they  once  more  made  their  appearance, 
and  a  few  traded  furs,  whale-meat,  and  seal-blubber 
for  beads.^^  On  the  10th  of  May  some  natives  brought 
letters  from  Levashef,  and  the  messengers  received 
a  liberal  compensation.  On  the  24th  the  galiot  was 
launched  once  more,  and  on  the  6th  of  June  Levashef 
joined  Krenitzin's  party. 

Levashef  had  also  met  with  misfortune  during  the 
winter.  It  is  true  that  the  natives  did  not  attack 
him  because  the  promyshleniki  who  had  passed  the 
preceding  winter  at  Unalaska  had  left  in  his  hands 
thirty- three  hostages,  the  children  of  chiefs, but  rumors 
were  constantly  afloat  of  intended  attacks,  maliing  it 

^'^  Krenitzin's  journal  states  that  during  the  night  numerous  voices  were 
heard  on  the  strait,  and  guns  were  twice  discharged  in  the  direction  of  the 
ciimp,  while  signals  could  be  distinguished  imitating  the  cry  of  the  sea-lion. 
On  account  of  the  impending  danger  five  sentries  were  posted.  Irkutsk  Ar- 
chhrji;  Zap.  Hydr,y  ix.  91. 

^^  The  daily  journal  of  Krenitzin  contains  an  entry  to  the  effect  that  on  the 
night  of  the  11th  of  April  several  bidars  were  discovered  in  the  strait,  and 
that  they  were  fired  upon  twice  by  the  Russians  with  canister.  Such  treat- 
ment certainly  did  not  serve  to  pacify  the  natives.  It  seems  that  during  the 
M-l^ole  winter  it  had  been  the  practice  to  fire  from  time  to  time  duiing  the 
night  in  order  to  *  prevent  any  savages  skulking  about  from  attempting  an 
attack.  *  Three  times  during  the  winter  severe  shocks  of  earthquake  were 
felt — on  January  loth,  February  20th,  and  March  ICth.  Kreniiziwa  Journal; 
Irkutsk  Archives;  Zap.  llydr.,  x.  91-2. 


END  OF  THE  GRAND  UNDERTAKING.  167 

necessary  to  exercise  vigilance.  Lack  of  food  and  fuel 
caused  great  suffering  among  the  crew;  it  was  impos- 
sible to  live  comfortably  on  board  the  ship,  and  the 
huts  constructed  of  drift-wood  were  frequently  thrown 
down  by  the  furious  gales  of  winter.  The  weather 
was  very  boisterous  throughout  the  season,  and  in 
May  the  number  of  sick  had  reached  twenty-seven.^^ 
Obviously  they  must  return;  so  on  the  23d  of  June 
both  vessels  left  their  anchorage.  During  the  voyage 
they  became  separated,  Krenitzin  arriving  at  Kam- 
chatka the  29th  of  July,  and  Levashef  on  the  24tli 
of  August.^ 

The  winter  was  passed  by  the  expedition  at  Nishe- 
kamchatsk,  but  as  there  were  little  provisions  and 
no  money  the  suffering  was  great.  The  only  avail- 
able source  of  supply  was  the  dried  fish  of  the  natives, 
which  had  to  be  purchased  at  exorbitant  prices.*^  On 
the  4th  of  July  both  vessels  were  ready  for  sea,  when 
Captain  Krenitzin  attempting  to  cross  the  river  in  a 
dug-out,  the  frail  craft  capsized  and  he  was  drowned. 
Levashef  assumed  command,  and  having  assigned 
Dudin  2d  to  the  galiot  he  sailed  from  Kamchatka 
the  8th,  arriving  at  Okhotsk  the  3d  of  August.  Le- 
vashef returned  to  St  Petersburg,  arriving  there  the 
22d  of  October  1771;  seven  years  and  four  months 
from  his  departure.  The  expedition  was  a  praise- 
worthy effort,  but  miserably  carried  out. 

Meanwhile,  fresh  information  had  reached  St  Peters- 
burg of  the  successes  of  the  Russian  promyshleniki 
on  the  Aleutian  Islands,  telling  the  empress  and  her 

1*  Levashef  8  journal  under  date  of  December  16th  contaiDS  the  following: 
'Nearly  all  the  men  sav  that  we  are  doomed  to  perish,  that  we  have  been 
abandoned  by  God;  we  have  bad  food,  and  but  little  of  that,  and  we  can  fmd 
no  ahelter  from  the  anow-storms  and  rain.*  L^wuhef^ti  Journal;  IrkuUk 
Archivc9i  Zap.  Hydr.,  x.  93. 

^*  Zap.  Hydr.,  x.  94;  Voxe's  Ruman  Dis.,  300;  Pallas,  Nord.  Beilr.,  i. 
279. 

*  An  entry  in  Krenitzin'a  journal  states  that  200  pounds  of  flour  wero 
sent  from  Bolsheretsk  to  his  relief,  but  it  spoiled  in  transmittal.  Nineteen 
barrels  of  salt  fish  were  also  transported  overland  across  the  pc^ninsiila.  On 
the  28th  of  September  17G9,  and  on  the  4th  of  May  1770,  Iieavy  eaiilHiuakes 
occurred,  and  on  the  latter  date  the  Kluchevakaia  volcano  wad  in  eruption. 
KrenUzin'n  JounuMl ;  Zap,  Jlydr.,  x.^94. 


168  IMPERIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 

learned  society  a  hundredfold  more  of  Alaska  than 
they  were  ever  to  learn  from  their  special  messengers. 
Tolstykh  reported  that  during  a  cruise  among  tho 
islands  in  his  ship  Andreian  i  Natalia^  1760  to  1764, 
he  subjugated  six  islands  and  named  them  the 
Andreienof  group,  as  we  have  seen.  Another  re- 
port stated  that  four  vessels  of  one  company  had 
been  despatched  in  1762  to  Unalaska  and  Umnak. 
Glottof  reported  that  he  had  wintered  at  Kadiak  in 
1763.  In  1766,  as  already  stated,  the  merchant  Shilof 
arrived  at  St  Petersburg  and  was  presented  to  the 
empress." 

An  important  change  of  government  policy  now  took 
place  in  the  treatment  of  the  Aleuts.  Upon  Krenit- 
zin's  representations  the  collection  of  tribute  by  the 
promyshleniki   and  Cossacks  was  prohibited  by  an 

2J  The  information  furnished  by  Levashefg  journal  was  divided  into  four 
heads:  A  description  of  the  island  of  Unalaska;  the  inhabitants;  tribute; 
traflSc.  The  description  was  superficial,  adding  scarcely  anything  to  previous 
accounts.  In  regard  to  tribute  Levashef  stated  that  it  was  paid  only  by  those 
who  liad  given  their  children  as  hostages.  The  promyshleniki's  mode  of  car- 
rying on  trade  is  described  as  follows:  *The  Russians  have  for  some  years 
past  ueen  accustomed  to  repair  to  these  islands  in  quest  of  furs  of  which" they 
have  imposed  a  tax  upon  the  inhabitants.  They  go  in  the  autumn  to  Bering 
and  Copper  islands,  and  there  pass  the  winter  employing  themselves  in  killing 
fur-seals  and  sea-lions.  The  nosh  of  the  latter  is  prepared  for  food,  and  is 
esteemed  a  great  delicacy.  The  skins  of  the  sea-lions  are  carried  to  the  eastern 
islands.  The  following  summer  they  sail  eastward  to  the  Fox  Islands  and 
again  haul  up  their  ships  for  tho  winter.  They  then  endeavor  to  procure  by 
force,  or  by  persuasion,  children  as  hostages^  generally  the  sons  of  chiefs; 
this  accomplished  they  deliver  fox-traps  to  the  mhabitants  and  also  sea-lion 
skins  for  the  manufacture  of  bidarkas,  for  which  they  expect  in  return  furs 
and  provisions  during  the  winter.  After  obtaining  from  the  savages  a  certain 
quantity  of  furs  as  tribute  or  tax,  foi  which  they  give  receipts,  the  promysh- 
leniki pay  for  the  remainder  in  beads,  corals,  woollen  cloth,  copper  kettles, 
hatchets,  etc.  In  the  spring  they  get  back  their  traps  and  deliver  the  hostages. 
They  dure  not  hunt  alone  or  in  small  numbers.  These  people  could  not  com- 
prehend for  some  time  for  what  purpose  the  Russians  imposed  a  tribute  of 
skins  which  they  did  not  keep  themselves,  for  their  own  chiefs  had  no  revenue; 
nor  could  they  be  made  to  believe  that  there  were  any  more  Russians  in 
existence  than  those  who  came  among  them,  for  in  their  own  country  all  the 
men  of  an  island  go  out  together.  *  The  most  important  part  of  Levashef 's 
report  is  the  description  of  the  inhabitants,  which  furnishes  some  valuable 
ethnological  information.  See  Native  Haces,  passim,  this  series.  The  hydro- 
graphic  results  of  the  expedition  were  meagre.  The  navigators  of  this  costly 
enterprise  hud  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  longitude,  and  consequently  their 
ol)servations  were  very  unsatisfactory.  They  located  Unimak,  Unalaska,  and 
Umnak  between  latitudes  53^  29'  and  54*  SS'.  Special  charts  were  made  of 
Unimak,  the  northern  coast  of  Unalaska,  and  the  harbor  of  St  Paul,  now 
known  as  Captain  Harbor.  Levashef  a  Journal;  Irkutsk  ArMves;  Zap.  Iludr., 
X.  97-203;  Coxe's  Rutaian  Dis.,  220-2.   ^ 


SUBSEQUENT  EXPEDITIONS.  169 

imperial  oukaz.^  The  business  of  fitting-out  trading 
expeditions  for  the  Aleutian  Isles  continued  about  as 
usual,  notwithstanding  the  terrible  risks  and  misfor- 
tunes. Of  hunting  expeditions  to  discovered  islands  it 
is  not  necessary  to  give  full  details. 

In  the  year  1768  a  company  of  three  merchants, 
Zassypkin,  Orekhof,  and  Moukhin,  despatched  the 
ship  Sv  Nikolai  to  the  islands,  meeting  with  great 
success;  the  vessel  returned  in  1773  with  a  cargo  con- 
sisting of  2,450  sea-otters  and  1,127  blue  foxes.*^  The 
Sv  Andrei — Sv  Adrian  according  to  Berg — belonging 
to  Poloponissof  and  Popof,  sailed  from  Kamchatka  in 
1769.  In  1773  she  was  wrecked  on  the  return  voy- 
age in  the  vicinity  of  Ouda  River.  The  cargo,  con- 
sisting of  1,200  sea-otters,  996  black  foxes,  1,419  cross 
foxes,  and  593  red  foxes,  was  saved.^*  The  same  year 
sailed  from  Okhotsk  the  Sv  Prokop,  owned  by  the 
merchants  Okoshinikof  and  Protodiakonof.  She  re- 
turned after  four  years  with  an  insignificant  cargo  of 
250  sea-otters,  20  black  and  40  cross  foxes.^*  In  1770 
the  ship  Sv  Alexandr  Nevski,  the  property  of  the  mer- 
chant Serebrennikof,  sailed  for  the  islands  and  returned 
after  a  four  years'  voyage  with  2,340  sea-otters  and 
1,130  blue  foxes.^  'Shilof,  Orekhof,  and  Lapin,  in  July 
of  the  same  year,  fitted  out  once  more  the  old  ship  Sv 
Pavel  at  Okhotsk,  and  despatched  her  to  the  islands 
under  command  of  the  notorious  Solovief.  By  this 
time  the  Aleuts  were  evidently  thoroughly  subjugated, 

^'Bei^  claims  that  this  onkaz  was  not  issued  until  1779,  10  years  after 
Krenitzin  returned.  Khroncl,  Ist.,  80.  Berg's  statements  concemiDe  the 
Krenitzin  expedition  are  brief  and  vague.  The  best  authority  on  the  subject 
now  extant  is  Sokolof,  who  had  access  to  the  archives  of  Irkutsk,  and  who 

Published  the  results  of  his  investigation  in  volume  x.  of  Zap.  Ilydr.  The 
escription  of  Krenitzin*s  voyage  in  Coxe^B  Russian  Dis.y  221  et  scq.,  is  based 
to  a  certain  extent  on  questionable  abthoritv,  but  it  was  translated  verbally 
by  Pallas  in  his  Nord.  Beitr.,  L  249-72.  The  same  account  M'as  copied  in 
German  in  BiUclUnffB  Mayazine,  vol.  xvi.,  and  strangely  enough  retranslated 
into  Russian  by  Sarychef. 

^  Berg^  Khronol,  Ist.,  app.;  Grewingk,  Beitr,^  317. 

•*  Berg^  K/iroiioL  Isl,,  C4-6,  app.  The  nature  of  the  cargo  proves  that  the 
voyage  extended  at  least  to  Unalaska. 

^  Berg,  Khronol,  1st,,  67.  No  reason  for  the  lU-snccess  of  tliis  venture  has 
been  transmitted. 

••  Berg,  KhronoL  1st.,  86. 


170  IMPERIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 

as  the  man  who  had  slaughtered  their  brethren  by 
hundreds  during  his  former  visit  passed  four  addi- 
tional years  in  safety  among  them,  and  then  returned 
with  an  exceedingly  valuable  cargo  of  1,900  sea-otters, 
1,493  black,  2,115  cross,  and  1,275  red  foxes.  He 
claims  to  have  reached  the  Alaska  peninsula,  and  de- 
scribes Unimak  and  adjoining  islands.^ 

The  next  voyage  on  record  is  that  of  Potap  Zaikof, 
a  master  in  the  navy,  who  entered  the  service  of  the 
Shilof  and  Lapin  company,  and  sailed  from  Okhotsk 
on  the  22d  of  September  1772,  in  the  ship  Sv  Vladi- 
mir. Zaikof  had  with  him  a  peredovchik  named  Sho- 
shin  and  a  crew  of  sixty-nine  men.^  At  the  outset 
this  expedition  was  attended  with  misfortune.  Driven 
north,  the  mariners  were  obliged  to  winter  there, 
then  after  tempest-tossings  south  they  finally  reached 
Copper  Island,  where  they  spent  the  second  winter. 

Zaikof  made  a  careful  survey  of  the  island,  the  first 
on  record,  though  promyshleniki  had  visited  the  spot 
annually  for  over  twenty-five  years.  Almost  a  year 
elapsed  before  Zaikof  set  sail  again  on  the  2d  of  July 
1774,  and  for  some  unexplained  reason  twenty-three 
days  were  consumed  in  reaching  Attoo,  only  seventy 
leagues  distant.  Having  achieved  this  remarkable 
feat  he  remained  there  till  the  4th  of  July  follow- 
ing. The  progress  of  Zaikof  on  his  eastward  course 
was  so  slow  that  it  becomes  necessary  to  look  after  a 
few  other  expeditions  which  had  set  out  since  his  de- 
parture. 

The  ship  Arkhangel  Sv  MiJchall,  the  property  of 
Kholodilof,  was  fitted  out  in  1772,  and  sailed  from  Bol- 
shcretsk  on  the  8th  of  September  with  Master  Dmitri 
Polutof  as  commander,  and  ,a  crew  of  sixty -three  men. 
This  vessel  also  was  beached  by  a  storm  on  the  coast 

^Pallas,  Nord.  Beitr,,  viii.  326-24;  St  Pefersbttrrfer  Zettivq,  1782—an  ex- 
tract from  Solovief's  journal.  Another  Sv  Pavel ^  despatched  in  1774  by  a 
Tobolsk  trader  named  Ossokin,  was  wrecked  immediately  alter  setting  sail 
from  Okhotsk.     CrewhKjk,  l>eil)'.,  319. 

^^lkr(j,  Khronol.  laLy  87;  Pallas,  NonL  Beilr,,  iiL  274-88;  Oravingk, 
BeUr.,  iii.  18. 


POLUTOF  AND  ZAiKOF.  171 

of  Kamchatka;  after  which,  passing  the  tardy  Za'ikof, 
Polutof  went  to  Unalaska,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  trading  peaceably, and  then  proceeded  toKadiak. 
On  this  last  trip  he  set  out  on  the  15th  of  June  1776, 
taking  with  him  some  Aleutian  hunters  and  inter- 
preters. After  a  voyage  of  nine  days  the  Sv  Mikhail 
anchored  in  a  capacious  bay  on  the  east  coast  of  tho 
island,  probably  the  bay  of  Oojak  on  the  shores  of 
which  the  Orlova  settlement  was  subsequently  founded. 
The  natives  kept  away  from  the  vicinity  of  the  harbor 
for  some  time,  and  a  month  elapsed  before  they  ventured 
to  approach  the  Russians.  They  were  heavily  armed, 
extremely  cautious  in  their  movements,  and  evidently 
but  little  inclined  to  listen  to  friendly  overtures. 
Polutof  perceived  that  it  was  useless  to  remain  under 
such  circumstances.  He  finally  wintered  at  Atkha, 
and  the  following  year  returned,  landing  at  Nishekam- 
chatsk.  The  total  yield  of  this  adventure  was  3,720 
sea-otters,  488  black,  431  cross,  204  red,  901  blue  foxes, 
and  143  fur-seals.* 

Thus  Polutof  accomplished  an  extended  and  profit- 
able voyage,  while  the  trained  navigator  Za'ikof  was 
yet  taking  preparatory  steps,  moving  from  island  to 
island,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  miles  per  annum.*^ 
The  latter  had  on  the  4th  of  July  1775  sailed  from 
Attoo,  leaving  ten  men  behind  to  hunt  during  his 
absence.  On  the  19th  the  Sv  Vladimir  reached  Uin- 
nak,  where  another  vessel,  the  Sv  Yevpl,  or  St  Jewell, 
owned  by  the  merchant  Burenin,  and  despatched  in 
1773  from  Nishekamshatsk,  was  already  anchored. 
Aware  of  the  bloody  scenes  but  lately  acted  there- 
about, Zaikof  induced  the  commander  of  the  Sv  Yepvl 

^Berg,  Khronol.  /jrf.,  app. 

*>Fpom  papers  furnishetl  him  by  Timofeif  Shmalef,  Berg  heard  of  another 
Te«8cl  belonging  to  the  merchants  Grigor  and  Petr  Panof,  which  sailed  for 
the  islands  in  1772.  Khronol,  Tat,,  0(>-7;  (Jrewinfjh,  Beitr, ,  319.  Another  voya^^e 
undertaken  in  1772  is  described  by  Palhis  in  Xord.  Beitr.  ^  ii.  30H-'24,  niuler 
the  following  title:  'Des  Pcredofschik's  Dimitry  Bragin  liericht  vou  ciner  im 
Jabre  1772  angetretenen  einjiihrigcn  Scercise  zu  den  arwischen  Kiiiiitschatka 
nnd  Amerika  gclegcnen  Inseln.'  Since  Grewingk  describes  this  voyage  im  oc- 
cupyiiig  the  four  years  from  1772  to  1770,  it  is  father  doubtful  whetiicr  tho 
description  applies  to  the  ona  year  voyage  of  Bragin. 


172 


IMPERIAL  EFFORTS  AND  FAILURES. 


Bragin's  Map, 


GREAT  HARVEST  OF  FURS.  173 

> 
to  hunt  on  joint  account.*^  The  agreement  was  that 
the  Sv  Yevpl  should  remain  at  Umnak  with  thirty- 
five  men,  while  the  Sv  Vladimir,  with  sixty  men 
and  fully  provisioned,  was  to  set  out  in  search  of 
new  discoveries.  On  rejoining,  the  furs  obtained  by 
the  two  parties  were  to  be  divided.  Zaikof  sailed 
eastward  on  the  3d  of  August,  and  in  three  weeks 
reached  the  harbor  where  Krenitzin  wintered  with 
the  Sv  Ekaterina.  Here  the  commander  of  the  expe- 
dition considered  himself  entitled  to  a  prolonged  rest, 
and  consequently  he  remained  stationary  for  three 
years,  making  surveys  of  the  neighborhood  while  his 
crew  attended  to  the  business  of  hunting  and  trap- 
ping.** 

On  the  27th  of  May  1778  the  Sv  Vladimir  put  to 
sea  once  more,  steering  for  the  bay  where  the  com- 
panion ship  was  anchored.  Upon  this  brief  passage, 
which  at  that  time  of  the  year  can  easily  be  accom- 
plished in  three  days,  Zaikof  managed  to  spend  fifty- 
three  days.  At  last,  however,  the  juncture  of  the  two 
ships  was  effected  and  the  furs  were  duly  divided,  but 
after  attending  to  these  arduous  duties  the  captain 
concluded  to  wait  another  year  before  taking  his  final 
departure  for  Okhotsk.  Not  until  the  9th  of  May 
1779  did  Zaikof  sail  from  Umnak,  and  after  brief 
stoppages  at  Attoo  and  Bering  islands  the  Sv  Vladi- 
onir  found  herself  safely  anchored  in  the  harbor  of 
Okhotsk  on  the  6th  of  September.^ 

'*  The  Sv  Tevpl  sailed  for  the  islands  in  1773,  and  returned  in  1779.  Iii 
the  cargo  were  63  land-otters,  the  first  shipped  by  the  promyahlcniki,  and 
proving  that  this  vessel  must  liave  reached  the  continent.  Bcrg^  Khi'ojml.  Ist. , 
97,  app.  A  comparison  of  this  cargo  viith.  tho  furs  carried  back  by  the  Sv  Via- 
tiinur  would  indicate  that  Zaikof  must  have  taken  the  lion's  share  on  closing 
the  partnership. 

'*  Berg  thought  it  improbable  that  Zaikof  should  have  known  anything  of 
astronomical  observations  (he  was  a  master  in  the  navy!),  but  he  acknowl- 
edged that  Zaikof  did  discover  an  error  committed  by  Captain  Krcuitzin  in 
placing  his  anchorage  five  degrees  too  far  to  the  westward.  Khronol.  /*•/.,  1)8. 

••  With  all  his  apparently  unnecessary  delays,  Zaikof  in  his  report  to  the 
oimers  of  the  vessel  made  a  very  good  showing  compared  with  the  rcL>ult8  ot 
other  voyages.  During  an  absence  of  more  than  7  years  ho  lost  but  1'2  out  of 
his  nojnerouB  crew,  and  his  cargo  consisted  of  4,372  sea-otters,  3,04'J  iV>:vCi  of 
different  kinds,  02  land-otters,  1  wolverene  and  3  wolves — the  first  broui.ht 
from  America — 18  minks,  1,725  fur-seals,  and  350  pounds  of  walrus  ivory,  tho 


174  mPEBIAL  EFFORTS  AKD  FAILURE& 

Two  of  the  owners  of  the  Sv  Vladimir,  Orekhof  and 
Lapin,  proceeded  to  St  Petersburg  with  a  present  of 
three  hundred  choice  black  foxes  for  the  empress. 
The. gift  was  graciously  received;  the  donors  were  en- 
tertained at  the  imperial  palace,  decorated  with  gold 
medals,  and  admitted  to  an  interview  with  Catherine, 
who  made  the  most  minute  inquiries  into  the  opera- 
tions of  her  subjects  in  the  easternmost  confines  of  her 
territory.  The  indebtedness  of  the  firm  to  the  gov- 
ernment for  nautical  instruments  and  supplies,  timber, 
and  taxes,  was  also  remitted." 

It  has  been  elsewhere  mentioned  that  the  promy- 
shleniki  and  traders  occasionally  ventured  upon  voy- 
ages from  the  coast  of  Kamchatka  to  the  eastward 
islands  in  open  boats  or  bidars.  Two  of  these  expe- 
ditions took  place  in  1772,  under  the  auspices  of  a 
merchant  named  Ivan  Novikof.  The  voyage  of  over 
a  thousand  miles  from  Bolsheretsk  around  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  Kamchatka  to  the  islands  was  twice 
safely  performed,  the  whole  enterprise  netting  the 
owners  15,600  rubles.  Considering  the  higher  value 
of  money  in  those  times  and  the  insignificant  outlay 
required  in  this  instance,  the  enterprise  met  wath  en- 
couraging success. 

From  this  time  to  the  visit  of  Captain  Cook,  single 
traders  and  small  companies  continued  the  traffic  with 
the  islands  in  much  the  same  manner  as  before,  though 
a  general  tendency  to  consolidation  was  perceptible.** 

whole  valued  at  300,416  niblea.  Berg  declares  that  at  the  prices  established 
by  tho  Russian- American  Company  at  the  time  of  his  writ^pg,  1812,  the  same 
furs  would  have  been  worth  1,003,588  rubles.  Khronol.  Ist.j  91-3. 

•*  Berg  nlso  states  that  this  present  was  made  after  the  return  of  tlie  Sv 
Vladimir  from  the  islands,  but  he  speaks  of  the  journey  of  Orekhof  and  I^pin 
as  having  taken  place  in  1776.  The  discrepancy  may  be  owing  to  a  typo- 
graphical error.  Khronol.  I-st.y  93-4. 

'^In  1774  the  merchants  Protodiakonof  and  Okoshinikof  fitted  out  the 
ship  Sv  Prokop  for  the  second  time,  but  on  her  return  from  a  fourth  cruise 
the  owners  refused  to  engage  again  in  such  enterprises,  liaving  barely  covered 
expenses  during  a  period  of  eight  years. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

1770-1787. 

Political  Changes  at  St  Petebsbttbg — Exiles  to  Siberia— The  Loyo 
Weabt  Wat  to  Kamchatka — The  Benyovski  Conspiracy — ^The  Au- 
thor Bad  ENOtTOH,  but  not  so  Bad  as  He  would  like  to  Appear — 
Exile  Regulations— Forgery,  Treachery,  Robbery,  and  Murder — 
Escape  op  the  Exiles — Behm  Appointed  to  Succeed  Nilop  as  Com- 
mandant OP  Kamchatka— Further  Hunting  Voyages— First  Trad- 
ing Expedition  to  the  Mainland— Potop  ZaIkop— Prince  William 
Sound — Ascent  op  Copper  River— Treacherous  Chugachbs— Pught 
of  the  Russians— Home  of  the  Fur-seals— Its  Discovery  by  Geras« 
8IM  Pribylof— Jealousy  op  Rival  Companies. 

It  was  a  time  of  rapid  and  sweeping  political  changes 
at  the  imperial  court.  All  along  the  road  to  Siberia, 
to  Yakutsk,  and  even  to  Okhotsk  and  Kamchatka,  one 
batch  of  exiles  followed  another,  political  castaways, 
prisoners  of  war,  or  victims  of  too  deep  diplomacy, 
as  much  out  of  place  in  this  broad,  bleak  penitentiary 
as  would  be  promyshleniki  and  otters  in  St  Peters- 
burg. In  one  of  these  illustrious  bands  was  a  Polish 
count,  Augustine  Benyovski  by  name,^  who  had 
played  somewhat  too  recklessly  at  conspiracy.  Nor 
was  Siberia  to  deprive  him  of  this  pastime.  Long 
before  he  reached  Yakutsk  he  had  plotted  and  organ- 
ized a  secret  society  of  exiles  with  himself  as  chief. 
The  more  prominent  of  the  other  members  were  a 
Doctor  Hoffman,  a  resident  of  Yakutsk,  Major  Wind- 
blath,  Captain  Panof,  Captain  Hipolite  Stepanof, 
Colonel  Baturin,  and  Sopronof,  the  secretary  of  the 

^Sgtbnef  states  that  Benyovski  did  not  call  himself  count  or  baron  in 
Kamchatka,  but  simply  beinosk  or  beinak.  Morskoi  Sboniiky  cii.  51. 

(175) 


176  EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

society.^  The  object  of  this  association  very  naturally 
was  to  get  its  members  out  of  limbo;  or  in  other  words 
mutual  assistance  on  the  part  of  the  members  in 
making  their  escape  from  Siberia.  The  chief  exacted 
from  each  his  signature  to  a  written  agreement,  done 
in  the  vicinity  of  Yakutsk,  and  dated  the  27th  of 
August  1770.  After  a  month  of  tedious  progress 
through  the  wastes  of  eastern  Siberia,  the  count's 
party  was  overtaken  by  a  courier  from  Yakutsk  who 
claimed  to  have  important  despatches  for  the  com- 
mander of  Okhotsk;  at  the  same  time  he  reported 
that  Dr  Hoffman  was  dead.  The  suspicions  of  Ben- 
yovski  and  his  companions  were  aroused.  Persuad- 
ing the  tired  courier  that  he  needed  a  little  rest,  they 
feasted  him  well,  and  after  nightfall  while  he  slept 
they  ransacked  his  satchel,  and  took  therefrom  a 
formidable-looking  document  which  proved  to  contain 
an  exposd  of  their  plans,  obtained  from  Hoffman's 
papers.  Benyovski  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He 
wrote  another  letter  upon  official  paper,  with  which 
he  had  provided  himself  at  Yakutsk,  full  of  the  most 
sober  recommendations  of  the  exiles  to  the  commander 
of  Okhotsk.  This  document  was  inserted  into  the 
pilfered  envelope,  and  carried  forward  to  its  destina- 
tion by  the  unsuspecting  messenger.® 

The  forged  letter  did  its  work.  When  Benyovski 
and  his  companions  arrived  at  Okhotsk  they  were 
received  with  the  greatest  kindness  by  Colonel  Plen- 
isner,*  the  commandant,  who  regarded  them  as  unfor- 
tunate gentlemen,  like  himself,  not  for  a  moment  to 
bo  placed  in  the  category  of  criminals.  Hence  he 
granted  them  every  privilege,  and  supplied  them  freely 
with  food,  clothing,  and  even  arms.  Being  a  man  of 
little  education  and  of  dissipated  habits,  Plenisner  was 

'  Bevyov^Jci^s  Memoirs  and  Traxichy  i.  67. 

*  Bem/ovsl-Vs  Memoirs  and  Travels,  i.  72;  Morshoi  Sbomik,  cii.  97. 

*  This  man  was  probably  the  pame  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  second 
expedition  of  Bering  and  Shestakdf's  campaip^n  in  the  Chukchi  country,  and 
wiio  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  JKamchatka  in  January  1761,  for  a 
term  of  five  years.  Sgibne/,  in  Morskoi  Sbornihy  cii.  37-8. 


THE  BOASTFUL  BENYOVSKI.  177 

easily  deceived  by  the  plausible  tongue  of  the  courtly 
Pole,  who  quickly  perceived  that  he  had  made  an 
egregious  mistake  in  framing  his  forged  letter.  He 
saw  that  residence  at  Okhotsk  promised  favorable 
opportunity  for  escape  in  view  of  the  confidence  re- 
posed in  him  by  the  commander,  though  he  had 
thought  that  Kamchatka  offered  the  best  facilities, 
and  had  urged  in  the  letter  early  transportation  of 
the  exiles  to  that  locality.  Though  willing  to  oblige 
his  new  friends,  in  every  possible  manner,  Colonel 
Plenisner  did  not  dare  to  act  in  direct  opposition  to 
his  orders,  and  in  October  a  detachment  of  exiles, 
embracing  all  the  conspirators,  was  sent  by  the  ship 
Sv  Petr  i  Sv  Pavel  to  Bolsheretsk,  Kamchatka," 
where  they  were  transferred  to  the  charge  of  Captain 
Nilof,  commandant  of  the  district.® 

^Benyovaki  describes  this  craft  as  of  200  tons  burden,  armed  with  8  can- 
nons, and  manned  with  a  crew  of  43,  commanded  by  Yesurin  and  Korostilof. 
The  vessel  was  laden  with  flour  and  brandy.  Benyovski^a  Memoire  and  Travels^ 
L  79-80. 

'Benyovski  claims  that  the  passage  was  an  exceedingly  stormy  one,  and 
that  the  ship  was  on  the  verge  of  destruction,  owing  to  tne  incapacity  and 
drunkenness  of  both  officers  and  men,  when  he,  a  prisoner  in  irons,  took  com- 
mand and  by  his  *  superior  knowledge  of  navigation  succeeded  in  shortening 
sail  and  bringing  the  vessel  into  its  proper  course,  thus  saving  the  lives  of  aU 
on  board.'  As  the  passage  was  a  snort  one  we  may  doubt  the  statement  of 
the  boastful  Benyovski.  The  count  also  claimed  that  the  privileges  subse- 
quently granted  him  by  Nilof  were  based  upon  his  heroic  action  on  this  occa- 
sion. Inlof  had  formerly  been  the  commandant  of  the  Cossack  ostrog  of 
Ishiga,  but  Zubritski  when  recalled  to  St  Petersburg  summoned  him  as  his 
successor  in  1709.  He  was  given  to  drink,  and  easily  deceived,  and  had 
already  been  victimized  by  an  exiled  official  named  Ryshkof .  The  latter  hav- 
ing failed  in  various  attempts  to  trade  with  the  natives,  prevailed  upon  Kilof 
to  advance  sums  from  the  public  funds  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  agricult- 
ural  experiments.  Of  course  the  money  was  lost  and  the  experiments  resulted 
in  failure.  Sgibntff  in  JUorskoi  Sbomik,  cii.  51  -QQ,  Shortly  after  their  arrival  the 
following  regulations  concerning  the  exiles  were  promul^ted  at  BolsheretsI:: 
Ist.  The  captives  were  to  be  liberated  from  close  restriction  and  furnished 
with  food  for  three  days;  after  which  they  were  to  provide  their  own  subsist- 
ence. 2d.  The  chancellery  was  to  furnish  each  exile  with  a  gun  and  lance,  one 
pound  of  powder,  four  pounds  of  lead,  an  axe,  some  knives,  and  other  utensils 
with  which  to  build  themselves  a  house.  They  were  at  liberty  to  select  a 
location  within  half  a  league  of  the  town ;  each  man  was  to  pay  to  the  gov- 
emtnent  100  rubles  during  the  first  year  in  consideration  of  the  advance, 
payments  to  bo  made  in  money  or  sJuns  at  the  option  of  the  exiles.  3d. 
Each  exile  was  bound  to  labor  one  day  of  each  week  for  the  government, 
and  they  were  not  allowed  to  absent  themselves  from  their  location  over  24 
hours  without  pomussion  of  the  commandant.  Each  was  also  to  furnish  the 
treasury  of  Bolsheretsk  with  6  sables,  2  foxes,  50  gray  squirrels,  and  24 
ermines  annually. 

Hut.  Alaska.   13 


178  EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

We  may  as  well  take  it  for  granted  before  proceed- 
ing further  that  three  fourths  of  all  that  Benyovski 
says  of  himself  are  lies;  with  this  understanding  I 
will  continue  his  story,  building  it  for  the  most  part 
on  what  others  say  of  him. 

In  Kamchatka  as  in  Okhotsk  through  his  superior 
social  qualifications  the  count  was  enaoled  to  gam  the 
confidence  and  good-will  of  the  commander,  so  that  the 
hardships  of  his  position  were  greatly  alleviated.  He 
was  not  obliged  to  join  his  companions  in  the  toilsome 
and  dangerous  chase  of  fur-bearing  animals,  finding 
more  congenial  employment  in  Captain  Nilofs  oflSce 
and  residence.^  The  count  accompanied  his  patron  on 
various  ofl&cial  tours  of  inspection,  in  which  he  came 
in  contact  with  his  numerous  fellow-exiles  scattered 
through  the  interior  in  small  settlements.  His  origi- 
nal plan  of  escape  from  the  Russian  domains  was  ever 
present  in  his  mind  and  he  neglected  no  opportunity 
to  enlarge  the  membership  of  his  secret  society.  In 
order  to  ingratiate  himself  still  more  with  Nilof  he  re- 
sorted to  his  old  trick  of  forgery,  and  revealed  to  the 
credulous  commander  an  imaginary  plot  to  poison  him 
and  the  officers  of  his  staff.  He  claimed  in  his  memoirs 
that  in  consideration  of  this  service  Nilof  formally  re- 
voked his  sentence  of  exile.® 

While  still  travelling  with  Nilof  in  the  beginning  of 
1771,  Benyovski  intercepted  a  letter  directed  to  the 
former  by  one  of  the  conspirators  betraying  the  plot.* 

^  Benyovski  goes  out  of  the  way  to  prove  himself  a  great  rascal.  He  ex- 
plains how  he  ingi'atiated  himself  with  Nilof  and  his  family,  claiming  that  he 
was  employed  as  tutor  to  several  young  girls  and  boys,  and  that  in  his  capa- 
city of  clerk  to  the  father  he  forged  reports  to  the  imperial  government,  prais- 
ing the  conduct  of  the  exiles.  He  also  states  that  he  made  use  of  his  fascinations 
to  work  upon  the  feelings  of  one  of  the  young  daughters,  and  to  gain  control 
of  her  heart  and  mind.  Sgibnef,  however,  a  careful  and  industrious  inves- 
tigator, says,  first,  that  the  count  did  not  play  upon  the  affections  of  Nilof 's 
daughter,  and  secondly  that  Nilof  never  had  a  daughter.  BenyavskCa  Memoirs 
and  Travels,  i.  160-2;  Morskoi  Sbomikf  cii.  61-69. 

^Bniyovuki's  Memoirs  and  Travels,  i.  135-7.  Sgibnef,  however,  states 
that  no  amnesty  or  special  privileges  were  granted  to  BenyovskL  Morskoi 
Sbomikj  cii.  69. 

•  Benyovski  cives  the  following  list  of  members  of  the  secret  society  of 
exiles:  Benyovski,  Panof,  Baturin,  Stepanof  Solmanof,  Windblath,  Krustief, 
and  Vassili,  Bcnyovaki*s  servant.  Later  a  krge  number  was  added,  among  them 


REVOLT  OF  THE  EXILES.  179 

The  traitor,  whose  name  was  Leontief,  was  killed  by 
order  of  the  court.  The  plan  settled  upon  for  final 
action  was  to  overcome  the  garrison  of  Bolsheretsk, 
imprison  the  commander,  plunder  the  public  treasury 
and  storehouses,  and  sail  for  Japan  or  some  of  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific  with  as  many  of  the  conspirators 
as  desired  to  go.^® 

Benyovski's  statement  of  his  exploits  at  Kamchatka, 
for  unblushing  impudence  in  the  telling,  borders  the 
sublime.  Arriving  at  Bolsheretsk  on  the  1st  of  De- 
cember a  half-starved  prisoner  clothed  in  rags,  he  was 
advanced  to  the  position  of  confidant  of  the  acting 
governor  before  two  weeks  had  elapsed,  being  also  the 
accepted  suitor  for  the  hand  of  his  daughter.  During 
the  same  time  he  had  succeeded  in  rousing  the  spirit 
of  revolt  not  only  in  the  breasts  of  his  fellow-exiles, 
but  among  the  free  merchants  and  government  offi- 
cials, who  he  claimed  were  ready  to  rise  at  a  moment's 
warning  and  overthrow  their  rulers.  Within  a  few 
days,  or  weeks  at  the  most,  this  grand  conspiracy  had 
not  only  been  called  into  existence  but  had  survived 
spasms  of  internal  dissensions  and  attempted  treason, 
all  suppressed  by  the  strength  and  presence  of  mind 
of  one  man — Benyovski.  Then  he  tells  how  he 
cheated  the  commander  and  others  in  games  and  sold 
his  influence  for  presents  of  furs  and  costly  garments. 
On  the  1st  of  January  1771  a  fete  took  place  at  the 
house  of  Captain   Nilof     Benyovski  claims  that  it 

miuiy  who  were  not  exiles:  Dumitri  Kuznetzof,  a  free  merchant,  Afanasaiy 
Kumen,  a  Cossack  captain;  Ivan  Sibal'ef,  captain  of  infantry;  Alexei  Proto- 
pop,  archdeacon  of  the  church,  free;  Leonti  ropof,  captain  of  infantry,  free; 
Ivan  Churin,  merchant,  free;  Ma^us  Meder,  surgeon-general  of  the  admi- 
ralty, exiled  for  20  years;  Ivan  Volkof,  hunter,  free;  Kaaimir  Bielski,  Polish 


^ards,  i 

joining  the  conspiracy  were  obliged  first  to  confess  and  receive  the  sacrament 
in  order  to  make  their  oath  more  binding.  Benyovshi's  Memoire  and  Traveh, 
i.  lOa-9. 

^^  At  that  time  the  province  was  estimated  to  contain  over  15,000  inhabit- 
ants classified  in  the  official  returns  as  follows:  22  infantry  officers;  422  Hub- 
sian  riflemen;  1,500  Cossacks  and  officers;  26  civil  officers;  82  RusHinn 
merchants;  700  descendants  of  exiles  (200  females),  free;  1,600  exiles;  8,000 
males  and  3,000  female  natives  of  Kamchatka;  40  Russian  men.  Benyovski  a 
Memoirs  and  Travels,  I  301;  Marskoi  Sbomik,  ciiL  81. 


180  EXPLORATTON  AND  TRADE. 

had  been  arranged  to  celebrate  his  betrothal  to  Afan- 
assia  Nilof,  to  whom  he  had  promised  marriage, 
though  already  possessed  of  a  wife  in  Poland.  In 
his  diary  he  states  at  length  how  he  suppressed 
another  counter-conspiracy  a  few  moments  before  pro- 
ceeding to  the  festive  scene,  and  sentenced  two  of  his 
former  companions  to  death.  Meanwhile  Benyovski's 
cruel  and  arbitrary  treatment  of  his  associates  had 
made  him  many  enemies,  and  reports  of  his  designs 
reached  the  authorities.  He  succeeded  repeatedly  in 
dispersing  the  growing  suspicion,  but  finally  the  dan- 
ger became  so  threatening  that  he  concluded  to  pre- 
cipitate the  execution  of  his  plot. 

On  the  26th  of  April  Captain  Nilof  sent  an  officer 
with  two  Cossacks  to  Benyovski's  residence  with 
orders  to  summon  him  to  the  chancellery,  there  to 
give  an  account  of  his  intentions.  The  summons  of 
the  chief  conspirator  brought  to  the  spot  about  a 
dozen  of  his  associates,  who  bound  and  gagged  the 
captain's  messengers.  Then  hoisting  the  signal  of 
general  revolt,  which  called  all  the  members  of  the 
society  together,  he  proceeded  to  Nilof's  quarters, 
where  the  feeble  show  of  resistance  made  by  the 
trembling  drunkard  and  his  family  furnished  sufficient 
excuse  for  a  general  charge  upon  the  premises.  During 
the  m6lde  the  commander  was  killed.  The  murder  was 
premeditated,  as  the  best  means  of  preventing  partici- 
pants from  turning  back. 

Before  resolving  upon  the  final  attack,  Benyovski 
had  secured  the  services  of  the  commander  of  the 
only  vessel  then  in  port,  the  Sv  Petr  i  Sv  Pavel, 
and  as  soon  as  the  momentary  success  of  the  enter- 
prise was  assured  his  whole  force  was  set  to  work  to 
repair  and  fit  out  this  craft.  The  magazines  and 
storehouses  were  ransacked,  and  not  satisfied  with 
the  quantity  of  powder  on  hand,  he  shipped  a  supply 
of  sulphur,  saltpetre,  and  charcoal  necessary  for  the 
manufacture  of  that  article." 

^^ BcnyovBki's  o^m  inventory  of  the   'armament'  of  the  8v  Petr  i  Sv 


BENYOVSKI'S  JOURNEY.  181 

The  interval  between  Benyovski's  accession  to 
power  and  his  departure  to  Bolsheretsk  was  filled 
with  brief  trials  and  severe  punishments  of  recreant 
members  of  his  band  who  endeavored  to  open  the 
way  for  their  own  pardon  by  the  old  authorities 
by  betraying  the  new.  The  knout  was  freely  used, 
and  the  sentence  of  death  imposed  almost  daily.  At 
last  on  the  12th  of  May  the  Sv  Petr  i  Sv  Pavel  sailed 
out  of  the  harbor  of  Bolsheretsk  midst  the  firing 
of  salvos,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  the  solemn  te 
deum  on  the  quarterdeck.  The  voyage  is  involved 
in  mystery,  caused  chiefly  by  the  contradictory  re- 
ports of  Benyovski  himself.  He  says  he  anchored 
in  a  bay  of  Bering  Island  on  the  19th  of  May,  after  a 
passage  of  seven  days,  took  on  board  twenty-six  bar- 
rels of  water,  and  sailed  again,  after  a  brief  sojourn 
on  the  island,  during  which  he  claimed  to  have  fallen 
in  with  a  Captain  Okhotin  of  the  ship  Elizaveta, 
whom  Benyovski  describes  as  an  exiled  Saxon  noble- 
man. 

On  the  7th  of  June  he  claims  to  have  communi- 
cated with  the  Chukchi  in  latitude  64"*,  and  only 
three  days  later,  on  the  10th  of  June,  he  landed 
on  the  island  of  Kadiak,  over  1,000  miles  away. 
Another  entry  in  the  counts  diary  describes  his 
arrival  on  the  island  of  Amchitka,  one  of  the  Andrian- 
ovski  group,  on  the  21st  of  June,  and  two  days  later 
the  arrival  of  the  ship  at  Ourumusir,  one  of  the 
Kurile  Islands,  is  noted.  In  explanation  of  this  re- 
markable feat  he  gives  the  speed  of  his  vessel  at  ten 
and  a  half  knots  an  hour,  which  might  be  true,  driven 
by  a  gale.    The  only  part  of  this  journey  susceptible 

Paml  was  as  follows:  '96  men,  9  of  them  females;  8  camion;  2  howitzers;  2 
mofTtara;  120  muskets  with  bayonets;  80  sabres;  60  pistols;  1,600  pounds  of 
powder:  2,000  pounds  of  lead;  800  pounds  of  salt  meat;  1,200  pounds  of  salt 
nsh;  3,000  pounds  of  dried  fish;  1,400  pounds  of  whale-oil;  200  i)ounds  of 
sugar;  600  pounds  of  tea;  4,000  pounds  of  spoiled  flour;  40  pounds  of  butter; 
113  pounds  of  cheese;  6,000  pounds  of  iron;  120  hand-grenades;  900  cannon- 
balls;  50  pounds  of  sulphur;  200  pounds  of  saltpetre;  several  borrcLs  of  char- 
coal; 36  barrels  of  water;  138  barrels  of  brandy;  126  cases  of  furs;  14  anchors; 
sails  and  cordage;  one  boat  and  one  skiff.'  Memoirs  and  Travels^  i.  271. 


182  EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

of  proof  is  the  arrival  of  the  survivors  in  the  harbor 
of  Macao  on  the  Chinese  coast.  ^* 

The  successor  of  the  murdered  Nilof  was  Major 
Magnus  Carl  von  Behm,  who  was  appointed  to  the 
full  command  of  Kamchatka  by  an  imperial  oukaz 
dated  April  30,  1772,  but  he  did  not  assume  charge 
of  his  district  until  the  15th  of  October  of  the  follow- 
ing year,  having  met  with  detention  in  his  progress 
through  Siberia.^* 

In  1776  the  name  of  Grigor  Ivanovich  Shelikof 
is  first  mentioned  among  the  merchants  engaged  in 
operations  on  the  islands  and  coast  of  north-west 
America.  This  man,  who  has  justly  been  called  the 
founder  of  the  Russian  colonies  on  this  continent,  first 
came  to  Okhotsk  from  Kiakhta  on  the  Chinese  fron- 
tier and  formed  a  partnership  with  Lebedef-Lash- 
tochkin  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  and  trading  on 
the  Kurile  Islands.  This  field,  however,  was  not 
large  enough  for  Shelikofs  ambition,  and  forming 
another  partnership  with  one  Luka  Alin,  he  built  a 

^'Sgibnef  states  that  Benyovski  was  informed  after  his  departure  from 
Bering  Island  that  a  party  of  his  associates  had  laid  plans  to  detain  the  vessel 
and  return  to  Kamchatka.  Several  of  the  accused  were  punished  by  flogging, 
Avhile  Ismalilof  and  Paranchin,  with  the  latter's  wife,  were  put  ashore  on  an 
island  of  the  Kurile  group,  whence  they  were  brought  back  by  Protodiakonof , 
a  trader,  in  1772.  This  would  explain  the  circumstance  that  Cook  could  not 
obtain  any  definite  information  concerning  Benyovski's  voyage  from  IsmaUof 
when  he  met  the  latter  at  Unalaska  in  1778.  Sgibnefy  in  Morskoi  Sbomiky  c. 
ii.  62-3.  From  Macao  Benyovski  managed  to  reach  the  French  colony  on 
Madagascar  Island,  and  finally  he  proceeded  to  Paris  ^nth  the  object  of  ob- 
taining the  assistance  of  the  French  government  in  subjugating  the  natives 
of  Madagascar.  Here  he  met  with  only  partial  success,  but  definite  informa- 
tion is  extant  to  the  effect  that  on  the  14th  of  April  1774  Benyovski  embarked 
for  Maryland  on  the  ship  Robert  and  Anne,  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
family  and  arrived  at  Baltimore  on  July  8th  the  same  year,  with  a  cargo  of 
merchandise  for  Madagascar  valued  at  £4,000.  In  Baltimore  he  succeeded 
in  obtaining  assistance  from  resident  merchants,  who  chartered  for  him  a 
vessel  of  about  450  tons,  the  Intrepid,  armed  with  20  guns,  and  with  this  craft 
ho  sailed  from  Baltimore  on  October  25,  1784.  The  last  letter  received  from 
the  count  was  dated  from  the  coast  of  Brazil.  A  few  months  later  he  reached 
his  destination  and  at  once  organized  a  conspiracy  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
up  an  independent  ffovemment  on  the  island  of  Madagascar,  but  in  an  action 
with  Fi'ench  colonial  troops  he  was  killed  on  the  23d  of  May  1786. 

"  Major  Behm's  salary  was  fixed  at  600  rubles  per  annum,  and  his  jurisdic- 
tion was  subsequently  extended  over  the  Aleutian  Islands  by  an  oukaz  of  the 
governor  general  of  Irkutsk.  Sgibn^,  in  Morskoi  Sbomik,  iii  7. 


ADVENTURES  OP  THE  SIBERIAN  TRADEBS.  183 

vessel  at  Nishekamchatsk,  named  it  of  _CQurae  the  Sv 
Pavel,  and  despatched  it  to  the  islands.^*  Another 
vessel  of  the  same  name  was  fitted  out  by  the  most 
fortunate  of  all  the  Siberian  adventurers,  Orekhof, 
Lapin,  and  Shilof  The  command  was  given  to  Master 
Gerassim  Grigorovich  Ismailof,  a  man  who  subse- 
quently figures  prominently  in  explorations  of  Alaska, 
and  of  whom  Cook  speaks  in  terms  of  high  commenda- 
tion.'* 

Leaving  the  discussion  of  the  voyages  of  English 
and  French  explorers,  which  took  place  about  this 
time,  to  another  chapter,  we  shall  follow  the  move- 
ments of  Siberian  traders  and  promyshleniki  up  to 
the  point  of  final  amalgamation  into  a  few  power- 
ful companies.  In  1777  Shelikof,  Solovief,  and  the 
Panof  brothers  fitted  out  a  vessel  named  the  Bar- 
folomel  i  Vamabas,  .which  sailed  from  Nishekam- 
chatsk and  returned  after  an  absence  of  four  years  with 
a  small  cargo  valued  at  58,000  rubles.'®  In  the  same 
year  another  trader,  who  was  to  plav  a  prominent 
part  in  the  development  of  the  Russian  colonies  in 
the  Pacific,  first  appears  upon  the  scene.     Ivan  Lari- 

^*  It  was  commanded  by  Sapochnikof ,  of  whom  Cook  speaks  in  tenns  of 
praise.  This  vessel  returned  in  1780  with  a  cargo  valued  at  75,240  rubles. 
Berg,  Khronol.  Ist,,  101,  app. 

"Cook  spells  his  name  Erasim  GregorieoflF  Sin  IsmyloflF.  CooTfaVoy.y  ii. 
497.  Gregorief  Sin  is  an  obsolete  form  of  Grieorovich,  both  signify  lag  *  son 
of  Grigor.'  Ismailof  was  considered  one  of  the  most  successful  navigators 
among  the  Russian  pioneers.  Much  of  this  reputation  he  doubtless  owed  to 
the  information  received  from  Cook,  who  speaks  of  his  intelligence  and  acute- 
ness  of  observation.  Concerning  his  escape  from  Benyovski,  see  note  12. 
The  name  of  Ismailofs  vessel,  the  Sv  Pavel,  led  Corporal  Ledyard,  of  Cook's 
marine  guard,  and  subsequently  a  self-styled  American  colonel,  into  the  mis- 
take of  reporting  that  he  saw  at  Unalaska  the  very  vessel  in  which  Bering  made 
his  voyace  of  discovery,  the  corporal  being  unaware  that  that  craft  had  been 
destroyed.  Hfe  of  Ledyard^  86;  Pinkerton'a  Voy,,  xvi.  781-2;  Cook's  Third 
Voy.,  ii.  494,  523.  Berg  states  that  he  could  find  no  accounts  of  the  present 
voyage  beyond  a  brief  notice  of  Ismailofs  return  in  1781  with  a  very  rich 
cargo  valued  at  172,000  rubles.  Khronol.  ht.,  101.  His  peredovchik  was 
Ivan  LukanuL  He  commanded  the  TreJch  Sviatiteli  in  1783,  the  vessel  on 
which  Shelikof  himself  embarked,  the  Simeon  in  1793,  on  which  occasion  he 
met  Vancouver*8  officers,  without  telling  them  of  his  intercourse  with  Cook, 
and  the  AUxandr  in  1795.  Berg,  KronoL  Ist.,  Table  ii.,  app. 

"BcT^g,  Khronol  Ist.y  mentions  the  despatch  of  the  ship  Alexand  Nev$ki 
by  the  brothers  Panof  in  1776,  and  its  return  in  1770,  but  gives  no  details  of 
the  voyage.     This  is  probably  an  error.    See  p.  169. 


184  EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

novich  Golikof,  a  merchant  of  the  town  of  Kursk, 
who  held  the  oflSce  of  collector  of  the  spirits  tax  in 
the  province  of  Irkutsk/^  formed  a  partnership  with 
Shelikof  At  joint  expense  they  built  a  ship  named 
Sv  Andrei  Pervosvannui,  that  is  to  say  St  Andrew 
the  First-called,  which  sailed  from  Petropavlovsk  for 
the  Aleutian  Islands.  This  vessel  was  subsequently 
wrecked, but  the  whole  cargo,  valued  at  133,450  rubles, 
was  saved.^®  Another  ship,  the  Zossima  i  Savatia, 
was  despatched  in  the  same  year  by  Yakof  Protas- 
sof,  but  after  remaining  four  years  on  the  nearest 
Aleutian  isles,  the  expedition  returned  with  a  small 
cargo  valued  at  less  than  50,000  rubles.  In  1778 
the  two  Panof  brothers  associated  themselves  with 
Arsenius  Kuznetzof,  also  one  of  the  former  com- 
panions of  Benyovski,^^  and  constructed  a  vessel 
named  the  Sv  Nikolai,  which  sailed  from  Petropav- 
lovsk. This  craft  was  absent  seven  years  and  finally 
rewarded  the  patience  of  the  owners  with  a  rich  cargo 
consisting  of  2,521  sea-otters,  230  land-otters,  and 
3,300  foxes  of  various  kinds. *^  The  same  firm  de- 
spatched another  vessel  in  the  same  year,  the  Kliment, 
which  returned  in  1785  with  a  cargo  of  1,118  sea- 
otters,  500  land-otters,  and  830  foxes.  The  com- 
mander of  this  expedition  was  Ocheredin.^^ 

"J?rr^.  Khronol  Jst.,  102. 

^^  Benjy  Khronol.  let.^  app.;  Orewmqk^  Beilr.,  321. 
.  ^*Btr(j,  Khronol  1st,,  103;  Syn  Otecliestra,  18:^1,  No.  27. 

^Ba-fj,  Khronol.  Ist.,  105.  The  nature  of  the  cargo  would  indicate  that  at 
least  a  x>ortion  of  the  cruiBc  was  spent  in  tlie  vicinity  of  the  mainland  of 
Alaska. 

*'  Though  Polutof  appears  to  have  brought  it  home.  Berg  during  his 
Bojoum  at  Kadiak  had  an  opportunity  to  converse  with  a  hunter  named 
Tuyurskoi,  who  had  been  one  of  Ocheredin's  crew.  This  man  stated  that 
the  expedition  had  passed  the  winter  of  1779  at  Kadiak,  and  that  they  had 
with  them  GO  Aleuts  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  sea-otters.  The  Kadiaks, 
however,  would  not  allow  these  men  to  hunt,  scarcely  permitting  them  to  land 
even.  During  the  whole  winter,  which  was  passed  under  constant  appre- 
hension of  attacks,  only  100  sea-otters  were  secured,  and  20  of  the  crew  died 
of  scurvy.  In  the  spring  the  promyshleniki  made  all  haste  to  proceed  to 
Unalaska.  Berg,  Khronol.  Ist.y  104-7.  Berg  also  states  that  another  craft  of 
the  same  name,  Sv  Nikolai^  the  property  of  Shelikof  and  Kozitzin,  sailed  for 
the  islands  in  1778,  but  he  could  find  no  details  concerning  the  voyage  in  the 
archives  beyond  the  statement  that  the  same  vessel  made  three  successive 
voyages  in  the  same  direction.     Kadiak,  east  of  the  Alaska  peninsula.     On 


MOVEMENTS  OF  VESSELS.  185 

The  ship  Sv  loann  Predtecha,  or  St  John  the  Fore- 
runner, belonging  to  SheUkof  and  Golikof,  sailed 
from  Petropavlovsk  in  1779,  and  remained  absent  six 
years  without  proceeding  beyond  the  nearest  Aleutian 
Islands,  finally  returning  to  Okhotsk  with  a  cargo  of 
little  value.  In  the  foUowirfg  year  the  brothers  Panof 
fitted  out  once  more  the  Sv  Yevpl.  This  old  craft  was 
wrecked  on  her  return  voyage  not  far  from  Kam- 
chatka, but  the  cargo,  valued  at  70,000  rubles,  was 
saved  and  brought  into  port  by  another  vessel.^ 

With  the  funds  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  cargo 
of  the  Sv  Pavel  Shelikof  had  constructed  another  craft, 
with  the  intention  of  extending  his  operations  among 
the  islands.  The  vessel  was  named  the  Sv  loann  RyU 
skoiy  St  John  of  Rylsk,  and  sailed  from  Petropavlovsk 
in  1780 « 

The  Sv  Prokopy  fitted  out  by  the  merchants  Shu- 
ralef  and  Krivorotof,  also  sailed  in  1780,  but  was 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Kamchatka  soon  after  leav- 
ing Okhotsk.  Four  vessels  sailed  for  the  islands  in 
1781,  the  Sv  Pavel,  despatched  for  the  second  time  by 
Shelikof  and  Alin;  the  Sv  Alexeiy  despatched  by  the 
merchant  Popof;  the  Aleocandr  Nevski,  belonging  to 
the  firm  of  Orekhof,  Lapin,  and  Shilof;^  and  Sv 
Georffiy,  fitted  out  by  Lebedef-Lastochkin  and  Sheli- 
kof, wherein  Pribylof  made  the  all-important  discovery  X 
of  the  Fur  Seal  Islands  in  1786,*  which  will  be  duly 

Cook's  Atlas,  1778,  Pd  Kadjae;  La  P^rouse,  1786,  J,  Kichtak;  Dixon,  1789, 
Kodiac;  Vancouver,  1790-05,  Kodiah;  Sutil  y  Mex,,  Viage,  Isla  Kadiac; 
Holmbeig,  Kadjak  Cartog,  Pac.  Coast,  MS.,  ill.  434. 

**B€rg,  Khnmol.  let.,  107;  Orevoingk,  Beitn,  323. 

**  After  an  absence  of  six  years  this  vessel  returned,  but  was  wrecked  on 
the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  The  cargo,  however,  comprising  900  sea-otters  and 
over  18,000  fur-seals,  was  saved.  Shelikof  seems  to  nave  been  the  first  among 
the  traders  to  deal  more  extensively  in  fur-seals.  Up  to  1780  he  had  imported 
70,000  of  these  skins.  Berg,  Khronol.  IhL,  106-7. 

^*  The  8v  Pavd  returned  after  a  five  years'  cruise  with  a  cargo  valued  at 
35,000  rubles;  the  Sv  Alexei  also  returned  after  an  absence  of  five  years  and 
met  with  great  success;  the  Alexandr  Nevski,  which  had  just  made  a  cruise 
to  the  Kurile  Islands  under  the  command  of  the  Greek,  Eustrate  Delarof,  was 
placed  under  the  conmiand  of  Stepan  ZoXkof  for  this  expedition,  and  returned 
m  five  years  with  a  rich  assortment  of  furs,  valued  at  283,000  i-ubles,  Berg, 
KhrtmoL  /«<.,  807-9.     See  note  19. 

*  After  an  eight  years'  cruise  Pribylof  returned  to  Okhotsk  with  a  cargo  of 
2,720  sea-otters,  31,100  fur-seals,  nearly  8,000  foxes,  and  a  large  quantity 


Ig6  EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

discussed  in  its  chronological  order.  For  1782  only 
one  departure  of  a  trading-vessel  for  the  islands  has 
been  recorded.  This  vessel  was  fitted  out  by  Yakov 
Protassof  at  Nishekamchatsk.**  Lebedef-Lastochkin 
organized  a  special  company  in  1783  for  the  purpose 
of  extending  his  operations  on  the  islands.  The  capital 
of  this  enterprise  was  divided  into  sixty-five  shares, 
most  of  them  being  in  Lebedef's  hands.^ 

In  1783  the  first  direct  attempt  was  made  by  the 
Russian  traders  to  extend  their  operations  to  the  main- 
land of  America,  to  the  northward  and  eastward  of 
Kadiak.  The  fur-bearing  animals  had  for  some  years 
been  rapidly  disappearing  from  the  Aleutian  Islands 
and  the  lower  peninsula,  and  despairing  of  further 
success  on  the  old  hunting-grounds  the  commanders 
of  three  vessels  then  anchored  at  Unalaska  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  best  to  embark  on  new  dis- 
coveries. They  met  and  agreed  to  submit  themselves 
to  the  leadership  of  Potap  Zaikof,  a  navigator  of  some 

of  walrus  ivory  and  whalebone.  Bergy  Khronol.  Ist,,  107;  Veniaminof,  i.  131-2; 
Sauer*8  Astron,  and  Otog.  Exjxd.,  246;  Grewingk^  Beitr.,  323. 

^*  Protassof  8  vessel  returned  in  1786,  and  according  to  Berg  his  cargo  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  fur-seals.  Berg,  Khronol.  Ist.,  Ill,  As  the  cfiscovery  of  the 
Seal  Islands  occurred  in  that  year  the  skins  must  have  been  obtained  at  the 
Commander  Islands. 

''  Berg  furnishes  a  full  list  of  the  share-holders,  which  may  serve  to  demon- 
strate how  such  affairs  were  managed  in  those  early  times.  The  65  shares 
were  divided  as  follows:  The  merchant  Lebedef-Lastochkin,  34  shares;  Ye- 
fim  Popof,  1  share;  Grigor  Deshurinskoi,  1  share;  Elias  Zavialof,  1  share; 
Ivan  Korotaief,  1  share;  Vassili  Neviashin,  1  share;  Mikhail  Issaief,  1  share; 
Vassili  Shapkin,  2  shares;  Vaasili  Kulof,  1  share;  Mikhail  Tubinskoi,  1  share; 
Fcodor  ^ikulinskoi,  2  shares;  Arseni  Kuznetzof,  1  share;  Vassili  Krivishin, 
1  share;  Mikhail  Dushakof,  2  shares;  Ivan  Lapin,  2  shares;  Alexci'  Polevoi, 

1  share;  Ivan  Bolsheretsk,  2  shares;  Dmitri  Lorokin,  1  share;  the  manu- 
facturer, Ivan  Savelief,  5  shares;  the  citizen,  Ssava  Chebykin,  Ijshare;  the 
citizen,  Spiridon  Burakof,  1  share;  and  Court  Counsellor  Peter  ^udishchef, 

2  shares :  total,  65. 

In  the  division  of  profits  there  were  to  be  added  to  this  number  1  share 
for  the  church,  and  the  orphans  in  the  school  of  Okhotsk;  1  share  to  the 
X^eredovchik,  Petr  Kolomin,  1  share  to  the  boatswain,  Burygin,  1  share  to 
the  navigator,  Potap  Zaikof ,  and  2  shares  to  such  of  the  crew  as  distinguished 
themselves  during  tne  voyage  by  industry,  bravery,  or  otherwise,  making  the 
value  of  1  share  at  the  division  of  profits  one  seventy-first  of  the  whole  pro- 
ceeds. Berg,  Khronol,  Jst.,  109,  211;  Gracivgk,  Beitr,,  324;  Pcdlcu,  NortL 
B^'itr.y  vi.  165,  175.  At  the  end  of  the  cruise  the  first  vessel  sent  bv  this 
company  was  WTecked  on  the  island  of  St  Paul.  The  cargo  was  saved,  but 
proved  barely  sufiicient  to  cover  expenses. 


ZAIKOF,  DELAROF,  AND  POLUTOF.  187 

reputation,  and  leave  to  him  the  selection  of  new  hunt- 
ing-grounds. These  vessels  were  the  Sv  Alexet,  com- 
manded by  Eustrate  Delarof ;  the  Sv  Mikhml,  under 
Polutof,  and  the  Alexandr  Nevski,  commanded  b 
Zaikof.  The  latter  had  learned  from  Captain  Coo! 
and  his  companions  during  their  sojourn  in  Kam- 
chatka that  they  had  discovered  a  vast  gulf  on  the 
coast  of  America  and  named  it  Prince  William  Sound.^ 
To  this  point  he  concluded  to  shape  his  course. 

On  the  27th  of  July  the  three  ships  were  towed  to 
anchorage  in  a  small  cove,  probably  on  the  north  side 
of  Kaye  Island,  which,  as  they  subsequently  discov- 
ered, was  named  Kyak  by  the  natives.  Boats  and 
bidarkas  were  sent  out  at  once  in  various  directions 
in  search  of  game  and  of  inhabitants — the  few  natives 
observed  on  entering  the  bav  having  fled  to  the  hills 
at  sight  of  the  Russians.  On  the  third  day  one  of 
the  detached  parties  succeeded  in  bringing  to  the 
ships  a  girl  and  two  small  children,  but  it  was  not 
until  tlie  middle  of  August  that  anything  like  friendly 
intercourse  could  be  established,  and  the  natives  in- 
duced to  trade  peltries.^ 

On  the  18th  the  bidarchik  Nagaief  returned  to  the 
anchorage  with  quite  a  number  of  sea-otter  skins,  all 
made  into  garments,  and  reported  the  discovery  of  a 
large  river — the  Atnah^  or  Copper — ^which  he  had 
ascended  for  some  distance.  He  had  met  with  a  large 
body  of  natives  in  a  bidar  and  traded  with  them,  both 
parties  landing  on  the  beach  at  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  fathoms  from  each  other  and  then  meeting 
half-way.  These  people  informed  him  that  at  their 
home  was  a  safe  harbor  for  ships,  referring  of  course 

^  Za&of  had  obtained  rough  tracings  of  some  of  the  charts  compiled  by 
Cook  in  exchange  for  favors  extended  to  the  English  discoverer.  Tikhmen^, 
i.  113.  It  is  supposed  that  the  Sv  Yevpl,  1773-79,  reached  the  continent, 
and  probably  the  ov  Nikolai  and  others,  but  this  ^as  accidental 

"Two  natives  who  were  kept  as  hostages  on  Zaikof *8  vessel  stated  that 
Kyak  was  not  a  permanent  place  of  residence,  but  was  visited  only  in  search 
of  game  by  the  people  seen  by  the  Russians,  their  homes  being  to  the  west- 
ward, at  tne  distance  of  'two  days'  paddling,'  from  which  statement  we  may 
conclude  that  they  were  from  Nuchek  or  Hinchinbrook  Island.  Zaikof  a  Jour- 
nal, in  SUka. Archives,  MS.,  iv.;  Tik/ime^ief,  lat.  Oboe,,  ii.,  app.  3. 


188  EXPLOBATION  AND  TRADR 

to  Nuchek,  where  both  English  and  Spanish  ships 
had  already  called.  Many  days  were  spent  by  Zaikof 
in  futile  attempts  to  secure  a  native  guide  to  the  safe 
harbor  mentioned  as  having  already  been  visited  by 
ships,  but  bribes  and  promises  proved  of  no  avail, 
and  at  last  he  set  out  in  the  direction  of  the  isl 
of  Khta-aluk  (Nuchek),  plainly  visible  to  the  w 
ward.  The  commanders  of  the  two  other  ships  must 
have  sailed  before  him  and  cruised  about  Prince  Will- 
iam Sound — named  gulf  of  Chugach  by  the  Russians 
— in  search  of  hunting-grounds,  and  this  scattering  of 
forces  beyond  the  bounds  of  proper  control  proved 
dangerous,  for  the  Chugatsches  were  not  only  fiercer 
than  the  Aleuts,  but  they  seemed  to  entertain  posi- 
tive ideas  of  proprietary  rights. 

The  combined  crews  of  the  three  vessels,  number- 
ing over  three  hundred,  including  Aleut,  hunters, 
would  surely  have  been  able  to  withstand  any  attack 
of  the  poorly  armed  Chugatsches  and  to  protect  their 
hunting  parties,  but  they  wandered  about  in  small  de- 
tachments, committing  outrages  whenever  they  came 
upon  a  village  with  unprotected  women  and  children. 
The  Russians,  who  had  for  some  time  been  accus- 
tomed to  overcome  all  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
natives  with  comparative  ease,  imagined  that  their 
superior  arms  would  give  them  the  same  advantage 
here.  They  soon  discovered  their  mistake.  The  Chu- 
gatsches, as  well  as  their  allies  from  Cook  Inlet,  and 
even  from  Kadiak,  summoned  by  fleet  messengers  for 
the  occasion,  showed  little  fear  of  Russian  guns,  and 
used  their  own  spears  and  arrows  to  such  advantage 
that  the  invaders  were  themselves  beaten  in  several 
engagements. 

In  the  harbor  of  Nuchek  Nagaief  met  twenty- 
eight  men  from  the  Panof  company's  ship,  the  Alexei, 
fourteen  of  whom  had  been  wounded  by  the  Chu- 
gatsches during  a  night  attack.  They  had  left  their 
ships  on  the  15th  of  August,  a  month  previous,  in 
search  of  this  bay,  numbering  thirty-seven  men,  be- 


est^^^ 
lust       1 


THE  PANOF  COMPANY.  189 

sides  peredovchik  Lazaref,  who  was  in  command,  but 
had  searched  in  vain.  One  dark  night,  while  encamped 
ori*'an  island,  their  sentries  had  been  surprised,  nine 
men  killed,  and  half  of  the  remainder  wounded.   With 

e  greatest  difficulty  only  had  they  succeeded  at  last 
beating  off  with  their  fire-arms  their  assailants 
armed  merely  with  spears,  bows  and  arrows,  and  clubs. 
Other  encounters  took  place.  On  the  18th  of  Septem- 
ber one  of  the  parties  of  Russians  surprised  a  native 
village  on  a  small  island;  the  men  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains, leaving  women,  children,  and  stores  of  provisions. 
The  considerate  promyshleniki  seized  "  only  half"  the 
females — ^probably  not  the  oldest — ^and  some  of  the 
food.  During  the  next  night,  however,  the  men  of 
the  village,  with  reenforcements  from  the  neighbor- 
hood, attacked  the  Russian  camp,  killing  three  Rus- 
sians and  a  female  interpreter  from  Unalaska,  and 
wounding  nine  men.  During  the  struggle  all  the  hos- 
tages thus  far  obtained  by  capture  escaped,  with  the 
exception  of  four  women  and  two  small  boys.  The 
Russians  now  proceeded  to  the  harbor  selected  as 
winter-quarters,^  and  active  operations  ceased  for 
the  time. 

The  favorable  season  had  been  so  foolishly  wasted 
in  roaming  about  and  quarrelling  with  the  natives, 
who  took  good  care  not  to  reveal  to  their  unwel- 
come visitors  the  best  fishing  and  hunting  grounds, 
that  food  became  scarce  early  in  the  winter.  Be- 
sides this  it  was  found  necessary  to  keep  one  third 
of  the  force  continually  under  arms  to  guard  against 
sudden  assaults;  and  this  hostility  naturally  inter- 
fered with  the  search  for  the  necessary  supplies  of 
fish,  game,  fuel,  and  water.  The  result  was  that  scurvy 
of  a  very  malignant  type  broke  out  among  the  crews, 
and  nearly  one  half  of  the  men  died  before  spring  re- 
leased them  and  enabled  Zaikof  to  refit  his  vessel  and 

^  The  description  of  this  harbor  is  not  very  clear,  but  the  probability  is 
that  it  was  one  of  the  bays  on  the  north  end  of  Montagu,  or  Siikluk,  Island, 
which  is  named  Zaikof  Harbor  on  Russian  maps.  This  is  also  confirmed  by 
tokditions  of  the  natives  collected  on  the  spot  by  Mr  Pctrof  in  ISSl. 


190  EXPLORATION  AND  TRADE. 

sail  for  the  Aleutian  isles,  after  an  experience  fully  as 
dismal  as  that  encountered  a  few  years  later,  in  nearly 
the  same  locality,  by  Captain  Meares,  who  might  have 
saved  himself  much  misfortune  had  he  known  of  Zai- 
kof's  attempt  and  its  disastrous  result. 

Thus  unfortunately  ended  the  attempt  of  the  Rus- 
sians to  gain  a  foothold  upon  the  continental  coast  of 
America.*^ 

The  only  subordinate  commander  of  this  expedition 
who  seems  to  have  actually  explored  and  intelligently 

'^  Eustraie  Delarof  subsequently  gave  Captain  Billings  the  following  ac- 
count of  this  expedition:  *0n  arriving  at  Prince  William  Sound  a  number  of 
canoes  surrounded  the  vessel  and  on  one  of  them  they  displayed  some  kind  of 
a  flag.  I  hoisted  ours,  when  the  natives  paddled  three  times  around  the  ship, 
one  man  standing  up  waving  his  hands  and  chanting.  They  came  on  board 
and  I  obtained  fourteen  sea-otter  skins  in  exchange  for  some  glass  beads;  they 
would  accept  no  shirts  or  any  kind  of  clothing;  they  conducted  themselves 
in  a  friendly  manner,  and  we  ate,  drank,  and  slept  together  in  the  greatest 
harmony.  They  said  that  two  ships  had  been  there  some  years  previously, 
and  ths^  they  had  obtained  beads  and  other  articles  from  them.  According  to 
their  description  these  vessels  must  have  been  EInglish  (they  referred  of  course 
to  Cook*s  expedition) ;  the  natives  had  knives  and  copjper  kettles  which  they 
said  they  obtained  by  making  a  14  days'  journey  up  a  laree  river  and  trading 
with  other  natives  who  brought  these  goods  from  some  locality  still  farther 
inland  (a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  post?) — Suddenly,  on  the  8th  of  September, 
the  natives  changed  their  attitude,  making  a  furious  attack  on  my  people. 
I  knew  of  no  cause  for  this  change  until  one  of  my  boats  returned,  when  I 
learned  that  there  had  been  quarrelling  and  fighting  between  the  boat's  crew 
and  the  natives.  I  have  no  doubt  that  my  people  were  the  aggressors. 
Polutof 's  vessel  was  at  that  time  in  the  vicinity  and  1  left  him  thereT  Sauer's 
Geog,  and  AiUron.  Exped. ,  197.  Martin  Sauer,  the  secretary  of  Captain  Joseph 
Billings,  states  that  while  at  Prince  William  Sound  in  1790  he  tell  in  with  a 
woman  who  had  been  forcibly  detained  by  Polutof  and  had  subsequently 
become  acquainted  with  Zaikof.  She  praised  the  latter  as  a  just  man  and 
related  how  her  people  revenged  themselves  on  Polutof  for  his  ill-treatment. 
A  wood-cutting  party  had  been  sent  ashore  from  each  vessel  and  had  pitched 
their  tents  a  short  distance  from  each  other.  It  was  very  dark  and  only  one 
man  was  on  the  watch  near  a  fire  on  the  beach.  The  natives  crawled  up 
unnoticed  by  the  sentry,  killed  him,  and  then  stealing  into  Polutof's  tent 
massacred  hmi  and  his  companions  without  molesting  Zaikof 's  tent  or  any  of 
his  people.  Bitter  complaints  were  made  by  the  Chugatsche  people  of  the  do- 
ings of  Polutof  who  had  seized  their  furs  without  paying  for  them  and  hatt 
carried  off  by  force  many  of  the  women.  Sauer^s  Geog.  and  Astron.  Exped. ^  i. 
187,  190;  Grewingk,  Beitr.,  323;  Pallas,  Nord.  Beitr.y  i.  212.  In  the  historical 
review  attached  by  Mr  Dall  to  his  Alaska  and  its  Resources^  the  author  has 
committed  blunders  which  can  be  ascribed  only  to  his  inability  to  understand 
the  Russian  authorities.  Under  date  of  1781  he  remarks  that  '  Zaikof  ex- 
plored in  detail  Chugdeh  Gulf  and  wintered  on  Bering  Island ...  A  vessel, 
called  the  8t  Aexius,  commanded  by  Alexeief  Popof,  was  attacked  by  natives 
in  Prince  William  Sound.  Zajkof  explored  Captain's  Harbor,  Unalaska,  July 
1-13,  1783. '  Id.,  307.  Mr  Dall's  Zaikof  expedition  of  1781  is,  of  course,  the 
same  with  that  of  1783,  when  he  wintered  on  Montagu  (not  Bering)  Island,  in 
a  bay  still  bearing  his  name.  The^/exei,  as  we  have  seen  above,  was  com- 
manded by  Delarof. 


FUR-SEALS  ANB  OTTEB^S,  ^      ^         191 

described  these  unknown  regions,  was  Nagaief,  tJio 
discoverer  of  Copper  River.  Nearly  all  the  valuable 
infonnation  contained  in  Zaikof  s  journal  came  from 
this  man.** 

This  failure  to  extend  their  field  of  operations  seri- 
ously checked  the  spirit  of  enterprise  which  had  hith- 
erto manifested  itself  among  the  Siberian  merchants, 
and  for  some  time  only  one  small  vessel  was  despatched 
from  Siberia  for  the  Aleutian  Islands.*^  -^ 

The  year  1786,  as  already  mentioned,  witnessed  the 
discovery  of  the  Fur  Seal  Islands,  the  breeding-ground 
of  the  seals,  and  therefore  of  the  highest  importance. 
The  Russian  promyshleniki  who  first  visited  the  Fox 
Islands  soon  began  to  surmise  the  existence  of  some 
islands  in  the  north  by  observing  the  annual  migra- 
tion of  the  fur-seals  through  the  passes  between  cer- 
tain of  the  islands — northward  in  the  spring  and 
southward  in  the  autumn,  when  they  were  accom- 
panied by  their  young.  This  surmise  was  confirmed 
by  an  Aleut  tradition  to  the  effect  that  a  young  chief- 
tain of  Unimak  had  once  been  cast  away  on  a  group 
of  islands  in  the  north,  which  they  called  Amik.**    The 

"  Nagaief  told  Zajfkof  that  the  natives  he  had  encountered  called  them- 
aelyes  Chugatches,  and  that  they  met  in  war  and  trade  five  other  tribes:  Ist, 
the  Koniagas,  or  people  of  Kadiak;  2d,  a  tribe  living  on  a  gulf  of  the  main 
land  between  Kaoiak  and  the  Chugatsche  country,  named  the  Kinaicus;  3d,  the 
Vnllits,  living  on  the  large  river  discovered  by  Nagaief;  4th,  a  tribe  living  on 
the  coast  of  the  mainland  from  Kyak  Island  eastward,  called  Lakhamit; 
and  5tb,  beyond  these  again  the  Kaljush,  a  warlike  tribe  with  krge  wooden 
boats.  This  description  of  the  tribes  and  their  location  was  doubtless  cor- 
rect at  the  time,  though  the  *Lakhamite'  (the  Aglejgmutes)  have  since  been 
pushed  eastward  of  Kyak  Island  by  the  Kaljushes,  or  Thlinkeets.  Na^ief  also 
correctly  stated  that  the  Yullits,  or  Copper  River  natives,  lived  only  on  the 
upper  river,  but  traded  copper  and  land-furs  with  the  coast  people  for  seal- 
skins, dried  fish,  and  oiL  Zaiko/*8  Journal,  MS.;  Sitka  Archives,  iv.;  Tikme- 
luf,  Isi,,  Obo9r.f  ii.,  app.,  7,  8.  Zaikofs  own  description  of  the  country,  its 
resouroes,  its  people,  and  the  manners  and  customs,  is  both  minute  and  cor^ 
rect.  His  manuscript  journal  is  still  in  existence,  and  it  furnishes  proof 
positive  that  his  visit  to  Prince  William  Sound  in  1783  was  the  first  made  by 
nim  or  any  other  Russian  in  a  sea-going  vessel. 

''The  Sv  Georgiy  left  Nishekamchatsk  on  Panof's  account,  and  returned 
in  two  years  with  a  little  over  1,000  fur-seals  and  less  than  200  blue  foxes, 
having  evidentlv  confined  its  operations  to  the  Commander  Islands.  The 
same  vessel  made  another  voyage  in  1787,  remaining  absent  six  years,  but 
with  an  equally  unsatisfactory  result.  Berg,  Khronol.  lat.,  114-15. 

•*A  term  and  incident  commemorated  in  a  native  song.  Vaiiaminof,  Za- 
piski,  ii.  209;  1.  17;  Sarychef,  PtiUah.,  i.  28. 


102  EXPLORATIOX  AKD  TRADE. 

Ligh  peaks  of  his  native  place  had  guided  him  back 
after  a  short  stay.  While  furs  remained  abundant  on 
the  groups  already  known,  none  chose  to  expose  him- 
self in  frail  boats  to  seek  new  lands;  but  in  and  after 
1781  the  rapid  depletion  of  the  hunting-grounds  led 
to  many  a  search  for  Amik;  yet  while  it  lay  within 
two  days'  sail  from  the  southern  isles,  a  friendly 
mist  long  hid  the  home  of  the  fur-seals  from  the 
hunters. 

In  1786  this  search  was  joined  by  Master  Grerassim 
Pribylof,*^  who  for  five  years  had  been  hunting  and 
trading  with  little  profit  on  the  islands,  in  the  Sv 
Georgiy,  fitted  out  by  Lebedef-Lastochkin  and  his 
partners.  Although  reputed  a  skillful  navigator,  he 
cruised  for  over  three  weeks  around  the  Amik  group 
without  finding  them,  though  constantly  meeting  with 
unmistakable  evidence  of  the  close  proximity  of  land. 
At  last,  in  the  first  days  of  June,  fate  favored  the 
persistent  explorer;  the  mantle  of  fog  was  lifted  and 
before  him  loomed  the  high  cpast  of  the  eastern  end 
of  the  most  southern  island.  The  discovery  was 
named  St  George,  after  Pribylofs  vessel;  but  finding 
no  anchorage  the  commander  ordered  the  peredovchik 
Popof  and  all  the  hunters  to  land,  with  a  supply  of 
provisions  for  the  winter,  while  he  stood  away  again 
for  the  Aleutian  Islands,  there  to  spread  such  reports 
as  to  keep  others  from  following  his  path. 

The  shores  of  St  George  literally  swarmed  with 
sea-otters,  which  undisturbed  so  far  by  human  beings 
could  be  killed  as  easily  as  those  of  Bering  Island 
during  the  first  winter  after  its  discovery.  Large 
numbers  of  walrus  were  secured  on  the  ice  and  upon 
the  adjoining  small  islands;  arctic  foxes  could  be  caught 
by  hand,  and  with  the  approach  of  summer  the  iur- 
seals  made  their  appearance  by  thousands.^ 

•*Hi8  name  was  Geraaeim  Gavrilovich  Pribylof.  Veniaminof  gives  his 
name  as  Gavrilo  on  one  occasion.  JSapiskif  iL  27 L  He  was  a  master  in  the 
navy,  connected  with  the  port  of  Okhotsk,  but  entered  the  employ  of  Lebedef- 
Lastochkin  and  his  partners  in  1778.  Id. 

><:Shelikof  in  a  letter  to  Delarof,  dated  Okhotsk,  1789,  stated  that  dining 


THE  LEBEDEFLASTOCHEIN  COMPANY.  103 

On  the  29th  of  June,  1787,  an  unusually  clear 
atmosphere  enabled  the  promyshleniki  to  see  for  the 
first  time  the  island  of  St  Paul,  thirty  miles  to  the 
northward;  and  the  sea  being  smooth  a  bidar  was  at 
once  despatched  to  examine  the  new  discovery.  The 
party  landed  upon  the  other  island  the  same  day,  and 
named  it  St  Peter  and  St  Paul,  the  saints  of  the  day.'^ 
The  first  half  of  the  name,  however,  was  soon  lost  in 
popular  usage  and  only  St  Paul  retained.  The  group 
was  known  as  the  Pribylof.^ 

While  Shelikof  was  one  of  the  partners  who  had 
fitted  out  the  Sv  Georgiy,  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
held  a  large  interest  and.  looked  with  no  little  envy 
on  £he  success  achieved  by  what  must  be  regarded  as 
rivals  to  his  own  company.  He  did  not  waste  much 
time,  however,  in  unpleasant  sentiments,  but  set  about 
at  once  to  secretly  buy  up  more  shares  in  the  Lebedef 
company.  In  this  undertaking  he  succeeded  so  well 
that  he  could  look  with  equanimity  upon  the  fierce 
rivalry  growing  up  between  the  two  large  firms;  no 
matter  which  side  gained  an  advantage,  he  felt  secure. 
He  was  certainly  the  first  who  fully  understood  the 
actual  and  prospective  value  of  Pribylof  s  discovery. 

the  first  year  the  htmten  obtained  on  the  newly  discovered  islands  40,000 
fur-seal  skins,  2,000  sea-otters,  400  pounds  (14,400  lbs.)  of  walrus  ivory,  and 
more  whalebone  than  the  ship  coula  carr^.  Shelikof  upbraided  Belarof  for 
not  havinff  anticipated  this  discovery,  with  two  good  ships  at  his  command. 
TiJAmen^f,  ItA.  Obozr,^  iL  app.  21. 

'^  Owing  to  the  constant  fog  and  murky  atmosphere  that  envelop  the  islands, 
the  less  elevated  St  Paul  is  rarely  seen  from  St  George,  while  the  hills  of  the 
latter  are  fre^uenUy  visible  from  St  Paul. 

•*  The  claun  of  Pribylof  to  their  first  European  discovery  was  thrown  into 
doubt  by  the  report  that  the  Russians  on  reaching  the  island  of  St  Paul 
foond  the  brass  mlt  and  trimming  of  a  sword,  a  clay  pipe,  and  the  remains  of 
a  fire.  The  statement  was  confirmed  by  all  who  effected  the  first  landing  on 
St  PauL  Veniaminqf,  Zapiski^  ii.  268.  Berg,  who  has  traced  the  course  of 
nearly  every  other  vessel  in  these  waters,  states  that  nothing  was  known  of 
Pribylofs  present  voyage  beyond  his  return  with  a  rich  carg^o.  Khronol^  Int., 
1<M.  One  reason  for  uiis  was  the  secrecy  observed  for  some  ^me.  La  P^rouse 
met  Pribylof  shortly  .after  his  return,  but  learned  nothing. 


CHAPTER  X. 

OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

1775-1779. 

Russian  Sttfbsmaot  nv  the  Fabthest  Nohth-wxst— Thb  Other  Ettrofeak 

POWEBS  WOULD  KnoW  WHAT  IT  MSAKS — ^PEREZ  LoOKS  AT  ALASKA  FOR 

Spain— The  'Santiago*  at  Dixon  Entrance— Ouadra  Advances  to 
Crohs  Sound—Cook  for  England  Examines  the  Coast  as  far  as  Icy 
Cape— Names  Given  to  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook  Inlet — 
Revelations  and  Mistakes— Ledtard's  Journey— Again  Spain 
Sends  to  the  North  Arteaga,  who  Takes  Possession  at  Latitude 
69**  8'— Bay  of  La  SantIsima  Cruz— Results  Attained^ 

The  gradual  establishment  of  Russian  supremacy 
in  north-westernmost  America  upon  a  permanent  basis 
had  not  escaped  the  attention  of  Spanish  statesmen. 
Within  a  few  years  after  the  disastrous  failure  of  the 
Russian  exploring  expeditions  under  Krenitzin  and 
Levashef,  a  succinct  account  of  all  that  had  been  ac- 
complished by  the  joint  efforts  of  the  promyshleniki 
and  the  naval  officers,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
imperial  government,  had  been  transmitted  to  the 
court  of  Spain  by  its  accredited  and  secret  agents  at 
St  Petersburg.* 

Alarmed  by  tidings  of  numerous  and  important 
discoveries  along  the  extension  of  her  own  South  Sea 
coast  line,  Spain  ordered  an  expedition  for  exploring 

^  The  communicationB  conrieming  Russia's  plans  of  conquest  in  Asia  and 
America,  forwardtcl  to  the  court  of  Spain  from  St  Petersburg,  make  mention 
of  an  expedition  organized  in  1764.  Two  captains,  named  Cweliacow  and 
Ponobasew  in  the  document,  were  to  sail  from  Arkhangel  in  the  White  Sea, 
and  meet  Captain  Krenitzin,  who  was  to  sail  from  Kamchatka.  This  is  a 
somewhat  mixed  account  of  the  Krenitzin  and  Levashef  expedition,  which 
did  not  finally  sail  till  1768,  but  was  expected  to  fall  in  with  lieutenants 
Chichagof  and  Ponomaref ,  who  were  instructed  to  coast  eastward  along  Siberia 
and  to  pass  through  Bering  Strait. 

(»4) 


SECRET  INSTRUCTIONS.  195 

and  seizing  the  coast  to  the  northward  of  California. 
In  1773  accordingly  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  Re  villa 
Gigedo,  assigned  for  this  purpose  the  new  transport 
Santiago,  commanded  by  Juan  Perez,  who  was  asked 
to  prepare  a  plan  of  operations.  In  this  he  expressed 
his  intention  to  reach  the  Northwest  Coast  in  latitude 
45°  or  50**;  but  his  orders  to  attain  a  higher  latitude 
were  peremptory,  and  it  is  solely  owing  to  this  that  the 
voyage  falls  within  the  scope  of  the  present  volume. 
Minute  directions  were  furnished  for  the  ceremonies 
of  claiming  and  taking  possession.  The  wording  of 
the  written  declaration,  to  be  deposited  in  convenient 
and  prominent  places,  was  prescribed.  The  commander 
was  instructed  to  keep  the  object  of  his  voyage  secret, 
but  to  strike  the  coast  well  to  north,  in  latitude  60"* 
if  possible,  and  to  take  possession  above  any  settle- 
ments he  might  find,  without,  however,  disturbing 
the  Russians.  Appended  to  his  instructions  was  a 
full  translation  of  Staehlin's  Account  of  the  New 
Northern  Archipelago,  together  with  the  mnciful  map 
accompanying  that  volume.  Each  island  of  the  Aleu- 
tian group  was  described  in  detail,  besides  many 
others,  the  product  of  the  fertile  imagination  of  such 
men  as  Stsehlin  and  De  Tlsle  de  la  Croyfere.  Even 
the  island  of  Kadiak,  which  had  then  only  been  twice 
visited  by  promyshleniki,  was  included  in  the  list. 

The  Santiago  sailed  from  San  Bias  January  24, 
1774,  with  eighty-eight  men,  including  two  mission- 
aries and  a  surgeon.  The  incidents  of  nearly  the 
whole  of  this  voyage  occurred  south  of  the  territory 
embraced  by  this  volume;  but  between  the  15th  and 
l7th  of  July  Perez  and  his  companions  sighted  two 
capes,  the  southernmost  of  which  he  thought  was  in 
latitude  55°,  and  the  other  about  eight  leagues  to  the 
north.  These  points  were  named  Santa  Margarita 
and  Santa  Magdalena,  respectively.^ 

'  The  latitude  given  by  Perez,  if  correct,  wonld  make  it  difficult  to  locate 
these  capes  so  as  to  agree  with  the  minute  and  circumstantial  description  of 
the  contours  of  the  coast;  but  allowing  for  an  error  which  might  easily  arise 


196  OFFICIAL  EXPLOBATIONS. 

These  capes,  the  southernmost  point  of  Prince  of 
Wales  Island,  and  the  north  point  of  Queen  Charlotte 
Island,  lie  on  both  sides  of  the  present  boundary  of 
Alaska,  but  Perez  and  his  men  had  intercourse  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  cape  only.  The  mere 
sighting  of  one  of  the  southern  capes  of  Alaska,  and 
its  location  by  rough  estimate,  would  scarcely  justify 
a  discussion  of  the  voyage  of  Juan  Perez  in  the  annals 
of  Alaska,  were  it  not  for  an  apparently  trifling  incident 
mentioned  in  the  various  diarios  of  this  expedition.  In 
the  hands  of  the  natives  were  seen  an  old  bayonet  and 
pieces  of  other  iron  implements,  which  the  pilot  con- 
jectured must  have  belonged  to  the  boats'  crews  lost 
from  Chirikof s  vessel  somewhere  in  these  latitudes  in 
1741.^  In  the  absence  of  all  knowledge  of  any  civ- 
ilized visitor  to  that  section  during  the  interval  be- 
tween Chirikof  s  and  Perez'  voyages  we  cannot  well 
criticise  the  conclusion  arrived,  at.  It  could  scarcely 
be  presumed  that  at  that  early  date  a  Kussian  bayo- 
net should  have  passed  from  hand  to  hand  or  from 
tribe  to  tribe,  around  the  coast  from  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  or  perhaps  Kadiak,  a  distance  of  from  eight 
hundred  to  one  thousand  miles.  It  appears  highly 
probable  that  Chirikof  s  mishap  occurred  in  this  vicin- 
ity, the  Prince  of  Wales  or  Queen  Charlotte  Islands, 
and  in  that  case  the  present  boundary  of  Alaska 
would  be  very  nearly  identical  with  the  northern 
limit  of  the  territorial  claims  of  Spain  as  based  upon 
the  right  of  discovery.  The  avowed  objects  of  this 
voyage  had  not  been  obtained  by  Perez;  he  did  not 
ascend  to  the  latitude  of  60°;  he  did  not  ascertain  the 
existence  of  permanent  Russian  establishments,  and 
he  made  no  discoveries  of  available  sea-ports.  His 
intercourse  with  the  Alaskan  natives,  if  such  they 

from  the  imperfect  instmments  of  the  times,  we  must  come  to  the  oonclusion 
that  Perez  discovered  Dixon  Sound.  The  allusion  to  an  island  situated  to 
the  west  of  the  northernmost  cape,  the  Santa  Christina  or  Gatalina  of  the  re- 
corders of  the  voyage,  can  scarcely  refer  to  any  point  bat  the  Forrester  Island 
of  our  modem  maps. 

'  MaurdU,  Compendio  de  Notiaas,  MS.,  169. 


SECOND  SPANISH  EXPEDITION.  197 

were,  was  carried  on  without  anchoring.  The  details 
of  the  expedition  of  Perez,  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
incidents  that  occurred  south  of  the  line  of  54°  40', 
are  discussed  in  my  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast} 

The  second  Spanish  expedition  which  extended  its 
operations  to  Alaskan  waters  was  organized  in  the 
following  year,  1775.  The  command  was  intrusted 
to  Bruno  Heceta,  a  lieutenant  and  acting  captain, 
who  selected  the  Santiago  as  his  flag-ship.  Juan 
Perez  sailed  with  Heceta  as  pilot  and  second  in  com- 
mand. The  small  schooner  Sonora,  or  Felicidacl^ 
accompanied  the  larger  craft  as  consort,  commanded 
by  Lieutenant  Juan  Francisco  de  Bodega  y  Cuadra, 
with  Antonio  Maurelle  as  pilot. '^ 

The  expedition  sailed  from  San  Bias  March  16th. 
After  going  far  out  to  sea  and  retiarning  to  the  coast 
again  in  latitude  48**  on  the  14th  of  July,  taking  pos- 
session of  the  country,  and  after  a  disastrous  encounter 
with  the  savages  of  that  region,  the  two  vessels  be- 
came separated  during  a  northerly  gale  on  the  30th 
ofJuly.* 

The  Sonora  alone  made  discoveries  within  the  pres- 
ent boundaries  of  Alaska.  After  the  separation  the 
little  craft,  only  36  feet  in  length,  was  boldly  headed 

*  Not  le»  than  four  joam&ls  or  diaries  of  the  Toyage  are  extant.  Two  of 
these  were  kept  by  the  miasioBaries  or  chaplains  of  the  expedition,  Crespi 
and  Pefia;  the  first  has  been  printed  in  PaUm,  Noticias,  i.  6*24r-S8,  and  the 
other  was  copied  from  the  mannscript  Viagea  cU  Norte  de  California,  etc.,  in 
the  Spanish  Archives.  The  third  journal,  entitled  Perez,  Reladon  del  Via^e, 
etc.,  1774 J  is  contained  in  the  Mayer  manuscripts  and  also  in  Maurelle,  Coni- 
petuiio  de  Noticias,  MS.,  159-75.  The  fourth  journal  is  also  a  manuscript 
under  the  title,  Perez,  TaUa  Diaria,  etc.,  contained  in  Maurelle,  Compendio, 
179-85.  Brief  mention  of  this  voyage  can  also  be  found  in  Navarrete,  Suiil  y 
Mex.,  Viagty  92-3;  Humboldt,  Esaai  Pol,  331-2;  Mofran,  Exphr.,  i.;  Navar- 
rete, Viaffea  Ap6c.,  53-4;  Oreenkow^B  Mem.,  69;  Id.,  Or.  and  Cai.,  114-17; 
Tmts'  HitL  Or.,  65-6;  Id.,  Or.  Question,  66-7;  Falconer's  Or.  Question,  19; 
Id.,  ZHseov.  Miss.,  62;  Bwtamanie,  in  Cavo,  Trea  Sighs,  iii.  119;  Palov, 
n</a,  160-2;  Ihrbet^  JJist.  Col.,  114-16;  Calvo,  Col.  Trai.,  i.  338;  Nicolay'a 
Oreg<m*Ter.,  30-2;  Fmdlay'a  Directory,  i.  349-50;  Pousain,  Question  de  VOre- 
poi»,  38-9;  MacOregor's  Prog.  Amer.,  i.  535;  Tikhmen^,  Istor.  Obosr.,  i. 
preface;  Baranof,  in  Sitka  Archives,  MS.,  i.  Nos.  5  and  6. 

*See  IJist.  Northwest  Coast,  i.  158,  this  series. 

•  The  outward  and  homeward  voyage  of  the  Santiago  has  been  fully  re- 
lated in  BiaL  Northufeat  Coast,  L,  this  series. 


108 


OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONa 


Cuadra's  Voyage. 


CUADRA  TAKES  POSSESSION.  199 

seaward  and  kept  upon  a  general  north-westerly  course. 
On  the  13th  of  August  indications  of  land  were  ob- 
served, though  the  only  chart  in  their  possession,  that 
of  Bellin,  based  upon  Russian  discoveries  and  to  a 
great  extent  upon  imagination,  placed  them  at  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  sixty  leagues  from  the  con- 
tinental coast.  Cuadra's  latitude,  by  observation,  on 
that  day  was  55°  40'.  During  the  next  two  days  the 
signs  of  land  became  stronger  and  more  frequent,  and 
the  navigators,  in  the  belief  that  they  were  approach- 
ing the  Tumannoi  or  Foggy  Islands  of  Chirikof,  ob- 
served the  greatest  caution. 

At  last,  on  the  16th,  came  in  view  a  mountainous 
coast  among  whose  many  peaks  was  one  they  called 
San  Jacinto,  and  the  prominent  cape  jjitting  from  it 
the  Cabo  de  Engafio.  Their  description  of  both  cape 
and  mountain  is  so  clear  as  to  lea^e  no  doubt  of  their 
identity  with  the  Mount  Edgecumbe  of  Cook  and  the 
cape  of  the  same  name.  That  the  original  nomencla- 
ture has  not  been  preserved  is  owing  to  Spain's  neglect 
in  not  publishing  the  achievements  of  her  explorers. 

On  the  following  day  the  goleta  put  to  sea  again, 
weathering  Cape  Engaflo  and  following  the  coast  in  a 
north-westerly  direction  until  another  wide  estuary  was 
discovered  and  named  the  bay  of  Guadalupe,  subse- 
quently known  as  Shelikof  Bay  or  Port  Mary.  Here 
Cuadra  anchored  for  the  day,  observing  the  wooded 
shores  rising  at  an  acute  angle  from  the  sea.  In  the 
morning  of  the  18th  two  canoes,  containing  two  men 
and  two  women,  emerged  from  the  head  of  the  bay, 
but  at  the  sight  of  the  vessel  they  hurriedly  landed 
and  fled.  The  explorers  then  put  to  sea  again  and 
proceeded  in  a  northerly  direction  until  a  good  anchor- 
age was  found  in  latitude  57°  20',  with  a  good  sandy 
beach  and  convenient  watering-places. 

A  landing  was  efiected  at  the  mouth  of  a  stream, 
near  a  deserted  hut  and  a  stockaded  enclosure,  proba- 
bly used  for  defence  by  the  natives.  The  instructions 
of  the  viceroy,  concerning  the  forms  of  taking  posses- 


200  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

sion,  were  carried  out  so  far  as  circumstances  would 
permit/ 

During  the  ceremonies  no  natives  were  in  sight, 
but  after  returning  to  their  vessel  the  Spaniards  saw 
the  savages  take  up  the  cross  which  they  had  planted 
and  place  it  before  their  hut,  as  if  to  say  "this  is  the 
better  place." 

On  the  19th  another  landing  was  made,  when  the 
natives  emerged  from  the  forest  waving  a  white  cloth 
attached  to  a  pole  in  token  of  peaceful  intentions.  The 
signal  was  answered  by  the  Spaniards  and  the  savages 
advanced  slowly  to  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream. 
They  were  unarmed  and  accompanied  by  women  and 
.  children.  A  few  trifling  presents  were  offered  and 
received  by  one  of  the  natives  who  waded  into  the 
middle  of  the  stream.  This  friendly  intercourse  was, 
however,  suddenly  interrupted  when  the  Spaniards 
began  to  fill  their  water-casks.  The  women  and  chil- 
dren were  at  once  sent  away  and  the  men  assumed  a 
threatening  attitude.  The  Spaniards  prepared  for 
defence  while  preserving  an  unconcerned  air,  and 
fiM,lly  the  savages  retreated. 

CJ^he  place  of  this  first  landing  of  Spanish  explorers 
upon  Alaskan  soil  was  called  the  anchorage  "de  los 
Eemedios"  and  can  be  nothing  else  than  the  entrance 
to  Klokachef  Sound  between  Kruzof  and  Chichagof 
islands.^ 

^  The  entry  in  the  journal  referring  to  this  event  was  as  follows:  *  El  mismo 
dia  bajoron  &  tierra  con  los  preparativos  que  ofrecia  su  poco  tripulacion  y  ar- 
reclodos  d  la  instruccion  tomaron  posesion,  dejando  los  documentos  y  la  cruz 
coTocados  con  la  seguridad  posible,  habiendo  arbolado  en  aquel  puesto  las  ban- 
deras  del  Rey  nuestro  Seflor.*  Viajes  aX  Norte,  MS.,  25. 

•  In  the  journal  of  this  voyage  contained  in  the  Viajee  oZ  Norte,  the  country 
is  described  as  full  of  mountains,  their  base  covered  with  pines  like  those  at 
Trinidad,  but  barren  or  covered  with  snow  toward  the  summit.  The  *  Yn- 
dios,*  said  to  resemble  those  met  with  in  latitude  41",  were  clothed  chiefly 
in  furs.  The  latitudes  as  observed  by  Cuadra  at  Cape  Engafio,  Guadalupe 
Bay,  and  the  Entrada  de  los  Eemedios,  agrees  with  our  positions  for  Cape 
Edgecumbe,  Shelikof  Bay,  and  the  southern  shore  of  Klokachef  Soimd,  but 
the  Spanish  explorer  places  the  longitude  of  the  last  anchorage  some  twelve 
milen  to  the  westward  of  Cabo  de  Engafio.  This  would  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  ceremony  of  taking  possession  took  place  just  inside  of  Sea-lion 
Point,  a  very  exposed  position,  while  the  description  of  the  country  coincides 
better  with  Kalinin  cove,  a  few  miles  to  the  eastward.  See  Karta  Vkhodov 
Novo  Ark/iangeUkomu  Porta,  etc.,  1809,  1833,  and  1848. 


TRACK  OF  THE  'SONORA.'  201 

The  weather  was  cold  and  threatening  during  the 
sojourn  of  the  Sonora  in  this  bay,  and  both  officers 
and  the  poorly  clothed  and  sheltered  crew  began  to 
suffer  from  scurvy.  They  took  a  west-north-westerly 
direction  on  the  21st,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether 
their  discovery  was  located  on  the  west  or  east  shore 
of  the  Pacific,  a  doubt  engendered  by  the  great  differ- 
ence in  longitude  between  the  Russian  discoveries  as 
indicated  on  B^Uin^s  chart  and  their  own;  and  having 
by  that  time(reached  a  latitude  of  57"*  58',  or  the 
vicinity  of  Cross  Sound,  they  changed  their  course 
to  the  southward  to  examine  carefully  all  the  inlets 
of  the  coast,y 

(On  the  24th  of  August,  in  latitude  55"*  14',  the  ex- 
plorers entered  a  magnificent  sound  extending  far  to 
the  northward  and  abounding  in  sheltered  anchorages. 
Cuadra  was  ill,  but  he  ordered  the  piloto  to  take  pos- 
session- in  the  name  of  Spain,  and  for  the  second  time 
the  royal  banner  of  Castile  waved  over  Alaska.  The 
sound  was  called  Bucareli,  a  name  still  preserved  on 
many  maps.  It  is  located  on  the  west  coast  of  the 
island  subsequently  named  after  the  prince  of  Wales^' 

After  a  careful  mspection  of  the  bay,  during  which 
not  an  aboriginal  was  to  be  seen,  the  Sonora  once 
more  stood  out  to  sea,  sighting  six  leagues  from  the 
harbor  an  island  which  was  named  San  Bias,  the 
same  seen  in  1774  by  Juan  Perez  from  Cape  Santa 
Margarita,  and  named  by  him  Santa  Cristina.  It  is 
now  known  as  Forrester  Island.  A  landing  was 
effected  and  water  obtained,  while  the  south  point  of 
Prince  of  Wales  Island,  named  Santa  Magdalena  by 
Perez,  was  plainly  in  view.^^  Contrary  winds  kept 
the  little  craft  beating  about  until  the  navigators  suc- 
ceeded in  again  making  the  coast  in  latitude  55°  50', 

*  The  piloto  expressed  the  opinion  that  this  bay  was  the  scene  of  Chirikofs 
'landfall,  and  the  place  where  bis  boat's  crew  perished  was  one  of  the  northern 
arms  of  the  bay  in  the  latitude  named  by  the  Russian  discoverer.  The  Span- 
iard did  not  seem  to  take  longitude  into  the  account  at  all.  Viajes  cU  JS^rte^ 
MS.,  30. 

*'  Viajes  cU  I^orte,  MS.,  31.    Cuadra  named  it  Cabo  de  San  Agustin. 


202  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONa 

where  a  deep  indentation  was  observed,  with  its  western 
point  in  latitude  56°  3'.  Thence  a  high  mountainous 
coast  was  seen  extending  north-westerly  to  a  point 
marking  the  southern  limit  of  the  broad  estuary 
bounded  by  Cabo  de  Engafio  in  the  north." 

From  the  28th  of  August  to  the  1st  of  September 
the  winds  compelled  the  navigators  to  hug  the  shore 
in  the  vicinity  of  latitude  56°  30'.  The  crew,  weak- 
ened by  scurvy,  were  unable  to  combat  the  adverse 
winds.  The  vessel  was  swept  by  tremendous  seas; 
spars  and  portions  of  the  rigging  were  carried  away ; 
and  when  at  last  a  steady  strong  north-wester  began 
to  blow,  both  commander  and  pilots  concluded  that 
further  efforts  to  gain  the  desired  latitude  were  use- 
less. The  prow  of  the  Sonora  was  turned  southward 
and  the  swelling  sails  soon  carried  her  far  away  from 
Alaska.  ^^ 

/  Orders  for  another  Spanish  expedition  to  the  north 
coast  were  issued  in  1776,  but  preparations  were  not 
completed  till  1779,  or  until  after  Cook's  important 
English  explorations  in  this  quarter) 

The  voyage  of  Captain  Cook  with  the  ships  Iteso- 
lution  and  Discovery  has  been  discussed  at  length  in 
an  earlier  volume,  with  reference  to  discoveries  on  the 
Northwest  Coast  south  of  the  present  boundary  of 
Alaska.  It  is  only  necessary  here  to  repeat  briefly  a  few 
paragraphs  from  Cook's  secret  instructions  from  the  ad- 
miralty and  to  take  up  the  thread  of  nairative  where 
I  dropped  it  in  the  historic  precincts  of  Nootka." 

^^  The  description  furnished  by  the  journal  of  these  diiicoveries  is  not  clear, 
but  the  emenada  may  probably  be  identified  with  Christian  Sound,  or  Clarence 
Sound,  on  our  modem  maps. 

"  The  log  of  the  Sonora  as  copied  in  the  Vtaj&i  cU  NorU  places  the  expedi- 
tion in  latitude  55"  4t  on  the  14th  of  August,  and  from  that  date  till  the  8th 
of  September  Cuadra's  operations  were  confined  to  present  Alaskan  waters. 
The  highest  latitude,  57**  57',  was  reached  the  22d,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape 
Cross,  or  tlie  south  point  of  Yacobi  Island.  V  in  Jen  al  Norte,  MS.,  56-8.  Ac- 
counts of  this  voyage  can  also  be  found  in  JJecefa,  Sei/unda  Exj}loracion; 
Manrelie,  JJiurio  del  Viaf/e  de  la  Sovora,  1775 ^  No.  3  of  Vioyes  id  Nort4>; 
ManrvlWi^  Journal  of  a  Voyage  in  1175^  Lomlon,  1781,  in  Barritujton^s  Miscel- 
lanifx.  See  also  Hint.  Nurthwest  Coant,  vol.  i.,  this  series.  Juan  Perez 
Cuadra's  pilot  died  before  rencliinc  San  Bias. 

^  Tlic  ins  (.ructions  were  signed  by  the  *  Commissioners  for  executing  the 


MORE  SECRET  INSTRUCTIONS.  203 

After  ordering  the  commander  to  go  from  New 
Zealand  to  New  Albion  and  avoid  touching  Spanish 
territory,  the  document  goes  on  to  say:  "And  if,  in 
your  farther  progress  to  the  northward,  as  hereafter 
directed,  you  find  any  subjects  of  any  European  prince 
or  state  upon  any  part  of  the  coast  you  may  think 
proper  to  visit,  you  are  not  to  disturb  them,  or  to  give 
them  any  just  cause  of  offence,  but  on  the  contrary  to 
treat  them  with  civility  and  friendship.  Upon  your 
arrival  on  the  coast  of  New  Albion  you  are  to  put 
into  the  first  convenient  port  to  recruit  your  wood 
and  water,  and  procure  refreshments,  and  then  to 
proceed  northward  along  the  coast,  as  far  as  the  lati- 
tude of  65,**  or  farther,  if  you  are  not  obstructed  by 
lands  or  ice;  taking  care  not  to  lose  any  time  in 
exploring  rivers  or  inlets,  or  upon  any  other  account, 
until  you  get  into  the  before-mentioned  latitude  of 
GS**."  After  being  enjoined  at  length  to  make  a 
thorough  search  for  a  navigable  passage  into  Hudson 
or  Baffin  bays,  Cook  is  fiu'ther  instructed  as  follows : 
"You  are  also,  with  the  consent  of  the  natives,  to 
take  possession,  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  of  convenient  situations  in  such  countries  as 
you  may  discover,  that  have  not  already  been  discov- 
ered or  visited  by  any  other  European  power. .  .but 
if  you  find  the  countries  so  discovered  are  uninhabited, 
you  are  to  take  possession  of  them  for  his  Majesty,  by 
setting  up  proper  marks  and  inscriptions,  as  first  dis- 
coverers and  possessors."  During  the  discussion  of 
Cook's  progress  in  viewing  the  coasts  of  Alaska  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  these  instructions." 

On  the  26th  of  April  1778  the  expedition  sailed 
out  of  Nootka  Bay  on  its  northward  course,  but  vio- 
lent gales  drove  it  from  the  land  which  was  not  made 
again  until  the  evening  of  May  1st  in  latitude  55*" 

Office  of  Lord  Hi^h  Admiral  of.  Great  Britian  and  Ireland,  etc.,  Sandwich, 
C.  Spencer,  and  H.  Palliaer,  through  their  secretary,  Ph.  Stephens,  on  the  Cth 
of  July  1770.*  Cook'8  Toy.,  i.  introd.  xxxiv.-xxxv. 
^*  C'ooi**«  Voy.,  i.  introd.  xxxii.-xxxv. 


204  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

20',  in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Bucareli,  discovered  by 
Cuadra  three  years  before. 

On  the  2d  and  3d  of  May  Cook  passed  along  the 
coast  included  in  Cuadra's  discoveries  of  1775,  giving 
to  Mount  San  Jacinto  and  the  Cabo  de  Engano  the 
name  of  Edgecumbe.  Puerto  de  los  Remedios  was 
named  bay  of  Islands,  and  Cook  correctly  surmised 
its  connection  with  the  bay  lying  eastward  of  Cape 
Edgecumbe.  In  the  morning  of  the  3d  the  two  sloops 
had  reached  the  highest  latitude  attained  by  Cuadra; 
a  high  mountain  in  the  north  and  a  wide  inlet  were 
called  Mount  Fairweather  and  Cross  Sound  respec- 
tively, by  which  names  both  are  known  to  this  day." 
Cape  Fairweather  has  since  been  named  Cape  Spencer. 
On  the  5th  Mount  St  Elias  was  sighted  above  the 
northern  horizon,  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  away, 
and  the  following  day  the  broad  opening  of  Yakutat, 
or  Bering,  Bay  was  observed." 

Proceeding  slowly  along  the  coast  with  baffling 
winds,  he  on  the  10th  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Suck- 
ling to  the  cape  forming  the  southern  extremity  of 
Comptroller  Bay,  but  owing  to  'thick'  weather  Kyak 
Island,  named  Kaye  by  Cook,  was  not  discovered  until 
two  days  later. ^^  At  the  foot  of  a  tree  on  the  south 
point  of  Kaye  Island  a  bottle  was  deposited  containing 
a  paper  with  the  names  of  the  ships  and  date  of  *  dis- 
covery,' and  a  few  coins.  For  some  reason  the  cere- 
mony of  taking  possession  was  omitted,  though  Cook 
must  have  believed  in  the  existence  of  all  the  condi- 
tions mentioned  in  his  instructions  and  relating  to 
*  uninhabited '  discoveries.^® 

The  name  of  Comptroller  Bay  was  also  applied  to 
the  indentation  bearing  that  designation  to-day.    The 

i^The  3d  of  Mavis  marked  in  the  calendars  as  'Finding  of  the  Cross;' 
hence  the  name  applied  to  the  aonnd. 

^*  Cook  discusses  at  length  the  identity  of  this  with  Bering's  landing.  He 
does  not,  however,  advance  any  very  cogent  reasons  for  his  belief. 

*^  In  another  chapter  of  this  volume  I  hav«  stated  my  reasons  for  believing 
this  to  have  been  the  scene  of  Bering's  discovery  and  Steller's  brief  explora* 
tion  of  the  country  in  1741. 

"  Cook's  Voy.,  ii.  351-3. 


COOK'S  VOYAGE.  205 

sight  of  the  south  point  of  Nuchek  Island,  named  by 
him  Cape  Hinchinbrook,  led  Cook  to  indulge  in  hopes 
of  finding  a  passage  to  the  north  beyond  it,  the  tower- 
ing heights  that  border  Prince  William  Sound  not 
being  visible  at  the  time.  A  leak  in  the  Resolution 
induced  the  commander  to  seek  shelter,  and  the  ships 
were  anchored  in  one  of  the  coves  of  Nuchek  Bay, 
the  Port  Etches  of  later  maps.  A  boat's  crew  sent 
out  to  hunt  met  with  a  number  of  natives  in  two  skin 
canoes,  who  followed  them  to  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  ships,  but  would  not  go  on  board.^®  On  the 
following  day,  the  13th,  Cook  sailed  again  in  search 
of  a  safer  anchorage,  without  discovering  the  land- 
locked cove  on  the  north  side  of  the  bay  subsequently 
selected  by  the  Russians  for  their  first  permanent 
establishment  in  this  region.  The  next  anchorage 
was  found  some  eight  leagues  to  the  northward  at 
Snug  Corner  Cove,  still  known  by  that  name.  Here 
considerable  intercourse  with  the  natives  took  place. 
They  were  bold,  inclined  to  thievery,  and  apparentlv 
unacquainted  with  fire-arms.^^ 

After  several  vain  attempts  to  find  a  northern  pas- 
sage the  two  ships  turned  southward,  and  the  largest 
island  in  the  sound  was  discovered  and  named  Mon- 

'*  The  natives  made  the  eame  sign  of  friendahip  described  by  the  Spanish 
explorers  in  connection  with  the  Alexander  Archipelago,  displaying  a  white 
garment  or  skin,  and  extending  their  arms.  The  people  were  evidently  of 
Lmuit  extraction,  but  had  adopted  some  of  the  practices  of  their  Thlinkeet 
neighbors  in  the  east,  snch  as  powdering  the  hair  with  down,  etc.  Comp- 
trcSer  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Atnah  or  Copper  River,  so  called  by  Cook 
in  his  Atlas,  1778,  and  also  by  Dixon  and  Vancouver;  La  P^rouse,  178C, 
J5«  du  Controle;  StUil  y  Mex,,  Via^e,  B.  ControUeur,  Cartog,  Pac.  Coad, 
MS.,  iii.  394. 

^  These  natives  not  only  attempted  to  take  away  a  boat  from  the  ship's 
side,  but  upon  the  report  of  one  of  their  number,  who  had  examined  the 
Discovery,  that  only  a  man  or  two  were  visible  on  her  decks,  the  whole  band 
of  visitors  hastily  paddled  over  to  the  other  vessel  with  the  evident  intention 
of  taking  possession  of  her.  The  appearance  of  the  crew,  who  had  been  en- 
|sged  on  some  duty  in  the  hold,  caused  the  savages  to  change  their  mind. 
Coofs  Voy.,  ii  359.  Cook  here  also  noticed  for  the  first  time  that  these 
natives  had  a  few  glass  beads  of  light  blue,  a  circumstance  he  wronsly  con- 
sidered as  an  indication  of  intercourse  with  other  tribes  visiting  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  posts  in  the  far  north-west.  Blue  glass  beads  were  among  the 
few  articles  of  trade  in  the  hands  of  the  Russian  pronwshleniki,  and  doubtless 
found  their  way  to  Prince  William  Sound  from  I^adiak  by  way  of  Cook 
Inlet 


206  OPnCIAL  EXPLORATIONS.     : 

tagu,  the  Sukluk  of  the  natives.  The  name  of  Prince 
William  Sound  was  then  applied  to  the  whole  inlet. 

On  the  21st  Cape  Elizabeth,  the  south-eastern  point 
of  Cook  Inlet,  was  first  sighted  and  named;  and  as 
the  western  shore  of  that  great  estuary  was  not  vis- 
ible, the  hopes  of  finding  an  open  passage  to  the 
northward  were  once  more  revived.  A  gale,  how- 
ever, prevented  the  explorers  from  rounding  the  cape, 
and  necessitated  a  southerly  course,  which  brought 
into  view  the  point  of  land  named  Cape  St  Hermo- 
genes  by  Bering — the  eastern  cape  of  Marmot  Island. 
Thence  the  course  was  northward,  which  opened  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  the  explorer  the  broad  estuary  still 
bearing  the  name  of  the  commander.  Believing  that 
Kadiak  and  Afognak  islands,  with  Point  Banks,  formed 
but  a  part  of  the  mountainous  coast  to  the  westward, 
with  Cape  Douglas  in  the  foreground.  Cook  entered 
the  inlet  full  of  hope.  Was  not  the  Aliaska  of  Rus- 
sian maps  represented  as  an  island  ?  And  must  not 
this  wide  passage  lead  the  navigator  into  the  Arctic 
Ocean  between  this  island  and  the  continent  ?  The 
discovery  of  an  extension  of  the  high  mountains  to 
the  north  of  Cape  Douglas  did  not  discourage  him.^^ 
On  the  same  day,  however,  the  27th  of  May,  these 
high  hopes  were  crushed,  as  far  as  Cook  himself  was 
concerned.  The  haze  hanging  over  the  land  in  the 
west  suddenly  disappeared,  and  what  had  been  taken 
for  a  chain  of  islands  stood  revealed  as  the  summits 
of  a  mountain  range,  connected  everywhere  and  show- 
ing every  characteristic  of  a  continent.. 

Though  fully  convinced  of  the  futility  of  the  attempt 
Cook  continued  to  beat  his  vessels  up  the  inlet." 
The  strong  ebb-tides,  running  at  a  velocity  of  four 
or  five  knots,  greatly  retarded  their  progress,  and  as 

"  *  As  it  was  supposed  to  be  wholly  unconnected  with  the  land  of  Cape 
Elizabeth/  says  Cook;  *  for,  in  a  n.  n.  e.  direction,  the  sight  was  unlimited 
by  everything  but  the  horizon.*  Cook^a  Voy.9  ii.  386;  Juvenal,  Jour,,  MS., 
31-2. 

''  'I  was  now  fully  persuaded  that  I  should  find  no  passage  by  this  inlet; 
and  my  persevering  in  the  search  of  it  here,  was  more  to  satisfy  other  people, 
than  to  confirm  my  own  opinion.'  Cook*«  Voy,,  ii.  386. 


AT  COOK  INLET.  207 

the  winds  were  either  light  or  unfavorable,  it  became 
necessary  to  anchor  the  vessels  every  time  the  tide 
turned  against  them.  The  muddy  water  and  the  large 
quantities  of  floating  trees  led  Cook  to  believe  him- 
self within  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  and  without 
fully  ascertaining  the  fact,  he  sailed  away  from  his 
new  discovery  unchanged  in  his  opinion.^ 

The  first  natives  were  encountered  on  the  30th,  and 
a  larger  party,  including  women  and  children,  visited 
the  ships  the  following  day.  The  scene  of  this  meeting 
was  in  the  vicinity  of  West  Foreland,  or  the  present 
village  of  Kustatan.  These  savages  were  described  by 
Cook  as  resembling  the  natives  of  Prince  William 
Sound,  speaking  the  same  language  and  using  the 
same  kind  of  skin-covered  canoes.  From  this  fact 
we  must  infer  that  the  Innuit  in  those  days  occu- 
pied more  of  the  coast  of  Cook  Inlet  than  they  do 
to-day.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  these  people 
were  not  permanent  residents,  but  engaged  in  a  hunt- 
ing expedition  away  from  their  home.^  Blue  beads 
and  long  iron  knives  were  found  in  the  possession  of 
all  these  peoples.  We  know  that  these  articles  came 
from  the  Russians,  but  Cook  was  loath  to  acknowl- 
edge the  presence  of  another  European  power. ^* 

On  the  first  of  June  the  boats  sent  out  to  explore 
returned  after  having  entered  the  Turn-again  arm  of 
the  inlet  and  the  mouth  of  the  Kinik  River,  and  in 

^  The  coast  of  Cook  Inlet  rests  npon  a  base  of  blue  clay  washed  by  the 
tides,  and  this  fact  con^bated  more  to  the  discoloration  of  the  water  than  the 
few  rivers  emptying  into  the  inlet. 

**  Still  hiffher  up  the  inlet  Cook  saw  a  native  propel  his  kyak  with  a  double- 
bladed  paddle,  and  as  this  implement  is  used  ozuy  by  the  natives  of  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands,  and  occasionally  by  those  of  the  northern  shores  of  Bering  Sea, 
it  becomes  all  the  more  probable  that  the  advance  of  the  Bussians  to  Kadiak, 
and  their  presence  amon^  the  Shnmagin  Islands,  had  already  instigated  the 
sea-otter  hunters  to  undertake  long  journeys  in  search  of  their  quarry. 
Cook's  Voy.,  ii.  389-92.  On  the,other  hand,  the  natives  encountered  on  the 
Kenai  Peninsula,  on  the  occasion  of  taking  possession  of  the  country,  were 
evidently  Tinnehs,  or  Kenai  proper,  to  judge  from  tlie  description  of  their 
ornaments,  clothes,  and  weapons,  and  from  the  fact  that  they  had  dogs  and 
were  apparently  without  canoes. 

*^Co<>k  mentions  that  the  natives  called  iron  goone.  Now  chwjun,  or 
rather  chugoon,  is  Russian  for  cast-iron,  though  also  used  for  all  iron  articles 
by  the  ignorant  classes.  Cook's  Voy.,  ii.  392. 


206  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

the  afternoon  Lieutenant  King  was  despatched  to 
take  possession  of  the  point  at  which  the  above- 
mentioned  arm  branches  off  to  the  eastward.  Some 
lords  aboriginal  were  present,  but  it  is  nowhere  written 
that  King  asked  their  permission  to  take  possession 
of  the  country,  as  the  admiralty  had  ordered. 

On  the  4th  of  June  the  latitude  of  the  Iliamna 
volcano  was  ascertained,  but  the  mountain  was  not 
named.^*  On  the  5th  of  June  the  two  ships  emerged 
from  the  inlet  that  had  been  entered  with  such  flatter- 
ing hopes,  and  proceeded  southward  along  the  coast 
of  the  continent  in  search  of  an  opening  to  the  west- 
ward and  northward.  The  season  was  fest  advancing 
and  much  remained  to  be  done,  so  they  hastened 
forward.  Shuiak  Island,  Afognak,  and  Kadiak  were 
placed  on  their  chart  as  one  continuous  coast  and  part 
of  the  continent,  while  names  were  given  only  to  the 
prominent  headlands."  On  the  16th  Foggy  Island, 
the  Tumannoi  of  Bering,  was  made,  and  on  the  19th 
the  two  ships  were  passing  through  the  Shumagin 
group,  the  largest  island  of  which  Cook  erroneously 
put  down  as  Kadiak  on  his  chart.  In  this  vicinity 
the  Discovery  was  approached  by  several  canoes  and 
a  letter  enclosed  in  a  case  was  delivered  by  one  of 
the  natives,  who  bowed  and  took  off  his  cap  in  good 
European  fashion.     The   document  was   written   in 

Russian  and  dated  1778.^     Unable  to  understand 

/' 

••The  only  local  names  about  the  inlet  which  we  can  trace  to  Cook  are: 
Cape  Douglas,  Mt  St  Augustine  (Chernobira  Island),  Turn-again  River,  Point 
Possession,  Anchor  Point,  Point  Bede,  Cape  Elizabeth,  Barren  Islands.  The 
inlet  was  named  Cook  River  by  order  of  Lord  Sandwich,  the  explorer  having 
left  a  blank  in  his  journal.  Cook's  Voy.^  ii.  396. 

""  The  north  point  of  Shuiak  was  named  Point  Banks;  the  easterly  point 
of  Afognak,  Cape  Whitsunday,  and  the  entrance  to  the  strait  between  the 
latter  island  ana  Kadiak,  Whiteuntide  Bay.  The  description  of  this  locality 
does  not,  however,  agree  with  the  published  sketch.  Gooka  Voy.i  ii*  404,  and 
Chart  of  Cook  River,  353.  Cape  Chiniatsk  was  named  Cape  Greville  and  is 
still  thus  indicated  on  English  and  American  sailinp-charts.  Cape  Barnabas 
aivl  Two-headed  Cape  correspond  with  the  east  point  of  Sltkhalidak  Island 
and  Nazigak  Island  at  the  entrance  of  Kaguiak  Bay.  The  island  Sitkhinak 
was  named  Triultv  on  the  14th  of  June,  and  subsequently  the  south  point  of 
Kadiak  obtained  tlie  same  desiipiatioD.  Cook's  Voy,,  ii.  407-9. 

'^In  the  body  of  the  note  there  was  also  a  reference  to  the  year  1776,  the 
date  of  a  Russian  expedition  to  Kadiak.  Cooh'a  Vop,,  ii.  414. 


NO  STRAIT  THERE.  209 

its  contents,  Cook  paid  no  attention  to  it.  These 
natives  as  well  as  those  subsequently  met  with  at 
Halibut  (Sannakh)  Island  used  the  double-bladed 
paddle,  a  certain  indication  that  they  were  Aleuts, 
hunting  for  the  Russians.^ 

Passing  Unimak  with  its  smoking  volcanoes  and 
failing  to  notice  the  best  pass  into  IBering  Sea,  be- 
tween Unimak  and  Akun,  the  explorers  at  last  man- 
aged to  cross  into  the  narrowest  and  most  dangerous 
of  all  these  passes,  between  Unalga  and  Unalaska. 
After  a  long  search  for  an  anchorage  the  vessels  were 
safely  moored  in  Samghanooda  Bay,  opening  into 
Unalga  Strait.  ( Intercourse  with  the  natives  was  at 
once  opened,  and  one  of  them  delivered  another  Rus- 
sian not^  The  principal  object  in  seeking  this  anch- 
orage was  water,  and  hence  the  stay  there  was  brief; 
but  from  the  manners  of  the  people  and  articles  in 
their  possession^  Cook  felt  assured  at  l^st  that  he  was 
on  ground  occupied  by  the  Russians.^  The  necessary 
business  was  quickly  despatched,  and  on  the  2d  of 
July  the  two  ships  stood  out  to  sea  again  with  every 

?rospect  of  an  open  field  of  exploration  in  the  north. 
'he  north  coast  of  the  Alaska  peninsula  was  followed 
till  the  north  shore  of  Bristol  Bay  loomed  before 
them,  and  made  another  change  of  course  necessary. 
Cook's  disappointment  was  great.  Not  until  the  16th 
of  July  was  hope  again  revived  by  the  sight  of  Cape 
Newenham,  the  southern  point  of  the  estuary  of  the 
Kuskokvim.** 

Without  imagining  himself  in  the  mouth  of  a  river. 
Cook  pushed  forward  until  stopped  by  shoals,  which 
to  his  dismay  extended  in  every  direction  but  that 
from  which  he  had  come.     After  a  brief  interview 

*Cook  also  mentions  that  they  did  not  understand  the  language  of  the 
natives  of  Prince  Williaan  Sound,  and  that  one  of  them  wore  a  black  cloth 
jacket  and  creen  breeches.  Cookie  Voy.,  ii.  417. 

''Hero  Lieutenant  Williamson  was  sent  ashore  to  ascend  a  mountain  and 
obtain  a  view.  He  saw  no  land,  except  iu  the  north,  and  after  taking  foniml 
possession  returned  to  the  ship.  Cook  gave  the  name  Bristol  Bay  to  the 
whole  bend  of  the  coast  betwen  Unimak  Island  and  the  cape  just  discovered. 
Toy.,  ii.  430-4. 

Hist.  Ax.ask4..    14 


210  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

with  some  natives,  who  also  were  found  in  posses- 
sion of  iron  knives,  all  haste  was  made  to  extricate  the 
vessel  from  the  network  of  shoals.  At  last,  on  the 
28th,  the  soundings  made  a  westerly  course  possible, 
which  was  on  the  following  day  changed  to  the  north- 
ward, and  on  the  3d  of  August  land  was  made  again, 
and  the  ships  anchored  between  an  island  and  the 
main.  The  former  was  named  Sledge  Island,  from  a 
wooden  sledge  with  bone  runners  found  upon  it.  The 
next  discovery,  named  King  Island,  was  made  on  the 
7th,  and  at  last,  on  the  9th,  the  western  extremity 
of  the  American  continent  lay  clearly  before  them, 
the  coast  beyond  receding  so  far  to  the  eastward  as 
to  leave  no  room  for  doubt. *^ 

Alter  a  brisk  run  across  to  the  coast  of  Asia  the 
ships  returned  to  the  Alaskan  shore  and  located  Icy 
Cape,  the  eastern  limit  of  the  arctic  cruise,  Cape  ^lul- 
grave,  and  Cape  Lisburne,  but  ice  barred  further  prog- 
ress on  the  American  coast  as  well  as  on  that  of 
Asia.  On  the  29th  Cook  named  Cape  North  and 
concluded  to  return  southward,  postponing  a  further 
examination  of  the  Polar  Sea  for  another  season — 
which  never  came  for  him.  On  the  evening  of  the  2d 
of  September  the  ships  passed  East  Cape.  The  fol- 
lowing day  St  Lawrence  Bay  was  revisited  and  ex- 
amined,^ and  on  the  5th  the  ships  were  again  headed 
for  the  American  coast.  During  the  following  day 
Norton  Sound  was  entered  and  names  were  a[)plied 
to  Cape  Derby,  at  the  entrance  of  Goloni  Bay,  and 
Cape  Denbigh. 

Cook  remained  in  this  sound  until  the  .17th  of  Sep- 
tember in  order  to  fully  ascertain  the  fact  of  his  being 
then  on  the  coast  of  the  American  continent  and 
not  on  the  fabulous  island  of  *'Alaschka"  represented 

^'Co^^k's  Voy„  ii.  444. 

'^'The  editor  of  Cook's  Voyngt^,  in  vol.  ii.  473,  comments  upon  the  curious 
coincidence  tliat  IJering  passe*!  Ixjtween  St  Lawrence  Bay  anil  St  Lawrence 
Island  on  Augurt  10,  17*28,  and  50  years  later,  on  August  10,  1778,  Cook 
passed  tlie  same  spot,  naming  the  l>ay  after  the  jwtron  saint  of  tliat  day  in  the 
calendar.  Due  allowance  for  the  dillcrcnce  between  dates  in  the  Julian  and 
Gregorian  calendars,  however,  spoils  Uiis  nice  little  'coincidence.' 


JOHN  LEDYARD  IN  ALASKA.  211 

upon  Stsehlin's  map  of  the  New  Northern  Archipelago. 
Captain  King  had  been  intrusted  with  the  examina- 
tion of  Norton  Bay,  the  only  point  where  the  existence 
of  a  channel  was  at  all  probable.^ 

On  leaving  Norton  Sound  it  was  Cook's  intention 
to  steer  directly  south  in  order  to  survey  the  coast  inter- 
vening between  his  last  divscovery  and  the  point  he  had 
named  Shoalness  on  the  Kuskokvim ;  but  the  shallow- 
ness of  that  part  of  Bering  Sea  compelled  him  to  run 
far  to  the  westward,  and  prevented  him  from  seeing 
anything  of  the  Yukon  mouth,  and  the  low  country 
between  that  river  and  the  Kuskokvim,  and  the  island 
of  Nunivak.^  After  obtaining  another  sight  of  St 
Lawrence  Island,  w^hich  he  named  Clark,  Cook  steered 
south-south-west  and  on  the  23d  sighted  St  Matthew 
Island,  which  he  named  Gore.^ 

On  the  2d  of  October  Unalaska  was  sighted,  and 
passing  Kalekhtah  Bay,  called  Egoochshac  by  Cook, 
the  two  ships  anchored  in  Samghanooda  Bay  on  the 
3d  of  October.  Both  vessels  were  at  once  overhauled 
by  the  carpenters  for  necessary  repairs,  and  a  portion 
of  the  cargo  was  landed  for  the  purpose  of  restowing.^ 

'^Cook*s  Voy.y  ii.  482-3.  I  find  that  Captain  Cook  makes  mention  of  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  natives  inquired  for  him  by  the  title  of  *capitane/  which 
he  considers  a  case  of  misunderstanding.  It  is,  however,  not  at  all  improbable 
that  the  Russian  word  kapltan  had  been  preserved  among  the  natives  of  the 
vicinity  of  Bering  Strait  since  6ering*s  and  Gvozdef 's  time. 

*  •  Cook  supposed,  however,  the  existence  of  a  large  river  in  tliat  vicinity, 
as  the  water  was  comparatively  fresh  and  very  muddy.  Cool's  Voy.,  ii.  491. 

'^Cook  claims  to  have  seen  sea-otters  here,  but  was  probably  mistaken, 
for  this  animal  was  never  found  there  by  subsequent  visitois,  and  the  place 
being  uninhabited,  there  was  nothing  to  drive  them  away.  The  Pribylof  group 
were  the  northernmost  point  from  which  sea-otters  were  ever  procured,  and 
there  they  became  quickly  extci-mifiated. 

*•  During  a  visit  of  Mr  Ivan  Petrof  to  Samghanooda  Bay  on  the  3d  of 
October  1S78,  the  100th  anniversary  of  Cook's  landing,  ho  obtained  from  tho 
natives  a  few  traditions  relative  to  Cook's  visit.  One  old  chief  stated  that 
his  father  had  told  him  of  two  Engliah  ships  that  had  anchored  in  Samgha- 
nooda, which  is  now  known  as  *  English  Bukhta.  *  The  time  of  their  stay  had 
been  somewhat  lengthened  in  transmittal  from  father  to  son,  for  it  was 
claimed  that  the  ships  wintered  there,  tliat  tho  people  caught  fish  and  killed 
seals  for  the  visitors,  and  that  several  of  them  '  kept  native  women  with  them. ' 
See  Cook^s  Voy.y  ii.  521.  The  old  chief  also  stated  that  the  'English'  had 
built  houses  and  pointed  out  a  spot  where  an  excavation  had  evidently  been 
mafie  long  years  ago.  This  last  report  referred  of  course  only  to  Bome  tem- 
porary shelter  for  protecting  the  lauded  cargo.  The  same  man  pointed  out 
to  Mr  Petrof  the  position  in  which  the  ships  had  been  moored,  according 


212  OFFiaAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

While  the  ship's  companies  were  engaged  in  water- 
ing, repairing,  fishing,  and  gathering  berries  as  an 
anti-scorbutic,  a  messenger  arrived  on  the  8th  with  a 
note  written  in  Russian  for  the  commander  of  each 
vessel,  and  a  gift,  consisting  of  a  salmon  pie,  baked  of 
rye-meal.  There  was  no  one  able  to  read  the  notes, 
but,  being  now  sure  that  some  Russians  resided  in  the 
immediate  vicinity,  Cook  caused  a  suitable  return  to 
be  made  in  the  shape  of  sundry  bottles  of  liquor.  ^Cor- 
poral John  Ledyard  was  sent  with  the  returning 
messenger  to  find  the  Russians,  invite  them  to  the 
anchorage,  and  obtain  all  available  information  con- 
cerning their  discoveries  in  American  waters)*^ 

Ledyard  s  experience  on  this  occasion  has  been  de- 
scribed by  himself  and  transmitted  to  posterity  by  his 
biographer.  He  succeeded  in  his  mission,  passed  a 
few  days  at  the  settlement  of  Illiuliuk,  and  brought 
back  three  Russian  hunters,  who  were  well  received, 
and  who  freely  imparted  such  information  as  could  be 
conveyed  by  signs  and  numerals.^     They  promised-to 

to  the  recollection  of  his  father,  a  position  which  agreed  exactly  with  that 
indicated  on  Cook's  chart  of  Samgbanooda,  which  the  chief  certainly  never 
had  seen. 

'^  Cookie  Voy.t  ii.  495.  Cook  merely  says  that  he  sent  Ledyard,  but  in 
Sparks' Life  of  Ledyard,  7&-80,  it  is  claimed  that  he  volunteered  and  thereby 
relieved  Cook  from  the  dilemma  of  selecting  an  oflScer  for  snch  a  'dangerous' 
exi>edition.  The  present  of  bread  was  in  accordance  with  an  ancient  Russian 
custom,  still  observed,  of  presenting  bread  and  salt  to  new  arrivals  in  a  town, 
dwelling,  or  neighborhood,  emblematic  of  the  wish  that  the  recipient  misht 
never  want  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  Among  the  wealthy  the  most  elabo- 
rate confectionery  and  silver  or  gold  receptacles  take  the  place  of  bread  and 
salt  on  such  occasions. 

**  Ledyard 's  narrative  of  this  excursisb  seems  to  me  somewhat  highly  col- 
ored, though  evidently  ^Titten  in  good  faith.  The  man  was  *  sensational '  by 
nature.  His  native  guides  evidently  did  not  take  him  to  his  destination  by 
the  shortest  route.  There  is  and  was  at  that  time  an  easy  path  only  12  miles 
in  length  from  the  head  of  Samghanooda  Bay  to  Captain  Harbor,  where  lay  the 
Russian  settlement.  Ledyard  was  matle  to  walk  *  1 5  miles  into  the  interior '  on 
the  first  day,  to  a  native  village,  where  he  passed  the  night,  and  where  'a  young 
woman  seemed  very  busy  to  please  '  him,  and  on  the  following  day  he  again 
walked  until  three  hours  before  dark  ere  reaching  Captain  Harbor,  which  he 
called  '  four  leagues  over.'  It  is  about  five  miles.  The  distance  he  claims  to 
have  walked  after  this  was  measured  by  *  tired  and  swollen  feet, 'but  finally  lie 
was  carried  across  to  the  settlement,  squeezed  into  the  '  hole  *  of  a  two-hatch 
bidarka.  He  was  hospitably  entertained  after  due  exchange  of  civilities  and 
delivery  of  Cook's  presents.  The  next  morning  the  repellent  odors  of  a 
matutinal  meal  comx)osed  of  *  whale,  tea-horse,  and  bear '  upset  Ledyard 's 
stomach,  though  bears  and  walruses  are  unltnown  in  Unalaska.    Tlie  weather 


INTERCOURSE  WITH  RUSSIANS.  213 

bring  a  map  showing  all  the  Russian  discoveries.  On 
the  14th  the  commander  of-  the  Russian  expedition  in 
this  quarter  arrived  from  a  journey  and  landed  near 
Samghanooda.  His  name  was  Gerassim  Grigorovich 
Ismailof.^ 

The  usual  civilities  were  exchanged  and  Cook  had 
every  opportunity  of  questioning  his  visitor,  but  it  is 
evident  that  the  advantage  was  with  the  Russian,  who 
learned  from  the  Englishman  what  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  Siberian  merchants,  while  he  told 
what  he  chose,  holding  back  nmch  information  in  his 
possession,  for  instance  the  visit  of  Polutof  to  Kadiak 
in  1776  and  the  long  residence  at  Unimak  Strait  of 

being  bad  he  remained  another  day  and  examined  the  settlement,  counting 
thirty  Russians  and  seventy  Kamchatkajis.  He  also  visited  a  small  sloop  of 
30  tons,  lying  near  the  villt^^e,  and'  tHus  describes  his  feelings  ou  that  occa- 
sion: *  It  is  natural  to  an  ingenuous  mind,  when  it  enters  a  tos^n,  a  house,  or 
ship,  that  has  been  rendered  famous  by  any  particular  event,  to  feel  the 
full  force  of  that  pleasure,  which  results  from  gratifying  a  noble  curiosity.  I 
WdB  no  sooner  informed  that  this  sloop  was  the  same  in  which  the  famous 
Bering  had  performed  those  discoveries  which  did  him  so  much  honor,  and  his 
country  so  much  service,  than  I  was  determined  to  go  on  board  of  her  and 
indulge  in  the  generous  feelings  the  occasion  inspired.*  He  remained  an  hour, 
enjoying  himself,  I  trust,  without  the  slightest  suspicion  of  the  fact  that 
the  crait  he  had  in  his  mind  had  been  broken  up  on  Bering  Island,  and 
that  the  sloop  constructed  from  the  remains  was  at  that  time  lyinff  fathoms 
deep  under  the  surface  on  the  Asiatic  shore.  The  sentimental  Yankee 
retamed  to  the  ships  in  less  than  one  day.  Sparks*  L\fe  of  Ledyardy  85-90. 

••The  report  given  by  Israailof  of  Cook's  visit  was  received  by  Major 
Behm,  commander  of  Kamchatka  in  April  1779.  The  document  simply  stated 
that  two  English  ships  had  anchored  on  the  north  side  of  Unalaska;  that  he 
(Ismailof)  had  rendered  the  visitors  every  assistance  in  obtaining  food  and 
water,  and  that  they  had  communicated  by  si^ns  only,  owing  to  his  ignorance 
of  the  English  language.  Sgibu^,  in  Alorakot  Shorniky  ciii.  7,  21.  Ismailof 
evidently  took  a  more  sensible  view  of  Cook's  expedition  than  did  the  author- 
ities in  Kamchatka.  At  the  time  of  the  presence  of  the  two  ships  in  Avatcha 
Bay,  Behm  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  for  Irkutsk,  but  in  view  of  the  *  critical 
condition  of  the  country'  he  consented  to  remain  at  the  head  of  affairs.  The 
general  impression  was,  that  the  vessels  had  come  at  the  instigation  of  Bcn- 
yovski  with  hostile  intent.  A  deputation  of  men  not  connected  with  the 
public  service  was  first  sent  to  meet  the  strangers,  probably  to  *draw  fire,' 
consisting  of  Behm's  servant,  a  merchant,  and  a  clerk.  At  the  same  time 
runners  and  messengers  were  despatched  to  all  the  forts  and  ostrogs  to  put 
the  garrisons  upon  their  guard.  The  subsequent  friendly  intercourse  with 
the  strangers  was  carried  on  under  constant  apprehension.  The  desired  sup- 
plies were  furnished  free  of  chai'ge,  because,  as  Shroalef  wrote,  *tbe  high 
price  we  must  have  asked  would  have  incensed  them.'  Shmalef  never  l)e- 
lieved  in  the  scientific  objects  of  the  expedition  and  urged  the  fom'arding  of 
recnforcements.  The  presents  of  curibsities  made  to  Behm  were  all  by  him 
transmitted  to  the  imperial  academy,  in  order  to  purge  himself  of  all  suspicion 
of  having  been  bribed  by  the  enemy.  S<jibnrf,  in  Morshoi  iiborjukt  ciii  7,  22-C. 


214  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

Zaikof,  who  was  even  then  at  Umnak,  close  by.  The 
corrected  map  of  the  islands  shown  to  Cook  was 
probably  the  work  of  this  same  Potap  Zaikof*^  The 
most  important  correction  he  received  for  his  own 
work  was  the  existence  of  the  island  of  Unimak, 
which  had  been  laid  down  on  Cook's  chart  as  part  of 
the  continent.  Ismailof  remained  near  Samghanooda 
until  tiie  21st  of 'October,  and  on  his  departure  was 
intrtftted  with  despatches  for  the  lords  commissioners 
of  the  British  admiralty  which  he  promised  to  for- 
v.ard  the  following  spring  to  Okhotsk  and  thence  to 
St  Petersburg  by  way  of  Siberia. 

Another  intelligent  Russian  whom  Cook  mentioned 
in  his  journal  was  Yakof  Ivanovich  Saposhnikof,  in 
command  of  a  vessel  then  lying  at  Unga.*^ 

The  accompanying  reproduction  of  the  chart  show- 
ing Cook  s  discoveries  and  surveys  as  far  as  they  fall 
Avithin  the  scope  of  this  volume  will  convey  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  how  much  we  owe  to  this  eminent  navi- 
gator. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  after  a  sojourn  of  twenty- 
three  days,  the  Resolution  and  Discovery  sailed  from 
Samghanooda  Harbor  for  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
where  the  gallant  commander  was  to  end  his  explora- 
tion and  his  life. 

In  the  following  year  the  expedition  returned  to 
Kamchatka  under  command  of  Captain  Clarke,  next 
to  Cook  in  rank,  and  thence  proceeded  to  explore 
beyond  Bering  Strait  for  a  north-east  passage  to 
the  Atlantic.  After  reaching  latitude  70°  33'  near 
the  American  coast  the  vessels  were  obliged  bj^  ice 
to  turn  back.  The  conclusion  arrived  at  was  that  no 
passage  existed  south  of  latitude  65'',  and  that  it  must 

***  With  reference  to  a  Russian  note  received  on  board  the  Discovery  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Shumagin  Islands,  Cook  understood  Ismailof  to  say  tliat  it 
had  been  written  at  Umnak,  but  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  he  said  the  writer 
was  then  at  Umnak,  and  that  Zaikof  had  extended  his  explorations  to  the 
Shumagin.  Cook's  Voy.^  ii.  490. 

**  Berg  mentions  the  sloop  named  Pavel,  or  St  Paul,  commanded  by  the 
matroHA  (sailor)  Saposhnikof,  which  returned  to  Okhotsk  in  1780.  Khronol, 
/«^.,  Table  L 


THE  CHART. 


215 


V 


Cook's  Voyage— Southern  Section. 


216 


OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 


be  sought  north  of  Bering  Strait,  beyond  Icy  Cape, 
leading  probably  to  Baffin  Bay;  yet  it  would  be  mad- 
ness to  attempt  the  passage  during  the  short  time  the 
route  might  be  free  from  ice.  Hardly  less  hopeful 
appeared  the  prospect  for  saihng  westward  along  the 
northern  coast  of  Siberia.  The  sea  nearer  the  pole 
would  probably  be  less  obstructed  by  ice.     Clarke 


■^rr?^^ 


r"^^ 


CTNqrth^ 


-I^i 


-^SSjsjsrr 


^'^'^'•Ka/^T^^ 


^S^ 


I^Cape  U»bum 


liC.Mulpai 


Arctic  Cfreb 


Bofs,^^        ^-pei:^.:- 


r     '^^.Pr/nceofWaJo, 


c,-^ 


CJook's  Voyage— Northern  Section. 


died  August  2 2d,  as  the  vessels  approached  Petro- 
pavlovsk,  and  here  he  was  buried.  Captain  Gore 
took  the  expedition  home  Joy  way  of  Japan,  China, 
and  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  While  in  China  several 
small  lots  of  sea-otter  skins  were  disposed  of  by  men 
and  officers  at  prices  which  seemed  fabulous,  and  the 


ANOTHER  SPANISH  EXPEDITION.  217 

excitement  created  by  this  success  resulted  in  quite  a 
rush  of  vessels  to  the  Northwest  Coast,  and  a  brisk 
competition  sprang  up  with  Russians  in  the  purchase 
of  furs  there  and  in  their  sale  in  China. *0 

In  1776  orders  were  issued  in  Spain  to  fit  out 
another  expedition  to  the  north,  to  continue  and  com- 
plete the  discoveries  of  Cuadra  made  the  previous 
year,  but  the  execution  of  the  plan  was  delayed,  and 
not  until  February  11,  Q 779,  did  two  vessels,  the 
Princesa  and  the  Favorita,  sail  from  San  Bias,  with 
Lieutenant  Ignacio  Arteaga  in  command,  and  Cuadra 
as  second/7 

On  the  28th  of  April  the  expedition,  which  had 
orders  to  attain  a  latitude  of  70^  found  itself  in  lati- 
tude 54**  45',  and  on  the  2d  of  May  the  vessels  entered 
Bucareli  Sound,  Arteaga  anchoring  in  a  sheltered 
bay  on  the  south  side,  which  he  named  Santa  Cruz, 
and  Cuadra  exploring  the  north  side  of  the  sound, 
but  finally  joining  his  commander  in  the  Puerto  de 
Santa  Cruz  on  the  5th.  As  soon  as  Cuadra  had  re- 
ported to  Arteaga  for  orders,  it  was  resolved  to  fit 
out  an  expedition  of  two  boats  for  a  thorough  explora- 
tion of  the  interior  of  the  sound.  The  crews  of  both 
vessels  were  constantly  employed  in  preparing  the 
boats,  supplying  wood  and  water,  and  assisting  the 
oflBcers  in  their  astronomical  observations.  On  the 
13th  a  solemn  mass  was  celebrated  on  shore,  with 
accompaniment  of  music  and  artillery,  a  cross  was 

**  Captain  King,  who  wrote  the  last  vplume  of  Cook*8  Voyage^  pointed  out 
the  advantages  of  this  trade,  and  suggested  methods  to  be  observed  therein. 
Cook's  Voy„  iii.  430-8. 

**  See  Uijst,  Northwest  Coasts  passim,  this  series.  Also,  Arteaga,  Tercera 
exj^oracion  hecha  el  ano  1779  con  las  Fragatas  del  rey,  *  la  Prince^ttf*  mandnda 
por  el  UnUnte  de  navio  don  Ignacio  A  rteaga^  y  la  *  Favorita  *  por  el  de  la  misma 
close  don  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y  Cuadra^  desde  el  puerto  de  San  Bias 
hasla  los  sesenta  yun  grados  de  latitudy  in  Viagea  al  Norte  de  Cal.,  MS.,  No.  4; 
ilaureUe,  Narxgacion  hecliaporel  Af/crez  de Fragata  de  la  Heal  Armada  Don 
Francisco  Antonio  Maurelle  destinado  de  segundo  capltan  de  la  Fragata  */Tj7'o- 
ritcL^'*  Id.t  MS.,  No.  6.  Bodega  y  Cuadra,  Segunda  salida  hasta  los  Gl  grados 
kn  la  Fragala  * Nuestra  Seiiora  de  los  Bemedioff,^  alias  la  'Favorita,*  Ano  de 
1770,  MS.,  id.,  No.  64;  Bodega  y  Cuadra,  Navegacion  y  drscubrimientos  herhos 
de  orden  de  8.  M,  en  la  Costa  septentrional  de  CcUifornia,  1779,  in  Mayer, 
MSS,,  No.  la 


s 


218  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

erected  in  a  prominent  place,  and  under  waving  of 
flags  and  salvos  of  musketry  the  country  was  taken 
possession  of  in  the  name  of  the  king,  the  savages 
gazing  stolidly  at  this  insanity  of  civilization. 

On  the  1 8th  the  two  boats  sailed  from  the  bahfa 
de  la  Santisima  Cruz,  with  a  complement  of  five  offi- 
cers, four  soldiers,  and  twenty-four  sailors.  They 
were  provisioned  for  eighteen  days.  The  result  of 
the  expedition  was  the  earliest  and  best  survey  ever 
made  of  the  most  important  harbor  of  Prince  of  Wales 
Island.** 

During  the  absence  of  the  boats  on  this  errand 
the  natives  gathered  in  numbers  about  the  ships  in 
the  bahia  de  la  Santisima  Cruz.  The  strict  orders  of 
the  commander  to  avoid  a  conflict,  and  to  ignore  small 
thefts,  soon  worked  its  evil  efiect  upon  these  children 
of  nature,  who  could  not  understand  leniency  or  un- 
willingness to  punish  robbery  and  to  recover  losses, 
unless  it  was  based  upon  weakness  or  lack  of  courage. 
Working  parties  on  the  shore  were  molested  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  became  necessary  to  surround  them 
v/ith  a  cordon  of  sentries  only  five  paces  aparl ,  and 
sailors  were  robbed  of  their  clothes  while  washinor 
them.  Under  these  circumstances  the  return  of  the 
lanchas  with  their  crews  was  hailed  with  joy;  but  by 
)6jjf  this  time  over  eighty  canoes  manned  by  a  thousand 
savages  were  in  the  bay  and  great  caution  was  neces- 
sary to  avoid  hostilities.  Even  the  firing  of  cannon 
did  not  seem  to  frighten  the  Indians,  and  when  a 

"The  officers  were  Francisco  Maurelle,  Jos6  Cainacho,  Juan  Bautista 
Aguirrc,  Juan  Pantojo,  and  Juan  Garcia.  The  armament  consisted  of  8  fal- 
conets and  20  muskets,  "vvith  25  rounds  of  ammunition  for  each.  They  pro- 
ceeded iirst  to  the  south-western  point,  San  l>artolom(5,  of  the  entrance  to  the 
Bound,  and  tiien  around  the  western  shore,  carefully  sounding  ai.d  locating 
bays,  islets,  and  points.  The  names  applied  were  very  numerous,  the  most 
inipiirtant  being  as  follows:  puerto  de  San  Antonio,  puerto  do  la  Asuncion ; 
the  islands  San  Ignacio  and  JSanta  Rita;  puerto  de  la  Real  Marina;  canal  de 
Portillo;  Ixahia  de  Eaquivel;  canal  de  San  Cristobal;  the  islands  of  San  Fer- 
nando and  San  Juan  liautista;  boca  del  Almii-ante;  bahla  de  San  Alberto; 
puerto  del  I^gial;  puerto  de  San  Nicolils;  the  caiios  del  Trocadero;  the 
island  of  Madre  de  Dios;  puerto  de  la  C'aldcra;  puerto  do  la  E8ti*clla;  puerto 
del  Itcfuglo — wliich  was  subsequently  foimd  to  be  a  passage — and  the  puerta 
de  los  Dolores. 


NEW  NAMINGS.  219 

canoe  was  struck  by  a  ball  and  the  inmates  fell,  the 
effect  was  only  temporary.  Arteaga  seized  a  chief  in 
order  to  obtain  the  return  of  two  sailors  who  had  been 
reported  as  held  captive  in  the  native  village,  but  it 
was  found  that  the  Spaniards  had  voluntarily  joined 
the  savages  with  the  intention  to  desert.*^ 

During  the  last  days  of  June  the  two  ships  were 
moved  across  the  sound  to  the  bay  of  San  Antonio, 
and  thence  thev  finally  sailed  the  1st  of  July,  taking 
a  north-westerly  course  along  the  coast.  Mount  St 
Elias  was  sighted  on  the  9th,^*  and  a  few  days  later 
Kaye,  or  Kyak,  Island  was  named  Cdrmen.  The 
next  anchorage,  probably  Nuchck  Bay,  was  named 
Puerto  de  Santiago,  and  a  boat  expedition  went  to 
ascertain  whether  the  land  was  connected  with  the 
continent.  The  officer  in  charge  reported  that  he  had 
convinced  himself  that  it  was  an  island.*^  The  usual 
forms  of  taking  possession  were  obser\^ed,  being  the 
third  ceremony  of  the  kind  performed  upon  nearly 
the  same  ground  within  a  year — by  Cook  in  1778,  by 
a  party  of  Zaikofs  men,  who  had  been  despatched  in 
a  bidar  from  Cook  Inlet,  in  June  1779,  and  again  by 
Arteaga.  Cuadra,  in  his  journal,  expressed  the  con- 
viction that  a  large  river  must  enter  the  sea  between 
Cdrmen  Island  and  the  harbor  of  Santiago,  thus  cor- 
rectly locating  Copper  River,  which  both  Cook  and 
Vancouver  failed  to  observe.^ 

**With  the  avowed  object  of  'gaining^  a  better  knowledge  of  the  people 
and  their  castoms/  Arteaga  sanctioned  the  purchase  of  iiv^e  children.  Two 
girU,  aged  respectively  seven  and  eight  years,  were  taken  on  board  the 
Frincesat  and  the  boys,  between  live  and  ten,  on  the  Favonta,  Tercera  Explo- 
r<iei(m,  in  Viagee  cd  Norte,  MS.,  etc.,  111. 

*•  Alluded  to  as  Cape  St  Elias  in  the  journal,  *Ygualmente  tenian  d  la 
vista  cl  clevado  promontorio  de  San  Elias  sobro  las  nubes,  present^indose  en 
forma  do  un  pan  de  aziicar;'  bat  it  is  doubtful  what  point  or  mountain  this 
was,  for  the  ships  were  at  a  great  distance  from  the  shore.  Tercera  Expl, ,  in 
Vioffefi  al  Xorte,  MS.,  etc.  113. 

*'  If  this  was  really  Nuchek,  or  Hinchinbrook  Island,  the  Spaniards  antici- 
pated Vancouver's  discovery  of  the  fact  by  14  ycara.  Tercera  Exj^L,  in  I'iagrs 
al  Norte  J  MS. ,  1 1 G-1 7.  During  this  boat  expedition  many  canoes  of  the  natives 
were  seen,  and  on  one  of  them  a  flag  was  displayed  showing  the  colors  red, 
white,  and  blue. 

*■  Arteaga,  while  at  this  aucliorage,  convened  a  junta  of  officers  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  the  advisability  of  returning  at  once  to  San  Lks.     liis 


220  OFFICIAL  EXPLORATIONS. 

On  the  2 8 til  the  ships  put  to  sea  once  more,  taking 
a  south-westerly  course,  without  attempting  to  find  a 
passage  at  the  head  of  Prince  William  Sound  as  Cook 
had  done  in  the  preceding  year,  and  on  the  1st  of 
August  they  found  an  anchorage  formed  by  several 
islands  in  latitude  59°  8'.  Formal  possession  was 
again  taken  and  the  largest  island  of  the  group  named 
Isla  do  la  Regla.  This  was  the  Cape  Elizabeth  of 
Cook,  who  had  failed  to  notice  its  separation  from  the 
continent.  The  Iliamna  volcano  on  the  west  shore 
of  Cook  Inlet  was  sighted  from  this  point  and  named 
Miranda.^ 

After  a  short  stay  at  this  anchorage,  Arteaga 
concluded  to  give  up  further  explorations  and  to 
sail  direct  for  Cape  Mendocino.  The  departure  took 
place  on  the  7th  of  August,  and  thus  enaed,  so  far  as 
relates  to  Alaska,  an  expedition  which  would  have 
been  of  the  greatest  importance  had  it  not  been  for 
the  English  explorations  of  the  year  preceding.  Ar- 
teaga 4xnd  his  officers  could  know  nothing  of  Cook's 
investigations  and  believed  themselves  the  first  to  ex- 
plore the  region  already  visited  by  the  Resolution  and 
Discovery  between  Cross  Sound  and  Cape  Elizabeth, 
but  even  after  deducting  from  the  result  of  their  work 

own  timidity  could  not  prevail  against  the  ambitious  courage  of  Maurelle  and 
Cuadra,  who  insisted  that  some  further  discoveries  must  be  attempted  befoi*e 
rclinquishingsocostly  an  expedition.  TerceruFxpl. ,  in  ViageacU Norte y  MS.  ,117. 
**ln  the  journals  this  mountain  was  described  as  bearing  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  the  Orizaba  of  Mexico  and  the  peak  of  Teneriffe.  Viages  cu  Norte^ 
MS.,  120.  A  map  of  the  anchorage  is  stiLl  in  existence,  pasted  in  at  the  end 
of  the  manuscript  entitled  Azanza^  Ynstruccion^  etc.  This  map  represents 
the  islands  of  the  Capo  Elizabeth  group^Tzukli  of  the  Russians — aud  the 
adjoining  coast  of  the  Kenai  peninsala,  but,  though  correct  in  its  contours, 
with  the  exception  of  representing  the  mainland  as  islands — Ysla  de  Man- 
rrllo  in  the  north  and  Ysla  de  San  Bruno  in  the  east — it  does  not  <»orrespond 
in  its  details  with  the  narrative  contained  in  llafjes  cd  Norte.  There  is  a  dis- 
crepancy even  between  the  map  and  the  legend,  the  latter  stating  that  'ha- 
viendose  tornado  segdo  posesion  en  la  Ysla  do  San  Antonio,'  but  no  such 
island  is  on  the  chart.  The  projecting  points  of  the  mainland  are  named  as 
stated  above;  the  island  containing  Cape  Elizal>eth  was  named  Ysla  de  San 
Aniceto,  and  the  smaller  islands  and  rocks  el  iSombrero,  de  Ayala,  de  San 
Angel,  de  Arriaga,  la  Monja,  Ids  Frailes.  The  point  where  possession  was 
tiikc'ii  is  marked  with  a  cross  on  the  N.  w.  point  of  San  Aniceto.  The  open- 
in[{  between  the  latter  and  the  mainlana  is  named  cnsenada  de  Nuestra 
Scnora  do  la  Regla.  The  latitude  is  correctly  given  as  SO'^S',  the  long.  49"  11' 
w.  of  ban  Bias.  AzaiizOf  Ymfiruccion,  etc. 


ARTBAGA'S  ACHIEVEMENTS.  221 

all  that  may  be  affected  by  Cook's  prior  discovery, 
the  careful  survey  of  Bucareli  Sound,  in  connection 
with  Heceta's  and  Cuadra's  prior  explorations,  presents 
a  basis  for  Spain's  claims  to  the  coast  region  to  lati- 
tude 58°  so  far  as  relative  right  of  discovery  is  con- 
cerned, attended  by  the  ceremony  of  taking  possession. 
A  little  more  energy  or  ambition  on  Arteaga's  part 
would  have  led  to  a  meeting  with  the  Russians  and 
made  the  subsequent  expedition  of  Martinez  and  Haro 
unnecessary.^ 

The  viceroy  of  Mexico  declared  himself  highly 
pleased  with  the  results  of  the  voyage,  and  advanced 
one  step  the  rank  of  all  the  ofiBcers  on  both  vessels. 
At  the  same  time  he  stated  that  no  further  discoveries 
in  a  northerly  direction  would  be  undertaken  for  the 
present.^^ 

"The  sloop  Klimenty  belonging  to  the  Panof  CJompany,  waa  cruising  about 
Kadiak  at  the  very  time  of  Art^iga's  presence  at  La  Regla.  Berg^  Khronol,  Isl., 
104. 

**  Cartas  de  los  ExcelnUmmos  Sres  Vireyea  don  Antonio  Bttcarelif  don  dlav" 
tin  de  Mayorga,  etc.,  in  Viages  cU  Norte,  MS.,  etc.,  126-7. 


-/ 


CHAPTER  XL 

CX)LONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

1783-1787. 

Tnsr  Attehfted  Settlement  of  the  Russians  in  Ajiebiga^ Voyage  of 

Gbigor  Shelikop— Permanent  Establishment  ot  the  Russians  at 

Kadiak— Return  op  Shelikof — His  Instructions  to  Samoilof,  Col- 

I     /  '       ONIAL  Commander — ^The  Historic  Sable  and  Otter— Skins  as  Cur- 

1       /  RENCY — Trapping  and  Tribute-collecting— Method  of  Conducting 

J  the  Hunt— Regulations  of  the  Peredovchiki — God's  Sables  and 

'  Man's— Review  of  the  Fur-trade  on  the  Coasts  of  Asl\  and  Amer- 

\  iCA— Pernicious  System  Introduced  by  the  Promyshleniki — The 

China  Market — Foreign   Rivals  and  their  Method— Abuse  of 

Natives — Cook's  and  Vancouver's  Opinions  of  Competitiqn  with 

the  Russians — Extirpation  of  Animals. 

vWe  enter  here  a  new  epoch  of  Alaska  history. 
Hitherto  all  has  been  discovery,  exploration,  and  the 
hunting  of  fur-bearing  animals,  with  little  thought  of 

germanent  settlement.     But  now  Grigor  Ivanovich 
helikof  comes  to  the  front  as  tht^  father  and  founder 
of  Russian  colonics  in  America.^ ' 

>  One  of  the  chief  authorities  for  this  period  of  Alaska  history,  and  indeed 
the  only  full  account  of  Shelikof 's  visit  to  America,  is  a  work  written  by  him- 
self and  published  after  liis  death.  It  is  entitled  Origoria  Shelikhoi-a  Slran- 
stvoi-ame,  etc.,  or  Grigor  Shel.kofs  JoumeyH  from  17SJ  to  1767,  from  Okhotsk 
to  the  Eaatrrn  Orf.an  and  the  Cotist  of  Amrrira^  with  a  jn-odoUh^nie,  or  contin- 
uation. Printed  at  St  Petersburg  in  179*2-3,  12mo,  with  maps.  In  1793 
both  of  these  books  were  translate*!  by  one  J.  J.  Logan  into  English  and  pub- 
lished in  one  8vo  volume  at  St  Petei-sburg.  Pallas  printed  a  German  trans- 
lation, chiefly  remarkable  for  inaccuracies,  in  his  ^^ord.  lieifr.,  \i.  165-249. 
And  still  another  Gennan  translation  apjfeared  in  JiuMe's  Journal  fur  Jiuss- 
Inmh  179.U  i-  Shelikof  s  first  volume  contains  voluminous  descriptions  of  the 
Aleutian  I  lands,  with  whole  passages,  and  even  pages,  identical  in  every 
re8i>ect  with  corresponding  passiiges  in  the  anonymous  German  Neue  Kach- 
richfviu  the  authorship  of  which  I  ascribe  to  J.  L.  Schlozer.  It  is  safe  to 
assume  that  Shelikof  had  access  to  this  work  publishcil  some  20  years  l>efore 
his  own,  and  used  it  in  writing  his  own  volume.  Shelikof's  book  waa  repuV- 
lii*hc<l  in  one  volume,  without  maps,  in  1812,  under  title  of  Putcshestvie  O, 
Shelikhova  I7S3-1700.     It  seems  that  the  directors  of  the  Russian  American 

(222) 


GRIGOEIA  SHEUKHOVA  STRANSVOVANIE.  223 

In  1 783  the  company  of  Siberian  merchants  of  which 
Shelikof  and  Ivan  Golikof  werc^"i;he  principal  share- 
holders, finished  three  ships  at  Okhotsk  for  operating 
on  a  larger  scale  in  the  region  then  designated  as  the 
ostrovay  or  the  islands^/  The  ships  were  the  ¥f^i  "^'^ 
Sviatitelifl/JLhvee  Saints,  the  Sv  Simeon^  and  the  Sv 
Mikhail,  On  the  16th  of  August  they  sailed  with  one 
hundred  and  ninety-two  men  in  all,  the  largest  force 
which  had  hitherto  left  the  Siberian  coast  at  one  time. 
Shelikof  and  his  wife/  who  accompanied  her  husband 
in  all  his  travels,  were  on  the  Trekh  Sviatiteliy  com- 
manded by  Ismailof.  The  first  part  of  the  voyage 
was  stormy,  the  wind  contrary,  and  the  ships  w^ere 
unable  to  leave  the  sea  of  Okhotsk,  but  on  the  2d  of 
September  the  squadron  anchored  near  the  second 
Kurile  island,  for  the  purpose  of  watering,  and  then 
passed  safely  into  the  Pacific.  On  the  12th  a  gale 
separated  the  vessels,  and  after  prolonged  and  futile 
efforts  to  find  the  Sv  Mikhail^  Shelikof  concluded  to 
pass  the  winter  on  Bering  Island  with  the  two  other 
vessels.  •  Thanks  to  the  enforcement  of  wise  regula- 
tions framed  by  Shelikof,  the  crews  suffered  but  little 
from  scurvy,  and  in  June  of  the  following  year  the 
expedition  steered  once  more  to  the  eastward.  A  few 
stoppages  were  made  on  Copper,  Atkha,  and  other 
islands,  with  a  longer  stay  at  Unalaska,  where  the  two 
ships  were  repaired,  and  refitted  with  water  and  pro- 
Company  resented  the  publication  of  the  book.  In  the  *  Secret  Instructions* 
forwarded  to  Baranof  in  1802  occurs  the  following  refereuco  to  this  subject: 
*You  must  send  your  communications  to  tlie  chief  administration  direct,  and 
not  to  Okhotsk,  since  the  company  has  very  little  to  do  with  provincial 
authorities,  and  also  because  the  government  at  present  has  many  views  con- 
cerning America  that  must  bo  kept  a  profound  secret,  being  confided  only  to 
you  as  chief  manager.  Therefore  it  is  not  proper  to  forwartl  such  information 
through  the  government  authorities  at  Irkutsk,  where  no  secret  could  be 
preserve^l.  As  a  proof  of  this  may  serve  you  the  endorsed  lxx)k  of  Gr'njor 
Shdikor^  Travch.  It  is  nothing  but  his  journals  transmitted  to  governor 
general  Jacobi,  on  "whose  retirement  it  was  stolen  from  the  chancellcrj'  by 
Mr  Piel,  and  printed  against  the  will  of  the  deceased.  Consequently  secrets 
of  state  were  exposed.  I  refer  to  the  location  of  tablets  claimijig  j^wssessiou 
of  the  country  for  llusaia.'  Sitka  Archives^  MS.,  Con.  I.,  1-21. 

*  Shelikof t  Pntesh.j  i.  2.  Natalia  Shelikof  was  possessed  of  great  energy 
and  business  capacity.  After  her  husband  s  death  she  managed  fo»*  many 
Tears  not  only  her  own  but  the  company's  business.  Tikhmen^y  Jstor.  Oboa., 
li.,  app.  lOS-13. 


224  CJOLOXEATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

visions.  The  Simeon  had  been  separated  from  her 
consort  during  the  voyage  along  the  Aleutian  chain, 
but  she  made  her  appearance  in  the  harbor  a  few  days 
after  the  arrival  of  the  SviatitelL  Shelikof  obtained 
.  two  interpreters  and  ten  Aleutian  hunters,  and  leaving 
instructions  for  the  guidance  of  the  Sv  Mikhail  he 
1  shaped  his  course  for  the  island  of  Kikhtak,  subse- 
1  quently  named  Kadiak.*  The  voyage  was  devoid  of 
.  incident,  and  on  the  3d  of  August  1784  the  two  ships 
entered  a  capacious  bay  on  the  south-east  coast  of  the 
island,  between  cape  Barnabas  and  the  two-headed 
cape  of  Cook,  and  anchored  in  its  westernmost  branch, 
naming  it  after  tte  ship  Trekh  Sviatiteli,  Three  Saints.* 
Armed  parties  of  promyshleniki  were  sent  out  in 
boats  and  bidars  to  search  for  natives,  but  only  one 
succeeded,  and  brought  news  that  a  large  body  of 
aboriginals  had  been  found.  They  had  avoided  a 
meeting,  however,  and  it  was  not  until  the  following 
day  that  another  exploring  party  returned  with  one 
of  the  natives.  Shelikof  treated  the  captive  kindly, 
loaded  him  with  presents,  and  allowed  him  to  return 
to  his  people.  On  the  5th  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the 
sun  which  lasted  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  caused  much 
uneasiness  among  the  natives,  who  naturally  con- 
nected the  phenomenon  with  the  appearance  of  the 
Russians." 

^Shelikof,  Putesh.,  i.  36.  Kikhtak,  or  Kikhiowih,  is  the  Innuit  word  for 
island.  At  the  present  day  the  natives  of  the  peninsula  speaik  of  the  Kadiak 
people  simply  as  Kikhtagamtitea,  islanders.  The  tribal  name  appears  to  have 
been  Kaniag  and  the  Kussian  appellation  now  in  use  was  probably  derived 
from  both.  Glottof  first  landed  and  wintered  on  the  island  in  l/63»  after 
which  it  was  several  times  visited. 

*  The  shores  of  Three  Saints  Harbor  are  generally  steep  and  rocky,  bnt 
about  a  mile  from  its  entrance  a  gravelly  bar  or  spit  from  the  southern  side 
forms  a  horseshoe,  opening  into  the  interior  oi  the  bay.  Such  locations 
were  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  Russians  at  that  time. 
The  small  land-locked  basin  formed  by  the  spit  was  deep  enough  for  such 
vessels  as  they  had ;  the  shelving  shore  enabled  them  to  beach  their  vessels 
during  winter  and  to  utilize  them  as  dwellings  or  fortifications,  while  the 
level  sandbar  afibrded  convenient  building  sites.  The  adjoining  hills  and 
mountains  being  devoid  of  timber,  there  was  no  danger  of  surprise  from  the 
land,  and  water  enclosed  three  sides  of  the  settlement. 

^Shelikof,  Putesh.,  i.  51.  It  has  been  hinted  that  Shelikof  used  this  littlo 
incident  in  imitation  of  the  Sppnish  discoverer  of  America,  to  impress  the 
savages  with  his  occult  powers.     The  one  who  had  been  so  kindly  received 


SHEUKOF'S  VISIT.  225 

Another  exploring  party  was  sent  out  on  the  7th 
with  instructions  to  select  hunting-grounds,  ^and  if 
possible  to  circumnavigate  the  island  and  observe  its 
coasts.  After  two  days,  when  about  ten  leagues  from 
the  anchorage,  this  expedition  fell  in  with  a  large  party 
of  savages  who  had  taken  up  a  position  on  a  kekour,^ 
or  detached  cliflT,  near  the  shore,  surrounded  by  water. 
An  interpreter  was  at  once  sent  forward  to  open 
friendly  intercourse,  but  the  islanders  told  the  mes- 
senger to  inform  the  Russians  that  if  they  wished  to 
escape  with  their  lives  they  should  leave  the  island  at 
once.  The  natives  could  not  be  persuaded  to  abandon 
this  hostile  attitude,  and  the  exploring  party  returned 
to  the  harbor  to  report. 

Shelikof  at  once  proceeded  to  the  spot  with  all  the 
men  that  could  be  spared  from  the  encampment,  but 
when  he  reached  the  scene  he  found  the  savages  in 
formidable  numbers  and  full  of  courage.  Peaceful 
overtures  were  still  continued,^  but  were  wholly  lost 
on  the  savages.  Arrows  began  to  fly,  and  the  Rus- 
sians retired  to  the  ships  to  prepare  for  defence.  Not 
long  afterward  the  Koniagas  stole  upon  the  Russian 
camp  one  dark  night,  and  began  a  desperate  fight 
which  lasted  till  daylight,  when  the  savages  took  to 
flight.*  But  this  was  by  no  means  the  end  of  it. 
From  his  Koniaga  friend  Shelikof  learned  that  his 
people  were  only  awaiting  reenforcements  to  renew 
the  attack.  He  accordingly  determined  to  anticipate 
them  by  possessing  himself  at  once  of  their  strong- 
returned  Yolnntarily  in  a  few  days  and  did  not  leave  Shelikof  again  as  long 
aa  the  latter  remained  on  the  island. 

^Such  places,  to  which  the  Kussiana  applied  the  Kamchatka  name  of 
kkovTy  were  often  used  by  the  natives  as  natural  fortifications  and  places 
of  refuge.  War  parties  or  hunting  expeditions  would  leave  their  women  and 
children  upon  such  cliffs  for  safe-keeping  till  their  return. 

'  In  Shelikof 's  journal,  which  was  published  after  his  death,  the  number 
of  natives  was  given  at  4,000,  but  one  tenth  would  be  nearer  the  truth.  In 
his  official  report  to  the  governor  of  eastern  Siberia  no  figures  are  given. 
Tikhmeiw/f  Inior.  Obo8.y  i.  8;  S/ieliko/y  Putesh.^  i.  10,  11.  Lissianaki  was  in- 
formed in  1804  by  a  native  eye-witness  that  only  400  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren were  on  the  kekour,  Lisa,  Voy,,  180. 

•  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Ohos,,  i.  9;  Sftelikof,  Putesh.,  i.  ll;^16.  Shelikof  reports 
this  afiair  as  liaving  occurred  on  the  12th  of  August. 

BXBT.  ATiAITI.     15 


226  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

hold  on  the  rocky  islet.  A  small  force  of  picked  pro- 
myshl^niki  approached  the  enemy  in  boats.  A  heavy 
shower  of  spears  fell  on  them;  but  the  havoc  made 
by  a  few  discharges  of  grape  from  the  falconet  aimed 
at  the  hute  caused  great  consternation,  and  a  general 
stampede  followed,  during  which  many  were  killed, 
while  a  large  number  lost  their  lives  by  jumping  over 
the  precipice,  and  as  Shelikof  claims,  over  one  thou- 
sand were  taken  prisoners.®  The  casualties  on  the 
side  of  the  Russians  were  confined  to  a  few  severe 
and  many  trifling  wounds.  Shelikof  claims  that  he 
retained  four  hundred  of  the  prisoners,  allowing  the 
remainder  to  go  to  their  homes,  and  they  were  held 
not  as  regular  captives,  but  in  a  kind  of  temporary 
subjection.  *^At  their  own  desire,"  as  Shelikof  puts 
it,  **they  were  located  fifty  versts  away  from  the  har- 
bor without  any  Russian  guards,  simply  furnishing 
hostages  as  a  guarantee  of  good  faith  and  good  be- 
havior." The  hostages  consisted  of  children  who  were 
to  be  educated  by  the  Russians.^^ 

Nor  was  this  second  battle  the  end  of  native  efforts 
for  life  and  liberty.  Attacks  still  occurred  from  time 
to  time,  generally  upon  detached  hunting  or  explora- 
tion parties,  but  in  each  case  the  savages  were  re- 
pulsed with  loss.  The  promptness  with  which  they 
were  met  evidently  destroyed  their  confidence  in 
themselves,  arising  from  their  easy  victory  over  the 
first  Russian  visitors. 
/  Meanwhile  no  time  was  lost  in  pushing  prepara- 

^  Shelikof,  Putesh,,  i.  18.  Says  Shelikof  in  his  journal:  *I  do  not  boost 
of  the  shedding  of  blood,  but  I  am  sure  that  ve  killed  some  of  our  assailants. 
I  endeavored  to  find  out  the  number,  but  failed  because  thev  carried  their 
dea(l  with  them  and  threw  them  into  the  sea.'  Compare  TcnUchinqfs  Ad- 
ventures, MS.,  30-7;  Sokolofa  Alarkofs  Voy,,  MS.,  7-9. 

^^  TiUiniene/y  Istor.  Obo^.,  I  10.  Shelikof  writes:  *I  retained  400  pris- 
oners, f  iimisheii  them  with  provisions  and  all  necessary  appliances  for  trap- 
ping and  hunting,  and  placed  them  in  charge  of  a  native  named  Kaskak.' 
Putesh.,  i.  18,  19.  The  same  name  of  Kaskak  occurs  in  the  narrative  of  a 
native  of  Kadiak  collected  by  Holmberg,  relating  to  the  first  landing  of  Rus- 
sians on  Katliak  Island,  20  years  prior  to  Shelikof 's  arrival.  Sauer  writes 
eight  years  later  that  200  young  females  were  then  kept  as  hostages.  A 
party  of  women  had  once  been  captured  and  retained,  though  wives  were 
cxolianged  for  d.iughterB.  He  places  the  population  of  the  island  at  3,500. 
JiiUin'js*  Voy.,  171. 


EDUCATION  AND  RELIGION.  227 

tions  for  permanent  occupancy  of  the  island.  In  a 
few  weeks  dwelling-houses  and  fortifications  were 
erected  by  the  expert  Russian  axemen,  and  Shelikof 
took  care  to  furnish  his  own  residence  with  all  the 
comforts  and  a  few  of  the  luxuries  of  civilization,  such 
as  he  could  collect  from  the  two  vessels,  in  order  to 
inspire  the  savage  breast  with  respect  for  superior 
culture./  And,  indeed,  as  time  passed  by,  the  chasm 
dividing  savage  and  civilized  was  filled,  the  Koniagas 
ascending  in  some  respects  and  the  Russians  descend- 
ing. The  natives  watched  with  the  greatest  curiosity 
the  construction  of  houses  and  fortifications  after 
the  Russian  fashion,  until  they  voluntarily  offered 
to  assist.  /A  school  was  conducted  by  Shelikof  in 
person;  he  endeavored  to  teach  both  children  and 
adults  the  Russian  language  and  arithmetic,  and  to 
sow  the  seeds  of  Christianity.  According  to  his 
account  he  turned  forty  heathens  into  Christians  dur- 
ing his  sojourn  on  Kadiak;  but  we  may  presume  that 
their  knowledge  of  the  faith  did  not  extend  beyond 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  perhaps  repeating  a  few 
words  of  the  creed  without  the  slightest  understand- 
ing of  its  meaning.  So  that  when  the  pious  colonist 
asserts  that  the  converts  began  at  once  to  spread  the 
new  religion  among  their  countrymen  we  may  con- 
clude that  he  is  exaggerating.  ^^ 

As  soon  as  possible  Shelikof  turned  his  attention 
once  more  to  the  exploration  of  the  island.  A  party 
of  fifty-two  promyshleniki  and  eleven  Aleuts  from 
the  Fox  Islands  went  to  the  north  and  north-east  in 
four  large  bidars,  accompanied  b}^  one  hundred  and  ten 
Koniagas  in  their  own  bidarkas.  This  was  in  May 
1785.  The  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining 

"Shelikof  dwells  at  length  upon  his  efforts  to  induce  the  Koniagas  to 
become  sabjects  of  Russia,  and  claims  to  have  met  with  success.  He  also 
planted  vegetables,  but  could  not  prevail  upon  the  Kadiak  people  to  eat  or 
cultivate  them.  Train-oil  and  fish  pleased  them  better.  Pttteshy  i.  30-2; 
TMmenef,  ItOor,  Oboe.,  i  11;  Grewingk,  BeUr.,  323;  PcUlaa,  Nord,  BeUr,, 
il70L 


228  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

islands  and  the  mainland.  After  a  cruise  in  Prince 
William  Sound  and  Cook  Inlet,  the  party  returned 
in  August  with  a  small  quantity  of  furs,  vet  report- 
ing a  not  unfriendly  reception,  and  bringing  twenty 
hostages  from  the  latter  place.  ^If  we  consider  the 
hostile  attitude  assumed  by  the  same  people  two  years 
before  toward  Zaikqf,  we  must  credit  Shelikof  with 
good  management.  On  their  return  all  proceeded 
for  the  winter  to  tarluk,  where  salmon  abounded. ^^ 
From  this  point  and  from  the  original  encampment 
on  Three  Saints  Bay,  detachments  of  promyshleniki 
explored  the  coast  in  all  directions  during  the  winter, 
notably  along  the  Alaska  peninsula,  learning  of  Ili- 
amna  Lake  and  of  the  different  portage  routes  to  the 
west  side. 

Despite  all  precautions  the  scuryy  broke  out  in  the 
Russian  camps  and  carried  ofifTmmbers,  but  instead 
of  taking  advantage  of  the  weakened  condition  of  the 
Russians,  the  natives  willingly  assisted  in  obtaining 
fresh  provisions.  One  exception  to  this  good  under- 
standing occurred  on  the  island  of  Shuiak,  situated 
north  of  Afognak.  A  quantity  of  goods  had  been  in- 
trusted by  one  of  Shelikors  agents  to  the  chief  of 
Shuiak,  to  purchase  furs  during  the  winter.  When 
asked  for  a  settlement  he  not  only  refused  but  killed 
the  messengers.  An  expedition  was  sent  in  the  spring 
which  succeeded  in  bringing  the  recreant  chief  to 
terms,  and  in  establishing  fortified  stations  on  Cook 
Inlet  and  Afognak.^^ 

On  the  25th  of  February  1786  Shelikof  received  a 
letter  from  Eustrate  Delarof,  w^ho  was  then  at  Una- 
laska,  stating  that  the  ship  Sv  Mikhail,  which  had 
been  separated  from  Shelikofs  squadron  in  a  gale, 
had  arrived  at  that  place  the  previous  May.     She 

"  Karlnk,  situated  on  the  west  coast  of  Kadiak,  is  a  settlement  upon  the 
river  of  the  same  name,  which  furnishes  a  larger  quantity  of  salmon  than  any 
other  stream  of  its  size  in  Alaska.    See  Cartog.  Pac.  States^  MS.,  iii.  passim. 

"  A  war  party  of  1,000  men  of  the  Chu^^atsches  and  Kenais  which  had  been 
summoned  by  the  Shuiak  chief,  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  Shelikof V  set- 
tlement, also  dispersed  before  it  was  fully  organized.  Tikhrnenef,  Istor,  Obos*, 
u  12,  1.3;  Shelikof,  PuUsh.,  i.  51-3;  Pallas,  Nord.  Beitr,,  vi.  185-6. 


EXCLUSIVE  RIGHTS.  22D 

reached  the  port  minus  one  mast  and  otherwise  dam- 
aged, and  repairs  to  the  vessel  occupied  nearly  the 
whole  summer.  When  at  last  ready  for  sea  she  was 
cast  upon  the  rocks  and  injured  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  require  additional  repairs.  Despairing  of  getting 
off  the  Sv  Mikhail  that  season,  Delarof  despatched 
thirteen  men  divided  into  several  detachments  as 
messengers  to  Kadiak  in  search  of  assistance.  Six  of 
them  succumbed  to  cold  and  hunger  during  a  deten- 
tion of  many  weeks  on  the  Alaska  peninsula,  and  five 
more  died  after  reaching  Kadiak.  Soon  after  this 
the  craft  arrived  at  Three  Saints,  and  the  commander, 
Assistant  Master  Olessof,  who  had  been  three  years 
making  the  voyage  from  Okhotsk  to  Kadiak,  was  de- 
posed and  the  peredovchik  Samoilof  invested  with  the 
control  of  both  vessels,  one  of  which  was  to  cruise 
northward  and  eastward  from  Kadiak  and  the  other 
westward  and  northward,  if  possible  as  far  as  Bering 
Strait. 

Early  in  March  Shelikof  despatched  an  exploring 
party  eastward  with  orders  to  proceed  to  Bering's 
Cape  St  Elias,  and  to  erect  a  fort  as  the  beginning 
of  a  settlement.  He  resolved  to  abandon  the  fort  on 
Cook  Inlet  as  too  far  removed  from  his  base  of  opera- 
tion, and  to  enlarge  the  fortified  station  on  Afognak 
Island,  besides  establishing  several  others."  These 
and  other  arrangements  made,  Shelikof  prepared  to 
return  to  Okhotsk,  and  the  peredovchik,  Samoilof, 
formerly  a  merchant  in  Siberia,  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  infant  colony.  His  instructions  de- 
manded above  all  the  extension  of  Russian  control 
and  establishments  eastward  and  south,  and  the  ex- 
clusion of  rival  traders.** 

^*8heRko/,  PuUafLy  L  67;  PaUas,  Nord.  BeUr.,  vi  180.  See  JuvenaVs 
Jovr.,  MS.,  27~«. 

^  These  instractioiiB  dated  May  4, 1786,  were  printed  in  the  original  crude 
form,  in  the  appendix  to  Tikhmew/,  Istaricheskcua  Ohotranie^  ii.  The  doou- 
ment  contains  much  that  is  hi|;hly  interesting.  The  Bmall  number  of  Russians 
assigned  to  each  isoUtcd  station  makes  it  evident  that  Shelikof  was  not  appre- 
hensive of  rteewed  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  natives,  and  confirms  the  suspi- 
cion that  his  previous  reports  of  their  number,  bravery,  and  fierce  disposition 


230  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

Shelikof  took  his  departure  in  May,  accompanied 
by  a  number  of  native  adults  and  children,  some  to 
be  retained  and  educated,  others  to  be  merely  im- 

f)ressed  with  a  view  of  Russian  life  and  power.     He 
anded  at  Bolsheretsk  on  the  8th  of  August,  and 
thence  proceeded  to  Petropavlovsk,^*  and  overland  to 

were  exaggerated.  Of  113  KuasianB  then  in  the  new  colony « and  50  others  ex- 
pected from  Unalaska,  he  ordered  the  following  disposition  to  be  made:  40  men 
at  the  harbor  of  Three  Saints;  1 1  at  the  bay  of  IJeak  (Orlova);  30  on  the  islands 
of  Shuiak  and  Afognak;  10  or  11  at  either  Ugoni^,  Chiniak,  or  Aiakhtalsk;  30 
at  Karluk;  20  at  Katmak  (Katmai),  and  11  at  a  station  between  Katmala  and 
Kamuishak  Bay.  These  trading-xKtsts  were  separated  from  each  other  by  long 
distances  of  land  and  water,  and  extended  over  hundreds  of  miles.  The 
instructions  further  specify  that  *  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  reinforce- 
ments from  Okhotsk,  stations  should  be  established  in  the  Kenai  and  Chu- 
gatsch  countries,' and  'with  all  possible  despatch  farther  and  farther  along 
the  coast  of  the  American  continent,  and  in  a  southerly  direction  to  Califor- 
nia, establishing  every  where  marks  of  Russian  possession.'  If  expected  reen- 
forcements  failed  to  arrive,  only  three  stations  were  to  bo  maintained — at  the 
harbor,  Afognak,  and  Karluk.  Paragraph  7  of  the  instructions  announced 
that  Shelikof  would  take  with  him  to  Okhotsk  forty  natives— adults  and  chil- 
dren of  both  sexes — 'some  in  satisfaction  of  their  own  desire,' and  others, 

*  prisoners  from  various  settlements. '  One  third  of  these  natives  were  to  be 
roturned  by  the  same  ship,  after  '  seeing  the  fatherland  and  observing  our 
domestic  life; '  another  third  were  to  be  forwarded  to  the  court  of  her  imperial 
Majesty;  while  the  remainder,  consistinff  chiefly  of  children,  were  to  be  edu- 
cated in  Okhotsk  or  Irkutsk  '  to  enable  tnem  in  the  future  to  exercise  a  civil- 
izing influence  among  their  coimtrymen.'  Other  paragraphs  relate  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  strictest  discipline  among  the  Russians ;  the  employment 
of  spies  among  the  natives ;  to  explorations  and  voyages  of  discovery  south- 
ward to  latitude  40°;  the  construction  of  buildings  and  fortified  block-houses; 
the  purchase  of  articles  of  native  manufacture — garments,  utensils,  etc.;  the 
collection  of  minerals,  ores,  and  shells  for  transmission  to  St  Petersburg;  san- 
itary regulations  to  prevent  scurvy;  the  collection  of  boys  from  *  latitude  50** 
in  California,  northward  to  Alia8ka,'to  be  educated  in  the  Russian  language; 
the  exclusion  of  other  trading  firms  in  this  the  country  then  occupied,  '  oy 
peaceable  means,  if  possible;'  the  expulsion  of  worthless  and  vicious  men  from 
the  company;  the  maintenance  of  a  school  at  Three  Saints,  and  other  business 
details.  The  document  furnishes  strong  evidence  of  Shelikof 's  far-sightedness, 
energy,  ambition,  and  executive  ability.  After  holding  Samoilof  responsible 
for  the  strict  observance  of  these  instructions,  the  writer  signed  himself: 

*  Grigor  Shelikof,  member  of  the  company  of  Sea- voyagers  in  the  Northern 
Ocean.'  Three  supplementary  paragraphs  contain  directions  for  a  'minute 
survey '  by  Bocharof  of  the  island  Kuiktak,  the  American  coast  from  Katmak 
to  the  gulfs  of  KcnaJL  and  Chugachuik,  and  *  if  possible '  around  Ivadiek  [prob- 
ably Kyak,  or  Kayes,  Island].  This  is  the  first  mention  of  the  term  Kadick 
or  Kadiak,  subsequently  applied  to  the  island  Kuiktak,  and  to  this  mistake 
of  Shelikof  the  origin  of  the  present  name  may  be  traced. 

'^  When  Shelikof  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  Bolsheretsk  for  Okhotsk  he 
was  informed  that  an  English  vessel  had  arrived  at  Petropavlovsk.  The  vessel 
proved  to  be  the  Lark^  and  belonged  to  the  East  India  Company.  From 
Peters,  the  captain,  Shelikof  purchased  a  large  amount  of  goods,  reselling 
them  to  merchants  of  Totma  and  to  agents  of  the  Panof  company  at  a  profit 
of  50  per  cent.  Capt.  Peters  brought  a  letter  from  the  directors  of  his  com- 
pany to  the  commander  of  Kamchatka  asking  permission  to  exchange  the 
products  of  their  respective  territories.     A  B^n  Stungel  or  Stangel,  prob- 


CUERENCY  AND  TRIBUTE.  231 

Okhotsk  and  Irkutsk,  where  he  arrived  in  April  1787, 

after  suffering  great  hardships  on  his  journey.    There 

he  lost  no  time  in  taking  initiatory  steps  with  the  .  ^ 

view  of  obtaining  for  his  company  the  exclusive  right 

to  trade  in  the  new  colony  and  other  privileges,  the  ji^t^  '  j^ 

results  of  which  belong  to  another  chapter.  nj)^^^    c^ 

CWe  have  seen  how  the  Cossacks  were  enticed  from 
the  Caspian  and  Black  seas,  drawn  over  the  Ural 
Mountains,  and  lured  onward  in  their  century-march 
through  Siberia  to  Kamchatka,  and  all  for  the  skin 
of  the  little  sable.  And  when  they  had  reached  thfe 
Pacific  they  were  ready  as  ever  to  brave  new  dangers 
on  the  treacherous  northern  waters,  for  the  coveted 
Siberian  quadruped  was  here  supplanted  by  the  still 
more  valuable  amphibious  otter.  As  furs  were  the 
currency  of  the  empire,  the  occupation  of  the  trapper, 
in  the  national  economy,  was  equivalent  to  that  in 
other  quarters  of  the  gold-miner,  assayer,  and  coiner 
combined.  In  those  times  all  the  valuable  skins  ob- 
tained by  the  advancing  Cossacks  were  immediately 
transported  to  Russia  over  the  routes  just  opened. 

The  custom  was  to  exact  tribute  from  all  natives 
who  were  conquered  en  passant  by  the  Cossacks,  as  a, 
diversion  from  the  tamer  pursuit  of  sable-huntingy 
As  early  as  1598  the  tribute  collected  in  the  district 
of  Pelymsk,  just  east  of  the  Ural  Mountains,  amounted 
to  sixty-eight  bundles  of  sables  of  forty  skins  each.^^ 
In  1609  this  tribute  was  reduced  from  ten  to  seven 

ahly  an  exile,  who  was  in  command  at  that  time,  consented  under  certain 
conditions.  Shelikof ,  who  was  well  received  on  board  of  the  Lark  and  '  treated 
to  various  liquors/  describes  the  vessel  as  two-masted,  with  12  cannon,  and 
carrying  a  larce  crew  consisting  of  Englishmen,  Hindoos,  Arabs,  and  China- 
men. Of  the  lour  officers  one  was  a  Portuguese.  Puleah. ,  i.  6Q-4.  The  Lark 
\;-as  subsequently  wrecked  on  Copper  Island  with  the  loss  of  all  on  board  but 
two.  The  survivors  were  forwarded  to  St  Petersburg  overland.  Viar/e^  ol 
Kort€^  MS.,  316.  Upon  finishing  his  business  with  Capt.  Peters,  Shelikof  at 
once  set  out  for  Irkutsk. 

"  Istoria  Sib.j  vi.  23,  In  the  same  year  Botcha  Murza,  a  Tunguse  chief  who 
had  been  made  a  prince  by  the  Hussions,  presented  forty  sables  to  the  gov- 
ernment, and  forty  additional  skins  on  tlie  occasion  of  his  marriage,  promising 
to  repeat  the  gift  every  year.  An  oukaz  issued  the  same  year  exempted  the 
aged,  the  feeUe,  and  the  sick  from  paying  tribute. 


232  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

sables  per  adult  male,  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  de- 
crease in  the  number  collected.^®  Nine  years  later, 
however,  the  animal  seems  to  have  been  nearly  exter- 
minated, as  the  hoyar  Ivan  Semenovich  Kurakin 
was  instructed  to  settle  free  peasant  families  in  the 
district.  After  this  the  principal  Cossack  advance 
was  into  the  Tunguse  country.  In  the  tribute-books 
of  1620-1  the  latter  tribe  is  entered  as  tributary  at 
the  rate  of  forty-five  sables  for  every  six  adult  males. 
In  1622  nine  Tunguse  paid  as  high  as  ninety-four 
sables.^*  Whenever  a  breach  occurred  in  the  flow  of 
sable-skins  into  Moscow  the  Cossacks  were  instructed 
to  move  on,  though  the  deficiency  was  not  always 
owing  to  exhaustion  of  the  supply.** 
/Thus  the  authorized  fur-gatherers  advanced  from 
one  region  to  another  across  the  whole  north  of  Asia, 
followed,  and  in  some  instances  even  preceded,  by 
the  promyshleniki  or  professional  hunters.  The  lat- 
ter formed  themselves  into  organized  companies,  hunt- 
ing on  shares,  like  the  sea-faring  promyshleniki  of 
later  times,  and  like  them  they  allowed  the  business 
to  fall  gradually  into  the  hands  of  a  few  wealthy  mer- 
chants. The  customs  adopted  by  these  hunters  go  far 
toward  elucidating  much  that  seems  strange  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  promyshleniki  on  gaining  a  foot- 
hold upon  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  A  brief  descrip- 
tion will  therefore  not  be  amiss. 

The  hunting-grounds  were  generally  about  the  head- 
waters and  tributaries  of  the  large  rivers,  and  the 
journey  thence  was  made  in  boats.  Three  or  four 
hunters  combined  in  building  the  boat,  which  was 
covered,  and  so  served  as  shelter.     Provisions,  arms, 

''In  that  year  the  total  tribate  amounted  to  66  bundles,  of  40  skinB  each, 
and  39  sables.  In  1610  it  increased  to  75  bundles  and  12  sables.  lH,  Sib.,  ru 
26-7. 

^* hi.  Sib,,  vi.  218.  A  force  of  40  Cossadcs  was  sufficient  to  collect  tribute 
and  preserve  order  among  the  Tunguse. 

"In  1607  complaints  reached  the  tsar  that  traders  from  Pustozersk  would 
go  among  the  natives  of  the  Berezof  district  before  tribute  had  been  collected^ 
making  it  difficult  to  obtain  the  government's  quota.  1st,  Sib.,  vi.  35. 


ON  THE  HUNTING-GROUND.  233 

bedding,  and  a  few  articles  of  winter  clothing  made  up 
the  cargo.  A  jar  of  yeast  or  sour  dough  for  the 
manufacture  of  hxiss,  to  keep  down  the  scurvjr,  was 
considered  of  the  highest  importance.  Material  for 
the  construction  of  sleds  and  a  few  dogs  were  also 
essential,  and  when  all  these  had  been  collected  and 
duly  stowed,  each  party  of  three  or  four  set  out  upon 
their  journey  to  a  place  previously  appointed.  As 
soon  as  the  whole  force  had  assembled  at  the  rendez- 
vous election  was  made  of  a  peredovchik,  or  foreman, 
a  man  of  experience,  and  commanding  respect,  to 
whom  all  promised  implicit  obedience.  The  peredov- 
chik  then  divided  his  men  into  chunitziy  or  parties, 
appointing  a  leader  for  each,  and  assigning  them  their 
respective  hunting-grounds.  This  division  was  always 
made;  even  if  the  artel,  or  station,  consisted  of  only 
six  men  they  must  not  all  hunt  together  on  the  same 
ground.^  Until  settled  in  winter-quarters  all  their 
belongings  were  carried  in  leather  bags.  Before  the 
first  snow  fell  a  general  hunt  was  ordered  by  the  pe- 
redovchik  to  kill  deer,  elks,  and  bears  for  a  winter's 
supply  of  meat,  after  which  the  first  traps  were  set 
for  foxes,  wolves,  and  lynx.  With  the  first  snow  fall, 
before  the  rivers  were  frozen,  the  whole  party  hunted 
sables  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  general  winter- 
quarters,  with  dogs  and  nets.  The  peredovchik  and 
the  leaders  were  in  the  mean  time  engaged  in  making 
sleds  and  snow-shoes  for  their  respective  chunitzis. 
When  the  snow  was  on  the  ground  the  whole  artel 
was  assembled  at  the  winter-quarters  and  prayers  were 
held,  after  which  the  peredovchik  despatched  the 
small  parties  to  the  sable  grounds  with  final  instruc- 
tions, to  the  leaders.  The  latter  preceded  their  men 
by  a  day  in  order  to  prepafjrthe  station  selected;  the 
same  practice  prevailed  m  mo  ^ing  stations  during  the 
winter.  The  first  station  was  i  lamed  after  some  church 
in  Russia,  and  subsequent  stations  after  patron  saints 
of  individual  hunters.     The  first  sables  caught  were 

^  0  Sobolnuie  Promysda,  29-42. 


234  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

always  donated  to  some  church  or  saint,  and  were 
called  God's  sables.  The  instructions  of  leaders  were 
mainly  to  the  effect  that  they  should  look  well  after 
their  men,  watch  carefully  their  method  of  setting 
traps,  and  see  that  they  did  not  gorge  themselves  in 
secret  from  the  common  store  of  provisions." 

During  the  height  of  the  season  stations  were  fre- 
quently changed  every  day,  for  it  was  thought  that 
prolonged  camping  at  any  one  place  would  drive  away 
the  sables.  When  the  season  closed  the  small  parties 
returned  to  head-quarters,  where  the  leaders  rendered 
their  accounts  to  the  peredovchik,  and  at  the  same 
time  reported  all  infractions  of  rules  by  the  men. 
The  accused  were  then  heard,  and  punished  by  the 
peredovchik  if  found  guilty.^  When  all  arrange- 
ments for  returning  to  the  settlement  were  completed 
the  peredovchik  would  make  the  rounds  of  all  the  sta- 
tions to  see  that  every  trap  was  closed  or  removed,  so 
that  no  sable  could  get  into  them  during  the  summer. 

( In  Alaska  the  methods  of  the  hunters  underwent 
many  changes,  owing  to  the  different  physical  features 
of  the  field  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  natives.  The 
men  engaged  for  these  expeditions  were  of  a  very 
mixed  class;  few  had  ever  seen  the  ocean,  and  many 
were  wholly  untrained  for  their  vocation.  They  were 
engaged  for  a  certain  time  and  paid  in  shares  taken 
from  one  half  of  the  proceeds  of  the  hunt,  the  other 

*^  The  instnictions  contained  also  an  admonition  to  observe  certain  snper- 
Btitious  customs,  traces  of  which  could  be  found  nearly  a  centnry  later  among 
the  servants  of  the  Russian  American  Company.  For  instance,  certain  ani- 
mals must  not  be  spoken  of  by  their  right  names  at  the  stations,  for  fear  of 
frightening  the  sables  away.  The  raven,  the  snake,  and  the  wild-cat  were 
tabooed.  They  were  called  respectively  the  *  upper,*  or  *  high  one,'  the  *  bad 
one, '  and  the  *  j  umper. '  In  the  early  times  this  rule  extended  to  quite  a  number 
of  persons,  animals,  and  even  inanimate  objects,  but  the  three  I  have  men- 
tioned survived  till  modern  times.  O  Sobolnvie  PromyMla,  29-42. 

*^  The  promyshleniki  were  treated  much  like  children  by  their  leaders. 
Some  offenders  were  made  to  stand  on  stumps  for  a  time,  and  fast  while  their 
comrades  were  feasting,  while  others  were  fined  for  the  benefit  of  the  church. 
Thieves  were  cruelly  beaten,  and  forfeited  a  portion  of  their  ushifiaf  or  divi- 
dend (literally  supper),  as  it  was  held  that  their  crime  must  have  brough 
bad  luck  and  decreased  the  total  catch.  O  Sobolnuie  Promywla,  60-7. 


HUNTING  m  ALASKA.  235 

half  of  the  cargo  going  to  the  outfitter  or  owner^/  If 
the  crew  consisted  of  forty  men,  including  navigator 
and  peredovchik,  their  share  of  the  cargo  was  usually 
divided  into  about  forty-six  shares,  of  which  each 
member  received  one,  the  navigator  three,  the  fore- 
man two,  and  the  church  one  or  two.  In  case  of 
success  the  hunters  realized  quite  a  small  fortune,  as 
we  have  seen,  but  often  the  yield  was  so  small  as  to 
keep  the  men  in  servitude  from  indebtedness  to  their 
employer.  The  vessel^  was  provided  with  but  a  small 
stock  of  provisions,  consisting  of  a  few  hams,  a  little 
rancid  butter,  a  few  bags  of  rye  and  wheat  flour  for 
holidays,  and  a  quantity  of  dried  and  salted  salmon. 
The  main  stock  had  to  be  obtained  by  fishing  and 
hunting,  and  to  this  end  were  provided  fire-arms  and 
other  implements  serving  also  for  defence.  Since  furs 
in  this  new  region  were  obtained  chiefly  through  the 
natives,  articles  of  trade  formed  the  important  part  of 
the  cargo,  such  as  tobacco,  glass  beads,  hatchets  and 
knives  of  very  bad  quality,  tin  and  copper  vessels,  and 
cloth.  A  large  number  of  Jdeptsiy  or  traps,  were  also 
carried.  Thus  provided  the  vessel  sets  sail  with  bozJie 
pomosktch — God's  help. 

Mere  trade  soon  gave  way  to  a  more  eflfective 
method  of  obtaining  furs.  Natives  were  impressed 
to  hunt  for  the  Russians,  who,  as  a  rule,  found  it  both 
needless  and  dangerous  for  themselves  to  disperse  in 
small  parties  to  catch  furs.  Either  by  force  or  by 
agreement  with  chiefs  the  Aleuts  and  others  were 
obliged  to  give  hostages, generally  women  and  children, 
to  ensure  the  safety  of  their  visitors,  or  performance 
of  contract.  They  were  thereupon  given  traps  and 
sent  forth  to  hunt  for  the  season,  while  the  Russians 
lived  in  indolent  repose  at  the  village,  basking  in  the 

'* 'Their  galliots  are  constructed  at  Okhotsk  or  Nishnekomchatsk,  and 
government,  with  a  view  of  encouraging  trade,  has  ordered  the  cominandauta 
of  those  places  to  afford  as  much  assistance  as  possible  to  the  adventurers, 
besides  wliich,  the  materials  of  the  very  freaucntly  wrecked  trans^x^rt  vesstla, 
though  lost  to  government,  are  found  the  chief  means  of  fitting  out  such  an 
enterprise,  and  greatly  lessen  the  expense.'  Saner* n  Geog,  and  Aatrotu  £x2)ed., 
275. 


236  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

smiles  of  the  wives  and  daughters,  and  using  them 
also  as  purveyors  and  servants.  When  the  hunters 
returned  they  surrendered  traps  and  furs  in  exchange 
for  goods,  and  the  task-masters  departed  for  another 
island  to  repeat  their  operation. 

(The  custom  of  interchanging  hostages  while  engaged 
in  traffic  was  carried  eastward  by  the  Russians  and 
forced  upon  the  English,  Americans,  and  Spaniards 
long  after  the  entire  submission  of  Aleuts,  Kenai, 
and  Chugatsches  had  obviated  the  necessity  of  such 
a  course  in  the  west^  Portlock  was  compelled  to  con- 
form to  the  custom  at  various  places  before  he  could 
obtain  any  trade,  but  as  a  rule  four  or  five  natives 
were  demanded  for  one  or  two  sailors  from  the  ship,^ 
On  Cross  Sound,  Sitka  Bay,  and  Prince  of  Wales 
Island  the  hostages  were  not  always  given  in  good 
faith;  they  would  suddenly  disappear  and  hostilities 
begin.  As  soon  as  they  ascertained,  however,  that 
*  their  visitors  were  watchful  and  strong  enough  to  re- 
sist, they  would  resume  business. 

Meares  observes,  among  other  things  relating  to 
Russian  management,  that  wherever  the  latter  settled 
the  natives  were  forbidden  to  keep  canoes  of  a  larger 
size  than  would  carry  two  persons.  This  applied,  of 
course,  only  to  the  bidarka  region,  Kadiak,  Cook 
Inlet,  and  portions  of  Prince  William  Sound.  The 
bidars,  or  large  canoes,  were  then  as  now  very  scarce, 
being  made  of  the  largest  sea-lion  skins,  and  used 
only  for  war  or  the  removal  of  whole  families  or 
villages.  The  Russians  found  them  superior  to  their 
own  clumsy  boats  for  trading  purposes,  and  acquired 
them,  by  purchase  and  probably  often  by  seizure  under 
some  pretext,  as  fast  as  the  natives  could  build  them. 
In  their  opinion  the  savages  had.  no  business  to  devote 
themselves  to  anything  but  hunting. 

A  portion  of  the  catch  was  claimed  as  tribute, 
although  the  crown  received  a  very  small  share,  often 
none.     Tribute-gathering  was  a  convenient  mantle  to 

^Poraock'8Voy.,269. 


THE  ALEUT  HUNTERS.  237 

cover  all  kinds  of  demands  on  the  natives,  and^^diere 
can  be  no  doubt  that  in  early  times  at  lea&t  half  the 
trade  was  collected  in  the  form  of  tribute,  by  means 
of  force  or  threats,  while  at  the  same  time  the  author- 
ities at  home  were  being  petitioned  to  relinquish  its 
collection,  "because  it  created  discontent"  among  the 
natives. 

The  tribute  collected  by  the  earlier  traders  was 
never  correctly  recorded.  The  merchants  frequently 
obtained  permission  from  the  Kamchatka  authorities 
to  dispense  with  the  services  of  Cossack  tribute- 
gatherers,  and  gradually,  as  the  abuses  perpetrated 
under  pretext  of  its  collection  came  to  the  ears  of  the 
home  government,  the  custom  was  abandoned  alto- 
gether. Subsequently  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany obtained  a  right  to  the  services  of  the  Aleuts  on 
the  plea  that  it  should  be  in  lieu  of  tribute  formerly 
paid  to  the  government.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
ordained  that  those  natives  who  rendered  no  regular  • 
services  to  the  company  should  pay  a  tribute.  The 
latter  portion  of  the  programme  was,  however,  never 
carried  out.  The  Chugatsches  and  the  more  northerly 
villages  of  Kenai  never  furnished  any  hunters  for  the 
company  unless  with  some  private  end  in  view,  and 
no  tribute  paid  by  them  ever  reached  the  imperial 
treasury. 
^Another  method  of  obtaining  furs,  outside  of  the 
regular  channels  of  trade,  was  in  furnishing  supplies  in 
times  of  periodical  famine  caused  by  the  improvidence 
of  the  simple  Aleuts./  A  little  assistance  of  this  kind 
was  always  considered  as  a  lien  upon  whatever  furs 
the  person  might  collect  during  the  following  season. 
This  pernicious  system,  unauthorized  as  it  was  by 
the  management,  survived  all  through  the  regime  of 
the  Russian  American  Company,  and  one  encounters 
traces  of  it  here  and  there  to  the  present  day. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  advance  of  Russians  along 
the  coast  in  a  south-easterly  direction  native  auxili- 


.238  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

aries,  usually  Aleuts,  were  taken  for  protection  as 
well  as  for  the  purpose  of  killing  sea-otters.  Soon 
the  plan  was  extended  to  taking  Aleut  hunters  to 
regions  where  trade  had  been  made  unprofitable  by 
uminiited  competition.  This  was  first  adopted  on  a 
larger  scale  by  Shelikof  and  brought  to  perfection 
under  the  management  of  Delarof  and  Baranoy  From 
a  business  point  of  view  alone  it  was  a  wise  measure, 
since  it  obviated  the  ruinous  raising  of  prices  by  sav- 
ages made  impudent  by  sudden  prosperity,  and  at  the 
same  time  placed  a  partial  check  on  the  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  fur-bearing  animals.  Yet  it  opened  the 
door  to  abuse  and»  oppression  of  the  natives  at  the 
hands  of  unscrupulous  individuals,  and  in  the  case  of 
the  docile  and  long  since  thoroughly  subdued  Aleuts  it 
led  to  something  akin  to  slavery.  It  was  also  attended 
with  much  loss  of  life,  owing  to  ignorance,  careless- 
ness, and  foolhardiness  of  the  leaders  of  parties.  It 
certainly  must  have  been  exceedingly  annoying  to 
the  natives  of  the  coast  thus  visited  to  see  the  ani- 
mals exterminated  which  brought  to  them  the  ships  of 
foreigners  loaded  with  untold  treasures.  The  Kaljush 
hunters  could  not  fail  to  perceive  that  the  unwelcome 
rivals  from  the  west,  though  inferior  in  strength,  stat- 
ure, and  courage,  were  infinitely  superior  in  skill, 
and  indefatigable  in  pursuit  of  the  much  coveted  sea- 
otteiy  ^ 

Itwas  but  natural  that  in  a  brief  period  the  very 
name  of  Aleut  became  hateful  to  the  Kaljush  and  Chu- 
gatsches,  who  allowed  no  opportunity  to  escape  them 
for  revenge  on  the  despised  race,  not  thinking  that 
the  poor  fellows  were  but  helpless  tools  of  the  Rus- 
sians. Numerous  massacres  attested  the  strong  feel- 
ing, but  this  by  no  means  prevented  the  Russians 
from  pursuing  a  policy  which,  to  a  certain  extent,  has 
been  justified  by  the  result.  As  the  minds  at  the  head 
of  affairs  became  more  enlightened,  measures  for  the 
protection  of  valuable  animals  were  adopted,  the  ex- 
ecution of  which  was  possible  with  the  docile  Aleut 


INTER-TRIBAL  TRAFFIC.  (  239  ( 

hunters,  while  it  would  have  been  out  of  the  question 
with  the  stubborn  and  ungovernable  Kaljush. 

As  long  as  operations  were  confined  to  Prince  Will- 
iam Sound,  with  the  inhabitants  of  which  the  Aleuts, 
and  especially  the  K£\.diak  people,  had  previously  meas- 
ured their  strength  in  hostile  encounters,  the  plan 
worked  well  enough.  Subsequently,  however,  contact 
with  the  fierce  Thlinkeets  of  Comptroller  Bay,  Yaku- 
tat,  and  Ltua  inspired  the  western  intruders  with  dis- 
may, rendering  them  unfit  even  to  follow  their  peaceful 
pursuits  without  an  escort  of  four  or  five  armed  Rus- 
sians to  several  hundred  hunters.  On  several  occa- 
sions a  panic  occurred  in  hunting  parties,  caused  merely 
by  fright,  but  seriously  interfering  with  trading  opera- 
tions. Vancouver  mentions  instances  of  that  kind, 
when  Lieutenant  Puget  and  Captain  Brown  at  Yak- 
utat  Bay  successively  assisted  Purtof,  who  commanded 
a  large  party  of  Aleuts  sent  out  by  Baranof  *^ 

The  reports  of  these  occurrences  by  Purtof  and  his 
companions  corroborate  the  statements  of  Puget  and 
Brown,  but  naturally  the  former  do  not  dwell  as  much 
upon  the  assistance  received  as  upon  services  rendered. 
With  regard  to  Captain  Brown  s  action,  however,  the 
Russian  report  diflfers  somewhat." 

Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Russians  a  consider- 
able interchange  of  products  was  carried  on  by  certain 
of  the  more  enterprising  tribes;  the  furs  of  one  section 
being  sold  to  the  inhabitants  of  another.  The  long- 
haired skins  of  the  wolverene  were  valued  highly  for 
trimming  by  tribes  of  the  north  who  hunted  tiie  rein- 
deer; and  the  parkas  or  shirts  made  from  the  skins  of  the 
diminutive  speckled  ground-squirrel  (Spermophihis)  of 
Alaska,  which  occurs  only  on  a  few  islands  of  the  coast, 
were  much  sought  by  the  inhabitants  of  nearly  all  re- 
gions where  the  little  animal  does  not  exist.  The  new-- 
comers were  not  slow  to  recognize  the  advantages  to 

^Vancfmver^^  Toy.,  iii.  233-6. 

"For  PurtofB  report,  aeo  Tikhmtn^^  Ittor.  Obos.,  ii.  app.  66-7. 


240  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

be  gained  by  absorbing  the  traffic.  Within  a  few 
years  it  was  taken  from  the  natives  along  the  coast  as 
far  north  as  Cook  Inlet  and  Prince  William  Sound, 
but  beyond  that  and  in  the  interior  a  far-reaching 
commerce,  including  the  coasts  of  Arctic  Asia  in  its 
ramifications,  has  existed  for  ages  and  has  never  been 
greatly  interfered  with  by  the  Russians,  who  fre- 
quently found  articles  of  home  manufacture,  originally 
sold  by  traders  in  Siberia,  in  the  hands  of  the  tribes 
who  had  the  least  intercourse  with  themselves. 

Captain  Cook  indulged  in  profound  speculations 
with  regard  to  the  channels  through  which  some  of 
the  natives  he  met  with  on  the  Northwest  Coast  had 
acquired  their  evident  acquaintance  with  iron  knives 
and  other  implements,  but  this,  the  most  probable 
source,  was  unknown  to  him.  Later  navigators  found 
evidence  of  the  coast  tribes  assuming  the  r6le  of  mid- 
dlemen between  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  and 
the  visitors  from  unknown  parts.  In  August  1786 
Dixon  was  informed  by  natives  on  Cook  Inlet  that 
they  had  sold  out  every  marketable  skin,  but  that 
they  would  soon  obtain  additional  supplies  from  tribes 
living  away  from  the  sea-shore. 

A  century  of  intercourse  with  the  Caucasian  races 
has  failed  to  eradicate  the  custom  of  roaming  from 
one  continent  to  another  for  the  sake  of  exchanging  a 
few  articles  of  trifling  value.  The  astuteness  dis- 
played by  these  natives  in  trade  and  barter  was  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  reasons  which  caused  the  Russians 
to  devise  means  of  getting  at  the  furs  without  being 
obliged  to  cope  with  their  equals  in  bartering. 

As  far  as  the  region  contained  within  the  present 
boundaries  of  Alaska  is  concerned,  the  fur-trade  to- 
ward the  end  of  the  last  century  was  beginning  to  fall 
into  regular  grooves,  which  have  never  been  essentially 
departed  from  except  in  the  case  of  the  Kaljush,  who, 
relying  on  their  constant  intercourse  with  English  and 
American  traders,  persistently  refused  to  be  reduced 


THE  CHINA  MARKET.  241 

to  routine  and  system,  and  maintained  an  independent 
and  frequently  a  defiant  attitude  toward  the  Russians. 
Under  the  rule  of  the  Russian  American  Company 
the  prices  paid  to  natives  for  furs  were  equal  in  all 
parts  of  the  colonies  with  the  exception  of  Sitka  and 
the  so-called  Kaljush  sounds,  where  a  special  and 
much  higher  tariff  was  in  force.^^ 


-A  more  gradual  change  began  also  to  affect  the 
share  system  of  the  Russians,  embracing  two  kinds 
of  share-holders,  those  who  with  invested  capital  had 
a  voice  in  the  management  and  their  half  of  the  gross 
receipts,  and  another  class,  laboring  in  various  capaci- 
ties for  such  compensation  as  fell  to  tTieir  lot  when 
the  settlements  were  made  at  stated  times  and  after 
every  other  claim  had  been  satisfied.  The  disadvan- 
tages of  this  system  were  obvious.  On  one  hand  the 
laborer  was  entirely  dependent  upon  the  agents  or 
managers  of  his  immediate  station  or  district,  who 
were  sometimes  honest,  but  far  oftener  rascals,  while 
on  the  other  hand  the  hunters  and  trappers  and  those 
in  charge  of  native  hunting-parties  had  every  induce- 
ment to  indulge  in  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  fur- 
bearing  animals  without  regard  to  consequences^ 

By  the  time  Kamchatka  was  discovered  and  con- 
quered the  number  of  private  traders  had  greatly 
increased,  and  another  market  for  costly  furs  had  been 
opened  on  the  borders  of  China,  a  market  of  such  im- 

"  The  introduction  of  a  well-defined  business  system  as  well  as  regula- 
tions te  check  the  threatened  extermination  of  fur-beariug  animals  came  only 
^'ith  the  establishment  of  a  monopoly,  and  this  involved  both  time  and  in- 
trigue. The  founder  of  the  so-called  colonies  as  well  as  his  successors  in  the 
management  had  but  one  object  in  view,  to  control  the  fur-trade  of  Russia  in 
Europe  and  Asia.  Shelikof  was  shrewd  enough  to  understand  that  in  order 
to  obtain  special  privileges  or  protection  from  the  government,  it  was  neces- 
sarv  to  make  a  display  of  some  more  permanent  business  than  the  fur- trade; 
and  urith  the  sole  view  of  furthering  this  end  projects  of  colonization  and 
ship-building  were  launched  in  rapid  succession,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Shelikof  himself  had  no  faith  in  these  undertakings,  for  with  his  sanc- 
tion the  convicts,  mechanics,  and  farmers  sent  from  Siberia  by  the  authorities 
were  at  once  distributed  among  the  trading  posts  and  vesaels  of  the  Shelikof 
and  Golikof  Company.  Ptirof,  Rus8,  Am,  Co.^  MS.,  2-4. 
Hin.  Alaska.    16 


242  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

portance  that  not  only  the  carrying  of  skins  to  Russia 
was  curtailed,  but  large  shipments  of  furs  were  made 
from  Kussia  to  the  Chinese  frontier,  principally  beavers 
and  land-otters  from  Canada,  these  skins  being  carried 
almost  around  the  world  at  a  profit.^ 

No  attempt  was  made  by  Russians  during  the 
eighteenth  century  to  send  furs  to  China  by  water. 
Tb€tfe-route  was  opened  by  English  traders  to  the 
Northwest  Coast  as  soon  as  it  became  generally  known 
that  furs  had  been  disposed  of  in  China  to  great  ad- 
vantage by  the  ships  of  Captain  Cook's  last  two  expe- 
ditions. The  sea-otter  and  sable  shipments  from  the 
Aleutian  Isles  and  Kamchatka  were  still  consigned 
.to  Irkutsk,  where  a  careful  assortment  was  made. 
(^The  inferior  and  light-colored  sables,  the  foxes  of  the 
Aleutian  Isles,  the  second  grade  of  sea  and  land 
otter,  etc.,  were  set  aside  for  the  Chinese  market. 
Defective  skins  were  sent  to  the  annual  fair  at  Irbit, 
for  sale  among  the  Tartars,  and  only  the  very  best 
quality  was  forwarded  to  Moscow  and  Makaria,  where 
Armenian^  and  Greeks  figured  among  the  ready  pur- 
chasers.^' 

(The  first  large  shipment  of  sea-otters  was  brought 
to  China  by  Captain  Hanna,  who  with  a  brig  of  sixty- 
tons  collected  in  six  weeks^  on  King  George  Sound, 
five  hundred  whole  sea-otter  skins,  and  a  number  of 
pieces  amounting  to  about  sixty  more.  He  sailed 
from  China  in  April  1785  and  returned  in  December, 
making  the  voyage  exceedingly  profitable.*^     Hanna 

*  The  f  ollt>wuig  shipments  of  this  kind  are  recorded  by  Coxe,  from  the 
Hudson  Bay  territory  to  London  and  St  Petersburg  ind  thence  overland  to 
Kiakhta:  in  1775,  46,460  beavers  and  7,143  otters;  in  1776,  27,700  beavers 
and  12,080  otters;  in  1777,  27,316  beavers  and  10,703  otters.  The  skins 
brought  at  St  Petersburg  from  7  to  9  rubles  for  beavers,  and  from  6  to  10 
rubles  for  otters;  while  at  Kiakhta  the  beaver  sold  at  from  7  to  20  rubles,  and 
the  otter  from  6  to  35  rubles.  Coxc'«  Buss.  IHsc,,  337-6. 

'^The  Chinese  at  that  time  understood  the  art  of  coloring  sables  and  other 
furs  so  perfectly  that  the  deception  was  not  observable.  Consequently  they 
preferred  to  purchase  a  low-priced  and  inferior  article.  Sauer'e  Oeog.  ami 
Agtron.  Expea.y  15. 

'^  Skins  of  the  first  grade  brought  (60  each.  Haima  had  140  of  these,  175 
of  the  second  grade,  worth  $40;  SO  of  the  third,  worth  (30;  65  of  the  fourth 
at  $15,  and  50  of  the  fifth  at  $10.    The  pieces  were  also  sold  at  the  rate  of  $10 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH.  243 

sailed  again  on  the  same  venture  in  1786,  but  though 
he  remained  absent  until  the  following  year,  his  cargo 
did  not  bring  over  $8,000.  Two  other  vessels,  the 
Captain  Cook  and  the  Experiment^  left  Bombay  in 
January  1786,  and  after  visiting  in  both  King  George 
and  Prince  William  sounds  returned  with  604  sea- 
otters,  which  sold  for  $24,000,  an  average  of  $40  a 
skin,  * 

La  P^rouse,  who  visited  the  coast  in  the  same  year, 
forwarded  an  extensive  report  to  his  government  con- 
cerning the  fur-trade  of  the  Northwest  Coast.  He 
states  that  during  a  period  not  exceeding  ten  days  he 
purchased  a  thousand  skins  of  sea-otters  at  Port  des 
Franfais,.  or  Ltua  Bay;  but  only  few  of  them  were 
entire,  the  greater  part  consisting  of  made-up  gar- 
ments, robes,  and  pieces  more  or  less  ragged  and 
filthy.  He  thought,  however,  that  perfect  skins  could 
easilv  be  obtained  if  the  French  government  should 
conclude  to  favor  a  regular  traflSc  of  its  subjects  with 
that  region.  La  Pdrouse  entertained  some  doubts  as 
to  whether  the  French  would  be  able  to  compete  prof- 
itably with  the  Russians  and  Spaniards  already  in  the 
field,  though  he  declared  that  there  was  an  interval 
of  coast  between  the  southern  limits  of  the  Russian 
and  the  northern  line  of  Spanish  operations  which 
^ould  not  be  closed  for  several  centuries,  and  was  conse- 
quently open  to  the  enterprise  of  any  nation. '^  Among 
other  suggestions  he  recommended  that  only  vessels 
of  500  or  600  tons  should  be  employed,  and  that  the 

!)rincipal  article  of  trade  should  be  bar-iron,  cut  into 
engths  of  three  or  four  inches.  The  value  of  the 
3,231  pieces  of  sea-otter  skin  collected  at  Port  des 
Fran9ais  is  estimated  in  the  report  at  41,063  Spanish 
piastres.^ 

per  whole  skin.  Haima  realized  $20,000  out  of  thia  short  craise.  Dixon*s 
Vay.,  315-22. 

^LaP&rovse,  Voy,,  U,  102-72. 

"A  peculiarly  French  idea  is  adTanced  by  La  P^rouse  in  a  note  to  his 
report  on  the  far-trade  Of  the  north-west.  He  and  his  officers  refused  to 
derive  any  profit  from  the  experimental  mercantile  transactions  during  the 
expedition.    It  was  settled  that  such  sums  as  were  realized  from  the  sale  of 


244  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

After  duly  weighing  the  question  in  all  its  aspects 
the  French  commander  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  would  not  be  advisable  to  establish  at  once  a  French 
factory  at  Port  des  Fran9ais,  but  to  encourage  and 
subsidize  three  private  expeditions  from  some  French 
seaport,  to  sail  at  intervals  of  two  years.  . 

From  Dixon  we  learn  that  La  Pt^rouse's  expecta- 
tions, as  far  as  the  value  of  his  skins  was  tjoncerned, 
were  not  realized.  He  reports  that  the  French  ships 
Astrolabe  and  Boussole  brought  to  Canton  about  600 
sea-otters  of  poor  quality,  which  they  disposed  of  for 
$10,000.^ 

In  January  1788  the  furs  collected  by  Dixon  and 
Portlock  in  the  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte  were 
sold  as  follows:  The  bulk  of  the  cargo,  consisting  of 
2,552  sea-otters,  434  pups,  and  34  foxes,  sold  for 
$50,000,  and  at  private  sale  1,080  sea-otter  tails 
brought  $2,160,  and  110  fur-seals  $550.  According 
to  Berg  the  number  of  sea-otters  shipped  from  the 
Northwest  Coast  to  Canton  previous  to  January  1, 
1788,  was  6,643,  which  sold  at  something  over  $200,000 
in  the  aggregate. 

After  this  shipments  increased  rapidly  with  the 
larger  number  of  vessels  engaging  in  this  trade,  as  I 
have  shown  in  my  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast^ 
A  large  proportion  of  them  were  EngUsh,  though  they 
labored  under  many  disadvantages,  and  as  the  Eng- 
lish captains  who  came  to  Canton  were  not  allowed 

the  skins  in  China  shonld  be  distributed  among  the  crew.  The  oommander 
ingeniously  reasons  that  the  share  of  each  sailor  will  be  sufficient  to  enable 
the  whole  crew  to  get  married  on  their  return  and  to  raise  families  in  com- 
fortxiblo  circumstances,  who,  *in  course  of  time,  will  be  of  the  greatest  benefit 
to  the  navy.*  La  P^ rouse,  Voy.,  iv.  167. 

^* Dixon* 8  Toy.,  315-22.  In  the  same  place  the  result  of  the  Bengal  Fur 
Society's  experiment  with  the  NootJ:a,  Capt.  Mcares,  is  given  as  follows:  267 
sea-otters,  97  pieces  and  tails,  48  land-otters,  and  41  beavers  and  martens  were 
sold  at  Macao  for  89,692.  Fifty  prime  sea-otters  sold  at  Canton  for  $91 
eacih,  bringing  ^i.ooO.  Nearly  the  whole  cargo  had  ^jeen  obtained  at  Prince 
W  illiara  Sound.  About  the  same  time  the  cargo  of  the  JmprrinlJBagfe,  Capt. 
Barclay,  obtained  chiefly  from  Vancouver  Island,  sold  for  $30,000.  See  IJitit. 
Nortlun'Ht  Coast ^  vol.  i.  3.53,  this  series. 

^^In  1792  tliere  were  at  least  28  vessels  on  the  coast,  more  than  half  of 
them  engaged  in  fur-trade.  JJist.  yortkweat  Coast,  i.  238  et  scq.,  this  scries. 


RUSSIAN  INFLUENCE.  245 

to  trade  in  their  own  or  their  owners'  name,  but  were 
obliged  to  transact  their  business  through  the  agents 
of  the  English  East  India  Company,  they  did  not  take 
very  kindly  to  the  trade.  The  merchants  of  other 
nations  held  the  advantage  to  the  extent  that,  even  if 
forced  to  dispose  of  their  furs  at  low  prices,  they  could 
realize  ono,  hundred  per  cent  profit  on  the  Chinese 
goods  they  brought  home,  while  the  English,  on  ac- 
count of  the  privileges  granted  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, could  not  carry  such  goods  to  England.  The 
British  merchants,  however,  knew  how  to  evade  these 
regulations  by  sending  to  Canton,  where  the  ships  of 
all  nations  were  free  to  come,  vessels  under  the  flags 
of  Austria,  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and  others.  Thus 
Captain  Barclay,  or  Berkeley,  who  sailed  from  Ostend 
in  the  Imperial  Eagle  under  the  Austrian  flag,  was  an 
Englishman. 

(On  the  other  hand,  Russian  influence  was  contin- 
ually at  work  on  the  Chinese  frontier  and  even  at 
Peking,  to  counteract  the  influx  of  furs  by  water  into 
the  Celestial^mpirey'  When  Marchand  arrived  at 
Macao  from  the  Northwest  Coast  he  found  a  tempo- 
rary interdict  on  the  traflSc.^  This  benefited  the 
Russian  only  to  a  certain  extent,  for  new  hunting- 
grounds  were  discovered  by  the  now  roused  traders, 
and  the  immense  influx  of  fur-seal  skins  from  the 
Falkland  Islands,  Terra  del  Fuego,  New  Georgia, 
South  Shetland,  and  the  coast  of  Chile  to  China 
caused  a  general  depreciation  in  this  article  toward 
the  end  of  the  last  century.^ 

LThe  jealousy  of  foreign  visitors  on  the  part  of 
Russians  was  but  natural  in  view  of  the  mischief  they 
created.     Along  the  whole  coast  from  Cook  Inlet 

••When  the  Sciide  arrived  at  Macao,  Marchand  was  much  disappointed  on 
leaming  that  strict  orders  had  been  issued  from  Peking  to  purchase  no  more 
furs  from  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  This  compelled  him  to  take  what 
furs  he  had  to  Europe.  Marchand ^  Voy.,  ii.  368-9. 

''  Three  and  a  half  millions  of  skins  were  taken  from  Masa  Fuero  to  Can- 
ton between  1793  and  1807.  DcUVs  Alaska,  402. 


246  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUE-TRADE. 

down  to  Sitka  and  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  when- 
ever English  and  subsequently  American  competition 
entered  the  field,  the  prices  of  sea-otter  skins  experi- 
enced a  steady  rise  till  the  temptation  to  kill  the  ani- 
mal indiscriminately  became  so  great  as  to  overcome 
what  little  idea  the  natives  had  of  husbanding  their 
resources.  On  the  other  hand  the  most  prolific  sea- 
otter  grounds,  the  southern  end  of  the  Alaska  penin- 
sula and  the  Aleutian  Islands,  exempt  from  the  visits 
of  mercantile  rovers,  have  continued  to  yield  their 
precious  furs  to  the  present  dayJ 

These  foreigners  had  an  additional  variety  of  goods 
with  which  to  tempt  the  untutored  son  of  the  wilder- 
ness, and  were  not  scrupulous  about  selling  even  de- 
structive weapons.  The  demand  for  certain  articles 
of  trade  by  the  natives,  especially  among  the  Thlin- 
keets,  was  subject  to  continuous  changes.  When 
Marchand  arrived  in  Norfolk  Sound  he  found  the 
savages  disposed  to  drive  hard  bargains,  and  skins 
could  not  be  obtained  for  trifles.  Tin  and  copper  ves- 
sels and  cooking  utensils  were  in  request,  as  well  as 
lances  and  sabres,  but  prime  sea-otters  could  be  pur- 
chased only  with  European  clothing  of  good  quality, 
and  Marchand  was  obliged  to  sacrifice  all  his  extra 
supplies  of  clothing  for  the  crew.  The  natives  seemed 
at  that  time,  1791,  to  have  plenty  of  European  goods, 
mostly  of  English  manufacture.  Favorite  articles 
were  toes  of  iron,  three  or  four  inches  in  length,  and 
light-blue  beads.  Two  Massachusetts  coins  were 
worn  by  a  young  Indian  as  ear-rings.  They  were 
nearly  all  dressed  in  European  clothing  and  familiar 
with  fire-arms.  Hammers,  saws,  and  axes  they  valued 
bi^t  little.^ 

/  The  rules  with  regard  to  traffic  on  individual  account 
on  board  of  these  independent  traders  were  quite  as 

'"  In  10  days  Marchand  obtained  in  trade  100  sea-otters  of  prime  quality, 
mostly  fresh;  2o0  young  sea-otters,  I'ght  colored;  36  whole  bear-skins,  and 
13  half  skins;  37  fur-seals;  GO  beavers;  a  sack  of  squirrel-skins  and  sea-otter 
tails;  a  marmot  robe,  and  a  robe  of  marmot  and  bear.  Marchand,  Voy.,  ii. 
3-12. 


UNSCRUPULOUS  ENGLISHMEN.  247 

stringent  as  those  subsequently  enforced  by  the  Rus- 
sian American  companyy^  Among  the  instructions 
furnished  Captain  Meares  by  the  merchant  proprie- 
tors we  find  the  following:  "As  every  person  on  board 
you  is  bound  by  the  articles  of  agreement  not  to  trade 
even  for  the  most  trifling  articles,  we  expect  the  full- 
est compliance  with  this  condition,  and  we  shall  most 
assuredly  avail  ourselves  of  the  penalty  a  breach  of 
it  will  incur.  But  as  notwithstanding,  the  seamen 
may  have  laid  in  iron  and  other  articles  for  trade, 
thinking  to  escape  your  notice  and  vigilance,  we  direct 
that,  at  a  proper  time,  before  you  make  ttie  land  of 
America,  you  search  the  vessel  carefully,  and  take 
into  your  possession  every  article  that  can  serve  for 
trade,  allowing  the  owner  its  full  value.  "-®^ 

A  few  years  sufficed  to  transform  the  naturally 
shrewd  and  overbearing  Thlinkleets  into  the  most 
exacting  and  unscrupulous  traders.  Prices  rose  to 
such  an  extent  that  no  profit  could  be  made  except 
by  deceiving  them  as  to  the  value  of  the  goods  given 
in  barter.  Some  of  the  less  scrupulous  captains  en- 
gaged in  this  traffic  even  resorted  to  violence  and 
downright  robbery  in  order  to  make  a  showing. 
Guns,  of  course,  brought  high  prices,  but  in  many 
instances,  where  the  trader  intended  to  make  but  a 
brief  stay,  a  worthless  article  was  palmed  off  upon 
the  native,  who,  in  his  turn,  sought  to  retaliate  by 
imposing  upon  or  stealing  from  the  next  trader.*^ 

Nor  did  the  foreigners  hesitate  to  commit  brutali- 
ties when  it  suitea  their  interest  or  passion,  not- 
withstanding Meares'  prating  about  "humane  British 
commerce.''  The  English  captain  certainly  had  noth- 
ing to  boast  of  so  far  as  his  own  conduct  was  concerned 
in  the  way  of  morality,  honesty,  and  humanity.  Cer- 
tain subjects  of  Spain  and  Russia  were  exceedingly 

^Mearta,  Foy.,  app. 

^  One  of  the  natives  of  Tchinkitan^  (Sitka)  complained  to  Marchand  of  a 
gnn  he  had  porchaaed  of  an  £ngliah  captain  and  broken  in  an^er  because  it 
woald  *only  go  crick,  but  never  poohool'  Marchand" a  Voy.^  ii.  69.  Mar- 
chand and  Kocquefenille  both  claim  that  the  natives  of  the  Northwest  Coast 
prefer  French  guns  to  any  other. 


248  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

cruel  to  the  natives  of  America,  but  for  innate  wick- 
edness and  cold-blooded  barbarities  in  the  treatment 
of  savage  or  half-civilized  nations  no  people  on  earth 
during  the  past  century  have  excelled  men  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  origin.  Such  was  the  conduct  of  the  critical 
Meares  toward  the  Chugatsches  that  they  would  prob- 
ably have  killed  him  but  for  the  timely  warning  of 
a  young  woman  whom  he  had  "purchased  for  the 
winter." 

Instances  of  difficulties  arising  between  English 
traders  and  natives  of  Prince  William  Sound  are  too 
numerous  to  mention  in  detail  in  this  place,  but  it  is 
certain  that  as  soon  as  the  former  withdrew  and  the 
Russians  were  enabled  to  manage  affairs  in  their  own 
way,  a  peaceful  and  regular  traffic  was  carried  on. 
These  captains  were  too  ready  to  attribute  cruelty  to 
their  rivals,  and  at  times  on  mistaken  grounds. 

CCaptain  Douglas,  who  visited  Cook  Inlet  in  the 
Iphigenia,  observed  what  he  called  "tickets  or  pass- 
ports for  good  usage"  in  the  hands  of  the  natives. 
Meares  offers  an  explanation  of  this  incident,  saying 
that  "these  tickets  are  purchased  by  the  Indians  from 
the  Russian  traders  at  very  dear  rates,  under  a  pre- 
tence that  they  will  secure  them  from  ill-treatment 
of  any  strangers  who  may  visit  the  coast;  and  as  they 
take  care  to  exercise  great  cruelty  upon  such  of  the 
natives  as  are  not  provided  with  these  instruments  of 
safety,  the  poor  people  are  only  too  happy  to  purchase 
them  on  any  terms."  Meares  then  adds  with  charm- 
ing self-complacency:  "Such  is  the  degrading  system 
of  the  Russian  trade  in  these  parts;  and  forms  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  liberal  and  humane  spirit  of 
British  commerce. '^^  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say 
that  these  papers  were  receipts  for  tribute  paid  by 
these  natives,  who  had  for  several  years  been  consid- 
sidered  and  declared  subjects  of  the  ruler  of  all  the 
Russias.*^ 

*^Mcarfs'  Voy.y  ii.  129,  cd.  1791. 

**^  An  explanation  of  tlie  bitterness  displayed  in  Captain  Meanes*  utterance 


RUSSIAN  POLICY.  249 

The  cause  for  these  insinuations  must  be  looked  for 
in  the  greater  success  of  the  Muscovites,  who  could 
be  met  with  everywhere,  and  as  they  did  not  pur- 
chase the  skins,  but  had  the  animals  killed  by  natives 
in  their  service,  competition  was  out  of  the  question. 
At  Prince  William  Sound  Portlock  discovered  that 
the  natives  did  not  like  the  goods  he  had  to  offer; 
only  when  he  obtained  others  from  Captain  Meares 
did  trade  improve.  The  English  traders  frequently 
complained  in  their  journals  of  the  Russians  as  having 
absorbed  the  whole  traflSc,  yet  Portlock  himself  ac- 
knowledges that  during  the  summer  of  1787  he  sent 
his  long-boat  repeatedly  to  Cook  Inlet,  and  that  each 
time  the  party  met  with  moderate  success  and  friendly 
treatment  on  the  part  of  Russians  and  natives  in  their 
service.** 

^Vancouver,  who  as  far  as  the  Russians  are  con- 
cerned may  be  accepted  as  an  impartial  observer, 
expresses  the  opinion  that  "the  Russians  were  more 
likely  than  any  other  nation  to  succeed  in  procur- 
ing fura  and  other  valuable  commodities  from  those 
shores.y  He  based  his  opinion  partly  upon  informa- 
tion received  from  Ismailof  at  Unalaska,  but  prin- 
cipally upon  his  own  observations  on  the  general 
conduct  of  the  Russians  toward  the  natives  in  the 
several  localties  where  he  found  the  latter  under  Rus- 
sian control  and  direction.  The  English  explorer 
reasons  as  follows :  "  Had  the  natives  about  the  Rus- 
sian establishments  in  Cook's  Inlet  and  Prince  Will- 
iam's sound  been  oppressed,  dealt  hardly  by,  or  treated 
by  the  Russians  as  a  conquered  people,  some  uneasi- 
ness among  them  would  have  been  perceived,  some 
desire  for  emancipation  would  have  been  discovered; 
but  no  such  disposition  appeared — they  seemed  to  be 

on  the  subject  of  Kussian  traders  can  be  foiind  in  a  passage  of  his  journal  in 
which  he  complains  that  wherever  he  went  in  the  Nootka,  from  Unalaska  to 
the  head  of  Cook  Inlet,  he  found  that  the  Kussians  already  monopolized  tho 
ttsAe,  and  the  natives  had  nothing  left  to  offer  in  exchange  for  English  goods. 
A  boat  sent  up  the  Inlet  was-  constantly  watched  by  two  Russian  bidars. 
Meares*  Foy.,  xL 

*3  PorUocfs  Toy..  242-3. 


250  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FURTRADE. 

held  in  no  restraint,  nor  did  they  seem  to  wish,  on 
any  occasion  whatever,  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  their 
directors."  The  Indiaas  beyond  Cross  Sound  were 
less  tractable  and  the  Russians  evidently  became  sat- 
isfied to  remain  to  the  westward  of  that  region.** 

'  Notwithstanding  all  the  abuses  to  which  the  Aleuts 
had  to  submit  at  the  hands  of  the  early  traders  and 
the  Bussian  company,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  a  peo- 
ple which  has  absolutely  no  other  resource  to  fall  back 
upon  would  have  long  since  been  blotted  out  of  exist- 
ence with  the  extermmation  of  the  sea-otter,  had  they 
been  exposed  to  the  effects  of  reckless  and  unscrupu- 
lous competition  like  their  more  savage  and  powerful 
brethren  in  the  east.  As  it  is,  they  are  indebted  to 
former  oppression  for  their  very  existence  at  the  pres- 
ent day/ 

Thef^  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  their  hands  alone 
would  the  wealth  of  the  coast  region  be  husbanded,' 
for  their  interests  now  began  to  demand  an  economic 
management,  and  their  influence  by  far  exceeded  that 
of  any  other /nation  with  whom  the  natives  had  come 
in  contact.  (Long  before  the  universal  sway  of  the 
Russian  American  Company  had  been  introduced  we 
find  unmistakable  signs  of  this  predilection  in  favor  of 
those  among  all  their  visitors  who  apparently  treated 
them  with  the  greatest  harshness  while  driving  the 
hardest  .bargains.  The  explanation  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  Russians  were  not  in  reality  as  cruel  as 
the  others,  and,  above  all,  that  they  assimilated  more 
closely  with  the  aborigines  than  did  other  trader^ 
At  all  outlying  stations  they  lived  together  with  ana 
in  the  manner  of  the  natives,  taking  quite  naturally 
to  filth,  privations,  and  hardships,  and  on  the  other 
hand  dividing  with  their  savage  friends  all  the  little 

**  Vancouver's  Voy.,  iii.  600.  Portlock,  some  years  earlier,  claimed  that 
the  natives  informed  him  they  had  recently  had  a  fight  with  the  RnssiaiiB  in 
which  the  latter  were  beaten;  and  also  that  he  was  reciuested  to  assist  the 
natives  against  the  Russians,  but  refused.  Portlock' s  Voy.y  115-22.  Juvenal's 
•/o«r.,MfcJ.,  30et8eq. 


RAPID  DECLINK  251 

comforts  of  rude  civilization  which  by  chance  fell  to 
their  lot. 

Cook  and  Vancouver  expressed  their  astonishment 
at  the  miserable  circumstances  in  which  they  found 
the  Russian  promyshleniki,  and  both  navigators  agree 
as  to  the  amicable  and  even  affectionate  relations  ex- 
isting between  the  natives  of  the  far  north-west  of  this 
continent  and  their  first  Caucasian  visitors  from  the 
eastern  north.  Captains  Portlock  and  Dixon  even 
complained  of  this  good  understanding  as  an  injury 
to  the  interests  of  others  with  equal  rights  to  the 
advantages  of  traffic  with  the  savages.  The  traffic 
then  carried  on  throughout  that  region  is  scarcely 
worthy  of  the  name  of  trade;  it  was  a  struggle  to 
seize  upon  the  largest  quantity  of  the  most  valuable 
furs  in  the  shortest  time  and  at  the  least  expense, 
without  regard  for  consequences. 

When  Portlock  and  Dixon  visited  Cook  Inlet  and 
Prince  William  Sound  in  1786  the  trade  in  those 
localities  seemed  to  be  already  on  the  decline.  In  the 
former  place  a  few  days  were  sufficient  to  drain  the 
country  of  marketable  furs. 

How  much  the  fur-trade  had  deteriorated  on  Cook 
Inlet  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  decade  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  is  made  evident  by  such  reports  of 
managers  as  have  been  preserved.  The  total  catch 
for  several  years,  during  which  time  two  ships  well 
manned  and  hundreds  of  natives  were  employed,  did 
not  exceed  500  sea-otters  and  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  other  furs.  This  was  certainly  a  great 
falling-off*,  but  it  may  be  partly  ascribed  to  the  wran- 
gling of  rival  companies  whose  retainers  used  every 
means  to  interfere  with  each  other.  Large  quantities 
of  furs  were  destroyed,  houses  and  boats  were  broken 
up,  and  blood  was  sometimes  shed.  The  decline  of 
trade  during  this  period  was  not  arrested  till  the 
country  had  been  for  years  subjected  to  the  arbitrary 
rule  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  though  of 


252  COLONIZATION  AND  THE  FUB-TRADE. 

course  the  fur  business  never  recovered  its  former 
prosperity. 

Traces  of  populous  settlements  abound  on  the  shores 
of  the  inlet,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  numerous  vil- 
lages were  abandoned  to  desolation  at  about  the  same 
time.  The  age  of  trees  now  growing  over  former 
dwellings  enables  the  observer  to  fix  the  date  of  de- 
population within  a  few  j'^ears,  long  before  any  of  the 
enidemics  which  subsequently  swept  the  country. 

(With  the  unrestrained  introduction  of  fire-arms 
along  the  coast  southward  from  Prince  William  Sound 
the  sea-otters  were  doomed  to  gradual  extermination 
throughout  that  region,  though  the  country  suffered 
no  less  from  imported  Aleuts,  who  far  surpassed  the 
native  sea-otter  hunters  in  skill,  and  had  no  interest 
in  husbanding  production.  Long  before  American 
traders  took  a  prominent  part  in  these  operations  the 
golden  days  of  the  sea-otter  traflSc  had  passed  away] 

(^In  1792  Martin  Sauer  predicted  that  in  fifteen 
years  from  that  time  the  sea-otter  would  no  longer 
exist  in  the  waters  of  north-western  America,  and  he 
had  not  seen  the  devastation  on  the  coast  south  of 
Yakutat.  The  organization  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  alone  prevented  the  fulfilment  of  his  proph- 
ecy as  far  as  concerns  the  section  which  came  under 
his  observationy 

This  state  of  affairs  the  traders  had  not  failed  to 
reveal  to  the  government  long  before  this,  coupled 
with  no  little  complaint  and  exaggeration.  OflScials 
in  Siberia  aided  in  the  outcry,  and  the  empress  was 
actually  moved  to  order  war  vessels  to  the  coast, 
but  various  circumstances  interfered  with  their  de- 
parture.*^   Nevertheless,  from  the  rivalry  of  English 

'  ^'^Shelikof  complained  that  *the  advantages  which  rightfully  belong  to 
the  subjects  of  Russia  alone  are  converted  to  the  l^enefit  of  other  nations  who 
have  no  claim  upon  the  country  and  no  right  to  the  products  of  its  waters.* 
Lieutenant-general  Ivan  Bartholomeievich  Jacobi,  who  then  filled  the  office 
of  governor  general  of  Irkutsk  and  Kolivansk,  reported  to  tlie  empress 
that  it  was  necessary  to  protect  without  delay  the  Hussian  possessions  on  the 
coast  of  America  with  armed  vessels,  in  order  to  prevent  foreigners  from 
interfering  with  the  Russian  fur-trade.     In  reply  Catherine  ordered  five  war- 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  ANIMAIA  253 

and  American  traders,  the  Shelikof  and  Golikof  Com- 
pany does  not  appear  to  have  suffered  to  any  great 
extent,  if  we  may  judge  from  a  list  of  cargoes  im- 
ported by  that  firm  during  a  term  of  nine  years. 
Their  vessels  during  the  time  numbered  six;  one,  the 
Trekh  Sviatiteli,  making  two  trips,  (The  total  value 
of  these  shipments  between  the  years  1788  and  1797 
was  1,500,000  roubles — equahthen  to  three  times  the 
amount  at  the  present  day.^y 

(?rhis  result  was  due  partly  to  more  wide-spread 
and  thorough  operations  than  hitherto  practised,  and 
partly  to  the  compensation  offered  by  a  varied  assort- 
ment of  furs.  Thus,  while  the  most  valuable  fur- 
bearing  animal,  the  sea-otters,  were  becoming  scarce 
in  the  gulf  of  Kenai,  large  quantities  of  beavers, 
martens,  and  foxes  were  obtained  ther^ 

The  distribution  of  fur-bearing  animals  during  the 
last  century  was  of  course  very  much  the  same  as 
now,  with  the  exception  that  foxes  of  all  kinds  came 
almost  exclusively  from  the  islands.  The  stone  foxes 
— blue,  white,  and  gray — were  most  numerous  on  the 
western  islands  of  the  Aleutian  chain  and  on  the  Pri- 
bylof  group.  Black  and  silver-gray  foxes,  then  very 
valuable,  were  first  obtained  from  Unalaska  by  the 
Shilof  and  Lapin  Company  and  at  once  brought  into 
fashion  at  St  Petersburg  by  means  of  a  judicious  pres- 
entation to  the  empress.  Shipments  of  martens  and 
minks  from  a  few  localities  on  the  mainland  were  in- 
significant, and  the  same  may  be  said  of  bears  and 
wolverenes.  The  sea-otter's  range  was  not  much 
more  extended  than  at  present;  but  on  the  south- 
eastern coast  they  were  ten  times  more  numerous 
than   now.     They   were   never  found   north  of  the 

vessels  to  be  fitted  out  to  sail  in  1788,  under  command  of  Captain  Mulovskoi, 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier.     The  war  with  Sweden  probably  interfered  with 
this  expedition.  Bergy  Khronol.  ht.y  158.     It  must  he  remembered,  however,  V' 
that  the  Billings  expedition  was  under  way  at  that  time. 

**The  details  are  given  by  Bergh  as  follows :  In  1786  the  SticUiteli  brought 
furs  valued  at  66,000  rubles;  in  1789  the  Sviatitdi,  300,000;  in  1792  the 
Mikhail,  376,000;  in  1793  the  8v  Simeon,  128,000;  in  1795  the  Phanix^ 
321,138;  in  1795  the  Alexandr,  276,550;  in  1796  the  Orel,  21,912;  total  rbls., 
1,479,600.  Khronol,  IsL,  109. 


254  OOLONIZAUOK  AND  THE  FUB-TBADK 

Aleutian  isles  and  the  southern  extremity  of  thie 
Alaska  peninsula. 

The  mr-seal  frequented  the  same  breeding-grounds 
as  now  and  many  were  killed  on  the  Aleutian  and  Com- 
mander islands  while  on  their  annual  migration  to  and 
from  the  rookeries.  The  value  of  the  skins  was  small 
and  the  market  easily  overstocked,  often  necessitating 
the  destruction  of  those  on  hand  Beavers  and  land- 
otters  were  obtained  only  in  Cook  Inlet,  as  the  vast 
basin  of  the  Yukon  had  not  then  been  tapped.  The 
skins  of  this  class  for  the  overland  trade  with  China, 
as  has  been  stated,  were  purchased  in  England  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  carried  nearly  around 
the  globe.  Black  bears  were  occasionally  purchased, 
but  rarely  appeared  in  the  market,  beinff  considered 
as  most  suitable  presents  to  officials  and  persons  of 
high  rank  whose  good-will  might  serve  the  interest 
of  individual  traders  or  companies.  Lynx  and  marmot 
skins  found  only  a  local  demand  in  the  form  of  gar- 
ments and  trimmings. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FOEEIGNVISITOBS. 

1786-1794. 

FuROH  Ihtebxst  nr  the  Kobth-wxst^-La.  PiAbousb's  Examination — 

BxaOOYEBT  OF  FOBT  PES  FBAN9AI8— A  DlBAlTBOnS  SUBYET— ENGLISH 
VlSITGBS— MkaBES  18  CaUGHT  IN  PBINCZ  WiLLIAM  SOUNB— TeBBIBUS 

Stbugoles  with  the  Scubyyt-Pobtlook  and  Dixon  Come  to  the 
Resc0b— Their  Two  Yeabs  of  Tbadino  and  Explobing — IsmaTlof 
AND  Bochabof  Sit  fobth  to  Seottbb  the  Claims  of  Russia— A  Tbeach- 
OBous  Chief— Yakutat  Bat  Exflobed — ^Tbaces  of  Fobeign  Visitobs 
Jealously  Suffbessed — Spain  Resolyes  to  Assebt  Hebself— Mab- 

TINEZ  AND  HaBO'S  ToUB  OF  InYESTIGATION— FiDALGO,  MaBCHAND,  AND 

CaamaSo— -Vancouy£b*s  Expedition.  ' 

The  activity  displayed  by  different  nationalities  in 
the  exploration  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  together 
with  allurements  of  trade  and  of  the  interoceanic 
problem,  called  to  this  region  also  the  attention  of  the 
French  government;  and  when  in  August  1785  La 
P^rouse  was  despatched  from  Brest  with  two  frigates, 
the  Astrolabe  and  Boussole^  the  latter  commanded  by 
De  Langle,  on  a  scientific  exploring  tour  round  the 
world,  he  received  instructions  to  extend  it  to  the 
farthest  north-west,  and  report  also  on  trade  pros- 
pects. After  a  tedious  voyage  round  Cape  Horn,  the 
coast  of  Alaska  was  sighted  on  the  23d  of  June  1786 
near  latitude  60**,  where  the  gigantic  outline  of  Mount 
St  Elias  rose  above  the  clouds.  The  impression  made 
upon  the  natives  of  sunny  France  by  the  gloomy 
aspect  of  this  coast  was  not  more  favorable  than  that 
conceived  by  the  earlier  Spanish  and  English  visitors. 
The  contrast  was  too  great  between  the  palm-groves 
and  taro-fields  of  Hawaii  so  lately  witnessed,  and 


256  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

these  snowy  mountains  of  this  northern  mainland 
with  their  thin  blackish  fringe  of  sombre  spruce- 
forest.  At  any  rate,  contrary  to  his  instructions, 
which  were  to  explore  the  Aleutian  Islands,  La  P6- 
rouse  with  wisdom  shaped  his  course  south-eastward 
along  the  coast.* 

For  some  time  no  landing  could  be  eflFected,  the 
vessels  not  approaching  near  enough  to  the  shore 
to  distinguish  bays  and  headlands.  In  two  instances 
boats  were  lowered  to  reconnoitre,  but  the  reports  of 
officers  in  charge  were  not  favorable.  The  wide  open- 
ing of  Yakutat  or  Bering  Bay  was  thus  passed  un- 
awares, but  a  little  to  the  southward  La  Pe^rouse 
observed  what  he  considered  certain  indications  of  the 
discharge  of  a  large  river  into  the  sea.^ 

On  the  2d  of  August  an  inlet  was  sighted  a  short 
distance  below  Cape  Fairweather,  and  on  the  following 
day  the  two  frigates  succeeded  in  gaining  an  anchor- 
age. The  navigator  felt  exultant  over  this  discovery 
of  a  new  harbor,  and  expressed  himself  in  his  journal 
to  the  effect  "that  if  the  French  government  had  en- 
tertained ideas  of  establishing  factories  in  this  part 
of  the  American  coast,  no  other  nation  could  pretend 
to  the  smallest  right  of  opposing  the  project."*    The 

'  Indeed  the  illnstrioTis  French  navigator  had  deviated  from  his  instruc- 
tions ever  since  leaving  Madeira.  He  made  the  northern  coast  in  the  month 
designated,  but  a  year  earlier  than  had  been  contemplated,  havins  deferred 
his  explorations  in  the  south  Pacific.  The  instructions  prescribed,  tiiat  he 
should  *  particularly  endeavor  to  explore  those  parts  which  have  not  been 
examined  by  Captain  Cook,  and  of  which  the  relations  of  Russian  and  Spanish 
navigators  have  given  no  idea.  He  will  observe  whether  in  those  parts  not 
yet  known  some  river  may  not  be  found,  some  confined  gulf,  which  may,  by 
moans  of  the  interior  lakes,  open  a  communication  with  some  {uirt  of  Hudson 
Bay.  He  will  push  his  inquiries  to  Behring's  Bay  and  to  Mount  St  Elias 
and  will  inspect  the  ports  Bucarelli  and  Los  Remedios.  Prince  William  Land 
and  Cook  river  having  been  sufficiently  explored,  he  ^411,  after  making  Mount 
St  Klias,  steer  a  course  for  the  Shumagin  Islands,  near  the  peninsula  of  Alaska. 
Ho  will  afterward  examine  the  Aleutian  Islands,'  etc.  La  P^rotise,  Voy,,  L 
70-75. 

'  One  indentation  of  the  coast  was  named  De  Monti  Bay;  and  La  P^rouse's 
French  edition  asserts  that  this  was  Bering  Bay  with  the  anchorage  of  Port 
Mulgrave  named  by  Dixon  in  the  following  year.  Dixon's  position  of  Port 
Mulgrave  was  lat.  59"  3.3'  and  long.  140"  w.  of  Greenwich,  wnile  La  P^rouse 
located  the  bay  Do  ^^onti  at  59"  43'  and  140"  20*.  Both  longitudes  were  in- 
correct in  regard  to  Port  Mulgrave. 

'  The  cuilor  of  the  journal  of  La  Pdrouse,  in  his  effort  to  establish  the 


LA  PEROUSE'S  EXPEDITION.  257 

newly  discovered  port,  called  Ltua  by  the  natives,  was 
named  rightly  and  modestly  Port  des  Fran9ais,  which 
gave  no  undue  personal  prominence  to  any  one.  Ex- 
ploring and  surveying  parties  in  boats  were  sent  out 
at  once,  while  the  remainder  of  the  crews  were  em- 
ployed in  watering  the  ships  and  re-stowing  cargo  in 
order  to  mount  six  cannons  that  had  thus  far  been 
carried  in  the  hold.* 

The  bay  of  Ltua  represents  in  its  contours  the  let- 
ter T,  the  foot  forming  its  outlet  into  the  sea.  The 
cross-bar  consists  of  a  deep  basin  terminating  in 
glaciers.  La  Pdrouse  alludes  to  it  as  "  perhaps  the 
most  extraordinary  place  in  the  world,"  and  describes 
the  upper  part  as  "  a  basin  of  water  of  a  depth  in  the 
middle  that  could  not  be  fathomed,  bordered  by  peaked 
mountains  of  an  excessive  height  covered  with  snow . . . 
I  never  saw  a  breath  of  air  ruffle  the  surface  of  this 
water;  it  is  never  troubled  but  by  the  fall  of  immense 
blocks  of  ice,  which  continually  detach  themselves  from 
fine  glaciers,  and  which  in  falling  make  a  noise  that 
resounds  far  through  the  mountains.  The  air  is  so 
calm  that  the  voice  may  be  heard  half  a  league  away, 
as  well  as  the  noise  of  the  sea  birds  that  lay  their  eggs 
in  the  cavities  of  these  rocks."  Though  charmed  with 
the  weird  grandeur  of  the  scenery,  the  explorers  were 
disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  finding  a  river  or 
channel  offering  a  passage  to  the  Canadian  lakes  or 
Hudson  Bay. 

Intercourse  with  the  natives  began  with  the  first 

French  discoYerer's  claim  to  priority  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  ignores  Cook 
as  having  b«en  'too  far  from  the  shore,'  hut  carefully  traces  the  movements 
of  Dixon  whom  he  seems  to  have  looked  upon  as  the  commander  of  the  ex- 
pedition, consisting  of  the  Kinff  George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  and  shows  that 
La  P^^rouse  sighted  Mount  St  Elias  and  other  points  far  earlier.  The  editor 
seems  to  make  a  fine  distinction  hetween  Prince  William  Sound  and  the 
'northwest  coast'  of  America.  La  P^rouse  himself  gives  so  careful  and  un- 
biassed a  description  of  what  he  saw  on  the  Alaskan  coast  as  to  impress  the 
reader  with  a  feeling  of  confidence  not  generally  derived  from  a  perusal  of 
the  narratives  of  his  English  and  other  predecessors  and  successors  in  the 
field  of  exploration. 

^This  was  done,  according  to  the  editor  of  the  journal,  not  from  fear  of 
Indians  on  the  spot,  but  with  a  view  of  defence  against  pirates  in  the  China 
seas  they  were  so  soon  to  visit. 
17 


258  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

day,  and  soon  they  came  in  large  numbers,  allured 
from  a  distance  it  was  supposed.     Contrary  to  his 
expectations  La  P^rouse  found  the  savages  in  posses- 
sion of  knives,  hatchets,  iron,  and  beads,  from  which, 
with  clearer  discrimination  than  Cook,  he  concluded 
these  natives  to  have  indirect  communication  with  the 
Russians,  while  the  latter  navigator  ascribed  such, 
indications  to  inter-tribal  traffic  originating  with  Hud- 
son Bay  posts.^     It  was  convenient  for  the  English- 
man thus  to  ignore  the  presence  of  any  rival  in  these 
parts.     Traffic  was  carried  on  with  moderate  success, 
the  chief  article  of  barter  being  iron,  and  some  six 
hundred  sea-otter  skins  and  a  number  of  other  furs 
were  obtained.     To  so  inexperienced   a  trader  the 
business  transacted  appeared  immense,  leading  the 
commander  to  the  opinion  that  a  trading-post  could 
easily  collect  twenty  thousand  skins  per  annum,  yet 
he  leaned  rather  to  occasional  private  trading  expedi- 
tions than  to  the  fixed  establishment.     The  thieving 
propensities  of  the  natives  annoyed  the  French  very 
much,  and  in  the  hope  of  keeping  the  robbers  away 
La  Pdrouse  purchased  of  the  chief  an  island  in  the 
bay,  where  he  had  established  his  astronomical  sta- 
tion; but  though  a  high  price  was  paid  for  the  worth- 
less ground  there  was  no  abatement  of  thefts.     The 
savages  would  glide  through  the  dense  spruce  thicket 
at  night  and  steal  articles  from  under  the  very  heads 
of  sleepers  without  alarming  the  guards. 

On  July  13th  a  terrible  misfortune  befell  the  ex- 
pedition. Three  boats  had  been  sent  out  to  make 
final  soundings  for  a  chart,  including  the  passage  lead- 
ing out  to  sea.  As  the  undertaking  was  looked  upon 
in  the  light  of  a  pleasure  excursion,  affording  an  oppor- 
tunity for  hunting,  the  number  of  officers  accompany- 
ing the  party  was  larger  than  the  duty  required,  seven 

^  We  have  no  evidence  of  the  advance  of  Ismailof  *s  boats  to  the  point  pre- 
vious to  the  arrival  of  the  French  fricates.  The  seal-skin  covering  of  a  large 
canoe  or  bidar  discovered  here  would  point  to  visits  of  Aglegmutes  or  Chu- 
ptsches.  The  natives  stated  that  of  seven  similar  boats,  six  had  been  lost 
111  the  attempt  to  stem  the  fearful  tide*rip  at  the  entrance  to  the  bay. 


TERRIBLE  ACCIDENT. 

in  all,  while  the  crews  consisted  of  eighteen  of  the  best 
men  from  both  vessels.  On  approaching  the  narrow 
channel  at  the  entrance  oT  the  bay,  two  of  the  boats 
were  drawn  into  the  resistless  current  and  engulfed  in 
the  breakers  almost  before  their  inmates  were  aware  of 
their  danger.  The  third  boat,  the  smallest,  narrowly 
escaped  a  like  fate.  Not  a  man  of  the  first  two  was 
saved,  not  even  a  single  body  was  washed  ashore.®  A 
monument  to  the  drowned  party  was  erected  on  the 
point  of  island  purchased  of  the  chief,  and  it  was 
named  L'Isle  du  Cdnotaphe.^  Weighing  anchor  July 
30th  the  squadron  sailed  along  the  coast  without  mak- 
ing any  observations,  but  on  the  6th  of  August  the 
weather  cleared,  enabling  I^a  P^rouse  to  determine  his 
position  in  the  vicinity  of  Norfolk  Sound.®  Puerto  de 
Bucareli  and  Cape  Kaigan  were  passed  by,  and  unfav- 
orable weather  foiled  the  attempt  to  run  into  Dixon 
Entrance,  whereupon  the  expedition  passed  beyond 
Alaska  limits.®  Superficial  as  were  his  observations, 
La  Pdrouse  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  whole 
coast  from  Cross  Sound  to  Cape  Hector,  the  south 
point  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  was  one  archipelago.^^ 

During  the  yeTar  1786  much  progress  was  made  in 
the  exploration  of  the  Alaskan  coast  between  Dixon 

•The  victims  were:  from  the  Botisaole,  d'Escures,  de  Pierrevert,  de  Mon- 
tamal  (officers),  and  8  men;  from  the  Astrolabe,  de  la  Borde  Marchainville,  de 
la  Borde  Bouteryilliere,  Flasaan  (officers),  and  7  men.  The  two  de  la  Borde 
were  brothers. 

^  The  monument  bore  an  inscription,  and  at  its  foot  a  bottle  was  buried 
containing  a  brief  narrative  of  the  melancholy  occurrence. 

•  He  recognized  the  Cabo  de  Engaiio  and  Mount  Son  Jacinto  of  the  Span- 
iards without  alludii^  to  Cook's  nomenclature  of  Moimt  and  Cape  Edgecombe. 
He  looked  into  Norfolk  Sound  from  the  group  of  islands  at  its  southern  en- 
trance, and  named  two  bays  to  the  southward,  of  which  he  saw  only  the  mouths. 
Port  Neiker  and  Port  Guibert  (probably  Port  Banks  and  Whale  Bay).  On  the 
following  day  he  named  Cape  Omraaney  (Cape  Chirikof )  and  Christian  Sound 
(Chirikof  Bay).  The  Hazy  Islands  he  renamed  Isles  de  ia  Croyj^re.  La  Pd- 
rouse,  Voy.y  vL  165-7. 

*The  details  of  La  P^rouse's  explorations  and  observations  south  of  this 
point  can  be  found  in  Hist,  Northwest  Coast,  i.,  and  IIlsL  Col,,  i.,  this  series. 

^°  In  the  following  year  the  Astroiahe  and  Boussolc  reached  the  coast  of 
Kamchatka;  but  though  the  French  officers  met  a  number  of  individuals 
identified  with  the  history  of  Alaska,  the  circumstances  of  their  sojourn  in 
the  harbor  of  Petropavlovsk  have  no  immediate  connection  with  this  nanu- 
tive. 


260  FOEEIGN  VISITOES. 

Entrance  and  the  Alaska  Peninsula.     The  Captaui 
Cook  and  the  Experiment ^  under  captains  Lowry  and 
Guise,  sailed  in  June  from  Nootka  for  Prince  Will- 
iam Land,  where  they  obtained  a  small  lot  of  furs. 
More  extensive  are  the  experiences  recorded  of  John 
JMeares.^^   He  sailed  from  Malacca  in  the  Nootka  May 
29,   1786.     A  companion   ship,  the  Sea  Otter y  also 
fitted  out  in  Bengal,  had  sailed  before  him  with  the 
intention  of  meeting  in  Prince  William  Sound,  but 
was  never  heard  of     Amlia  and  Atkha,  of  the  Aleu- 
tian group,  were  sighted  the  1st  of  August,  and  after 
passing  unawares  to  the  northward  of  the  islands 
during  a  fog  he  was  on  the  5th  piloted  into  Beaver 
Bay  by  a  Russian.     Wliile  taking  in  water,  Meares 
and  his  officers  were  hospitably  entertained  b}^  the 
Russians  on  Unalaska  under  Delarof,  yet  the  English- 
man delights  none  the  less  to  sneer  at  their  poverty 
while  extolling  the  'generous' and  'magnanimous'  con- 
duct of  the  British  trader,  as  represented  in  himself 
On  arriving  at  the  mouth  of  Cook  Inlet  soon  after, 
he  heard  that  two  vessels  had  already  visited  that 
part  of  the  coast  that  summer,  and  seeing  indications 
of  Russians  everywhere  he  passed  on  to  Prince  Will- 
iam Sound,  imagining  himself  first  on  the  ground. 
On  his  way  he  gave  the  name  of  Petrie  to  Shelikof 
Strait.     In  his  eagerness  to  gather  all  the  sea-otter 
skins  possible,  Meares  allowed  the  season  to  slip  by 
till  too  late  for  a  passage  to  China  and  no  choice 
remained  but  to  winter  in  the  sound.     He  first  tried 
the  anchorage  of  Snug  Corner  Cove,  discovered  by 
Cook,  but  subsequently  moved  his  vessel  to  a  sheltered 
nook  nearer  the  mainland,  in  the  vicinity  of  .the  pres- 
ent village  of  Tatikhlek. 

"  Voyofjea  made  in  the  years  17SS  and  1789  from  China  to  the  North-toed 
Coafit  of  America^  to  xchich  is  prejixed  an  Introductory  Narrative  of  a  Voyage 
i^iijormed  in  1786,  from  Bewjal  i7i  the  ship  Nootka,  hy  John  Meares,  £.<q., 
London,  1700.  Of  this  work  several  editions  have  been  published.  The  im- 
rrcssion  created  by  a  perusal  of  Meares'  narrative,  especially  in  the  light  of 
\i\i  later  transactions  at  Nootka,  is  that  he  was  an  insincere  and  unscrupulous 
i.ian,  and  that  he  was  bo  regarded  by  Portlock  is  evident  from  the  mauurT  in 
wliich  the  latter  bound  him  to  the  f  uUllment  of  his  promises. 


MEAIJES'  DISTRESS.  261 

The  vessel  was  but  ill-supplied  with  the  provisions 
necessary  for  a  long  winter  in  the  far  north,  but  the 
best  arrangements  possible  under  the  circumstances 
were  made.  The  ship  was  covered.  Spruce  beer 
was  brewed;  but  the  crew  preferring  the  spirituous 
liquor  which  was  served  out  too  freely  for  men  on 
short  allowance  of  food,  and  the  supply  of  fresh  fish 
meanwhile  being  stopped,  scurvy  broke  out.  Among 
the  first  victims  was  the  surgeon.  Funerals  became 
frequent.  At  first,  attempts  were  made  to  dig  a  shal- 
low grave  under  the  snow;  but  as  the  survivors  be- 
came few  and  lost  their  strength,  the  bodies  were 
dropped  through  cracks  in  the  ice,  to  become  food  for 
fishes  long  before  returning  spring  opened  their  crys- 
tal vault.  At  last  the  strength  of  the  decimated  crew 
was  barely  sufficient  to  drag  the  daily  supply  of  fuel 
from  the  forest  a  few  hundred  yards  away.  The  sav- 
ages, who  kept  themselves  well  informed,  grew  inso- 
lent as  they  waited  impatiently  for  the  last  man  to 
die. 

In  April  some  natives  from  a  distant  part  of  the 
sound  visited  the  vessel.  A  girl  purchased  by  Meares 
at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  for  an  axe  and  some 
beads,  and  who  had  served  as  interpreter,  declared 
them  to  be  her  own  people  and  went  away  with  them — 
a  rat  leaving  a  doomed  ship. 

The  depth  of  despondency  had  been  reached  when 
Meares  heard  of  the  arrival  of  two  ships  in  the  sound. 
Without  a  seaworthy  boat  or  a  crew  he  was  obliged 
to  await  a  chance  visit  from  the  new-comers.  A  let- 
ter intrusted  to  some  natives  failed  to  reach  its  des- 
tination. In  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  May,  however. 
Captain  Dixon  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  arrived  in  a 
}vhaleboat  and  boarded  the  Nootka,  which  was  still  fast 
in  the  ice.  Learning  of  Meares'  distress  he  promised 
all  necessary  assistance.^ 

^'  Meares  complained  that  Dixon  would  make  no  promise  until  the  matter 
nad  been  submitted  to  Portlock,  and  that  he  would  hold  out  no  hope  for  sup- 
plies; but  Dixon 'nTites:  *  I  had. .  .satisfaction  in  assuring  him  that  he  should 
be  famiiBhed  with  every  necessary  we  could  possibly  spare.    As  Captain 


262  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

Meares  ii6w  had  one  of  his  boats  repaired,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Portlock's  vessels,  on  the  north  side  of 
Montague  Island,  where  relief  was  obtained.  Port- 
loclf  insisted,  however,  that  Meares  should  cease  at 
once  to  trade  with  the  natives  and  leave  the  field  to 
him,  and  the  latter  yielded,  though  he  complained 
bitterly."  A  month  after  the  departure  of  the  Queen 
Charlotte  in  search  of  furs  the  Nootka  left  the  scene 
of  so  much  misery  and  disaster,  her  commander  bid- 
ding a  reluctant  farewell  to  the  coast  of  Alaska  in 
conformance  with  his  promise  to  Captain  Portlock. 

This  was  the  second  visit  to  Alaska  of  Portlock  and 
Dixon.  They  had  sailed  from  England  in  August'1785 
in  the  ship  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte^  and  first 
a^Dproached  the  vicinity  of  Cook  Inlet  on  the  16th  of 
July  1786.  Less  dismayed  than  Meares  at  the  presence 
of  Russians,  they  moved  past  them  up  to  the  head  of 
Cook  Inlet,  and  there  met  with  considerable  success 
in  trading." 

After  a  sojourn  of  nearly  a  month  the  King  George 

Meares'  people  were  now  getting  better,  he  desired  me  not  to  take  the  trouble 
of  sending  any  refreshments  to  him,  as  he  would  come  on  board  of  us  very 
shortly  in  his  own  boat.'  Dixon'8  Toy.,  155. 

^^  Meares  gives  his  readers  the  impression  of  a  strong  bias  in  this  matter, 
and  one  inclines  to  credit  the  two  naval  officers,  whose  narratives  bear  the 
stamp  of  truth.  Further  than  this  the  wild  statements,  if  not  deliberate  false- 
hoods,  of  Meares  in  connection  with  the  Nootka  controversy  are  well  known. 
Dixon  states  the  case  as  follows:  '  In  the  forenoon  of  the  11th  Captain  Meares 
and  Mr  Ross  left  us.  They  were  supplied  with  what  flour,  sugar,  molasses, 
brandy,  etc.,  we  could  possibly  spare;  and  in  order  to  render  them  every 
aseistance  in  our  power,  Captain  Portlock  spared  Captain  Meares  two  seamen 
to  assist  in  carrying  his  vessel  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  he  proposed 
going  as  soon  as  the  weather  permitted.'  /</.,  158. 

^°0n  the  10th  of  July  the  ships  had  stood  into  a  capacious  opening  on  tlie 
east  side  near  the  entrance  of  the  inlet.  The  place  was  named  Graham  Bay, 
and  a  cove  on  the  north  side  near  the  entrance  was  called  Coal  Harbor,  sev- 
eral scams  of  that  mineral  being  visible  along  the  blufis.  A  parl^  of  Russians 
with  a  number  of  native  hunters  were  encamped  near  a  lagoon,  the  site  of  the 
later  trading-post  of  Alexandrovsk.  Seeing  no  prospect  of  trade  here,  Portlock 
concluded  to  proceed  up  the  inlet  or  river  as  he  nresumed  it  to  be.  The 
highest  point  reached  by  him  :vas  Trading  Bay,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present 
village  of  Toyonok,  just  east  of  North  Foreland.  Here  some  trading  was 
clone,  evidently  with  Kadiak  or  Chugatsch  hunting  i»rties;  for  they  all  used 
the  kyak,  or  skin  canoe,  and  had  no  permanent  villages  on  the  shore.  Port- 
lock  assumed  from  the  si^s  of  these  natives  that  they  asked  his  assistance 
n  ,'ainst  the  Russians,  but  m  this  he  was  probably  mistaken.  Dixon*s  Kow.,  60- 
CO;  Partlock's  Voy.,  102-17 


PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON.  263 

and  Queen  Charlotte  left  the  inlet  on  the  13th  of  Au- 
gust, with  the  intention  to  examine  Prince  William 
Sound.  A  succession  of  contrary  winds  and  thick 
weather  interfered  with  this  plan.  For  over  a  month 
the  vessels  kept  near  the  coast,  sighting  many  joints 
previously  determined  by  Spanish  and  English  ex- 
plorers, but  finding  it  impossible  to  make  a  landing, 
until  finally,  on  the  28th  of  September,  when  in  the 
vicinity  of  Nootka  Sound,  Captain  Portlock  gave  up 
all  hopes  of  further  trade  that  season  and  headed  for 
the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

After  wintering  there  Portlock  sailed  once  more 
for  the  Alaskan  coast,  and  sighted  Montague  Island 
on  the  23d  of  April.  Natives  who  visited  the  ships 
on  the  west  side  of  the  island  were  without  furs,  but 
pointed  to  the  head  of  the  sound,  repeating  the  word 
*  Nootka,'  which  puzzled  Captains  Portlock  and  Dixon 
not  a  little,  until  the  latter  finally  fell  in  with  Meares 
as  before  stated.  The  Queen  Charlotte  stood  down 
the  coast,  while  Portlock  moved  to  Nuchek  Harbor 
to  await  the  long-boat  of  the  Kiiig  George  which  had 
been  despatched  for  Cook  Inlet  on  the  12th  of  May, 
with  orders  to  return  by  the  20th  of  June.^^  The 
boat  returned  on  the  11th,  reporting  such  success  that 
she  was  fitted  out  anew  and  despatched  upon  a  second 
trip  with  positive  orders  to  return  by  the  20th  of 
July. 

Portlock's  prolonged  stay  at  Nuchek  enabled  him 
to  form  a  very  good  chart  of  the  bay,  which  he  named 
Port  Etches,  while  a  cove  on  the  west  side  was 
called  Brook  Cove.^"  Trade  was  not  very  active, 
and  boats  sent  to  various  parts  of  the  sound  did  not 

^The  boat  was  commanded  by  Hayward,  third  mate. 

'*  A  amoke-hoiue  was  erected  for  the  purpose  of  curing  salmon;  an  abun- 
dance of  spruce  beer  was  brewed  and  a  number  of  spars  were  secured  from 
the  virgin  forest  lining  the  shores  of  the^bay.  At  the  head  of  one  of  the 
coves  an  inscription  was  discovered  upon  a  tree,  which  Portlock  believed  to 
be  Greek,  made  by  a  man  livins  among  the  natives,  but  which  of  course  was 
Russian.  Portlock  left  a  wooden  vane  and  inscription  on  Garden  Island  to 
the  south  side  of  Nuchek  Harlx>r.  Garden  strawberries  are  now  found  on 
this  and  other  points  of  Nuchek  Island — probably  the  result  of  PorUock's 
experiment   Toy.,  232,  243. 


264  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

meet  with  much  success,  some  of  them  being  robbed 
not  only  of  trading  goods  and  provisions,  but  of 
clothes  and  arms  belonging  to  the  men.  The  whale- 
boat  and  yawl  were  left  high  ashore  by  the  ebb-tide 
to  thfe  eastward  of  Nuchek  Island,  and  in  that  help- 
less condition  the  crews  were  surrounded  by  two  hun- 
dred natives  and  completely  stripped,  the  only  result 
of  the  expedition  being  the  discovery  that  Nuchek 
was  an  island,  a  fact  already  ascertained  by  the 
Spaniards. 

On  the  22d  of  July  the  long-boat  returned  from 
her  second  and  less  remunerative  voyage  to  Cook 
Inlet,  and  three  days  later  the  King  George  sailed  out 
of  Port  Etches,  passing  round  the  west  side  of  Mon- 
tague Island.  Portlock  sighted  Mount  Fairweather, 
but  failed  to  find  Cross  Sound,  which  he  had  looked 
for  in  vain  the  preceding  season.  On  the  5th  of 
August  he  found  a  harbor,  which  was  named  after 
himself,  about  twelve  leagues  to  the  southward  of 
Cape  Cross  as  located  by  Cook.^^  Here  the  King 
George  anchored  once  more  and  the  boats  were  sent 
out  in  search  of  inhabitants  and  trade.  Only  a  few 
natives  visited  the  ships,  for  no  permanent  settlement 
existed  thereabout.  The  long-boat,  however,  under 
Hayward,  made  a  quite  successful  trip  to  Norfolk 
Sound,  passing  on  the  return  voyage  through  Klokat- 
chef  Sound  Cook  Bay  of  Islands.^®  On  the  23d  of 
August  the  King  George  set  sail;  left  the  coast  of 
Alaska  for  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  the  next  rendezvous 
appointed  with  Dixon. 

'^  The  latitude  of  the  ship's  position  in  this  harbor  is  pven  as  57""  46',  but 
while  Portlock 's  sketch  seems  plain  enough,  no  later  navigator  haa  confirmed 
the  coDtours  of  the  bay.  On  the  latest  chart  issued  by  the  United  States 
Hydrographic  Office  a  simple  break  in  the  coast  line  under  the  latitude  given 
is  indicated  as  Portlock  Harbor.  It  must  exist  somewhere  on  the  west  coast 
of  Chicha^of  Island. 

^^The  inhabitants  of  Norfolk  Sound  had  shown  some  disposition  to  hos- 
tility toward  the  crew  of  the  long-boat,  but  about  the  ship  they  confined 
themselves  merely  to  stealing.  Dixon,  in  his  narrative,  spoke  of  having  seen 
here  a  white  linen  shirt  worn  by  an  Indian,  which  he  believed  to  be  of  Span- 
ish make,  but  it  is  much  more  probable  that  the  garment  had  found  its  way 
there  from  some  point  of  the  coast  where  the  Astrolabe  and  BouMole  had 
touched. 


A  RUSSIAN  EXPLORATION.  265 

Dixon  had  in  the  mean  time  sailed  eastward  along 
the  coast,  and  more  fortunate  than  Portlock  he  did  not 
overlook  the  wide  entrance  of  Yakutat  Bay,  which 
he  entered  the  23d  of  May.  He  discovered  an^  sur- 
veyed a  fine  harbor  on  the  south  side,  which  he  named 
Port  Mulgrave.  Here  the  Queen  Charlotte  remained 
nearly  two  weeks,  meeting  at  first  with  some  success 
in  trading,  though  the  natives  were  in  possession  of 
Russian  Beads  and  ironware.  An  exploration  of  the 
neighborhood  in  boats  convinced  Dixon  that  the  shores 
of  the  bay  were  thinly  peopled.^® 

On  the  4th  of  June  he  proceeded  eastward  in  search 
of  some  port  where  better  trade  might  be  found. 
Owing  to  his  distance  from  the  coast  he  failed  to 
observe  Cross  Sound,  but  on  the  11th  he  sighted 
Mount  Edgecombe,  and  the  following  day  entered  and 
named  Norfolk  Sound. *^  A  survey  was  made  which 
resulted  in  a  very  fair  chart.  Natives  made  their 
appearance  as  the  ship  was  passing  into  the  bay  and 
for  three  days  trade  was  brisk. 

On  the  24th  of  June  the  Queen  Charlotte  left  Nor- 
folk Sound,  and  on  the  following  day  another  harbor 
was  observed  and  named  Port  Banks,  probably  the 
present  Whale  Bay,  in  latitude  56°  35'.  The  wind 
not  being  favorable  no  attempt  was  made  to  enter, 
and  about  the  1st  of  July  Dixon  left  the  coast  of 
Alaska  to  meet  with  his  first  marked  success  in  trading 
at  Clark  Bay  on  the  north-western  extremity  of 
Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  The  events  of  his  voyage 
below  this  point  are  told  in  another  volume.^ 

**  Dixon  estimated  a  population  of  only  70,  including  women  and  children, 
which  is  much  too  low.  His  description  of  the  natives  is  not  very  accurate. 
See  Native  Races^  i.  passim,  this  series. 

^  The  natives  seemed  to  Dixon  more  easy  to  deal  with  than  those  at  Port 
Mulgrave.  During  an  exploration  of  the  bay  in  boats  some  inconvenience 
was  experienced  from  their  thieving  propensities.  The  astronomioil  position 
of  his  anchorage  on  the  east  shore  of  Kruzof  Island  was  lat.  70**  3\  long.  135° 
38'.  He  applied  the  name  of  White  Point  to  the  Beach  Cape  of  Uie  Russians. 
The  whole  estuary  was  named  after  the  duke  of  Norfolk. 

^^HinL  NorthvDtst  CocLst,  i. ,  this  series.  All  our  information  concerning  the 
visits  of  the  Kijig  Ocorge  and  Qveen  Charlotte  to  the  Alaakan  coast  is  derived 
from  the  narratives  of  Dixon  and  Portlock,  and  to  a  limited  extent  from  that 
of  Meares.    Portlock's  narrative  was  published  in  London  in  1799  under  the 


266  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

The  next  exploration  of  Prince  William  Sound  and 
the  coast  east  of  it  took  place  during  the  second  voy- 
age of  the  Trekh  Sviatiteliy  in  connection  with  Sheli- 
kofs  plans  for  the  development  and  extension  of  his 
colony.  This  vessel  had  arrived  at  Kadiak  from 
Okhotsk  in  April  1788  and  was  at  once  despatched 
upon  a  trading  and  exploring  voyage  to  the  eastward, 
under  Ismailof  and  Bocharof,  both  holding  the  rank  of 
masters  in  the  imperial  navy  with  special  instructions 
furnished  by  Jacobi,  then  governor  general  of  Siberia*, 
and  supplemented  by  orders  of  Eustrate  Delarof  who 
had  succeeded  Samoilof  in  the  command  of  the  colony. 
The  crew  consisted  of  forty  Russians  and  four  natives 
of  Kadiak  who  were  to  serve  as  interpreters.  In  ad- 
dition to  as  full  an  armament  and  equipment  as  cir- 
cumstances would  allow  the  expedition  was  supplied 
with  a  number  of  painted  posts  and  boards,  copper 

title  oiA  Voyage  round  the  Worlds  but  more parliadaHy  to  theNorth-  West  Cocufk 
of  America:  performed  in  1785 y  1786, 1787,  and  1788,  4to.  The  volume  bears 
endence  of  the  honest  and  careful  investigations  by  a  strict  disciplinarian 
v/ho  left  the  commercial  part  of  his  enterprise  to  others.  It  is  profusely 
illustrated  with  max)s  and  sketches  of  scenery,  etc.  The  latter,  made  chiefly 
by  an  apprentice  named  Woodcock,  have  evidently  suffered  at  the  hand  of 
the  en^ver,  for  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  the  young  man  should  have 
originally  represented  Alaska  with  groves  of  palms  and  other  tropical  trees, 
to  say  nothing  of  three-story  houses.  Another  remarkable  feature  is  that, 
though  the  special  charts  and  sketches  are  generally  correct,  the  general  chart 
of  the  coast  from  Norfolk  Sound  to  KadisJc  is  full  of  glaring  inaccuracies. 
Beginning  in  the  east,  Portlock  Harbor  in  dimensions  is  represented  oat  of 
all  proportion  to  those  of  the  special  chart  and  the  text.  The  next  discrep- 
ancy occurs  at  Nuchek  Island,  called  Rose  Island  on  the -chart,  which  is  drawn 
at  least  four  times  too  large,  and  its  contours  as  well  as  those  of  Port  Etches 
are  not  in  conformity  with  the  special  chart  and  the  text.  Montague  Island 
is  also  represented  too  large,  three  very  deep  and  conspicuous  bays  on  its 
north-eastern  end  are  omitted,  though  the  vessePs  track  is  laid  down  within 
a  mile  of  the  shore,  and  the  harbors  on  the  west  coast  are  not  laid  in  to  agree 
with  special  charts  and  text.  In  Cook  Inlet,  Graham  Harbor  is  made  at 
least  SIX  times  too  large,  but  Gape  Elizabeth  is  depicted  for  the  first  time 
correctly  as  an  island.  Shelikof  Strait,  though  known  to  the  Russians  for 
several  years,  and  named  Petrie  by  Meares,  is  still  closed  on  this  chart  and 
its  upper  portion,  just  south  of  Gape  Douglas,  retains  the  name  of  Smok^  Bay, 
civenby  Cook.  The  strait  between  Kadiak  and  Afognak  is  dul^  indicated, 
but  the  former  island  is  represented  as  part  of  the  continent,  while  Afognak 
and  Shuiak  are  made  one  island  and  named  Kodiac.  The  coast  of  the  Kenai' 
peninsula  between  Cape  Elizabeth  and  Prince  William  Sound  was  evidently 
laid  down  from  Vancouver's  chart,  but  its  corrections  in  Prince  William 
Sound  have  been  entirely  ignored.  The  compilation  of  the  general  chart  must 
have  been  entrusted  to  incompetent  hands,  without  being  revised  by  any  one 
familiar  with  Portlock's  notes  and  surveys. 


THE  *TREKH  SVIATITELI'  AGAIN.  287 

plates  and  medals,  "to  mark  the  extent  of  Bussia's 
domain."^ 

On  the  2d  of  May  the  ship  put  to  sea,  and  three 
days  later  made  Cape  Clear,  the  southernmost  point 
of  Montague  Island.*'  No  safe  anchorage  was  found 
until  the  10th,  when  the  Trekh  Sviatiteli  entered  the 
capacious  harbor  of  Nuchek  or  Hinchinbrook  Island. 
On  the  same  day  an  exploring  party  was  sent  out  in 
boats,  and  on  the  northern  side  of  the  island  a  wooden 
cross  was  erected  with  an  inscription  claiming  the 
country  as  Russian  territory.^ 

The  events  of  1787-8  must  have  been  puzzling  to  the 
natives  of  Prince  William  Sound.  Englishmen  under 
the  English  flag.  Englishmen  under  the  Portuguese 
flag,  Spaniards  and  Russians,  were  cruising  about, 
often  within  a  few  miles  of  each  other,  taking  posses- 
sion, for  one  nation  or  the  other,  of  all  the  land  in 
sight.  The  Princesa  from  Mexico  appears  to  have 
left  Nuchek  two  days  before  the  Russians  arrived 
there;  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Captain  Hutchins,  must 
have  been  at  anchor  in  Spring  Corner  Cove  about 
the  same  time,  and  shortly  after  the  Iphigenia,  Cap- 
tain Douglas,  entered  the  same  cove,**  while  Portlock 
left  traces  near  by  two  months  later.  Douglas  touched 
the  southern  part  of  Alaska  also  in  the  following 
year,  and  sought  to  acquire  fame  by  renaming  Dixon 
Entrance  after  himself. 

Bocharof  carefully  surveyed  the  inner  harbor,  the 
Brook  Cove  of  Portlock,  and  named  it  St  Constantino 
and  St  Helena,  after  the  daj  of  arrival.  On  the  27th 
of  May  the  Trekh  SvicUiteh  returned  to  the  coast  of 
Montague  Island.     Some  trading  was  done  here  de- 

«  Shelih)/,  Putesh.,  ii.  2,  3. 

"  The  two  navigators  declared  that  thia  was  the  Cape  St  Elias  of  Bering, 
without  any  apparent  basis  for  their  opinion  and  without  considering  that  in 
such  a  case  the  iiussian  discoverer  could  never  have  been  within  thirty  miles 
of  the  American  continent* 

**  At  its  fort  a  copper  plate  was  buried,  proclaiming  the  same.  LL ,  ii.  7. 

^The  latter  found  the  following  inscriptions  cut  into  the  bark  of  two 
trees:  *Z.  Etches  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  May  9,  17S8,'  and  *  John  llutchius.' 
Meares*  Toy.,  316. 


268  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

spite  the  presence  of  the  English  who  paid  such  prices 
as  the  Russians  never  dreamed  of.* 

By  advice  of  a  native  Ismailof  proceeded  to  Achakoo 
Island,^  some  distance  to  the  southward,  which  was 
described  as  abounding  in  sea-otters.  Not  finding  a 
harbor  he  landed  in  a  boat  with  seventeen  men  and  a 
Chugatsch  pilot.  After  trading  amicably  for  some 
time  the  commander  sent  off  a  party  of  eight  men  to 
gather  eggs  on  the  cliffs,  but  they  soon  came  back 
reporting  that  several  bidars  filled  with  Chugatsches 
were  approaching.  This  aroused  suspicion  among  the 
promyshleniki,  and  their  alarm  was  increased  by  the 
discovery  that  the  Chugatsch  guide  had  disappeared. 
The  chief  in  command  of  the  native  hunting  party 
professed  to  have  no  knowledge  of  the  deserter,  and 
offered  to  go  in  search  of  him  with  five  Russians  in  a 
bidar.  Four  of  these  men  the  cunning  savage  sent 
into  the  interior  upon  a  false  trail,  and  then  drawing 
a  spear  from  under  his  parka  he  attacked  the  remain- 
ing Russian  with  great  fury.  One  of  the  other  men 
returned  to  assist  his  comrade,  but  both  had  a  severe 
struggle  with  the  savage,  who  was  at  last  despatched 
with  a  musket  ball.^  As  soon  as  the  others  returned 
the  party  hurried  on  board,  the  anchor  was  raised, 
and  all  speed  was  made  to  depart. 

On  the  1st  of  June  the  Trekh  Sviatiteli  arrived  at 
the  island  of  Kyak,^  which  was  uninhabited,  though 
the  natives  from  the  mainland  came  at  times  to  hunt 
sea-otters  and  foxes.  The  adjoining  coast  was  thor- 
oughly explored,  but  the  inhabitants  fled  in  alarm, 
abandoning  their  huts  and  canoes  whenever  the  clumsy 
boats  of  the  Russians  came  in  sight.  After  a  slow 
advance  easterly,  the  large  bay  of  Yakutat  was  reached 
on  the  11th  of  June.     Here  the  chief  of  the  Thlin- 

^*  They  found  the  chiefs  rather  diffident  in  accepting  one  of  the  Russian 
medals  sent  out  by  Governor  Jacobi.  The  presence  of  a  Spanish /ra<7ato  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Island  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  it. 

''  Ochek  of  Russian  charts  and  Middleton  Island  of  Vancouver. 

^^Shdikof,  Putesh.,  ii.  29-31. 

**  Koriak  in  IsmdUof'e  Journal;  Eaye  of  Cook.  Pallas,  Neue  Nordiacht 
Jieitratje,  v.  211. 


RUSSIAN  EETICENCE.  269 

keet  nation  made  his  appearance,  having  travelled  up 
the  coast  from  his  winter  residence  at  Chilkaht  with  a 
retinue  of  over  two  hundred  warriors  including  two 
of  his  sons.  Intercourse  was  carried  on  with  great 
caution,  but  in  trading  Ismailof  was  much  more  suc- 
cessful than  Dixon.  In  addition  to  his  purchases  he 
obtained  a  large  number  of  skins  from  his  Kadiak 
hunters,  who  in  their  bidarkas  could  go  far  out  to  sea, 
where  the  open  wooden  canoes  of  the  Thlinkeets  did 
not  dare  to  follow.  In  order  to  draw  attention  from 
this  rivalry  ceremonious  visits  and  exchange  of  pres- 
ents were  kept  up.  The  Russian  commander  could 
not  have  failed  to  hear  of  Dixon's  visit,  but  not  a 
word  about  it  can  be  found  in  his  journal.  In  this 
he  probably  obeyed  instructions,  for  even  business 
letters  from  the  islands  to  Siberia  were  in  those 
days  frequently  tampered  with  by  the  authorities  of 
Okhotsk  and  Kamchatka,  and  it  was  the  interest  of 
Shelikof  and  his  partners  to  have  English  claims  to 
prior  occupation  ignored. 

Ismailof  dwells  much  upon  his  efforts  to  induce  the 
Thlinkeet  chiefs  to  place  themselves  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Russia,  and  before  leaving  he  presented  to 
Chief  Ilkhak  the  portrait  of  Tsarovich  Paul  "  at  his 
earnest  request,"  and  decorated  him  with  one  of  the 
medals  sent  out  by  the  governor  general  of  Siberia. 
Copper  plates  i  ascribed  "  Possession  of  the  Russian 
Empire"  were  also  buried  on  two  points  on  the  bay.*^ 
Two  enslaved  boys  of  the  Chugatsch  and  Chilkaht 
tribes  were  purchased,  who  proved  of  great  service 
as  interpreters,  and  in  giving  information  concerning 
the  coast  southward  and  eastward. 

From  Yakutat  the  Trekh  Sviatiteli  proceeded  east- 
ward in  search  of  another  harbor.  The  Chugatsch  boy 
acted  as  pilot  and  pointed  out  the  mouths  of  several 
rivers,  but  no  landing-place  was  discovered  until  the 

^  Two  years  later  not  a  trace  could  be  found  of  portraits,  medal,  or  cop- 
per plates,  which  makes  it  appear  timt  nkhak's  respect  for  the  Russian  impe- 
rial lamily  was  not  as  great  as  represented.  Igmailofs  JourtuU,  14-15. 


270  .    : .  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

t 

third  day,  when  the  vessel  entered  Ltua  Bay  or  Port 
des  Franjais.  Trade  was  quite  active  here  for  some 
days,  and  in  the  mean  time  Ismailof  carried  out  his 
secret  instructions  by  establishing  marks  of  Russian 
occupation  at  various  points,  and  perhaps  destroying 
the  monument  left  by  La  P^rouse.*^ 

The  results  of  Ismailof  s  explorations  during  the 
summer  of  1788  were  of  sufficient  importance  to  stimu- 
late Delarof  to  further  attempts  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, but  before  following  these  it  is  necessary  to  turn 
our  attention  to  a  visit  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  same 
year. 

Roused  by  the  reports  of  La  Pdrouse  and  others 
concerning  the  spread  of  Russian  settlements  in  the 
far  north,  and  the  influx  of  English  and  other  trad- 
ing vessels,  the  Spanish  government  in  1787  or- 
dered the  viceroy  of  Mexico  to  despatch  at  once  an 
expedition  to  verify  these  accounts  and  examine  the 
north-western  coast  for  places  that  might  be  desirable 
of  occupation  in  anticipation  of  foreign  designs.  On 
March  8,  1788,  accordingly  the  fragata  Princesa  and 
the  paquebot  San  Cdrlos,  under  Alfdrez  Est6van  Josd 
Martinez  and  the  pilot  Gonzalo  Lopez  de  Haro,  set 
sail  from  San  Bias,  with  the  additional  instructions  to 
ascend  to  latitude  61°  and  examine  the  coast  down  to 
Monterey;  to  avoid  all  trouble  with  the  Russians,  and 
to  conciliate  native  chiefs  with  gifts  and  promises.® 

*^  No  reference  is  made  in  his  journal  to  the  tablets  and  monument  placed 
by  the  French,  though  he  was  informed  by  the  natives  of  the  visit  of  two  large 
ships  to  the  harbor  and  saw  many  tools  and  implements  marked  with  the 
royal  fleur  de  lis,  A  small  anchor  similarly  marked  was  secured.  The  re- 
ports of  Ismailof  and  Bocharof  have  been  preserved  in  their  original  bad 
spelling  and  grammar,  not  easy  to  imitate,  and  we  must  therefore  presume 
that  they  were  written  in  the  unsatisfactory  and  fragmentary  shape  in  which 
we  find  them. 

«» A  man  should,  if  possible,  be  obtained  from  each  tribe  speaking  a  dis- 
tinct tongue,  as  interpreter;  frequent  landings  must  be  made  for  exploi- 
ting and  taking  possession;  Russian  establishments  must  be  closely  inspected 
to  ascertain  their  strength,  object,  etc.  *  No  deberdn  emfjenar  lance  algimo 
con  los  buques  rusos  6  de  otra  nacion.*  Provisions  were  taken  for  15  months. 
It  was  at  first  proposed  to  send  the  fragatas  ConccjKuni  and  Faroriia^  under 
Teniente  Camacho  and  Alf6rez  Maurelle,  but  sickness  and  delays  caused  the 
change  to  be  made.    For  details  of  instructions,  etc.,  see  Ctuirta  cxplorcLcion  dt 


MARTINEZ  AND  HARO.  271 

Without  touching  any  intermediate  point  they  ar- 
rived before  Prince  William  Sound  May  17th,  anchor- 
ing eleven  days  later  on  the  north  side  of  Montague 
Island  in  a  good  harbor,  which  was  named  Puerto  de 
Flores.  Here  they  took  possession  and  remained  till 
the- 15th  of  June  in  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
natives,  while  the  boats  were  sent  out  to  explore  in 
the  vicinity.^  Without  further  effort  to  examine  the 
sound,  Martinez  turned  south-eastward,  sighting  the 
Miranda  volcano  on  the  24th  of  June,  and  anchoring 
at  the  east  point  of  Trinity  Island  three  days  later. 
Shelikof  Strait  was  named  Canal  de  Flores."  Mean- 
while Haro,  who  had  lost  sight  of  the  consort  vessel, 
sailed  close  along  the  east  coast  of  Kadiak,  and  noti- 
fied by  a  native  of  the  Russian  colony  at  Three  Saints 
he  visited  it,  and  entertained  the  officers  in  return. 

Delarof,  the  chief  of  the  colony,  understood  the 
object  of  the  Spaniards,  and  took  the  opportunity  to 
impress  upon  them  that  the  tsar  had  firmly  established 
his  domain  in  this  quarter  as  far  as  latitude  52°  by 
means  of  six  settlements  with  over  four  hundred  men, 
who  controlled  six  coast  vessels  and  were  regularly 
supplied  and  visited  by  three  others.  It  was  also  pro- 
posed to  found  a  station  at  Nootka  in  the  following 
year."     In  the  interest  of  ruler  and  employers  this 

deseubrimientOB  de  la  cotta  aetenirionai  de  Caiifamia  Juuta  lo»  61  grculoa. . . 
por, ,  ,JoU  Martinez. .  ,1788,  in  Viages  al  Nortec  MS.,  No.  vii. 

*>  No  RnsstADB  were  met;  yet  a  log-house  was  found  in  a  bay  neat  the 
north  end  of  the  island,  probably  a  relic  of  Za'ikofs  wintering  four  years 
before.  Martinez  long  persisted  in  declaring  that  the  entrance  here  did  not 
lead  to  Prince  William  Sound. 

**  The  east  point  of  Trinity  was  called  Florida  Blanca.  A  taciturn  Kussian 
who  had  lived  there  for  nine  years,  came  on  board  i^d  offered  to  care  for  the 
cross  erected  by  the  Spaniards. 

^  Delarof  had  60  Russians  and  2  galeotas  at  his  place;  at  Cabo  de  Rada 
were  37  men;  at  Cape  Elizabeth,  40  men;  on  a  small  island  in  Canal  de  Flores, 
latitude  58%  40  men;  a  recnforcement  of  70  men  had  sailed  for  Cook  Inlet  to 
sustain  the  establishment  there;  in  latitude  5T  *2(y  on  the  continent  were  55 
men  and  one  galeota;  at  Unalaska,  120  men  with  two  galeotas.  Total,  six 
establisliments  with  six  galeotas  and  422  m^,  besides  a  galeota  with  40  men, 
which  annually  sailed  on  the  coast  as  far  as  Nootka,  gathering  furs  and  stor- 
ing them  in  two  magazines  at  Prince  William  Sound.  Every  other  year  two 
fragatas  came  from  Siberia  with  men  and  supplies,  goins  as  far  as  Nootka  and 
le^acinff  the  men  whose  term  of  service  had  expired.  Cuarta  Explor.,  in 
Viajea  cUNorte^  MS.,  pt.  vii.  300-10.    Delarof  s  stories  were  readily  believed 


272  FOREIGK  VISITORS. 

exaggeration  of  facts  seemed  perfectly  proper,  and  it 
assisted  no  doubt  to  reconcile  the  Spanish  government 
to  Russian  occupation  in  the  extreme  north,  but  the 
hint  about  a  projected  establishment  at  Nootka  assisted 
greatly  to  precipitate  active  measures  by  Spain,  which 
resulted  only  in  a  humiliating  withdrawal  on  her  "part 
in  favor  of  a  stronger  and  more  determined  power, 
which  effectually  checked  the  advance  of  Russia.  The 
wily  Greek  overreached  himself. 

Haro  now  rejoined  his  leader,  and  both  vessels  left 
on  July  5th  for  Unalaska.^  While  anchoring  off  its 
northern  point,  Martinez  on  July  21st  took  possession 
in  the  name  of  Spain,  and  was  shortly  after  visited  by 
Russians  from  the  station  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
island,  to  which  the  vessels  now  proceeded.*^  Here 
they  remained  till  August  18th,  caring  for  the  sick 
and  taking  in  supplies,  with  the  kind  assistance  of 
Potap  Zaifkof,  the  commandant.  Martinez  considered 
the  season  too  far  advanced  to  explore  the  coast  east- 
ward, or  even  to  seek  Nootka,  and  all  speed  was  there- 
upon made  for  the  south,  the  Princesa  stopping  at 
Monterey,  in  California,  to  recruit,  while  Haro  lin- 
gered for  a  time  round  the  islands  with  half  an  inten- 
tion to  do  something  more  toward  the  fulfilment  of 
the  orders  from  Mexico,  and  then  hurried  straight  to 
San  Bias  to  cover  faintheartedness  and  neglect  under 
the  plea  probably  that  the  knowledge  obtained  from 
Russians  of  their  doings  and  intentions,  and  of  the 
frequency  of  foreign  visits,  made  coast  exploration  less 
needful  under  the  circumstances,  while  it  was  above 
all  urgent  to  impart  the  news  to  the  governor.^ 

by  Haro,  whose  liking  for  the  commandant  was  greatly  inflaenoed  by  the 
Bimilarity  of  his  name,  in  its  original  Greek  form,  to  his  0¥m. 

^^  Lighting  a  group  called  del  Fuegos,  the  Shumagin  Islands,  and  '  el  cabo 
doiidc  dijeron  los  rusos  de  Kodiac  que  habia  vn  establecimiento  de  55  indivi- 
duos  y  una  galeota  sobre  la  costa  firme  en  5T  2(y.*  H.^  312;  bat  this  must  be 
a  misunderstanding.  On  the  11th  they  anchored  off  an  island  recorded  as 
Kodiac,  and  on  the  16th  they  sight  the  active  volcano  on  Unimak. 

^'Tho  Princesa  entered  on  July  28th;  the  San  Cdrloa,  again  separated, 
rejoined  her  a  week  later.     There  were  120  men  at  this  place. 

^^On  reporting  the  despatch  of  the  present  expedition.  Viceroy  Florea 
expressed  himself  to  the  king  as  if  he  expected  that  Russians  would  have  to 


FIDALGO'S  SURVEY.  273 

The  indiscreet  hint  of  Delarof  was  not  lost  at 
Mexico,  for  Viceroy  Flores  resolved  at  once  to  send 
back  Martinez  and  Haro  to  secure  Nootka,  at  least, 
from  Russian  and  other  intruders,  and  thence  to  ex- 
tend Spanish  settlement  if  the  king  should  so  direct. 
This  expedition,  and  the  momentous  question  to  which 
it  gave  rise,  have  been  fully  considered  in  my  History 
of  the  Northwest  Coast 

While  in  occupation  of  Nootka  the  Spaniards  made 
several  exploring  tours,  and  one  of  these,  under  Lieu- 
tenant Salvador  Fidalgo,  was  directed  to  complete 
what  Martinez  had  left  undone  by  examining  the 
coast  from  latitude  60**  southward.  He  was  pro- 
vided with  Russian  and  English  interpreters.  He 
set  sail  from  Nootka  on  May  4,  1790,  in  the  paque- 
bot  Filipino^  and  entered  Prince  William  Sound  on 
the  23d,  taking  the  vessel  into  the  nearest  large  bay 
on  the  eastern  side,  which  was  named  Menendez. 
After  exploring  its  shores  till  June  9th  he  proceeded 
northward,  naming  successively  the  bays  of  Gravina, 
Rivella  Gigedo,^  Mazarredo,  and  Vald^s.  After  more 
than  one  detention  from  fogs  and  gales  Fidalgo  passed 
round  to  Cook  Inlet  in  the  begining  of  July,  and 
was  piloted  into  Coal  Harbor  which  he  chose  to  name 
Puerto  de  Revilla  Gigedo.*^ 

Learning  of  the  arrival  of  Billings'  expedition  at 
Kadiak  the  Spanish  commander  hastened  forth  on 
August  8th  to  meet  it,  but  came  too  late.  After  a 
short  interview  with  Delarof  he  turned  eastward  with 
a  view  to  reach  the  continental  coast  and  explore  it  as 

be  ousted  by  force.  Id,^  291.    Bustamante  assnines  that  the  strength  of  the 
Kussians  alone  kept  the  Spaniards  back.  CavOy  TresSigloa,  iii.  148-9. 

"*  At  the  head  of  this  bay  the  movements  of  glaciers  was  attributed  to  aa 
active  volcano  which  received  the  name  of  Fidalgo;  the  isle  at  the  entrance  tok 
the  bay  was  called  del  Conde.  On  the  western  side  Port  Santiago  was  entered;. 
The  north  end  of  the  sound  is  placed  in  61*  KY.  The  Indians  proved  very- 
friendly,  assisting  both  with  provisions  and  labor. 

^  Without  X)&yixig  attention  to  the  reports  of  previous  Spanish  ex]^oreTS . 
Fidalgo  caused  the  Cape  Elizabeth  of  Cook  to  be  explored  anew,  and  tinding 
it  an  isle,  with  a  harbor  to  the  northeast,  he  applied  fresh  names.  Twa  points 
to  the  west  and  north  in  the  inlet  were  callea  Giuston  and  Cuadra^  Below. 
Cape  Elizabeth  was  observed  Camacho  Island. 
Hist.  AliASSa.   18 


274  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

far  as  Nootka,  but  the  wind  proved  unfavorable  and 
Fidalgo  became  fainthearted.  No  less  eager  than 
he  to  return  home,  the  council  of  officers  came  to  re- 
lieve his  conscience  by  declaring  that  the  coast  in  this 
latitude  could  not  be  followed  after  the  middle  of 
August,  owing  to  gales  and  dark  weather.  The  course 
was  thereupon  changed  for  Nootka,  but  a  storm  com- 
ing upon  them  off  this  place  they  passed  on  to  Mon- 
terey and  thence  to  San  Bias.** 

At  this  time  M.  Buache  of  Paris  had  undertaken 
to  defend  the  existence  of  the  interoceanic  passage  of 
Maldonado,"  and  impressed  by  so  eminent  authority 
the  Spanish  government  resolved  to  investigate  the 
matter.  The  commission  was  entrusted  to  Alejandro 
Malaspina,  who  about  the  time  of  Fidalgo's  return 
happened  to  arrive  at  Acapulco  in  command  of  the 
corvettes  Desciibierta  and  Atrevida,  on  a  scientific  ex- 
ploring tour  round  the  world.  He  accordingly  set  sail 
on  May  1,  1791,  and  on  June  23d  sighted  land  near 
Cape  Edgecumbe,  entering  shortly  after  Port  Mul- 
grave,  thence  to  explore  in  boats  for  MaJdonado's  pas- 
sage, and  to  take  possession.  The  search  proved 
fruitless,*^  and  on  July  5th  he  proceeded  northward 
past  Kyak  Island  to  Prince  William  Sound.  After 
a  few  observations  in  this  quarter  he  turned  southward 
again;  contented  himself  with  a  mere  glance  at  Cross 
Sound  and  the  inlets  below,  and  entered  Nootka  to 
expend  his  main  efforts  on  a  recalculation  of  its  lati- 

*'  The  report  of  this  expedition,  including  descriptions  of  country,  natives, 
and  settlers,  is  given  in  Viajes  al  Norte,  MS. ,  No.  8,  under  the  title  of  Viafje, 
del  paqnehot  *  Filipino  *  mandado  por  el  tenifnte  de  navio  D,  Salvador  Fidalgo  dfl 
pnerto  de  Nootka . .  .para  los  reconocimieiitos  del  Principe  GuiUermo  y  rio  dc 
Cook%  343-S2.  Also  Tahla  que  vnamjiesta,  in  the  same  collection,  No.  10; 
licrilla  Gigedo,  In/ormef  140-1;  NavarrefCf  Viages  Ajxfc,  64r-6;  Id.,  in  Suiil  y 
Mcxicanaj  ViagCj  cix.-xii. ;  Cavo,  Tres  Siglos,  iii.  140. 

^^For  a  consideration  of  this  extraordinary  topic,  see  Hist,  Northwest 
Coasts  i.,  tliis  series. 

**  The  l>ay  was  named  las  Bancas,  the  port  Desencafio,  and  the  interior 
island  Haeiike.  A  very  alluring  description  is  given  oi  the  scenery  and  also 
of  natives,  despite  the  inconvenience  suffered  n-em  their  thieving  propensi- 
ties. 


MALASPINA  AND  MARCHAND.  275 

tude  and  longitude,  whereupon  he  turned  toward  New 
Spain.^ 

Malaspina's  report,  together  with  those  obtained 
from  Russian  and  other  navigators,  was  deemed  suflB- 
cient  to  dissipate  the  belief  in  a  passage  north  of  Port 
Bucareli;  but  from  this  point  down  a  careful  examina- 
tion appeared  to  be  advisable,  particularly  with  a  view 
to  test  the  claim  for  Admiral  Fonte's  discovery, 
which  was  now  eclipsing  that  of  Maldonado.  A  new 
expedition  accordingly  departed  in  1792  from  San 
Bias,  under  Lieutenant  Jacinto  Caamauo,  command- 
ing the  fragata  Aranzazu.  After  leaving  at  Nootka 
certain  supplies  he  proceeded  on  June  13th  to  Port 
Bucareli,  exploring  in  that  vicinity  for  nearly  a  month 
without  arriving  at  any  solution  of  his  problem,  and 
then  turning  southward  to  examine  with  no  better 
result  Dixon  Strait  and  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
channel  dividing  Queen  Charlotte  Island  from  the 
main.  The  strait  he  sought  very  properly  to  name 
after  its  discoverer,  Perez.  *^ 

Before  this,  in  1791,  the  French  were  again  repre- 
sented on  the  Northwest  Coast  in  the  person  of 
Etienne  Marchand,  captain  of  the  Solide,  who  had 
left  Marseilles  at  the  close  of  the  previous  j^oar  on  a 
voyage  for  trade  and  circumnavigation.  He  first 
sighted  the  coast  at  Cape  Edgecumbe  on  August  7th, 
and  shortly  after  entered  Norfolk  Sound.**  He  found 
the  natives  abundantly  supplied  with  European  goods, 
and  inclined  to  drive  hard  bargains  for  the  small  stock 
of  furs  left  in  their  hands,  so  that  bartering  was  not 
very  successful.     On  the  21st  he  proceeded  to  Quoeu 

^Malaspina^  Viage  1701,  in  Naixirret^,  Vingea  Ap6c.,  96-8,  268-320; 
NavarreUt  m  Sutily  Aier.,  Vi^i/Cj  cxii.-xxiii. 

**The  main  features  of  this  exploration  have  been  considered  in  UK 
Northwest  Coast y  i.,  tliis  series.  Xavarretc  and  others  are  at  fault  concern- 
ing the  dates  of  Caamafio's  movements.  The  exploration  of  Bucareli  oc- 
cupied him  from  June  25th.  On  July  20th  he  anchored  at  the  entrance  to 
Dixon  Strait.  A  short  distance  north  of  this  he  had  examined  and  named  the 
harbor  of  Baylio  Bazan.  Vaamafw^  Erpfd.y  AranzazUy  in  Col,  Doc.  Iiiuf.,  xv. 
Zi2^-G3;  Kamrrrte,  in  Suiily  Mcjc.,  Vkv}t\  cxxiii.-xxxi.;  HtcMaUvjtdo,  In- 
forms, 12deAbril,  1793,  144;  Caro.  Tn-s  S'njlo^,  iii.  144. 

^  For  these  places  the  Spanish  names  are  used.  The  Indians  called  the 
soond  Tchinkitan^. 


276  FOREIGN  VISITOR& 

Charlotte  Island,  where  his  most  valuable  explora- 
tions were  made  during  a  vain  effort  to  find  better 
trade/^  Several  other  traders  visited  the  southern 
shores  of  Alaska  during  these  and  following  years, 
but  the  few  records  left  of  their  movements  concern 
chiefly  my  History  of  the  Northivest  Coast j  to  which  I 
refer  the  reader  for  text  as  well  as  maps. 

The  result  of  the  Nootka  controversy,  brought 
about  by  hasty  action  of  the  Spaniards,  as  well  as  the 
belief  in  an  interoceanic  passage,  revived  by  Buache 
and  others,  and  supported  by  the  revelation  of  numer- 
ous channels  all  along  the  Northwest  Coast,  deter- 
mined the  English  government  to  send  an  expedition 
to  this  region.  The  explorations  of  Cook  west  and 
north  of  latitude  60**  were  deemed  conclusive,  but  be- 
low this  point  they  required  to  be  completed  and  veri- 
fied. This  commission  was  entrusted  to  Greorge 
Vancouver,  who  departed  from  England  in  April 
1791  in  the  sloop  Discovery  of  twenty  guns,  accom- 
panied by  the  tender  Chatham  of  ten  guns,  under 
Lieutenant  W.  R.  Broughton.  The  year  1792  was 
spent  in  explorations  south  of  the  Alaska  line,  but  in 
July  1793  the  expedition  reached  the  entrance  of  Port- 
land Inlet  and  sent  boats  to  examine  its  two  branches. 
Tlie  dawning  hope  of  here  finding  Fonte  s  passage  was 
quickly  dissipated,  and  the  boats  proceeded  north- 
ward through  Behm  Canal.  On  descending  its  south- 
western turn  along  Revilla  Gigedo  Island,  as  it  was 
now  shown  to  be,  Vancouver  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  a  party  of  natives  who  attacked  his  boat  with 
muskets  and  other  weapons.  The  prompt  appearance 
of  the  second  boat  changed  the  turn  of  affairs.  The 
arty  now  passed  into  Duke  of  Clarence  Strait — named 
)y  Caamafio  after  Admiral  Fonte— and  returned  to 
the  ships.**® 

*'  As  related  in  Ilint,  Northiregt  Coasts  i.,  this  series.  Marchand,  Voyage  au- 
tof'r  tiff  Monde,  i.  288-92;  ii.  1  et  seq.  The  natives  of  Norfolk  Sound  are  spoken 
of  fl'*  extremely  immoral. 

^^Thc  names  applied  on  the  map  along  this  tour  are  Portland  Inlet  and  its 


i 


VANCOUVER'S  VOYAGE.  277 

These  proceeded  August  17th  up  the  last  named 
strait  to  Port  Protection  on  the  north  end  of  Prince 
of  Wales  Island,  which  was  reached  September  8th, 
after  an  intermediate  stay  at  Port  Stewart.  The 
boats  meanwhile  explored  past  Cape  Caamaiio,  the 
highest  point  reached  by  the  Spanish  explorer  of  this 
name,  and  up  Prince  Ernest  Sound  round  Duke  of 
York  Island,  which  later  discoveries  dissolved  into  a 
group.  The  mouth  of  the  Stikeen  was  observed,  but 
not  as  the  outlet  of  a  large  stream.*"  The  season 
now  well  advanced,  it  was  resolved  to  terminate  the 
extensive  surveys  for  the  season  and  seek  a  well  earned 
rest  in  sunnier  latitudes. 

Vancouver  congratulated  himself  that  "  there  would 
no  longer  remain  a  doubt  as  to  the  extent  or  the  fal- 
lacy of  the  pretended  discoveries  said  to  have  been 
made  by  De  Fuca  and  De  Fonte."  He  had  demon- 
strated that  the  continent,  with  a  range  of  mountains 
broken  by  rivers  alone,  extended  from  Columbia  River 
to  beyond  the  northern  extreme  of  Prince  of  Wales 
Island.  To  the  part  of  the  main  below  Pitt  Archi- 
pelago he  applied  the  names  of  New  Hanover  and 
New  Georgia;  thence  to  the  northern  line  of  the 
present  survey,  New  Cornwall. 

On  the  21st  of  September  the  vessels  left  Port 
Protection,  and  passed  Port  Bucareli,  southward  by 
way  of  Nootka  and  California  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
there  to  winter.    On  March  15, 1794,  sails  were  again 

two  branches,  Portland  Canal  and  Observatory  Inlet,  the  latter  examined 
shortly  before  by  Mr  Brown  of  the  Butterworth;  Bocas  de  Quadra;  liohni 
Canal,  in  honor  of  the  Kamchatkan  governor  who  showed  attention  to  Cook's 
expedition  in  1779;  the  points  at  its  entrance  were  called  Sykes  and  Alavn, 
the  latter  i^ter  the  commandant  at  Nootka.  Along  this  canal:  New  Eddy- 
stone  rock — ^resembling  a  lighthouse— Walker  Cove,  Burrough  Bay,  Traitor 
(Jove— to  commemorate  the  attack  by  natives — Port  Stewart  and  Beaton 
Island;  Point  Vallenar,  the  north  end  of  Gravina  Island,  and  Cape  Northum- 
berland, its  south  point,  besides  a  number  of  intermediate  promontories. 

^  Along  the  east  side  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island  and  its  adjoining  parts 
ai«  marked  Moira  Sound,  Wedge  Island,  Cholmondeley  Sound,  Port  uriu- 
dall.  The  entrance  to  Prince  Ernest  Sound  is  marked  by  points  Onslow  and 
Le  Mesurier,  and  along  its  course  arc  Bradfield  Canal,  and  Duncan  Canal. 
Along  the  western  extension  of  Duke  of  Clarence  Strait,  Point  Baker  forming 
the  north  end  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  Conclusion  Island,  and  Afiieck 
Canal;  below  lie  Coronatio»  and  Warren  Islands,  the  latter  facing  Cape  Pole. 


278  FOREIGN  VISITORS. 

set  for  the  north,  and  on  April  5th  Trinity  Island  was 
sighted.^  Seven  days  later  the  Discovery  entered 
Cook  Inlet  and  proceeded  northward  to  its  very  head. 
Finding  that  it  was  not  the  mouth  of  a  large  river  as 
Cook  had  supposed,  a  fact  well  known  to  the  Kussians, 
Vancouver  changed  the  name  to  its  present  form. 
The  Chatham  having  arrived,  both  vessels  visited  the 
factory  half  way  up  the  inlet  in  charge  of  Zaikof,^^ 
and  rounded  Cape  Elizabeth  May  14th,  en  route  for 
Prince  William  Sound,  where  anchor  was  cast  in  Port 
Chalmers  on  the  west  side  of  Montague  Island.  Boats 
were  now  sent  out  to  examine  the  sound  and  adjoining 
lands,  and  the  Cliatham  proceeded  to  survey  the  main 
coast  to  Yakutat  Bay,  there  to  await  the  Discovei^y. 
The  survey  of  the  sound  resulted  in  a  number  of 
corrections,  notably  on  the  maps  of  Cook,  yet  Spanish 
and  other  existing  nomenclature  was  as  a  rule  main- 
tained. Aid  was  also  obtained  from  Russian  material 
from  which  source  the  configuration  of  Kadiak  Island 
and  the  region  westward  had  to  be  adopted.*^  The 
Russians  under  Baranof,  who  resided  on  Kadiak  and 
controlled  chiefly  establishments  along  the  sea  border, 
observed  greater  reticence,  as  noticed  in  connection 
with  Ismailof's  exploration;  but  those  of  the  other 
company,  occupying  Cook  Inlet  and  Hinchinbrook 
Island,  were  more  communicative.  They  admitted 
that  the  easternmost  factory  was  on  this  island, 
though  trading  expeditions  roamed  beyond  toward 
Nootka.  The  total  force  employed  was  about  four 
hundred,  independent  of  native  employes.     The  abo- 

^^  On  the  .3d  Akamok  Island  was  sighted  and  named  after  Chirikof. 

*^  A  smaller  factory  existed  higher  up  on  the  opi)ositc  western  side.  Alex- 
mulrovsk  escaped  observation.  Karnes  were  applied  to  several  points  along 
tlie  coasts  and  at  the  head,  and  the  harbor  at  Cape  Elizabeth  was  renamed 
Tort  Chatham.  The  portage  from  Turn-again  Arm  to  Prince  William  Sound 
was  noticed. 

*2  Among  the  names  added  to  the  Sound  chart,  were  Port  Bainbridge, 
Passage  Canal,  and  Port  Wells,  where  the  supposed  volcano  of  the  Spanish 
expedition  is  referred  to  merely  as  a  moving  glacier.'  One  of  the  inlets  re- 
6c'ive<l  the  name  of  Fidalgo,  to  commemorate  his  exploration.  The  island 
north-east  of  Hinchml)rook  was  called  Hawkins.  Copper  River  received  no 
place  on  the  chart.  Tlic  waters  of  the  sound  were  found  to  have  encroached 
rapidly  on  the  shore  line  duiing  the  past  decade. 


SEARCH  FOR  A  STRAIT,  27» 

riginal  population  appeared  exceedingly  scanty,  espe- 
cially on  the  sound.  Vancouver  "clearly  understood 
that  the  Russian  government  had  little  to  do  with 
these  settlements;  that  they  were  solely  under  the 
direction  and  support  of  independent  mercantile  com- 
panies," whose  members  appeared  to  live  highly  con- 
tented among  the  natives,  exercising  over  them  an 
influence  due  not  to  fear  but  to  affection,  and  fostered 
by  training  the  children  in  the  Russian  language  and 
customs.*® 

The  Discovery  left  the  sound  June  20th  to  join  the 
consort  vessel,"  which  was  observed  in  Yakutat  Bay 
and  instructed  to  follow.  This  bay  was  named  after 
Bering  "from  a  conviction  of  its  being  the  place  that 
Beering  had  visited."^*  A  Russian  party  under  Pur- 
tof,  with  nearly  a  thousand  natives  from  Kadiak  and 
Cook  Inlet,  hunted  here  at  the  time,  though  amidst 
many  apprehensions,  owing  to  the  rather  unfriendly 
attitude  of  the  inhabitants.  Near  by  appeared  the 
Jackall,  Captain  Brown,  cruising  along  this  coast  for 
the  third  consecutive  season.^ 

Cross  Sound  was  entered  on  July  7th,  and  anchor 
cast  in  Port  Althorp,  on  the  north  end  of  Chichagof 
Island 'called  after  King  George  by  Vancouver.  From 
here  a  boat  explored  Lynn  CanaP^  which  almost 
touches  the  headwaters  of  the  mighty  Yukon,  and 

"  Vanr(mvfT*8  Voy.,  iii.  199-201.  The  natives  of  the  sound  were  not  so 
docile,  yet  hardly  less  trusted  by  the  Russians.  This  assimilation  of  the  two 
peoples  must  give  the  Kussians  a  decided  'advantage  over  all  other  civilized 
nations*  for  controlling  trade. 

^  Cape  St  Elias  of  Kyak  Island  was  renamed  Cape  Hamond;  and  lower 
on  the  coast  names  were  applied  to  several  points. 

M  The  Bering  Bay  as  located  by  Cook  was  voted  a  mistake.  While  apply- 
ing this  name  to  Yakutat,  Mulgrave  was  retained  for  the  harbor  on  its  south 
shore.  The  points  at  the  entrance  to  the  bay  received  the  names  Manby  and 
Phipps.  Port  des  Franpais  was  missed.  As  the  Chatham  was  leaving  Kyak 
Islaind  a  letter  came  from  Shields,  the  English  shipbuilder  employed  by  Sheli- 
kof ,  offering  his  services.  It  was  too  late  to  turn  back  for  an  interview  with 
hioi. 

*•  Brown  had  sent  the  Butterworth,  his  leading  vessel,  to  England  in  1793, 
coming  to  this  coast  in  the  tenders  Jackall  and  Prince  le  Boo.  He  now  turned 
for  Cross  Soand,  with  whose  inlets  he  was  well  acquainted.  Id.,  207. 

•'  So  named  after  Vancouver's  birth-place  in  Norfolk.  Bemers  Bay,  Hood 
Bay,  Port  Frederick,  and  a  number  of  capes  were  named,  notably  capes  Spen- 
cer and  Cross  at  the  entrance  of  Cross  Sound. 


280  FOREIGN  VISITOBS. 

thence  Chatham  Strait  for  a  distance,  but  the  large 
Glacier  Bay  escaped  observation,  although  it  almost 
faces  the  anchorage.  The  Arthur^  Captain  Barber, 
from  Bengal,  appeared  here  at  the  time,  and  out  of 
consideration  for  the  trader  Vancouver  stopped  all 
dealing  in  furs  by  his  own  men.  On  August  1st 
the  vessels  anchored  in  Port  Conclusion,  inside  Cape 
Ommandy  at  the  south  end  of  Baranof  Island,"  thence 
to  complete  the  survey  to  the  line  of  the  preceding 
season.  Lieutenant  Whidbey  passed  up  Stephens 
Passage,  which  encloses  Admiralty  Island,  and  then 
down  into  the  southern  arm  of  Prince  Frederick 
Sound,  where  he  met  Master  Johnstone,  the  other 
boat  explorer,  who  had  examined  Koo  and  Kuprianof 
Island.  Amid  rousing  cheers  the  combined  crews  cele- 
brated the  conclusion  of  their  task,  the  exploration  of 
the  Northwest  Coast  for  a  passage.®* 

Vancouver  had  achieved  a  veritable  triumph.  He 
h^d  left  England  on  the  1st  of  April,  as  he  observes, 
on  a  fool's  errand,  to  search  for  an  interoceanic  passage 
south  of  latitude  60^  The  explorations  and  inter- 
course of  the  Russians  with  the  natives  had  long  since 
made  them  regard  the  passage  as  a  myth,  and  the 
expedition  was  by  them  invested  almost  wholly  with 
political  aims.*' 

Failing  in  his  quest,  Vancouver  at  any  rate  was 
able  to  **  remove  every  doubt,  and  set  aside  every 
opinion  of  a  north-west  passage,  or  any  water  com- 
munication navigable  for  shipping,  existing  within  the 
north  Pacific,  and  the  interior  of  the  American  conti- 

^  Comprised  by  Vancouver  in  King  George  TTT.  Archipelago,  the  shore 
line  of  which  was  not  closely  marked. 

^'  Much  valuable  information  was  obtained  from  Captain  Brown  of  the 
Jockall,  who  had  navigated  these  inlets  for  some  time.  He  reported  the  sea- 
otter  skins  of  this  quarter  to  be  exceedingly  fine.  Among  the  places  named 
on  this  route  are  Seymor  Canal,  Douglas  Island,  ports  Snettisham  and  Hough- 
ton, Holkham  Bay,  ports  Camden  and  Malmesbury.  Kuprianof  Island  was 
classed  as  a  peninsula  owing  to  certain  shallows  which  seemed  to  connect  it 
with  the  main. 

^  The  exploration  being  a  pretext  for  taking  possession,  as  Zallcof  expresses 
it.  Journal,  in  Sitka  Archives,  MS.,  vi.  See  aiso  Tikhmentf,  Jttor.j  ii.,  and 
XordUche  Bcitrdije, 


KOMENCLATURE.  281 

nent,  within  the  limits  of  our  researches."^  In  taking 
possession  for  England  he  stretched  the  line  only  to 
Cape  Spencer,  in  Cross  Sound,  a  moderation  which 
the  Russians  could  scarcely  have  expected.*"  This 
additional  territory,  north  of  New  Cornwall,  was  called 
New  Norfolk,  after  his  native  county.  It  is  to  be 
observed  that  he  generally  respected  the  names  ap- 
plied by  traders  or  foreign  officials,  while  adding  a 
mass  of  new  ones,  and  the  nomenclature  in  his  charts 
has  even  in  Alaska  met  with  considerable  attention. 
On  August  24,  1794,  the  expedition  left  Christian 
Sound  for  Nootka,  and  thence  by  way  of  California 
and  Cape  Horn  for  England,  where  it  arrived  in  Sep- 
tember the  following  year.® 

^  To  ihiB  end  he  had  made  snrvevs  far  more  thorough  than  were  demanded 
in  his  instmctions,  yet  he  felt  confident  that  they  would  be  approve.  Van' 
couver*B  Toy.,  passim. 

"For  the  officers  at  the  factories  left  him  the  impression  that  'the  Amer- 
ican continent  and  adjacent  islands,  as  far  to  the  eastward  at  the  meridian  of 
Kayes  Island,  belonged  exclasivelv  to  the  Russian  empire.'  Id.,  iii.  115,  2S5. 
He  evidently  believed  that  they  claimed  beyond  that,  nowever,  and  the  gov- 
ernment certainly  did,  as  wiU  be  seen.  Vancouver  found  that  the  cross 
erected  by  Fidalgo  on  Hinchinbrook  Island  when  taking  possession  had  been 
respected,  notwithstanding  the  royal  name  inscribed,  /a.,  171.  The  marks 
left  by  King  in  Cook  Inlet  could  not  be  found. 

"  During  the  five  years*  voyage  the  Discovery  lost  only  5  men  by  accidents 
and  one  from  disease,  out  of  100  men,  while  the  consort  lost  not  a  single  man. 
a  result  for  which  the  commanders  cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  For  bibli- 
ography and  other  features  in  connection  with. this  expedition,  see  Hist, 
Northwest  Coast,  L  this  series. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TEE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

1785-1793. 

FLATTEMyo  Prospects — Costly  Outfit— The  Usual  Teabs  of  Prepaba- 
TiON — ^An  Expectaitt  Woeld  to  be  Enlightened — Gathering  of 
the  Expedition  at  Kamchatka— Divers  Winterings  and  Ship-build- 
ing—Preliminary  Surveys  North  and  South — ^At  Unalaska  and 
Kadiak — Russian  Rewards — Pebiodio  Promotion  of  Billings— ^t 
St  Lawrence  Island— Bilungs*  Land  Journey — Wretched  Condi- 
tion OF  Russian  Hunters— End  of  the  Tribute  System — ^Result 
OF  THE  Expedition— Sarychef's  Surveys— Shelikof's  Duplicity — 
Priestly  Performance. 

The  most  promising  of  all  scientific  exploring  expe- 
ditions undertaken  by  the  Russian  government  for 
-the  acquisition  of  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  its 
new  possessions  in  Asia  and  America  was  that  com- 
manded by  Captain  Joseph  Billings,  an  Englishman 
who  had  served  under  Cook.  The  enterprise  was 
stimulated  by  the  report  of  La  P^rouse's  departure 
upon  a  similar  errand.  The  empress  issued  an  oukaz 
on  the  8th  of  August  1785,  appointing  Billings  to 
the  command  of  "A  Secret  Astronomical  and  Geo- 
graphical Expedition  for  navigating  the  Frozen  Sea, 
describing  its  Coasts,  and  ascertaining  the  Situation 
of  the  Islands  in  the  Seas  between  the  two  Continents 
of  Asia  and  America."* 

The  senate  and  admiralty  college  confirmed  and 
supplemented  the  appointments,  and  in  September 
Lieutenant  Sarychef  of  the  navy  was  despatched  to 
the  port  of  Okhotsk  with  a  party  of  ship-builders, 
under  orders  to  construct  two  vessels  in  accordance 

^Sauer's  Geog.  and  Astron.  Exped,,  1. 

(282) 


PERSONNEL.  283 

with  plans  furnished  by  another  Englishman,  Mr 
Lanib  Yeames.  The  governor  general  of  Irkutsk 
and  Kolivansk  had  received  instructions  to  furnish 
the  necessa^  material. 

Captain  killings  set  out  upon  his  journey  a  few 
weeks  later,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Hall,  Sur- 
geon Robeck,  Master  Batakof  of  the  navy,  and  Mar- 
tin Sauer,  secretary  of  the  expedition.* 

The  party  did  not  leave  Irkutsk  until  the  9th  of 
May  1786.  Two  medical  officers  and  naturalists 
were  added  at  the  last  moment — a  German,  Dr. 
Merck,  with  an  English  assistant,  John  Main. 

On  the  29th  the  expedition  arrived  at  Yakutsk, 
where  the  necessary  arrangements  had  been  made  for 
supplies  of  provisions  and  stores  and  the  required 
means  of  transportation  for  the  different  divisions  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Kovima  or  Kolima  river  and  to 
Okhotsk.  Lieutenant  Hall  was  in  command  of  the 
latter  and  Lieutenant  Bering  of  the  former.  Lieuten- 
ant Hall's  division  arrived  at  Okhotsk  soon  after  Bil- 
lings and  a  few  attendants  had  reached  that  seaport 
on  the  3d  of  July.  As  it  was  found  that  more  time 
w^ould  be  consumed  in  building  the  ships  than  had 
been  expected,  Billings  took  some  steps  with  a  view 
of  visiting  the  Chukchi  country  first,  and  to  that 
end  placed  himself  in  communication  with  Captain 
Shmalef  who  was  much  respected  by  both  Kamchat- 
kans  and  Chukchi.  On  the  3d  of  August  all  the 
officers,  with  the  exception  of  Lieutenant  Hall,  set 

*  Sauer  gives  the  personnel  of  the  expedition,  aa  it  departed  from  St  Peters- 
burg, as  follows:  Joseph  Billings,  commander;  lieutenants,  R()l)ert  Hall,  Gavril 
Sarychef,  and  Christian  Bering,  a  nephew  of  Vitus  Bering;  Master  Afanassia 
Bakof,  rigger  and  store-keeper;  masters  Anton  Batkhof  and  Sergei  Bronnikof ; 
8iu*geons,  Michael  Robeck  and  Peter  Allegretti;  draughtsman,  Luka  Vtronin; 
one  mechanician,  two  ship-buildors,  two  surgeon's  mates,  one  mastet*'8  mate; 
one  boatswain;  three  *court  hunters'  for  stuffing  birds,  etc. ;  eight  pettj-  ollicers, 
seven  soldiers,  riflemen,  and  Martin  Sauer  as  private  secretary  and  journalist. 
At  Irkutsk  the  following  additions  were  made:  two  Russian  book-keepers  and 
acconntants,  Vassily  Diakonof  and  Fcodor  Karpof ;  Lieutenant  Polossof  of  tho 
army,  who  was  acquainted  with  the  Chukchi  language;  six  petty  ofTiccrs  from 
the  school  of  navigation  at  Irkutsk;  three  men  who  understood  the  construc- 
tion of  skin  boats;  one  turner,  one  locksmith;  fifty  Cossacks  commanded  by 
a  sotnik ;  two  drummers — in  all  69  men  in  addition  to  the  30  from  St  l^eters- 
burg.  Id.,  12.  13. 


284  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

out  for  the  Kovima  River,  the  last  named  taking  the 
place  of  Lieutenant  Sarychef  in  superintending  the 
construction  of  the  ships.  Toward  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember Billings  and  his  party  arrived  at  Verkhnoi 
Koviraa,  but  only  to  find  that  winter  had  already  set 
in  with  great  severity,  and  to  meet  with  almost  insur- 
mountable difficulties  in  obtaining  shelter  and  sup- 
plies. The  sufferings  during  the  winter  were  very 
great  on  account  of  the  extreme  cold  as  well  as  the 
scarcity  of  provisions;  but  better  times  came  with 
spring. 

The  work  of  preparing  for  the  northward  trip  was 
never  relaxed,  and  on  the  25th  of  May  1787  the  main 
body  of  the  expedition  set  out  on  two  vessels  which 
had  been  constructed  during  the  winter,  the  Pallas 
and  the  Yasatchnoi:  Near  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Captain  Shmalef  was  found  awaiting  them  with  some 
guides  and  interpreters  and  a  large  quantity  of  dried 
reindeer  meat.  The  ostrog  Nishnekovima  was  reached 
on  the  17th  of  June.  There  more  deer-meat  was  pro- 
cured and  then  the  expedition  passed  on  into  the 
Arctic* 

They  steered  eastward  and  on  the  21st  of  June 
reached  the  place  where  Shalanrof  had  perished  in 
1762.  A  cross  marked  the  spot,  and  another  was 
found  near  the  remains  ^of  huts  erected  by  Laptief 
and  his  party  in  1739.  Their  progress  was  continued 
with  many  interruptions  until  the  25th  of  July,  when 
an  observation  showed  latitude  69°  35'  56",  longitude, 
168°  54',  and  Billings  concluded  to  give  up  all  further 
attempts  and  return  to  Nishnekovima.* 

When  the  party  arrived  at  Yakutsk  it  was  found 

'  In  accordance  with  the  imperial  ookaz  Billings  here  assumed  the  rank  of 
ft  fleet  captain  of  the  second  class,  the  necessary  oath  being  administered  by 
a  priest  brought  for  that  purpose.  Id.,  Cd-70. 

*  Sauer  and  many  of  the  officers  were  of  the  opinion  that  everything  looked 
favorable  for  a  passage  into  the  Pacific.  Captain  Sarychef  even  offered  to 
undertake  the  enterprise  in  an  open  bidar,  with  six  men,  intending  to  camp 
on  the  beach  every  night,  but  Billings  was  deaf  to  all  entreaties  and  con- 
tented himself  with  inducing  a  majority  of  his  officers  to  sign  a  statement 
that  it  would  be  wiser  to  return  to  the  Kovima.  Id.,  77-8. 


EMBARKATION.  285 

that  a  large  quantity  of  the  most  important  stores 
was  still  awaiting  transportation  at  Irkutsk,  necessi- 
tating a  journey  to  that  city  on  the  part  of  Billings 
and  several  of  his  officers.  This  little  excursion 
delayed  the  expedition  till  September  1788,  when  the 
greater  part  of  the  command  was  once  more  assembled 
at  Okhotsk.  The  first  and  largest  of  the  two  vessels 
destined  for  the  voyage  was  not  launched  until  the 
following  July.  She  was  named  the  Slava  Rossie^ 
Glory  of  Russia.  The  second  ship,  the  Doh^aia  Nor  k_ 
merenia,  Good  Intent,  was  launched  in  August,  but 
was  wrecked  while  attempting  to  cross  the  bar  at 
Okhotsk.  In  order  to  get  quickly  at  the  iron  work 
with  which  to  build  a  new  vessel  the  hull  of  the 
Namerenia  was  burned.*  On  the  19th  of  September 
the  Slava  Rossie  sailed  at  last  and  arrived  at  Petro- 
pavlovsk  on  the  1st  of  October.  Here  the  ship  was 
unrigged  and  the  whole  party  went  into  winter- 
quarters  to  await  the  arrival  of  a  store-ship  with 
supplies  in  the  spring. 

Early  in  March  1790  additional  news  arrived, 
warning  Billings  of  the  presence  of  a  Swedish  cruiser, 
the  Mercury,  Captain  Coxe,  with  sixteen  guns,  in  the 
waters  he  was  about  to  navigate.*  The  Slava  Mossie  ' 
mounted  sixteen  brass  guns,  but  they  were  only 
three-pounders.  Despite  the  apprehension  created, 
no  change  was  made  in  the  plans. 

On  the  1st  of  May  the  whole  expedition  embarked  \ 
and  stood  out  to  sea  on  an  easterly  course.    The  voy- 
age was  tedious,  no  land  being  sighted  till  the  2 2d, 
when  the  island  of  Amchitka  appeared  in  the  north. " 
On   the    1st  of  June   the   island  of  Unalaska  was 

^  On  the  14th  of  September  a  conrier  arrived  from  RuBsia  with  iDtelligence 
which  almost  put  an  end  to  further  progress  of  the  expedition.  War  had 
broken  out  with  Sweden,  and  the  Russian  govemmeut  was  much  in  want  of 
money  and  naval  officers.  Jd.,  143. 

*  Fribvlof  reported  that  the  Swedish  cruiser  mentioned  in  Billings'  instruc- 
tions had.  actually  visited  the  Aleutian  Islands  durinff  the  summer,  out  in  view 
of  the  abject  misery  and  privations  in  which  he  found  tne  Russian  traders  living, 
the  humane  Captain  Coxe  abstained  from  hostilities  and  even  made  Pribylof, 
whom  he  had  questioned  concerning  the  Russian  establishments,  very  accept- 
able presents  of  bread,  brandy,  some  clothing,  and  a  quadrant.  Id.,  212. 


283  THE  BILLINGS  SaENTIFIC  EXPEDITION-. 

made,  and  on  the  3d  some  natives  came  on  board, 
followed  in  the  afternoon  by  a  Russian  in  an  eight- 
oar  bidar.  The  latter  conducted  the  vessel  into  Bob- 
rovoi  (Beaver)  Bay.  Here  a  supply  of  water  and 
ballast  was  procured  and  on  the  13th  of  June  the 
expedition  sailed  again  to  the  north-east  and  north.^ 

In  a  few  days  Sannakh  and  the  Shumagin  Island 
were  reached/  where  the  Slava  Rossie  was  visited  bj' 
a  large  party  of  Aleuts  who  were  hunting  for  the 
Panof  company  under  superintendence  of  a  Russian. 
On  the  26th  of  June  a  Russian  boarded  the  ship;  he 
was  accompanied  by  two  hundred  natives  and  came 
-  from  Shelikof  s  establishment  on  Kadiak  Island.  On 
the  29th  the  expedition  arrived  in  Trekh  Sviatiteli,  or 
Three  Saints  Harbor,  the  site  of  the  first  permanent 
settlement  on  the  island.  Eustrate  Ivanovich  Delarof 
w^as  then  in  command  of  the  colony.  He  told  Sauer 
that  he  had  despatched  that  year  six  hundred  double 
bidarkas,  each  manned  by  two  or  three  natives,  to 
hunt  sea-otters,  sea-lions,  and  fur-seal;  they  were 
divided  into  six  parties,  each  in  charge  of  a  Russian 
peredovchik.^ 

The  establishment  at  that  time  consisted  of  about 
fifty  Russians,  including  officers  of  the  company  and 
Master  Ismailof,  the  same  whom  Cook  met  at  Una- 
laska  in  1778.  He  was  stationed  at  Three  Saints 
to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  government.  The 
buildings  numbered  five  of  Russian  construction,  the 
barracks,  offices,  and  counting-house,  besides  store- 
houses, blacksmith,  carpenter,  and  cooper  shops,  and 
a  ropewalk.     Two  vessels  of  about  eighty  tons  each 

^  Sauer  states  that  the  Eussians  then  on  that  part  of  the  island  belonged 
to  Cherepanof  8  company,  who  had  resided  there  eight  years  and  expected  to 
be  relieved  that  season  by  a  jmrty  from  Okhotsk.  The  author  dwells  upon 
the  cruel  treatment  of  the  Aleuts  at  the  hands  of  the  ignorant  and  overbear- 
ing promyshleniki.  /(/.,  L'SO-Cl. 

^  Though  writing  soon  after  Bering's  and  Steller's  reports  were  published, 
Sauer  states  that  these  islands  received  their  name  from  the  *  discoverer,  a 
Russian  sailor  of  Bering's  expedition.*  The  poor  fellow  did  nothing  beyond 
dying  of  scurvy  in  that  neighborhood. 

•  JuveuaVs  Jour,^  MS. ,  1  et  seq.  Sauer  bestows  the  highest  praise  upon  the 
strict  justice  and  humanity  with  which  Dekrof  managed  the  a&urs  of  the 
colony.  Sauer' s  Geog.  and  A{ftron,  Exped,,  170-1. 


SCIENCE  AND  RELIGION.  237 

stood  upon  the  beach,  armed  and  well  guarded,  serv- 
ing as  a  place  of  refuge  in  case  of  attack.  Several 
gardens  planted  with  cabbage  and  potatoes,  and  some 
cows  and  goats,  added  to  the  comfort  of  the  settlers.^^ 

In  the  report  of  Billings'  visit  to  Kadiak  mention 
is  made  of  the  water-route  across  the  Alaska  peninsula 
by  way  of  Iliamna  Lake.  The  natives  persisted  in 
calling  the  peninsula  an  island,  hikhtak,  because  they 
could  pass  in  their  canoes,  without  portage,  from  She- 
likof  Strait  into  Bristol  Bay,  their  main  source  for 
supplies  of  walrus  ivory  for  spear-heads,  fish-hooks, 
and  various  implements. 

The  astronomical  tent,  and  another  constituting  a 
portable  church,  had  been  pitched  as  soon  as  the  ex- 
pedition arrived,  and  remained  standing  till  the  6th 
of  July,  when  the  Slava  Rossie  once  more  set  sail. 
Delarof  accompanied  Billings  for  the  purpose  of  visit- 
ing a  Spanish  frigate  reported  by  the  natives  to  be 
cruising  at  the  mouth  of  Cook  Inlet."  The  com- 
mander of  the  expedition  also  intended  to  visit  the 
Spanish  ship,  but  the  wind  was  unfavorable,  and  by 
the  8th  of  July  they  had  only  reached  the  island  of 
Afognak  where  a  settlement  had  already  existed.  On 
the  12th  of  July,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Barren 
Islands,  Delarof  left  the  Slava  Rossie  in  a  canoe, 
giving  up  all  hope  of  reaching  Cook's  Inlet  with  the 
ship.  He  was  intrusted  with  messages  for  the  Span- 
iards and  the  vessel  was  headed  for  Prince  William 
Sound. 

On  the  19th  of  July  the  Slava  Rossie  was  anchored 

^*  Dnring  the  stay  of  the  Slava  Rossie  at  Three  Saints  Bay  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  company  applied  to  the  priest  accompanying  the  expedition  to  baptize  a 
native  woman  with  whom  he  had  been  living  several  years  and  had  children; 
they  were  then  formally  married,  and  Sauer  speaks  with  much  satisfaction  of 
the  excellent  manner  in  which  their  household  affairs  were  managed.  From 
the  promyshleniki  and  sailors  in  employ  of  the  company  mnch  complaint 
waa  heard  of  the  high  prices  they  were  obliged  to  pay  the  company  for  the 
very  necessaries  of  iBe,  making  it  almost  impossible  to  live  without  becoming 
indebted  to  their  employers.  id,y  173. 

**  Chi  this  occasion  Sauer  makes  an  evidently  erroneous  statement  to  the 
effect  that  he  was  informed  the  Spaniards  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  tho 
Russian  settlements  annually,  exchanging  provisions  and  sea-otter  skins  for 
hardware  and  linen.  Id,,  184;  JuvenaVa  Jcmr,,  MS.,  50  et  seq. 


288  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

in  the  same  bay  of  Montague  or  Tzaklie  Island  where 
Cook  passed  some  time  in  1778.  The  astronomical 
tent  was  at  once  erected  on  shore  under  a  suflScient 
guard,  while  boat  parties  set  out  to  explore.  The 
natives  were  quite  peaceable  in  view  of  the  formidable 
armament  of  the  Slava  RossiCy  but  they  made  bitter 
complaints  against  Russian  traders  who  had  formerly 
visited  them,  especially  the  party  under  Polutof  in 
1783.  They  were  assured  that  they  need  not  appre- 
hend any  ill-treatment  from  government  vessels  car- 
rying the  same  flag  as  the  Slava  Rossie.  It  was  found 
necessary,  however,  to  exercise  the  greatest  vigilance 
to  prevent  them  from  stealing.^* 

While  at  this  anchorage,  Captain  Billings,  who 
thought  he  had  reached  the  Cape  St  Elias  discovered 
by  Bering,  assumed,  in  accordance  with  his  instruc- 
tions, an  additional  rank,  the  customary  oath  being 
administered  by  the  priest  attached  to  the  expedition. 
Sauer  ridiculed  this  theory  and  located  Cape  St  Elias 
to  his  own  satisfaction  on  Kaye  Island. 

Lieutenant  Sarychef  went  out  with  a  boat's  crew, 
and  during  an  absence  of  three  days  he  met  several 
parties  of  natives  and  saw  the  cross  erected  by  Zaikof 
under  Shelikofs  order.  On  one  occasion  the  crafty 
natives  endeavored  to  entice  him  into  a  shallow  chan- 
nel where  his  boat  would  be  left  grounded  by  the  tide 
and  his  party  exposed  to  attack.  The  device  did  not 
succeed,  however,  and  Sarychef  heard  of  the  danger 
he  had  escaped  only  after  his  return  to  Okhotsk,  from 
the  Aleut  interpreter.  After  Sarychefs  return  to 
the  ship  a  very  old  native  came  on  board  and  stated 
that  his  home  was  on  Kaye  Island  which  he  plainly 
described.     With  regard  to  the  number  and  nation- 

^'  Saner  states  that  on  one  occasion,  when  Billings  entertained  some  of  the 
natives  in  his  tent  on  shore,  the  servant  set  down  a  tray  in  such  a  manner 
that  a  comer  of  it,  containing  somespoons,  protruded  from  under  the  canvas. 
One  of  the  natives  attempted  to  appropriate  the  spoons,  but  a  water-spaniel 
lying  in  the  tent  sprang  at  him,  seized  the  hand  holding  the  plunder,  and  held 
the  thief  until  ordered  to  relinquish  his  hold — a  circumstance  which,  in  Sauer 's 
opinion,  thereafter  *kept  them  (the  natives)  honest  afterwards  in  the  dog's 
presence.'  Sauer'a  Geog.  and  Astron,  Exped.,  188. 


A  QUIXOTIC  TLAN.  2dd 

ality  of  ships  that  had  visited  his  people,  he  was  not 
positive,  but  remembered  well  that  when  he  was  a 
boy  a  ship  had  approached  Kaye  Island  for  the  first 
time.  When  a  boat  was  sent  ashore  the  natives  fled 
into  the  interior,  returning  only  after  their  visitors 
had  departed.  They  found  their  domiciles  despoiled 
of  many  articles  and  some  provisions,  while  some 
beads,  tobacco,  and  iron  kettles  had  been  deposited  in 
their  place.  'As  this  account  corresponds  altogether 
with  Steller's  report  of  Khitrof's  landing  in  1741, 
Sauer  and  Sarychef  came  at  once  to  the  conclusion 
that  Kaye  Island  must  be  the  locality  of  Bering's 
discovery. 

Sauer  conceived  a  wild  plan  of  renmining  alone 
among  the  natives  of  Prince  William  Sound  to  carry 
on  explorations,  with  a  faint  hope  of  discovering  the 
long  sought  for  passage  into  the  northern  Atlantic. 
Billings  very  properly  refused  to  sanction  the  plan, 
much  to  the  chagrin  of  his  Quixotic  secretary. 

A  few  good  spars  were  secured  for  thB  ship  and  a 
small  supply  of  fresh  fish,  and  on  the  1st  of  August  a 
council  of  officers  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
best  to  return  to  Kamchatka.  The  stock  of  provi- 
sions was  not  sufficient  to  nlaintain  the  whole  com- 
pany during  the  winter  in  a , country  apparently  with- 
out any  rehable  natural  resources;  the  season  was  far 
advanced  and  it  appeared  scarcely  safe  to  continue 
the  work  of  surveying  in  an  almost  unknown  region 
with  a  single  vessel.  A  south-westerly  course  was 
adopted,  but  the  winds  were  adverse,  and  by  the 
beginning  of  September  the  Slava  Rossie  was  still 
tossing  about  in  unknown  seas,  unable  to  obtain  any 
correct  observations.  A  squall  carried  away  the  fore- 
mast and  other  spars  and  it  was  found  impossible  to 
touch  at  Unalaska  to  replenish  the  water-casks  and 
land  the  Aleut  interpreters.  On  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember one  of  the  latter  attempted  suicide  by  cut- 
ting his  throat,  despairing  of  ever  seeing  his  country 
again*    The  supply  of  water  and  provisions  was  almost 

Hut.  kujou.    19 


280  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

exhausted  and  they  had  reasons  to  believe  themselves 
still  many  hundred  miles  from  the  coast  of  Kam- 
chatka; but  in  spite  of  the  many  evils  threatening 
him  on  every  side  Billings  continued  upon  his  course, 
and  at  last,  on  the  14th  of  October,  the  Slava  Rossie 
entered  the  Bay  of  Avatcha,  with  a  large  part  of  her 
crew  suffering  from  scurvy. 

The  remainder  of  the  expedition  had  arrived  from 
Okhotsk  during  the  summer,  bringing  *the  iron  and 
other  material  saved  from  the  wrecked  Dohraia  Net- 
mereniciy  and  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  build 
another  ship.  The  ship-carpenters  and  a  force  of  men 
were  at  once  despatched  to  Nishnekamchatsk,  where 
suitable  timber  was  more  abundant,  and  the  work 
progressed  vigorously  under  superintendence  of  Cap- 
tain Hall.  The  other  officers  passed  most  of  their 
time  at  Bolsheretsk  in  the  enjoyment  of  social  inter- 
course with  the  families  of  government  officers  and 
merchants. 

One  of  the  navigators  attached  to  the  expedition, 
named  Bronnikof,  having  died  during  the  summer, 
Billings  engaged  in  his  stead  Gerassim  Pribylof,  who 
in  the  service  of  the  Lebedef-Lastochkin  company  had 
recently  discovered  the  islands  of  St  George  and  St 
Paul,  the  annual  retreat  of  the  fur-seals. 

Early  in  April  1791  the  members  of  the  expedition 
once  more  assembled  at  Petropavlovsk,  ancl  orders 
were  forwarded  to  Captain  Hall,  who  was  to  command 
the  new  vessel,  to  meet  the  Slava  Rossie  at  Bering 
Island  between  the  25th  and  30th  of  May.  In  case 
of  failure  to  meet,  a  second  rendezvous  was  appointed 
at  Unalaska.  # 

On  the  19th  of  May  the  ships  sailed  out  of  Avatcha 
Bay  after  a  Wng  detention  by  baffling  winds.  On  the 
28  th  Bering  Island  was  made,  but  the  weather  being 
boisterous  it  was  concluded  not  to  wait  for  the  con- 
sort, but  to  go  on  to  Unalaska.  The  first  landing  was 
made  on  the  island  of  Tanaga,  where  they  found  a 
village  inhabited  by  women  and  a  few  old  men,  who 


IMPERIAL  REWARDS.  291 

explained  that  all  the  able-bodied  hunters  had  been 
carried  off  to  the  eastward  by  Lukanin  and  his  com- 
pany. The  people  complained  that  this  party  had 
also  taken  with  them  many  women.  The  Aleuts  car- 
ried to  Kamchatka  against  their  will,  during  the  last 
voyage,  were  here  set  ashore  with  no  other  compensa- 
tion than  a  few  articles  of  clothing,  a  little  tobacco, 
and  a  brief  document  exempting  them  from  compul- 
sory services  with  the  trading  companies. 

On  the  25th  of  June  the  harbor  of  Illiuliuk  on 
XJnalaska  Island  was  reached,  but  nothing  had  been 
heard  of  Hall  and  his  vessel.  Billings  at  once  de- 
clared that  he  would  give  up  his  former  intention  to 
make  a  thorough  exploration  of  Cook  Inlet  and  vicin- ' 
ity,  and  proceed  at  once  to  St  Lawrence  Bay,  in  the 
Chukchi  country,  after  depositing  at  XJnalaska  some 
provisions  for  Captain  Hall  with  a  few  men  to  guard 
them.^*  Instructions  we»e  also  left  for  the  consort  to 
immediately  follow  the  Slava  Rossie  to  St  Lawrence 
Bay.  The  oflScers,  especially  Sarychef  and  Sauer, 
were  greatly  disappointed  at  this  change  of  plans, 
and  the  latter  in  his  journal  expressed  the  opinion 
that  too  rapid  promotion  had  an  evil  effect  on  Captain 
Billings,  who  seemed  to  have  lost  all  ambition  to  make 
discoveries,  and  haughtily  refused  advice  from  the 
most  experienced  of  his  companions.^* 

After  landing  the  men  and  provisions  for  Hall,  the 

^*  The  men  left  there  were  Surgeon  Allegretti,  Ensign  Ivan  Alexefef  and 
one  Bailor,  /d.,  229.  Juvenal,  «/(wr.,  MS.,  §7  et  seq.,  refers  to  the  doings  of 
the  Lebedef-lAstochkin  Company. 

>*  Sauer  uses  the  following  strong  language:  *  Nothing  in  the  world  could 
have  afforded  me  less  satisfaction  than  this  resolution,  which  I  regarded  as 
the  conclusion  of  an  expedition  that  was  set  on  foot  with  unbounded  liber- 
ality by  the  most  magnanimous  sovereign  in  the  world;  which  had  raised  the 
expectation  of  all  nations  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  induced  mankind  to  an- 
ticipate the  satisfaction  of  obtaining  the  most  complete  knowledge  of  the 
geography  of  this  unknown  part  of  the  globe,  together  with  a  conviction  of 
the  existence  or  non-existence  of  a  north-west  passage.  But,  alas!  after  so 
many  years  of  danger  and  fatigue;  after  putting  the  ^vemment  to  such  an 
extraordinary  expense;  after  having  advanced  so  far  m  the  attempt,  even  at 
the  very  time  when  we  were  in  hourly  expectation  of  our  comfort,  and,  as 
appeared  to  me,  bein^  just  entering  upon  the  grand  part  of  the  undertak- 
ing, thus  to  abandon  it  was  the  most  unaccountable  and  unjustifiable  of  ac- 
tions.' Bauer's  Cftog,  and  Asiron,  Exped,,  230. 


292  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTinC  EXPEDITION. 

Slava  Rossie  put  to  sea  oii  the  8tli  of  July.  Passing 
through  the  Pribylof  and  St  Matthew  islands,  they 
made  land  on  the  20th  of  July,  which  turned  out  to 
be  Gierke  Island  (St  Lawrence).  Billings  landed  in 
person;  the  natives  who  had  been  discerned  walking 
on  the  beach  disappeared  as  soon  as  the  boat  ap- 
])roached  the  shore.  The  party  returned  in  the 
evening,  having  visited  some  abandoned  habitations 
and  met  some  domesticated  dogs.  A  pairty  of  natives 
crossing  a  lake  in  the  direction  of  the  ocean  beach 
v/as  frightened  back  by  a  musket-shot  fired  to  warn 
Billings,  who  had  strayed  some  distance  by  himself. 

On  the  27th  of  July  the  explorers  at  last  caught 
.  sight  of  the  American  continent,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cape  Rodney.  Billings,  with  the  naturalist,  draughts- 
man, and  two  other  oflScers  were  landed  in  boats. 
The  party  made  a  fire  of  drift-wood  on  the  beach  and 
then  dispersed  in  search  of  inhabitants.  A  few  were 
found,  and  friendly  intercourse  was  established  b}'- 
means  of  an  Anadir  Cossack  who  spoke  the  Chuk- 
chi language.  The  natives  conducted  their  visitors 
to  a  temporary  dwelling  and  treated  them  hospitably. 
The  following  day  some  trading  was  carried  on  and 
the  explorers  returned  to  the  ship  with  considerable 
difiiculty  owing  to  stormy  weather.^'        ^ 

On  the  2d  of  August  the  expedition  reached  its 
highest  latitude,  65**  23'  50",  sighting  the  islands  in, 
mid-channel  of  Bering  Strait,  and  the  following  day 
the  Slava  Rossie  anchored  in  St  Lawrence  Bay.  From 
this  point  Billings  proposed  to  set  out  overland,  with 
a  small  party,  in  the  direction  of  the  Kovima,  while 
Sarychef  was  to  take  the  vessel  back  to  Unalaska. 
Two  guides  and  interpreters,  Kobelef  and  Dauerkin, 
had  been  on  the  coast  ever  since  1787,  awaiting  the 

^^  A  bidar,  purchased  from  the  nativcB,  with  four  sailors,  did  not  reach 
the  Hhip  till  the  3l8t.  The  men  reported  tliat  they  had  been  cast  nshorc,  and 
at  daylight  found  themselves  surrounded  by  a  number  of  natives,  with  wh«»Tu 
tiioy  traded,  though  giving  them  a  bad  character.  Saner  remarks  on  this 
occasion:  *  I  cannot  guess  what  articles  of  trade  they  had ;  but  they  obtninod 
Bcvoral  skins  of  black  and  red  foxes,  martens,  etc.  I  hope  that  the  natives 
hud  not  the  greater  reason  to  comjplaiu.'  IiL,  247. 


AN  OVERLAND  JOURNEY.  293 

expedition,  and  Billings  lost  no  time  in  perfecting 
preparations  for  his  dangerous  journey,  taking  his  final 
departure  on  the  13th  of  August.^* 

The  commander  appeared  confident  of  his  purpose, 
but  those  be  left  on  the  ship  by  no  means  shared  that 
feeling.  They  considered  the  large  quantity  of  goods 
carried  as  presents  an  additional  danger,  which  proved 
true  according  to  the  report  of  the  journey.  As  soon 
as  they  left  the  coast  they  found  themselves  com- 
pletely in  the  power  of  the  Chukchi  who  were  to 
accompany  them  across  the  country.  They  were  led 
over  a  roundabout  route  and  systematically  robbed  at 
every  opportunity.  As  their  store  of  goods  decreased 
the  insolence  of  the  natives  increased  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion  they  narrowly  escaped  slaughter. 

On  the  day  after  Billings'  departure  Sarychef  sailed 
for  UnaJaska.  The  Slava  Rossie  was  now  but  ill  pro- 
vided with  food,  water,  and  firewood,  but  anxiety  on 
account  of  Hall  with  the  consort  made  it  necessary 
to  steer  for  the  Aleutian  isles  instead  of  proceeding 
to  Petropavlovsk  for  supplies.  The  passage  was  com- 
paratively short,  however,  and  on  the  28th  of  August 
they  anchored  once  more  in  lUiuliuk  harbor.  Captain 
Hall  had  arrived  there  a  few  days  after  Billings' 
departure  and  sailed  for  St  Lawrence  Bay  in  accord- 
ance with  instructions:  thence  he  returned,  arriving 
three  days  later. 

The  anchorage  chosen  for  the  two  vessels  during 
the  winter  was  a  longitudinal  cove  on  the  west  side 
of  lUiuliuk  Bay,  protected  by  a  low  island,  now  con- 
nected with  the  adjoining  shore  by  a  narrow  neck. 
Some  shops  and  huts  for  officers  were  erected,  but  the 
greater  part  of  the  crews  remained  on  board  of  the 
Slava  Rossie  and  the  Cliemui  Orely  or  Black  Eagle, 
as  Captain  Hall's  vessel  had  been  named.  Sauer 
intimates  that  the  principal  reason  of  the  sailors  for 

'•  The  compUby  numbered  12— Capt  Billings,  Dr  Merck  the  naturalist  and 
his  assistant  Mr  Main,  Masters  Batakof  and  (jilei'ef  of  tho  navy;  Varouin, 
the  draughtsman,  and  Leman,  surgeon's  mate;  the  two  interpreters,  KolK'lef 
and  Dauerkin,  and  two  soldiers  and  a  boy  attending  on  the  captain.  Id,,  2oo, 


294  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXl^EDITION. 

remaining  on  board  was,  that  while  on  the  ships  they 
were  entitled  to  a  daily  allowance  of  bsandy  which 
could  not  have  been  issued  to  them  on  shore.     The 
oflBcers  doomed  to  pass  a  wretched  winter  in  this 
desolate  place  were  captains  Robert  Hall  and  Gavril 
Sarychef,    Lieutenant    Christian    Bering,    Surgeon- 
major  Robeck,  Surgeon  AUegretti,  and  Bakof,  Baku- 
lin,  Erling,  Pribylof,  and  Sauer.     Billings'  orders  had. 
been  to  collect  tribute  from  the  Aleutian  isles,  and 
Hall  took  the  necessary  steps  to  notify  the  natives  of 
his  purpose.    The  Aleuts  came  voluntarily  with  con- 
tributions of  fox  and  sea-otter  skins,  especially  after 
it  became  known  that  the  government  officers  gen- 
erally returned  the  full  value  of  the  skins  in  trinkets. 
In  the  expectation  that  at   least  one  of  his  ships 
would  winter  at  Unalaska,  Billings  had  given  orders 
that  stores  of  dried  fish  should  be  prepared,  and  this 
order  had  been  generally  obeyed  by  the  natives;  but 
with  all  that  the  crews  of  the  two  vessels  were  but 
poorly  provided  for  the  long,  cold  winter.    The  knowl- 
edge of  the  dreadful  sujfferings  of  their  predecessors 
in  that  harbor,  Captain  Levashef  and  his  crew,  of 
the  Krenitzin  expedition,  in  1768,  may  have  hastened 
the  coming  of  the  scurvy;  at  all  events,  a  month 
had  not  passed  before  several  men  were  attacked  with 
it,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  one  victim  was 
buried.    With  the  new  year  the  disease  became  more 
violent,  and  toward  the  end  of  February  1792  they 
buried  as  many  as  three  in  one  day.    In  March  a 
change  for  the  better  set  in,  after  seventeen  of  the 
best  men  had  found  their  graves.     With  the  greatest 
difficulty  the  two  ships  were  brought  into  condition 
to  undertake  the  return  voyage  to  Petropavlovsk,  but 
tiie  task  was  at  last  accomplished  on  the  16th  of  May. 
During  the  winter  tribute  had  been  collected  from 
about  five  hundred  natives,  amounting  to  a  dozen  sea- 
otter  skins  and  six  hundred  foxes  of  different  kinds^ 
and  in  return  for  these  all  the  trinkets  and  tobacco, 
quite  a  large  quantity,  had  been  distributed.    A  party 


IMPUDENT  CHUKCHL  295 

consisting  of  some  Russians  from  Shelikof  s  establish- 
ment at  Kadiak  and  some  natives  had  paid  a  visit  to 
the  winter-quarters  of  the  expedition  in  search  of 
syphilitic  remedies,  brandy,  and  tobacco.  The  former 
they  obtained  from  the  surgeons  together  with  proper 
directions  for  using  them.  The  natives  with  this 
party  made  many  complaints  of  ill-treatment  at  the 
hands  of  Russian  promyshleniki,  which  Sauer  con- 
sidered well  founded." 

The  return  from  Unalaska  was  accomplished  with 
better  despatch  than  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  miserable  condition  of  the  vessels.  On  the  7th 
of  June  the  Slava  Hossie  lost  sight  of  the  C/ieimtii 
Orely  and  on  the  16th  the  former  vessel  entered 
Avatcha  Bay.  An  English  ship,  the  Halcyon^  Cap- 
tain Barclay,  was  in  the  harbor,  with  a  cargo  of  iron- 
ware and  ship-chandlery  much  needed  on  the  coast, 
but  the  stupid  port  authorities  would  not  allow  the 
captain  to  dispose  of  any  of  his  goods. 

The  explorers  were  anxious  to  proceed  to  Okhotsk, 
but  deeming  it  impracticable  to  enter  that  port  with 
the  Slava  Rossie  it  was  concluded  to  despatch  the 
Chemui  Orel,  with  as  many  members  of  the  expedi- 
tion as  she  could  carry,  while  the  remainder  awaited 
the  arrival  of  the  annual  transport  vessel  from 
Okhotsk.  Shortly  after  the  sailing  of  the  first  de- 
tachment news  was  received  from  Captain  Billings  and 
his  party.  They  had  undergone  the  greatest  suflfer- 
ings,  but  were  then,  in  February  17&2,  on  the  river 
Angarka  within  a  few  days'  march  of  the  Kovima. 
The  object  of  the  dangerous  journey  had  to  a  great 
extent  been  frustrated  by  the  restrictions  imposed 
upon  the  helpless  explorers  by  the  impudent  Chukchi. 

*^He  also  nays:  'Shelikhof  has  formed  a  project  to  obtain  the  sole  priv- 
ilege of  canying  on  this  trade  without  a  rival,  and  he  will  probably^  one  day 
or  other,  succeed;  but  not  before  the  scarcity  of  furs  lessens  the  value  of  this 
trade  and  renders  fresh  capital  necessary  for  makine  new  excursions  to  dis- 
cover other  sources  of  commerce,  or  rather  of  wealth ;  tlien  the  directors  of 
the  present  concern  will  explore  the  regions  of  Amercia,  and  if  nothing 
advantageous  occurs,  they  will  doubtless  retire  from  the  concern,  secure  in 
their  possessions,  and  leave  the  new  members  to  pursue  the  undei*taking.  * 
Id.,  27i>-6. 


1K)6  THE  BILUKGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

They  had  destroyed  the  surveying  outfit  and  would 
not  allow  any  notes  to  be  taken  or  calculations  to  be 
made.  Captain  Billings  communicated  his  intention 
of  proceeding  to  Yakutsk  with  all  possible  speed  and 
desired  Sauer  to  join  him  there  as  soon  as  practi- 
cable.^^ 

Letters  from  St  Petersburg  were  received  about  the 
same  time,  announcing  that  a  French  vessel,  under 
the  flag  of  the  republic,  had  sailed  for  Petropavlovsk, 
and  ordering  that  every  facility  of  trade  should  be 
aflforded  to  the  supercargo,  a  M.  Torckler.  A  few 
days  later  the  ship  arrived  and  was  found  to  be  the 
La  Fbxvia — also  heard  of  on  the  American  coast — 
with  a  crew  of  sixty  men  besides  the  officers.  Her 
cargo  consisted  chiefly  of  brandy.  One  cannot  but 
note  the  difference  in  official  action  with  regard  to 
the  useful  cargo  of  iron- ware  brought  by  Barclay  tho 
same  year,  and  that  of  the  La  Flavia,  consisting  of 
the  chief  element  of  destruction  and  ruin  among  the 
half-savage  inhabitants  of  that  re^on.  The  French 
ship  remained  during  the  whole  wmter,  petaiUng  the 
cargo,  for  nobody  in  Petropavlovsk  had  the  means  to 
buy  it  in  bulk.     She  sailed  June  1^  1793,  for  Canton. 

Thus  came  to  an  end,  as  far  as  concerns  the  Russian 
possessions  in  America,  an  expedition  inaugurated  on 
a  truly  magnificent  scale  after  long  years  of  prepara- 
tion. The  geographical  results  may  be  set  down  at 
next  to  nothing,  with  the  exception  of  the  thorough 
surveys  of  Captain  Bay  in  Illiuliuk  Harbor  on  Una- 
laska  Island.  Every  other  part  of  the  work  had 
already  been  done  by  Cook.  The  knowledge  obtained 
by  Billings  during  his  march  from  St  Lawrence  Bay 
to  the  Kovima  proved  of  no  great  importance,  based 
as  it  was  to  a  great  extent  on  hearsay  from  the 
treacherous  Chukchi,  who  would  not  allow  any  mem- 

"The  members  of  the  expedition  still  at  Petropavlovsk  were  Capt.  Bering, 
Ma8t<'rs  Bakof  and  Bakiilin,  Mr  Saucr,  and  Surgcon-general  Kobeck.  Major 
iShraalef  was  in  command  of  the  province.  /(/.,  *2So. 


EESULTS.  297 

ber  of  the  band  to  make  personal  observations.  An 
important  feature,  however,  was  the  preliminary  ex- 
perience gained  by  Sarychef,  who  subsequently  pub- 
lished the  most  complete  and  reliable  charts  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  a  work  upon  which,  as  far  as  the 
territory  included  in  Sarychef  s  own  observations  is 
concerned,  even  Tebenkof  could  make  few  if  any  im- 
provements. Their  reliability  stands  acknowledged 
to  the  present  day.  But  few  corrections  have  been 
made  in  his  special  charts  of  harbors  by  modern  sur- 
veys. As  far  as  it  is  possible  to  judge  now,  it  seems 
that  Martin  Sauer's  estimate  of  his  commander  was 
nearly  correct,  and  we  may  concur  in  his  opinion  that 
the  failure  of  the  expedition  in  its  chief  objects  was 
due  to  the  leader's  incapacity  and  false  pride,  which 
prevented  him  from  accepting  the  advice  of  others 
well  qualified  and  willing  to  give  it;  but  there  were 
also  other  reasons,  as  we  shall  see.  It  was  almost  a 
miracle  that  he  did  not  furnish  a  tragic  finale  to  a 
series  of  blunders  by  losing  his  life  during  his  fool- 
hardy journey  through  the  country  of  the  Chukchi. 
/The  principal  benefit  derived  from  this  costly 
undertaking  was  the  ventilation  of  abuses  practised, 
by  unscrupulous  traders  upon  helpless  natives.  The 
authorities  in  Siberia  and  St  Petersburg  became  at 
last  convinced  that  an  end  must  be  put  to  the  bar- 
barous rule  of  the  promyshleniki.  The  cheapest  and 
easiest  way  to  accomplish  this  was  to  grant  control  of 
the  whole  business  with  American  coasts  and  islands 
to  one  strong  company  that  might  be  held  responsible 
to  the  government  for  its  conduct.  Those  members 
of  the  jBiUings  expedition  who  revealed  the  unsatis- 
factory state  of  affairs  in  these  outlying  possessions 
of  Kussia  did  not  intend  to  aid  Shelikof  and  his  part- 
ners in  their  ambitious  schemes,  but  such  was  the 
effect  of  their  reports.  Another  result  was  to  abolish 
the  custom  of  collecting  tribute  from  the  Aleuts;  the 
method  introduced  by  Sarychef — to  return  the  full 
value  in  tobacco  and  trinkets  for  skins  tendered  as 


298  THE  BnJJNGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

tribute — ^would  have  cflTectually  prevented  the  govern- 
ment from  deriving  any  benefit  from  that  sourc^ 

If  the  expedition  revealed  abuses  it  also  gave  rise 
to  others.  Many  private  individuals  enriched  them- 
selves by  contracts  for  supplying  the  expedition  at  the 
different  stages  of  its  progress,  especially  at  Irkutsk, 
Yakutsk,  and  Okhotsk.  Sauer  mentions  in  his  jour- 
nal that  on  his  return  voyage  he  found  the  officials  at 
Yakutsk,  whom  he  had  left  in  comparative  poverty, 
in  much  improved  circumstances,  bordering  upon 
affluence,  and  he  ascribes  the  change  to  the  fact  that 
these  people  had  been  engaged  in  furnishing  horses 
for  the  transportation  of  stores  to.  the  Kovima  and  to 
Okhotsk. 

The  experience  gained  in  the  way  of  navigation  and 
management  of  similar  expeditions  was  of  some  value; 
and  in  this  connection  it  is  rather  a  significant  fact  that 
during  the  first  voyage  of  the  Slava  Bossie,  under  the 
immediate  command  of  Billings,  the  scurvy  was  suc- 
cessfully combated,"  yet  in  the  following  year  the 
two  ships  had  been  anchored  in  Illiuliuk  harbor  but 
a  few  weeks  when  the  dreaded  disease  broke  out  with 
such  violence  that  the  combined  efforts  of  Sarychef 
and  Hall,  two  medical  men,  and  Martin  Sauer  failed 
to  arrest  its  ravages. 

With  regard  to  the  supplementary  instructions  rel- 
ative to  the  Swedish  cruiser  Mercury ,  nothing  was  done 
by  Billings,  though  the  vessel  did  visit  the  Aleutian 
Islands  according  to  the  report  of  Pribylof.  The  ap- 
prehensions on  this  account  seem  to  have  been  great. 
A  set  of  minute  instructions  was  furnished  to  traders 
on  the  islands,  to  regulate  their  conduct  in  case  the 
privateer  appeared,  but  in  Pribylofs  intercourse  with 

'•Billings,  formerly  of  Cook's  expedition,  had  evidently  learned  something 
of  that  nayigator's  effective  method  of  combating  tlie  scurvy.  The  sargeun^s 
journal  contains  the  following  remarks:  'It  was  only  toward  the  end  of  the 
voyage,  when  our  bread  was  out  and  we  were  reduced  to  a  short  allowance  of 
water,  that  the  scurvy  made  its  appearance.  At  this  time  pease  and  grits, 
boiled  to  a  thick  consistency  in  a  small  quantity  of  water,  and  buttered, 
were  substituted  for  salted  provisions.  The  primary  symptoms  of  scurvy 
then  appeared,  but  on  arriving  at  Petro^avlovsk  a  treatment  of  bleeding,  thia 
drink,  and  fresh  fish  restored  all  hands  m  a  very  short  time.*  /c/.,  20B-9. 


INCEPTION  OF  MONOPOLY.  299 

Captain  Coxe,  the  former  did  not  use  any  of  the  pre- 
cautions enjoined,*^ 

The  hand  of  the  future  monopolists  can  be  dis- 
cerned, shaping  events,  from  a  period  preceding  that 
of  Billings'  expedition,  though  perhaps  Martin  Sauer 
was  not  able  to  see  it.  Notwithstanding  his  belief  to 
the  contrary,  the  members  of  the  Shelikof  Company, 
already  in  virtual  possession  of  their  exclusive  privi- 
leges of  trade,  were  then  making  strenuous  efforts 
to  extend  operations  instead  of  drawing  out  of  J:he 
business.  Shelikof,  Baranof,  and  Delarof  knew  far 
better  than  Billings'  sanguine  secretary  what  wealth 
was  in  the  country.  Where  ho  saw  nothing  but  indi- 
cations of  quick  decline,  energetic  preparations  were 
in  progress  for  a  healthy  revival  of  business.  For 
many  years  after  the  period  set  by  Sauer  even  the 
vessels  of  small  opposition  companies  continued  to 
visit  the  islands  and  portions  of  the  mainland. 

One  proof  of  the  confidence  of  Shelikof  in  the 
stability  of  the  business  for  many  years  to  come  is 
furnished  by  his  efforts  to  establish  a  seyttlenient  in 

'^The  iDStructions  issued  in  1700  to  the  Shelikof-Golikof  Company  con- 
tained the  following:  *  Necessary  measures  will  be  taken  in  accordance  with 
secret  instructions,  oy  order  of  the  empress,  to  protect  the  establishments  of 
the  company  and  its  stores  of  goods  and  furt  against  the  attacks  of  pirates, 
which  have  been  sent  out  for  tliat  purpose  by  tlie  Swedish  government,  under 
the  command  of  English  captains,  and  all  possible  means  will  be  employed  to 
avert  this  danger,  threatening  the  hunters  as  well  as  the  company's  propei-ty. 
If,  in  spite  of  all  precautions,  these  privateers  enter  any  Russian  harbor  or 
land  parties  of  men,  efforts  must  be  made  to  repulse  them,  and,  if  possible,  to 
capture  and  detain  them.  In  such  a  case  a  party  of  natives  will  be  formed,  in 
bidarkas,  decorated  with  beads  and  paint;  tbey  will  approach  the  vessel  with 
signs  of  admiration  and  friendship,  beckoning  to  the  people  on  board  to  land, 
displaying  sea-otter  skins,  and  presenting  them  with  a  few.  Having  in  this 
way  induced  ss  many  as  possible  of  the  crew  to  land,  the  natives  will  meet 
them  with  their  customary  dances  and  all  signs  of  satisfaction,  in  the  mean 
time  endeavoring  to  decoy  the  vessel  into  some  dangerous  place.  During  aU 
this  time  not  one  Russian  must  show  himself,  but  they  must  all  be  hidden  in 
convenient  places  prepared  for  that  purpose,  and  when  the  deluded  party 
approaches  some  defile  or  ambush,  the  hidden  Russians  will  emerge  at  a  given 
signal  to  attack  both  the  vessel  and  the  men  on  shore,  endeavoring  to  capture 
the  leaders,  etc.'  In  case  of  fortune  favoring  the  hostile  visitors  the  iustruc- 
tions  direct  that,  'if  possible,  the  most  important  among  the  Russians  or 
natives  must  endeavor  to  escape  in  bidars  or  bidarkas  by  passages  where  the 
ship  cannot  follow,  while  others  may  approach  the  vessel  at  night  and  attempt 
to  scuttle  it  or  cause  it  to  leak.*  TMmeuef,  Utor,  Obosr,,  i  33-4. 


300  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  KXPEDmON. 

tl^  vicinity  of  Cape  St  Elias  and  to  begin  ship-build- 
ing there.  "I  have  made  representations  to  the 
government,"  he  wrote  to  Baranof,  "with  regard  to 
ship-building  and  agriculture  at  Cape  St  Elias.  Dur- 
ing my  sojourn  at  ^^diak  it  was  known  to  me  that 
the  mainland  of  America  from  Unga  Island  to  the 
regions  inhabited  by  the  Kenai  enjoys  better  climatic 
conditions  than  the  island  of  Kadiak.  The  soil  is  fit 
for  cultivation,  timber  is  plentiful,"  etc.  Baranof 
wrote  in  reply  that  he  entertained  no  hope  of  suc- 
ceeding in  agricultural  experiments  at  Yakutat,  espe- 
cially near  the  coast,  as  the  place  was  situated  between 
59**  and  60**  north  latitude.  He  also  stated  that  the 
shores  of  the  gulf  of  Chugachuik  and  portions  round 
KenaY  were  composed  of  very  high  and  rugged  moun- 
tains. 

The  peculiar  search  for  agricultural  lands  outside  of 
Kadiak  shows  plainly  that  the  wily  traders  were  not 
in  earnest  in  their  search.  Kadiak  is  the  spot  most 
favored  by  niiture  as  fiar  as  climate  and  soil  are  con- 
cerned. No  other  place  in  all  that  vast  region  can 
furnish  feed  for  cattle  or  boast  of  rich  fisheries,  useful 
timber,  and  fertile  vegetable-gardens  in  close  prox- 
imity to  each  other.  But  all  this  was  carefully  hidden 
from  the  knowledge  of  the  government  and  attention 
was  drawn  toward  a  region  where  failure  was  a  cer- 
tainty, in  order  to  obtain  the  services  of  such  laborers 
and  mechanics  as  might  be  forwarded  from  Siberia 
in  conformity  with  Shelikofs  representations  to  the 
imperial  court.  It  was  a  wily  scheme  and  proved 
successful  with  regard  to  the  introduction  of  skilled 
labor  into  the  colonies  without  much  expense  to  tbe 
company,  who  obtained  the  privilege  of  selecting  useful 
men  among  Siberian  exiles  and  convicts.  The  best  of 
thi3se  picked  men,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  succeeding  chap- 
tei:,  never  reached  the  proposed  settlement  at  Yakutat, 
and  the  few  who  did  perished  or  were  captured  during 
the  sacking  of  the  place  by  the  Thlinkeets. 

It  is  safe  to  presume,  also,  that  Billings  had  reasons 


BAUER'S  REPORT.  301 

for  not  doing  anything  against  the  men  who  were 
preparing  to  assume  supreme  control  over  the  Russian 
possessions  in  America,  despite  a  little  episode  with 
his  Russian  secretary  at  Petropavlovsk,  who  was  sent 
back  to  Okhotsk  in  irons,  because  he  had  revealed 
Bojne  of  the  secret  instructions  of  his  commander  to 
members  of  the  Shelikof  Company.^  His  strange 
apathy  in  the  matter  of  making  new  discoveries  or 
surveys  in  the  vicinity  of  Cook  Inlet  and  Prince  Will- 
iam Sound  may  have  been  due  to  influence  brought 
to  bear  from  that  direction,  and  not,  as  Sauer  inti- 
mates, to  mere  superciliousness  and  pride  engendered 
by  rapid  promotion. 

In  the  case  of  subsequent  government  expeditions 
and  inspectors  visiting  the  colonies  the  same  influence 
became  more  perceptible  and  undeniable,  a  circum- 
stance which  justifies  us,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  view- 
ing in  a  similar  light  the  results  of  this  expedition 
and  the  events  recorded  in  this  chapter. 

An  enterprise  that  objected  to  general  competition, 
and  especially  one  with  unscrupulous  men  at  its  head, 
was  sure  to  bring  about  the  employment  of  question- 
able means  in  its  furtherance.  Bribery  was  the  easiest 
and  perhaps  the  most  innocent  means  employed  to 
secure  immunity  from  interference  by  either  govern- 
ment or  rival  traders,  and  there  is  ground  for  suspicion 
that  it  was  brought  into  play  during  the  cruise  of  the 
ISlava  Rossie. 

The  subordinate  members  of  the  expedition,  cap- 
tains Sarychef  and  Hall,  the  medical  men  and  Sauer, 
appear  to  have  taken  the  side  of  the  suffering  natives 
against  the  grasping  traders,  but  in  the  official  reports 
to  the  government  these  men  had  no  voice.  Billings' 
report  has  never  been  published,  and  we  can  only 
conjecture  its  tenor.  The  journal  and  notes  of  Martin 
Sauer  were  published  nearly  ten  years  later,  and  could 
in  no  way  have  mfluenced  the  Russian  government. 

«/J.,''213. 


302  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTUIC  EXPEDITION. 

That  the  traders  did  not  like  the  presence  of  gov- 
ernment officers  among  them  was  but  natural.  The 
officers  belonged  to  a  class  far  above  any  of  the  trad- 
ers in  social  standing  as  well  as  rank,  and  they  took 
no  pains  to  conceal  their  contempt  for  the  semi-bar- 
barous plebeians.  Individuals  of  some  education,  like 
Delarof,  met  with  a  certain  degree  of  consideration, 
but  all  others  were  treated  like  dogs.  Even  Baranof, 
after  he  had  been  in  supreme  command  of  the  colonies 
for  many  years,  was  snubbed  by  lieutenants  and  mid- 
shipmen of  the  navy,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to 
obtain  for  him  a  civil  rank  in  order  to  insure  even 
common  respect  from  government  officials.  Under 
such  circumstances  the  merchants  considered  them- 
selves justified  in  resorting  to  any  means  by  which 
officers  might  be  disgusted  with  the  country  and  ex- 
Jploring  expeditions  made  to  appear  unnecessary  to  the 
government. 

In  the  case  of  Sarychef,  Hall,  and  Sauer,  who 
passed  a  winter  on  Unalaska  Island,  this  plan  seems 
to  have  worked  satisfactorily,  as  not  one  of  them  had 
anything  good  to  say  of  a  country  where  they  suffered 
intensely  from  scurvy  and  lack  of  provisions.  The  fact 
that  a  party  of  Russians  and  natives  from  Kadiak 
visited  the  expedition  in  its  winter-quarters  demon- 
strates the  possibility  of  carrying  on  the  work  of 
exploration  and  surveying  on  Unalaska  and  neigh- 
boring islands  during  the  winter,  but  no  such  attempt 
was  made,  though  the  whole  company  suffered  from 
the  effects  of  inactivity.  With  the  example  before 
them  of  the  Kadiak  party,  already  referred  to  in  the 
earlier  pages  of  this  chapter,  strengthened  by  that 
of  Martin  Sauer,  who  almost  alone  retained  compara- 
tively good  health  by  constantly  moving  about,  it  is 
difficult  to  find  any  valid  reason  for  the  apathy  shown 
by  the  officials  in  command.  The  work  actually  ac- 
complished by  Sarychef  must  have  been  completed 
before  the  appearance  of  the  scurvy.  Sauer's  original 
ambition,  which  caused  him  to  make  the  foolhardy 


MISSIONARY  EFFORTS.  303 

proposition  of  remaining  alone  among  theChugatsches, 
seems  to  have  cooled,  and  after  returning  to  Kamt- 
chatka  he  confined  his  visionary  plans  to  the  explor- 
ation of  the  Kurile  Islands  and  perhaps  Japan  or 
China.  We  have  no  record,  however,  that  any  of  his 
plans  reached  the  stage  of  execution. 

In  support  of  his  schemes  Shelikof  had  been  the 
prime  mover  in  the  request  to  have  a  missionary 
establishment  appointed  for  the  colonies,  and  in  his 
reports  he  claimed  to  have  converted  large  numbers 
of  natives  to  Christianity.  It  is  safe  to  presume,  how- 
ever, that  his  success  as  a  religious  teacher  was  not 
sufficient  to  prepare  the  field  for  the  priest  attached 
to  Billings'  expeditions,  who  evidently  considered  that 
his  whole  duty  consisted  in  holding  services  for  his 
companions  once  a  week,  and  in  administering  the 
customary  oath  to  Captain  Billings  whenever  the 
latter  assumed  an  additional  rank  in  accordance  with 
the  imperial  oukaz  containing  his  instructions.  On  the 
second  voyage  from  Petropavlovsk  the  commander  did 
not  expect  further  promotion,  and  we  find  no  mention 
of  the  priest.  He  was  probably  left  behind  as  one 
whose  earthly  work  was  done.  Sauer  gave  him  a  bad 
character  and  called  him  half-savage. 

The  stay  of  the  Slava  Rossie  was  besides  too  short 
at  any  one  place  during  the  first  voyage  to  allow  of 
missionary  work  on  the  part  of  the  priest,  though  a 
portable  church — a  large  tent — was  set  up  at  every 
anchorage.  Shelikof  had  not  hesitated  to  perform  a 
primitive  rite  of  baptism,  but  he  could  not  legally 
marry  people,  and  the  ceremony  performed  on  Kadiak 
Island,  as  before  mentioned,  was  consequently  the  first 
that  ever  took  place  in  the  country.  The  wife  of 
Shelikof  had  accompanied  him  on  his  visit  to  America, 
but  from  that  solitary  example  the  natives  could  not 
have  acquired  much  knowledge  of  the  institution  of 
Christian  marriage. 

Shelikof  s   application  for  missionaries  had  great ' 


80i  THE  BILLINGS  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. 

weight  with  the  commission  intrusted  to  consider  the 
demand  of  his  company  for  exclusive  privileges,  but 
the  first  members  of  the  clergy  who  landed  upon  the 
islands  of  the  American  coast  in  response  to  the  call 
did  not  meet  with  the  hearty  cooperation  they  may 
have  expected  at  the  hands  of  the  traders.     Taking 
time  and  circumstances  into  consideration,  this  was 
but  natural.    All  the  Russians,  from  the  chief  trader 
down,  were  laboring  'on  shares/  and  shared  alike  in 
the  scanty  provisions  furnished  at  very  irregular  inter- 
vals, while  every  man  was  expected  to  eke  out  addi- 
tional supplies  by  hunting  and  fishing  whenever  he 
could  obtain  a  few  days  from  other  pursuits,     yhe 
clergymen,  who  had  certainly  every  reason  to  look  for 
supplies  of  food  to  the  traders  who  had  desired  their 
presence,  were,  therefore,  considered  as  an  undesirable 
element  by  lawless  individuals,  long  removed  from  all 
association  with  even  the  forms  of  civiUzation.    Idlers 
were  not  wanted  in  the  camps  of  the  promyshleniki, 
where  scant  fare  was  the  rule,  and  for  some  years  after 
their  arrival  among  the  race  with  whose  lan^age  they 
were  unacquainted,  the  missionaries  could  do  little. 
Complaints  of  shortcomings  and  even  ill-treatment 
were  at  first  quite  numerous,  and  by  some  priests  it 
was  alleged  that  the  commanders  of  stations,  where 
they  had  taken  up  their  residence,  made  them  work 
for  their  living.     This  may  well  ha\;e  been  the  qaso 
in  instances  where  agents  were  compelled  to  give  way 
to  popular  demand;  the  semi-barbarous  hunters  per- 
haps  had  another   ground   for   harboring  ijl-feeling 
toward  their  clerical  guests — the  latter  interfered  to 
a  certain  extent  with  the  more  than  free  use  made  of 
native  women  by  the  promyshleniki.     Still,  the  ark- 
hemandrit,  or  prior,  loassaf,  sent  out  to  superintend 
the  missions,  was  treated  with  respect,  as  the  man- 
agers of  the  companies  recognized  the,  necessity  of 
restraining  their  subordinates  in  his  case.    A  man  in 
his  position  could  and  did  do  good  service  in  settling 
difficulties  between  rival  firms  and  individuals. 


Z' 


I 


/ 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ORGANIZATION  OP  MONOPOLY. 

1787-1705. 

Shelikof's  Grand  Conception— Govebnob-general  Jacobi  Won  to  the 
Scheme — Sheltkof^s  Modest  Request— Alaska  Laid  undeb  Monop- 
oly— Stipulations  of  the  Empress — Humane  Orders  of  Kozlof- 
liGBENiN— Public  Instructions  and  Secret  Injunctions— Delarof's 
Administration — Shelieof  Induces  Babanof  to  Enter  the  Ser- 
vice of  his  Company — Careek  and  Traits  of  the  New  Manager- 
Shipwreck  OF  Baranof  on  Unalaska — Condition  of  the  Cobony — 
Rivalry  and  Other  Troubles — Plans  and  Recommendations— En- 
gagement with  the  Kaljushes — Ship-building — ^Thb  Englishman 
Shields— Launch  and  Tbibulations  of  the  *Ph(bnix.' 

(^The  idea  of  a  subsidized  monopoly  of  trade  and 
industry,  to  embrace  all  Russian  discoveries  and  col- 
onies on  the  shores  of  the  north  Pacific,  first  arose  in 
the  fertile  brain  of  Grigor  Shelikof,  whose  original 
establishment  on  Kadiak  Island  has  been  the  subject 
of  a  preceding  chaptep/  Once  seized  with  this  con- 
ception, Shelikof  hastened  forward  the  execution  of 
it  with  all  the  ardor  of  his  nature.  He  hurried  from 
Kamchatka  to  Okhotsk  and  Irkutsk,  travelling  with- 
out intermission  in  the  dead  of  winter  until  he  reached 
the  capital  of  eastern  Siberia  and  delivered  to  Gen- 
eral Jacobi,  the  governor  general,  a  detailed  account, 
with  maps,  of  the  countries  he  had  visited,  and  plans 
of  the  fortifications  erected.  He  then  asked  of  the 
governor  general  instructions  for  the  management  of 
the  people  thus  added  to  the  Russian  empire,  and 
aid  toward  obtaining  from  the  empress  a  recognition 
of  his  labors.^ 

*  I  will  quote  here  a  few  concluding  lines  of  the  lengthy  document  pre- 
sented to  Jacobi  by  Shelikof:  *  Without  the  approval  of  our  monarch  my 
Hist.  Alaska,   20  (805) 


306  ORGANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

(^Unlike  his  predecessors,  Shelikof  was  not  satisfied 
with  a  single  hunting  season  on  the  island  of  Kadiak, 
but,  as  we  have  seen,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  permanent  settlements/  After  the  pre- 
sentation of  his  report  to  General^  Jacobi,  the  clever 
trader  asked  permission  to  send  a  few  ships  to  Chinese 
ports,  in  case  of  an  interruption  to  the  overland  trade 
with  Kiakhta.  The  permission  was  not  granted  at 
that  time.  Meanwhile  Golikof,  Shelikofs  partner, 
had  profited  by  a  temporary  sojourn  of  the  empress 

labors  would  be  altogether  unsatisfactory  to  me  and  of  but  little  account  to 
the  world,  since  the  principal  object  of  all  my  undertakings  has  been  to  incor- 
porate the  newly  discovered  seaa,  countries,  and  islands  into  our  empire 
before  other  powers  could  occupy  and  claim  them,  and  to  inaugurate  ^nter- 

E rises  which  will  add  to  the  glory  of  our  wise  empress  and  secure  profits  to 
er  and  to  our  countrymen.  I  trust  that  my  hopes  of  seeing  wise  measures 
adopted  for  the  government  and  protection  of  the  distant  regions  discovered 
by  me  are  not  without  foundation,  and  that  we  shall  be  enabled  to  establish 
these  discoveries  to  the  best  possible  general  advantage.*  Ttkhmenef,  Isior, 
•  Obos.y  i.  15.  Captain  Golovnin,  who  inspected  the  colonies  in  1818,  in  a  letter 
to  the  imperial  navy  differs  from  Shelikof  as  to  the  merits  of  the  colo- 
nizer. He  states  that  *  Shelikof*  8  Voyage  was  printed  at  St  Potersburff  in 
1791.  Aside  from  the  barbarous  style  of  the  book  and  the  stupidity  exhibited 
on  every  page,  we  cannot  fail  to  notice  some  intentional  falsehoods,  showing 
how  crafty  and  far-seeing  this  man  was.  In  the  first  placo  he  appropriates  to 
himself  without  any  conscientious  scruples  the  discovery  otKadiak  and 
Afognak,  when  it  is  well  known  that  Bering  sighted  those  islands  and  named 
a  point  Cape  Hermogen,  and  Cook,  five  years  before  Shelikof  *s  voyage,  ascer- 
tained that  the  cape  was  only  a  small  island.  Cape  Goviatskoi  on  Kadiak 
Island  was  named  Cape  Greville  by  Cook,  and  furthermore,  a  Kussian  galiot 
wintered  at  Kadiak  as  early  as  1 763,  its  commander  being  a  certain  Glottof , 
while  Slielikof  arrived  there  only  in  1784,  but  what  is  more  stupid  than  any- 
thing else  is,  that  on  the  title-page  of  his  book  he  claims  to  be  the  discoverer 
of  the  island  he  calls  Kuililital:,  forgettiug  that  on  page  20  of  his  book  he 
acknowledges  that  in  1701  a  Russian  vesDcl  stopped  at  that  island.  Where 
was  the  discovery?  What  place  did  ho  find  that  Cook  did  not  sec?  Later 
Shelikof  asserts  that  he  found  59,000  inhabitants  on  the  island,  and  that  in 
a  fight  he  with  a  force  of  130  attacked  4,000  men,  fortified  upon  a  high  rock, 
taking  1,000  prisoners.  According  to  Captain  Lissianski's  inquiries  Shelikof 
fell  ui)on  400  people,  including  women  and  children ;  but  50,000  inhabitants 
never  existed  upon  the  island — the  number  now  being  3,000,  and  even  if  we 
suppose  that  the  company  succeeded  in  destroying  lour  fifths,  the  original 
population  could  have  been  only  15,000.  Now,  the  question  is,  What  induced 
Shelikof  to  lie  thus  boldly  and  impudently?  Ho  answers  this  question  him- 
self, in  his  book,  when  he  asserts  that,  without  knowing  the  language  of  the 
inhabitants,  he  succeeded  in  one  winter  in  converting  a  large  number  of  them 
to  the  sacred  doctrines  of  our  religion,  and  that  by  simply  telling  them  of  the 
wisdom,  humanity,  and  kindness  of  the  empress  of  Russia,  he  made  such  an 
impression  upon  their  mmds  that  the  natives  were  filled  with  love  and 
admiration  for  her  Majesty,  and  at  once  voluntarily  submitted  to  her  sceptre. 
Now,  it  is  clear  that  Shelikof  wished  to  make  the  government  believe  that  he 
had  discovered  a  new  country  and  added  50,000  bSna  fide  subjects  to  Russia. 
He  did  not  fail  in  his  calculations,  as  he  received  very  flattering  rewards.* 
Goloviiin,  ZapUki,  in  Materialm,  i.  62-3. 


SHELIKOP  AND  GOLIKOF  AT  CXDURT.  307 

at  Kursk,  and  had  presented  to  her  a  chart  of  Sheli- 
kofs  voyage.  Her  Majesty  inquired  into  the  com- 
pany's achievements,  and  finally  granted  Shelikof 
permission  to  come  to  St  Petersburg  and  present 
himself  at  court  with  Golikof. 

Shortly  after  this  the  empress  asked  Jacobi  his 
opinion  as  to  the  best  means  of  establishing  the  Rus- 
sian dominion  on  the  islands  of  the  eastern  ocean,  and 
on  the  coast  of  America,  and  also  as  to  the  best  mode 
of  governing  the  savage  tribes  and  ameliorating  their 
-condition.  In  answer  Jacobi  forwarded  a  lengthy 
report  in  which  he  approved  the  proposed  despatch 
of  a  fleet  from  the  Baltic^  to  protect  navigation  in 
the  Pacific,  and  mentioned  that  he  had  forwarded  to 
the  regions  in  question  thirty  copper  shields,  bearing 
the  imperial  coat  of  arms  and  the  inscription,  "Country 
in  possession  of  Russia,"  intended,  as  he  says,  "for 
the  better  assertion  of  Russia's  rights,  founded  upon 
discovery."  The  shields  were  intrusted  to  navigators 
of  the  SheUkof  and  Golikof  Company.  Jacobi  also 
recommended  that  the  collection  of  tribute  from  the 
natives  should  be  abolished  and  replaced  by  a  volun- 
tary tax.  He  pointed  out  the  disadvantages  to  both 
traders  and  natives  resulting  from  the  tribute  system, 
and  suggested  that  by  impressing  the  savages  with  a 
sense  of  the  power  of  the  empress  and  her  tender  care 
for  all,  even  her  most  distant  subjects,  and  by  allow- 
ing them  to  deliver  to  government  agents  a  voluntary 
contribution  or  tax,  much  good  might  be  accomplished. 
According  to  Jacobi's  opinion,  the  collection  of  tribute  / 
hastened  the  extermination  of  fur-bearing  animals.        ^ 

With  regard  to  the  proposed  amelioration  Jacobi 
said  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of 

»  The  empresB  intended  to  afford  safer  navigation  and  traffic  by  sendinij 
var-Teesels  from  the  lialtic  under  command  of  Captain  Mulovski.  ^lulov ski's 
vessels  were  to  separate  upon  arrival  in  the  northern  Pacific,  one  division  to 
go  to  the  American  coast,  under  his  own  command,  and  the  other  to  proceed 
to  the  Kurile  Islands,  but  on  account  of  the  war  with  Sweden  the  squadron 
did  not  sail.  Lieutenant  Trevenen,  who  had  sailed  under  Cook,  was  engage<l 
to  join  for  discovery  purposes.  Tikhmen^,  later.  Oboe,,  i.  16;  Burney's  Chron. 
Hist,  Toy. 


303  ORGANIZATION  OP  MONOPOLY. 

Shelikof  s  report,  and  that  it  would  be  but  a  just 
recognition  of  what  the  Shelikof  Company  had  done 
for  the  commerce  of  Russia^  and  for  the  country  at 
large,  to  grant  them  the  exclusive  right  of  hunting 
and  trading  in  the  islands  and  territories  discovered 
by  their  vessels.'  He  even  added  that  it  would  be 
unfair  to  allow  new-comers  to  enjoy  the  present  peace 
to  which  Shelikof  had  reduced  Kadiak.  Without 
regard  for  the  claims  of  any  who  had  preceded  them, 
they  alone  should  be  rewarded,  because  they  had  a 
larger  force  and  conquered  without  exterminating.* 

He  further  argued  that  unless  the  Shelikof  Com- 
pany was  afforded  special  privileges  the  successes 
gained  by  the  founders  of  the  first  settlement  on  the 
islands  would  be  neutralized  by  the  unrestrained  ac- 
tions of  lawless  adventurers.  Cruelty  would  increase, 
and  the  natives  would  submit  to  no  such  infliction  after 
the  enjoyment  of  peaceful  intercourse  with  Shelikof. 
In  conclusion  Jacobi  implored  his  imperial  mistress 
to  intrust  the  management  of  the  latest  additions  to 
her  domain  to  a  man  who  "was  known  to  have  many 
times  set  aside  his  love  of  gain  in  the  interest  of 
humanity."  What  Jacobi  himself  was  to  receive  in 
case  of  Shelikofs  success  the  governor  general  does 
not  say.  The  hundreds  who  had  done  more  and  suf- 
fered more  than  these  who  would  now  have  it  all  to 
themselves,  to  them  he  denied  every  right  or  reward. 

The  empress  ordered  the  imperial  college  of  com- 
merce, through  its  president.  Count  Chernyshef,  to 
examine  in  detail  all  questions  connected  with  the 
fur-trade  in  those  parts,  and  the  means  of  advancing 
the  interests  of  Russia  in  the  eastern  ocean.     The 

^Tlic  limits  of  these  'discoveries*  Jacobi,  with  reckless  liberality,  placed 
at  from  latitude  49*  to  GO"  and  from  eastern  longitude  53*  to  63"  from  Okhotsk. 
Tihluiumf,  Istor.  Obos.^  i.  20. 

Macoiii  advanced  the  idea  that  so  far  'as  known  nobody  else  was  then 
crma.,'(d  in  business  where  Shelikof  had  succeeded  in  establishing  the  do- 
iniiiion  of  Russia,  though  some  vessels  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  in 
17«U,  17()7,  and  1780,  but  they  reached  only  a  promontory  of  Kadiak  named 
Ait'khtatik,  and  the  hunters  of  those  vessels  were  held  in  check  by  the  natives 
and  ])re\  ciited  from  hunting,  though  their  number  was  large  enough  to  resist 
attack.'   'rikhmLiiej\  Istor.  Ohos.,  i,  22. 


AN  IMPEEIAL  OUKAS  ISSUED.  SOO 

committee  appointed  in  pursuance  of  this  order  pre- 
sented a  long  report  in  March  1788/ which  seemed  to 
have  been  wholly  impressed  with  the  ideas  of  Jacobi. 
A.fter  reviewing  the  apparent  merits  of  the  case  and 
the  policy  of  the  proposed  measure,  the  committee 
finally  recommended  that  the  request  of  Shelikof  and 
Golikof  for  exclusive  privileges  be  granted,  and  that 
the  enterprise  be  subsidized  with  a  loan  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  rubles  from  the  public  treasury,  with- 
out interest,  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  the  capital 
to  be  returned  in  instalments.  The  outlay,  it  was 
added,  would  likewise  be  repaid  tenfold  in  the  form 
of  taxes  and  import  and  export  duties. 

/T[n  pursuance  of  this  report  an  imperial  oukaz  waf^j 
issued  September  28,  1788,  granting  the  company 
•exclusive  control  over  tlie  region  actually  occupied  by 
them,  but  no  further,  thus  leaving  rival  traders  free 
sway  in  adjoining  parts./  Assistance  from  the  public 
treasury  was  refused  because  of  foreign  wars.  The 
empress  was  made  to  say:  "As  a  reward  for  services 
rendered  to  the  country  by  the  merchants  Shelikof 
and  Golikof  by  discovering  unknown  countries  and 
nations,  and  establishing  commerce  and  industries 
there,  we  most  graciously  confer  upon  them  both 
swords  and  gold  medals,  the  latter  to  be  worn  around 
the  neck,  with  our  portrait  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
reverse  an  explanatory  inscription  that  they  have 
been  conferred  by  order  of  the  governing  senate  for 
services  rendered  to  humanity  by  their  noble  and  bold 
deeds."*  By  the  same  oukaz  all  former  laws  for  the 
collection  of  tribute  from  the  Aleuts  were  revoked,     y 

*  Report  of  committee  on  commerce,  March  1788.  TiJchmevef^  Istor.  Ohos.^ 
i.  237.  It  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  sacrifices  of  Shelikof,  and  jwinted  to 
the  fact  that  owing  to  the  failure  of  a  regular  supply  of  valuable  furs  from 
Siberia  and  the  islands  the  overland  trade  with  Cbma  was  interrupted,  to  the 
great  loss  of  Russian  merchants  who  had  large  sums  invested  in  goods  salable 
only  in  the  Chinese  market;  while  the  articles  previously  imported  from 
China  directly  into  Russia  and  Poland,  such  as  teas,  silks,  and  naukcenn, 
could  be  obtained  only  through  foreign  maritime  nations  at  a  great  mcrcuse 
of  cost. 

•A  special  letter  of  acknowledgement  waa  issued  by  the  sovereign  on 
October  11th,  which  is  printed  in  Tikhmenef,  Igtor.  OboB,^  i.,  app.,  1. 


310  ORGANIZATION  OP  MONOPOLY. 

While  this  was  but  a  half-way  measure  toward  his 
ambitious  schemes  Shelikof  had  to  content  himself 
for  a  time.  He  returned  to  Irtkutsk,  there  to  fit  out 
two  vessels,  one  for  the  Aleutian  isles,  and  one. for 
the  Kuriles,  and  to  plan  for  a  more  complete  victory, 
by  which  to  become  master  of  all  Alaska. 

Two  important  documents  were  issued  in  1787  by 
the  commander  of  Okhotsk,  which  indicate  that  the 
authorities  by  no  means  placed  implicit  faith  in  the 
humanity  of  the  Shelikof  Company  or  its  servants. 
Both  papers  bear  the  same  date,  June  15th;  and  one 
is  directed  to  navigators  and  traders,  while  the  other 
is  intended  as  a  reassuring  proclamation  to  the  native 
chiefs  as  representatives  of  their  people.  The  first 
sets  forth  that  in  view  of  many  complaints  of  ill-treat- 
ment of  Aleuts  having  reached  Okhotsk,  traders  and 
navigators  are  enjoined  to  treat  with  the  utmost  kind- 
ness all  Aleuts  who  have  acknowledged  themselves 
Russian  subjects,  and  not  to  carry  them  away  from 
home  without  their  free  consent.  The  document 
concludes  as  follows:  "The  highest  authorities  have 
already  been  informed  of  all  your  former  outrages 
committed  upon  the  islanders,  but  they  must  cease 
henceforth,  and  you  must  endeavor  to  act  in  conform- 
ity with  the  wishes  of  our  most  gracious  empress, 
who  is  anxious  to  give  protection  to  every  inhabitant 
of  her  dominions.  Do  not  believe  or  flatter  your- 
selves that  your  former  deeds  will  escape  punishment, 
but  be  convinced  that  sooner  or  later  every  transgres- 
sion of  the  laws  of  God  or  our  monarch  wUl  meet 
with  its  due  reward.  I  trust  that  these  prescriptions 
will  be  observed  at  once,  and  you  must  not  forget  that 
it  is  the  first  duty  of  every  faithful  Russian  subject 
to  report  any  transgression  of  the  laws  which  comes 
under  his  observation.  To  this  I  append  my  own 
signature  and  the  seals  of  the  province  of  Okhotsk 
and  of  the  district  of  Nishekanicliatsk,  this  15th  day 
of  June  1787.  Grigor  Kozlof-Ugrenin,  colonel  and 
conmiander  of  the  province  of  Okhotsk." 


PROCLAMATIONS  OF  THE  OKHOTSK  GOVERNOR.    311 

The  second  document  is  at  once  characteristic  of 
the  empress  and  important  in  itself.  I  reproduce  it 
in  full  in  a  note.^ 

^  *  To  the  Chiefs  and  People  inhabiting  the  Aleutian  Islands  in  the  North- 
eastern Ocean,  subjects  of  the  Russian  Empire:  The  Mother  of  her  country, 
the  great  and  wise  Empress  of  the  Imperial  throne  of  All  the  Russias,  £ka- 
terina  Alexeievna,  liaving  always  at  heart  the  welfare  of  her  faithful  subjects, 
extends  her  especial  protection  and  attention  to  those  nations  who  have  but 
lately  become  subjects  of  the  Russian  Empire,  and  has  deigned  to  instruct 
tlie  present  Governor-general  of  Irkutsk,  Major-general  and  Cavalier  Klichke, 
to  scmd  to  our  islands,  by  way  of  Kamchatka,  and  to  the  Kurile  Islands, 
Russian  medals,  which  have  been  forwarded  to  you.  They  were  sent  to  you 
as  proof  of  the  motherly  care  of  the  Empress;  and  it  was  ordered  that  these 
medals  should  be  given  to  those  islanders  who  are  already  under  control  of 
the  Russian  crown,  while  at  the  same  time  it  was  intended  to  issue  them  also 
to  such  as  wished  to  enter  the  Russian  Empire  hereafter.  These  medals  will 
be  distributed  at  every  place  where  the  Russian  trading- vessels  can  land  in 
safety,  and  thus  they  will  protect  you  against  ill-treatment  not  only  by  Rus- 
sian hunters,  but  at  the  hand  of  our  allied  powers  who  may  visit  your  shoi-cs. 
From  the  latter  you  may  feel  entirely  safe,  for  even  if  any  foreign  vessel 
should  attempt  to  appropriate  your  islands  to  its  own  country,  the  sight  of 
these  medals  of  the  Russian  Empire  would  disperse  all  such  thoughts,  and  if 
any  disputes  should  arise  they  will  be  settled  by  friendly  negotiations  with 
these  powers.  As  far  as  the  Russian  vessels  are  concerned  that  visit  your 
islands  for  the  purpose  of  trade  and  hunting  the  fur-bearing  animals,  I  have 
already  received  tlu'ough  the  hands  of  my  officials  at  Kamchatka  and  Okhotsk 
several  complaints,  the  first  through  Sergeant  Alexei  Buynof,  the  second  from 
the  son  of  the  chief  of  the  Andreianof  Islands,  Izossim  Polutof,  and  the 
third  from  the  Aleut  of  the  Lissievski  Islands,  Toukoutan  Ayougnin;  from 
which  complaints  I  have  learned  to  my  sorrow  of  the  inhumanities  inflicted 
upon  you  by  our  Russian  trading-ships,  of  which  the  government  up  to  this 
time  had  received  no  information;  it  was  thought  that  no  actual  violation 
of  the  laws  had  taken  place  in  those  distant  regions.  But  now  your  peti- 
tions have  been  forwarded  by  me  to  the  highest  authorities  and  I  trust  that 
you  will  before  long  receive  full  satisfaction.  In  the  mean  time  I  ask  you  to 
be  content  and  not  to  doubt  the  kindness  and  justice  of  the  great  Empress 
of  All  the  Russias  who  is  sure  to  defend  and  protect  you,  knoMdng  your  sin- 
cere submission  to  her  sceptre.  You  must  show  this  order  to  all  Russian  ves- 
sels that  visit  you  and  it  will  protect  you  in  so  far  that  every  inhabitant  of 
your  islands  may  remain  in  his  village,  and  cannot  be  compelled  to  go  to  any 
other  island  unknown  to  him.  But  if  one  of  you  goes  abroad  with  his  free 
consent,  he  will  be  provided  with  food  and  clothing  until  the  time  of  his  re- 
turn, and  the  food  shall  be  such  as  he  has  been  accustomed  to.  If  you  believe 
that  you  have  been  ill-treated  by  any  people  belonging  to  the  Russian  Em- 
pire, or  if  you  have  suffered  compulsion  or  mjury  at  their  hands,  I  advise  you 
^  take  notice  of  their  name  and  that  of  their  ship,  and  what  company  of 
merchants  they  belong  to,  and  in  due  time  you  can  forward  your  complaints 
upon  the  matter,  and  upon  satisfactory  proof  such  men  will  be  punished 
according  to  their  oflences  and  you  will  get  satisfaction.  Information  has  also 
reached  me  to  the  eflFect  that  the  hunters  receive  from  you  furs  of  good  qual- 
ity as  tribute,  but  change  them  and  forward  poor  skins  to  the  Empress; 
therefore  I  advise  you  to  mark  such  skins  with  special  signs  and  tokens,  mak- 
ing cuts  or  brands  which  cannot  be  easily  changed,  and  if  it  is  done  in  spite 
of  these  precautions  the  offenders  will  be  punished  very  severely.  Further- 
more I  assure  you  of  the  continued  protection  and  care  of  all  the  inhabitants 
of  your  islands  by  her  most  gracious  Imperial  Majesty  and  her  supreme  gov- 
emmcnty  as  well  as  of  the  best  wishea  of  the  Commander  of  the  Province  of 


312  ORGANIZATION  OP  MONOPOLY. 

The  new  order  of  things  established  by  Kozlof  did 
not  cause  any  immediate  change  in  the  demeanor  of 
the  Russian  promyshleniki,  ana  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  humane  document  addressed  to  the  natives  was 
ever  read  or  translated  to  one  of  them.  Accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  Sarychef  and  Sauer,  matters 
had  not  improved  much  when  they  visited  the  country 
several  years  later.  Yet  upon  the  few  individuals 
who  were  then  planning  for  a  monopoly  of  the  fur- 
trade  in  the  Russian  possessions  on  the  American 
coast,  the  hints  contained  in  the  documents  quoted 
were  not  lost.  They  recognized  the  fact  that  such 
boons  as  they  craved  from  the  government  could 
be  obtained  only  by  the  adoption  of  a  policy  of  hu- 
manity and  obedience  to  the  laws,  wholly  different 
from  the  ruthless  transactions  of  private  traders. 
Shelikof,  the  shrewdest  of  all  the  plotters,  had,  as  we 
have  shown,  originated  this  policy,  and  he  lived  long 
enough  to  see  that  so  far  as  his  plans  were  concerned 
it  worked  to  perfection.  His  instructions  to  Samoilof, 
to  whom  he  left  the  command  of  his  colony  on  return- 
ing to  Okhotsk,  were  admirably  calculated  to  impress 
the  reader  with  a  sense  of  the  wisdom,  humanity,  and 

Okhotsk  and  the  district  and  township  of  Nishnekamtcbatak.  Signed  the 
l.jth  day  of  June  1787,  by  Grigor  Kozlof-Ugrcnin.* 

Three  copies  still  extant  of  the  original  document  bear  the  following  sig- 
natures: *Have  read  the  original.  Master  Gavril  Pribylof.*  *Have  read  the 
copy.  Master  Potap  Zajikof.*  *Have  read  the  copy.  Foreman  Leontiy  Ka- 
gaicf.  * 

When  Kozlof- Ugrenin  issued  his  two  manifestoes  he  had  not  met  La  Po- 
rouse  and  the  other  officera  of  the  French  nortli-wcatcm  expedition,  for  the 
JIouHSole  and  Astrofabr  did  not  reach  the  bay  of  Avatcha  until  September, 
1787.  La  Perouse  and  M.  do  Lcsscps,  his  Kussian  iiitcrpi'etor,  testily  to  the 
czvccllent  character  of  Ugrenin,  who  appears  to  have  been  actuated  by  a 
sincere  desire  to  improve  the  condition  of  all  the  inhabitants,  Russians  and 
sr.vages,  of  the  vast  province  under  liis  command.  At  that  time  the  govern- 
ment of  that  re;rion  was  organized  as  follows:  Since  Cook's  visit  to  Kamchatka 
the  country  had  been  attached  to  the  province  of  Okhotsk,  undei  one  gov- 
ernor, Colonel  Kozlof -Ugrenin;  under  him  Captain  Shmalef  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  native  Kamchatkans;  Lieutenant  Kaborof  commanded  at  Petro- 
pavlovsk,  with  one  sergeant  and  40  Cossacks;  at  Nisbnekamtchatsk  there 
was  a  Major  Elconof,  while  at  liolsheretzk  and  Verkhnc'ikanichatsk  only  ser- 
geants were  in  command.  The  income  derived  from  Kamchatka  by  the  gov- 
cmment  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  expenditure  involved.  In  17S7  the 
tribute  collected  from  the  natives  amounted  to  300  sable-skins,  200  gray  and 
red  foxes,  and  a  few  sea-otters,  while  nearly  400  boldiera  and  many  oiliccrs 
were  maintained  in  the  country.  La  PCroimc,  Toy.,  iii.  1G7-9,  202. 


SHEIJKOFS  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SAMOILOF.  313 

disinterestedness  of  the  writer,®  ordering  as  they  did 
the  good  treatment  of  the  natives,  their  instruction 
in  Russian  laws,  customs,  and  religion,  the  establish- 
ment of  schools  for  the  young,  and  the  promotion 
of  discipline  and  morality  among  the  Russians  as  an 
example  to  the  aborigines.  Much  of  this  was  in- 
tended chiefly  for  the  sake  of  eflfect,  since  the  com- 
pany by  no  means  intended  to  expend  any  particular 
efforts  for  the  advancement  of  the  natives.  The 
secret  instructions  to  the  same  agent,  though  mainly 
verbal,  contained  clauses  which  indicated  how  far 
philanthropy  was  supposed  to  further  the  predomi- 
nant aim,  the  advancement  of  the  company.     For  a 

^Tbis  remarkable  document,  of  wbicb  I  bave  given  specimens,  was  dated 
the  14tb  of  May  1786,  and  baa  been  printed  in  full  by  Tikhmcnef  in  the 
appendix  to  bis  second  volume.     Speaking  of  tbo  natives  of  Kadiak  and  tho 
Obugatsobes,  Sbelikof  says:  'In  pacifying  tbe  inhabitants  you  should  explain 
to  tbem  tbe  benefits  resulting  from  our  laws  and  institutions,  and  tell  them 
that  people  who  become  faithful  and  permanent  subjects  of  the  empress  will  bo 
prot<M:ted,  while  evil-disposed  people  shall  feel  the  strength  of  her  arm.    When 
visiting  the  different  stations  you  must  investigate  complaints  against  your 
enbordmates  by  first  hearing  each  party  separately  and  then  together. . .  You 
-will  instruct  them  in  building  good  houses,  and  in  habits  of  economy  and  / 
industry. .  .The  school  I  have  established  for  the  instruction  of  native  children  / 
in  reading  and  writing  Russian  must  be  enlarged. .  .As  soon  as  possible  the  < 
sacred  books  and  doctrines  of  our  church  should  be  translated  into  their 
language  by  capable  translators. . .  I  take  v/ith  me  to  Siberia  40  natives,  males ' 
and  females,  old  and  young.     Some  of  these  I  will  send  back  on  the  same 
ship,  after  showing  them  some  of  our  v^illagcs,  and  tho  way  we  live  at  home, 
iff-hile  a  small  number v.iU  be  forwarded  to  the  court  of  her  imperial  Majesty; 
the  remaining  children  I  will  take  with  me  to  be  instructed  in  the  schools  of 
Okhotsk  and  Irkutsk,  and  through  them  their  families  and  tribes  will  acquire 
a  better  knowledge  of  our  country  and  tlie  laws  and  good  order  reigning 
there. .  .With  regard  to  the  officers  and  men  connected  with  the  three  vessels 
left  in  your  care  you  will  maintain  good  order  and  discipline  among  all  classes, 
and  strictly  enforce  obedience,  as  wc  cannot  expect  tho  natives  to  accept  rules  ^ 
which  we  do  not  obey  ourselves. .  .Traffic  with  the  Aleuts  must  bo  carried  on  I 
in  an  honest  manner,  and  cheating  must  be  punished.     Quarrels  and  disputc3  / 
must  be  settled  by  arbitration. .  .Hostages  and  native  employes  must  be  well 
treated,  but  should  not  be  taken  into  our  houses  without  your  special  i>crmia- 
sion;  serving-women  must  not  be  taken  into  our  houses,  unless  for  the  purpose 
of  sewing  and  similar  work. .  .Stores  of  provisions  for  at  least  two  years  must 
be  kept  at  every  station  to  enable  you  to  assist  tlie  natives  in  times  of  fammc. 
. . .  At  all  the  forts  warm  and  comfortable  quarters  must  be  erected  for  tho  f 
Aleuts,  and  also  stables  for  the  cattle  I  have  ordered  to  be  shipped  from  I 
Okhotsk. .  .My  godson  Nikolai,  who  has  always  faithfully  served  the  com- 
pany and  whom  1  have  fed  and  clothed  at  my  own  expense,  I  recommend  to 
your  special  care,  and  hope  that  he  will  have  no  cause  to  complain  of  the 
company's  treatment  in  return  for  his  faithful  services,  and  also  that  this  god- 
son of  mine  may  receive  further  instniction  and  be  tau<?ht  to  respect  God  and 
the  emperor,  and  the  laws  of  God  and  of  the  countiy.'  TikhmcHeJ\  Isior.  Ohos., 
n.,  app.,  8-19. 


314  ORGANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

time  rival  traders  must  be  tolerated,  but  as  soon  as 
sufficient  strength  was  acquired  they  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  districts  occupied  by  the  Shelikof 
men.* 

Limited  as  were  the  plans  with  regard  to  actual 
execution,  Samoilof  lacked  the  qualifications  to  carry 
them  out,  or  to  grasp  the  real  object  of  their  framer, 
and  Shelikof  knew  it.  As  soon  as  he  returned  from 
Kadiak,  therefore,  he  began  to  look  about  for  a  proper 
person,  and  his  choice  fell  on  Alexander  Baranof,  a 
merchant  then  engaged  in  trade  on  the  Anadir  River.' 
Shelikof's  first  proposals  to  Baranof  were  declined 
principally  because  his  own  business  was  moderately 
prosperous  and  he  preferred  independence.  One  of 
the  partners  of  the  company,  Eustrate  Delarof,  a 
Greek,"  was  then  selected  to  manage  aflTairs  in  the 
colony,  but  his  powers  were  more  local  and  confined 

"Article  24.  *I£  any  other  company  Bends  out  one  or  two  ships  and 
people  to  engage  in  the  same  trade  with  us,  you  must  treat  them  in  a  friendly 
manner  and  assist  them  to  do  their  business  quickly  and  to  leave  again,  giving 
them  to  understand  at  the  same  time  at  what  an  immense  sacriiice  we  have 
established  our  stations  and  what  risks  we  have  run  in  pacifying  the  Ameri- 
cans, cautioning  them  not  excite  the  natives  by  ill-treatment  or  cheating, 
wliich  would  cause  little  danger  to  them  who  are  here  only  temporarily,  but 
might  easily  cause  the  destruction  of  our  establishments,  extended  all  over 
this  region  at  great  risk  and  exx)en8e  and  to  the  greatest  benefit  of  the 
country  in  general.  But  when  I  have  sent  out  two  more  vessels  well  manned, 
in  addition  to  the  three  now  at  your  disposal,  you  must  take  a  more  resolute 
stand,  drive  off  all  intruders,  and  declare  the  Russian  sovereignty  overall  the 
country  on  the  American  continent  and  California,  down  to  the  40th  degree 
of  north  latitude.*  Tikhmenef^  Istor,  Obos.,  ii.,  app.,  16.  Shelikof  himself 
acted  up  to  his  ideas  on  the  subject.  In  17S6  the  ship  8v  Pavely  belonging  to 
the  Lebcdef-Lastochkln  Company,  came  to  Kadiak  with  35  men,  commanded 
by  Peredpvchik  Kolomin.  They  were  advised  to  move  on,  and  told  that 
tliere  was  an  abundance  of  sea-otters  in  Cook  Inlet.  Kolomin  followed  the 
advice,  and  established  the  first  permanent  station  on  the  mainland,  a  fact 
to  which  Shelikof  took  good  care  never  to  give  any  prominence  before  the 
government  or  the  public.  Tikhmenef^  lator.  Oboa.f  i.  30.  Sauer  writes  in 
reference  to  this  policy:  *  Ever  since  Shelikof  formed  his  establishment  at 
Kadiak  no  otlier  companies  have  dared  to  venture  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Shumagin  Islands.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  Lukhanin's  vessel  will  be 
the  last  that  will  attempt  to  visit  these  islands  for  furs,  and  probably  he  will 
obtain  hardly  any  other  than  foxes.'  Geog.  and  Astron.  Exptd.y  276. 

*®  Eustrate  Ivanovich  Delarof,  a  native  of  the  Peloponese,  established  him- 
self as  a  merchant  in  Moscow  and  subsequently  became  a  partner  in  firms 
trading  with  America.     He  was  in  command  of  many  vessels,  stations,  and 
/  expeditions.     He  linally  became  a  director  of  the  Kussian  American  company, 
/   and  was  honored  by  the  government  with  the  rank  of  commercial  councillor. 
^    Khlebntk'o/,  Shizn.  Baranova^  14, 


DELABOF  AT  KAniATT  315 

than  those  Shelikof  had  intended  to  confer  upon 
Baranof.  Delarof  s  administration  at  Kadiak  won 
him  the  good-will  of  all  under  his  command,  both 
Russians  and  natives,  and  he  received  well  merited 
praise  from  all  visitors,  Spanish,  English,  and  Rus- 
sian. In  all  reports  concerning  Delarof,  prominence 
is  given  to  his  justice  to  all,  and  his  kindness  to  the 
natives;  but  just  and  amiable  men  are  not  usually 
of  the  kind  chosen  to  manage  a  monopoly.  In  this 
instance  Delarof  was  too  lenient  to  suit  his  avaricious 
and  unscrupulous  partners.  Shelikof  never  lost  sight 
of  Baranof,  and  when  the  treacherous  Chukchi  with 
whom  he  was  trading  robbed  him  of  his  goods  and 
reduced  him  to  poverty,  it  did  not  require  much  per- 
suasion to  induce  him  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
Shelikof  Company  at  a  compensation  of  ten  shares,] 
equivalent  to  about  one  sixth  of  the  net  proceeds./ 
A  mutual  agreement  was  drawn  up  between  the  com- 
pany and  Baranof  on  the  18th  of  August  1790,^^  and 
the  instructions  already  issued  to  Samoilof  and  De- 
larof were  in  the  main  confirmed.  Operations  must 
be  extended  also  along  the  coast  southward,  and  steps 
might  be  taken  to  obtain  supplies  from  other  quarters 
besides  Siberia 

Alexandr  Andreievich  Baranof  was  born  in  Kar- 
gopol,  eastern  Russia,  in  1747.  At  an  early  age  he 
went  to  Moscow,  and  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  retail 
shops  until  he  established  himself  in  business  in  1771. 

'*  The  contract,  in  addition  to  InstructionB  with  regard  to  the  treatment  of 
natives,  contained  some  outlines  of  what  the  company  expected  to  accomplish 
under  Baranof 's  management.  He  was  to  seek  a  harbor  on  the  left  (north) 
side  of  the  Alaska  peninsula  and  thence  a  communication  with  Cook  Inlet 
by  means  of  a  short  portage,  reported  by  the  natives.  Of  this  he  was  to 
make  use  in  case  of  attack  by  hostile  cruisers.  In  addition  he  was  furnislied 
with  ample  instructions  how  to  act  in  case  of  such  attacks  upon  the  ditlereut 
stations.  A  ship  accompanied  by  a  fleet  of  canoes  was  to  go  to  Cape  St  Elias 
and  thence  to  Nootka,  to  ascertain  whether  any  foreign  nations  had  cstab> 
lished  themselves  on  the  coast  between  the  Russians  and  Spaniards.  Baranof 
was  also  to  enter  into  communication  with  the  English  merchant  Mcintosh, 
engaged  in  the  East  India  and  China  trade,  in  order  to  make  arrangements 
for  supplying  the  Russian  settlements  with  goods  and  provisions.  Tikhmene/, 
Jalor.  Obos.,  L  32-4. 


316  ORGANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

Not  meeting  with  success  he  emigrated  to  Siberia  ia 
1780,  and  undertook  the  management  of  a  glass 
factory  at  Irkutsk.  He  also  interested  himself  in 
other  industries,  and  on  account  of  several  commu- 
nications to  the  Civil  Economical  Society  on  the 
subject  of  manufactures  he  was  in  1789  elected  a 
member  of  the  society.  It  was  a  humdrum  life  of 
which  he  soon  tired,  and  after  acquainting  himself  with 
the  resources  and  possibilities  of  the  country,  he  set 
out  eastward  with  an  assortment  of  goods  and  liquors 
which  he  sold  to  the  savages  of  Kamchatka  and  the 
adjoining  country.  At  first  his  operations  were  suc- 
cessful,^^ but  when  in  1789  two  of  his  caravans  were 
captured  by  Chukchi  he  found  himself  bankrupt,  and 
yielded  to  Shelikof's  importunate  oflFers  to  go  to 
America.  He  had  a  wife  and  children  at  his  home  in 
Kargopol,  Kussia,  but  during  his  subsequent  residence 
of  almost  thirty  years  in  the  colonies  he  never  saw  his 
family  again  though  he  provided  amply  for  them. 

Alexander  Baranof  was  no  ordinary  man,  and  never 
throughout  his  whole  career  did  Shelikof  display 
clearer  discrimination  and  foresight  than  in  the  selec- 
tion of  this  agent.  He  was  a  man  of  broad  experience, 
liberal-minded  and  energetic,  politic  enough  to  please 
at  once  the  government  and  the  company,  not  suflS- 
ciently  just  or  humane  to  interfere  with  the  interests 
of  the  company,  yet  having  care  enough,  at  what  he 
decreed  the  proper  time,  for  the  conventionalities  of 
the  world  to  avoid  bringing  discredit  on  himself  or 
his  office.  Notwithstanding  what  certain  Russian 
priests  and  English  navigators  have  said,  he  was  not 
the  lazy,  licentious  sot  they  would  have  us  believe. 
That  he  was  not  burdened  with  religion,  was  loose  in 
morals,  sometimes  drunk,  and  would  lie  officially 
without  scruple,  there  is  no  doubt;  yet  in  all  this  he 
was  conspicuous  over  his  accusers  in  that  his  indul- 

^^  He  established  trading  posts  in  Kamchatka  and  on  the  Anadir.  KhUh- 
nil'o/f  Shizn.  Baranova^  3-5.  See  also  Golotnihiy  in  Matcrialui,  i.  9-10;  Petrof, 
Jiiiss.  Am.  Co.,  MS.,  10;  Irvhi(/^s  Astoria,  4G6;  Hid.  Northwest  Coaatf  ii.  222, 
this  series;  and  the  rather  inimical  version  of  Juvenal,  Jour.,  MS.,  18-19. 


•    ALEXANDR  ANDREtEVICH  BARANOF.  317 

gences  were  periodical  rather  than  continuous,  and  not 
carried  on  under  veil  of  that  conventional  grace  and 
gravity  which  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 

He  was  frequently  seized  with  fits  of  melancholy, 
due  partly  to  uncongenial  surroundings,"  and  would 
at  other  times  break  out  in  passionate  rage,  during 
which  even  women  were  not  safe  from  his.  blows. 
This  exhibition,  however,  was  invariably  followed  by 
contrite  generosity,  displayed  in  presents  to  the  suf- 
ferers and  in  a  banquet  or  convivial  drinking  bout 
with  singing  and  merriment,  so  that  his  fits  came  to 
be  welcomed  as  forerunners  to  good  things.  His  hos- 
pitality was  also  extended  to  foreigners,  though  with 
them  he  observed  prudent  reticence.  The  poor  could 
always  rely  upon  his  aid,  and  this  benevolence  was 
coupled  with  an  integrity  and  disinterestedness  at 
least  far  above  the  usual  standard  among  his  associ- 
ates.^* 

Compare  him  with  Grigor  Shelikof,  who  certainly 
did  not  lack  broad  vision  and  activity,  and  Baranof 
was  the  abler  man.  Both  belonged  to  the  shrewd 
yet  uncultured  and  somewhat  coarse  class  which  then 
formed  the  main  element  even  among  the  rich  men 
in  Siberia.  In  vital  deeds  Baranof  the  agent  rises 
superior  to  Shelikof  the  principal,  belongs  more  to 
history,  as  one  who  in  executing  difficult  plans  shows 
himself  often  a  greater  man  than  he  who  conceived 
them.  Indeed,  if  for  the  next  two  or  three  decades 
Baranof,  his  acts  and  his  influence,  were  absent,  Rus- 
sian American  history  for  that  period  would  b^  but  a 
blank.  Among  all  those  who  came  from  Russia,  he 
alone  was  able  to  stem  the  tide  of  encroachment  by 
roving  traders  from  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britam.  He  was  any  day,  drunk  or  sober,  a  match 
for  the  navigator  who  came  to  spy  out  his  secrets. 

^  To  disffust  at  his  low  oompanions,  says  Davidof ,  but  he  was  not  much 
more  refill^ himself.  Dvukr,  Putesh.,  i.  102. 

^*  Of  this  Davidof  has  no  donbt,  for  *he  is  not  accnmulating  wealth  though 
having  every  opportunity  to  do  so.'  /(/.,  Juvenal^  Jmir.,  MS.,  19-20. 


318  ORGANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

As  for  the  natives  his  influence  over  them  was  un- 
bounded, chiefly  through  the  respect  with  which  his 
indomitable  courage  and  constant  presence  of  mind 
impressed  them.^*  And  yet  the  savage  who  came 
perhaps  from  afar  expressly  to  behold  the  famed 
leader,  was  not  a  little  disappointed  in  his  insignifi- 
cant appearance  as  compared  with  his  fierce  and  bushy 
bearded  associates.  Below  the  medium  height,  thin 
and  sallow  of  complexion,  with  scanty  red-tinged 
flaxen  hair  fringing  a  bald  crown,  he  seemed  but  an 
imp  among  giants.  The  later  habit  of  wearing  a  short 
black  wig  tied  to  his  head  with  a  black  handkerchief, 
added  to  his  grotesque  appearance.^® 

On  the  10th  of  August  1790,  Baranof  sailed  from 
Okhotsk  on  the  ship  Trekh  Sviatiteliy  commanded  by 
Master  Bocharof,  who  was  then  considered  the  most 
skilful  navigator  in  those  waters.  ^^  When  only  a  few 
days  from  port  it  was  discovered  that  the  water-casks 
were  leaking.  The  ship  s  company  was  placed  on  short 
allowance,  but  disease  made  its  appearance,  and  it  was 
thought  impossible  to  sail  direct  to  the  settlement  at 
Kadiak  as  had  been  the  intention.  On  the  28th  of 
September  the  vessel  was  turned  into  the  bay  of  Kos- 
higin,  Unalaska,  to  obtain  a  supply  of  fresh  water,  but 
on  the  30th,  when  about  to  leave  again,  a  storm  threw 
the  ship  upon  the  rocky  shore.  The  men  escaped 
with  belongings,  but  only  a  small  part  of  the  cargo 
was  saved.  Within  five  days  the  wreck  broke  in 
pieces,  and  a  messenger  was  sent  to  Kadiak  to  report 
the  loss,  but  failed  to  reach  that  place. ^ 

^^Davidof  was  deeply  impressed  with  this  leader  of  men  who  controlled  not 
only  the  hostile  savage  but  the  vicious  and  unruly  Russian,  and  rose  supreme 
to  every  hardship  and  danger  in  advancing  affairs  in  this  remote  comer. 

"M,  194;  Tchitchhiof,  Adv.,2-A;  Markof,  Rmheno  Vostolcknom,  52. 

*'  Bocharof  was  at  Okhotsk  in  1771,  at  tlie  time  of  the  insurrection  headed 
by  the  Polish  exile,  Count  Beny vovski.  The  latter  compelled  Bocharof  to  go 
with  him,  and  finally  took  him  to  France.  Thence  he  was  returned  to  St 
Petersburg  by  the  Russian  embassador  at  Paris,  and  the  empress  ordered  him 
to  resume  his  duties  at  Okhotsk.  To  this  involuntary  circumnavigation  of  the 
world  Bocliarof  was  indebted  for  much  of  his  proficiency  in  nautical  science. 
Khlebnikq/y  Shizn.  BaraJiova,  6. 

ISA  man  named  Alexander  Molef  was  sent  upon  this  errand  with  a  nam- 


BARANOP  IN  ALASKA.  319 

Thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  Baranof  distributed 
his  men,  fifty-two  in  number,  over  the  island  to  shoot 
seals  and  sea-lions  and  dig  edible  roots,  the  only  food 
the  island  aflEbrded  during  the  winter.  The  leader 
labored  with  the  men  and  lived  with  them  in  the  un- 
derground huts  which  they  constructed.  The  dried 
sahnon  and  halibut  obtained  occasionally  from  the 
Aleuts  were  a  luxury,  and  on  holidays  a  soup  was 
made  of  rye  flour  of  which  a  small  quantity  had  been 
saved.  The  winter  was  not  wholly  lost  to  Baranof, 
who  seized  this  opportunity  to  study  the  people,  both 
Russians  and  natives,  with  whom  he  had  thrown  his 
lot  for  so  many  years  to  come,  and  whom  he  was  to 
rule  without  a  shadow  of  actual  or  apparent  support 
from  the  government.  It  was  here  that  he  formed 
plans  which  were  afterward  of  great  service  to  the 
company.^ 

Spring  coming,  three  large  bidars  were  made  in 
virhich  to  push  on  to  Kadiak,  with  two  of  which 
Bocharof  was  to  explore  and  hunt  along  the  northern 
coast  of  the  Alaska  peninsula.  Twenty -six  men  were 
assigned  to  this  expedition  while  Baranof  took  a  crew 
of  sixteen  in  the  third  boat,  leaving  five  at  Unalaska 
to  guard  what  had  been  saved  from  the  cargo  and 
rigging  of  the  wrecked  ship.  Toward  the  end  of 
April  1791  the  three  bidars  put  to  sea,  and  on  the 

ber  of  Aleuts.  When  only  a  hundred  miles  from  Kadiak  the  party  was 
attacked  by  the  natives  of  the  Alaska  peninsula,  on  which  occasion  five  of  the 
Aleuts  were  killed.  Molef,  though  severely  wounded,  managed  to  launch 
his  bidarka  and  make  his  way  to  Unga,  where  he  i-emained  imtil  picked  up 
by  Baranof  the  following  year.  Id.y  7. 

i>  Baranof 's  letter  written  at  this  time  presents  a  vivid  picture  of  life  there. 
*  I  passed  the  winter  in  great  hardships,'  he  says,  *  especially  when  the  weather 
was  bad.  Sometimes  two  months  passed  by  without  a  possibility  of  going 
any  distance,  but  I  made  use  of  every  clear  day  to  go  out  with  my  gun  in 
search  of  some  addition  to  our  larder.  On  one  of  these  excursions  I  fell  into 
one  of  the  traps  set  for  foxes  and  was  slightly  wounded ...  I  boiled  salt  of  very 
good  quality,  as  white  as  snow,  and  used  it  for  salting  fish,  and  seal,  and  sea- 
uon  meat.  As  far  as  cooking  with  oil  is  concerned  we  were  fasting  all  the 
time,  and  the  week  before  Easter  we  were  compelled  to  fast  altogether,  but 
on  Easter  Monday  a  dead  whale  was  cast  ashore  and  furnished  us  a  feast.  In 
the  same  week  we  killed  three  sea-lions,  and  the  famine  was  at  on  end.  I 
had  become  accustomed  to  think  no  more  of  flour  or  bread. '  Khlebnikqf,  Shhn. 
liaranova,  8.     Only  three  men  died  of  scurvy. 


320  ORGANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

1 0th  of  May  they  separated  in  Issanakh  Strait,  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  peninsula.  After  an  absence  of 
five  months  Boeharof  rejoined  his  comrades  at  Ka- 
diak  by  a  portage  route  across  the  peninsula,  bringing 
not  only  furs  but  a  number  of  good  charts.*^  During 
his  whole  journey  Baranof  was  prostrate  with  fever; 
nevertheless  he  insisted  that  the  •  party  should  not 
only  advance  but  explore,  being  unwilling  to  lose  the 
calm  weather  so  essential  for  a  safe  passage  from  island 
to  island  or  from  cape  to  cape  along  the  coast  of  the 
mainland.  He  arrived  at  Three  Saints,  Kadiak,  the 
27th  of  June. 

Baranof  at  once  assumed  command  of  all  the  estab- 
lishments of  the  Shelikof-Golikof  Company,  relieving 
Eustrate  Delarof.*^     At  this  time  the  company  was 
in  actual  possession  of  Kadiak   and  a  few  of  the 
smaller  adjacent  isles;  the  principal  settlement  being 
still  at  the  bay  of   Three  Saints.     The  superficial 
pacification  of  the  natives  by  Shelikof  had  been  com- 
pleted by  Delarof  so  far  as  Kadiak  and  vicinity  were 
concerned,  though  they  remained  in  their  primitive 
condition.     The  opinion  of  all  but  Delarof  was  that 
they  could  be  held  in  subjection  only  by  force  of  arms 
or  fear,  and  that  upon  the  first  sign  of  weakness  or 
relaxation  of  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  Russians 
they  would  rise  and  destroy  them.     As  much  system 
had  been  secured  as  lay  in  the  power  of  one  right- 
minded,  intelligent  man,  surrounded  by  an  unruly 
band  of  individuals  but  little  if  any  above  the  crim- 
hial  class.     I  have  said  of  Delarof  that  he  was  strict 
in   his   sense  of  justice  and  of   fair   administrative 
ability.     The  contemplation  of  this  amiable  Greek's 

'^Boeharof  intended  to  extend  his  explorations  to  the  coast  of  the 
Aglcgnuitcs,  but  Iiis  skin  Vx)ats  were  found  to  be  waterlogged  from  incessant 
U8C,  and  it  was  concluded  to  make  a  portage  across  a  narrow  part  of  tlie 
peninsula.  This  was  accomplished  in  three  days.  The  bidars  were  then 
repaired  and  the  party  crossed  to  Kadiak,  reaching  Three  Saints  on  the  12th 
of  iSeptomlKT. 

*U)tlarof  rt»maine<l  manager  of  the  company  until  July  1791.  Tikkmewf, 
Istor,  Ultjj.^  i.  -7,  '2S. 


CHABAOTEB  OF  DELAROF.  821 

character  affords  a  pleasant  relief  from  the  ordinary 
conduct  of  the  Kussians  in  America.  Had  there  been 
more  such  men,  I  should  have  less  to  record  of  out- 
ragCy  cruelty,  and  criminal  neglect;  had  Delarof  been 
bad  enough  to  please  his  directors  Baranof  might  have 
remained  at  home. 

From  his  head-quarters  at  Kadiak,  Delarof  had  de- 
spatched expeditions  to  the  mainland,  at  the  entrance 
of  Cook  Inlet,  or  the  gulf  of  Kenai,  as  the  Russians 
always  persisted  in  calling  it,  and  there  he  had  estab- 
lished a  permanent  station  which  he  named  Alexan- 
drovsk.  Otherwise  the  whole  of  this  inlet  was  occu- 
pied by  Lebedef-Lastochkin,  who  also  held  the  islands 
discovered  by  Pribylof.  The  people  of  the  Alaska 
peninsula  had  not  yet  permitted  any  Russians  to  settle 
among  them,  and  were  held  to  be  hostile.  The  ad- 
joining Prince  William  Sound  was  also  occupied,  and 
on  the  Aleutian  isles  three  private  trading  companies 
were  still  doing  business,  under  the  management  of 
Orekof,  Panof,  and  Kisselef  respectively. 

Thus  on  every  side  rival  establishments  and  traders 
were  draining  the  country  of  the  valuable  staple  upon 
which  restea  the  very  existence  of  the  scheme  of 
colonization.  To  the  east  and  north  there  were  Rus- 
sains,  but  to  the  south-east  the  ships  of  Englishmen, 
Americans,  and  Frenchmen  were  already  traversing 
the  tortuous  channels  of  the  Alexander  archipelago, 
reaping  rich  harvests  of  sea-otter  skins,  in  the  very 
region  where  Baranof  had  decided  to  extend  Russian 
dominion  in  connection  with  company  sway.  Al- 
though they  could  not  expect  to  succeed  so  well 
further  north,  here  these  traders  had  every  advantage. 
They  enjoyed  comparatively  easy  communication  with 
home  points;  they  were  skilled  navigators,  and  came 
in  large  well  equipped  vessels  laden  with  goods  far 
superior  to  anything  the  Russians  could  afford  to 
bring  by  sled  cm*  on  the  backs  of  horses  across  Siberia. 
They  could  also  be  more  lavish  with  their  low-priced 
articles  since  they  were  under  no  expense  in  main- 

HUX.  AL.ABXA.     21 


822  ORGANIZATION  OP  MONOPOLY. 

taining  permanent  forts  or  establishments  or  a  large 
retinue  of  servants.  As  occasional  visitors  only,  with- 
out permanent  interests  in  the  land,  they  could  deal 
out  fire-water,  risk  occasional  cheatings  and  open  acts 
of  violence,  while  Baranof,  with  his  few  men  of  per- 
manent residence,  among  warlike  tribes,  must  be  con- 
stantly on  his  guard  against  acts  provocative  of 
hostilities. 

It  was  necessary  that  he  should  bestir  himself  to 
widen  the  operations  of  the  company  ere  the  field 
was  exhausted,  and  this  had  been  his  determination, 
but  he  did  not  as  yet  possess  the  necessary  vessels, 
men,  and  supplies  to  do  much.  The  loss  of  the  Trekh 
SvicUiteli  was  indeed  a  formidable  hindrance;  skin 
boats  alone  could  well  be  used,  and  to  these  the  men 
had  more  than  one  objection,  the  risks  of  sea  voyages, 
and  the  disadvantages  in  point  of  defence,  carrying 
capacity,  and  convenience.  These  objections  were 
the  more  serious  in  view  of  the  greater  stubbornness 
and  hostility  of  the  mainland  tribes  as  compared 
with  the  docile  Aleuts.  Another  trouble  was  that 
for  several  years  no  supply-ships  had  arrived  from 
Siberia,  and  the  Russian  hunters  and  laborers  were 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  sharing  the  scanty  sub- 
sistence of  the  natives.  Dissatisfaction  was  there- 
fore general  among  the  employes,  including  the  na- 
tives, and  this  together  with  the  sight  of  want  among 
the  conquering  race  served  to  rouse  the  insolence  and 
hostihty  of  tribes  around. 

Some  of  these  troubles  Baranof  managed  to  over- 
come by  his  own  energy  and  strength  of  will;  for 
others  he  must  obtain  the  cooperation  of  the  com- 
pany. Among  other  measures  he  urged  Shelikof 
most  eloquently  to  labor  for  a  consolidation  of  the 
various  trading  companies,  and  thereby  to  secure  to 
the  new  corporation  the  large  number  of  valuable  sea- 
otter  skins  then  scattered  throughout  the  small  rival 
establishments  of  the  mainland.  At  the  same  time 
he  approved  of  a  suggestion  made  before  his  departure 


BARANOF'S  LETTERS.  S23 

to  build  ships  in  America,  and  urged  that  no  delay 
be  allowed  in  forwarding  material  to  him  from  Kam- 
chatka. He  saw  the  advantage  to  the  company  of 
exhibiting  vessels  built  in  their  colony  and  the  neces- 
sity of  making  himself  independent  of  the  vessels  for- 
warded at  long  and  irregular  intervals  from  the 
Asiatic  ports.  This  would  ensure  not  only  supplies 
but  the  means  of  cruising  down  the  coast. 

Without  having  seen  or  met  any  of  the  English  or 
American  traders  then  operating  in  the  Sitka  region 
he  conceived  the  plan  of  obtaining  from  them  not 
only  provisions  but  trading  goods,  and  asked  Shelikof 
for  authority  to  do  so;  he  knew  that  in  the  Pribylof 
Islands,  then  recently  discovered,  he  had  a  treasury 
from  which  he  might  draw  the  means  to  purchase 
whatever  he  wanted  of  the  foreign  traders,  and  that 
he  would  thus  be  enabled  to  buy  from  them  with  one 
class  of  furs  the  means  of  battling  with  them  on  their 
own  ground  for  the  purchase  of  sea-otter  skins,  then 
the  most  valuable  fur  in  the  market.  This  plan  of 
operation,  though  temporarily  delayed,  was  finally 
adopted  and  successfully  carried  out  under  Baranofs 
supervision. 

Knowing  that  his  letters  in  some  form  would  fall 
under  the  eye  of  the  government,  Baranof  worded  his 
communications  with  great  care,  and  with  respect  to 
the  well  seeming  plan  to  introduce  missionaries  he 
wrote  to  the  directors  of  the  company:  "  Send  me  a 
well  informed  priest,  one  who  is  of  a  peaceable  dis- 
position, not  superstitious,  and  no  hypocrite."  With 
the  same  view  of  impressing  upon  the  authorities  the 
humane  disposition  of  the  company's  traders,  he  re- 
quested Shelikof  to  send  him  numerous  articles  not 
included  in  the  invoices  of  the  firm,  but  suitable  as 
gifts  to  the  natives,  at  the  same  time  explaining  that 
he  wished  to  conquer  the  savages  with  kindness.  He 
asked  to  have  the  articles  purchased  and  forwarded 
at  his  own  expense  so  that  "  should  he  give  them  all 
away^  the  company  would  suffer  no  loss^  while,  on 


•24  ORGANIZATION  OP  MOKOPOLY. 

the  other  hand,  any  profit  made  on  the  consignment 
should  be  transferred  to  the  firm."  " 

During  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1791  Baranof 
made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  wants 
and  capabilities  of  his  new  domain  under  the  intelli^ 
gent  guidance  and  instruction  of  Delarof,who  returned 
to  Okhotsk  in  1792,  and  at  the  same  time  severed  his 
connection  with  colonial  matters.  The  latter  took 
passage  in  the  ship  Sv  Mikhail,  which  had  been  in  the 
colonies  ever  since  Shelikof  s  first  arrival,  taking  with 
him  Bocharof  as  navigator,  many  of  the  promyshleniki 
whose  term  of  contract  had  expired,  and  all  the  furs 
collected  by  him  during  his  administration. 

The  new  manager  soon  recognized  the  desirability 
of  removing  the  principal  settlement  of  the  company 
from  Three  Saints  to  Pavlovsk  harbor,  on  the  north 
side  of  Kadiak,  in  latitude  57**  36'  according  to  Cap- 
tain Lissianski's  observations.  The  reasons  lay  partly 
in  the  better  harbor,  and  chiefly  in  the  abundance  of 
forests  at  the  latter  place,  facilitating  the  erection  of 
necessary  buildings  and  fortifications.^ 

In  the  spring  of  1792,  however,  Baranof  was  grati- 
fied by  the  appearance  of  a  chief  from  the  northern 
side  of  the  peninsula,  whom  Bocharof,  during  his 
voyage  of  exploration  the  preceding  year,  had  pre- 
sented with  a  medal  bearing  the  Russian  coat  of  arms. 
The  savage  dignitary,  who  was  at  the  head  of  one  of 
the  most  populous  tribes  of  the  peninsula,  brought 
with  him  quite  a  large  following,  including  six  host- 

*■  *  Such  are  my  plans,*  he  wrote,  •  but  their  execution  depends  upon  prov- 
idence. My  first  steps  into  these  regions  were  attended  with  misfortune,  but 
perhaps  I  shall  be  permitted  to  conquer  in  the  end.  I  will  either  vanquish  « 
cruel  late  or  fall  under  its  repeated  blows.  Want  and  hardships  I  can  bear 
with  patience  and  trust  in  providence,  especially  when  the  sacrifice  is  made 
for  the  sake  of  true  friendship/  Khlelmikqfy  8hizn,  Baranova,  10. 

^  tn  1880  only  one  dilapidated  log-house  and  one  native  semi-subterranean 
hut  marked  the  site  of  the  earliest  permanent  location  of  the  Russians,  and 
these  buildings  are  perched  upon  the  hillside,  overlooking  the  sand  spit,  from 
which  floods  and  tidal  waves  nave  lotig  since  eradicated  all  traces  of  former 
occupancy.  A  representation  of  the  settlement  as  it  appeared  in  1790  haa 
been  preserved  in  Sauer^s  Oeog.  and  Aatron.  Exped,,  ana  in  Sarychefa  de- 
scription of  the  same  expedition. 


NKGOTIATIOKS  WITH  THE  NATIVES.  825 

ages.  He  assured  Baranof  that  his  people  desired  to 
live  in  friendship  with  the  Russians.  In  return  he 
asked  the  latter  to  protect  him  against  certain  tribes 
living  farther  north  in  the  interior  of  the  country. 
As  a  proof  of  his  sincerity,  the  chief  offered  to  locate 
himself  and  all  his  family  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  one  of  the  company's  establishments*  The  proposi- 
tion was  evidently  the  result  of  fear  of  his  neighbors 
rather  than  good  feeling  toward  the  Russians,  never- 
theless it  was  cheerfully  accepted  as  the  first  indica- 
tion of  the  possibility  of  a  better  understanding  with 
the  independent  natives  of  the  peninsula.  An  alli- 
ance of  this  kind  was  especially  desirable  on  account 
of  the  importance  at  that  time  placed  on  the  posses^- 
sion  of  the  portage  across  the  narrow  neck  of  land 
separating  the  waters  of  Iliamna  Lake  from  the 
Koiychak  River,  and  with  Russians  so  few  in  num- 
ber and  scattered  over  so  broad  a  region^  peaceable 
relations  were  essential. 

Advantage  was  at  once  taken  of  the  proposal  to 
extend  operations  in  this  quarter,  and  other  expedi- 
tions were  also  despatched,  one  under  Isma'ilof  in  the 
only  large  vessel  left  to  them,  the  Sv  Simeony  chiefly  for 
seeking  new  fields.^  Baranof  himself  proceeded  to  the 
gulf  of  Chugatschuik,  Prince  William  Sound,  with 
two  well  manned  bidars  in  order  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  inhabitants  of  that  region.  Dreading  the 
Russians  and  a  possible  state  of  dependence,  the  for- 
bidding Chugatsches  concealed  themselves  from  Bar- 
anof at  every  point.  At  last  he  succeeded  in  meeting 
a  few  of  the  tribes  and  obtained  from  them  seven 
hostages.  Hereabout  he  fell  in  with  the  ship  Phcenixj 
Captain  Moore,  from  the  East  Indies,  and  obtained 
information  on  foreign  traffic  in  the  Alexander  archi- 
pelago, which  served  him  greatly  in  forming  plans  for 
future  operations.     He  conceived  quite  a  friendship 

''Baranof  wrote  concerning  Ismaflof's  achievementB  that  'he  went  out  to 
make  diacoyeries,  bnt  discovereid  nothing  beyond  doubtful indioationa  of  land.* 
TtUvmentf,  liiar.  Obov.,  il  app.,  36. 


as»  GBGASIZATKm  OF  MONOPOLY. 

for  the  commander,  from  whom  he  received  as  a  'pres- 
ent' a  native  of  Bengal** 

Soon  after  his  meeting  with  Moore,  Baranof  pro- 
ceeded to  Nuchek  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  Copper 
Biver,  and  encamped  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
cove  where  sabsequentlj  the  Konstantinovsk  redoubt 
was  built.  Finding  the  supply  of  fish  limited,  he 
concluded  to  send  a  bidar  manned  by  Russians  and  a 
part  of  the  Aleut  hunters  to  Sukli  (Montagu)  Island 
in  search  of  better  fishing-grounds,  capable  of  furnish- 
ing a  winter's  supply  for  his  party.  On  the  20th  of 
June  this  expedition  set  out,  and  Baranof  remained 
on  Nuchek  Island  with  only  sixteen  Russians.  He 
had  heard  rumors  of  hostile  intentions  on  the  part  of 
the  savages,  but  placed  little  faith  in  them.  To  avoid 
unnecessary  risks,  however,  he  intended  to  remove  his 
little  force  to  a  small  island  in  the  bay,  on  the  day  fol- 
lowing the  departure  of  his  exploring  party.  In  the 
middle  of  the  night,  which  was  very  dark  and  stormy, 
the  sentries  gave  the  alarm.  Five  of  the  sixteen 
men  had  been  placed  on  guard,  but  the  darkness  was 
so  dense  that  a  numerous  body  of  armed  natives  had 
advanced  to  within  ten  paces  of  the  encampment  with- 
out being  seen.    In  a  moment  the  Russians  had  seized 

'^  Baranof  ^ves  an  interesting  account  of  this  meeting  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  Shelikof:  'Being  about  to  establish  a  station  for  the  winter,  I  fell  in  with 
an  English  vessel,  which  had  come  from  the  East  Indies,  by  way  of  Canton 
and  ^uinila  to  America  in  the  vicinity  of  Nootka,  and  from  there  he  had  fol- 
low(*d  the  coast  to  Chugatsch,  trading  with  many  tribes  and  collecting  a  large 
quantity  of  furs.  He  had  lost  a  mast  in  a  gale  and  replaced  it  at  Chugatsch 
and  for  that  reason  he  had  concluded  to  return  direct  to  Canton.  The  ship, 
name<l  the  Phosnix,  was  75  feet  long  and  had  two  masts.  The  captain  is  an 
Englishman,  of  Irish  extraction,  named  Moore.  He  met  first  with  my  bidarka 
fleet,  and  then  came  to  my  anchorage,  where  he  lay  five  days  during  stress 
of  weather.  I  was  on  board  nearly  all  the  time  and  was  entertained  at  the 
captain's  table.  We  conversed  a  great  deal  on  various  subjects,  and  though 
wo  did  not  understand  each  other  very  well,  we  managed  to  make  use  of  the 
(jerman  language  which  I  had  imperfectly  learned  as  a  boy,  but  almost  for- 
gotten since.  The  captain  made  me  a  present  of  one  [East]  Indian,  who  is 
my  private  attendant  during  the  winter,  but  in  the  summer  he  serves  in  the 
capacity  of  an  able  seaman.  He  understands  English  well  and  I  have  taught 
liim  considerable  Russian.  I  did  not  make  any  present  in  return  beyond  a 
few  fox-skins  and  some  hamiahas  of  Aleut  workmanship  and  some  other  trifles. 
I  also  heard  news  of  Capt.  Coxe  from  him.  He  died  at  Canton.  We  were  on 
very  friendly  terms  ancf  Capt.  Moore  visite<l  me  several  times  on  shore  in  my 
tent.'  Tikhmetwf,  lat.  Obosr,,  ii.,  app.,  36. 


BATTLE  AT  NUCHEBL  327 

their  arms  and  were  firing  on  the  savages.  Accord- 
ing to  Baranof  their  fire  was  for  a  long  time  without 
any  visible  effect,  owing  to  the  wooden  armor  and 
shields  and  helmets  of  the  savages,  which  were  of 
sufficient  thickness  to  stop  a  bullet  fired  at  some  dis- 
tance. The  movements  of  the  enemy  seemed  to  be 
guided  by  one  commander,  and  by  shouting  to  each 
other  they  preserved  unity  of  action  in  the  darkness. 
Their  flint  and  copper-headed  arrows  and  spears  fell, 
thick  and  fast,  wounding  several  of  the  Russians  and 
many  of  the  Aleuts,  several  of  them  fatally.  The 
latter  did  not  even  make  a  show  of  resistance,  but 
seemed  possessed  of  the  one  idea  of  escaping  by  water 
in  their  bidarkas.  As  the  assailants  had  several  large 
war-canoes  not  many  of  these  attempts  were  success- 
ful. One  small  cannon,  a  one-and-a-half-pounder  fal- 
conet, was  at  last  brought  into  position,  and  did  some 
execution,  at  the  same  time  encouraging  the  Aleuts 
to  rally  around  the  Russians  in  their  encampment. 
Fortunately  Ismailof  s  vessel  happened  to  be  at  anchor 
not  far  off,  and  a  few  of  those  who  fled  in  their  canoes 
at  the  beginning  of  the  affray,  had  in  the  mean  time 
reached  it,  and  obtained  a  bidar  full  of  armed  men  for 
the  relief  of  Baranof.  The  appearance  of  this  boat 
caused  six  large  wooden  war-canoes  to  beat  a  hasty 
retreat.  One  explanation,  though  not  very  plausible, 
of  this  unexpected  attack  was  that  the  Yakutat  tribe 
of  Kaljushes  had  combined  with  the  Aglegmutes  to 
avenge  themselves  for  injuries  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  Chugatsches  during  the  preceding  year.  Know- 
ing that  the  Sv  Simeon  was  anchored  four  versts  away, 
and  ignorant  of  Baranof  s  presence,  they  had  mistaken 
the  Russian  encampment  for  a  Chugatsch  village  and 
attacked  it  in  the  dark.  When  the  mistake  was  dis- 
covered, the  savages  were  induced  to  persevere  in  their 
efforts  by  hopes  of  rich  booty,  only  to  pay  dearly  for 
the  attempt  and  to  retreat  deeply  demoralized.^ 

••Baranof  wrote  to  Shelikof  as  follows:  *We  found  12  killed  on  the  spot; 
the  wounded  had  been  carried  off,  but  a  wake  of  blood  was  visible  a  verst 


328  OBOAOTZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

This  affair  caused  Brranof  to  change  his  plans. 
Instead  of  wintering  in  Prince  William  Sound  as 
had  been  his  intention,  he  turned  to  the  gulf  of  Kenaf 
by  the  shortest  route.  He  strengthened  his  outlying 
stations  there  and  hastened  the  work  of  fortification 
and  then  proceeded  to  Kadiak.  On  his  arrival  at 
Pavlovsk  harbor,  he  found  that  the  ship  Ch'd,  that  is 
Eagle,  had  arrived  from  Okhotsk,  commanded  by  the 
Englishman  Shields,  and  laden  partly  with  material 
for  new  ships,  though  by  no  means  of  the  descrip- 
tion most  essential  for  opening  operations.  Although 
despatched  in  the  autumn  of  1791,  vessels  had  been 
compelled  to  winter  in  Elamchatka.  Shields  had 
learned  the  art  of  ship-building  in  England,  but  had 
subsequently  entered  the  Russian  military  service  and 
obtained  the  rank  of  sub-lieutenant.*' 

At  the  same  time  came  orders  to  proceed  at  once 
with  ship-building.     This  placed  Baranof  in  an  em- 

or  two  behind  fheir  canoes.  At  the  very  fint  onset  they  killed  on  onr 
side  a  man  named  Kotovchikof  from  Bamaiil,  and  Paspelof  from  Tnmensk 
died  two  weeks  later.  Of  the  heathen — the  Aleuts — ^9  were  killed  and  15 
wounded.  As  for  myself,  God  protected  me,  though  my  shirt  wds  tom'by  a 
spear  and  the  arrows  fell  thickly  around  me.  £ing  aroused  from  a  deep 
sleep  I  had  no  time  to  dress,  but  rushed  out  as  I  wq^  to  encourace  the  men 
and  to  see  that  our  only  cannon  was  moved  to  wherever  the  danger  was 
greatest^  Great  praise  is  due  to  the  fearless  demeanor  of  my  men,  many  of 
whom  were  new  recruits.  I  mention  among  them  Feodor  Ostroffin  and  Zakh- 
milin.  One  of  the  Chuffatsch  hostages  brought  us  four  men  whohad  been  cap- 
tured by  the  Chugatsch  people.  From  these  we  learned  that  our  assailants 
had  expected  10  canoes  full  of  warriors  from  the  Copper  River  and  that  thev 
intended  to  proceed  to  the  gulf  of  Kenai  after  annihilating  the  Chugatsch 
tribe.*  Tikhmene/,  Jstor.  Obosr.,  ii.  app.  S7S.  Khlebnikof,  in  his  life  of  Bar- 
anof, relates  this  incident  in  a  somewhat  different  manner  as  to  details,  and, 
strange  to  say,  he  quotes  as  his  authority  a  letter  from  Baranof  to  Shelikof. 
They  retreated  in  5  canoes  while  they  had  arrived  in  6.  Shhn,  Baranova,  16-17. 
Yet  they  carried  off  4  captives.  Tikhmen^,  Irior.  Obos,,  i.  38-9,  64-^ 

'^Shelikof  wrote  to  Baranof  on  this  occasion:  *We  send  you  now  iron, 
rope,  and  sail-cloth  for  one  ship  which,  with  the  assistance  of  Shields,  you 
wul  be  able  to  fit  out,  and  if  you  succeed  you  may  lay  the  keel  for  two  or 
three  other  vessels  of  various  dimensions.  You  should  endeavor  to  push  their 
construction  far  enough  ahead  to  enable  you  to  complete  them  without  further 
assistance  of  a  shipwright.  Everything  vou  need  for  this  shall  be  sent  by 
the  next  opportunity.  You  should  teach  the  Americans  to  pick  oakum,  make 
ropes,  sew  at  the  nuls,  and  help  the  blacksmiths.'  Id,,  i.  39-40.  The  iron 
appears  to  have  been  forgotten.  Shields  had  formerly  served  as  lieutenant 
in  a  Yekaterinburg  regiment,  but  as  he  was  both  ship-builder  and  navigator  by 
profession,  Shelikof  engaged  him  for  service  in  the  new  colonies.  Tne  first 
proof  of  his  proficiency  in  his  business  was  the  packet-boat  Orel,  which  he 
constructed  at  Okhotsk.  Khlebnikqf,  SJ^izn,  Baranava,  18. 


SHIPBUILDINa  52^ 

barrassing  position,  for  he  had  not  yet  completed  the 
transfer  of  the  principal  settlement  from  Three  Saints 
to  Pavlovsk  harbor  and  there  was  urgent  necessity  to 
erect  at  once  a  number  of  buildings  at  the  latter  place, 
to  shelter  both  men  and  stores  during  the  winter:  He 
was,  however,  determined  to  obey,  and  while  pushing 
the  work  at  Pavlovsk  as  much  as  possible,  he  lost  no 
time  in  selecting  a  suitable  place  for  ship-building. 
On  Kadiak  and  Afognak  islands  the  trees  were  neither 
abundant  nor  large  enough,  and  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  look  to  some  more  distant  region.  During  his 
recent  stay  in  Prince  WilUam  Sound  he  had  observed 
to  the  west  of  it  a  well  protected  bay,  which  seemed 
in  every  way  suitable  for  his  undertaking.  The  place 
was  csdled  Voskressenski,  or  Sunday  harbor,  also 
known  as  Blying  Sound,  and  not  only  furnished  ex- 
cellent timber,  but  a  considerable  rise  and  fall  of  the 
tide  afforded  exceptional  facilities  for  building,  launch- 
ing, and  repairing  vessels.  Shelikofs  orders  had  been 
to  send  Shields  back  to  Okhotsk  after  consulting  him 
concerning  the  work  on  hand,  but  Baranof  found  it 
necessary  to  detain  him  in  order  to  obtain  serviceable 
plans  for  his  vessel.  He  wrote  to  Shelikof  that  his 
complement  of  men  capable  of  doing  any  work  on  the 
vessel  was  so  exceedingly  small  that  he  could  not 
afford  to  send  away  his  most  valuable  assistant,  but 
wonld  retain  him  during  that  and  the  following  season, 
hoping  in  the  mean  time  to  receive  further  shipments 
of  stores  and  material.*® 

The  necessary  buildings,  quarters  for  the  men,  and 
storehouses  were  at  once  erected  at  Voskressenski 
harbor,  and  all  that  winter  the  mountains  of  Kenai 
peninsula  echoed  the  vigorous  blows  of  axemen  and 
the  crash  of  falling  trees.  ^,  Nearly  all  the  planks  were 
hewn  out  'of  the  whole  log,  a  waste  of  time  and  ma- 
ss <We  httve,'  wrote  Baranof,  'only  half  a  keg  of  tar,  three  kegs  of  pitch, 
not  a  pound  of  oakum,  not  a  single  nail,  and  yerv  little  iron  for  so  large  a 
Tcwol.  What  little  canyas  yon  sent  us  we  have  oeen  compelled  to  use  for 
bidarka  sails  and  tents,  for  those  we  had  were  entirely  worn  out  by  long 
usage.'  Tikhmentft  leior,  Obos.,  ii.,  app.  30. 


330  ORGANIZATION  OP  MONOPOLY. 

terial  made  necessary  by  the  absence  of  large  saws. 
The  iron  needed  in  the  construction  had  been  collected 
from  pieces  of  wreck  in  all  parts  of  the  colonies,  and 
though  rust-eaten  and  of  poor  quality,  it  was  made  to 
serve.  Steel  for  axes  had  to  be  prepared  from  the 
same  material.  In  his  anxiety  to  push  the  work  Bar- 
anof  even  attempted  to  extract  iron  from  some  ore 
his  men  had  picted  up.  He  had  seen  iron-furnaces 
during  his  life  in  Siberia,  but  found  himself  unable  to 
obtain  the  coveted  metal  by  any  such  rude  processes 
as  he  could  devise.®  For  tar  he  devised  a  poor  mix- 
ture of  spruce  gum  and  oil.  The  English  ship-builder 
regarded  with  wonder  and  contempt  the  primitive 
dock-yard,  and  without  a  purveyor  possessed  of  the 
indomitable  determination  and  activity  of  Baranof,  he 
could  never  have  earned  the  reputation  of  construct- 
ing the  first  ship  on  the  north-westernmost  coast  of 
America. 

To  obtain  provisions  was  diflBcult.  The  men  could 
not  be  allowed  to  hunt  or  fish,  and  no  other  station 
was  prepared  to  furnish  supplies.  Heavy  requisitions 
were  made  upon  the  yukola,  or  dried  fish,  of  the  na- 
tives, entailing  want  and  hardships  upon  them,  while 
the  ship-builders  were  reduced  to  the  scantiest  allow- 
ance to  sustain  them  in  their  arduous  task. 

The  lack  of  canvas  was  another  serious  incon- 
venience. Without  a  proper  suit  of  sails  the  first 
American  ship  could  never  reach  the  coast  of  Siberia 
or  Kamchatka  and  impress  the  authorities  with  the 
reality  of  all  the  Shelikof  Cogipany  claimed  to  have 
done  in  the  way  of  improvements  and  industrial  en- 
terprise in  the  colonies.  It  is  astonishing  to  what 
expense  and  infinite  trouble  the  company  was  willing 
to  go  for  the  sole  purpose  of  efiect.  A  far  better 
ship  could  have  been  built  without  any  serious  diffi- 
culty and  at  much  less  cost  either  in  Kamchatka  or  at 
Okhotsk.     The  problem  of  supplying  the  necessary 

"*  Madame  Shelikof  indicates  that  the  smelting  of  iron  ore  promised  well 
enough  to  warrant  the  engagement  of  an  experienced  man.  LeUer^  in  Id. 


LAUNCHING  OP  THE  'PHCENDL'  331 

canvas  was  made  more  difficult  by  the  circumstance 
that  the  native  hunters,  who  had  until  then  been  paid 
for  their  season's  work  with  a  few  beads  and  glass 
corals,  refused  to  accept  that  currency  any  longer,  and 
almost  unanimously  demanded  to  be  paid  in  garments 
made  of  canvas. 

April  1793  saw  the  new  craft  far  enough  advanced 
to  make  Shields'  constant  superintendence  unneces- 
sary. Baranof,  who  had  no  great  liking  for  the  for- 
eigner, seized  the  opportunity  of  giving  him  additional 
work  by  ordering  him  upon  a  voyage  of  discovery  in 
the  Orel.  Rumors  of  the  existence  of  unknown  isl- 
ands, rich  in  seals  and  sea-otters,  in  various  parts  of 
the  new  possessions  had  been  afloat  for  some  time. 
Baranof  never  expressed  any  belief  in  these  reports,  but 
in  order  to  get  Shields  and  his  four  English  sailors  out 
of  the  way  for  the  summer,  he  promised  the  former  two 
shares  of  the  furs  obtained  from  any  island  discovered 
by  him,  for  two  years,  and  to  the  sailors  twenty  sea- 
otters  each.  With  grim  satisfaction  the  crafty  old 
manager  noted  the  fact  that  the  premiums  offered 
were  never  earned,  and  that  the  Orel  was  tossed 
about  by  storms  and  finally  reached  Voskressenski 
harbor  in  a  much  damaged  condition.  In  the  mean 
time  the  Sv  Simeon  had  arrived  with  more  laborers, 
provisions,  and  tools,  and  work  was  resumed  with 
renewed  vigor. 

At  last  in  August  1794  the  great  work  was  achieved 
as  the  first  vessel  built  in  north-western  America  glided 
from  the  stocks  into  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  under 
the  name  of  Phcenix,^  While  not  so  important  or  dif- 
ficult a  performance  as  those  of  Vasco  Nufiez  and 
Cortes,  it  was  one  of  which  Baranof  might  justly  feel 
proud.  He  had  made  the  first  practical  use  of  the 
timber  of  what  was  then  termed  "the  vast  deserts  of 

'^No  explanation  is  nven  by  my  authorities  why  Baranof  selected  this 
name,  but  we  may  ooDcmde  that  it  was  suggested  to  him  by  the  EnglijUi 
el  which  visited  those  watera  in  1792. 


832  OBGANIZATION  OF  MONOPOLY. 

America/*  and  had  used  it  for  a  purpoBe  that  might 
be  expected  to  benefit  not  only  his  employers,  but  his 
country. 

Most  of  the  men  who  assisted  Shields  had  seen  only 
the  nondescript  vessels  of  Siberian  traders,  many  of 
them  half  decked,  and  built  usually  without  an  iron 
bolt  or  brace,  the  planks  being  lashed  together  with 
raw-hide  thongs.  The  present  result  was  therefore 
all  the  more  gratifying,  crude  as  it  was.  The  vessel 
was  built  of  spruce  timber,  and  measured  73  feet  in 
length,  the  upper  deck  being  79  feet,  with  a  beam  of 
23  feet  and  a  depth  of  13^  feet.  Notwithstanding  the 
size,  the  capacity  being  only  about  one  hundred  tons, 
it  was  provided  with  two  decks  and  three  masts,  in 
order  to  present  an  imposing  appearance  and  do  credit 
to  its  projectors.**  The  calking  above  the  water-line 
was  done  with  moss;  and  for  paint,  tar  and  whale-oil 
were  used."*  The  sails  consisted  of  pieces  and  scraps 
of  canvas  for  which  the  warehouses  and  magazines  of 
the  company  in  Kamchatka  and  in  the  colonies  had 
been  ransacked.  The  result  was  a  number  of  sheets 
of  diflferent  qualities  and  color,  presenting  the  most 
grotesque  appearance.^ 

By  the  4  th  of  September  the  P?UBnix  was  despatched 
upon  her  first  voyage  to  Kadiak,  where  Baranof  hoped 
to  improve  upon  the  outfit.  On  the  way  the  flimsy 
rigging  snapped  before  the  first  breeze,  and  the  vessel 
entered  Pavlovsk  not  with  swelling  sails,  but  towed 
by  boats.  She  was  also  badly  ballasted,  and  presented 
on  the  whole  an  appearance  far  from  imposing.    Nev- 

'^Tikhmenef  calls  it  180  tons.  Istor.  Oboe.,  i.  57-8. 

'^  Boiled  at  various  times  in  small  quantities  the  paint  was  unequal  in 
color,  giving  the  hull  a  strange,  spotted  appearance.  This,  however,  ex- 
tended only  a  little  above  the  water-line,  aa  tney  did  not  have  enough  even  of 
such  paint  to  color  the  whole. 

^*  These  sails,  some  spars,  and  a  quantity  of  iron  work  for  the  new  vessel 
prepared  by  mechanics  in  Kadiak  were  transported  to  the  ship-yard  early  in 
April,  before  the  sea-going  vessels  had  completed  their  necessaiy  repairs,  so 
that  the  conveyance  had  to  be  made  in  laige  skin  boats  or  bidars,  which 
crept  cautiouslv  to  Cook  Inlet.  From  here  the  material  was  carried  over 
dangerous  glaciers  and  mountains  to  Voekressenski  harbor.  Baranqf,  Shkn,^ 
162. 


OTHER  SHIPS  BUILT. 


ertheless  joy  reigned  in  the  settlement,  and  the  event 
was  celebrated  by  solemn  mass  and  merry  feasting." 

A  few  weeks  were  spent  in  refitting  and  rigging 
the  Phcenix,  and  on  the  20th  day  of  April  this  firs^ 
bom  of  the  Alaskan  forests  set  out  upon  the  voyage 
to  the  shores  of  Asia,  commanded  by  Shields,  the 
builder.  The  voyage  was  made  in  about  a  month,  a 
speed  unprecedented  in  the  annals  of  Russian  navi- 
gation in  the  north  Pacific.  At  Okhotsk  the  Phcenix 
was  received  with  volleys  of  artillery,  the  ringing  of 
bells,  and  the  celebration  of  mass.  The  ghost  of  the 
great  Peter  is  gratified;  for  in  the  flesh  the  monarch 
never  dreamed  of  so  early  and  so  significant  an 
achievement  resulting  from  the  royal  pupilage* 

All  the  servants  of  the  Shehkof  Company  then 
awaiting  transportation  from  this  port,  and  the  soldiers 
stationed  at  the  ostrog  were  at  once  called  into  requi- 
sition to  assist  in  finishing  Baranofs  wonderful  three- 
master.  She  had  made  her  first  voyage  without  cabin 
or  deck  houses,  and  these  were  now  added,  together 
with  the  necessary  polishing  and  painting,  and  new 
sails  and  rigging.  From  this  time  forth  until  her  loss 
during  a  dark  stormy  November  night,  in  the  gulf 
of  Alaska,  the  Phoenix  made  regular  trips  between 
Okhotsk  and  the  colonies.  Shelikof  and  his  partners 
did  not  fail  to  dwell  forcibly  and  pointedly  in  their 
petitions  and  reports  upon  the  fact  that  their  com- 
pany maintained  communication  between  the  colonies 
and  the  mother  country  by  means  of  a  "frigate"  of 
their  own  construction,  built  with  American  timber 
and  launched  in  American  waters. 

This  success  Baranof  followed  up  by  laying  the 
keels  of  two  other  vessels,  of  smaller  size,  forty  and 
thirty-five  feet  in  length  respectively,  which  were 
launched  in  1795,  and  named  Delphin  and  Olga.^ 

*^The  leaden  tried  their  teeth  on  the  only  ram  left  of  the  sheep  consifi;n- 
ment,  and  then  sonsht  relief  from  the  struggle  in  copious  draushts  ol  cheering 
liqnor.  JBartmofj  Snm,,  155-6.  Baranof  attended  the  launching,  but  came 
iMck  in  a  bidarka,  as  if  distrusting  Shields  and  his  work. 

»  nkhmen^,  later,  Obos.,  i.  40. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

8TBIFB  BETWEEN  RIVAL  00MPANIE3. 

1791-1794. 

TBI  Lmmv  Cqxpavt  Oocufub  Cook  Ixuet— Quabbjklb  vktwees  thb 
Lebzdef  axd  Shklocof  Comtaxies— Hosthjties  ts  Cook  I>nuET~ 
CoMPLAnns  OF  KoLoxnr  aoaixst  Konotalof— Wah  upo^  Russiaits 

AND  ISDIAXS  AlIKX — LeTK  OP  THE  MaBAUDEBS — PACIFIC  AtTTIUDIL  OF 
BARA50F— Hl8  PaTIEHCB  EXHArSTEI>~PLATI3rO  THB  AOTOCRAT-— Ar- 
BKST    OF    THB    RlHOLEADBBft— EPFfiCr     OX    THB    NaTTTBS—BaRA  WOP'S 

Spbbch  to  his  Hcntebs— Expedition  to  Yakutat— Mebtiko  with 
Vaxcouveb— Thb  Lebedef  Company  Cibcuiiventei>— Troubles  with 
Kaucshes— Pubtof's  Resolute  Conduct^ZaIkof's  Expedition. 

Like  the  Spaniards  in  Central  America  and  Mex- 
ico, no  sooner  had  the  Russians  possession  of  their 
part  of  America  than  they  fell  to  fighting  among 
themselves.  In  1786  the  Sv  Pavl,  of  the  Lebedef- 
Lastochkin  Company,  had  come  to  ELadiak  with 
thirty-eight  men,  commanded  by  Peredovchik  Kolo- 
min.  Jealous  of  intrusion  on  their  recently  acquired 
hunting-ground,  the  Shelikof  party  gave  the  new- 
comers a  hint  to  move  oh,  and  incautiously  pointed  to 
Cook  Inlet  or  the  gulf  of  Kenai  as  a  profitable  region. 
The  result  was  a  permanent  establishment  in  Alaska, 
on  Kassilof  River  in  that  inlet.  It  consisted  of  two 
log  buildings  protected  by  a  stockade,  and  bore  the 
name  of  St  George.^ 

The  Shelikof  Company  already  possessed,  near  the 
entrance  of  the  inlet,  a  fort  named  Alexandrovsk, 
which  had  a  more  pretentious  appearance.    It  formed 

^  It  was  situated  on  a  bluff,  and  presented  to  the  wondering  savages  quite 
a  formidable  aspect.  Jiivenal,  Jour,,  MS.,  36. 

(88*) 


KONOVALOF'S  EXPEDITION.  335 

a  square  with  poorly  built  bastions  at  two  corners, 
and  displayed  the  imperial  arms  over  the  entrance, 
which  was  protected  by  two  guns.  Within  were 
dwelling  and  store  houses,  one  of  them  provided  with 
a  sentry-box  on  the  roof.*  The  situation  of  the  other 
fort  higher  up  the  inlet,  near  the  richer  fur  region, 
gave  it  the  advantage  in  hunting;  yet,  for  a  time, 
friendly  relations  continued  to  exist  between  the  rivals 
as  well  as  with  the  natives. 

In  August  1791  the  ship  St  George^  also  belong- 
ing to  the  Lebedef-Lastochkin  Company,  arrived  in 
the  inlet.  The  commander  of  this  second  expedition 
was  one  Grigor  Konovalof,  and  his  advent  seems  to 
have  been  the  signal  for  strife  and  disorder.  His  pro- 
ceedings were  strange  from  the  beginning;  he  did  not 
land  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kassilof  River,  where  Kolo- 
min  was  already  established,  but  went  about  twenty 
miles  farther,  to  the  Kaknu,  landed  his  crew  of  sixty- 
two  Russians,  discharged  his  cargo,  beached  his  ves- 
sel, and  began  to  erect  winter  quarters  and  fortifications 
surrounded  with  a  stockade  and  defended  by  guns. 
This  fort  was  named  St  Nicholas.'  All  this  time  he 
neglected  to  communicate  in  any  manner  with  the 
other  party  of  the  same  company.     Kolomin  at  last 

*  Smithy,  room  for  boiling  oil,  and  other  conveniences  existed.  FtcUdgo, 
in  Viajes  al  NorU,  MS..  358-9.    See  also  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol.,  ii.  348. 

'  Tikhmenef,  in  speaking  of  this  episode,  commits  some  errors  from  insuffi- 
cient acquaintance  with  the  various  localities.  He  writes  of  Kassilof  and  St 
Nicholas  as  thesame  place,  while  in  reality  the  latter  is  thirty  miles  to  the  north- 
ward of  the  former.  In  claiming  that  Konovalof,  by  erectins  fortifications  at 
Kassilof,  or  St  Nicholas,  seized  upon  settlements  founded  by  Shelikof  in  1785, 
Tikhmenef  makes  another  mistake.  The  only  lodgment  made  by  Shelikof  on 
Cook  Inlet  was  near  its  mouth,  and  was  subsequently  named  Alexandrovsk. 
Furthermore,  Shelikof  was  a  partner  in  Lebedef-Lastochkin's  enterprise,  as 
as  well  as  in  the  company  formed  under  special  protection  of  the  government. 
Tikhmenrfy  Igtor.  Oboa.,  L  30;  Juvenal,  Jour.,  MS  ,  6  et  seq.  When  Vancouver 
anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  KenaK  or  Kaknu  river  in  17£^  he  was  saluted  by 
two  guns  from  a  building  on  the  high  bank,  from  which  also  floated  the  Russian 
flag.  A  miserable  path  led  up  the  steep  ascent  through  masses  of  filth  and 
ofiOiI.  The  establisnment  occupied  a  space  of  about  120  yards  square,  en- 
closed with  a  stout  paling  of  pine  logs,  12  feet  high.  The  largest  ouilding, 
35  yards  long,  served  as  barracks,  consisting  of  one  large  room  with  sleeping- 
benches  on  the  sides,  divided  into  stalls.  The  commander,  at  that  time 
Stepan  Zajikof,  lived  in  a  smaller  house  by  himself.  There  were  over  twenty 
other  small  building.  The  70-ton  sloop  belonging  to  the  station,  armed 
with  two  guns,  was  in  a  dilapidated  conoition.   Vancouver's  Voy,^  iii  140-1. 


336  STRIFE  BETWEEN  BIVAL  COMPANIES. 

ventured  to  iDquire  to  what  company  they  belonged 
The  answer  was  brief  and  insolent,  Konovalof  claim- 
ing that  he  had  been  invested  with  supreme  command, 
and  instructed  to  seize  everything  in  the  hands  of 
Kolomin,  who  must  henceforth  report  to  him.  While 
ready  to  believe  that  such  authority  had  been  con- 
ferred/ the  latter  did  not  choose  to  surrender  either 
his  men  or  his  furs;  but  as  his  term  was  about  ended, 
he  prepared  to  close  his  aflfairs  and  transfer  the  com- 
pany's business  to  his  successor  after  the  winter,  in 
the  expectation  of  sailing  for  Okhotsk  in  the  spring. 
While  thus  engaged,  Kolomin's  party  was  surprised 
by  the  arrival  of  a  large  bidar  sent  by  Konovalof,  and 
commanded  by  Amos  Balushin.  Without  making 
any  excuse  or  explanation,  Balushin  proceeded  a  short 
distance  up  the  Kassilof  River,  to  where  Kolomin  s 
winter  supply  of  dried  fish  was  stored,  and  carried 
all  away.* 

Shortly  afterward  a  party  of  natives,  en  route  to 
St  Greorge,  were  intercepted  on  the  Kaknu  by  Ko- 
novalofs  men  and  robbed  of  all  their  effects.  This 
outride  was  repeated  on  a  party  from  Toyunok,  a 
village  on  the  upper  part  of  the  inlet,  no  compensa- 
tion whatever  being  tendered  for  the  furs  taken. 
Being  anxious  to  come  to  some  understanding,  Kolo- 
min went  out  to  meet  his  rival,  but  the  interview 
was  brought  to  an  end  by  Konovalof  firing  off  his 
pistol,  without  injury,  however,  to  any  one.  After 
this  Kolomin  considered  the  country  in  a  state  of 
war,  kept  constant  watch,  and  posted  sentries.  More- 
over, there  was  fear  that  the  Ravages,  who  could  not 
fail  to  notice  the  quarrels  between  the  Russians^ 
might  attack  the  weaker  with  a  view  to  capturing 
the  furs  gathered  by  Kolomin  during  his  residence  of 

*  *  I  bad  only  tveenty-Beven  men  left  of  my  orew,  and  as  we  were  waiting  to 
he  called  back  we  thought  that  Konovalof  spoke  the  truth,  and  congratulated 
ourselves  on  having  a  new  commander.'  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Oboa.^  ii.  app.  part 
ii.  51.  The  Sv  Pavl  had  been  sent  home  in  1789  with  a  cargo  of  hia  fors,  and 
aince  then  nearly  2,000  more  skins  had  been  collected. 

^  A  demand  lor  explanation  eucited  only  threats.  Id, 


OUTRAGES  AT  COOK  INLET.  337 

four  years  among  them.  Konovalof  aggravated  the 
situation  by  sending  men  to  press  some  of  Kolomin's 
kayurs,  or  native  servants,  into  his  own  service,  and 
the  former  on  meeting  with  objections  threatened  to 
fire  on  the  other  party.*  The  ease  with  which  this  out- 
rage was  perpetrated  encouraged  another  attack  with 
a  larger  force,  during  which  the  remaining  servants 
and  the  hostages  were  carried  off,  so  that  Kolomin 
had  to  send  both  for  fresh  recruits  and  for  provisions. 
Even  in  this  effort  he  met  with  trouble,  tor  Lossef, 
the  faithful  lieutenant  of  Konovalof,  dogged  his  foot- 
steps, intercepted  most  of  the  levy,  and  maltreated 
the  messengers.^ 

Kolomin  had  already  complained  to  the  Shelikof 
Company  of  this  persecution,  and  as  soon  as  the  ice 
broke  up  on  the  inlet  he  proceeded  to  Kadiak,  to  con- 
firm his  previous  report  and  urge  Baranof  to  occupy 
the  whole  gulf.  He  advanced  the  opinion  that,  unless 
some  responsible  power  interfered  at  once,  all  which  he 
and  his  men  had  accomplished  toward  pacifying  the 
natives  and  building  up  a  profitable  trade  would  be 
lost.  Baranof  by  no  means  felt  inclined  to  interfere 
between  rival  agents,  particularly  since  the  aggressive 
party  would  evidently  not  hesitate  at  shedding  the 
blood  even  of  their  own  countrymen;  not  that  he 
lacked  the  courage,  but  he  feared  to  risk  his  company's 
interests  and  men  in  fratricidal  war,  which  might  also 
arouse  the  natives.  Moreover,  his  patron  Shelikof 
possessed  shares  in  the  other  company,  and  he  pre- 
ferred to  report  to  him  so  that  the  matter  might  be 
settled  by  the  principals.  At  the  same  time,  how- 
ever, he  sent  a  warning  to  the  St  Nicholas  people  that 

*The  men  were  actually  ordered  to  fire,  bat  hesitated.  LoflseC,  their 
leader,  upbraided  them,  aayinf^:  *It  is  not  yonr  business;  we  have  oJ ready 
killed  four  Bussians.'  'Walt  until  spring,'  he  exclaimed  to  Kolomin's  party,. 
'and  we  will  oome  to  your  station  with  fifty  men  and  take  away  all  the  host- 
ages you  hare.'  Tikhmene/,  liter i  Ohon^  ii.  npp.  partii.  52-3.  A  converted 
native  of  Kadiak  was  robbed  of  his  young  wife  and  unmercifully  beaten. 

^  Three  men  were  depriverl  of  their  weapons  and  placed  in  Uio  stocks  for 
two  days.  Brushinin,  an  elder  among  thef  uunte»»  who  came  to  expostulate^ 
was  put  in  irons. 

Hbt.  Alaska.   23 


338  STRIFE  BETWEEN  RIVAL  COMPANIES. 

he,  as  representative  of  one  of  the  partners  in  the  Le- 
bedef  Company,  could  not  allow  any  aggressive  meas- 
ures that  might  be  prejudicial  to  trade.  This  had  the 
effect  of  greatly  tempering  the  feeling  of  the  St  Nich- 
olas party  against  Kolomin'smenasof  theirown  com- 
pany, but  directed  their  hostility  against  the  rival 
company.  They  declared  that  the  whole  teiritory 
bordering  upon  the  gulf  of  Kenai  belonged  exclusively 
to  the  Lebedef  Company,  ignoring  all  previous  arrange- 
ments between  their  acknowledged  head  and  Shelikof. 
They  certainly  controlled  nearly  all  the  trade,  and  to 
this  end  they  had  erected  anoth^  station  higher  up 
tlie  inlet,  on  the  western  shore,  and  placed  there  a 
score  of  Russians.® 

Robbery  and  brutal  outrages  continued  to  bo  the 
order  of  the  day,  though  now  committed  chiefly  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  sole  control  of  the  inlet,  to 
the  neglect  of  legitimate  pursuits.  Meanwhile  Kolo- 
min's  men  managed  to  hold  their  own,  and,  as  the  per- 
secution of  the  Konovalof  party  gradually  relaxed, 
their  sympathies  actually  turned  toward  the  latter  in 
their  effort  to  oust  the  Shelikof  men  from  the  field. 

Thus  the  history  of  Cook  Inlet  during  the  last  dec- 
ado  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  replete  with  romantic 
incidents — midnight  raids,  ambuscades,  and  open  war- 
fare— resembling  the  doings  of  mediaeval  raabrUte)\% 
rather  than  the  exploits  of  peaceable  traders.  The 
leaders  lived  in  rude  comfort  at  the  fortified  stations, 
surrounded  by  a  dusky  harem  containing  contributions 
from  the  various  native  villages  within  the  peredovt- 
cbik's  jurisdiction.  Offences  against  the  dignity  of 
the  latter  were  punished  quickly  and  effectually  with 
the  lash  or  confinement  in  irons  or  the  stocks,  if  the 
offender  had  not  too  many  friends  among  the  Russian 
promyshleniki,  and  with  extreme  severity,  verging 
upon  cruelty,  in  cases  where  the  culprit  belonged  to  the 

*  It  consisted  of  one  large  house  about  50  feet  long  and  24  feet  wide.  Van' 
couver'a  Voy.,  iii.  122. 


LEBEDEF  AND  SKELIKOF.  33D 

unfortunate  class  of  kayurs.  The  Russians  did  little 
work  beyond  the  regular  guard  duty,  and  ev^en  that 
Avas  sometimes  left  to  trusted  individuals  among  the 
native  workmen  and  hangers-on  of  the  station. 

All  manual  labor  was  performed  by  natives,  espe- 
cially by  the  female  'hostages/  and  children  of  chiefs 
from  distant  villages  left  at  the  stations  by  their 
parents  to  be  instructed  in  Russian  life  and  manners. 
The  training  which  they  were  forced  to  undergo,  far 
from  exercising  any  civilizing  influence,  resulted  only 
in  making  them  deceitful,  cunning,  and  more  vicious 
than  they  had  been  before.  Every  Russian  there  was 
a  monarch,  who  if  he  wanted  ease  took  it,  or  if  spoils, 
the  word  was  given  to  prepare  for  an  expedition.  Then 
food  was  prepared  by  the  servants,  and  the  boats  made 
ready,  while  the  masters  attended  to  their  arms  and 
equipments.  The  women  and  children  were  intrusted 
to  the  care  of  a  few  superannuated  hunters  left  to  guard 
the  station,  and  the  brave  little  band  would  set  out 
upon  its  depredations,  caring  little  whether  they  were 
Indians  or  Russians  who  should  become  their  victims. 
The  strangest  part  of  it  all  was,  that  the  booty  secured 
was  duly  accounted  for  among  the  earnings  of  the 
company.^ 

Affairs  were  assuming  a  serious  aspect.  Xot  only 
were  the  Shelikof  men  excluded  from  the  greater  part 
of  the  inlet,  but  they  were  opposed  in  their  advance 
round  Prince  William  Sound,  which  was  also  claimed 
by  the  Lebedef  faction,  though  the  Orekhof  and  other 
companies  were  hunting  there.  The  station  which 
the  Lebedef  men  made  their  base  of  operations  was 
situated  on  Nuchek  Island,  at  Port  Etches,  and  con- 
sisted of  the  usual  stockade,  enclosing  dwelling  and 
store  houses.^^     In  support  of  his  claims,  Konovalof 

•  Shelikof,  who  held  shares  in  both  his  own  and  the  Lebedef  Company, 
had  the  a<l vantage  of  not  only  recovering  what  bo  lost  by  these  plunderinir 
enterprises,  but  receisring  his  proportionate  share  of  the  losses  in  the  Shelilvof 
Company. 

'"Vancouver,  Koy.,  iii.  172,  found  one  side  of  it  formed  by  an  armed 
vessel  of  70  tons,  liauled  on  shore. 


wo  STRIFE  BETWEEN  RIVAL  COMPAXIEi 

declared  that  he  possessed  government  credentials 
granting  to  his  company  exclusive  right  to  all  the 
mainland  region.  Yet  he  refused  to  exhibit  even 
copies  of  such  documents.  Finding  the  Shelikof 
men  disposed  to  yield,  the  others  began  to  en- 
croach also  on  the  limited  district  round  the  Shelikof 
settlement,  near  the  entrance  to  Cook  Inlet,  by  erect- 
ing a  post  on  Kuchekmak  Bay,  and  the  natives  were 
forbidden,  under  pain  of  death,  from  trading  with 
their  rivals.  From  this  post  they  watched  the  move- 
ments of  the  Shelikof  men  with  a  view  to  circumvent 
them.  Forty  bidarkas  under  Kotelnikof  were  inter- 
cepted, and  although  a  number  escaped,  a  portion  of 
the  crew,  including  the  leader,  was  captured.  An- 
other party  under  Galaktianof,  on  the  way  from  Prince 
William  Sound,  was  chased  by  a  large  force,  and  eflforts 
were  made  to  attack  Baranof  himself.  It  was  not 
proposed  to  keep  the  Russians  prisoners,  but  merely 
to  seize  the  furs  and  enslave  all  natives  employed  by 
Shelikof  in  the  interdicted  region.  Fortunatel}*'  Bar- 
anof had  left  the  sound  beforfe  the  raiders  arrived, 
and  they  passed  on  to  the  eastern  shore,  there  to  en- 
croach on  the  trade  established  with  the  Yakutat 
Kaljushcs  by  the  Shelikof  men,  who  held  hostages 
<roni  three  of  the  villages.  Not  long  after  came  Ba- 
lushin  with  a  stronger  force;  and  one  day,  when  the 
chief  of  one  of  the  villages  had  set  out  upon  a  hunt 
with  nearly  all  the  grown  males,  the  Russians  entered 
it  and  carried  off  the  women  and  children  to  a  neigh- 
boring island."  They  also  made  inroads  on  the  north- 
em  part  of  the  Alaskan  peninsula  which  had  been 
])rought  into  friendly  relations  through  Bocharof 
Out  of  four  friendly  villages  in  Ilyamna  and  Nusha- 
gak,  they  plundered  two  and  carried  the  people  into 
captivity. 

Their  success  was  due  partly  to  the  personal  bravery 

'1  Balnshin  had  destroyed  the  coat-of-arms  be9towed  upon  the  chief  by 
order  of  tho  governor-general  of  Irkutsk,  telling  him  that  it  was  but  a  child's 
toy.   Tihhmencf,  I.<ior.  Obos.,  ii  app.  part  ii.  43. 


BAKANOFS  POLICY.  341 

and  superior  dash  of  the  men.  Baranof  freely  ac- 
knowledged in  later  years  that,  individually,  the  pro- 
luyshleniki  of  the  Lebedef  Company  were  superior 
to  those  under  his  cgmmand  at  the  beginning  of  his 
administration;  and  according  to  Berg,  he  ventured  to 
assert  that,  had  he  commanded  such  men  as  Lebe- 
defs  vessels  brought  to  the  shores  of  Cook  Inlet  and 
Prince  William  Sound,  he  would  have  conquered  the 
whole  north-western  coast  of  America. 

Toward  the  end  of  1793  Baranof  had  received  a 
small  reenforcement  with  the  Orely  so  that  after 
deducting  the  loss  by  drowning  and  other  casualties, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-two  men  were  left  to  him.  The 
number  of  the  Lebedef  men  is  not  recorded,  but  it 
cannot  have  been  much  inferior,  for  reenforcements 
had  come  in  the  Sv  Ivan.  The  latter  occupied  an 
admirable  strategic  position,  with  control  of  two  great 
navigable  estuaries  and  other  places  offering  easy 
communication  and  access  to  supplies.  They  were 
also  better  provided  with  goods  and  ship-stores  than 
Shelikof 's  company.^^ 

It  was  not  so  much  these  advantages  of  his  assail- 
ants, however,  that  kept  Baranof  from  energetic 
measures  against  them,  but  rather  a  consideration  for 
the  different  interests  of  his  patron,  and  for  the  lives 
of  his  countrymen.  He  was  awaiting  an  answer  to  hh 
reports  from  Siberia.  This  forbearance  served  only 
to  encourage  the  other  party,  as  we  have  seen,  till  at 
last  Baranof's  patience  was  exhausted.  With  the 
report  of  a  fray  between  the  rival  posts  on  the  inlet 
came  the  rumor  that  the  ship-yard  at  Voskressenski 
Harbor  was  to  be  taken,  and  this  appeared  probable 
from  the  special  animosity  shown  to  the  Englishmen 
there  engaged.  When  not  absolutely  needed  at  the 
yard,  they  were  sent  to  explore;  and  on  several  of 

"  Baranof  reported,  late  in  1793,  that  he  owed  many  bales  of  rope  and  four 
ponds  of  tobacco  to  the  Lebcilcf  Company,  but,  in  view  of  the  depredations 
conunitted  by  men  belonging  to  tho  latter,  lie  *  did  not  intend  to  return  the 
goods  until  some  action  was  taken  upon  his  complaints  to  the  authorities  at 
Okhotsk.' 


3i'2  STRIFE  BETWEEN  RIVAL  COMPANIES. 

these  occasions  they  had  been  set  upon,  robbed,  and 
ill-treated,  sometimes  narrowly  escaping  with  their 
lives." 

Baranof  now  hastened  to  the  ^  spot,  and  observing 
the  need  for  interference,  assumed  the  peremptory 
tone  of  one  invested  with  authority.  He  sent  a  let- 
ter to  Konovalof,  then  at  his  stockade  at  St  Nicholas 
on  the  Kaknu  River,  with  a  summons  to  appear  at 
once  before  him,  stating  that  he  had  been  authorized 
by  the  governor  of  Siberia  to  settle  all  disputes  be- 
tween rival  traders.  He  expected  soon  to  be  invested 
with  such  powers,  in  answer  to  the  urgent  petitions 
of  Shelikof  and  his  partners,  and  thought  that  he 
might  exercise  the  privilege  in  advance.  This  had 
its  effect.  Without  suspecting  that  the  order  had 
no  more  foundation  than  his  own  boasted  rights  to 
possession,  the  conscience-stricken  man  hastened  to 
obey  what  was  supposed  to  be  an  official  summons. 
He  appeared  before  Baranof  and  offered  apologies  for 
his  conduct,  but  the  latter  would  listen  to  no  expla- 
nation; he  placed  him  in  irons,  and  kept  him  under 
close  guard  until  Ismailof  arrived  with  his  vessels, 
\A\en  not  only  the  ringleader  but  seven  of  his  com- 
panions who  had  also  tendered  their  submission  were 
taken  to  Kadiak  and  placed  in  confinement. 

Finally  Konovalof  was  made  to  answer  at  Okhotsk, 
but  before  a  lenient  committee,  so  that  he  readily 
managed  to  clear  himself,  and  was  restored  to  a  com- 
mand in  Alaska.  Meanwhile  Stepan  Zaikof  had 
succeeded  him  as  chief  at  St  Nicholas.  Kolomin  still 
held  his  command  and  Balushin  controlled  the  estab- 
lishment on  Nuchek.^* 

"  The  prevailing  starvation  at  the  ship-yard  was  chiefly  due  to  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Lcbcilof  incu  with  supplies. 

''One  reason  for  this  elemency  appears  in  a  letter  addressed  by  Lebedef 
nul  Slielikof  jciintly,  to  thoaivliiniandritc  loassnf,  re;|iKStiug  him  to  inveetigato 
tliv^  charges  against  Konovalof  and  others,  yet  expressing  the  hope  that  the 
r.^'cused  ■will  not  1)0  found  *too  guilty  to  be  allowuil  to  work  off,  in  one  com- 
p:;ny  or  the  other,  their  indclaedness  to  tlu-ir  employers,  and  thus  save 
the  shart^holders  from  loss.*  If,  lu>wevcr,  Kouovr.lof  e^hould  bo  found  too 
deeply  involved  to  admit  of  his  f urtiier  employment,  he  was  *  to  be  set  at 


FALL  OP  LEBEDEP.  343 

While  Baranofs  firmness  served  to  check  the  per- 
petration of  extreme  abuses,  a  certain  hostility  contin- 
ued to  be  exhibited  for  some  time.  The  evil  was  too 
deeply  rooted  to  be  eradicated  all  at  once,  but  har- 
mony was  gradually  restored,  partly  through  the  in- 
fluential mediation  of  Archimandrite  loassof,  who  ar- 
rived soon  after  as  leader  of  a  missionary  party.  At 
the  same  time  came  a  large  rcijnforcement  for  Baranof, 
with  authority  to  form  settlements  in  any  part  of 
Alaska,  and  right  to  claim  the  country  for  five  hun- 
dred versts  round  such  settlements,  within  which 
•limits  no  other  company  could  set  foot.  Against  such 
power  the  Lebedef  faction  could  not  possibly  prevail, 
particularly  since  Shelikof  positively  instructed  Bar- 
anof to  use  both  force  and  cunning  to  remove  the  ri- 
vals. Reverses  also  overtook  them,  and  a  few  years 
later  they  abandoned  the  field," 

It  was  indeed  time  that  Baranof  should  assert  him- 
self, for  the  insolence  and  outrages  of  the  aggressors 
had  created  general  discontent  among  the  tribes. 
Those  of  Lake  Skilakh  were  actually  plotting  the  de- 
struction of  all  Russians  on  the  K^nai  peninsula,  and 
to  this  end  they  endeavored  to  bridge  over  the  old 
feud  between  them  and  the  Chusfatsches  of  Prince 
William  Sound;  receiving  also  encouragement  from 
the  treacherous  tribes  on  the  other  side  of  the  inlet, 
from  Katmai  northward,  who  had  successfully  op- 
posed all  attempts  to  form  Russian  settlements  in 
their  midst.  The  measures  now  taken  by  Baranof 
to  maintain  better  order  and  reassure  the  natives,  as 
well  as  the  coup  de  main  with  Konovalof,  which  added 

liberty  to  ehift  for  himself.*  /(/.,  ii.  app.  part  ii.  57-8.  loassof,  indeed,  did 
not  report  liiin  to  be  so  bad  as  Baranof  desired.  Anioug  the  accused  waa  Sto- 
pan  Kosmovicli  Za'ikof,  a  brother  of  Potap  Zaikof,  a  man  of  considerable  abil- 
i^y  and  knowledge.  Ivan  Kocli,  comaiander  of  Okhotsk,  in  a  letter  up- 
braids bis  dear  friend  Stepan  Kuzmitch^  and  threatens  him  with  the  severest 
punishment  if  found  guilty. 

»i  *  You  must  declare  in  your  reports,'  wrote  Shelikof,  *  that  the  outrages 
upon  tlio  ICenaitzo  were  of  the  most  disgraceful  character,  but  that  it  i3  in 
\  our  power  to  plant  your  settlements  wherever  you  please,  even  on  the  gulf  ' 
of  Keuai.'  /J.,  GO. 


344  STBIFE  BETWEEN  EIVAL  COMPANIES. 

not  a  little  to  advance  his  influence,  served  to  check 
the  threatened  uprising.  His  assertion  of  authority 
was  equally  necessary  among  his  own  subordinates, 
whose  loyalty  had  been  corrupted  by  the  insinuations 
of  emissaries  from  the  other  camp,  and  whose  re- 
spect for  their  chief  had  begun  to  wane  under  his 
forbearance  toward  the  rivals,  whereby  numerous 
hardships  were  entailed  upon  them  through  loss  of 
trade  and  curtailment  of  rations.^®  He  assembled 
the  men,  represented  to  them  the  obligations  to 
which  they  had  voluntarily  subscribed  when  engaged, 
and  showed  the  evil  they  were  inflicting  also  on  them- 
selves by  discontent,  want  of  harmony,  and  refusal  to 
do  the  required  work.  He  had  full  power  to  arrest 
those  who  refused  implicit  obedience,  and  he  would 
use  that  power.  Those  who  had  complaints  should 
present  them,  and  he  would  seek  to  redress  their 
wrongs."  This  firm  speech,  together  with  a  liberal 
distribution  of  liquor,  had  a  wonderful  effect,  and  thus 
by  means  of  a  little  determined  self-assertion  Baranof 
established  for  himself  an  undisputed  authority,  with 
a  reputation  as  a  leader  of  men.* 

The  party  war  ended,  Baranof  breathed  freely  once 
more,  and  1794  witnessed  a  decided  impulse  to  his  dif- 
ferent enterprises.  The  most  notable  of  these  was  the 
one  intrusted  to  Purtof  and  Kulikatof  for  operating 
in  Yakutat  Bay,  of  which  a  preceding  visit  had  brought 
most  encouraging  reports.^®     Preparations  were  made 

^^  They  appear  to  have  received  less  compensation  tlian  the  other  com- 
pany employees.  Of  the  latter,  Fidalgo  reports:  *Sus  sueldos  llegaban  los 
mayores  d  cuatro  pesos:  quo  los  jefes  subaltcmos  gozaban  oOO  al  afio.'  But 
he  evidently  ignores  the  share  system.  For  each  employee  the  company  paid 
a  tribute  of  two  dollars  a  year.  Salida,  etc.,  in  Viajes  al  Norte,  MS.,  369. 

^'  This  characteristic  address  is  given  in  full  in  Tikhmem/f  Ixtor.  Obos. ,  ii. 
app.  part  ii.  47-9.  It  contains  several  allusions  to  historic  anecdotes  on 
the  value  of  unity,  and  dwells  on  the  absurd  pretensions  to  better  comforts 
by  men  who  at  homo  in  Siberia  were  content  to  live  as  pigs. 

"  Some  time  before  this  he  had  interfered  between  rival  traders  of  the 
companies  Orckhof,  Panof,  and  Kisselef,  located  on  Prince  William  Soun^l, 
and  after  patching  up  a  temporary  peace  between  them  he  had  seized  the 
greater  part  of  their  furs,  under  the  pretext  of  taking  them  to  Kadiak  for  salo 
keeping. 

*^Tikhmenef  refers,  confusedly  to  an  expedition  in  1793  of  170bidarkas, 


YAKUTAT  EXPEDITION.  345 

on  a  laxge  scale.  The  station  on  Cook  Inlet  had 
been  appointed  as  a  rendezvous,  and  on  the  7th  of 
May  a  fleet  of  five  hundred  bidarkas  assembled  there, 
bringing  natives  from  Kadiak,  Kcnai,  the  Alaskan 
peninsula,  and  the  nearest  Chugatsch  villages.  More 
boats  and  men  were  to  be  collected  at  Prince  William 
Sound,  where  Baranof  had  gone  in  person  to  levy- 
forces.  All  these  were  arranged  in  subdivisions, 
each  in  charge  of  a  Russian. 

At  Voskressenski  Bay  the  Yakutat  expedition  was 
furnished  with  additional  trading  goods  and  some  guns 
and  ammunition.  After  being  delayed  at  Grekof 
Island  till  the  22d  of  May,  Purtof  set  out  with  his  whole 
fleet  for  the  mouth  of  Copper  River,  intending  to  pass 
by  Nuchek  Island,  where  the  Lebedef  Company  was 
then  established.  At  the  eastern  point  of  Montague 
Island  they  were  intercepted  by  some  Lebedef  hunt- 
ers in  bidarkas,  who  presented  a  letter  from  Balu- 
shin  and  Kolomin,  This  document  warned  Purtof 
not  to  encroach  upon  any  territory  already  occupied 
by  the  other  company.  The  messengers  were  in- 
structed to  add,  that  they  had  established  an  artel  of 
twenty  Russians  at  Tatitliatzk  village  on  the  gulf  of 
Chugatsch,  and  also  at  the  mouth  of  Copper  River,  and 
that  the  Shelikof  hunters  must  not  advance  in  that 
direction.  Without  allowing  himself  to  be  intimidated, 
Purtof  informed  the  messengers  that  he  was  on  his 
way  to  the  American  continent  in  pursuance  of  secret 
orders  from  the  government.  In  hunting  sea-otters 
he  would  not  touch  upon  any  ground  occupied  by 
others. 

The  following  evening,  while  preparing  to  camp  for 
the  night  on  a  small  island  adjoining  Nuchek,  he  dis- 
covered a  party  of  eight  Lebedef  hunters  near  by  and 
invited  them  to  supper,  after  which  the  time  passed 
in  friendly  exchange  of  news.  Early  in  the  morning, 
however,  before  the  Lebedef  men  were  stirring,  Pur- 
escorted  by  Shields,  which  brought  back  2,000  sea-otter  skins,  htor,  Obos,, 
L  40-1. 


?AG  STRIl'E  BETWEEN  RIVAL  COMPANIES. 

tof  moved  silently  away  with  his  force  and  made  a 
quick  passage  to  the  second  mouth  of  Copper  River, 
and  there  fell  in  with  Chugatsches  who  had  been  trad- 
ing with  the  Lebedef  men  at  Nuchek.  Finding  that 
no  station  or  regular  hunting  party  of  the  Lebedef 
Company  existed  here,  he  took  his  party  to  Kaniak 
Island,  near  the  river,  purposing  to  lay  in  a  supply  of 
halibut  as  provisions,  and  to  hunt  sea-otters.  Over  a 
hundred  skins  were  obtained  the  first  day,  but  the 
second  day's  hunt  proved  entirely  futile  and  the  expedi- 
tion moved  northward  along  the  coast  of  the  mainland.^ 
On  the  31st  of  May  the  whole  party  encamped  on 
the  beach,  and  within  a  short  distance  of  a  large  Agleg- 
mute  village,  though  without  being  aware  of  the  fact. 
During  the  night  some  of  the  hunters  became  alarmed 
at  the  sound  of  numerous  voices  proceeding  from  the 
woods.  An  armed  detachment  composed  of  the  most 
courageous  ventured  to  penetrate  into  the  forest,  and, 
guided  b}^  the  smell  of  smoke  and  the  cries  of  children, 
made  their  way  to  the  village,  which  was  situated  ou 
the  opposite  side  of  a  river.  During  the  confusion 
occasioned  by  their  unexpected  arrival,  they  succeeded 
in  capturing  the  chief  and  his  brother,  and  then  made 
good  their  retreat  to  the  camp.  One  of  their  number, 
however,  a  Kadiak  interpreter,  was  intercepted  and 
Icilled  by  the  natives.  The  chief  and  his  brother  were 
taken  to  the  camp,  treated  to  food  and  drink,  and  piled 
Avith  presents,  until  they  promised  to  call  together 
their  people  the  following  day  to  negotiate  with  the 
Russians.  The  brother  was  commissioned  to  arrange 
the  matter,  and  by  the  3d  of  June  all  of  the  Aglegmute 
tribe  dwelling  in  that  vicinity  came  to  the  camp. 
With  the  help  of  a  judicious  distribution  of  presents, 
Purtof  succeeded  in  prevailing  upon  the  savages  to 
inve  seven  hostages,  including:  two  natives  of  Yakutat 

2°  During  a  brief  halt  on  the  beach  a  native  Imt  was  discovered,  but  the 

inhabitants  had  lied,  leaving  all  their  efF'?cts.     A  little  food  was  taken  by  the 
ALr  t  S  in  return  for  v>*!iich  PurLof  deposited  some  coral  beads. 

2*  III  accordanuo  with  orders  from  the  government,  the  savages  were  quea- 


DEALINGS  WITH  THE  NATP7ES.  347 

As  soon  as  the  weather  permitted,  Purtof  pro- 
ceeded to  Icy  Bay,  called  Natchik  by  the  natives, 
and  by  the  1 0th  of  June  his  hunters  had  secured 
four  hundred  sea-otter  skins,  all  that  could  be  ob- 
tained- The  party  then  moved  on  to  Yakutat  Bay, 
accompanied  by  the  Aglegmute  chief  of  the  tribe, 
and  a  Kadiak  native  who  spoke  the  Kaljush  lan- 
guage. These  two  were  sent  in  advance  to  assure 
the  people  of  the  peaceful  character  of  the  expedi- 
tion.*^^ The  chief  soon  returned  from  the  Yakutat 
village  with  the  son  of  the  Kaljush  chieftain  and 
three  others  as  hostages,  profusely  ornamented  with 
beads,  furs,  and  feathers.  The  interpreter  had  been 
detained  as  hostage  on  the  other  side,  but  it  was 
found  necessary  to  surrender  also  a  Russian  ere  con- 
fidence could  be  established.  Accompanied  by  fif- 
teen of  his  best  warriors,  the  Kaljush  chief  then  pro- 
ceeded in  state  to  the  camp,  and  after  the  usual 
ceremonies  negotiations  began  in  earnest.  Purtof 
declared  that  the  Russians  desired  to  live  in  friend- 
ship with  them,  and  the  chief,  who  probably  had 
been  plied  with  strong  drink,  made  a  formal  present 
to  his  new  allies  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  bay 
and  the  small  islands  situated  therein.  The  feelings  of 
the  latter  underwent  a  change,  however,  when  he 
came  to  reflect  on  the  advantage  gained  by  his  visitors, 
and  found  that  they  also  hunted  on  their  own  account, 
venturing  far  out  to  sea  where  the  clumsier  canoes  of 
the  Kaljush  dared  not  follow.  He  and  his  followers 
were  ready  to  trade,  but  they  objected  to  see  their 
stock  of  fur  seals  exhausted  by  strangers  without  any 
benefit  to  themselves.^ 


tioned  whether  they  or  anj'  of  the  neighboring  tribes  hold  in  their  possession 
any  European  prisoners,  but  this  they  poiitively  denied,  lb  was  thought  that 
some  of  La  PC'rouse's  men  might  liavc  cocaped  drowning  only  to  fall  into  the 
liands  of  the  savage  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity. 

^'  At  the  southern  point  of  Yakutat  Bay  a  hunt  wa.s  organized,  but  only 
ten  sea-otters  could  be  found.  In  making  a  landing  through  the  surf,  tv/o 
natives  of  Kacliak  were  drowned. 

^  The  chief  made  a  lon^  speech  before  Lipn tenant  Puget,  which  he  uudcr- 
fitood  to  convey  this  meaning.    Vancouvtr'a  Vcy.j  ii.  2o-4. 


348  STRIFE  BETWEEN  RIVAL  COMPANIES. 

Trouble  appeared,  indeed,  to  be  brewing,  but  the 
arrival  of  the  Chatham  of  Vancouver's  expedition, 
under  Lieutenant  Puget,  served  to  prevent  any  dis- 
turbance. Purtof  maintained  a  most  friendly  inter- 
course with  the  English,  to  whom  he  also  tendered 
provisions,  and  received  in  acknowledgment  letters 
of  commendation.  Through  some  of  the  sailors  it 
was  understood  that  English  war- vessels  might  appear 
within  two  years  to  take  possession  of  Cook  Inlet  and 
other  places,  and,  unworthy  of  credit  as  this  report 
was,  it  failed  not  to  be  transmitted  to  the  government 
by  the  somewhat  agitated  fur  traders.  Vancouver 
himself  held  a  much  higher  opinion,  both  of  their 
territorial  rights  and  control  of  trade,  than  a  clearer 
view  of  affairs  might  have  conveyed,  for  he  was 
ignorant  of  their  dissensions,  and  regarded  all  as 
united  in  one  common  interest;  while  the  sight  of 
the  large  native  fleets  controlled  by  Purtof  must 
have  exalted  the  idea  of  their  influence  and  of  their 
ability  to  distance  competitors.  The  departure  of 
Vancouver's  expedition  was  no  doubt  a  great  relief  to 
Baranof  at  least,  who  appears  to  have  been  afraid  of 
his  coming  across  the  English  shipwrights,  and  luring 
them  away^  ere  he  could  dispense  with  their  ser- 
vices.** 

While  the  Cliatham  remained,  Purtof 's  command 
occupied  a  position  near  the  anchorage.  Other  par- 
ties of  natives  arrived  from  the  interior  of  the  bay 
and  from  Ltua,  giving  occasion  for  further  feasting, 
]>rosents,  and  exchange  of  hostages.  The  large  num- 
ber of  guns,  and  the  abundance  of  lead  and  powder  in 
the  possession  of  these  new  arrivals,  pointed  to  visits 
from  European  trading  vessels,  and  at  this  very  time 
the  Jackall,  Captain  Brown,  entered  the  bay  in  quest 
of  furs,  to  the  deep  chagrin  of  Purtof 

**  The  letters  given  to  Purtof  were  even  suspected  for  a  while  to  be  docu- 
ments intended  to  support  English  claims.  See  letter  of  Mmc  Shelikof,  in 
TiUunenf/y  Intor,  OboR.,  ii.  app.  part  ii.  108  et  seq. 

^  Of  this  fear  Vancouver  knew  nothing,  for  tlic  Russians  leaders  were 
profuse  iu  offers  of  services,  even  to  the  use  of  the  ship-yard. 


PRESENCE  OF  ENGLISHMEN.  349 

As  soon  as  the  war- vessel  departed,  the  treacherous 
Kaljushes  assumed  a  threatening  attitude^  and  delayed 
from  day  to  day  the  promised  delivery  of  additional 
hostages  under  various  pretexts.  At  the  same  time 
the  interpreters  left  with  the  savages  at  the  beginning 
of  the  negotiations  were  held  under  strict  surveill- 
ance, and  not  allowed  to  communicate  with  their 
countrymen.  At  last  Purtof  decided  upon  a  display 
of  force  to  support  his  demands  for  the  surrender,  of 
his  own  men  at  least,  and  approached  the  village  in 
bidarkas  with  all  the  armed  men  at  his  command. 
The  squadron  was  reenforced  by  a  boat  with  six  armed 
men  from  the  JackalL^ 

The  presence  of  the  Englishmen  had  no  doubt  an 
effect,  for  the  interview  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  a 
chief  from  Afognak  Island,  with  a  promise  to  deliver 
up  the  remaining  hostages. 

On  the  folio wmg  day  came  eight  men  in  a  large 
bidar,  bringing  three  more  natives  of  Kadiak,  but  two 
were  still  detained.  Fearing  that  foul  play  was 
intended,  Purtof  detained  some  relatives  of  the  Yaku- 
tat  chief,  and  carried  the  hostages  wliom  he  held  from 
the  Aglegmutes  on  board  the  Jackall  for  safe  keep- 
ing. This  reprisal  proved  effectual;  the  necessary 
exchange  of  hostages  was  made,  and,  after  expressing 
his  thanks  to  Captain  Brown,  Purtof  took  his  party 
out  of  the  bay  of  Yakutat  with  five  hundred  and  fif- 
teen sea-otter  skins  obtained  in  a  little  over  two 
weeks. 

On  the  return  voyage,  while  the  expeditionary  force 
was  encamped  on  an  island  near  Nuchok,^^  Purtof 
despatched  a  letter  to  Repin,  of  the  Lebedcf  Com- 
pany, informing  him  that  he  had  explored  the  coast 
of  the  continent  and  pacified  the  natives  of  several 
villages  by  exchanging  hostages.    He  offered  to  verify 

''Captain  Brown's  statement,  as  given  by  Vancouver,  would  make  it 
appear  that  Purtof  asked  for  assistance,  but  tl)e  latter  states  that  the  English 
joined  of  tlieir  own  accord,  'though  we  trie<i  to  dissuade  them  from  doings 
this,  and  did  not  require  their  assistance. '    This  was  on  July  1st. 

^  Purtof  persisted  in  calling  this  island  Aglitzkoi,  that  ia  to  say,  English. 


350  STRIFE  BETWEEN  RIVAL  COMPANIES. 

this  statement,  and  on  the  appearance  of  Samoilof,  the 
navigator  of  the  Lebedef  Company,  allowed  him  to  talk 
freely  with  the  interpreters,  and  to  copy  a  list  of  the 
villages  and  chiefs  from  whom  he  had  obtained  host- 
ages. This  would  seem  to  be  a  strange  procefeding 
in  view  of  the  hostility  between  the  two  parties,  bat 
it  was  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the  Shelikof 
Company,  at  that  juncture,  to  make  good  their  claim  of 
precedence  on  the  continent,  in  view  of  the  impending 
grant  of  exclusive  imperial  privileges. 

The  success  of  Purtof,  who  brought  with  him  a 
promise  from  the  Thlinkeet  chief  of  a  large  supply  of 
sea-otter  skins  for  the  next  visit,  resulted  in  the  de- 
spatch of  another  expedition  the  following  year,  under 
Zaikof,  who  commanded  a  sea-going  vessel.^  The 
chief  failed  to  fulfil  his  promise,  and  the  Russians  had 
to  content  themselves  with  the  sea-otters  captured  by 
their  native  hunters  on  the  bay.  Four  hundred  skins 
were  secured,  and  the  hunters  prepared  to  follow  up 
their  success,  rei^ardless  of  the  manifest  ill-feeling  of  the 
bay  people,  which  threatened  to  become  more  bitter 
than  during  the  former  visit.  What  the  result  may 
have  been  is  difficult  to  say,  for  just  then  two  Aleuts 
were  seized  with  small-pox,  and  panic-stricken  the 
party  hastened  away.^  Zaikof  now  steered  in  search 
of  islands  reported  to  exist  between  Kadiak  and  the 
continent  to  the  east.  He  ranged  for  over  a  month 
to  the  southward  and  again  to  the  north,  until,  sight- 
ing the  snow-clad  peaks  of  the  Chugatsch  alps  and  the 
Kenai  mountains,  he  was  forced  to  admit  the  futility 
of  his  quest. 

^  Seventeen  Russians,  besides  natives,  accompanied  him. 

"La  Perousc  noticed  si^rns  of  the  disease  among  the  coast  tribes,  and 
Portlock  assumes  that  they  must  have  caught  it  from  some  vessel  which  had 
touched  near  Cape  Edgecumbc.  Iso  person  younger  than  14  years  bore  the 
marks.  Portlock' 8  Voy.,  272;  Marchand,  Voy.,iL  52-3. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

1794-1796. 

Mechaktcs  and  Missionaries  Akrive  at  Pa  vlovsk— Ambitious  Schemes 

OF   COLOXIZATIOX — ^AGRICULTURAL  SETTLEMENT  FOUNDED  ON  YaKUTAT 

Bay — Shipwreck,  Famine,  and  Sickness — Golovnin's  Report  on  the 
Affairs  of  the  Shelikof  Company— Discontent  op  the  Mission- 
aries— Complaints  of  the  Archimandrite— Father  Makar  in  Una- 
LASKA— Father  Juvenal  in  ELadiak — Divine  Service  at  Three 
Saints— Juvenal's  Voyage  to  Ilyamna— His  Reception  and  Mission- 
ary Labors — He  Attempts  to  Abolish  Polygamy — And  P'alls  a 
Victim  to  an  Ilyamna  Damsel— He  is  Butchered  by  the  Natives. 

Notwithstanding  the  quarrels  between  rival  trad- 
ing companies  and  occasional  emeutes  among  the  na- 
tives, caused  in  almost  every  instance  by  the  greed  of 
the  Russians,  colonization  in  Alaska  had  thus  far  been 
attended  with  fair  success.  The  Russian  seal-hunters 
had  suffered  no  such  hardships  as  did  the  Spanish 
settlers  in  Central  America,  the  early  colonists  of 
New  England,  or  the  convict  band  that  ten  years  after 
Captain  Cook  sailed  from  Nootka  in  quest  of  a  north- 
cast  passage  to  Hudson's  Bay  founded  on  Port  Jack- 
son the  first  city  in  Australasia.  Apart  from  the  sen  I 
fisheries,  however,  the  resources  of  the  country  were  as 
yet  undeveloped.  On  the  island  of  Kadiak  was  raised 
a  scant  crop  of  vegetables;  at  Voskrcssenski,  as  wo 
have  seen,  was  built  the  first  vessel  ever  launched  into 
the  waters  of  the  North  Pacific;  but  throughout  the 
settlements  was  felt  a  sore  need  of  skilled  labor,  and 
in  some  of  them,  as  Shelikof  would  have  us  believe, 
of  missionaries  to  educate  the  natives  and  instruct 

(351) 


352  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

them  in  the  true  faith.  Application  was  therefore 
made  for  clergymen  and  for  exiles  trained  to  handi- 
craft.* The  request  was  granted,  and  in  August  1794 
the  Irekh  Svialifeli  and  the  Ekaterina^  two  of  the 
Shelikof  Company's  vessels,*  arrived  at  Pavlovsk  with 
provisions,  stores,  implements,  seeds,  cattle,  and  a  hun- 
dred and  ninety-two  persons  on  board,  among  whom 
,  were  fifty-two  craftsmen  and  agriculturists,  and  eigh- 
teen clergymen  and  lay  servitors  in  charge  of  the 
archimandrite  loassaf  ^  "  I  present  you,"  writes  Sheli- 
kof to  Baranof,  "with  some  guests  who  have  been  se- 
lected by  order  of  the  empress  to  spread  the  word 
of  God  in  America.     I  know  that  you  will  feel  as 

Seat  a  satisfaction  as  I  do  that  the  country  where  I 
Dored  before  you,  and  where  you  are  laboring  now 
for  the  glory  of  our  country,  sees  in  the  arrival  of 
these  guests  a  hopeful  prophecy  of  future  prosperity." 
Shelikof's  merits  as  teacher  and  pastor  have  already 
been  related;*  the  treatment  which  the  missionaries 
received  from  his  dram-drinking  colleague  will  be 
mentioned  later.  Priests  were  not  wanted  among  the 
promyshleniki,  and  if  they  sojourned  in  their  midst 
must  earn  their  daily  bread  as  did  the  rest  of  the 
community.  They  might  serve,  however,  to  bring 
into  more  thorough  subjection  the  docile  Aleuts. 

By  the  JSfcatenna,  Baranof  received  a  lengthy  com- 
munication from  Shelikof  and  from  Polevoi  Grolikof  s 
representative,  relating  to  the  establishment  of  an  ag- 
ricultural colony  near  Cape  St  Elias  on  Yakutat  Bay. 
The  instnictions  on  this  matter  were  to  take  the  place 

^  Shelikof  and  Golikof  requested  that  clergymen  be  appointed  for  mis- 
Bionarv  work  in  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  offered  to  defray  all  expenses. 
By  oukaz  of  June  30»  1703,  Catherine  II.  ordered  the  petition  cnuited.  At 
the  camo  time  Shelikof  asked  the  governor  of  Irkutsk  to  use  nij  influence 
with  tho  crown  to  procure  the  despatch  of  a  certain  number  of  exiles,  skilled 
03  blackftmlths,  locksmiths,  and  foundry  men,  and  of  ten  families  traineil  to 
agriculture.  The  request  was  granted  by  oukaz  of  December  31,  1793. 
Tikhmenef,  Isior.  Obos.,  i.  42-3. 

'  Ik^th  built  at  Okhotsk.  The  former,  though  only  63  feet  in  length,  had 
on  boird  2GJ  tons  of  cargo,  besides  120  casks  of  water. 

'There  were  also  121  hunters,  4  clerkSy  and  5  AleotB. 

*Thisvol.,  p.  227. 


PLANS  FOR  A  TOWN.  353 

of  all  that  had  previously  been  sent.®  j^.ocompanying 
them  was  a  document  touching  only  on  the  private 
affairs  of  the  company.  Thanking  Barinof  for  his 
exhaustive  reports,  Shelikof  concludes:  ''And  now  it 
only  remains  for  us  to  hope  that,  Saving  selected  on 
the  mainland  a  suitable  place,  you  will  lay  out  the  set- 
tlement with  some  taste,  and  with  due  regard  for 
beauty  of  construction,  in  order  that  when  visits  are 
made  by  foreign  ships,  as  can  not  fail  to  happen,  it 
may  appear  more  like  a  town  than  a  village,  and  that 
the  Russians  in  America  may  live  in  a  neat  and  or- 
derly way,  and  not,  as  in  Okhotsk,  in  squalor  and  misery 
caused  by  the  absence  of  nearly  everything  necessary 
to  civilization.  Use  taste  as  well  as  practical  judg- 
ment in  locating  the  settlement.  Look  to  beauty  as 
well  as  to  convenience  of  material  and  supplies.  On 
the  plans  as  well  as  in  reality  leave  room  for  spacious 
squares  for  public  assemblies.  Make  the  streets  not 
too  long,  but  wide,  and  let  them  radiate  from  the 
squares.  If  the  site  is  wooded,  let  trees  enough  stand 
to  line  the  streets  and  to  fill  the  gardens,  in  order 
to  beautify  the  place  and  preserve  a  healthy  atmos- 
phere. Build  the  houses  along  the  streets,  but  at 
some  distance  from  each  other,  in  order  to  increase  the 
.extent  of  the  town.  The  roofs  should  be  of  equal 
height,  and  the  architecture  as  uniform  as  possible. 
The  gardens  should  be  of  equal  size,  and  provided  with 
good  fences  along  the  streets.  Thanks  be  to  God 
that  you  will  at  least  have  no  lack  of  timber.  Make 
the  plan  as  full  as  possible,  and  add  views  of  the  sur- 

^The  letter  was  dated  from  Okhotsk  on  the  9th  of  August,  1794.  Orders 
had  been  received  from  the  governor  of  Irkutsk  that  the  agriculturists,  in- 
cluding ten  families,  should  be  fonvardcd  to  the  spot  near  Cape  St  Elias 
where  Shelikof  had  promised  to  establish  the  first  agricultural  scttlemeot  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  America;  but  it  was  claimed  that  a  clause  in  the  in- 
stnictions  permitted  the  site  of  this  colony  to  be  changed,  if  a  more  suitable 
locaiion  could  be  found,  and  finally  the  exiled  agriculturists  were  scattered 
throughout  the  settlement  and  employed  in  various  kinds  of  labor.  Most  of 
the  exiles  of  whatever  occupation  arrived  in  the  Catherine  after  much  dehiy, 
caused  by  a  stay  at  Unalaska,  and  by  a  violent  gale  in  Akutan  Pass,  during 
wliich  several  head  of  cattle  were  lost.  Khlebnikof,  Shizn.  Baranova,  24-5, 
states  that  the  remainder  of  the  live-stock  reached  ILadiak  in  safety. 
Hist.  At.asia.   33 


364  COIiONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

roundings.  ^our  work  will  be  viewed  and  discussed 
at  the  imperi;'*i  court."  In  another  part  of  this  letter 
Baranof  is  r-^proached  for  exchanging  visits  with  cap- 
tains of  Engfir^h  vessels,  and  warned  that  he  might  be 
carried  off  to  Xoof ta  or  California,  or  some  other  des- 
olate place. 

The  latter  portion  of  this  epistle  appears  to  have 
been  written  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the  empress, 
to  whom  the  plans  of  the  proposed  settlement  wek-e  to 
be  shown,  though  we  cannot  but  admire  the  compre- 
hensive scope  of  Shelikofs  imagination  when  he  thus 
conceives  the  idea  of  building  a  well  ordered  city  in 
the  American  wilderness.  Although  such  an  under- 
taking would  require  all  the  means  and  men  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Shelikof-Golikof  Company,he  wasengaged, 
besides  other  ventures,  in  forming  a  second  association 
under  the  name  of  the  North  American  Company,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  permanent  settlements  on  the 
mainland,and  in  building  ships  for  yet  a  third  enterprise 
of  which  he  was  the  leading  man — ^the  Predtecha 
Company,  then  holding  temporary  possession  of  the 
Pribylof  Islands,  but  left  without  means  of  carrying 
away  their  seal-skins  by  the  loss  of  their  only  vessel. 
The  estimated  complement  for  the  North  American 
Company  was  a  hundred  and  twenty  men,  of  whom 
seventy  were  despatched  in  July  1794,  and  about 
thirty  in  1795.  Its  main  object  was  to  aid  in  sup- 
planting foreigners  in  the  trade  with  the  natives,  to 
extend  this  traflSc  from  Unalaska  to  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
and  to  enter  into  commercial  intercourse  with  the 
people  living  on  the  American  coast,  opposite  Cape 
Tehoukotsk.  jMoreover,  Shelikof  cherished  in  secret 
the  hope  of  making  some  new  discovery  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent,  leading  to  the  long-sough t-for  passage 
into  Baffin's  Bay. 

As  soon  as  Shelikof  had  despatched  his  vessels  from 
Okhotsk,  he  returned  in  1794  to  Irkutsk  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  there  a  central  office  for  the  man- 
agement of  his  many  enterprises,  thus  preparing  for  the 


SHEUKOF'S  PROJECTS.  3o5 

future  consolidation  of  all  the  Russian  companies  in 
America.  This  was  the  inception  of  the  great  Russian 
American  Company,  which  was  to  be  fully  organized 
only  after  its  originator's  death.  Meanwhile  Baranof 
could  do,  and  knew  that  he  was  expected  to  do,  but 
little  toward  carrying  out  his  superior's  brilliant 
schemes  of  colonization.  On  all  the  principal  islands 
of  the  Aleutian  group,  and  at  some  points  on  the  main- 
land, the  best  locations  for  agriculture  and  cattle-rais- 
ing had  been  selected  and  fortified  several  years  before ; 
additional  hunting  grounds  and  a  few  harbors  had  also 
been  chosen,  and  sites  marked  out  at  the  mouths  of 
rivers  for  trading  posts  with  the  natives.  But  the 
time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  establishing  new  settlements, 
and  meanwhile  in  accordance  with  private  instructions 
Shelikof  kept  the  exiles  busily  employed,  some  of  them 
at  Kadiak,  and  the  mechanics  probably  at  Voskres- 
senski,  where,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  Delphin  and 
Olga  were  launched  in  1795.® 

The  7VeM^Via^i^e/(^i  had  arrived  a  few  weeks  before 
these  vessels  were  completed,  after  a  two  years'  voy- 
age from  Kamchatka,  with  her  cargo  of  stores  and 
provisions  in  good  order  and  intact — a  rare  occurrence 
m  the  early  history  of  the  Russian  colonies.  Several 
days  were  now  devoted  to  feasting  and  rejoicing,  in 
which  traders,  priests,  and  servants  alike  participated. 
The  colonists  were,  however,  no  longer  in  fear  of  want, 
for  experiments  made  in  the  planting  of  several  kinds 
of  vegetables  and  occasionally  of  cereals  had  been 
fairly  successful,  and,  though  they  possessed  few  im- 
plements, they  had  seed  in  abundance  for  either  pur- 
pose.^ Thus,  with  a  never  failing  supply  of  fish,  an 
abundance  of  food  was,  as  they  thought,  assured. 

•  Four  of  the  exiled  families  selected  for  the  company  were  detained  by 
Shelikof  at  Okhotsk,  to  serve  as  a  nucleus  for  a  proposed  settlement  on  one 
of  the  Kurile  Islands. 

^  Father  Simeon  and  one  of  the  lay  brothers  of  the  mission,  named  Philip, 
made  some  experiments  in  sowing  tuniips  and  potatoes  which  succeeded  well. 
The  archimandrite  mentions  a  man  named  Saposhnikof,  who  planted  a  pound 
of  barley  in  a  sheltered  nook  and  harvested  60  pounds.  Tikhmencf,  Istor, 
Obos.,  iL  app.  part  ii.  102.     With  this  exception,  nothing  appears  to  have 


ftH 


336  OOLONIZATIOX  AND  MISSIONS. 

In  December  of  this  year  Baranof  set  forth  on  a 
journey  round  Kadiak,  his  purpose  being  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  hunting  season,  and  to  ascertain 
the  population  of  the  island,  which  was  found  to  con- 
sist of  6,206  persons,  the  sexes  being  about  equally 
divided.®  About  seven  hundred  bidarkas,  each  hold- 
ing two^men,  could  be  assembled  at  the  different  sta- 
tions. 

Though  the  archimandrite  had  previously  described 
Baranof  as  a  man  who  "  continually  sat  in  his  house 
hatching  mischief,"  and,  in  a  letter  to  Shelikof,  had 
declared  that  he  could  see  no  sign  that  any  of  his 
schemes  of  colonization  were  likely  to  be  carried  out, 
the  chief  manager  certainly  took  some  steps  toward 
establishing  the  much-talked-of  settlement  near  Cape 
St  Elias.  Intrusting  the  management  of  affairs  at 
Kadiak  to  his  assistant  Kuskof,*  he  sailed  for  Yakutat 
in  the  transport  Olga,^^  and  arrived  at  the  village  near 
Capo  St  Elias  on  the  15th  of  July,  1796,  finding  there 
the  Trekli  Sviatit€lei,wh\ch.  had  reached  the  new  settle- 
ment on  the  25th  of  June.  The  few  men  left  at  the 
place  the  previous  autumn  were  found  in  good  health, 
bat  complained  of  having  been  frequently  in  want  of 
food  during  the  winter.  Baranof  himself  remained 
here  two  months,  superintending  the  erection  of  build- 
ings; and  after  taking  hostages  from  the  iiatives  and 
leaving  a  garrison  of  fifty  men,  returned  to  Kadiak. 

Meanwhile  the  Ehatenna,  with  a  portion  of  the 
exiles  on  board,  and  the  transport  Ch^el,  under  com- 
mand of  Shields,  had  sailed  for  Cape  St  Elias,  the  latter 
convoying  four  hundred  and  fifty  bidarkas  bound  for 

been  doDe  with  the  imported  seed  of  rye  and  oats,  as  the  only  implements  for 
breaking  up  the  ground  were  forked  sticks. 

''There  were  3,221  males  and  2,985  females. 

'  Ivan  Alexandrovich  Knskof,  a  merchant  of  Totma,  came  to  America 
with  Baranof,  in  the  capacity  of  clerk.  He  was  soon  appointed  assistant,  and 
as  wc  shall  see  intrusted  with  important  commands.  Ue  left  the  service  of 
the  company  in  1821,  returned  to  Russia  by  way  of  Okhotsk  in  1822,  and 
died  at  Totna  in  1823.  Khlehnihof^  Shizu.  Baranova,  passim. 

^^It  was  intended  that  Pribylof,  the  discoverer  of  the  fur-seal  islands, 
should  take  command,  but  his  decease  occnrred  before  the  departure  of  the 
expedition. 


COLONIAL  DISASTERS.  357 

Ltua  Bay,"  where  in  a  few  days  1,800  sea  otter  skins 
were  secured. 

Thus,  at  length,  the  settlement  on  Yakutat  Bay 
was  fairly  started  with  every  prospect  of  success;  but 
this,  the  first  convict  colony  established  in  the  far 
north,  like  the  one  sent  forth  two  years  later  to  people 
the  desert  wastes  of  Australia,  was  doomed  to  suffer 
many  disasters.  During  the  very  first  winter  news 
reached  Kadiak  that  the  village  was  in  danger  of 
being  abandoned  for  want  of  provisions.^^  The  Trekh 
Sviatiteleiy  which  left  the  settlement  on  her  return 
voyage  a  few  days  before  Baranof's  departure,  was 
driven  by  heavy  gales  into  Kamuishatzk  Bay.  There 
a  large  force  of  men  was  sent  early  in  the  following 
spring  to  repair  the  vessel,  but  she  was  found  to 
be  so  badly  damaged  that  her  hull  was  set  on  fire,  and 
only  her  iron-work  was  saved.  At  Voskressenski  Bay 
Baranof  was  met  by  a  messenger  from  Yakutat,  who 
reported  that  twenty  laborers  and  several  women  had 
perished  of  sciirvy  at  the  settlement  during  the  past 
winter. 

While  hastening  to  the  relief  of  the  distressed  set- 
tlers, the  chief  manager  found  time  to  visit  Fort 
Konstantine  on  Nuchek  Island,  where  the  Lebedef- 
Lastochkin  Company  had  hitherto  maintained  their 
'principal  depot.  For  several  years  no  supplies  had 
been  forwarded  to  this  place,  and  in  consequence  great 
dissatisfaction  existed  among  the  employees  of  the 
firm.  Baranof  found  no  great  difficulty  in  inducing  a 
majority  of  the  Lebedef  men  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
Shelikof  Company,  and  the  remainder  were  promised 
a  passage  to  Okhotsk.  At  the  same  time  the  Chu- 
gatsches  formally  submitted  to  Baranof  and  furnished 

"  Two  other  bidarka  fleets  musterinff  257  boats  assembled  durins  the 
same  year  at  the  village  of  Karluk,  and  after  obtaining  supplies  of  dried  lish 
were  despatched  in  the  same  direction.  Each  bidarlui  carried  from  100  to 
123  fish,  but  this  food  was  used  only  in  case  of  actual  iicces»ity.  As  a  rule, 
fresh  fish  were  caught  and  birds  killed  at  every  halting  place.  Khlehmkoj\ 
Shisn.  Baraiiovay  M-o. 

"  The  news  was  brought  by  one  Badlonof ,  who  arrived  at  Kadiak  from  Cape 
8t  Ellas  in  a  bidar. 


358  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

an  additional  quota  of  a  hundred  bidarkas  to  reenforce 
liis  liunting  parties,  thus  relieving  him  of  all  apprehen- 
sions of  a  native  uprising  \cest  of  Yakutat,  and  enabling 
him  to  turn  his  undivided  attention  to  the  wants  of 
the  new  colony.  • 

After  relieving  the  existing  distress  and  establish- 
ing order  among  the  settlers,  Baranof  returned  to  Ka- 
diak,  arriving  there  on  the  first  of  October.  Shields, 
v.ho  commanded  the  Orely  had  in  the  mean  time  pro- 
ceeded south-west  from  Ltua  Bay  with  his  fleet  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  bidarkas,  and  succeeded  in 
reaching  Norfolk  Sound,  where  he  soon  collected  two 
thousand  sea-otter  skins. 

We  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  later  to  the  prog- 
ress of  the  convict  colony  at  Yakutat.  Shelikof 
and  his  colleagues,  when  petitioning  the  empress  that 
a  band  of  exiles  should  be  sent  to  Alaska  to  aid  in 
developing  the  resources  of  Russian  America,  and  a 
party  of  clergymen  to  convert  and  educate  the  natives, 
assured  the  government  "that  their  wishes  tended  only 
to  add  new  possessions  to  Russia  and  new  parishes  to 
the  church."  "But,"  says  Golovnin,  who  was  in- 
structed by  the  government  to  investigate  the  affairs 
of  the  colony,  "the  clergy  and  the  poor  mechanics 
had  hardly  arrived  at  Kadiak,  when  the  former  were 
set  to  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow, 
and  the  latter  were  distributed  over  different  locali- 
ties, wherever  furs  could  be  got  to  swell  the  profits 
of  the  Shelikof  Company.  Between  1794  and  1818 
the  missions  received  from  the  company  neither  bibles 
nor  new  testaments,  nor  any  other  religious  books, 
not  even  spelling-books  to  teach  the  children,  while 
wax  candles,  wine,  etc.,  necessary  for  the  performance 
of  sacred  ceremonies,  could  not  be  obtained  from  them. 
But  of  the  thirtv-five  families  of  mechanics  only  three 
ujcn  and  one  woman   remained  in  1818.^     The  re- 

"  A])oiit  the  year  1870  Ivan  Petrof  states  that  there  are  at  Niniltcbik, 
on  Cook  Inlet,  six  families,  inclading  some  forty  souls,  claiming  to  be  de- 

sceuilants  of  thcj>e  exiles. 


DECEIVED  SETTLERS.  359 

mainder  were  killed  or  died  from  want  and  hardship, 
while  hunting  for  the  company.  For  all  this  I  am 
in  possession  of  written  proofs.  And  thus  Shelikof 
showed  to  the  world  that  between  traders  on  a  large 
or  small  scale  there  is  no  difference.  As  the  shopman 
in  the  market  makes  the  sign  of  the  cross  and  calls 
God  to  witness  in  order  to  sell  his  goods  a  few  copeks 
dearer,  so  Shelikof  used  the  name  of  Christ  and  this 
sacred  faith  to  deceive  the  government  and  entice 
thirty-five  unfortunate  families  to  the  savage  shores 
of  America,  where  they  fell  victims  to  his  avarice  and 
that  of  his  successors/'" 

All  this  is  sufficiently  bitter,  and  if  any  further 
proof  be  wanted  that  Golovnin  was  somewhat  biased, 
his  mention  of  Baranof,  whom  he  describes  as  "a 
man  who  became  famous  on  account  of  his  long  resi- 
dence among  the  savages,  and  still  more  so  because 
he,  while  enlightening  them,  grew  wild  himself  and 
sunk  to  a  degree  below  the  savage,"  is  further  evi- 
dence. ^^  It  is  but  due  to  the  memory  of  Shelikof, 
whose  decease  occurred  in  July  1795,  to  quote  a  few 
lines  from  the  letter  of  his  widow,  addressed  on 
November  22d  of  that  year  to  the  governor  of 
Tauris:  "The  administration  of  the  colony  has  made 
arrangements  that  these  settlers  shall  not  be  ham- 
pered in  their  work  of  constructing  the  new  village 
by  anxiety  with  regard  to  producmg  the  necessary 
provisions  during  the  first  year,  and  has  provided 
ample  supplies  of  food  to  last  them  until  they  can 
provide  for  themselves,  as  well  as  tools,  etc.,  all  of 
which  have  been  purchased  at  Okhotsk  by  my  late 
husband  at  his  own  expense.  At  the  same  time  an 
agent  was  appointed  to  attend  to  the  issue  of  these 
supplies,  according  to  the  wants  of  the  people.  But 
finally  they  got  up  a  conspiracy,  and  threatened  to 
take  the  agent's  lite  unless  he  gave  them  guns  and 
ammunition  to  protect  themselves  against  the  sav- 

^^Malerialui  Jaior.  Buss,,  i.  54. 
"  Id.,  63. 


360  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

ages  when  they  would  reach  the  mainland,  and  that 
they  would  take  possession  of  the  ship  and  sail  for 
the  Kurile  Islands,  selecting  one  of  their  men  as 
navigator.  They  had  three  great  guns  with  ammuni- 
tion, all  ready  for  use,  but  the  chief  agent  of  the  com- 
pany discovered  their  conspiracy,  and  three  of  the 
ringleaders  were,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions 
of  the  commanding  officer  at  Okhotsk,  punished  by 
flogging,  and  separated  among  the  hunters  at  various 
stations."^* 

Knowing  how  he  had  compromised  himself  in  his 
dealings  with  the  turbulent  traders  on  Cook  Inlet  by 
assuming  official  authority  which  did  not  belong  to 
him,  Baranof  had  to  exert  all  his  ingenuity,  and  prob- 
ably resorted  to  threats  and  violence,  in  order  to  keep 
the  knowledge  of  his  proceedings  from  the  priests,  who 
were  only  too  ready  to  meddle  with  the  concerns  of  the 
Shelikof  Company."  Though  outwardly  professing 
the  veneration  of  an  orthodox  member  of  the  Russian 
church  for  its  ordained  representatives,  Baranof  con- 
sidered them  as  enemies  and  acted  accordingly.  He 
knew  that  in  the  pursuit  of  his  business  the  full  con- 
trol of  the  natives  was  essential  to  his  success,  and  he 
believed  that  every  one  of  the  missionaries  would 
strive  to  obtain  such  control  for  himself  in  the  name 
of  the  holy  synod.  In  order  to  lessen  the  number  of 
his  enemies,  he  urged  upon  loassaf  the  necessity  of 
sending  Out  missionaries  to  the  savage  tribes  of  the 
mainland,  from  whom  the  light  of  Christianity  was  still 
entirely  hidden.  The  chief  of  the  mission  expressed 
his  full  understanding  of  this  necessity,  but  winter 

^'  Tihhmenef,  lalor,  Ohos.,  ii.  app.  part  it  109. 

"  The  following  is  n  list  of  members  of  this  first  mission:  Archimajidrite 
lodssaf,  drowned  on  the  Feniks  in  1799;  Icromonakh  Juvenal,  killed  by  the 
savages  in  northern  America,  as  will  l>e  afterward  related;  leromonakh  Makar, 
returned  voluntarily  to  Okhotsk;  Affanassic.  returned  to  Irkutsk  in  1825; 
iLTodiakon  Stefan,  drowned  in  the  suite  of  the  bishop;  Nektw,  sent  to  Irkutsk 
by  Fatlicr  Gideon  in  1S07;  Monk  Grerraan,  stiH  among  the  living  in.  lS3o; 
Monk  loassaf,  vfho  died  at  Kadiak  in  1S23;  and  ten  church  servitors  not  be- 
longing to  tlie  priesthood. 


COMPLAINTS  OF  THE  PRIESTS.  301 

was  then  approaching  fast  and  the  journey  to  the  con- 
tinent was  becoming  dangerous.  Thus  Baranof  was 
obliged  to  face  his  adversaries  during  the  whole  of  a 
long  arctic  winter,  and  to  counteract  their  intrigues 
as  best  he  might. 

The  attitude  assumed  by  the  first  apostles  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Alaska  from  the  very  beginning  of  their  res- 
idence in  America  was  decidedly  hostile  to  all  who 
managed  and  carried  on  business  enterprises  in  the 
colonies.  Previous  to  reaching  their  destination  the 
members  of  this  mission  were  detained  for  a  whole 
winter  in  the  wretched  sea-port  towns  of  eastern 
Siberia  and  Kamchatka,  where  they  met  with  numbers 
of  the  former  servants  of  the  various  trading  com- 
panies, who  were  full  of  discontent  and  resentment, 
and  painted  to  them  in  the  blackest  colors  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country  and  the  people  inhabiting  it.  The 
result  was  that  the  priests  finally  sailed  for  the  Amer- 
ican coast  imbued  with  a  prejudice  against  everything 
and  everybody  belonging  to  the  colonies.  Being  thus 
prepared  to  see  nothing  but  evil,  priestly  ingenuity 
and  craft  succeeded  in  finding  much  more  than  had 
been  discovered  by  their  ignorant  informers.  In  the 
correspondence  transmitted  by  members  of  the  mission 
to  Shelikof,  and  to  dignitaries  of  the  synod,  during 
this  first  period  of  their  missionary  work,  they  make 
the  worst  of  everything. 

The  archimandrite  was  especially  bitter  in  his  de- 
nunciations of  the  chief  manager,  but  there  is  little 
doubt  that  many  of  his  accusations  were  unfounded.^^ 

''  Though  the  tone  of  his  letters  ind  reports  is  decidedly  hostile  to  Baranof, 
the  latter  seems  to  have  succeeded  iu  concealing  from  the  inquisitive  clergy 
his  wrongful  assumption  of  authority  in  Cook  Inlet,  which  would  have  exposed 
him  to  the  most  severe  punishment  by  the  authorities.  I  make  the  following 
extract  from  the  letter  of  the  archimandrite  to  Shelikof,  written  in  May  1703: 
*Wo  have  no  proper  church  as  yet,  and  though  I  personally  urged*  Alex- 
ander Andreievitch  [Baranof]  to  build  a  small  church  at  this  place  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  offered  a  plan  for  a  chapel  only  four  fathoms  long  by  a 
fathom  and  a  half  in  width,  the  timber  for  it  still  remains  uncut.  Since 
my  arrival  at  this  harbor  I  have  seen  nothing  but  what  seems  to  bo  in 
direct  opposition  to  your  kind  intentions.  Tlie  ocly  thing  which  gives 
me  satisfaction  is  the  fact  tliat  the  natives  flock  in  from  everywhere  to 
become   christianized,   but  the  Russians  not  only  make  no  effort  to  help 


902  COLONIZATION  AliD  MISSIONS. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  ecclesiastics 
suffered  many  privations  through  the  neglect  of  Bar- 
anof  and  the  traders,  who  regarded  them  simply  as 
intermeddlers,  of  whom  they  must  rid  themselves  as 
8[)ecdily  as  possible.  During  thoir  first  winter  the 
missionaries  were  without  sufficient  food  and  shelter;" 
no  encouragement  was  afforded  them  in  their  work, 
and  it  was  not  until  July  1796  that  the  first  church 
was  built  in  Kadiak,  at  Three  Saints,  though  before 
that  time  it  was  claimed  that  twelve  thousand  natives 
had  been  baptized. 

While  making  his  report  to  Shelikof,  the  archiman- 

in  the  work  of  enlightenment,  bnt  use  every  means  to  discoarage  them, 
and  the  cause  of  this  is  the  vicious  lives  they  have  been  leading  from  the  first 
with  American  [native]  women.  I  have  barely  succeeded  in  persuading  a  few 
hunters  to  get  married,  but  the  others  will  not  even  listen  to  such  a  proposal. 
Thus  far  I  have  not  been  enabled  to  discover  whether  it  is  Mr  Baranof  or  his 
assistants  who  are  endeavoring  to  cause  ill-feeling  against  us  and  you.  Ail 
I  can  say  is  that  the  hunters  are  incensed  against  you.  All  do  their  best  to 
evade  compliance  with  the  written  clauses  of  their  contracts  with  you.  Ships 
and  other  property  of  the  company  are  neglected,  and  many  say  that  the 
company's  interests  are  opposed  to  those  of  the  settlers,  and  try  to  persuatle 
others  to  think  the  same.^  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Obos.,  ii.  app.  part  ii.  101-2. 

*•  'About  the  domestic  arrangements,'  continues  loassaf,  *  nothing  good 
can  bo  said.  Since  our  arrival  there  has  been  a  famine  during  the  whole  win- 
ter. Yukola  [dried  salmon]  three  years  old  is  all  that  is  offered  us,  and 
tliough  wo  do  not  like  dried  fish,  we  are  compelled  to  eat  it.  The  laborers 
do  nothing  toward  providing  food.  The  nets  were  left  on  the  ground  near 
the  beach  all  winter,  being  thoroughly  spoiled.  The  docs  have  eaten  up  two 
of  the  calves  whicli  we  brought  with  us,  and  of  the  two  sheep  which  remained 
to  us  on  our  arrival,  one  was  devoured  by  dogs.  The  goats  all  perished.  In 
accordance  with  your  instructions,  I  was  to  accustom  my  clergymen  to  the 
food  of  the  country,  and  to  employ  them  at  various  kinds  of  labor,  but  this 
woultl  have  been  done  without  your  instructions.  We  are  not  troubled  with 
an  abundance  of  pitovisions,  keeping  our  table  upon  the  beach,  picking  up  mus- 
Bcla,  clams,  and  crabs.  In  addition  to  this,  we  have  a  little  bread,  and  that  will 
soon  be  exhausted.  Baranof  and  his  favorites  do  not  suffer;  for  him  they  shoot 
binla,  sen-lions,  and  seals.  From  the  Alaskan  peninsula  they  biing  him  reindeer 
meat.  Milk  he  has  always,  even  in  the  winter,  two  cows  being  reserved  for  his 
use  alone.  They  used  to  give  us  milk  <^nough  for  our  tea,  but  at  the  present 
time,  when  ten  cows  have  calved,  we  get  only  one  tea-cupful  a  day,  exclusive 
of  fast-days.  Our  Ui^ht  is  miserable,  as  we  get  nothing  but  whale-oil  for  that 
purptise.  Tlien  tlio  winter  was  very  cold,  the  roofs  leaky,  and  the  windows 
very  bad;  thus  we  jiassed  the  whole  winter.  I  have  never  felt  comfortable 
since  my  arrival  here.  I  Iwro  with  our  miserable  accommodations  as  long  as 
I  could,  and  sent  the  brothers  to  the  Kirnvcks  where  the  working  people  live; 
but  it  would  not  do  for  mc  to  e:o  there  in  the  position  of  dignity  I  hold  here; 
and  the  iKirracks  were  full  and  even  crowded.  They  had  frequent  assemblies 
and  games  there,  and  often  whole  nights  were  passed  in  singing  and  dancing. 
Thov  kept  it  up  every  Sunday  and  holiday,  and  sometimes  even  on  worK- 
diy.^.  On  Ash  Wednestlay  thcv  came  to  me  and  as!ied  me  to  postpone  the 
coiiU'ssiou  until  cveuini;,  when  they  would  have  finished  their  games.'  LL, 
lOJ-4. 


lOASSAF  AGAINST  BARANOP.  963 

drite  states  that  he  could  fill  a  book  with  the  evil 
doings  and  atrocities  that  came  under  his  observation, 
but  that  out  of  consideration  for  him  he  would  not 
lodoje  a  formal  complaint  with  the  supreme  church 
authorities.  He  felt  that  even  if  Baranof  knew  that 
he  was  writing  the  truth  to  the  head  of  the  company, 
he  would  be  prevented  from  making  any  further 
progress  in  his  work,  and  perhaps  even  endanger  his 
life.  He  expressed  his  firm  belief  that  no  admonition 
of  the  managers  by  his  superiors  could  do  any  good, 
and  that  removal  alone  could  remedy  the  evil.  Should 
that  be  considered  impracticable,  he  would  suffer  in 
silence,  doing  all  the  good  that  was  possible  under 
such  unfavorable  circumstances,  and  patiently  await- 
ing the  time  when  providence  would  carry  him  and 
his  much-abused  brethren  back  to  Russia,  beyond  the 
control  of  their  ^untiring  persecutor.'  The  reverend 
correspondent  likewise  throws  out  hints  of  misman- 
agement and  peculation  in  business  affairs.^ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  letters  of  Baranof  and  his  1 
chief  assistants,  written  during  the  same  period,  dis- 
play a  marked  forbearance  in  speaking  of  the  mis- 
sionaries and  their  doings. ^^  The  difficulties  of  Bar- 
anoFs  position  during  this  winter  of  close  companion- 
ship with  inquisitive,  suspicious  priests,  rebellious 
servants,  and   discontented   natives   cannot  well   be 


*Ioas8af  wrote:  He  (Baranof)  has  sold  his  tobacco  at  400  roubles  per 
poad  (40  lbs. )  and  more,  though  he  had  on  hand  over  20  pouds  belonging  to 
the  company.   Id.^  105. 

**  This  must  of  course  be  partly  ascribed  to  policy  on  their  part,  but  a 
pemsal  of  these  documents  impresses  upon  the  reader  the  conviction  that  the 
part  which  the  traders  were  obligetl  to  play  in  this  controversy  was  more 
difficalt  than  that  of  the  priests,  and  that  the  former  were  perfectly  honest  in 
attempting  to  avoid  all  complications.  The  charges  advanced  by  mission- 
aries, of  being  starved  and  forced  to  pick  up  their  food  on  the  beech  while 
Baranof  and  his  favorites  feasted  upon  the  fat  of  the  land,  is  not  sustained  by 
such  credible  witnesses  as  lieutenants  Khvostof  and  Davidof  and  other  naval 
officers  then  entering  the  employ  of  the  Russian- American  Company,  who 
all  testified  to  the  fact  that  Baranof  and  his  favored  leaders  shareil  all  priva- 
tions with  their  subordinates.  At  the  very  time  when  loassaf  complained 
in  his  letter  of  Baranof 's  delay  in  erecting  a  church  or  chapel,  the  latter, 
lhon$;h  lacking  time,  men,  and  means  to  employ  in  church  building  just  then, 
donatc<l  1,000  roubles  from  his  own  salary  for  the  purpose.  Id./i.  59,  and  ii. 
■pp.  150-1. 


364  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

exaggerated.  No  supplies  of  provisions  had  arrived 
with  the  missionaries,  who,  to  a  certain  extent,  were 
responsible  for  their  own  privations,  having  feasted 
and  lived  in  too  great  abundance  during  their  deten- 

I  tion  on  the  coast  of  Siberia  and  on  the  sea  voyage. 

/  In  the  spring  of  1795  the  missionaries,  with  one 
exception,  proceeded  to  the  mainland,  there  to  labor 
with  but  indifferent  success  among  the  native  tribes 
not  previously  approached  by  the  pioneers  of  Mus- 
covite civilization. 

At  Ujialaska  and  the  neighboring  islands  Father 
!Nj^fcfcar,  though  meeting  with  little  opposition  from  the 
few  promyshleniki  remaining  there,  labored  with  appar- 
ent success.^  The  natives  were  now  thoroughly  sub- 
dued, and  hundreds  of  them  had  been  carried  away  to 
join  the  hunting  parties  of  Baranof.  Their  territory 
no  longer  afforded  sites  for  profitable  stations,  and  they 
were  left  almost  to  themselves.  An  indifference  bor- 
dering on  apathy  had  succeeded  to  the  former  warlike 
spirit  of  the  Aleuts,  who  in  earlier  days  had  wreaked 
dire  vengeance  upon  their  Russian  oppressors  when- 
ever opportunity  offered.  It  is  impossible  to  ascer- 
tain whether  Makar  was  really  an  eloquent  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  or  whether  his  success  was  solely  due  to 
circumstances;  but  success  he  certainly  had.  In  a  few 
years  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Aleutian  Isles 
were  baptized  and  duly  reported  to  the  holy  synod  as 
voluntary  converts  and  good  Christians.  The  circum- 
stance that  no  attempt  was  made  to  translate  the  con- 
fession of  faith,  or  any  portion  of  the  scripture  or 
ritual,  into  the  native  language  at  that  early  time,  sug- 
gests serious  doubts  as  to  the  agency  of  eloquence 
and  argument  in  this  wholesale  conversion.  When 
Veniaminof  entered  upon  his  missionary  career  on  the 

'^  The  father  appears  to  have  been  a  somevrhat  meddlesome  ecclesiastic. 
In  a  copy  of  an  imperial  rescript  issued  a  few  years  later,  we  read:  *  The  monk 
Makar,  who  has  exccciled  the  bounds  of  his  duties  and  meddled  with  affairs 
tliab  did  not  concern  him,  is  hereby  informed  that  though  we  pardon  him  this 
time  for  absenting  himself  wilfully  from  his  appointed  post  of  dutv,  ho  must 
not  repeat  the  offence,  and  must  allow  complaints  made  by  the  Aleutians  to 
go  through  their  proper  channel.'  /(/.,  173. 


AK  UNLUCKY  BISHOP.  965 

islands  twenty  years  later,  he  found  the  people  Chris- 
tians by  name,  but  was  compelled  to  begin  from  the 
foundation  the  work  of  enlightenment  and  explanation 
of  the  creed  in  which  they  had  been  baptized  by 
Makar. 

With  the  death  of  Shelikof  the  missionaries  lost 
their  principal  support,  and  no  further  attempt  was 
made  to  extend  their  operations  until  the  archiman-; 
drite  loassaf  was  recalled  to  Irkutsk  by  order  of  the 
synod,  in  order  to  be  consecrated  as  bishop.  Ho 
started  upon  his  journey  full  of  ambitious  plans,  and 
with  the  determination  to  make  use  of  his  new  dig- 
nity in  overcoming  all  opposition,  real  or  imaginary,  on 
the  part  of  his  persecutors.  Visions  of  building  up 
an  ecclesiastical  empire  in  Russian  America  may  have 
gladdened  his  soul  after  years  of  suffering  and  humil- 
iation; but  whatever  his  ambitious  dreams  may  have 
been,  they  must  have  lost  much  in  scope  and  vivid- 
ness long  before  he  embarked  in  the  Feniks  a  second 
time,  not  to  return  in  splendor  to  the  scene  of  former 
misery,  but  to  find  a  watery  grave  at  some  unknown 
point  within  a  few  days'  sail  of  his  destination. 

Prominent  among  the  missionaries  who  accompa- 
nied the  archimandrite  was  Father  Juvenal,  who  in 
1795  was  sent  to  Yakutat  Bay,  probably  to   draw 

Elans  for  Baranof,  and  on  his  return  commenced  to 
ibor  at  Kadiak  as  a  priest  and  teacher.  "With  the 
h<»lp  of  God,"  he  writes  from  Three  Saints  Har- 
bor on  June  19,  1796,  "a  school  was  opened  to-day 
at  this  place,  the  first  since  the  attempt  of  the  late 
Mr  Shelikof  to  instruct  the  natives  of  this  neighbor- 
hood. Eleven  boys  and  several  grown  men  were  in 
attendance.  When  I  read  prayers  they  seemed  very 
attentive,  and  were  evidently  deeply  impressed,  though 
they  did  not  understand  the  language."  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  two  more  youths  were  placed  under  his 
charge,  and  "when  school  was  closed,"  continues  the 
father,  "I  went  to  the  river  with  my  boys,  and  with 


366  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

the  help  of  God  we  caught  one  hundred  and  three  sal- 
mon of  large  size,  which  some  of  the  women  assisted 
us  in  cutting  up  ready  for  drying."  ^  Other  scholars 
were  quickly  enrolled,  and  though  the  pupils  had  an 
unpleasant  trick  of  running  off  without  ceremony  to 
trade  furs  whenever  opportunity  offered,  all  went  well 
until  the  12th  of  July,  when  Baranof  arrived  at  the 
settlement,  with  instructions  from  the  bishop  of 
Irkutsk  that  Juvenal  should  proceed  to  Ilyamna  sta- 
tion. 

On  the  following  sabbath  the  priest  celebrated 
divine  service  for  the  last  time  at  Three  Saints.  A 
brief  description  of  the  ceremony  may  not  be  without 
interest:  "  We  had  a  very  solemn  and  impressive 
service  this  morning.  Mr  Baranof  and  officers  and 
sailors  from  the  ship  attended,  and  also  a  large  num- 
ber of  natives.  We  had  fine  singing,  and  a  congrega- 
tion with  great  outward  appearance  of  devotion.  I 
could  not  help  but  marvel  at  Alexander  Alexandre- 
ievitch  [Baranof],  who  stood  there  and  listened  and 
crossed  himself,  gave  the  responses  at  the  proper  time, 
and  joined  in  the  singing  with  the  same  hoarse  voice 
with  w^hich  he  was  shouting  obscene  songs  the  night 
before,  when  I  saw  him  in  the  midst  of  a  drunken 
carousal  with  a  woman  seated  in  his  lap.  I  dispensed 
wnth  services  in  the  afternoon,  because  the  traders 
were  drunk  again,  and  might  have  disturbed  us  and 
disgusted  the  natives." 

The  next  day  Juvenal  repaired  to  Baranof 's  tent  to 
inquire  what  disposition  was  to  be  made  of  the  pupils 
under  his  charge.  The  reply  was  that  they  were  to 
be  removed  to  Pavlovsk,  where  Father  German  had 
arrived  and  opened  a  school  for  girls;  he  would  doubt- 
less be  willing  to  take  the  boys  also. 

^Jour.,  MS.,  1-2.  Of  the  visit  of  some  strangers  who  came  from  Tugi- 
dak  Island  to  trade,  he  relates  the  following:  *  They  asked  me  if  I  could  cure 
a  man  when  he  was  very  sick,  and  I  answered  that  with  the  help  of  God  I 
micrht.  At  this  they  shrugged  their  shoulders,  and  one  man  said:  **  We  have 
a  sliaman  at  home  who  once  brought  a  dead  man  back  to  life;  and  he  did  it 
all  alone."*  Id,,  9. 


JUVENAL'S  TROUBLES.    ^  307 

After  blessing  his  flock  and  taking  leave  of  them 
one  by  one,  the  priest  embarked  for  Pavlovsk  on  the 
16th  of  July  on  board  the  brigantine  Catherine,  where, 
he  tells  lis,  the  cabin  being  taken  up  by  Baranof  and 
his  party,  he  was  shown  a  small  space  in  the  hold 
between  some  bales  of  goods  and  a  pile  of  dried  fish. 
In  this  dark  and  noisome  berth,  by  the  light  of  a 
wretched  lantern,  he  wrote  a  portion  of  his  journal, 
often  disturbed  by  the  ribald  songs  \vhich  the  chief 
manager's  attendants  sang  for  his  amusement.  On 
the  second  day  of  the  voyage  a  strong  head  wind  set 
in,  accompanied  with  a  heavy  chopping  sea.  Baranof, 
being  out  of  humor,  sent  for  the  father  and  asked  him 
whether  he  had  blessed  the  ship.  On  being  told  that 
he  had  done  so,  he  was  ordered  with  many  curses  to 
light  a  taper  before  an  image  of  Nikolai  Ugodnik, 
which  hung  in  the  cabin.  Juvenal  complied  without 
a  word,  and  then  retired  to  his  berth,  which,  foul  as  it 
was,  he  preferred  to  the  company  of  the  chief  man- 
ager. The  gale  continued  over  night,  and  at  daybreak 
the  vessel  was  out  of  sight  of  land,  whereupon  in  pres- 
ence of  the  sailors  and  passengers  Baranof  spoke  of 
the  priest  as  a  second  Jonah,  and  observed  that  there 
were  plenty  of  whales  about.  All  this  time  the  lat- 
ter was  unable  to  partake  of  food,  and,  as  he  says, 
was  buried  under  a  heap  of  dried  fish  whenever  the 
vessel  rolled  heavily. 

At  Pavlovsk,  Juvenal  noticed  the  great  activity  in 
building,  which  was  not  even  interrupted  on  the  sab- 
bath. On  the  fourth  day  after  his  arrival  he  took 
his  leave  of  Baranof,  who  promised  him  a  passage  in 
his  fleet  of  bidarkas  as  far  as  St  George  on  the  gulf 
of  Kenai,  but  told  him  that  afterward  he  must  depend 
on  the  Lebedef  Company,  whose  traders,  he  added 
with  a  malicious  grin,  "were  little  better  than  robbers 
and  murderers."^* 

**  Paring  hU  stay  at  PavloTsk  Juvenal  was  lodged  in  a  half -finished  hut 
intended  for  a  salt-house,  where  swarms  of  mosquitoes  deprived  him  of  rest. 
Before  his  departure  he  had  an  interview  with  Father  German,  who,  he  says, 
wa«  on  the  best  terms  with  Baranof.     When  aaked  whether  he  had  any  mar 


368  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

After  a  tedious  passage  from  island  to  island,  some- 
times meeting  with  long  delays,  the  priest  reached 
the  Kaknu  or  Kenai  River,  where  was  the  nearest 
station  of  the  Lebedef  Company,  on  the  11th  of 
August.  Here,  notwithstanding  Baranof's  warning, 
he  met  with  the  first  signs  of  religious  observance 
by  promyshleniki  during  his  travels  in  the  colonies.^ 
During  his  stay  of  about  a  fortnight  he  married  sev- 
eral couples,  baptized  a  number  of  infants  and  adults, 
and  at  intervals  held  divine  service,  which  was  well 
attended.^^ 

Soon,  however,  the  religious  ardor  cooled,  and  so 
little  interest  did  the  natives  take  in  the  missionary 
that,  when  ready  to  depart,  he  found  it  difficult  to  ob- 
tain men  and  bidarkas  to  take  him  across  the  inlet  to 
his  destination.  At  last  one  morning  after  service  he 
appealed  to  the  natives  for  men  to  assist  him  across 
the  water,  telling  them  that  he  must  go  to  the  Ily- 
amna  country  to  preach  the  new  word  to  the  people, 
who  had  never  yet  heard  it.  Thereupon  an  old  man 
arose  and  remarked  that  he  ought  not  to  go;  that  the 
Kenaitze  people  had  been  the  friends  of  the  Russians 
for  long  years,  and  had  a  better  right  to  have  a  priest 
among  them  than  the  Ilyamnas,  who  were  very  bad. 
The  missionary,  in  his  journal,  confessed  that  he  was 
puzzled  for  a  fitting  reply  to  this  argument.  On  the 
25th,  however,  he  set  out  from  the  station,  accom- 
panied by  two  men  from  Chekituk  village. 

A  delay  was  again  occasioned  by  his  guides  indulg- 
ing in  a  seal-hunt  on  Kalgin  Island,  situated  midway 

iron  in  charge  of  his  school  for  girls,  German  laughed  and  said  there  was  no 
need  of  one.  *I  intended,'  writes  Juvenal,  *to  recommend  my  boys  at  Three 
Saints  Harbor  to  the  special  attention  of  Father  German,  but  his  repulsive 
manner  caused  me  to  change  my  intention,  and  now  I  pray  that  the  poor  little 
fellows  may  never  be  intrusted  to  his  care.*  /rf.,  24-5. 

^  Juvenal  writes:  'Stepau  lAduiguin  is  the  trader  for  the  Lebedef-Laa- 
tochkin  Company,  and  he  has  with  him  four  other  Russians  and  nearly  a  hun- 
dred Kenaitze,  who  are  all  Christians.  Ignatiy  Tercntief ,  one  of  the  Russians, 
reads  X)rayers  on  the  sabbath,  but  no  priest  has  visited  the  place  ainoe  the 
archimandrite's  arbitration.  *  Id. ,  40. 

^^  During  this  time  several  shocks  of  eartb(]uake  occurred,  and  a  stabbing 
affray  between  two  natives,  whicli  was  punished  by  flogging  both  olfenders 
ieverely. 


MISSIONARY  WORK.  369 

in  the  inlet,  and  the  western  shore  was  not  reached 
till  the  29th.  On  the  30th  he  writes:  ''This  morning 
two  natives  came  out  of  the  forest  and  shouted  to  my 
companions.  Two  of  the  latter  went  out  to  meet 
them.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  talking  before  the 
strangers  concluded  to  come  to  our  tents.  When  they 
came  at  last,  and  I  was  pointed  out  to  them  as  the 
man  who  was  to  live  among  them,  they  wished  to  see 
my  goods.  I  encountered  some  diflBculty  in  making 
them  understand  that  I  am  not  here  to  trade  and  bar- 
ter, and  have  nothing  for  sale.  Finally,  when  they 
were  told  that  I  had  come  among  them  to  make  better 
men  of  them,  one  of  them,  named  Katlewah,  the 
brother  of  a  chief,  said  he  was  glad  of  that,  as  they 
had  many  bad  men  among  the  Ilyamna  people,  espe- 
cially his  brother.  The  two  savages  have  agreed  to 
carry  my  chattels  for  me  to  their  village,  but,  to  sat- 
isfy Katlewah,  I  was  compelled  to  open  every  bundle 
and  show  him  the  contents.  I  did  not  like  the  greedy 
glitter  in  his  eye  when  he  saw  and  felt  of  my  vest- 
ments." 

On  the  3d  of  September  the  party  reached  Il- 
yamna village,  after  a  fatiguing  journey  over  the 
mountains  and  a  canoe  voyage  on  the  lake.  Shakmut, 
the  chief,  received  the  missionary  with  friendly  words, 
interpreted  by  a  boy  named  Nikita,  who  had  been  a 
hostage  with  the  Russians.  He  invited  him  to  his 
own  house,  and  on  the  priest's  expressing  a  w^sh  for 
a  separate  residence,  promised  to  have  one  built  for 
him,  and  allowed  him  to  retain  Nikita  in  his  service. 
Finding  that  the  latter,  though  living  with  the  Rus- 
sians for  years,  had  not  been  baptized,  Juvenal  per- 
formed that  ceremony  at  the  first  opportunity,  before 
the  astonished  natives,  who  regarded  it  as  sorcery, 
and  one  asked  whether  Nikita  would  live  many  days.'^^ 

^  Under  date  of  September  5th,  Juvenal  writes:  *  It  will  be  a  relief  to  got 
away  from  the  crowded  house  of  the  chief,  where  persons  of  all  ages  and  soxes 
mingle  without  any  regard  to  decency  or  morals.  To  my  utter  astonishment 
Sliakmnt  asked  mo  last  night  to  share  the  couch  of  one  of  his  wives.  He 
lias  three  or  four.  I  suppose  such  abomination  is  the  custom  of  the  coun* 
Hist.  Alaska.   34 


370  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

Juvenal's  success  was  not  remarkable,  to  judge 
from  his  diary.  One  young  woman  asked  to  be  bap- 
tized like  the  boy  Nikita,  expressing  the  hope  that 
then  she  could  also  live  in  the  new  house  with  the 
missionary.  An  old  woman  brought  two  boys,  stat- 
ing that  they  were  orphans  who  had  nobody  to  care 
for  them,  and  that  she  would  like  to  see  them  baptized, 
"to  change  their  luck."  The  chief  Shakmut  also 
promised  to  consider  the  question  of  embracing  Chris- 
tianity, and  for  some  reason  he  did  so  promise  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  tribe,  and  amidst  great  feasting 
and  rejoicing.  Two  servants  and  one  of  his  wives 
were  included  in  the  ceremony,  the  priest  not  daring 
to  refuse  them  on  the  ground  that  they  had  received 
no  instructions,  for  fear  of  losing  the  advantage  which 
the  chiefs  example  might  give  him  in  his  future 
work.^^ 

The  conversion  of  the  chief  had  not,  however,  the 
desired  eflfbct;  it  only  led  to  dissensions  among  the 
people,  and  when  the  priest  began  to  tell  the  converts 

try,  and  he  intended  no  insult.  God  gave  me  grace  to  overcome  my  indigna- 
tion, and  decline  the  oflfor  in  a  friendly  and  dignified  manner.  My  tirat  duty, 
when  I  have  somewhat  mastered  the  language,  shall  be  to  preach  acainst  such 
wicked  practices,  but  I  could  not  touch  upon  such  subjects  througn  a  boy  in- 
terpreter/ /d.,  55-6. 

^Juvenal  evidently  had  no  faith  in  his  convert,  as  evinced  in  the  follow* 
ing  extracts  from  his  journal,  p.  64-7:  *  Shakmut  comes  re^arly  for  instruc- 
tion, but  I  have  my  doubts  of  his  sincerity.  In  order  to  give  more  solemnity 
to  the  occasion,  he  has  concluded  to  have  two  of  his  servants  or  slaves  baptized 
also.  They  only  como  at  his  command,  of  course,  but  I  must  bear  with  a 
great  deal  until  this  conversion  has  become  an  accomplished  fact.  Katlewoh, 
the  chief 's  brother,  called  upon  me  to-day,  and  repeated  that  he  was  glad 
that  Shakmut  was  to  be  baptized,  for  he  was  very  bad,  and  if  I  made  him  a 

food  man,  he  and  all  the  Ilyamna  people  would  rejoice  and  be  baptized  also, 
do  not  like  this  way  of  testing  the  efficacy  of  Christianity;  only  a  miracle 
of  God  could  effect  such  a  sudden  change  in  Shakmut*s  heart.'  It  was  mak- 
ing altogether  too  practical  and  literal  a  matter  of  conversion  to  suit  the  good 
Juvenal.  On  September  2l8t  he  writes:  *  The  great  step  which  is  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  future  success  in  my  labors  has  been  taken.  The  chief  of  the 
Ilyamnas  has  been  baptized,  with  two  of  his  slaves  and  one  of  his  wives.  The 
latter  came  forward  at  the  last  moment,  but  I  dared  not  refuse  her  for  fear  of 
stopping  the  whole  ceremony.  Shakmut  was  gorgeously  arrayed  in  deer- 
skin robes  nearly  covered  with  costly  beads.  Katlewah  asked  me  if  his 
brother  would  be  allowed  to  wear  such  clothes  as  a  Russian,  and  when  I  re- 
plied in  the  affirmative  the  fellow  seemed  disappointed.  I  do  not  like  either 
of  the  brothers;  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  new  Christian  or  the  pagan 
is  the  worse.  I  ^ve  the  name  of  Alexander  to  the  chief,  telling  him  that  it 
was  the  name  of  his  majesty,  the  emperor,  at  which  he  seemed  to  feel  flattered  ' 


YIELDING  TO  TEMPTATION.  371 

that  they  must  put  away  their  secondary  wives,  the 
chief  and  others  began  to  plot  his  downfall.  It  had 
been  a  marvel  to  the  savages  that  a  man  should  put 
a  bridle  upon  his  passions  and  live  in  celibacy,  but 
their  wonder  was  mingled  with  feelings  of  respect. 
To  overcome  the  influence  which  the  missionary  was 
gaining  over  some  of  his  people,  Shakmut,  or  Alex- 
ander as  he  was  now  christened,  plotted  to  throw 
temptation  in  his  way,  and  alas  for  Juvenal!  whose 
priestly  wrath  had  been  so  lately  roused  by  the  im- 
morality of  Baranof  and  his  godless  crew  of  promy- 
shleniki,  it  must  be  related  that  he  fell.  In  the  dead 
of  night,  according  to  his  own  confession,  an  Ilyamna 
damsel  captured  him  by  storm.^ 

On  the  day  after  this  incident,  the  outraged  ecclesi- 
astic received  a  visit  from  Katlewah,  who  expressed 
a  wish  to  be  baptized  on  the  following  sabbath.  "I 
can  tell  by  his  manner,"  writes  the  priest  on  Septem- 
ber 26th,  "that  he  knows  of  my  disgrace,  though  he 
did  not  say  anything.  When  I  walked  to  the  forest 
to-day  to  cut  some  wood,  I  heard  two  girls  laughing 
at  me,  behind  my  back;  and  in  the  morning,  when  I 
was  making  a  wooden  bolt  for  the  door  of  my  sleep- 
ing-room, a  woman  looked  in  and  laughed  right  into 
my  face.  She  may  be  the  one  w^ho  caused  my  fall, 
for  it  was  dark  and  I  never  saw  her  countenance. 
Alexander  visited  me,  also,  and  insisted  upon  having 

••  I  quote  from  the  journal,  p.  6&-70,  the  father's  own  account  of  the 
matter:  'September  25th.  With  a  ti*embling  hand  I  write  the  sad  occur- 
rences of  the  past  day  and  night.  Much  rather  I  would  leave  the  disgraceful 
story  untold,  but  I  must  overcome  my  own  shame  and  mortification,  and 
write  it  down  as  a  warning  to  other  missionaries  who  may  come  after  me.  Last 
night  I  retired  at  my  usual  hour,  after  prayer  with  the  boys  who  sleep  iu 
another  room.  In  the  middle  of  the  night  I  awoke  to  find  myself  iu  the 
arms  of  a  woman  whose  fiery  embraces  excited  me  to  such  an  extent  that 
I  fell  a  victim  to  lust,  and  a  grievous  sin  was  committed  before  I  could  extri- 
cate myself.  As  soon  as  I  regained  my  senses  I  drove  the  woman  out,  but  I 
felt  too  guilty  to  be  very  harsh  i^-ith  her.  What  a  terrible  blow  this  is  to  all 
my  recent  hopes!  How  can  I  bold  up  my  head  among  the  people,  who,  of 
course,  will  hear  of  this  affair?  I  am  not  sure,  even,  that  the  [X)ys  in  the 
adjoining  room  were  not  awakened  by  the  noise.  God  is  my  witness  that  I 
have  set  down  the  truth  here  in  the  face  of  anything  that  may  be  said  about 
it  hereafter.  I  have  kept  myself  secluded  tonlay  Irom  everybody.  I  have 
not  yet  the  strength  to  face  the  world.' 


372  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

Ills  wives  baptized  next  Sunday.  I  had  no  spirit  left 
to  contest  the  matter  with  him,  and  consented;  but  I 
shall  not  shrink  from  my  duty  to  make  him  relinquish 
all  but  one  wife  when  the  proper  time  arrives.  If  I 
wink  at  polygamy  now,  I  shall  be  forever  unable  to 
combat  it.  Perhaps  it  is  only  imagination,  but  I 
think  I  can  discover  a  lack  of  respect  in  Nikita's  be- 
havior toward  me  since  yesterday."  Continuing  his 
journal  on  the  27th,  he  adds:  "My  disgrace  has  be- 
come public  already,  and  I  am  laughed  at  wherever  I 
go,  especially  by  the  women.  Of  course  they  do  not 
understand  the  sin^  but  rather  look  upon  it  as  a  good 
joke.  It  will  require  great  firmness  on  my  part  to 
regain  what  respect  I  have  lost  for  myself  as  well  as 
on  behalf  of  the  church.  1  have  vowed  to  bum  no 
fuel  in  my  bedroom  during  the  whole  winter,  in  order 
to  chastise  my  body — a  mild  punishment,  indeed, 
compared  to  the  blackness  of  my  sin." 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  *'With  a  heavy 
heart,"  says  Juvenal,  '*  but  with  a  firm  purpose,  I  bap- 
tized Katlewah  and  his  family,  the  three  wives  of 
the  chief,  seven  children,  and  one  aged  couple.  Un- 
der any  other  circumstances  such  a  rich  harvest  would 
have  filled  me  with  joy,  but  I  am  filled  with  gloom." 
In  the  evening  he  called  on  Alexander  and  found  him 
and  his  wives  carousing  together.  Notwithstanding 
his  recent  downfall,  the  priest's  wrath  was  kindled,  and 
through  Nikita  he  informed  the  chief  that  he  must 
marry  one  of  his  wives  according  to  the  rites  of  the 
church,  and  put  away  the  rest,  or  be  forever  damned. 
Alexander  now  became  angry  in  his  turn  and  bade  him 
leave  the  house.  On  his  way  home  he  met  Katlewah,^^ 
who  rated  him  soundly,  declaring  that  he  had  lied  to 
them  all,  for  "his  brother  was  as  bad  as  ever,  and  no 
good  had  come  of  any  of  his  baptisms." 

The  career  of  Father  Juvenal  was  now  ended,  and 
the  little  that  remains  to  be  said  is  best  told  in  his  own 

'**  Baptized  under  the  name  of  Gregor. 


MURDER  OF  FATHER  JUVENAL.  373 

words  :  "  September  29th.  The  chief  and  his  brother 
have  both  been  here  this  morning  and  abused  me 
shamefully.  Their  language  I  could  not  understand, 
but  they  spat  in  my  face,  and  what  was  worse,  upon 
the  sacred  images  on  the  walls.  Katie wah  seized  my 
vestments  and  carried  them  off,  and  I  was  left  bleed- 
ing from  a  blow  struck  with  an  ivory  club  '^  by  the 
chief.  Nikita  has  bandaged  and  washed  my  wounds; 
but  from  his  anxious  manner  I  can  see  that  I  am  still 
in  danger.  The  other  boys  have  run  away.  My 
wound  pains  me  so  that  I  can  scarcely — "  Here  the 
manuscript  journal  breaks  off,  and  probably  the  mo- 
ment after  the  last  line  was  penned  his  assassins  en- 
tered and  completed  their  work  by  stabbing  him  to 
the  heart.*^    This  at  least  was  his  fate,  as  represented 

*^  Such  as  are  used  to  kill  salmon  and  seals. 

'^  Khlebnikof,  the  biographer  of  Barauof ,  simply  states  that  Juvenal  went 
among  the  Aglegmutes  aloue,  and  that  it  is  not  definitely  known  when  or 
where  he  was  killed  by  the  savages.  Veniarainof  says:  *The  cause  of  his 
death  was  not  so  much  that  he  prohibited  polygamy,  as  the  fact  that  the 
chiefs  and  prominent  natives,  havmg  given  him  their  children  to  be  educated 
at  Kadiak,  repented  of  their  action,  and  failing  to  recover  them,  turned 
against  him  and  finally  slew  him  as  a  deceiver.  They  declare  that,  during 
the  attack  of  the  savages,  Juvenal  never  thought  of  flight  or  self-defence,  but 
surrendered  himself  into  their  hands  without  resistance,  asking  only  for  mercy 
for  his  companions.  The  natives  relate  that  the  missionary,  after  being  killed, 
rose  up  and  followed  his  murderers,  asking.  Why  do  you  do  this?  Thereupon 
the  savaees,  thinking  he  was  still  alive,  fell  upon  and  beat  him;  but  he  again 
arose  and  approached  them.  This  happened  several  times.  Finallv  they  cut 
him  in  pieces,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  then  the  preacher  of  the  word 
of  God,  who  may  be  called  a  martyr,  was  silent.  But  the  same  natives  tell 
U8  that,  from  the  place  where  his  remains  lay,  a  column  of  smoke  arose,  reach- 
ing to  heaven.  How  long  this  apparition  lasted  is  not  known.'  Zapinl'i, 
OonaJashk,  15o-6.  Other  Kussian  writers,  as  Berg  and  Davidof,  affirm  that 
he  was  killed  near  Liake  Ilyamna,  because  he  preached  too  vigorously  against 
polygamy.  Ball,  Alaska,  317,  whose  work,  so  far  as  the  historical  part  of  it 
IS  concerned,  is  but  a  brief  compendium  carelessly  compiled,  says  that  he  was 
killed  while  in  the  act  of  preaching  to  the  natives.  I  have  before  me  a  trans- 
lation of  Juvenal's  own  journal,  from  June  19,  1796,  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
as  handed  by  the  boy  Nikita  to  Vcniaminof,  and  bv  him  to  Innokentius  Shas- 
nikof,  the  priest  at  Unalaska.  The  tenor  of  this  document,  the  authenticity 
of  which  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  is  such  as  to  impress  on  the  reader  the 
conviction  that  Juvenal,  with  all  his  failings,  was  a  man  of  higher  character 
than  his  companions.  He  appears,  however,  to  have  been  of  weak  intellect, 
and  his  blind  trust  in  providence  and  the  saints  sometimes  stands  out  in 
ludicrous  contrast  with  his  pitiful  lack  of  success  and  self-command.  When 
visiting  Baranof  to  inquire  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  scholars  whom  he  must 
leave  &hind  atThree  oaiiits,  he  finds  him  seated  in  front  of  his  tent  wliile  his 
seri'ant  was  preparing  tea.  *  Ho  did  not  ask  mc  to  be  seated  or  to  partake  of 
tea,' writes  the  priest,  *  though  it  was  nearly  a  year  since  I  had  tasted  any. 
He  only  asked  me  gi*ufiiy  what  I  wanted  so  early  in  the  morning.'    After 


374  COLONIZATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

by  the  boy  Nikita,  who  escaped  with  the  diary  and 
other  papers  to  a  Russian  settlement,  and  delivered 
them  into  the  hands  of  Father  Veniaminof  on  his  first 
visit  to  the  Nushegak  villages. 

stating  that  the  boys  wero  to  be  intrusted  to  the  charge  of  Father  Qerman,who 
had  opened  a  girls'  school  at  Pavlovsk,  Baranof  indulged  in  some  obscene 
jokes,  'which  put  him  into  such  good  humor  that  he  finally  offered  me  some 
tea.  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  refuse  under  the  circumstances,  but  my  longing 
for  the  beverage  was  too  strong.  I  degraded  myself  before  God  and  man  for 
the  sake  of  a  drink  of  tea.  Befreshed,  but  ashamed  of  myself,  I  left  the 
wicked  man  to  pray  in  my  humble  retreat  for  strength  and  pride  in  the  sanc- 
tity of  my  calling.'  p.  18-20.  Nevertheless  Juvenal's  expressions  are  far 
more  elevated  in  tone»  temper,  and  diction  than  those  of  the  archimandrite, 
a  few  of  whose  letters  are  still  extant. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  EUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

1796-1799. 

Thseatexted  ExHAUsnoN  of  the  Seal-fisheries-Special  Pbivileoes 
Given  to  Siberian  Merchants — Shelikof  Petitions  for  a  Grant  of 
THE  Entire  North-west — ^Hb  is  Supported  by  Rezanof — Muilni- 
kof's  Enterprise— The  United  American  Company — Its  Act  of  Con- 
solidation Confirmed  by  Imperial  Oukaz — And  its  Name  Changed 
to  the  Russian  Americak  Company — Text  of  the  Oukaz— Obliga- 
tions OF  THE  Company. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  Bering  and  Chi- 
rikof  had  discovered  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  the 
adjacent  coast  in  1741,  their  wealth  in  fur-bearing 
animals  was  soon  made  known  to  Europe  and  north- 
em  Asia.  Trading,  or,  as  they  were  termed,  *  contri- 
bution' companies  were  quickly  formed;  some  of  the 
first  vessels  despatched  from  Okhotsk  returned  with 
cargoes  that  enriched  their  owners  by  a  single  voyage; 
and  it  was  believed  that  in  the  far  north  a  never-fail- 
ing source  of  riches  had  been  discovered,  greater  and 
more  certain  than  the  mines  of  Espanola,  which  yielded 
their  milHons  in  the  time  of  Bobadilla,  or  those  of 
Castilla  del  Oro,  where  lay,  as  the  great  navigator 
believed,  the  veritable  Ophir  of  the  days  of  Solomon. 
Of  course  many  of  the  fur-hunters  found  only  a  grave 
where  they  had  gone  in  quest  of  wealth;  but,  like  the 
Spaniards  who  followed  Cortes  and  Pedro  de  Alva- 
rado,  they  set  little  value  on  their  lives  or  on  those 
of  others.  Moreover,  the  faint-hearted  Aleuts  offered 
no  such  resistance  as  was  encountered  by  tlio  con- 
querors of  Mexico  and  Guatemala.  The  promyslilciiiki 

(376  J 


37C  THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

could  easily  take  by  force  what  they  had  not  the 
money  to  buy,  or  what  the  natives  did  not  care  to 
sell.  They  had  no  fear  of  punishment.  Robbery, 
rape,  and  even  murder  could  be  committed  with  im- 
punity, for,  to  use  their  own  phrase,  "Grod  was  high 
above,  and  the  tzar  was  far  away." 

Thus  for  many  years  matters  were  allowed  to  take 
their  course;  but  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  threatened  exhaustion  of  the  known 
sources  of  supply  caused  much  uneasiness  among  the 
Siberian  merchants  engaged  in  the  fur  trade,  and 
some  of  them  endeavored  to  remedy  the  evil  by  solic- 
iting special  privileges  from  the  government  for  the 
exclusive  right  to  certain  islands,  with  the  under- 
standing that  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  gross  yield — • 
usually  one  tenth — was  to  be  paid  into  the  public 
treasury.  Such  privileges  were  granted  freely  enough, 
but  it  was  another  matter  to  make  the  numerous 
half-piratical  traders,  who  roamed  Bering  Sea  and 
the  North  Pacific,  respect  or  even  pay  the  least  atten- 
tion to  them. 

The  encounters  which  took  place  between  rival  com- 
panies have  already  been  related,  and  now  only  two 
remained — the  Shelikof-Golikof  and  the  Lebedef- 
Lastochkin.  The  former  had  established  itself  in 
Kadiak  by  force  of  arms,  and  Shelikof,  by  greatly 
exaggerating  the  importance  of  his  conquest,  and  rep- 
resenting that  he  had  added  fifty  thousand  subjects 
to  the  Russian  empire^  and  as  many  converts  to  the 
Greek  church,  had  so  worked  upon  the  authorities  at 
St  Petersburg  that  his  petition  for  exclusive  privileges 
for  his  company  was  favorably  received.  These  priv- 
ileges amounted  in  fact  to  a  grant  of  all  the  Russian 
discoveries  in  north-western  America,  and  of  the 
islands  that  lay  between  them  and  the  coast  of  Asia, 

*  There  never  were  50,000  natives  at  Kadiak  at  any  period  subsequent  to 
its  conquest.  Golovnin  estimates  the  number  at  the  time  of  Sbelikof  's  land- 
ing at  15,000.  See  p.  306,  note,  this  vol.  While  the  census  taken  by  Baran- 
of  8  order,  in  the  winter  of  1795-0,  showed  only  G,206  natives.  Tikhmeneff 
Istor,  Obos.,  i.  01. 


EEZANOF'S  PLANS.  377 

including  also  the  Kurile  Islands  and  the  coast  of 
Kamchatka. 

Nikolai  Rezanof,  of  whom  mention  has  already- 
been  made,  and  who  later  becomes  a  prominent  fig- 
ure in  the  history  of  the  colonies,  making  Shelikof's 
acquaintance  at  St  Petersburg,  was  somewhat  im- 
pressed with  the  scope  of  his  plans.  A  man  of  parts 
and  ambition,  of  noble  birth  but  scant  patrimony,  he 
solicited  the  hand  of  Shelikof's  daughter  and  was 
accepted.  But  the  plans  of  Shelikof,  bold  as  they 
seemed  to  many,  were  thrown  into  the  shade  by 
those  of  his  son-in-law,  who  purposed  to  obtain  for 
himself  and  his  partners  in  America  rights  similar 
to  those  granted  by  the  English  government  to  the 
East  India  Company.  Matters  prospered  for  a  time. 
Shares  in  the  association  were  taken  by  members  of 
the  nobility,  and  after  much  astute  intrigue  had  been 
brought  to  bear,  Catherine  II.  was  on  the  point  of 
granting  a  charter,  when  her  decease  occurred  in 
1796. 

Meanwhile  Shelikof  had  returned  to  Irkutsk, 
where  he  died,  as  will  be  remembered,  in  1795. 
After  this  event,  his  wife  Natalia,  who  had  accom- 
panied her  husband  in  all  his  travels  in  the  wilds  of 
Siberia  and  even  to  Kadiak,  and  had  always  success- 
fully conducted  her  husband's  business  during  his  ab- 
sence, at  once  undertook  the  management  of  affairs, 
with  Rezanof  as  chief  adviser. 

During  the  year  1797  an  Irkutsk  merchant  named 
Muilnikof  organized  a  company,  with  a  capital  of 
129,000  roubles,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the 
fur  trade;  but  fearing  that  his  capital  was  madequatc, 
and  that  complications  might  ensue  from  the  fact  that 
Shelikof's  widow,  who  was  to  share  in  the  enterprise, 
was  interested  in  other  associations  already  perma- 
nently established,  Muilnikof  proposed  to  join  himself 
w^ith  the  Shelikof  Company.  The  offer  was  accepted, 
an  agreement  made  which  included  all  the  partners, 
and  on  the  3d  of  August,  1798,  an  association,  includ- 


378  THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

ing  two  smaller  concerns,  and  known  as  the  United 
American  Company,  was  organized  at  Irkutsk,^  with 
a  capital  of  724,000  roubles,  divided  into  724  shares 
of  1,000  roubles  each.  All  hunters,  or  *  small  traders' 
as  -they  were  more  frequently  called,  in  Kussian 
America  were  invited  to  become  partners  in  the 
company,  on  the  same  conditions  as  had  been  granted 
to  other  members,  and  were  forbidden  to  hunt  or 
trade  in  the  territory  claimed  by  the  company  with- 
out their  permission. 

If  we  can  believe  the  report  of  the  committee  on 
the  organization  of  the  Kussian  American  colonies, 
made  by  royal  permission  and  extending  back  to  the 
time  of  the  earliest  discoveries,  the  need  of  such  an 
institution  as  the  United  American  Company  was 
greatly  felt  by  the  government.  "Having  received 
information  from  all  sides,"  says  this  report,  "of  dis- 
orders, outrages,  and  oppressions  of  the  natives,  caused 
in  the  colonies  by  parties  of  Russian  hunters,  as  well 
as  of  groundless  claims  advanced  by  foreign  naviga- 
tors to  lands  discovered  by  Russians^  it  had  some  rea- 
son to  hope  that  placing  the  business  of  that  distant 
region  in  the  hands  of  one  strong  company  would 
serve  on  the  one  hand  to  perpetuate  Russian  suprem- 
acy there,  and  on  the  other  would  prevent  many  dis- 
orders and  preserve  the  fur  trade,  the  principal  wealth 
of  tlie  country,  •  affording  protection  to  the  natives 
against  violence  and  abuse,  and  tending  toward  a  gen- 
eral improvement  of  their  condition." 

Nevertheless  it  was  at  first  feared  that  the  decease 
of  Catherine  II.  would  be  a  death-blow  to  the  ambi- 
tious schemes  of  the  Shelikof  party,  for  it  was  kno4wn 
that  her  successor,  Paul  I.,  was  opposed  to  them.  But 
Rezanof  never  for  a  moment  lost  heart,  and  with  the 
versatility  of  a  true  courtier,  quickly  adapted  himself 
to   the  change  of  circumstances.      He  had   been  a 

'The  aasociatiou  included,  besides  tho  Shelikof,  Golikof,  and  Muilnikof 
cmnpanios,  t!io  American  and  Xortli-eastem  and  tho  Northern  and  Kurilo 
cc^urpanira.  lit  port  on,  liitits.  Anur.  ChlonkA,  MS.,  vi.  13.  The  full  text  of 
the  act  of  coiisolidatioa  is  given  in  GolooiiiUt  Maicrkduif  i.  5o-G3. 


IMFEBIAL  QUKAZ.  379 

faithful  servant  to  the  pleasure-loving  empress,  and 
he  now  became  a  constant  companion  and  attendant 
upon  the  feeble-minded  man  who  wore  the  crown. 
So  successful  were  his  efforts,  that  on  the  11th  of 
August,  1799,  the  act  of  consolidation  of  the  United 
American  Company  was  confirmed  by  imperial  oukaz, 
and  the  association  then  received  the  name  of  the 
Russian  American  Company.  "By  the  same  oukaz,"^ 
continues  the  report  above  quoted,  "the   company 

'  The  following  is  a  literal  tranalation  of  the  oukaz  /granted  by  Paul  I.  to  the 
Russian  American  Company,  taken  from  Golovnin^  in  McUerialtUf  i.  77-80: 

'By  the  grace  of  a  merciful  God,  we,  Paul  the  First,  emperor  and  autocrat 
of  all  the  Bussias,  etc.     To  the  Russian  American  Company  under  our  highest 

grotection.  The  benefits  and  advantages  resulting  to  our  empire  from  the 
unting  and  trading  carried  on  by  our  loyal  subjects  in  the  norto -eastern  seas 
and  along  the  coasts  of  America  have  attracted  our  royal  attention  and  con- 
sideration; therefore,  having  taken  under  our  immediate  protection  a  company 
organised  for  the  above-named  purpose  of  carrying  on  hunting  and  trading, 
-we  allow  it  to  assume  the  appellation  of  "  Russian  American  Company  under 
our  highest  protection;"  and  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  company  in  its  en- 
terprises, we  allow  the  commanders  of  our  land  and  sea  forces  to  employ  said 
forces  in  the  company's  aid  if  occasion  requires  it,  while  for  further  relief  and 
assistance  of  said  company,  and  having  examined  their  rules  and  regulations, 
we  hereby  declare  it  to  be  our  highest  imperial  will  to  grant  to  this  company 
for  a  period  of  20  years  the  following  rights  and  privileges: 

'I.  By  the  right  of  discovery  in  past  times,  by  Russian  navigators  of  the 
north-eastern  part  of  America,  beginning  from  the  55th  de;2;ree_of  north  lati- 
tude and  of  the  chain  of  islands  extending  from  Kamchatka  to  the  north  to 
America,  and  southward  to  Japan,  and  by  right  of  possession  of  the  same  by 
Russia,  we  most  graciously  permit  the  company  to  have  the  use  of  all  hunting- 
crounds  and  establisLments  now  existing  on  the  north-eastern  [siCf  this  blun- 
der is  made  all  through  the  document]  coast  of  America,  from  the  abovo 
mentioned  55th  degree  to  Bering  Strait,  and  on  the  same  also  on  the  Aleu- 
tian, Kurile,  and  other  islands  situated  in  the  north-eastern  ocean. 

*  I£.  To  mako  new  discoveries  not  only  north  of  the  55th  degree  of  north 
latitude,  but  farther  to  the  south,  and  to  occupy  the  new  lands  discovered, 
as  Russian  possessions,  according  to  prescribed  rules,  if  they  have  not  been 
previously  occupied  by  any  other  nation,  or  been  dependent  on  another  nation. 

'III.  To  use  and  profit  by  everything  which  has  been  or  shall  be  dis- 
covered In  those  localities,  on  the  surface  and  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  with- 
out any  competition  by  others. 

'  IV.  We  most  graciously  permit  this  company  to  establish  settlements  in 
faturo  times,  wherever  they  are  wanted,  according  to  their  best  knowledge 
and  V<^lief,  and  fortify  them  to  insure  the  safety  of  the  inhabitants,  and  to 
send  ships  to  those  shores  with  goods  and  hunters,  without  any  obstacles  on 
the  part  of  tho  government. 

'  V.  To  extend  their -navigation  to  all  adjoining  nations  and  hold  business 
intercourse  witli  all  surrounding  powers,  upon  obtaining  their  free  conscut  for 
the  purix)sc,  and  under  our  highest  protection,  to  enable  them  to  prosecute 
their  enterprises  with  greater  K>rce  and  advantage. 

*  VI.  To  employ  for  navigation,  hunting,  and  all  other  business,  free  and 
unsuspected  people,  having  no  illegal  views  or  intentions.  In  consideralion 
of  tho  distance  of  the  localities  where  they  will  be  sent,  tho  provincial  author- 
ities will  gi-aut  to  all  persons  sent  out  as  settlers,  hunters,  and  in  other  ca- 


380  THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

was  granted  full  privileges,  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years,  on  the  coast  of  north-western  America,  be- 
ginning from  latitude  55**  north,  and  including  the 

pacities,  passports  for  seven  years.  Serfs  and  house-servants  will  only  be 
employea  by  the  comiiany  with  the  consent  of  their  landholders,  and  govern- 
ment taxes  will  be  paid  for  all  serfs  thus  employed. 

'  VII.  Though  it  is  forbidden  by  our  highest  order  to  cut  government 
timber  anywhere  without  the  permission  of  the  college  of  admiralty,  iins  com- 
pany is  hereby  permitted,  on  account  of  the  distance  of  the  admiralty  from 
Okhotsk,  when  it  needs  timber  for  repairs,  and  occasionally  for  the  construc- 
tion of  new  ships,  to  use  freely  such  timber  as  is  required. 

'  VIII.  For  shooting  animals,  for  marine  signals,  and  on  all  unexpected 
emergencies  on  the  mainland  of  America  and  ou  the  islands,  the  company  is 
permitted  to  buy  for  cash,  at  cost  price,  from  the  government  artillery  mag- 
azine at  Irkutsk  yearly  40  or  50  pouds  of  powder,  and  from  the  Nertchinsk 
mine  200  pouds  of  lead. 

*  IX.  If  one  of  the  partners  of  the  company  becomes  indebted  to  the  gov- 
ernment or  to  private  persons,  and  is  not  in  a  condition  to  pay  them  from  any 
other  property  except  what  he  holds  in  the  company,  such  property  cannot 
be  seized  for  the  satisfaction  of  such  debts,  but  the  debtor  sliall  not  be  per- 
mitted to  use  anything  but  the  interest  or  dividends  of  such  property  until 
the  term  of  the  company's  privileges  expires,  when  it  will  be  at  his  or  his 
creditors'  disposal. 

*X.  Tlie  exclusive  right  most  graciously  granted  to  the  company  for  a 
period  of  20  years,  to  use  and  enjoy,  in  the  above-described  extent  of  country 
and  islands,  all  protits  and  advantages  derived  from  hunting,  trade,  indue- 
tri^,  and  discovery  of  new  lands,  prohibiting  the  enjoyment  of  these  profits 
and  advantages  not  only  to  those  \vho  would  wish  to  sail  to  those  countries 
on  their  own  accoimt,  but  to  all  former  hunters  and  trappers  who  have  been 
engaged  in  this  trcode,  and  have  their  vessels  and  furs  at  those  places;  and 
otlier  companies  which  may  have  been  formed  will  not  be  allowed  to  con- 
tinue their  business  unless  they  unite  with  the  present  company  with  their 
free  consent;  but  such  privr.te  companies  or  traciers  as  have  their  vessels  in 
those  regions  can  either  sell  their  property,  or,  with  the  company's  consent, 
remain  until  they  have  obtained  a  cargo,  but  no  longer  than  is  required  for 
the  loading  and  return  of  their  vessel ;  and  after  that  nobody  will  have  any 
privileges  but  this  one  company,  which  will  be  protected  in  the  enjoyment  of 
all  the  advantages  mentioned. 

*  XL  Under  our  highest  protection,  the  Ilussian  American  Company  will 
have  full  control  over  all  anovc-mentioned  localities,  and  exercise  judicial 
powers  in  minor  cases.  The  company  will  also  be  permitted  to  use  all  local 
facilities  for  fortifications  in  the  defence  of  the  country  under  th^ir  control 
against  foreign  attacks.  Only  ])ai*tners  of  ths  company  shall  be  employed  in 
the  administration  of  the  new  possessions  in  charge  of  the  company. 

*  In  conclusion  of  this  our  most  gracious  order  for  the  benefit  of  the  Rus-^ 
sian  American  Company  under  highest  protection,  we  enjoin  all  our  mili- 
tary and  civil  authorites  in  the  above-mentioned  localities  not  only  not  to 
prevent  them  from  enjoying  to  the  fullest  extent  the  privileges  granted  by 
us,  but  in  case  of  need  to  protect  them  with  all  their  power  from  loss  or 
injury,  and  to  render  them,  upon  application  of  the  company's  authorities,  all 
necessary  aid,  assistance,  and  protection.  To  give  eifect  to  this  our  most 
gracious  order,  we  subscribe  it  with  our  own  hand  and  give  orders  to  confirm 
it  \\  ith  our  imperial  seal.  Given  at  St  Petersburg,  in  the  year  after  the  birth 
of  Ch.'ist  1799,  the  27th  day  of  December,  in  the  fourth  year  of  our  reign. 

'Pavl.' 
Then  follows  a  copy  of  the  company's  rules  and  regulations,  for  which  the 
emperor's  apfjroval  was  solicited   before  the  oukaz  was  granted.      At  tlA 
bcgiuaing  of  them  is  written  in  the  emperor's  own  handwriting,  *Be  it  thus.' 


ORGANIZATION.  381 

chain  of  islands  extending  from  Kamchatka  north- 
ward to  America  and  southward  to  Japan ;  the  exclu- 
sive right  to  all  enterprises,  whether  hunting,  trading, 
or  building,  and  to  new  discoveries,  with  strict  prohi- 
bition from  profiting  by  any  of  these  pursuits,  not 
only  to  all  parties  who  might  engage  in  them  on  their 
own  responsibility,  but  also  to  those  who  formerly 
had  s^iips  and  establishments  there,  except  those  who 
have  united  with  the  new  company."  All  who  refused 
to  join  the  company,  and  had  capital  invested  in  fur 
adventures,  were  allowed  to  carry  on  their  business 
only  until  their  vessels  returned  to  port.* 

In*  addition  to  the  original  capital,  a  further  issue  of 
one  thousand  shares  was  authorized;  but  it  was  for- 
bidden that  foreigners  should  be  allowed  to  invest  in  * 
the  enterprise.  Subscriptions  flowed  in  rapidly,  and 
thp  entire  amount  was  quickly  absorbed,  most  of  it 
probably  in  St  Petersburg;  for  by  oukaz  of  October 
19,  1800,  it  was  ordered  that  the  headquarters  of  the 
company,  which  had  formerly  been  at  Irkutsk,  should  , 
be  transferred  to  that  city.  Two  years  later,  the  em- 
peror, empress,  and  Grand  Duke  Constaqtine  each  sub- 
scribed for  twenty  shares,  giving  directions  that  the 

*  All  the  private  trading  and  hunting  parties  in  existence  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  ceutuiy  were  merged  into  the  Russian  American  Company,  and 
BO  far  as  is  known,  with  little  difliculty.  Politoffaky  differs  materially  in  his 
description  of  the  privileges  granted  by  Paul  I.  to  the  Ilnssian  American 
Company.  First  of  all,  he  says  they  were  conferred  on  the  8th  of  July,  1709, 
while  Ihd!,  who  follows  Tikhmenef  closely,  thouch  with  frequent  blunders, 
gives  June  8,  )7d9,  as  the  date.  According  to  tlie  former  authority,  'the 
company  yas  empowered  to  make  discoveries  not  only  above  latitude  fw" 
north,  but  also  south  of  that  parallel,  and  to  incorporate  the  lands  thus  dis- 
covered with  the  llassian  possessions,  provided  that  no  other  ix)wer  had  pre- 
viously seized  them  or  established  a  claim  to  them.  It  was  empowered  to 
establish  settlements  wherever  it  was  most  conveuieut  for  its  business,  or 
most  advantageous  to  the  country  at  large,  and  also  to  erect  fortificaticms  for 
the  protection  of  the  inhabitants,  and  to  make  voyages  to  all  neighboring 
lands  and  nations,  and  maintain  commercial  intercourse  with  all  surrounding 
powers,  with  their  free  consent  and  under  permissicm  of  the  emperor.  Au 
the  locations  selected  as  sites  for  settlements  by  the  geaeral  administration 
for  business  purposes  were  to  be  respected  as  such,  d  conclusion,  all  mili- 
tary or  civil  auchoritics  stationed  at  those  places  were  enjoined,  not  only  to 
throw  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
granted,  but  also  to  endeavor,  as  far  as  was  in  their  power,  to  protect  the 
eompony  against  loss  or  injury,  and  to  oficr  in  this  intercourse  with  the  com- 
rany's  officers  every  assistance,  protection,  and  means  of  defence.'  Jelor.  Obos., 
ioss,  Amerik  Kom.,  4-8. 


882  THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

dividends  be  devoted  to  charity.  The  company  was 
allowed  to  engage  all  classes  of  free  labor,  and  to  em- 
ploy serfs  with  the  consent  of  their  masters;'  but 
nothing  was  mentioned  in  the  text  of  the  oukaz  of 
1799  as  to  the  obligations  of  the  company  in  relation 
to  the  native  inhabitants.  The  only  regulations  on 
this  subject  are  contained  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the 
act  of  consolidation,  in  which  "the  company  binds 
itself,"  to  quote  the  words  of  the  report  once  more, 
"to  maintain  a  mission  of  the  Graeco-Catholic  church 
in  America,  members  of  which  were  to  accompany  all 
trading  and  hunting  expeditions,  and  voyages  of  dis- 
covery which  were  likely  to  bring  them  in  contact 
with  known  or  unknown  tribes,  and  to  use  every  en- 
deavor to  christianize  them  and  encourage  their  alle- 
giance to  Russia.  They  were  to  use  efforts  to  promote 
ship-building  and  domestic  industries  on  the  part  of 
Russian  settlers  who  might  take  possession  of  unin- 
habited lands,  as  well  as  to  encourage  the  introduc- 
tion of  agriculture  and  cattle-breeding  on  the  American 
islands  and  continent.  They  were  also  to  keep  con- 
stantly in  view  the  maintenance  of  friendly  relations 
with  the  Americans  and  islanders,  employing  them  at 
their  establishments  and  engaging  in  trade  with  them.." 
Thus  was  the  famous  Russian  American  Company 
established  on  a  firm  basis,  and  little  did  Shelikof 
dream,  when  representing  an  obscure  company  of  Si- 
berian merchants  he  founded  on  the  island  of  Kadiak 
the  village  of  Three  Saints,  that  he  was  laying  the  basis 
of  a  monopoly  which  was  destined,  as  we  shall  see  later, 
to  hold  sway  over  a  territory  almost  as  vast  as  was 
then  the  European  domain  of  the  tzar.®    As  yet,  how- 

'  After  Shelikofs  decease,  his  widow,  being  possessed  of  a  small  estate  in 
Russia,  petitioned  Count  Zubof,  one  of  the  emperor's  ministers,  for  permission 
to  transfer  the  serfs  upon  her  estate  to  Alaska,  to  form  there  the  nucleus  of 
au  agricultural  settlement.  At  the  same  time  she  entered  into  correspond- 
ence  with  the  metropolitans  of  Moscow  and  Novgorod,  and  other  church  dig- 
nitaries, oh  the  subject  of  missionary  enterprise  in  the  new  colonies,  and  thus 
secured  their  assistance  in  furthering  the  plans  of  the  company.  Count  Zu- 
bof not  only  granted  the  request,  but  offered  to  send  an  additional  force  of  a 
hundred  serfs  frbm  crown  lands  in  Siberia  for  the  same  purpose. 

*  In  1821,  when  the  charter  of  the  company  was  renewed,  as  will  be  men- 


SUBJECTION  OF  THE  NATIVES.  383 

ever,  the  boundaries  of  this  territory  were  not  clearly- 
defined,  and  its  inhabitants  were  for  the  most  part  un- 
subdued. The  Aleuts  were  indeed  held  in  subjection, 
but  none  of  the  warlike  tribes  that  peopled  the  penin- 
sula and  the  adjoining  continent  had  yet  been  con- 
quered. The  Russian  colonies  at  Yakutat  and  else- 
where on  the  mainland  were  constantly  threatened, 
and,  as  wall  presently  be  described,  a  settlement  that 
was  founded  about  this  time  near  the  site  where  now 
stands  the  capital  of  Alaska  was  attacked  and  de- 
stroyed by  savages. 

tioned  in  itB  place,  the  emperor  issued  a  onkaz,  in  which  the  whole  north  west 
ooast  of  America  north  of  51*"  was  declared  Russian  territory. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

THE   FOUNDING   OF    SITKA. 

1798-1801. 

BaRAXOF's  Dl*FICrLTIX8  AKD  DeSPOXDENCY— SiCK  AND  HoFBLESS — ^AbKITAL 
OF    THE    *  ElIZuWETa' — ^Ax    EXFEDITIOX    SaILS    FOB  NORFOLK  SoUHD— 

Loss  OF  Canof-s— The  Party  Attacked  by  Kolosh— Treaty  with  the 
SiTKANs— Yankee  Visitors — A  Fort  Erected— The  Yakutat  Bay 
Settlement— Baranof  Desires  to  be  Reueved— His  Official  Toor 
of  the  Colonif-s — TuE  Chief  Manager's  Piety— His  Complaints  or 
Foreign  Encroachmfjvts — British  AcGREasiVENESS. 

The  news  of  the  final  organization  of  the  Russian 
American  Company,  the  granting  of  its  privileges 
l^y  the  ernpcror,  and  of  his  own  appointment  as  chief 
manager,  reached  Baranof  at  a  time  when  he  was 
plunged  in  despondency.  Nearly  every  undertaking 
of  the  preceding  seasons  had  failed.  He  had  lost 
numbers  of  men,  both  Russians  and  natives,  during 
the  long  voyages  to  distant  hunting-grounds.  A 
B[)irit  of  revolt  was  still  alive,  especially  among  those 
who  had  transferred  their  allegiance  from  former  op- 
])re.ss()rs.  At  every  point  eastward  of  Kadiak  where 
he  had  endeavored  to  open  trade  he  had  found  him- 
s(^lf  forestalled  by  English  and  American  ships,  which 
had  raised  the  prices  of  skins  almost  beyond  his  lim- 
ited means.  In  his  attempts  to  hunt  with  his  Aleuts, 
he  had  also  been  unfortunate,  whole  parties  having 
been  surprised  and  slaughtered  by  the  warlike  Thlin- 
keets.  One  of  his  sloops  built  at  Voskressenski  Bay 
foundered  during  her  first  voyage,  while  others  had 
been  injured  on  the  shoals  lining  the  mouth  of  Copper 
River,  and  he  had  just  returned  to  Pavlovsk,  in  the 

(884) 


HARD  TIMES  AND  BELIEF.  385 

damaged  sloop  Olga^  intending  to  repair  the  vessels 
as  best  he  might,  in  order  to  carry  out  during  the  fol- 
lowing spring  his  cherished  plan  of  locating  a  perma- 
ent  settlement  in  the  vicinity  of  Norfolk  Sound.^ 

He  landed,  suffering  the  agonies  of  inflammatory 
rheumatism  and  depressed  in  spirit,  only  to  meet  with 
upbraidings  and  complaints  on  the  part  of  his  subor- 
dinates, who  were  on  short  rations,  owing  to  the  non- 
arrival  of  the  supply-ship.  Certain  leaders  of  the 
maleeontents  openly  refused  obedience  unless  provis- 
ions were  first  given  them.  Sick  and  dejected,  he 
was  unable  to  address  them  as  he  was  wont  to  do, 
and  retired  to  his  wretched  little  cabin  and  to  bed, 
when  a  little  later  the  cry  was  heard,  "A  ship  in 
the  oflSngl"  Once  more  inspired  with  life  and  hope, 
the  sick  man  rose  from  his  couch  and  climbed  the 
mountain  overlooking  the  settlement  of  St  Paul.  It 
was  true;  a  large  vessel,  the  brigantine  Elizaveta, 
commanded  by  Bocharof,  was  standing  in  under  full 
sail,  and  soon  was  lying  at  anchor  in  the  roadstead, 
with  Baranof  on  board.  She  had  sailed  from  Okhotsk 
the  preceding  autumn,  and  had  wintered  on  one  of 
the  westernmost  Aleutian  Isles,  where  the  passen- 
gers and  crew  had  lived  on  what  they  could  gather; 
BO  that  the  cargo  remained  intact,  and  plenty  reigned 
once  more  in  the  half-famished  settlement.  Fifty- 
two  laborers  and  mechanics  were  now  added  to  Bar- 
anof's  force;  and  though  the  season  was  far  advanced, 
a  small  party  was  at  once  despatched  to  Prince  Will- 
iam Sound  to  complete  another  sloop. 

The  winter  of  1798-9  was  passed  by  the  colonists 
at  Kadiak  in  cheerful  content,  for  they  were  busy  in 
preparing  for  the  great  movement  to  the  eastward  in 
the  following  spring,  and  the  letters  written  by  Bar- 

>  The  immediate  causes  for  the  founding  of  this  settlement  were  the  de- 
crease in  far-bearing  animalB  on  the  islands  to  the  west,  and  the  discovery  of 
large  numbers  of  sea-otter  on  the  straits  and  sounds  adjoining  the  mainland. 
Moreover,  to  incorporate  with  Kussia  the  whole  of  north-western  America, 
and  to  prevent  other  nations  from  establishing  a  trade  with  the  natives,  waa 
tho  unvarying  policy  of  Baranof.  LiUke,  in  McUericUtU,  iv.  149. 
HiBT.  Alaska.    26 


I 


( 


386  THE  FOUNDING  OP  SITKA. 

anof  at  this  juncture  bear  evidence  of  his  confidence. 
Early  in  March  the  new  sloop  Konstantin  arrived 
at  Kadiak  from  Prince  William  Sound,  and  was  sup- 
lied  with  sails  and  rigging  from  the  stores  brought 
•y  Bocharof.  On  the  10th  of  April,  Baranof  set  sail 
with  the  two  vessels,  manned  by  twenty-two  Russians 
and  accompanied  by  a  fleet  of  nearly  two  hundred 
canoes.  The  course  was  along  the  coast  of  the  Kenai 
peninsula  to  Prince  William  Sound,  where  the  expe- 
dition was  joined  by  Baranofs  most  trusted  assistant, 
Kuskof,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  additional  canoes 
which  had  wintered  on  Nuchek  Island. 

Misfortune  attended  Baranofs  enterprise  from  its 
inception.  On  the  2d  of  May,  while  weathering  Cape 
Suckling  on  the  coast  opposite  Kayak,  thirty  of  the 
canoes,  containing  two  men  each,  were  swallowed  by 
the  heavy  seas  into  which  even  a  moderate  breeze 
raises  these  shallow  waters.  In  a  letter  to  his  friend 
Delarof,  Baranof  tells  of  his  further  troubles :  "  While 
we  were  still  mourning  the  loss  of  our  hunters,  night 
came  on,  and  as  I  saw  further  indications  of  storm,  I 
ordered  all  the  canoes  to  make  for  the  shore,  accom- 
panying them  in  person  in  my  own  bidarka.  In  the 
darkness  we  underestimated  the  distance,  and  when 
at  last  we  reached  the  sandy  beach,  exhausted  from 
continued  paddling,  we  threw  ourselves  upon  the  sand 
overshadowed  by  dense  forests.  No  sooner  had  we 
closed  our  eyes,  than  the  dreaded  war-cry  of  the  Ko- 
losh  brought  us  again  to  our  feet.  The  greatest  con- 
sternation prevailed  among  the  naturally  timid  Aleuts, 
who  were  filled  with  such  dread  of  the  well-known 
enemy  as  to  think  it  useless  to  make  any  resistance. 
Many  of  them  rushed  into  the  forest,  into  the  very 
hands  of  their  assailants,  instead  of  launching  their 
canoes  and  putting  to  sea.  I  had  only  two  Russians 
with  me,  and  we  fired  our  guns  into  the  darkness 
wherever  the  cries  of  the  Kolosh  were  loudest;  but 
when  our  ammunition  was  expended,  we  did  not  know 
what  execution  we  had  done.     A  few  of  the  native 


A  FIGHT  WITH  THE  KOLOSH.  3S7 

hunters  who  had  been  presented  with  fowling-pieces 
also  made  a  feeble  show  of  resistance;  but  what  saved 
us  from  total  destruction  was  the  intervening  darkness, 
which  prevented  our  assailants  from  distinguishing 
friends  from  enemies.  After  an  unequal  contest,  last- 
ing over  an  hour,  the  Kolosh  retired  to  the  woods, 
while  I  and  my  assistants  endeavored  to  rally  our 
scattered  men.  By  shouting  to  them  in  the  Aleutian 
tongue,  we  succeeded  in  gathering  the  survivors,  still 
hidden  in  the  woods  and  among  the  driftwood  lining 
the  shore,  and  before  morning  departed  from  the  in- 
hospitable beach,  leaving  thirteen  canoes,  the  owners 
of  which  had  been  killed  or  carried  into  captivity. 
The  rising  sun  showed  us  the  sloops  in  the  offing,  and 
we  lost  no  time  in  seeking  their  welcome  protection." 

This  attack  by  the  natives,  added  to  the  loss  at  sea, 
had  so  reduced  the  force,  that  Kuskof  advised  a  return 
to  Prince  William  Sound;  but  Baranof  Avas  not  to  be 
thus  thwarted.  He  pressed  forward,  travelling  along 
the  coast,  chiefly  by  night,  and  daring  to  camp  only 
on  prominent  points,  where  there  was  least  danger  of 
surprise.  At  last,  on  the  25th,  the  expedition  en- 
tered the  sheltered  basin  of  Norfolk,  or  Sitka  Sound. 
The  towering  heights  were  still  covered  with  snow, 
almost  to  the  water's  edge,  and  the  weather  was 
stormy;  rain,  snow,  and  sleet  alternating  with  furious 
gusts  of  wind.  The  landing  was  accomplished  at  a 
point  still  known  as  Old  Sitka,  about  six  miles  north 
of  the  present  town  of  that  name.  A  large  crowd  of 
natives  had  assembled  to  watch  the  movements  of  the 
new-comers.  A  Sitkan  chief,  Katleut,  or  Katlean, 
whom  Kuskof  had  met  during  his  hunting  expedition 
of  the  preceding  summer,  approached  Baranof  and 
demanded  to  know  his  intentions,  telling  him  at  the 
same  time  that  a  Boston  ship  was  anchored  a  short 
distance  to  the  southward,  and  that  her  captain  had 
purchased  many  skins. 

Baranof  replied  in  a  lengthy  harangue,  reciting  the 
long-stereotyped  European  falsehood,  that  the  em- 


388  THE  FOUNDING  OF  SITKA« 

peror  of  all  the  Kussias^  who  was  the  lord  of  that 
country,  had  sent  him  to  establish  a  settlement  for 
trade,  and  to  assure  his  new  subjects  of  his  fatherly- 
care  and  protection.  At  the  same  time  he  asked  for 
the  grant  of  a  small  piece  of  ground  for  the  erection 
of  buildings,  and  for  which  he  offered  to  pay  in  beads 
and  other  trading  goods.  The  barter  was  concluded, 
and  Katleut  even  asserted  that  he  could  force  the 
other  chiefs  into  the  agreement.  A  few  hours  after- 
ward the  sound  of  Russian  axes  was  heard  in  the 
virgin  forest,  the  crash  of  falling  timber  was  echoed 
from  the  sides  of  Verstovoi,  and  all  was  bustle  and 
high  determination.  The  site  bordered  a  shallow 
stream  alive  with  salmon.  One  half  of  the  company 
vrere  employed  in  building,  while  the  remainder  were 
sent  to  hunt  sea-otter  in  the  vicinity.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  the  chief  manager  received  a  visit  from  the 
Boston  ship,  which  proved  to  be  the  Caroliney  in 
charge  of  Captain  Cleveland,  who  stated  that  he  had 
only  ten  men  before  the  mast,  and  that  on  account  of 
the  fierce  character  of  the  natives  he  had  found  it 
necessary  to  take  great  precautions.  He  had  placed 
a  screen  of  hides  round  the  ship  with  the  exception  of 
the  stern,  whence  trade  was  carried  on  with  the  na- 
tives,* who  could  not  see  the  deck,  or  know  how  few 
men  he  had.  Two  pieces  of  cannon  were  placed  in 
position,  and  on  the  tafirail  was  a  pair  of  blunderbusses 
on  swivels. 

The  savages  who  then  inhabited  the  neighborhood 
of  Norfolk  Sound  were  among  the  most  treacherous 
and  repulsive  of  all  the  Alaskan  tribes.  "A  more 
hideous  set  of  beings  in  the  form  of  men  and  women," 

*  Cleveland  states  that  on  the  first  day  he  bought  100  skins  at  the  cheap 
rate  of  two  yards  of  broadcloth  per  skin.  On  the  second  day  he  purchased 
200.  During  his  stav  at  Norfolk  Sound  the  natives  made  several  attempts  to 
capture  the  vessel.  Vby.i  i.  92-5  (Boston  ed.,  1850).  On  one  occasion  a  na- 
tive dressed  in  a  bear-skin  came  down  to  the  beach,  on  all  fours,  imitating 
the  movements  of  the  animal,  in  order  to  decoy  the  crew  on  shore,  while  an 
armed  party  lay  in  ambush  close  by.  A  boat  was  lowered  to  take  some  of 
the  men  in  pursuit  of  the  bear,  but  one  of  the  ambushed  party  exposed  himself, 
and  that  gave  the  alarm.   Id.,  i.  105. 


FEAR3  OF  SPAIN.  383 

writes  the  captain,  "I  had  never  before  seen.  The 
fantastic  manner  in  which  many  of  the  faces  of  the 
men  were  painted  was  probably  intended  to  give 
them  a  ferocious  appearance ;  and  some  groups  looked 
really  as  if  they  had  escaped  from  the  dominions 
of  Satan  himself  One  had  a  perpendicular  line 
dividing  the  two  sides  of  the  face,  one  side  of 
which  was  painted  red,  the  other  black;  with  the  hair 
daubed  with  grease  and  red  ochre,  anti  filled  with  the 
down  of  birds.  Another  had  the  face  divided  with  a 
horizontal  line  in  the  middle,  and  painted  black  and 
white.  The  visage  of  a  third  was  painted  in  checkers, 
etc.  Most  of  them  had  little  mirrors;  before  the  ac- 
quisition of  which  they  must  have  been  dependent 
on  each  other  for  those  correct  touches  of  the  pencil 
which  are  so  much  in  vogue,  and  which  daily  require 
more  time  than  the  toilet  of  a  Parisian  belle." 

From  the  ship  Enterprise^  which  arrived  at  Kadiak 
from  New  York»  on  the  24th  of  April,  1800,  the  chief 
manager  heard  that  hostilities  had  broken  out  in 
Europe,  that  Spain  had  formed  an  alliance  with 
France,  and  that  a  Spanish  frigate  was  to  be  sent  to 
Russian  America.  The  news  was  received  with  no 
little  anxiety.  At  this  time  all  the  storehouses  at 
Three  Saints  were  full  of  choice  furs,  which  Baranof 
now  caused  to  be  concealed  in  the  adjacent  islands. 
"Truly,"  he  writes,  "if  the  terrible  emergency  should 
arise,  and  the  enemy  come  upon  us,  they  cannot  take 
much  more  than  our  lives,  and  these  are  in  God's 
hands.  It  would  take  more  than  mortal  eyes  to  dis- 
cover where  our  precious  skins  are  concealed."^ 

Several  other  American  vessels,  among  them  the 
brig  Eliza^  under  Captain  Rowan,  visited  the  bay  dur- 
ing the  summer,  and  absorbed  the  trade,  while  the 

*  BftTsnof  purchased  from  her  captain  a  quantity  of  goods,  partly  with  a 
view  to  prevent  him  from  trading  with  the  natives,  and  partly  because  the 
Ihiika  being  now  given  up  for  lost,  no  supplies  could  be  expected  for  that 
season.   KMebniboft  Shizn,  Baranova,  63-4. 

*/d,  68. 


330  THE  FOUNDING  OF  SITKA. 

Russians  were  preparing  to  occupy  the  field  in  the 
future.  During  the  preceding  winter  the  relations 
between  the  colonists  and  the  natives  had  been  peace- 
able, but  there  was  much  suffering  on  account  of 
insufficient  food  and  shelter.  A  fort  was  erected,  and 
named  after  the  archangel  Michael/  in  "the  hope  that 
the  great  champion  of  the  Lord  would  protect  the 

f)romyshleniki;'  nevertheless,  soon  after  the  estab- 
ishment  of  the'  settlement  misfortune  again  reduced 
Baranof 's  force.  On  the  18th  of  July,  he  received 
news  from  an  Aleutian  party  which  had  camped  for 
the  night  on  the  tortuous  passage  connecting  Norfolk 
Sound  with  Chatham  Strait,  that  a  number  of  the 
men  had  died  from  eating  poisonous  mussels.  The 
passage  was  thereafter  named  Pogibshie,  or  Destruc- 
tion Strait,  which  name  has  subsequently  been  changed 
by  Americans  to  Peril  Strait. 

While  Baranof  was  thus  engaged  in  establishing  his 
now  colony,  a  block-house  and  stockade  had  been 
built  by  Polomoshnoi  at  Yakutat,  or  Bering  Bay,  for 
the  reception  of  the  Siberian  convicts,  or  agricultural 
Bettlers,  as  they  were  called.  The  site  for  this  settle- 
ment had  been  chosen  by  mistake.  After  his  first 
visit  to  Prince  William  Sound,  Baranof  had  recom- 
mended the  country  bordering  on  Comptroller  Bay  as 
probably  adapted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Cape  Suck- 
ling, the  western  point  of  this  bay,  had  been  erroneously 
called  Cape  St  Elias,  the  name  applied  to  the  south 

^  In  a  letter  to  Hodianof,  agent  at  Nuchek,  dated  May  14,  IdOO,  Baranof 
writes:  *  We  enjoyed  good  health  and  fair  success  during  our. winter  there, 
nnd  though  we  had  some  difficulties  with  the  people,  we  finally  established 
friendly  intercourse  with  them.  I  resolved  to  establish  a  permanent  settle- 
ment, and  at  once  set  to  work  to  erect  the  necessaiy  buildings,  one  of  which 
was  a  two-story  structure,  8  fathoms  long  and  4  wide,  protected  on  all 
Bides  by  palisades  and  two  strong  block-houses  or  towers.  Another  building 
I  had  put  up  for  myself  and  future  commanders,  with  the  necessary  accom- 
modation for  servants  and  officers,  and  there  I  have  lived  from  the  middle  of 
February  to  the  present  date.  A  small  temporary  bath-house  had  been 
erected,  wherein  I  passed  the  first  part  of  the  winter,  a  shed  and  sleeping- 
rooms  for  the  members  of  the  party,  a  blacksmith's  shop,  and  temporary 
kitchen.  One  fortified  block-house  is  not  quite  finished,  while  two  others 
have  been  only  just  begun.  The  men  here  number  25  Russians  and  55  Aleu- 
tian hunters.*   Tikhmeit^,  Istor,  Obos,,  ii.  app.  part  ii  131. 


YAKUTAT  SETTLEMEXT.  891 

point  of  Kajak  Island  by  Bering,  and  in  his  recom- 
mendation Baranof  spoke  of  the  country  about  Cape 
St  Elias.  Subsequently  the  bay  of  Yakutat  had 
been  visited  by  Purtof  and  Kuskof ;  and  as  this  affords 
the  only  good  harbor  on  that  part  of  the  coast,  and 
is  overshadowed  by  the  peak  of  St  Elias,  the  pro- 
K>8ed  settlement  had  been  located  there  in  a  deso- 
ate  region  of  ice  and  rock,  entirely  unfit  for  occupation 
)y  man.  Polomoshnoi  only  obeyed  orders  in  locating 
the  block-house  there,  but  as  soon  as  the  buildings 
were  completed,  he  returned  toKadiak  to  remonstrate 
against  any  attempts  at  founding  an  agricultural 
colony  in  such  a  place.     He  was  ordered  back,  how- 


Cape  fatrwfn:ncr>^»      w.  ■,  - 


Yakutat  Bay  Settlement. 

ever,  by  Baranof  s  representative,  and  sailed  for  his 
destination  on  the  brig  Orel,  laden  with  provisions  for 
the  new  settlement,  in  charge  of  Talin,  a  naval  officer 
in  the  service  of  the  company,  but  one  who,  like  all  of 
his  profession,  was  little  disposed  to  heed  the  chief 
manager's  instructions,  and  when  his  vessel  was  lying 
in  Norfolk  Sound  had  threatened  to  hang  Baranof 
from  the  mast-head  if  he  dared  to  show  himself  on 
board.  While  beating  against  head  winds,  the  ship 
was  wrecked  on  the  island  of  Sukluk  ^Montague), 
and  Polomoshnoi,  with  five  men,  perishea.* 

*Foar  hundred  sea-otter  skins,  valued  at  22,000  roubles,  were  lost  on  this 
occasion,  in  addition  to  the  rigging  and  anchors  and  ship's  stores.    Talin  had 


392  THE  FOUNDING  OP  SITKA. 

From  other  parts  of  the  country  news  of  dis- 
ajster  had  also  reached  Baranof.  The  year  before  his 
departure  for  Norfolk  Sound  he  had  been  informed 
that  two  of  the  company's  establishments,  at  Ilyamna 
and  Kadiak,  had  been  surprised,  and  all  the  Russians 
stationed  there,  twenty-one  in  number,  massacred. 
The  outbreak  appears  to  have  been  caused,  as  usual, 
by  the  cruelty  of  the  settlers,  for  all  the  native  ser- 
vants were  spared. 

Notwithstanding  occasional  misfortunes,  Baranors 
management  of  the  affairs  of  the  company  appears  to 
have  met  with  the  approval  of  most  of  the  directors, 

been  from  the  beginnlnff  overbearing  and  insolent  in  his  interoonrse  with 
Baranof,  whom  he  considered  as  a  mere  kupetz,  or  trader,  far  beneath  him 
ill  social  rank.  It  grated  npon  his  aristocratic  sensibilities  to  receive  orders 
from  such  a  man,  and  acting  m  this  spirit,  he  seized  upon  every  opportunity  to 
evade  obedience  and  raise  obstacles. 

In  order  to  show  the  unfortunate  relations  existingbetween  the  naval  gentle- 
man and  Baranof,  and  also  the  character  of  the  latter,  I  will  copy  here  portions 
of  a  letter  written  by  him  to  Lieutenant  Talin,  dated  in  May  1709:  '  Gracious 
Sir:  In  your  communication  to  me,  you  are  pleased  to  ask  why  I  meddle  with 
nautical  affairs.  Do  you  refuse  to  follow  my  instructions  because  I  am  a  mer- 
chant? Does  it  compromise  your  honor,  as  an  officer  and  ffentleman,  to 
execute  the  company's  wishes  when  expressed  through  me  f  If  such  bo  the 
case,  I  must  inform  you  that  the  managing  partners  of  the  company,  Golikof 
and  Shelikof ,  have  intrusted  the  management  of  all  its  colonial  affairs,  includ- 
ing luivieation,  to  me  ever  since  the  year  1790;  and  since  then  I  have  fre- 
quently been  honored  by  direct  instructions  from  the  government,  both  public 
and  secret,  the  execution  of  which  was  always  left  to  me  alone;  and  therefore 
all  the  navigators  in  the  service  of  tlie  company  were  under  my  orders.  For 
proof  of  this,  I  refer  you  to  a  secret  order,  aated  August  14,  17i90,  under  No. 
19,  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy  to  keep  for  your  own  use.  The  last  commu- 
nication on  this  subject  is  dated  May  1797,  and  speaks  also  of  yon,  dear  sir,  and 
the  navigators  in  our  service,  and  of  your  position  with  regard  to  the  company 
in  the  following  terms:  **One  of  the  partners  of  the  company,  Ivan  Larionof, 
asked  the  late  empress  Ekaterina  Alexeievna,  of  blessed  memory,  to  furnish 
the  company  with  a  number  of  naval  officers,  in  \*iew  of  the  impor^ce  of  the 
company's  voyages  of  discovery,  and  the  difficulty  of  navigating  these  north- 
ern seas  without  thoroughly  trained  and  experienced  navigators,  promising 
to  sucli  officers  twice  the  salary  which  they  received  from  the  government. 
This  petition  was  approved  by  our  august  monarch.  Emperor  Pa^  Petrovich, 
who  had  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  the  mean  time.  Though  these  officers  re- 
main in  the  imperial  service,  they  were  ordered  to  obey  all  commands  and 
regulations  of  tne  company  as  strictly  and  punctually  as  if  proceeding  from 
their  military  commanuers;  and  it  is  the  will  of  our  august  monarch  that  they 
should  conform  in  every  respect  with  the  arrangements  made  by  the  company, 
be  it  during  expeditions  for  special  purposes  or  on  voyages  of  discovery  and 
exploration. " 

*In  transmitting  and  presenting  to  you  these  orders  and  instructions  with 
regard  to  the  extent  of  my  power  and  responsibility  in  these  matters,  I  leave 
you  entirely  free  to  follow  or  not  to  follow  my  instmctiona  with  regard 


BAEANOFS  TROUBLES.  393 

though  he  himself  was  dissatisfied  with  his  position. 
In  answer  to  a  letter  from  Larionof,  in  1799,  he  re- 
marks :  "  The  lowest  and  most  insignificant  ofiScial  in 
the  service  of  the  company  pretends  to  know  more 
about  the  business  of  this  section  than  its  head,  and 
expresses  his  opinion  on  everything.  They  write 
about  us,  but  nobody  ever  thinks  of  asking,  How  do 
they  live  there,  and  what  are  they  doing  ?"  When 
writing  to  his  friend  Delarof,  he  mentions  that  he  had 
never  failed  to  earn  for  the  shareholders  a  dividend, 
and  that  its  amount  for  1795  was  22,000  roubles.  He 
also  refers  to  his  request  to  the  managers  of  the  com- 

to  thifl  voyage,  which  is  of  the  greatest  importance,  not  only  to  the  com- 
pany, bnt  to  the  ooontry  at  laige.  If  you  do  not  obey,  I  cannot  compel 
yon;  bat  yon  will  be  kind  enough  to  aend  me  a  written  refusal  and  copies  of 
my  other  letters  relating  to  this  subject,  in  order  to  enable  me  to  take  other 
measores  which  the  interests  of  the  company  immediately  require.  As  for 
the  charts  and  jonmals  which  yon  think  it  snperflnons  to  prepare  and  keep, 
I  had  already  the  honor  to  mention  in  my  first  oommunication  that  they  are 
considered  indispensable  in  the  comnany*s  office.  Yon  cannot  bnt  acknowl- 
edge that  in  the  science  of  practical  navigation  I  have  never  attempted  to 
interfere  with  you,  but  have  only  made  you  acquainted,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary, with  the  views  of  the  company  and  of  the  government  in  regard  to 
certain  voyages  of  discovery  to  be  made  during  the  present  summer;  and  if 
it  insults  your  honor  to  receive  such  information  through  the  mouth  of  a 
merchant^  a  class  of  people  whom  you  consider  as  far  beneath  you,  I  can  only 
be  Borry  that  I  am  prevented  from  ^ving  you  the  satisfaction  which  you  per- 
haps desire,  on  account  of  being  neither  in  the  military  nor  the  naval  service 
of  the  government,  and  not  even  holding  any  civil  position  or  rank.  At  the 
same  time,  I  take  the  liberty  of  informmg  you  that  we  are  a  company  of 
merchants,  accustomed  to  commercial  usages  only,  and  exacting  business-like 
b^iavior  on  the  part  of  our  servants.  If  you  leally  had  no  idea  of  this  on 
leaving  the  admiralty  college,  you  certainly  cannot  have  failed  to  under- 
stand the  character  of  our  enterprise  when  sisning  the  mutual  agreement 
before  the  commanding  officer  at  Okhotsk,  and  nave  had  every  opportunity 
of  acquainting  yourself  with  the  nature  of  your  engagement  during  your 
passage  on  the  Iknika  and  on  the  Orfi,  Now  that  you  are  navigating  one  of 
our  vessels  on  the  coast  of  America,  you  have  no  choice  but  either  to  obey 
our  instructions  (even  though  it  come  from  a  person  without  official  rank), 
or  to  give  up  the  whole  business  and  revoke  the  contract.  The  arranffements 
oonceming  your  entrance  into  our  service  were  made  by  higher  authorities 
than  yours  or  mine,  and  how  the  proposal  to  revoke  them  would  be  received 
by  them  I  cannot  tell.  In  conclusion,  I  would  ask  you  again  either  to  send 
me  a  peremptory  written  refusal,  or  to  comply  with  the  instructions  drawn  up 
by  me,  in  conformity  with  the  views  of  the  government  and  of  the  managing 
partnerB  of  the  company.  Hoping  that  you  will  soon  honor  me  with  a  com- 
munication on  this  subject,  I  remain  with  due  respect,  dear  sir,  your  honor's 
obedient  servant^  Alexander  Baranof.'  Id.^  ii.  app.  part  ii.  125^30.  This 
letter,  so  |K>lite  and  yet  so  brimming  with  satire,  affords  us  another  insight 
into  the  mind  of  the  '  common  trader,'  despised  by  his  military  or  naval  sub- 
ordinates. The  allusion  to  his  regrets  at  being  unable  to  give  Talin  the  *  sat- 
isfaction of  a  gentleman '  is  especially  pertinent,  coming  from  one  as  brave  at 
Baraoof  was  oiown  to  be. 


304  THE  FOUNDING  OF  SITKA. 

pan}''  to  send  from  Kussia  some  one  to  relieve  hiin. 
As  we  shall  see,  this  request  was  repeated  several 
times  during  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years  before  a 
successor  finally  reached  the  colonies,  though  two  were 
appointed  meanwhile,  but  were  shipwrecked  on  the 
way.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  chief  cause  of 
his  dissatisfaction  was  the  unpleasant  relations  with 
the  naval  officers  and  the  intrigues  of  the  mission- 
aries, though  his  failing  health  and  the  condition  of 
his  finances  were  additional  reasons.^ 

Believing  the  Sitka  settlement  to  be  now  firmly 
established  and  safe  from  hostile  attacks,  Baranof  re- 
turned to  Kadiak  in  the  autumn  of  1800.  But  prior 
to  his  return  he  made  an  official  visit  to  various  set- 
tlements, an  account  of  which  I  give  in  his  own  words. 

Writing  to  Larionof,  the  agent  at  Unalaska,  in  July 
of  this  year,  he  says:  '*0n  Kenai  Bay  at  Ilyamna 
Lake  the  rebellious  tribes  have  killed  three  of  our 
men  since  Lebedef  s  people  departed.  Our  establish- 
ments on  the  gulf  of  Kenai  have  been  broken  up  three 
times,  and  a  conspiracy  has  been  discovered  to  destroy 
all  places  occupied  by  Russians,  and  to  kill  them  as 
well  as  the  natives  of  Kadiak  in  their  employ;  and 
we  have  not  been  able  as  yet  entirely  to  suppress  the 
spirit  of  rebellion.  But  the  saddest  news  of  all,  and 
the  most  disastrous  to  us,  is  of  the  wreck  of  the  Feniksy 

7  His  pecuniary  affiiira  at  this  time  were  in  an  unsatisfactory  state.  '  Of 
9,000  roubles  which  I  had  left  in  the  hands  of  Kretcheotzaff,'  he  writes,  'only 
one  half  has  been  returned,  and  I  have  met  with  losses  in  other  Quarters.  If 
I  were  to  return  to  Siberia  now,  I  would  not  be  a  rouble  better  off  than  I  was 
when  I  came  to  this  countrv.  The  slass  factory  in  Irkutsk  in  which  I  had  in- 
vested 4,000  roubles  has  fallen  into  decay,  and  the  stock  gone  into  possession  of 
my  former  partner,  Lackman.  I  inquired  concerning  the  sale  of  the  property 
of  my  late  wife,  but  never  received  an  answer.  This  is  the  way,  my  friend,  aU 
the  little  property  I  had,  and  left  in  charge  of  my  wife  .and  friendis,  has  been 
scattered.  Some  of  it  has  been  absorbed  bv  unjust  claims  advanced  by  Shar- 
ikof  and  Lebedef.  For  this  reason  it  would  be  advisable  that  I  should  return 
henco  before  I  am  left  entirely  destitute  in  my  old  age.  But  unfortunately, 
the  shareholders  have  paid  no  attention  to  my  demand  for  a  successor,  and 
I  cannot  conscientiously  abandon  my  position  and  duties  without  leaving  some 
one  in  my  place,  as  such  action  might  involve  the  company  in  inextricable 
difficulties.  For  the  proper  management  of  afiairs  here,  a  man  in  the  prime 
of  life,  in  the  enjoyment  of  full  health  and  all  his  faculties,  is  required,  and  not 
a  i^erson  worn  out  with  hardship  and  fatigue,  and  with  a  temper  soured  by 
adversity.' 


THE  DIKECTOR'S  TRAVELS.  395 

and  the  loss  of  the  whole  cargo  and  all  on  board. 
For  two  months  portions  of  the  wreck  have  been  cast 
on  the  beach  in  various  localities,  but  the  exact  place 
of  the  disaster  remains  unknown. 

"  I  set  out  in  person  in  July,  first  for  the  gulf  of  Ke- 
nai,  to  subdue  the  rebellious  tribes,  and  the  remnant 
of  the  Lebedef  Company,  who  had  killed  over  a  hun- 
dred people  between  them,  and  had  divided  them- 
selves into  several  bands  of  robbers.  Many  of  them 
threatened  our  men  on  the  Kaknu  River,  which  sta- 
tion they  had  occupied  after  the  breaking-up  of  the 
Lebedef  Company,  but  fortunately  the  leaders  of  the 
conspiracy  dispersed  upon  my  arrival,  and  though  the 
combination  was  not  entirely  dissolved,  I  succeeded 
in  obtaining  several  hostages  for  the  safety  of  our 
agent  in  command,  Vassili  Malakhof,  but  in  the  more 
distant  settlements  there  is  still  a  strong  inclination 
to  warfare  and  plunder.  I  remained  there  until  the 
15  th  of  August,  making  necessary  arrangements  to  in- 
sure the  safety  of  the  place  by  strengthening  its  for- 
tifications. I  also  selected  a  more  convenient  site  for 
the  fort,  made  a  plan  in  accordance  with  the  local 
facilities,  and  left  its  execution  to  the  agent  Malakhof; 
and  after  collecting  all  the  furs  at  the  station,  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  those  of  small  land-animals,  I  proceeded 
to  Fort  Alexandrofisk  at  the  entrance  of  the  gulf. 
Here  I  furnished  the  agent  Ostrogin  with  further  in- 
structions, and  sailed  again  on  the  30th  of  August, 
shaping  my  course  for  the  redoubt  at  Voskressenski 
Bay.  Thence  I  proceeded  to  Nuchek  Island,  where  I 
made  a  searching  investigation  of  everything,  and  es- 
tablished the  fort  St  Koustantin  upon  a  new  site. 
I  also  had  several  interviews  with  the  natives,  and 
placed  my  assistant  Kuskof  in  command  of  that  re- 
gion." 

"Concerning  the  new  settlement  at  Sitka,"  the  man- 
ager says,  for  I  cannot  do  better  than  permit  him 
to  continue  his  story,  "I  thought  there  would  be 
no  danger  with   proper  protection   from   the  larger 


396  THE  FOUNDING  OP  SITKA. 

vessels,  though  the  natives  there  possess  large  quan- 
tities of  fire-arms  and  all  kinds  of  ammunition,  receiv- 
ing new  supplies  annually  from  the  English  and 
from  the  republicans  of  Boston  and  -America,  whose 
object  is  not  permanent  settlement  on  these  shores, 
but  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  making  trading 
trips  to  these  regions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
fruits  of  the  discoveries  of  Kussian  navigators  may 
not  be  enjoyed  by  European  or  other  companies,  de- 
priving us  of  our  hard-earned  advantages.  I  trust 
that  God  in  his  justice  will  allow  us  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  our  enterprise,  and  as,  with  his  help,  I,  an 
ignorant  subject,  have  been  able  to  add  something  to 
the  vast  dominion  of  his  imperial  Majesty,  we  must 
hope  that  we  shall  find  the  means  to  preserve  our  new 
possessions  intact,  and  make  them  profitable. 

"At  the  settlement  of  Yakutat  I  found  nothing  but 
trouble  and  disorder  in  every  department.  This  was 
partly  owing  to  the  old  diflficulties  between  Polomosh- 
noi®  and  your  brother  Stepan,  who  was  appointed 
assistant  manager  in  1796.  During  the  first  winter 
thirteen  of  the  twenty-five  hunters  and  seven  of  the 
settlers  died  of  scurvy,  besides  women  and  children. 
Polomoshnoi  had  written  a  whole  ream  of  trash  and 
nonsense  which  he  forwarded  to  Kadiak,  the  whole 
report  containing  only  what  one  settler  had  said  of 
another,  what  the  settlers  had  said  of  the  hunters,  and 
the  threats  made  by  the  latter  against  his  life.  In 
conclusion,  he  asked  to  be  relieved.  The  wish  was  com- 
plied with,  and  Nikolai  Moukhin,  who  was  thought 
to  possess  considerable  administrative  abiUty,  was  sent 
as  his  substitute.  I  had  all  the  property  forwarded 
to  Yakutat  on  behalf  of  the  settlers  transferred  to  him, 
though  it  was  almost  impossible  to  obtain  any  clear 
statement  with  regard  to  it  from  the  confused  mass  of 
papers  left  by  Polomoshnoi.  His  reports  spoke  of 
many  acts  of  cruelty  and  abuse  committed  by  the 
hunters,  and  he  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  appoint  a 

"  Baranof  had  not  yet  heard  of  Polomoshnoi's  d«ath. 


BARANOFS  LETTERS.  307 

commission  to  investigate  the  charges;  but  as  the  mem- 
bers of  the  commission  were  all  ignorant  settlers  who 
were  interested  in  the  case,  they  did  nothing  beyond 
getting  up  a  voluminous  pile  of  testimony  which 
amounts  to  nothing  but  empty  words.  Several  times 
I  was  on  the  point  of  solvmg  all  diflSculties  by  dis- 
banding the  settlement;  but  better  thoughts  prevailed, 
and  remembering  the  importance  of  the  success  of 
this  experiment  to  the  company  and  to  the  country 
at  large,  I  did  my  best  to  restore  order  and  reconcile 
the  parties  involved. 

"The  tribes  Uving  in  the  vicinity  of  our  Sitka  set- , 
tlement  at  first  met  us  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  but 
of  late  they  have  displayed  some  distrust,  and  when 
our  men  had  formed  a  procession  during  holy  week  in 
honor  of  the  emperor,  they  thought  we  were  preparing 
for  a  fight,  and  seized  our  interpreter,  who  happened 
to  be  in  the  native  village.  The  procession  was  con- 
ducted with  great  solemnity  and  pomp,  and  after  it 
had  been  disbanded,  our  men  went  through  some  mil- 
itary evolutions,  all  of  which  had  been  witnessed  by  the 
chiefs  of  the  savages,  who  listened  frowningly  to  our 
discharges  of  musketry  and  artillery;  but  all  this  dis- 
play did  not  induce  them  to  give  up  the  interpreter, 
and  some  property  which  they  had  stolen;  and  I  found 
it  necessary  to  assure  them  that  we  were  not  afraid  of 
them.    Therefore,  on  the  third  day  I  proceeded  to  the 

1)rincipal  village  with  twenty-two  men,  landed  fear- 
essly  on  the  beach,  and  placed  two  small  cannon  in 
front  of  their  houses.  Over  three  hundred  armed  men 
surrounded  us,  but  we  marched  directly  to  the  house 
where  the  prisoner  was  reported  to  be.  We  fired  a  few 
blank  .volleys  to  keep  the  crowd  in  awe,  and  seized  a 
few  men  who  seemed  inclined  to  offer  resistance.  Our 
determined  attitude  held  the  people  in  check,  and 
when  we  had  accomplished  our  object  and  released  the 
prisoner,  they  began  to  ridicule  the  affair,  bandying 
words  with  our  men,  and  offering  them  food.  I  re- 
joiced in  having  accomplished  my  end  without  blood- 


398  THE  FOUNDING  OF  SITKA. 

shed,  and  made  up  my  mind  not  to  allow  the  slightest 
offence  on  their  part  to  pass  unnoticed  in  the  future." 

The  admixture  of  busmess  and  piety  in  this  despatch 
is  somewhat  noteworthy.  "With  God's  help,"  he 
writes,  "our  men  killed  40  sea-lions  and  150  seals 
during  the  winter."  Speaking  of  the  hunter  Mikhail, 
whom  he  had  ordered  to  travel  around  Kadiak  "for 
the  purpose  of  taking  a  census  of  that  island,  and  to 
make  presents  to  the  leading  men  among  the  Aleuts 
of  tobacco  and  other  trifles,"  he  remarks,  "  I  thought 
this  course  of  action  best,  in  view  of  the  misfortune 
which  had  happened  last  year,  as  I  wrote  to  you 
from  Sitka;  and  with  Gkxi's  help,  he  succeeded  so  well 
in  his  mission  that  the  necessary  number  of  men  were 
obtained  in  all  districts,  from  the  first  to  the  last,  even 
to  bird-hunting  parties." 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  Larionof,  dated  March  22, 
1801,  the  chief  manager  thus  expresses  his  gratitude: 
"  The  All-creator  of  the  world,  m  his  infinite  mercy, 
has  overlooked  and  forgiven  our  sins,  and  tempered 
the  cruel  blows  of  misfortune  with  success  in  sea-otter 
hunting.  In  the  three  years  which  have  elapsed 
since  the  arrival  of  the  last  transport,  we  have  col- 
lected over  4,000  skins  of  sea-otters — males,  females, 
and  yearlings,  besides  cubs.  The  skins  secured  at 
Nuchek  and  Sitka  will  probably  amount  to  nearly 
4,000,  with  the  help  of  God.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
trappers  have  had  but  little  success,  on  account  of  the 
unfavorable  weather  during  the  winter;  and,  as  you 
see  from  the  statement,  only  1,500  skins  were  obtained 
from  that  source,  while  in  former  years  from  2,000 
to  2,500  was  the  average  number."^ 

Baranof 's  complaints  of  foreign  encroachment  ap- 
pear to  have  been  well  grounded.  Within  a  few 
leagues  of  Sitka  the  captains  of  three  Boston  ships 
secured  2,000  skins,  though  paying  very  high  prices, 
each   one  trying  to  outbid  the  other.     For  a  sin- 

*In  1800  the  skins  obtained  from  Sitka  amounted  to  2,600,  and  for  the 
whole  colony  to  3,500.  Khkhnikof,  Shizn,  Barmiova,  62. 


AMERICANS  AND  ENGLISHMEN.  309 

gle  skin  they  gave  cloth  worth  twenty-eight  roubles, 
or  three  coats  of  frieze  lined  with  cotton.  In 
the  same  neighborhood  two  skins  were  formerly 
bartered  for  cloth  valued  at  ten  and  a  half  roubles. 
"  The  Americans,"  writes  the  chief  manager,  "  who 
have  been  acquainted  with  these  tribes  for  two  or 
three  years,  and  have  sent  from  six  to  eight  ships 
each  year,  speak  of  the  trade  as  follows :  *  The  Amer- 
ican republic  is  greatly  in  need  of  Chinese  goods,  the 
Chinese  teas,  the  various  silk  materials  and  other 
products  of  that  country,  which  had  formerly  to  be 
purchased  for  coin,  the  Spanish  silver  dollar  exclu- 
sively, but  since  these  shores  have  been  discovered, 
with  their  abundance  of  furs,  they  were  no  longer 
obliged  to  take  coin  with  them,  but  loaded  their  ves- 
sels with  full  cargoes  of  European  goods  and  products 
of -their  own  country,  which  are  easier  obtained  than 
coin.' "  After  touching  on  the  political  complications 
that  marked  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
Baranof  continues:  "  The  resources  of  this  region  are 
such  that  millions  may  be  made  there  for  our  country 
with  proper  management  in  the  future,  but  for  over 
ten  years  from  six  to  ten  English  and  American  ves- 
sels have  called  here  every  year.  It  is  safe  to  calcu- 
late an  average  of  2,000  skins  on  eight,  or  say  six 
vessels,  which  would  make  12,000  a  year,  and  if  we 
even  take  10,000  as  a  minimum,  it  would  amount  in 
ten  years  to  100,000  skins,  which  at  the  price  at 
Canton  of  45  roubles  per  skin  would  amount  to 
4,500,000  roubles."^^ 

For  the  next  year  and  a  half,  little  worthy  of  record 
occurred  in  copnection  with  the  affairs  of  the  Russian 
American  Company.  A  number  of  agriculturists  and 
mechanics,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  company  by 
Count  Zubof,  arrived  at  Kadiak,  together  with  a  reen- 

"  /(£.,  ii.  app.  part  ii.  145-8.  The  total  value  of  furs  shipped  by  the  She- 
likof-Golikof  tfompany  between  1786  and  1797  was  only  1,479,600  roubles. 
Berg,  Kronol,  let,,  169. 


400  THE  FOUNDINO  OP  STTKA. 

forcement  of  missionaries.  The  chief  manager  has 
little  to  report,  save  that  he  has  succeeded  in  bringing 
into  friendly  relations  with  the  Russians  a  number  of 
tribes,  among  whom,  as  he  supposed,  were  the  Kolosh, 
The  question  of  boundaries  between  the  Russian  and 
British  American  possessions  had  been  mooted,  how- 
ever, almost  from  the  time  that  Spain  ceded  Nootka 
to  the  English,  and  Baranof  feared  that  his  people 
might  be  driven  from  their  settlements/^  although 
their  right  of  discovery  knd  occupation  north  of  the 
55th  parallel  left  little  room  for  dispute.  He  begs 
the  governor  of  Irkutsk  to  intercede  with  the  emperor, 
more  especially  in  relation  to  the  establishment  of  an 
agricultural  settlement,  for  it  was  useless  to  select  a 
site  until  some  definite  action  was  taken/^  and  the 
colony  at  Cape  St  Elias  was  of  no  benefit. 

^^  The  Engliah  claimed  Ltaft  fiay,  and  even  the  gulf  of  Kenal  and  Prince 
William  Sound. 

^*  In  this  despatch  Baranof  says:  'Oar  greatest  need  ii  now  skilled  naviga- 
tors, since  of  five  vessels  in  American  waters  only  one  has  an  experienced 
master,  and  he  is  in  poor  health.' 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   SITKA   MASSACRE. 

1802. 

RuMOBS  OF  Revolt  amono  the  Kolosh— They  Attack  Fort  Sv  MikhaYl— 
Testimony  of  Abbossim  Plotnikop — And  of  Ekaterina  Lebedef  — 
Sttrois*  Equivocal  Statement — Captain  Barber  as  a  Philanthro- 
pist—Khlebnikof*s  Version  of  the  Massacre — Secret  Instructions 
to  Baranof — Tidings  from  Unalaska— Further  Promotion  of  the 
Chief  Manager— He  Determines  to  Recapture  Sitka— Prepara- 
tions FOR  the  Expedition. 

Baranof's  hope  that  the  Kolosh  were  at  length 
finally  pacified  proved  to  be  ill  founded.  Although 
he  was  not  aware  of  it,  disaffection  had  long  been  rife 
among  the  warlike  nations  of  Sitka  and  of  the  main- 
land, in  the  vicinity  of  the  Yakutat  settlement.  It  is 
said  that  the  hostile  spirit  was  fostered  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  American  traders,  who  supplied  the  savages 
with  fire-arms,  ammunition,  and  intoxicating  drink. 
Rumors  had  reached  the  commanders  of  both  Sitka 
and  Yakutat  that  an  organized  attack  was  contem- 
plated on  the  Russian  strongholds;  but  as  the  chiefs 
in  their  vicinity  continued  to  profess  friendship,  and 
as  traffic  was  carried  on  as  usual,  the  agents  paid 
httle  heed  to  the  repeated  warnings.  No  change  was- 
made  in  the  daily  routine  about  the  settlement.  Par- 
ties were  sent  out  to  cut  timber  in  the  forests,  and  to 
hunt  on  the  islands  and  bays.  Sentries  were  posted  in 
accordance  with  Baranof's  instructions,  but  as  the  force 
was  small  in  either  place,  only  the  si(jk  and  disabled 
were  selected  for  such  duty,  and  it  was  therefore  per- 
formed in  the  most  inefficient  manner.     In  the  mean. 

HXBT.  AUk&SA.     26  ( iOl )  * 


402  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

time,  the  savages  had  matured  their  plans.  Allies 
had  been  secured  from  all  the  villages  throughout  the 
Alexander  Archipelago,  and  from  the  populous  valley 
of  the  Stakhin  River,  and  during  the  summer  of  1802 
the  blow  was  struck  which  swept  from  earth  the  in- 
fant colony. 

The  exact  date  of  the  Sitka  massacre  is  not  known; 
the  only  survivors  were  Russian  laborers  and  natives, 
who  were  so  terrified  as  to  have  taken  no  note  of  time. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  event  occurred  in  the 
month  of  June.  The  best  statements  of  this  incident 
are  contained  in  depositions  made  by  the  few  survivors 
in  the  office  of  the  company's  agent  at  Kadiak.^  They 
were  rude,  ignorant  men,  and  their  ideas  and  words 
are  crude;  but  they  are  better  for  the  purpose  than 
mine  would  be,  and  I  will  not  mar  their  testimony  by 
another  rendering. 

Abrossin  Plotnikof,  a  hunter,  who  was  among  those 
who  were  rescued,  testified  as  follows :  "  In  this  present 
year,  1802,  about  the  24th  day  of  June — I  do  not  re- 
member the  exact  date,  but  it  was  a  holiday — about 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  went  to  the  river  to 
look  after  our  calves,  as  I  had  been  detailed  by  the 
commander  of  the  fort,  Vassili  Medvednikof,  to  take 
care  of  the  cattle.  On  returning  soon  after,  I  noticed 
at  the  fort  a  great  multitude  of  Kolosh  people,  who 
had  not  only  surrounded  the  barracks  below,  but  were 
already  climbing  over  the  balcony  and  to  the  roof  with 
guns  and  cannon;  and  standing  upon  a  little  knoll  in 
front  of  the  out-houses  was  the  Sitka  toyon,  or  chief, 
Mikhail,  giving  orders  to  those  who  were  around  the 
barracks,  and  shouting  to  some  people  in  canoes  not  far 
away,  to  make  haste  and  assist  in  the  fight.  In 
answer  to  his  shouts,  sixty-two  canoes  emerged  from 
behind  points  of  rocks.  Even  if  I  had  reached  the 
barracks,  they  were  already  closed  and   barricaded, 

*  These  enrvivors  were  carried  to  Kadiak  by  Captain  Barber,  the  com- 
mander of  an  English  vessel,  who,  aa  will  be  seen,  played  a  somewhat  am- 
biguous role  in  the  tragedy. 


PLOTNIKOF'S  STORY.  403 

and  there  was  no  safety  outside;  therefore  I  rushed 
away  to  the  cattle-yard,  where  I  had  a  gun.  I  only 
waited  to  tell  a  girl,  who  was  employed  in  the  yard, 
to  take  her  little  child  and  fly  to  the  woods,  when, 
seizing  my  gun,  I  closed  up  the  shed.  Very  soon 
after  this  four  Kolosh  came  to  the  door  and  knocked 
three  times.  As  soon  as  I  ran  out  of  the  shed  they 
seized  me  by  the  coat  and  took  my  gun  from  me. 
I  was  compelled  to  leave  both  in  their  hands,  and 
jumping  through  a  window,  ran  past  the  fort  and  hid 
in  the  thick  underbrush  of  the  forest,  though  two 
Kolosh  ran  after  me,  but  could  not  find  me  in  the 
woods.  Soon  after,  I  emerged  from  the  underbrush, 
and  approached  the  barracks  to  see  if  the  attack  had 
been  repulsed,  but  I  saw  that  not  only  the  barracks, 
but  the  ship  recently  built,  the  warehouse  and  sheds, 
the  cattle-sheds,  bath-house,  and  other  small  buildings 
had  been  set  on  fire,  and  were  already  in  full  blaze. 
The  sea-otter  skins  and  other  property  of  the  company, 
as  well  as  the  private  property  of  the  commander  Med- 
vednikof  and  the  hunters,  the  savages  were  throw- 
ing to  the  ground  from  the  balcony  on  the  water  side, 
while  others  seized  them  and  carried  them  to  the 
canoes,  which  were  close  to  the  fort." 

After  mentioning  that  there  were  sixteen  men  in 
the  barracks,  and  giving  the  names  of  others  who  were 
absent  on  hunting  or  fishing  expeditions,  he  continues: 
"All  at  once  I  saw  two  Kolosh  running  toward  me 
armed  with  guns  and  lances,  and  I  was  compelled  to 
hide  again  in  the  woods.  I  threw  myself  down  among 
the  underbrush  on  the  edge  of  the  forest,  covering 
myself  with  pieces  of  bark.  From  there  I  saw 
Nakvassin  drop  from  the  upper  balcony  and  run 
toward  the  woods ;  but  when  nearly  across  the  open 
space  he  fell  to  the  ground,  and  four  warriors  rushed 
up  and  carried  him  back  to  the  barracks  on  the  points 
of  their  lances  and  cut  off  his  head.  Kabanof  was 
dragged  from  the  barracks  into  the  street,  where  the 
Kolosh  pierced  him  with  their  lances;  but  how  the 


404  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

other  Russians  who  were  there  came  to  their  end  I 
do  not  know.  The  slaughter  and  incendiarism  were 
continued  by  the  savages  until  the  evening,  but  finally 
I  stole  out  among  the  ruins  and  ashes,  and  in  my 
wanderings  came  across  some  of  our  cows,  and  saw 
that  even  the  poor  dumb  animals  had  not  escaped  the 
blood-thirsty  fiends,  having  spears  stuck  in  their  sides. 
Exercising  all  my  strength,  I  was  barely  able  to  pull 
out  some  of  the  spears,  when  I  was  observed  by  two 
Kolosh,  and  compelled  to  leave  the  cows  to  their  fate 
and  hide  again  in  the  w^oods. 

"I  passed  the  night  not  far  from  the  ruins  of  the 
fort.  In  the  morning  I  heard  the  report  of  a  cannon 
and  looked  out  of  the  brush,  but  could  see  nobody, 
and  not  wishing  to  expose  myself  again  to  further 
danger,  went  higher  up  the  mountain  through  the 
forest.  While  advancing  cautiously  through  the 
woods,  I  met  two  other  persons  who  were  in  the 
same  condition  as  myself:  a  girl  from  the  Chiniatz 
village,  Kadiak,  with  an  infant  on  her  breast,  and  a 
man  from  Kiliuda  village,  who  had  been  left  behind 
by  the  hunting  party  on  account  of  sickness.  I  took 
them  both  with  me  to  the  mountain,  but  each  night 
I  went  to  the  ruins  of  the  fort  w4th  my  companions, 
and  bewailed  the  fate  of  the  slain.  In  this  miser- 
able condition  we  remained  for  eight  days,  without 
anything  to  eat  and  nothing  but  water  to  drink. 
About  noon  of  the  last  day  we  heard  from  the  moun- 
tain two  cannon-shots,  which  raised  some  hope  in  me, 
and  I  told  my  companions  to  follow  me  at  a  little 
distance,  and  then  went  down  toward  the  river 
through  the  woods  to  hide  myself  near  the  shore,  and 
see  whether  there  was  a  ship  in  the  bay.  When  I 
reached  the  beach  I  saw  behind  a  small  island  a  ves- 
sel which  looked  to  me  like  our  Ehaterinay  but  when 
I  came  to  our  harbor  which  overlooked  the  entire 
bay  I  found  that  it  was  not  the  Ekatei^ina^  but  an 
Eni^lish  ship. 

*'I  then  ascended  the  rock  where  a  tent  had  been 


EESCUE  OF  THE  SURVIVORS.  403 

set  up  when  the  chief  manager  was  present,  and 
shouted  for  help.  Some  Kolosh,  who  were  near  the 
river,  heard  my  voice,  and  six  of,  them  had  almost 
reached  me  before  I  saw  them,  and  I  barely  succeeded 
in  escaping  from  them  and  hiding  in  the  woods. 
Thus  I  had  been  chased  three  times  by  the  savages. 
They  drove  me  to  another  point  on  the  beach,  near 
the  cape,  where  again  I  hailed  the  ship,  and  to  my 
great  joy  a  boat  put  off  from  the  vessel  to  the  place 
where  I  was  standing.  I  had  barely  time  to  jump 
into  it  when  the  Kolosh  in  pursuit  of  me  came  in 
sight  again,  but  when  they  saw  I  was  already  in  the 
boat,  thej^  went  away  again.  The  commander  of  the 
vessel  was  in  the  boat,  and  when  we  had  got  on 
board,  I  gave  him  a  full  account  of  the  sad  disaster, 
and  asked  him  to  save  the  girl  with  her  infant  son, 
and  the  man  whom  I  had  left  ashore,  and  showed 
them  the  place  where  I  had  told  the  girl  and  man  to 
hide.  The  captain  at  once  despatched  an  armed  yawl, 
and  fortunately  we  hit  upon  the  very  spot  where  they 
were  hiding,  and  they  were  taken  into  the  boat  and 
brought  on  board  the  ship.  The  boat  was  sent  off 
again  immediately  to  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  and 
soon  returned,  to  my  great  astonishment,  with  Batu- 
rin,  another  Russian,  whom  I  recognized  with  un- 
speakable joy,  and  we  soon  related  to  each  other  our 
experience. 

"  We  asked  the  commander  of  the  ship  to  escort  us 
to  the  site  of  the  destroyed  fort,  to  see  if  anything 
had  been  spared  by  the  savages.  He  very  kindly 
consented,  had  the  yawl  manned  again,  got  in  him- 
self, and  took  me  with  him.  When  we  arrived  at  the 
ruins  he  examined  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  all  of  which 
were  without  heads,  except  Kabanof,  and  we  buried 
them.  Of  property,  we  found  nothing  but  the  melted 
barrel  of  a  brass  gun,  and  a  broken  cannon,  which  we 

Eicked  up  and  brought  to  the  ship.     When  we  had 
een  on  board  the  ship  three  days,  two  bidarkas  came 
from  the  shore  with  the  Sitkan  chief,  Mikhail,  and 


406  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

his  nephew.  The  former  asked  the  captain  if  there 
were  any  Russians  on  board,  and  whether  he  wished  to 
trade.  The  captain  said  nothing  of  our  presence,  and 
.  with  friendly  words  coaxed  him  on  board,  together 
with  his  nephew,  and  the  Kolosh  girl  who  had  been 
in  Kuzmichefs  service  at  the  settlement.  At  our 
request,  the  captain  seized  the  chief  and  his  nephew, 
and  ordered  them  to  be  kept  in  confinement,  ironed 
hand  and  foot,  until  all  the  persons  captured  at  the 
time  of  the  destruction  of  the  settlement  had  been 
given  up.  The  chief  told  his  men  who  had  remained 
in  the  bidarkas  to  go  and  bring  them.  After  that 
they  began  to  restore  our  servant-girls  and  children, 
not  all  at  once,  however,  but  one  by  one.  Finally, 
the  captain  told  the  chief  that  if  he  did  not  give  up  at 
once  all  the  prisoners  in  his  hands,  he  would  hang 
him,  and  in  order  to  frighten  him,  the  necessary 
preparations  for  the  execution  were  made. 

"In  the  mean  time  two  other  English  ships  entered 
the  bay  and  anchored  close  to  each  other.  With  the 
captain  of  one  of  them  wo  were  somewhat  acquainted, 
as  he  had  once  wintered  with  his  vessel  near  our  fort. 
This  was  the  Abetz.^  The  Kolosh  put  off  to  the  two 
ships  in  many  canoes,  and  when  the  commander  of  the 
Abetz  learned  of  our  misfortunes,  he  held  a  consulta- 
tion with  the  captains  of  the  other  vessels.  As  the 
savages  approached  in  their  canoes  he  fired  grape-shot 
at  them  from  the  cannon,  destroying  several.  Some 
of  the  occupants  reached  the  shore,  while  many  were 
drowned.  Several  of  the  Kolosh  the  captain  of  the 
Abetz  kept  as  prisoners,  and  by  that  means  succeeded 

'Probably  the  i4/er«,  Captain  Ebbets,  from  Boston.  Plotnikof  was  evi- 
dently uuablo  to  distinguish  captains*  and  ships*  names,  or  oven  nationalities. 
The  sliip  commanded  by  Barber  must  have  been  the  Unicorn,  mentioned  in 
the  list  of  vessels  wintering  on  the  coast  in  1801,  iaSturffia*  A'arr.,  MS.,  7, 
as  hailing  from  London.  The  Alert  first  appears  in  the  Sturgis  list  in  1S02, 
but  as  it  registered  there  with  2,000  sea-otter  skins  on  board,  the  vessel  must 
have  i-eachcd  the  coast  previous  to  that  time.  In  the  list  of  north-west 
traders  made  by  James  G.  Swan,  I  find  the  ship  Alerts  Captain  Bowles,  in 
1799,  while  it  occurs  again  in  ISOl  nnder  command  of  Captain  Ebbets.  The 
Unicorn^  C^aptain  Barber,  must  have  escaped  Mr  Swan*s  notice,  though  she 
made  several  visits  to  the  coast. 


EKATERINA'S  STATEMENT.  407 

in  obtaining  the  release  of  a  few  more  of  the  captured 
women.  As  soon  as  the  Kolosh  discovered  what  had 
been  done,  they  would  not  visit  the  ships  any  more; 
but  from  the  girls  we  learned  that  they  held  prisoner 
one  of  our  men,  Taradanof.  We  asked  the  captain 
not  to  release  the  chief;  and  when  the  Kolosh  saw 
that  he  and  his  nephew  were  not  set  at  liberty,  they 
brought  us  Taradanof,  four  more  women,  and  a  largo 
number  of  sea-otter  skins.  After  taking  Taradanof 
and  the  women  on  board,  the  captain  released  the  chief 
and  his  nephew,  though  we  entreated  him  not  to  do 
so,  but  to  take  them  to  Kadiak.  Both  at  Sitka  and 
on  the  voyage  the  captain  supplied  us  with  clothing 
and  abundant  food.  The  commanders  of  the  other  ves- 
sels also  made  us  presents  of  clothing,  as  we  had  lost 
everything." 

.  Of  another  statement  concerning  this  affair,  I  will 
make  an  abstract.  Ekaterina,  wife  of  the  Russian 
Zakhar  Lebedef,  testified  as  follows:  "She  was  in  the 
street  of  Fort  Sv  Mikhail  at  noon — the  day  and  month 
she  did  not  know — near  the  ladder  which  led  to  the 
upper  story  where  the  commander  Medvednikof 
lived.  She  heard  a  Russian  shouting,  but  could  not 
distinguish  the  words.  A  man  named  Tumakaief  ran 
from  the  kitchen  and  told  her  to  hasten  to  the  bar- 
racks, as  the  Kolosh  were  coming  with  guns.  While 
he  was  still  speaking,  all  the  Russians  and  women 
who  had  been  in  the  street  ran  into  the  barracks.  The 
doors  were  then  barricaded;  but  from  the  windows 
we  saw  an  immense  crowd  of  Kolosh  approaching, 
and  they  soon  surrounded  the  barracks,  armed -with 
guns  and  lances." 

The  witness  then  gives  the  names  of  those  who 
were  within  the  barracks,  and  also  of  those  who  were 
absent,  agreeing  in  this  part  of  her  statement  with 
Plotnikot",  and  continues:  "When  the  Kolosh  came 
up  they  at  once  ruslied  at  the  windows  and  began  a 
continuous  fire,  while  the  doors  were  soon  broken 
down  in  spite  of  those  inside.     Among  the  first  who 


403  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

were  hit  were  the  commander  and  Tumakof ;  others 
were  also  wounded,  when  the  rest  were  ordered  to 
the  upper  story,  but  though  they  kept  up  a  constant 
fire,  they  could  not  do  much.  When  the  Kolosh 
broke  into  the  building,  Tumakof,  though  wounded, 
fired  the  cannon  at  the  entrance  and  killed  a  few 
Kolosh;  whereupon  the  remainder  retreated  a  little. 
It  was  soon  evident  that  there  was  not  ammunition 
enough  for  the  cannon  in  the  lower  story,  and  to  get 
a  new  supply,  one  of  the  men  broke  through  the  ceil- 
ing between  the  upper  and  lower  stories,  when  flames 
came  through  the  opening  and  suffocating  smoke. 
When  the  fire  spread  in  the  lower  story  the  women 
were  thrust  into  the  basement;  but  soon  afterward 
some  of  the  Russians  again  fired  the  cannon,  and  the 
concussion  broke  the  door  leading  from  the  basement 
into  the  street.  The  women  then  ran  out  and  were 
seized  by  the  Kolosh  and  carried  to  the  canoes  which 
lay  close  by.  Thence  they  could  see  the  Russians 
jumping  down  into  the  street  when  the  fire  drove 
them  out.  There  the^'-  were  caught  and  pierced  with 
lances."^ 

■  Tihhmenef,  Istor,  Ohos.y  ii.  app.  part  ii.  174-9.  The  account  of  Stnrq^, 
captain  of  the  Caroline^  for  ycracity  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  information 
mvcn  of  the  Russians  by  American  and  English  ship  captains  of  that  day. 
Knowing  the  facts,  it  is  not  possible  that  the  writer  Intended  to  tell  the 
truth.  *In  the  year  1700,'  he  says,  *the  Russians  from  Kamchatka  had 
formed  an  establishment  at  Norfolk  Sound,  consisting  of  30  Russians  and  700 
or  800  natives  of  Kadiuk  and  Uualaska,  for  the  purpose  of  killing  sea-otters 
and  other  animals.  They  had  built  a  strong  fort,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 
the  natives,  who  had  notwithstanding  conducted  themselves  in  a  peaceable 
maimer,  probably  awed  by  the  superior  power  of  the  invaders.  Much  to 
their  discredit,  the  Russians  did  not  adopt  the  same  conciliatory  conduct,  but 
on  some  real  or  pretended  suspicions  of  a  conspiracy,  pursued  the  most  san- 
guinary course  toward  these  people,  some  of  whom  were  massacred,  and  others 
Bcnt  into  captivity  to  Kadiak  Island.  Stimulated  to  revenge  by  the  loss  of 
friends  and  relatives,  and  finding  their  stores  of  wealth,  and  almost  of  subsist- 
ence, seized  by  strangers  settled  amongst  them  contrary  to  their  wishes,  the 
natives  formed  a  plan  to  attack  the  fort,  and  eitheroxterminate  their  oppress- 
ors at  a  blow  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  They  succeeded,  got  possession  of 
the  fort  by  surprise,  and  instantly  put  to  death  several  men  in  the  garrison. . . 
Previous  to  this,  the  ship  Jenny ^  of  Boston,  had  been  at  Norfolk  Sound, 
wlicre  seven  of  the  men  deserted  and  took  refuge  with  the  Russians.  The 
natives  knew  this,  and  willing  to  make  a  just  distinction  between  those  whom 
they  considered  as  commercial  friends  and  their  arbitrary  oppressors,  they 
sent  a  message  requesting  the  Americans  to  make  them  a  friendly  visit  fit 
their  village.    Six  of  them  accepted  the  invitation;  the  other  was  out  with  a 


^ 


DIFFERENT  VERSIONS,  409, 

When  all  was  over,  the  witness  was  taken  to  the 
winter  village  of  the  Kolosh,  where  she  was  treated 
as  a  slave.  During  her  presence  there,  a  messenger 
\vas  captured,  from  whom  the  savages  learned  of  the 
approach  of  a  large  Aleutian  hunting  party  under 
Kuskof.     An  armed  force  was  sent  to  overtake  and 

party  of  Kadiak  natives  hunting.  When  they  arriYed  at  the  vilkge,  the 
Indians  communicated  to  them  their  designs,  and  requested  their  assistance. 
This  they  declined  giving,  and  were  then  assured  that  no  injury  should  be 
offered  to  them,  but  were  at  the  same  time  informed  that  they  would  be  de- 
tained at  the  village  to  prevent  any  information  being  given  to  the  Russians 
of  what  was  intended.  From  the  time  of  their  successful  attack  on  the 
Russians,  the  Indians  constantly  protected  and  supplied  the  Americans  until 
two  American  and  one  English  ship  arrived,  about  twenty  days  later.  They 
vrere  then  permitted  to  go  where  they  chose.*  This  portion  of  Sturgis'  narra- 
tive is  partly  confirmed  by  the  mention  of  one  Englishman  as  having  perished 
with  the  Russians,  in  the  narrative  of  the  widow  Lcbedef :  *  Such  conduct 
towards  their  countrymen  merited  the  most  friendly  return  on  the  part 
of  the  Americans,  and  policy  as  well  as  justice  forbade  any  attempt  to 
avenge  the  cause  of  the  Russians;  but  unfortunately  the  men  and  officers  were 
of  a  different  opinion.  I  am  inclined  to  suppose  that  they  were  in  this  in- 
stance too  much  influenced  by  the  master  of  the  English  ship,  wlio  was  in- 
duced from  motives  of  interest  to  take  part  with  the  Russians.  He  was  bound 
for  Kadiak,  and  knew  that  whatever  prisoners  might  be  rescued  would  bo  for- 
warded in  his  ship.  This  he  expected  would  ingratiate  him  with  the  Rus- 
sians, and  procure  him  commercial  advantages  with  them.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  officers  of  the  different  vessels.  It  was  determined  to  seize  the  native  chiefs, 
who  were  alongside  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  and  to  keep  them  as  host- 
ages imtil  the  Kadiak  women  and  other  prisoners  on  shore  were  delivered  up. 
In  pursuance  of  this  resolve,  several  natives  who  chanced  to  bo  on  the  deck  wxro 
immediately  secured,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  seize  those  in  the  canoes, 
who  however  fled  to  the  shore.  They  were  fired  on  from  the  shi^,  and  to  the 
eternal  disgrace  of  their  civilized  visitors,  nural)ers  were  killed. .  .The  captive 
chiefs  were  now  told  that  unless  all  the  prisoners  on  shore  were  delivered 
up,  they  must  expect  no  mercy.  One  of  the  natives  attempted  to  escape,  but 
failed,  and  in  the  attempt  was  slightly  wounded.  He  was  immediately  sin- 
gled out  as  a  proper  object  for  vengeance.  After  a  mock-trial,  he  was  placed, 
as  was  the  custom  in  naval  executions,  on  a  gun  on  the  forecastle  w4th  a  hal- 
ter from  the  yard-arm  around  his  neck.  The  gun  was  fired,  and  he  strung  up 
ill  the  smoke  of  it.*  Mr  Sturgis  here  indulges  in  a  discussion  of  the  atracity 
of  killing  *  peaceable  Indians,' and  inserts  a  speech  supposed  to  have  been 
made  by  the  condenmed  savage,  which  would  do  honor  to  the  fictitious  red- 
skinned  heroes  of  Cooper  in  both  eloquence  and  logic,  and  then  continues:  *  I 
havo  before  observed  that  this  speech  bad  no  effect.  The  man  was  executed. 
After  several  days,  some  of  the  Kadiak  prisoners  were  liberated,  put  on  board 
the  English  vessel,  and  sent  to  their  former  place  of  residence.'  A'arr.,  MS., 
19-24.  I  havo  not  been  able  to  discover  the  name  of  tho  second  American 
vessel,  but  have  convinced  myself  that  Mr  Sturgis  was  not  well  informed  as 
to  this  occurrence,  and  that  the  pretended  speech  is  pure  invention. 

Lisiansky,  in  his  story  of  the  Sitka  massacre,  says:  'Among  tho  assailants 
were  three  seamen  belonging  to  the  United  States,  who,  having  deserted  from 
their  ship,  had  entered  into  tho  service  of  the  Russians,  and  then  took  part 
against  them.  These  double  traitors  were  among  the  most  active  in  the  plot. 
They  contrived  combustible  wads,  which  they  lighted,  and  threw  upon  tho 
buildings  where  they  knew  the  gunpowder  was  kept,  which  took  lire  and 
were  blown  up.     Every  person  who  was  found  in  the  fort  was  put  to  death. 


410  THE  SITKA  MASSACBEL 

destroy  them,  but  they  returned  without  having 
accomplished  their  object.  After  many  days  the 
widow  Lebedef  and  two  native  women,  together  with 
fifty  sea-otter  skins  stolen  from  the  Russians,  were 
placed  on  board  an  English  ship  and  finally  brought 
to  Kadiak.  While  on  her  way  to  the  ship  in  a  canoe, 
a  savage  seated  close  by  the  woman  whispered  to  her 
that  during  the  attack  upon  Kuskof 's  party  only  ten 
natives  had  been  killed. 

On  account  of  the  importance  of  the  event,  I  give 
one  more  narrative  of  the  massacre,  that  of  Baranors 
biographer,  Khlebnikof,  a  patient  investigator,  though 
of  course  somewhat  biased  in  favor  of  his  country- 
men. He  relates  that  "on  Sunday,  the  18th  or  19th 
of  June,*  after  dinner,  Medvednikof  sent  oflF  a  few 
men  to  fish,  others  to  look  after  the  nets  in  the  river, 
and  some  of  the  women  went  to  the  woods  to  pick 
berries.  Only  fifteen  Russians  remained  in  the  garri- 
son, resting  from  their  labor  without  the  slightest  sus- 
picion. A  few  of  these  and  some  of  the  women  were 
outside  of  the  barracks. 

'*The  Kolosh  women  living  with  the  Russians  had  in- 
formed their  countrymen,  not  only  of  the  number  of 
people  in  the  garrison,  but  of  all  precautionary  meas- 
ures and  means  of  defence,  and  the  Kolosh  chose  a 
holiday  for  the  attack.  They  suddenly  emerged 
noiselessly  from  the  shelter  of  the  impenetrable  for- 
ests, armed  with  guns,  spears,  and  daggers.  Their 
faces  were  covered  with  masks  representing  the  heads 

Not  content  with  this,  the  Sitcans  dispersed  in  search  both  of  Russians  and 
Aleuts,  and  had  many  opportunities  of  exercising  their  barbarity.  Two 
KuBsians  iu  particular  were  put  to  the  most  excruciating  torture.  The  place 
was  so  rich  in  merchandise,  that  two  thousand  sea-otter  skins  and  other 
articles  of  value  were  saved  by  the  Sitcans  from  the  conflagration.*  Voy., 
219-20,  London  ed..  1814. 

Davidof  says:  'At  the  station  there  lived  several  sailors  who  had  deserted 
from  a  Uuitod  States  ship  and  had  been  allowed  to  stajr  and  work  for  their 
subsistence.  These  made  joint  cause  with  the  savages,  set  fire  to  the  bar- 
racks, and  firee.  upon  the  Russians  at  the  time  of  the  attack  by  the  Kolosh.' 
Dvtikr^  ii.  iii. 

^  Tliat  nil  the  narrators  of  the  events  just  decribed  are  in  error  as  to  date 
is  evident  from  Baranof's  own  diary,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  the  Unicom 
(urivcd  at  Kadiak  on  June  24tli. 


KHLEBNIKOFS  TESTIMONY.  411 

of  animals,  and  smeared  with  red  and  other  paint; 
their  hair  was  tied  up  and  powdered  with  eagle  down. 
Some  of  the  masks  were  shaped  in  imitation  of  fero- 
cious animals  with  gleaming  teeth  and  of  monstrous 
beings.  They  were  not  observed  until  they  were  close 
to  the  barracks;  and  the  people  lounging  about  the 
door  had  barely  time  to  rally  and  run  into  the  building 
when  the  savages,  surrounding  them  in  a  moment  with 
wild  and  savage  yells,  opened  a  heavy  fire  from  their 
guns  at  the  windows.  A  terrific  uproar  was  continued 
in  imitation  of  the  cries  of  the  animals  represented 
by  their  masks,  with  the  object  of  inspiring  greater 
terror. 

'*  Medvednikof  had  only  time  to  hurry  down  from  the 
upper  story,  and  bravely  attempted  to  repulse  the 
sudden  attack  with  the  twelve  men  at  his  disposal. 
But  the  wailing  of  the  women,  and  the  frightened 
cries  of  the  children,  added  to  the  confusion,  and 
at  the  same  time  nerved  the  defenders  to  do  their 
utmost.  The  assailants  broke  into  the  door  of  the 
vestibule,  cut  through  the  inside  door,  and  kept  up  a 
wild  but  continuous  fire.  Finally  the  last  door  of  the 
barracks  was  broken  in,  the  last  weak  barrier  which 
protected  the  besieged,  and  in  the  savages  poured. 
Suddenly  the  report  of  a  cannon  was  heard.  Those 
within  range  threw  themselves  down,  while  others  ran 
away  in  terror.  A  few  more  well  directed  and  rapid 
discharges,  and  it  might  have  been  possible  to  frighten 
away  the  enemy,  who  were  numerous  but  cowardly. 
The  bold  defenders  Medvednikof,  Tumakof,  and 
Shashin  were  killed,  and  others  dangerously  wounded. 
The  women  in  the  upper  story,  crazed  by  fright,  crowded 
with  their  children  to  the  trap-door  over  the  stairway. 
Another  cannon-shot  was  heard,  and  the  trap-door 
gave  way.  The  women  were  precipitated  into  the 
street,  and  in  a  moment  were  seized  and  carried  off 
to  the  boats." 

Meanwhile  the  savages  had  set  fire  to  the  building. 
''The  flames  increased,"  continues  Khlebnikof,  "in  the 


412  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

upper  story  of  the  barracks,  and  the  Russians  still 
fighting  there,  suffocated  in  the  dense  smoke  and 
heat,  jumped  from  the  balcony  to  the  ground,  in  the 
hope  of  gaining  the  shelter  of  the  woods.  But  the 
enraged  Kolosh  rushed  after  them  with  hideous  cries, 
thrust  their  lances  through  them,  and  dragged  them 
about  for  a  long  time  to  increase  their  suffering,  and 
then,  with  curses  and  foul  abuse,  slowly  cut  off  the 
heads  of  the  dying  men. 

"Skaoushleoot,  the  false  friend  of  Baranof,  who 
had  been  named  Mikhailof  by  the  Russians,  stood  at 
the  time  of  the  attack  upon  a  knoll  opposite  the 
agent's  house,  and  having  given  the  signal  for  the  at- 
tack, shouted  to  the  canoes  with  terrible  yells  to  has- 
ten to  the  slaughter.  Amid  fierce  outcries,  about 
sixty  of  these  instantly  appeared  round  the  point, 
filled  with  armed  men  who,  as  soon  as  they  landed, 
made  a  rush  for  the  barracks.  The  number  of  assail- 
ants may  be  estimated,  without  exaggeration,  at  over 
a  thousand,  and  the  few  brave  defenders  could  not 
long  hold  out  against  them.  They  fell,  struck  with  bul- 
lets, daggers,  and  lances,  amid  the  flames  and  in  tor- 
ture, but  with  honor.  They  were  sacrificed  for  their 
country.  The  hordes  of  Kolosh  then  poured  into  the 
upper  story,  and  carried  away  through  the  smoke  and 
flames  furs,  trading  goods,  and  articles  belonging  to 
the  murdered  men,  throwing  them  to  the  ground  over 
the  balcony,  while  others  seized  the  booty  and  car- 
ried it  off  to  the  canoes.  In  the  mean  time,  not  only 
the  barracks,  but  the  commander's  house,  the  ware- 
house, and  other  buildings,  as  well  as  a  small  vessel 
just  completed,  had  been  burned;  and  as  the  flames, 
fanned  by  the  wind,  leaped  upward  amid  the  unearthly 
howls  of  the  mad,  hurrying  savages,  the  spectacle 
became  hideous  and  awe-inspiring."^ 

When  the  massacre  occurred  the  chief  manager  was 
at  Afognak  Island ;  but  on  hearing  that  Barber  had 

^McUer,  Ist,  Buss.  Zass.,  46-7. 


AN  ENGLISH  PHILANTHROPIST.  413 

brought  with  him  three  Russians,  two  Aleuts,  and 
eighteen  women  whom  he  had  rescued  from  the 
Xolosh  at  Sitka,  he  returned  in  all  haste  to  Kadiak. 
Instead  of  landing  the  released  prisoners  at  onc-a. 
Captain  Barber,  under  the  idea  that  there  was  war 
between  England  and  Russia,  cleared  his  decks  for 
action,  prepared  his  twenty  guns  for  service,  and 
armed  his  men.  At  the  same  time  he  declared  that 
from  motives  of  humanity  he  had  rescued  the  prison- 
ers from  the  hands  of  savages,  fed  and  clothed  them, 
and  neglected  his  business;  and  he  demanded  as  com- 
pensation 50,000  roubles  in  cash,  or  an  equivalent 
in  furs  at  prices  to  be  fixed  by  himself  Baranof 
learned,  however,  that  Barber  had  not  only  paid  no 
ransom,  but  had  even  appropriated  a  largo  number  of 
sea-otter  skins  of  which  the  savages  had  robbed  the 
Russian  magazine.  His  only  expense  had  been  in 
clothing  the  captives,  and  feeding  them  on  the  way  to 
Kadiak.  The  demand  was  of  course  refused,  where- 
upon the  captain  threatened  to  use  force  if  it  were  not 
satisfied  within  a  month.  Baranof  was  somewhat  dis- 
concerted. He  was  without  news  from  Europe,  and 
unaware  of  any  declaration  of  war,  but  he  prepared 
his  settlement  for  defence  as  far  as  lay  in  his  power, 
and  remonstrated  with  Barber  on  the  injustice  of  his 
claims.  At  last,  after  much  haggling  and  repeated 
threats  on  the  part  of  the  Englishman,  a  compromise 
was  arrived  at,  and  the  British  philanthropist  de- 
parted after  receiving  furs  to  the  value  of  10,000 
roubles.* 

The  loss  of  Fort  Sv  Mikhail  was  a  heavy  blow  to 
the  Russians.  Baranof  saw  at  once  that  his  plans 
for  an  advance  beyond  Sitka  to  the  eastward  must  bo 
abandoned  until  the  Russians  had  been  avenged,  and 

^Bnranofj  Correjqxmdence,  MS.,  20-1.  Sturgis  makes  no  mention  of  the 
captain's  demand  for  compensation,  and  probably  knew  nothin^^  about  it, 
though  it  is  mentioned  by  all  the  leading  authorities.  Khlebnikof  states  that 
Baranof  took  a  receipt  from  the  captain  in  order  to  explain  his  action  to  the 
Rnfision  American  Company.  ShizN,  Uaranovu,  70. 


/" 


414  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

to  do  this  he  felt  himself  powerless.  His  loss  in  men 
had  been  considerable,  and  in  property  enormous. 
Moreover,  he  knew  not  in  what  light  the  misfortune, 
occurring  as  it  did  during  his  absence,  would  be 
viewed  by  the  company. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  matters  assumed  a 
brighter  aspect.  On  the  13th  of  September  the  brig* 
Alexandr  arrived  from  Okhotsk,  and  on  the  1st  of 
November  the  brig  Elizaveta  under  Lieutenant 
Khvostof,  the  two  vessels  having  on  board  a  hundred 
and  twenty  hunters  and  laborers,  and  an  immense 
stock  of  provisions  and  trading  goods.^ 

By  the  Elizaveta  Baranof  received  secret  instruc- 
tions from  the  managers  of  the  company/  that  were 
of  considerable  importance,  as  they  touched  on  points 
that  subsequently  arose  between  the  governments  of 
Russia,  England,  Spain,  and  the  United  Statfes,  in 
regard  to  territorial  claims.  He  was  directed  to  push 
forward  his  settlements  to  the  55th  parallel,  to  lay 
claim  to  Nootka  Sound,  and  to  establish  forts  and 
garrisons,®  with  a  view  to  obtain  from  the  Englisli 
government  a  settlement  of  the  boundary  question.^® 
AH  explorations  to  the  northward  were  to  cease 
meanwhile,  unless  the  advance  traders  of  the  company 
should  come  in  contact  with  Englishmen,  in  which 
case  a  line  of  posts  must  be  constructed.     He  was 

'  Baranof  now  learned  for  the  first  time  that  his  old  enemy  loassaf  had 
perished  on  board  the  Feniks,  with  the  crew  and  passengers,  numbering  00 
souls. 

"The  original  instructions  have  been  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company,  now  deposited  in  the  department  of  state  in  Wash- 
ington. 

'  If  natives  already  occupied  the  most  convenient  sites,  Baranof  was  per- 
mitted to  form  settlements  at  the  same  points,  provided  he  obtained  their 
consent  by  purchase  or  by. making  presents.  In  7Wifiv7ief,  IfUor.  Obos,,  i. 
1 17-18,  is  a  list  of  the  fortified  stations  occupied  by  the  company  in  1803.  They 
were  twelve  in  number,  and  included,  l^esides  those  at  Pavlovsk  and  Three 
Saints,  three  on  the  gulf  of  KenaX  Bay — forts  St  George,  St  Paul,  and  St 
Nicholas— two  in  the  Chugatsch  territory — one  named  Fort  Constantine  and 
Helen  at  Nuchek,  and  the  other  at  Port  Delarof— two  on  Yakutat  Bay,  and 
one  each  at  Cape  St  Elias,  Afognak  Island,  and  Cape  Kenai,  the  last  being 
named  Fort  Alexander.  Most  of  them  were  armed  with  three-pounder  pivot 
ffuns,  and  with  due  precautions  were  strong  enough  to  resist  the  attacks  of 
hostile  natives. 

^<>  At  the  50th  parallel,  if  possible. 


INTERNATIONAL  MATTERS.  415 

instructed  to  avoid  disputes  as  to  boundary  lines,  and 
should  they  become  unavoidable,  to  declare  that,  while 
insisting  on  the  rights  of  Russia,  he  was  not  author- 
ized to  treat  on  such  a  subject,  and  that  the  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain  must  address  the  tzar  directly." 

The  instructions  then  touch  on  the  political  changes 
which  had  occurred  in  Europe.  Baranof  learns  for 
the  first  time  that  "the  French  nation  had  been 
universally  acknowledged  as  a  republic,  that  the  wise 
administration  of  the  first  consul  had  put  an  end  to 
the  shedding  of  blood,  and  that  a  universal  peace  had 
been  declared."  Little  did  the  managers  of  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company  dream  how  soon  this  univer- 
sal peace  would  be  followed  by  Austerlitz  and  Fried- 
land.  Allusion  is  also  made  to  Nelson's  appearance 
in  the  Baltic  after  the  battle  of  Copenhagen;  and 
though  harmony  was  now  restored  between  England 
and  Russia,  Baranof  is  cautioned  that  such  misunder- 
standings might  arise  again,  and  is  ordered  to  collect 
all  the  furs  gathered  at  Pavlovsk  and  its  vicinity,  or 
to  ship  them  to  Siberia  without  delay.  In  future  a 
naval  officer  was  to  be  sent  with  each  transport  to 
take  charge  of  the  vessel  on  the  return  voyage. 

With  regard  to  the  navigator  Shields,  the  man- 
agers write  that,  "though  they  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  his  zeal,  his  kinship  with  the  English  may  lead 
him  to  act  to  their  advantage,  and  therefore  advise 
Baranof  to  use  every  precaution,  to  watch  his  every 
step,  and  to  keep  the  board  informed,  endeavoring  at  the 
same  time  not  to  irritate  him  with  suspicions,  and  not 
only  to  abstain  from  the  slightest  provocation  of  a 
quarrel  with  him,  but  to  treat  him  kindly  and  ply  him 
with  promises  of  reward  from  the  government  and 
pecuniary  recognition  from  the  company,  in  order  to 
attach  him  the  more  firmly  to  the  Russians,  and  that, 
under  the  fatherly  rule  of  his  imperial  Majesty,  this 

"  The  managers  remark  that  in  Vancouver''8  Voyage  it  is  stated  that  some 
of  Baranofs  traders  had  given  charts  of  the  Rnssian  voyages  to  the  English, 
and  forbid  any  repetition  of  this  practice. 


416  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

foreigner  may  feel  to  the  fullest  extent  the  blessings 
of  his  fate,  and  see  no  reason  to  seek  his  fortune  else- 
where." 

In  conclusion,  Baranof  is  enjoined  to  maintain  peace 
and  good  feeling  among  all,  as  a  necessary  condition 
to  the  success  of  the  great  and  promising  enterprise 
on  which  the  company  has  just  entered.  The  execu- 
tion of  all  plans  is  left  to  him  as  chief  manager  of  tho 
Russian  American  possessions,  "under  the  conviction 
that  he  will  devote  his  strength  and  labors  to  the 
service  of  the  emperor,  and  thus  make  known  his  name 
in  Russian  history."  ^^ 

From  Unalaska  also  had  come  good  news,  though 
not  unmixed  with  evil  tidings.  In  May  the  councillor 
Banner^^  arrived  with  intelligence  that  the  Russian 
American  Company  had  obtained  a  new  cliarter  an. I 
fresh  privileges.  Baranof  had  been  appointed  a  share- 
holder, and  by  permission  of  the  emperor  Alexander 
was  allowed  to  wear  the  gold  medal  of  the  order  of 
St  Vladimir,  previously  bestowed  on  him  by  Paul  I. 
The  day  on  which  he  heard  of  his  advancement  ho 
counted  as  one  of  the  happiest  of  his  life.     "  I  went 

"  BaraDof  is  informed  that  the  government  had  views  ooncenun^  America 
that  must  be  kept  a  profound  secret,  and  is  instructed  to  send  his  despatches 
direct  to  tho  board  of  mma'^crs,  instead  of  through  the  authorities  at  Okhotsk, 
with  whom  no  secret  was  safe.  As  a  proof  of  this,  a  copy  of  Shelilqfs  Trav  U 
was  enclosed,  whic'i  consisted  merely  of  hia  journal,  presented  confidentially 
to  tho  f^ovonior  of  f^ibcria,  an-.l  on  his  removal  stolen  from  the  cliancelry,  an  1, 
contrary  to  the  wislics  of  the  deceased,  printed  in  Moscow,  thus  exposing 
state  secrets,  especially  the  location  of  tablets  claiming  possession  of  the 
country'  f  T  lliisoia,  Baran(»f  is  ordered  to  cause  tlie  immediate  removal  of 
there  tablets  to  such  points  as  he  may  select,  and  in  future  to  address  every- 
thing? p'ltaininij  to  discoveries  direct  to  the  managers,  in  special  reports, 
marhcjl  'secret.*  The  document  is  sic^ned  by  tho  directors  Mikhail  Buldakof, 
Eastmto  Dv'krof,  and  Ivan  Shclikof,  and  approved  by  a  committee  of  the 
sIiarelK.Mi  r3  a'sscmljltd  at  the  office  of  the  minister  of  commerce.  Count  Nikolai 
rotrovicli  Rnmiantzof. 

"  Ivan  Ivanovich  Banner  had  been  formerly  in  the  government  service  in 
the  prv>vi:icc  of  Irkutsk  as  provincial  inspector  in  Zasheiversk.  On  Icavin,;; 
the  service,  he  was  cn'zagcd  by  the  company  to  procee<l  to  Bering  Bay  with  a 
colony  of  agriculturists.  The  vessel  was  injured  on  tho  voyage,  and  detained 
for  nearly  a  year  on  one  of  the  Kurilc  Ir-lands.  At  Unalaska  the  vessel  w.is 
a-'-in  (1-  laiued  by  I^rionof,  and  ao  the  plan  of  a  settlement  in  that  region  hal 
bien  ab:in<loncd,  Banner  was  or.lercd  to  Kadiak,  where  he  remained  until 
hid  deiilh  in  181G.  He  was  favorably  mentioned  by  Langsdorff,  Rezanof, 
Campbell,  and  other  visitors  to  the  island  during  his  residence  there  of  iwclvd 
years.    //.,  Co. 


HONORS  FOR  BARANOF.  417 

to  the  barracts,"  he  says,  "where  the  imperial  orders 
and  documents  concerning  my  promotion  were  read 
out,  and  also  the  new  charter  and  privileges  granted  by 
highest  order.  The  undeserved  favors  which  our 
great  monarch  has  thus  showered  upon  me,  almost 
overwhelmed  me.  I  prayed  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  that  God's  blessings  might  fall  upon  him.  As  a 
small  token  of  my  gratitude,  I  donated  a  thousand 
roubles  for  the  establishment  of  a  school  here  for  the 
instruction  of  the  children  of  the  Russians  and  the 
natives.  On  the  occasion  of  this  holiday  I  killed  a 
sheep  which  had  been  on  the  island  from  our  first 
settlement.     What  gluttony ! " 

From  Larionof,  who  had  been  appointed  agent  at 
XJnalaska  in  1797,  the  chief  manager  received  letters, 
in  which  the  condition  of  affairs  was  depicted  in  gloomy 
colors.  Supplies  of  goods  and  provisions  were  nearly 
exhausted,"  and  no  vessels  had  arrived ;  while  scurvy 
and  other  diseases  were  playing  havoc  among  the 
islanders  and  the  few  discontented  hunters  who  still 
remained. 

It  is  probable  that  Baranof  now  proposed  to  aban- 
don this  settlement;  for  in  April  1803,  he  ordered 
Banner  to  sail  for  XJnalaska  in  the  Olga,  and  ship 
thence,  in  the  Petr  y  Pavl,  all  the  men  that  could  be 
spared,  the  furs  and  trading  goods  in  the  storehouses, 
and  all  the  provisions,  except  what  were  needed  to 
supply  the  islanders  until  the  next  visit.  He  was  then 
to  take  his  best  seamen  and  proceed  for  the  hunting 
season  to  the  islands  of  St  Paul  and  St  George,  which 
had  not  been  visited  for  many  years,  and  where  a  vast 
number  of  skins  must  have  been  accumulated  by  the 
natives. 

At  Kadiak  also  much  dissatisfaction  was  caused 
about  this  time  by  a  change  in  the  relations  between 

^*  I^ogadorff  says  that  darinff  his  stay  at  UnalaBka,  in  1805,  larionof  as- 
sored  him  that  for  five  yean  he  had  seldom  tasted  bread.     Some  time  before 
he  had  procared  five  or  six  ponds  of  meal  from  Okhotsk,  bat  only  ou  rare 
oocanooB  was  bread  or  pastry  made  of  it.    Voy,,  part  ii  3o. 
V 


418  THE  SITKA  MASSACRE. 

the  company  and  its  employees.  Hitherto  all  had  re- 
ceived a  share  in  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  furs  in  the 
Russian  markets,  but  now  payment  was  made  for  furs 
procured  in  accordance  with  a  price-list  made  out  by  the 
managers,  without  regard  to  fluctuations  in  value.  Of 
course,  in  making  this  arrangement,  they  insxired 
themselves  against  the  possibility  of  loss,  by  fixing 
the  prices  below  the  market  rates.  Complaints  and 
remonstrances  wore  frequent,  and  the  hunters  were 
sorely  aggrieved ;  for  a  few  months  before,  Baranof 
had  shipped  on  the  Elizaveta  the  most  valuable  cargo 
ever  sent  home  to  Russia,  consisting  of  17,000  sea- 
otter  skins,  in  addition  to  others,  representing  in  all 
a  sum  of  not  less  than  1,200,000  roubles.  The  value 
of  this  shipment  will  be  the  better  comprehended  when 
I  state  that  the  cargoes  of  the  77  private  trading  ves- 
sels which  left  the  coast  of  Russian  America  between 
the  years  1745  and  1803  were  estimated  as  worth 
little  more  than  5,600,000  piastres;^'  while  those  of  the 
seven  ships  belonging  to  the  Shelikof-Golikof  Com- 
pany, between  178G  and  1797,  were  valued  at  less  than 
1,200,000  piastres;^*  and  the  39  craft  which  sailed 
from  Alaskan  ports  in  the  employ  of  the  Russian 
American  Company,  between  1798  and  1822,  had  on 
board,  apart  from  other  cargo,  only  about  86,600  sea- 
otter  skins.  ^^ 

Feeling  that  he  had  now  given  the  shareholders  of 
the   company  a  proof  of  his  zeal  in  their  service, 

**  Their  cargoes  inclncled  96,047  sea-otter  skins,  58,618  sea-otter  tails, 
417,758  fur-seal  skins,  1,097  otter,  10,421  black  fox,  15,147  silver  fox,  14,007 
red  fox,  and  62,3G1  ice-fox  skins,  077  pouds  of  whalebone,  and  772  ponds 
of  walrus  tusks.  Maleriahii,  iHor.  litiss.,  part  iv.  app.,  where  a  list  is  given 
of  the  names  of  vessels  and  their  commanders,  the  valuation  of  cargoes,  and 
the  dates  of  sailing. 

»« Including  15,647  sea-otter  skins,  13,941  sea-otter  tails,  139,266  fur-seal, 
3,360  otter,  4,625  black  fox,  5,222  silver  fox,  6,704  red  fox,  600  ice-fox,  423 
beaver,  and  200  sable  skins.   Id. ,  where  a  similar  list  is  given. 

"Besides  71,130  sea-otter  taUs,  1,767,340  fur-seal,  17,768  otter,  15,112 
black  fox,  24,535  silver  fox,  35,456  red  fox,  5,130  white  ice-fox,  45,904  gray 
ice-fox,  56,001  beaver,  2,050  bear,  1,819  lynx,  1,234  glutton,  5,349  mink. 
17,921  sable  skins,  2,011  pouds  of  whalebone,  and  1,989  pouds  of  walrus 
tusks.   Id,    Tlie  valuation  of  the  cargoes  is  not  given. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  VENGEANCE.  419 

and  an  earnest  of  what  he  might  accomplish  in  the 
future,  Baranof  felt  at  liberty  to  turn  his  thoughts 
once  more  to  that  thorn  in  his  flesh,  the  loss  of 
Sitka.  In  September,  1803,  he  sailed  for  Yakutat 
with  the  intention  of  assembling  there  the  different 
hunting  parties  operating  under  Kuskof  s  superintend- 
ence, and  then  proceeding  on  his  errand  of  vengeance. 
Kuskof,  however,  persuaded  him  that  this  plan  was 
impracticable  without  the  aid  of  sea-going  vessels;  and 
he  was  compelled  to  bridle  his  wrath  and  return  to 
!Kadiak,  talang  with  him  but  a  small  quantity  of  otter 
8kins  as  the  result  of  the  summer's  operations.  Mean- 
while Kuskof  was  left  at  Yakutat,  with  orders  to 
build  two  small  sailing  vessels  and  have  them  in 
readiness  for  the  following  year. 

In  March  1804  the  mate  Bubnof,  of  the  company's 
service,  arrived  at  Pavlovsk,*®  bringing  intelligence  of 
yet  one  more  distinction  conferred  on  the  chief  man- 
ager. He  was  appointed  by  the  emperor  to  the  rank 
of  collegiate  councillor,  and  thus  placed  on  a  level 
with  the  proud  oflScers  of  the  naval  service  who  had 
caused  him  no  little  trouble.  Baranof  was  deeply 
affected,  and  tears  coursed  down  his  weather-beaten 
cheeks  as  he  exclaimed:  "I  am  a  nobleman;  but  Sitka 
is  lost  I  I  do  not  care  to  live;  I  will  go  and  either  die 
or  restore  the  possessions  of  my  august  benefactor." 

True  to  this  declaration,  he  began  at  once  to  make 
his  final  preparations  for  the  coming  campaign.  As 
usual,  the  natives  had  to  furnish  a  contingent,  though 
for  years  the  settlement  had  been  drained  of  able- 
bodied  men  to  recruit  the  sea-otter  parties,  until  there 
were  barely  enough  left  at  home  to  provide  for  the 
women  and  children.  Three  hundred  bidarkas  with 
about  eight  hundred  Aleuts,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty 
Russians  on  board  four  small  ships,  left  St  Paul  har- 
bor on  the  2d  of  April,  under  command  of  Demian- 

"From  CJnalaska  in  abidarka.  He  sailed  from  Okhotsk  for  Kadiak  at 
the  close  of  1803,  in  command  of  the  transport  Dmiiri,  but  was  wrecked  on 
the  island  of  Oumnak.    The  crew  and  cargo  were  saved. 


420  THE  SITKA  MASSAGKE. 

enkof,  bound  for  the  Sitka  coast,  by  way  of  Ledianof 
(Cross)  Sound,  and  Baranof  in  person  sailed  two  days 
later  with  the  sloops  ^iatenna  and  Alexandr,  leaving 
Banner  in  charge  at  St  Paul.  On  arriving  at  Yak- 
utat,  he  found  that  Kuskof  had  strictly  obeyed  his 
orders,  and  that  two  craft  lay  on  the  shore  ready  to  be 
launched.  The  vessels  were  named  the  Yermak  and 
the  Rostislaf. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

SITKA    KECAPTUEED. 

1803-1805. 

Thb  'Nadeshda*  and  *Nkva'  Sail  from  Kboxstadt— Lisianskt  Arrives 
AT  Norfolk  Sound  in  the  *Keva* — Baranof  Sets  Forth  from  Yak- 
UTAT— His   Narrow   Escape   from   Shipwreck— He   Joins   Forces 

WITH  LiSIANSKT — FRUITLESS  NEGOTIATIONS — DeFBAT  OF  THE  RUS- 
SIANS— The  Fortress  Bombarded— And  Evacuated  by  the  Sav- 
ages—The Natives  Massm^rb  their  Children— Lisianskt's  Visit 
to  Kadiak— His  Description  of  the  Settlements— A  Kolosh  Em- 
bassy— A  Dinner  Party  at  Novo  Arkhanqelsk— The  'Neva's' 
Homeward  Yoyaqe— Bibliography. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  the  narrative  of 
Baranofs  operations,  it  is  necessary  to  give  some  ac- 
count of  an  expedition  which  had  previously  sailed 
from  St  Petersburg.  While  he  was  yet  smarting  under 
the  loss  inflicted  by  the  savages  of  Sitka,  and  look- 
ing about  in  vain  for  men  and  means  to  avenge  himself, 
a  young  naval  oflBcer  in  that  city  was  setting  in  motion 
a  chain  of  events  that  were  destined  to  aid  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  chief  manager's  wishes. 

During  the  years  1798-9,  Lieutenant  Krusenstern, 
of  the  Russian  navy,  sailed  for  Canton  on  board  an 
English  merchant  vessel,  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  navigation  of  the  China  Sea. 
There  he  noticed  the  arrival  of  an  English  trading 
vesseP  from  the  American  coast,  and  the  disposal  of 
her  cargo  of  furs  for  60,000  piastres.  On  his  return 
to  Russia,  Krusenstern  presented  a  memorial  to  the 

*  Ptobably  Meares'  ship. 


422  SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

minister  of  marine,*  proposing  the  despatch  direct 
from  Kronstadt  to  the  Russian  American  colonies  of 
two  ships,  fitted  with  all  the  material  needed  for  the 
construction  and  equipment  of  vessels,  and  having  on 
board  a  force  of  shipwrights  and  skilled  workmen, 
and  a  supply  of  charts,  instruments,  and  nautical 
works. 

The  trade  with  China  was  then  conducted  by  way 
of  Okhotsk  and  Kiakhta,  thus  entailing  a  loss  in 
time  of  more  than  two  years  with  each  cargo.  If 
suitable  vessels  could  be  built  on  the  American  coast, 
or  the  adjacent  islands,  furs  shipped  thence  direct  to 
Canton,  the  proceeds  expended  in  the  purchase  of 
.Chinese  goods  for  shipment  to  Russia,  the  vessels 
touching  at  Manila,  Batavia,  or  some  port  in  the  East 
Indies  to  complete  their  freight,  a  commerce  might 
be  developed  which  erelong  would  place  the  Russian 
American  Company  beyond  the  competition  of  the 
English  and  Dutch  East  India  companies. 

Such  was  Krusenstern's  project;  and  though,  as 
he  says,  there  was  nothing  novel  about  the  idea,  it 
does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  the  managers  of 
the  company.  The  memorial  met  with  the  approval 
of  the  minister  of  marine,  who  discussed  the  matter 
with  the  minister  of  commerce;  and  within  a  few 
months,  the  young  officer  was  summoned  to  St  Peters- 
burg, and,  much  to  his  astonishment,  informed  that 
the  emperor  had  selected  him  to  carry  his  own  plan 
into  execution. 

Captain  Lisiansky,  who  had  served  with  Krusen- 
stern  on  board  the  English  fleet  during  the  American 
war  of  independence,  was  appointed  second  in  com- 
mand, and  to  him  was  intrusted  the  purchase  of  suitable 
vessels.  Two  ships,  renamed  the  Nadeshda,  or  Hope, 
and  the  Neva,  were  secured  in  London  for  £17,000 

"  An  abstract  of  the  memorial  was  first  presented  to  Count  Rnschelef ,  who 
returned  a  dlBcouroging  answer.  On  the  accession  of  Alexander  I.,  Admiral 
Mordivinof  was  appointed  minister  of  marine,  and  to  him  the  memorial  w:ia 
presented  in  January  1802,  with  a  favorable  result.  Krtucn8tern''s  Voy,  round 
World,  introd,,  p.  xxix.-xjsz. 


KRUSENSTERN'S  EXPEDITION.  423 

sterling,  and  an  additional  sum  of  £5,000  was  imme- 
diately expended  for  repairs.*  On  their  arrival  at 
Kronstadt  further  repairs  were  found  necessary,  and 
it  was  not  until  late  in  the  summer  of  1803  that  the 
expedition  was  ready  for  sea. 

Meanwhile  Krusenstern  was  informed  that  advan- 
tage would  be  taken  of  the  opportunity  to  despatch  an 
embassy  to  Japan,  with  a  view  to  opening  the  ports 
of  that  country  to  Russian  commerce.  Rezanof  was 
appointed  ambassador,  and  was  intrusted  with  an 
autograph  letter  addressed  by  the  tzar  to  the  mikado, 
and  with  presents  for  that  dignitary.  To  Rezanof  was 
probably  due,  in  part,  the  favor  with  which  Krusen- 
stern's  project  was  regarded,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
had  great  influence  at  court.  Moreover,  the  dowry 
of  his  wife,  who  had  died  soon  after  her  marriage,  was 
entirely  invested  in  the  stock  of  the  Russian  American 
Company. 

About  a  month  before  the  departure  of  the  expedi- 
tion, the  commander  had  the  honor  of  receiving  the 
tzar  on  board  his  vessel.  *'The  object  of  his  visit," 
says  Krusenstern,  "  was  to  see  the  two  ships  whicli 
were  to  carry  the  Russian  flag  for  the  first  time  round 
the  world — ^an  event  which,  after  a  hundred  years'  im- 
provement in  Russia,  was  reserved  for  the  reign  of 
Alexander.  He  noticed  everything  with  the  greatest 
attention,  as  well  with  the  ships  themselves  as  with 
the  different  articles  which  were  brought  from  Eng- 
land for  the  voyage.  He  conversed  with  the  com- 
manders, and  attended  for  some  time  with  pleasure  to 
the  work  which  was  going  on  on  board  the  ship."* 

On  the  7th  of  August,  exactly  one  year  after  Kru- 
senstern had  received  his  appointment,  the  vessels 

•  Id.,  3.  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Obo8.,  i.  98,  says  the  Neuleskda-waa  purchasca 
for  82,024  roubles,  and  the  Neva  for  89,914  roubles,  in  parchment  money. 
These  figures  are  certainly  inaccurate,  for  parchment  money  was  at  a  very 
heavy  discount. 

*  Krusenstern  had  now  an  opportunity  of  thanking  the  tzar  in  person  for 
assigning  to  his  wife,  for  twelve  years,  the  income  of  an  estate  amounting  to 
1,600  roubles  a  year,  in  order,  as  the  emperor  said,  to  set  his  mind  perfectly 
at  ease  with  respect  to  the  welfare  of  his  family.   Id,,  L  7. 


424  SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

Hailed  from  Kronstadt,  supplied  with  two  or  three 
years'  provisions,  and  .having  on  board  a  hundred  aad 
thirty-nine  persons.  The  Neva  was  placed  in  charge 
of  Lisiansky,  while  on  board  the  Nadeshda  were  the 
commander,  the  ambassador  and  his  suite,  the  natur- 
alist Langsdorff,  and  two  sons  of  the  counsellor  Kot- 
zebue,  one  of  whom  afterward  became  famous  as  an 
explorer  in  the  north-west.^ 

As  only  one  ship  was  allowed  by  the  mikado  to  call 
yearly  at  Japan,*  it  was  arranged  that  they  should 
part  company  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  Nadeshda 
sailing  for  Japan,  thence  for  Kadiak,  and  afterward  for 
Kamchatka,  there  to  winter,  while  the  Neva  sailed 
direct  for  the  harbor  of  Three  Saints.  In  the  following 
summer  both  were  to  proceed  to  Canton  freighted 
with  furs,  and  after  taking  in  a  cargo  of  Chinese 
wares  to  return  to  Kronstadt. 

After  calling  at  Copenhagen  and  Falmouth,  the 
vessels  sailed  for  the  island  of  Teneriflfe,  and  thence 
for  Santa  Catharina,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  where  they 
w^ere  repaired  and  refitted.  Here  disputes  broke  out 
between  the  members  of  the  embassy  and  the  naval 
commanders,  Rezanof  attempting  to  control  the  move- 
ments of  the  expedition  by  virtue  of  his  rank  and 
social  position.  In  April  1804  the  two  ships  rounded 
Cape  Horn.  Explorations  among  the  South  Sea  Is- 
lands caused  further  delay,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
second  week  in  June  that  the  expedition  sailed  from 
the  Hawaiian  Islands.  The  programme  of  the  voy- 
age was  now  somewhat  altered,  the  Nadeshda,  before 
proceeding  to  Japan,  steering  for  Petropavlovsk,  where 

*  The  Nadeshda  was  a  vessel  of  450  tons,  and  had  64  persons  on  board. 
The  complement  of  the  Neva,  a  370-ton  ship,  consisted  of  8  ofiBcers  and  4G 
sailors  and  petty  officers.  A  list  of  the  officers,  the  ambassador's  suite,  and 
the  scientific  men  who  accompanied  the  expedition  is  given  in  Id.,  16-18. 
\\'ith  two  exceptions  all  the  membei-s  of  the  embassy  returned  to  St  Peters- 
burg, after  leaving  the  Nadeshda  at  Kamchatka  in  1805. 

^  An  embassy  sent  to  Japan  in  1792  had  been  favorably  received,  per- 
mission being  given  for  one  Russian  vessel  to  be  admitted  each  year  to  tlie 
port  of  Nangasaki,  for  trading  purposes;  but  until  1803  no  use  appears  to 
have  Ijcen  made  of  this  concession. 


USIANSKY'S  VOYAGE.  425 

for  the  present  we  will  leave  her,  while  the  Neva  was 
headed  for  Kadiak. 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1804,  Lisiansky  sighted 
Pavlovsk,  or,  as  we  shall  now  call  it,  St  Paul  Harbor, 
where  he  thus  describes  his  reception:  "Shortly  after 
midnight,  two  large  leathern  boats  came  to  our  assist- 
ance, in  consequence  of  a  letter  I  had  sent  the  day 
before,  by  means  of  a  small  bidarka,  to  announce  our 
arrival,  in  one  of  which  was  Captain  Bander,^  deputy 
commander  of  the  Russian  establishment  here.  The 
weather  was  so  thick  and  dark  that  he  found  us  mere- 
ly by  the  noise  we  made  in  furling  our  sails.  His 
stay  with  us  was  short,  but  he  left  his  pilot  on  board, 
who  brought  the  vessel  into  the  harbor  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  On  passing  the  fort,  we 
were  saluted  by  eleven  guns;  and  as  soon  as  the 
anchor  was  down,  Mr.  Bander  returned,  accompanied 
by  several  Russians,  who  were  eager  to  congratulate 
us  on  our  happy  arrival.  It  is  not  easy  to  express 
what  I  felt  on  this  occasion.  Being  the  first  Russian 
that  had  hitherto  performed  so  long  and  tedious  a 
voyage,  a  degree  of  religious  fervor  mixed  itself  with 
the  delight  and  satisfaction  of  my  mind."® 

Lisiansky  hoped  that  his  hardships  for  that  year 
at  least  were  over,  and  that  he  would  have  time  to 
repair  and  refit  after  his  long  voyage;  but  no  sooner 
had  he  landed,  than  Banner  placed  in  his  hands  a 
communication  from  Baranof  relating  the  destruction 
of  the  Sitka  settlement,®  and  begging  assistance  in 
conquering  the  savages  and  rebuilding  the  fort.  Con- 
vinced of  the  importance  of  recovering  this  point,  he 
complied  at  once  with  the  request.  Only  the  most 
necessary  repairs  were  made,  and  after  being  detained 
for  a  few  days  by  unfavorable  weather,  the  Neva 
sailed  from  Kadiak  on  the  15th  of  August,  and  five 

^  Banner.  Longsdorff  makes  the  same  mistake  in  his  Voy,  and  Trav,,  part 
ii.  66. 

«  LisUmkhfs  Voy,  round  World,  142-3. 

*  Lisiansky  had  heard  a  rumor  of  the  disaster  during  his  brief  stay  at 
the  Sandwich  Inlands. 


428  SITKA  EECAPTURED. 

days  later  entered  Sitka  Sound,  where  the  Alexandr 
and  JEkateruia  were  found  at  anchor,  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  Baranof,  who  was  then  engaged  in  a  hunt- 
ing expedition.  From  one  of  the  officers  it  was  as- 
certained that  the  natives  had  taken  up  their  position 
on  a  bluff,  a  few  miles  distant,  where  they  had  forti- 
fied themselves,  and  were  resolved  to  try  issue  with 
the  Russians. 

Relating  his  impressions  of  the  surrounding  country, 
Lisiansky.  says :  "On  our  entrance  into  Sitca  Sound 
to  the  place  where  we  now  were,  there  was  not  to  be 
seen  on  the  shore  the  least  vestige  of  habitation. 
Nothing  presented  itself  to  our  view  but  impenetra- 
ble woods  reaching  from  the  water-side  to  the  very 
tops  of  the  mountains.  I  never  saw  a  country  so 
wild  and  gloomy;  it  appeared  more  adapted  for  the 
residence  of  wild  beasts  than  of  men." 

On  the  25th  of  August,  the  chief  manager  sailed 
from  Yakutat  on  board  the  Yermaky  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  his  boats  aud  bidarkas  entered  Ledianof 
Sound.  A  swift  current  runs  by  these  shores,  and 
great  care  was  needed  to  keep  the  vessels  on  their 
course.  Moreover,  the  fog  which  overhangs  the  sound 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year  completely  hid  the  boats  from 
sight.  A  strong  tide  was  setting  in,  which  carried 
the  Yermak  away  from  the  remainder  of  the  flotilla, 
and  soon  all  the  vessels  were  rapidly  closing  in  with 
the  shore.  Presently  the  wind  calmed,  the  sails  hung 
to  the  mast,  the  boats  would  not  obey  the  rudder,  and 
the  depth  of  water  prevented  them  from  anchoring. 
There  appeared  to  be  no  hope  of  keeping  off  the 
beach,  where  the  Kolosh  might  be  upon  them  at  any 
moment.  "  There  was  nothing  to  be  done,"  says 
Khlebnikof,  "but  to  leave  everything  to  providence. "^° 

^°  The  Russians  appear  to  have  be«n  somewhat  nnmindful  of  the  maxim 
on  providence  and  self-help.  A  laughable,  story  is  told  of  a  skipper  who,  be- 
ing caught  in  a  squall  about  this  year,  and  his  vessel  thrown  on  her  beam-ends, 
waa  roused  from  his  slumbers  by  the  water  coming  into  his  berth,  and  by  one 
of  the  mates  who  came  to  warn  him  of  the  danger.     '  Now  the  ship  is  in 


IMPENDING  SHIPWRECK.  427 

The  chief  manager  preserved  the  greatest  calmness, 
and  by  his  demeanor  inspired  his  frightened  men  with 
some  confidence.  Thus  encouraged,  their  exertions 
never  relaxed,  and  from  time  to  time  they  would  ob- 
tain glimpses  of  each  other  through  the  fog,  as  they 
continued  to  keep  off  the  dreaded  shore,  Baranof 
writes  of  this  incident:  ''What  a  position  to  be  in; 
working  desperately  to  hold  our  own  between  steep 
cliffs  and  rapid  currents  I  At  last  the  tide  turned,  and 
we  were  drawn  toward  the  opposite  shore.  At  the 
same  time  a  breeze  sprung  up  and  allowed  the  hoisting 
of  sail,  while  the  fog  dispersed.  But  nothing,  seemed 
to  be  in  our  favor  that  day.  Soon  the  breeze  freshened 
into  a  gale,  threatening  the  expedition  with  another 
danger.  The  ships  barely  escaped  stranding,  as  they 
tacked  frequently  and  cleared  the  strait  in  the  teeth 
of  the  storm.  The  bidarkas  were  scattered  over  the 
sound,  and  some  sought  shelter  under  the  rocks, 
trusting  rather  to  the  protection  of  providence  from 
the  savages  than  risking  exposure  to  the  merciless 
elements.  Finally  the  prayers  of  so  many  anxious 
souls  were  heard,  and  with  almost  superhuman  exer- 
tion a  sheltered  bay  was  reached,  and  the  boats 
anchored,  the  Rostislaf  coming  in  last.  The  Yermak 
had  lost  a  skiff,  the  Rostislaf  a  considerable  part  of  her 
rigging,  while  one  of  tlie  bidarkas  went  down  in  the 
storm."^^ 

Without  further  incident  worthy  of  mention,  Bar- 
anof arrived  at  Sitka  Sound  on  the  19th  of  September, 
and  on  the  following  day  went  on  board  the  Neva  to 
consult  with  Lisiansky.  "  Hearing  nothing,"  writes 
the  latter,  "  of  the  hunters  who  had  been  separated 

Grod's  handji/  he  exclaimed,  os  he  turned  over  in  his  bed,  and  commencing  to 
pray,  there  remained  until  one  of  the  officers  had  sense  enough  to  let  go  the 
main-sail,  when  the  ship  righted. 

**  Langsdorff,  who  passed  throngh  this  channel  in  a  bidarka,  in  company 
with  the  navigator  De  Wolf,  says:  *At  this  point  the  force  of  the  current  and 
tide  is  considerable.  The  passage  is  only  150  toises  wide,  while  the  average 
depth  is  200  fathoms,  with  rocks  coming  up  within  5  feet  at  low  tide. '  De 
Wolf  remarks  that  nowhere  in  his  travefa  has  he  met  with  anjiihing  to  com- 
pare with  the  violence  of  the  current.   KhUbnihof,  Shizn,  Barariova,  80-1. 


428  SITKA  BECAFTURED. 

in  the  gale,  an  armed  vessel  was  on  the  23d  sent  in 
search  of  them,  and  everything  in  the  mean  time  pre- 
pared for  their  reception,  in  a  small  bay  opposite  to  us. 
At  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  sixty  bidarkas  belong- 
ing to  this  party,  among  whom  were  twenty  Russians, 
arrived,  under  the  command  of  Mr  Kooskoff,  who,  on 
passing  us,  fired  a  salute  of  muskets,  in  answer  to 
which  I  ordered  two  rockets  to  be  sent  up.  Expect- 
ing more  of  these  bidarkas  in  the  course  of  the  night, 
we  hung  out  a  lantern  to  each  top-gallant  mast-head 
of  our  vessel. 

"The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  light,  ob- 
serving the  shore  to  the  extent  of  three  hundred 
yards  completely  covered  with  the  hunting-boats,  we 
sent  our  launch  armed  with  four  swivels,  to  cruise  on 
the  sound,  to  prevent  them  from  being  attacked  by 
the  Sitcans;  and  shortly  after  I  went  with  some  of 
my  officers  on  shore,  where  the  picture  that  presented 
itself  to  our  view  was  new  to  us. 

"Of  the  numerous  families  of  hunters  several  had 
already  fixed  their  tents;  others  were  busy  in  erect- 
ing them.  Some  were  hanging  up  their  clothes  to 
dry,  some  kindling  a  fire,  some  cookmg  victuals;  some 
again,  overcome  with  fatigue,  had  stretched  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  expecting,  amidst  this  clash  of 
sounds  and  hum  of  men,  to  take  a  little  repose;  whilst 
at  a  distance  boats  were  seen  arriving  every  moment, 
and  by  adding  to  the  numbers,  increasing  the  interest 
of  the  scene.  On  coming  out  of  the  barge  we  were 
met  by  at  least  five  hundred  of  these,  our  new  coun- 
trymen, among  whom  were  many  toyons." 

On  the  28th  of  September  the  united  squadron 
moved  out  of  Krestovsky  Bay,  the  Neva  being  towed 
by  over  one  hundred  canoes.  In  the  evening  an  an- 
chorage was  found  near  the  high  bluff  upon  which  the 
Sitkans'  stronghold  was  situated.  All  night  the  weird 
song  of  the  chaman  was  heard  by  the  Russians,  but 
no  opposition  was  oflTered,  when  on  michaelmas  day 


A  BATTLE.  429 

of  1804  Baranof  and  his  party  landed  near  the  site  of 
the  modem  town  of  Sitka.  ^* 

At  dusk  an  envoy  from  the  Kolosh  came  to  the 
Russians  with  friendly  overtures.  He  was  told  that 
conditions  of  peace  could  be  made  only  with  the  chiefs. 
The  next  morning  he  reappeared  in  company  with  a 
hostage,  whom  ho  delivered  up,  but  received  the  same 
answer.  At  noon  thirty  armed  savages  approached, 
and  halting  just  beyond  musket-shot,  commenced  to 
parley.  Baranof's  terms  were  that  the  Russians 
should  be  allowed  to  retain  permanent  possession  of 
the  bluff,  and  that  two  additional  hostages  should  be 
given.  To  this  the  Kolosh  would  not  consent,  and 
soon  afterward  withdrew,  being  warned  through  the 
interpreters  that  the  ships  would  be  immediately  moved 
close  to  their  fort,  and  that  they  had  only  themselves 
to  blame  for  what  might  follow. 

On  the  Ist  of  October  four  of  the  ships  were  drawn 
up  in  line  before  the  enemy's  fort,^®  in  readiness  for 
action,  and  a  white  flag  hoisted  on  board  the  Neva. 
As  no  response  was  made,  the  order  was  given  to 
open  fire,  and  Lieutenant  Arbusof,  with  two  boats  and  a 
field-piece,  was  instructed  to  destroy  the  canoes  which 
lay  on  the  beach,  and  to  set  fire  to  a  large  barn  near 
the  shore,  which  was  supposed  to  be  the  storehouse 
of  the  Kolosh.  Finding  that  he  could  do  little  damage 
in  his  boats,  Arbusof  landed  and  marched  toward  the 
fort,  whereupon  Baranof  went  to  his  support  with  a 
hundred  and  fifty  men  and  several  guns.  The  sur- 
rounding woods  were  so  dense  that  the  two  parties 

I'TblB  was  the  spot  selected  by  Baranof  on  his  first  appearance  on  Norfolk 
Sound,  but  another  site  was  chosen  on  account  of  the  dismclination  of  the 
natiyes  to  see  a  Russian  settlement  established  there. 

*'  £Jilebnikof  gives  Sept.  20th  as  the  date.  Shizn,  Baranovay  85.  This 
fort  was  in  the  shape  of  an  irregular  polygon,  its  longest  side  facing  the  sea. 
It  was  protected  by  a  breastwork  two  logs  in  thickness,  and  about  six  feet 
high.  Around  and  above  it  tangled  brush-wood  was  piled.  Grape-shot  did 
little  damage,  even  at  the  distance  of  a  cable's  length.  There  were  two  em- 
brasures for  cannon  in  tho  side  facing  the  sea,  and  two  ^ates  facing  the  forest. 
Within  were  fourteen  large  huts,  or,  as  they  were  called  by  the  natives,  bara- 
baras.  Judging  from  tho  quantity  of  provisions  and  domestic  implements 
found  there,  it  must  have  contained  at  least  800  warriors.  Linantfya  Voy. 
round  Worlds  163,  where  a  plan  of  the  fort  is  given. 


430  SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

could  not  see  each  other  as  they  advanced;   their 
progress  was  slow,  and  night  was  upon  them  when 
they  reached  the  stronghold.     Meanwhile  the  savages 
remained  perfectly  quiet,  except  that  occasionally  a 
musket-shot  was  fired,  probably  as  a  signal.    Mistaking 
this  inaction  for  timidity,  Baranof  rashly  ordered  his 
men  to  carry  the  fort  by  storm.     He  was  met  by  the 
savages  in  a  compact  body,  and  a  well-directed  fire 
was  opened  on  his  men,  causing  a  stampede  among 
the  natives,  who  were  dragging  along  the  guns.    Left 
with  a  mere  handful  of  sailors  and  promyshleniki,  the 
commander  was  forced  to  retire.     The  Kolosh  then 
rushed  forth  in  pursuit.     The  Russians  fought  gal- 
lantly, and  succeeded  in  saving  their  field-pieces,  though 
with  the  loss  of  ten  killed  and  twenty-six  wounded, 
among  the  latter  being  the  chief  manager,  who  was 
shot  through  the  arm  with  a  musket-ball."    As  they 
neared  the  shore,  their  retreat  was  covered  by  the 
guns  of  the  flotilla, 'but  for  which  circumstance  it  is 
probable  that  none  would  have  escaped,  and  that  Bar- 
anofs  career  would  now  have  been  brought  to  a  close. 
The  following  day   Lisiansky   was   requested  by 
Baranof  to  take  charge  of  the  expedition.    He  at  once 
opened  a  brisk  fire  on  the  fort.     In  the  afternoon, 
messengers  were  sent  by  the  Kolosh  to  sue  for  peace, 
with  the  promise  to  give  as  hostages  some  members 
of  the  most  prominent  families,  and  to  liberate  all  the 
Kadiak  natives  who  were  detained  as  prisoners.     The 
overture  was  favorably  received,  and  on  this  and  the 
three  following  days  a  number  of  hostages  were  deliv- 
ered into  the  hands  of  the  Russians.     Meanwhile  the 
evacuation  of  the  fort  was  demanded,  and  to  show 
that  he  was  in  earnest,  Lisiansky  moved  his  ship  far- 
ther in  shore.     To  this  the  chief  toyon  consented 
after  a  brief  negotiation. 

^*  Of  the  Nevada  men  alone  two  were  killed,  and  a  lientenant  (Povalishin), 
a  master's  mate,  a  surgeon's  mate,  a  quartermaster,  and  ten  sailors  of  the 
sixteen  who  accompanied  them,  were  wounded.  Of  tho  two  that  were  killed, 
one  was  inmiediately  held  up  on  the  spears  of  the  savages.   Id,,  158. 


MURDER  OP  CHILDREN.  431 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th,  an  interpreter  was  sent 
to  ask  whether  the  Kolosh'were  ready  to  abandon 
their  stronghold.  He  was  answered  that  they  would 
do  so  at  high  water.  At  noon  the  tide  was  at  its 
height,  and  as  there  was  no  sign  of  preparation 
for  departure,  the  savages  were  again  hailed,  and  no 
answer  being  returned,  fire  was  opened  from  the  Neva, 
During  the  day  a  raft  was  constructed,  on  which  the  guns 
could  be  brought  close  up  to  the  fort.  Toward  evening 
two  large  canoes  appeared,  one  of  them  belonging  to 
an  old  man,  "who,"  says  Lisiansky,  "hke  another 
Charon,  had  in  general  brought  the  hostages  to  us." 
He  was  advised  to  return  and  persuade  his  country- 
men to  retire  at  once  if  they  valued  their  safety.  To 
this  he  consented,  and  it  was  arranged  that  if  he  were 
successful,  it  should  be  made  known  to  the  Russians 
by  a  certain  signal.^^  Two  or  three  hours  later  the 
signal  was  heard  and  was  answered  by  a  cheer  from 
those  on  board  the  vessels.  Then  far  into  the  night 
a  strange  chant  was  wafted  on  the  still  air  from  the 
encampment  of  the  savages,  expressing  their  relief, 
as  the  interpreters  said,  that  now  their  lives  were  no 
longer  in  peril. 

But  the  chant  had  other  significance.  At  daylight 
no  sound  was  heard  from  shore,  nor  was  any  living 
creature  in  sight,  save  flocks  of  carrion  birds  hover- 
ing around  the  fort.  The  Kolosh  had  fled  to  the 
woods,  and  within  the  stronghold  lay  the  dead  bodies 
of  their  children,  slaughtered  lest  their  cries  should 
betray  the  lurking  place  of  the  fugitives. ^^     The  fort- 

"  Shouting  tbrice  the  word  "  oo,"  meaning  **end." 

*•  Thirty  of  the  Kolosh  warriors  were  also  foand  dead  in  the  fort.  It 
M'as  at  first  supposed  that  the  survivors  had  crossed  the  mountains  to  Khua- 
noffsky  Sound,  but  soon  afterward  they  attacked  a  party  of  Aleuts  a  few  verats 
distant,  killing  nine  of  them.  KfUebniko/j  Shizn.  Barajiova,  87-8.  Lisiansky 
thinks  that  thoir  fliglit  was  duo  to  fear  of  vengeance,  on  account  of  their  late 
cruelty  and  perfidy,  but  that  if  ammunition  had  not  failed  them,  they  would 
have  defended  themselves  to  the  last  extremity.  He  is  of  opinion  that  if 
Baranof  had  adopted  his  suggestion  to  harass  the  enemy  from  the  ships,  and  cut 
off  their  water  supply  and  their  communication  with  the  sea,  the  fort  might 
have  been  captured  by  the  Russians  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  The 
Kolosh  left  behind  them  a  quantity  of  provisions  and  more  than  twenty  large 
canoes.    Voy.  round  World,  102-4. 


432  SITKA  EECAPTURED. 

ress  was  then  burned  to  the  ground,  and  the  construc- 
tion of  magazines  was  immediately  commenced,  to- 
gether with  spacious  barracks  and  a  residence  for  the 
chief  manager.  The  buildings  were  surrounded  with 
a  stockade,  block-houses  being  erected  at  each  corner, 
and  a  stronghold  was  thus  formed  that  was  believed 
to  be  impregnable  against  the  attacks  of  the  Kolosh. 
To  this  settlement  was  given  the  name  of  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk. Under  the  bluff  were  anchored  all  the  ves- 
sels, with  the  exception  of  the  despatch  boat  RostisUtf 
and  the  Neva,  both  of  which  sailed  for  Kadiak,  Lisi- 
ansky  purposing  to  winter  there,  and  after  taking  in 
supplies,  to  return  in  the  spring  to  Sitka  Sound,  whence 
he  proposed  to  sail  for  Canton.^^ 

During  his  stay  in  Kadiak,  Lisiansky  visited  sev- 
eral of  the  settlements  on  that  island,  concerning 
which  he  gives  some  interesting  details.  The  entire 
population  apart  from  the  Russians  he  estimates  at 
only  four  thousand,^®  and  remarks  that  according  to 
the  report  of  the  oldest  inhabitants  it  had  decreased 
by  one  half  since  the  arrival  of  the  Russians.  The 
wholesale  mortality  which  had  thus  prevailed  since 
Shelikof  landed  there  in  1784  was  mainly  due  to  dis- 
eases introduced  by  the  invaders,  and  to  the  severe  toil 
and  hardship  to  which  the  natives  were  exposed  dur- 
ing the  long  hunting  expeditions  required  of  them  by 

^^  Banner  was  ordered  to  supply  the  Neva  with  all  the  fish  and  game 
needed,  and  all  the  cattle  that  could  be  spared.  On  board  the  ship  were  two 
Kolosh  prisoners.  Baranof  sent  instructions  to  keep  them  confined  in  the 
stockade  at  St  Paul,  and  make  them  work  along  with  the  Aleuts,  who  were 
placed  there  for  punishment.  Khlefmiko/j  Shizn.  Baranova,  89. 

*®  His  calculation  is  based  on  the  number  of  barabaras  in  the  several  dis- 
tricts, and  these  he  found  to  be  202.  Allowing  18  persons  to  each  barabara, 
we  have  a  total  of  3,636,  the  remainder  consisting  of  Aleuts  in  the  com- 
pany's service.  Voy.  round  World,  193.  This  is  probably  near  the  truth, 
for  a  census  list  lodged  in  the  oftice  of  the  directors  at  St  Petersburg  in  1804 
gives  4,834  as  the  population  of  Kadiak  and  the  adjacent  islands  about  that 
date,  against  6,519  in  1795.  Delarof  in  1790  places  the  number  as  low  as 
3,000,  and  Baranof  and  Banner  in  1805  state  that  there  were  only  450  men 
in  Kadiak  capable  of  labor.  Langsdorfif,  who  was  at  Kadiak  in  the  latter 
year,  is  inclined  to  believe  tlmt  the  number  of  men  fit  for  work  or  hunting 
did  not  exceed  500.    Voy,  and  Trav.,  part  ii.  60. 


POVERTY  OP  THE  NATIVES.  433 

their  task-masters.^^  Other  causes  were  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  sea-otter,  on  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  rely  for  food  during  winter,  and  their  neg- 
lect to  lay  in  a  stock  of  dried  salmon  for  the  season 
of  scarcity.  In  winter  and  early  spring  the  islanders 
lived  mainly  on  shell-fish,  and  this  in  a  country  where, 
between  the  months  of  May  and  October,  salmon 
could  be  taken  out  of  the  rivers  by  hand,  and  sea- 
bears^  could  catch  them  in  their  paws  so  easily  that 
they  devoured  only  the  head,  and  threw  away  the 
remainder. 

On  visiting  Igak  on  the  24th  of  March,  1805, 
Lisiansky  reports  that  he  found  all  the  people  in 
search  of  shell-fish  along  the  beach,  only  the  young 
children  being  left  in  the  eleven  filthy  barabaras  which 
formed  that  settlement.  "After  dinner,"  he  writes, 
"  the  chief  with  his  wife  came  to  pay  me  a  visit.  On 
entering  my  room  they  crossed  themselves  several 
times,  and  then  sat  down  on  the  floor  and  begged 
snufiT.  In  the  course  of  conversation  their  poverty 
was  mentioned,  when  I  endeavored  to  convince  them 
that  their  extreme  indolence  was  the  cause  of  it;  and 
I  suggested  various  ways  by  which  they  might  im- 
prove their  situation  and  render  life  more  comfort- 
able. I  advised  them  to  build  better  habitations,  to 
lay  in  regularly  a  suflScient  stock  of  winter  provisions, 
which  they  almost  always  neglects,  to  attend  more  to 
the  article  of  cleanliness,  and  lastly,  to  cultivate  differ- 

^*  Langsdorff  declares  that  he  has  seen  the  promyBhleniki  pat  the  natives 
to  a  horrible  death  from  mere  caprice.  Speaking  of  the  overseers,  he  terms 
them  'Siberian  malefactors  or  adventurers.'  Both  these  statements  are  de- 
nied by  Lisiansky,  vho  affirms  that  the  exiles  sent  to  Kadiak  were  employed 
only  as  common  laborers.  *  That  mistakes  of  this  nature  should  be  made  by 
Lanffsdorff/  ho  remarks.  *  is  not  to  bo  wondered  at,  when  we  find  him  thus 
speskking  of  himself:  "  To  examine  a  country  accurately,  three  things  are  rcqui* 
site,  not  one  of  which  I  at  this  time  enjoyed — leisure,  serenity  o?  mind,  and 
convenience."  To  this  might  be  a<lded,  that  he  was  but  a  short  time  in  the 
country  of  which  he  speaks,  and  was  ignorant  of  the  language  both  of  the 
natives  and  of  the  Russians.'  Voy.  round  Worlds  215,  note. 

*  Called  by  the  Russians  hotik^  and  Ixjlonging  to  the  seal  gcnns,  though 
differing  materially  from  the  phoca  vituliua,  or  common  seal.  Lau(]i*dorf's 
Fby.,  part  ii.  22.  Lisiansky  makes  a  ridiculous  mistake  on  this  point,  lio 
says  that  the  wild  beasts,  and  especially  bears,  go  into  the  river  and  catch 
these  fish  with  their  paws.  Voy,  round  fVorld,  192. 
Hut.  AukOLk.    28 


434  SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

ent  culinary  plants  near  their  houses,  by  which  thoy 
would  be  relieved  from  the  trouble  of  collecting  wild 
roots  and  herbs,  which  were  neither  so  palatable  nor 
so  nutritious."  ^^ 

At  Killuda  Bay,  a  few  versts  south-west  of  Igak, 
Lisiansky  landed  at  a  settlement,  "  in  which,"  he  says, 
'*we  found  only  women  and  children,  the  men  be- 
longing to  it  having  been  absent  with  Baranof  since 
the  preceding  spring.  Not  having  laid  in  provis- 
ions in  sufficient  quantity  for  the  winter,  these  poor 
wretches  were  literally  half  starved.  Wishing  to 
afford  them  what  was  in  my  power,  I  distributed 
among  them  the  stock  of  dried  fish  I  had  in  the  boats, 
and  left  this  abode  of  wretchedness  with  no  very 
pleasurable  sensations.  It  was  indeed  a  heart-rending 
scene  to  see  these  emaciated  beings  crawling  out  of 
their  huts  to  thank  me  for  the  trifling  relief  I  had 
afforded  them.  Though  the  weather  was  the  next 
morning  very  disagreeable,  I  went  to  Drunkard's  Bay, 
where  I  witnessed  the  same  meagre  traits  of  poverty. 
Of  the  inhabitants  I  purchased  several  curiosities, 
consisting  of  images  dressed  in  different  forms.  The 
best  were  cut  out  of  bone.  They  are  used  here  as 
dolls.  Indeed,  the  women  who  have  no  children 
keep  them,  I  was  told,  to  represent  the  wished-for 
infant  offspi:ing,  and  amuse  themselves  with  them,  as 
if  they  were  real  infants. 

*'0n  the  1st  of  April  we  proceeded  to  the  harbor  of 
Three  Saints,  where  we  arrived  in  the  afternoon.  In 
our  way  we  visited  a  village  called  the  Fugitive, 
which  was  in  a  thriving  condition.  The  inhabitants 
appeared  much  healthier  than  those  of  Ihack^^  or 
Killuden,^^  and   lived  better.     On   our   arrival,  the 

^^  Id.j  173-4.'  Two  days  later  Lisiansky  received  a  visit  from  a  Russian 
who  had  lived  in  Unalaska.  He  reported  that  a  volcanic  island  had  appeared 
alx>ve  the  sea  in  the  middle  of  April  1797.  The  news  was  brought  by  some 
Aleutian  iashcrmeu,  who  observed  a  great  smoke  issuing  from  the  waters.  The 
land  gradually  rose  above  tlio  surface,  and  in  May  of  the  following  year  an 
eruption  occurred  which  waa  distinctly  visible  at  a  settlement  on  Makushin 
Bay,  45  miles  distant.     In  1700  the  island  was  12  miles  in  circumference. 

"Tcrak. 

^  Killuda. 


BERRIES  AND  OIL.  435 

chief's  wife  brought  us  a  basin  of  berries,  mixed  with 
rancid  whale  oil,  begging  us  to  refresh  ourselves. 
This  delicate  mess,  produced  at  a  time  when  the  ber- 
ries are  not  in  season,  is  regarded  by  the  islanders 
as  no  small  proof  of  opulence.  I  gave  this  treat, 
however,  to  my  Aleutians;  and  after  distributing  to- 
bacco and  other  trifles  among  the  family,  took  my  leave. 

''The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  my  arrival  at  the 
harbor  of  Three  Saints  was  known  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, several  of  the  toyons  came  together  to  see  me. 
After  the  usual  compliments,  and  a  treat  of  snuff  on 
my  part,^*  the  conversation  began  on  the  common 
topic  of  poverty,  when  I  endeavored,  with  some 
earnestness,  to  persuade  them  to  throw  off  the  sloth 
and  idleness  so  visible  amongst  them,  and  exert  them- 
selves; and  I  stated,  as  I  had  done  in  a  previous 
instance,  the  many  comforts  they  would  derive  from 
habits  of  industry,  of  which  they  were  at  present  per- 
fectly destitute.  The  toyons  listened  attentively  to 
my  advice,  and  assured  me  that  they  should  be  happy 
to  follow  it,  but  that  there  were  many  circumstances 
to  prevent  them;  and  I  must  confess  I  blushed  when 
I  heard  that  the  principal  of  these  was  the  high  price 
fixed  by  the  Russian  Company  on  every  necessary 
article,  and  especially  its  iron  instruments,  which  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  the  islanders  to  purchase  them. 
While  this  is  the  case,  what  improvement  can  be  ex- 
pected in  these  people?" 

On  the  6th  Lisiansky  and  his  party  visited  a  settle- 
ment on  the  adjacent  island  of  Sitkhalidak,  with  regard 
to  which  I  give  one  more  quotation.  "Toward  even- 
ing," he  continues,  "the  weather  becoming  cold,  we 
made  a  fire  in  the  middle  of  our  barabara,  which  was 
soon  surrounded  by  the  inhabitants,  young  and  old 
They  were  very  much  amused  at  seeing  us  drinking 
tea;  but  I  have  no  doubt  were  still  more  gratified 
when   I   ordered  some   dried  fish  to  be  distributed 

'*  Snuff  13  the  best  treat  that  can  be  offered  to  these  people,  who  will  often 
go  twenty  miles  out  of  their  way  to  get  merely  a  pinch  or  two  of  it.   Id,,  179. 


436  aCTKA  RECAPTpRED. 

amongst  them,  which  was  a  rarity  at  this  season  of 
the  year.  The  master  and  mistresfe  of  the  house  were 
invited  to  partake  of  our  beverage,  and  they  seemed 
to  plume  themselves  upon  the  circumstance,  as  if  dis- 
tinguished by  it  from  the  rest  of  the  party.  During 
our  tea  repast,  the  family  were  at  their  supper,  which 
was  served  up  in  the  following  manner:  The  cook 
having  filled  a  wooden  bowl  with  dried  fish,  presented 
it  to  the  master  of  the  house,  who,  after  eating  as 
much  as  he  could,  gave  the  rest  to  his  wife.  The 
other  dishes  were  served  up  in  similar  order,  be- 
ginning with  the  oldest  of  the  family,  who,  when  he 
had  eaten  his  fill,  gave  the  dish  to  the  next  in  age, 
and  he  again  to  the  next;  and  thus  it  passed  in  rota- 
tion till  it  came  to  the  youngest,  wh©se  patience,  as 
the  family  was  numerous,  must  have  been  a  little  ex- 
hausted. Perceiving,  at  length,  that  our  companions 
were  becoming  drowsy,  I  advised  them  to  go  to  rest, 
which  they  did,  wishing  us  several  times  a  good  night, 
and  expressing  how  satisfied  they  were  with  our  kind- 
ness. 

"The  next  morning  when  I  arose  at  daylight,  and 
was  proceeding  to  take  a  walk,  I  found  all  the  men 
sitting  on  the  roofs  of  their  houses.  This  is  their  fa- 
vorite recreation  after  sleeping;  though  they  are  also 
fond  of  sitting  on  the  beach,  and  looking  for  hours  to- 
gether at  the  sea,  when  they  have  nothing  else  to  do. 
In  this  practice  they  resemble  more  a  herd  of  beasts 
than  an  association  of  reasonable  beings  endowed  with 
the  gift  of  speech  Indeed,  these  savages,  when  assem- 
bled together,  appear  to  have  no  delight  in  the  oral  in- 
tercourse that  generally  distinguishes  the  human  race ; 
for  they  never  converse;  on  the  contrary,  a  stupid 
silence  reigns  amongst  them.  I  had  many  opportu- 
nities of  noticing  individuals  of  every  age  and  degree; 
and  I  am  persuaded  that  the  simplicity  of  their  char- 
acter exceeds  that  of  any  other  people,  and  that  a  long 
time  must  elapse  before  it  will  undergo  any  very  per- 
oeytible  change.     It  is  true,  that  on  my  entering  their 


M0VEMJENT3  OF  THE  'NEVA.'  437 

houses,  some  sort  of  ceremony  was  always  observed 
by  them;  but  by  degrees  even  this  so  completely  dis- 
appeared, that  an  Aleutian  would  undress  himself  to 
a  state  of  nudity,  without  at  all  regarding  my  presence ; 
though  at  the  same  moment  he  considered  me  as  the 
greatest  personage  on  the  island." 

On  the  14th  of  June  the  Neva  sailed  from  St  Paul, 
and  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month  entered  the  harbor 
of  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  During  Lisiansky's  absence 
matters  had  prospered  with  the  new  settlement. 
Eight  substantial  buildings  had  been  completed;  the 
fort  was  also  finished  and  mounted  with  cannon;  a 
number  of  kitchen-gardens  were  undef  cultivation, 
and  the  live-stock  were  thriving.  All  winter  the 
Kolosh  had  avoided  the  neighborhood,  and  only  now 
stnd  then  a  few  small  canoes  appeared,  whose  inmates 
carefully  scanned  the  movements  of  the  Russians 
and  then  vanished  quickly  from  sight. 

On  the  2d  of  July  an  interpreter  was  despatched  by 
Baranof  to  inform  them  that  the  Neva  had  arrived 
with  the  hostages  who  had  been  delivered  up  on  the 
cessation  of  hostilities.^  The  demoralized  savages 
had  scattered  during  the  winter,  but  now  were  assem- 
bling once  more,  and  had  built  another  fort  on  the 
western  shore  of  Chatham  Strait,  opposite  the  village 
of Houtshnoo.  The  reportwascurrentthatothertribes 
also  were  fortifying  their  villages,  and  \%  was  feared 
that  in  time  the  colony  would  again  be  surrounded 
with  dangerous  neighbors.  The  messenger  was  sent 
back  with  the  answer  that  the  toyons  required  some 
assurance  of  good  faith  before  placing  themselves  in 
the  power  of  the  Russians,  and  was  again  despatched 
on  the  same  errand,  with  presents  and  promises  of  kind 
treatment. 

^  While  waiting  for  a  reply  from  the  enemy,  Li^iansky  caused  a  surrey  to 
be  made  of  Norfolk  Sound,  and  especially  of  the  island  upon  which  Mount 
Edgecumbo  is  situated.  To  this  he  gave  the  name  of  Eruze,  now  Kruzof,  in 
honor  of  an  admiral  of  that  name  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  his  prefer- 
ment Id.,  220-1. 


438  SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  16th  five  canoes  were  seen 
approaching  the  fort,  and  as  they  drew  near  it  became 
known  that  they  contained  the  messenger  and  an  eiu- 
bassy  from  the  Kolosh.  The  Chugatsches  in  Baranof 's 
camp  were  ordered  to  conduct  them  to  the  fort,  play- 
ing the  part  of  gentlemen  ushers,  as  Lisiansky  re- 
marks, and  donning  their  holiday  apparel,  set  forth  to 
meet  them.  Some  were  attired  only  in  a  threadbare 
vest,  some  few  in  a  pair  of  ragged  breeches,  while  by 
others  an  old  hat,  or  a  powdering  of  eagle  down  on  the 
hair,  was  considered  a  full-dress  suit  for  a  gentleman. 
When  close  to  the  beach  the  embassy  stopped,  and 
the  savages  on  shore  and  in  boat  executed  a  dance  and 
song,  the  toyon  of  the  Kolosh  being  conspicuous  for 
his  nimble  "capering.  The  canoes  were  then  pulled  on 
shore  by  the  Chugatsches,  their  inmates  remaining 
seated,  while  the  gentleman  ushers  entertained  them 
with  a  second  performance. 

At  length  the  ambassador  and  his  suite  were  lifted 
from  their  boats  and  carried  to  their  apartments, 
where  a  feast  had  been  prepared  for  them.  On  the 
following  day  they  paid  a  visit  to  the  Neva^  and  were 
regaled  with  tea  and  brandy.  The  envoy  in  chief  w^as 
invited  into  the  cabin,  where  his  son,  who  had  been 
held  as  a  hostage,  was  brought  into  his  presence.^  He 
was  surprised  at  the  cheerful  and  well-fed  appearance 
of  the  lad,  and  expressed  his  gratitude  to  the  captain, 
but  no  sign  of  affection  was  shown  by  child  or  parent. 
After  more  singing  and  dancing,  the  savages  returned 
on  shore,^^  and  in  the  afternoon  held  an  interview 

*•  Among  the  hostages  were  three  creole  youths,  to  whom  were  ffiven  the 
names  of  iVndrei  Klimovsky,  Ivan  Chernof,  and  Gerassin  Kondakof.  One  of 
tlicm  was  the  ambassador's  son,  but,  as  Lisiansky  says,  was  afterward  ex- 
cliaiiged  for  a  younger  brother,  who  probably  received  the  same  name.  They 
wore  subsequently  placed  in  the  school  of  navigation  by  the  board  of  managers, 
and  were  finally  returned  to  the  colonies.  Klimoffsky  became  a  captain  and 
cojnmandcd  several  vessels,  while  the  others  were  appointed  mates  in  the 
company's  service.  Kondakof  died  in  1820  and  Klimoffsky  in  1831.  Baranof, 
Sh  Z7i.f  60.  The  third,  Chernof,  survived  the  transfer  of  Alaska  to  the  Uniteil 
t^.>tatos,  dying  in  the  year  1877.  His  two  sons  still  navigate  the  waters  of 
Alaska. 

^'  Lisiansky  says:  *  These  people  are  so  fond  of  dancing,  that  I  never  snw 
tliree  of  tlicm  together  wicliout  the^r  feet  being  in  motion.     Before  the  de- 


TREATY  WITH  THE  KOLOSH.  439 

with  Baranof,  who  presented  to  each  a  cloak  ®  and  a 
pewter  medal,  the  latter  in  token  of  peace.  Brandy- 
was  produced,  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  arranged,^ 
and  all  were  invited  to  a  banquet  at  the  residence 
of  the  chief  manager.  The  place  of  honor  was  of 
course  given  to  the  envoy's  wife,  whose  evening  cos- 
tume was  a  piece  of  red  cloth  thrown  over  her  shoul- 
ders, and  a  thick  coating  of  black  paint  on  her  face. 
Her  coiflEure  was  composed  entirely  of  soot,  and  for 
ornament  she  wore  a  round  piece  of  wood  in  the 
lower  Up.  It  was  observed  that  during  her  frequent 
sips  of  fire-water  she  was  extremely  careful  of  this 
feature,  which  projected  at  right  angles  from  the 
chin,  and  was  regarded  as  her  greatest  charm.  Late 
at  night  the  ambassador,  his  spouse,  and  suite  were 
again  carried  to  their  apartments,  none  of  them  being 
sober  enough  to  stand  on  their  feet.  The  next  day 
they  took  their  leave,  the  chief  of  the  embassy  being 
presented  with  a  staflF  on  which  were  the  Russian 
arms,  wrought  in  copper,  decorated  with  ribbons  and 
eagle  down.  This  he  was  told  to  present  to  his  coun- 
trymen as  a  token  of  friendship.^ 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  with  the  Kolosh, 
Lisiansky  made  ready  for  sea,  and  on  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember, 1805,  sailed  for  Canton  with  a  cargo  valued 
at  more  than  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  roubles.*^ 

partnre  of  the  ambassador  I  allowed  him  to  fire  off  one  of  our  twelve-pounders, 
which  he  did  with  a  firmness  I  little  expected,  •xhibiting  no  surprise  either 
at  the  report  of  the  cannon  or  its  motion.*  Voy.  round  WoHdt  223-4. 

^To  tne  ambassador  was  given  a  mantle  of  fine  red  cloth  trimmed  with 
ei%iine,  and  to  the  rest  cloaks  of  common  blue  cloth. 

'■I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  account  of  the  terms  of  this  treaty. 
Neither  Lisiaiisky  nor  Baranof  has  a  word  to  say  about  it  in  their  reports  of 
the  afiEELir. 

^  Returning  to  the  fort  on  August  16th,  after  an  excursion  to  the  sunmiit 
of  Mount  Edgecumbe,  Lisiansky  found  the  ambassador  there.  He  had  re- 
turned to  announce  to  the  Russians  his  appointment  as  chief  toyon  in  place 
of  Kotlean.  His  new  dignity  had  so  elated  his  pride  that  he  no  longer  deigned 
to  use  his  legs,  except  when  dancing,  but  was  invariably  carried  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  his  attendants.  Id,,  232. 

^^  Including  3,000  sea-otter  and  more  than  150,000  small  skins.  KhUhni- 
kofi  Shizn.  Baranova,  90.  This  authority  gives  August  20th  as  the  time  of 
the  Neva's  departure.  With  regard  to  date,  he  is  constantly  at  variance  with 
Lisiansky,  who  has  been  accepted  as  the  chief  authority  for  the  statt^menta 
made  in  this  chapter. 


440  SITKA  RECAPTUBED. 

Here  lie  arrived  early  in  December  of  the  same 
year,*"  calling  at  Macao,  where  he  met  with  Captain 
JSjusenatern,  who  had  arrived  in  the  Nadeshda  on  his 
homeward  voyage,  Rezanof  meanwhile  having  sailed 
in  another  vessel  for  Alaska.  After  much  vexatious 
delay,  caused  by  the  Chinese  officials,  the  furs  were 
landed  and  sold,^  a  cargo  of  tea,  nankeens,  and  other 
goods  purchased  with  the  proceeds,  and  on  the  4th 
of  August,  1806,  the  Neva  cast  anchor  at  Elronstadt. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  her  return  was  known  in 
St  Petersburg  the  vessel  was  thronged  with  persons 
of  every  rank,  and  for  many  days  her  commander 
was  so  much  occupied  with  answering  their  questions 
and  listening  to  their  compliments  that,  as  he  says,  he 
had  barely  time  to  eat  or  sleep.  Among  those  who 
visited  the  ship  were  the  emperor  and  the  empress's 
mother.  The  former  complimented  Lisiansky  on 
the  appearance  of  the  JVeva,  and  observed  that  her 
crew  looked  better  than  when  they  had  left  the  shores 
of  Russia,**  while  the  latter  spoke  a  few  kind  words 
to  all  on  board,  and  afterward  sent  presents  to  each 
of  the  officers  and  sailors. 

On  the  19th  of  the  same  month  the  Nadeshda 
arrived,  having  accomplished  her  voyage  round  the 
world  in  three  years  and  twelve  days,  with  the  loss  of 
only  one  man.*^ 

The  two  commanders  received  the  order  of  St 
Vladimir  of  the  thijd  class,  and  a  pension  of  3,000 
roubles  a  year  for  life.**     The  other  officers  were  pro- 

'^  Baring  the  vovage,  it  was  discovered  that  a  large  portion  of  the  skins 
were  in  an  advanced  sts^e  of  decomposition.  Several  days  were  occupied  in 
sorting  them  and  throwing  overboard  those  that  were  entirely  spoiled.  Tlie 
loss  was  estimated  at  200,000  roubles.  Lisiansky's  Voy,  round  World,  264r-C. 

'^  The  Nadrshda  was  also  detained  at  Macao  by  the  authorities.  Both 
cargoes  were  sold  at  low  prices. 

^^  Among  the  refreshments  served  to  the  emperor  was  some  Russian  salt 
beef,  'whicli/  Lisiansky  says,  *had  stood  the  test  of  the  entire  voyage,  and 
was  nevertheless  more  juicy  and  less  salt  than  the  Irish  beef  which  he  bad 
lately  purchased  at  Falmoutii.' 

^-^  Rezanof 's  cook,  who,  as  Krusenstem  affirms,  was  in  an  advanced  stage 
of  consumption  when  he  went  on  board  the  ship.  Voy.  round  Worlds  4(&, 
note. 

^^  Lisiansky  also  received  many  valuable  presents  from  the  royal  family. 


RESULTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITIOif,  441 

moted  one  step,  with  pensions  of  500  to  1,000  rou- 
bles; and  to  the  petty  officers  and  sailors  were  given 
pensions  of  50  to  75  roubles,  with  permission  to  retire 
from  the  service  if  they  so  desired.*'  Lisiansky  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  commander  in-  the  imperial  navy, 
but  no  further  promotion  appears  to  have  been  con- 
ferred on  Krusenstern.^  •  He  had  failed  in  his  mis- 

^Id,,  introd.  xxx.-xxxi.,  note;  LisiaJUfhy,  Voy.  round  World,  318.  Langs- 
dorff  and  the  sdentifio  men  who  accompanied  him  received  pensions  of  SOO 
ducats  a  year. 

'"The  j>rinoipal  sonroes  of  information  as  to  the  recaptare  of  Sitka  and  the 
incidents  in  connection  with  the  voyage  of  the  Nadeahda  and  Keva  are  A 
Voyage  round  the  World,  in  1803-6,  with  plates  and  charts,  by  C/rey  Lfisiamhy 
(trandated  from  the  Russian,  London,  1814);  Voyages  and  IraveU  in  Various 
Paris  of  the  Worlds  in  1803-7,  with  sixteen  plates,  by  G.  H.  von  Langsdorff 
(in  two  jMirts,  St  Petersburg,  1811,  and  London,  1813);  and  Voyage  round  tJie 
World,  in  1803-6,  by  A.  J.  von  Krusenstern  (3  vols,  with  atlas  and  maps,  St 
PetersbuTff,  1810-14;  2  vols.  London,  1813,  and  Paris,  1820).  Lisiansky's 
account  of  the  taking  of  the  Kolosh  stronghold  is  probably  the  most  reliable 
version  of  this  events  and  is  to  bo  pref eir^  to  that  of  Khlebnikof ,  as  the  for- 
mer was  an  eye-witness  of  all  that  transpired,  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
operations  of  the  expedition,  and  writes  without  any  of  the  bias  shown  by 
Baranof 's  biographer,  though  perhaps  taking  a  little  too  much  credit  for  his 
own  share  in  the  achievement.  The  first  seven  chapters  and  a  part  of  the 
eighth  describe  the  voyage  of  the  Neva  from  Eronstadt  to  Kadiak,  and  con- 
tain some  interesting  narticulars  about  the  natives  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
where  the  ship  callea  on  her  passage.  Li  the  remainder  of  can.  viii. 
and  in  ix.-xii.,  we  have  an  account  of  his  travels  and  observations  in 
Alaska,  and  of  tiie  recapture  of  Sitka.  In  the  rest  of  the  work  he  relates  his 
homeward  voyage.  The  book  is  entertaining,  written  in  an  easy  and  natural 
style,  and  evidentlv  with  more  regard  to  truth  than  effect.  Lisiansky  was  a 
native  of  Nagin,  where  he  was  bom  of  noble  parents,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1773. 
After  completing  his  education  at  the  naval  academy  at  Kronstadt,  he  was 
appointed,  when  fifteen  years  of  age,  a  midshipman  in  .the  Russian  navy,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  during  &e  war  with  Sweden,  bein^  present  at  the 
battle  of  Revel,  in  1790.  Later,  he  took  service  in  the  English  navy,  where 
he  first  met  with  Krusenstern,  and  after  travelling  in  the  United  States,  re- 
turned to  Russia  in  1800,  where  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a 
frigate,  and  made  a  knight  of  the  order  of  St  George  of  the  fourth  class. 

Krusenstern,  although  in  command  of  the  expedition,  never  visited  t^e 
north-west;  but,  as  we  have  seen,  the  despatch  of  the  expedition  was  due  to 
his  efforts.  The  narrative  of  his  voyage  in  the  Nadeshda  is  full  of  interest, 
and  by  no  means  justifies  the  first  part  of  the  motto  which  appears  on  the 
title-page:  *Les  marins  ^crivent  mal,  mais  avec  assez  de  candeur.'  Between 
the  years  1824  and  1835  he  published  in  St  Petersburg,  in  3  vols,  an  Atlas 
de  VOdan  Padfqwe,  together  with  his  Hecueil  des  M^moires  Hydrographiqites, 
and  in  1836  lus  SuppUmens  au  Becueil  de  Mdmoires  Hydrograpkiques  pour 
servir  d*amalyse  et  d^expUcaJlion  d  I* Atlas  de  V0c6an  Pacifique,  These  works 
are  very  favorably  noticed  in  the  Jour.  Royal  Oeog.  Soc.  qf  London,  1837, 
vii.  406-9,  wherein  is  a  list  of  the  more  important  errors  contained  in  Arrow- 
smith's  chart  of  the  Pacific,  which,  it  was  claimed,  had  been  corrected  up  to  the 
vear  1832,  and  was  then  considered  the  best  in  Europe.  '  Among  others  is  the 
location  of  the  island  of  St  Paul.  '  The  SuppUmeTis,^  says  the  Journal  of  the 
London  Oeographical  Society,  'registers  all  the  discoveries  and  newly  de- 
termined positions  that  have  been  made  in  the  lapse  of  the  last  thirteen  yean, 


442  SITKA  RECAPTURED. 

si  on;  but,  as  we  shall  see  later,  through  no  fault  ^of 
his  own. 

during  which  more  has  been  done  towards  obtaining  a  correct  knowledge  of 
those  seas  than  at  any  time  since  the  voyages  of  Cook  and  La  P^rouse.' 

Langsdoi-ff  *s  work  is  the  least  valuable  of  the  tliree.  As  a  savant  he  waa 
superticial;  as  a  chronicler'he  waa  biased.  In  neither  capacity  does  he  add 
much  to  what  was  already  known  of  Russian  America.  The  first  part  con- 
tains a  narrative  of  his  voyage  to  Kamchatka,  thence  to  Japan,  and  back  to 
Pctropovlovsk,  the  incidents  of  which  are  also  related  in  Krusenstem's  work. 
The  tirst  five  and  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  chapters  of  the  second  part  relate 
to  Alaska,  and  the  remainder  of  the  work  is  taken  up  with  his  visit  to  Cali- 
fornia and  his  homeward  journey.  His  statements  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
natives  and  the  promyshleniki  appear  to  be  greatlv  exaggerated.  They  are 
not  indorsed  by  any  of  the  Alaskan  annalists,  and  though  Lisiansky  gives 
some  color  to  them,  they  are  strongly  at  variance  with  the  reports  of  Rezanof, 
who  waa  a  keen  and  impartial  observer.  A  pi-oof  of  the  little  value  set  on 
Langsdorff^s  services  is  the  srnalluess  of  the  pension  granted  to  him  on  liia 
return.  Ue  received,  as  will  be  remembered,  but  300  ducats  a  year,  and  the 
like  sum  was  given  to  his  assistants,  while  the  lieutenants  and  surgeons  of 
the  expedition  were  awarded  pensions  of  1,000  roubles. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

REZANOF'S  VISIT. 

1804-1806. 

"Voyage  OP  THE  'Nadeshda*— ARxtssian  Embassy  Dismissed  bt  the  Japan- 
ssE — Rezanof  at  St  Paul  Island — Wholesale  Slaughter  or  Pue- 
SEALa — The  Ambassador's  Letter  to  the  Emperobt— The  Eitvoy  Pro- 
ceeds TO  BLadiak — And  Thence  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk — His  Report 
TO  THE  Russian  American  Company — Further  Trouble  with  the 
Kolosh — ^The  Ambassador's  Instructions  to  the  Chief  Manager — 
Evil  Tidings  prom  Eadiak— Rezanof's  Voyage  to  California— His 
Complaints  against  Naval  Officers— His  Opinion  of  the  Mission- 
aries— ^His  Last  Journey. 

A  FORTNIGHT  before  the  Neva  sailed  for  Canton,  the 
JElizaveta  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  together  with 
two  American  ships,  one  of  them,  named  the  Juno, 
laden  with  provisions,  calling  for  repairs.  A  few  days 
later  the  company's  brig  Maria  entered  the  harbor, 
having  on  board  as  passengers  lieutenants  Kvostof 
and  Davidof,  the  naturalist  Langsdoriff,  and  the  am- 
bassador Rezanof,  who  was  destined  to  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  development  of  the  Russian 
American  colonies.  Before  proceeding  further,  it 
may  be  well  to  mention  briefly  the  voyage  of  the 
Nadeshda  from  the  time  of  her  parting  company 
with  her  consort,  and  the  envoy's  operations  before 
landing  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 

After  a  passage  of  thirty-five  days  from  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  the  vessel  arrived  at  Petropavlovsk  on 
the  14th  of  July,  1804.  Here  Rezanof  assumed  full 
control.  The  ship,  after  being  unrigged  and  repaired, 
was  again  ready  for  sea  at  the  end  of  August,  but 

(443) 


444  EEZANOF'S  VISIT. 

was  weather-bound  until  the  6th  of  thjB  following 
month,  when  she  sailed  from  the  coast  of  Kamchatka, 
well  equipped,  and  with  an  ample  stock  of  provisions^* 

Arriving  at  Nangasaki  on  October  8th,  after  a 
rough  passage,  Rezanof  was  detained  for  several 
months  by  the  frivolous  trifling  of  the  Japanese  au- 
thorities. At  length,  on  the  30th  of  March,  1805,  a 
plenipotentiary  arrived  from  Jeddo,  and  "on  the  3d 
of  April,"  writes  Krusenstern,  "it  was  concluded  that 
the  ambassador  should  pay  the  representative  of  the 
Japanese  emperor,  a  European,  and  not  a  Japanese, 
compliment.  This  latter,  mdeed,  is  of  so  debasing  a 
nature,  that  even  the  very  lowest  of  Europeans  could 
not  submit  to  it;  but  he  was  obliged  to  appear  with- 
out his  sword  or  shoes,  nor  would  they  allow  him  a 
chair  or  any  kind  of  European  seat,  but  reduced  him 
to  the  necessity  of  sitting  in  front  of  the  governor  and 
the  plenipotentiary,  on  the  floor,  with  his  feet  tucked 
under  him,  an  attitude  by  no  means  the  most  conven- 
ient. 

"On  the  4  th  of  April  Rezanof  had  his  first  audience, 
to  which  he  was  conveyed  in  a  large  boat  adorned 
with  flags  and  curtains.  On  this  occasion,  merely  an 
exchange  of  compliments  took  place,  and  a  few  insig- 
nificant questions  were  put  to  him.  The  second  au- 
dience was  conducted  with  the  same  ceremonies,  and 
here  the  negotiation  terminated ;  the  necessary  docu- 
ments being  delivered  into  his  hands,  which  contained 
an  order  that  no  Russian  ship  should  again  come  to 
Japan;  and  the  presents,  and  even  the  letter,  from 
the  emperor  of  Russia,  were  all  refused."^ 

^  EjTUBenstem  writes:  'I  doubt  whether  any  ehip  ever  Bailed  from  this 
harbor  so  well  provisioned  as  we  were;  and  shall  mention  the  chief  articles 
we  were  furnished  with,  in  order  to  show  what  Kamchatka  was  competent 
to  provide.  We  had  seven  large  live  oxen,  a  considerable  provision  of  salted 
ana  dried  fish,  a  great  supply  of  vegetables,  several  casks  of  salt  fish  for 
the  crew,  and  three  large  barrels  of  wild  garlic  (as  an  anti-scorbutic  and  a 
substitute  for  sourkrout).  Besides  these,  we  received  several  delicacies  for 
our  own  table,  such  as  salted  reindeer  and  game,  argali  or  wild  sheep,  salted 
wild  geese,  etc., for  all  which  we  were  indebted  to  the  governor,  who,  if  I 
may  be  allowed  tlie  expression,  employed  all  Kamchatka  to  our  advantage.' 
Vo7/.  round  World,  i.  215-16. 

'  /cZ.,  i.  284-5.     '  Should  any  Japanese  hereafter  be  cast  upon  the  coast  of 


AT  SAINT  PAUL.  445 

In  sore  disgust,  Hezanof  ordered  th  captain  of  thee 
Nadeslida  to  weigh  anchor  on  the  morning  of  the  l7th 
of  April.  After  being  engaged  for  several  weeks  in 
exploring  expeditions  among  the  Japanese,  Kurile, 
and  Saghalin  Islands,  the  ship  again  cast  anchor  off 
Petropavlovsk  on  the  5th  of  June.  Here  Rezanof 
engaged  a  passage  on  board  the  brig  Maria  for  Ka- 
diak,  the  Nadeshda  sailing  a  month  later,  and  after 
further  explorations,  arriving  at  Macao  on  the  20th 
of  November. 

Dismissing  the  members  of  his  embassy  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Langsdorff,  the  plenipotentiary  sailed  from 
Petropavlovsk  oq  the  24th  of  June,  and  about  three 
weeks  later  landed  at  the  island  of  St  Paul.  Here  he 
met  with  sufficient  evidences  of  carelessness  and  waste. 
Th'e  skins  of  the  fur-seal  were  scattered  about  over 
beach  and  bluff  in  various  stages  of  decomposition. 
The  storehouses  were  full,  but  only  a  small  part  of 
their  contents  was  in  a  marketable  state.  As  many 
as  thirty  thousand  had  been  killed  for  their  flesh  alpne, 
the  skins  having  been  left  on  the  spot  or  thrown  into 
the  sea.  After  questioning  the  Aleutiaq  laborers  and 
Russian  overseers,  Rezanof  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  unless  an  end  were  put  to  this  wanton  destruc- 
tion, a  few  years  more  would  witness  the  extirpation 
of  the  fur-seal. 

On  the  25th  of'  July  the  Maria  entered  Beaver 
Bay,  on  the  eastern  side  of  Unalaska,  and  thence,  with 
a  few  companions,  Rezanof  proceeded  on  foot  over  the 
rough  mountain  trail  to  the  company's  station  at  lUiu- 
liuk.^ 

Bussia,' continues  Krasenstem,  Hhey  were  to  be  delivered  over  to  the  Dutch, 
■who  would  send  them  by  way  of  Batavia  to  Nangasaki.  Further:  we  were 
forbidden  from  making  any  presents,  or  purchasing  anything  for  money,  as 
well  as  from  visiting  or  receiving  the  visit  of  the  Dutch  factor.  On  the  other 
band,  it  was  declared  that  the  repairs  of  the  ship  and  the  supply  of  provisions 
were  to  be  taken  into  the  imperial  account;  that  she  should  bo  provided  with 
everything  for  two  months;  and  that  the  emperor  had  sent  2,000  sacks  of  salt, 
each  weighing  30  pounds,  and  100  sacks  of  rice,  each  of  150  pounds  weight, 
besides  2,000  pieces  of  capock  or  silk  wadding.' 

'  The  natives  of  the  settlement  on  Beaver  Bay  (Borka)  still  relate  inci-  .. 
dents  of  this  journey,  transmitted  to  them  by  their  fathers.    They  told  Mr 


446  REZANOF'S  VISIT. 

From  this  settlement  Rezanof  despatched  his  first 
official  letter.  After  making  brief  mention  of  his  voy- 
age, he  writes:*  "  The  multitude  of  seals  in  which  St 
Paul  abounds  is  incredible;  the  shores  are  coverfed 
with  them.  They  are  easily  caught,  and  as  we  were 
short  of  provisions,  eighteen  were  killed  for  us  in  half 
an  hour.  But  at  the  same  time  we  were  informed 
that  they  had  decreased  in  number  ninety  per  cent 
since  earlier  times.  These  islands  .would  be  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  wealth  were  it  not  for  the  Bostoni- 
ans,  who  undermine  our  trade  with  China  in  furs,  of 
which  they  obtain  large  numbers  on  our  American 
coast.  As  over  a  million  had  already  been  killed,  I 
gave  orders  to  stop  the  slaughter  at  once,  in  order  to 
prevent  their  total  extirmination,  and  to  employ  the 
men  in  collecting  walrus  tusks,  as  there  is  a  small  isl- 
and near  St  Paul  covered  with  walrus. 

"  I  take  the  liberty,  as  a  faithful  subject  of  your  im- 
perial Majesty,  of  declaring  my  opinion  that  it  is  very 
necessary  to  take  a  stronger  hold  of  this  country.  It 
is  certain  that  we  shall  leave  it  empty-handed,  since 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  ships  come  here  annually  from 
Boston  to  trade.  In  the  first  place,  the  company 
should  build  a  small  stanch  brig,  and  send  out  heavy 
ordnance  for  her  armament.  This  would  compel  the 
Bostonians  to  keep  away,  and  the  Chinese  would  get 
no  furs  but  ours.  Secondly,  the  establishment  of  the 
company's  business  on  so  large  a  scale  requires  great 
expenditure,  and  the  trade  in  furs  alone  cannot  support 
it.  The  American  colonies  can  never  be  fully  de- 
veloped as  long  as  bread,  the  principal  staple  of  food, 
has  to  be  shipped  from  Okhotsk.     To  this  end  it  is 

Pctroff,  during  hia  visit  in  1878,  that  when  this  greatest  and  mightiest  of  all 
Russians  who  had  ever  visited  their  country  passed  over  the  trail  connecting 
tlie  head  of  Beaver  Bay  with  Illiuliuk  settlement,  the  obsequious  promyshle- 
niki  had  engaged  numbcrsof  natives  to  carry  pieces  of  board  or  plank  in  advance 
of  the  ambasM^or  to  be  laid  over  rivulets  and  damp  places,  and  thereby  save 
his  excellency  from  wetting  his  feet.  The  natives,  who  think  nothing  of 
wading  through  water  for  hours  at  a  time,  were  evidently  deeply  impressed  with 
this  extraordinary  precaution. 

»      *  IJc  was  authorized  to  address  his  despatches  directly  to  the  emperor,  a 
privilege  seldom  granted  to  a  Russian  subject. 


LETTER  TO  THE  TSAR.  447 

necessary  to  intercede  with  the  Spanish  government  ' 
for  permission  to  purchase  on  the  Philippine  Islands,  ' 
or  in  Chili,  the  produce  of  those  countries.     There  we  . 
could  obtain  breadstufFs,  sugar,  and  rum  at  low  prices 
for  bills  of  exchange  in  piastres,  and  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity to  supply  all  Kamchatka;  while  in  the  mean  time 
we  are  developing  our  colonies  in  America,  and  after 
building  ships  there  could  compel  the  Japanese  to  open 
their  ports  to  our  trade. 

"  I  hope  that  your  imperial  Majesty  will  not  con- 
sider it  a  crime  on  my  part,  if,  after  being  reenforced 
by  my  distinguished  cooperators,  Lieutenants  Khvos- 
tof  and  Davidof,  and  having  the  ship  repaired  and 
newly  armed,  I  push  on  next  year  to  the  coast  of 
Japan,  there  to  destroy  the  settlement  at  Matsmai, 
drive  the  Japanese  from  Saghalin  Island,  and  frighten 
them  away  from  the  whole  coast  and  the  Kurile  Isl- 
ands, breaking  up  their  fisheries,  and  thereby  depriv- 
ing 200,000  people  of  food,  which  will  force  them  all 
the  sooner  to  open  their  ports.  I  have  heard  that 
they  have  been  bold  enough  to  erect  a  factory  at  Oor- 
upa  Island,  one  of  our  Kuriles. 

"Here  at  Unalaska,  I  have  succeeded  in  impressing 
the  islanders  with  your  Majesty's  fatherly  care  for 
their  welfare.  I  asked  them  if  they  were  satisfied 
with  their  agent  Mr  Larionof,  and  if  they  suffered 
oppression.  They  all  answered  unanimously  that  he 
had  been  a  father  to  them.  I  questioned  also  the 
chiefs  of  more  distant  villages,  and  they  all  answered 
the  same.  Finally  I  assembled  the  whole  population, 
and  persuaded  them  to  tell  me  without  fear  whether 
they  had  cause  for  complaint,  informing  them  that  my 
advent  among  them  was  the  consequence  of  your  im- 
perial Majesty's  anxiety  for  their  well-being.  They 
answered  that  they  had  only  one  request  to  make,  and 
that  not  of  me,  but  of  the  agent,  and  when  I  inquired 
what  that  request  was,  assuring  them  that  it  should 
be  granted,  they  answered  that  they  wished  him  to 
be  as  good  to  them  in  the  future  as  he  had  been  in 


448  .      REZANOFS  VISIT. 

the  past,  for  they  had  been  perfectly  quiet  and  happy, 
and  received  such  remuneration  for  their  labor  as  had 
been  mutually  agreed  uport.  I  gave  to  the  agent 
Larionof,  in  the  name  of  your  imperial  Majesty,  a 
gold  medal,  and  to  the  interpreter  Pankof  a  silver 
medal,  and  told  the  chiefs  that  these  men  had  been 
rewarded  solely  on  the  strength  of  their  unanimous 
favorable  answers  to  my  questions.  At  the  same 
time  I  inflicted  exemplary  punishment  upon  the  trader 
Kulikalof,  who  had  been  summoned  from  Atkha  Isl- 
and for  cruelly  beating  a  natiVe  woman  and  her  in- 
fant son.  After  assembling  all  the  chiefs  and  other 
natives,  and  the  Russians  and  sailors  from  the  vessel, 
I  had  the  culprit  put  in  irons  and  sent  him  off  to 
Irkutsk  by  the  transport  then  about  to  sail,  to  be 
turned  over  to  the  courts  of  justice;  after  which  I  ex- 
plained to  the  islanders  that  before  your  imperial 
Majesty  all  subjects  were  equal,  and  then  turning  to 
the  Russian  hunters,  I  assured  them  that  every  act 
of  violence  would  be  as  severely  punished. " 

.  On  the  25th  of  July,  the  Maria  sailed  from  Una- 
laska,  and  a  week  latter  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  St 
Paul.  Upon  landing,  Rezanof,  as  the  plenipotentiary 
of  the  Russian  emperor,  was  saluted  with  salvos  of 
artillery  and  received  with  hearty  welcome.*  His  re- 
port on  the  condition  of  affairs  was  satisfactory,  and 
ho  speaks  in  high  terms  of  Banner,  who  was  still  in 
charge  of  the  colony.*^ 

form,  who  had  ranged  themselves  along  the  stockade.  At  the  landing  place, 
he  was  met  by  three  Russian  clergymen  and  condacted  by  them  to  the 
church.  Here  a  te  denm  was  offered  up  by  the  whole  population  upon  the 
happy  arrival  of  so  distinguished  a  personage.  Lanyadorff*8  Voy.y  part  ii.  57. 
®  At  this  time  it  consisted  of  about  30  buildings,  apart  from  the  habita- 
tions of  the  natives.  /(/.,  G6.  Of  the  condition  of  the  natives,  LangsdorfF 
gives  a  very  unfavorable  account.  *They  are  at  present,'  he  says,  *bo 
completely  the  slaves  of  the  company,  that  they  hold  of  them  their  baid&rs, 
their  clotliing,  and  even  the  bone  with  which  their  javelins  are  pointed,  and 
the  whole  produce  of  their  hunting  parties  is  entirely  at  their  disposaL  It 
is  revolting  to  a  mind  of  any  feeling  to  see  these  poor  creatures  half  starved 
and  almost  naked,  as  if  they  were  in  a  house  of  correction,  when  at  the  same 
time  the  warehouses  of  the  company  are  full  of  clothing  and  provisions. 
Kor  is  this  the  case  with  the  natives  alone:  the  Russian  promusclueniks  are 
not  in  a  much  better  situation.    They  are  extremely  ill-treated,  and  kept  at 


MEASUTwES  OF  IMPROVEMENT.  44D 

Durin<5  his  brief  stay  he  took  measures  to  improve 
the  moral  condition  of  the  settlement.  In  a  building 
which  had  been  erected  during  the  preceding  winter 
by  Lisiansky,  he  laid  the  foundation  for  a  library, 
with  books  forwarded  for  the  purpose  from  St  Peters- 
burg.'' He  urged  upon  the  promyshleniki  and  natives 
in  the  service  of  the  company  the  benefit  to  bo 
derived  from  sending  their  children  to  the  school, 
which  for  some  years  had  been  sparsely  attended. 
At  the  same  time  he  induced  the  wife  of  Banner  to 
take  into  her  house  a  certain  number  of  young  girls 
to  be  trained  in  housekeeping. 

Arriving  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  near  the  end  of 
August,  Rezanof  and  his  party  were  provided  with 
the  best  accommodation  at  the  disposal  of  the  chief 
manager,  and  with  such  rough  and  scant  fare  as  his 
stores  could  furnish.  "Wo  all  live  poorly,"  writes 
the  former,  a  few  weeks  later,  in  Jiis  first  report  to 
the  Russian  American  Company;  "but  worse  than 
all  lives  the  founder  of  this  place,  in  a  miserable  hut, 
so  damp  that  the  floor  is  always  wet,  and  during  the 
constant  heavy  rains  the  place  leaks  like  a  sieve. 
Wonderful  man!  He  only  cares  for  the  comfort  of 
others,  and  is  very  neglectful  of  himself.  Once  I 
found  his  bed  floating  in  the  w^atcr,  and  asked  him 
whether  the  wind  had  not  torn  off*  a  board  somewhere 

their  work  till  their  strength  is  entirely  exhausted;  if  they  are  ill,  thcv  must 
never  hope  for  medical  assistance  or  support  in  any  other  way;  while  as 
little  attention  at  the  samo  time  is  paid  to  their  minds  us  to  their  bodies. 
The  bad  quality  of  their  food,  which  consists  chiefly  of  the  flesh  of  whalr.-s 
and  seaHiogs,  the  moist,  foggy  climate,  the  dirtinchs  of  their  habitations  in 
the  barracuB,  tiie  want  of  a  proper  change  of  linen  and  clothing,  all  these  aro 
circnmstances  sufficient  to  undermine  the  strongest  constitution.  A/.,  71-2. 
LangsdorfiTs  statements,  though  supx>orted  in  part  by  thosa  of  Liaiani^ky, 
which  I  have  already  quoted,  are  probably  exaprgcrated. 

'  Previous  to  his  departure  from  St  Petersburg,  Kezanof  received  portraits 
in  oil  of  the  imperial  family,  and  of  scientific  men,  the  latter  prcsentmg  tin  ir 
likenesses  '  with  the  sole  ooject  of  awakening  in  the  nntiit/)re<l  mind  of  t!i3 
American  savage  an  understanding  of  true  art'  One  of  theso  donations  w.  s 
made  by  State  Counsellor  Von  Fnchs,  director  of  the  Moscow  Academy  of 
Sciences,  who  accompanied  his -gift  with  a  letter,  in  which  lie  jp^jko  of  lie:- 
mof  as  the  *  worthy  successor  of  all  the  great  discoverers  of  the  world — i.:o 
Russian  Columbus.*  Petroff  during  his  witiiderin^s  in  Alaska  saw  the  jut- 
trait  of  Fuchs  doing  duty  as  saint  in  the  comer  of  a  smoky  dwelling  of  a 
native  up  Cook  Inlet. 

Hnz.  Alaska.    29 


450  REZANOF'S  VISIT. 

from  the  side  of  the  hut.  'No/  he  answered  quietly, '  it 
is  only  the  old  leak/  and  turned  again  to  his  occupation. 
I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  that  Baranof  is  an  original,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  very  happy  production  of  nature. 
His  name  is  heard  on  the  whole  western  coast,  down 
to  California.  The  Bostonians  esteem  him  and  respect 
him,  and  the  savage  tribes,  in  their  dread  of  him,  offer 
their  friendship  from  the  most  distant  regions."  Re- 
zanof  then  informs  the  directors  that  both  Baranof 
and  Kuskof  desire  to  leave  the  country,  and  declares 
that  in  the  existing  state  of  affairs  a  new  tnan  could  be 
of  no  use,  for,  in  the  time  that  he  would  require  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  his  duties,  the  company  would 
inevitably  suffer  considerable  loss,  and  might  be  de- 
prived of  all  its  possessions. 

In  their  last  communication,  the  directors  had  in- 
formed their  plenipotentiary  that  they  purposed  to  es- 
tablish trading-posts  in  Tonquin,  Cochin  China,  Bur- 
mah,  and  elsewhere  in  the  farther  Indies.  But  Re- 
zanof,  although  a  man  of  sanguine  temperament,  was 
of  opinion  that,  with  the  resources  at  his  command, 
such  a  project  was  simply  chimerical.  He  does  not  ap- 
pear, however,  to  have  abandoned  his  intention  of 
forcing  the  Japanese  to  open  their  ports,  although  he 
states  that  the  company  is  in  no  condition  to  extend 
its  operations  beyond  north-western  America.® 

■  He  had  intended  that  a  flotilla  should  be  built  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  for 

his  Jcapancso  expedition,  but  iu  view  of  the  poverty-stricken  condition  of  the 
settlement,  contcutcd  hinrelf  with  ordering  a  launch  made  for  the  Juno,  The 
craft  was  Bii^nificantly  named  tlie  Avos^i  (Perhaps),  and  Davidof  was  appoint- 
ed her  commander,  Kvosdof  taking  charge  of  the  Juno,  On  his  arrival  at 
Okhotsk,  in  September  VCOC\  llozanpf  procured  a  new  armament  for  the  Juno 
and  the  Avo^'^  for  the  expedition  to  the  Japanese  coast.  The  commanders 
of  the  two  vessels  were  instracted  to  seize  everything  iu  such  Japanese  settle- 
ments as  v.-crc  accessible,  taking  care  at  the  same  time  to  capture  alive  ns 
Inrge  a  number  as  possible  of  8kille<l  artisjins,  Vfho  might  be  useful  in  the 
Aincrici^n  colonics.  Having  lou::^  Eince  rc'.olved  the  plan  of  this  enterprise 
in  his  mind,  he  had  instructed  ]»aranof  to  prepare  quarters  for  such  compul- 
sory immigrants  on  an  island  in  Sitka  Bay,  which  has  since  borne  the  name 
of  Japauovsky,  though  the  envoy's  plan  wa'^  never  carried  out.  Feeling  that 
lie  was  acting  rashly,  and  without  the  panction  of  the  imperial  government, 
Rezaiiof  was  somewhat  uneasy,  and  changed  the  tenor  of  his  instructions  sev- 
eral times  l>efore  finally  delivering  them  to  Kvosdof  and  Davidof.     The  two 


A  NEW  REVOLT.  451 

"The  Kolosh  appear  to  be  subdued,"  continues  the 
envoy,  "but  for  how  long?  They  have  been  armed 
by  the  Bostonians  with  the  best  guns  and  pistols,  and 
have  even  falconets.  All  along  the  sound  they  have 
erected  forts.  The  fierceness  and  treachery  once  ex- 
hibited by  the  natives  have  taught  us  all  the  greatest 
caution.  Our  cannon  are  ahyays  loaded,  and  not  only 
are  sentries  with  loaded  guns  posted  everywhere,  but 
arms  of  all  kinds  are  the  chief  furniture  of  our  rooms. 
Every  evening,  after  sundown,  signals  are  maintained 
throughout  the  night,  and  a  watchword  is  passed  from 
post  to  post  until  daylight.  Perfect  military  disci- 
pline is  enforced,  and  we  are  ready  at  any  moment  to 
receive  the  savages,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  profiting 
by  the  darkness  and  gloom  of  night  to  make  their 
attacks." 

Rezanof  s  fears  were  not  ill-founded.  About  the  very 
time  that  his  report  was  written  a  rumor  reached 
Novo  Arkhangelsk,  which  was  afterward  confirmed, 
that  the  Yakutat  colony  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
Kolosh,  and  all  the  Russians,  except  the  commander's 
wife  and  children,  together  with  a  number  of  Aleuts, 
massacred.*  Encouraged  by  this  success,  the  savages 
determined  to  attack  the  Russian  settlements  lying 
farther  to  the  north.  Embarking  in  eight  large  war- 
canoes,  they  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  Copper 
River,  where,  leaving  six  of  their  vessels,  they  de- 
spatched the  other  two  to  the  Konstantinovski  Re- 
doubt, on  Nuchek  Island.  Their  chief,  Fedor,  a  godson 
of  Baranof,  and  a  man  well  known  to  the  promysh- 
leniki,  appeared  boldly  before  Ouvarof,  the  commander 
of  the  station,  declaring  that  he  wished  to  trade  with 
the  Chugatsches.     Ouvarof  gave  him  permission,  and 

officers  by  no  means  liked  the  part  tbey  were  to  play  in  the  proposed  under- 
taking, but  being  accustomed  to  implicit  obedience  of  ordera,  tliey  did  llieir 
best  in  carzying  out  the  work  of  destruction.  This  course  of  action  subse- 
quently involved  them  in  serious  difficulties  with  the  Okhotsk  authorities, 
resulting  in  imprisonmeut,  privation,  and  Buffering.  T'd'hmei»pj\  i.  ir)4-10O. 

•The  news  was  sent  by  Ivan  Rcpin,  the  company's  agent  rt  Kon-^tanlin- 
ovsk  Kedonbt,  on  Nuchek  Island.  His  letter  wuj  sent  to  Kad?ak,  and  iliudd 
September  24,  1805.  Tikhnien^y  hior.  Obos,,  ii.  app.  i>art  ii.  l\)o. 


452  REZANOF'S  VISIT. 

\\  itnessed  the  usual  preliminary  dances  and  festivity. 
On  one  of  the  canoes  kept  in  reserve  there  was,  how- 
ever, a  captive  Chugatsch,  who  succeeded  in  escaping, 
and  informed  Ouvarof  of  the  real  object  of  the  Ko- 
losh.  Thereupon  the  Russian  commander  seized  the 
chief,  and  told  him  that  his  plan  had  been  revealed. 
In  the  mean  time  the  native  allies,  hearing  of  the 
n)atter,  had  taken  the  remainder  of  the  Kolosh  to 
their  village  under  pretence  of  inviting  them  to  a 
feast,  and  had  there  massacred  almost  the  entire  party. 
Among  the  few  that  escaped  was  Fedor,  who  carried 
to  the  party  at  Copper  River  the  news  of  their  com- 
rades' fate.  Fearing  that  the  Chugatsches  would 
soon  be  upon  them,  the  panic-stricken  Kolosh  at  once 
put  to  sea,  and  while  attempting  to  cross  the  bar  in 
the  teeth  of  a  gale,  the  bidarkas  were  dashed  to  pieces 
and  their  inmates  drowned.  Thus  was  the  Yakufcxt 
massacre  avenged  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man  on 
the  side  of  the  Russians.^^ 

During  a  brief  sojourn  in  London,  in  1803,  while 
the  Nadeshda  v/as  lying  at  Falmouth,  Rezanof  visited 
Newgate  prison,  where  he  saw  four  hundred  convicts 
awaiting  transportation  to  Botany  Bay.  Thus  was 
suG^gested  to  him  the  idea  of  petitioning  the  crown 
that  a  number  of  exiles  be  sent  out  yearly  to  reenforce 
the  sparsely  peopled  colonies  of  Russian  America.  He 
recommends  that  those  selected  be  chiefly  mechanics 
and  laborers,  and  that  it  be  understood  that  none 
should  have  permission  to  return,  in  order  that  society 
might  be  permanently  rid  of  a  portion  of  its  dangerous 
members;  while  the  criminals,  being  fairly  treated  and 
having  no  hope  of  escape,  would  be  of  great  benefit  in 
building  up  the  settlements. 

For  several  months  after  Rezanof's  arrival  at  Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  formal  councils  were  convened  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  measures  for  the  w^elfare  of  the 

^^ KhJ(hml'of,  Shizn.  Barntwrrt^  102-5.  The  number  of  Kolosh  who  per- 
ished was  about  200,  of  whom  70  were  massiicred  at  Nuchck  Island. 


COLONIiVL  ORGANIZATION.  450 

colonies.^^  At  their  meetings  Baranof  and  his  chief 
assistants  were  always  present,  but  the  plenipotentiary 
was  doubtless  the  guiding  spirit.  At  the  close  of 
their  deliberations  the  latter  handed  to  the  chief  man- 
ager a  list  of  instructions  for  his  guidance,  which, 
though  some  of  them  were  for  the  time  impracticable, 
show  a  keen  insight  into  the  wants  of  the  colony.  He 
recommends  that  special  attention  be  paid  to  the 
training  of  mechanics  and  tradesmen;  that  the  garri- 
son be  recruited  from  friendly  natives  and  native 
youths  reared  at  the  company's  expense;  that  young 
men  be  trained  in  the  schools  of  the  colony  to  fill  po- 
sitions as  book-keepers,  clerks,  and  agents;  that  a  fund 
be  provided  for  the  support  of  the  aged  and  disabled; 
that,  in  view  of  the  scarcity  of  shipwrights,  ships  be 
purchased  from  foreigners  whenever  opportunity  may 
offer,  even  at  a  sacrifice,  and  that  for  this  purpose 
credits  be  established  with  banking  houses  in  London 
and  Amsterdam;  and  that  in  order  to  insure  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  bread-stuffs,  trade  be  established  with 
California,  New  Albion,  and  the  Philippine  Islands. ^^ 
.  "  Upon  the  fur  trade  alone,"  he  writes  in  a  letter 
to  the  directors,  "  the  company  cannot  subsist,  and  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  organize  without  delay  a 
business  of  a  general  character — ^a  trade  with  other 
countries  to  which  the  road  is  open  from  the  colony. 
This  is  all  the  more  necessary,  as  the  number  of  fur- 
bearing  animals  decreases  from  year  to  year.  If  Bar- 
anof had  not  returned  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  but  given 
up  the  enterprise  there  as  lost,  the  effect  upon  the 

**  The  first  of  them  appears  to  have  been  helil  on  the  1st  of  September, 
1805.  On  this  occasion  the  envoy,  after  examining  the  reports  of  JBaranof, 
said:  *  The  organization  of  the  company  is  complete  aiul  in  ])erfect  working 
order;  all  matters  connected  with  trade,  actual  settlement,  and  general  econ- 
omy are  fiourishlDg;  the  iuhabitanta  are  being  instructed  in  tbe  necessary 
industries,  trades,  and  manufactures;  the  busuiess  connections  are  l^in^  con- 
stantly extended;  the  administration  of  justice  is  efficient;  the  navigation  of 
the  company's  vessels  is  intrusted  to  tried  seiimen,  and  youths  are  being  trained 
to  Bucceod  them  when  required;  the  figliting  cstablislinient  is  strong,  and 
ready  for  any  emergency;  and  the  relations  with  friendly  trilKJs  of  the  natives 
are  of  a  satisfactory  chai-acter,  and  likely  to  bo  permanent.'  LI.,  91-2. 

"The  principal  items  in  these  instructions  arc  given  in  TiUumue/,  Idor, 
Obos,,  i.  142-4. 


454  REZANOF'S  VISIT. 

company  would  have  been  to  carry  the  value  of  the 
shares,  not  up  into  the  thousands  as  in  former  years, 
but  down  to  about  280  roubles.  In  that  case  the  hunt- 
er who  receives  his  half-share,  or  140  roubles,  would 
work  for  nothing,  as  his  expenses  for  food  and  drink 
alone  exceed  that  sum  each  year.  According  to  my 
calculation,  the  annual  expenses  of  the  hunter,  at  the 
present  high  prices,  cannot  amount  to  less  than  317 
roubles." 

The  prices  of  all  imported  commodities  throughout 
Russian  America  were,  at  this  period,  so  extrava- 
gant that  the  prorayshleniki  were  always  hopelessly 
in  debt  to  their  employers.  They  were  not  allowed 
to  leave  the  country  until  their  obligation  was  can- 
celled; and  he  was  considered  a  fortunate  man  who, 
after  many  years  of  exile  and  privation^  could  return 
to  his  native  country  to  end  his  days,  broken  in 
health  and  spirit,  and  without  a  rouble  in  his  pocket. 
Bread-stuffs  could  be  brought  from  Boston  at  lower 
rates  than  from  Okhotsk,  while  at  Petropavlovsk 
trade  was  in  the  hands  of  a  few  monopolists.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  latter  port, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  mere  sale  of  the  Na- 
deshda's  surplus  supplies,  during  Rezanof  s  visit,  caused 
the  leading  articles  of  consumption  to.  fall  in  price  from 
fifty  to  seventy  per  cent.^* 

Such  was  the  dearth  of  provisions  in  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk at  the  approach  of  winter,  that  early  in 
October  Baranof  was  compelled  to  purchase  the  Juno's 
cargo  of  provisions,  which  was  sold,  together  with  the 
ship,  for  the  sum  of  sixty-seven  thousand  piastres," 
On  the  15th  of  the  month  the  vessel  was  despatched 

"  Linen  fell  from  14  to  7  roubles  a  piece,  sugar  from  140  to  48  roubles  a 
poud,  brandy  from  20  to  8  roubles  a  quart,  and  tobacco  from  2J  roubles  to  75 
kopeks  a  poud.    Id.,  \3'2, 

i*Tho  provisions  obtained  by  tliis  purchase  consisted  of  19  casks  of  salt 
pork,  42  casks  of  salted  beef,  1,955  gals,  of  molasses,  2,983  lbs.  of  powdered 
s'.icrnr,  .315  lbs.  loaf-supar,  4,343  lbs.  of  rice,  11  casks  of  fine  wheat  flour, 
7,JV.»2  lbs.  of  biscuit.  LartfjsdoriVs  To?/. ,  part  ii.  89-90.  Payment  was  made 
ill  furs  to  the  amount  of  31,2.>0  piastres,  and  the  remainder  in  drafts  on 
dirccliirs  in  St  Pctoi-sburc:.  A  small  vessel  was  also  given  to  the  captain  in 
"whiih  lo  yhip  his  crev/  and  furs. 


DISASTER  AT  YAKUTAT.  455 

to  Kadiak  for  further  supplies,  and  a  fevr  weeks  later 
returned  laden  with  dried  fish  and  oil  for  the  use  of 
the  natives. 

The  tidings  from  St  Paul  were  almost  as  disastrous 
as  was  the  news  which  Captain  Barber  brought  from 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  to  the  chief  manager,  some  three 
years  before.  The  Elizaveta,  despatched  to  Kadiak 
for  provisions  soon  after  Rezanof 's  arrival,  had  been 
wrecked  during  a  heavy  storm;  six  large  bidarkas, 
laden  with  j^rs,  had  foundered  during  the  same  gale; 
of  a  party'  which  had  left  Norfolk  Sound  under 
Demianenkof,  more  than  two  hundred  had  perished  at 
sea;  and  finally  the  destruction  of  the  Yakutat  settle- 
ment was  confirmed. 

The  details  of  the  disaster  which  overtook  Demi- 
anenkof and  his  party  are  as  follow:  He  had  left 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  with  the  intention  of  proceeding 
to  Kadiak,  and  not  many  days  after  his  departure 
heard  rumors  of  the  Yakutat  massacre,  and  of  the 
intention  of  the  Kolosh  to  attack  his  party  also.  He 
at  once  adopted  extraordinary  precautions,  travelling 
only  at  night,  and  hiding  by  day  in  the  dense  forests 
lining  the  shore.  When  he  had  reached  a  point  about 
forty  miles  distant  from  Yakutat,  he  timed  the  depart- 
ure of  his  command  so  as  to  reach  the  settlement  at 
midnight.  As  they  cautiously  approached  the  shore, 
after  ten  hours  of  hard  paddling,  they  were  soon  con- 
vinced that  the  reports  of  disaster  were  true.  Of  all 
the  buildings,  not  one  log  was  left  standing  upon 
another.  Ashes,  the  remains  of  destroyed  implements 
and  of  other  property,  covered  the  whole  village  site. 
The  frightened  Aleutian  hunters,  though  almost  ex- 
hausted, refused  to  land,  and  after  a  brief  consultation 
a  majority  of  the  force  concluded  to  proceed  without 
delay  to  the  island  of  Kyak,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  away;  but  the  inmates  of  thirty  of  the  bidarkas, 
exhausted  with  their  long  toil,  landed  on  the  beach 
near  by,  preferring  the  chances  of  death  or  captivity 
to  further  exertion.     The  coast  between  Yakutat  and 


456  REZANOF'S  VISIT. 

Prince  Williai^i  Sound  consists  of  steep  cliffs  and  great 
bodies  of  glacier  ice,  affording  no  landing  places, 
even  to  canoes,  for  nearly  the  whole  distance.  As 
fate  ordained,  those  who  had  chosen  almost  certain 
death  at  the  hand  of  the  Kolosh  were  saved,  and 
finally  reached  their  destination  without  being  mo- 
lested; but  as  soon  as  the  landing  had  been  effected,  a 
terrible  gale  sprung  up,  during  which  all  their  com- 
panions at  sea  perished.  The  following  morrnng  the 
shore  was  lined  with  corpses  and  the  shattered  rem- 
nants of  bidarkas. 

The  winter  was  passed  by  Rezanof  and  his  com- 
panions in  great  discomfort,  on  account  of  constant 
rain  and  snow  storms,  and  though  the  stores  of  the 
Juno  had  appeared  ample  for  the  season,  a  scarcity  of 
provisions  was  felt  by  the  Russians  as  early  as  the 
beginning  of  February."  At  length  the  envoy,  tired 
of  his  dismal  abode,  ordered  the  Juno  to  be  again 
made  ready  for  sea,  having  resolved  to  proceed  to  the 
coast  of  California,  there  to  negotiate  with  the  gov- 
ernor for  a  constant  exchange  of  commodities.  With 
difficulty  a  small  crew  was  mustered  from  a  command 
weakened  by  disease  and  privation,  and  even  these 
were  so  emaciated  that  Rezanof  would  not  allow  them 
to  be  seen  by  the  Californian  officials  until  they  had 
been  plentifully  fed  and  brought  into  better  condition. 
The  details  of  Rezanof  s  visit  to  San  Francisco,  which 
after  lengthy  negotiations  resulted  in  the  accomplish- 
men  of  its  object,  are  related  elsewhere."  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  state,  at  present,  that  the  Juno  returned  to 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  on  the  lOtli  of  June,  with  a  cargo 
of  671  fancgas  of  wheat,  117  of  oats,  140  of  peas^and 
beans,  and  a  large  quantity  of  flour,  tallow,  salt,  and 

'*  Langsdorff  gives  a  sensational  account  of  the  suffering  amon^  tJie  colo- 
nists at  Isovo  Arkhaiigclok  during  this  winter,  and  of  the  spread  of  scorbutic 
diseases.  Some  of  his  .sLulenieuta  appear  false  on  their  face.  For  instance, 
iTc  says  that  tho  houses  of  the  promyshleniki  and  native  laborci-s  wero  only 
wanned  *  by  their  own  fetid  breath  ' — and  this  in  a  settlement  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  dense  forests.    Voy.y  part  ii.  93-95. 

^^Ilist.  Cal.,  ii.  04  ct  scq.,  this  series. 


DEPAKTURE  OF  THE  PLEXIPOTENTIARY.  457 

other  supplies,  valued  at  5,587  piastres,  payment  hav- 
ing been  made  chiefly  in  Russian  manufactured  goods. 
Rezanof  had  now  fulfilled  his  mission  to  the  best  of 
his  power,  and  five  days  later  sailed  for  Okhotsk  on 
board  the  Juno^  intending  to  proceed  thence  overland 
to  St  Petersburg,  and  report  in  person  to  the  emperor 
his  achievements  and  his  plans  for  the  future,  and  to 
ask  of  his  sovereign  permission  to  bring  to  its  legiti- 
mate end  his  romantic  episode  with  Dona  Concepcion 
do  Arguello,  of  which  mention  is  made  in  another 
volume.*^  His  sojourn  in  the  north-west  had  wrought 
many  changes  for  the  better,  and  though  his  relations 
with  Baranof  and  his  subordinates  were  always  friendly, 
the  envoy  was  even  more  bitter  than  the  chief  man- 
ager in  his  complaints  of  the  treatment  which  he  re- 
ceived at  the  hands  of  the  naval  officers.  Describing 
an  interview  with  one  of  them,  he  says :  "A  man 
dressed  in  a  black  coat  and  vest  approached  me  and 
shook  hands.  I  asked  him,  'Who  are  you? '  He  an- 
swered, 'I  am  Lieutenant  Sookin  of  the  Russian  navy, 
commanding  the  ship  Elizaveta.^  I  replied  that  I  was 
chamberlain  of  the  Russian  court  and  commander  of 
all  America.  I  expressed  my  displeasure  at  his  ap- 
pearance, and  ordered  him  to  return  to  shore  and  pre- 
sent his  report  to  me,  dressed  in  proper  uniform.  He 
complied  with  my  orders  very  unwillingly."  For  this 
conduct  Rezanof  threatened  to  send  the  lieutenant 
back  to  Russia,  but  Baranof  asked  that  he  be  allowed 
to  remain  and  earn  his  pay,  for  he  had  already  re- 
ceived for  doing  nothing  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
roubles,  "  of  which  amount,"  says  Rezanof,  "  he  had 
expended  three  thousand  roubles  in  rum.  I  saw  him 
but  five  times  during  the  whole  winter,  always  in  his 
room,  dividing  his  time  between  sleeping  and  drink- 
ing, though  his  quiet  consumption  of  the  liquor  dis- 
turbs nobody  and  injures  only  his  own  health.  He  is 
so  unobtrusive  that  we  scarcely  notice  his  presence 

"/d.,C8et8eq. 


468  BEZANOF»S  VISIT. 

His  log-books  and  reports  will  convince  you  of  the 
insufficiency  of  his  nautical  knowledge.  On  shore  he 
spends  much  time  inditing  ungrammatical  letters  to 
the  chief  manager,  and  thus  far  has  spent  eighteen 
months'  salary  in  purchasing  rum.  He  is  like  a  use- 
less sea-sprite,  to  whom,  however,  the  chief  manager 
does  not  dare  to  intrust  a  vessel ;  therefore  I  have  con- 
cluded to  send  him  back  to  you,  leaving  it  to  you  to 
settle  his  accounts." 

The  next  officer  discussed  is  Lieutenant  Mashin, 
"  who,"  says  Rezanof,  "has  asked  to  be  relieved.  The 
history  of  his  services  has  been  given  to  you  by  the 
chief  manager.  I  will  only  remark  that  by  his  con- 
sumption of  brandy  he  has  contributed  considerably 
to  the  profits  of  the  company,  and  therefore  gratitude 
jDrevents  me  from  keeping  him  in  the  service.  He 
lives  in  the  same  house  with  Sookin.  Their  tastes 
and  recreations  are  the  same,  but  I  am  told  that  they 
live  in  a  very  original  and  independent  way.  They  do 
nothing  together.  They  sleep  by  turns ;  they  prom- 
enade one  after  the  other,  and  care  so  little  about 
past,  present,  or  future,  that  they  find  no  topics  upon 
which  to  converse."  ^^ 

"  During  the  winter  of  1805-6,  Lieutenant  Khvostof  was  debited  in  the 
company's  books  with  9.^  buckets  (19  gallons)  of  French  brandy,  and  2^ 
buclicts  of  alcohol.  Tlhhmenef,  ii.  app.  part  ii.  248.  Khvostof  and  Davidof 
were  both  drowned  while  crossing  the  Neva  in  a  small  boat  by  night.  The 
accident  was  probably  due  to  a  joint  debauch.  DvuhrcUnot  PutealieAtme  v 
AmcHku  MorsLikh  Ojjitzfrov  KhvoMova  i  Davidova^  app. — two  voyages  to 
America  by  the  naval  officers,  Khvostof  and  Davidof,  written  by  the  Tatter. 
2  vols.  1810  and  1812,  Naval  Printing  OlBoe,  St  Petersburg.  This  work 
contains  a  detailed  and  for  the  most  part  clear  and  impartial  account  of  the 
voyages  and  experience  of  two  naval  officers  in  the  service  of  the  Russian 
American  Company.  Both  were  men  of  culture  and  education,  and  were  the 
lirst  to  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege  granted  by  an  imperial  onkaz,  which 
permitted  officers  of  the  navj^  to  cuter  into  temporary  engagements  with  the 
Kussian  American  Company,  without  losing  rank  or  pay  in  the  public  ser- 
vice. Their  departure  from  St  I*etersl)urg  took  place  in  April  1802,  and  the 
first  two  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  overhuid  journey  to  Okhotsk,  where 
they  arrived  in  August  of  the  same  year.  The  next  two  chapters  contain  the 
departure  from  Okhotsk,  the  journey  to  Kadiak,  an  interview  with  Baranof, 
^a  brief  review  of  tlie  company's  history  and  business,  and  the  return  voyage 
*to  Okhotsk  in  June  1803.  Thence  thoy  returned  to  St  Petersburg  overlanJ, 
arriving  there  in  January  1804.  An  appendix  to  the  lirst  volume  contains  a 
short  biographical  sketch  of  botli  travellers,  a  letter  addressed  to  them  jointly 
by  Kezanof,  whom  they  accompanied  on  his  mission  to  Japan,  and  concludes 


MISSION  WORK.  459 

Of  the  missionaries  and  their  labors  Rezanof  has 
httle  good  to  report.  He  remarks  that  their  so- 
called  conversion  was  merely  a  name,  and  that  the 
ceremony  of  baptism  had  not  affected  their  morals  or 
customs.  He  states  that  the  Russian  priests  did  not 
follow  the  example  of  the  Jesuits  in  their  missionary 
work,  that  they  did  not  enter  into  the  plans  of  the 
government  and  the  company,  that  they  lived  in  idle- 
ness, or  busied  themselves  only  in  meddling  with  the 
company's  affairs,  often  causing  disturbance  between 
officers  and  servants  at  the  various  stations.  He 
complains  that  through  lack  of  zeal  few  took  the 
trouble  to  acquire  the  native  language,  and  states 
incidentally  that  the  late  bishop  loassaf  had  received 
fifteen  shares  of  stock  in  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany— a  circumstance  which  explains  the  tenor  of  the 
prelate's  reports.*^ 

On  the  24th  of  September,  1806,  Rezanof  left  Ok- 
liotsk  on  his  homeward  journey.  Prompted  by  re- 
markable activity  of  mind  and  body,  he  travelled 
rapidly;  but,  weakened  as  he  was  by  the  hardships, 
anxiety,  and  trouble  of  the  past  three  years,  the 
journey  had  a  fatal  effect  upon  his  health.  While 
crossing  rivers,  over  the  thin  ice  just  forming,  it  fre- 
quently happened  that  he  was  not  only  drenched,  but 
obliged   to   camp    in   the    snow    afterward.     About 

with  two  poems  in  praise  of  the  achievements  of  Davidof  and  Khvoetof, 
and  alluding  to  their  tragic  death. 

The  second  volume  is  devoted  entirely  to  a  detailed  description  of  Kodiak 
and  the  settlements  on  Cook  Inlet,  and  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  with  historical 
sketches  of  the  colonies  and  the  llussian  American  Company,  and  a  review  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  natives,  and  the  way  in  which  they  were 
managed  by  the  Kussixuis.  Attached  to  this  volume  are  two  brief  vocabula- 
ries of  the  Kolosh  and  Kcnaiski  languages,  of  little  value  to  the  philologist  on 
account  of  numerous  mistakes.  Sokolof  subsequently  reviewed  Khvostof  and 
Davidof  at  length  in  the  Mornkoi  Shornik,  He  confined  himself  cUiully  to 
Khvostof,  whom  he  describes  as  a  talented,  amiable  individual,  though  im- 
bittered  in  mind  by  misfortune  and  dissipation,  and  feeling  great  enmity 
toward  Rezanof.  When  the  latter  sailed  in  the  Juno  for  California  to  save 
the  people  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk  from  8tar\Tition,  Khvostof  complained  that 
he  was  *  taking  them  into  a  tropical  latitude  at  the  most  dangerous  season  of  the 
year.*  Morskoi  Sb.,  ix.  349-58. 

"Dall,  Alcuiiu,  316,  speaks  of  loassof  as  an  Augiistinc  friar.  It  is  dilfi- 
cult  to  conceive  whence  ho  obtained  this  information,  as  there  is  but  one 
monastic  order  in  all  Kussia — that  of  St  Basilius. 


460  REZANOFS  VISIT. 

sixty  miles  east  of  the  Aldana,  he  was  attacked  with 
a  violent  fever  and  carried  unconscious  into  a  Yakout 
hut.  A  few  days  after  he  became  convalescent,  he 
pushed  on  to  Yakutat  before  recovering  his  strength. 
Here  again  he  was  prostrated,  and  again  continued 
his  journey;  but  his  career  was  now  at  an  end,  and 
on  the  1st  of  March,  1807,  the  plenipotentiary  breathed 
his  last  at  Krasnoyarsk,  in  eastern  Siberia. ^° 

^  Tikhmenef  reflecta  thus  on  RezaDofs  death:  •  The  company  lost  in  him 
a  spirit  most  active  in  its  organization,  and  in  the  development  of  the  colonies 
under  its  control.  Having  acquainted  himself  on  the  spot  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  country,  and  having  made  the  most  earnest  efforts  to  establish 
relations  with  adjoining  countries,  Kezanof  could  not  brook  delay  on  his 
homeward  journey,  where  he  expected  to  plead  personally  the  company's 
cause  before  the  imperial  throne.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  influence,  so 
far  as  it  reached,  has  been  wholly  beneficial.  We  do  not  know  what  plans 
were  seething  in  his  active  brain,  ready  to  be  laid  l)efore  the  company's  direc- 
tors and  the  government  upon  his  return  to  the  capital.  If  Kezanof  s  life  had 
not  ended  so  prematurely,  some  of  his  plans  would  certainly  have  been  brought 
to  successful  issue  at  a  much  earlier  period  than  we  can  now  hope  for,  wliilo 
others  would  not  have  suffered  total  neglect  at  the  hands  of  the  authorities. 
We  cannot  fail  to  see  that  ho  was  no  idle  dreamer,  though  his  efforts  for  the 
public  welfare  were  not  much  appreciated  during  his  life- time,  being  frequently 
spoken  of  in  a  deprecating  manner.  A  few  looked  on  liim  as  a  visionary,  capa- 
ble only  of  concocting  schemes  on  paper,  but  at  the  same  time  hartl ships, 
disasters,  and  opposition  could  not  prevent  hun  from  following  his  course  and 
pursuing  the  object  of  his  life.  The  honesty  and  amiability  of  his  character 
were  universally  acknowledged,  and  though  he  failed  to  accomplish  much 
that  he  proposed,  he  probably  did  more  than  any  of  his  assailants.'  Istor. 
Obos,,  I  1G2-3. 


i 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SEVEN  MORE  YEARS  OF  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

180G-1S12. 

Shif-building  at  Novo  Arkhaxoelsk— The  Settlement  TnrfbATENED 
BY  KoLOSH — A  Plot  against  the  Chief  Mana(}er*s  Life — The:  Con- 
spiai\TOES  Taken  by  Surprise — Arrival  of  Golovnin  in  the  Sloov- 
op-WAR  *  Diana '—His  Description  op  the  Settlement — Astor*s 
Vessel,  the  *  Enterprise,*  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk — Negotiations 
for  Trade — Golovnin 's  Accx>unt  of  the  Matter — Farnum's  Jouit- 
KEY  PROM  Astoria  to   St  Petersburg— Wreck  of  tub   *Juno'— 

SUPFERINOS  of  her  CrEW. 

Three  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  chief  man- 
ager had  sailed  from  Kadiak,  and  at  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember 1806  he  returned  to  St  Paul,  leaving  Kuskof 
in  command  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  with  instructions 
to  hasten  the  completion  of  certain  buildings  and 
ships  then  in  course  of  construction.  In  March  1807 
a  fine  brig  named  the  Sitka  was  launched,  and  two 
months  later  she  arrived  at  Kadiak.  During  the  fol- 
lowing summer  a  three-masted  vessel  of  three  hundred 
tons,  christened  the  Otkrytie,  or  Discovery,  was  also 
built  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  keel  was  laid  for  a  schooner,  to  be  named  in  honor 
of  the  discoverer  Chirikof  ^  A  few  days  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Sitlca,  the  English  ship  3ff/rtle  anchored 
in  the  harbor  of  St  Paul,  in  charge  of  Captain  Bar- 
ber, of  whom  mention  has  been  made  in  connection 

'On  the  completion  of  oach  vessel,  tlio  builder  received  a  gratuity  of 
1,000  roubles  from  the  company.  Chirikof,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  in 
command  of  the  first  Russian  vessel  that  visited  the  farther  north-west  coast 
of  America. 


4G2  SEVEN  MORE  YEABS  OF  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

with  the  Sitka  massacre.  Although  no  friendly  feel- 
ing existed  between  him  and  Baranof,  so  greatly  was 
the  latter  in  need  of  vessels,  that  the  ship  was  pur- 
chased, together  with  her  cargo/  and  renamed  the 
Kadiak. 

In  September  1807  the  Neva  arrived  at  Novo 
Arkhangelsk  on  her  second  voyage  from  Kronstadt,^ 
in  command  of  Lieutenant  Hagemeister,  who,  as  we 
shall  see,  was  appointed  some  years  later  BaranoFs 
successor,  and  in  the  following  spring  the  ship  was 
added  to  the  company's  fleet.  By  this  vessel  the 
chief  manager  received  news  that  the  imperial  govern- 
ment had  bestowed  on  him,  as  an  additional  reward, 
the  order  of  St  Anne  of  the  third  class,  while  on 
Kuskof  was  conferred  the  rank  of  commercial  coun- 
cillor. 

Meanwhile  the  Kadiak  had  been  despatched  to 
Yalcutat  by  way  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  her  com- 
mander being  instructed  to  rescue  the  survivors  of 
the  massacre  who  were  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
Kolosh.  A  foreign  flag  was  hoisted  in  order  to  de- 
ceive the  savages,  and  thus  two  of  them  were  induced 
to  board  the  ship,  and  were  secured.  Negotiations 
were  then  opened,  and  the  commander's  widow  and 
children  with  several  others  were  released  from 
captivity.* 

'The  ship  for  42,090  piastres,  and  the  cargo  of  fiira,  proyisions,  arms, 
and  ammunition  for  G;^,G7o  roubles.  Barber  received  his  pay  in  drafts  on 
the  IxKird  of  managers,  and  demanded  to  be  placed  at  Okhotsk  on  one  of  tho 
company's  vessels  in  order  to  proceed  to  St  Petersburg  overland.  He  sailed 
on  the  SltJca  the  followiii«r  autumn,  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season, 
the  vessel  proceeded  to  Petroj^avlovsk.  Here  she  was  loaded  with  goods  for 
Nis'.ie  Kamehat'-k,  but  was  totally  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  Kamchatka 
River  on  tlic  lotii  of  October,  1807.  The  crew  and  passengers  were  saved. 
Khkbn:koj\  Shhu.  Jkiranova,  117-18. 

*In  August  18()(3  it  liad  been  resolved  at  a  meeting  of  the  shareholders  to 
send  the  Nwi  oiico  more  to  the  colonies.  Hagemeister  and  the  other  officers 
were  eii^Mgcd  for  aperio»l  of  four  years.  Tikhmene/^  Istor.  Ohoa,y  i.  164. 

*  During  tho  preceding  year  Baranof  had  sent  Captain  Campbell,  an 
American,  ui)on  the  same  crraud,  but  he  succeeded  only  in  securing  two  host- 
a^os  and  iclcasinc^  one  Aleut  and  bis  wife.  The  former  were  transferred  to 
Ka.«Uak  and  U-iptizfxl,  receiving  tho  names  of  Kalistrat  and  Gideon.  They 
affcrward  rotuniod  to  Sitka,  where  they  were  employed  as  interpreters. 
Kolidtrat  died  in  1S32,  and  Gideon  several  years  later.  KhUbniko/,  Shizn, 


NAPLAVKOFS  CO^TSPIRACY.  403 

During  the  winter  of  1806-7,  the  Kolosh  again 
assumed  a  threatening  attitude,  encouraged  chiefly  by 
the  absence  of  Baranof  Reports  of  intended  attacks 
reached  Kuskof  at  various  times.  Under  pretext  of 
engaging  in  herring  fishery,  they  assembled  on  the 
islands  of  Norfolk  Sound,  with  more  than  four  hundred 
large  war-canoes,  while  the  number  of  warriors  was 
not  less  than  two  thousand.  The  Kolosh  women,  who 
cohabited  with  the  promyshleniki  of  the  garrison, 
aided  in  spreading  alarm  by  exaggerated  reports  of 
the  intentions  of  their  countrymen.  Deeds  of  violence 
were  of  daily  occurrence,  and  at  last  a  party  of  Aleu- 
tian fishermen  were  captured  and  killed.  Prompt 
action  was  now  required ;  but  as  the  Russians  were 
not  strong  enough  to  attack  the  enemy,  or  even  sus- 
tain a  siege,  Kuskof  resolved  to  try  the  effect  of 
peaceful  measures.  He  invited  to  the  fort  the  most 
powerful  of  the  chiefs,  feasted  them,  flattered  them, 
plied  them  with  rum,  and  by  a  liberal  distribution  of 
presents,  finally  induced  them  to  leave  the  neighbor- 
hood.* 

The  year  1809  witnessed  the  most  formidable  of 
the  many  conspiracies  hatched  by  the  promyshleniki 
and  Siberian  ex-convicts  against  the  chief  manager. 
A  few  headstrong  ruflSans  of  the  latter  class,  having 
been  detained  for  some  time  at  Kamchatka  on  their 
journey  to  America,  had  there  learned  the  details  of 
Benyovsky's  famous  exploits,  doubtless  exaggerated 
and  embellished  by  transmission  from  one  generation 
to  another.  One  of  these  unruly  spirits,  Naplavkof, 
who  had  been  originall}^  exiled  to  Siberia  and  subse- 
quently permitted  to  enter  the  company's  service,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  imitating  the  venturesome  Pole, 
and  forming  a  secret  society  for  the  purpose  of  over- 

BajnTiova,  119-20.     In  183&>Btffon  Wrangell,  then  chief  manager,  recom- 
mended that  a  pension  be  gi\%n  to  Gideon  for  his  long  services. 

^  In  a  private  letter  to  jBsraiiof,  Kuskof  reports  that  the  success  of  his 
manoeuvres  was  due  to  the  tfforts  of  a  Kolosh  girl  sent  by  him  into  the  hostile 
camp  to  create  dissensions  among  the  leaders. 


4G4  SFV^EN  MORE  YEAES  OF  ALASKAN  AJiTXALS. 

throwing  existing  authority.  His  most  trusted  con- 
fidant was  a  peasant  named  Popof.  By  the  timti 
these  two  worthies  reached  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  they 
had  admitted  into  their  confidence  eight  or  ten  others, 
assuring  them  that  as  soon  as  the  first  blow  was 
struck  the  whole  colony  would  rise  in  revolt. 

The  object  of  the  conspiracy  was  to  put  to  death  the 
chief  manager,  who  had  now  returned  to  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk, and  seize  the  arsenal  and  fort  on  some  day 
when  Naplavkof,  who  was  then  acting  as  a  subaltern 
oflScer  in. the  garrison,  should  be  on  duty.  The  con- 
spirators then  intended  to  plunder  the  storehouses 
and  barracks,  and  to  load  the  ship  Othrytie  with  pro- 
visions and  the  most  valuable  of  the  goods.  Each  of  tho 
conspirators  was  to  select  one  of  the  women  for  his 
mistress,  and  in  addition,  fifteen  female  natives  were 
to  be  taken  as  servants.  .  On  leaving  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk they  purposed  to  sail  for  Easter  Island,  or  to 
some  uninhabited  spot  still  farther  south,  where  they 
could  form  a  settlement,  calling  on  the  way  at  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  to  exchange  their  furs  for  provisions 
and  other  necessaries.® 

Few  as  were  the  conspirators  in  number,  no  less  than 
three  of  them,  each  independently  of  the  others,  re- 
vealed the  secret  to  Baranof.  Two  of  these  traitors 
were  Poles,  named  Lcshchinsky  and  Berezovsky;  the 
third  a  Russian,  called  Sidorof.  From  these  men  the 
chief  manager  learned  that  the  party  met  at  Lesh- 
chinsky's  quarters,  and  that  all  the  members^  were 
about  to  sign  a  written  pledge,  wherein  each  agreed  to 
carry  out  the  plans  of  the  rest,  and  to  subscribe  to  a  code 
of  rules  and  regulations.  In  expectation  of  this  event, 
Baranof  ordered  Leshchinsky  to  keep  him  informed 
when  the  date  was  fixed  for  the  proposed,  meeting,  and 

^  Klilcbnlkof  gives  to  this  plot  a  tinge  of  romance.  He  says  that,  takins  ad- 
vantanre  of  the  war  then  raging  in  Europe,  the  conspirators  purpcfcjed  to  ?orm 
a  colonial  confederation,  capture  Siberia,  and  establish  a  great  republic  of 
huntei-H  and  tnulcrs.  Shizn.  Baranovay  1*28.  He  gives  no  authority,  however, 
for  stating  that  such  a  foolhardy  enterprise  was  conceived  by  Naplavkof  and 
his  gaijg. 


FAILURE  OF  THE  PLOT.  405 

supplied  him  with  a  keg  of  brandy,  wherewith  to  make 
merry  with  his  comrades. 

On  the  6th  of  August  the  conspirators  met  at  the 
usual  rendezvous,  which  was  close  to  the  residence  of 
the  chief  manager,  in  order  to  affix  their  signatures  to 
an  agreement  drawn  up  by  Popof  from  Naplavkof's 
dictation.  When  the  object  of  the  meeting  had  been 
accomplished,  and  the  'brandy  freely  handed  round, 
Leshchinsky,  according  to  a  preconcerted  signal,  be- 
gan to  sing,  whereupon  Baranof,  with  a  large  force  of 
armed  men,  rushed  into  the  building.  Naplavkof, 
a  sabre  in  one  hand  and  a  loaded  pistol  in  the 
other,  made  a  show  of  resistance,  while  Popof  hastily 
thrust  the  document  into  the  oven.  So  sudden  was 
the  onslaught,  however,  that  all  the  party  were 
seized  and  bound  before  they  could  make  use  of  their 
weapons.  The  document  was  recovered,  almost  in- 
tact, but  the  only  additional  information  obtained  from 
it  was  that  Popof  had  been  elected  chief  of  the  society 
under  the  assumed  name  of  Khounshim,  and  that  it 
had  been  agreed  to  do  nothing  until  a  hunting  party, 
which  contained  some  of  their  number,  should  return 
from  Chatham  Strait.  The  ringleaders  and  four  others 
were  ironed,  placed  under  guard,  and  finally  sent 
to  Kamchatka  for  trial;  and  thus  ended  the  plot, 
without  further  result  than  to  increase  the  chief  man- 
ager s  desire  to  be  relieved  from  office.'^ 

'  Baraaof  soon  afterward  forwarded  an  nrgent  letter  to  the  board  of  direct- 
ors, asking  to  be  relieved.  Captain  V.  M.  Oolovnin,  of  the  sloop-of-M'ar  Diaita^ 
in  spealving  of  this  conspiracy,  remarks:  *Thc  Russian  American  Company's 
coQimissioner  at  Kamchatka,  Khlelmikof,  an  honorable  man,  obtained  from  tho 
leader  of  this  conspiracy  all  the  details,  and  finding  that  they  had  been  sutVcr- 
ing  from  hunger,  cruel  labor,  and  inliuman  treatment  by  tlie  officials,  desircMi, 
ill  the  interest  of  the  company's  good  name  and  perhaps  its  existence,  to  con- 
coal  the  whole  proceedings  from  tlie  government,  to  which  end  he  wrote  a 
Utter  to  the  directors  of  the  company,  dated  July  8,  1810,  wherein  he  de- 
clared that  if  Kaplavkof  and  his  companions  were  tried  in  any  open  court, 
they  oQuId  reveal  truths  of  a  character  most  damaging  to  tho  company;  tliort'- 
fore  he  asked  them  to  drop  tho  matter.  But  tho  directors  did  not  api>r<)vo 
of  Khlebnikof's  opinion,  and  replied,  umlcr  date  of  September  20,  1^10, 
that  he  must  brinff  the  oflfendcrs  to  justice*,  bnt  make  every  eflbrt  to  niaiu)::;; 
the  ai&iirto  the  advantage  of  the  company,  that  is,  to  punish  the  conspirat  us 
while  at  the  same  time  concealing  the  shortcomings  of  the  company.     Voj., 

Hist.  Alaska.   30 


403  SEVEN  MORE  YEAES  OF  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

Baranof  s  wish  was  not  fulfilled  until  several  years 
later,  though,  as  we  shall  see,  through  no  neglect  on 
the  part  of  the  directors.  There  were  none  of  his 
subordinates  to  whom  he  dared  to  intrust  the  control 
of  affairs,  and  he  had  no  alternative  but  to  remain  un- 
til a  successor  should  arrive.  Meanwhile  he  was  re- 
lieved for  a  time  from  all  anxiety  as  to  further  revolt 
among  Russians  or  Kolosh  by  the  arrival,  in  Juae 
1810,  of  the  sloop-of-war  Diana,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Golovnin.^ 

The  captain,  who,  like  other  naval  officers,  was  not 
predisposed  in  the  company's  favor,  thus  describes  his 
arrival:  "  It  was  10  p.  M.,and  dark.  We  fired  a  gun 
to  call  the  pilot;  lights  were  hung  out,  and  we  lay  at 
anchor  until  midnight;  we  could  then  hear  the  noise 
of  oars,  but  it  was  too  dark  to  see  the  boat.  At  last 
Russian  voices  became  audible,  and  we  could  doubt  no 
longer  that  some  of  the  company's  promyshleniki  were 
approaching,  but  for  all  that  we  did  not  neglect  any 
precautionary  measures.  It  was  well  known  to  me 
that  this  class  of  the  company's  servants  consisted 
chiefly  of  criminals;  and  also  that  this  class  of  scoun- 
drels, having  come  from  exile  under  false  promises  and 
expectations,  found  life  in  America  even  worse  than 
that  of  a  Siberian  convict,  and  therefore  were  always 
ready  to  profit  by  any  opportunity  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  the  Russian  American  Company.  They 
would  not  have  hesitated  even  to  surprise  a  ship  of 
war  and  take  possession  of  the  country.  All  arms 
were  kept  at  hand,  and  the  crew  on  the  alert.  I  then 
hailed  the  boat.  They  stated  in  reply  that  they  were 
sixteen  unarmed  men,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  chief 
manager  to  our  assistance.  I  ordered  them  to  board, 
and  while  they  were  standing  in  line  I  questioned 
them,  the  answers  being  evidently  given  in  fear. 
During  this  time  the  oflBcers  of  the  Diana  stood  mo- 
tionless at  their  posts.     Not  a  voice  was  heard  but  my 

•The  Diana  h&d  been  expected  the  previous  year.  She  reached  Petro- 
pavlovsk  in  the  autumn  of  1809,  and  wintered  there. 


GOLOVNIN'S  ARRIVAL.  407 

own  and  that  of  their  spokesman.  They  had  never 
witnessed  such  discipline  before,  and,  as  I  subsequently- 
heard,  were  laboring  under  the  belief  that  they  had 
been  captured  by  some  European  man-of-war,  on  which 
I  alone  could  speak  Russian.  But  as  soon  as  I  had 
learned  all  I  cared  to  know,  I  told*  them  they  might 
talk  to  their  countrymen,  and  whdn  they  heard  the 
Russian  language  spoken  on  all  sides,  they  were  almost 
beside  themselves  with  joy.  Only  then  they  confessed 
that  they  had  come  armed  with  pistols,  spears,  and 
guns,  which,  suspecting  us  to  be  English,  they  had 
concealed  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat." 

On  the  following  morning  the  Diana  was  towed 
to  the  anchorage  under  the  fort  and  saluted  with 
eleven  guns.  After  a  ridiculous  discussion  between 
Baranof  and  Golovnin  as  to  the  number  of  guns  to 
which  each  was  entitled,  the  salute  was  returned. 
The  captain  was  then  invited  to  dinner,  together  with 
his  officers  and  the  commanders  of  several  American 
vessels  then  in  port.  He  thus  relates  his  impressions  : 
"  In  the  fort  we  could  see  nothing  remarkable.  It 
consisted  of  strong  wooden  bastions  and  palisades. 
The  houses,  barrack  magazines,  and  manager's  resi- 
dence were  built  of  exceedingly  thick  logs.  In  Bar- 
anofs  house  the  furniture  and  finishing  were  of  fine 
workmanship  and  very  costly,  having  been  brought 
from  St  Petersburg  and  England ;  but  what  astonished 
me  most  was  the  large  library  in  nearly  all  European 
languages,  and  the  collection  of  fine  paintings — this 
in  a  country  where  probably  only  Baranof  can  appre- 
ciate a  picture,  and  no  travellers  are  apt  to  call  except 
the  skippers  of  American  trading  vessels.  Mr  Bar- 
anof explained  that  the  paintings  had  been  presented 
to  the  company  at  the  time  of  its  organization,  and 
that  the  directors  had  considered  it  best  to  send  them 
to  the  colonies;  with  a  smile,  he  added  that  it  would 
have  been  wiser  to  send  out  physicians,  as  there  was 
not  one  in  the  colonies,  nor  even  a  surgeon  or  apothe- 


403  SEVEN  MORE  YEAES  OF  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

cary.®  I  asked  Mr  Baranof  how  the  directors  could 
neglect  to  send  surgeons  to  a  country  the  climate  of 
which  was  conducive  to  all  kinds  of  diseases,  and 
vrhere  men  may  at  any  time  be  wounded  by  savages 
and  need  surgical  treatment.  'I  do  not  know,'  he 
said,  'whether  the  directors  trouble  themselves  to  think 
about  it;  but  we  doctor  ourselves  a  little,  and  if  a  man 
h^  wounded  so  as  to  require  an  operation,  he  must  die.' 
I^Ir  Baranof  treated  us  to  an  excellent  dinner,  during 
which  we  had  music  which  was  not  bad." 

During  his  stay  in  Russian  America,  Golovnin  dis- 
played in  a  somewhat  ridiculous  aspect  his  jealousy 
of  the  Russian  American  Company  and  of  foreign 
traders.  A  short  time  before,  the  American  ship 
Enterprise,  in  charge  of  Captain  Ebbets,  had  arrived 
at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  laden  with  trading  goods. 
The  captain  handed  to  the  chief  manager  a  despatch 
from  the  owner  of  the  vessel,  John  Jacob  Astor, 
wherein  the  latter  stated  that  "for  twenty-five  years 
lie  had  been  established  in  New  York  and  enora^ed  in 
foreign  trade;  that  he  had  done  business  with  the 
Canadian  Company  and  exchanged  goods  with  Europe 
and  Canton,  and  that  he  now  sent  his  first  ship  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  in  charge  of  Captain 
Ebbots." 

If  we  can  believe  the  chief  manager's  biographer, 
Dashkof,  the  Russian  consul-general  for  the  United 
States,^^  being  informed  that  Baranof  was  in  want  of 
supplies,  had  been  recommended  to  inquire  of  Astor 
what  was  most  needed,  and  by  his  advice  had  pur- 
chased a  full  cargo  for  the  colonies.  "I  was  very 
glad  to  oblige  Mr  Dashkof,"  continues  the  New  York 
merchant,  '*and  have  loaded  the  ship  with  such  use- 
ful commodities  as  will  be  best  adapted  to  trade  in  the 

'  Baranof  was  of  course  aware  that  there  was  a  hospital  at  St  Paul.  See 
Cimpljell's  Voy.  round  Worlds  101,  where  the  town  is  called  Alexandria. 
rrol)ahly  the  chief  manager  was  amusing  himself  and  his  guests  at  the  cx- 
pciiyo  of  the  captain. 

^'^  Afterward  envoy  plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States,  and  counsellor 
of  state.  Khlehnikofy  Shizti.  Baranova,  130. 


ASTOR'S  ENTERPRISE.  469 

colonies.  I  send  the  vessel  direct,  giving  full  power 
to  Captain  Ebbets  to  make  agreements  and  contracts, 
if  he  should  see  fit,  and  I  am  prepared  to  send,  each 
year,  two  or  three  vessels  specially  for  that  trade." 

Baranof  purchased  goods  of  Ebbets  to  the  amount 
of  twenty-seven  thousand  piastres,  but  declined  to 
buy  the  entire  cargo.  In  reply  to  Astor's  letter,  he 
wrote  that  "he  had  reason  to  believe  from  private  in- 
formation that  he  would  soon  receive  supplies,  and 
that  he  could  not  make  contracts  for  the  future,  as  he 
expected  to  be  relieved.  But  he  would  always  be 
able  to  take  the  cargoes  of  one  or  two  vessels  each 
year,  if  the  price  were  not  too  high." 

The  Enterprise  was  now  despatched  with  furs  to 
Canton,  the  proceeds  to  be  invested  in  Chinese  goods, 
and  after  a  prosperous  voyage  Ebbets  returned  in 
May  1811.  He  had  sold  his  peltry  at  fair  rates, 
and  purchased  his  cargo  at  low  prices.^^  Baranof  in- 
spected the  bills  of  sale  and  the  papers  relating  to 
the  several  transactions,  and  so  pleased  was  he  with 
the  result,  that  he  soon  afterward  despatched  the 
vessel  on  a  second  trip  to  Canton,  with  a  cargo  of 
English  goods  which  had  been  purchased  during  her 
absence. 

All  this  appears  to  be  a  very  simple  and  straight- 
forward transaction,  though  doubtless  matters  were 
concealed  by  the  chief  manager's  biographer  which  ho 
did  not  care  to  bring  to  light.  But  now  let  us  hear 
Golovnin's  account  of  the  matter.  "  Ebbets  brought 
a  despatch  from  Dashkof,"  writes  the  captain  of  the 
Diana  J  "with  a  contract  with  Astor,  and  a  second 
letter  written  by  Astor  himself  with  similar  propo- 
sals, in  terms  very  flattering  to  the  chief  manager, 
calling  him  'governor,'  *count,'  and  'your  excellency' 
on  nearly  every  line,  and  showing  that  even  the  re- 
publicans know  how  to  bestow  titles  when  their  in- 

*'  The  terms  of  his  contract  with  Baranof,  the  prices  which  he  obtained 
for  the  fars,  and  the  goods  bought  with  the  proceeds  are  mentioned  in  Id., 
133-9. 


470  SEVEN  MORE  YEABS  OF  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

t(3re.st  requires  it."  He  then  makes  the  questionable 
statement  that  the  letter  was  written  in  French,  and 
that  as  Ebbets  understood  only  English,  and  there 
were  no  interpreters,  matters  were  at  a  stand-still 
when  the  Diana  arrived.  "An  American  sailor,"  he 
continues,  *'  who  was  teaching  English  to  the  boys  at 
Kadiak,  without  understanding  Russian,  a  Prussian 
skipper  of  one  of  the  company *s  vessels,  and  a  relative 
of  Baranof's  who  had  picked  up  a  few  hundred  Eng- 
lish words,  composed,  previous  to  our  arrival,  the 
diplomatic  corps  of  the  Kussian  American  Company ; 
but  as  the  first  two  wfere  absent,  and  the  third  could 
only  speak  of  subjects  at  which  he  could  point  with 
his  fingers,  Baranof  could  not  communicate  with  the 
foreigners.  Ebbets  had  already  decided  to  leave 
without  accomplishing  anything,  but  when  he  heard 
that  we  could  speak  both  English  and  French,  he 
asked  for  our  cooperation,  which  was  freely  promised, 
myself  and  Lieutenant  Ricord  acting  as  interpreters. 
We  translated  all  the  letters  and  documents  and  drew 
up  the  contracts." 

Golovnin,  in  his  account  of  these  transactions, 
claims  to  have  discovered  that  some  deep-laid  plan 
was  contemplated  by  Astor,  and  thus  gives  his  reasons 
for  such  an  assertion:  "Ebbets,  desiring  to  let  mo 
know  how  much  it  had  cost  Astor  to  complete  the 
Enterprise  and  fit  her  out  for  the  expedition,  gave  mo 
three  books  to  look  over.  Two  of  them  contained 
the  accounts  mentioned,  but  the  third  was  evidently 
given  by  mistake,  and  contained  supplementary  in- 
structions to  Ebbets,  in  which  he  was  directed  to  call 
at  certain  Spanish  ports  on  the  American  coast  and 
endeavor  to  trade  with  the  inhabitants.  If  he  suc- 
ceeded, he  was  to  go  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  ballast 
and  trade  with  Baranof,  and  in  case  the  latter  should 
ask  why  he  brought  no  goods,  he  must  give  as  an 
excuse  that  he  had  heard  the  colonies  were  fully  sup- 
plied. He  was  also  told  to  obtain  most  minute  de- 
tails of  the  trade  and  condition  of  the  Russian  colo- 


EBBETS  AND  WINSHTP.  471 

nies,  their  strength  and  means  of  protection,  the  actual 
power  of  Baranof,  and  the  relations  between  the  com- 
pany and  the  government.  In  brief,  Astor  wished  to 
ascertain  the  feasibility  of  a  seizure  of  the  colonies  by 
the  United  States.  I  returned  the  books  to  Ebbets 
without  saying  anything,  but  immediatelj'^  wrote  down 
the  gist  of  the  instructions  and  laid  them  before 
Baranof,  who  thought  it  best  to  forward  them  to  the 
board  of  managers,  who,  with  their  usual  policy,  will 
no  doubt,  in  course  of  time,  make  the  best  use  of  this 
information  for  themselves." 

Whether  the  captain's  view  of  the  matter  was  right 
or  wrong,  ho  does  not  appear  to  have  been  actuated 
by  very  patriotic  motives;  for,  without  heeding  Bar- 
anof's  urgent  request  to  prolong  his  stay  in  the  col- 
onies on  account  of  the  danger  threatened  from 
English  privateers,  he  at  once  took  on  board  a  cargo 
of  furs  and  trading  goods  for  the  company's  commis- 
sioner in  Kamchatka,  and  was  ready  for  sea  on  the 
2d  of  Augusts  On  that  day  Captain  Winship,  a 
Boston  trader,  entered  the  outer  harbor  in  the  ship 
(yCain.^  Ebbets,  anxious  to  communicate  with  the 
new-comer,  sent  off  a  boat,  which  was  stopped  by  a 
shot  from  the  Dianas  much  to  Baranof 's  satisfaction, 
^•who  was  glad  to  see  the  Russian  authority  maintained 
in  this  manner.  Golovnin  afterward  sent  a  formal 
communication  to  Ebbets  and  Winship,  stating  that 
no  one  must  communicate  with  an  incoming  ship  until 
the  harbor  authorities  had  done  their  duty. 

**  During  Rezanof  a  absence  in  California,  Winship  arrived  in  the  Enter- 
prise at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  and  with  him  Baranof  couclnded  a  contract 
for  hunting  sea-otter  on  the  coast  of  Gilifornia.  Winship  was  furnished  with 
50  bidarkas,  under  command  of  a  trusted  friend  of  Baranof,  Pavl  Slobod- 
cbikof,  who  subsequently  was  in  captivity  in  Lower  California.  The  acree- 
mcut  was  made  for  a  period  of  from  10  to  14  months.  There  appears  to  Lave 
been  some  disagreement  between  Slobodchikof  and  Winship,  as  the  former, 
after  a  succesSul  hunt  all  along  the  California  coa<it,  left  the  ship  at  the 
island  of  Cerros,  where  he  purchased  of  an  American  skipper  a  small  schooner 
for  150  sea-otters,  naming  her  the  NikdaL  On  this  craft,  with  a  crew  of  two 
Americans  and  three  Kanakas,  he  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  thence 
for  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  Winship  did  not  reach  the  latter  jiort  until  Septem- 
b3r  of  the  following  year.  This  enterprise  resulted  in  the  collection  of  4,820 
Bea-otter  skins.  lai,  107-8. 


472  SEVEN  MORE  YEARS  OP  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

Late  in  August  1812,  the  American  ship  Beaver, 
fitted  out  by  Astor,  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk, 
having  on  board  his  confidential  agent,  Wilson  B. 
Hunt,  who  was  instructed  to  treat  with  Baranof  for 
the  establishment  of  permanent  relations  between  the 
American  and  Russian  fur  companies.  Hunt  executed 
his  commission  with  some  difiiculty.  He  succeeded, 
however,  in  disposing  of  his  cargo  on  advantageous 
terms,  but  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  Prybilof  Islands 
for  his  payment  in  seal  skins. 

Considering  the  relations  that  were  now  established 
between  Baranof  and  Astor,  one  may  indulge  in  some 
speculation  as  to  what  would  have  been  the  result  of 
this  alliance  had  the  enterprise  of  the  latter  been  suc- 
cessful.^^ In  that  case,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
would  probably  not  have  remained  the  chief  factor  in 
shaping  the  destinies  of  the  north-west  coast,  and  the 
British  flag  might  not  to-day  float  over  the  province 
of  British  Columbia.  But  it  is  probable  that  the 
shrewd  New  York  merchant  was  out-matched  by  the 
chief  manager,  whom  Irving  describes  at  random  as  "a 
rough,  rugged,  hospitable,  hard-drinking  old  Russian; 
somewhat  of  a  soldier,  somewhat  of  a  trader,  above  all, 
a  boon  companion  of  the  old  roistering  school,  with  a 
strong  cross  of  the  bear,  but  as  keen,  not  to  say 
crafty,  at  a  bargain  as  the  most  arrant  water-drinker." 

Nevertheless,  Astor  had  no  cause  for  complaint 
against  the  Russian  American  Company.  After 
abandoning  his  trading-post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, on  the  outbreak  of  war  in  1812,  his  claim  for 
damages  was  not  disputed.     Plis  agent,  Russell  Far- 

*•  The  first  cargo  forwarded  by  Astor  under  the  new  agreement  was  lost 
by  the  wreck  of  the  Lark  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  iu  1813.  Daring  this  year 
Baranof  purchased  two  foreign  vessels,  the  Ata?tualpa,imd  her  conaort,  the 
Lady.  The  AtahualfKi  was  an  old  visitor  on  the  north-west  coast,  appearing 
first  in  Sturgis'  list  of  north-west  traders  in  ISOl,  being  then  commanded  by 
Ca))tain  Wild  (Wildes  according  to  Swan).  The  sale  was  effected  by  Captain 
Beniict,  who  in  181;3  commanded  the  Atnkuafpa,  The  price  agreed  upon 
was  81,000  piastres  for  the  cargo  and  20,000  fur-seal  skins  forthevcsscL 
Sturgis*  L'emarkSf  MS.;  Baranof ,  Shizn.y  155.  Tho  Atahualpa,  a  three- 
mas  ter,  was  re-named  the  Bering ,  and  the  Lachj^  a  bri^,  received  tlie  name 
Ilnuii,    Both  were  subsequently  wrecked  at  tho  Sandwich  Islands. 


PARNUM»S  MISSION.  473 

num,  being  despatched  to  Astoria,  found  that  the  per- 
son whose  evidence  was  necessary  to  prove  the  claim 
had  gone  the  previous  year  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 
After  waiting  a  year  for  a  vessel,  the  agent  followed 
him,  only  to  find  that  he  had  crossed  over  to  Kam- 
chatka. Reaching  Bering  Strait,  Farnum  made  the 
{)assage  between  the  ice-floes  in  an  open  boat,  and  at 
ength  overtook  the  man  of  whom  he  was  in  search. 
After  obtaining  the  necessary  proof,  he  made  his  way 
through  Siberia  and  northern  Russia  to  St  Peters- 
burg. "There,"  says  Thomas  Gray,  who,  while  re- 
siding at  Keokuk  in  1830,  heard  the  story  from 
Farnum's  own  lips,  and  recently  furnished  me  with 
a  statement  of  his  adventures,^*  "he  met  the  head  of 
the  Russian  Fur  Company,  adjusted  the  claim,  and 
received  an  order  on  the  London  branch  of  a  Russian 
bank  in  favor  of  Astor  for  the  amount."  Farnum  re- 
turned to  New  York,  and  after  an  absence  of  three 
years,  presented  himself  to  the  astonished  Astor,  who 
had  long  since  given  him  up  for  lost.^^ 

On  the  day  of  Winship's  arrival  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk, the  Juno  returned  from  a  cruise  in  the  inte- 
rior channels  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago,  where 
she  had  been  attacked  by  the  Kolosh.  Several  of 
the  crew  had  been  wounded,  and  were  treated  by  the 
surgeon  of  the  Diana.  After  remaining  in  port  for 
nearly  a  month,  the  vessel  sailed  for  Petropavlovsk, 
on  what  proved  to  be  her  last  voyage.    "Sailing  from 

^*  Mr  Gray  was  kind  enoagh  to  call  at  my  Library  and  hand  me  a  copy 
of  the  St  Lovid  RtjyMican^  dated  October  18,  1883,  in  which  is  a  copy  of 
his  letter  to  Dr  0.  W.  Stevens,  acting  president  of  the  Missouri  Historical 
Society  in  that  city,  containinjo;  a  narrative  of  Farnum's  adventures.  In  his 
letter,  Gray,  who  now  resides  m  San  Francisco,  writes:  *  I  desire  to  communi- 
cate what  I  know  of  this  matter  to  a  person  who  is  writing  a  work  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  that  he  may  not  have  to  depend  solely  upou  my  say  so,  I 
should  be  glad  to  have  the  testimony  of  others,  as  far  as  they  know  anything 
relating  to  the  same. '  His  statement  is  corroborated  by  several  persons.  Ouo 
of  them,  Mr  Richard  Dowling,  then  in  his  79th  year,  and  a  resident  of  St 
Loois  from  the  time  when  it  contained  only  1,700  inhabitants,  relates  further 
incidents  of  Famum*s  adventures. 

^  Astor  cave  Farnum  an  interest  in  the  business  of  which  he  was  then  the 
head,  <uid  tnis  he  retained  until  Ins  death  at  St  Louis  in  1832.  Id* 


474  SEVEN  MORE  YEABS  OF  ALASKAN  ANNALS. 

Novo  Arkhangelsk,"  writes  her  captain  in  his  log- 
book on  the  14th  of  November,  "with  the  ship  placed 
under  my  charge,  I  find  myself  in  sight  of  land  in 
the  most  miserable  condition.  For  three  months 
we  have  been  battling  with  continuous  gaJes,  and  for 
nineteen  days  we  have  been  within  sight  of  the  coast, 
with  only  three  good  sailors  on  board,  and  those  en- 
tirely exhausted,  and  five  young  apprentices  who  have 
been  intrusted  to  my  care.  Two  of  the  latter  who 
are  more  robust  than  the  others  are  doing  sailors' 
duty,  while  the  rest  can  only  assist  at  the  rudder  and 
in  pumping  the  ship,  for  we  are  making  five  inches  of 
water  per  hour.  They  help  me  to  haul  the  log  and 
to  keep  my  journal.  The  management  of  the  ship 
with  these  eight  persons  is  exceedingly  difficult;  the 
remainder  of  my  command — "^^  With  this  broken 
sentence  the  report  ends. 

The  gale  continued,  and  a  few  days  afterward  the 
greater  part  of  the  bulwarks  were  carried  away,  the 
rudder  was  unshipped,  and  the  Juno  drifted  in  shore. 
Anchor  was  cast  in  thirty  fathoms,  but  still  the  ves- 
sel drifted  helplessly  shoreward;  a  second  anchor  was 
thrown  out,  but  this  also  gave  way,  and  now  the  ship 
was  dashed  on  a  reef  parallel  with  the  coast.  Here 
she  lay  till  the  incoming  tide  cast  her  on  an  inner 
reef.  All  through  this  chill  November  night  the 
men  stood  waiting  for  death,  lashed  to  the  rigging, 
and  drenched  with  the  ice-cold  waves.  One  huge 
breaker  swept  away  six  of  the  company,  among  whom 
was  the  captain,  and  even  their  fate  was  a  merciful 
one,  for  when  the  vessel  was  finally  carried  into  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Viliuya,  only  four  reached  the 
land  out  of  twenty-two  men  who  had  sailed  from 
Novo  Arkhangelsk. 

Six  hours  after  being  cast  on  shore  the  vessel 
broke  to  pieces.  One  of  the  survivors  was  struck  by 
a  falling  mast.     He  was  wrapped  in  such  articles  of 

*•  Sitha  Archives,  Log-books,  iiL 


SHIPWRECK.  475 

clothing  as  his  shipmates  could  spare;  but  knowing 
that  he  could  not  live,  crept  to  a  projecting  rock  and 
threw  himself  headlong  into  the  waves.  His  com- 
rades tried  to  save  him,  and  twice  he  was  almost 
within  reach.  Then  the  recoil  of  a  wave  carried  him 
beyond  their  grasp,  and  he  was  seen  no  more. 

The  three  Russians  now  set  forth  on  their  way 
along  the  bleak  Kamchatka  coast,  with  little  hope  of 
meeting  any  living  creature,  save  the  wolves  and 
bears  which  infested  that  wintrv  solitude.  Their 
sufferings  during  this  journey  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
describe.  All  that  men  can  suffer  from  cold  and 
hunger  they  endured.  Crawling  gaunt  and  half 
naked  to  the  banks  of  a  neighboring  stream,  they 
were  fortunate  enough  to  catch  some  fish,  and  near 
by  a  few  sables,  which  furnished  food  and  clothing; 
and  thus  toward  Christmas  of  1811  they  made  their 
way  to  Petropavlovsk.^^ 

"  Khlefmihof^  8h4zn,  BaranovOy  141-3.  When  the  news  was  received  at 
PetropavloTsk,  the  commissioner  of  the  company  at  once  repaired  to  the  scene 
of  the  wreck.  Search  was  made  through  the  adjacent  woods,  bat  no  trace 
of  any  human  being  was  found.  The  beach  was  strewn  with  corpses,  all  of 
which  had  their  arms  or  legs  broken. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

FOREIGN  VENTUEES  AND  THE  BOSS  COLONY. 

1803-1841. 

BAKAVors  Want  or  Meaxs — O'Cain's  Etpeditiow  to  Calitobxia — And 
TO  Japan — The  *  Mebcury  '  at  San  Dieoo — ^T&adino  Contbacts  with 
American  Skippers — Kuskof  on  the  Co.\8t  o](  New  Albion — The 
lloHs  Colony  Founded — Seal-huntino  on  the  Coast  of  California — 

Snip.BUILDING — AORICrLTURE—SHIPMENTS  OF  CeREALS  TO  NoVO  ArK- 
HANGEL8K — HORTICULTURE — StoCK-RAISING — LoSSES  INCURRED  BY  THE 

Company — Huntino-post  Established  at  the  Farallonjbs — ^Failure 
OF  THE  Enterprise-— Sals  of  the  Colony's  Effects. 

Notwithstanding  frequent  losses  by  shipwreck,  Bar- 
anof  was  now  well  supplied  with  sea-going  craft,  and 
had  more  vessels  at  his  disposal  than  he  could  use  for 
hunting  expeditions.  He  had  not  Forgotten,  however, 
the  secret  instructions  received  from  the  directors  of 
the  company  in  November  1803,  and  for  several  years 
had  been  pushing  forward  his  settlements  toward  the 
south.  The  rich  hunting-grounds  on  the  coast  of  Cal- 
ifornia had  long  since  attracted  his  attention,  and  he 
had  made  several  efforts,  though  with  little  success, 
to  avail  himself  of  this  source  of  wealth,  and  to  open 
up  a  trade  with  the  Spanish  colonies. 

The  only  obstacle  that  now  lay  in  the  path  of  the 
chief  manager  was  want  of  means.  Men  were  not 
lacking,  nor  ships;  but  supplies  were  forwarded  to 
him  in  such  meagre  quantity  and  at  such  exorbitant 
rates  that,  as  will  bo  remembered,  want  was  a  familiar 
j2^uest  in  the  Russian  settlements.  The  resources  of 
tlic  llussian  American  Company's  territory,  bountiful 
though  they  were,  had  tlius  far  served  at  best  only  to 

(470) 


O'CAIN'S  VOYAGE.  477 

supply  the  few  needs  of  the  settlers,  to  furnish  small 
dividends  to  the  shareholders,  and  to  satisfy  in  part 
the  greed  of  the  company's  agents. 

In  1803  the  vessels  that  arrived  at  Okhotsk  from 
Alaska  were  freighted  with  furs  valued  at  2,500,000 
roubles.^  Other  large  shipments  followed, among  them 
being  one  by  the  Neva^  in  1805,  valued  at  500,000  rou- 
bles. Nevertheless,  Baranof  did  not  venture  to  draw  on 
St  Petersburg  for  the  means  wherewith  to  carry  out 
his  instructions.  "  ^  There  is  another  cargo  with  half  a 
million,'  you  will  say,"  writes  Rezanof  to  the  directors 
in  November  of  this  year,  "  'and  where  is  the  threat- 
ened want  of  means?'  But  I  must  answer  you,  gen- 
tlemen, that  in  your  extensive  business  this  is  only  a 
short  palliative,  the  drawing  of  a  breath,  and  no  perma- 
nent relief     Patience  I  and  yo\x  will  agree  with  me."* 

A  few  days  before  the  chief  manager  received  his 
secret  despatch,  the  American  ship  OCain,  or  as  it 
was  called  by  the  Russians  the  Boston,  arrived  at 
Kadiak,  in  command  of  Captain  O'Cain,  whom  the 
former  had  previously  met  as  mate  of  the  Enterprise. 
After  an  exchange  of  trading  goods  for  furs,  to  the 
value  of  10,000  roubleSj_.Q'Cain  proposed  that  Bar- 
anof should  furnish  him  with  Aleutian  hunters  and 
bidarkas  for  an  expedition  to  the  coast  of  California. 
The  latter  was  disposed  to  listen  favorably  to  such  a 
proposition,  for  during  this  and  the  two  preceding 
years  the  destruction  of  seals  in  Russian  America  had 
been  on  an  enormous  scale,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
few  months  later  orders  were  given  by  Rezanof  that 
the  slaughter  should  cease  for  a  time.  After  some 
negotiation  an  agreement  was  concluded,  and  twenty 
bidarkas  were  fitted  out  and  placed  in  charge  o^ 
Shutzof,'  a  tried  servant  of  the  company.     Shutzof 

*  Between  1801  and  1S04  the  company  accmnnlated  about  800,000  skina, 
many  of  which  were  spoiled  through  want  of  care  in  dressing.  TikJi7nene/\ 
Istor.  Obos.,  i.  03-4. 

*/d.,  app.  part  ii.  201.    The  letter  was  dated  from  Novo  Arkhanf^elsk. 

'Sixteen  years  later  the  widow  of  this  man  petitioned  the  company  for  a 
pension,  basing  her  claim  on  tho  assertion  that  her  husband  had  *0])en(Ml  i) 
tho  Russian  American  Company,  and  to  the  Hussian  empire,  the  valuable  trade 


478  FOREIGN  VENTURES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY. 

was  ordered  to  observe  closely  all  parts  of  the  coast 
which  he  might  visit,  to  mark  the  number  and  charac- 
ter of  the  inhabitants,  and  to  procure  information  of 
all  hunting-grounds  which  might  in  the  future  be  util- 
ized by  the  company  without  the  assistance  of  for- 
eigners. He  was  instructed  also  to  observe  the  sea- 
ports that  were  frequented  by  Americans  for  purposes 
of  trade,  and  to  ascertain  the  prices  of  provisions  and 
other  products  of  the  country. 

The  Boston  sailed  from  Kadiak  on  the  26th  of  Octo- 
ber, and  after  calling  at  San  Diego,  proceeded  to  the 
bay  of  San  Quintin  in  Lower  California,  where 
O'Cain*  made  his  headquarters,  sending  out  hunting 
parties  in  various  directions,  until  the  1st  of  March  of 
the  following  year.  The  number  of  furs  secured  was 
eleven  hundred,  and  Shutzof  reported  that  the  Amer- 
ican captain,  trading  on  his  own  account  with  the  mis- 
sionaries and  soldiers,  had  obtained  seven  hundred 
additional  skins  at  prices  ranging  from  three  to  four 
piastres.  Thus  was  inaugurated  a  series  of  hunting 
expeditions  beyond  the  borders  of  the  Russian  col- 
onies, which  continued  for  many  years  with  varying 
success. 

In  August  1806  O'Cain  returned  to  Alaska,  arriv- 
ing at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  on  board  the  Eclipse. 
Touching  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands  on  his  voyage,  he 
had  found  there  a  crew  of  Japanese  sailors  who  had 
been  picked  up  at  sea.  He  now  proposed  to  the  chief 
manager  to  supply  him  with  a  cargo  of  furs  for  Can- 
ton, and  that,  having  taken  on  board  the  shipwrecked 
sailors,  he  should  proceed  thence  to  Japan,  with  a 
view  to  opening  the  Japanese  ports  to  the  Russians. 
As  the  captain  had  before  proved  faithful  to  his  trust, 
Baranof  consented,  and  a  few  weeks  later  the  vessel 
set  sail,  with  a  cargo^  valued  at  three  hundred  and 

of  California.'  Archives  Russian  American  Company ,  1819  (Letter  Books, 
vol.  iii.) 

*  For  further  mention  of  0*Cain*8  voyage,  see  Hist.  Cal.,  ii.  25-6,  thia  series. 

*  Including  1 ,800  sea-otter,  105,000  marten,  2,500  beaver,  and  other  skins. 
KMehnikof,  Sfiizn.  Daranova^  111.  The  terms  of  the  contract  between  O'Cain 
and  Baranof  are  given  in  Id,,  109-10. 


OTTER-IiUNTING  CONTRACTS.  479 

ten  thousand  roubles^.  The  expedition  proved  a  com- 
plete failure.  The;furs  were  sold  at  Canton  at  low 
prices,  and  ChineaJB  goods  purchased  with  the  pro- 
ceeds.® On  enteryg  the  harbor  of  Nangasaki  under 
Russian  colors,  tlj^  ship  was  immediately  surrounded 
with  hundreds  of  row-boats  and  towed  to  the  anchor- 
age ground.  Spon  afterward  a  Dutch  official  canio 
on  board,  and  nnding  that  neither  captain  nor  crew 
were  Russian,  ordered  them  to  haul  down  their  flag. 
As  the  Japanese  would  not  listen  to  his  proposals, 
O'Cain  informed  them  that  he  was  in  need  of  provi- 
sions and  fresh  water.  Supplies  were  delivered  to 
him  in  abundance  free  of  charge;  but  on  the  third 
day  after  his  arrival,  he  was  towed  out  to  sea  under  a 
strong  guard,  with  orders  never  to  enter  a  Japanese 
port  again.  The  Eclipse  was  then  headed  for  Petro- 
pavlovsk,  where  half  her  cargo  was  transferred  to  the 
care  of  the  Russian  commissioner,  and  sailing  thence 
for  Kadiak,  was  wrecked  on  the  voyage  at  the  island 
of  Sannakh.  Only  the  captain  and  four  others  were 
saved,  and  with  the  assistance  of  some  natives  from 
Unalaska,  made  their  way  to  St  Paul.^ 

The  result  of  O'Cain's  hunting  expedition  to  the 
coast  of  California  had  been  so  satisfactory  that  Bar- 
anof  resolved  to  profit  by  every  opportunity  of  repeat- 
ing the  experiment.  Through  captains  Ebbets  and 
Meek  it  had  become  known  among  American  skip- 
pers that  money  could  be  made  in  this  way,  and  several 
of  the  north-west  traders  were  only  too  willing  to  make 
the  attempt.  In  May  1808  a  contract  was  entered 
into  with  Captain  George  Ayres,  of  the  ship  Mercury 
from  Boston.     Ayres  was  furnished  with  twenty-five 

^Baranof,  in  hia  reports,  hints  at  sharp  practice  on  the  part  of  O'Cain. 
The  price  obtained  for  sea-otter  skios  was  only  13^  piastres  each,  while 
martens  brought  only  40  cents,  beavers  3  piastres,  etc.  The  whole  cargo  was 
sold  for  155, 003  roubles,  just  one  half  the  estimated  value.  With  this  sum 
the  captain  purchased  3,000  sacks  of  rice,  280  chests  of.  tea,  and  25,000  i)ack- 
ages  ot  various  Chinese  coods.  Id.y  1 12. 

^  An  a^coimt  of  this  shipwreck  is  given  by  Campbell,  one  of  the  survivors, 
in  his  Voy.  round  World,  42  et  seq.  (£dinburgh,  181C).  He  calls  St  Paul 
*AlfTftndna.* 


480  FOREIGN  VENTURES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY. 

bidarkas  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  in  the  vicinity  of 
islands  *  not  previously  known.'  Baranof  engaged  to 
furnish  the  Aleuts  with  subsistence,  and  no  party  was 
to  be  sent  out  without  an  armed  escort.  For  any  na- 
tive hunter  killed  or  captured  while  hunting,  Ayres 
promised  to  pay  250  piastres  toward  the  support  of 
his  family.  The  ship  was  to  return  within  ten  or 
twelve  months,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  trip  were  to 
be  equally  divided,  the  furs  being  valued  by  the  chief 
manager.  For  the  labor  of  the  Aleuts,  Ayres  was  to 
deduct  from  his  share  three  and  a  half  piastres  for 
each  sea-otter,  a  piastre  and  a  half  for  each  fur-seal, 
and  one  piastre  for  each  beaver. 

The  Mercury  sailed  from  Kadiak  on  the  8th  of  July, 
Shutzof  being  in  charge  of  the  hunters.  At  Char- 
lotte and  adjacent  islands  Ayres  bought  a  number  of 
sea-otter  furs  from  the  natives,  paying  for  each  a  can 
of  powder,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia^  Shut- 
zof purchased  five  hundred  and  eighty  beaver  skins. 
In  September  the  vessel  entered  the  harbor  of  Trini 
dad,  but  meeting  with  little  trade,  the  captain  sailed 
for  Bodega  Bay,  and  thence  for  San  Francisco  and 
San  Diego.  From  the  latter  port  hunting  parties 
.  _  were  sent  out  during  the  v.iuter,  and  the  ship  ro- 
)^turned  the  following  year  with  more  than  two  thou- 
sand skins. 

Between  1809  and  1812  Baranof  made  six  addi- 
tional contracts  with  American  masters,  the  result 
being  that  over  eight  thousand  sea-otter  skins,  pro- 
cured outside  the  limit  of  the  company's  possessions, 
were  delivered  to  the  chief  manager  as  his  share  of 
the  proceeds.*     These'  transactions  were  approved  by 

•  *  Here,*  says  Khlebnikof,  *  the  ftorty  met  with  two  United  States  officials 
and  a  number  of  soldiers,  who  were  iUrcady  putting  up  barracks.  The  offi- 
cials had  given  medals  to  the  savageef^  bearing  the  portrait  of  Washin^^n.* 
Sh'tzn.  JJaranova,  123.  This  occurred  in  August  1 808,  and  as  Lewis  and  Clarke 
left  the  month  of  the  Columbia  in  1800,  ancl  Astoria  was  not  est:xblished  until 
1811,  ib  remains  to  bo  shown  who  these  officials  were.  Doubtless  they  were 
not  United  iStiites  olliccrs  and  soldiers,  but  traders. 

*  In  1809,  Captain  John  Winship  on  the  ship  OVain  was  furnished  with 
CO  bidarkas,  the  company's  share  being  2,7-8  sea-otter  skins.  In  1810, 
Nathan  Winship  of  the  AlhcUro6S  hunted  with  68  bidarkas,  the  company's 


FLANS  FOB  NEW  ALBION.  481 

the  directors,  but  the  frequent  purchases  of  entire 
cargoes  of  goods  and  provisions,  for  which  payment 
was  usually  made  in  fur-seal  skins,  were  regarded 
with  less  favor.  Twice  in  succession  shrewd  Yankee 
skippers  succeeded  in  selling  their  skins  to  the  com- 
missioner at  Kamchatka  or  Okhotsk  at  a  higher  val- 
uation than  had  been  placed  upon  them  by  Baranof 
in  the  original  transaction ;  and  finally  a  peremptory 
order  was  issued  by  the  board  of  directors  to  make 
no  more  payments  m  kind,  but  to  give  drafts  on  the 
home  oflfice  at  St  Petersburg. 

After  his  return  from  California,  Kezanof  had  never 
ceased  to  urge  on  the  chief  manager  the  importance 
of  establishing,  on  the  shore  of  JTew  Albion^^**  a 
station  for  hunting,  trading,  and  agricultural  purposes. 
It  is  probable  that  his  plans  were  even  more  ambi- 
tious than  those  contained  in  the  company's  private 
instructions  to  Baranof,  and  that  he  purposed  gradu- 
ally to  push  forward  the  Russian  colonies  toward  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  in  time  even  to  wrest 
from  Spain  a  portion  of  California. 

Baranof  did  all  that  lay  in  his  power.  In  October 
1808  Kuskof  was  sent  to  the  coast  of  New  Albion  on 
board  the  ship  Kadiak^  the  schooner  \Nik6lai  having 
been  despatched  southward  a  fortnight  earlier.  The 
latter  was  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  Gray  Harbor, 
where  she  had  been  ordered  to  join  her  consort ;  and 
though  no  lives  were  lost,  the  nien  were  held  captives 
by  the  Indians,  a  few  of  them  being  rescued  by  an 
American  vessel,  in  which  they  returned  to  Novo  Ark- 

ehare  amonntLOff  only  to  560  skins.  In  the  same  year  BaTis  of  the  ladbeUa 
hunted  with  48  bidarkos,  the  company  receiving  2,488  skins.  In  1811, 
Meek  of  the  Amethyst  was  supplied  with  52  bidarkaa,  the  company's  share 
of  the  result  being  721  sea-otter.  In  the  same  year  Blanchard  of  the  Cath-' 
erine  hunted  with  50  bidarkas,  and  returned  750  sea-otter.  In  1812,  Gaptam 
Wittemore  of  the  Charon  was  supplied  with  hunters,  and  returned  to  the 
company  896  sea-otters  as  its  share.  \   , 

>^  The  term  'New  Albion'  was  of  somewhat  vague  si^uficanoe. -Jte  south*  > 

em  limit  was  anywhere  between  San  Diego  and  Point  Keyes,  near  which,  it 
will  be  remembered,  Drake  landed  in  1579,  at  the  bay  which  now  bears  his 
name,  and  called  the  country  'New  Albion.' 
Hzflz.  Alaska.   81 


482         FOREIGN  VENTURES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY. 

hangelst  two  years  later.  Contrary  winds  prevented 
the  Kadiak  from  entering  the  harbor,  and  Kuskof 
proceeded  to  Bodega  Bay,  where  he  arrived  at  the 
close  of  the  year.  Beturning  after  a  twelve  months' 
voyage  with  more  than  two  thousand  otter  skins,^^  he 
laid  before  Baranof  information  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance. He  reported  that  sea-otter  and  fish  abounded 
on  the  whole  coast,  that  he  had  found  many  places 
well  adapted  for  agriculture  and  ship-building,  and  that 
the  whole  country  north  of  San  Francisco  Bay  was 
unoccupied  by  any  European  power. 

The  chief  manager  finally  resolved  to  delay  no  longer 
the  execution  of  his  plans  in  that  direction,  although 
he  did  not  receive  positive  instructions  to  found  such 
a  colony  until  several  years  later.  He  gave  orders  to 
collect  all  the  men  who  might  be  of  use  in  forming  a 
permanent  settlement,  including  ex-convicts  from  the 
agricultural  provinces  of  Russia,  and  others  skilled  in 
^riculture  and  stock-raising ;  and  in  1810  despatched 
Kuskof  on  a  second  trip  to  the  coast  of  New  Albion, 
with  orders  to  make  further  explorations.     This  ex- 

})edition  was  unsuccessful.  Calling  at  Queen  Char- 
otte  Islands,  his  men  were  attacked  by  savages,  and 
after  losing  eight  of  his  hunters,  he  was  compelled  to  re- 
turn to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,^^  whence  he  was  again  sent 
,in  the  same  direction  in  the  schooner  Chirikof  early  in 
1811.  Of  his  voyage  little  is  known,^  but  anchoring 
in  Bodega  Bay,  which  he  re-named  Rumiantzof,  he 
found  its  vicinity  not  adapted  to  his  purpose,  and  se- 
lecting another  location  eighteen  miles  to  the  north- 

"  For  farther  details  of  this  voyage  and  a  map  of  Bodega  Bay,  see  Hist, 
Cdl.y  ii.  80-2,  this  series. 

i>  Tihkmcnef,  Istw.  Ohoa,,  1.  208.  Kuskof  sailed  on  board  the  Juno  two 
years  before  she  was  wrecked. 

^' Khlebnlkof ,  Zapiaki  in  MaUricdui,  137-9,  gives  Jan.  22d  as  the  date  of 
the  Chirikofs  departure,  and  says  that  Bodega  Bay  was  reached  a  month  later, 
but  that  finding  there  a  scarcity  of  sea-otter,  Kuskof  sent  twenty-two  bidar- 
kas  to  San  Francisco  Bay,  where  they  met  a  party  of  Aleuts  under  command 
of  TerepanofFwith  forty-eifht  bidarkas,  and  one  belonging  to  Winship's  ex- 
pedition with  sixty-eight  oidarkas.  Kuskof 's  men  secured  1,160  sea-otter 
and  78  yearlings  within  three  months.  In  order  to  drive  them  away,  the 
Spaniards  placed  guards  at  aU  the  points  where  the  Aleuts  were  accustomed 
to  procure  fresh  water. 


FOUNDING  OF  ROSS.  483 

"ward,  purchased  a  tract  of  land  from  the  natives.  On 
Lis  return  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk  he  was  ordered  to 
proceed  at  once  to  this  site  with  a  large  party  of  Rus- 
sians and  Aleuts,  and  was  furnished  with  an  ample 
store  of  supplies  for  the  use  of  the  proposed  settle- 
ment. Of  the  colony  founded  by  Kuskof,  in  1812,  a 
full  description  is  given  elsewhere;^*  it  remains  only 
to  make  brief  mention  of  it,  and  to  give  a  few  details 
as  to  the  industrial  progress  of  an  enterprise  which 
the  company  had  long  desired  to  establish. 

During  the  year  a  fort,  mounted  with  ten  guns, 
was  erected  on  a  bluff  about  a  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea;  other  buildings  were  added,  and  on  September 
10th,  or,  according  to  the  Russian  calendar,  on 
August  30th,  the  new  colony  was  named  Ross — the 
root  of  the  modern  word  Russia." 

Thus  at  length  a  foothold  was  gained  on  the  shore 
of  New  Albion,  but  the  result  disappointed  all  ex- 
pectation. The  hunting-grounds  on  the  neighboring 
coast  to  which  the  Russians  had  access  were  soon  ex- 
hausted; while  as  a  site  for  ship-building  and  agricul- 
ture, it  met  with  little  success.^®  Between  1812  and 
1823  only  about  1,100  large  sea-otter  skins  and  some 
250  yearlings  were  secured,  and  of  these  at  least  two 
thirds  were  obtained  during  the  first  four  years  of 
this  period,  the  seals  rapidly  disappearing  from  the 
neighborhood.  In  1824,  the  treaty  between  Russia 
and  the  United  States  permitted  the  Russians  to  send 

^^ffist.  Ccd.,  ii,  cap.  xiv.-xxviiL,  and  iv.,  cap.  vi.,  tlus  series.  On  p. 
dOO,  vol.  ii.,  is  a  map  of  the  region. 

^^The  fort  was  surrounded  with  a  palisade,  enclosing  a  space  of  about  42 
by  49  fathoms.  The  other  buildings  included  the  commandant's  house,  bar- 
racks, storehouses,  magazines,  bams,  shops,  bath-house,  tannery,  and  wind- 
mill. All  were  not  completed  until  1814.  Khlebnikqf,  Zanuiki  in  Materialui, 
138. 

1*  As  early  as  1818,  Hagemeister  writes  in  his  report:  *As  to  agriculture 
in  the  colony  of  Ross,  I  am  obliged  to  destroy  the  hopes  that  have  been  en- 
tertained. The  main  obstacle  consists  in  not  having  competent  workmen. 
Those  sent  from  Novo  Arkhangelsk  are,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  scum  of 
the  scum.  The  Aleuts  are  also  un6tted  for  this  kind  of  work,  and  long  train- 
ing is  necessary  to  prepare  them  for  their  new  occupation.  Meanwhile  the 
Russian  American  Company  loses  the  advantage  that  would  be  gained  by 
employing  them  in  seal  hunting.*  ZavcUiehin,  Rdoniy  Ross,  21-2* 


4S4  FOREIGN  VENTURES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY. 

out  hunting  parties  to  all  portions  of  the  Oregon  coast 
and  inland  waters  for  a  period  of  ten  years;  but  this 
had  no  bearing  on  California.  During  this  time  about 
1,800  sea-otter,  2,700  fur-seals,  and  a  few  yearlings 
were  delivered  by  the  Aleutian  hunters  as  the  com- 
pany's share.  Nevertheless,  even  for  the  greater  por- 
tion of  this  decade,  the  business  was  unprofitable." 

From  1816  to  1824  four  vessels,  with  an  aggr^ate 
capacity  of  720  tons,  were  built  at  a  cost  of  more  than 
150,000  roubles."  An  experienced  ship-carpenter 
from  Novo  Arkhangelsk  superintended  their  construc- 
tion, and  for  a  time  it  was  thought  that  the  oak,  pine, 
and  cedar  found  in  the  neighborhood  were  well  adapted 
for  the  purpose.  The  result  proved  most  unsatisfac- 
tory, however.  The  wood  was  cut  when  in  the  sap; 
soon  the  timbers  began  to  rot, and  within  six  years  after 
being  launched  not  one  of  the  ships  was  seaworthy. 

But  it  was  mainly  with  a  view  to  agricultural  pur- 
poses, as  we  have  seen,  that  the  site  of  the  Ross  col- 
ony was  selected.  Although  it  was  no  doubt  the 
best  one  that  the  Russians  found  available,  the  loca- 
tion had  many  disadvantages.  The  spot  was  sur- 
rounded with  hills,  densely  wooded  at  a  distance  of 
one  mile  from  the  sea;  the  level  ground  contained 
numerous  gulches;  the  most  fertile  portions  of  it  were 
diflScult  of  access,  some  of  them  being  at  a  distance  of 
three  versts  from  the  fort;  the  summer  fogs  caused 
the  ripening  grain  to  rust,  while  squirrels  and  gophers 
spread  havoc  among  the  growing  crops. 

Farming  was  carried  on  by  private  individuals,  as 
well  as  by  the  company's  agents,  but  by  neither  with 
system.  The  ploughs  in  use  were  of  all  patterns — 
Russian,  Siberian,  Finnish,  and  Californian.  The 
shares  of  many  of  them  were  merely  a  pointed  piece 

^^  A  statement  of  each  year's  catch  is  given  in  Tikhmenef,  Istcr,  Obos.^  i. 
367. 

IB  The  Rumiantio/,  of  160  tons,  completed  in  1818  at  a  cost  of  20,212  roa- 
bles;  the  Buldakof,  of  200  tons,  launched  in  1820,  the  expense  being 
69,404  roubles;  the  Volga,  of  160  tons,  finished  in  1822,  at  a  cost  of  36,189 
roubles;  and  the  KiaJchta,  of  about  200  tons,  launched  in  1834,  at  an  expense 
of  36,248  roubles.  Khlebnikqf,  ZapisH  in  Maieriaiui,  149-60. 


RUSSIANS  IN  CALIFORNIA.  486 

of  thick  bar-iron,  and  where  the  soil  was  rocky  and 
no  plough  could  be  used,  Indians  were  employed  to 
dig  up  the  ground  with  spades.  Each  one  farmed  as 
seemed  best  in  his  own  eyes,  and  the  usual  result 
was,  of  course,  failure.  Between  1815  and  1829 
about  4,800  pouds  of  wheat  and  740  of  barley  were 
sown,  and  over  25,000  pouds  of  wheat  and  3,600  of 
barley  harvested.  Thus  the  average  yield  for  both 
these  cereals  was  little  more  than  five-fold;  while  in 
1823,  the  most  prosperous  of  the  intervening  years,  it 
did  not  exceed  ten  or  eleven  fold,  and  in  bad  seasons 
fell  as  low  as  two  or  three  fold.  Not  until  1826  were 
any  considerable  shipments  of  grain  made  to  Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  and  from  that  date  to  1833  only  6,000 
pouds  were  forwarded.^® 

During  his  visit  to  the  colony  in  the  latter  year, 
Baron  Wrangell  selected  a  new  site  for  agricultural 
purposes,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Slavianka  (Russian) 
River,  midway  between  the  Ross  settlement  and 
Bodega  Bay.  About  400  pouds  of  wheat  were  sown, 
together  with  a  small  quantity  of  barley;  and  besides 
what  was  required  for  home  consumption  and  for 
seed,  there  remained  as  the  result  of  the  harvest 
about  4,500  pouds  of  wheat  and  450  of  barley  for 
shipment  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  The  next  year's 
crop  was  almost  as  satisfactory,  but  that  of  1835  was 
a  partial,  and  of  1836  a  total  failure.  From  the  latter 
date  until  1840  the  surplus  of  wheat  at  both  settle- 
ments amounted  to  about  10,000  pouds,  in  addition  to 
a  few  hundred  pouds  of  other  cereals. 

Other  branches  of  husbandry  were  introduced,  but 
with  little  better  result,  for  there  were  none  who 
thoroughly  understood  the  business.  The  first  peach- 
tree  was  brought  from  San  Francisco  in  1814,  on 
board  the  Chirikof,  and  six  years  later  yielded  fruit. 


'*In  1833  wheat  yielded  only  8  to  1.  VaUefo,  If^orme  JRuervado,  MS, 
In  a  few  choice  locaUties  the  ^ield  was  sometimes  as  high  as  15  to  1  of  wheat, 
and  of  barley  19  to  1.  In  Jff%8l.  Cal.,  iL  636,  this  series,  is  a  list  of  the  pro- 
TinaDa  obtained  by  the  company  in  California  between  1817  and  1825. 


486  FOREIGN  VENTUEES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY. 

In  1817  the  grape-vine  was  introduced  from  Lima, 
and  in  1820  apple,  pear,  and  cherry  trees  were 
planted.  The  vines  began  to  bear  in  1823,  and  the 
fruit  trees  not  till  five  years  later,  and  then  in  small 
quantity.  Melons  and  pumpkins  were  planted  by 
Kuskof,  who  also  raised  large  quantities  of  beets, 
cabbages,  potatoes,  lettuce,  pease,  beans,  radishes,  and 
turnips.  The  two  last  were  large  in  size  but  poor  in 
flavor.  Vegetables,  however,  gave  the  most  abundant 
crop,  and  after  supplying  the  wants  of  the  colony  and 
of  vessels  that  touched  at  the  Ross  settlement,  a  sur- 
plus was  available  for  shipment  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk.** 
The  industry  of  stock-raising  was  somewhat  more 
successful,  though  restricted  by  want  of  pasture,  all 
the  best  land  being  under  cultivation.  The  cattle 
were  left  to  roam  among  the  mountain  ranges,  and 
many  were  slaughtered  by  Indians  or  fell  a  prey  to 
wild  beasts.^^  Nevertheless,  between  1817  and  1829 
the  number  of  horned  cattle  that  could  be  mustered 
at  the  settlement  increased  from  61  to  521,  of  horses 
from  10  to  253,  and  of  sheep  from  161  to  614.  Dur- 
ing the  interval  a  considerable  quantity  of  live-stock 
was  purchased  from  the  natives,  and  a  few  at  the  San 
Francisco  mission,  but  more  were  slaughtered  for 
home  consumption,  for  the  use  of  the  company's  ves- 
sels, or  for  shipment  to  Alaska.  During  1826  and 
the  three  succeeding  years,  more  than  450  pouds  of 
salt  beef  were  forwarded  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  Tal- 
low was  produced  at  the  rate  of  10  to  15  pouds  a 
year.  Of  butter  over  400  pouds  were  made  between 
1825  and  1829,  two  thirds  of  it  being  shipped  to  Novo 
Arkhangelsk.  Hides  were  made  into  sole  and  upper 
leather,  the  tanner  being  an  Aleut  from  Kadiak,  who 

'^Tikhmenef,  Istor,  Oho8,,  i.  210,  states  that  potatoes  grew  twice  a  year, 
and  yielded  eleven-fold,  as  many  as  250  being  found  to  the  hill  in  some 
instances.    This  is  not  confirmed  by  Ehlebnikof. 

'^  Daring  Knskof  s  residence  at  Itoss  colony,  an  ox  returned  to  the  settle- 
ment covered  with  blood,  and  with  pieces  of  flesh  torn  out  of  its  sides.  The 
horns  were  also  blood-stained.  Oxen  grew  to  an  enormous  size,  one  that  was 
placed  on  board  the  Kutusof  in  1817  giving  920  lbs.  of  clear  meat  Khlebniitqf, 
Zapiski  in  MatericUui,  153. 


GENERAL  RESULTS.  487 

had  learned  his  business  from  the  Kussians.  An 
attempt  was  also  made  to  manufacture  blankets,  but 
the  wool  was  of  poor  quality,  and  there  was  no  one  who 
understood  how  to  construct  a  loom. 

Between  1825  and  1830  the  expense  of  maintain- 
ing the  Ross  settlement  was  about  45,000  roubles  a 
year,  while  the  average  receipts  were  less  than  13,000 
roubles.*^    In  later  years,  though  the  shipments  of 

Eroduce  were  on  a  larger  scale,  the  hunting-grounds 
ecame  almost  worthless.  Meanwhile  the  outlay  was 
largely  increased,  and  during  the  last  four  years  of  its 
existence  the  colony  was  maintained  at  a  total  cost  of 
about  288,000  roubles,  while  the  returns  were  less 
than  105,000  roubles,  leaving  a  net  loss  of  more  than 
45,000  roubles  a  year. 

Trade  was  carried  on  to  a  small  extent  with  the 
Spaniards  at  San  Francisco  even  before  the  treaty  of 
1824,  though  before  that  date  the  Russians  were  not 
allowed  to  enter  the  harbor  for  hunting  purposes.  At 
the  Farallones,  however,  a  station  was  established, 
which  for  a  time  was  fairly  profitable.^     From  1812 

"Consisting  of  8,745  roubles'  worth  of  produce  and  4,138  of  furs.  Tikh^ 
fMntft  Islor.  Ohoa,,  i.  359. 

^The  men  sent  to  this  station  were  relieved  at  intervals,  as  want  of  proper 
food,  shelter,  fuel,  and  wholesome  water  caused  sickness  and  death  among 
them.  Zakhar  Ghichinof,  who  was  one  of  a  party  sent  to  the  Farallones  in 
1819,  thus  relates  his  experience:  'A  schooner  took  us  down  to  the  islands, 
but  we  had  to  cruise  around  for  over  a  week  before  we  could  make  a  landing. 
Wo  had  a  few  planks  with  us  and  some  canvas,  and  with  that  scanty  material 
and  some  sea-lion  skins  we  built  huts  for  shelter.  We  had  a  little  drift-wood, 
and  used  to  bum  the  fat  of  sea-lions  and  seals  for  cooking  purposes.  When 
we  landed  we  had  about  120  lbs.  of  flour  and  10  or  12  lbs.  of  tea,  and,  as  we 
were  nine  persons,  the  provisions  did  not  last  long,  and  we  were  soon  reduced 
to  sea-lion,  seal,  and  fish.  The  water  was  very  bad  also,  being  taken  from 
hollow  places  in  the  rocks,  where  it  stood  all  the  year  round.  We  had  no 
fire-arms;  the  sea-lions  were  killed  with  clubs  and  spears.  The  sea-lion 
meat  was  salted  down  in  barrels  and  boxes,  which  we  had  brought  with  us, 
and  in  holes  in  the  rocks.  Once  only,  about  six  months  after  we  landed  on 
the  islands,  one  of  the  company's  brigs  came  and  took  away  the  salted  meat 
and  a  lot  of  fur-seal  skins,  and  tiien  went  on  her  way,  leaving  us  about  100 
lbs.  of  flour,  a  few  pounds  of  tea,  and  some  salt.  About  a  month  afterward 
the  scurvy  broke  out  among  us,  and  in  a  short  time  all  were  sick  except  my- 
self. My  father  and  two  others  were  all  that  kept  at  work,  and  they  were 
ffrowing  weaker  every  day.  Two  of  the  Aleuts  died  a  month  after  the  disease 
Broke  out.  AU  the  next  winter  we  passed  there  in  great  misery,  and  when 
spring  came  the  men  were  too  weak  to  kill  sea-lions,  and  all  we  could  do  was 
to  crawl  around  the  chSs  and  gather  some  sea-birds'  eggS/  and  suck  them  raw. ' 
AdvetUurts,  MS.,  6-8, 


488  FOREIGN  VENTURES  AND  THE  ROSS  COLONY, 

to  1818,  about  8,400  fur*seal  skins  were  obtained  there, 
and  it  is  stated  that,  before  their  occupation  by  the 
Kussians,  as  many  as  10,000  were  taken  on  these 
islands  in  a  single  autumn.  Later  the  supply  was 
gradually  exhausted,  but  the  ground  was  not  finally 
abandoned  until  1840,  the  few  Aleuts  left  there  in 
charge  of  a  single  Russian  being  employed  in  shoot- 
ing and  drying  sea-gulls  for  use  at  the  Boss  colony 
and  in  gathering  sea-oirds'  eggs.^ 

One  of  the  greatest  obstfwles  to  the  prosperity  of 
/  the  Ross  settlement  was  that  the  colonists  held  no 
secure  title  to  their  possessions.  The  land  had  been 
purchased  from  the  Indians  for  a  trifle;  but  the 
Spaniards  had  never  recognized  their  ownership,  and 
at  this  time  laid  claim  to  the  entire  coast  as  far  as 
the  strait  of  San  Juan  de  Fuca.  Of  the  disputes  that 
arose  on  this  point,  an  account  is  given  in  another 
volume.^  As  early  as  1820  the  company  o£Pered  to 
surrender  the  colony  if  restrictions  on  trade  were  re- 
moved, for  they  had  already  begun  to  despair  of  its 
success-  In  1838,  after  the  failure  of  Wrangell's  mis- 
sion to  Mexico,  of  which  mention  is  made  in  connec- 
tion with  my  History  of  Ccdifornia,  it  became  evident 
that  the  days  of  the  colony  were  numbered.  Already 
American  immigrants  had  taken  up  land  within  ten 
leagues  of  the  settlement,  and  others  proposed  to 
establish  themselves  still  nearer  to  Ross.  In  vain  an 
appeal  was  made  to  the  vice-chancellor  at  St  Peters- 
burg. His  decision  was  that  no  claim  could  be  ad- 
vanced, "other  than  right  to  possession  of  the  land 
already  occupied  and  of  the  buildings  erected  thereon." 

This  was  a  death-blow  to  the  company's  hopes. 
After  two  unsuccessful  attempts  to  sell  the  establish- 
ment, first  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  then 
to  General  Vallejo,^  the  entire  property  at  Ross  and 

**Xhe  averaf;^  number  of  birds  obtained  was  5,000  to  10,000  a  year,  but 
in  1828,  50,000  were  killed.   Kklebniko/y  ZapisH  in  Materialui,  157. 
^Hi8t.  Cdl.,  it  S03  et  seq.,  this  series. 
^SceDouglcu,  Journal,  MS.,  16,  and  Vall^o.  Doc,  MS.,  x.  60-2. 


FAILURE  IN  NEW  ALBION.  489 

Bodega,  apart  from  the  real  estate,  including  all  im- 
provements, agricultural  implements,  1,700  head  of 
cattle,  940  horses,  and  900  sheep,  was  sold  to  John  A. 
Sutter  in  September  1841,  for  $30,000,  the  amount 
being  payable  in  yearly  instalments,*^  and  two  thirds 
of  it  in  produce,  to  be  delivered  at  San  Francisco, 
freight  and  duty  free.^ 

Thus  ended,  in  loss  and  failure,  the  company's 
schemes  of  colonization  on  the  coast  of  New  Albion. 
The  experiment  had  been  for  thirty-years  a  constant 
source  of  expense  and  vexation;  but  if  the  Russians 
could  have  maintained  their  foothold,  results  might 
have- followed,  more  brilliant  than  even  Rezanof  con- 
templated. Within  a  few  years  after  their  departure, 
gold-bearing  sands  were  discovered  beyond  the  ranges 
of  hills  which  separated  from  an  interior  valley  the 
abandoned  site  of  Ross. 

"  Extending  oyer  four  years,  the  first  two  of  $5,000  and  the  others  of 
$10,000  each.  %om,  Contratde  VeiUe,  MS.,  1841,  of  which  there  is  a  copy  in 
Spanish  in  Depi.  8t.  Pap.,  MS.,  vi.  lOS-9. 

^  Tikhmenef  ,  Istor.  OboB,,  i.  366,  states  that  payment  was  goaranteed  by  the 
Mexican  government,  but  such  was  not  the  fact.  The  Bodega  property,  two 
tanchos  telonging  to  Tschemich  and  Ehlebnikof,  and  an  establishment  at 
New  Helvetia,  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  company's  agents  as  security. 
Boss,  CoTUrat  dt  Vente,  MS.  The  last  payment  was  not  made  until  about 
1B60.  For  farther  particulars  on  this  matter,  see  Hist,  CcU,,  iv.  cap.  vi.,  this 
leriea. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

1808-1818. 

HaOEHSISTEB  IK  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS— BaBANOF  AoAIN  DkIBBS  TO  BB 

Relieved— Eliot  Sails  fob  Califobnia  in  the  '  Ilmbn  ' — ^Hia  Cap* 

TIVITY — ^EOTZEBUE    IN    THE     *  RURIK '    IN    SeABCH    OF    A  NOBTH-EAST 

Passage— His  Explorations  in  Kotzebtte  Sound— He  Proceeds  to 
Unalaska— And  thencb  to  Caufornll  and  thb  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands—King Kamebameha— A  Storm  in  thb  Nobth  Pagoio— Thb 
'Rubik'  Returns  to  Unalaska— Her  Homeward  Votaob— Bbn- 
nett*8  Trip  to  the  Sandwich  Islands— Captain  Lozaref  at  Novo 
Arkhangelsk- His  Dlsputes  with  the  Chief  Manager — Sheffbb 
Sails  for  Hawaii— And  thence  for  Kauai— His  Agreement  with 
King  Tomari— Jealousy  of  American  and  English  Tbadbbs^ 
Flight  of  thb  Russians. 

As  only  casual  mention  of  the  Koss  settlement  will 
be  required  in  the  remainder  of  this  volume,  I  have 
thought  it  best  to  complete  the  brief  record  of  its 
operations  before  proceeding  further.  I  shall  now 
refer  to  other  and  earlier  attempts  at  foreign  coloniza- 
tion ;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  company's  plans  were 
far-reaching,  and  extended  not  only  to  both  shores  of 
the  Pacific,  but  to  the  islands  that  lay  between. 

In  1808  Captain  Hagemeister  sailed  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands  in  charge  of  the  Neva,  with  in- 
structions to  establish  a  colony  there,  and  to  survey 
the  field  with  a  view  to  future  occupation  by  the  Rus- 
sians.^    Arriving  at  a  harbor  on  the  southern  side  of 

^Campbell,  Voy.  round  World,  118,  states  that  the  Keva  had  a  crew  of 
sev^ty-five  men  bolonging  to  the  RuBsian  navy.  He  was  one  of  thoee  who 
Burvived  the  wreck  of  the  Eclipse,  in  1807.  Though  an  illiterate  seaman,  his 
fitory  is  interesting,  and  in  the  main  worthy  of  credit.    He  writes  appar- 

(490) 


^LAGEMEBTEE'S  VOYAGE.  401 

Oahu,  the  ship  was  boarded  by  a  large  canoe,  in  which 
was  seated,  dressed  in  European  costume,  King  Ka- 
mehameha,  then  the  potentate  of  the  Hawaiian  group. 
'*  Immediately  on  his  coming  on  board,"  says  Camp- 
bell, a  Scotch  sailor  who  acted  as  Hagemeister's  in- 
terpreter, "  the  king  entered  into  earnest  conversation 
with  the  captain.  Among  other  questions,  he  asked 
whether  the  ship  was  English  or  American.  Being 
informed  that  she  was  Russian,  he  answered,  'Meitei, 
meitei,'  or  'Very  good.'  A  handsome  scarlet  cloak, 
edged  and  ornamented  with  ermine,  was  presented  to 
him  from  the  governor  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.  After 
trying  it  on,  he  gave  it  to  his  attendants  to  be  taken 
ashore.  I  never  saw  him  use  it  afterwards.  In  other 
canoes  came  Tamena,  one  of  his  queens,  Crymakoo, 
his  brother-in-law,  and  other  chiefs  of  inferior  rank."^ 
Through  fear  of  British  intervention,  or  for  other 
reasons  not  specified  by  the  chroniclers  of  the  time,  no 
attempt  was  made  to  found  a  settlement,*  though,  if  we 

ently  without  bias,  and  speaks  very  favorably  of  his  reception  in  Alaska  and 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  His  work  was  noticed  in  the  Edinbuigh  Review, 
vol.  ix. 

«/(i.,  127.  In  Oampbeirs  work,  Washington  Irving*$  Agtoria,  Vajicouver'a 
Voy,^  and  Koizebue,  Voy.  o/Discov.  (Londoui^  1821),  the  king  is  <^led  Ta- 
maahmaah;  in  Meares*  Voy.,  Tomy  homy  haw;  in  PorUock'a  Voy,,  Ck)maamaa;  in 
Langadorff's  Voy.^  Tomooma;  in  Lufiansky,  Voy.  round  World,  Hameamea. 
How  the  monarch  received  so  many  aliases  does  not  appear,  for  in  Samwell's 
account  of  Captain  Ook's  death  (Samwell  was  the  surgeon  of  the  Discovery), 
his  name  is  spelled  Tameamea.  In  the  Hawaiian  dialect  consonants  are  often 
substituted  for  each  other,  a  guttural  even  taking  the  place  of  a  lingual  when 
rendered  into  English  characters,  as  in  this  instance.  Kamehameha  I.,  sur- 
named  the  conqueror,  was  already  known  by  fame  throughout  Europe.  In 
the  Nuuanu  Valley,  it  will  be  remembered,  he  routed  the  army  of  the  King  of 
Oahu,  and  drove  hundreds  of  the  enemy  over  a  neighboring  pali,  at  the  foot 
of  which  their  bones  lie  bleaching  to  this  day.  The  spot  is  but  a  few  miles 
from  Honolulu. 

*  Baranof  certainly  instmcted  Hagemeister  to  found  a  settlement,  and  a 
copy  of  his  instructions  has  been  preserved  in  the  Sitka  Archiifes,  but  no 
mention  of  this  is  made  in  the  captam's  report.  It  is  probable  that  he  was 
prevented  by  fear  of  British  opposition,  for  on  August  6th  of  the  following 
vear,  Kamehameha  wrote  to  George  III.  proposing  to  acknowledge  him  as 
his  sovereign,  and  askine  that  the  Islands  Ix)  placed  under  British  protection. 
The  request  was  granted.  Tikhmenef,  Istor,  Obos.,  i.  1G6,  says  that  as  soon  as 
•  romor  spread  throughout  the  Islands  that  a  vessel  had  -been  sent  from  Novo 
Arkhangelsk  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  settlement,  an  English  frigate 
called  there  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  matter.  This  statement  is  not 
indorsed,  however,  by  Campbell,  who  remained  in  the  Inlands  for  more  than 
ft  year  after  the  departure  of  the  Neva,  Tikhmenef  would  have  us  beUove 
tiiat  Hagemeister  was  ordered  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Russian  colonies,  and 


492      FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  CXILONIZATIOK 

can  believe  Kamehameha,  Hagemeister  tried  to  bring 
the  natives  of  Oahu  under  subjection  by  threatening' 
that  ships  of  war  should  be  sent  against  them/  After 
calling  at  other  islands  in  the  Hawaiian  group,  and 
bartering  seal  skins  and  walrus  tusks  for  salt,  sandal- 
wood, and  pearls,  the  captain  sailed  for  Kamchatka, 
and  thence  for  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  setting  forth  on 
his  homeward  vovage  the  following  year.*  In  his 
report  to  Baranof;  whom,  as  we  shall  see  later,  he 
succeeded  in  office,  he  states  that  taro,  maize,  and 
sugar  could  be  purchased  at  moderate  prices  in  Oahu 
and  the  neighboring  islands,  but  that  European  goods 
were  held  at  extravagant  rates. 

The  control  of  the  company's  afl^irs  had  long  been 
felt  as  too  severe  a  strain  by  the  chief  manager,  who 
was  now  more  than  sixty  years  of  age.  He  had  sev- 
eral times  requested  that  a  successor  be  appointed,  and 
twice  his  request  had  been  granted,  but  on  both  occa- 
sions the  official  who  was  sent  to  relieve  him  died  on 
the  way.  In  October  1811  the  brig  Maria  returned 
to  Kadiak,  having  sailed  from  Okhotsk  during  the  pre- 
vious year.  In  this  vessel  Collegiate  Assessor  Koch, 
who  had  been  appointed  Baranofs  assistant  with  a 
view  to  succeeding  him,  had  taken  passage,  but  during 
the  voyage  he  fell  sick,  and  breathed  his  last  at  Petro- 
pavlovsk.  The  news  of  his  death  was  doubly  sad  to 
fearanof,  who  had  been  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the 
deceased  for  many  years.^     By  the  Maria  the  chief 

then  to  ascertain  the  exact  location  of  certain  ialands  lyingr  between  the 
Japanese  and  Hawaiian  groups,  discovered  in  the  seventeenm  centoiy,  his 
visit  to  Oahn  being  merely  with  a  view  to  trade. 

*  See  the  king's  address  to  Kotzebue,  as  related  in  his  Voy,  of  JHscov.t  i. 

3as. 

^  After  wintering  at  Kadiak,  he  was  sent  to  Petropavlovsk,  with  a  cargo 
of  furs  valued  at  over  750,000  roubles. 

*  Ivan  Gavrilovich  Koch,  a  native  of  Hamburff,  entered  the  Bnssian  mili- 
tary service  as  a  surgeon  in  1769.  He  did  duty  during  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Bender  in  1770,  and  throughout  the  Turkish  war  of  that  period  until  the 
conclusion  of  peace.  In  1783  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  staff  surgeon 
and  attached  to  the  Irkutsk  district.  In  1764  he  waa  transferred  to  the 
civil  8ci*vice,  with  the  rank  of  coUe^ate  assessor,  and  sent  to  Okhotsk  as  com- 
mandaut  of  the  garrison,  which  position  he  filled  with  credit  until  1705.  For 
distinguished  services,  he  was  decorated  with  the  order  of  St  Vladimir.  Dur- 
ing the  following  years  he  made  several  official  visits  to  Irkutsk,  and  waa 


BJCATH  OF  BORNOYOLOKOF.  493 

manager  received  authority  from  the  board  of  directors 
to  establish  a  permanent  settlement  on  the  coast  of 
New  Albion  wherever  he  might  think  best.  Mean- 
while he  did  not  n^lect  to  forward  another  petition 
to  St  Petersburg,  asking  that  his  resignation  be  ac- 
cepted; but  once  more  he  was  disappointed.  Early 
in  the  month  of  January  1813,  the  inhabitants  of 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  were  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  a 
small  boat  containing  a  few  Kussian  sailors,  half  dead 
from  cold  and  hunger.  They  brought  the  unwelcome 
news  that  the  Neva^  which  had  sailed  from  Okhotsk 
under  command  of  Lieutenant  Fodushkin,  had  been 
wrecked  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Edgecumbe.  One 
of  those  who  perished  on  board  this  craft  was  Colle- 
giate Counsellor  Bomovolokof,  who  had  beenappointed 
Baranof  s  successor.^ 

In  December  of  this  year  the  Mmen  was  despatched 
to  Ross  with  a  cargo  of  goods  and  provisions.  On 
board  the  vessel  was  a  hunting  party  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Tarakanof,  and  a  man  named  Eliot,  or  Eliot  de 
Castro,  who  had  volunteered  to  conduct  the  trade 
with  the  missionaries  on  the  Californian  coast,  claim- 
ing long  acquaintance  with  the  fathers.® 

The  ship  left  Sitka  in  December  1813.  On  her  ar- 
rival at  Bodega,  the  Aleutian  hunters  were  divided 

appointed  aasistant  on  the  general  staff  and  commissary-general.  He  retired 
with  fall  pay  in  1902.   Khlebniko/y  Shizn.  Bctranava,  145-6. 

^  The  wreck  occurred  on  the  9th  of  Jannanr.  Bomovolokof,  the  pilot 
Kalinin,  the  wife  and  son  of  the  mate  Nerodof,  the  boatswain,  27  promy- 
Bhleniki,  and  4  women  were  drowned.  The  sorvivom  were  Lieutenant  Po- 
doshkin,  the  mate  Nerodof,  cadet  Terpigoref,  a  quartermaater,  and  21  promy- 
ahleniki.  Three  of  the  latter  died  soon  afterward.  During  the  voyage  from 
Okhotsk  15  men  had  died  from  sickness.  Id.,  149-50.  See  also  Berg,  Ship- 
tpreck  of  the  Nevcb,  and  Oolotmin  Korablekruah,  iv.  The  survivors  reported  that 
the  brig  Alexandr,  which  had  sailed  from  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  tfune  of  the 
preceding  year,  with  over  8,000  sea-otter  skins,  under  command  of  master 
l^etrof,  had  also  been  wrecked  on  the  Kurile  Islands. 

'Eliot  is  mentioned  by  Kotzebue  in  the  first  volume  of  his  voyage  as  Eliot 
de  Castro,  a  native  of  Portugal,  and  is  so  called  by  several  other  writers.  In 
the  argument  between  him  and  Baranof,  which  has  been  preserved  in  the 
Siiba  Arehivesy  the  document  is  signed  'John  Eliot,*  and  he  is  spoken  of  in  the 
indorsement  as  an  American,  vi.  113.  In  Ouerr€f^  Doc*  hist.  Cal.,  it  74-^3, 
I  find  a  number  of  statements  relating  to  Eliot,  but  in  no  instance  does  the 
name  of  Caatro  occur.    It  is  always  Euot  or  Don  Juan  Eliot. 


494       FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

into  detachments  and  scattered  over  the  sea-otter 
grounds..  Seal  were  not  plentiful,  and  though  for  a 
time  the  Aleuts  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  Spanish 
soldiery,  the  largest  detachment,  together  with  Eliot 
and  Tarakanof,  were  surprised  by  a  troop  of  horse 
in  the  vicinity  of  San  Luis  Obispo  and  taten  to  the 
presidio  of  Santa  Barbara.^ 

Eliot  and  his  companions  remained  captives  until 
1815,  when  all  who  had  not  taken  unto  themselves 
Indian  wives  were  delivered  to  Lieutenant  Kotzebue, 
who  visited  the  California  coast  during  his  voyage  of 
exploration  in  the  brig  Rurik}^ 

The  Riirikf  a  vessel  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  tons, 
was  built  and  equipped  by  Count  Romanof,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  the  supposed  north-west  passage  by 
way  of  Davis  Strait  or  Hudson  Bay;  but  as  an  expedi- 
tion was  being  fitted  out  in  England  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, it  was  determined  to  attempt  the  passage  from 
the  eastward.  Otto  von  Kotzebue,  who  a  few  years 
before  had  sailed  with  Krusenstem  on  board  the 
Neva,  as  will  be  remembered,  was  placed  in  command 
Sailing  from  Kronstadt  on  the  30th  of  July,  1815,' 
the  brig  arrived  at  Petropavlovsk  after  an  uneventful 
\v  voyage  lasting  nearly  a  year,  and  thence  was  headed 
for  Bering  Strait.  Proceeding  in  a  north-easterly  di- 
rection, the  commander,  after  touching  at  St  Law- 
rence Island,  entered  a  large  inlet,  through  the  center 
of  which  passed  the  arctic  circle,  and  whose  waters 
extended  to  the  eastward  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  the  current  running  strong  into  the  entrance. 

'In  Tarakanofs  official  report  of  tiie  matter,  Cape  Goncepcion  is  mentioned 
as  the  scene  of  this  incident. 

*°  In  the  course  of  his  transactions  with  the  missionaries,  Eliot  had  sold 
goods  to  the  amount  of  more  than  ten  thousand  piastres,  for  which  he  received 
payment  in  cash,  grain,  and  otter  skins,  and  transmitted  the  proceeds  to 
Kuskof  at  Boss. 

^^Tbe  naval  officers  who  accompanied  Kotzebue  were  lieutenants  Zok- 
harin  and  Schischmaref,  the  scientists  Chamisso  and  Wormskloid,  Dr  Esch- 
scholtz,  and  the  artist  Choris.  Kotzebue^s  Voy.  of  Dlscov.,  i.  introd.  90-1. 
Among  the  subordinate  officers  were  the  mates  Petrof  and  Khramchemka,  who 
subsequently  figured  prominently  in  the  annals  of  Alaskan  explorationB. 
The  vessel  carried  the  imperial  flag  and  was  mounted  with  eight  guns* 


11 


KOTZEBUE'S  VOYAGE. 


496 


From  a  small  neighboring  hill  on  the  southern  shore 
no  land  could  be  seen  on  the  horizon,  while  high 
mountains  lay  to  the  north.  Here,  thought  the  Rus- 
sians, is  the  channel  that  connects  the  two  oceans,  the 
quest  of  which  has  for  three  centuries  baffled  the 
greatest  navigators  in  Europe.  On  the  following  day, 
the  2d  of  August,  the  vessel  continued  her  course, 
and  from  the  mast-head  nothing  but  open  sea  ap- 
peared to  the  eastward.  Toward  sundown  land  was 
in  sight  in  several  directions,  but  at  noon  on  the  3d 
the  opening  was  still  five  miles  in  width. ^*     On  the 


KOTZEBUE  S0U2<D. 


4th  the  search  was  continued  in  boats,  for  now  the 
water  was  shoaling  rapidly,  and  after  proceeding  four- 
teen miles  farther,  only  a  small  open  space  was  visi- 
ble to  the  eastward.^^  A  few  days  later  the  party 
set  forth  on  their  return  to  the  Rurik,  but  were 
driven  back  to  shore  by  a  violent  storm. 

"  It  seemed,"  says  Kotzebue,  "  as  if  fortune  had  sent 
this  storm  to  enable  us  to  make  a  very  remarkable 

^*  On  this  day  an  island  was  discoyered,  to  which  waa  given  the  name  of 
Chamisso.  Id.,!.  213. 

^  Probably  the  head  of  EBchscholtz,  or  perhaps  Schischmaref  Bay. 


496       FURTHEU  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

discovery,  which  we  owe  to  Dr  Eschscholtz.  We  had 
climbed  much  about  during  our  stay,  without  discover- 
ing that  we  were  on  real  icebergs.  The  doctor,  who  had 
extended  his  excursions,  found  part  of  the  bank  broken 
down,  and  saw,  to  his  astonishment,  that  the  interior 
of  the  mountain  consisted  purely  of  ice.  At  this 
news,  we  all  went,  provided  with  shovels  and  crows, 
to  examine  this  phenomenon  more  closely,  and  soon 
arrived  at  a  place  where  the  back  rises  almost  perpen- 
dicularly out  of  the  sea  to  a  height  of  a  hundred  feet; 
and  then  runs  off,  rising  still  higher.  We  saw  masses 
of  the  purest  ice,  of  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet,  which 
are  under  a  cover  of  moss  and  grass,  and  could  not 
have  been  produced  but  by  some  terrible  revolution." 
The  place,  which  by  some  accident  had  fallen  in  and 
is  now  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air,  melts  away,  and  a 
good  deal  of  water  flows  into  the  sea.  An  indisput- 
able proof  that  what  we  saw  was  real  ice  is  the  quan- 
tity of  mammoths*  teeth  and  bones  which  were  exposed 
to  view  by  the  melting,  and  among  which  I  myself 
found  a  very  fine  tooth.  We  could  not  assign  any 
reason  for  a  strong  smell,  like  that  of  burnt  horn, 
which  we  perceived  in  this  place." 

On  the  11th  of  August  the  Rurik  left  the  inlet 
which  now  bears  the  name  of  Kotzebue  Sound,"  and 
sailed  for  St  Lawrence  Island  and  thence  for  Una- 

^*  *  This  result  of  a  tovrible  revolution,'  remarks  the  Lcmion  Quarterly  Be 
view,  *  is  considered  by  Chamiaso,  the  naturalist,  to  be  similar  to  the  ground 
ice,  covered  with  vegetation,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  out  of  which  the 
mammoth,  the  skeleton  of  which  is  now  in  St  Petersbui^,  was  thawed.  He 
makes  the  height  of  it  to  be  80  feet  at  most;  and  the  length  of  the  profile, 
in  which  the  ice  is  exposed  to  sight,  about  a  musket-shot.  We  have  little 
doubt  that  both  Kotzebue  and  Chamisso  are  mistaken  with  regard  to  the 
formation  of  this  ice  mountain.  The  terrible  revolution  of  nature  is  sheer 
nonsense;  and  the  ground  ice  of  the  Lena  is  cast  up  from  the  sea,  and  after- 
ward buried  by  the  alluvial  soil  brought  down  by  the  floods  in  the  same  man- 
ner OS  tho  huge  blocks  which  Captain  Parry  found  on  the  beach  of  Melville 
Island;  this  operation,  however,  could  not  take  place  on  the  face  of  the  prom« 
ontory  in  the  tranquil  sound  of  Kotzebue.  What  they  discovered  (without 
sus]>ecting  it)  was,  in  fact,  a  real  iceberg,  which  had  been  fonned  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  all  icebergs  are.'  xxvi.  352  (1822). 

'^  This  name  was  not  given  until  after  Kotzebue's  return  to  Russia;  but 
other  pointe  were  named  by  him  after  members  of  the  expedition,  Eschsc^olts 
Bay  being  one  of  them.  Gape  Krusenstem.  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  sound, 
was  so  called  after  the  captein  of  the  Nadeshda, 


RECEPTION  AT  HAWAH.  497 

laska,  where  the  commander  gave  orders  to  the  agent 
of  the  Kussian  American  Company  to  have  men, 
boats,  and  supplies  in  readiness  for  the  following  sum- 
mer, when  he  purposed  to  make  a  thorough  explora- 
tion of  the  farther  north-west.  Remaining  only  long 
enough  for  needed  repairs,  he  proceeded  to  San  Fran- 
cisco without  having  attempted  to  explore,  according 
to  his  instructions,  the  coast  of  Alaska  southward 
from  Norton  Sound,  then  a  terra  incognitaj  but,  as  it 
proved,  one  of  the  richest  portions  of  the  territory.^* 
After  sharing  in  a  conference  touching  the  affairs  of 
the  Ross  colony,  at  which  Kuskof  and  the  governor 
of  California  were  present,  as  is  mentioned  elsewhere,^^ 
he  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  taking  on  board 
Eliot  and  three  of  his  fellow-captives. 

Landing  at  the  island  of  Hawaii,  Kotzebue  was  met 
by  Kamehameha,  who  was  now  king  of  the  entire 
group,  and  thus  describes  his  reception:  "I  now  stood 
at  the  side  of  the  celebrated  Taraaahmaah,  who  has 
attracted  the  attention  of  all  Europe,  and  who  in- 
spired me  with  the  greatest  confidence  by  his  unre- 
served and  friendly  behavior.  He  conducted  me  to 
his  straw  palace,  which,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  country,  consisted  only  of  one  spacious  apartment; 
and,  like  all  the  houses  here,  afforded  a  free  draught 
both  to  the  land  and  sea  breezes.  They  offered  us 
European  chairs  very  neatly  made,  placed  a  mahogany 
table  before  us,  and  we  were  then  in  possession  of  all 
the  furniture  of  the  palace.  Tamaahmaah's  dress, 
Avhich  consisted  of  a  white  shirt,  blue  pantaloons,  a 
rod  waistcoat,  and  a  colored  neckcloth,  surprised  mo 

'•  Kotzebue  probably  made  a  great  mistake  when  ho  omitted  the  explora- 
tion of  this  portion  of  the  coast  of  Alaska,  of  which  nothing  more  was  known 
thaa  when  Cook  left  it  between  his  Shoalness  and  Point  Shallow  (Capj 
Ji  )manof  and  the  mouth  of  the  Kuskokvim).  Captain  Golovnin,  of  the  sloop- 
of-war  Diana,  had  definite  instruction  to  survey  it,  but  waa  prevented  by  his 
captivity  among  the  Japanese.  Count  Komanof  had  given  this  instruction 
t-j  Golovnin,  and  when  the  latter  set  out  upon  h&  second  voyage  around  11  u 
world,  in  the  gloop-of-war  Kamrhatka^  he  received  a  letter  from  tho  miiiistcr 
of  marine,  who  requested  him  to  sun^ey  the  coast  north  of  Alaska  PouiDbuia 
provided  that  Kotzebue  had  not  already  done  so. 

"  mu,  Cal,,  ii.  31,  this  series. 
Hm.  AT.ABiri>,    32 


438       FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

very  much,  for  I  had  formed  very  different  notions  of 
the  royal  attire.  The  distinguished  personages  pres- 
ent at  our  audience,  who  had  all  seated  themselves  on 
the  ground,  wore  a  still  more  singular  costume  than 
the  king;  for  their  black  frocks  looked  very  ludicrous 
on  the  naked  body.  One  of  the  ministers  had  the 
waist  half-way  up  his  back;  the  coat  had  been  buttoned 
with  the  greatest  diflSculty;  he  perspired  freely  in  his 
tight  state  costume,  and  his  distress  was  evident;  but 
fashion  would  not  permit  him  to  relieve  himself  of  the 
inconvenience.  The  sentinels  at  the  door  were  quite 
naked;  a  cartridge-box  and  a  pair  of  pistols  were  tied 
round  their  waist,  and  they  held  a  musket  in  their 
hand. 

"After  the  king  had  poured  out  some  very  good 
wine,  and  had  himself  drunk  to  our  health,  I  made 
him  acquainted  with  my  intention  of  taking  in  fresh 
provisions,  water,  and  wood.  A  young  man  of  the 
name  of  Cook,  the  only  white  whom  the  king  had 
about  him,  acted  as  interpreter.  Tamaahmaah  desired 
him  to  say  to  me  as  follows:  'I  learn  that  you  are 
the  commander  of  a  ship  of  war,  and  are  engaged  in 
a  voyage  similar  to  those  of  Cook  and  Vancouver, 
and  consequently  do  not  engage  in  trade;  it  is  there- 
fore my  intention  not  to  carry  on  any  trade  with  you, 
but  to  provide  you  gratis  with  everything  that  my 
islands  produce.  I  shall  now  beg  you  to  inform  mo 
whether  it  is  with  the  consent  of  your  emperor  that 
his  subjects  begin  to  disturb  me  in  my  old  age. 
Since  Tamaahmaah  has  been  king  of  these  islands^  no 
European  has  had  cause  to  complain  of  having  suf- 
fered injustice  here.  I  have  made  my  islands  an 
asylum  for  all  nations,  and  honestly  supplied  with 
provisions  every  ship  that  desired  them.'" 

After  alluding  to  the  trouble  caused  by  Hagemeis- 
ter  and  his  party,  the  king  continues:  "A  Russian 
physician,  named  Scheffer,  who  came  here  some 
months  ago,  pretended  that  he  had  been  sent  by  the 
Emperor  Alexander  to  botanize  on  my  islands.     I 


KOTZEBUE'S  VOYAGE.  T  ,H9& 

not  only  gave  him  this  permission,  but  also  promFsecT 
him  every  assistance;  and  made  him  a  present  of  a 
piece  of'  land,  with  peasants,  so  that  he  could  never 
want  for  provisions.  What  was  the  consequence  of 
my  hospitality?  Even  before  he  left  Owhyee,^®  he 
repaid  my  kindness  with  ingratitude,  which  I  bore 
patiently.  Then,  according  to  his  own  desire,  he 
travelled  from  one  place  to  another;  and  at  last 
settled  in  the  fruitful  island  of  Woahoo,^^  where  he 
proved  himself  to  be  my  most  inveterate  enemy; 
destroying  our  sanctuary,  the  Morai;  and  exciting 
against  me,  in  the  island  of  Atooi,^^  King  Tamary, 
who  had  submitted  to  my  power  years  before.  Schef- 
fer  is  there  at  this  very  moment  and  threatens  my 
islands." 

"I  assured  Tamaahmaah,"  continues  Kotzebue, 
**that  the  bad  conduct  of  the  Russians  here  must  not 
be  ascribed  to  the  will  of  our  emperor,  who  never  com- 
manded his  subjects  to  do  an  unjust  act;  but  that 
the  extent  of  his  empire  prevented  him  from  being 
immediately  informed  of  bad  actions,  which,  however, 
were  not  allowed  to  remain  unpunished  when  they 
came  to  his  knowledge.  The  king  seemed  very 
much  pleased  on  my  assuring  him  that  our  sovereign 
never  intended  to  conquer  his  islands;  the  glasses 
were  immediately  filled,  to  drink  the  emperor's 
health,  and  Kamehameha  was  even  more  cordial  than 
before." 

Eliot,  who  before  his  captivity  had  lived  for  two 
years  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  physician  and  chief 
favorite  to  the  king,  remained  at  Hawaii  in  his  former 
position;  and  taking  his  leave  in  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, Kotzebue  sailed  in  a  south-westerly  direction. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1817,  he  discovered  a  low 
wooded  islet,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of  New 
Year's  Island.  Three  days  later  a  chain  of  islands 
was  sighted,  extending  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 

»  Hawaii  ^*  Oaha.  ^  Kanal 


600       FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

the  spaces  between  being  filled  with  reefs.^  After 
some  w^eeks  had  been  spent  amid  these  and  other 
groups  in  the  Caroline  Archipelago,  the  Rxirih  was 
again  headed  for  Unalaska,  her  commander  purpos- 
ing to  continue  his  explorations  in  search  of  a  north- 
east passage.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  On  the  11th 
of  April,  when  in  latitude  44°  30'  N.  and  longitude 
181°  8'  w.,  a  violent  storm  arose,  and  during  the 
following  night  increased  to  a  hurricane.  "The 
waves,  which  before  ran  high,"  says  Kotzebue,  for  I 
cannot  do  better  than  use  his  own  words,  "rose  in 
immense  masses,  such  as  I  had  never  yet  seen;  the 
Ibirik  suffered  beyond  description.  Immediately 
after  midnight  the  fury  of  the  hurricane  rose  to  such 
a  degree,  that  it  tore  the  tops  of  the  waves  from  the 
sea,  and  drove  them  in  the  form  of  a  thick  rain 
over  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  Nobody  who  has 
not  witnessed  such  a  scene  can  form  an  adequate  idea 
of  it.  It  seems  as  if  a  direful  revolution  was  at  that 
iiioment  destroying  the  whole  stupendous  fabric  of 
nature. 

"  I  had  just  relieved  Lieutenant  Schischmareff.  Be- 
FJdes  myself,  there  wer^  four  sailors  on  the  deck,  of 
whom  two  were  holding  the  helm ;  the  rest  of  the  crew  I 
had,  for  greater  security,  sent  into  the  hold.  At  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was  just  looking  at  the  height 
of  a  foaming  wave,  when  it  suddenly  took  its  direction 
to  the  jRurik,  and  in  the  same  moment  threw  me 
clown  senseless.  The  violent  pain  which  I  felt  on  re- 
covering was  heightened  by  the  melancholy  sight  of 
my  ship,  whose  fate  would  be  inevitable  if  the  hurri- 
cane should  rage  for  another  hour;-  for  not  a  comer  of 
it  had  escaped  the  ravages  of  that  furious  wave.  The 
first  thing  I  saw  was  the  broken  bowsprit;  and  an  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  violenge  of  the  water,  which  at 
<ince  dashed  in  pieces  a  beam  of  two  feet  in  diameter. 

-*  Wliethcr  these  are  the  islands  that  were  siprhtecl  by  Captain  ^larshall  in 
17^^  is  uiicerUiin.     At  least,  Kutzebue  was  the  lirst  to  ascertain  th^  exact 


STORM  AT  SEA.  601 

The  loss  was  the  more  important,  as  the  two  masts 
could  not  long  withstand  the  tossing  of  the  ship,  and 
then  deliverance  would  be  impossible.  The  gigantic 
wave  broke  the  leg  of  one  of  my  sailors;  a  subaltern 
officer  was  thrown  into  the  sea,  but  saved  himself  with 
much  presence  of  mind  by  seizing  the  rope  which  hung 
behind  the.  ship;  the  steering-wheel  was  broken,  the 
two  sailors  who  held  it  were  much  hurt,  and  I  myself 
thrown  violently  with  my  breast  against  a  corner,  suf- 
fered severe  pain,  and  was  obliged  to  keep  my  bed  for 
several  days." 

When  the  storm  had  moderated  the  vessel  was  put 
in  order,  and  reached  Unalaska  in  safety,  though  heavy 
weather  prevailed  during  the  rest  of  the  voyage.^  She 
was  then  unrigged,  unloaded,  careened,  and  repaired, 
and  within  a  month  was  again  ready  for  sea.  ^oat^s 
provisions,  and  a  party  of  Aleuts,  together  with  two 
interpreters  from  Kadiak,  were  provided  by  the  agent, 
as  Kotzebue  had  directed,*^  and  on  the  29th  of  June 
the  Rurik' again  sailed  on  her  voyage  northward.'-* 
On  the  10th  of  July  St  Lawrence  Island  was  sighted, 
and  here  the  commander  ascertained  that  ice-floes  had 
surrounded  it  on  the  south-east  until  three  days  be- 
fore. Anchoring  at  midnight  off  its  northern  prom- 
ontory, he  found  an  unbroken  ice-pack  toward  the 
north  and  east. 

There  was  now  no  hope  of  passing  Bering  Strait 
until  the  end  of  the  month,  when,  as  Kotzebue  thought, 

*'  Kotzebue^a  Voy.  ofDiacov, ,  iL  1 60- 1 .  The  author  remarks :  *  I  would  ad  viae 
no  one  to  yiait  this  ocean  so  early  in  the  year,  for  the  storms  are  frightful. ' 

"Kotzebue  was  furnished  with  an  order  from  the  directors  of  the  Russian 
American  Company  requiring  Kriukof,  then  agent  at  Unalaska,  to  supply  the 
expedition  with  all  that  was  needed,  and  declares  that  he  received  every  cour- 
tesy and  assistance  at  the  hands  of  the  agent. 

^^  On  the  Rurik  was  a  hoy  named  Kadu,  whom  Kotzebue  had  taken  on 
board  at  one  of  tho  Caroline  Islands.  Ho  appeared  to  bo  contented  on  rcac!i- 
ing  Unalaska,  though  he  was  disappointed  at  not  finding  there  any  cocoa-nut 
or  bread-fruit  trees,  and  did  not  approve  of  the  Aleutian  mode  of  living  under 
ground.  He  asked  whether  people  lived  so  at  St  Petersburg.  Gazinj^  at  t!io 
oxen  on  board  the  vessel,  he  expressed  his  joy  tl^t  tho  meat  consumed  by  t!io 
crew  was  the  flesh  of  these  animals.  Being  asked  his  reason,  lie  conftsHt-d 
that  he  thought  the  Russians  were  cannibals,  that  ho  regarded  himsrlf  vja 
a  portion  of  the  ship's  provisions,  and  looked  forward  in  hoiTor  to  the  moiiicnt 
when  they  might  bo  in  want  of  food.   Id.,  IGG. 


502       FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

the  season  would  be  too  far  advanced  for  a  successful 
voyage.  Moreover,  his  health  was  shattered;  his 
breathing  was  difficult;  he  was  sujffering  from  spasms 
in  the  chest,  fainting  fits,  and  hemorrhage  of  the 
lungs.  The  surgeon  of  the  vessel  declared  that  to  re- 
main longer  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ice  would  cost 
him  his  life.  "  More  than  once,"  he  says,  "I  resolved 
to  brave  death,  but  I  felt  that  I  must  suppress  my  am- 
bition. I  signified  to  the  crew,  in  writing,  that  my 
ill  health  obliged  me  to  return  to  Oonalaska.  The 
moment  I  signed  the  paper  was  the  most  painful  in 
my  life,  for  with  this  stroke  of  the  pen  I  gave  up  the 
ardent  and  long-cherished  wish  of  my  heart." 

Returning  by  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Kotze- 
bue  reached  Hawaii  on  the  27th  of  September.  Here 
he  was  greeted  by  Kamehameha  and  his  old  acquaint- 
ance, Eliot  de  Castro.  Sailing  thence  to  Oahu,  he 
found  six  American  ships  at  anchor,  and  one — the 
Kadiak — ^belonging  to  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany, hauled  up  on  the  beach.  In  this  vessel  Sheffer 
had  reached  Oahu,  after  being  expelled  from  Kauai, 
where  he  intended  to  found  a  settlement.  A  few 
days  later  the  Boston  arrived  on  her  way  to  Canton, 
with  a  cargo  of  furs  shipped  from  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 

Calling  at  St  Helena  on  his  homeward  voyage, 
Kotzebue  met  with  a  most  surly  reception  from  the 
British  naval  officers  who  kept  guard  over  the  rock 
where  the  captive  emperor  was  then  entombed  alive, 
his  craft  being  fired  upon  without  apparent  cause. ^'' 
His  reception  in  England  was  more  cordial.  During 
a  visit  to  London,  where  business  compelled  him  to 
spend  a  few  days  on  his  way  to  Kronstadt,  he  was 
introduced  to  the  Prince  Regent  and  to  the  Archduke 
Nikolai  Pavlovitch.  On  the  23d  of  July,  1818,  the 
Jiiirik  sailed  past  the  port  of  Revel,  and  now,  after  an 

**  Kotzebue's  purpose  in  calling  at  St  Helena  was  to  give  the  Russian  com- 
missary. Count  Balleinan,  an  opportunity  to  send  letters  to  his  countrymen. 
Three  shots  were  fired  at  the  Burik,  one  of  them  passing  between  her  masts. 
Id.,  285. 


BENNETT'S  TRIP.  503 

absence  of  three  years,  Kotzebue  once  more  beheld 
his  native  city.  A  week  later  the  vessel  cast  anchor 
in  the  Neva,  opposite  the  palace  of  Count  Romanof.^* 

Before  making  further  mention  of  Sheffer's  exploits 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  in- 
cidents which  preceded  the  voyage  of  the  Rurik,  In 
April  1814  one  of  Baranof's  American  friends,  Cap- 
tain Bennett,  who  had  sold  him  two  vessels  and  their 
cargoes,  offered  to  accept  fur-seal  skins  in  part  pay- 
ment, but  having  none  of  the  required  kind  on 
hand  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  the  chief  manager  induced 
Bennett  to  proceed  in  the  Bering  to  the  island  of  St 
Paul  in  search  of  them,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
take  a  cargo  of  furs,  worth  half  a  million  roubles,  to 
be  landed  at  Okhotsk.  There  he  took  on  board  a 
number  of  the  company's  hunters  who  were  awaiting 
passage,  and  a  large  mail  of  the  company's  despatches. 
He  then  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  it  had 
been  arranged  that  he  should  purchase  a  cargo  of  taro, 

^  In  his  Voyage  ofDiacomry  into  the  South  Sea  and  Beeringy  Straits, /or 
the  Purpose  of  Explcring  a  North-east  Passage  (3  vols.,  Berlin,  1819,  and 
London,  1821),  the  author,  after  a  lengthy  introduction,  devotes  the  first  seven 
chapters  of  the  first  volume  to  liis  journey  from  Kronstadt  to  Kotzebue  Sound, 
the  eighth  to  hia  trip  from  the  latter  part  to  Unalaska,  and  the  ninth  and 
tenth  to  his  visit  to  Calif omia  and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  In  the  eleventh 
chapter,  which  opens  the  second  volume,  we  have  an  account  of  his  explora- 
tions in  the  Cajt>line  Archipelago.  Then  follow  his  second  voyage  northward, 
and  his  homeward  journey,  occupying  the  four  next  chapters.  The  remainder 
of  the  work  is  taken  up  with  an  A  ncuyms  of  the  Islands  Discovered  hy  the  Rurik 
in  the  Qreat  Ocean  (written  by  Krusenstem),  a  short  paper  on  the  Diseases  of 
the  Crew  during  the  Three  Years  of  the  Voyage,  hy  Freaerich  EschschoUz,  M.D. 
(the  ship's  physician),  and  the  Remarks  and  Opinions  of  the  Naturalist  of  the 
Expedition,  Addbert  von  Chamisso.  In  his  preface,  Chamisso  remarks  that  he 
recognizes  only  the  German  edition, '  for  the  various  foreign  subjects  of  which 
he  had  to  treat  have  made  him  too  sensible  how  difficult  it  is,  when  aiming 
at  brevity  to  avoid  obscurity,  for  him  to  answer  for  translations  of  which  he 
cannot  judge.'  The  precaution  was  justified,  for  in  the  English  translation 
by  H.  E.  IJoyd  are  manv  errors,  caused  probably  by  the  extreme  haste  with 
which  the  work  was  rendered.  A  few  years  later  Kotzebue  published  in  two 
volumes  his  New  Voyage  round  the  World  in  the  Tears  182S-26,  I  have 
before  me  only  the  En^sh  translation  (London,  1830).  As  on  this  occasion 
he  visited  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  California,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  we  shall 
hear  of  him  again.  Three  ^ears  after  completing  his  second  voyage,  he  re- 
tired to  his  estate  in  Esthonia,  where  his  decease  occurred  in  1846.  His  sons 
and  grandsons  held  positions  in  Unalaska  in  the  service  of  the  Russian  Amer- 
ican ComxMmy,  until  it  was  disincorporated,  and  several  remained  there  after 
the  purcliase  of  Alaska  by  the  United  States.    The  last  of  them  died  in  IGSl . 


504       FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

salt,  and  other  provisions.  Having  exhausted  the  re- 
sources of  Hawaii,  he  proceeded  to  Kauai,  where,  the 
captain  being  on  shore,  the  ship  was  struck  by  a  sudden 
squall,  and  vessel  and  cargo  were  cast  on  the  beach. 
King  Tomari,  who  was  then  in  power  at  Kauai,  though 
subject  to  Kamehameha's  authority,  offered  Bennett 
every  assistance  in  collecting  his  cargo;  but  when  all 
that  could  be  saved  had  been  secured  beyond  reach  of 
the  waves,  he  coolly  appropriated  it  as  a  perquisite  of 
the  owner  of  the  soil.  The  captain  aiid  some  of  his 
crew  soon  afterward  made  their  way  back  to  Alaska. 
At  the  time  when  the  Rurik  left  Kxonstadt  the 
imperial  government  was  fitting  out  two  vessels,  the 
Suvarof  and  Kutusof^  for  an  expedition  to  Kussiaa 
America.  They  were  j)laced  in  charge  of  Captain 
A2:/\Rr.i  Ljgrzaref,^  and  the  SwiMrof  v^'iih  the  commander  on 
uvcKov  board  sailed  from  Kronstadt  on  the  8th  of  October, 
1813,  arriving  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  November  of 
the  following  year.  Lozaref,  in  common  with  all  the 
naval  officers,  was  prejudiced  against  Baranof  Dis- 
putes between  the  two  men  arose  at  once,  and  ceased 
only  when  the  ship  set  sail  from  Novo  Arkhangelsk.^ 

'^  Krusenstem,  who  was  now  an  admiral,  recommended  Kotzebue  for  the  po- 
sition, but  the  Russian  American  Company,  which  was  to  pay  a  part  of  the 
expenses,  objected  on  the  ground  of  his  youth.  The  other  olhcers  were 
lieutenants  Unkovsky  and  Schveikovsky;  the  mates  Rossysky  and  Dr 
Sylva;  cadet  Samsonof,  Dr  Sheffer,  and  the  supercargo  Molvee.  The  crew 
consisted  of  23  naval  seamen,  9  merchant  sailors,  and  7  laborers  of  the  com- 
pany.  Tikfimen^,  Istor.  Obos.,  i.  183. 

^  On  his  return  to  St  Petersburg,  Lozaref  was  tried  before  a  nayal  court 
of  inquiry  on  charges  prefeiTed  by  the  board  of  managers  of  the 
Russian  American  Company.  He  was  charged  with  immorality,  with 
returning  from  Novo  Arkhangelsk  without  the  company's  supercargo, 
the  boy  Molvee  being  deemed  too  young  for  such  a  position,  without 
the  physician  appointed  to  the  vessel,  without  bills  of  lading  or  any 
despatches  from  Baranof,  and  without  the  chief  manager's  pcnnission. 
To  this  the  captain  replied  that  he  had  repeatedly  asked  for  orders,  and 
finally  sailed,  and  made  his  way  back  around  Cape  Horn  -with  all  speed. 
Mc  also  stated  that  the  misunderstanding  arose  from  his  refusal  to  sanction 
Boranof's  action  in  seizing  the  brig  Pedler  belonging  to  Astor.  On  that 
occasion  Lozaref  stated  that  Baranof's  anger  was  so  great  that  he  trained 
the  gims  of  the  fort  upon  the  Suvarof,  and  threatened  to  sink  her.  Lozaref 
was  also  charged  with  having  sold  at  Lima  60,000  roubles'  worth  of  furs  be- 
longing to  the  comjiany.  This  he  denied,  but  stated  that  he  sold  to  the 
viceroy  of  Peru  a  few  black-bear  skins  for  the  manufacture  of  shakoes  for 
his  soldiers,  and  received  22piastras  each  for  the  skins.  The  other  charges 
were  of  a  similar  nature.  Zdeniy,  Corr,,  MS.,  in  SitJca  Archives,  iii 


LOZAEEF  AND  SHEFFER.  505 

Lozaref  desired  to  pass  the  winter  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk, and  to  land  his  cargo  and  repair  the  vessel, 
but  Baranof  insisted  that  he  should  make  a  winter 
voyage  to  the  Prybilof  Islands  for  a  cargo  of  furs, 
as  there  was  not  enough  peltry  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk 
to  complete  his  freight.  The  captain  then  put  to  sea, 
but  returned  almost  immediately,  under  pretence  that 
the  ship  was  leaking,  and  remained  in  port  until  the 
following  May,  when  he  finally  executed  the  chief 
manager's  orders.  Soon  after  his  return  he  again  set 
sail  on  the  24th  of  July,  leaving  the  anchorage  hur- 
riedly and  without  waiting  for  the  mail  prepared  by 
Baranof  for  the  home  oflSce  of  the  company.  Enraged 
at  this,  the  chief  manager  despatched  a  fleet  bidarka 
after  the  retreating  ship,  and  threatened  to  open  fire 
on  her,  but  did  not  execute  his  threat.  The  Suvaxof 
then  proceeded  on  her  voyage  to  St  Petersburg,  call- 
ing at  San  Francisco  and  at  the  port  of  Callao,  w^here 
a  part  of  the  cargo  was  exchanged  for  Russian  prod- 
ucts.^ 

One  of  the  oflScers  of  the  Suvaro/waQ  the  German 
doctor,  Sheflfer,  who,  having  quarrelled  with  the  com- 
mander, had  for  that  reason  found  favor  in  the  eyes 
of  Baranof.  Sheffer  remained  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk, 
and  being  a  plausible  adventurer,  and  somewhat  of  a 
linguist,  succeeded  in  convincing  the  autocrat  of  the 
colonies  that  he  was  the  man  to  carry  out  his  schemes 
of  colonization  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

Bennett,  who  had  now  returned  to  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk, urged  Baranof  to  demand  the  return  of  the 
Bering^s  cargo,  but  the  latter  would  not  consent  to 
use  force  for  such  a  purpose,  as  he  had  frequently  ex- 
changed presents  and  friendly  messages  with  Kame- 
hameha  through  their  mutual  acquaintances  among 
the  American  north-west  traders.  He  decided,  there- 
fore, to  send  Sheffer  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  a  pas- 

Tu  1815  Baranof  desxiatched  another  cargo  of  furs,  valued  at  800,000 
roubles,  to  Kiakbta,  in  the  Maria,  master  Petrof.  The  vessel  was  wi'ccked 
at  Okhotsk,  but  most  of  the  cargo  was  saved.  Khlchnikof^  Slazn,  Baranova, 
160. 


506       FUETHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

senger  in  a  foreign  vessel,  with  instructions  to  open 
negotiations  with  the  Hawaiian  monarch.  The  doctor 
sailed  on  the  Isabella^  which  left  Novo  Arkhangelsk 
on  the  5th  of  October,  1815,  and  it  was  arranged  that 
the  Otkn/tiey  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Podushkin, 
should  follow  in  the  spring  with  a  number  of  native 
mechanics  and  laborers  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
a  settlement. 

On  arriving  at  Hawaii,  Sheffer  presented  himself  at 
once  before  Kamehameha  and  delivered  letters  and 
presents  from  Baranof,  at  the  same  time  complaining 
of  King  Tomari  for  seizing  the  cargo  of  the  Bering. 
The  king  promised  redress,  and  appeared  to  listen 
favorably  to  the  doctor's  proposals  to  establish  more 
intimate  relations  with  the  chief  manager  of  the 
Rijssian  American  Company.  He  even  assigned  to 
Sheffer  several  pieces  of  land,  whereon  to  make  experi- 
ments in  the  planting  of  grain  and  vegetables.  One 
of  them  was  situated  on  the  island  of  Kauai,  the 
domain  of  King  Tomari.  Though  Sheffer  continued 
in  favor  for  a  time,  he  found  that  he  could  not  com- 
pete with  the  Englishmen  and  Americans,  who  were 
already  established  at  Kamehameha's  court,  and  re- 
solved to  try  his  fortune  with  Tomari.  During  the 
first  week  of  his  stay  in  Kauai,  it  was  his  good  fortune 
to  cure  the  queen  of  an  intermittent  fever  and  the 
king  of  dropsy.  The  German  adventurer  was  now  in 
the  good  graces  of  his  intended  victim,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  an  agreement  was  drawn  up  to  serve  as  the 
basis  for  a  formal  treaty,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  Russian  government. 

It  was  stipulated  that  the  Bering's  cargo  should  be 
returned  to  the  Russians,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
articles  which  the  king  required,  and  for  which  he 
bound  himself  to  pay  in  sandal-wood;  that  Tomari 
should  send  annually  to  the  colonies  a  cargo  of  dried 
taro  root;  that  all  the  sandal- wood  on  the  islands  sub- . 
ject  to  Tomari  should  be  placed  at  Sheffer's  disposal, 
to  be  sold  only  to  the  Russian  American  Company; 


SHEFFE2R  IN  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS.  fiOT 

and  that  the  company  should  have  the  right  to  estab- 
lish stations  or  factories  in  any  part  of  the  king's 
possessions.  As  an  offset  to  these  favors,  the  doctor 
pledged  himself  to  furnish  five  hundred  men,  and  some 
armed  vessels,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  the  over- 
throw of  Kamehameha,  and  of  placing  Tomari  on  his 
throne.  The  troops  were  to  be  under  Sheffer's  com- 
mand, and  in  case  of  success,  one  half  of  the  island 
of  Hawaii  was  to  be  ceded  to  the  company.  Finally 
Tomari  and  all  his  people  were  to  be  placed  under  the 

f)rotection  of  Kussia.  In  order  more  firmly  to  estab- 
ish  the  king's  confidence  in  his  authority,  Sheffer  at 
once  bought  an  American  schooner  for  $5,000,  and 
agreed  to  purchase  a  ship  for  the  sum  of  $40,000,  pay- 
ment to  be  made  in  furs,  which  he  promised  to  order 
from  Novo  Arkhangelsk.*' 

In  the  mean  time,  Sheffer's  intrigues  had  been 
watched  by  American  and  English  traders,  and  by  the 
Europeans  settled  on  the  islands  under  Kamehameha's 
protection.  They  took  care  to  magnify  the  danger  in 
the  eyes  of  the  latter,  urging  him  to  enter  on  a  cam- 
paign against  Sheffer  and  the  would-be  rebel  Tomari. 
Though   opposed   to  open  hostility,  Kamehameha  s 

^  Sheffer  waa  of  course  playing  upon  the  king's  ambition  to  serve  his  own. 
He  was  certainly  a  bold  man,  a  true  adventurer,  and  one  who  led  an  exceed- 
ingly checkered  life.  He  was  bom  in  Russia,  of  German  parents,  the  date  of 
his  birth  being  uncertain,  and  entered  public  life  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Moscow 
police.  In  1812  he  was  engaged  in  constructing  balloons  to  watch  the  move- 
ments of  Napoleon's  invading  army.  In  1813  he  was  detailed  as  medical 
officer  of  the  ship  Suvarqf,  We  have  seen  how  he  left  the  ship  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk, but  it  remains  to  record  the  doctor's  strange  career  after  the  col- 
lapse of  ike  Sandwich  Island  scheme.  On  making  his  escape  from  Oahu,  he 
proceeded  to  Canton,  and  thence  to  St  Petersburg.  Here  he  made  to  the 
imperial  government  the  most  vivid  representations  of  the  advantages  to  be 
gain^  bv  taking  possession  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  minister  for  in- 
terior afluurs  requested  the  managers  of  the  Russian  American  Company  to 
express  their  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  they  reported  unfavorably.  The 
emperor's  mimsters  could  not  blind  themselves  to  the  fact  that  Russia  did  not 
tlien  possess  a  na\'y  which  could  support  such  an  enterprise  affainst  the  objec- 
tion of  the  ffreat  maritime  powers,  and  the  doctor  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. He  left  Russia  in  disgrace,  and  was  lost  to  view  for  a  short  time, 
until  he  finally  turned  up  again  in  Brazil,  where  he  managed  to  injirratiatc  him- 
self with  Dom  Pedro  L,  who  conferred  upon  him  the  high-sounding  title  of 
Count  von  Frankenthal,  and  intrusted  him  with  a  commission  to  (iermany  to 
recruit  men  for  the  imperial  body-guard.  Sheffer  finally  died  peaceably  in 
Germany,  at  a  very  adv<uiced  age. 


COS       FURTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  FOREIGN  COLONIZATION. 

repeated  orders  to  Tomari  finally  resulted  in  an 
estrangement  between  him  and  the  German  doctor, 
who  by  this  time  had  succeeded  in  establishing  plan- 
tations on  various  points  of  the  Islands,  and  had 
erected  buildings  for  his  own  accommodation,  for  the 
mechanics  and  laborers  who  had  rfow  arrived  in  the 
Othytie,  and  for  housing  the  crops  intended  for 
shipment  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  The  unfriendly  feel- 
ing thus  engendered  increased  in  intensity  until  the 
Russians  and  Aleuts  were  looked  upon  by  the  Haw- 
aiiftns  as  enemies,  and  were  compelled  to  adopt  meas- 
ures for  their  defence.  A  few  slender  fortifications 
were  erected  at  Wymea,  the  ruins  of  which  remain 
to  the  present  day. 

As  soon  as  Baranof  ascertained  that  this,  the  pet 
scheme  of  his  old  age,  must  fail,  he  lost  no  time  in 
forwarding  orders  to  Sheffer  to  give  up  everything, 
and  to  save  what  he  could  out  of  the  wreck  which 
was  impending.  By  this  time  news  had  also  been 
received  of  the  refusal,  oii  the  part  of  the  imperial 
government  to  sanction  the  scheme  of  annexation. 
The  doctor's  position  became  more  critical  every  day. 
From  Novo  Arkhangelsk  he  could  expect  no  further 
support,  while  on  the  Islands  the  Americans  and 
English  became  constantly  more  aggressive.  A  small 
Russian  station  on  the  island  of  Hawaii  was  sacked 
•by  sailors  from  an  American  ship,  and  they  even 
threatened  to  destroy  the  company's  plantations  on 
Kauai.  A  report  was  also  started  that  American 
men-of-war  were  on  their  way  to  the  Islands.  Some 
of  the  Americans  in  the  compan3'''s  service  became 
disaffected,  one  of  them,  Captain  Wosdwith,  who  com- 
manded  the  Ilmeiiy  purposely  running  his  vessel  on 
the  beach  and  joining  the  adversaries  of  Sheffer.    • 

By  this  time  the  ire  of  Tomari's  subjects  had  been 
roused  against  the  intruders,  and  they  forced  the 
Russians  to  abandon  their  settlements  and  to  seek 
refuge  on  board  the  Kadiak,  which  was  anchored  off 
the  island.     When  the  fugitives  left  the  beach  it  was 


HAWAIIAN  FAILURE.  509 

discovered  that  the  boat  had  been  scuttled ;  the  crew, 
however, readied  thevessel  byswimming.  The  natives 
now  turned  the  guns  of  the  fort  against  them  and  en- 
deavored to  sink  the  ship.  The  shot  fell  harmless,  but 
it  was  discovered  that  the  vessel  had  sprung  a-leak,  and 
that  the  water  was  gaining  rapidly.  In  this  predica- 
ment, an  effort  was  made  to  get  off  the  Uinen,  which 
succeeded.  The  American  captain  of  the  Kadiah  was 
then  transferred  to  the  Ilmen  by  Sheffer,  and  sent  to 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  to  carry  to  Baranof  the  news  of 
the  failure  of  his  enterprise,  a  duty  which  the  doc- 
tor did  not  wish  to  undertake  in  person.  After  a  brief 
stay  at  Kamehameha's  court,  exposed  to  constant 
annoyance  from  foreigners,  accompanied  with  threats 
of  personal  violence,  Sheffer  finally  escaped  to  China 
on  board  an  American  vessel,  leaving  the  rest  of 
his  countrymen,  and  the  Aleuts  sent  from  Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  to  labor  on  the  plantations.  Of  these 
Tarakanof  took  charge,  and  finally  succeeded  in  se- 
curing their  return'^  in  1818,  by  engaging  himself 
and  his  men  to  an  American  skipper  to  hunt  sea-otter 
for  a  brief  season  on  the  Californian  coast.  Thus 
ended  the  attempt  at  colonization  in  the  Hawaiian  Isl- 
ands, whereby  nothing  was  gained,  and  a  loss  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  roubles  was  incurred  by 
the  Russian  American  Company.^ 

'^  Tarakanof,  whom  Kotzbne  met  in  Oahu,  where  Kamchameha  then  hoM 
his  court,  declared  that  the  men  escaped  almost  by  a  miracle,  aa  Tomari  might 
easily  have  killed  all  the  party.  Only  three  of  them  were  shot.  Kotzebite's 
Vol/.  o/Discov.,  ii.  197. 

'-^  Kamehamcha  expected  that  the  Russians  would  take  revenge  for  the 
treatment  of  Sheffer  and  his  party,  until  Captain  Golovnin's  arrival  in  ISIS. 
After  that  year  the  company's  vessels  again  visited  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but 
at  ions  intervals.  Occasional  intercourse  was  also  maintained  through  Amer- 
ican ships.  The  produce  of  the  Islands,  consisting  of  cocoa-nuts,  rum,  taro, 
and  rope  of  cocoa-i^alm  fibre,  was  exchanged  for  peltry  and  piastres.  Luth>,  iii 
Maferialuif  Tutor.  Jiiiss.,  part  iv.  140-7.  One  of  Baranof 's  plans  for  the  ca- 
tablishment  of  trade  with  the  Philippine  Islands  also  failed  of  success.  For 
this  purpose  he  sent  one  of  his  confidential  clerks  to  Manila  in  the  Ilmen. 
On  his  return  ho  reported  that  the  Spanish  authorities  were  strongly  opposed 
to  extending  tbeir  trade  with  foreigners. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CLOSE  OP  BABAN0P»8  ADBONISTRATIOK. 

1819-1821. 

Haoememteb  Saiub  for  Novo  ABKHAyosi^SK— He  Sttpebsedes  Baranof — 
Transfer  of  the  Cohpant*s  Effects— The  Accounts  in  Good  Order — 
Sickness  of  the  Ex-manaoer— Barakof  Takes  Leave  of  the  Ck>L- 
ONIES — His  Death — Remarks  of  Khlebnikof  and  Others  on  Bar- 

ANOF— KoRASOKOVSKT'S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  KUSKOKVIM— KoQUKFEUIL's 

VoTAOB — Massacre  of  his  Hctntxrs — Further  Explorations— Div- 
idends AND  Increase  of  Capital— Commerce— Decrease  in  the 
Yield  of  Furs— The  Company's  Servants. 

In  1815  an  expedition  to  Alaska  was  fitted  out  by 
the  imperial  government  in  conjunction  with  the 
Russian  American  Company,  and  Hagemeister,  whose 
voyage  in  the  Neva  has  been  mentioned,  was  placed 
in  command.  A  vessel,  renamed  the  Kutusof,^  was 
purchased  at  Havre  for  £6,000  sterling,  and  in  July 
of  the  following  year  was  ready  for  sea,  when  Lozaref 
returned  to  Kronstadt  in  the  Suvarof.  On  his  ar- 
rival, the  directors  resolved  to  delay  the  departure 
of  the  expedition  until  after  the  decision  of  the 
naval  court  of  inquiry,  held  to  investigate  the  charges 
made  against  him  by  the  chief  manager.*  When 
the  judgment  was  made  known,  the  directors  added 
to  Hagemeister's  instructions  a  clause  authorizing 
him  to  assume  control  in  place  of  Baranof,  if  he 
should  find  it  necessary. 

The  Suvarof  tiVTiyed  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  on  the 
23d  of  July,  and  her  consort,  the  Kutusof  on  the 

1  Of  525  tons. 

'See  chap.  xxiv..  this  vol.,  note  28. 

(«0) 


HAGEMEISTER'S  VISIT.  611 

20th  of  November,  1817.*  Both  vessels  had  been  de- 
tained at  Lima,  whence  the  former  had  sailed  direct  for 
Alaska,  while  the  latter  visited  other  Peruvian  ports, 
and  also  Bodega  and  San  Francisco,  where  large  quan- 
tities of  provisions  were  purchased.  For  these  sup- 
plies Baranof  expressed  his  thanks,  but  complained 
bitterly  of  the  company's  refusal  to  listen  to  his  re- 
newed request  to  be  relieved,  declaring  most  emphat- 
ically that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  bear  the  burden 
of  his  responsibility.  Hagemeister  meanwhile  did 
not  choose  to  reveal  the  extent  of  the  powers  con- 
ferred on  him,  but  began  at  once  quietly  to  investi- 
gate the  state  of  affairs  in  the  colonies  and  the  exact 
status  of  the  company's  business.  During  the  whole 
winter  he  kept  his  orders  concealed  from  Baranof, 
who,  though  almost  prostrated  with  disease,  labored 
assiduously  in  surrendering  the  affairs  of  the  com- 
pany. He  was  now  failing  in  mind  as  well  as  in  bod- 
ily health,  one  of  the  symptoms  of  his  approaching 
imbecility  being  his  sudden  attachment  to  the  church. 
He  kept  constantly  about  him  the  priest  who  had 
established  the  first  church  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk 
during  the  preceding  summer,  and  urged  by  his  spirit- 
ual adviser,  made  large  donations  for  religious  pur- 
poses. 

Hagemeister  was  impressed  with  the  great  respon- 
siblities  that  awaited  him,  and  hesitated  long  before 
consenting  to  assume  the  burden.  At  last  he  saw  a 
way  out  of  the  difficulty.  Yanovsky,  the  first  lieu- 
tenant of  the  Suvarof,  had  become  enamored  of  Bar- 
anof s  daughter,  the  offspring  of  a  connection  with  a 
native  woman,  and  had  obtained  his  consent  to  be- 
come his  son-in-law.  Hagemeister's  consent  was  also 
necessary,  and  this  was  granted  on  condition  that 
Yanovsky  should  remain  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  for 
two  years  and  represent  him  as  chief  manager. 

'Tikhmenef,  Itttor.  OboM.,  i.  200,  gives  the  dates  of  the  arrival  of  the  Suvarof 
and  Kuttisof  as  the  22d  of  July  and  the  22d  of  November.  These  given  in 
the  text  are  taken  from  the  books  of  the  company  preserved  in  the  Sitka 
Archives, 


612  CLOSE  OF  BARANOF'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

At  last,  on  the  11th  of  January,  1818,  Hagemeister 
suddenly  laid  before  Baranof  his  orders,  and  three 
days  later  despatched  the  Suvarof  to  St  Petersburg 
with   a   report   of   his   proceedings.      This   surprise 
prostrated  the  deposed  autocrat.     The  fulfilment  of 
his  long-cherished  desire  came  upon  him   too   sud- 
denly.     He  could   not  in  reason   have  expected    a 
successor  until  the  next  ship  arrived  from  St  Peters- 
burg.    Whatever  may  have  been  Hagemeister  s  mo- 
tive, the  eflfect  certainly  was  to   shorten   the  days 
of  Baranof,  who  deserved  more  consideration.    After 
displaying  his  instructions,  the  former  at  once  gave 
a  peremptory  order  that  all  the  books  and  property 
should  be  immediately  delivered   to  the  company's 
commissioner,  Khlebnikof.     Making  a  supreme   ef- 
fort, Baranof  rose  from  his  bed  on  the  day  of  the 
Suvarqf's  departure  and  began  the  transfer  of  the 
company's  effects,*  a  task  whicli  was  not  completed 
for  several    months.     The    property  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk alone  was  estimated  by  Khlebnikof  at  two 
and  a  half  millions  of  roubles.     In  addition  to  two 
hundred  thousand  roubles'  worth  of  furs  shipped  on 
the  Suvarofy  there  still  remained  in  the  storehouses 
skins  to  the  value  of  nine  hundred  thousand  roubles. 
The  buildings  were  all  in  excellent  condition,  as  were 
the  sea-going  vessels.      In   all   the   complicated  ac- 
counts of  this  vast  business,  Khlebnikof  failed  to  find 
a  single  discrepancy.*'     The  cash  accounts,  involving 
millions,  were  in  perfect  order;  in  the  item  of  strong 
liquors  there  was  a  small  quantity  not  accounted  for, 
but  this  liad  been  caused  by  the  hospitalities  extended 
to   naval  officers  and  other   visitors.      Among    the 
many  who  had  been  with  him  for  long  years,  Baranof 
knew  no  one  to  whom  he  could  intrust  the  irksome 
duty  whicli  now  fell  to  his  lot,  but  labored  from  morn- 

*  A  list  of  tho  principal  articles  is  given  in  KMehnikof,  Zapishi^  in  Ma- 
teriahn,  2,V4. 

^Khkhiihof,  Shizn.  Baranova,  174;  Tikhmenffy  Istor.  Obos.,  i.  243,  245, 
Tho  latter  sUtes  that  the  value  of  property  transferred  exceeded  that  which 
appeared  on  paper. 


ILL-REQUITED  SERVICES.  613 

ing  to  night,  overcoming  his  weakness  with  stimu- 
lants. At  length  the  task  was  finished,  and  in  Sep- 
tember 1818  he  deUvered  a  full  statement  of  the 
company's  aflFairs  to  his  son-in-law.  "I  recommend 
to  your  special  care,"  he  said,  "the  people  who  have 
learned  to  love  me,  and  who  under  judicious  treat- 
ment will  be  just  as  well  disposed  toward  those  who 
shall  watch  over  them  in  the  future." 

Nearly  forty  years  had  now  elapsed  since  Baranof 
had  left  his  native  land;  nearly  thirty  since  he  had 
first  landed  at  Kadiak.  He  was  ill  requited  for  his 
long  and  faithful  service.  To  him  was  due,  more  than 
to  all  others,  the  success  of  the  Russian  colonies  in 
America;  by  him  they  had  been  founded  and  fostered, 
and  but  for  him  they  would  never  have  been  estab- 
lished, or  would  have  had,  9t  best,  a  brief  and  troubled 
existence.  Here,  amid  these  wintry  solitudes,  he  had 
raised  towns  and  villages,  built  a  fleet  of  sea-going 
ships,  and  laid  a  basis  of  trade  with  American  ana 
Asiatic  ports.  All  this  he  had  accomplished  while 
paying  regular  dividends  to  shareholders;  and  now 
in  his  old  age  he  was  cast  adrift  and  called  to  render 
an  account  as  an  unfaithful  steward.  He  was  already 
in  his  seventy-second  year.  Where  should  he  be- 
take him  during  the  brief  span  of  life  that  yet  re- 
mained? 

Bitter  as  was  the  humiliation  which  Baranof  suf- 
fered, he  could  not  at  once  tear  himself  away  from  the 
land  which  he  loved  so  well.  He  resolved  first  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Kadiak,  meet  once  more  the  tried  friends  and 
servants  who  were  yet  living  there,  and  take  a  last 
glance  at  the  settlements,  where  first  he  had  planted 
his  country's  flag.  He  would  then  bid  good-by  to  all, 
and  join  his  brother  at  Izhiga,  in  Kamchatka,  the  only 
one  of  his  kin  that  now  survived.*  Finally,  his 
old  acquaintance.  Captain  V.  M.  Golovnin,  who  about 

*  At  one  time  he  purposed  to  sail  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  end  his 
days  at  the  court  of  Kamehameha,  with  whom  he  was  still  on  friendly  terms* 
Khlebnikqf,  Shizn,  Baranova,  174-5. 

Em.  A1.AMEA.    83 


014  CLOSE  OF  BABAXOFS  ADMINISTRATION. 

this  time  had  returned  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  urged 
him  to  return  to  Russia,  where  he  could  still  be  of 
great  service  to  the  company  by  giving  advice  to 
the  managers  on  colonial  affairs.  The  prospect  of 
continued  usefulness  and  perhaps  the  hope  of  receiv- 
ing reward  for  past  services,  then  much  needed  by 
the  ex-manager,  decided  him  to  accept  this  advice. 
The  period  of  general  leave-taking  preceding  his  de- 
parture was  a  severe  ordeal.  He  was  frequently  found 
in  tears,  and  the  symptoms  of  disease  increased  as  he 
was  submitted  again  and  again  to  the  trial  of  bidding 
farewell  to  the  men  with  whom  he  had  been  intimately 
associated  for  more  than  a  generation,  and  to  the  chil- 
dren who  had  learned  to  love  him  from  their  infancy. 

At  length,  on  the  27th  of  November,  1818,  he  em- 
barked on  the  Kutusof,  ancf  as  the  vessel  entered  the 
waters  of  the  sound,  he  gazed  for  the  last  time  on  the 
settlement  which  was  entirely  of  his  own  creation. 
After  touching  at  Umata,  the  vessel  arrived  on  the 
7th  of  March  at  Batavia,  where  she  was  detained  for 
thirty-six  days.  No  more  unfortunate  choice  could 
have  been  made  for  so  prolonged  a  visit  than  amidst 
the  pestilential  climate  of  that  Dutch  colony.  Tired 
of  the  confinement  of  his  cabin,  the  ex-manager  in- 
sisted upon  living  on  shore,  spending  his  whole  time  in 
the  hostelry  just  outside  the  settlement;  thence  he 
was  carried  almost  lifeless  on  board  the  ship,  which 
now  put  to  sea;  on  the  16th  of  April,  1819,  he 
breathed  his  last;  on  the  following  day  his  obsequies 
were  performed,  and  in  the  strait  of  Sunda  the  waters 
of  the  Indian  Ocean  closed  over  the  remains  of  Alex- 
andr  Andre'ievich  Baranof. 

"With  all  his  faults,  and  they  were  neither  few  nor 
small,  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  many  respects  Bar- 
anof had  no  equal  among  his  successors.  "I  saw  him 
in  his  seventieth  year,''  writes  his  biographer,  Khleb- 
nikof,  '*  and  even  then  life  and  energy  sparkled  in  his 
eye . .  .  He  never  knew  what  avarice  was,  and  never 
hoarded  riches.     He   did   not  wait   until   his  death 


CHAHAGTER  OF  BARAKOF.  615 

to  make  provision  for  the  living,  and  gave  freely  to 
all  who  had  any  claims  upon  him.  Some  said  that 
he  had  large  deposits  in  foreign  banks,  but  no  proof 
of  this  was  to  be  found  when  he  died.  He  always 
lived  on  his  means,  and  never  drew  his  balance  from 
the  company  while  he  was  in  their  service.  From 
Shelikof  he  had  received  ten  shares,  and  by  the  Sheli- 
kof  Company  he  was  allowed  twenty  shares  more. 
Of  these  he  gave  away  a  considerable  portion  to  his 
fellow-laborers  Banner  and  Kuskof,  who  were  rather 
poorly  paid.  There  are  not  a  few  now  living  in  the 
colonies  whom  he  helped  out  of  difficulty,  and  many  a 
remittance  he  sent  to  Russia  to  the  relatives  of  per- 
sons who  had  died,  or  were  by  misfortune  prevented 
from  supporting  those  dependent  upon  them.  An 
example  of  this  occurred'in  the  case  of  Mr  Koch,  who 
was  sent  out  to  relieve  him  but  died  on  the  way.  He 
had  assisted  him  formerly  both  with  money  and  influ- 
ence, and  after  his  death  sent  large  remittances  to  his 
family."^ 

^' Every  <me  looked  to  him  as  chief  manager,'  remarks  Khlebnikof. 
Shhn,  Baranova,  107-8.  '  There  were  two  classes  to  be  provided  for— the 
RossiaiM  and  the  natives.  The  latter  never  troubled  themselves  about  the 
future,  as  I0112  as  they  had  a  fish  to  eat;  but  Baranof,  with  his  good  warm 
heart,  looked  into  the  future  for  them.  On  one  occasion  all  kinds  of  provis- 
ions were  giving  oat,  even  the  supply  of  fish  dwindling  away.  He  did  not 
sleep  at  nicht,  when  the  wind  was  olowing,  thinking  of  the  ships  on  the  way 
to  him,  laden  with  what  was  needed  so  much.  Had  he  known  at  this  time 
that,  at  the  very  moment  when  he  was  praying  for  the  arrival  of  a  ship  on 
the  coast  of  America,  the  vessel  which  he  expected  was  breaking  to  pieces  on 
tho  rocky  shore  of  Kamchatka,  even  his  stout  heart  mifht  have  trembled. 
Baranof  was  never  at  his  wit*s  end  nor  faint-hearted.  When  he  heard  at  the 
same  time  of  the  wreck  of  the  Elizaveta,  Demianenkof's  disaster,  and  the 
Yakatat  massacre,  all  he  said  was, ' '  My  God !  how  can  we  repair  all  these  dis- 
asters!"' Amonff  the  many  instances  related  by  Khlebnikof  of  Baranof '3 
business  ability  the  following  may  be  mentioned:  In  1802  he  received  by  the 
Elknveta  a  cargo  worth  only  20,000  roubles,  a  great  part  of  which  was  use- 
less for  his  purpose.  Baranof  went  round  the  different  stations  to  collect 
goods  to  be  exchanged  for  furs  and  to  pay  the  hunters.  Meeting  with  little 
success,  he  sent  out  Aleuts  to  shoot  or  trap  sea-birds,  and  of  their  skins  be 
had  fanciful  parkas  (cloaks)  made,  which  greatly  pleased  the  natives,  and 
were  readily  accepted  in  payment  for  furs. 

Although  tho  authors  name  does  not  appear  on  the  title-page  of  the 
Shkneopisaanie  Alexandra  Amlreievitcfia  Bartnova  Qlavnago  Pravitelia  Bos- 
$iy9l^Wh  Kol(yniy  v  Amerike  (Biography  of  Alexander  Andreievich  Baranof, 
Chief  Manager  of  the  Russian  (Jolonies  in  America),  Naval  Printing  Oihce, 
8t  Petersburg,  1835,  it  is  evident  from  the  introduction  that  the  work  was 
written  by  KyriU  Khlebnikof.    It  was  dedicated  to  his  Excellency  the  Ad* 


510  CLOSE  OF  BARANOF'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

One  of  the  officers  of  the  bloop-of-war  Kamchatka, 
in  which  vessel  Golovnin  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk, a  short  time  before  Baranof  s  departure,  thus 
relates  his  impressions:  "  We  had  jnst  cast  anchor  in 
port,  and  were  sitting  down  to  dinner  when  Baranof 
was  announced.  The  life  and  actions  of  this  extraor- 
dinary man  had  excited  in  me  a  great  curiosity  to  see 
him.  He  is  much  below  medium  height.  His  face 
is  covered  with  wrinkles,  and  he  is  perfectly  bald;  but 
for  all  that  he  looks  younger  than  his  years,  consider- 
ing his  hard  and  troubled  life.  The  next  day  we  were 
invited  to  dine  with  him.  After  dinner  singers  were 
introduced,  who,  to  please  the  late  manager,  spared 
neither  their  own  lungs  nor  our  ears.  When  they 
sang  his  favorite  song, '  The  spirit  of  Russian  hunters 

mlral,  Member  of  the  Privy  Council,  Knight  of  all  Russian  Orders,  Count 
Nikolai  Somenovitch  Mordyinoff.  Khlebuikof  held  a  prominent  position 
under  the  Russian  American  Company  for  many  years,  and  devoted  much 
time  and  study  to  the  colonies.  His  bioflraphy  of  Baranof  is  very  complete 
though  tinged  with  admiration.  Baranof  was  so  thoroughly  identified  with 
ail  that  was  accomplished  by  the  Russians  on  the  American  coast  from  1790 
to  1818,  that  his  oiography  furnishes  a  complete  history  of  the  enterprise 
up  to  that  time.  His  numerous  thrilling  adventures,  his  firm  but  sometimes 
cruel  mode  of  dealing  with  the  savages  and  his  own  followers — but  little 
above  the  former  in  the  scale  of  civilization — his  vast  plans  for  extending  the 
field  of  the  company's  operations  over  half  the  Pacific  Ocean,  are  ably  and 
clearly  portrayed.  The  relations  between  the  Russian  fur-trader  and  the 
Califomian  authorities,  and  his  ventures  in  the  Saadwich  Islands,  occupy 
considerable  space  in  this  volume. 

Khlebnikof 's  letters  on  America,  forming  part  iii  of  the  Materialui  dlia 
iHoriy  RuasJdkh  Zasaelemy  po  Beregam  Vo^ochnavo  Oheana  (Material  for  the 
History  of  the  Russian  Settlements  on  the  Shores  of  the  Eastern  Ocean), 
Printing  Office  of  the  Ministerium  of  Marine,  St  Petersbarg,  1861,  bear  no 
date,  but  were  apparently  written  in  1829  or  1830.  This  work  is  a  collection 
of  papers  published  in  the  Morshoi  Sbomiky  the  organ  of  the  Russian  Naval 
Department,  on  the  then  all-absorbing  topic  of  the  Russian  Colonies.  The . 
contents  of  the  collection  are:  I.  Instructions  of  the  Russian  marine  minister 
to  Captain  Golovnin,  1817.  II.  Communication  from  the  marine  minister, 
Marquis  de  Traverse,  to  Boron  Testel,  governor  general  of  Siberia,  1817.  HI. 
Communication  in  reply,  1817.  IV.  Letter  of  Captain  Golovnin  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Siberia,  1817.  V.  Report  of  the  commanding  officer  at  Okhotsk  to 
the  civil  governor  of  Irkutsk,  1815.  VI.  Letters  of  the  post  commander  of 
Okhot^  on  the  oppression  of  Aleutian  employees  by  the  company.  VH. 
Letter  of  Captain  Golovnin  on  the  condition  of  the  Russian  American  Company, 
1 8 1 S.  VIII.  Review  of  the  Russian  colonies  in  North  America  by  Captain  Go- 
lovnin. IX.  Letters  of  Khlebnikof  on  America,  divided  into  two  parts--the 
northern  colonies  and  the  Ross  isettlement,  containing  minute  and  reliable 
data  on  both  subjects.  X.  Translations  and  extracts  from  the  works  of  the 
following  authors:  Khlebnikof,  Davidof,  Krusenstem,  Lisiansky,  Kotzebue, 
Golovnin,  Lozaref ,  Liitke,  LangsdorfF,  Roquefeuil^  Belcher,  La  Place,  Mofras, 
Simpsoui  and  Kellett.    Statistical  tables  are  appended  to  the  collection. 


CHARACTER  OP  BARANOF.  517 

devised/  he  stood  in  their  midst  and  rehearsed  with 
them  their  common  deeds  in  the  New  World.  I 
must  add  here  a  word  as  to  his  mode  of  life.  He  rises 
early,  and  eats  only  once  during  the  day,  having  no 
certain  time  for  his  meal.  It  may  be  said  that  in 
this  respect  he  resembles  Suvarof,  but  I  believe  Bar- 
anof  never  resembled  anybody,  except  perhaps  Cortds 
or  Pizarro.®  His  former  condition  had  caused  him  to 
adopt  a  custom  of  which  he  could  never  wean  himself — 
that  of  keeping  around  him  a  crowd  of  madcaps,  who 
were  greatly  attached  to  him,  and  ready,  as  the  say- 
ing is,  to  go.  through  fire  and  water  for  him.  To  these 
people  he  often  gave  feasts,  when  each  one  could  drink 
as  much  as  he  pleased,  and  this  explains  the  enormous 
consumption  of  rum  which  Baranof  was  in  no  condi- 
tion to  buy,  and  had  to  procure  at  the  company's 
expense."* 

It  is  probable  that  the  words  which  Washington 
Irving  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Aster's  agent,  when 
he  "  found  this  hyperborean  veteran  ensconced  in  a 
fort  which  crested  the  whole  of  a  high  rocky  promon- 
tory," are  but  too  near  the  truth.  "  He  is  continually 
fiving  entertainments  by  way  of  parade,"  says  Mr 
[unt,  "  and  if  you  do  not  drink  raw  rum,  and  boiling 
punch  as  strong  as  sulphur,  he  will  insult  you  as  soon 
as  he  gets  drunk,  which  will  be  very  shortly  after 
sitting  down  to  table. 

"As  to  any  'temperance  captain,'"  continues  Irving, 
"who  stood  fast  to  his  faith  and  refused  to  give  up  his 
sobriety,  he  might  go  elsewhere  for  a  market,  for  he 
stood  no  chance  with  the  governor.  Rarely,  however, 
did  any  cold-water  caitiff  of  the  kind  darken  the  door 
of  Baranof;  the  coasting  captains  knew  too  well  his 
humor  and  their  own  interests;  they  joined  in  his 
revels;   they  drank  and  sang  and  whooped  and  hic- 

•  In  what  respect  the  writer  does  not  explain. 

*  Tihhmeiief,  Jstor,  Obos.,  i.  244-5.  The  officer  remarks,  that  daring  his 
whole  term  of  administration  he  had  exhibited  a  rare  disinterestedness,  and 
though  he  had  every  chance  of  enriching  himself,  had  neyer  taken  advantage 
of  his  position. 


518  CLOSE  OF  BARANOF*S  ADMINISTRATION. 

cuped,  until  they  all  got  'half-seas-over/  and  then 
affairs  went  on  swimmingly. 

"An  awful  warning  to  all  'flinchers'  occurred  shortly 
before  Hunt's  arrival.  A  young  naval  officer  had  re- 
cently been  sent  out  by  the  emperor  to  take  command 
of  one  of  the  company's  vessels.  The  governor,  as 
usual,  had  him  at  his  *  prosnics/  "  and  plied  him  with 
fiery  potations.  The  young  man  stood  on  the  de- 
fensive, until  the  old  count's  ire  was  completely  kin- 
dled ;  he  carried  his  point  and  made  the  greenhorn 
tipsy,  willy  nilly.  In  proportion  as  they  grew  fud- 
dled, they  grew  noisy ;  they  quarrelled  in  their  cups ; 
the  youngster  paid  Baranof  in  his  own  coin,  by  rating 
him  soundly;  in  reward  for  which,  when  sober,  he  was 
taken  the  rounds  of  four  pickets,  and  received  seventy- 
nine  lashes,  taled  out  with  Russian  punctuality  of  pun- 
ishment. 

''Such  was  the  old  grizzled  bear  with  whom  Mr 
Hunt  had  to  do  his  business.  How  he  managed  to 
cope  with  his  humor,  whether  he  pledged  himself  in 
raw  rum  and  blazing  punch,  and  'clinked'  the  can  with 
him  as  they  made  their  bargains,  does  not  appear  upon 
record;  we  must  infer,  however,  from  his  general  ob- 
servations on  the  absolute  sway  of  this  hard-drinking 
potentate,  that  he  had  to  conform  to  the  customs  of  his 
court,  and  that  their  business  transactions  presented 
a  maudlin  mixture  of  punch  and  peltry."" 

Before  taking  final  leave  of  Baranof,  I  will  give 
one  more  quotation  from  a  manuscript  in  my  posses- 
sion, from  the  dictation  of  one  formerly  in  the  service 
of  the  Russian  American  Company,  who  arrived  at 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  1817,  for  the  purpose  of  rejoin- 
ing his  father,  who  had  been  sent  to  the  Ross  colony. 
"  On  the  day  after  our  arrival,  Mr  Baranof  sent  for 
me.     He  was  a  small  man,  of  yellow  complexion,  and 

^®  OarousalB. 

"  Afftoria,  465-7.  Irving  states  that  in  1812  the  fort  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk 
mounted  100  guns ;  but  one  must,  of  course,  allow  for  the  vivid  imagination 
of  the  novelist.  There  were  but  50  cannon  as  late  as  1817.  Oolovtwn,  in  Mor 
Itrkdui,  Idor.  Buss.,  part  iv.  101. 


THE  CHIEF  DIJlECTOR*S  HABITS.  510 

with  very  little  hair  on  his  head.  He  spoke  to  me 
very  kindly,  and  promised  to  send  me  to  Mr  Kuskof 
as  soon  as  any  of  the  company's  ships  were  going  in 
his  direction.  Then  he  told  me  I  could  stay  at  his 
house  and  help  the  woman  who  was  his  housekee[>er. 
He  had  several  women  about  his  house,  young  and 
old,  and  one  daughter  about  seventeen  years  of  age, 
for  whom  he  kept  a  German  governess.  The  mother 
had  been  a  Kolosh  woman,  but  she  died  before  I 
came  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 

"Baranof  was  often  sick,  and  sometimes  very  cross, 
but  his  daughter  could  always  put  him  in  good  hu- 
mor by  playing  on  the  piano.  I  have  seen  him  send 
every  one  out  of  the  house  in  a  heavy  snow-storm 
when  his  anger  was  roused,  but  half  an  hour  later  he 
sent  messengers  to  call  back  the  women  and  servants, 
and  gave  each  one  an  order  on  the  store  for  whatever 
they  wished.  Then  he  would  send  for  liquor  and  or- 
der a  feast  to  be  prepared,  and  call  for  his  singers  to 
amuse  him  while  he  was  eating.  After  his  meal  he 
was  apt  to  get  drunk  on  such  occasions,  and  would 
try  to  make  all  around  him  drunk.  Most  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  house  liked  to  see  him  in  a  rage,  because 
they  knew  that  a  carousal  would  follow.  As  soon  as 
he  began  to  feel  the  eiBfect  of  drink  he  always  sent  his 
daughter  away,  but  all  the  other  women  were  required 
to  stay  with  him  and  share  in  the  revelry. 

"  One  night  Baranof  came  into  the  kitchen  for  some 
purpose,  and  saw  the  German  governess  taking  a  glass 
of  rum.  He  was  so  enraged  that  he  struck  her  on 
the  head  and  drove  her  out  of  the  house.  On  the  next 
day  he  sent  for  her,  made  her  some  presents,  and  apol- 
ogized for  striking  her.  He  said  that  she  might  drink 
now  and  then,  but  must  never  let  his  daughter  see  it. 
The  governess  promised  to  abstain  from  dram-drinking 
in  the  presence  of  her  pupil,  and  remained  with  her 
until  she  was  married  to  a  young  naval  officer,"  who 

"  TanovBky. 


B20  CLOSE  OF  BARANOF'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

had  arrived  from  St  Petersburg  on  board  a  man-of- 
war."^' 

Here  we  have  probably  a  truthful  picture  of  Bar- 
anofs  household  during  the  last  •  years  of  his  resi- 
dence at  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  At  this  period  he  dis- 
played only  too  often  the  darker  phase  of  his  character, 
for  the  use  of  stimulants  had  now  sapped  the  vigor  of 
his  manhood,  and  in  their  use  alone  could  he  find 
temporary  relief  from  his  constitutional  fits  of  melan- 
choly. That  he  indulged  too  freely  in  strong  drink 
has  never  been  disputed  by  his  friends;  but  that  he 
was,  as  some  chronicles  allege,  a  cruel  and  vindictive 
man,  has  never  been  proven  by  his  enemies.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  drunkenness  was  then  a 
vice  far  more  common  among  the  Russians  than  it  is 
to-day,  and  that  it  is  now  more  prevalent  in  Russia 
than  in  any  civilized  countiy  in  the  world.  The  as- 
persions made  on  Baranof  s  character  by  missionaries 
and  naval  officers  have  already  been  noticed.  They 
need  no  further  comment.  When  we  read  the  pages 
of  Father  Juvenal's  manuscript,  and  the  remarks  of 
such  men  as  Lieutenant  Kotzebue,  in  whose  work  he 
is  spoken  of  as  "a  monster  who  purchases  every  gain 
with  the  blood  of  his  fellow-creatures,"  we  can  but 
wish  that  they  had  formed  a  truer  estimate  of  one 
whose  memory  is  still  held  in  respect  by  his  fellow- 
countrymen. 

While  Baranof  was  still  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk, 

"  Adventures  of  Zahhar  ChichtTtof,  MS.,  2-4.  Chichinof  waa  a  nativo  of 
Yakutsk,  where  he  was  bom  in  180^2.  When  eight  years  of  age  he  went 
to  Kadiak,  and  was  placed  in  the  school  of  Father  German,  or  Gcrmanius, 
under  whose  caro  ho  remained  until  the  year  1817,  leaminff  to  read,  write, 
and  cipher.  His  father  removed  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  where  his  son  fol- 
lowed him  in  the  autumn,  earning  his  passage  by  actinff  as  servant  to 
Hagemcistcr,  whd  was  a  passenger  on  the  same  vessel.  *  Uagemeister  was 
very  proud,*  remarks  Chicliinof,  *and  used  to  kick  me  for  not  inking  off  my 
cap  Lief  ore  going  into  the  cabin.  *  Hearing  that  his  father  had  joined  the  Boss 
colony,  he  presented  to  Baranof  a  letter  Sx>m  the  missionarv,  requesting  that 
ho  be  allowed  to  see  his  parent  as  soon  as  possible.  It  will  be  remembered 
that,  on  his  arrival  at  Ross,  he  was  sent  to  the  Farallon  Islands,  where  he  was 
employed  to  keep  accounts.  Chichinof  was  a  resident  of  St  Paul,  Kadiak, 
in  1878,  in  which  year  he  related  to  my  agent,  partly  from  memory  and 
partly  from  his  juorual,  the  incidents  contained  in  my  manuscript. 


KORASAKOVSKY'S  EXPEDITION. 


521 


and  probably  under  his  direction,  a  force  was  de- 
spatched by  land  to  make  a  thorough  exploration  of 
the  territory  north  of  Bristol  Bay,  and  to  establish  a 
permanent  station*  on  the  Nushagak  River.  The 
expedition  formed  on  Cook  Inlet,  in  charge  of  one 
Korasakovsky,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  na- 
tives of  this  portion  of  Alaska.^*  Proceeding  to  lake 
Ilyamna,  the  party  descended  the  river  Kuichak  to 
Bristol  Bay,  and  following  the  coast,  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Nushagak,  where  the  leader  left  be- 


Plan  of  Expedition. 

hind  him  a  portion  of  his  command  with  instructions 
to  build  a  fort,  while  he  went  on  with  the  remainder 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Tugiak,  far  to  the  west- 
ward, where  the  sloop  Konstantin  was  to  meet  him 

^^  A  cnrions  superstition  is  alluded  to  in  Korasakovsky's  instructions. 
From  early  times  a  })elicf  had  existed  among  the  promyshleniki  and  others, 
that  somewhere  in  the  interior,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  named  the  Khin- 
vercn,  there  lived  white  people  with  long  beards,  the  descendants,  probably, 
of  some  of  Deshnefs  companions  who  were  re^rted  to  have  been  lost  on  the 
American  coast  in  1G48.  Others  ascribed  their  origin  to  the  members  of 
Chirikofs  crew  lost  on  the  coast  of  America.  How  firm  a  hold  this  childish 
belief  bad  taken  ou  the  minds  even  of  those  in  authority,  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  Korasakovsky  was  instructed  to  search  for  the  mysterious  white 
men  of  the  interior.  Tikkmenef^  Istor.  Obos^t  i.  249. 


522  CLOSE  OF  BABANOPS  ADMINISTRATION. 

with  a  cargo  of  supplies.  After  a  brief  rest,  Kor- 
asakovsky  continued  his  journey,  rounding  Cape 
Newenham,  and  finally  entering  the  wide  estuary  of 
the  Kuskokvim.  It  was  now  late  in  the  season,  and 
hearing  from  the  natives  that  it  was  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  procure  subsistence  during  the  winter,  the 
loader  turned  back.  On  reaching  the  Nushagak,  he 
found  the  fort  nearly  completed,  and  giving  it  the 
name  of  Alexandrovsk,  returned  to  Kadiak  across 
the  Alaska  peninsula. 

Lieutenant  Yanovsky,  who  was  one  of  the  party, 
forwarded  a  special  report  of  this  expedition  to  the 
board  of  managers  at  St  Petersburg,  with  a  recom- 
mendation that  during  the  following  summer  the  set- 
tlement should  be  transferred  from  the  Nushagak  to 
the  Kuskokvim,  or  that  a  new  post  be  established  at 
the  latter  point/' 

During  the  presence  of  Hagemeister  and  Yanovsky 
in  the  colonies,  occurred  the  first  visit  of  a  French  vessel 
to  Norfolk  Sound.  In  1816  a  merchant  of  Bordeaux 
fitted  out  a  ship  named  the  Bordelais  for  a  voyage  to 
the  farther  north-west,  intending  to  compete  with  the 
English  and  American  traders.  The  vessel  sailed  in 
October  1816,  with  a  complement  of  thirty-four  men 
and  three  officers,  in  charge  of  Camille  Roquefeuil,  a 
naval  officer.^®  In  May  of  the  following  year,  while 
taking  in  water  and  provisions  at  Lima,  Roquefeuil 

^^  In  the  same  year,  he  ordered  a  careful  census  of  the  colonies  to  be 
taken,  the  result  of  which  he  forwarded  alonff  with  the  report.  The  num- 
ber of  Russians  at  the  various  settlements  and  tradinfj^-posts  was  found  to  be 
391,  of  whom  only  13  were  women,  of  Creoles  244,  including  HI  women,  and 
of  natives  under  the  company's  control  8,384,  the  sexes  being  about  equally 
divided.  The  Russians  were  thus  distributed:  At  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  198 
men  and  11  women;  at  Kadiak  and  adjoining  islands,  73  men;  on  the  island 
of  Ookamok,  2  men;  at  Katmai,  4  men;  at  Sutkhumokoi,  3  men;  at  Voskres- 
sensky  Harbor,  2  men;  at  fort  Konstantine,  17  men ;  at  Nikolai  (on  Cook  Inlet), 
11  men;  at  Alexandrovsk  (also  on  Cook  Inlet),  11  men;  at  the  Ross  settle- 
ment, 27  men;  on  the  Seal  Islands,  27  men;  and  at  Nushagak,  3  men  and  2 
women.  Tihfimene/y  Istor.  OboJi. ,  i.  252.  Khlebnikof,  Zapiski  in  McUerialui, 
20,  gives  8,367  as  the  number  of  natives. 

^  The  Bordt'lain  was  provisionc<l  for  two  years,  carried  one  24-ponnd  can- 
non and  six  8-pound  carronades,  and  had  on  board  a  laree  quantity  of  small 
arms.  The  cargo  consisted  chiefly  of  French  manufactured  goods.  BoquefeuU, 
Jour.  (Vun  Voy.  autour  du  Monde,  i.  4. 


EOQUEFEUIL'S  VOYAGE.  523 

met  the  coramandere  of  the  Kutusof  and  Suvarof,  then 
on  their  way  to  the  Kussian  colonies,  and  when  the 
Frenchman  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  on  the  5th 
of  April,  1818,  he  was  well  received  by  Hagemeister, 
with  whom  he  made  a  contract  to  hunt  sea-otter  on 
joint  account  in  the  channels  of  the  Alexander  Archi- 
pelago, Hagemeister  agreeing  to  furnish  him  with 
thirty  bidarkas.^^ 

On  the  7th  of  June  the  Bordelais  arrived  off  the 
north-west  side  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  where 
the  vessel  was  moored  a  short  distance  from  shore,  the 
anchorage  being  selected  by  the  advice  of  a  Kaigan. 
On  the  9th  a  reconnoissance  was  made,  but  neither  peo- 
ple nor  sea-otters  were  seen.  On  the  following  day 
a  fleet  of  twenty-nine  bidarkas,  each  provided  with 
a  rifle,  a  pair  of  pistols,  and  two  daggers,  went  forth 
to  hunt,  the  long-boat  serving  as  escort.  The  catch 
was  one  sea-otter.  On  the  same  day  four  canoes  came 
alongside  with  a  few  skins  and  some  fish,  and  the 
Kaigan,  being  discovered  in  secret  consultation  with  his 
countrymen,  was  driven  out  of  the  ship.  The  com- 
pany's agent  proposed  that  the  Aleutian  hunters 
should  camp  on  shore  under  the  guns  of  the  ship.  To 
this  Roquefeuil  consented,  detailing  a  guard  for  their 
protection.  They  hunted  with  but  little  success  for 
a  few  days  longer,  the  entire  catch  being  but  twenty 
sea-otter,  while  only  ten  were  obtained  by  barter. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  a  large  number  of 
natives  came  to  the  beach,  offering  to  trade;  but  at 
noon  all  disappeared,  and  remained  out  of  sight  the 
following  day.  Roquefeuil  now  resolved  to  recall  his 
Aleuts;  and  landing  toward  evening  to  observe  the 
state  of  the  tide,  passed  by  their  camp  and  walked  to 
the  head  of  the  cove.     On  his  way  he  was  accosted  by 

'^  A  clame  wsa  inserted  in  their  contract  that  350  roubles  (about  $90)  were 
to  be  p^d  as  indemnity  for  any  Aleut  who  might  lose  his  life  while  engaged 
in  hunting.  Tikhmenfff  Istor,  Obos.,  i.  247.  Roquefeuil,  i.  64,  makes  the 
amount  $'^}0;  but  Tikhmenef  is  supported  by  the  figures  contained  in  the 
original  contract  preserved  in  the  Sitka  Archives  of  the  Russian  American 
Company.  The  statements  of  the  Frenchman  concerning  this  expedition 
have  been  found  incorrect  in  most  instances. 


624  CJLOSE  OF  B /  HANOF»S  ADMINISTRATION. 

an  Indian,  who  was  apparently  unarmed.  A  few  min- 
utes later  a  musket-shot  was  heard,  followed  imme- 
diately by  a  volley.  The  captain  instantly  turned 
back,  but  seeing  the  Aleuts  running  toward  the  beach 
without  offering  resistance,  he  hid  himself  in  a  thicket 
which  lined  the  shore,  and  made  signals  for  a  boat  to 
come  off  to  his  rescue.  As  soon  as  his  signal  was 
answered,  he  stripped  and  swam  off  toward  the  ship, 
holding  his  watch  between  his  teeth.  As  the  boat 
approached,  the  savages  opened  fire  on  her,  and 
wounded  four  out  of  a  crew  of  seven,  but  Roquefeuil 
was  finally  rescued.  Meanwhile  the  sailors  returned, 
the  fire,  and  a  lieutenant  was  sent  with  two  sail-boats 
to  rescue  the  survivors.  Seven  men  were  lifted  out 
of  their  torn  and  sinking  bidarkas,  two  of  them  being 
at  the  point  of  death,  four  severely  wounded,  and  from  a 
small  hole  in  the  rocks  crept  forth  seven  others,  who 
all  escaped  unhurt.  On  the  19th  a  strong  party  was 
sent  on  shore  to  search  for  more  survivors,  but  with- 
out success.  Most  of  the  bidarkas  were  recovered,  a 
few  muskets  were  picked  up  near  the  beach,  and  nine- 
teen Aleuts  lay  dead  within  the  encampment,  the  only 
traces  of  the  fight  being  a  few  discharged  pistols  and 
broken  spears.^^ 

On  Roquefeuil's  return  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  Ha- 
gemeister  offered  him  an  opportunity  to  retrieve  his 
losses  by  joining  one  of  the  Russian  hunting  parties 
then  engaged  among  the  islands,  but  the  crew  re- 
fused to  receive  on  board  any  more  Aleuts,  or  to  en- 
gage a  second  time  in  the  dangerous  service  of  escort- 
ing them.  The  captain  resolved,  therefore,  to  confine 
himself  to  trading;  and  after  repairing  damages,  he 
again  sailed  for  the  Alexander  Archipelago.     Hoping 

"Roquefeuil,  Id.^  i.  71,  states  that  of  47  Aleuts,  20  vera  killed,  and  25 
escaped  or  were  picked  up  by  the  boats,  the  fate  of  the  other  two  beiug 
unknown.  Of  the  survivors,  12  were  wounded,  most  of  them  seriously. 
Only  one  Kaigan  was  found  dead  on  the  scene  of  the  massacre.  In  the 
accounts  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  contained  in  the  Sitka  Archives^ 
vi.,  an  entry  speaks  of  •23  natives  (20  men  and  3  women)  who  had  lost  their 
lives  on  thia  occasion,  and  for  each  of  whom  Roquefeuil  was  made  to  pay  $90, 
under  the  terms  of  his  contract.  ^ 


NEW  EXPEDITION.    •  525 

to  deceive  the  savages,  and  capturiOkSome  of  their  chiefs, 
to  be  held  for  ransom,  he  had  painted  his  ship  and 
changed  the  rigging;  but  his  trouble  was  in  vain;  the 
ruse  did  not  deceive  the  Kaigans,  .and  not  a  canoe 
came  near  his  craft.^* 

Roquefeuil  then  sailed  for  San  Francisco  to  procure 
a  cargo  of  grain  with  which  to  settle  his  indebtedness 
to  the  company.  There  he  was  detained  by  the  author- 
ities for  more  than  a  month,  but  finally  obtained  Gov- 
ernor Sola's  permission  to  trade,  chiefly  through  the 
intervention  of  Golovnin,  who  was  then  at  the  same 
port.  Returning  once  more  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk, 
he  found  that  Hagemeister  wa«  willing  to  accept  a 
small  cash  payment  in  behalf  of  the  relatives  of  the 
Aleutian  hunters,  and  after  landing  his  bread-stuffs, 
took  his  final  leave  on  the  13th  of  December.  We 
may  presume  that  he  was  not  very  deeply  impressed 
with  the  advantages  of  the  fur  trade  on  the  upper 
north-west  coast. 

The  end  of  the  period  for  which  the  company's 
charter  had  been  grantedwas  now  approaching.  Anx- 
ious to  make  all  possible  progress,  both  in  discovery 
and  exploration,  the  directors  ordered  expeditions  to 
be  despatched  in  various  directions,  and  at  the  same 
time  new  buildings  were  erected  in  nearly  all  the  set- 
tlements. Two  attempts  had  already  been  made  to 
explore  the  head  waters  of  the  Copper  River,  but  in 
both  instances  the  leaders  had  been  killed  by  the 
Atnas.  From  the  Nikolaievsk  redoubt  another 
expedition  was  despatched,  under  command  of  Malak- 
hof,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  country  north  of 
Cook  Inlet.*^     From  Petropavlovsk  the  company  sent 

>*  At  aboqt  the  same  time  the  Boston  ship  BriUus,  Captain  Nye,  had  some 
dilBcttlty  with  the  Kolosh  in  the  arcliipehigo,  daring  which  a  few  of  the 
latter  were  killed.  Captain  Young  was  cmising  in  the  same  vicinity  for 
the  Russian  American  Company  in  the  brig  Flnlcmdy  but  was  not  attacked. 
The  result  of  his  expedition  was  by  no  means  satisfactory,  however,  for  only 
400  sea-otter  were  obtained  with  a  force  of  70  bidarkas, 

^In  the  SUka  Archives,  x.,  is  a  report  transmitted  by  Malakhof  to  Yan- 
OTsky,  describing  the  journey  undertaken  in  accordance  with  his  instruc- 


523  CLOSE  OF  BAEAlfOF'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

the  sloop  Dobroie  Namerenie  (Good  Intent)  to  explore 
the  Arctic  coast.  This  craft  sailed  in  1818,  but  was 
delayed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Anadir  River,  and  did 
not  return  till  three  years  later.  No  report  of  the 
expedition  is  extant,  but  the  voyage  was  continued  at 
least  as  far  as  East  Cape.^ 

The  efforts  made  by  the  company  at  the  same  time 
to  explore  the  Asiatic  coast  south  of  Kamchatka, 
and  especially  the  mouths  of  the  Amoor,  do  not  prop- 
erly fall  within  the  scope  of  this  volume,  but  serve  to 
show  that  the  monopoly  was  straining  every  nerve  to 
obtain  a  renewal  of  its  privileges. 

After  reorganizing  the  affairs  of  the  colony"  and 
visiting  the  different  settlements,  Hagemeistor  sailed 
on  board  the  Kutusof  for  Kronstadt,^  where  he  arrived 

tions.  In  this  document,  which  does  not  bear  the  impress  of  reliability,  Mci- 
akhof  states  that,  striking  eastward  from  the  KuskokTim  across  a  chain  of 
mountains,  he  found  himself  on  the  banks  of  a  largo  river  thickly  dotted  \Fith 
native  settlements,  and  flowing  northwanl.  It  is  not  safe  to  assume  that  he 
reached  the  Yukon,  as  the  time  occupied  in  his  exploration  was  altogether  too 
short  for  such  a  journey.  He  probably  heard  from  the  natives  on  the  Kus- 
kokvim  of  the  existence  of  a  large  river  toward  the  north. 

2^  Lieutenant  Hooper  of  the  royal  navy,  in  his  description  of  the  voyage  of 
the  Plover,  states  that  he  saw  near  East  Ciipe  a  cross  on  which  was  inscribed 
in  Russian:  'In  this  place  was  buried  the  body  of  carpenter  Stepan  Naumof 
of  the  sloop  Good  Intent,  August  12,  1821.'   Tenis  of  i/te  Tushi,  161. 

^  Among  other  measures,  he  ordered  that  the  promyshleniki  should  re- 
ceive, instead  of  their  usual  remuneration  from  half -shares,  a  salary  of  3<X) 
roubles  a  year,  and  one  poud  of  flour  per  month.  This  system  was  nrst  rec- 
ommended by  Kezanof.  He  also  instructed  the  ofiicialB  to  provide  each  of 
the  Aleuts  witli  seal-skins  for  bidarkas,  a  whale-bladder  coat,  and  a  bird-skin 
parka,  for  which  they  were  to  pay  only  one  fifth  of  the  regular  price.  From 
the  pay  of  those  who  wero  indebted  to  the  company,  only  one  third  must  be  de- 
ducted. All  skins  brought  in  by  hunters  were  to  be  marked  in  their  presence 
with  the  coDipany's  stamp,  and  with  initials  indicating  their  quality  and  gnide. 
Kklebnikofj  ZapisJd  in  Matrrialui,  25-8.  Tikhmenef  says  that  Hagemeistcr 
proposed  to  fix  the  pay  of  hunters  at  3o0  roubles,  but  that  the  directors  would 
not  consent.  He  also  states  that  the  latter  made  other  rogpilations,  which 
were  approved  by  the  general  administration  for  the  guidance  of  officials  in 
Kadiak,  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  Unalaska,  and  Ross,  and  revised  regulations  for 
foreign  vessels  visiting  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  Tikhmenef ,  iRtor.  Obo$,,\.  24C.  In 
his  remarks  on  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  Golovniu  says:  *  Perhaps  the  directors  do 
not  know  of  the  loss  which  the  company  suffers  from  contrabandists,  and  of 
the  injury  done  to  the  colony  and  its  inhabitants. '  He  recommends  that  the 
matter  bo  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  government.  Id.,  251. 

^  When  the  Kutusof  arrived,  an  English  skip  of  600  tons,  purchased  by 
tlie  company  and  renamed  the  Borodino,  was  being  fitted  out  for  another 
naval  expedition,  the  command  being  intrusted  to  Lieutenant  Ponofidin, 
formerly  of  the  Suvarof,    The  complement  of  the  Borodino  conasted  of  12 


FINANOIAL  RESULTS.  627 

on  the  7th  of  September,  1819.  Calling  at  Batavia, 
he  purchased  an  assortment  of  goods  to  the  amount 
of  two  hundred  thousand  roubles,  and  the  value  of  his 
cargo  of  furs  was  estimated  at  a  million.  The  vessel 
was  at  once  refitted,  and  again  despatched  to  the  col- 
lonies  about  a  year  later  under  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant Dokhturof,  who  subsequently  became  famous 
in  Russian  naval  annals.^  Arriving  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk in  October  1821,  after  calling  at  several  Cali- 
fornian  ports,  she  returned  the  following  year  with 
another  cargo  of  furs  valued  at  over  a  million. 

As  we  have  now  come  to  the  close  of  the  first  term 
for  which  the  privileges  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  were  granted,  I  will  give  a  brief  account  of 
its  operations  during  this  period,  or  so  much  of  them 
as  can  be  obtained  from  the  records  which  have  come 
down  to  us.  The  original  capital  of  723,000  roubles 
was  increased  by  the  subscriptions  of  new  shareholders 
to  1,238,740  roubles;  and  the  net  earnings  between 
1797  and  1820,  the  first  years  including  the  operations 
of  the  Shelikof-Golikof  Company,  were  7,685,608  rou- 
bles. Of  this  sum  about  4,250,000  roubles  were  dis- 
tributed as  dividends,  and  the  remainder  added  to  the 
capital,  which  amounted  in  1820  to  about  4,570,000 
roubles.^  Meanwhile,  furs  were  sold  or  exchanged 
for  other  commodities  at  Kiakhta  to  the  amount  of 
16,376,696  roubles,^  and  at  Canton  through  foreign 

officers  and  petty  officers,  and  79  seamen  of  the  navy.  She  had  also  33  la- 
borers on  bbard.  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Obos.,  i.  201;  SUha  Archives,  i.  Of  the 
officers  of  this  expedition,  Chlstiakof  and  Zarembo  were  afterward  prom- 
inently connected  with  the  development  of  the  Russian  colonies.  On  Hage- 
meister's  return  the  directors  ordered  Ponafidm  to  call  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and 
then  at  Manila,  where  conmiodities  could  be  purchased  at  low  rates.  As  a 
mercantile  speculation  the  enterprise  proved  a  success,  but  it  cost  the  lives  of 
many  of  the  crew.  Disease  broke  out  soon  after  leaving  the  latter  port,  and 
40  of  the  crew  fell  victims  to  fever.  On  his  return  from  the  colonies  in  i821, 
Ponafidin  was  temporarily  suspended  from  duty. 

'^  With  Dokhturof  sailed  42  seamen  of  the  navy,  28  Uborers,  and  3  creolo 
youths  who  had  completed  their  education  in  St  Petersburg. 

^  Divided  in  1820  into  7,713  shares,  and  distributed  among  630  share- 
holders. Tikhmeneff  Istor.  Oboft. ,  i.  255-6.  The  figures  given  are  in  paper  rou- 
bles, then  worth  about  20  cents. 

'*  At  Kiakhta  furs  were  usually  exchanged  for  tea,  Chinese  cloth,  and  some* 


528  CLOSE  OF  BARANOFS  ADMINISTIIATION. 

vessels  to  the  amount  of  3,648,002  roubles.  Of  the 
company's  transactions  elsewhere  we  have  no  complete 
records. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  shipments  of  fxirs  made 
during  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  company's  exist- 
ence, the  yield  had  greatly  diminished  since  the  first 
years  of  Baranofs  administration.     In  the  gulf  of 
Kenai,  where  Delarof  had  obtained  3,000  skins  dur- 
ing his  first  year's  hunting,  the  catch  decreased,  until 
in  1812  it  amounted  only  to  100.     In  Chugatsch  Bay, 
where  seal  had  before  been  plentiful,  the  yield  fell  off 
in  the  same  year  to  50  skins.     Between  that  point  and 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  sea-otter  abounded  when  the  Rus- 
sians first  took  possession,  but  five  years  later  they 
had  almost  disappeared.     In  Otter  Bay,  Queen  Char- 
lotte Island,  and  Nootka  Sound  they  were  still  plen- 
tiful, but  the  Americans  absorbed  most  of  this  trade, 
bartering  fire-arms  and  rum  with  the  Kolosh  in  re- 
turn for  skins,  of  which  they  obtained  about  8,000 
a  year,  while  the  Russians  tried  in  vain  to  compete 
with  them. 

In  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  which  had  now  become  the 
commercial  centre  of  Russian  America,  there  were,  in 
1818,  620  inhabitants,  of  whom  more  than  400  were 
male  adults.  Of  the  servants  of  the  company,  190 
were  at  that  time  engaged  on  shares,  and  101  on 
fixed  salaries.  The  income  of  the  chief  manager  was 
7,800  roubles  a  year;  that  of  the  head  clerk  from  3,000 
to  4,000,  of  a  trading  skipper  about  the  same,  an  as- 
sistant clerk  or  priest  600,  and  an  Aleutian  or  creolo 
hunter  from  60  to  150  roubles.  The  total  sum  paid 
yearly  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  on  account  of  shares, 
salaries,  premiums,  and  pensions,  was  about  120,000 
roubles. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  com- 
pany's servants  had  little  chance  to  enrich  themselves 

times  for  silk  or  sugar.  Sea-otter  skins  were  Talned  at  110  to  124  roubles, 
fur-seal  5  to  7  roubles,  and  fox  skins  from  2  roubles  and  20  kopeks  to  13  roa« 
blcs  in  tea,  according  to  quality.  /</.,  254. 


LIFE  IN  THE  COLONIES.  629 

during  their  sojourn  in  the  farther  north-west.  More- 
over, the  necessaries  of  life  often  became  so  scarce 
that  they  were  beyond  reach  of  most  of  the  colo- 
nists.^' There  were  some  exceptions,  however.  Bread*, 
for  instance,  was  usually  sold  to  married  men,  at  least 
after  Hagemeister's  arrival,  at  cost,  and  in  sufficient 
quantity.  To  laborers  goods  were  issued  from  the 
stores,  on  a  written  order  from  the  chief  manager,  and 
charged  to  their  accounts  occe  a  month  or  once  in 
three  months.  On  these  occasions  they  received  a 
present  of  a  small  quantity  of  flour  or  other  provisions. 

^^  KKUhnihof^  Zapisld  in  Materialuiy  245.  There  are  do  data  as  to  the 
prices  at  which  goods  were  furnished  to  employees  in  1818;  but  in  previous 
years  they  were  often  purchased  by  the  chief  manager  at  very  high  rates,  and 
of  course  retailed  at  a  profit.  In  1805,  $25  per  barrel  was  paid  to  Captain 
Wolf  for  salt  beef,  and  the  same  price  jx^r  cental  for  common  soap;  in  1808, 
$7.50  per  cental  was  paid  to  Ayres  for  wheat,  and  $50  per  ceutal  for  tobacco. 
In  1810,  $16.80  per  cental  was  paid  to  Davis  for  white  sugar;  and  in  1811, 
$15  to  Ebbcts  for  brown  sugar.  Zi.,  14. 
Hist.  Alaska,.    31 


CHAPTER  XXVL 

SECOND  PERIOD  OP  THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPAlTrS 
OPERATIONS. 

1821-1842. 

Goloynin's  RKPokT  ON  THS  O0LONIE&— TuK  Comfant's  Chabtkb  Re- 
newed— New  Privileges  Granted — Mouravief  Appointed  Gover- 
nor— Alaska  Divided  into  Districts— Threatened  Starvation— 
Chistiakof  Supersedes  Mouravief — Foreign  Trade  Prohibited— 
The  Anglo-Russian  and  Russo-Auerioan  Treaties-— Mors  Explor- 
ations—Wranoell's  Administration— He  is  Succeeded  by  Kui'- 
RiANOF — Disputes  with  the  Hudson's  Bat  Company — Their  Adjust- 
ment—Fort Stikren — Etholen  Appointed  Governor— A  Small-pox 
Epidemic— Statistical. 

At  the  end  of  the  twenty  years  for  which  the  ex- 
clusive privileges  of  the  Russian  American  Company 
were  granted,  we  find  tliis  powerful  monopoly  firmly 
established  in  the  favor  of  the  imperial  government, 
many  nobles  of  high  rank  and  several  members  of 
the  royal  family  being  among  the  shareholders.  The 
company  already  occupied  nearly  all  that  portion  of  the 
American  continent  and  the  adjacent  islands  south 
of  the  Yukon  River  now  comprised  in  the  territory 
of  Alaska.  The  country  north  of  Cook  Inlet  and 
Prince  William  Sound,  and  the  Alexander  Archi- 
pelago north  of  Dixon  Sound,  was  also  universally 
acknowledged  as  belonging  to  Russia,  though  her 
right  was  not  established  by  treaty  until  some  years 
later.  With  an  imposing  list  of  permanent  stations 
represented  as  forts  and  redoubts,  with  a  long  list  of 
tribes  converted  to  Christianity  and  brought  under 
subjection,  the  directors  now  sought  to  obtain,  not 

(680) 


GOLOVNIN'S  REPORT.  531 

only  a  renewal  of  the  favors  already  granted,  but  im- 
portant additions  to  their  privileges. 

Aware  that  such  a  request  would  be  made,  the 
government  had  instructed  Captain  Golovnin  to  in- 
quire into  the  condition  of  the  settlements  during  his 
cruise  in  the  Kamcliatka}  His  report  was  by  no 
means  favorable.  "Three  things  are  wanting,"  he 
says,  **in  the  organization  of  the  company's  colonies: 
a  clearer  definition  of  the  duties  belonging  to  the  va- 
rious officers,  a  distinction  of  rank,  and  a  regular  uni- 
form, so  that  foreigners  visiting  these  parts  may  see 
something  indicating  the  existence  of  forts  and  troops 
belonging  to  the  Russian  sceptre — something  resem- 
bling a  regular  garrison.  At  present  they  can  come 
to  no  other  conclusion  than  that  these  stations  are 
but  temporary  fortifications  erected  by  hunters 
as  a  defence  against  savages."  The  captain  expresses 
almost  unqualified  condemnation  of  the  treatment  of 
Creoles  and  hired  laborers,  but  concludes  his  re- 
port with  the  following  words :  "  I  consider  it  my  duty 
to  remark  that  these  abuses  occurred  before  Lieuten- 
ant Hagemeister's  accession  to  office.  Though  he 
has  but  recently  assumed  control,  and  their  entire 
abolition  cannot  yet  be  expected,  the  measures  which 
he  has  already  adopted  for  improving  the  condition 
of  natives  and  promyshleniki  promise  complete  success 
in  the  near  future."  ^ 

It  was  of  course  to  be  expected  that  Golovnin, 
being  a  naval  officer,  should  condemn  Baranofs  ad- 
ministration ,  and  speak  in  favor  of  Hagemeister.  Some 
of  his  suggestions  were  adopted,  but  notwithstanding 
his  adverse  criticism,  an  imperial  oukaz  was  issued,  in 
September  1821,  granting  exclusive  privileges  to  the 
company  for  another  period  of  twenty  years.^ 

*The  instructions  for  his  gaidance  were  framed  by  the  marquis  de  Trav- 
erse, minister  of  marine.  They  are  given  in  the  MoUcriahd  Itstor,  Unas., 
part  i.  1-2. 

•In  a  letter  to  Captaia  Etholen,  Alexander  Kashevarof,  a  Creole  educated 
at  St  Petersburg  at  tlie  company's  expense,  declares  that  the  last  paragraph 
v/as  added  to  the  report  after  the  directors  had  read  the  proofs,  and  at  their 
special  solicitation.  JhisJ^.  Anif.r.  Co.  Anh'na,  iii. 

'  A  few  days  before  the  oukaz  was  issued,  a  communication  from  the 


632      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

This  document  was  introduced  by  the  following 
words,  which  are  in  strong  contrast  with  the  tenor  of 
the  captain's  report:  '*The  Russian  American  Com- 
pany, under  our  highest  protection,  having  enjoyed 
the  privileges  most  graciously  granted  by  us  in  the 
year  1799,  has  tp  the  fullest  extent  justified  our  hopes 
and  fulfilled  our  expectations,  in  extending  navigation 
and  discovery  as  well- as  the  commerce  of  our  empire, 
in  addition  to  bringing  considerable  immediate  profit 
to  the  shareholders  in  the  enterprise.  In  consider- 
ation of  this,  and  desiring  to  continue  and  confirm  it3 
existence,  we  renew  the  privileges  given  to  it,  with 
some  necessary  changes  and  additions,  for  twenty 
years  from  this  time;  and  having  made  for  its  guid- 
ance certain  rules,  we  hereby  lay  them  before  the 
governing  senate,  with  our  orders  to  promulgate  the 
same,  to  be  submitted  to  us  for  signature." 

In  the  new  charter,  the  text  of  which  included 
twenty  paragraphs,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  company 
was  established  over  all  the  territory  from  the  northern 
cape  of  Vancouver  Island,  in  latitude  51**  n.,  to  Ber- 
ing Strait  and  beyond,  and  to  all  islands  belonging  to 
that  coast  as  well  as  to  those  between  it  and  the  coast 
of  eastern  Siberia,  also  to  the  Kurile  Islands,  wliere 
they  were  allowed  to  trade  as  far  as  the  island  of 
Ourupa,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  Russian  subjects 
and  of  foreigners.  It  was  granted  the  right  to  all 
that  existed  in  those  regions,  on  the  surface  as  well 
as  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  without  regard  to  the 
claims  of.others.     Communicatten  could  be  carried  on 

emperor,  containing  C^  paragraphs,  was  laid  before  the  senate,  wherein  were 
rc^ihitions  fur  ttio  niana'jcment  of  the  company's  business  and  for  tho  general 
acini iiiist ration  of  colonial  affairs.  It  was  called  forth  by  representations 
made  by  tho  company  03  to  lossca  suffered  from  the  illicit  trade  of  foreigners, 
and  was  accomTpanied  by  the  following  letter:  '  From  information  laid  before 
us,  we  have  learned  that  tho  trade  of  our  subjects  on  the  Aleutian  Islands  and 
on  tho  north-west  coast  of  America  in  our  possession,  is  suffering  from  the 
exiotcnco  of  illegitimate  trafl^c  in  the  same  localities,  and  that  the  chief  rea- 
son for  this  has  been  the  absence  of  definite  rules  and  regulations  for  com- 
merce and  navigation  on  tho  coasts  mentioned,  as  well  as  on  the  shore  of 
eastern  Siberia,  and  the  Kurile  Islands.  To  remedy  this  fault,  we  her6by 
transmit  to  tho  senate  the  much-needed  rules  and  regulations/  Tikhmen^, 
*  Islur.  OOo^.f  i.  ap;).  27. 


NEW  REGULATIONS.  633 

by  sea  between  the  colonies  and  adjoining  regions  be- 
longing to  foreign  powers,  but  only  with  the  consent 
of  their  rulers. 

Considering  the  vast  territory  controlled  by  the 
company,  and  the  large  numbers  of  its  inhabitants,  the 
government  saw  fit  to  confer  certain  rank  and  ofJRcial 
standing  on  the  company's  servants.  The  chief 
manager  was  to  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
governors  of  Siberia;  government  oflScials  of  the  mili- 
tary, naval,  and  civil  service  were  allowed  to  enter 
the  company's  service,  retaining  half  their  former  pay, 
and  without  losing  their  turn  for  promotion ;  all  officials 
in  the  company's  employ,  not  previously  invested  with 
rank,  were  to  be  promoted  to  that  of  collegiate  assessor 
after  two  vears'  service  in^the  colonies;  all  servants 
of  the  company  were  exempt  from  conscription,  and 
all  officials  and  agents  from  the  payment  of  taxes. 
Employes  were  granted  the  right  of  complaining  to 
the  senate  for  injustice  or  abuse  on  the  part  of  the 
company,  the  complaint  to  be  made  within  six  months 
after  the  occurrence;  right  of  appeal  to  the,  senate 
from  the  decision  of  the  company's  authorities  was 
also  given,  the  appeal  to  be  made  within  the  same 
period. 

If  the  company's  shares  should  fall  fifty  percent  in 
market  value,  the  government  was  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibility and  sell  them  at  auction.  The  right  to 
change  the  relations  of  the  company  was  given  to  the 
larger  assembly  of  the  shareholders,  subject  to  appeal 
to  the  senate,  and  "permission  was  granted  to  the 
board  of  directors  to  despatch  vessels  from  Kronstadt 
to  the  colonies  with  cargoes  of  Russian  and  foreign 
commodities  free  of  duty,  and  also  to  ship  goods  to  the 
colonies  on  government  vessels  at  low  rates<  Finally, 
all  military,  naval,  and  other  officers  were  enjoined 
to  aid  the  company,  and  to  insist  on  the  strict 
observance  of  these  rights  by  Russian  subjects  and 
foreigners.     Most  of  the  privileges  contained  in  the 


634      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

oukaz  of  1799  were  also  renewed  in  the  charter  of 
1821.* 

The  regulations  appended  to  this  charter  were  very 
voluminous,  referring  to  the  treatment  of  the  natives, 
the  obligation  of  the  company  to  maintain  churches 
and  schools  at  its  own  expense,  and  to  provide  for  the 
importation  of  supplies  in  sufficient  quantity,  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  Creoles,  and  the  rights  and 
duties  of  shareholders  and  of  the  company's  officials. 
ylt  was  provided  that  the  chief  manager  must  be  se- 
/  lected  from  the  naval  service,  and  rank  not  lower  than 
captain  of  the  second  class;  the  assistant  manager 
must  also  be  a  naval  officer;  the  board  of  directors, 
each  of  whom  must  hold  not  less  than  twenty-five 
shares,  was  to  consist  of  four  members,  to  be  elected 
by  the  assembly  of  shareholders,  and  all  the  transac- 
tions of  the  company  were  to  be  subject  to  the  super- 
vision of  the  minister  of  finance,  to  whom  detailed  re- 
ports were  to  be  submitted. 

The  first  step  taken  by  the  board  of  directors,  after 
obtaining  their  second  charter,  was  the  election  of  a 
successor  to  Hagemeister,  or  rather  his  representa- 
tive Yanovsky,  who,  having  married  Baranof's  daugh- 
ter, was  not  considered  free  from  the  taint  thrown 
upon  the  latter 's  fame  by  Golovnin.  M.  N.  Moura- 
vief,  a  captain  in  the  navy  and  a  scion  of  an  old  family 
belonging  to  the  Russian  nobility,  was  the  one  select- 
ed, and  his  appointment  being  confirmed,  he  sailed  for 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  during  the  year  1821.  He  at  onoe 
took  measures  to  reconstruct  the  garrison,  to  repair 
the  fortifications  of  all  the  settlements,  and  to  erect  new 
buildings  wherever  they  were  required.^ 

Mouravief  at  once  saw  the  absurdity  of  Baranofs 

*  Among  others  were  tboee  of  making  settlements  in  regions  adjacent  to 
their  teiTitory,  not  occupied  by  foreign  nations,  and  of  engaging  laborers  for 
a  tei-m  of  seven  years  in  any  part  of  the  empire,  the  company  assuming  tho 
payment  of  their  taxes.  CapitEd  invested  by  shareholders  was  also  exempt,  as 
before,  from  attachment,  though  dividends  could  be  appropriated  in  payment 
of  debts. 

^  It  is  related  that  he  added  more  buildings  to  the  company's  stations  than 
any  subsequent  manager. 


MOURAVIEF  IN  COMMAND.  635 

policy  in  keeping  the  Kolosh  at  a  distance  from  Novo 
Arkhangelsk.  Up  to  this  time  they  had  been  compelled 
to  live  on  the  islands  north  and  south  of  the  settle- 
ment, and  this  arrangement,  intended  to  insure  the 
safety  of  the  Russians,  had  only  served  to  increase 
the  danger  of  hostile  attack.  Away  from  all  commu- 
nication and  supervision,  they  had  been  at  liberty  to 
plot  mischief  at  leisure,  while  they  were  kept  informed 
of  all  that  occurred  in  the  garrison  by  the  females  of 
their  tribe,  whose  intercourse  with  the  promyshleniki 
was  never  interrupted.  The  result  was,  that  murder 
and  robbery  were  committed  with  impunity  on  de- 
tached parties  of  laborers  and  fishermen.  Mouravief, 
taking  advantage  of  the  presence  of  the  well  armed 
ship  which  brought  him  to  the  colonies,  summoned 
the  chiefs  of  the  Sitkas,  and  told  them  that  they 
might  return  with  their  people  to  their  former  village 
adjoining  the  fort.  The  permission  was  gladly  accepted, 
and  the  removal  eflfected  within  a  few  days.  Mean- 
while the  palisade  separating  the  native  huts  from  the 
company's  precincts  had*  been  strengthened,  and  a 
heavy  gate  built,  through  which  no  savage  was  allowed 
to  enter  without  a  permit.  On  certain  days,  they 
might,  at  a  stated  hour,  visit  the  enclosed  space  for 
the  purpose  of  disposing  of  game,  fish,  furs,  and  other 
commodities.  Before  sunset  the  streets  were  patrolled 
by  an  armed  guard,  and  all  the  natives  kept  out  from 
that  time  until  daylight;  sentries  were  doubled  and 
kept  vigilant  by  a  half-hourly  exchange  of  signals. 
These  regulations  were  found  so  satisfactory  that  they 
were  continued  by  Mouravief's  successors,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  even  by  the  American  troops  who  took 
charge  of  the  territory  after  its  transfer  in  1867. 

The  chief  manager,  or  governor  as  he  was  now 
styled,  also  issued  orders  that  the  garrisons  should  be 
placed  under  strict  discipline  at  all  the  outlying  sta- 
tions; but  only  in  Kadiak  could  this  be  done,  for  at 
other  points  the  force  was  too  small  to  allow  of  mili- 
tary organization.     He  then  made  a  tour  of  inspection 


536      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

through  the  colonies,  visiting  all  the  stations  except 
those  at  Atkha  and  Atoo,  and  on  his  return  divided 
the  colonies  into  districts.  The  Sitka  district  in- 
cluded the  mainland  of  Russian  America  from  Mount 
St  Elias  as  far  as  latitude  54°  40'  n.,  together  with 
the. islands  along  the  adjacent  shore.  The  Kadiak 
district  embraced  the  coast  and  the  islands  on  the 
gulfs  of  Kenai  and  Chugatsch,  the  Alaska  peninsula 
as  far  south  as  Shumagin  Island,  the  Kadiak,  Ooka- 
mok,  Semidi,  and  all  adjacent  islands,  the  shores  of 
Bristol  Bay,  and  the  coast  between  the  mouths  of  the 
Nushagak  and  Kuskokvim  rivers.  In  the  Mikhailof 
district'  were  included  the  basins  of  the  Kvichak 
and  Kuskokvim  rivers,  and  the  coast  lying  between 
Norton  Sound  and  Bering  Strait.  The  Unalaska  dis- 
trict comprised  all  of  the  Alaska  peninsula  not  in- 
cluded in  the  district  of  Kadiak,  and  the  Lissiev, 
Sannakh,  and  Prybilof  islands.  The  Atkha  district 
consisted  of  the  Andreanofsky  group  and  the  Blishie, 
Krissie,  and  Commander  islands,  and  the  Kurile  dis- 
trict of  the  islands  of  that  name  lying  between  Ou- 
rupa  and  the  Kamchatka  peninsula.* 

Soon  after  Mouraviefs  arrival,  the  colonies  were 
once  more  threatened  with  starvation,  a  danger  which 
was  due  to  the  following  incidents:  In  the  summer 
of  1821  supplies  were  despatched  from  Kronstadt  in 
the  Iturik,  which  had  been  placed  at  the  company's 
disposal  at  the  conclusion  of  Kotzebue's  voyage,  and 
in  the  Elizaveta^  a  Hamburg  ship.  The  command  of 
the  Rurik  and  of  the  expedition  was  given  to  Master 
Klotchkof.  The  Elizaveta  was  intrusted  to  Acting 
Master  Kisslakovsky.^  While  rounding  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  the  two  craft  met  with  a  hurricane,  dur- 

^The  head  office  of  the  colonies  was  of  coarse  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 
There  was  also  an  office  at  St  Paul  in  Kadiak.  The  other  districts  were 
managed  by  agents  selected  by  the  colonial  administration.  Golovnhi,  OUor. 
Muss,  Kol.  m  AfaterkUuiy  51-2. 

^  Their  cargoes  consisted  of  goods  for  the  colonies  and  of  rye  flour  for 
Okhotsk.  Tikhmeyief,  lator.  Obo$.,  i.  335. 


HARD  TIMES.  537 

ing  which  the  Elizciveta  lost  several  sails  and  sprung 
a-leak,  whereupon  both  vessels  were  headed  for  Si- 
mon Bay.  On  again  putting  to  sea,  after  repairs 
had  been  made  at  great  expense,  it  was  found  that 
the  ship  still  leaked,  and  it  was  thought  best  to 
return  to  port,  sell  the  Elizaveta,  and  transfer  her  crew 
to  the  Rurik,  which  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in 
November  1822.  As  most  of  the  supplies  had  been 
given  in  payment  for  repairs,  the  governor  detained 
her  in  the  colonies,  having  no  other  vessel  at  his  dis- 
posal fitted  for  a  long  voyage  in  search  of  provisions. 

When  informed  of  this  disaster,  the  directors  at  once 
ordered  the  purchase  of  a  ship  of  four  hundred  tons 
in  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  The  craft  was  re- 
named the  Elena,  and  placed  under  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant Chistiakof,  who  had  before  made  the  voyage 
from  Kronstadt  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  A  few  days 
before  the  vessel  was  ready  for  sea  a  general  assembly 
of  shareholders  was  held,  at  which  one  of  the  direc- 
tors ®  stated  that,  as  several  rich  cargoes  had  recently 
been  despatched  to  the  colonies,  goods  and  provisions 
must  have  accumulated  there  in  great  quantity,  and 
that  there  was  no  necessity  to  despatch  another  vessel 
round  the  world.  The  majority  of  the  shareholders 
present  adopted  this  view  of  the  matter,  and  the  ex- 
pedition was  abandoned  for  the  time. 

Thus  in  the  year  1823  it  became  known  throughout 
the  settlements  that  supplies  need  not  be  expected 
from  home  during  that  and  the  following  year.  At 
the  same  time  a  despatch  was  received  from  the  com- 
pany's commissioner  in  California,  stating  that,  on  ac- 
count of  a  failure  of  crops  and  for  other  reasons,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  forward  the  usual  quantity  of 
bread-stuffs  from  that  country.  The  colonies  were 
now  in  evil  case,  and  starvation,  or  at  best  the  pros- 
pect of  living  for  a  time  on  seal  flesh,  appeared  to  be 
mevitable,  for  already  the  storehouses  were  almost 

»  Named  Prokofdef.  7(2.,  337. 


C38      THE  RUSSIAN  AMEBICAN  COMPANY'S  OPEEATIONS. 

empty.  Mouravief  at  once  sent  an  urgent  appeal  to 
the  managers^  and  meanwhile  despatched  Lieutenant 
Etholen  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  the  brig  Gdovnin 
for  a  cargo  of  provisions,  the  Rurik  being  then  en- 
gaged in  the  intercolonial  trade.  Calling  at  San  Fran- 
cisco on  his  voyage,  Etholin  succeeded,  notwithstand- 
ing the  dearth,  in  bartering  furs  for  a  large  quantity 
of  wheat  ®  at  moderate  ratea  Proceeding  thence  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  he  found  the  price  of 
most  commodities  extremely  high,  he  purchased  at  a 
fair  price  an  American  brig  named  the  Ai^h^  with 
her  cargo  of  provisions  and  trading  goods,^®  the  cap- 
tain agreeing  to  take  his  craft  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 
Both  vessels  arrived  safely,  and  in  time  to  prevent  any 
serious  suffering  among  the  colonists.  A  few  months 
later  the  stock  of  provisions  was  further  increased  by 
the  cargo  of  the  Rurik,  which  was  sent  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  with  the  crew  of  the  Arab,  after  calling 
at  California  ports  during  the  voyage,  and  returned 
with  a  moderate  supply." 

As  in  this  instance,  the  colonies  had  frequently  been 
relieved  from  want  by  trade  with  foreigners ;  and  in- 
deed, this  was  too  often  the  only  means  of  averting 
starvation.  Even  between  1818  and  1822,  when  sup- 
plies were  comparatively  abundant,  goods,  consisting 
mainly  of  provisions,  were  obtained  by  traffic  with 
American  and  English  masters  to  the  value  of  more 

*  He  paid  also  5»(X)0  piastres  in  cash,  and  secured  altogether  1,900  &negas. 
The  entire  crop  in  California  for  1823  was  only  60,000  fanegas.  See  HUt, 
Cal.f  ii.  493,  this  series. 

i^The  briff  waiT  renamed  the  BaikaL  Tikhmenef,  Isior,  Oboa,,  i.  338, 
claims  that  the  company  realized  a  large  profit  on  this  transaction,  but  his 
explanation  of  the  matter  is  somewhat  vague. 

'^The  goods  purchased  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  were  1,000  Ibe.  of  salt, 
1,270  lbs.  of  biscuit,  500  lbs.  of  sperm  candles,  217  gals,  of  rum,  133  gals,  of 
brandy,  39  kegs  of  coooanuts,  and  IS  kegs  of  tar,  for  which  were  ffiven  in  ex- 
change 2,000  fur-seal  skins  and  300  Spanish  piastres.  Khlebnihoff  Zapiski  in 
Malenaluif  85.  In  1825  fur-seal  skins  were  bartered  in  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands by  the  captain  of  one  of  the  company *8  ships  on  the  basis  of  $1.75  per 
skin.  /(/.,  88.  This  seems  an  extravagent  price,  when,  as  will  be  remem- 
Ix^rcd,  the  price  at  Kiakhta  was  only  5  to  7  roubles  in  scrip  ($1  to  f  1.40);  but 
it  wa3  the  usual  rate  at  which  fnrs  were  exchanged  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk 
with  American  and  English  skippers.  See  Id.,  75-%,  where  a  list  is  glTen  of 
goods  exchanged  in  trade  with  foreigners  between  1818  and  1822. 


CmSTIAKOF  SUCCEEDS  MOURAVIEF.  539 

than  three  hundred  thousand  roubles  in  scrip.^  The 
supplies  shipped  by  the  company  were  never  more 
than  suflScient  for  the  actual  needs  of  the  settlements, 
and  if  a  ship  were  lost,  her  cargo  was  seldom  replaced. 
The  Aleuts  were,  of  course,  the  principal  sufferers, 
often  perishing  during  their  hunting  expeditions  from 
hunger  and  exposure.  But  what  mattered  the  lives  of 
the  Aleuts  ?  It  were  better  that  hundreds  of  them 
should  perish  for  lack  of  food  than  that  the  share- 
holders should  suffer  from  want  of  dividends. 

The  governor's  appeal  was,  however,  too  urgent  to 
be  neglected,  and,  on  the  31st  of  July,  1824,  tlie  Elena 
sailed  from  Kronstadt  with  a  cargo  of  supplies,  arriv- 
ing at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  a  year  later.  ^^  The  ship 
was  again  placed  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Chistiakof," 
who  was  directed  to  relieve  Mouravief,  the  latter  re- 
turning home  on  board  the  same  vessel.^* 

It  is  probable  that  the  only  reason  for  Mouraviefs 
recall  was  some  slight  disobedience  of  orders,  coupled 
with  the  failure  of  the  hunting  expeditions  sent  out  by 
his  direction.  About  the  close  of  the  year  1822  the 
Russian  sloop  of  war  Ajjollon  had  arrived  at  Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  with  instructions  that  all  trade  with 
foreigners  should  cease,  and  for  two  years  the  inter- 
dict remained  in  force."     Willing  as  he  was  to  obey 

^*  The  paper  rouble,  w(»lh  at  this  time  about  20  cents,  though  its  value 
was  of  course  fluctuating,  is  always  the  one  sjDoken  of  in  this  volume,  unless 
the  silver  rouble  (worth  about  75  cents)  is  specified. 

I'The  Elena  returned  to  the  colonies  in  1828,  with  a  cargo  worth  500,000 
roubles.  Among  those  on  board  was  the  creole  Kashcvarof.  We  again  hear 
of  this  vessel  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  1836,  on  which  4)ocarion  she  brought 
out  Lieutenant  Mashin  and  Master  KJbaJazol.  In  August  of  the  followmg 
year  the  Nibcdai  wtm  dmpatehod  from  Kronstadt.  Among  her  passengers 
was  the  Creole  Arkhlmondritof.  Tikhmen^,  Istor.  Oboe.,  i,  347-50.  Kaslicv- 
arof  and  Arkhimandritof  had  been  educated  at  the  company's  expense,  the 
latter  at  the  imperial  school  of  navigation,  and  both  afterward  did  good  ser- 
vice as  navigators,  and  the  former  as  an  explorer. 

^^In  the  instructions  given  to  Chistiakof,  it  was  state<l  that  the  frigate 
Kreisser  and  the  sloop-of-war  Ladogahaxi  been  sent  to  the  colonies  to  prevent 
all  forei^  trade  which  might  be  injurious  to  the  colonies,  especially  that  of 
exohangmg  fire-arms  and  munitions  of  war  with  the  natives  in  return  for 
peltry.  Id.,  a30-40. 

"  With  a  cai^o  of  furs  valued  at  150,000  roubles,  and  10,000  pouds  of  sugar 
pforchaBed  in  Brazil.  A/.,  340. 

^*  When  it  was  removed,  in  1824,  the  company  was  relieved  from  its  obli- 


540      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

even  this  ill-advised  order,  he  was  sometimes  compelled 
to  enter  into  transactions  that  were  necessary  to  the 
verj'^  existence  of  the  Ross  colony,  to  which  he  must 
now  look  for  supplies  in  case  of  need.^^  Of  sea-otter, 
the  catch  during  the  four  years  of  Mouravief s  ad- 
ministration was  little  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
skins^® — a  grievous  contrast  with  the  condition  of  this 
industry  in  the  days  of  Baranof,  who,  it  is  related, 
could  estimate,  almost  exactly,  the  number  of  furs 
which  could  be  collected  in  each  section  of  his  hunt- 
ing grounds.^* 

Not  satisfied  with  prohibiting  foreign  trade,  the 
Russian  government  issued  an  order  forbidding  the 
approach  of  any  foreign  vessel  within  thirty  leagues 
of  the  coast.  In  1822  the  sloops-of-war  Kreisser  and 
Ladoga  arrived  in  the  colonies  from  St  Petersburg, 
having  been  sent  out  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  the 
oukaz,  and  remained  in  colonial  waters  for  two  years.^ 

gation  to  furnish  proviBions  in  its  own  yesselB  for  Petropavlovsk  and  Okhotak. 
Dok.  Com.  RvM.  Amer.  KoL,  i.  35. 

^^  About  this  period  trade  with  California  became  very  oonsidemblo. 
Fiom  the  company's  books  we  find  that  between  1817  and  1S25  eleven  vessels 
visited  San  Francisco,  Santa  Cruz,  and  Monterey,  exchanging  furs  for  provi- 
sions. 

'^The  catch  for  each  year  between  1818  and  1825  is  given  in  KhUhnikqfy 
Zapiski  in  Materialui,  73. 

''In  1829  the  catch  had  become  so  small  that  little  hnntinff  was  allowed, 
and  payment  was  made  to  the  captains  of  trading  vessels  in  bills  of  exchango 
instead  of  furs.    Tikhmene/j  Isto)\  Obos.,  i.  341. 

^  A  second  voyage  round  the  world  was  made  by  Otto  von  Kotzebue  dur- 
ing the  years  1823-1826.  A  new  ship,  the  PredpricUie  (Enterprise),  carrying 
24  guns,  was  fitted  out  for  this  undertaking.  There  were  on  Doard  the  nat- 
uralists Eschscholtz  and  Lenz,  the  astronomer  Preus,  and  the  mineralogist  Hoff- 
man. Kolzebiie^s  New  Voy.  round  Woridy  i.  introd.  The  commander  received 
general  instructions  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany. He  sailed  from  St  Petersburg  on  the  2Sth  of  July.  1823,  and  after  a 
prolonged  sojourn  at  Rio  Janeiro,  and  a  quick  trip  around  Cape  Horn,  put 
into  Concepcion  Bay,  Chile,  wliich  country  had  become  republican  since  his 
last  \isit.  Owing  to  intrigues  between  the  different  parties,  lie  was  not  so  well 
received  as  on  the  former  occasion.  In  his  journal  he  assei*ted  that  a  plot  had 
been  formed  to  capture  him  and  his  officers,  and  that  two  Chilian  men-of-war 
attempted  to  prevent  the  sailing  of  the  Predprlatie^  which  vessel  next  visiteil 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  groups  in  the  Caroline  Archipelago  discovered 
during  the  voyage  of  the  RuHL  The  expedition  finally  reached  Petropavlovsk 
and  Aj^mchatka  on  the  8th  of  June,  1824,  and  sailed  for  Novo  Arkhangelsk 
on  the  10th  of  August.  Thence  Kotzebue  again  proceeded  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands  and  the  cpast  of  California,  where  he  greatly  increased  the  difficulties 
then  arising  between  the  Russian  and  Californian  authorities  in  regartl  to  the 
continued  occupation  of  the  Boss  colony.    In  his  report  itpon  the  matter,  he 


A  DIPLOMATIC  CLOUD.  Ml 

The  shareholders  soon  began  to  see  the  folly  of 
their  senseless  agitation  against  traffic  with  foreign- 
ers; receipts  fell  off*  to  an  alarming  extent,  and  it  be- 
came evident  that  something  must  be  done  to  avert 
the  dissolution  of  the  company.  At  a  general  meeting, 
one  of  the  directors,  named  Prokofief,  laid  before  them 
the  report  of  Mouravief  in  relation  to  the  evil  effects 
of  the  imperial  order,  and  stated  that  a  famine  would 
have  ensued  in  all  the  colonies  if  the  governor  had 
obeyed  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  his  instruc- 
tions. He  pointed  out  to  them  how  much  Baranof 
owed  to  his  unfettered  intercourse  with  foreign  traders 
in  developing  the  resources  of  the  colonies.  Se  also 
showed  them  the  enormous  expense  of  expeditions 
sent  direct  from  Kronstadt,  and  the  advantage  of  pur- 
chasing goods  from  foreign  skippers  who  came  to 
the  company's  ports  at  thpir  own  risk  and  expense. 
His  appeal  was  successful,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted 
by  the  assembly  petitioning  the  government  to  reopen 
to  foreign  vessels  the  port  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  the  consequence  was  that 
under  Chistiakofs  management  there  was  a  great  im- 
provement in  the  company's  affairs. 

While  the  company's  business  was  thus  progressing 
satisfactorily,  a  cloud  arose  in  the  diplomatic  horizon, 
which  at  one  time  threatened  the  very  existence  of 
the  colonies.  As  soon  as  the  arbitrary  measure  of 
Russia  became  known  to  English  and  American  north- 
west traders,  protestations  and  complaints  were  for- 
warded to  their  respective  governments.  The  matter 
was  discussed  with  some  heat  in  the  United  States 
congress,  causing  voluminous  diplomatic  correspond- 
ence. In  the  mean  time  some  traffic  was  carried  on 
under  protest,  and  the  matter  was  finally  settled  by 
the  Anglo-Russian  and  Russo- American  treaties  of 
1824    and    1825,  when    the    eastern    and   southern 

tided  clearly  with  the  Californiaii  authorities  and  against  the  company.  He 
returned  to  Novo  Arkhan/^dsk  on  the  23d  cf  Fc  bruary,  1825,  and  sailed  on 
his  homeward  voyage  in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year. 


li 


542      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY*S  OPERATIONS. 

boundaries  were  then  established  as  they  remain  to 
the  present  day,  the  limit  of  Russia's  territory  being 
fixed  at  latitude  54°  40'.  The  clause  relating  to  the 
boundary  between  the  Portland  Canal  and  Mount  St 
Elias  furnishes  an  instance  of  the  absurdity  of  legis- 
lation by  diplomates  in  regard  to  regions  of  which 
they  were  entirely  ignorant.  At  some  time  in  the 
future  this  work  will  have  to  be  undone,  and  another 
line  agreed  upon,  as  it  is  impossible  to  follow  in  real- 
ity the  wording  of  the  treaty.^ 

The  convention  between  the  Russian  and  English 
governments  was  concluded  in  February  1825.  The 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  Russia  were  the  same 

^^  I  insert  here  an  extract  from  the  treaty  with  the  United  States  of  the 
17th  of  April,  1824,  as  published  by  the  Russian  government:  *  I.  With  mutual 
consent,  it  is  hereby  established  that  in  all  parts  of  the  great  ocean  commonly 
known  as  the  Pacific  Oeean,  or  its  adjoining  seas  to  the  south,  the  citizens  aud 
subjects  of  the  high  contracting  powers  may  engage  freely  and  without  oppo- 
sition in  navigation  or  fishing,  and  enjoy  the  right  to  establish  tflbmselvcs  on 
the  coasts  of  such  regions  as  are  not  already  occupied  for  the  poif  ose  of  trad- 
ing with  the  natives,  subject  to  the  rules  and  regulations  mentioned  in  subse- 
quent clauses.  II.  In  order  to  prevent  such  privileges  from  serving  as  a 
pretext  for  engaging  in  illegitimate  traffic,  it  is  agreed  that  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  cannot  land  at  places  where  Russian  settlements  arc 
located,  without  the  permission  of  the  local  agent  or  commander,  and  that 
in  the  same  manner  Russian  subjects  cannot  land  without  permission  in  tlie 
settlements  of  the  United  States  on  the  north-west  coast  III.  It  is  also 
agreed  that  from  this  time  forth  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  persons  under 
protection  of  those  states,  will  establish  no  settlements  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  or  any  of  the  adjoining  islands  north  of  latitude  54°  40'  N.,  and  that 
Russian  subjects  will  establish  no  settlements  to  the  south  of  the  same  parallel. 
IV.  lb  is  provided,  however,  that  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  to  commence  from 
the  ci^rning  of  this  treaty,  the  ships  of  both  powers,  or  the  subjects  belonging 
to  citiler,  sliall  bo  allowed  to  enter  without  restriction  all  interior  waters,  bays, 
coves,  and  harbors  of  either  country,  for  the  purpose  of  fishing  and  trading 
with  the  native  inhabitants  of  the  country.  V.  From  the  trade  permitted  in 
tiic  preceding  X)aragraphs  are  excepted  all  spirituous  liquors,  fire  and  small 
arms,  powder,  aud  munitions  of  war  of  all  kinds,  which  both  contracting  powers 
agree  not  to  sell  or  to  allow  their  citizens  or  subjects  to  sell  to  the  native  inhab- 
itants. It  is  also  agreed  that  this  prohibition  sliall  not  serve  as  a  pretext  for 
searching  vessels  or  detaining  them,  or  for  the  seizure  of  goods,  or  for  violent 
measures  against  the  commanders  or  crews  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  such 
traiiic,  since  the  high  contracting  powers  reserve  to  themselves  the  right  of 
meting  out  punishments  or  imposing:  fines  for  infraction  of  this  article  on  their 
respective  citizens  and  subjects.  VI.  As  soon  as  this  treaty  is  ratified  in  due 
fonn,  on  the  one  hand  by  hie  Majesty  the  emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  and  on 
the  other  by  tlie  president  of  the  United  States  with  consent  of  the  senate,  the 
ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  at  Washington  within  ten  months  of  the  date 
hereto  subscribed,  or  sooner  if  jwssible,  in  confirmation  of  whic!i  the  I'espective 
plenipotentiaries  liave  appended  their  signatures  and  their  respective  seals  and 
stamps.  St  Petersburg,  April  oth  (17th),  in  the  year  1824,  after  the  birth  of 
Christ,  1824.'   Tikhmencf,  Istor.  Obos,,  i.  app.  C2-3. 


TREATY  WITH  GREAT  BRITAIN.  643 

as  those  who  concluded  the  American  treaty,  while 
Great  Britain  was  represented  by  Lord  Stratford 
Canning,  a  privy  councillor.  The  third  article  con- 
tains the  boundary  clause  which  was  subsequently 
inserted  in  the  Russo- American  treaty  at  the  cession 
of  Alaska,  and  is  thus  worded:  "The  boundary  line 
between  the  possessions  of  the  high  contracting  pow- 
ers on  the  coast  of  the  mainland  and  the  islands  of 
north-western  America  is  established  as  follows :  be- 
ginning at  the  southernmost  point  of  the  islands 
named  Prince  of  Wales,  which  point  is  situated  in 
latitude  54"*  40'  N.  and  between  the  131st  and  133d 
degrees  of  western  longitude,  the  line  extends  north 
along  a  sound  known  as  Portland  Canal,  to  a  point 
on  the  mainland  where  it  crosses  the  56th  degree  of 
north  latitude.  Hence  the  boundary  line  follows  the 
chain  o^  mountains  running  parallel  with  the  coast  to 
the  poi»  of  intersection  with  the  141st  degree  of 
longitude  west  from  Greenwich,  and  finally  from  this 
point  of  intersection  on  the  same  meridian  to  the 
Arctic  Sea,  forming  the  boundary  between  the  Rus- 
sian and  British  possessions  on  the  mainland  of  north- 
western America."** 

"The  first  and  second  articles  are  sttbetantially  the  same  as  in  the  treaty  with 
the  United  States.  The  fourth  article  stipulates  that,  '  with  regard  to  theboua- 
dary  lines  established  in  the  preceding  article,  it  is  understood  that  the  island 
named  Prince  of  Wales  belongs  entirely  to  Russia,  and  that  whenever  the  sum- 
mits of  themoimtains  running  parallel  with  the  coast  from  SG^oiv.  lat.  to  the 
point  of  intersection  with  the  Hist  meridian  shall  be  more  than  ten  leagues  from 
the  shore,  the  boundary  line  of  the  British  possessions  shall  run  parallel  with 
the  coast  line  at  a  distance  not  greater  than  ten  leagues,  the  land  l^etwcen 
such  line  and  the  coast  to  belong  to  Russia. '  Article  v.  provides  that  the  con- 
tracting powers  must  not  establish  settlements  within  each  other's  territory. 
Article  vi.  stipulates  that  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  shall  be  forever  at 
liberty  to  pass  to  and  from  the  ocean  by  way  of  livers  and  streams  emptying 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  cutting  through  the  coast  strip  in  Russian  posses- 
sion described  above.  Article  vii.  provides  for  free  navigation  and  right  of 
fishery  by  the  subjects  of  both  powers  for  ten  years  in  the  harbors,  bays,  and 
channels.  Clause  viii.  provides  that  the  port  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk  shall  be 
open  to  the  trade  and  to  the  ships  of  British  subjects  for  teu  years  counting 
from  the  day  of  ratification,  and  that  if  any  other  power  should  obtain  this 
privilege  for  a  longer  period,  the  time  shall  be  extended  to  Great  Britain. 
Article  ix.  provides  that  the  free  trade  granted  in  previous  paragraphs  shall 
not  extend  to  spirituous  liquors,  powder  or  other  munitions  of  war,  which 
shall  not  be  sold  to  any  of  the  native  inhabitauts.  By  article  x.  Russian  and 
British  ships  were  permitted  to  enter  any  harbor  in  distress  or  for  repairs, 


544      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

It  was  further  provided  in  these  conventions  that 
citizens  of  the  United  States  and  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  should  have  the  right  of  free  navigation,  fish- 
ery, and  trade  in  the  Alaskan  waters  for  a  period  of 
ten  years,  but  that  the  trading-posts  of  either  con- 
tracting power  ctould  not  be  visited  by  subjects  or 
citizens  of  the  other  without  the  consent  of  the  officer 
in  command;  that  at  the  end  of  ten  years  this  right 
might  be  abrogated  by  Kussia;  that  in  the  mean  while 
arms,  amnmnition,  and  spirituous  liquors  were  in  no 
case  to  be  sold  to  the  natives,  and  that  British  sub- 
jects should  always  have  the  privilege  of  passing  to 
and  fro  on  rivers  and  streams  flowing  into  the  Pacific 
and  cutting  the  strip  of  coast  already  described. 

The  news  of  these  treaties,  which  was  not  received 
until  after  Chistiakof  had  taken  command,  aroused 
a  storm  of  remonstrance  on  the  part  of  the  Kussian 
American  Company.  The  imperial  government  was 
besieged  with  petitions  to  abrogate  the  clauses  grant- 
ing free  trade  and  navigation  to  Americans  and  Ei^g- 
lishmen  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  It  was  represented 
as  a  most  flagrant  violation  of  the  rights  granted  by 
the  imperial  government,  the  result  of  which  would 
inevitably  be  the  dissolution  of  the  company.  The 
most  active  promoter  of  this  agitation  was  Admiral 
N.  P.  Mordvinof,  a  shareholder  of  the  company^ 
v/lio,  in  a  letter  to  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  de- 
fended the  sanctity  of  the  company's  privileges,  point- 
ing out  that  the  vague  wording  of  some  of  the  treaty 
clauses  would  lead  to  many  misunderstandings.  Dur- 
ing the  lifetime  of  Alexander,  no  attention  was  paid  to 
these  complaints;  but  after  Nicholas  had  ascended  the 
throne,  negotiations  were  inaugurated  with  the  Brit- 
ish and  United  States  governments  for  an  abolition 

provisions,  or  material,  without  payment  of  duty  or  port  chaiges,  but  if  the 
captain  of  such  vessel  was  obliged  to  sell  a  portion  of  his  cargo  to  cover  the 
expenses  incurred,  ho  was  to  conform  to  local  regulations  of  trade.  Clause  xi. 
provides  that  in  case  of  any  complaint  of  the  violation  of  this  treaty,  the  civil 
and  militarv  authorities  of  cither  contracting  power  should  not  be  allowed  to 
resort  to  arbitrary  or  forcible  measures,  but  that  the  matter  must  be  referred 
to  the  resjioctive  courts  at  St  Petersburg  and  St  James's,   /rf.,  64-6. 


EXPEDITION  TO  THE  KUEILE  ISLANDS.  545 

of  the  treaty.  The  firdt  proposals  met  with  a  firm 
refusal  in  both  ^countries,  but  to  appease  the  share- 
holders a  supplementary  oukaz  was  issued,  stating 
that  the  privileges  of  navigation  and  trade  extended 
to  foreigners  would  be  confined  to  the  strip  of  coast 
between  the  British  possessions  and  the  141st  merid- 
ian. The  standpoint  of  Kussia  on  this  question  was 
communicated  to  all  the  representatives  of  that  nation 
abroad,  and  as  the  north-west  trade  was  then  in  its 
decline,  no  further  complications  ensued,  and  no  at- 
tempt was  ever  made  to  apply  the  provisions  of  the 
convention  to  the  islands  and  coasts  of  western 
Alaska. 


KuBiLE  Islands. 

While  the  directors  of  the  company  were  loud  in 
their  remonstrance  against  foreign  encroachment,  they 
did  not  hesitate  themselves  to  establish  settlements 
in  regions  to  which  they  had  no  valid  claim,  A  com- 
mittee established  by  the  company  at  Petropavlovsk 
in  November  1830  ordered  that  an  expedition  be  sent 
to  the  Kurile  Islands.  A  settlement  on  Ourupa  Isl- 
and, abandoned  in  1805,  had  been  rebuilt  in  1828,  and 
during  that  and  the  following  year  furs  to  the  value 
of  eight  hundred  thousand  roubles  had  been  obtained. 
In  1830  a  ship  was  despatched  from  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk with  a  party  of  hunters,  well  supplied  with  pro- 
visions and  material,  to  form  a  colony  on  Simusir  Isl- 

HzsT.  AlussA.    36 


646      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

and.  The  natives  were  not  numerous,  numbering  in 
1812  only  sixty-seven  souls  for  the  entire  group,  and 
the  Russians  found  no  difficulty  in  annexing  their  ter- 
ritory to  the  possessions  of  the  company.*^ 

During  the  second  term  of  the  Russian  American 
Company's  existence,  several  important  expeditions 
were  undertaken.  Within  the  colonies,  explorations 
were  continued  by  Mouravief,  the  principal  one  being 
under  command  of  Khramchenko,  Etholen,and  Master 
Vassilaief,  who  sailed  from  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  the 
brig  Golovnin  and  the  schooner  Baranofy  in  June 
1822,  and  remained  absent  for  two  years.  A  detailed 
survey  was  made  on  this  occasion  of  the  coasts  from 
Bristol  Bay  westward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kuskok- 
vim.  Norton  Sound  was  also  explored  along  its  east- 
ern and  northern  coast,  the  deep  identation  on  the 
north  shore  being  named  Golovnin.  Many  promi- 
nent points  were  definitely  located  with  the  help  of 
astronomical  observations,  but  the  coast  between 
Stuart  Island  and  the  Kuskokvim  was  again  neglect- 
ed, as  it  had  been  by  all  previous  explorers.  To  this 
expedition  we  owe  the  only  charts  now  existing  of 
the  coast  between  Bristol  Bay  and  Cape  Newenham.-* 

In  1826  the  Russian  government  despatched  an 
exploring  expedition  in  command  of  Captein  Liitke, 
who  arrived  at  Novo  Ariihangelsk  in  June  of  the 
following   year.^     After  remaining    in   port  for  a 

^Before  the  annexation  of  the  Kurile  Islands  each  native  paid  an  annual 
tribute  of  41  sea-otter,  23  fox  skins,  and  74  kopeks  in  money. 

''From  the  reports  in  the  Sitka  Archives^  it  appears  that  Khramchenko 
and  Vassilaief  were  always  quarrelling,  Etholen  serving  as  arbitrator.  It  is 
perhaps  owing  to  this  circumstance  that  Etholen's  name  alone  appears  on  the 
charts  compiled  durins  the  progress  of  the  explorations,  though  the  work  of 
surveying  was  accompTished  almost  exclusively  by  his  colleagues.  We  find 
several  capes  named  Etholen,  and  also  one  strait  between  Unalaska  Island  and 
the  mainland.  The  name  of  Vassilaief,  who  subsequently  did  much  good 
work  in  inland  exploration,  does  not  appear  on  any  mup  or  chart  except  ia 
connection  with  a  submerged  rock  in  Kadiak  Harbor,  upon  which  the  mari- 
ner's craft  happened  to  strike.  Sitka  Archives  (log-book),  ix. 

^In  the  Mater laXui,  Istor,  Buss.,  part  iv.  13$-41,  is  a  description,  by  the 
captain,  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  its  inhabitants,  and  their  mode  of  life  at  the 
time  of  his  visit 


EXPLORATIONS.  547 

month,  the  captain  proceeded  to  Unalaska  and  the 
Prybilof  Islands,  making  also  a  careful  survey  of  the 
northern  coast  of  the  Alaska  peninsula,  naming 
the  various  points,  and  finally  visiting  St  Matthew 
Island  and  Petropavlovsk  before  proceeding  south  for 
the  winter.***  Two  other  vessels  belonging  to  the  ex- 
pedition, the  Krotky  aiid  the  ikfoWer,  sailed  in  1828, 
the  former  commanded  by  Hagemeister,  the  latter  by 
Captain  Staniukovich.  Both  officers  made  impor- 
tant surveys  of  the  coasts  of  Bering  Sea,  which  was 
visited  about  the  same  time  by  Captain  Beechey  in 
the  ship  Blossom. 

In  1829  Chistiakof  ordered  an  inland  exploration  i 
to  the  north  of  the  Nushagak  River,  in  charge  of 
Vassilaief,  the  Creole  Alexander  Kolmakof  being  one 
of  the  party.  The  expedition  was  organized  on 
Kadiak  Island,  and  crossing  the  peninsula  ascended 
the  Nushagak  to  the  region  of  the  lakes,  and  thence  ^ 
reached  the  Kuskokvim.  Kolmakof  on  this  occasion 
selected  the  site  for  a  trading-post,  built  by  him  two 
or  three  years  later;  and  in  1841  a  redoubt  was  con- 
structed and  named  after  him,  near  the  junction  of 
the  Kvigin  and  Kuskokvim  rivers.  The  furs  brought 
back  were  fox  and  sable  of  fine  quality,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  permanent  station  in  the  interior  was 
determined.  On  his  return,  Vassilaief  laid  before  the 
governor  a  plan  for  establishing  communication  with 
Norton  Sound  by  way  of  the  route  which  he  had  dis- 
covered. On  the  Kuskokvim  he  had  met  with  natives 
living  on  the  lower  Yukon  and  the  shores  of  Norton 
Sound  who  assured  him  that  the  transit  from  one 
river  basin  to  the  other  was  short  and  easy  of  accom- 
plishment. 

In  1830  the  brig  Chichagofwas  despatched  north- 
ward in  charge  of  midshipman  Etholen,  with  instruc- 

"^  During  this  cruise,  LQtke  named  port  Moller  on  the  Alaska  peninsula, 
port  Haiden,  Cape  Seniavin,  and  Hagemeister  Island.  He  also  made  a 
minute  survey  of  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Chukotsk  on  the  coast  of  Asia.  The 
scientists  Kitiitz,  Postels,  and  Mortens  sailed  in  the  Seniavin.  All  three  pub- 
lished reports  of  their  investigations. 


64S      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

tions  to  explore  Norton  Sound  and  proceed  thence  to 
Bering  Strait,  touching  at  St  Lawrence,  Asiak,  and 
Ookivok  islands.  Ookivok  the  midshipman  found  to 
be  an  entirely  barren  island;  and  "one  wonders,"  he 
writes  in  his  report,  '*how  people  could  ever  settle 
upon  it,  but  the  countless  number  of  walrus  around 
its  shores  soon  solves  the  riddle.  The  savages  who 
hunt  these  animals  receive  in  exchange  from  the  in- 
habitants of  the  mainland  all  the  necessaries  of  life, 
'and  gain  their  subsistence  easily."  At  St  Lawrence 
Ethoien  found  five  native  villages,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  also  lived  chiefly  by  hunting  walrus.  On  his 
return  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  he  reported  that  it  would 
be  beneficial  to  the  company's  trade  to  establish  a  fort 
on  or  near  Stuart  Island  at  the  entrance  of  Norton 
Sound.^ 

On  the  arrival  in  the  colonies  of  Baron  Ferdinand  P. 
von  Wrangell,  who  was  appointed  Chistiakof  s  succes- 
sor,^^ explorations  were  made  on  a  larger  scale.  After 
examining  the  reports  of  Vassilaief  *s  and  Etholen's 
expeditions,  Wrangell  came  to  the  conclusion  that  com- 
munication between  Bering  Bay  and  Norton  Sound 
could  be  established  overland.  For  this  purpose  he 
ordered  Lieutenant  Tebenkof  to  proceed  to  the  latter 
point  in  the  sloop  Ourupa.  Tebenkof  erected  a  forti- 
fication with  the  consent  of  the  natives,  who  promised 
to  trade  with  the  Russians,  and  gave  to  the  settlement 
and  to  the  island  on  which  it  was  founded  the  name 
of  Mikhaielovsk.^     When  the  necessary  buildings  had 

«^  Tihhmmefy  htor,  Ohoa.,  i.  283-6.  In  1831  and  1837  careful  explorations 
were  also  made  of  the  Alaska  peninsula  and  the  adjacent  islands. 

^^  Though  Chistiakof  had  given  complete  satisfaction  to  the  managers,  they 
resolved  to  relieve  him  at  the  end  of  his  term  and  appoint  a  man  of  scientific 
attainments,  and  one  higher  in  social  and  official  rank.  From  the  beginning 
of  his  administration,  Chistiakof  had  endeavored  to  persuade  the  managers 
that  their  interests  would  be  served  by  removing  the  seat  of  authority  from 
Novo  Arkhangelsk  to  St  Paul.  So  repeated  and  urgent  were  his  representa- 
tions, that  the  assemblv  of  shareholders  finally  passed  a  resolution  authorizing 
the  change.  Before  the  removal  could  be  efiected,  however,  Chistiakof  was 
relieved,  and  the  project  abandoned. 

^It  narrowly  escaped  destruction  in  183G  from  an  attack  of  the  natives, 
an  account  of  which  is  given  in  Zofjoekin,  PesfiekAodnaia  Opiss  ChaMy  JittM, 
Vlad,  vAmer.,  part  f.  28*9;  and  Tikhmenef,  Idor,  Obos,,  L  287-8^    According 


WRANGELL'S  RULE.  649 

been  completed  preparations  were  begun  for  the  in- 
land explorations  included  in  the  governor's  instruc- 
tions. 

A  native  of  the  colonies,  a  Creole  named  Andrei 
Gla^of,  who  had  been  instructed  in  the  use  of  astro-  Gl^^'^*^^^ 
nomical  instruments,  and  was  familiar  with  various 
dialects  of  the  Innuit  language,  was  selected  to  take 
charge  of  the  expedition.^  The  plan  fir§t  adopted 
was  to  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Pastol, 
making  the  portage  across  a  low  divide  to  the  Yukon; 
but  rumors  being  heard  of  hostile  intent  on  the  part 
of  the  natives  in  that  region,  it  was  found  impossible 
to  secure  a  guide.  Three  natives  were  therefore  se- 
cured to  guide  the  party  to  the  banks  of  the  Yukon  in 
a  north-easterly  direction,  and  on  the  30th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1833,  the  explorers  left  the  road  with  two  sleds, 
each  drawn  by  five  dogs,  and  a  small  quantity  of  pro- 
visions and  trading  goods,  the  men  carrying  their  own 
guns,  knapsacks,  and  clothing.  They  travelled  on  the 
ice,  following  the  coast  in  a  northerly  direction  until 
reaching  the  village  of  Kigikhtowik,  whence  on  the 
following  day  they  struck  eastward.  After  crossing 
several  ranges  of  hills  with  great  difficulty,  Glazanof 
arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Anvik.  His  progress  was 
much  impeded  by  the  condition  of  the  ice  on  the 
rivers,  and  within  two  weeks  his  provisions  were  ex- 
hausted. In  the  hope  of  finding  natives,  his  party 
proceeded  up  the  Anvik  into  the  mountains,  but 
finding  it  impossible  to  reach  their  hunting-grounds, 
was  forced  to  return,  subsisting  on  a  small  quantity  of 

to  the  fonner  authority,  the  settlement  contained,  about  the  year  1843,  a  bar- 
rack, a  houBe  for  the  managing  agent,  two  magazinefl,  a  shed,  bath-house,  and 
kitchen,  all  occupying  a  space  of  20  fathoms  square,  enclosed  with  a  stockade  , 
15  feet  high,  and  protected  by  two  block-houses,  mounted  with  six  three- 
pouhden.  Outside  the  stockade  was  a  blacksmith's  shop,  a  house  for  native 
visitors,  and  a  chapel. 

^  He  was  accompanied  by  four  volunteers,  Vassili  Donskol,  Vassili  Dersha- 
bin,  Ivan  Balachef,  and  Jacob  Knagge.  Donskoi  died  from  the  effect  of  in- 
juries received  during  the  journey.  Dershabin  and  Balachef  remained  in 
the  company's  service;  the  former  was  finally  killed  in  the  Nulato  massacre, 
together  with  Lieutenant  Barnard  of  the  Eufflishnavy,  while  Balaclicf  served 
at  the  stations  on  Cook  Inlet,  where  his  chudren  are  still  living.  Wrangellf 
StcUist.  und  Ethnog,,  138-9. 


550      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

frozen  fish  taken  from  the  Indian  caches.  On  the 
17th  of  January  the  explorers  stumbled  on  a  subter- 
ranean dwelling  occupied  by  a  native  couple  and  their 
three  children.  Here  they  were  treated  to  an  ample 
meal  of  rotten  fish,  and  found  an  opportunity  to  mend 
their  broken  sleds  and  snow-shoes. 

A  week  later  Glazanof  and  his  men,  now  completely 
exhausted,  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Anvik,  where 
they  found  a  native  village,  the  inhabitants  of  which, 
at  the  first  sight  of  the  Russians,  began  to  prepare 
for  defence,  but  a  messenger  being  sent  forward  un- 
armed,  succeeded  in  persuading  them  as  to  Glazanofs 
peaceable  intentions,  whereupon  a  cordial  invitation 
Avas  extended  to  the  way-worn  travellers  to  rest  and 
recuperate  their  strength.  One  of  the  subterranean 
dwellings  was  vacated  by  its  occupants  to  accommo- 
date the  guests,  and  after  taking  due  precautions, 
Glazanof  proceeded  to  the  kashim,  or  council-house, 
a  large  structure  containing  several  hundred  people. 
He  addressed  the  multitude,  and  less  by  his  eloquence 
])robably  than  by  a  judicious  distribution  of  tobacco, 
succeeded  in  gaining  their  friendship.  Presents  of 
fish  blubber,  bear  meat,  and  other  food  were  laid  be- 
fore him,  and  he  was  told  that  if  he  had  other  wants 
they  should  be  at  once  supplied.  Here  the  party  re- 
mained for  some  time,  in  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
natives,  and  finally  proceeded  down  the  Yukon,  as 
their  new  friends  dissuaded  them  from  attempting  the 
portage  route  to  the  Kuskokvim.^^ 

The  subsequent  explorations  of  Glazanof  and  his 
party  were  confined  to  the  delta  of  the  Yukon,  the 
dense  population  of  which  astonished  the  Russians. 
His  diary,  which  has  been  preserved,  is  full  of  the 
most  minute  observations  of  the  topography  and  eth- 
nology of  this  region,  which  modern  investigations 

*'  Glazanof  questioned  two  natives  who  arrived  during  his  presence  at  An- 
rik  from  tlie  Chageluk  River,  and  obtained  from  them  a  description  of  the 
country  between  the  two  rivers.  These  men  evidently  described  the  longest 
portage  route,  without  mentioning  another  by  which  communiction  can  be 
eti'ected  in  two  days  with  the  greatest  ease.  Id.,  148-9. 


GLAZAKOP  ON  THE  YUKON. 


551 


prove  to  be  remarkably  accurate.  At  one  mouth 
of  the  Yukon,  named  the  Kashunok,  he  met  with 
t^o  natives  from  the  Kuskokvim,  who  had  been  bap- 
tized by  Kohnakof  in  the  year  1832.  They  de- 
scribed the  ceremony  to  the  other  natives,  who  were 
so  much  pleased  with  it  that  they  requested  Glazanof 
to  baptize  them  also;  but  he  declared  that  he  had  no 
authority  to  do  so.  A  large  number  of  these  Indians 
agreed  to  accompany  the  Russians  on  their  return  to 
Mikhai^ovsk,  on  condition  that  the  guides  who  had 


Plan  of  Expedition. 


accompanied  them  thus  far  be  left  as  hostages;  but 
having  acquired  a  good  hold  on  the  people,  Glazanof  re- 
solved to  push  on  to  the  Kuskokvim,  which  he  reached 
on  the  19th  of  February.  Here  he  was  met  by  a 
party  of  natives  returning  to  their  homes  from  the 
Yukon.  They  told  him  that  they  had  intended  to 
visit  Kolmakof,  but  that  he  had  returned  to  the  Nush- 
agak,  leaving  behind  his  interpreter  Lukin.  On  the 
following  day  the  expedition  proceeded  up  the  Kus-  J 


652      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

kokvim,  and  on  the  21st  arrived  at  the  village  called 
Kvigym  Painagmute^  where  they  found  Lukin  in  a 
log  house  built  by  Kalmakof.  Glazanof  wAs  now  in- 
formed of  a  portage  route  along  a  tributary  of  the 
Kuskokvim,  from  which  it  was  possible  in  one  day  to 
reach  a  stream  emptying  into  Cook  Inlet,  but  he  tried 
in  vain  to  obtain  guides  to  lead  him  in  that  direction. 
The  natives  assured  him  that  several  parties  of  their 
countrymen  had  been  killed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
intervening  mountains,  and  Lukin  confirmed  these 
sensational  reports,  stating  that  he  himself  had  failed 
in  a  similar  attempt.  Glazanof  then  resolv^  to  pro- 
ceed alone,  but  being  unacquainted  with  the  country 
and  having  lost  his  compass,  shaped  his  course  too 
much  to  the  north,  and  found  himself  involved  in  a 
network  of  lakes  and  streams  without  provisions,  and 
in  a  country  destitute  of  animal  life  at  that  season 
of  year.  His  men  were  reduced  to  the  most  cruel 
straits,  and  obliged  to  eat  their  dog-harness,  boots, 
and  seal-skin  provision  bags.  Finally,  after  wander- 
ing about  untd  the  19th  of  March,  they  once  more 
found  themselves  upon  the  banks  of  the  Kuskokvim, 
and  soon  afterward  met  Lukin,  who  had  returned  from 
a  journey  into  the  mountains.  Accompanied  by  him, 
and  several  friendly  natives  who  furnished  them  with 
ample  supplies,  Glazanofs  men  at  last  regained  the 
banks  of  the  Yukon,  and  thence  crossed  over  to  the 
Mikhaielovsk  settlement.® 

In  1838,  after  Wrangell  hati  been  relieved  from  of- 
fice, an  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  the  Russian  Amer- 
ican Company  to  explore  the  arctic  coast  of  America 
1       eastward   from  Kotzebue   Sound.     A  Creole  named 
I       Alexander  Kashevarof,  a  native  of  Kadiak,  who  was 
\      thoroughly  conversant  with  various  Innuit  dialects, 
was  appointed  to  command  the  force,  the  party,  which 
was  composed  mainly  of  Creoles  and  Aleuts,  being 

"  The  time  occupied  by  Glazanof  in  this  remarkable  journey  was  104  days, 
and  according  to  his  calculation  the  distance  traversed  was  1,500  miles.  Id,, 
152-60. 


MALAKHOF  AND  SAGOSEIN.  553 

taken  northward  on  the  brig  Polyfem.  The  skipper, 
who  was  a  Russian,  Chernof  by  name,^  was  instructed 
to  pass  through  Bering  Strait,  to  proceed  thence  north- 
eastward as  tar  as  possible,  and  to  land  Kashevarof 
with  one  bidar  and  five  three-hatch  bidarkas  at  the 
furthermost  point  reached  by  the  vessel.  The  Eskimos 
living  on  the  coast  opposed  Kashevarof's  progress,  and 
as  he  advanced  slowly  through  the  shallow  sea  wash- 
ing the  arctic  shore,  hostile  bands  began  to  gather  in 
rapidly  increasing  numbers,  until,  when  still  a  hun- 
dred miles  west  of  Cape  Beechey,  the  Creole  found 
himself  compelled  to  turn  back  before  an  armed  body 
outnumbering  the  explorers  twenty  to  one.  On  his 
return  journey,  he  was  attacked  at  various  times, 
but  finally  regained  Norton  Sound,  where  he  found 
Chernof  awaiting  him. 

In  the  same  year,  Malakhof  ascended  the  Yukon 
River  as  far  as  the  present  site  of  Nulato,  where  he 
built  a  small  block-house.  In  want  of  provisions, 
and  with  only  two  men,  he  was  obliged  temporarily 
to  abandon  the  building  and  repair  to  Mikhaielovsk 
for  supplies.  During  his  absence  the  Indians  living 
in  the  neighborhood  burned  the  building. 

In  1&42  Lieutenant  Zagoskin  of  the  imperial  navy   / 
set  forth  tor  Norton  Soundand  Mikhaidovsk,  purpos-  - 
ing  to  make  an  inland  exploration  of  the  northern 
territory.     His  work  was  confined  chiefly  to  the  mid- 
dle course  of  the  Kuskokvim,  and  the  lower  course 
and  northern  tributaries  of  the  Yukon,  especially  the 
Koyukuk,  which  he  followed  to  its  head  waters  and  to 
the  divide  which  separates  it  from  the  streams  running 
into  Kotzebue  Sound.     At  Nulato  he  was  assisted  by  j 
Derzhavin  in  building  a  new  fort.     Zaggskioiu  ex-  \ 
ploration  was   performed    conscientiously  anS    well, 
w  herever  we  find  mistakes,  we  may  ascribe  them  to 
his  imperfect  instruments  and  to  local  obstacles.     H© 
gathered  most  valuable  trading  statistics  for  the  com- 

**  The  sons  of  Chernof  are  now  living  on  Af  ognak  Island,  engaged  as  ship- 
Imilders  and  navigators,  and  in  comfortable  circumstances. 


654      THE  BUSSIAN  AMERICAN  OOMPANT'S  OPERATIONS. 

pany,  and  ingratiated  j'imself  with  all  the  tribes  with 
which  he  came  in  co>  act.  His  expedition  was  not 
completed  until  1844{.1  /hen  he  returned  to  Russia  to 
superintend  the  publifeation  of  his  notes.^ 

•  'I  , 

/  It  had  been  WraugeU's  desire  to  explore  the  arctic 
coast  of  the  Kussiaa'  possessions,  but  complications 
I  constantly  arising  with  the  Mexican  authorities  in 
I  California  required  his  personal  attention.  Figueroa, 
then  governor  of  California,  had  addressed  to  him 
several  letters,  demanding  the  abandonment  of  the 
Ross  settlement.  The  latter  always  had  the  excuse 
that  he  was  not  authorized  to  treat  on  so  weighty  a 
subject;  but  when  the  end  of  his  term  was  approach- 
ing, he  received  news  of  Figueroa's  death,  and  resolved 
to  proceed  homeward  by  way  of  Mexico,  in  order  to 
negotiate  with  the  authorities  at  the  capital  of  the  new 
republic,  visiting  on  his  way  the  Ross  settlement.  In 
the  harbor  of  San  Bias  he  met  with  the  company's  ship 
Sitka,  having  on  board  his  successor,  Captain  Kupri- 
anof.  To  him  he  surrendered  his  office,  and  soon  after- 
ward proceeded  to  Mexico.  His  negotiations  with 
the  Mexican  government  on  behalf  of  the  Ross  colony 
and  their  failure  are  related  in  connection  with  my 
History  of  California,^ 

'^  An  account  of  this  expedition  will  be  found  in  Pcshekfiodnaia  Opisa 
Chasty  JRiisskikh  Vladaniy  v  Amerika,  Lieutenant  A  Zacjoskin  v  184^,  1843  % 
1S44  godakh^  or  Explorations  on  Foot  of  Parts  qf  the  Russian  Possessions  in 
America,  by  Lieutenant  A  Zagoskin  18j^4  (in  two  parts,  St  Peterabore,  1847). 
This  work  is  a  very  complete  description  of  the  joume3rB  undertaken  by- 
Lieutenant  Zagoskin  of  the  imperial  navy  in  the  service  of  the  Roasian 
American  Company,  between  1842  and  1844.  The  field  of  his  operations 
includes  the  territory  north  and  east  of  Norton  Sound  and  drained  by  the 
Yukon  and  Kuskokvim.  The  entries  of  Zagoskin's  journal  are  given  for  the 
most  part  in  full,  with  astronomical  observations,  etc.,  interspersed  occasion- 
ally with  historical  sketches  of  various  localities,  and  finishing  with  a  review 
of  all  the  native  tribes  which  came  within  his  observation,  and  very  com- 
plete vocabularies  of  their  respective  languages.  An  excellent  chart  i» 
appended  to  the  work. 

•*  Vol.  iv.,  cap.  vi.  The  StatisHsclie  und  Ethnographische  naehrichttn  iiber 
die  Hussixchen  Besitzungen,  or  Statislical  and  Ethnographieal  Statements  con- 
cfvning  the  Russian  Possessious,  collected  by  Baron  Wrangell,  and  edited  by 
K.  K.  von  Baer,  appeared  in  1839  as  the  first  volume  of  a  series  published  by 
the  imperial  academy  of  sciences  at  St  Petersburg,  under  the  title  otJBeitrdge 
zur  Kenntniss  des  Russiscfieti  Reickes,  or  Contrilmtions  to  the  Knowledge  qfthe 


TROUBLE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  COMPANY.  565 

During  WrangelFs  administTtition  a  serious  dispute 
arose  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Cd  japany,  which  was  then 
extending  its  operations  ovei^^^the  whole  north-west, 
establishing  forts  at  every  avaikble^  point  on  river  and 
sea-coast,  and  which  a  few  years  h,.ter  entirely  outbid  the 
Russian  American  Company  in  ih  i- trade  of  the  Alex- 
ander Archipelago.  Taking  advantage  of  the  clause 
in  the  Anglo-Russian  treaty  of  1825,  providing  for 
the  free  navigation  of  streams  crossing  Russian  terri- 
tory in  their  course  from  the  British  possessions  to 
the  sea,  the  English  company  had  pushed  forward  its 
trading-posts  to  the  upper  course  of  the  Stikeen,: 
and  in  1833  fitted  out  the  brig  Dryad  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  a  permanent  station  on  that  river. 
Information  of  this  design  had  been  conveyed  to 
Wrangell  during  the  preceding  year,  and  he  at  once 
notified  the  managers  at  St  Petersburg,  asking 
them  to  induce  the  imperial  government  to  rescind 
the  clause  under  which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
intended  to  encroach  on  Russian  territory.  As  a 
further  motive  for  this  request,  he  reported  that 
the  English  company  had  violated  the  agreement  to 
abstain  from  selling  fire-arms  and  spirituous  liquor  to 
the  natives.  The  emperor  granted  the  petition,  and 
the  British  and  United  States  governments  were  duly 
notified  of  the  fact.  Both  protested  through  their 
ministers  at  St  Petersburg,  but  in  vain;  the  reply  of 
the  Russian  foreign  office  being  that  the  objection- 
able clause  would  terminate  in  the  following  year. 
Without  waiting  to  be  informed  of  the  success  or  fail- 
ure of  his  application,  Wrangell  despatched  two  armed 
vessels,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Dionysi  Za- 
rembo,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Stikeen.  Here  the  latter 
established  a  fortified  station  on  a  small  peninsula, 

^Bttsaian  Empire.  In  the  preface  the  qnestion  is  discussed  whether  the  Alas- 
kans were  tMsnefited  or  otherwise  by  the  Russian  occupation.  The  first  three 
sections  contain  valuable  statistical  aud  historical  information.  Then  follow 
linguistic  studies  by  Wrangell  and  Kostromitinof,  the  journal  of  skipper 
Gla^sanof,  the  exploration  of  the  Copper  River,  and  the  characteristics  of  the 
Aleuts,  the  last  being  by  Veniaminof,  and  miscellaneous  remarks  by  the 
editor. 


556      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

the  neck  of  which  was  flooded  at  high  water,  and 
named  the  fort  St  Dionysi." 

These  warlike  preparations  remained  unknown  to 
the  officials  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  when 
the  Dryad  approached  the  mouth  of  the  Stikeen,  the 
men  crowding  her  deck  were  surprised  by  a  puflF  of 
white  smoke   and  a  loud  report  from  the  densely 
wooded  shore,  followed  by  several  shots  from  a  ves- 
sel in  the  offing.     The  brig  was  at  once  pat  about, 
but  anchored  just  out  of  range,  whereupon  a  boat 
was  sent  from  shore  carrying  Lieutenant  Zarembo,  who, 
in  the  name  of  the  governor  of  the  Russian  colonies 
and  the  emperor  of  Ilussia,  protested  against  the  en- 
trance of  an  English  vessel  mto  a  river  belonging  to 
Russian  territory.     All  appeals  on  the  part  of  the 
Hudson's   Bay  Company's  agents  were  ineffectual. 
They  were  informed  that  if  they  desired  to  save  them- 
selves, their  property,  and  their  vessel,  they  must 
weigh  anchor  as  once,  and  after  a  brief  delay  the 
Drjjad  sailed  for  Fort  Vancouver. 

The  authorities  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  lost 
no  time  in  sending  reports  of  this  affair  to  London, 
accompanied  with  a  statement  that  the  loss  incurred 
through  this  interference  with  their  project  amounted 
to  £20,000  sterling.  The  British  government  imme- 
diately demanded  satisfaction  from  Russia,  but  the 
matter  was  not  finally  settled  until  1839,  when  a  com- 
mission met  in  London  to  arrange  the  points  of  dispute 
between  the  two  corporations,  and  in  a  few  weeks 
solved  difficulties  which  experienced  diplomates  had 
failed  to  unravel  in  as  many  years.  The  claim  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  waived  on  condi- 
tion that  the  Russian  company  grant  a  lease  to  the 
former  of  all  their  continental  territory  lying  between 
Cape  Spencer  and  latitude  54**  40'.  The  annual  rental 
was  fixed  at  two  thousand  land-otter  skins,'*'  and 

'*  This  fort  wiw  built  on  the  site  of  an  Indian  village  near  the  town  of 
WrangcU.     The  logs  used  for  its  foundation  can  be  seen  at  the  present  day. 
''  A  fur  much  used  in  the  Bussian  army  for  trimming  officers  uniforma. 


FORT  STIKE£K.  657 

at  the  same  time  the  English  company  agreed  to 
supply  the  colonies  with  a  large  quantity  of  provisions 
at  moderate  rates.^  The  abandonment  of  the  Boss 
colony,  whence  the  Russians  obtained  most  of  their 
supplies,  was  now  merely  a  question  of  time,  and  the 
agreement  appears  to  have  given  satisfaction  to  both 
parties,  for  at  the  end  of  the  term  the  lease  was  re- 
newed for  a  period  of  ten  years,  and  twice  again  for 
periods  of  four  years. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1840,  a  salute  of  seven  guns 
was  fired  as  the  British  flag  was  hoisted  from  Fort 
St  Dionysi,  or  Fort  Stikeen,  as  it  was  renamed  by 
Sir  James  Douglas,  who  then  represented  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  and  during  a  previous  visit  had 
appointed  John  McLoughlin,  junior,  to  the  command.®' 
Having  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  on  April  25th 
of  the  same  year,  Sir  James  says,  that  "he  had 
held  daily,  conference  with  the  governor  in  a  frank 
and  open  manner,  so  as  to  dissipate  all  semblance  of 
reserve,  and  establish  intercourse  on  a  basis  of  mutual 
confidence.  The  question  of  boundary  was  settled  in 
a  manner  that  will  prevent  any  future  misunderstand- 
ing  They  wish  to  sell  Bodega*^  for  $30,000,  with 

a  stock  of  1,500  sheep,  2,000  neat-cattle,  and  1,000 
horses  and  mules,  with  important  land  fenced  in,  with 
barns,  thrashing-floor,  etc.,  sufficient  to  raise  3,000 
fanegas  of  wheat.  They  of  course  cannot  sell  the  soil, 
but  merely  the  improvements,  which  we  can  hold 
only  through  a  native.  We  concluded  to  write  to 
Mr  McLoughlin  on  this  subject,  so  that  he  may  write 

''Inclndmg  14,000  ponds  of  wheat  at  80  centB  per  pond,  498  of  flour 
at  SI. 45,  404  each  of  pease  and  groats  at  96  cents,  922  of  salt  beef  at  75  cents, 
493  of  batter  at  $4.05,  and  92  ponds  of  ham  at  12  cents  per  lb.  Tikh- 
nunef,  lator,  Obo9.,  L  351.  In  Finlayson'a  Vancouver  Idand  and  N.  W.  Coaai, 
MS.,  12,  it  is  stated  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Ck>mpany  also  agreed  to  supply 
trading  goods.  Ball,  Alaska,  338,  gives  1837  as  the  date  of  the  agreement,  but 
on  what  authority  I  am  unable  to  ascertain.  The  correct  date  is  given  in 
Wranaell,  StaUd.  und  Ethnog,  322  (St  Petersburg,  1839),  and  by  Tikhmenef 
and  others. 

» In  the  same  year  a  fort  was  built  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the 
Takn  Birer.  Dougku,  Jour,,  MS.,  27-44;  Itnlajfson*9  Vaivcouvtr  Idand  and 
N.  W.  Coas^f  MS.,  13.    It  was  abandoned  in  1843. 

«E0S8. 


658      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

to  Mr  Etholen  in  reply  in  the  autumn  by  the  steam 
vessel,  or  appoint  an  agent  to  settle  with  the  com- 
mandant at  Bodega."**  What  might  have  been  the 
result  if  England,  with  her  powerful  navy  and  all- 
grasping  policy,  had  now  gained  a  foothold  in  Califor- 
nia on  the  eve  of  the  gold  discovery  1 

Almost  as  soon  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
men  had  established  themselves  at  Fort  Stikeen,  hos- 
tilities were  commenced  by  the  natives.  In  1840  an 
attempt  was  made  to  scale  the  stockade;  in  1841  the 
Indians  destroyed  the  aqueduct  which  supplied  the 
fort  with  fresh  water,  and  the  beleaguered  garrison 
only  saved  themselves  by  seizing  one  of  their  chiefs, 
whom  they  held  as  hostage.  In  the  following  year  a 
more  serious  attack  was  threatened,  which  would  prob- 
ably have  been  carried  out  successfully  but  for  the 
timely  arrival  of  two  armed  vessels  from  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk in  charge  of  Sir  George  Simpson,  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  company's  territories,  whose  statement  I 
will  give  in  his  own  words. 

*'  By  daybreak  on  Monday  the  25th  of  April,  we 
were  in  Wrangell's  Straits,  and  toward  evening,  as  we 
approached  Stikeen,  my  apprehensions  were  awakened 
by  observing  the  two  national  flags,  the  Russian  and 
the  English,  hoisted  half-mast  high,  while,  on  landing 
about  seven,  my  worst  fears  were  realized  by  hearing 
of  the  tragical  end  of  Mr  John  McLoughlin,  jun., 
the  gentleman  recently  in  charge.  On  the  night  of 
the  20th  a  dispute  had  arisen  in  the  fort,  while  some 
of  the  men,  as  I  was  grieved  to  hear,  were  in  a  state 
of  intoxication;  and  several  shots  were  fired,  by  one 
of  which  Mr  McLoughlin  fell.  My  arrival  with  two 
vessels  at  this  critical  juncture  was  most  opportune, 
for  otherwise  the  fort  might  probably  have  fallen  a 
sacrifice  to  the  savages,  who  were  assembled  round  it 
to  the  number  of  about  two  thousand,  justly  thinking 
that  the  place  could  make  but  a  feeble  resistance,  de- 

*^DfAtgla&'  Jour.t  MS.,  ^ 


ETHOUN  AS  GOVERNOR.  559 

prived  as  it  was  of  its  head,  and  garrisoned  by  men  in 
a  state  of  complete  insubordination."*^ 

A  few  days  later  Simpson  returned  to  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk, in  order  to  discuss  with  Etholen,who  in  1840 
had  relieved  Kuprianof  as  governor,*®  the  difficulties 
constantly  arising  between  the  Russian  and  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  agents  with  regard  to  trade  on  the 
Alexander  Archipelago.  Though  Etholen  was  un- 
yielding in  other  matters,  he  was  quite  willing  to  join 
Simpson  in  his  eflfbrts  to  suppress  traffic  in  spirituous 
liquors  among  the  Kolosh,**  and  an  agreement  to  this 
effect  was  signed  by  the  representatives  of  both  com- 
panies on  the  13th  of  May,  1842.*^     The  evil  was 

*^Narr.  Jour,  round  World,,  il  181.  'If  the  fort  had  fallen,'  continues 
Simpson,  'not  only  the  whites,  22  in  number,  -would  have  been  destroyed,  but 
the  stock  of  ammunition  and  stores  would  have  made  the  captors  dangerous 
to  the  other  establishments  on  the  coast.' 

^•He  arrived  in  the  Nikolai  /.,  which  again  sailed  from  Kronstadt  for  the 
colonies  in  August  1839,  with  a  cargo  worth  500,000  roubles.  Etholen,  who, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  before  done  food  service  in  the  colonies,  was  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  an  accomplisheu  lady,  a  native  of  Finland.  Calling  ut 
Rio  Janeiro,  he  purchased  for  the  company  a  brig,  which  he  renamed  the 
Gra-nd  Duke  Konstantin,  and  loaded  her  with  a  cargo  of  Brazilian  produce. 
Both  vessels  arrived  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  May  1,  1840.  Tikkmenef,  Istor, 
OhoB,,  i.  350. 

*^*  At  the  poet  on  Stakhin  River  the  Indians  were  buying  liquor  and  fieht- 
ing  all  the  time  among  themselves  just  outside  the  fort.  A  big  hogshead  of 
liquor  four  feet  high  was  emptied  in  one  day  on  the  occasioti  of  a  feast.  There 
were  always  four  watchmen  around,  in  the  night  especially.  It  was  terrible; 
but  they  got  plenty  of  beaver  skin.'  Mra  Uarvey^a  Life  of  McLoughlin,  MS., 
19-20. 

^^This  document  was  handed  as  evidence  to  a  select  committee  of  the 
house  of  commons  in  June  1857.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original: 
*With  a  view  effectually  to  guard  against  the  mjurious  consequences  that 
arise  from  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  in  the  Indian  trade  on  the  north-west 
coast,  it  is  hereby  agreed  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  governor  in  chief  of  Rupert's 
Land,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  honorable  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  his  Lxcel- 
lency  Adolphus  Etholen,  captain  in  the  imperial  navy  and  governor  of  the  Rus- 
sian American  colonies  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  acting  on  behalf  of 
the  Russian  American  Company,  that  no  spirituous  liquors  shall  be  sold  or  given 
to  Indiana  in  barter,  as  presents,  or  on  any  pretence  or  consideration  whatso- 
ever, by  any  of  the  officers  or  servants  belonging  or  attached  to  any  of  the  estab- 
lishments or  vessels  belonging  to  either  concern,  or  by  any  other  person  or 
persons  acting  on  their  behalf  on  any  part  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America 
to  the  northward  of  latitude  60^  unless  competition  in  trade  should  render  it 
necessary,  with  a  view  to  the  protection  of  tlie  interests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  to  discontinue  this  agreement  in  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to  or  is 
applicable  to  that  part  of  the  coast  southward  of  lat.  54**  40^;  this  agreement 
to  take  effect  from  the  date  thereof  at  New  Arkhangel,  or  wherever  else  the 
Russian  American  Company  have  dealings  with  Indians  on  the  northwest 


5G0      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

felt  in  all  parts  of  the  archipelago,  and  nowhere  more 
than  at  the  capital. 

"Some  reformation  certainly  wa^  wanted  in  this 
respect,"  writes  Simpson,  "  for  of  all  the  drunken  as 
well  as  of  all  the  dirty  places  that  I  had  visited.  New 
Archangel  was  the  worst.  On  the  holidays  in  par- 
ticular, of  which,  Sundays  included,  there  are  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  in  the  year,  men,  women,  and  even 
children  were  to  be  seen  staggering  about  in  all  di- 
rections. The  common  houses  are  nothing  but  wooden 
hovels  huddled  together  without  order  or  design  in 
j^ty  alleys,  the  hot-beds  of  such  odors  as  are  them- 
selves sufficient,  independently  of  any  other  cause,  to 
breed  all  sorts  of  fevers.  In  a  word,  while  the  inhab- 
itant do  all  that  they  can  to  poison  the  atmosphere, 
the  place  itself  appears  to  have  been  planned  for  the 
express  purpose  of  checking  ventilation." 

The  Indian  villages  in  the  neighborhood  of  Novo 
Arkhangelsk  had  suffered  severely  a  few  years  before, 
when  during  Kuprianof  s  administration  the  small-pox 
epidemic  appeared  for  the  first  time  among  the  natives 
of  Alaska.  The  disease  broke  out  in  1836,  among 
the  Kolosh  tribes  near  the  southern  boundar}'-,  and 
was  probably  introduced  by  Indians  from  the  British 
possessions.  During  the  first  year  the  settlement  of 
Tongass  suffered  most  severely,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dying  in  a  settlement  numbering  nine  hundred  inhab- 
itants. From  Tongass  the  contagion  rapidly  spread 
over  all  the  Kolosh  settlements  of  the  Alexander 
Archipelago.  The  filthy  dwellings  of  the  Kolosh  fos- 
tered the  germs  of  the  disease,  and  the  mortality  was 
appalling,  fifty  to  sixty  per  cent  of  the  population  being 
swept  away.  From  the  outlying  settlements  the 
scourge  was  introduced  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  and 
here  as  elsewhere  a  large  portion  of  the  native  popula- 

coiLst,  and  from  the  date  of  the  receipt  of  a  copy  thereof  at  the  establishments 
of  Takoo,  Stikine,  Fort  Simpson,  and  Fort  McLoughlin.*  Bepart  on  Hudmm 
Bay  Co,  (1857),  369. 


EAVAQlfid  OF  SMALL-FOX.  061 

tion  perished,  while  the  promyshleniki,  almost  as  filthy 
as  the  natives  in  their  habits,  escaped  with  compara- 
tively small  loss.  Kuprianof  did  all  in  his  power  to 
check  the  epidemic,  enforcing  vaccination  wherever  it 
could  be  enforced,  and  keeping  the  whole  medical 
staff  of  the  company  in  the  field,  surgeons,  stewards, 
and  medical  apprentices.  Dr  Blaschke,  a  Grerman, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  medical  service,  stated  oflS- 
cially  that  three  thousand  natives  died  before  any  vac- 
cination was  attempted,  and  that  for  an  entire  year 
its  effect  was  barely  perceptible.** 
»  In  1838  the  doctor  proceeded  to  Unalaska  in  the 
Polyfem,  then  en  route  to  the  Arctic.  The  dis- 
ease broke  out  on  that  island  immediately  after  his 
arrival,  and  it  was  some  time  before  the  superstitious 
Aleuts  could  be  made  to  understand  that  Blaschke 
had  come  among  them  to  cure  and  not  to  kill.  They 
consented  to  vaccination  only  after  a  most  peremptory 
order  had  been  issued  by  the  commander  of  the  dis- 
trict.*^    All  the  villages  in  the  Unalaska  district  were 

^Chichinof,  who  travelled  in  tbe  KenaSf  district  in  1836,  says  that  in 
some  of  the  villages  the  inhabitants  had  fled,  leaving  only  the  sick  and  dead, 
the  latter  in  various  stages  of  decomposition.  Adventur&i,  MS.,  29.  Markof, 
in  Voy,  (by  Sokolof),  MS.,  7-9,  says:  ''The  disease  came  northward  from  the  Co- 
lumbia, and  was  carried  from  villaffe  to  village  by  Koloah  traders.  At  one 
time,  at  Khutznn  village,  they  found  the  place  deserted,  and  dozens  of  corpses 
lying  around,  rotting  away.  They  threw  some  earth  over  the  bodies,  and 
were  on  the  point  of  leaving  again,  when  an  old  man  appeared  and  said  that 
all  the  people  who  had  escaped  the  disease  had  moved  into  a  temporary  camp 
in  the  woods,  and  that  they  were  afraid  to  come  to  the  village,  but  would 
willingly  be  vaccinated.  When  my  father  and  a  surseon^s  apprentice  who 
was  doing  the  vaccinating  had  followed  the  old  man  a  suort  distance  into  the 
woods,  they  found  themselves  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  men,  including  one 
of  the  most  powerful  shamans.  The  shaman  was  exhorting  the  people  to  save 
themselves  and  their  families  from  certain  death  by  killing  tne  vaccinators 
and  bnminff  their  bodies,  and  a  large  fire  for  that  purpose  had  already  been 
started.  The  surgeon's  apprentice  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  knelt  down, 
end  began  to  pray  and  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  bdieving  himself  about  to 
die.  My  father,  however,  began  to  talk  to  the  men,  show^  them  the  marks 
of  vaccination  on  his  own  arm  and  on  that  of  his  companion,  and  called  upon 
eome  of  the  Khutznu  men,  who  had  been  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  to  say 
whether  they  had  seen  any  of  the  Russians  or  Creoles  die  of  the  disease.' 
The  above  statement  was  mado  in  Russian  to  my  acent,  during  his  stay 
at  Sitka  in  July  1878.  Tikhmenef  states  that  the  number  of  deaths  in  all  the 
districts  was  not  less  than  4,000,  and  that  the  epidemic  disappeared  in  1840. 
Idar.  0bo8,t  i.  312.  Vaccination  has  since  been  performed  on  all  children  on 
reaching  a  certain  age.  Dok.  Kom,  Russ.  Amer.  KoL,  i.  83. 

♦'  Dlaachkf,  Report  in  Mor^koi  Sbornik  (1848),  115-24. 
Hjsz.  Aulsxa.    M 


662      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

visited  by  the  vaccinators,  and  parties  were  sent  on 
the  same  errand  of  mercy  to  the  Alaska  peninsula, 
to  Bristol  Bay,  and  Cook  Inlet. *^  In  nearly  every 
instance  the  outbreak  of  the  epidemic  could  be  traced 
to  the  arrival  of  persons  from  sections  of  the  colonies 
already,  affected,  a  circumstance  which  greatly  in- 
creased the  difficulties  with  which  the  medical  men 
had  to  battle  in  treating  and  protecting  the  natives. 
From  the  coast  villages  the  disease  spread  into  the 
interior,  decimating  or  depopulating  entire  settlements. 
From  Bristol  Bay  it  advanced  northward  to  the  Kus- 
kokvim  and  the  Yukon,  and  raged  fiercely  among  the 
dense  population  of  the  Yukon  delta  and  Norton 
Sound.  To  this  day  the  islands  and  coststs  are  dotted 
with  numerous  village  sites,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
were  carried  off  to  the  last  individual  during  this 
dreadful  period.  In  many  instances  the  dead  were 
left  in  their  dwellings,  which  thus  served  as  their 
graves,  and  skeletons  can  still  be  found  in  many  of 
these  ruined  habitations. 

One  of  the  effects  of  the  small-pox  epidemic  was 
a  general  distress  in  the  outlying  settlements,  caused 
by  the  death  of  so  many  heads  of  families.  Large 
issues  of  provisions  were  made  to  widows  and  orphans 
for  several  years;  and  when  it  was  reported  to  Etholen 
that  in  the  various  districts  there  existed  many  vil- 
lages where  only  a  few  male  youths  of  tender  age 
survived  to  take  care  of  the  women  and  children,  and 
where  constant  aid  from  the  company  would  be  re- 
quired for  some  time  to  come,  he  framed  measures  for 
the  consolidation  of  small  villages  into  large  central 
settlements,  where  people  might  help  each  other 
in  case  of  distress.     His  plan  was  not  perfected  un- 

^  The  villages  in  the  UnaJaska  district  at  that  time  numbered  nine;  one 
on  Unalaska  Island,  two  on  Akun,  one  each  at  Avatanok,  Tigalda,  Ulga, 
UnaJga,  and  Unimak,  three  on  the  Alaska  peninsnla,  two  on  Unmak,  and  one 
on  each  of  the  Pribylof  Islands.  The  service  was  performed  on  the  Alaska 
peninsula  by  surgeon's  apprentice  Malakhof ,  with  one  interpreter  as  assistant. 
Surgeon's  apprentice  Fomin,  and  Orlof,  interpreter,  were  sent  to  Bristol  Bay. 
A  trader  named  Malakhof  was  intrusted  with  the  vaccination  on  Cook  Inlet. 
Id.,  116-17. 


POPULATION  STATISTICS.  563 

til  1844,  and  though  it  met  with  violent  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  natives  who  were  to  be  benefited 
by  it,  it  was  finally  carried  out,  and  fulfilled  the  most 
sanguine  expectations  of  the  governor. 

Notwithstanding  the  loss  of  life  that  occurred  dur- 
ing the  years  1836-1839,  the  population  of  the  colonies 
amounted,  according  to  a  census  taken  in  1841,  to  7,580 
souls>  a  decrease  since  1822,  when  the  first  regular  cen- 
sus was  taken,  of  706, and  since  1819  of  1,439  persons.*' 
There  were  in  1841  714  Russians  or  Europeans  of 
foreign  birth,  1,351  Creoles,  and  5,417  Indians.^  Be- 
tween 1830  and  1840  the  number  of  Aleuts  de- 
creased from  6,864  to  4,007,  but  the  loss  was  in  part 
compensated  by  the  increase  in  the  Russian  and  Creole 
population,  the  fecundity  among  the  latter  class  being 
much  greater  than  among  the  natives,  as  they  received 
better  food  and  clothing,  and  were  exempt  from  en- 
forced service  on  hunting  expeditions. 

Although  the  yield  of  the  various  hunting-grounds 
decreased  considerably  during  the  second  term  of  the 
Russian  American  Company's  existence,  it  was  still 
on  a  large  scale.  Between  1821  and  1842  there  were 
shipped  from  the  colonies  over  25,000  sea-otter,  458,000 
fur-seal,  162,000  beaver,  160,000  fox  skins,  138,000 
pounds  of  whalebone,  and  260,000  pounds  of  walrus 
tusks."  At  the  time  of  Simpson's  visit  to  the  col- 
onies in  1842,  the  catch  of  sea-otter  at  Kadiak,  Una- 

^Doh,  Kom,  Ruait.  Amer.  Kol.,  i.  40.  Yermolof,  in  UAmerique  Rhas., 
89,  gives  11,259  as  the  population  in  1S36,  without  counting  the  Indians  of 
the  interior,  who  were  more  or  less  subject  to  the  company's  authority,  and 
who,  he  says,  numbered  about  40,000.  The  St  Peterburffer  Calendar  of  1S37, 
p.  132,  places  the  entire  population  as  high  as  100,000,  but  both  these  esti- 
mates are  no  doubt  exaggerated. 

^  There  were  also  05  natives  of  the  Kurile  Islands.  Of  the  Indians,  4, 163 
were  Aleuts,  967  Kenaitze,  and  287  Chugaches.  Wrangell  saj's  there  were, 
in  1836,  730  Russians,  1,142  Creoles,  and  9,082  Indians,  and  points  with  pride 
to  the  increase  of  295  souls  which  had  occurred  during  his  administration. 
SUUi9t.  undEtknog,,  327. 

A^Also  29,442  otter  skins,  23,506  sea-otter  tails,  5,355  bear,  4,253  lynx, 
1,564  glutton,  15,481  mink,  15,666  sable,  4,491  musk-rat,  and  201  wolf  skins. 
Tihhmen^y  Istor.  Obo$,t  i.  327.  Veniaminof,  Zapishi,  in  a  table  at  the  cud 
of  vol.  IL,  gives  the  yield  of  the  Prybilof  Islands  alone,  between  1817  and 
1837,  at  578,224  fur-seals.  Of  the  whale  fisheries  mention  will  be  made 
later. 


064      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

laska,  and  Atkha,  then  the  principal  hunting-grounds, 
did  not  exceed  1,000  a  year.  Of  course  the  dimin- 
ished yield  was  attended  with  a  corresponding  increase 
in  price,  six  or  seven  blankets  being  given  for  a  good 
sea-otter  skin,  and  thirteen  for  the  best,  while  as  mucli 
as  two  hundred  roubles  in  cash  was  asked  for  a  single 
fur  of  the  choicest  quality.'*  Moreover,  the  natives 
were  not  slow  to  better  the  instruction  which  had 
accompanied  the  progress  of  civilization  in  the  far 
north-west.  They  had  learned  how  to  cheat,  and 
could  already  outcheat  the  Kussians.  "  One  favorite 
artifice,"  relates  Simpson,  "is  to  stretch  the  tails  of 
land-otters  into  those  of  sea-otters.  Again,  when  a 
skin  is  rejected  as  being  deficient  in  size  or  defective 
in  quality,  it  is  immediately,  according  to  circum- 
stances, enlarged  or  colored  or  pressed  to  order,  and 
is  then  submitted  as  a  virgin  article  to  the  buyer's 
criticism  by  a  different  customer." 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  decline  in  the 
leading  industry  of  the  colonies  and  the  increase  in 
the  value  of  furs  was  not  attended  with  a  correspond- 
ing reduction  of  dividends.  Between  1821  and  1841 
about  8,500,000  roubles  were  distributed  among  the 
shareholders,**  or  nearly  double  the  sum  disbursed 
during  the  company's  first  term.  The  directors  were, 
however,  often  m  sore  need  of  funds,  and  sometimes 
could  only  declare  a  dividend  by  charging  it  to  the  earn- 
ings of  future  years.  During  this  period  the  gross 
revenues  exceeded  61,400,000  roubles,  and  in  1841 
the  capital  had  been  increased  to  about  6,200,000 
roubles,  which  was  represented  mainly  by  trading 
goods,  provisions,  material,  implements,  furs,  sea-go- 
ing vessels,  and  real  estate  in  Russia,  the  amount  of 
cash  on  hand  at  that  date  being  less  than  50,000 
roubles. 

'*  Besides  this  no  bargain  was  concladed  without  other  trifles  being  thrown 
in.   Belcher's  Narr,  Voy.  rouvd  Worlds  ii.  101. 

*•  A  list  of  these  dividends  is  given  in  Tikkmentf,  Istor,  Ohos. ,  L  378.  They 
were  paid  every  two  years,  and  varied  from  168  to  S8  roubles  per  share.  For 
lS2*2-3  and  1840-1  no  dividends  were  declared. 


THE  FUB  TRADE.  505 

Large  quantities  of  furs  were  still  exchanged  at 
ICiakhta  for  teas  and  Chinese  cloths,  which  were 
afterward  sold  at  Moscow  and  at  the  fair  at  Nijinei- 
Novgorod,  the  remainder  of  the  furs  and  all  the  wal- 
rus tusks  and  whalebone  being  marketed  at  St  Peters- 
burg. 

The  contract  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
the  reopening  of  intercourse  with  foreigners,  though 
limited  to  the  port  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  were  of  great 
benefit  to  the  shareholders.  In  1822  and  1823,  when 
the  prohibition  against  foreign  traffic  was  in  force,  the 
company  suflfered  a  clear  loss  of  85,000  roubles  in  sil- 
ver, while  for  the  two  following  years  the  dividend 
was  the  largest  paid  during  the  second  term,  amount- 
ing to  nearly  45  silver  roubles  per  share.  Although 
furs  were  bartered  with  English  and  American  skip- 
pers at  half  or  less  than  half  the  prices  current  in 
Kussia,  the  loss  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by 
the  cheaper  rates  at  which  provisions  and  trading 
goods  could  be  obtained.^  Moreover,  the  freight 
charged  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  vessels,  ac- 
cordingly to  the  terms  of  the  contract,  was  50  to  78 
silver  roubles  per  ton,  while  from  Kronstadt  it  was 
180  to  254,  and  by  way  of  Siberia  540  to  630  roubles 
in  silver.  Between  1821  and  1840  twelve  expeditions 
were  despatched  from  Kronstadt  to  the  colonies  with 
supplies,  and  yet  more  than  once  the  governor  was 
compelled  to  send  vessels  to  Chile  for  cargoes  of  bread- 
stuffs,^*^ 

^  For  the  inhabitants  of  Koto  Arkhangelsk  alone,  and  for  the  crews  of  the 
comnany's  vessels  sailinff  from  that  port,  there  were  imported,  in  1831 »  6,000 

fonds  of  grain,  900  of  sut  beef,  500  of  dried  beef,  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
utter  and  other  provisions.  Two  years  later  wheat  flour  was  selling  at  14 
roubles  a  poud,  salt  beef  at  6  to  12,  butter  at  28,  tea  at  280,  white  sugar  at 
65,  and  tooacco  at  50  to  60  roubles  a  poud.  WrangeU,  8tai%8U  und  Ethnog,, 
12,24-5. 

^Dok  Kom.  Russ,  Amer.  Kol.,  i.  96.  The  Baikal  was  sent  to  Chile  in 
1829,  in  charge  of  Etholin.  Russian  manufactures  were  then  introduced  for 
the  first  time  into  Chilian  markets,  and  met  with  ready  sale  at  profitable 
rates.  Etholen  purchased  9,340  pouds  of  wheat,  at  prices  much  lower  than 
those  prevailing  at  Okhotsk  or  even  in  California.  Tikhmeruif,  Tslor.  Obon,, 
L  344-5.  Several  regulations  made  during  the  company's  second  term, 
whereby  expenses  could  be  reduced,  are  mentioned  in  la,,  373-4. 


666      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  OPERATIONS. 

The  expense  of  supporting  the  colonies,  apart  from 
the  sums  required  for  the  home  office,  taxes,  and  other 
items,  increased  from  about  676,000  roubles,  scrip,  in 
1821,  to  over  1,219,000  roubles  in  1841,  and  amount- 
ed for  the  whole  period  to  nearly  18,000,000  roubles. 
The  increase  was  due  mainly  to  the  necessity  of  estab- 
lishing more  stations  as  seal  became  scarce  near  the 
settlements,  and  of  increasing  the  pay  of  employees. 
"The  salaries  of  the  officers,'  remarks  Simpson  dur- 
ing his  stay  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  "independently  of 
such  pay  as  they  may  have,  according  to  their  rank 
in  the  imperial  navy,  range  between  three  thousand 
and  twelve  thousand  roubles  a  year,  the  rouble  being, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  equal  to  the  franc;  while  they 
are,  moreover,  provided  with  firewood  and  candles, 
with  a  room  for  each,  and  a  servant  and  a  kitchen  be- 
tween two.  Generally  speaking,  the  officers  are  ex- 
travagant, those  of  five  thousand  roubles  and  upwards 
spending  nearly  the  whole,  and  the  others  getting 
into  debt,  as  a  kind  of  mortgage  on  their  future  pro- 
motion. 

"  For  the  amount  of  business  done,  the  men,  as  well 
as  the  officers,  appear  to  be  unnecessarily  numerous, 
amounting  this  season  to  nearly  five  hundred,  who, 
with  their  families,  make  about  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred souls  as  the  population  of  the  establishment.^ 
Among  the  servants  are  some  excellent  tradesmen, 
such  as  engineers,  armorers,  tin-smiths,  cabinet-mak- 
ers, jewellers,  watchmakers,  tailors,  cobblers,  builders, 
etc.,  receiving  generally  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
roubles  a  year;  they  have  come  originally  on  engage- 
ments of  seven  years;  but  most  of  them,  by  drink- 
ing or  by  indulging  in  other  extravagance,^^  contrive 

^  These  figures  probably  include  only  the  employees  and  their  families. 
In  JPlnlayson^s  Vancouver  Island  and  N,  W,  Coast,  MS.,  10,  it  is  stated  that 
in  1840  Sitka  was  garrisoned  by  over  500  troops. 

^^  '  Spirits,  which  cost  the  company  at  Montreal  $2  per  gallon,  were  sold 
in  the  interior  to  their  servants  at  $8  per  quart.  At  this  rate  the  oompanv 
coald  not  lose  anything  by  increasing  the  salaries  of  drinking  men.'  JMinnt 
Oregon  and  British  N.  Amer,  Fur  Trade,  25  (Philadelphia,  1845). 


SIMPSON'S  VISIT.  567 

to  be  so  regularly  in  debt  as  to  become  fixtures  for 
life/'^ 

"  In  his  Narrajtive  of  a  Journey  round  the  World  during  the  years  1841 
and  1842,  Sir  Creor^  Simpson  riyes  some  interesting  descriptions  of  Noyo  Ark- 
hangelsk and  its  imiabituits,  vrom  which  I  shall  give  one  or  two  extracts  later. 
He  appears  to  have  been  a  keen  observer,  and  his  work  was  evidently  written 
Avithout  bias.  Travelling  as  the  representative  of  the  Hudson^s  Bay  Com- 
pany, he  made  the  jonmey  overland  from  Boston  to  Fort  Vancouver.  Thence, 
after  a  visit  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  he  sailed  for  California  and  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Returning  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  the  spring  of  1842,  he  soon 
afterward  sailed  for  Okhotsk,  and  traversing  Siberia  and  European  Russia, 
arrived  at  London  in  October  of  the  same  year,  the  entire  journey  occupying 
19  months  and  26  days. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

1842-ia66. 

The  Chaster  Renewed— Its  Pbovisions— The  Ajtaib  at  Petbopav- 

LOVSK— OdTBBEAKS  AMONG    THE    NaTIVBS— THE  NuLATO    MaSSACRE — 

A  Second  Massacre  Threatened  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk — Explor- 
ations— The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company — We8Tdahl*s 
Experience— The  Company  Requests  Another  Renewal  of  its 
Charter — Negotiations  with  the  Imperial  Government— Their 
Failure— Population— Food  Supplies— The  Yield  oe  Furs- Whal- 
ing— Dividends— Trade— Bibliogbaphioal. 

At  the  request  of  the  directors,  and  after  a  care- 
ful investigation  into  the  condition  of  the  colonies, 
the  imperial  council  at  St  Petersburg  decided,  on  the 
5th  of  March,^  1841,  to  renew  the  charter  of  the 
Russian  American  Company  for  a  further  period  of 
twenty  years.  ''In  the  variety  and  extent  of  its 
operations,"  declare  the  members  of  the  council,  '*no 
other  company  can  compare  with  it.  In  addition  to 
a  commercial  and  industrial  monopoly,  the  govern- 
ment has  invested  it  with  a  portion  of  its  own  powers 
in  governing  the  vast  and  distant  territory  over  which 
it  now  holds  control.  A  change  in  this  system  would 
now  be  of  doubtful  benefit.  To  open  our  ports  to  all 
hunters  promiscuously  would  be  a  death-blow  to  the 
fur  trade  while  the  government,  having  transferred  to 
the  company  the  control  of  the  colonies,  could  not  now 
resume  it  without  great  expense  and  trouble,  and  would 
have  to  create  new  financial  resources  for  such  a  pur- 

^  Dok.  Kom.  BuBB.  Amer.  Kol.,  I  40:  the  7th  aooording  to  Tikhmenef,  Istof, 
02km.,  i.  385. 

(M8) 


A  NEW  CHABTEB.  569 

pose."  This  opinion,  together  with  a  charter  defin- 
ing the  privileges  and  duties  of  the  company,  was  de- 
livered to  the  tzar  and  received  his  signature  on  the 
11th  of  October,  1844. 

The  new  charter  did  not  differ  in  its  main  features 
from  that  of  1821,  though  the  boundary  was  of 
course  changed  in  accordance  with  the  English  and 
American  treaties.  None  of  the  company's  rights 
were  curtailed,  and  the  additional  privileges  were 
granted  of  trading  with  certain  ports  in  China,  and 
of  shipping  tea  direct  from  Shanghai  to  St  Peters- 
burg. The  board  of  managers,  through  its  agent  the 
governor  of  the  colonies,  was  recognized  as  the  su- 
preme power,  though  appeal  could  be  made  to  the 
emperor  through  the  minister  of  finance.  A  colo- 
nial council  was  established,  consisting  of  the  dep- 
uty governor  and  four  naval  oflficers,  or  oflScials  of  the 
company,  with  criminal  jurisdiction  in  all  but  capital 
cases.  Much  indulgence  was  shown  to  naval,  military, 
and  civil  oflficers,  who  while  in  the  company's  service 
received  half-pay,  and  did  not  forfeit  their  right  of 
promotion,  their  time  of  service  being  counted  double.* 

The  sale  of  fire-arms,  ammunition,  and  spirituous 
liquor  to  the  natives  vas  still  forbidden ;  and  this  pro- 
hibition was  followed  by  an  order  from  the  governor 
that  no  intoxicating  drink  should  be  sold  in  the  col- 
onies. It  is  related  that  when  this  order  was  read  to 
the  servants  of  the  company  many  of  them  could  not 
refrain  from  tears.  The  temperance  cause  had  but 
few  advocates  in  Kussian  America.  One  of  the  men, 
named  Markof,  who  in  1845  sailed  from  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk for  San  Francisco,  thus  relates  his  expe- 
rience :  "How  easily  and  willingly  the  labor  of  getting 
the  ship  under  way  was  performed  1  Each  sailor  had 
it  in  ms  mind  that  he  could  enjoy  himself  for  his 
trouble  in  the  first  tap-room  in  California.     In  the 

*The  proyimoDfl  of  the  charter  of  1844  are  given  at  length  in  Doh,  Kom, 
Su99.  Atner,  KcL,  L  40-60;  and  in  Tikhmentf,  Ittor.  Oboa.,  ii.  app.  part  i. 
11-74. 


670       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

evening  we  could  only  see  the  outlines  of  our  former 
home,  traced  in  black,  indistinct  shapes  against  the 
darkening  sky.  'The  devil  must  have  planted  these 
cursed  sea-otters  in  these  out-of-the-way  regions,  said 
one  of  the  sailors;  'as  far  as  we  can  see  land  up  and 
down  the  coast,  not  a  single  rum-shop  is  to  be  found.* 
'Yes,'  answered  another,  'but  I  remember  Father 
Baranof.  There  was  a  time  when  a  camp-kettle  was 
set  out  brimming  full,  and  he  would  shout,  "Drink, 
children  I"  and  he  would  join  himself  in  a  merry  song. 
Those  were  better  days,'  continued  he,  with  his  eyes 
fixed  on  the  waning  land;  'but  now  what  times  have 
we  I  We  can  do  nothing  but  work,  and  when  that 
is  done,  we  promenade,  or  smoke  in  the  barrack. 
What  a  life  I'  'You  see,'  replied  his  comrade,  'in  this 
country  we  all  have  to  join  the  temperance  society.' 
'What  is  that?'  'I  don't  know  exactly:  it  is  some 
kind  of  a  sect.  I  belonged  to  it  once,  but  it  is  so 
long  ago  I  forget.  I  can  make  no  reckoning  of  time 
when  I  get  no  drinks  to  count  by;  but  I  remember 
we  all  had  to  pay  a  beaver  skin  apiece.'  'A  beaver 
skin  apiece  I  That  is  a  big  price  to  pay  for  the  privi- 
lege of  drinking  nothing  but  water.  I'll  have  nothing 
to  do  with  any  such  sect.  There  was  that  German 
Mukolof;  he  joined  the  sect,  and  in  a  few  weeks  he 
was  dead.  God  knows  where  he  is  now' — crossing 
himself:  'I  don't  think  there  is  much  room  for  Dutch- 
men in  heaven;  so  many  Russians  go  there.'"® 

As  soon  as  war  between  England  and  Kussia  be- 
came a  certainty,  representatives  of  the  Russian 
American  and  Hudson's  Bay  companies  met  in  Lon- 
don to  consult  on  the  exigences  of  the  case.  It  was 
agreed  that  both  companies  should  petition  their  gov- 
ernments for  a  convention  of  neutrality,  that  should 
include  the  Russian  and  English  possessions  on  the 

^Ruekie  na  Vostotchnom,  etc.,  or  The  Russians  on  the  Eastern  Oocan  (2d 
ed.,  St  Petersburg,  1856),  SIMM),  102^.  Markof  adds  that,  on  reaching  San 
Francisco,  the  first  building  which  they  entered  was  a  drinking-saloon,  kept 
by  one  of  Napoleon's  veterans  who  had  served  in  the  campaign  of  1812. 


WAR  WITH  ENGLAND.  671 

north-west  coast  of  America,  the  parties  being  al- 
lowed to  trade  freely  with  each  other,  while  forbear- 
ing to  furnish  aid  to  the  squadrons  of  Russia  or  of  the 
allies.  The  powers  at  war,  considering  this  a  small 
matter,  and  wishing  to  keep  their  hands  free  in  other 
Quarters,  consented  to  sanction  the  agreement.  A 
f^w  English  cruisers  appeared  at  the  entrance  of 
Sitka  Bay  at  various  times,  but  finding  no  vessels  of 
war  in  port,  nor  any  evidence  of  a  violation  of  the 
agreement,  inflicted  no  damage.*  The  company  suf- 
fered some  loss,  however,  by  the  bombardment  of 
Petropavlovsk  in  1854,^  and  through  its  destruction 
in  the  following  year,  on  which  occasion  the  allies 
burned  the  government  buildings,  plundered  the 
Greek-catholic  church,  broke  all  the  windows  in  the 
town,*  and  captured  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  Russian 
American  Company.  A  part  of  the  allied  forces  then 
sailed  for  Ourup,  and  bombarded  the  Russian  settle- 
ment on  that  island,  burned  all  the  buildings,  seized 
the  furs  and  papers  belonging  to  the  company/  and 
hoisted  the  union-jack,  the  tricolor,  and  a  sign-post 
declaring  that  they  took  possession  of  the  territory 
on  behalf  of  England  and  France.  These  proceedings 
were    suflSciently   disgraceful — ^the   most   disgraceful 

*  This  was  either  a  fortanate  accident  or  was  due  to  the  vigilance  of  the 
Kussians.  In  1852  the  frigates  Aurora  and  Diana,  the  corvette  Navarin, 
and  the  transport  Niemen  were  despatched  from  Kronstadt  to  Kamchatka. 
Morskoi  Sbomik,  x.  21-8.  The  Diana  and  a  corvette  (probably  the  Kavarin) 
were  expected  to  rendezvous  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  Saint  Amant.  Voy,  en 
Col.  et  dans  VOregon  (Paris,  1854),  637.  At  this  time  the  fort  of  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk was  motmted  with  70  guns,  including  two  of  very  long  range,  and 
was  garrisoned  by  250  to  300  men,  well  commanded,  but  poorly  armed. 
Of  483  rifles  sent  from  Tobolsk,  between  1851  and  1854,  only  161  were  fit  for 
use.  SUka  Ardiives,  ii.  83. 

^  After  the  failure  of  the  attack  which  followed  the  bombardment  the 
English  admiral  Price  committed  suicide.^  When  informed  of  this  the  Rus- 
sians would  not  believe  it,  but  ascribed  his  death  to  a  well  aimed  shot  from 
the  shore  batteries.  Morskoi  Shomik,  xlv.  1,  2,  23.  By  oukaz  of  Dec.  2, 
18 19,  Okhotsk  was  closed  as  a  naval  station  and  the  force  transferred  to 
Petropavlovsk.  Id.,  civ.  7. 

"In  Rodger 8^  Letters,  MS.,  ii,  it  is  stated  that,  ia  1856,  few  houses  were 
left  standing  at  Petropavlovak,  but  that  the  English  behaved  well,  while  the 
French  rioted  in  destruction. 

^  The  natives  of  the  Kurile  Islands  reported  sea-otter  plentiful  on  some  of  , 
the  group.     In  1853,  108  skins  were  shipped  from  Ourup,  and  200  retained 
lor  nitnre  shipment.  Sitka  Archives,  ii  Go. 


B7f      THE  RUS8IAH  AMEEICAK  OOMPAinrS  LAST  TERM. 


afiair,  perhaps,  of  the  whole  war,  if  we  except  the 
Sinope  mafisacre;  but  yet  more  disgracefbl  was  the 
condact  of  the  English  government  which  sanctioned 
them,  on  the  groond  that  the  convention  of  neutrality 
extended  only  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  and 
not  to  all  the  company's  territory. 

Though  no  attack  was  made,  daring  the  war,  on 
the  Alaskan  settlements,  the  Russians  suffered  more 
severely  about  this  date  from  outbreaks  among  the 
natives  than  at  any  time  since  the  Sitka  massacra 
In  1851  the  fort  at  Nulato  was  surprised  by  Indians, 
and  most  of  the  inmates  butchered.     Among  the  vie- 


Plan  of  Nulato. 

tims  were  the  commandant  Derzhavin  and  Lieutenant 
Barnard,  an  English  naval  officer  on  board  the  En- 
terprise, despatched  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin 
and  his  party.®  In  that  year  Barnard  was  sent  to  in- 
vestigate the  truth  of  certain  rumors  as  to  the  mur- 
der of  a  party  of  his  countrymen  near  Lake  Mintokh, 
and  in  his  blunt  English  fashion  announced  that  he 
intended   to   send  for  the   chief  of  the  Koyukans, 

•  In  July  1850  the  Herald,  Plover,  and  Investigator,  all  despatched  in  search 
of  Franklin  and  his  i)arty,  met  in  Kotzebue  Sound.  While  anchored  off 
Chamisso  Island  during  the  previous  vear,  the  captain  of  one  of  these  vessels 
caused  search  to  be  made  for  a  cask  of  flour  buried  there  by  Beechey,  23  years 
before.  It  was  found  to  be  in  good  condition,  and  a  dinner  party  was  given, 
at  which  cakes  and  pastry  made  of  the  flour  formed  part  of  the  fare.  SeemaiCs 
Narr,  Voy,  Herald,  ii.  100,  179;  Hooper's  Tents  of  the  Tuski,  213. 


MASSACKE  AT  NULATO.  579 

named  Larion,  who  was  then  holding  festival  at  his 
village  a  few  leagues  distant.  But,  as  Dall  remarks, 
this  man  "was  not  accustomed  to  be  sent  for.  When 
the  Kussians  desired  to  see  him,  they  respectfully  re- 
quested the  honor  of  his  presence."  Now  Larion  was 
a  great  chief,  and  also  a  shaman,  and  his  ire  was 
thoroughly  roused  at  the  insult.  Moreover,  there 
was  another  cause  of  provocation.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters had  for  some  time  been  living  with  Derzhavin  as  a 
concubine.  This  was  perfectly  legitimate  and  seemly 
according  to  the  native  and  even  the  Kussian  code  of 
morals;  but  a  second  daughter  had  recently  found 
favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  commandant,  and  when  the 
shaman  demanded,  in  person,  the  surrender  of  at  least 
one  of  his  children,  Derzhavin  coolly  answered  that  he 
had  at  the  fort  a  visitor,  who  must  also  be  provided 
with  a  concubine.  After  his  departure  perhaps  one 
of  the  damsels  might  be  restored. 

A  council  was  called,  and  Larion  swore  that  the 
salmon  should  have  blood  to  drink  before  they  went 
back  to  the  sea.  At  this  moment  a  dog-sled  appeared 
in  sight  on  the  Yukon,  by  the  side  of  which  walked 
a  Russian  and  a  Nulato  workman.  Soon  afterward 
the  sled  was  drawn  up  on  the  bank  for  the  purpose  of 
cooking  the  mid-day  meal,  and  while  the  Nulato 
wai3  searching  for  water,  a  party  of  Indians  stole  up 
steathily  behind  the  Russian,  and  stunning  him  with 
a  blow  on  the  head,  beat  in  his  skull  with  their  clubs. 
His  flesh  was  then  cut  in  strips,  roasted,  and  devoured, 
and  the  Koyukans  set  forth  at  once  for  Nulato. 
Half  a  mile  from  the  fort  were  three  large  buildings, 
in  which  were  many  Nulato  families.  These  were 
set  on  fire,  and  their  occupants  were  either  smothered 
in  the  smoke  or  fell  beneath  the  knives  and  arrows  of 
the  savages,  one  man  only  making  his  escape  to  the 
mountains,  and  a  few  women  being  spared  to  serve  as 
slaves. 

The  Koyukans  then  advanced  on  the  fort,  where 
most  of  the  inmates  were  yet  asleep,  and  all  were  un- 


674       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

conscious  of  the  impending  danger.     Derzhavin,  who 
had  just  risen,  was  stabbed  in  the  back  and  fell  dead 
without  a  struggle.     Barnard,  who  was  reading  in  bed, 
grasped  his  gun  and  fired  two  shots,  but  each  time 
the  barrel  was  struck  upward  and  the  balls  lodged  in 
the  ceiling,  whereupon  he  was  stabbed  in  the  stomach, 
his  intestines  protruding  from  the  wound.    The  work- 
men, who  lived  in  a  separate  building  in  which  were 
two  Russians  and  a  few  Creoles,  had  now  taken  the 
alarm  and  barricaded  the  door.    Muskets  were  fired  at 
the  savages,  but  without  efiect,  and  were  answered  by 
a  flight  of  arrows.     At  length  one  of  them  fell,  where- 
upon the  entire  party  at  once  took  to  flight,  carrying 
with  them  their  booty  and  prisoners.®     A  new  fort 
surrounded  with  a  stockade  was  built  two  or  three 
years  later  on  the  spot  where  it  now  stands,  and 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  it  is  a  cross  that  marks  the 
resting-place  of  Barnard  and  Derzhavin. 

In  the  following  year  a  party  of  Kolosh  destroyed 
the  buildings  at  the  hot  springs  near  the  Ozerskoi  re- 

"Ball,  Alaaha,  48-51,  is  probably  the  best  authority  on  thei  Xulato  mas- 
sacre, though,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  he  is  extremely  inaccurate  in  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  history  of  Alaska.  I  have  accepted  some  portions  of  his 
narrative,  and  the  remainder  is  taken  principally  from  the  statement  of  one 
who  was  present  at  the  massacre  and  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract: 
*When  the  Koyukans  had  gathered  about  100  warriors  they  started  down 
stream,  journeying  only  by  night.  Finally  they  camped  on  the  shore  of  a 
lake,  about  half  a  day's  travel  from  the  river,  and  the  same  distance  from  the 
fort.  Several  small  parties  and  some  women  were  then  sent  forward  to  the 
redoubt,  to  trade  and  act  as  spies.  On  the  third  day  some  of  them  returned, 
and  during  the  night  we  ad  vanced  to  within  a  short  distance  of  Nulato.  At  day- 
break the  attack  was  made,  ourmen  being  assisted  bv  the  spies  who  had  remained 
in  the  fort.  This  was  the  first  war-party  that  I  had  ever  joined,  and  I  was  very 
much  frightened,  and  fired  my  musket  at  random.  When  I  entered  the  re- 
doubt the  victims  were  all  dead,  and  our  people  were  engaged  in  collecting 
the  plunder,  of  which  my  share  was  two  silver-mounted  pistols  and  a  box  of 
beads;  but  afterward  I  heard  Larion  boast  repeatedly  that  he  killed  both  Deri- 
abin  and  the  EngUsli  officer  with  his  own  hand,  and  there  were  none  to  con- 
tradict him.*  This  statement  was  made  on  the  15th  of  January,  1879,  by 
Ivan  Konnygen,  a  native  of  the  village  of  Unalakleet,  near  Mikhaieiovsk.  My 
agent  obtained  the  information  from  Konnygen,  who  was  a  prisoner  at  San 
Quentin,  where  he  went  by  the  name  of  Korrigan.  At  the  time  of  the  mas- 
sacre he  was  a  suitor  for  one  of  Larion's  daughters.  Tikhmenef,  Istor,  Obos., 
ii.  202,  mentions  only  three  victims — ^Derlabm,  Barnard,  and  one  Aleut.  He 
also  states  that  the  reason  for  the  attack  was  the  protection  given  by  the  Rus- 
sians to  some  of  the  Nulato  people  who  had  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  Koyu- 
kans. Russian  authorities  appear  to  be  ill  informed  on  this  matter  or  to  have 
purposely  misrepresented  it.  In  Dok.  Kom,  Buss,  Amer.  KoL,  i.  80,  it  ia 
merely  stated  that  the  attack  was  repulsed. 


KOLOSH  HOSTILmES.  676 

doubt.  The  inmates  were  stripped  of  all  that  they 
possessed,  even  to  their  shirts,  and  in  this  plight  made 
their  way  across  the  mountains  to  the  capital.*^  In 
1855  the  Andreief  station,  south  of  Fort  Michaielovsk, 
was  destroyed  by  Indians,  two  of  the  company's  ser- 
vants being  slaughtered."  In  the  same  year  an 
attack  was  made  on  Novo  Arkhangelsk.  The  Sitkan 
Kolosh,  without  apparent  provocation,  fell  upon  a 
sentry  who  was  guarding  the  wood-piles  of  the  com- 
pany and  wounded  him  with  spears.  The  governor 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  guilty  individuals,  but 
was  answered  with  threats.  Two  cannon-shot  were 
then  fired,  whereupon  the  savages  made  a  rush  for  the 
fort  and  began  to  chop  down  the  palisade.  A  sharp 
fire  of  musketry  and  artillery  was  opened  on  them, 
but  without  effect.  Some  tried  to  force  themselves 
through  the  embrasures;  others  broke  in  the  door  of 
a  church,  built  outside  the  stockade  for  the  use  of 
natives,  and  returned  the  fusillade  from  the  windows. 
If  the  Kolosh  had  been  in  possession  of  a  few  pieces 
of  cannon,  it  is  not  improbable  that  there  might 
have  been  a  repetition  of  the  Sitka  massacre.  For 
two  hours  they  stood  their  ground,  but  after  losing 
more  than  a  hundred  of  their  number,^^  were  forced  to 
capitulate  and  give  hostages  to  the  Russians.  A  strict 
surveillance  was  thenceforth  kept  over  the  independ- 
ent native  tribes,  and  no  serious  dmeutes  occurred. 

''^  About  6,000  roubles  was  distributed  among  them  as  compensation. 
Sitka  Archives^  ii.  107.  One  of  them,  an  invalid,  is  supposed  to  have  perished, 
as  nothing  was  beard  of  him.  Ward*8  Three  Weeks  at  SUka,  MS.,  43.  During 
the  same  year  35  Stikeens  were  massacred  by  the  Kolosh,  while  on  a  visit  to 
Novo  ArKhangelsk  in  sight  of  the  town.  On  another  occasion  several  of 
them  were  smothered  while  taking  a  steam  bath,  the  Kolosh  closing  all  the 
openings.  Id.,  63-4.  In  October  1853  a  Creole  and  an  Aleut,  while  hunting 
deer  near  the  Ozerskoi  redoubt,  were  murdered  by  Kolosh.  Sitka  Archives,  ii. 
69. 

"  TiUanenef,  Istor.  Ohos.,  ii.  202-3.  In  Id,,  339,  is  a  list  of  the  stations 
under  the  control.    Among  them  was  Nulato. 

^*  Dok.  Kom,  Russ,  Amer.  KoL,  i.  81,  where  it  is  stated  that  two  of  the 
defenders  were  killed  and  19  wounded.  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Obos.,  ii.  208, 
places  the  losses  of  the  Russians  at  the  same  figures,  and  that  of  the  Kolosh  at 
60  killed  and  wounded.  Otherwise  there  is  no  material  difference  in  these 
two  accounts  of  the  affair.  A  description  of  it  is  also  given  in  the  AdverUures 
o/Zakhar  ChicMnof,  MS.,  41-6.  Chichinof  was  an  •  eye-witness,  as^was  also 
Charles  Kruger,  in  1885  a  resident  of  San  Francisco. 


170      THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY^  LAST  TERM. 

After  his  return  from  the  colonies,  Tebenkof,  who 
succeeded  Etholen  as  governor,  published,  in  1852,  an 
atlas,  in  which  the  results  were  exhibited  of  all 
the  explorations  of  the  previous  twelve  years,  to- 
gether with  many  of  former  periods.^'  To  mention 
the  discoveries  of  all  the  exploring  parties  that  were 
despatched  during  the  company's  third  term  would 
serve  but  to  tax  the  reader's  patience."  More  inter- 
esting  are  the  operations  of  the  scientific  corps  that 
sailed  from  Stuart  Island  on  the  I7th  of  September, 
1865,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company. 

It  was  intended  by  the  managers  to  build  an  overland 
line  to  Europe  through  Alaska,  across  Bering  Strait, 
and  through  Siberia  by  way  of  the  Amoor  River." 
The  cooperation  of  the  Russian  government  was 
obtained,  and  a  party  of  explorers  organized  for  mafc- 

''  It  was  published  in  1852,  named  The  Narth-wegtem  Coast  of  America, 
from  Bering  Straits  to  Cape  Corrientea  and  the  Atlantic  Idands,  with  the  A^ 
dition  of  a  Few  Points  on  the  North-eastern  Coast  of  Asia.  The  maps,  which 
numbered  39,  were  engraved  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  by  the  Creole  Terentief. 
The  discoveries  up  to  1842  have  already  been  related.  In  1843  two  parties 
explored  the  Sustchioa  and  Copper  rivers  for  the  purpose  of  extending  trade 
with  the  natives.  During  Tebenkof  s  administration,  explorations  included 
the  coast  from  Anchor  Point  in  Kenai'  Bay  to  Sukli  Island  in  Chugasch  Bay,  the 
whole  of  ELadiak  and  the  smaller  islands  to  the  south  of  it,  Voskreesenski 
Bay,  Andreianof,  Afognak,  Unmak,  Unalaska,  Shumagin,  Ourup,  and  other 
islfoids;  the  shores  of  Baranof  and  Cruzof  islands  from  Cape  Ommaney  to 
Mount  Edgecumbe,  Norton  Bay,  and  Bering  and  Kurile  straits.  Tikhmen^, 
Istor.  Obos.,  ii.  247-8;  Dok,  Kom.  JRuss.  Amer,  KoL,  i.  98. 

lA  In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  the  exploration  of  the  Aleutian  Isl- 
ands, made  by  Lieutenant  Gibson  in  the  United  States  schooner  Fhiimon 
Cooper,  in  1836,  as  mentioned  in  the  Rogers  Letters,  MS.,  ii.  (Washington, 
D.  C.),  Blake's  survey  of  the  Stikeeu  River,  as  related  in  his  Russian  America, 
]-2,  and  Eennicott  and  Kirby's  journeys  from  the  Mackenzie  River  to  the 
Yukon,  OS  narrated  in  the  Smithsonian  Reports,  1861,  39-40,  and  1864, 416-20. 
Kennicott  was  appointed  director  of  the  scientific  corps,  in  connection  with 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  but  died  a  few  months  before  the 
expedition  set  forth.  Dallas  Alaska,  4-5. 

'^  The  project  is  credited  to  Major  Collins,  to  whom  the  Russian  govern- 
ment gave  the  privilege  of  constructing,  maintaining,  and  working  a  line 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Amoor  to  the  lK)undary  between  Russian  territory 
and  British  America.  He  was  allowed  to  erect  block-houses  and  other  neces- 
sary defences.  He  might  cut  timber,  open  roads,  navigate  rivers,  and  in  fact 
do  almost  anything  except  organize  a  new  empire.  Knox,,  Russ,  Amer. 
Tel.,  242.  In  1862  a  committee  of  the  U.  S.  Senate  reported  in  favor  of  a 
survey  for  a  line  via  Siberia.  W.  S.  Sen.  Com.,  Report,  37th  cong.,  2d  sesa, 
xiii.  In  the  same  year  the  U.  S.  Minister  in  Russia  was  ordered  to  favor 
the  enterprise.    U.  8.  Sen.  Ex.  Doc,  37th  cong.,  2d  sess.,  x. 


z' 


I--, 


TELEGRAPH  EXPEDITION.  .577 

ing  preliminary  surveys  on  the  American  continent 
and  in  Siberia,  Captain  C.  S.  Bulkley  was  appointed 
to  superintend  the  expedition,  and  for  this  purpose 
proceeded  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  the  spring  of  1865. 
A  steamer,  three  barks,  and  other  craft  were  pur- 
chased for  the  use  of  the  members,  and  with  the  per- 
mission of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  several  revenue 
officers  participated  in  the  enterprise.  One  vessel 
sailed  for  British  Columbia,  the  intention  being  to 
penetrate  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Frazer  River 
to  those  of  the  Yukon;  another  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk, 
a  third  to  Fort  Mikhaielovsk,  and  a  fourth  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Anadir  River  in  Siberia.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  explorations  were  continued;  but  in  1867, 
a  few  months  after  the  first  pole  was  raised,^®  the  com- 
pany, after  having  incurred  an  expense  of  three  millions 
of  dollars,  abandoned  the  enterprise  and  recalled  its  ex- 
plorers, finding  that  the  line  could  not  compete  with 
the  Atlantic  cable.  The  details  of  their  operations 
do  not  concern  the  purposes  of  this  volume,  but  we 
have  some  interesting  descriptions,  which  will  be  men- 
tioned later,  of  the  condition  of  the  Russian  settle- 
ments, especially  in  the  work  of  Dall,  who  was  ap- 
pointed director  of  the  scientific  corps. 

I  shall  venture  also  to  give  a  brief  extract  from  a 
statement  made  in  1878  by  Ferdinand  Westdahl,  who 
who  was  employed  to  survey  Norton  Sound  and 
other  points  for  the  purpose  of  determining  their  ex- 
act position  on  the  company's  chart,  and  had  not  then 
lieard  of  his  recall:  "We  lay  at  Unalakleet  until 
February,  when  we  went  into  the  field  and  continued 
to  work  on  the  line,  putting  up  some  30  miles — the 
posts  only — for  we  had  no  wire.  The  country  is  a 
complete  bog.  If  you  dig  down  on  the  hills  there  two 
feet,  you  strike  ice.     We  dug  three  holes  with  crow- 

••  On  the  iBt  of  January,  1867,  after  breakfast,  the  party  went  out  in  a 
body  and  raised  the  first  telegraph  pole,  ornamented  with  the  flags  of  the 
United   States,  the  telegraph  expedition,  the  masonic  fraternity,  and  the 
Bcientiiic  corps.     A  salute  of  3G  guns  was  fired.  DaWa  Alaska^  ^3* 
Hist.  AL.AfiXA.    87 


578       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

bars.  lu  many  places  we  found  snow  15  feet  in 
depth  to  leeward  of  a  hill.  Our  poles  were  on  an 
average  15  feet  long,  but  on  the  leeward  side  we 
had  to  make  them  24  feet  long.  We  should  have 
made  them  all  24  or  30  feet  long,  but  that  the  timber 
was  too  short.  We  dug  them  three  feet  into  the 
ground,  which  consists  of  frozen  dirt.  In  summer 
when  the  surface  thawed,  we  found  many  of  them, 
which  we  supposed  to  be  very  firmly  erected,  entirely 
loose. 

''The  men  were  very  contented.  They  were  of 
course  exposed  to  severe  cold,  and  we  had  the  ther- 
mometer as  low  as  68°  below  zero,  but  we  did  not 
suffer  in  the  least.  We  were  dressed  in  furs  like  In- 
dians, and  slept  in  open  camps.  For  rations  we  had 
only  beans  and  graham  flour.  We  also  obtained  seal- 
oil  from  the  Indians,  and  sometimes  frozen  fish.  This 
was  just  the  kind  of  food  that  we  needed  in  such  a 
climate.  When  we  started  forth  on  journeys,  we 
used  to  cook  an  entire  sack  of  beans  into  bean  soup. 
Before  it  was  entirely  cold,  we  would  pour  it  into  a 
bag,  let  it  freeze,  and  take  it  with  us.  When  we 
camped  at  night,  we  took  out  an  axe,  chopped  off  a 
little,  made  our  fire,  and  our  supper  was  ready  imme- 
diately."^^ 

In  1860  the  general  administration  of  the  Russian 
American  Company  submitted  to  the  minister  of 
finance  a  draught  of  a  new  charter,  together  with  a 
request  that  the  privileges  be  renewed  for  a  further 
term  of  twenty  years,  to  commence  from  the  1st  of 
January  1862.^®  In  the  following  year  Captain  Golov- 
nin  was  sent  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  with  instructions 
to  make  a  thorough  investigation  into  the  condition 

*^  This  Btatemcnt  was  made  to  me  personally,  on  June  7,  1878,  by  Mr 
Westdahl,  on  board  £llicott's  &team-launch,  near  Anderson  Island  in  Paget 
Sound. 

"  This  was  approved  at  a  general  assembly  of  shareholders.  The  few  ad- 
ditional privileges  and  changes  requested  are  mdntioned  in  DoL  Kom.  7?o«8. 
Amer.  JCol.,  I  144-53,  and  in  Politoflfsky,  ItOor,  Oboe.  Jioes.  Amer.  Kom., 
1G2-3. 


NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  A  CHARTER.  570 

of  the  company's  affairs  and  report  thereon  to  the 
government.  His  report  was  in  the  main  favorable, 
though  suggesting  many  changes  and  containing  much 
adverse  criticism.  It  was  followed  by  a  reply  from 
the  Creole  Kashevarof,  exposing  abuses  which  had 
hitherto  been  kept  secret;  and  the  statements  of  the 
latter  being  indorsed  by  Baron  WrangeU,  the  gov- 
ernment refused  to  renew  the  charter,  except  on  such 
conditions  as  the  company  w^as  not  willing  to  accept. 
In  1865  meetings  of  the  imperial  council  were  held  at 
which  these  conditions  were  determined,  and  in  the 
same  year  they  were  approved  by  the  president  and 
submitted  to  the  general  administration.  Some  of 
them  were  extremely  unpalatable,  especially  those 
requiring  that  the  Aleuts  and  other  dependent  tribes 
be  exempt  from  enforced  labor,  and  that  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  Russian  America  be  allowed  to  engage, 
without  distinction  or  restriction,  in  whatever  indus- 
try they  preferred  except  that  of  fur-hunting.^^  After 
much  intrigue,  some  concessions  were  obtained  from 
government,  and  a  subsidy  was  even  promised,^ 
but  no  satisfactory  arrangement  was  made,  though 
negotiations  were  continued  almost  until  the  transfer 
of  the  territory  to  the  United  States. 

During  the  debates  which  occurred  in  congress  on 
the  purchase  question,  and  in  the  comments  of  the 
press  on  the  same  subject,  it  has  frequently  been 
stated  that,  in  1866,  the  charter  of  the  Russian 
American  Company  was  about  to  expire.  It  had  al- 
ready expired  on  the  1st  of  January  1862,  and  about 
two  years  later  Prince  Maksutof,  an  officer  appointed 
by  the  imperial  government,^^  took  charge  of  the  com- 
pa;iy's  affairs.  That  the  renewal  of  the  charter  was 
contemplated,  however,  appears  in  the  following  ex- 

1*  The  full  text  of  the  imperial  councirs  decision  is  given  in  Politoffaky, 
Jetor.  Obos.  Ross,  Amer,  Kom.,  147-54. 

»Id„  154-7. 

SI  He  commanded  a  battery  at  the  attack  on  Petropavlovsk  in  1854,  and 
was  M'ounded  while  loading  a  cannon  with  his  own  hands.  Bu  Hcuily,  VEx» 
p6d.  de  Petropavlovsk,  in  Sevue  des  deux  Maudes,  Aug.  1,  1858. 


5S0       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

tract  from  a  decision  of  the  imperial  council,  con- 
firmed by  its  president,  the  grand  duke  Constantine, 
on  April  2,  1866:  "The  company  is  allowed  to  in- 
crease its  working  capital  by  the  issue  of  new  shares, 
but  at  the  final  settlement  of  the  company's  business, 
within  twenty  years  hence  or  later,  all  claims  must 
be  satisfied  at  the  company's  expense,  without  assist- 
ance from  the  government." 

Though  the  abuses  mentioned  by  Kashevarof  were 
no  doubt  suflSciently  culpable,  it  would  seem  that  the 
treatment  of  the  natives  was  somewhat  less  severe 
than  during  the  two  first  terms  of  the  company's  ex- 
istence. The  number  of  Aleuts,  which  in  1840  had 
decreased,  it  will  boTCmembered,  to  4,007,  was  in  1860 
about  4,400,^  the  entire  Indian  population  subject  to 
the  company  having  increased  during  the  same  time 
from  about  5,400  to  over  7,600.  Meanwhile  the  Rus- 
sian population  had  increased  to  784,  and  the  Creoles 
mustered  nearly  1,700,  the  whole  population  of  the  col- 
onies being  about  12,000,  a  gain  of  more  than  58  per 
cent  since  the  census  of  1841.^ 

The  increase  in  the  native  population  was  due  in 
part  to  their  being  better  fed  and  housed  than  in  for- 
mer years.  Though  except  for  a  scant  crop  of  veg- 
etables raised  cliiefly  at  Kadiak,  nearly  all  food 
supplies,  with  the  exception  of  fish  and  game, 
were  imported,  the  company  not  only  supplied  fair 
rations  of  flour,  fish,  sugar,  tea,  and  other  provisions 


« In  1849  it  had  reached  4,322,  but  the  foUowinff  year  fell  to  4,084.  This 
was  caused  by  an  outbreak  of  the  measles  in  the  Sitka  and  Unalaska  districts. 
Dok.  Kom.  JkoM,  Amer.  Koiy  i.  131.  In  DavidaoJi's  Report  Coast  Survey, 
1SG7,  the  number  is  given  at  4,268.  Dall,  Ahska,  350,  after  an  amusing  ex- 
hibition of  indignant  philanthropy  on  stilts,  states  that  their  number  had  de- 
creased about  this  date  to  1,500.  To  point  out  any  more  of  Mr  Dall's  blun- 
ders in  the  so-called  historical  portion  of  his  work  is  a  task  for  which  I  have 
neither  space  nor  inclination. 

•^  Golovniiiy  ObnoT.  Hoas,  KoLy  in  Materialui,  i.  app.  151.  Tikhmenef,  letor, 
Oboff. ,  ii.  264,  gives  the  entire  jwpulation  in  1860  at  12,028,  including  784  Rub- 
sians  and  1,676  Creoles,  the  remainder  being  Indians.  Among  the  Russians 
lie  includes  208  women,  but  most  of  these  were  probably  their  creole  or  Indian 
wives.     His  figures  coincide  somewhat  suspiciously  with  those  of  Golovnin. 


RATIONS  OF  THE  HUNTERS.  681 

to  its  servants,^  but  sold  flour  to  them  at  a  small 
fixed  price,^  and  often  at  a  heavy  loss.^  Fish  was  of 
course  the  staple  food,  and  was  supplied  to  servants 
free  of  charge,  those  who  received  less  than  1,000 
roubles  a  year  being  allowed  to  draw  each  day  their 
dole  of  bread  and  fish,  of  pease  or  gruel  twice  a  week, 
of  salt  beef  on  holidays,  and  of  game  when  it  was  plen- 
tiful, from  the  public  kitchen;  while  married  men 
could  receive  an  equivalent  in  money.^  The  Aleuts 
and  others  employed  on  hunting  expeditions  also  re- 
ceived a  liberal  supply  of  food  and  warm  clothing,  and 
were  allowed  higher  rates  for  their  furs.^ 

At  the  beginning  of  the  company's  third  term,  rules 
were  established  for  the  preservation  of  fur-bearing 
animals  by  a  system  of  alternation  at  the  various  hunt- 

**  At  the  Mikhaieloysk  redoubt  they  received  in  1866  about  50  pounds  of 
flour,  a  pound  of  tea,  and  three  pounds  of  sugar  a  month,  in  aculition  to 
their  pay  of  one  rouble  a  day.  DalVs  Alaska,  12.  In  the  Sitka  Archives,  ii. 
17,  1854,  it  is  stated  that  after  Voievodsky's  arrival,  the  ration  of  flour  was 
increased  from  40  to  60  pounds,  and  that  to  reimburse  the  company,  two 
hours  were  added  to  each  day's  work  during  tlie  summer  months.  Besides 
these  rations,  servants  received  an  allowance  of  fish.  In  Id.,  ii.  71,  it  'a 
mentioned  that  71,500  salmon  were  salted  at  the  Ozerskoi  redoubt.  It  dotj 
not  appear  that  the  laborer  could  purchase  much  for  his  wages,  for  according 
to  the  company's  price  list  for  18G0,  woollen  shirts  were  sold  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk for  123  roubles  a  dozen,  blankets  for  about  21*  roubles  each,  boots  of 
second  quality  for  15  roubles  a  pair,  and  tobacco  at  67^  roubles  a  poud.  Tikh- 
meiief,  hlor.  Obos.,  ii.  234-5. 

**  Five  roubles  (scrip)  per  poud  for  rye  and  common  wheat  flour,  and  1  > 
for  fine  white  flour.  The  company  refused  to  sell  it,  or  sold  it  in  very  small 
quantities,  to  those  who  were  not  in  their  service,  on  the  ground  that  they  wero 
compelled  to  keep  on  hand  a  two-years  supply.  Golovnin,  Obeor.  Hoss.  KoL, 
in  MaieriaXui,  56. 

*'In  1856  rye  flour  imported  from  Russia  cost  the  company  9.42  roubles 
per  i>oud,  in  1857,  7.05,  and  in  1859,  6.47  roubles  (scrip).  Of  course  bread- 
stufls  were  obtained  at  cheai)er  rates  when  California  began  to  export  cereals. 

"  Beef  from  Ayan  sold  in  the  colonics  at  25  kopeks,  or  5  cents,  per  pound, 
and  even  at  that  price  was  beyond  the  means  of  the  poor,  at  least  of  the 

g)or  who  had  families.  California  salt  beef  sold  for  about  double  that  price. 
ogs  were  raised  to  some  extent,  but  as  they  were  fed  mainly  on  fish,  their 
meat  was  unsavory.  Chickens,  also  fed  partly  on  fish,  sold  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk for  5  to  7  roubles  each,  and  eggs  at  about  6  roubles  a  dozen.  Rum 
was  issued  to  the  servants  at  the  rate  of  eight  gills  a  year;  but  after  fa- 
tiguing labor  and  in  bad  weather  a  further  allowance  was  issued,  so  that  they 
usually  received  one  or  two  cills  a  week.  Wlien  one  had  need  of  a  la])orer 
or  craftsman,  he  would  usually  pay  in  rum,  which  could  be  obtained  by  thoso 
in  office  for  one  tenth  of  the  price  at  which  it  was  given  in  payment.  Thus, 
for  making  a  pair  of  boots,  a  bottle  of  rum  which  had  cost  only  34  roubles, 
would  often  h^  accepted  in  lieu  of  30  or  35  roubles,  scrip.  ItL,  5S-9. 

'^  A  table  of  the  prices  paid  by  the  company  between  1S36  and  1855  is 
given  in  Id,,  app.  180-5. 


CZ2       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

ing-grounds,  those  which  were  threatened  with  ex- 
haustion being  allowed  to  lie  undisturbed  for  a  period 
of  ten  years.     The  increase  which  occurred  after  this 
regulation  in  the  number  of  fur-seals  was  remarkable, 
especially  at  the  Prybilof  group.     In  1851,  30,000 
could  be  killed  annually  at  St  Paul  Island  alone,  and 
in  1861  as  many  as  70,000,  without  fear  of  exhausting* 
the  supply.     Between  1842  and  1861  shipments  of 
furs  from  the  colonies  included  about  25,600  sea-otter, 
338,600   fur-seal,   161,000   beaver,  and    129,600  fox 
skins.^     It  will  be  observed  that  these  figures  show 
a  considerable  decrease  from  the  quantity  forwarded 
during    the    period    1821-1842.      This   was    caused 
mainly  by  the  encroachments  of  foreign  traders,  and 
especially  of  American  whaling- vessels,  whose  masters 
often  touched  at  various  points  in  the  Russian  posses- 
sions during  their  voyage,  and  paid  much  higher  prices 
for  furs  than  those  fixed  by  the  company's  tariff.    An- 
other reason   was   the  growth  of  intertribal  traffic, 
(Nothing  worn  by  the  natives  far  in  the  interior  and 
made  up  by  Aleutian  women  being  bartered  for  small 
skins,  oil,  and  bone.*^ 

In  1826  Chistiakof  wrote  to  the  directors,  asking 
that  an  experienced  whaler  be  sent  to  the  colonies. 

^Jd.j  app.  158  ct  seq.  During  the  company's  third  term  the  eupplv'  of  fox 
skins  became  much  smaller  and  tiicir  quality  poorer.  EtholeD  forbade  shooting 
them  in  the  Unalaska  and  Kadiak  districts,  though  traps  might  stid  be  used. 
Tikhmevefy  I«tor.  Obos.,  ii.  219.  Ward,  Three  Weeksin  Sitka,  MS.,  28(1853), 
says  that  about  50,000  skins  a  year  were  received  at  the  ^rarehouse  in  Novo 
Ai'khangclak.  From  Kadiak,  shipments  between  1842  and  1861  included  5,809 
sca-otttr,  85,381  beaver,  14,298  sable  skins,  and  1,296  pouds  of  walrus  tusks. 
From  St  Paul  Island,  during  the  same  peiiod,  there  were  shipped  277, 778  fur- 
seal,  10,508  fox  skins,  and  104  pouds  of  walrus  tusks.  Tikhmenrff  I9t4yr.  Ohos., 
ii.  190,200.  For  the  quantities  forwarded  from  other  points,  see  /(/.,  ii.  179, 
184-0,  220.  Prolmbly  the  largest  cargo  of  furs  ever  shipped  from  the  colonies 
was  that  of  the  Ceftarrvilch,  despatched  from  Novo  Arkluuigelsk  to  Ayan  in 
lSo7.  It  contained  458  packages,  was  valued  2,004,919  roubles,  and  insured 
))j^  the  company's  agent  in  London  for  £100,000.  Sitka  Archives  (1857),  L 
100,  243. 

'**In  Whympcr's  Trav.  and  Advent,  in  Alavkaf  162,  it  is  stated  that  this 
trade  Mas  carried  on  by  the  Tchuktchis,  who  crossed  fi*om  Siberia  by  way  of 
Bering  Strait,  and  exchanged  tlieir  reindeer  skins  for  these  commodities  "with 
tlio  Kaneaks  and  Malemutes,  whom  they  met  at  Port  Clarence.  Mr  Whym- 
i)cr  did  not  seem  to  bo  aware  that  the  Tchuktchis  or  Chugasches  and  the 
ilalo;uutcs  botli  belonged  to  the  family  of  Kouiagas.  For  a  description  of 
these  ti'ibc's,  see  my  Native  liaces,  passim. 


WHALE  FISHERY.  683 

No  further  steps  were  taken  in  the  matter  until  1833, 
when  an  American  named  Barton  arrived  at  ^ Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  under  a  five-years  contract  to  engage 
in  this  industry,  and  to  instruct  the  natives  in  harpoon- 
ing and  in  rendering  oil.  He  met  with  little  success, 
for  the  method  employed  by  the  Aleuts  of  shooting 
the  whales  with  spears  or  arrows,  and  waiting  until 
the  carcass  was  washed  ashore,  was  found  easier  and 
less  dangerous.  Moreover,  the  company  had  neither 
funds  nor  vessels  to  spare  for  the  active  prosecution 
of  this  industry,  as  trade  with  California  and  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  was  now  on  a  large  scale,  and  se- 
verely taxed  the  company's  resources.  For  several 
years,  therefore,  the  whale-fisheries  were  left  in  the 
hands  of  foreigners,  since  without  the  cooperation  of 
the  Russian  government  the  directors  had  no  power 
to  prevent  their  intrusion. 

In  1842  Etholen  transmitted  a  report  from  Captain 
Kadlikof,  commanding  the  company's  ship  NaMednik 
Alexandr,  wherein  the  latter  stated  that  he  had  spoken 
an  American  whaler  north  of  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
and  had  learned  from  the  captain  that  he  had  sailed 
together  with  30  other  whalers  for  Bering  Sea.  He 
also  mentioned  that,  the  preceding  year,  he  had  been 
in  the  same  waters  with  50  other  vessels,  and  that  he 
alone  had  killed  13  whales,  yielding  1,600  barrels  of 
oil.  Upon  this  report  Etholen  based  a  request  that  the 
imperial  government  should  send  armed  cruisers  for 
the  preservation  of  Bering  sea  as  a  mare  clatcsum. 
Etholen's  eflforts  were  assisted  by  the  board  of  managers, 
but  did  not  meet  with  immediate  success,  the  minis- 
ter for  foreign  affairs  replying  that  the  treaty  between 
Russia  and  the  United  States  gave  to  American  citi- 
zens the  right  to  engage  in  fishing  over  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Etholen, however,  would  not 
allow  the  matter  to  rest,  but  continued  his  correspond- 
ence on  the  subject,  urging  that  so  lucrative  an  indus- 
try should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Russians,  instead 
of  being  left  entirely  to  Americans. 


6S4       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

The  government  at  length  referred  the  matter  to  a 
committee,  composed  of  officals  of  the  navy  department, 
who  reported  that  the  cost  of  fitting  out  a  cruiser  for 
the  protection  of  Bering  Sea  against  foreign  whalers 
would  be  200,000  rouWes  in  silver,  and  the  cost  of 
maintaining  such  a  craft  85,000  roubles  a  year.     To 
this  a  recommendation  was  added  that  if  the  company 
were  willing  to  assume  the  expenditure,  a  cruiser  should 
at  once  be  placed  at  their  disposal.    Though  the  direc- 
tors would  not  consent  to  this  outlay,  complaints  of 
the  doings  of  American  whalers  were  forwarded  from 
time  to  time,  referring  chiefly  to  the  practice  of  landinjij 
on  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  other  portions  of  the 
coast  for  the  purpose  of  trying  out  blubber,  on  which 
occasions  a  wanton   destruction  of  fuel   took   place, 
causing  great  hardship  to  the  inhabitants,  who  de- 
pended entirely  on  the  scant  supplies  of  drift-wood-    It 
was  not  until  1850  that  an  armed  corvette  was  finally 
ordered  to  cruise  in  the  north  Pacific. 

In  the  mean  time  Tebenkof  took  up  the  matter,  and 
forwarded  proposals  to  the  company  for  the  establish- 
ment at  various  points  of  whaling  stations,  provided 
with  whale-boats  and  improved  appliances,  and  in 
charge  of  experienced  American  whalers  to  be  engaged 
by  the  company  for  a  term  of  years.  In  the  year 
1850  it  was  estimated  that  300,  and  in  later  years  as 
many  as  500  or  600  whalers  annually  visited  the  Arc- 
tic Ocean,  the  Okhotsk  and  Bering  seas,'^  and  Alaskan 
waters,  carrying  off  the  stores  of  dried  fish  reserved 
for  hunting  parties,  and  bartering  liquor,  arms,  and 
powder  with  the  natives  for  furs.  In  1849  a  whaling 
enterprise  was  established  at  Abo  under  the  name  of 
the  Russian  Finland  Whaling  Company,  with  a  capi- 
tal of  200,000  roubles  in  silver,  one  half  of  which  was 

"  In  1854  there  were  525;  in  1855,  468;  in  1856,  866;  and  in  some  years 
600  foreign  whalers.  Dok.  Kom.  Iiof<s.  Amer.  Kol.y  i.  116.  "  In  Seeman^s  Narr. 
Voy,  Jlerald  (London,  1853),  ii.  94,  it  is  stated  that  in  1849-50  the  American 
whaling  fleet  in  the  Arctic  consisted  of  299  vessels,  with  8,970  seamen,  and 
that  the  catch  yielded  about  $0,307,000  worth  of  oil  and  $2,075,000  worth 
of  bone. 


NEW  GOVERNORS.  585 

furnished  by  the  Russian  American  Company.  The 
corporation  received  from  the  government  a  donation 
of  20,000  roubles,  and  a  premium  of  10,000  roubles 
each  for  the  first  four  vessels  equipped  for  this  purpose, 
and  was  permitted  to  import  material,  implements, 
and  stores,  and  to  export  its  products,  duty  free,  for  a 
period  of  twelve  years.^ 

During  the  few  years  of  the  Russian  Finland 
Whaling  Company's  existence,  six  vessels  were  fitted 
out,  but  the  losses  incurred  and  the  diflSculty  in  sell- 
ing cargoes  during  the  war  with  England  and  Franco 
caused  the  enterprise  to  prove  unprofitable.^  In  1854 
the  shareholders  resolved  to  go  into  liquidation,  and 
were  enabled  to  settle  their  liabilities  in  full  by  a 
special  grant  from  the  imperial  treasury,  made  on 
account  of  losses  incurred  during  the  war.  Thus  the 
whale  fisheries  were  again  left  in  the  hands  of  foreign- 
ers, who,  before  long,  caused  their  eatire  destruction 
in  the  sea  of  Okhotsk. 

In  consequence  of  the  political  complications  then 
arising  in  Europe,  no  successor  was  appointed  at  the 
close  of  Tebenkofs  administration  in  1850,  until  four 
years  later,  when  Captain  Voievodsky  was  elected 
governor.  He  was  succeeded  in  1859  by  the  mining 
engineer  Furuhelm,  the  interval  between  Tebenkof 

^^Sgibnef,  in  Morskoi  Sbomih,  ciii.  8,  89,  90;  Tikkmenefj  Istor,  Oboe.,  ii. 
app.  1-11,  where  further  particulars  of  the  charter  are  given.  The  value  of 
every  tenth  whale  killed  was  to  be  delivered  to  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany, to  reimburse  the  natives  for  tlie  loss  caused  by  this  enterprise. 

"The  Suomi,  the  first  of  the  company's  ships,  a  500- ton  vessel  built  at 
Abo  and  fitted  out  in  Bremen,  obtained,  during  her  cruise  in  1853,  1,500 
barrels  of  oil  and  21,400  lbs.  whalebone.  Her  cargo  was  sold  for  80,000  rou- 
bles, yielding  a  profit  of  13,600  roubles.  The  second  one,  the  Turho,  secured 
only  one  whale  during  her  first  cruise,  but  in  the  following  year  was  more 
successful.  In  1854  the  Aian  wintered  at  Petropavlovak,  being  intended  to 
sail  with  the  Turho  for  Bremen,  but  was  captured  and  burnt  by  the  allied 
fleet.  Tikhmenffy  Istor.  Oboe.,  ii.  139-53;  Morskoi  Sbornik,  xxiii.  6,  29-30; 
Sitka  Archives  (1854),  ii.  110.  Tikhmenef  gives  a  full  description  of  the  oper- 
ations of  the  Russian  Finland  Whaling  Company.  In  the  Morskoi  Sbomik, 
xxiii.  4,  45,  47,  it  is  stated  that  in  1854  a  private  whaling  company  was 
established  at  Hclsinfffors  under  the  auspices  of  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany, and  despatched  a  brig  to  Kamchatka  by  way  of  New  Zealand.  We 
have  no  further  details  of  its  operations. 


63G       THE  RUSSIAJ^  AMERICAN  COMPANY'S  LAST  TERM. 

and  Voievodsky  s  administrations  being  filled  by  the 
temporary  appointment  of  lieutenants  Rosenburj^ 
and  Rudakof,  who  managed  the  company's  affairs 
during  the  first  years  of  the  Russo-Turkish  war. 

Notwithstanding  some  unfavorable  features  and  the 
interruption  to  trade  caused  by  the  war  of  1853,  there 
was  a  considerable  increase  in  dividends  during  the 
company's  last  term,  the  amount  disbursed  being  about 
10,210,000  roubles,  a  gain  of  nearly  17  per  cent 
over  the  sum  distributed  in  the  previous  twenty 
years.  At  the  close  of  the  term  the  fixed  and  work- 
ing capital  of  the  company  amounted  to  more  than 
13,600,000  roubles.**  The  receipts  from  all  sources 
exceeded  75,770,000  roubles,  of  which  amount  over 
23,755,300  was  required  for  the  support  of  the  col- 
onies, and  nearly  11,366,000  roubles  for  the  general 
administration,  including,  among  other  items,  pensions 
and  rewards  to  officials  and  servants.*^ 

The  entire  amount  received  from  sales  of  tea,  which, 
as  in  former  years,  was  mainly  purchased  at  Kiakhta 
and  marketed  in  Russia,  exceeded  27,000,000  roubles. 
The  profits  on  these  transactions  were  greatly  reduced 
when,  on  the  application  of  a  few  Moscow  manufact- 
urers, a  rule  was  established  that  the  company's  agents 
should  be  required  to  accept  Russian  manufactured 
goods  in  part  payment;  the  more  so  as  these  were 
always  of  inferior  quality.  Between  1835  and  1841 
the  company's  profits  on  each  chest  of  tea  were  from 

'*The  items  and  also  the  rate  of  each  year's  dividend  are  given  in  Tikh- 
menef,  lator,  Ohos.y  ii.  281-2,  and  are  in  silver  roubles,  but  have  been  reduced  to 
roubles  in  scrip,  as  this  kind  of  money  is  the  one  usually  mentioned  in  the  text 
of  this  volume.  The  figures  given  in  Doh.  Kom,  Rosa.  Amer,  KoL,  i.  100, 
differ  somewhat  from  Tikhmenef's. 

'^  A  colonial  pension  fund  was  created  in  1851  by  a  tax  on  the  sale  of 
liquor,  but  about  two  years  later  there  was  a  deficit,  which  was  made  good 
by  an  appropriation  from  the  company.  Sitka  Archives,  1854,  ii.  85.  Rewartla 
were  on  a  liberal  scale.  For  1853  they  amounted  at  Novo  Arklmngelsk  alone 
to  26,555  roubles.  Id.,  73.  The  total  number  of  the  company's  servants  on 
the  1st  of  January,  1861,  including  a  portion  of  the  Siberian  line  battalion, 
was  847.  Golovnin,  Obnor.  lioss,  KoL,  in  Materialui,  app.  145.  This  of  course 
does  not  include  the  hunters.  Ward  states  that  the  governor  received  35,000 
roubles  a  year,  and  his  nRsistant  12,003.   Three  yVeelcs  iii  Sitka,  MS.,  79. 


CALIFORNIA  TRADE.  687 

187  to  300  roubles;  in  1845  it  was  less  than  23 
roubles.  The  loss  fell  entirely  on  the  company,  or 
more  probably  on  the  company's  servants.  Two  years 
after  permission  was  given  to  send  cargoes  of  tea  from 
Shanghai  to  Russia,  annual  shipments  were  made 
of  4,000  chests;  and  yet  cloths  manufactured  at  Mos- 
cow could  be  bought  cheaper  at  Shanghai  than  in  the 
former  city.** 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  was  of  course 
followed  by  a  marked  revival  of  trade  with  that  coun- 
try. One  cargo  of  almost  worthless  goods,  that  had 
been  in  the  company's  storehouses  for  years,  was  dis- 
posed of  in  San  Francisco  at  fabulous  rates.  Other 
ventures  were  less  successful,  though  most  of  them 
were  profitable.'^  In  1851  a  party  of  San  Francisco 
capitalists,  among  whom  were  Messrs  Sanderson  and 
J.  Mora  Moss,  made  a  contract  with  Rosenberg  for 
250  tons  of  ice  to  be  shipped  from  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk at  $75  per  ton.  The  shipment  was  made  in 
February  1852,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  the 
price  was  reduced  to  $35  per  ton,  and  the  quantity 
forwarded  increased  to  1,000  tons,  a  contract  to  this 
effect  being  made  for  three  years.  Later  the  price 
was  further  reduced  and  the  quantity  again  increased. 
Between  1852  and  1859  there  were  shipped  from  Novo 
Arkhangelsk  13,960  tons,  and  from  Kadiak  7,403 
tons.*^  The  ice  was  procured  from  two  lakes,  one  of 
them  near  Novo  Arkhangelsk  and  the  other  on  Wood 
Island,  near  Kadiak,  five  buildings  being  erected  for 
its  storage^  with  a  total  capacity  of  12,000  tons.*^ 

^Doh.  Kom.  Uons,  Amer.  Kol.,  i.  99;  Oolovnin,  Ohsor.  Ross.  Kol.f  in  ^fcUe' 
riaJui,  121-2.  The  company  was  allowed  to  ship  tea  by  water  only  on  con- 
dition that  they  would  not  undersell  the  Kiakhta  merchants. 

•^  There  was  also  a  small  but  profitable  trade  with  New  York  during  the 
company's  third  term.  In  1857,  7,500  fur-seals  and  4,000  beaver  skins  were 
shipped  to  that  port.   SUka  Archives^  i.  308. 

•»  An  account  of  each  year's  shipments  is  given  in  /(/.,  186-8.  It  is  there 
stated  that  20,554  tons  were  sold  in  San  Francisco,  netting  $121,956. 

»» Three  at  Novo  Arkhancjelak  and  two  at  Kadiak,  all  built  in  185^-3. 
Sitha  Archives,  i.  188.  In  Id.,  9,  it  is  stated  that  one  ice-house  was  built  in 
each  of  the  years  1852,  1853,  and  1856.  Ward,  in  his  Thret  Weeks  in  Sitkay 
MS.,  10,  says  that  an  ice-houso  was  built  in  1853  at  the  edge  of  the  lake,  but 
mentions  no  other. 

*^  According  to  the  opinion  of  an  American  engineer  in  tlie  company's  cm- 


6G8       THE  RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  CX)MPANY»S  LAST  TERM. 

Rails  were  laid  to  connect  the  ice-houses  with  the 
wharves,  these  being  the  first  tracks  constructed  ia 
Russian  America.    I  append  in  a  note"  a  few  remarks 

ploy,  the  lake  on  Wood  Island  alone  conld  furnish  30,000  tons  a  year.  Tikh- 
tnenefy  lator.  Ohos.^  li.  198. 

^^  Among  the  principal  sources  of  information  as  to  the  affikirs  of  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company,  may  be  mentioned  first  the  DoUad  Komiteta,   ob 
Utttroistra  Russkikh  AmerikaTiekikh  KoUmi,  or  Report  of  the  Committee  on 
the  Reorganization  of  the  Russian  American  Colonies,  St  Petersburg,  lS6:i- 
4,  2  vols.     The  question  of  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  Russian  possessions 
in  America  at  the  expiration  of  the  absolute  control  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  was  referred  to  a  mixed  committee  of  fourteen,  composed  of  gov- 
ei*nment  officials,  men  of  science,  and  members  of  the  company.     This  com- 
mittee presented  an  elaborate  report  based  upon  the  information  they  had 
gathered  from  the  works  of  Khlebnikof,  Tikhmenef,  and  others,  and  from 
private  individuals,  which  was  published  in  the  present  work,   together 
with   the  following  additional  documents:  1.  A  separate  opinion  of  Act- 
ual State  Counsellor  Kostlivtzof,  a  member  of  the  committee;  2.  Expla- 
nations as  to  the  conclusions  of  the  committee  by  the  general  administra- 
tion of  the  Russian  American  Comjyany;  3.  A  letter  of  a  member  of  the 
general  administration.  Admiral  £tholin;  4.  A  communication  from  the  gen- 
eral administration  on  the  financial  condition  of  the  company;  5.  Report   of 
an  inspection  of  the  Russian  American  colonies  in  I860  and*  1861   by  Kost- 
livtzof; 6.  Report  on  the  same  subject  by  Captain  Golovnin;  7.  Remarks  of 
the  general  administration  on  Kostlivtzofs  report;  8.  Reply  of  the  company 
to  the  opinion  of  the  minister  of  marine  couceminff  its  privileges;  9.  Letter 
on  the  same  subject  by   Adjutant  General  Wrangell,  member  of  the  privy- 
council;    10.    Letter  of  Furuhilm  on  the  mining  interests  of  the  Russian 
American  colonies;  11.  Letter  of  Captain  Wehrman  on  the  condition  of  the 
Russian  American  Company  and  the  trade  with  the  arctic  regions;  12.  Ex- 
tracts from  a  communication  of  the  company  to  the  committee  on  the  or^n- 
ization  of  the  Russian  American  colonies.     The  work  has  few  historical  oata 
not  contained  in  the  work  of  Tikhmenef,  but  throws  light  on  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  the  sale  of  Ahiska  to  the  United  States,  and  is  probably 
more  reliable  in  matters  of  detail. 

At  the  time  when  the  third  term  of  the  exclusive  privileges  granted  to  the 
Russian  American  Company  was  about  to  expire,  the  subject  of  renewing  or 
revoking  its  charter  was  generally  discussed,  both  in  commercial  and  govern- 
ment circles.  Tikhmenef  undertook  the  task  of  compiling  a  complete  history 
of  the  colonies  and  of  the  company,  and  as  he  was  afforded  every  facility  by 
the  directors,  the  different  departments  of  the  government,  and  the  holy  S3mod, 
he  succeeded  admirably.  The  work  covers  a  period  of  75  years,  and  is 
enriched  with  a  large  number  of  verbal  copies  of  original  documents  and  let- 
ters by  Baranof,  Shelikof,  loassaff,  Rezanof,  and  others  who  played  a  pram- 
inent  part  in  the  development  of  the  Russian  colonies  in  America.  The  various 
imperial  edicts  and  cluu^rs  of  the  company  are  also  civen  in  full,  as  well  as 
comprehensive  statistics  of  population,  commerce,  and  industries.  The  vol- 
umes are  handsomely  printed,  and  adorned  with  excellent  charts,  steel  en- 
gravings, and  autographs  of  Shelikof,  Baranof,  and  Rezanof.  It  is  entitled 
IMorirheshoie  Obosreme  Ohrazovtmia  Romiijsko  Amerikanskoi  Kompani^  or 
Historical  Review  of  the  Origin  of  the  Russian  American  Company  (2  vols., 
St  Petersburg,  1861).  Of  the  Afaierialui  dlia  Istori  Rusiikikh  Zasseleni,  or 
^laterial  for  the  History  of  the  Russian  Settlements,  mention  has  before 
been  made. 

The  Kraikoie  lidoricheakoie  Ohozr^nie  Obrasovania  i  deiMvy  RosHisko-AnuT- 
ikanskoi  Komjtani  s'samarjo  XacJiala  Uchrezdenia  Onoi  %  do  Xnstoiast^ehtuo 
Vremeni,  or  bhort  Historical  Account  of  the  Establishment  and  Operations 
of  the  Russian  American   Company  from  its  First    Beginning    down  to 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  589 

of  a  bibliograhical  nature  on  authorities  for  annals  of 
the  company. 

the  Present  Time,  by  Lientenant  General  Politofiskv  (St  Petersbnrg,  1861), 
covers  only  the  ground  occnpied  by  Tikhmenef  and  others,  but  in  a  later 
edition  contains  the  negotiations  between  the  company  and  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment, not  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  authors  q^uoted  in  this  volume.  The 
above  authorities  together  with  Khlebnikof,  Veniaminof,  and  Zavalishin  are 
the  principal  sources  of  information  conoeming  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany, apart  from  the  Sitka  and  Alaska  archives,  though  many  items  of  inter- 
eat  may  be  gleaned  from  Markof,  Bavidof,  Liaiansky,  Wrangell,  Belcher, 
Simpson,  and  from  the  manuscripts  quoted  in  this  volume. 

Worthy  of  mention  also  is  the  Khranologicheskaia  Istoria  Otkrytia  Aleut- 
shikh  Ostrovov  Hi  Podvigi  RomysJcago  Kupechestva  88  Prisovohupleniem  Isto- 
richeskaqo  Izvestia  o  Miakhovoi  Torgovla,  or  Chronological  History  of  the  Dis- 
covery of  the  Aleutian  Islands  or  the  Achievements  of  the  Russian  Merchants, 
-with  an  additional  Historical  Review  of  the  Fur  Trade.  (Gretsch  Printing 
Office,  St  Petersburg,  1823.)  The  author  of  this  work,  who  is  not  named  on 
the  title-page,  is  Vassili  Berg,  and  the  volume  is  dedicated  to  the  vice- 
admiral  and  chief  of  the  naval  staff  of  his  imperial  Majesty,  Anton  Vassil- 
ievitch  Von  Moller.  The  writer,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Imperial 
Academy  of  Sciences,  has  collected  with  great  care  and  arranged  chronologi- 
cally the  accounts  of  all.  voyages  of  Russian  fur  traders  and  hunters  from 
Okhotsk  and  Kamchatka  to  the  islands  and  coasts  of  Bering  Sea,  between 
1743  and  1805,  as  found  in  the  original  journals  and  archives  of  Siberian 
towns. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

]  1867-1883. 

Motives  fob  the  Transfek  by  tub  Russian  Government— Neootia- 
TI0N8  Commenced— Senatob  Cole's  Efforts — The  Treaty  Signed 
AND  Ratified— Reasons  for  and  against  the  Purchase — ^The  Ter- 
ritory AS  AN  Investment— Its  Formal  Cession— Influx  of  Amer- 
ican Adventorers— Measures  in  Congress— A  Country  without 
Law  or  Protection— Evil  Effect  of  the  Military  Occupation — 
An  fiMEUTE  AT  Sitka— Further  Troubles  with  the  Natives— Theib 
Cause— HooTCHENoo  or  Molasses-rum- Revenue — Sugoeshons  fob 
A  Civil  Government— Want  of  Mail  Facilities- Surveys  and  Ex- 
plorations. 

From  the  day  on  which  the  term  of  the  Russian 
American  Company's  third  charter  expired,  the  great 
monopoly  ceased  to  enjoy,  except  on  sufferance,  any 
rights  or  privileges  other  than  those  common  to  all 
Russian  subjects.  It  retained,  of  course,  its  personal 
property  and  the  real  estate  actually  in  use,  but  after 
the  company  refused  to  accept  the  terms  of  the  im- 
perial government,  operations  were  continued  only 
pending  the  disposition  of  its  effects  and  the  winding- 
up  of  its  affairs.  Expenses  were  curtailed,  some  of 
the  trading  posts  abandoned,  and  the  control  of  the 
colonies  placed  in  charge  of  an  officer  appointed  by 
the  company. 

But  Russia  had  no  desire  to  retain  control  of  this 
territory,  separated  as  it  was  from  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment by  a  wide  tract  of  tempestuous  ocean  and  by 
the  breadth  of  her  vast  empire.  Long  before  the 
Crimean  war,  the  question  had  been  mooted  of  plac- 

(690) 


EUSSIA  HAS  NO  USE  FOR  ALASKA.  591 

ing  Alaska  under  imperial  rule,  but  it  was  decided 
that  the  expense  of  protecting  this  vast  territory,  and 
of  maintaining  there  the  costly  machinery  of  a  colo- 
nial government,  was  not  justified  by  the  prospect  of 
an  adequate  return.  The  bombardment  of  Petropav- 
lovsk  and  other  incidents  of  the  war  had  confirmed 
this  impression,  and  the  day  seemed  not  far  distant 
when  the  long-threatened  struggle  would  begin  with 
England  for  supremacy  in  central  Asia.  In  such  an 
event  Russia  would  need  all  her  resources.  Already 
her  railroads  had  been  built  and  her  wars  conducted 
mainly  with  borrowed  capital.  In  case  of  another 
war  with  the  greatest  moneyed  power  and  the  great- 
est maritime  power  in  the  world,  neither  men,  ships, 
nor  money  could  be  spared  for  the  protection  of  Rus- 
sian America.  Moreover,  Russia  had  never  occu- 
pied, and  had  never  wished  to  occupy,  this  territory. 
For  two  thirds  of  a  century  she  had  been  represented 
there,  as  we  have  seen,  almost  entirely  by  a  fur  and 
trading  company  under  the  protection  of  government. 
In  a  measure  it  had  controlled,  or  endeavored  to  con- 
rol,  the  affairs  of  that  company,  and  among  its  stock- 
holders were  several  members  of  the  royal  family; 
but  Alaska  had  been  originally  granted  to  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company  by  imperial  oukaz,  and  by 
imperial  oukaz  the  charter  had  been  twice  renewed. 
Now  that  the  company  had  declined  to  accept  a  fourth 
charter  on  the  terms  proposed,  something  must  be 
done  with  the  territory,  and  Russia  would  lose  no 
actual  portion  of  her  empire  in  ceding  it  to  a  republic 
with  which  she  was  on  friendly  terms,  and  whose  do- 
main seemed  destined  to  spread  over  the  entire  conti- 
nent. 

The  exact  date  at  which  negotiations  were  com- 
menced for  the  transfer  is  difficult  to  determine ;  but  we 
know  that  at  Kadiak  it  was  regarded  almost  as  a  cer- 
tainty not  later  than  1861,^  and  that  at  Washington 

*  According  to  Chicliinof,  Adventures^  MS.,  48,  the  manager  of  this  dis- 
trict declared  that  arrangements  with  the  United  States  were  almost  com. 


Vn  ALASKA  AS  A  UT^TTZD  STATZ.-  COLOXT. 

it  Wis  ^l:-<ru-se.l  at  l^a^t  a.s  early  a>  1 S59.  In  Deeem- 
Lor  of  tho  !att»rr  year,  during  Bui'ianan's  adniioistra- 
tion,  Mr  Gwin,  then  .st.nator  for  Calirjmia,  held  st-v- 
eral  ifiter-v  ivw-,  witli  the  Ru>.sian  minister,  in  the  coar^.- 
of  vhi'^^?!  he  state-l,  thout;h  nut  ofiicially,  that  t:.e 
Uriite<l  States  v>ould  W  willin'^  to  pay  five  milli«»r. 
d^/ilars  f'T  Ala-ka.  The  as-.i.<tant  secretary  of  statv 
a!.v>  atiirin*;:!  that  the  president  was  in  favor  of  the 
pureha-e,  and  that  if  a  favorahle  answer  were  returned 
hy  t!ie  Itu»itin  f^'ovemment.  he  woulil  lay  the  matt*^i 
Ix  f'^re  the  cahineL  A  few  months  later  a  despatch 
v.as  r -e^ived  from  Prince  Gortschakof  stating  that 
th*;  sum  otf«;red  was  entirely  inadequate;  bat  that  the 
)nihi-t.;r  of  finance  was  about  to  inquire  into  the  condi- 
tion of  tlie  terriu>rv,  after  which  Russia  would  be  in  a 
conrhtion  to  treat.'^ 

On  the  l>t  of  January,  1860,  the  company's  capital 
was  estimated  nt  about  four  million  four  himdred  thou- 
siind  dollar>,^  hut  it  was  represented  almost  entirely 
Ijy  furs,  goods,  real  estate,  improvements,  and  sea-goinix 
vessels,  which  would  realize,  of  course,  but  a  small 
])art  of  the  value  placed  on  them.  In  view  of  this 
fact,  and  of  the  uncertaintv  as  to  the  renewal  of  the 
charter,  it  is  not  inij>robable  that  a  positive  offer  of 
five  njillion  dollars  ujight  have  been  accepted,  but  for 
the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  which  for  several  years 
put  an  end  to  further  negotiations. 

Among  those  who  most  desired  the  transfer  were 
the  j)eople  of  Washington  Territory,  many  of  whom 
had  been  employed  in  the  fisheries  of  the  British 
])rovino(.»s,  and  wished  for  right  of  fishery  among  the 
rich  salmon,  cod,  and  halibut  grounds  of  the  Alaskan 
coast.*     In  the  winter  of  18G6  a  memorial  was  adopted 

j»l<;t<rl,  hut  nothinjf  more  was  heard  of  the  matter  at  Kadiak  nntUa  few  weeki 
l>«;fore  tlio  tnnisfer  occuitcmI. 

'^SvniHiT'H  Si^ffrh,  Cf"<M.  lirij^.  Amer.,  8  (Washington,  1867).  Sumner  re- 
m.'irka  Unit  Jiuclianan  finployed  as  liia  interniedLary  a  known  Bympathizer 
Vritli  f-lavcrv,  and  one  who  afterward  became  a  rel)cl. 

3p.>Iitoli;,ky,  Intor.  Olm.  Homs.  Anier.  Kom.,  162,  gives  it  at  5,907,859.08 
ronl.lca,  Kilver. 

*lu  Iif2^i-  Com,  For,  Aff.  in  Uoiisie  Cotn.  Jiept  40th  cong.  2d  seas..  No.  37, 


NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  PURCHASE.  593 

by  the  legislature  of  this  territory,  "in  reference  to 
the  cod  and  other  fisheries,"*^  and  after  being  presented 
to  the  president,  was  deUvered  to  the  Russian  minis- 
ter, with  some  comments  on  the  necessity  of  an  ar- 
rangement that  would  avoid  difficulties  between  the 
two  powers. 

A  few  weeks  later  other  influences  were  brought 
to  bear.  The  lease  of  territory  which,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, had  been  granted  by  the  Russian  Ameri- 
can Company  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1837, 
and  several  times  renewed,  would  expire  in  June 
18G8.  Could  not  the  control  of  this  valuable  slip  of 
earth  be  obtained  for  a  trading  company  to  be  or- 
ganized on  the  Pacific  coast,  together  with  a  license 
to  gather  furs  in  portions  of  the  Russian  territory  ? 
Mr  Cole,  senator  for  California,  sought  to  obtain 
these  privileges  on  behalf  of  certain  parties  in  that 
state,  and  thus,  as  Sumner  remarks,  "the  mighty  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  with  its  headquarters  in  Lon- 
don, was  to  give  way  to  an  American  company,  with 
its  headquarters  in  California.^  The  minister  of  the 
United  States  at  St  Petersburg  was  addressed  on  the 
subject,  but  replied  that  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany was  then  in  correspondence  with  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  as  to  the  renewal  of  their  lease,  and 
that  no  action  could  be  taken  until  some  definite 
answer  were  received.  Meanwhile  the  Russian  min- 
ister at  Washington,*  with  whom  Cole  had  held  sev- 
eral interviews,  returned  to  St  Petersburg  on  leave  of 
absence,  promising  to  do  his  best  to  maintain  friendly 
relations  between  the  two  powers. 

If  at  this  juncture  a  prompt  and  satisfactory  an- 

p.  1 1,  it  IB  stated  that  the  people  of  Washington  Territorjr  'entered  into  comi)e- 
tition  nnsnccessfully  with  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  and  Russia,  who  had 
obtained  from  their  respective  governments  a  virtual  monopoly  of  the  seas  and 
coast  above  the  parallel  of  49*"  north  latitude.'  The  committee  did  not  seem 
to  be  aware  that  the  Russians  made  little  use  of  their  fisheries  except  for 
local  consumption,  and  that  even  the  whale-fisheries  were  mainly  in  the  hands 
of  Americans. 

'  A  copy  of  it  is  given  in  Sumner*8  Speech,  8-9. 

*  Baron  Edward  de  Stoeckl. 
Hist.  Alaska.    88 


5M  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

swer  had  been  returned  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, Alaska  might  at  this  day  have  been  one  of  the 
numerous  colonies  of  Great  Britain,  instead  of  being, 
as  in  fact  it  became  for  a  time,  the  only  colony  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States.  But  no  answer  came,  or 
none  that  was  acceptable;  nor  at  the  beginning  of 
1867  had  any  agreement  been  made  by  the  Kussian 
American  Company  with  the  imperial  government  as 
to  the  renewal  of  its  charter. 

In  February  of  this  year,  when  the  Kussian  minis- 
ter was  about  to  return  to  Washington,  the  archduke 
Constantine  gave  him  power  to  treat  for  the  sale  of 
the  territory.  On  his  arrival,  negotiations  were  at 
once  opened  for  this  purpose.  On  the  23d  of  March 
he  received  a  note  from  the  secretary  of  state  offering 
to  add,  subject  to  the  president's  approval,  two  hundred 
.  thousand  dollars  to  the  sum  of  seven  million  dollars 
before  proposed,  on  condition  that  the  cession  be  '*free 
and  unencumbered  by  any  reservations,  privileges, 
franchises,  grants,  or  possessions  by  any  associated 
companies,  whether  corporate  or  incorporate,  Russian 
or  any  other."  ^  Two  days  later  an  answer  was  re- 
turned, stating  that  the  minister  believed  himself  au- 
thorized to  accept  these  terms.  On  the  29th  final  in- 
structions were  received  by  cable  from  St  Petersburg. 
On  the  same  day  a  note  was  addressed  by  the  minister 
to  the  secretary  of  state,  informing  him  that  the  tsar 
consented  to  the  cession  of  Russian  America  for  the 
stipulated  sum  of  seven  million  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  gold.  At  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  the 
treaty  was  signed  by  the  two  parties  without  further 
phrase  or  negotiation.  In  May  the  treaty  was  rati- 
fied,® an(^  on  June  20,  1867,  the  usual  proclamation 
was  issued  by  the  president  of  the  United  States, 

^  William  JI.  SewarcVa  Letter  to  Edward  de  Stoeckl^  in  Bept.,  ut  sapra,  52. 

^On  Ma^  27th,  or  according  to  the  Kussian  calendar,  on  May  15th, 
Seward  received  from  Stocckl,  who  waa  then  at  New  York,  a  despatch,  stating 
that  the  treaty  bad  been  ratified  at  St  Petersburg.  On  the  28th  Stoeckl  was 
in  Washington,  and  on  the  same  day  the  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  gorem« 
ment  of  the  United  States.  Bept,,  nt  supra,  53. 


TREATY  OF  CESSION.  505 

Such  in  brief  is  the  history  of  this  treaty,  wliich 
for  years  was  published  and  republished,  discussed 
and  rediscussed,  throughout  the  United  States.^  As 
there  is  no  principle  involved,  nor  any  interesting 
information  connected  therewith,  it  is  not  necor^- 
sary  here  to  enter  upon  an  analysis  or  elucidation 
of  these  discussions.  The  circumstances  which  loA 
to  the  transfer  are  still  supposed  by  many  to  be 
enshrouded  in  mystery,  but  I  can  assure  the  reader 
that  there  is  no  mystery  about  it.  In  diplomatic 
circles,  even  so  simple  a  transaction  as  buying  a  piec3 
of  ground  must  not  be  allowed  consummation  without 
the  usual  wise  winks,  whisperings,  and  circumlocution. 

Some  of  the  reasons  which  probably  induced  Russia 
to  cede  her  American  possessions  have  already  been 
mentioned.  The  motives  which  led  the  United  States 
government  to  purchase  them  are  thus  stated  in  a 
report  of  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs,  published 
May  18,  1868:  "They  were,  first,  the  laudable  desire 
of  citizens  of  the  Pacific  coast  to  share  in  the  prolific 
fisheries  of  the  oceans,  seas,  bays,  and  rivers  of  the 
western  world;  the  refusal  of  Russia  to  renew  the 
charter  of  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company  in 
186G;  the  friendship  of  Russia  for  the  United  States; 
the  necessity  of  preventing  the  transfer,  by  any  possi- 
ble chance,  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America  to  an 
unfriendly  power  ;^*^  the  creation  of  new  industrial  in- 
terests on  the  Pacific  necessary  to  the  supremacy  of 
our  eu)pire  on  the  sea  and  land;  and  finally,  to  facili- 
tate and  secure  the  advanttiges  of  an  unlimited  Ampr- 
ican  commerce  with  the  friendly  powers  of  Japan  and 
China." 

Here  we  have  probably  a  fair  statement  of  the  case 
in  favor  of  the  purchase  question,  howsoever  senseless 

•Copies  of  it  are  to  be  found  in  Afess,  and  Doc,  Dept.  State ^  I.,  40th  cong. 
2d  sesa.  388-90,  in  DalVs  Alaska,  360-2,  among  other  works,  and  in  count- 
less newspapers  and  periodicals. 

^^  In  Sumnfr^a  Spc^ch^  10-1 1 ,  is  a  clear  and  logical  discussion  on  the  relation 
of  former  treaties  between  England  and  Russia  as  to  the  transfer  of  Alaska; 
and  in  IJaiisard,  Deb.  ccxv.  1487-8,  and  ccx\'i.  1157  (1807),  are  some  remarks 
mode  in  the  British  House  of  Commons  on  this  point. 


506  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

and  illogical  some  of  the  reasons  cited  may  appear. 
On  the  other  side,  we  have  some  cogent  arguments  in 
theminority  report,  where  itisremarkedthaf  aeon  tract 
is  entered  into  by  the  president,  acting  through  the  sec- 
retary of  state,  to  purchase  of  the  Russian  government 
the  territory  of  Alaska.     The  contract  contained  stip- 
ulations which  were  well  understood  by  Baron  Stoeckl, 
the  agent  of  the  Russian  government.     Those  stipu- 
lations were  such  as  the  negotiators  could  not  enforce, 
but  which  were  necessary  to  be  complied  with  before 
the  treaty  could  become  valid  or  binding.     The  stip- 
ulations were,  fii^t,  that  the  treaty  should  be  ratified 
by  the  senate;  and  second,  that  the  legislative  power 
should  vote  the  necessary  appropriation.     The  first 
stipulation  was  complied  with,  and  the  second  is  the 
one  now  being  considered.     Each  stipulation  was  inde- 
pendent of  the  other,  and  required  independent  pow- 
ers to  carry  it  into  execution.     The  treaty-making 
power  can  no  more  bind  congress  to  pass  a  law  than 
congress  can  bind  it  to   make   a  treaty.     They  are 
independent  departments,  and  were  designed  to  ^t  as 
checks  rather  than  be  subservient  to  each  other. 

"As  was  well  said  by  Judge  McLean,. .  /a  treaty 
is  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  only  when  the  treaty- 
making  power  can  carry  it  into  effect.  A  treaty 
which  stipulates  for  the  payment  of  moneys  under- 
takes to  do  that  which  the  treaty-making  power  can- 
not do;  therefore,  the  treaty  is  not  the  supreme  la'V 
of  the  land.  A  foreign  government  may  be  presumed 
to  know  that  the  power  of  appropriating  money  be- 
longs to  congress.'"" 

The  unseemly  haste  with  which  the  treaty  was  con- 
summated, and  the  reluctance  with  which  the  purchase 
money  was  afterward  voted  by  congress,  add  to  the 
pertinence  of  these  remarks;  and  the  mistrust  as  to 
the  expenditure  of  public  funds  was  not  dispelled  by 

"  In  the  minority  report  it  ia  complained  that  in  answer  to  a  reBolutaou 
that  all  correspondence  and  infoAoatiou  in  posaession  of  the  exocntive  be  luitl 
baforo  the  hoiiso  of  representativos,  300  poges  mainly  of  irrelevant  matter 
were  prcxluced. 


A  GOOD  BARGAIN.  507 

the  report  of  the  committee  on  public  expenditure 
published  at  Washington  in  February  1869."  More- 
over, it  was  well  known  to  all  American  citizens  that 
the  president  of  the  United  States,  or  his  representa- 
tive, had  no  more  right  to  use  the  public  money  for 
the  purchase  of  Alaska  without  a  vote  of  congress, 
than  had  the  queen  of  England  to  demand  from  her 
people  the  price  of  her  daily  breakfast  without  the 
consent  of  parliament. 

Nevertheless,  experience  has  proved  that  the  terri- 
tory was  well  worth  the  sum  paid  for  it,  though  at  first 
it  was  believed  to  be  almost  valueless.  And  this  is 
the  real  reason  of  the  purchase;  it  was  thought  to  be 
a  good  bargain,  and  so  it  was  bought,  though  cash  on 
hand  was  not  over  plentiful  at  the  time.  A  special 
agent  of  the  treasury,  in  a  report  dated  November  30, 
1869,  estimates  the  compounded  interest  of  the  pur- 
chase money  for  twenty-five  years  at  $23,701,792.14, 
and  adds  to  this  sum  $12,500,000  as  the  probable  ex- 
pense, caused  by  the  transfer,  to  the  army  and  navy 
departments  for  the  same  period,  thus  making  the 
total  cost,  including  the  principal,  $43,401,792.14  for 
the  first  quarter  of  a  century.  He  is  of  opinion,  how- 
ever, that  $75,000  to  $100,000  a  year  might  be  derived 
from  what  he  terms  the  *  seal-fisheries,'  and  perhaps 
$5,000  to  $10,000  from  customs.  "As  a  financial 
measure,"  he  remarks,  "  it  might  not  •  be  the  worst 

*'In  this  report  we  have  a  copy  of  the  treasury  warrant  delivered  to 
Stoeckl.  and  of  his  receipt.  From  the  statements  of  all  the  witnesses,  no  evi- 
dence of  bribery  was  elicHed  when  the  facts  were  sifted  from  rumor  and  hear- 
say, unless  the  offer  by  the  Russian  minister  of  $3,000  in  gold  to  the  principal 
proprietor  of  the  WoHhington  Daily  Chronicle,  and  the  payment  of  $1,000  in 
greenbacks  to  a  representative  of  the  California  press,  be  bo  regarded.  The  fees 
paid  to  counsel  were  very  modei-ate.  William  il.  Sewanl,  one  of  the  wit- 
nc^sses,  denied  most  e»npliatically  *  all  knowledge  whatever  of  any  payments 
or  distribution  of  any  part  of  said  money  other  than  to  tlic  representative 
of  the  linssian  government,  or  of  any  payments  other  than  triflmg  sums  for 
printing,  purchasing,  and  distributing  documents  by  and  from  the  atatc 
(le])artment  pertaining  to  Alaska.'  Such  a  statement,  however,  proves  uolh- 
iiig,  as  there  were  doubtless  several  thousand  othera,  n't  Washington  and 
clscwh'jre,  who  knew  of  no  bribery  or  corruption  in  the  matter.  In  the 
Dancrojt  Libr  tnj  Srraps^  and  in  Uoncharenho's  Scrtp  Booh\  i.  p.-ssim,  there 
are  some  amusing  discussions  and  comments  on  the  disposition  of  the  purchase 
money. 


598  ALASKA  AS  A  UMTED  STATES  COLONY. 

policy  to  abandon  the  territory  for  the  present."^' 
The  agent  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  astray  in 
his  estimates,  for  between  1871  and  1883  about 
$5,000,000  were  paid  into  the  United  States  treasury 
as  rent  of  the  Prybilof  Islands  and  tax  on  seal- 
skins alone.  It  is  true  that  the  military  occupa- 
tion, while  it  lasted,  was  somewhat  expensive,  and 
that  buildings  which  cost  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars w^ere  afterward  sold  for  a  few  hundreds;  but,  as 
we  shall  see,  troops  were  not  needed  in  Alaska,  and 
the  cost  of  maintaining  the  single  war-vessel  w4iich 
was  occasionally  stationed  at  Sitka  after  their  with- 
drawal cannot  have  been  excessive. 

Seward,  who  visited  Alaska  a  short  time  before 
the  agent's  report  was  published,"  and  who  delivered 
a  speech  at  Sitka  in  August  1869,  remarks:  "Mr 
Sumner,  in  his  elaborate  and  magnificent  oration,  al- 
though he  spake  only  from  historical  accounts,  has 
not  exaggerated — no  man  can  exaggerate — the  marine 
treasures  of  the  territory.  Besides  the  whale,  which 
everywhere  and  at  all  times  is  seen  enjoying  his  ro- 
bust exercise,  and  the  sea-otter,  the  fur-seal,  the  hair- 
seal,  and  the  walrus  found  in  the  waters  which  im- 
bosom  the  western  islands,  those  waters,  as  well  as  the 
seas  of  the  eastern  archipelago,  are  found  teeming 
with  the  salmon,  cod,  and  other  fishes  adapted  to  the 
support  of  human  and  animal  life.  Indeed,  what  I 
have  seen  here  has  almost  made  me  a  convert  to  the 
tlieorv  of  some  naturalists,  that  the  waters  of  the 
globe  are  tilled  with  stores  for  the  sustenance  of  ani- 

^^  Mc III fjj re's  Hept.  in  Sen.  Ex,  Doc.^  4l8t  cong.  2d  sess.,  No.  32,  p.  34. 
IIo  states  that  tlio  cutirc  number  of  voters  in  the  territory  does  not  exceed 
12.),  and  reports  against  the  establishment  of  a  territorial  government. 

^'  He  arrived  at  Sitka  on  board  the  Active  on  July  30»  1809,  and  witnessed 
the  eclipse  that  occurred  a  few  days  later  near  Uavidson's  camp  on  the 
Chilkat.  Seward  was  on  his  way  up  the  river  when  the  eclipse  occurred. 
1  lie  day  was  cloudy,  and  the  sun  was  first  observed  by  an  Indian,  who  re- 
marUcd  that  it  *was  very  sick  and  wanted  to  go  to  sleep.'  The  Indians 
refused  to  row  any  farther,  and  the  party  went  ashore  and  lighted  a  fire  in 
r-  i\A\  near  the  river  bank.  In  the  evening  vSeward'a  party  reached  the  pro- 
fo  unA-'B  camp,  to  which  they  had  been  invited.  Iloncharenho^s  Scrap  Book, 
i.  72. 


TRANSFER  AT  SITKA.  699 

mal  life  surpassing  the  available  productions  of  the 
land."^^ 

Of  the  resources  of  Alaska,  mention  will  be  made 
later.  At  present  her  furs  and  fisheries  are  of  course 
the  chief  attractions;  but  it  is  not  improbable  that 
in  the  distant  future  the  sale  of  her  mining  and  tim- 
ber lands  will  yield  to  the  United  States  an  annual 
income  larger  than  the  amount  of  the  purchase  money. 

The  Russian  American  Company,  besides  support- 
ing its  numerous  and  expensive  establishments,  paid 
into  the  imperial  treasury  between  1841  and  1862  over 
4,400,000  roubles  in  duties,"  to  stockholders  more  than 
2,700,000,  and  for  churches,  schools,  and  benevolent 
institutions  about  553,000  roubles.  There  appears 
no  valid  reason,  therefore,  why  Alaska  should  not  have 
been  a  source  of  profit  to  the  United  States,  except 
perhaps  that  this  was  th^  first  experiment  made  in  the 
colonization,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  last  in  the  mil- 
itary occupation,  of  a  territory  which,  as  will  be  re- 
lated, the  attorney-general  declared  in  1873  to  be 
*  Indian  country.' 

On  Friday,  the  18th  of  October,  1867,  the  Russian 
and  United  States  commissioners.  Captain  Alexei 
Pestchourof  and  General  L.  H.  Rousseau,  escorted  by 
a  company  of  the  ninth  infantry,  landed  at  Novo  Ark- 
liangelsk,  or  Sitka,^^  from  the  United  States  steamer 
John  L.  Stephens.  Marching  to  the  governor's  resi- 
dence, they  were  drawn  up  side  by  side  with  the  Rus- 
sian garrison  on  the  summit  of  the  rock  where  floated 
the  Russian  flag;  ''whereupon,"  writes  an  eye-witness 
of  the  proceedings,  "Captain  Pestchourof  ordered  the 

^^ Speeches  of  WiUiamB.  Seioardin  Alaska,  Van,,  and  Or.  6  (Washing- 
ton, 18G9). 

"On  tea  forwarded  from  Shanghai  and  Kiakhta.  Tikhmenef,  lator.  Oboe., 
ii.  280. 

"  I  find  no  evidence  as  to  the  exact  date  when  the  name  of  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk was  changed  to  that  of  Sitka.  Simpson,  writing  in  18-17,  uses  both 
v/ords.  Jour,  round  Worlds  ii.  180-1.  Though  the  latter  is  used  by  writers 
before  his  time,  it  was  probably  about  this  date  that  it  first  came  generally  into 


690  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

Russian  flag  hauled  down,  and  thereby,  with  brief 
declaration,  transferred  and  delivered  the  territory  of 
Alaska  to  the  United  States;  the  garrisons  presented 
arms,  and  the  Russian  batteries  and  our  men  of  w^ar 
fired  the  international  salute;  a  brief  reply  of  accept- 
ance was  m«ade  as  the  stars  and  stripes  were  run  up 
and  similarly  saluted,  and  we  stood  upon  the  soil  of 
the  United  States."  ^« 

Thus,  without  further  ceremony,  without  even  ban- 
queting or  speech-making,  this  vast  area  of  land,  be- 
longing by  right  to  neither,  was  transferred  from  one 
European  race  to  the  offshoot  of  another.  No  sooner 
had  the  transfer  been  made  than  General  Davis  de- 
manded the  barracks  for  his  troops,  taking  possession, 
moreover,  of  all  the  buildings,  and  this  although  the 
improvements  of  whatever  kind  were  beyond  doubt 
the  property  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  the 
Russian  government  having  no  right  whatever  to 
transfer  them.  Thus  the  inhabitants  were  turned 
into  the  streets,  only  a  few  of  them  obtaining  two  or 
three  days'  grace  in  which  to  find  shelter  for  their 
families  and  remove  their  effects. 

Within  a  few  weeks  after  the  American  flag  was 
raised  over  the  fort  at  Sitka,  stores,  drinking-saloons, 
and  restaurants  were  opened,  vacant  lots  were  staked 
out,  were  covered  with  frame  shanties,  and  changed 
hands  at  prices  that  promised  to  make  the  frontage 
of  the  one  street  which  the  capital  contained  alone 
worth  the  purchase  money  of  the  territory.  To  this 
new  domain  flocked  men  in  all  conditions  of  life — spec- 
ulators, politicians,  office-hunters,  tradesmen,  even 
laborers.     Nor  were  there  wanting  loafers,  harlots, 

^^ Bloodgood'fi  Eight  Months  at  SUha,  in  Overland  Monthly,  Feb.  1809. 
In  Whym^)€r^8  Alcuska,  ]05-Gf  and  in  some  of  the  Pacilic  coast  newspapers,  it 
is  stated  that  the  Uussian  flag,  when  being  lowered,  clung  to  the  yard-arm. 
The  following  extract  from  the  Alhatty  State  Rightu  Democrat^  March  26, 1875, 
will  serve  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  nonsense  published  on  this  matter:  *A 
sailor  was  ordered  up  the  flagstaff,  and  bad  actually  to  cut  the  flag  into  shreds 
before  he  could  take  it  down.  When  the  American  flac  reached  the  top  of 
the  staff,  it  hung  lifeless,  until,  at  the  first  boom  of  the  sidatinff  -lossian  artil- 
lery, it  gave  a  convulsive  shudder,  and  at  the  second  gun  it  shook  out  its  stazry 
folds  and  proudly  floated  in  the  breeze.* 


HIEW  ORDER  OP  THINGS.  601 

gamblers,  and  divers  other  classes  of  free  white  Eu- 
ropeans never  seen  in  these  parts  before ;  for  of  such 
is  our  superior  civilization.  A  charter  was  framed  for 
the  so-called  city,  laws  were  drawn  up,  and  an  election 
held,  at  which  a  hundred  votes  were  polled  for  almost 
as  many  candidates.^®     The  claims  of  squatters  were 

{)ut  on  record;  judgment  was  passed  in  cases  where 
iberty  and  even  life  were  at  stake;  questions  were 
decided  which  involved  nice  points  of  international 
law;  and  all  this  was  done  with  utter  indifference  to 
the  military  authorities,  then  the  only  legal  tribunal  in 
the  territory. 

Two  generations  had  passed  away  since  Baranof 
and  his  countrymen  had  built  the  fort,  or  as  it  is  now 
termed  the  castle,  of  Sitka.  During  all  these  years 
the  Russians  had  known  little  and  cared  for  little 
beyond  the  dull  routine  of  their  daily  labor  and  their 
daily  life.  It  is  probable  that  the  appearance  of  the 
first  steam- vessel  in  Alaskan  waters  caused  no  less 
sensation  among  them  than  did  the  news  of  Auster- 
litz,  of  Eylau,  or  of  Waterloo.  Apart  from  the  higher 
officials,  they  belonged  for  the  most  part  to  the  uned- 
ucated classes.  If  poorly  paid,  they  had  been  better 
fed  and  clad  and  housed  than  others  of  their  class. 
They  were  a  law-abiding,  if  not  a  God-fearing,  com- 
munity. During  the  long  term  of  the  company's 
dominion  there  had  been  no  overt  resistance  to  author- 
ity, except  in  the  two  instances  already  mentioned  in 
this  volume.  They  had  been  accustomed  to  submit 
without  a  murmur  to  the  dictates  of  the  governor, 
from  whom  there  was  no  appeal,  save  to  a  court  from 
whose  seat  they  were  separated  by  more  than  one 
third  of  the  earth's  circumference.  This,  however, 
was  under  what  might  be  called  a  half-savage  regime. 

'*  Mr  Bodge,  collector  of  cuatoms,  was  the  firat  mayor  of  Sitka.  Soon 
after  the  purchase,  the  following  ticket  was  elected:  For  mayor,  "W.  H. 
Wood;  for  councilmen,  J.  A.  Fuller,  C.  A.  Kinkaid,  Frank  Mahoney,  Isaac 
Bergman,  and  J.  Helstedt;  for  recorder,  G.  R.  McKnight;  for  surveyor,  J.  A. 
Fuller;  and  for  constable,  P.  B.  Kyan.  In  1S82,  Wood  was  practising  law  in 
San  Francisco,  Fuller  lived  at  Nana,  Kinkaid  at  Portland,  Or.,  McKuight  at 
Key  West,  Fla.,  and  Helstedt  still  kept  a  store  at  Sitka. 


602  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

But  now  all  was  changed.     Speculation  and  law- 
lessness were  rife,  and  the  veriest  necessaries  sold  at 
prices  beyond  reach  of  the  poor.     The  natives  were 
not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  their  opportunity,  and 
refused  to  sell  the  Russians'  garae  or  fish  at  former 
rates  ;*^  while  the  Americans  refused  to  accept  the 
parchment    money   which    formed    their    circulating 
niedium^^  in  payment  for  goods,  except  at  a  heavy  dis- 
count.    No  wonder  that  few  of  the  Russians  cared  to 
take  advantage  of  the  clause  in  the  treaty  which  pro- 
vides that,  "with  the   exception  of  the  uncivilized 
native  tribes,  the  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory 
shall  be  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights, 
advantages,  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the 
free  enjoyment  of  their  liberty,  property,  and  religion." 
The    company   and   the   imperial    government   gave 
them  at  least  protection,  sufficient  means  of  livelihood, 
schools,  a  church;  but  in  this   vast   territory  there 
never  existed,  since   1867,  other  than   a  semblance 
even  of  military  law.     There  was  not  in  1883  legal 
j)rotection  for  person  or  property,  nor,  apart  from  a 
few  regulations  as  to  commerce  and  navigation,  had 
any  important  act  been  passed  by  congress,  save  those 
that  relate  to  the  preservation  of  seals,  the  collection 
of  revenue,  and  the  sale  of  fire-arms  and  fire-water. 

"  The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory,  according 
to  their  choice,  reserving  their  natural  allegiance,  may 
return  to  Russia  within  three  years,"  read  the  words 
of  the  treaty.  Within  a  few  weeks,  or  perhaps  months, 
after  the  transfer,  there  were  not  more  than  a  dozen 


*  The  situation  was  rendered  worse  by  certain  agitators,  prominent  among 
whom  was  Honcharenko,  who,  on  July  1,  1868,  piiblishcd  an  address  in  the 
AlcLska  Herald,  advising  the  Aleuts  and  Russo- Americans,  as  he  termed 
them,  not  to  work  for  less  than  five  dollars  a  day  in  gold.  On  September 
23d  of  this  year  Andrei  Vo\yoi  was  admitted  to  citizenship—the  first  Eus- 
sian  who  changed  iiis  nationality. 

-^  Usually  in  pieces  two  inches  square,  which  passed  current  for  about 
eight  cents  when  two  comers  were  cut  off,  and  for  four  cents  when  all  the 
corners  were  lopped.  The  soldiers,  after  clipping  the  lower  part  of  the  four- 
cent  pieces,  passed  them  off  for  eight  cents  imtil  the  fraud  was  discovered. 


POLICY  OF  CONGRESS.  603 

Russians  left  at  Sitka,  the  remainder  having  been 
sent  home  by  way  of  California,  or  round  the  Horn.** 
Five  years  later,  the  population  was  composed  of  a  few 
Creoles  of  the  poorer  class,  a  handful  of  American  sol- 
diers, perhaps  a  score  of  American  civilians,  a  few 
Aleuts,  and  a  few  Kolosh. 

Toward  the  Creoles  and  Indians  the  policy  of  the 
United  States  has  thus  far  been  severely  negative; 
and,  to  put  the  matter  in  its  most  favorable  light,  I 
cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  words  of  the  Creole 
Kostromitin,  who  in  1878.  was  a  resident  of  Unalaska, 
being  at  that  date  an  octogenarian.  "I  afti  glad,"  he 
says,  "that  I  lived  to  see  the  Americans  in  the  coun- 
try. The  Aleuts  are  better  off  now  than  they  were 
under  the  Russians.  The  first  Russians  who  came 
here  killed  our  men  and  took  away  our  women  and 
all  our  possessions;  and  afterward,  when  the  Russian 
American  Company  came,  they  made  all  the  Aleuts 
like  slaves,  and  sent  them  to  hunt  far  away,  where 
many  were  drowned  and  many  killed  by  savage  na- 
tives, and  others  stopped  in  strange  places  and  never 
came  back.  The  old  company  gave  us  fish  for  nothing, 
but  we  could  have  got  plenty  of  it  for  ourselves  if  we 
had  been  allowed  to  stay  at  home  and  provide  for  our 
families.  Often  they  would  not  sell  us  flour  or  tea, 
even  if  we  had  skins  to  pay  for  it.  Now  we  must  pay 
for  everything,  but  we  can  buy  what  we  like.  God 
will  not  give  me  many  days  to  live,  but  I  am  satis- 
fied."^ We  shall  see  presently  that  Kostromitin's 
satisfaction  was  not  shared  by  a  majority  of  his  coun- 
trymen. 

In  many  sessions  of  congress  bills  have  been  intro- 
duced relating  to  Alaska,  of  which  some  have  pro- 
voked discussion,  many  have  been  tabled,  and  a  few 
have  passed  into  law.     The  only  measures  to  which 

^  Kruger*8  MS.  Mr  Chas  Kruger  was  for  more  than  15  years  a  trusted 
einployo  of  the  Russian  American  Co. 

**  Karly  Tinics  in  Aleut  Id.,  MS.,  15-16.  Koetromitin  was  then  living  at 
tho  village  of  Makushin. 


604 


ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 


im 


feren«e  is  needed  at  present  are  the  act  of  congress 
roveoL  July  27,  1868,  whereby,  among  other  pro- 
vidiiips,  ^collection  district  was  established  in  that 
.tertiary  t\  two  bills  introduced  in  18G9  and  1870  to 
pTov^de^fqf'y  temporary  government  in  Alaska,  both 
gjreferred,  though  neither  passed ;  some 
its  to  extend  the  United  States  land  laws 
,  -  ^    -Tyj^  *^^  certain  regulations  as  to  the 

j^oYta\ion\sd[(^  manufacture  of  liquor.^ 
Ifc^is^,vwr^%  of  note,  that  in  a  territory  which  has 
belonVed  W  the  United  States  for  more  than  half  a 
generaUoi^  anu  whose  area  is  more  than  double  that 
of  the  Kw:gjast  Wate  in  the  Union,  no  legal  title  could 
be  obtained.to land,  other  than  to  small  tracts  deeded 
to  the  Kussian^  at  the  time  of  the  purchase,  except  by 
special  act  ot\c<^i)gress,  and  not  a  single  acre  had  as 
yet  been  survi(\4d  for  preemption. '^^^  **  Claims  of  pre- 
emption and  settlements,"  remarks  Seward,  *'are  not 
only  without  thosunction  of  law,  but  are  in  direct  viola- 
tion of  laws  appliiAable  to  the  public  domain.  Military 
force  may  be  usecMo  remove  intruders  if  necessary."*^ 
As  there  was  no  legal  title  to  land  in  Alaska,  there 
could  be  neither  legal  conveyance  nor  mortgage, though 
conveyances  were  made  occasionally,  and  recorded  by 

*»See  CoTig.  Globe ^  1867-8,  ipp.  567-8.  A  list  of  the  various  sub-dis- 
tricts, with  their  locations  in  lapO,  is  given  in  Bnjant  and  Mclntyre,  Jicpt. 
Alaska,  2-24,  in  Sen.  Ex.  J>oc.,  ^tft  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  No.  32;  and  of  the  col- 
lectors, their  duties,  etc.,  in  Morris,  Rept.  Alaska,  15-19,  in  Sen,  Ex,  Doc, 
45th  Cong.  3d  Sess.,  No.  59.  \ 

*^A  bill  was  introduced  for  thi^  purpose  in  1871.  See  House  Jour.,  4Ist 
Cong.  3d  Sess.,  549. 

'^Contained  in  section  3  of  the  act  of  July  27,  1868,  and  amended  by  act 
of  March  3, 1 873,  extending  over  the  territory  sections  20  and  21  of  the  act  of 
Juno  30,  1834,  regulating  trade  an4  intercourse  with  Indian  tribes,  the  sec- 
tions being  those  relating  to  the  manufacture  and  introduction  of  liquor.  See 
Cong.  Globe,  1872-3,  app.  274. 

"//.  Ex.  Doc,  45th  Cong.  j?rf  Sess.,  viii.  155,  217,  and  45th  Cong.  Sd 
Sfss.y  ix.  146.  According  to  the  latter,  no  survey  had  been  made  up  to  Juno 
30,  1878,  and  none  but  special  and  local  eurveys  appear  to  have  been  made 
since  that  date.  A  survey  was  proposed  as  early  aa  1SC7.  Id.,  40th  Cong.  2d 
Srss.,  ix.  No.  80.  For  report  on  quantity  and  quality  of  land,  see  Zabriskie^s 
Land  Laws,  880-1. 

-s  Letter  of  William  H.  Seward  to  Gen.  Grant,  Oct.  28,  1867,  in  Morr!s, 
Jifpt.  Alaska,  119.  The  secretary  rcnucr,t3  that  Grant  cause  instructions  to 
this  effect  to  be  forwarded  to  Gencrr.l  llouftscan  at  Sitka.  See  also  Deardblee'* 
Jiept.  Alaska,  in  Sen.  Ex.  Doc,  4Gih  Cong.  2d  Seas.,  no.  103,  p.  14. 


PROPERTY  RIGHTS.  605 

the  deputy  collectors  at  Wrangell  and  Sitka,  the  par- 
ties concerned  taking  their  own  risk  as  to  whether  the 
transaction  might  at  some  distant  day  be  legalized. 

Miners  and  others  whose  entire  possessions  might  lie 
within  the  territory,  and  who  might  have  become  resi- 
dents, could  not  bequeath  their  property,  whether  real 
or  personal,^  for  there  were  no  probate  courts,  nor  any 
authority  whereby  estatescould  be  administered.  Debts 
could  not  be  collected  except  through  the  siimmarypro- 
cess  by  which  disputes  are  sometimes  settled  in  min- 
ing camps.**  In  short,  there  was  neither  civil  nor  crim- 
inal jurisdiction"  in  any  part  of  Alaska.  Even  mur- 
der might  be  committed,  and  there  wasno  redress  within 
that  colony.     Thus  it  was  that  "the  inhabitants  of  the 

"  In  Nov.  1877  the  postmaster  at  Sitka  died  intestate.  Soon  after  his 
death  his  creditors  arrived  from  Oregon,  and  a  general  scramble  took  place  for 
Lis  property.  The  creditors,  of  conrse,  took  the  lion's  sliare,  the  widow  what 
they  voachsafed  to  leave  her,  and  the  two  yoong  children  of  the  deceased  by 
a  former  wife  were  left  to  the  charity  of  strangers.  Morris's  Bept.  Alaska,  120, 
in  Sen.  Ex.  Doc,,  45th  Com/.  2d  Sess.,  no.  59,  p.  120. 

'^To  quote  the  words  of  a  memorial  addressed  by  the  inhabitants  of  sootb- 
eastern  Alaska,  in  1881,  to  the  president  and  cuiigress  of  the  United  Stages: 
*  There  are  no  courts  of  record,  oy  which  title  to  property  may  be  established, 
or  conflicting  claims  adjudicated,  or  estates  administered,  or  naturalization 
and  other  privileges  acquired,  or  debts  collected,  or  the  commercial  advan- 
tages of  laws  secured.  And  persons  accused  of  crimes  and  misdemeanors  are 
subject  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  a  military  or  naval  commander — ^thrown  into 
prison  and  kept  tiiere  for  nionths  without  trial,  or  punishment  by  imprison- 
ment upon  simple  accusation  and  without  verdict  of  a  jury — ril  in  plain  vio- 
lation of  the  constitution  c»f  the  United  States.*  The  following  is  an  extract 
from  a  letter  addressed  July  11,  1881,  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy  to  Com- 
mander Glass  of  the  Jafnestoum,  then  stationed  at  Sitka,  relating  to  {yarties 
arrested  for  certain  disorders:  *In  the  absence  of  any  legally  constituted 
judicial  tribimals,  the  peace  and  good  order  of  society  demand  that  the  naval 
authority  in  control  of  the  territory  should  interpose  its  power  to  maintain 
the  protection  of  the  lives,  persons,  and  property  of  iudividuals  within  its 
reach.* 

'^  The  only  offences  that  could  be  committed  apparently  were  those  which 
violate  the  act  of  July  27,  1868,  *to  extend  the  laws  of  the  United  States  re- 
lating to  customs,  commerce,  and  navigation  over  the  territory  ceded  to  tho 
United  States  by  Russia,  to  establish  a  collection  district  therein,  and  for 
other  purposes*  (tho  other  purposes  relating  to  tho  sale,  importation,  and  use  of 
fire-arms,  ammunition,  and  distilled  liquors,  and  the  protection  of  fur-bearing 
animals).  In  such  cases  it  is  provided,  by  section  7  of  the  same  act,  that  tho 
offender  shall  he  prosecuted  in  any  U.  S.  district  court  of  California  or  Oro- 
gou,  or  in  one  of  the  district  courts  of  Washington  Territory.  In  1872  a  bill 
was  introduced  'further  to  provide  for  the  panzshmcnt  of  offences  com- 
mitted in  the  district  of  Alaska.*  (/.  8.  Sen,  Jour.,  42d  Cmrj,  H  Sess,,  400-1. 
And  one  in  the  same  year  '  authorizing  the  secretary  of  tho  interior  to  take 
jurisdiction  over  the  people  of  Alaska  called  Indians,  and  for  other  purposes.' 
B<nue  Jour.,  42d  Cong.  %d  Sens.,  G09. 


606  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

ceded  territory  were  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  all 
the  rights,  advantages,  and  immunities  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States." 

What  shall  we  do  with  Alaska?  was  one  of  the  first 
questions  asked  after  the  transfer  of  the  territory — 
make  of  it  a  penal  colony?^  Perhaps  it  had  been 
better  so.  At  no  period  in  the  annals  of  Alaska  were 
there  so  many  Indian  ^meutes  as  during  the  few  years 
of  tRe  military  occupation;  at  no  period  were  lust, 
theft,  and  drunkenness  more  prevalent  among  Indians 
and  white  persons  alike.  After  the  withdrawal  of  the 
troops,  in  June  1877,'^  disturbances  among  the  na- 
tives became  fewer  in  number  and  less  serious  in  char- 
acter, and  it  is  probable  that  many  lives  would  have 
been  saved  if  no  United  States  soldier  had  ever  set 
foot  in  the  territory. 

"I  am  compelled  to  say,"  writes  William  S.  Dodge, 
collector  of  customs,  to  Vincent  Colyer,  special  In- 
dian commissioner,  in  1869,  "that  the  conduct  of  cer- 
tain military  and  naval  officers  and  soldiers  has  been 
bad  and  demoralizing  in  the  extreme:  not  only  con- 
taminating the  Indians,  but  in  fact  demoralizing  and 
making  the  inhabitants  of  Sitka  what  Dante  charac- 
terized Italy — 'A  grand  house  of  ill -fame.'  I  speak 
only  of  things  as  seen  and  felt  at  Sitka. 

'*  First.  The  demoralizing  influence  originated  in  the 
fact  that  the  garrison  was  located  in  the  heart  of  the 
town. 

"Secondly.  The  great  mass  of  the  soldiers  were 
either  desperate  or  very  immoral  men. 

"Thirdly.  Some  of  the  officers  did  not  carry  out 
military  discipline  in  that  just  way  which  the  regula- 

'^  The  question  was  seriouslv  mooted  by  Kordhoff,  in  a  magazine  article 
entitled  *What  shall  we  do  with  Scroggs?  Scroggs  is  the  American  Ginx's 
baby;'  and  by  certain  of  the  San  Francisco    and  Sacramento  papers. 

^Gen.  Orders,  DepL  Col.,  May  23,  1877.  In  Bept.  Sec,  War,  I.,  44th 
Cong.  l>ft  Ses8.,  47,  the  statement  shows  46  men  at  Fort  Wrangell,  and 
in  id.,  124,  it  is  mentioned  that  companies  F  and  L  of  the  fourth  artillery 
were  stationed  at  Sitka.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  tlie  secretary,  while 
stating  that  there  was  an  improvement  in  the  morale  of  the  army,  says  that 
out  of  a  force  of  2o,000  the  number  of  deserters  in  1874-5  was  2,100  less 
tlian  during  the  previous  year. 


TREATMENT  OF  NATIVES.  607 

tions  contemplate.  They  gave  too  great  license  to 
bad  men;  and  the  deepest  evil  to  all,  and  out  of  which 
other  great  evils  resulted,  was  an  indiscriminate  pass 
system  at  night.  Many  has  been  the  night  when  sol- 
diers have  taken  possession  of  a  Russian  house,  and 
frightened  and  browbeaten  the  women  into  compliance 
with  their  lustful  passions. 

"Many  is  the  night  I  have  been  called  upon  after 
midnight,  by  men  and  women,  Russian  and  Aleutian, 
in  their  night-clothes,  to  protect  them  against  the 
malice  of  the  soldiers.  In  instances  where  the  guilty 
parties  could  be  recognized,  they  have  been  punished; 
but  generally  they  have  not  been  recognized,  and 
therefore  escaped  punishment. 

"Fourthly.  The  conduct  of  some  of  the  officers 
has  been  so  demoralizing  that  it  was  next  to  impossi- 
ble to  keep  discipline  among  the  soldiers Officers 

have  carried  on  with  the  same  high  hand  among  the 
Russian  people;  and  were  the  testimony  of  citizens  to 
be  taken,  many  instances  of  real  infamy  and  wrongs 
would  come  to  light. 

"  For  a  long  time  some  of  the  officers  drank  im- 
moderately of  liquor,  and  it  is  telling  the  simple  truth 
when  I  say  that  one  or  two  of  them  have  been  drunk 
for  a  week  at  a  time.  The  soldiers  saw  this,  the  Ind- 
ians saw  it;  and  as  'ayas  tyhus,'  or  'big  chiefs,'  as 
they  called  the  officers,  drank,  they  thought  that  they 
too  must  get  intoxicated.  Then  came  the  distrust  of 
American  justice  when  they  found  themselves  in  the 
guard-house,  but  never  saw  the  officers  in  when  in  a 
like  condition."^ 

**S€e.  of  Interior  Rent.,  4l8t  Cong.  Sd  Sess.f  1030-1,  where  it  is  stated 
that  within  six  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at  Sitka  nearly  the  whole 
Sitka  tribe,  some  1,200  in  number,  were  suffering  from  venereal  disea&es. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  most  of  them  had  such  diseases  long  before  a 
United  States  soldier  set  foot  in  the  territory.  Colyer  remarks:  *I  have 
spoken  of  the  ill  effects  of  the  near  proximity  of  soldiers  to  the  Indian  villages, 
and  of  the  demoralizing  effects  upon  both.  It  is  the  same  in  all  Indian  coun- 
tries. It  appears  to  be  worse  here  because  more  needless.  Nowhere  else 
that  I  have  visited  is  the  absolute  uselessness  of  soldiers  so  apparent  as  in 
Alaska. .  ..The  soldiers  will  have  whiskey,  and  the  Indians  are  equally  fond  of 
it    The  free  use  of  this  by  both  soldiers  and  Indians,  together  with  the  other 


608  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

•*An  eflPort  is  being  made  to  have  the  military  re- 
turn to  Alaska,"  writes  the  deputy  collector  of  cus- 
toms from  Fort  Wrangell,  in  October  1877,  "and  in 
the  name  of  humanity  and  common  sense  I  ask,  What 
for  ?  Is  it  for  the  best  interests  of  the  territory  that 
they  should  return  ?  Look  at  the  past  for  an  answer. 
Whenever  did  they  do  anything  for  the  country  or 
the  people  in  it  that  deserves  praise  ?  Did  they  en- 
courage enterprise  and  assist  in  the  developing  of  the 
resources  of  the  country  ?  No!  It  stands  recorded 
that  they  foiled  the  developing  of  it,  and  placed  re- 
strictions on  enterprise  and  improvements.  Did  they 
seek  the  enlightenment  of  the  Indian,  and  endeavor 
to  elevate  him  to  a  higher  moral  standard  ?  On  this 
point  let  the  Indians  themselves  testify."** 

There  were  in  1869  five  hundred  soldiers  stationed 
in  Alaska,  while  it  was  admitted  by  many  of  the  offi- 
cers that  two  hundred  were  sufficient,  and  it  had  al- 
ready become  apparent  to  civilians  that  none  were 
really  needed.  In  a  country  where  there  are  few 
roads,  and  where  communication  is  almost  entirely  by 
water,  three  or  four  revenue  cutters  and  the  presence  of 
a  single  war-vessel  would  have  prevented  smuggling 
and  lawlessness  far  more  effectually  than  any  force  of 
troops.*' 

debaucheries  between  them,  rapidly  demoralizes  both.*  Sept.  Ind,  Affain^ 
18C9,  556.  In  I8G9  some  soldiers  were  drummed  out  of  the  service  for 
robbing  the  Greek  church  at  Sitka,  and  for  other  crimes,  /i.,  557.  For 
further  though  less  reliable  details  as  to  the  miscondnct  of  the  military,  see 
Jloncliarenk^s  Scrap  Book,  i.  passim. 

•* Letter  to  Paget  Sound  Argwt,  published  Nov.  23,  1877,  of  which  there 
is  a  copy  in  Morns' a  Rept.,  app.  153.  A  statement  as  to  the  result  of  military 
rule  is  given  by  three  chiefs  among  the  Wrangell  Indians. 

*^  Captain  White,  in  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  remarks: 
*  From  my  own  personal  obsen-atlon  and  the  experience  gained  in  my  former 
cruise  to  this  portion  of  Alaska,  embracing  the  waters  of  the  Alexandrian 
Archipelago,  and  extending  from  latitude  N.  54**  40^  to  latitude  N.  OCT,  I  hare 
no  hesitation  in  respectfully  stating  that  even  for  armed  vessels  of  the  deepest 
draught  there  is  no  difficulty  in  approaching,  within  easy  shelling  distance,  any 
of  the  viUaffesand  completely  destroying  them.*  MorriH*8  Report,  Alaska,  139. 
Morris  is  of  opinion  that  vessels  intended  to  be  permanently  stationed  on  the 
coast  of  Alaska  should  be  of  not  less  than  500  tons  burden;  but,  as  White  re- 
marks, a  small  vessel  properly  armed  and  equipped  could  accomplish  all  that 
a  larger  and  more  heavily  armed  one  could,  with  the  added  advantage  of  ce- 
lerity of  movement  and  quickness  of  evolution.  On  the  withdrawn  of  the 
troops  in  1877  three  revenue  cutters  were  stationed  in  Alaska. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  609 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  against  the 
regime  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  there  were  more  troubles  with  the 
natives  in  the  ten  years  during  which  American  troops 
were  stationed  in  Alaska  than  in  any  decade  of  the 
Russian  occupation. 

"When  the  territory  was  transferred  to  the  United 
States,"  writes  Bryant,  "the  natives  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  people  with  whom  they  were  to  deal;  and 
having  been  prejudiced  by  the  parties  then  residing 
among  them,  some  of  the  more  warlike  chiefs  were  in 
favor  of  driving  out  the  'Boston  men,'  as  they  termed 
us."  ^^  The  discontent  arose,  not  from  any  antagonism 
to  the  Americans,  but  from  the  fact  that  the  territory 
had  been  sold  without  their  consent,  and  that  they 
had  received  none  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale.  The 
Russians,  they  argued,  had  been  allowed  to  occupy 
the  territory  partly  for  mutual  benefit,  but  their  fore- 
fathers had  dwelt  in  Alaska  long  before  any  white 
man  had  set  foot  in  America.  Why  had  not  the 
$7,200,000  been  paid  to  them  instead  of  to  the  Rus- 
sians? 

But  long  before  the  purchase,  as  the  reader  will 
remember,  the  natives  received  better  prices  for  their 
peltry  from  the  Americans  than  from  the  Russians, 
and  when  it  was  found,  after  the  transfer,  that  still 
higher  rates  and  greater  variety  of  products  could  be 
obtained,  their  antipathy  rapidly  disappeared.  Thus 
for  a  time  there  was  no  difficulty ;  Aleut  and  Thlin- 
keet  became  friends  of  the  'Boston  men,'^  and  so  it 
might  have  continued  but  for  an  untoward  incident. 

On  New- Year's  day,  1869,  a  Chilkat  chief,*^  Chol- 

^  Bryant's  Rept,,  14. 

•®The  U.  S.  military  force  sent  to  Cook  Inlet  in  1868  waa  inatructed  to 
'beware  of  the  northern  Indians  as  savage,  treacherous,  and  warlike.* 
That  character  the  natives  of  Ckwk  Inlot  do  not  deserve.  The  troops  found 
them  truthful,  by  no  means  warlike  though  good  hunters,  and  thieves  only 
under  great  temptation.  When  the  soldiers  were  shipwrecked  and  at  their 
mercy,  they  did  not  steal  from  them,  but  caught  fish  for  their  subsistence. 
Wyihe:a  Cook  Intel,  65. 

**  The  Chilkats  are  a  Thlinkeet  tribe. 
Hm.  AuisxA.    39 


CIO  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

cheka  by  name,  was  invited  to  dinner  by  General 
Davis,  then  in  command  of  the  district.  After  doing 
ample  justice  to  the  general's  hospitality,  he  was  pre- 
sented with  two  bottles  of  American  whiskey,  and  on 
taking  his  leave,  felt  that  he  was  not  only  every 
inch  a  chief,  but  as  good  and  great  a  man  as  any  who 
claimed  possession  of  his  country.  On  reaching  the 
foot  of  the  castle  stairs,  attired  in  a  cast-oif  army  uni- 
form, and  with  bottles  in  hand,  he  stalked  majesti- 
cally across  the  part  of  the  parade-ground  reserved 
for  oflScers,  and  was  challenged  by  the  sentry.  Ignor- 
ing such  paltry  presence,  Cholcheka  went  on  his  way 
toward  the  stockade,  at  the  gate  of  which  was  a 
second  sentry,  and  refusing  to  turn  back,  he  received 
a  kick  as  he  passed  out.  Now  a  kick  to  a  Chilkat 
chief,  and  especially  to  one  who  dons  the  United 
States  uniform,  has  just  dined  with  the  general  in 
command,  and  has  a  bottle  of  whiskey  in  each  hand, 
is  a  sore  indignity.  With  the  aid  of  one  Sitka  Jack, 
then  a  well  known  character  among  the  townsfolk,  he 
wrested  the  rifle  from  the  soldier's  grasp,  and  entered 
the  Indian  village  close  at  hand. 

The  guard  was  at  once  turned  out,  and  "ordered," 
writes  Davis  in  his  report  of  January  5,  1869,  "to 
follow  him  into  the  village,  and  arrest  him  and  his 
party.  He  resisted  by  opening  a  fire  upon  the  guard. 
The  guard  returned  it,  but  finding  the  Indians  too 
strong  for  them,  retreated  back  into  the  garrison.  As 
the  chief  hhnsclf  was  reported  probably  killed  in  the 
nii^lde,  and  the  whole  tribe  of  Sitkas,  among  whom  he 
was  staying,  was  thrown  into  a  great  state  of  excite- 
ment, I  thought  it  prudent  to  order  a  strong  guard 
out  for  the  night,  and  to  take  no  further  action  until 
morning,  as  the  night  was  very  dark,  thus  giving 
them  time  to  reflect. 

"I  called  the  principal  Sitka  chiefs  together,  and 
they  disclaimed  any  participation  in  the  affair,  and 
said  they  did  not  desire  to  fight  either  the  troops  or 
the  Chilkahts,  and  that  they  had  already  hoisted  white 


CHOLCHEKA'S  WRONGS.  611 

flags  over  their  cabins.  I  then  demanded  the  surren- 
der of  the  Chilkaht  chief,  who,  after  considerable  delay 
and  some  show  of  fight  on  the  part  of  about  fifty  of 
bis  warriors,  came  in  and  gave  himself  up.  A  few 
minutes'  talk  with  him  sufficed  to  convince  me  thaft  he 
was  bent  on  war,  and  I  would  have  had  to  fight  but 
for  the  Sitkas  refusing  to  join  in  his  design.  I  con- 
fined him  and  his  principal  confederates  in  the  guard- 
house, where  he  still  remains."*^ 

In  a  few  days  Cholcheka  and  his  party  were  lib- 
erated, and  here  it  was  supposed  the  matter  would 
end ;  but,  as  it  proved,  this,  the  first  difficulty  between 
the  Indians  and  the  military,  was  fraught  with  evil 
consequences,  and  all  on  account  of  a  United  States 
general  making  an  Indian  drunk,  and  then  having  two 
of  his  people  killed.  And  this  from  his  own  showing; 
we  never  hear  the  other  side  of  these  stories.  "On 
the  25th  of  December  last,"  continues  Davis,  in  a 
report  dated  March  9,  1869,  "a  couple  of  white 
men,  named  Maager  and  Walker,  left  Sitka  in  a 
small  boat  on  a  trading  expedition  in  Chatham  Straits. 
About  one  week  after  their  departure  the  difficulty 
between  the  Chilcot  chief  and  a  few  of  his  fol- 
lowers occurred  at  this  place,  as  heretofore  reported. 
It  appears  that  during  this  difficulty  a  party  of 
eight  Kake  Indians  were  at  the  Sitka  village,  and 
one  of  them  was  shot  by  a  sentinel  while  attempting 
to  escape  from  the  village  in  a  canoe,  contrary  to  or- 
ders and  an  understanding  with  the  peaceable  portion 
of  the  Indians.  The  parties  thus  attempting  to  escape 
were  run  down  by  small  boats  from  the.  Saginaw  and 
the  revenue  cutter  Reliance,  and  brought  back.  As 
they  were  unarmed,  they  were  permitted  to  go  about 
their  business.  They  remained  some  days  among  the 
Sitkas,  and  after  the  Chilcot  chief  was  restored  to 


^Sec,  Interior,  Rept.,  J^Ut  ConffJ^d  Sess.,  1028.  In  his  letter  to  Vincent 
Colyer,  dated  Nov.  10,  18G0,  Doclgo  says  that  the  kicking  was  witnessed  by 
a  little  Russian  girl.  A/.,  1031.  Two  Indians  were  killed  in  the  fray,  and  one 
Boldier  severely  wounded. 


C12  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

liberty,  it  is  reported  they  tried  to  get  him  to  join 
them  in  a  general  fight  against  the  whites.  From  the 
best  information  I  can  get,  he  declined  to  do  so.  They 
then  left  for  their  homes,  and  en  route  murdered 
Maager  and  Walker  in  the  most  brutal  manner."*^ 

It  was  not  yet  known  to  the  military  authorities, 
or,  if  it  were,  the  fact  was  ignored,  that  among  the 
Thlinkeet  tribes,  when  a  member  has  suffered  death 
or  injury  from  violence,  his  comrades  require  payment 
in  money  or  goods,  and  in  default  of  it,  never  fail  to 
retaliate.  The  present  of  a  few  blankets  or  other 
articles  to  the  relatives  of  those  who  fell  in  the  ^meute 
at  Sitka  would  probably  have  prevented  the  troubles 
that  ensued.*^  It  is  certain  that  it  would  at  least  have 
prevented  the  mutilation  and  murder  of  Maager  and 
Walker. 

Davis  had  now,  as  he  thought,  no  alternative. 
He  sailed  for  Kou  Island,  the  territory  of  the 
Kakes,  on  board  the  SagiiiaWy  intending  to  obtain 
the  surrender  of  the  murderers,  or  to  seize  some  of 
their  chiefs  as  hostages.  On  his  arrival  he  found  that 
the  whole  tribe  had  disappeared,  dreading  the  ven- 
geance that  might  overtake  them;  whereupon  he  or- 
dered their  villages  to  be  razed  to  the  ground  and  all 
their  property  to  be  destroyed. 

Henceforth  troubles  with  the  Indians  continued 
throughout  and  after  the  military  occupation.**     On 

*^  Ai-my  and  Navy  Jour.,  March  1,  1869.  A  copy  of  Gen.  Davig*  report 
was  furnished  to  this  publication  from  the  headquarters  of  the  military 
division  of  the  Pacihc. 

*-  Five  months  after  the  6meute  occurred,  a  party  of  Chilkate  boarded 
a  vessel,  and  dcniandcd  money  or  life.  Guaranty  was  given  for  payment, 
and  on  the  refusal  of  the  commander  at  Sitka  to  furnish  the  sum  agreed  on, 
it  was  paid  by  the  owner,  Frank  K.  Lou  than,  a  Sitka  merchant,  who  says,  in 
a  letter  to  Vincent  Colyer,  in  1809:  *My  own  experience  has  taught  me  that 
un  immediate  settlement  for  any  mortal  or  other  injury  inflicted  is  the  roost 
judicious  course  to  pursue  with  the  Kolosh  Indians.'  UepL  hid,  AJoUrs, 
Ahwka,  in  Hept.  Iiid.  Comm.f  1869,  p.  573. 

*'  Professor  Davidson  of  the  coast  suiTey  went  to  the  Chilkat  River  to 
observe  the  solar  eclipse  on  August  9,  18G9.  He  was  warned  that  the  Chil- 
kat Indians  had  just  been  provoked  to  hostility,  but  did  not  heed  the  w^arn- 
ing,  and  the  party  returned  safe.  The  observation  was  made  near  a  populous 
village,  and  wiicn  it  took  place  the  Indians  gradually  disappeared  and  fled 
i.ito  the  woods  in  silent  dismay.     They  had  not  believed  Davidson's  predic- 


KILLING  OF  LOWAK  613 

Christmas  night  of  1869  it  was  reported  to  the  officer 
in  command  at  Fort  Wrangell  that  a  Stikeen  named 
Lowan,  or  Siwau,**  had  bitten  off  the  finger  of  the 
wife  of  the  quartermaster  sergeant.  A  detachment 
was  sent  to  arrest  him,  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Loucks, 
who  states  that  he  entered  the  Indian's  house  with 
twelve  men,  eight  being  posted  outside,  and  instruc- 
tions given  to  fire  at  a  given  signal.  "  I  tapped 
Siwau  on  the  shoulder,"  reports  the  lieutenant,  "  say- 
ing that  I  wanted  him  to  come  with  me.  He  arose 
from  his  sitting  posture  and  said  he  would  put  on  his 
vest;  after  that  he  wished  to  get  his  coat.  Feeling 
convinced  that  this  was  merely  to  gain  time,  and  that 
he  wished  to  trifle  with  me,  I  began  to  be  more  urgent. 
Siwau  appeared  less  and  less  inclined  to  come  away 
with  me,  and  in  this  the  latter  part  of  the  parley  he 
became  impudent  and  menacing  in  raising  his  hands  as 
if  to  strike  me.  I  admonished  him  against  such 
actions,  and  tried  my  utmost  to  avoid  extreme  meas- 
ures in  arresting  him.  About  this  time  Esteen, 
probably  apprehending  danger  to  his  brother,  Siwau, 
rushed  forward  in  front  of  the  detachment,  extending 
his  arms  theatrically,  and  exclaiming,  as  I  supposed 
under  the  circumstances,  '  Shoot;  kill  me;  I  am  not 
afraid.'  Siwau,  seeing  this,  also  rushed  upon  the 
detachment,  endeavoring  to  snatch  a  musket  away 
from  one  of  the  men  on  the  right  of  the  detachment. 
Still  wishing  to  avoid  loss  of  life  if  possible,  I  tried  to 
give  him  two  or  three  sabre-cuts  over  the  head  to  stun 
without  killing  him.  In  doing  this  I  had  given  the 
preconcerted  signal,  by  raising  my  hand,  to  fire.  I 
should  judge  about  six  or  eight  shots  were  fired  during 
the  m^l^e,  and  only  ceasing  by  the  Indian  Siwau  fall- 
ing at  the  feet  of  the  detachment  dead." 

The  oflScer  returned  to  his  quarters  and  dismissed 
his  men,  supposing   that  no  further  trouble  would 

tion  the  day  before,  and  its  fulfilment  probably  caused  the  safety  of  the  party. 
liepi.  Coast  Survey,  18C9, 177-9. 

^*  Both  names  are  used  in  the  official  reports  on  this  matter. 


614  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

occur;  but  an  hour  later  shots  were  heard  from  the 
direction  of  the  store  of  the  post-trader,  and  taking 
with  him  a  single  private,  Loucks  ran  toward  the  sp(^t. 
On  his  way  he  stumbled  across  an  object  near  the 
plank  walk  laid  between  the  store  and  the  garri- 
son quarters.  It  was  the  post-trader  s  partner,  Leon 
Smith,  lying  on  his  breast  with  arms  extended,  a  re- 
volver near  his  right  hand,  fourteeen  bullet  wounds 
in  his  left  side  just  below  the  heart,  and  three  in 
the  left  wrist.  A  few  hours  later  he  died  an  ex- 
tremely painful  death,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
murder  had  been  committed  by  an  Indian  named 
Scutdoo. 

Immediately  after  reveill(5  Loucks  was  sent  w^th 
twenty  men  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  mur- 
derer; to  summon  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe  to  the  post, 
and  to  state  that  if  the  culprit  were  Yiot  delivered  up 
at  mid-day  at  latest,  fire  would  be  opened  on  the  Ind- 
ian village  outside  the  stockade.  At  noon  there  were 
no  indications  that  the  demand  would  be  complied  with, 
but  there  were  very  strong  indications  that  the  Ind- 
ians intended  to  fight.^  After  consulting  with  his 
fellow-officers  and  waiting  for  two  hours  more,  in  the 
hope  that  the  natives  would  change  their  determina- 
tion, Lieutenant  Borrowe  of  the  second  artillery,  then 
in  command, ordered  his  battery  to  open  with  solid  shot 
on  the  murderer's  house.  Several  shot  passed  through 
the  building,  but  the  Indians  maintained  their  posi- 
tion and  returned  the  fire.  Later  a  fusillade  was  opened 
by  the  Indians  from  the  hills  in  rear  of  the  post,  but 
being  answered  with  canister,  they  quickly  dispersed. 

Firing  was  continued  on  both  sides  until  dark.  "  The 
next  morning,  just  at  daybreak,"  reports  Borrowe, 
"they  opened  on  the  garrison  from  the  ranch  with 
musketry,  which  was  immediately  replied  to,  and  see- 
ing that  they  were  determined  not  only  to  resist,  but 

**  Some  of  them  were  observed  carrying  away  their  goods  to  a  place  of 
cafety.  LieutcjiaiU  Borroice'a  Rept.  in  6cn.  Ex,  Doc^  JIflst  Cong,  2d  Sess.^  uo. 
G7. 


BOKROWE'S  ACHIEVEMENTS.  615 

had  become  the  assailants,  I  resolved  to  shell  them, 
but  having  only  solid  shot  for  the  six-pounder,  and  the 
distance  being  too  great  for  canister,  I  still  continued 
the  fire  from  that  gun  with  shot  and  from  the  moun- 
tain howitzer  with  shell." 

During  the  afternoon  messengers  were  sent  under  a 
flag  of  truce  to  request  a  parley.  The  reply  was,  that 
until  the  murderer  was  surrendered  "  talk  was  useless." 
'*  Soon  after,"  continues  Borrowe,  *'  the  chiefs  were 
seen  coming  over,  and  a  party  behind  them  with  the 
murderer,  who  was  easily  recognized  by  his  dress. 
Just  as  they  were  leaving  the  ranch  a  scuffle,  ev- 
idently prearranged,  took  place,  and  the  prisoner  es- 
caped, and  was  seen  making  for  the  bush,  no  attempt 
to  rearrest  him  being  made."  On  arriving  at  the  post 
the  chiefs  were  informed  that  if  Scutdoo  were  not  de- 
livered up  before  six  o'clock  the  next  evening  their 
village  and  its  occupants  would  be  destroyed.  At 
nine  p.  m.  on  the  26th  the  murderer  was  surrendered; 
on  the  28th  he  was  tried  by  court-martial,  and  at  noon 
on  the  following  day  he  was  hanged.*^ 

The  prompt  action  of  Lieutenant  Borrowe  was  ap- 
proved by  General  Davis,  but  it  would  appear  that  the 
matter  might  have  been  settled  without  the  murder 
of  an  Indian,  a  white  man,  and  the  bombardinent  of 
an  Indian  village,  especially  as  the  general  admits  that 
Siwau  was  drunk  when  he  bit  off  the  woman's  finger. 
This  skilful  and  gentlemanly  performance  of  the 
lieutenant,  who  with  twenty  armed  men  could  not 
arrest  a  drunken  and  defenceless  Indian  without  first 
cutting  him  on  the  head  with  a  sabre,  and  then  allowing 
him  to  be  shot,  was  a  fitting  supplement  to  that  of  his 
general.  The  killing  of  Siwau  was  no  loss  a  murder 
than  was  the  assassination  of  the  white  man.  For  that 
murder  vengeance  must  be  t^ken,  in  accordance  with 
Indian  notions  of  justice,  and  the  post-trader's  assassi- 

<«A  full  report  of  the  affair  at  Fort  Wranf»ell  is  contained  in  ///.,  the  re- 
port of  Lieutenant  Loucks  wliicli  follows,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  court- 
martial  wbicli  arc  appended. 


616  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

nation  was  the  act  of  vengeance  as  inflicted  by  Scutdoo- 
After  listening  with  perfect  calmness  to  his  sentence, 
the  prisoner  exclaimed,  "Very  well,"  and  said  that "  he 
would  see  Mr  Smith  in  the  other  world,  and,  as  it 
were,  explain  to  him  how  it  all  happened;  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  kill  him  particularly;  had  it  been  any 
one  else,  it  would  have  been  all  the  same."*^ 

There  is  abundant  testimony  as  to  the  peaceful 
character  of  the  Indians  at  Port  Wrangell.  Leon 
Smith  himself  says,  in  a  letter  to  Vincent  Colyer, 
written  about  three  months  before  his  death,  "I  have 
found  them  to  be  quiet,  and  they  seem  well  disposed 
toward  the  whites;"  and  in  the  same  letter  remarks 
that  **the  Stick  (Stikeen)*®  tribe  are  a  very  honest 
tribe,  and  partial  to  the  whites."  These  statements 
are  indorsed  by  others.  Moreover,  from  the  reports  of 
several  reliable  witnesses  it  appears  that  the  Wrangell 
Indians  were  far  more  industrious,  if  not  more  intel- 
ligent, thau  the  United  States  soldiers.*" 

From  the  official  reports  of  the  officers  in  command 
at  Sitka  and  Fort  Wrangell,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
conduct  of  the  troops  was  sufficiently  atrocious,  and 
of  course  they  put  the  matter  in  its  most  favorable 
light.  "If,"  writes  the  Christian  missionary  society's 
superintendent  of  Indian  missions'*  to  Vincent  Colyer, 
in  1870,  "the  United  States  government  did  but 
know  half,  I  am  sure  they  would  shrink  from  being 
identified  with  such  abominations,  and  the  cause  of 
so  much  misery.  I  hope  and  pray  that  in  God's  good 
providence  the  soldiers  will  be  moved  away  from  Fort 

*^  See  report  of  proceedings  of  conrt-martinl.  Soutdoo  admitted  that  he 
was  the  murderer,  and  was  identified  by  the  chiefs. 

*^A  Thlinkeet  tribe.  The  word  is  variously  spelled.  For  the  location  of 
the  tribe,  see  my  Native  Bacea^  i.  96,  143. 

*•  *  The  majority  of  these  Indians  are  very  industrious,  and  are  always 
anxious  to  get  einplojrment,  *  writes  W.  Wall,  interpreter  at  Wrangell.  *  They 
arc  of  a  very  supei-ior  intelligence/  says  William  S.  Dodge,  collector  of  cus- 
toms. Colyer  s  he pL,  B.\}i^.  D. 

^^The  Rev.  W.  Duncan,  superintendent  in  British  Columbia,  near  the 
boundary  line  of  Alaska.  Id.,  p.  10. 


OUTRAGES.  617 

Tongas  and  Fort  Wrangel,  where  there  are  no  whites 
to  protect."  *^^ 

It  is  unnecessaty  to  relate  in  detail  all  the  outrages 
that  called  forth  this  well  deserved  remark  and  justi- 
fied it  in  later  years.  I  will  mention  only  three 
instances.  At  Sitka,  a  Chilkat  was  deliberately 
shot  dead  by  a  civilian  in  1869  for  breaking  the 
glass  of  a  show-case;^  three  were  wounded  in  1872 
by  United  States  soldiers  in  an  affray  caused  by  the 

B^  The  superintendent  is  wrong  on  this  point.  There  was  a  small  number 
of  white  people  at  each  of  these  posts. 

M  Probably  by  James  C.  Parker,  an  employee  of  the  post-trader.  Parker 
was  tried  by  a  court-martial.  The  finding  of  the  court  was,  that  *  after  a 
careful  examination  of  the  witnesses  who  Imve  been  called  befoi-e  the  board, 
the  board  has  not  been  able  to  determine,  further  than  through  the  inferences 
of  circumstantial  evidence,  who  shot  the  Chilkat  Indian.  The  circumstan- 
tial evidence  points  to  an  employee  of  the  post- trader,  Mr  Parker,  as  the 
person  who  did  the  shooting;  the  breaking  of  a  show-case  for  the  purpose  of 
stealing  being,  as  far  as  the  board  can  determine,  the  circumstance  which  led 
to  the  shooting,  and  the  board  is  of  the  opinion  that  if  there  were  no  more 
reasons  for  shooting  than  those  brought  out  in  evidence,  the  act  was  not 

I'ustifiable.*  The  evidence  was  at  least  such  as  would  have  endangered  Par- 
tor's  neck  if  he  had  been  living  in  British  Columbia.  Colonel  W.  H.  Den- 
nison,  then  in  command  of  the  post,  testified:  'I  was  in  the  sutler's  [poat- 
trader's]  store  at  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Mr  Parker,  who  is  cm- 
ployed  in  the  store,  came  in  very  much  excited,  and  asked  Mr  Sou  than  [the 
sutler]  whero  his  rifle  was.  Mr  Sou  than  asked  Mr  Parker  to  the  purport  as 
to  whether  he  had  seen  the  Indian.  Mr  Parker  replied  that  he  had.  While 
Mr  Parker  was  looking  around  for  the  rifle  and  changing  his  shoes,  Mr  Sou  than 
told  him  two  or  three  times  not  to  take  the  rifle.  Some  one  else  sitting  by 
the  stove  told  Mr  Parker  to  take  the  pistol  im^tead  of  the  rifle.  Mr  Parker 
said  the  pistol  was  not  sure  enough;  **1  am  going  to  take  the  rifle  to  bring  the 
Indian  back."  He  took  the  Henry  rifle,  went  out  of  the  front  door,  and 
walked  up  toward  the  Indian  market-house,  and  came  back  in  about  ten  min- 
utes. Mr  Southan  asked  him  if  he  had  gotten  the  Indian.  Mr  Parker  replied 
that ' '  that  was  a  very  hard  question  to  ask  a  man. " '  When  asked  whether,  as 
commanding  officer,  he  had  taken  any  action  in  the  case,  the  colonel  answerod: 
'I took  none  moro  than  to  investigate  and  satisfy  myself  that  no  soldier  of 
my  command  was  engaged  in  the  shooting.*  Southan  stated  that  the  damage 
to  the  show-case  was  trifling,  and  that  Parker  asked  for  the  rifle,  saying  that 
he  was  in  pursuit  of  the  Indian  who  had  broken  the  sbbw-case  window. 
Private  John  McKenzie  testified  that  thero  was  no  one  with  Parker  at  the 
time,  private  Alonzo  Ramsey,  that  he  saw  Parker  chase  the  Indian,  return 
to  the  store  for  the  rifle,  go  outside  the  stockade,  and  disappear  behind  a 
lioighboriug  hill  near  the  Greek  church.  A  few  minutes  later  kamsey  heard 
three  shots  fired,  and  from  the  direction  of  the  smoke  supposed  tliat  Parker 
had  discharged  his  gun.  Immediately  after  the  shooting  the  Indian  stated 
to  bis  brother  that  the  shots  were  fired  at  him  by  Parker  in  rear  of  the 
Greek  church,  on  the  hill  near  the  stockade.  Sec.  Lderior  RcpL,  41st  Cong, 
8d  Sess.t  app.  R,  1047.  A  few  weeks  before  tliis  incident.  Lieutenant  Cowan 
of  the  revenue  sendee  was  shot  dead  in  a  saloon  by  a  discharged  soldier. 
The  bullet  was  intended  for  Colonel  Dennison,  who  was  with  Cowan  at  the 
time. 


018  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

accidental  breaking  of  an  egg-^  and  an  Indian  chief, 
beinof  sent  on  board  a  steamer  from  Fort  Wranofoll  ia 
1875,  as  a  witness  against  some  military  prisoners, met 
with  such  ill  usage  that  he  cut  his  throat,  his  servant 
afterward  attempting  to  blow  up  the  steamer  by 
throwing  a  large  can  of  powder  into  one  of  the  fur- 
naces, and  his  tribe  threatening  war  on  hearing  of 
their  chiefs  suicide. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  there  was  no 
power  or  authority  in  the  land  to  punish  wrong-doers, 
and  a  serious  outbreak  was  of  course  anticipated;  but 
none  occurred.  In  August  1877  there  were  at  most 
but  fifteen  American  citizens  and  five  Russians  re- 
maining at  Sitka,  with  their  wives  and  families,  at 
the  mercy  of  the  hundreds  of  Kolosh  who  inhabited 
tlie  adjoining  village.  They  were  in  hourly  fear  of 
their  lives,  as  they  saw  drunken  men  staggering  past 
their  residences  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night;  but 
that  for  two  years  at  least,  the  Indians  caused  further 
trouble,  apart  from  being  noisy,  boisterous,  sometimes 
insolent,  sometimes  guilty  of  petty  theft,  and  always 
drunk  when  they  could  obtain  liquor,  there  is  no 
evidence.  Much  indignation  was  expressed  by  the 
newspapers  of  the  Pacific  coast  as  to  the  indiflference 
Y/ith  which  a  handful  of  loafers  and  oflSce-seeking  poli- 
ticians— American  citizens  they  were  called — were 
abandoned  to  their  fate."  In  a  San  Francisco  pub- 
lication issued  November  2,  1877,  it  is  even  stated 
that  the  timely  arrival  of  a  revenue  cutter  alone  saved 
Sitka  from  demolition  and  the  white  population  from 

^'Two  soldiers  wcro  bargaining  with  an  Indian  woman  for  a  basket  of 
e^t'-^B,  and  broke  cue  of  them,  for  which  the  woman  demanded  payment.  A 
eculile  followed,  and  soon  the  tribe  gathered  in  the  parade-ground.  One  of 
tlicm  shot  at  the  sentry,  whereupon  the  troops  were  put  uudcr  arms.  Alashi 
Jlcr.,  Ju!y  "24,  1S72;  Portland  Bull.,  July  15,  1S72;  ,S*.  F,  BuUethiy  August 
1,  1872. 

s'Amont?  others,  see  the  -S^.  F.  Dnlletin,  Sept.  21,  1877,  Oct.  30,  1877, 
Jan.  22,  1878;  Chronicle,  Oct.  31,  1877,  Jan.  20,  1878;  Call,  Jan.  23,  1873. 
I:i  the  San  Frnncisco  Post,  October  31,  1877,  it  is  justly  remarked  that  *  the 
cliiiiiorfor  troops  to  liohl  the  Indians  in  check  is  a  shallow  pretext,  x^rorapted 
by  a  dozen  coutractors,  and  the  agents  of  a  steamship  line  that  has  lost  ita 
ti'aliic. ' 


OFFICIAL  EEPORTa  619 

slaughter;  but  now  let  us  hear  the  official  reports  of 
the  revenue  officers  themselves  on  this  matter. 

Captain  White  of  the  Corwin,  ordered  to  Sitka 
soon  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  military,  writes,  on 
August  12,  1877:  ''After  diligent  inquiries  and  care- 
ful observation  since  our  arrival  here,  I  have  not  dis- 
covered any  breach  of  the  public  peace,  nor  has  my 
attention  been  called  to  any  particular  act,  save  a  few 
petty  trespasses  committed  by  the  Indians,  half- 
breeds,  and  white  men  as  well."^ 

In  September  of  this  year  there  was  much  needless 
alarm  at  Sitka.  It  was  reported  that  Sitka  Jack, 
then  the  chief  of  his  tribe,  had  invited  a  large  number 
of  the  Kolosh  from  the  districts  north  of  the  capital 
to  be  present  at  a  grand  festival  which  was  to  com- 
mence on  the  1st  of  October.  Liquor  would  of  course 
flow  plentifully,  and  it  was  feared  that  the  festival 

**  Morris*s  Hept.^  I'll,  The  vessel  was  sent  at  the  request  of  Major  Berry, 
collector  of  customs,  and  William  Gouvemeur  Morris,  special  assent  of  the 
treasury  department,  and  autlior  of  the  report.  The  cruise  of  the  Corvnri  in 
Alaska  and  the  N.  W.  Arctic  in  1881,  as  related.  House  Ex.  Doc,  (published 
iu  ceparato  form,  Washington,  1883).  is  too  well  known  to  the  reader  to  rcfjuiro 
comment.  Mention  of  this  cruise  is  made  in  the  S,  F,  Bulletin,  Sept.  20-29 
and  Oct.  22,  1S81.  On  Augjst  Tith  of  this  j^car,  Capt.  Hooper  of  the  Cor- 
iriii  succeeded,  after  mnch  difficulty,  in  reaching  WrangcU  Land.  The  island 
was  christened  New  Columbia,  the  American  flag  hoisted,  a  record  of  the 
Condfi's  visit  and  a  copy  of  the  New  York  Jlerald  were  placed  in  a  bottle  and 
Bccurcd  to  the  fla/j-pole,  and  the  flag  saluted.  The  decision  of  the  court  of 
inquiry  held  at  Washington,  as  to  the  members  of  the  Jeanette  expedition,  is 
published  in  Id.,  Feb.  19,  1883.  During  her  cruise  the  Corwin  destroyed  the 
Indian  village  of  Hootchenoo  on  the  Alaska  coast,  two  miles  from  North  Port. 
The  incident  is  thus  described  in  Id.,  Nov.  13,  1882:  *The  tribe  had  seized 
and  held  two  white  men  and  a  steam-launch,  which  had  been  sent  out  with  a 
tug  after  whales.  The  launch  was  provided  with  a  bomb-gun,  upon  firing 
■which  an  explosion  occurred,  and  an  Indian  chief  who  was  assisted  on  board 
the  lannch  was  killed.  The  tribe  surrounded  and  captured  the  launch  with 
two  white  men,  and  nearly  succce<lcd  in  gcttin'r  possession  of  the  tug.  Tlie 
Latter,  however,  got  away  and  steamed  to  Sicka.  The  Corwin,  with  Capt. 
Merriman  and  sixty  sailors  and  marines,  was  despatched  to  Iloochenoo.  Capt. 
MeiTinnn  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  launch  and  prisoners,  and  tlie 
Indians  dcniamlcd  200  blankets  in  compensation  for  the  death  of  tho  chi.  f. 
Captain  Merriman  put  in  a  counterclaim  for  400  blankets  as  compensation  for 
tho  seizure  of  tho  launch  and  men.  The  Indians  refused,  and  the  next  mr>ni- 
ing  a  Catling  gun  was  played  on  tho  Indian  canoes  on  tlio  beach.  A  force 
was  afterward  landed,  which  destroyed  all  of  them.  The  Indians  afterv»  ard 
fled  to  tho  v.-oo<l3  and  tho  village  was  shelled,  the  huts  remaining  standing 
after  tho  chcUiiig,  licin^;  looted  and  burned  to  the  ground.'  Tho  cruise  of  llio 
United  States  relief  ctcamer  Uoiliers  is  mentioned  in  /(/.,  Nov.  9,  14,  17,  ISol, 
and  tho  wreck  of  the  VigilatU  in  /</.,  Aug.  15,  1881. 


020  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

would  end  in  the  sack  of  the  town  and  the  massacre 
of  its  inhabitants.     The  revenue  steamer  Wolcott  was 
therefore  ordered  to  Sitka  from  Port  Townsend,  and 
on  the  18th  of  October  her  commander  thus  reports 
to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury:  "The  situation  of 
affairs  here  remains  unchanged  since  the  cutter  Corwin 
left.     The  festival  among  the  Indians  is  nothing  new ; 
they  have  continued  this  fashion  of  holding  an  annual 
celebration  similar  to  this  one  for  years,  and  I  learn 
from  a  reliable  source  that  no  trouble  has  ever  come 
of  it,  or  is  there  likely  to  now.     They  are  noisy  and 
boisterous  in  their  mirth,  and  assume  immense  airs, 
and  swagger  around  with  some  insolence,  but  never 
make  any  threats.     Sitka  Jack,  the  chief  of  the  Sitka 
Indians,  has  recently  built  him  a  new  house,  and.  cele- 
brates the  event  on  this  occasion  by  inviting  the  rel- 
atives of  his  wife,  numbering  about  thirty  persons, 
from  the  Chilkaht  tribe.     These  are  all  the  Indians 
from  abroad,  which,  with  the  five  hundred  Sitka  Ind- 
ians, comprise  the  total  number  present.     With  the 
exception  of  the  noise  and  mirth  incident  to  these 
festivities,  I  am  assured  by  the  chiefs  that  there  shall 
bo  no  disturbance."*^     And  there  was  none;  nor  has 
there  since  been  any  very  serious  trouble.     In  1879 
dmcutes  were  threatened  at  Sitka  and  Fort  Wrangell, 
but  both  were  prevented,  the  former  by  the  arrival  of 
the  British  man-of-war  Osprey,  and  the  latter,  which 
was  merely  a  fray  between  two  hostile  tribes,  by  the 
arrival  of  a  party  of  armed  men  from  the  United 
States  steamer  Jamestownf     Since  that  time  there 
have  been  occasional  murders  and  attempts  at  murder, 
but  less  frequently,  in  proportion  to  the  population, 

w  Id. ,  128.  Captain  Sclden,  who  wrote  this  report,  was  of  opinion  that  the 
i^itkns,  beinff  entirely  dependent  on  the  sea-coast  for  the  means  of  sub- 
si  •.tonce,  ami  knowing  the  certainty  of  punishment  if  they  displayed  hos- 
tility toward  the  whites,  feared  the  consequences  too  much  to  commit  any 
(Uprcilations.  The  only  depredations  which  they  committed,  worthy  of  men- 
ti:):i,  "vvcro  carrying  off  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  government  buildings, 
ami  tearing  away  a  part  of  the  stockade  for  firewood. 

-^  An  aooouut  of  the  former  affair  is  given  in  BeardsUe'a  JRfpt,  Affairs^ 
Alai^ka,  4-0,  and  of  the  latter  in  the  S.  F,  Bulletin  of  Feb.  2,  1880. 


ABORIGINAL  RULE.  621 

tlian  has  been  the  case  in  some  of  the  states  and  ter- 
ritories of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Considering  that  since  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops 
the  natives  have  been  for  the  most  part  masters  of 
the  situation,  they  appear  to  have  shown  more  forbear- 
ance than  could  reasonably  be  expected.  It  is  true 
that  they  have  often  assumed  an  arrogant  tone,  have 
sometimes  demanded  and  occasionally  received  black- 
mail from  the  white  man  when  trouble  was  threat- 
ened;^ but  this  is  not  surprising.  They  had  been  ac- 
customed to  stern  treatment  under  Russian  rule,  to 
brutal  treatment  under  American  rule,  and  now  that 
there  was  no  rule,  they  found  themselves  living  in 
company  with  Americans,  Russians,  Creoles,  China- 
men, Eskimos,  men  of  all  races,  creeds,  and  colors, 
in  a  condition  of  primitive  republican  simplicity. 
They  vastly  outnumbered  those  of  all  other  national- 
ities. Notwithstanding  the  regulations  as  to  the  sale 
of  fire-arms,  ammunition,  and  spirituous  liquor,  the 
Indians  could  always  obtain  these  articles  in  exchange 
for  peltry  and  other  wares.  They  were  seldom  free 
from  the  craze  of  strong  drink,  and  strong  drink  of 
the  vilest  description ;  the  imported  liquor  sold  to  them 
was  the  cheapest  and  most  poisonous  compound  man- 
ufactured in  the  United  States,  and  the  soldiers  had 
taught  them  how  to  make  a  still  more  abominable 
compound  for  themselves. 

Nearly  all  the  troubles  that  have  occurred  with 
Indians,  since  the  time  of  the  purchase,  may  be  traced 
directly  or  indirectly  to  the  abuse  of  liquor.  During 
the  regime  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  rum 
was  sold  to  them  only  on  special  occasions,  and  then 
in  moderate  quantities,  but  afterward  the  supply  was 
limited  only  by  the  means  of  the  purchaser.  The 
excitement  of  a  drunken  and  lascivious  debauch  be- 
came the  one  object  in  life  for  which  the  Indians  lived, 
the  one  object  for  which  they  worked.     While  sober 

*•  See  the  report  of  the  commaiidor  of  the  Osprcy,  published  in  the  S,  F, 
Bulletin,  March'18,  1879. 


622  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

they  were  tractable  and  sometimes  industrious,  and 
if  they  had  sufficient  self-denial,  would  remain  sober 
long  enough  to  earn  money  for  a  prolonged  carousal. 
They  would  then  plan  their  prasnik,  as  they  termed 
it,  deliberately,  and  of  malice  aforethought,  and  enjoy 
it  as  deliberately  as  did  the  English  farm-laborer  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  when  spirits  were  cheap  and 
untaxed,  and  when  for  a  single  shilling  he  could  soak 
his  brains  in  alcohol  for  a  week  at  a  time  at  one  of  the 
road-side  taverns,  where  signs  informed  the  wayfarer 
that  he  could  get  well  drunk  for  a  penny,  dead-drunk 
for  twopence,  and  without  further  expense  sleep  off 
the  effects  of  his  orgy  on  the  clean  straw  provided  for 
him  in  the  cellar. 

Soon  after  the  purchase,  an  order  was  issued  by  the 
president  of  the   United   States^  that  all  distilled 
spirits  should  be  sent  to  department  headquarters  at 
Sitka  and  placed  under  control  of  General  Davis — a 
wise  proceeding,  if  we  may  judge  from  results — ^but 
the  injunction  was  of  no  avail.     In  1869  confiscated 
liquor  was  sold  at  auction  by  the  collector  of  the  port 
in  the  streets  of  Sitka.     In  the  same  year  nine  hundred 
gallons  of  pure  alcohol,  landed  from  the  steamer  New- 
hern  and  marked  'coal  oil,'  were  seized  by  the  in- 
spector; but  for  each  gallon  of  alcohol  or  alcoholic 
liquor  confiscated  by  the  revenue  officers,  probably  ten 
v;crc  smuggled  into  the  territory,*^  or  were  delivered 
under  some  pretext,  at  the  sutler's  stores.     By  the 
Kcwhcrn  were  also  forwarded  to  Tonga^ss  and  Fort 
Wrangell,  during  the  same  trip,  ten  barrels  of  distilled 
spirits,  twenty  of  ale,  and  a  large  number  of  cases  of 
porter  and  wine.     The  ship's  papers  showed  that  they 
wore  for  the  use  of  the  officers;  out  as  there  were  only 
four  officers  at  Tongass  and  a  single  company  of  troops 
at  Fort  Wrangell,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  were 

*■  Under  act  of  congress.     See  Colyer's  Rept.^  537,  and  app.  H,  585. 

^  *  During  the  sumtncr  season,*  writes  Moiris,  on  April  14, 1877,  *  the  Alas- 
kan coast  swarms  with  small  vessels  and  canoes,  uayig^atcd  by  desperate  and 
lawless  men,  bent  upon  smagglin^,  illicit  l>arter,  and  that  especial  curse  to 
the  natives — trading  in  ardent  spirits.'  Jiept.,  23. 


SALE  OF  LIQUOR.  623 

intended  for  sale  at  the  Indian  villages  adjoining  these 
posts.^^ 

In  answer  to  a  letter  from  the  secretary  of  war  in 
1873,  the  attorney  general  of  the  United  States  de- 
clared officially  that  "Alaska  was  to  be  regarded  as 
Indian  country,  and  that  no  spirituous  liquors  or  wines 
could  be  introduced  into  the  territory  without  an  order 
by  the  war  department  for  that  purpose."^^  In  1875 
all  permits  for  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  in  Alaska 
were  revoked,^  and  during  the  two  remaining  years  of 
the  military  occupation,  we  learn  of  no  serious  disturb- 
ances among  the  natives. 

The  disorders  that  followed  the  withdrawal  of  the 
troops  were  due  quite  as  much  to  white  men  as  to 
Indians;  and  by  both,  the  revenue  laws  and  revenue 
officers  were  held  in  contempt.  Of  the  disgraceful 
scenes  that  then  ensued,  I  will  give  a  single  instance. 
Early  in  1878  there  were  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miners  at  Fort  Wrangell,  waiting  until  the  ice  should 
form  on  the  Stikeen  River  or  navigation  should  become 
practicable.  In  a  report  dated  February  23d  of  that 
year,  the  deputy  collector  of  customs  at  Wrangell 
says:  "  While  I  was  at  Sitka  another  thing  occurred 
at  this  port  that  puts  to  shame  anything  that  has 
happened  heretofore.  A  gang  of  rowdies  and  bum- 
mers have,  for  the  past  three  months,  been  in  tlie 
habit  of  getting  on  a  drunken  spree,  and  then  at  mid- 
night going  about  the  town  making  the  most  hideous 
noises  imaginable,  disturbing  everybody,  and  insult- 
ing those  who  complain  of  these  doings.  On  the 
night  of  February  16th  the  incarnate  devils  started 
out  about  midnight,  and  after  raising  a  commotion 

•^  Id,y  537-8.  The  spirits  were  afterward  sent  to  Sitka,  through  the  inter- 
ference of  Colyer.  * 

8^ Letter  of  Geo.  H.  Williams  to  W.  W.  Belknap,  in  Sem  Ex.  Doc,  43d 
Confj.  2d  Sess.y  24.  In  Oct.  1874  the  deputy  collector  at  Wrau^rcll  was 
orreisted  by  oider  of  the  officer  in  command  for  violating  the  rules  on  the  im- 
portation of  liquor.  Alaska  Her.,  Oct.  28th.  On  Jan.  7,  1875,  the  district 
court  at  Portland,  in  re  John  A.  Carr  on  hiheas  corpus,  held  CaiT  to  answer  on 
a  similar  charge,  and  fixed  his  bail  at  §'i,500.  Portland  Oregonian,  Jiin.  8,  1875. 

^Gen,  Orders,  Dex>L  Col,,  Jan.  21,  1875. 


624       ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

all  over  town,  visited  a  house  occupied  by  an  Indian 
woman,  gave  her  whiskey  that  made  her  beastly 
drunk,  and  then  left.  Shortly  after  their  departure 
the  house  occupied  by  the  woman  was  discovered  to 
be  in  flames,  and  ere  any  assistance  could  be  rendered 
the  poor  woman  was  burned  to  death."^  It  was 
feared  that  two  months  later  there  might  be  a  thousand 
miners  congregated  at  Wrangell;  and  the  population 
of  the  Indian  village  was  about  double  that  number. 
As  there  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  whiskey  for  the 
former,  and  of  hootchenoo,  or  molasses-rum,  for  the 
latter,  serious  troubles  were  anticipated. 

During  the  last  five  months  of  1877,  there  were 
delivered  at  Sitka,  from  the  steamer  which  carried  the 
United  States  mail  from  Portland,  4,889  gallons  of 
molasses,  and  at  Fort  Wrangell  1,635  gallons.  Large 
quantities  were  also  landed  from  other  vessels,  all  for 
the  purpose  of  making  hootchenoo,  the  other  ingre- 
dients used  being  flour,  dried  apples  or  rice,  yeast 
powder,  and  sometimes  hops.  Sufficient  water  is 
added  to  make  a  thin  batter,  and  after  fermentation 
has  taken  place,  a  sour,  muddy,  highly  alcoholic  liquor 
is  produced,  of  abominable  taste  and  odor.®*  From 
one  gallon  of  the  mixture  nearly  a  gallon  of  hootche- 
noo is  distilled,  a  pint  of  which  is  quite  sufficient  to 
craze  the  strongest  brain. 

Before  the  time  of  the  purchase  the  art  of  making 
molasses-rum  was  unknown  to  the  natives,  but  after 
the  military  occupation  many  of  the  soldiers  became 
proprietors  of  hootchenoo  stills,  while  others  were  in 
the  habit  of  repairing  for  their  morning  dram  to  the 
Indian  village  outside  the  stockade  at  Sitka,  where 
this  liquor  was  sold  at  ten  cents  a  glass.**     Occasional 

"  Report  of  I.  C.  Dennis  in  Morris's  Rept. ,  4-5.  The  deputy  collector  states 
that  he  intends  to  stop  the  liquor  traffic. 

"  The  process  is  described  in  Af orrises  Rept. ,  61-2.  Petroflf  says  that  in 
1880  the  natives  used  Sandwich  Island  sugar  for  this  purpose.  Pop.  Alaska^ 
13.  Beardslee  states  that  in  1879  a  number  of  hootcnenoo  distHleries  near 
Sitka  were  broken  up.  Rept.  Affairs ^  Alaska,  16. 

^  Morris's  Rept.,  62;  and  letter  of  I.  C.  Dennis  in  Ptiget  Soitnd  Argus,  Nov. 
23,  1877.     'And  yet,'  remarks  the  deputy  collector,  *  white  men  were  ar- 


HOOTCHENOO  LIQUOR.  026 

raids  were  made  on  the  distilleries,  and  the  proceeds 
detained  until  it  could  be  settled  by  the  proper  authori- 
ties what  should  be  done  with  them.  What  was  done 
with  them  was  seldom  known,  but  it  is  certain  that 
no  real  effort  was  made  to  check  this  evil,  though  pre- 
tended restrictions  were  sometimes  placed  on  vendors 
of  raw  sugar  and  molasses. 

At  least,  a  considerable  amount  of  revenue  might 
have  been  derived  from  this  source,  enough,  perhaps, 
if  honestly  collected,  to  offset  a  large  part  of  the 
excess  in  disbursements  over  receipts,  which  has  oc- 
curred each  year  since  Sitka  was  declared  a  port  of 
entry.  Between  July  1,  1869,  and  May  1,  1878,  the 
receipts  of  the  customs  district  of  Alaska  from  all 
sources  were  $57,464.95,  while  the  disbursements  for 
the  same  period  were  $116,074.87.  The  operations 
of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  of  which  men- 
tion will  be  made  later,  were  confined  almost  entirely  to 
the  Prybilof  Islands,  and  have  yielded  an  income  to 
the  United  States  sufficient  to  pay  good  interest  on 
the  purchase  money.  But  the  rent  paid  for  the  fur- 
seal  islands  since  1871,  apart  from  the  tax  on  furs, 
has  barely  covered  the  deficit  of  revenue  in  other  por 
tions  of  the  territory.  Under  these  circumstances,  H 
was  recommended  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  in 
December  1877,  that  Sitka  should  be  abolished  as  a 
port  of  entry ,*^  or,  in  other  words,  that  Alaska  should 
t>e  left  to  take  care  of  itself 

It  would  seem  that  a  territory  which  for  the  five 
years  ending  May  1,  1876,  paid  into  the  United  States 
treasury  as  rent  for  the  Prybilof  Islands,  and  tax  on 
seal  skins,  more  than  $1,700,000,*^  or  nearly  four  and 
three  quarters  per  cent  a  year  on  the  purchase  money, 

rested,  confined,  and  prosecuted  on  a  charge  of  having  introduced  at  Wran- 
gell  a  bottle  of  liquor.^ 

•'  IfqDt,  in  IJouse  Ex,  Doc,,  45th  Cong.  2d  Ses^,  xxx.  The  receipts  and 
disbnrseraents  of  the  cuBtoms  district  o!  Alaska  between  July  1,  1BG9,  and 
May  1,  1878,  are  civen  in  detail,  for  c&cli  year,  ia  Morris's  Rept.,  11-12. 

*^tWnando  Wood's  liepi,,  AUiska  Com,  Co,,  in  Houk  Coin.  Repts,  44^h 
Cong.  Ist  Scss.,  app.  C,  10. 

HXR.  ALAtSA,    40 


// 


626       ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  COLONY. 

deserved  a  better  fate.  It  is  at  least  the  only  territory 
that  yields,  or  ever  has  yielded,  any  direct  revenue;  and 
yet,  notwithstanding  all  the  bills  and  petitions  laid  be- 
fore congress  for  its  organization,  it  was  without  gov- 
ernment, and  almost  without  protection. 

"  I  recommend  civil  government,"  writes  General 
Howard  to  the  secretary  of  war,  in  1875,  "by  attaching 
Alaska  to  Washington  Territory  as  a  county,  as  the 
simplest  solution  of  all  difficulties  in  the  case."*  In  a 
despatch  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  dated  January 
22,  1880,  the  commander  of  the  Jamestown^  then  sta- 
tioned at  Sitka,  remarks:  "A  court  should  be  estab- 
lished possessing  full  power  to  summon  a  jury  and  try 
and  settle  all  minor  cases  of  delinquency  on  the  spot, 
and  with  power  to  make  arrests  and  inflict  punishment 
of  fine  or  imprisonment.  For  offences  of  magnitude 
this  court  should  have  full  power  to  take  all  testimonj^, 
which  should  be  received  by  the  United  States  court 
at  Portland  as  final. . . .  The  land  here  should  be  sur- 
veyed and  existing  titles  perfected  and  protected,  and 
it  made  possible  to  transfer  real  estate."^^  "  Either 
the  civil  laws  of  the  United  States  should  be  ex- 
tended over  the  Indians,"  remarks  Colyer,  "or  a  code 

^  lu  the  same  year  a  bill  was  introduced  by  Senator  Mitchell,  and  one  in 
1876  by  Delegate  Gariielde  (from  Washington  Ter.),  for  this  purpose.  lu 
Cong.  Globe,  1875-^,  194,  it  is  stated  that  the  latter  bill  was  referred  to  com- 
niittee,  but  nothing  came  of  either  of  them.  In  1867  a  bill  to  organize  the 
territory  was  introduced  by  James  M.  Ashley,  House  Jour,,  40th  Cong.  1st 
Sens.y  209,  and  one  in  1871  to  provide  a  *  temporary  civil  oraanlzation  for  the 
territory.'  U.  S.  Seti.  Jour.,  566,  and  House  Jiept.,  2944.  &  1880  a  bill  was 
before  congress  for  organizing  the  territory.  On  December  13,  1881,  it  was 
resolved  in  the  senate,  *that  the  committee  on  territories  be  instructed  to  iu- 
quire  as  to  the  ex|)ediency  of  organizing  civil  government  in  Alaska.'  (7.  S. 
Sen.  Jour.,  47th  Cong.  Ut  Sens.,  96.  In  the  same  session  a  senate  joint  reso- 
lution authoriziug  the  president  to  declare  martial  law  in  Alaska  was  tv&d 
twice  and  referred.  Id.,  1281;  and  a  bill  for  establishing  courts  of  justice 
and  record  in  the  territory  was  read  twice,  referred,  and  reported  on  unfa- 
vorably. Id.,  1162.  During  this  session  a  petition  of  the  citizens  of  south- 
eastern Alaska  for  a  territorial  government,  a  resolution  of  the  San  Francisco 
board  of  trade  in  favor  of  the  introduction  of  civil  law,  and  a  memorial  of  the 
Portland  (Or.)  board  of  trade  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  territorial  gov- 
ernment were  presented,  of  course  with  the  usual  result. 

"^^ Bearddee's  Rept.,  34.  On  page  14  of  this  report  Beardslee says:  'There 
are  a  number  of  miners,  mining  engineers,  and  otocrs,  etc.,  who  are  desirous 
of  settling  in  Sitka  and  bringing  their  families.  If  they  could  preempt  land 
here,  or  purchase  land  and  houses  from  the  government,  the  place  would  take 
a  step  forward;  this  they  cannot  do.* 


GOVERNMEirr  NBBDED.  C27 

of  laws  at  once  adopted  defining  crime  and  providing 
a  judiciary  and  a  police  force  to  execute  it." '^  *'  What 
this  country  wants  is  law,  and  without  it  she  will 
never  flourish  and  prosper,"  remarks  I.  C.  Dennis,  on 
resigning  his  position  as  deputy  collector  at  Wrangell 
in  1878.  "  I  have  acted  in  the  capacity  of  arbitrator, 
adjudicator,  and  peace-maker  until  forbearance  has 
•ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  Within  the  past  month  one 
thousand  complaints  by  Indians  have  been  laid  before 
me  for  settlement,  and  as  I  am  neither  Indian  agent 
nor  justice  of  the  peace,  I  decline  the  honor  of  patch- 
ing up  Indian  troubles." 

The  main  obstacle  in  the  establishment  of  some  form 
of  civil  government  for  Alaska  appears  to  have  been  the 
difficulty  in  reconcihrig  the  conflicting  claims  of  the 
several  sections,  separated  as  they  are  by  a  vast  extent 
of  territory,  and  having  few  interests  in  common. 
South-eastern  Alaska  has  mines,  timber,  and  fisheries, 
though  it  is  not  probable  that  any  of  these  resources 
except  the  last  will  receive  much  attention  in  the 
near  future.  On  Cook  Inlet  in  Kadiak,  on  the  Alaskan 
peninsula,  and  on  the  Aleutian  Islands  there  are  also 
mines  and  fisheries,  but  fur-hunting  is  still  the  lead- 
ing industry.  In  the  far  north,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Yukon,  now  almost  deserted  by  white  men,  salmon 
canneries  may  be  established  at  no  distant  day,  which 
will  rival  those  of  the  Columbia  River;  while  at 
the  Prybilof  Islands,  the  catch  of  fur-seals  produces 
at  present  a  larger  aggregate  of  wealth  than  all  the 
other  industries  of  the  territory  combined. 

In  1883  Alaska  was  but  a  customs  district,  with  a        . 
collector  and  a  few  deputies.     For  laws,  the  territory    ^ 
had  the  regulations  made  by   the  secretary  of  the 
treasury;  and  for  protection,  the  presence  of  a  single 
war- vessel,  the  crew  of  which  was  sometimes  employed 
as  a  police  force  among  the  settlements  of  the  Alex-  * 
ander  Archipelago. 

J^  Rept, ,  560-1 .    Colyer  recommends  that  the  savage  tribes  be  put  on 
vations,  but  this  would  seem  impracticable. 


628  ALASKA  AS  A  UNITED  STATES  CXDLONY. 

From  St  Paul  to  Sitka  the  distance  is  but  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  and  from  Iluiliuk  in  Unalaska 
about  a  thousand  miles;  and  yet  the  deputies  at  both  of 
these  stations  could  rarely  report  to  the  collector  ex- 
cept by  way  of  San  Francisco,  nearly  twenty  degrees 
to  the  south  of  either  point.  The  mail  service  estab- 
lished between  Sitka  and  Port  Townsend  extended 
only  to  Fort  Wrangell  and  Harrisburg,  and  in  some  • 
parts  of  the  territory  the  visit  of  a  whaling- vessel  or 
revenue  cutter  afforded  until  recently  the  only  means 
of  communication  with  the  outside  world."^ 

Among  the  wants  of  Alaska,  remarks  a  special 
agent  of  the  census  of  1880,  are  "a  gradual  but  sys- 
tematic exploration  of  the  interior,  and  an  immediate 
survey  of  the  coast  and  harbors  of  the  region  now 
constantly  frequented  by  trading  and  fishing  vessels, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  alarmingly  frequent  occur- 
rence of  wrecks  upon  unknown  rocks  and  shoals."'* 
The  navigation  of  the  Alaskan  coast  is  in  many  parts 
extremely  intricate,  and  as  yet  reliable  charts  exist 
only  for  a  fev\'  sections.  Some  progress  has  been  made 
in  this  direction,  however,  since  the  purchase,  and  as 
I  have  already  observed,  we  may  in  the  remote  fu- 
ture possess  reliable  charts  for  the  entire  coast  and 
more  definite  information  as  to  the  interior. 

In  1867  an  expedition  organized  by  the  treasury 
department  sailed  from  San   Francisco  on  board  the 
V       revenue  steamer  Lincoln,  and   during   the   summer 
passed  several  months  in  exploring  and  obtaining  in- 
formation concerning  the  newly  purchased  country. 

^^In  1869  the  United  States  senate  resolved  that  the  committee  on  post- 
offices  inquire  as  to  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  mail  servioe  between 
Portland  and  Alaska.  Seii,  Jour,^  4^8t  Cong.  Ist  Sess.,  p.  77.  Mail  statistics 
for  187G-7  are  given  by  the  postmaster-gen.  in  BepL,  44th  Cong.  Sd  Sess.,  and 
ia  House  Ev.  Doc.^  4^th  Cong,  ^d  Sess.^  \'ii.  part  ii.  There  are  no  overland 
mails.  During  tlie  latter  part  of  the  Russian  occupation  there  appears  to 
have  been  regular  overland  communication.  In  1857  the  agent  at  Saint 
Michael  was  instructed  to  seud  an  overhiud  mail  to  Sitka  by  way  of  Cook 
Inlet  and  Kadiak.  In  the  previous  year  the  mail  had  arrived  safely  and  in 
good  order.  iSitba  ArrhivfSy  i.  264. 

"/ca»  PelroXf]  iu  Internat,  Rev.,  Feb.  1882,  122-3. 


EXPLORING  PART1K8.  629 

Among  the  members  was  Gcorj^o  Davidson,  who  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  coast  survey  party,  and  whoso 
report  was  printed  by  order  of  congress,  and  forms  a 
most  valuable  memoir."* 

In  1869  a  party  v/as  sent  to  the  Yukon  River, 
in  charge  of  Charles  W.  Raymond,  for  the  purpose  of  ^ 
ascertaining  the  amount  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's trade  in  that  district,  and  the  quantity  of 
goods  forwarded  from  British  territory ;  also  to  obtain 
information  concerning  the  sources  of  the  Yukon  and 
its  tributaries,  and  the  disposition  of  the  tribes  in  its 
neighborhood.'*  In  1871-2  W.  H.  Dall  surveyed  the 
Aleutian  and  Shumagin  Islands  and  located  several 
new  harbors.^®  In  1879  a  valuable  set  of  charts  of 
Sitka  Sound  was  forwarded  to  the  bureau  of  navi- 
gation by  L.  A.  Beardslee,  the  commander  of  the 
JaTmstOivn?^  Thus  some  little  effort  has  been  made 
toward  the  survey  and  exploration  of  the  territory,  if 
none  as  yet  toward  its  development. 

"  U.  S.  Coast  Survey,  40th  Cong.  Sd  Sess.,  app.  18,  p.  187.  The  i)ersoimel 
of  the  expedition  is  given  in  /t/.,  198-9.  The  most  interesting  parts  of  the 
report,  relating  to  climate,  vegetable  productions,  fisheries,  timber,  and  fur- 
bearing  animals,  were  republished  in  the  Coctst  Pilot  of  Alaska  (Washington, 
18G9).  Some  valuable  collections  in  natural  history  and  ethnology  v»-ero  sup- 
plied by  Davidson  and  others  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Smithsonvm 
JiepL,  1867,  p.  43. 

•*The  report  is  published  in  Sen,  Doc.,  42d  Cong.  Ui  Scss.,  12.  In  1683 
a  partial  exploration  of  the  Chilkat  River  was  made  by  a  private  party.  An 
account  of  it  is  given  in  Bancroft  Library  Scraps,  190-2. 

'•Fourteen  according  to  Bept.  Cooftt  Survey ,  1872,  49,  but  most  of  them 
were  known  before,  at  least  to  the  Russians.  In  Id.,  1873,  122,  is  given  tho 
height  of  a  numlier  of  mountains  as  estimated  by  Dall,  who  gives  as  tho 
height  of  Mount  Shishaldin  in  Ooniroak,  8,683  feet.  Alphonse  Pinart,  a  French 
scientist,  attx^mpted  its  ascent  in  September  1872,  but  after  attaining,  as  ho 
relates,  a  height  of  8,782  feet,  was  confronted  by  almost  perpendicular  walls 
of  ice.  Voy.  ,13.  During  a  canoe  voyage  from  Unalaska  to  Kadiak,  ho  stopped 
at  an  island  which-he  calls  Vozoychenski  (probably  Voc-nessenaky),  where  ho 
met  an  Aleut,  who  was  said  to  be  120  years  of  age,  and  remembered  the  timo 
the  Russians  took  possession  of  the  country.  Jd.y  lo. 

77  Beardslee  clahno  that  his  officers  discovered  a  better  channel  into  Si^ka 
Harbor  than  any  before  known.  Bept.  Affairs,  Alaska,  9. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

^  1868-1884. 

IaiP0BT3  AND  Exports— Cost  of  Collecting  Revenue— The  Hudson's 
Bay  Company— Smugouno — The  Alaska  Commercial  CoMPAifr — It 
Obtains  a  Lease  of  the  Pkybilof  Islands— The  Terms  of  the  Con- 
tract—Rem  cneration  AND  Treatment  of  the  Natives — Their  Mode 
OF  Life— Invb:stigation  inix)  the  Company's  Management— State- 
ments of  Robert  Desty— And  or  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — 
Increase  in  the  Value  of  Furs— Remarks  of  H.  W.  Elliott — 
Landing  of  the  Fur-seals — Their  Combats— Method  of  Drivino 
AND  Slaughtering— Curing,  Dressing,  and  Dyeing — Sba-ottek3— 
Land  Peltry. 

The  exports  from  California  to  Siberia  amounted 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1883,  to  a  very  large 
sum,  and  were  greatly  in  excess  of  the  amount  for  the 
previous  year.  The  imports  for  1883  were  valued  at 
(>2, 887, 200,  and  never  exceeded  in  any  year  83,000,- 
000.  There  is  probably  no  country  in  the  world  hold- 
ing commercial  relations  with  which  the  balance  of 
trade  is  so  largely  in  favor  of  the  United  States. 

The  commerce  between  Alaska  and  other  portions 
of  the  Pacific  coast  is  insignificant,  but  will  probably 
increase  now  that  congress  has  put  that  territory 
within  pale  of  the  law.  As  is  the  case  with  Siberia, 
however,  imports  are  largely  in  excess  of  exports. 

During  tlie  existence  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  it  will  be  remembered  that  trade  became 
every  term  more  considerable,  and  yielded  each  year 
a  moderate  revenue  to  the  imperial  government 
There   is   little   doubt   that,  were   any   considerable 

(630) 


y 


STATISTICS  OF  REVENUE.  631 

portions  of  the  territory  surveyed  and  open  to  preemp- 
tion, its  resources  are  sufficient,  apart  from  the  seal- 
grounds,  to  attract  capital  and  population,  and  hence 
to  develop  traffic.  For  a  year  or  two  after  the  mili- 
tary occupation  there  was  a  fair  amount  of  commerce, 
but  subsequently  for  a  time  the  fees  and  duties  of  the 
entire  district  about  sufficed  to  pay  the  salary  of  a  sin- 
gle deputy  collector. 

The  following  figures  require  little  comment:  For 
the  six  months  ending  July  1,  1868,  the  imports  on 
which  duty  was  paid  were  valued  at  more  than  §26,- 
000;  for  the  twelve  months  ending  March  1, 1878,  at 
$3,295,  the  decrease  meanwhile  being  gradual.  For 
the  year  ending  December  31,  1870,  fines,  penalties, 
and  forfeitures  amounted  to  nearly  $9,000 ;  for  the  / 
year  ending  December  31,  1877,  to  §10.  During  1876  ^ 
there  were  no  fines,  and  the  revenue  collections  for 
that  year  amounted  to  $1,417.81,^  while  the  cost  of 
collecting  this  sum,  apart  from  the  expense  of  main- 
taining revenue  cutters,  was  $11,195.  Thus  the  cost 
of  collection  was  to  receipts  about  in  the  ratio  of  eight 
to  one.  And  yet  the  year  1876  compares  very  favor- 
ably with  other  years.  In  1872,  for  instance,  exclud- 
ing fines,  the  cost  of  collecting  one  dollar  of  revenue 
was  fifty  dollars,  and  in  1873  sixty  dollars.^  These 
figures  do  not,  of  course,  include  the  royalty  on  fur- 
seals,  or  the  rent  paid  by  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company  for  the  lease  of  the  Pribylof  Islands. 

The  total  value  of  domestic  exports  from  Alaska^ 
excluding  peltry,  was,  for  1880,  about  $90,000,  and 
w^ill  no  doubt  increase  when  the  fisheries  are  more 
largely  utilized.  The  value  of  domestic  imports  de- 
pends partly  on  the  demand  at  the  various  mining 
districts,  and  especially  at  the  Cassiar  district  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  for  which  Wrangell  is  the  distributing 

»For  duties  $724.43,  and  for  tonnage  tax  $693.38.  Morris's  RepL,  11. 
^iariiie  hospital  collectioiis  for  1876  amounted  to  ^31.79,  and  this  is  included 
by  the  collector  as  a  part  of  the  revenue. 

^  Id,,  11-12.  Statistics  as  to  trade  will  be  found  in  the  Com,  and  Nov, 
Ileptu, 


632  COMMEIIOE,  REVENUE,  AND  PURS. 

point,  and  is  therefore,  fluctuating.  In  occasional 
.  years  it  reaches  or  exceeds  $350,000/  and  may  average 
about  $300,000,  the  principal  commodities  being  Cal- 
ifornia flour,  tea,  coarse  sugar,  and  tobacco.  The  de- 
mand is  about  equally  divided  between  eastern  and 
western  Alaska,  the  latter  having  imported  from  Sau 
Francisco  in  1880  nearly  20,000  barrels  of  flour.* 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  a  territory  which  absorbs 
this  amount  of  produce  should  import  so  trifling  a 
quantity  of  duty-paying  goods,  and  that  the  cost  of 
collecting  the  duty  on  these  goods  should  be  three  or 
four  times  their  value,  and  at  least  eight  times  that  o{ 
the  revenue  collected.  Moreover,  it  is  diflBicult  to  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  fines,  penalties,  and  forfeitures 
should  have  decreased  from  $8,843  in  1870  to  $2,921 
in  1872,  increased  to  $5,814  the  following  year,  and 
fallen  to  nothing  in  1876.  Hootchenoo  distilleries 
were  in  full  blast,  it  will  be  remembered,  almost 
throughout  the  military  occupation;  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  there  was  less  smuggling  in  1872  than  in 
1870;  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  there  was  less 
smuggling  in  1876  than  in  1873.  On  the  contrarj^ 
there  is  strong  evidence  that  smuggling  was  steadily  on 
the  increase  during  and  after  the  military  occupation. 

The  fact  that  imports  of  duty-paying  goods  de- 
creased from  $26,000  for  the  six  months  ending  July 
1,  1868,  to  about  $3,000  for  the  year  ending  March 
1,  1878,  and  that,  meanwhile,  trade  had  been  so  hon- 
estly conducted  that  there  was  no  longer  occasion  for 
fines,  penalties,  or  forfeitures,  is  a  matter  that  invites 
investigation.  Apart  from  the  negligence  of  officials, 
to  use  no  stronger  phrase,  it  is  certain  that  powerful 
factors  have  been  at  work  to  cause  this  anomaly,  and 
the  main  factor  is  probably  the  operations  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company. 

'  The  value  of  merchandise  that  passed  through  Wrangell  alone  in  1S74 
was  more  than  §  1 50,000.  Alaska  Iler.y  I^Iarch  15,  1875. 

*  Besides  3,452  cases  of  hard  bread,  753  chests  of  tea,  and  2,943  half -barrels 
of  sugar.  PetroJTs  Pop.  Alaska^  86.  At  least  60,000  lbs.  of  leaf- tobacco  were 
also  imported,  a  part  of  which  came  from  San  Francisco. 


HUraON'S  BAY  COMPANY.  633 

When  governor  of  this  corporation,  Sir  George 
Simpson  declared  that,  without  the  strip  of  coast  leased 
to  it  by  the  Russian  American  Company,  the  interior 
would  be  "comparatively  useless  to  England."  It  will 
be  remembered  that,  by  the  Anglo-Russian  treaty  of 
1825,  the  boundary  between  the  Russian  and  British 
possessions  was  one  drawn  between  the  Portland  canal 
and  Mount  St  Elias,  and  following  the  trend  of  the 
coast  range,  or  at  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  from  the 
sea.  By  the  same  treaty  it  was  provided  that  Brit- 
ish subjects  should  forever  enjoy  right  of  navigation 
on  the  rivers  and  streams  which  cross  this  line  in  their 
course  toward  the  north  Pacific.  The  latter  clause 
was  repeated  in  the  treaties  of  commerce  and  naviga- 
tion between  Russia  and  Great  Britain  in  1843  and 
1859. 

As  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  surrendered  most 
of  its  possessions  to  the  British  government  in  18G9,* 
and  is  now  merely  a  private  trading  corporation,  there 
can  bo  no  doubt  that  its  pretensions  are  barred  by  the 
clause  in  the  treaty  of  1867,  which  declares  the  cession 
of  Alaska  to  be  free  of  encumbrance  through  privileges 
granted  to  any  association  or  to  any  parties  except 
individual  property  holders.  It  is  also  improbable 
that  its  employes,  or  other  British  subjects,  will  con- 
tinue to  enjoy  right  of  navigation  on  the  rivers  and 
streams  which  cross  the  boundary  line. 

"In  succeeding  to  the  Russian  possessions,"  re- 
marks Sumner,  "it  does  not  follow  that  the  United 
States  succeed  to  ancient  obligations  assumed  by  Rus- 
sia, as  if,  according  to  a  phrase  of  the  common  law, 
they  'are  covenants  running  with  the  land.'  If  these 
stipulations  are  in  the  nature  of  servitudes,  they  depend 
for  their  duration  on  the  sovereignty  of  Russia,  and 
are  personal  or  national  rather  than  territorial.  So  at 
least  I  am  inclined  to  believe.  But  it  is  hardly  profit- 
able to  speculate  on  a  point  of  so  little  practicable 
value.     Even  if  'running  with  the  land,'  these  servi- 

»  For  £300,000  BterUng. 


0M  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

tudes  can  be  terminated  at  the  expiration  of  ten  years 
from  the  last  treaty,  by  a  notice,  which  equitably  the 
United  States  may  give  so  as  to  take  effect  on  the 
12th  of  January,  1869.  Meanwhile,  during  this  brief 
period,  it  will  be  easy  by  act  of  congress  in  advance 
to  limit  importations  at  Sitka,  so  that  this  'free  port' 
chall  not  be  made  the  channel  or  doorway  by  which 
British  goods  may  be  introduced  into  the  United 
States  free  of  duty."« 

In  the  customs  regulations  it  is  provided  that  "no 
duty  shall  be  levied  or  collected  on  the  importation  of 
peltries  brought  into  the  territories  of  the  United 
States,  nor  on  the  proper  goods  and  effects,  of  what- 
ever nature,  of  Indians  passing  or  repassing  the  boun- 
dary line  aforesaid,  unless  the  same  be  goods  in  bales 
or  other  large  packages  unusual  among  Indians,  which 
shall  not  be  considered  as  goods  belonging  to  Indians, 
nor  be  entitled  to  the  exemption  from  duty  aforesaid." 

When  we  consider  that  five  or  six  revenue  officers, 
hampered  with  such  restrictions,  and  some  of  them  a 
thousand  miles  apart,  collect  the  customs  of  a  terri- 
tory whose  coast  line  is  more  than  twice  as  great  as 
that  of  the  United  States,^  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  results  should  be  nugatory.  There  is  probably 
no  better  opportunity  for  smuggling  in  any  part  of 
the  world  than  amidst  the  tortuous  channels  of  the 
Alexander  Archipelago  and  among  the  Aleutian  Isl- 
ands. Hundreds  of  bidarkas  laden  with  blankets, 
molasses,  sugar,  fire-arms,  and  other  commodities  pur- 
chased from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  agents, 
escape  the  vigilance  of  the  revenue-cutters,  or  if 
detected,  the   wares  are   passed  off  as  the  "proper 

^Speech  on  Cess.  Btiss.  Amer,^  11.  In  the  president's  message  in  Sen.  Ex, 
Dor.,  40th  Cong.  3d  Sess.y  No.  ^;?,  complaints  are  made  of  the  encroachments  of 
the  Hudson's  Biay  Company  on  th  e  trade  o  f  Alaska.  Ex  -Collector  Berry  states 
that,  after  the  cession,  the  company  established  a  town  eight  or  ten  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  tlie  Stikeen  Kiver,  and  at  the  head  of  tide- water,  for  the 
pui*pose  of  unloading  vessels  from  Victoria,  B.  C,  at  that  point,  and  thus 
evading  custom  dues.  Devtlopm^nts,  Alaska,  MS.,  3. 

^  The  coast  line  of  Alaska,  including  the  islands,  is  26, 000  miles,  and  of  the 
United  States  10,000  miles.   Seward's  Our  North  Pac,  Stales,  3. , 


SMUGGLING.  836 

goods  and  effects  of  Indians."  Among  Indians,  blan- 
kets are  still  the  principal  currency,  as  they  were 
during  the  regime  of  the  Russian  American  Company. 
Blankets  of  Pacific  coast  manufacture  are  sold  to-day 
'  to  a  small  extent  in  England,  and  to  a  considerable 
extent  in  the  states  and  territories  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  but  so  successful  has  been  this  illicit  traf- 
fic, that  a  few  years  ago  none  but  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany blankets  were  to  be  found  among  the  Indians  of 
Alaska. 

Of  smuggling  among  white  men,  two  instances  may 
be  mentioned — those  of  one  Charles  V.  Baranovich, 
a  trader  at  Karta  Bay,®  and  of  the  Rev.  William 
Duncan,  an  Episcopalian  missionary  and  teacher,  mag- 
istrate, and  trader  at  Metlahkatlah,  in  British  Colum- 
bia, near  the  Alaskan  border.  Baranovich  was  ac- 
cused in  1875  of  smuggling  blankets,  hard-bread,  and 
flour.  The  evidence  was  conclusive,  but  there  was  no 
jurisdiction  in  Alaska,  and  it  was  not  considered  worth 
the  expense  to  indict  him  in  the  courts  of  Oregon  or 
Washington  Territory.  In  the  following  year,  the 
Rev.  W.  Duncan  was  known  to  have  held  complicity 
v/ith  smugglers  of  blankets,  silk  goods,  fire-arms,  and 
molasses.®  Mr  Duncan  is  criticised  perhaps  a  little  too 
severely  by  William  Gouverneur  Morris,  a  late  agent 
of  the  treasury  department,^^  but  it  would  seem  alien 
to  the  functions  of  a  missionary  to  transgress  or  to 
connive  at  the  transgression  of  the  United  States 
revenue  laws.  The  expense  at  which  the  revenue 
laws  have  been  administered,  and  the  contempt  in 
which  they  are  held,  need  no  further  comment. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  resources  of  a  territory 
which  contains  but  a  few  score  of  American  citizens, 

"  Prince  of  Wales  Island. 

•  The  evidence  in  the  latter  case  appears  to  be  sufficiently  conclusive.  See 
J/orr/«'fi  Rept.^  38-9.  Duncan's  bidarua  fleet,  on  its  way  from  Metlahkatlah, 
was  chased  by  Deputy  Collector  Dennis.  Collector  M.  P.  Berry,  who  ordered 
the  chase,  paid  the  expense  out  of  his  own  pocket,  as  for  some  reason  it  was 
disallowed  oy  the  accounting  officers  of  the  dcpnrtiiicut. 

*"  Duncan  is  complimented  very  highly  in  Colyar's  Rept.,  558-9. 


? 


636  COMMENCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FUKS. 

and  which  was  declared  *  Indian  country'  by  an  ex- 
attorney-goneral  of  the  United  States.  They  consist 
of  furs,  fisheries,  timber,  mines,  and  as  some  would 
have  us  believe,  agriculture.  The  last  three  are  as 
et  but  little  utilized,  and  will  be  mentioned  later, 
he  fur-seal  trade,  which  is  at  present  the  most  im- 
portant industry,  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company,  of  which  I  shall  make  some 
mention  before  proceeding  further. 

When  negotiations  for  the  sale  of  the  Kussian  pos- 
sessions were  drawing  to  a  close,  a  party  of  San  Fran- 
cisco merchants,  among  whom  was  J.  Mora  Moss, 
obtained  from  Prince  Maksutof  a  promise  to  transfer 
to  them  all  the  property  of  the  Kussian  American 
Company;  but  no  contract  was  signed. 

Among  those  who  landed  from  the  John  L.  Stephens 
at  the  time  of  the  transfer,  however,  was  a  merchant 
named  Hutchinson,  who  proceeded  at  once  to  the 
castle  and  made  arrangements  with  the  ex-governor 
to  dispose  of  a  portion  of  the  company's  vessels  and 
other  property  to  the  firm  of  Hutchinson,  Kohl,  and 
Company,"  on  better  terms  than  those  offered  by 
Moss  and  his  colleagues.  His  offer  was  accepted. 
A  fur-trader  named  Boscovitch  also  purchased  about 
sixteen  thousand  fur-seal  skins  at  forty  cents  apiece, 
whicli  were  shipped  to  Victoria  and  sold  for  two  or 
three  dollars  each.^*  Other  portions  of  the  company's 
assets  were  disposed  of  to  various  parties,  most  of 
them  at  rates  very  much  below  their  value. 

In  1869  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  was  in- 
corporated, with  a  capital  of  $2,000,000.  In  1870  a 
law  was  passed  by  congress  for  the  protection  of  fur- 
bearing  animals,^'  and  a  lease  of  the  Prybilof  or  Seal 

"  As  to  the  amonnt  of  his  purchases,  there  are  no  reliable  data. 

^^Tlicreupon  Boscovitch  tried  to  secure  the  remainder  of  the  skins;  but 
meanwliile  the  governor  liad  received  orders  not  to  part  with  tliem.  Among 
the  ntock  in  the  warehouses  were  80,000  dried  fur-seal  skins. 

*^For  reports,  bills,  discussions,  and  investigations  conceniing  the  seal- 
Imnting  grounds  of  Alaska,  see  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.^  4^Ht  Cong.  M  5«.*«.,  1;  Sen, 
Bipt.,  41st  Cong,  2d  Sesn.,  47,  p.  228-30,  and  Cong.  Olobe,  1869-70,  app. 
656-9,  675. 


ALASKA  COMMERCIAL  COxMPANY.  687 

islands  granted  to  the  company  for  a  term  of  twenty 
years. ^*  In  1872  the  company  purchased  the  prop- 
erty and  interest  of  Hutchinson,  Kohl,  &  Company, 

Apart  from  the  seal  islands,  the  industries  of  the 
territory  are  open  to  the  public,  and  for  the  stations 
which  the  company  has  established  on  the  Aleutian 
Islands  and  on  the  peninsula  north  and  west  of  Ka- 
diak,  no  special  privileges  are  claimed. 

It  was  estimated  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
before  the  lease  was  granted,  that  the  cost  of  main- 
taining at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  a  revenue- 
cutter  and  a  detachment  of  twenty  troops,  and  of 
paying  the  salaries  of  officials,  would  amount  to 
§371,200  a  year,  while  a  private  company  could  save 
nearly  half  that  sum.^^ 

"  The  plan  I  propose,"  remarked  one  of  the  stock- 
holders^* to  the  chairman  of  committee  on  commerce 
in  the  house  of  representatives,  "asks  for  no  expendi- 
ture of  money,  nor  the  exercise  of  any  doubtful  or 
unusual  power  of  the  government.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  will  abolish  the  entire  expense  of  the  military 
and  naval  establishments,  which  have  already  cost  the 
government  so  much  at  a  time  when  it  could  be  least 
afforded;  and  in  the  next  place,  it  will  put  into  the 
treasury  $150,000  per  annum  net  revenue  at  a  time 
when  it  is  most  needed." 

It  must  be  admitted  even  by  its  enemies  that  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  has  thus  far  more  than 
fulfilled  its  promise.     Instead  of  $150,000  a  year,  the 

^*  Morria,  Bepi.,  151-2,  makes  the  following  absurd  statement:  In  1868-9 
there  were  four  or  five  companies  engaged  in  killiDg  seals  on  theae  islands,  as 
fast  as  they  could  hire  Aleuts  to  do  the  work.  Among  them  was  an  eastern 
firm  that  was  too  religions  to  allow  seals  to  be  killed  on  the  sabbath,  but  did 
not  hesitate  to  supply  whiskey  to  the  Aleuts  in  payment  for  skins.  Captain 
J  W.  White,  of  tlie  revenue  marine,  stopped  this  wholesale  slaughter,  which 
threatened  the  extermination  of  the  fur-seal,  and  ordered  all  me  M'hiskey- 
liarrels  to  be  broken  open,  and  their  contents  poured  on  the  ground.  The 
Aleuts  lapped  up  the  pools  of  whiskey  as  dogs  lap  water.  There  were  but  two 
companies  engaged  in  killing  seals  on  the  Prybilof  islands  in  1868-9,  and 
otlierwise  the  statement  is  pure  fiction. 

'^  It  was  supposed  that  loss  by  shipwreck  would  entail  an  additional  ex- 

Sensc  of  about  ^168,000.     The  number  of  revenue-cutters  which  the  United 
tatcs j)rupoeed  to  lose  each  year  is  not  stated  in  the  secretary's  report, 
^'^lathan  F.  Dixon. 


638  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AKD  FURS. 

average  revenue  between  1870  and  1883  was  about 
$317,000,  and  meanwhile  the  supply  of  fur-seals  in- 
creased.^^ 

By  the  act  approved  July  1,  1870,  "to  prevent  the 
extermination  of  fur-bearing  animals  in  Alaska,"  it 
was  provided  that  fur-seals  should  be  killed  at  the  Pry- 
bilof  Islands  only  during  the  months  of  June,  July, 
September,  and  October,  except  such  as  might  be  re- 
quired for  the  food  and  clothing  of  the  natives;  that 
the  slaughter  should  be  restricted  to  males  at  least 
twelve  months  old;  that  the  number  killed  each  year 
for  their  skins  should  not  exceed  75,000  at  St  Paul 
and  25,000  at  St  George  Island;  and  that  the  use  of 
fire-arms  or  other  weapons  tending  to  drive  the  seals 
away  should  not  be  permitted.  It  was  estimated  by 
H.  W.  Elliott,  a  treasury  agent,  from  surveys  made 
/  in  1872-3,  that  only  one  eighteenth  of  the  aggregate 

\/  supply  was  contained  at  the  latter  island,  and  that  to 

secure  there  25,000  seals  within  the  time  allotted 
would  be  a  difficult  task.  Through  his  eflforts  the  act 
of  1870  was  amended,^^  and  the  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury authorized  to  determine  the  relative  number  to 
be  killed  at  each  island  from  season  to  season.  The 
time  for  killing  was  also  extended  to  the  first  half  of 
the  month  of  August. 

According  to  the  terms  of  its  contract,  the  company 
was  required  to  pay  a  fixed  rental  of  $55,000  a  year, 
a  tax  of  $2.62^  on  each  fur-seal  skin,  and  55  cents  per 
gallon  on  all  the  seal-oil  shipped  from  the  Prybilof 
lijlands;  to  furnish  annually  to  the  natives,  free  of 
charge,  25,000  dried  salmon  and  60  cords  of  fire- wood, 
together  with  salt  and  barrels  for  preserving  seal-meat; 
and  to  maintain  a  school  on  each  island  for  at  least 
eight  months  in  the  year.  As  the  market  value  of 
seal-oil  ranged  from  35  to  55  cents  per  gallon,  the 
company  could  not  save  it  except  at  a  loss,  and  it  was 

1'  After  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  in  1868-9  seals  disappeared  rapidly 
from  the  Prybilof  Islands,  but  two  or  three  years  later  began  to  return  in  vast 
numbers. 

"  By  act  approved  March  24,  1874, 


TREATMENT  OF  NATIVES.  630 

allowed  to  go  to  waste.  Though  the  tax  was  after- 
ward abolished  in  consideration  of  a  payment  to  the 
natives  of  10  cents  per  gallon,  the  production  of  oil 
was  still  found  to  be  unprofitable,  and  shipments  have 
never  been  considerable. '• 

In  the  regulations  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany, prescribed  in  January  1872,^  are  certain  provi- 
sions as  to  the  remuneration  and  treatment  of  the 
natives,  which,  together  with  the  obligations  of  its 
contract  with  government,  appear  to  have  been  faith- 
fully carried  out.  The  Aleuts  are  to  be  paid  forty 
cents  for  each  skin  delivered,  and  for  other  labor  a  sum 
to  be  agreed  upon  between  the  company's  agents  and 
the  parties  employed.  The  working  parties  are  to  be  \/^ 
under  control  of  native  chiefs,  and  no  compulsory  labor 
is  to  be  required.  Goods  are  to  be  sold  at  rates  not 
more  than  twenty-five  per  cent  above  the  wholesale 
price  in  San  Francisco,  salmon,  fuel,  and  oil  being  fur- 
nished gratis.  Widows  and  orphans  at  either  island 
are  to  be  supported  if  necessary  at  the  company's  ex- 
pense. Medicines  and  medical  attendance  are  to  be 
provided  for  all  free  of  expense.  Free  transportation 
and  subsistence  on  the  company's  vessels  must  be  fur- 
nished to  those  who  any  time  wish  to  remove  to  any 
island  on  the  Aleutian  group.  Finally,  the  agents 
and  employes  of  the  company  are  strictly  enjoined  at 
all  times  to  "treat  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  witli 
the  utmost  kindness,  and  endeavor  to  preserve  ami- 
cable relations  with  them.  Force  is  never  to  be  used 
against  them,  except  in  defense  of  life,  or  to  prevent 

» It  was  alleged  in  1876,  that  the  100,000  seals  killed  each  year  would 
yield  at  least  200,000  gallons  of  oil,  that  if  the  tax  had  been  maintained  it 
would  have  yielded  $1 10,000  a  year  to  government,  and  that  the  oil  would 
have  sold  in  London  for  05  cents  per  gallon.  It  is  well  known  that  the  seals 
whof«e  for  is  most  valuable  give  the  least  oil,  and  the  average  yield  is  proba- 
bly nearer  half  a  gallon  than  two  gallons  per  seal.  Moreover,  the  oil  that 
sells  in  London  for  95  cents  a  gallon  is  not  fnr-seal  but  hair-seal  oil.  The 
former  has  sometimes  no  marketable  value,  and  apart  from  tax,  the  highest 
price  paid  for  it  never  exceeds  the  cost  of  productioD,  freight,  and  other 
changes.     See  Howie  Com,  Bepts.,  44th  Cong.  Ut  Sess.,  623,  p.  9. 

**  A  copy  of  them,  and  also  of  the  *  Act  to  prevent  the  extermination  of  fur- 
bearing  ifc«fnMkl«  in  Alaska,'  may  be  found  m  Elliott's  Seal-Ielands,  Alaaka^ 
153>e. 


640  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

the  wanton  destruction  of  valuable  property.  The 
agents  and  servants  of  the  company  are  expected  to 
instruct  the  native  people  in  household  economy,  and 
by  precept  and  example  illustrate  to  them  the  prin- 
ciples and  benefits  of  a  higher  civilization." 

The  workmen  keep  a  tally  of  their  number  of  skins, 
and  at  the  close  of  each  day's  labor  give  the  result  to 
their  chief.  When  the  skins  are  afterward  counted 
by  the  company's  agent  at  the  salt-houses,  it  is  seldom 
that  any  discrepancy  is  found.  Once  a  month,  or 
sometimes  more  frequently,  the  sum  due  for  the  catch 
is  paid  to  the  chiefs,  by  whom  a  portion  is  distributed 
among  the  men,  the  remainder  oeing  reserved  until 
the  final  settlement,  which  takes  place  at  the  end  of 
the  season.  First-class  workmen  can  thus  earn,  in- 
cluding extra  work,  about  $450^  for  three  or  four 
months'  labor,  and  considering  that  they  are  supplied 
gratis  the  year  round  with  house-room,**  fuel,  oil,  and 
their  staple  article  of  food,  it  would  seem  that  their 
condition  is  much  better  than  that  of  the  majority  of 
laborers  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  Not  a  few  of 
them  save  money,  though  thrift  is  a  rare  virtue  among 
the  Aleuts,  and  the  company  allows  good  interest  to 
those  who  deposit  their  savings,^  some  having  several 
thousand  dollars  to  their  credit.^ 

Complaints  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  of 

**  At  40  cents  per  skin,  the  payment  for  the  75,000  skins  taken  at  St  Paul 
Island  in  1872  amounted  to  $30,000,  and  including  extra  work,  to  $30,037.37. 
This  was  divided  into  74  shares,  though  in  fact  only  50  men  were  at  work, 
portions  being  reserved  for  the  church,  the  priest,  widows,  and  orphans.  The 
shares  were  tlius  di\'ided:  37  first-class  snares  at  $451.22;  23  seoond-class 
sl.ares  at  $406.08;  4  third-class  shares  at  $300.97;  10  fourth-class  shares  at 
$315.85.  Id.f  25-6.  First-class  shares  are  giren  to  those  who  have  worked 
regularly  and  are  of  good  standing  in  the  community;  second-class  to  those 
who  have  worked  irregularly  or  for  a  portion  of  the  time;  third-class  to  those 
who  have  been  idle  and  worked  only  when  they  felt  disposed,  and  fourth-class 
to  boys.  Testimony  of  Charles  Bryant,  in  JJouse  Com,  JRepts,,  44th  Cong, 
l8t  Ses8.,  623,  p.  97. 

^'^  In  1S70  dwellings  had  been  erected  on  both  islands,  one  for  each  family. 
They  were  lined  inside  and  fdled  in  between  the  lining  and  weathcr-booixUn^. 
Stoves  were  also  provided  free  of  expense.  Testimony  of  John  F.  MUUr^  m 
Id.,  30. 

^  Nine  per  cent  was  the  rate  paid  in  1880. 

'Un  1875,  eighty  natives  at  St  Paul  were  credited  with  $34,715.24 
Id.,  31. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  641 

the  treatment  of  natives  by  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company.  Even  before  its  incorporation  the  commis- 
sioner of  Indian  affairs  lamented  that  the  relations  of 
Hutchinson,  Kohl,  &  Company  with  the  Aleuts  were 
merely  those  of  traders,  and  ''in  the  name  of  human- 
ity" trusted  that  the  bill  which  passed  the  house  of 
representatives  in  1868,  and  which  "would  virtually 
reduce  the  Indians  of  Alaska  to  a  condition  of  serf- 
dom," would  not  become  law.  What  relations  other 
than  those  of  traders  he  expected  to  exist  between 
the  Aleuts  and  Hutchinson,  Kohl,  8c  Company  the^ 
commissioner  does  not  state.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  at  the  Prybilof  Islands  the  treatment  of  the  for- 
mer has  been  in  marked  and  favorable  contrast  with 
that  which  they  received  elsewhere  during  the  mili- 
tary occupation  or  during  the  regime  of  the  Russian 
American  Company. 

The  entire  population  of  the  Prybilof  Islands  num- 
bered, in  1880,  nearly  four  hundred  persons,**  all  but 
eighteen  of  them  being  Aleuts.  Until  these  islands 
were  leased  to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  most 
of  the  natives  lived  in  sod  huts,  some  of  them  partly 
under  ground.  The  fat  of  seals  and  a  small  quantity 
of  drift-wood  found  on  the  northern  shore  of  St  Paul 
Island  formed  their  only  fuel,  and  when  these  failed, 
they  passed  the  remainder  of  the  long  drear  winter 
huddled  together  beneath  seal-skins,  in  the  warmest 
corner  of  their  dark  and  noisome  dwellings.  Now  there 
is  in  their  midst  neither  poverty,  suffering,  nor  crime,* 
and  the  villages  at  St  !raul  and  St  Greorge  will  com- 
pare not  unfavorably  with  those  of  equal  size,  even  in 
the  eastern  states.  The  streets  are  regularly  laid 
out;  each  family  lives  in  a  comfortable  frame  dwell- 
ing;   there  are  churches  and  school- houses  at  both 

'^  At  St  Paul  there  were  2&S,  including  14  white  persons,  128  male  and 
156  female  Aleuts;  at  St  George  the  population  was  92,  including  4  whites, 
35  male  Aleuts  and  53  females,  an  increase  of  30  or  40  souls  since  1873.  ElU- 
oU*8  SfcU- Islands,  Alaska,  20. 

^  There  are  no  policemen  nor  courts  of  justice,  and  since  1870  there  has  not 
been  a  single  instance  where  the  presence  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  was  needed* 
Id.y  22. 

Hut.  Kulmex.   il 


642  COMMERCE,  REVENUE.  AND  FURS. 

settlements,  and  at  St  Paul  a  hospital  and  well  fur- 
nished dispensary. 

The  principal  food  of  the  natives  is  salmon  and  seal 
meat,  of  which  five  to  six  hundred  pounds  a  year  are 
required  per  capita.  For  animal  food  they  have  no 
relish.  Salt  beef  and  pork  they  will  sometimes  accept 
as  a  present,  but  will  never  purchase  them.  Apart 
from  fish,  bread,  butter,  canned  fruit,  sugar^  and  tea 
form  their  principal  diet.  Of  bread  they  consume 
about  five  pounds  each  per  week,  of  butter  and  sugar 
all  that  they  can  purchase,  or  rather  all  that  the  com- 
pany will  allow  them  to  purchase;  for  if  the  supply 
were  unlimited,  they  would  constantly  surfeit  them- 
selves with  both  these  luxuries.  The  samovar,  which 
is  now  being  replaced  by  the  tea-kettle,  is  kept  boiling 
at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  most  hours  of  the  night. 
When  not  at  work  the  Prybilof  Islander  sips  tea  even 
more  persistently  than  the  Chinaman,  some  of  them 
drinking  as  much  as  a  gallon  a  day.  No  intoxicating 
liquors  of  any  kind  are  openly  permitted  to  come 
within  their  reach,  and  of  tobacco  the  consumption  is 
moderate.^ 

During  the  eight  or  nine  months  which  intervene 
between  the  sealing  seasons,  the  Aleut  is  little  better 
than  a  hibernating  animal.  He  sleeps  or  slumbers  for 
about  eighteen  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four,  and  for 
the  rest  he  eats,  drinks  tea,  smokes,  goes  to  church, 
and  occasionally  gambles.  Sometimes  he  will  work 
at  the  grading  of  roads,  or  assist  in  the  unloading  of 
vessels,  receiving  for  his  services  fifty  cents  to  one 
dollar  a  day,  but  he  does  so  with  an  air  of  supreme 
condescension,  for  after  receiving  his  share  in  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  year's  catch,  he  has  suflScient  to  support 
him  until  the  following  season,  and  is  averse  to  labor 
of  any  kind.  The  holidays  of  the  Greek  church, 
of  wliich,  including  Sundays,  there  are  usually  three 
or  four  each  week,  afford  some  relief  from  the  tedium 
of  winter  life.     For  those  who  are  socially  inclined, 

"  About  fifty  pounds  a  week  at  St  Paul  Island. 


MANNEES  AND  CUSTOMS.  643 

there  are  also  birthday  parties,  and  occasionally  dance 
parties,  at  which  the  young  pass  through  the  figures 
taught  them  by  the  Russians  and  set  to  Russian 
music,  and  the  old  look  on  and  drink  tea. 

At  St  Paul  Island  we  have  probably  about  as  con- 
tented a  community  as  can  be  found  elsewhere  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  Strong  eiforts  have  been  made  from 
time  to  time  to  show  that  the  natives  are  dissatisfied;^^ 
but  the  dissatisfaction  appears  to  exist  only  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  failed  to  procure  the  privileges 
granted  to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  or  who 
envy  its  privileges.*  That  the  company  has  been 
guilty  of  breach  of  faith  in  its  relations  with  the  na- 
tives or  with  the  government  has  never  yet  been 
proved,  and  assuredly  its  conduct  has  not  lacked 
investigation. 

After  a  thorough  inquiry  into  the  affairs  of  the 
company,  the  committee  of  ways  and  means  report 
to  the  house  of  representatives,  in  June  1876,  that 
"there  is  no  just  ground  of  complaint  against  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  or  the  officers  of  the 
government  who  were  intrusted  under  the  law  with 
the  power  to  make  and  see  to  the  performance  of  the 
lease."  The  assignment  of  the  lease  was  also  made 
the  subject  of  a  special  investigation. 

Before  a  sub-committee  appointed  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  testimony,  a  large  number  of  witnesses  were 
examined,  among  whom  were  General  John  F.  Miller, 
president  of  the  company,  George  S.  Boutwell,  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury  in  1870,  B.  H.  Bristow,  secretary 
of  the  treasury  in  1876,  and  Louis  Goldstone,  who  in 
1870  "was  trying,"  as  he  testifies,  "to  obtain  a  lease 

^Ajov  wilful  violation  of  the  regulations  is  punished  by  the  summary 
dismissal  of  the  offending  party.  Id.y  156. 

*  For  adverse  comments  and  groundless  complaints  as  to  the  company's 
management,  see  Moncharetiko,  Scrap  Book,  passim,  and  House  Com.  I!»pf.^,, 
44ih  Cong.  Ui  .Vfw.,  623,  p.  29^-30.  If  we  can  believe  the  president  of  the 
company,  General  Howard,  to  whose  pamphlet  reflecting  very  severely  on  the 
management  of  the  natives  was  due  in  part  the  investigation  of  1870,  had 
never  been  within  500  miles  of  one  of  the  company's  stations,  or  within  1,500 
miles  of  the  seal-islands. 


C44  COMMKBCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

from  the  government  for  seal-fishing  on  the  Sain^ 
George's  and  Saint  Paul's  islands." 

In  the  fourth  section  of  the  act  of  July  1,  1870, 
for  the  protection  of  the  seal-islands,  it  is  ordered 
that  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  shall  immediately 
lease  the  Prybilof  Islands  "to  proper  and  responsible 
parties,  to  the  best  advantage  of  the  United  States, 
having  due  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  government, 
the  native  inhabitants,  the  parties  heretofore  engaged 
in  the  trade,  and  the  protection  of  the  seal-fisheries, 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years  from  the  1st  day  of  May, 
1870."  In  the  sixth  section  it  is  provided  "that  the 
annual  rental  to  be  reserved  by  said  lease  shall  be  not 
less  than  fifty  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  to  be 
secured  by  deposit  of  United  States  bonds  to  that 
amount,  and  in  addition  thereto  a  revenue  tax  or  duty 
of  two  doUiirs  is  hereby  laid  upon  each  fur-seal  skin 
taken  from  said  islands  during^he  continuance  of  such 
lease." 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1870,  an  advertisement  was 
published  bv  order  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
stating  that  bids  would  be  received  for  a  period  of 
twelve  days,  and  among  them  was  one  from  Louis 
Goldstone,  offering  to  pay,  in  addition  to  $55,000  of 
rental,  $2.62^  for  each  seal-skin  and  55  cents  for 
each  gallon  of  seal-oil.  Goldstone  represented  three 
parties  in  California,  among  whom  was  the  "American 
Russian  Commercial  Company,"  which  withdrew 
about  the  time  that  the  bids  were  opened,  notice  to 
that  effect  being  immediately  sent  to  Mr  Boutwell. 

After  considering  all  the  proposals,  together  with 
the  character,  fitness,  and  financial  responsibility  of 
the  parties,  the  secretary  decided  that  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  best  fulfilled  the  conditions 
named  in  the  act,  and  could  give  the  surest  guarantee 
of  a  faithful  and  intelligent  performance  of  their  con- 
tract. He  therefore  awarded  to  them  the  lease  on 
the  same  terms  as  were  offered  by  Goldstone,  the 
company  agreeing,  moreover,  to  furnish  food  and  fiiel, 


LEASE  OF  THE  ISLANDS.  645 

and  to  maintain  free  schools  for  the  use  of  their  native 
employes  on  the  Prybilof  Islands. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  this  transaction— one 
that,  like   the  purchase,  is  supposed   to  be  deeply 
shrouded  in  mystery,  but  was  in  fact  a  very  straight 
forward,  business-like  proceeding. 

Mr  Boutwell,  in  giving  his  testimony  before  the 
committee,  stated  that  the  lease  was  assigned  by  his 
direction,  after  such  investigation  as  was  thought 
necessary  on  the  question  of  granting  to  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  the  preference.  The  matter 
had  been  first  submitted  to  the  attorney-general,  who 
had  also  been  asked  whether,  in  his  opinion,  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  secretary  to  give  public  notice  of  the 
passage  of  the  bill,  and  to  invite  proposals.  The 
reply  was  that  the  company  was  entitled  to  prefer- 
ence only  so  far  as  the  secretary  should  consider  them 
to  have  peculiar  facilities  for  the  performance  of  the 
contract,  and  that  the  invitation  for  public  bids  was  a 
matter  that  lay  very  much  within  his  own  discretion. 
If  the  terms  which  the  company  offered  were  as  fa- 
vorable to  the  government,  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
seal-islands,  and  to  the  protection  of  the  seal-fisheries 
as  those  which  could  be  obtained  in  any  other  quar- 
ter, or  nearly  so,  "  then,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
act,  they  would  be  entitled  to  a  preference."** 

General  Miller  testified  that  the  Alaska  Commer- 
cial Company  offered  for  the  lease  as  much  as  any 
other  proper  and  responsible  party,  and  in  addition, 
the  considerations  above  mentioned.  The  proposals 
were  merely  invited  by  the  secretary  for  his  own  in- 
formation, and  he  had  of  course  the  power  to  reject 
any  or  all  of  them,  as  he  saw  fit.  Being  asked  whether, 
if  the  contract  had  been  let  to  other  parties,  they  could 
have  fulfilled  it  satisfactorily.  General  Miller  replied 

••/<£.,  49-50.  Mr  Boutwell's  testimony  was  confirmed  by  that  of  W.  A. 
Bichardson,  assistant  secretary,  by  whom  the  contract  was  signed,  the  former 
being  absent  from  Washington  at  the  time.  Mr  Richardson  states  that  Bout- 
well  was  very  much  opposed  to  leasing  the  seal-islands  at  all,  but  the  law 
having  been  passed,  and  the  attorney-general  having  rendered  his  opinion, 
there  was  no  alternative.  M,  60. 


646  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

that  it  would  have  been  very  difficult  for  them  to  do  so. 
They  could  not  have  obtained  at  the  islands  the  use 
of  a  single  building,  nor  any  of  the  appliances  needed 
for  carrying  on  the  business,  since  all  of  them  belonged 
to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,^  a  member 
of  which  had  also  made  contracts  with  the  natives 
f(:)r  their  labor.  To  build  salt-houses,  boats,  dwelling- 
houses,  and  procure  what  else  was  needed,  would  re- 
quire much  time  and  capital,  whereas  the  company 
had  already  on  hand  everything  that  was  necessary. 
Hence  they  were  better  fitted  to  carry  on  the  business 
than  were  other  parties. 

In  addition  to  the  above  reasons  for  granting  the 
lease  to  this  company,  it  may  be  stated  that  among  its 
stockholders  were  three  firms,  certain  of  whose  mem- 
bers had  more  experience  in  fur-sealing  and  the  fur- 
seal  business  than  any  of  the  remaining  applicants, 
their  names  being  Williams,  Haven,  and  Company  of 
New  London,  John  Parrott  and  Company  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  Hutchinson,  Kohl,  and  Company.  These 
firms  afterward  consolidated  and  formed  the  nucleus 
of  the  present  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  the  first 
of  them  being  the  oldest  and  most  successful  of  all  firms 
connected  with  the  American  fur  trade.  At  the  time 
v/lien  the  lease  was  assigned,  this  association  repre- 
sented a  capital  of  nine  millions  of  dollars,  and  owned 
no  less  than  fifty  trading  posts  in  various  parts  of 
Alaska. 

As  to  the  bid  tendered  by  Louis  Goldstone,  it 
remains  only  to  be  said  that,  on  the  withdrawal  of 
the  American  Russian  Commercial  Company,  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury  considered  it  thereby  inval- 
idated, probably  not  deeming  Mr  Goldstone  and  his 
colleagues  "proper  and  responsible  parties,"  "having 
due  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  government."  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  offer  made  by  Goldstone  was  suspi- 
ciously liberal — more  liberal  than  the  law  required, 

'^  Beinp:  transferred  by  Mr  Hutchinson  to  the  tirm  of  Hutchinson,  Kohl, 
and  Company,  and  by  the  latter  to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company.  Testi- 
mony of  H.  M.  Hutchinson,  in  Id,,  pp.  112,  118. 


RIVAL  BIDDEBa  ' '  -     ,'  ^  ^WJJ 

though  less  so  than  the  terms  ultimately  proposed  by 
the  Alaska  Commercial  Company.  The  action  taken 
by  the  secretary  gave  sore  offence  to  Goldstone  and 
his  associates,  by  some  of  whom  a  pamphlet  was  pub- 
lished, entitled  the  History  of  the  Wrongs  o/Alaska,^^ 
a  memorial  being  also  forwarded  to  the  representatives 
and  referred  to  committee,  in  which  it  was  alleged 
that  the  lease  had  been  illegally  assigned.  The  state- 
ment was  afterward  retracted,  as  having  been  made 
under  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts,  and  the  memo- 
rial withdrawn.** 

If  any  other  evidence  be  needed,  in  addition  to 
the  statements  already  mentioned,  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Hon.  B.  H.  Bristow,  of  which  more  later, 
Joseph  S.  Moore,  and  other  responsible  gentlemen, 
^vhose  answers  before  the  committee  were  unanimously 
in  favor  of  the  company.  Finally,  we  have  the  report 
of  the  members  of  the  committee  themselves,  who 
"concur  in  the  opinion  that  the  lease  with  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  was  made  in  pursuance  of  the 
law;  that  it  was  made  in  the  interest  of  the  United 
States,  and  properly  granted  to  the  Alaska  Commer- 
cial Company;  that  the  interest  of  the  United  States 
was  properly  protected  in  all  the  requirements  of  the 
law;  and  that  the  lessees  have  faithfully  complied 
with  their  part  of  the  contract." 

"A  copy  of  it  will  be  found  in  Hoiise  Ex,  Doc,^  44th  Cong,  1st  Sess,,  no. 
83,  p.  152-71. 

'^  A  copy  of  the  letter  will  be  found  in  House' Com.  Repts.,  44th  Cong,  1st 
Sess.,  623,  p.  136.    It  reads  as  follows: 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Dec.  15,  1871. 

Honored  Sir:  During  the  last  session  of  Congress  a  memorial  was  pre- 
pared by  the  undersigned  and  associates  and  presented  to  the  House,  and  re- 
ferred to  ^our  committee,  in  which  it  was  alleged  that  the  lease  to  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  by  the  United  States,  for  the  islands  of  St  Paul  and  St 
George,  Alaska,  August  3,  1870,  was  illegally  obtained  by  said  company  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  ought  to  have  been  awarded  to  the  under- 
signed and  associates.  I  now  desire  to  withdraw  said  memorial.  The  alle- 
gations contained  therein,  having  been  made  under  a  misapprehension  of  facts, 
are  therefore  untrue.  The  unuersigued,  representing  the  memorialists,  as 
an  act  of  justice  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  all  concerned,  begs  to 
withdraw  all  statements  of  complaint  contained  in  said  memorial. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Louis  OOLDSTONB. 

Hon.  John  A.  Binoham,  Chairman  Judiciary  Committee  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, Washington,  D.  C. 


648  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

Among  the  papers  submitted  to  the  committee  of 
ways  and  means  were  two  communications  from  Rob- 
ert Desty  of  San  Francisco.  In  the  first  one,  dated 
February  28, 1 876,  he  cites  a  number  of  charges  against 
the  company,**  which  then  solicited  an  investigation, 
and  which  he  compares  to  a  "  thief  who  aims  to  keep 
himself  always  ready  to  be  searched,  depending  on  hav- 
ing the  search  directed  by  himself."  He  also  states 
that  he  has  delivered  to  Senator  Jones,  of  Nevada,  cer- 
tain documents  relating  to  Alaska,  to  which  he  refers 
the  committee.  "I  am  not  a  trader,"  writes  Desty, 
"never  was,  and  never  likely  to  be,  have  no  interest  in 
Alaska,  but  for  many  years  I  have  been  a  close  student 
of  its  aifairs,  and  have  contributed  some  to  writing  up 
its  resources,  which  I  believe  to  be  greatly  underrated 
by  the  company;  and  desiring  to  see  an  honest  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  government,  I  took  the  lib- 
erty thus  to  address  you." 

From  Desty's  second  communication,  dated  May  1 , 
1876,  I  will  give  a  few  extracts,  which  may  serve  to 
explain  the  History  of  the  Wrongs  of  Alashx  and  the 
newspaper  comments  to  which  it  gave  rise.  "Some 
time  since  I  forwarded  to  you  a  collection  of  documents, 
and  a  written  statement  of  the  affairs  of  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company.  Since  that  time  I  have  taken 
especial  pains  to  investigate  as  far  as  I  was  able  the 
matters  involved  therein,  and  I  have  become  convinced 
that  most  of  the  charges  against  the  company  are  not 
founded  on  facts  which  can  be  proved. 

"Having  written  nearly  all  the  newspaper  articles 
which  have  appeared  in  the  San  Francisco  papers  dur- 
ing the  last  seven  years  against  the  Alaska  Commer- 
cial Company,  and  being  the  author,  in  print,  of  most 
of  the  charges  which  have  been  published  against 
that  company ...  I  deem  it  incumbent  on  me  to  make 
the  following  statement. .  .Being  a  poor  man,  and  a 
writer,  I  wrote  upon  this  subject  such  things  as  I  was 
required  to  write  by  those  who  employed  me;  and 

»*Tbey  are  given  in  Id,,  p.  139-43. 


DESTY*S  WRITINGS.  649 

being  a  radical  in  politics,  of  the  French  school,  I  was 
the  more  easily  deceived,  and  more  readily  accepted 
the  statements  which  charged  oppression  and  wrong- 
ful acts  upon  the  part  of  this  powerful  company  as 
true,  and  wrote  them  up  with  all  the  vigor  and  zeal  I 
possessed,  induced  by  my  natural  desire  to  protect 
the  weak  against  the  strong. 

"It  is  well  known  that  there  has  existed  in  this  city 
for  several  years  a  combination  of  individuals,  mostly 
fur-dealers,  who  singly  and  together,  under  various 
names,  have  made  common  cause  against  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company.  For  a  time  they  took  the 
name  of  the  *  Alaska  Traders'  Protective  Association;' 
lately  they  have  assumed  the  name,  *The  Anti-Monop- 
oly Association  of  the  Pacific  Coast.'* 

"It  was  in  the  interest  of  this  combination,  as  I  now 
discover,  that  I  was  employed  to  write,  and  the  alleged 
facts  and  charges  which  I  have  from  time  to  time 
written  and  published  against  the  company  were  fur- 
nished by  one  and  another  of  these  parties.** 

"  The  pamphlet  called  the  History  of  the  Wrongs 
of  Alaska  was  mostly  composed  of  statements  and 
charges  made  by  me  in  the  Alaska  Herald  and  other 
sources — ^the  articles  written  by  me  and  published  in 
the  Alaska  Herald  and  other  San  Francisco  papers,^ 
and  in  the  New  York  and  Chicago  papers. 

"The  object  and  purpose  of  all  these  various  publi- 
cations on  the  part  of  this  combination  was  to  raise  a 
clamor  against  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  and 
by  chargmg  fraud  and  oppression  continually,  make 
the  company  so  odious  to  the  public  that  congress 
would  take  action  towards  the  abrogation  of  its  con- 
tract of  lease  for  the  Seal  Islands. 

'^The  names  of  the  members,  according  to  Desty's  information,  are  given 
in  Id,f  141.  Desty  states  that  he  was  himself  invited  to  become  a  member, 
but  declined. 

**  *And  others  in  written  memoranda  famished  by  the  pen  of  Honcharenko, 
and  which  I  elaborated  into  the  articles  which  apx)eared  in  nrint. ' 

'^  Desty  states  that  Honcharenko  was  never  in  Alaska,  and  tliat  the  Alanka 
Herald  was  published  for  several  years  in  San  Francisco,  and  supported  by 
the  combination  and  their  sympathizers. 


660  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

"I  now  desire  to  retract  all  I  have  written  against 
the  company,  and  this  I  do  freely  and  voluntarily, 
without  fear  or  compulsion  of  any  sort,  but  as  aa  act 
of  simple  justice." 

Desty's  communications,  for  whatever  they  were 
worth,  were  put  on  file  as  evidence.  Their  worth  is 
probably  known  to  those  who  were  residents  of  San 
Francisco  when  the  suit  of  Thomas  Taylor  and  others 
versus  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  and  others 
was  tried  in  1871,*^  and  they  are  mentioned  in  these 
pages  merely  to  explain  in  part  the  adverse  comments 
that  have  appeared  in  the  press  and  in  various  pam- 
phlets. 

Perhaps  the  most  valuable  testimony  educed  during 
the  investigation  was  that  of  B.  H.  Bristow.  "I 
understand  you  to  say,"  remarked  a  member  of  the 
sub-committee,  "  that  you  have  instituted  all  the  in- 
quiries that  you  deem  necessary,  but  that  you  have 
not  found  anything  against  the  company  that  is 
reliable?"  "Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  "all  that  I  thought  necessary — indeed,  all 
that  I  could;  for,  to  speak  the  plain  truth,  when  it 
came  to  my  knowledge  that  the  company  was  making 
a  very  large  profit  out  of  the  matter,*^  I  felt  that  the  gov- 
ernment was  not  getting  as  much  as  it  ought  to  have, 
and  I  wanted  to  find  some  way  of  getting  a  share  of 
the  profits  for  the  government;  but  I  found  myself 
confronted  with  the  law  and  this  contract,  and  I  saw 
no  reason  to  believe  that  the  company  were  not  carry- 
ing out  their  contract  in  good  faith,  whatever  may  be 
the  suspicions  by  which  they  are  surrounded." 

The  only  charge  worthy  of  mention  that  was  brought 
home  to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  was  a  dis- 


*^  A  portion  cf  the  evidence  in  this  case,  of  which  I  have  a  copy,  will  be 
found  in  the  Alaska  Com.  Co.y  MS. 

"  Miller  testified  that  the  company  lost  money  the  first  year,  but  the 
second  year  made  a  small  profit,  that  for  the  third  year  the  dividend  was  ton 
per  cent,  and  for  1875  fifteen  per  cent.  House  Com,  RepU.^  44th  Cong,  lai 
icss, ,  6*23,  p.  37,  where  are  given  the  names  of  the  stockholders  in  1876. 


CHARGES  AGAINST  THE  COMPAKY.  051 

crepancy  of  $1,467.37  '^  between  the  accounts  kept  by 
the  custom-house  and  those  of  the  company;  and  in 
the  opinion  of  the  official  appointed  to  examine  the 
company's  books,  this  was  due  to  an  error  of  the  gov- 
ernment agents. 

In  1869  the  value  of  a  fur-seal  skin  in  London,  the 
world's  mart  for  peltry,  did  not  exceed  three  or  four 
dollars,  but  at  that  date  the  tax  was  one  dollar  per 
skin.  In  1876  a  first-class  skin  delivered  in  London 
cost  the  company  six  to  six  and  a  half  dollars;  its 
market  value  at  that  date  before  being  dressed  or 
dyed  was  about  fifteen  dollars,  and  in  1881  twenty 
dollars.  The  enhanced  price  is  due  in  part  to  better 
preservation,  but  more  to  whim  of  fashion. 

The  demand  for  furs  is  of  course  controlled  by  fash- 
ion. As  men  wear  beaver  hats  in  summer,  so  do 
women  seal-skin  sacks.  Among  others,  furriers  regu- 
late fashion.  "When  I  was  in  London,"  remarks 
Miller,  "I  talked  with  all  the  great  furriers,  and 
they  were  delighted  to  know  that  they  could  cal- 
culate with  reasonable  certainty  upon  the  number  of 
skins  that  were  to  be  put  upon  the  market  each  year. 
The  furriers  influence  fashion.  The  value  of  this 
article  is  subject  to  the  caprice  of  fashion,  but  the  fur- 
riers themselves  aid  in  making  the  fashions,  and  they 
make  the  fashion  for  an  article  that  will  pay." 

Among  the  charges  brought  against  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  was  that  of  taking  more  than  the 
number  of  skins  allowed  by  law.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
discuss  this  charge.  As  a  fact,  they  usually  take  one 
or  two  hundred  less  than  the  number  prescribed,  and 
not  until  1881  did  the  number  of  accepted  skins 
amount  to  a  hundred  thousand.*^    "If  we  overran  the 

"  Tho  amount  of  tax  on  659  skins  at  $2.62^  each. 

**  EHiot€s  Seal  Islands,  Alaska,  1C9.  The  list  of  the^treasury  agent  is  the 
official  indorsement  of  the  company's  catch.  The  skins  are  shipped  to  San 
Francisco,  where  they  are  counted.  *As  it  never  happened  before,  until  the 
season  of  1881/  remarks  Elliott,  *  that  the  two  counts  at  San  Francisco  and  St 
Paul  have  agreed  to  a  unit,  the  company  has  ffiven  strict  and  imperative 
orders  that  no  more  than  00,800  or  09,850  shall  be  annually  taken  by  its 


662  COMMERCE.  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

market  to  any  appreciable  extent,"  stated  Miller,  in 
evidence,  "it  would  certainly  knock  the  price  down, 
and  it  would  do  it  because  it  disturbs  the  present 
equilibrium." 

At  the  Prybilof  Islands  the  government  has  what 
may  be  termed  a  stock-farm,  which  yields  an  income 
of  more  than  $300,000  a  year.  The  advantages  of 
leasing  these  islands  to  responsible  parties  are  thus 
stated  by  Henry  W.  ElHott,  formerly  a  treasury  agent, 
who  inspected  the  seal-grounds  in  1876: 

"First.  When  the  government  took  possession  of 
these  interests,  in  1868  and  1869,  the  gross  value  of 
a  seal-skin  laid  down  in  the  best  market,  at  London, 
was  less  in  some  instances,  and  in  others  but  slightly 
above,  the  present  tax  and  royalty  paid  upon  it  by  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company. 

"Second.  Through  the  action  of  the  intelligent 
business  men  who  took  the  contract  from  the  govern- 
ment, in  stimulating  and  encouraging  the  dressers  of 
the  raw  material,  and  in  taking  sedulous  care  that 
nothing  but  good  skins  should  leave  the  islands,  and 
in  combination  with  leaders  of  fashion  abroad,  the  de- 
mand for  the  fur,  by  this  manipulation  and  manage- 
ment, has  been  wonderfully  increased. 

"Third.  As  matters  now  stand,  the  greatest  and 
best  interests  of  the  lessees  are  identical  with  those 
of  the  government;  what  injures  one  injures  the  other. 
In  other  words,  both  strive  to  guard  against  anything 
that  shall  interfere  with  the  preservation  of  the  seal- 
life  in  its  original  integrity,  and  both  having  it  to 
their  interest  if  possible  to  increase  that  life;  if  the 
lessees  had  it  in  their  power,  which  they  certainly  have 
not,  to  ruin  these  interests  by  a  few  seasons  of  rapacity, 
they  are  so  bonded  and  so  environed  that  prudence 
prevents  it. 

agents  from  the  seal-islandfl.  Taking  the  full  quota  for  this  season  of  ISSl 
was  contrary  to  its  express  direction.*  In  the  Repi,  on  Finances,  in  Notice 
Ex.  Doc.,  47th  CoTig.  Sd  Senn.,  47,  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  states  that  in 
1S82  the  Alaska  Commercial  Co.  took  *  nearly  the  maximum  number  of  seal- 
skins permitted  under  its  lease,  paid  the  tax  thereon,  as  well  as  the  rent  of 
the  isL&nds,  and  otherwise  performed  its  duties  under  its  lease.' 


ELLIOTT'S  BEPORT.  059 

"Fourth.  The  frequent  changes  in  the  office  of  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  who  has  very  properly  the 
absolute  control  of  the  business  as  it  stands,  do  not 
permit  upon  his  part  of  that  close,  careful  scrutiny 
%vhich  is  exercised  by  the  lessees,  who,  unlike  him, 
have  but  their  one  purpose  to  carry  out.  The  char- 
acter of  the  leading  men  among  them  is  enough  to 
assure  the  public  that  the  business  is  in  responsible 
hands,  and  in  the  care  of  persons  who  will  use  every 
effort  for  its  preservation  and  its  perpetuation . .  •  As 
matters  are  now  conducted,  there  is  no  room  for  any 
scandal — ^not  one  single  transaction  on  the  islands  but 
what  is  as  clear  to  investigation  and  accountability 
as  the  light  of  the  noon-day  sun;  what  is  done  is 
known  to  everybody,  and  the  tax  now  laid  by  the 
government  upon  and  paid  into  the  treasury  every 
year  by  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  yields 
alone  a  handsome  rate  of  interest  on  the  entire  pur- 
chase money  expended  for  the  ownership  of  all 
Alaska."" 

It  is  probable  that  the  lease  of  the  Prybilof  Islands 
has  been  a  much  more  profitable  transaction,  both  for 
the  government  and  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany, than  was  anticipated  at  the  time  when  it  was 
signed.  In  1871  Hutchinson,  Kohl,  &  Company 
obtained  a  lease  of  Bering,  Copper,  and  Robben 
islands  on  very  much  more  favorable  terms.  The 
rental  was  but  five  thousand  roubles  in  silver,  and  the 
royalty  two  roubles.  The  minimum  number  of  skins 
that  should  be  taken  was  fixed  at  one  thousand,  but 
otherwise  there  was  no  limit.** 

In  many  parts  of  Alaska  there  were,  in  the  time  of 
the  Russian  American  Company,  as  the  reader  will 

**SecU  Islands,  Akuha,  26-7.  'It  is  frequently  ui^j^ed  with  great  persist- 
ency, by  misinformed  or  malicious  authority/  contmuea  Elliott,  'that  the 
lessees  can  and  do  take  thousands  of  skins  in  excess  of  the  law,  and  this  catch 
in  excess  is  shipped  sub  rosa  to  Japan  from  the  Pribylov  Islands. '  To  show 
the  impossibility  of  such  action  on  the  part  of  the  company,  he  then  states 
the  conditions  under  which  the  skins  are  taken. 

^  A  copy  of  the  lease  is  given  in  House  0cm.  lUpU,,  44th  Cong.  1st  ^ess., 
623,  app.  B. 


654  COMMERCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

remember,  seal-grounds  of  great  value,  but  where  to- 
day the  catch  is  inconsiderable.  In  the  south  Pacific 
there  were,  less  than  fifty  years  ago,  rookeries  fre- 
quented by  millions  of  seals,  and  which  now  yield  but 
five  to  ten  thousand  skins  a  year.  That  the  same 
fate  would  have  overtaken  the  Prybilof  Islands,  but 
for  the  intervention  of  congress;  tnat,  instead  of  the 
five  millions  of  fur-seals  which  at  present  make  these 
islands  their  summer  resort,  there  would  have  been 
but  a  few  thousands,  cannot  reasonably  be  doubted.** 
They  return  each  year  only  because  they  are  not 
allowed  to  be  disturbed  by  the  sound  of  fire-arms  or 
by  other  means,  much  care  and  method  being  used 
during  the  slaughtering  season. 

When  they  .come  in  from  the  north  Pacific  in  early 
summer,  the  seals  usually  select  their  landing-places 
on  the  south  and  south-eastern  shores  of  the  Prybilof 
Islands,  mainly,  as  is  supposed,  because  the  winds, 
blowing  at  that  season  usually  from  the  north  and 
west,  carry  out  to  sea  the  scent  of  their  old  rookeries. 
During  the  month  of  May  only  a  few  hundreds  of  full- 
grown  males  are  to  be  seen  on  the  grounds,  but  about 
the  first  week  in  June,  when  banks  of  gray  fog  begin 
to  enshroud  the  islands,  the  males  swarm  in  daily  by 
thousands,  and  choose  locations  for  their  harems  close 
to  high- water  mark. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  month  the  females  arrive, 
and  meanwhile  a  constant  fight  has  been  going  on 
between  the  new-comers  and  those  already  in  the 
field,  during  which  the  latter,  exhausted  by  repeated 
conflicts,  are  often  driven  higher  up  the  rookery  and 
away  from  the  water-line.  The  contests  are  only 
among  the  full-grown  males,**^  which  dispute  in  single 
combat  the  choicest  spots;  and  veterans  have  been 
known  to  fight  thirty  or  forty  pitched  battles  in  order 

**  About  3,000,000  aro  full-grown  females.  Where  they  all  harbor  during 
the  rest  of  the  year  is  not  known,  but  it  is  believed  that  they  spend  the  win- 
ter south  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  in  places  where  fish  are  abanoant.  HiUelfi 
Com.  and  lud.,  Fac,  Coast,  332. 

^  Eight  years  old  or  more. 


SEAL  BATTLES.  Go5 

to  maintain  their  ground  until  the  arrival  of  the 
females,  when  it  seems  to  be  understood  that  those 
who  have  held  their  own  shall  not  be  disturbed  for 
the  season.^ 

The  combatants  approach  warily  and  with  averted 
gaze.  When  at  close  quarters  they  make  feints  or  passes 
like  pugilists  in  the  ring,  their  heads  darting  in  and 
out  and  their  eyes  gleaming  with  a  lurid  light.  After 
much  preliminary  roaring  and  writhing,  they  seize 
each  other  with  their  long  canine  teeth,  and  when  the 
grip  is  relaxed,  the  skin  and  blubber  of  one  or  both 
are  scarred  with  furrows,  the  blood  streaming  down 
meanwhile,  and  the  conflict  being  perhaps  the  most 
singular  that  man  can  witness. 

"Thus,"  as  Elliott  remarks,  "about  two  thirds  of 
all  the  males  which  are  bom,  and  they  are  equal  in 
numbers  to  the  females  born,  are  never  permitted  by 
the  remaining  third,  strongest  by  natural  selection,  to 
land  upon  the  same  breeding-ground  with  the  females, 
which  always  herd  thereupon  en  masse.  Hence,  the 
great  band  of  bachelor  seals,  or  hoUuschickie,*^  so 
fitly  termed,  when  it  visits  the  island  is  obliged  to 
live  apart  entirely,  sometimes,  and  in  some  places, 
miles  away  from  the  rookeries;  and  in  this  admirably 
perfect  method  of  nature  are  those  seals  which  can  be 

t)roperly  killed  without  injury  to  the  rookeries  se- 
ected  and  held  aside,  so  that  the  natives  can  visit  and 
take  them  without  disturbing,  in  the  least  degree,  the 
entire  quiet  of  the  breeding-grounds,  where  the  stock 
is  perpetuated." 

To  the  bachelor  seals  remains  the  choice  of  taking 
up  their  abode — in  technical  phrase,  *  hauling  up' — • 
in  rear  of  the  rookeries,  or  on  what  are  termed  the 
free  beaches.  For  the  former  purpose  a  path  is  left 
through  the  married-quarters  by  which  they  pass  in 
ceaseless  files,  day  or  night,  at  will.     No  well  con- 

**  Elliott  states  that  he  has  seen  a  veteran  seal  fight  40  or  50  battles  and 
beat  off  all  his  assailants,  coming  out  of  the  campaign  with  the  loss  of  an  eye, 
and  covered  with  raw  and  festering  scars.  Seal  Islands,  Alaska,  32. 

*^  A  Russian  word  for  bachelors. 


656  COMMEKCB,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

ducted  hoUuschick  is  molested  on  the  way,  but  woe 
to  him  that  keeps  not  straight  on  his  path,  or  looks 
askant  and  sniffs  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  harem. 
Loss  of  flipper  or  of  life  is  the  sure  penalty. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  season,  the  bachelor  seals 
that  select  as  their  ground  the  free  beaches  haul  up*^ 
within  a  few  rods  of  high-water  mark,  and  to  effect 
their  capture  great  caution  is  required.  At  the  first 
glimpse  of  dawn,  a  party  of  natives  is  sent  to  the 
spot  whence  the  seals  are  to  be  driven  to  the  slaugh- 
tering-ground, and  while  their  victims  are  still  dozing, 
creep  stealthily  between  them  and  the  surf.  When 
roused,  they  find  themselves  cut  off  from  retreat  to 
the  sea,  and  crawl  or  lope  in  the  direction  in  which 
they  are  guided  by  the  Aleuts,  who,  brandishing  their 
clubs,  but  as  noiselessly  as  possible,  walk  slowly  on 
the  flank  and  in  rear  of  the  drove.  In  this  man- 
ner, under  favorable  circumstances,  several  thousand 
fur-seals  may  be  driven  by  a  dozen  men,  but  usually 
only  a  few  hundred  are  taken  at  a  time. 

From  the  hauling-grounds  to  the  killing-grounds 
the  seals  are  driven  at  the  rate  of  about  half  a  mile 
an  hour,  with  frequent  halts  to  allow  time  to  cool,  as 
heating  injures  the  quality  of  the  fur.  During  the 
Mrive,  as  it  is  termed,  they  never  show  fight,  unless 
it  should  happen  that  a  few  veterans  are  among  the 
drove.  When  the  men  think  it  time  to  halt,  they 
drop  back  a  few  paces,  whereupon  the  holluschickie 
stop,  and  pant,  and  fan  themselves.  The  clattering 
of  a  few  bones  or  a  shout  from  their  drivers  causes 
them  instantly  to  resume  their  march  to  the  slaugh- 
tering-grounds.*® 

About  seven  o'clock  the  seals  are  secured  in  the 
slaughtering  corral,  which  is  always  close  to  one  of  the 

^  A  phrase  applied  to  the  action  of  seals  when  they  land  from  the  anrf  and 
drag  themselves  over  the  beach. 

''The  'drive*  to  Lukannon  on  St  Paul  Island  occupies  about  two  hours, 
to  Tolstoi  on  the  same  island  two  and  a  half  to  three  hours,  while  to  Zoltoi, 
on  St  George  Island,  the  distance  from  the  beach  is  triflinff.  These  are  tho 
principal  slaughtering-grounds.  Id.,  11  (note).  Opposite  tnat  page  is  a  plato 
representing  a  drove  on  its  way  to  the  killing-grounds. 


SLAUGHTER  OF  SEAM.  657 

Alaska  Commercial  Company's  villages.  Here  they 
arc  allowed  to  cool  until  the  men  have  breakfasted,  after 
which  all  the  Aleuts  come  forth,  armed  with  bludgeons, 
clubs,^  and  stabbing  and  skinning  knives.  At  a  given 
signal  the  men  step  into  the  corral,  from  which  a 
hundred  or  a  hundred  and  fifty  are  driven  at  a  time, 
and  surrounded,  the  circle  narrowing  until  the  seals 
are  huddled  together  and  within  reach  of  the  clubs. 
The  chief  then  selects  those  which  are  doomed,  and 
a  single  blow  of  the  club,  which  will  stun  and  not 
kill,  is  dealt  to  all.  If  the  day  happen  to  be  warm 
and  fair,  the  skin  will  spoil,  unless  removed,  sometimes 
within  half  an  hour,*^  and  always  within  an  hour  and 
a  half  after  the  death  of  the  seal.  To  avoid  waste, 
therefore,  and  to  allow  those  whose  furs  have  been 
injured  during  the  harem  fights  a  chance  to  escape, 
the  fatal  blow  is  not  struck  until  later,  when  a  single 
well  aimed  stroke  of  the  bludgeon  crushes  in  the  slen- 
der bones  of  the  victim'sskuU  and  stretches  himlifeless." 

The  skins  are  taken  to  the  salt-house,  where  they 
are  carefully  examined,  and  those  which  are  damaged, 
the  number  seldom  exceeding  one  per  cent,  are  rejected. 
They  are  then  salted  on  the  fleshy  side,  and,  in  sealing 
phrase,  piled,  fat  to  fat,  in  'kenches,'"  after  which 
salt  is  thrown  on  the  outer  edges  and  kept  in  place  by 
sliding  planks.  In  two  or  three  weeks  they  are  pickled, 
when  they  are  taken,  as  required,  rolled  into  bundles 
of  two,  with  the  fur  outward,  and  are  tightly  corded. 
They  are  then  ready  for  shipment  to  San  Francisco, 
where  they  are  counted  by  the  government  agent  and 
thence  forwarded  to  London  in  casks  containing  each 
forty  to  eighty  skins.^ 

The  method  of  dressing  and  dyeing  the  skins  is  a 

**The  blndgeoDS  are  of  hickory,  and  the  clabs  five  or  six  feet  in  length, 
and  three  inches  in  diameter  at  the  head. 

*^  Elliott  states  that  this  occurs,  but  is  a  rare  occurrence. 

*'The  blows  are  usually  repeated  two  or  three  times. 

^  Large  bins. 

**The  average  weight  of  a  skin  thus  pickled  is  G  to  10  lbs.  A  table  of 
the  weight,  size,  and  growth  of  the  fur-seal  at  the  Prybilof  Islands  is  given 
in /J.,  40. 

Hist.  Alaska.   H 


656  CX)MMEBCE,  REVENUE,  AND  FURS. 

trade  secret,  and  for  some  reason  this  branch  of  Indus* 
try  appears  to  be  almost  concentrated  in  London.  Al- 
though artisans  have  been  engaged,  and  dye-stuflfe  and 
even  water  imported  from  England  by  the  French,  furs 
prepared  by  artisans  of  the  latter  nation  are  not  con- 
sidered equal  to  those  prepared  in  London.  The  pro- 
cesses previous  to  that  oi  dyeing,  wherein  the  secret 
lies,  are  very  simple.  In  order  to  rid  it  of  greasy 
particles,  the  skin  is  first  soaked  in  warm  water,  and 
after  being  scraped  clean,  again  soaked  in  warm  water 
containing  rose-wood  or  mahogany  sawdust.  The 
fleshy  side  of  the  skin  is  then  shaved,  in  order  to  cut 
off  the  roots  of  the  coarser  hairs,  which  fall  out,  leaving 
only  the  soft  fur,  which  is  then  ready  for  the  dyeing 
process." 

Whatever  has  been  or  may  be  alleged  j^ainst  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company,  it  cannot  be  said  with 
truth  that  it  has  diminished  the  world's  wealth.  Dur- 
ing the  first  term  of  the  Russian  American  Company's 
existence,  the  entire  catch  of  fur-seals  at  the  Pribylof 
Islands  was  estimated  at  a  little  over  1,000,000,  dur- 
ing the  second  term  at  less  than  460,000,  and  during 
the  third  term  at  about  340,000,  each  term  extending 
over  about  twenty  years,  and  almost  each  year  show- 
ing a  diminution  in  the  supply.  The  waste  of  skins 
caused  through  fault  of  curing  has  already  been  men- 
tioned.'* In  1868  the  slaughter  exceeded  240,000, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  rookeries  were  threatened 
with  extermination.  In  1883  about  100,000  were 
killed;  their  value  was  greatly  enhanced,  and  during 
the  portion  of  the  company's  lease  that  had  then 
expired  the  supply  was  gradually  on  the  increase. 

The  catch  of  sea-otter  now  averages  5,000  to  6,000 
a  year,  or  more  than  double  the  number  secured  be- 

» IJiUelVs  Cam,  and  Ind,  Pac  Coast,  336.  The  price  of  a  good  finished 
fikin  in  Loudon  was,  in  1881,  abont  $40. 

*8  Elliott  remarks  that  the  method  of  curing  in  early  times  was  to  peg  tbeni 
out  when  green  on  the  ground,  or  stretch  them  on  a  wooden  frame.  About 
750,000  were  spoiled  in  1803. 


SEA-OTTEB  AND  FOXES.  659 

fore  tbe  purchase;  and  their  skins  are  worth  in  Lon- 
don from  $75  to  $100.*^  This  industry  furnishes  prof- 
itable employment  for  a  few  months  in  the  year  to 
several  thousand  Aleuts,  the  skin  being  the  most  val- 
uable of  all  peltry,  excepting  perhaps  the  pelt  of  the 
black  fox. 

Silver-gray  and  black  fox-skins  were  first  introduced 
to  fashion,  it  will  be  remembered,  at  St  Petersburg.** 
Of  either  the  catch  is  inconsiderable,  that  of  the  silver 
fox  seldom  exceeding  one  hundred,  while  the  appear- 
ance of  a  black  fox-skin  in  the  market  is  of  very  rare 
occurrence.  Blue  fox-skins  are  taken  to  the  number 
of  about  2,000.  The  red  fox  has  little  commercial 
value.  Of  marten  and  beaver  skins  considerable  ship- 
ments are  made;  but  of  these,  as  of  other  land  peltry, 
the  principal  supply  comes  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company. 

B^For  1879  the  catch  was  900  in  the  Kadiak  district,  and  4,850  in  the 
Unalaska  district,  the  latter  inclnding  the  Shumagin  lalands.  Petrcff*B  Pop, 
Alaska,  66. 

*»ThiflvoL,p.  253. 


/ 


CHAPTER  XXX, 

FISHERIES. 

•    1867-1884. 

BiJiMON  Packing — Pbiob  and  Wxioht  of  the  Raw  FiaH—TuKON-BiVER 
Salmon—Alaskan  CAKVEBnES— Dohestto  Ck)NSUMPTioN  and  Waste — 
The  Cod-banks  of  Alaska— Labos  Incbbasb  in  the  Catch  of  Cod- 
fish—And Degbeasb  in  its  Yalub— The  Haubut-fishebies— Her- 
ring AND  Hebbing-oil — Maokebsl — The  Eulaobon  OB  Candle-fish — 
Value  and  Pbospbgts  of  the  Alaskan  Fisheries— Whaling  Enter- 
FRiSE— The  North  Pacij^o  Whaling  Fleet— Gradual  Decrease 
IN  the  Catch— Threatened  Exhaustion  of  the  Whaling-grounds. 

"In  their  public  prayers,"  remarks  John  Adams,  "it 
is  said  that  the  Dutch  ask  of  the  supreme  being  that 
it  may  please  him  to  bless  the  government,  the  states, 
the  lords,  and  the  fisheries."  In  1776  the  fisheries  of 
Alaska  were  unknown  to  John  Adams  and  to  the 
Dutch,  nor  were  the  Russians  aware  of  their  value, 
even  at  the  time  of  the  transfer,  though  it  is  not  im- 
probable that,  a  generation  hence,  the  waters  of  this 
territory  may  be  one  of  the  main  sources  of  the  world's 
supply. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  immediate  prospect  that  the 
fisheries  of  Alaska  will  be  extensively  utilized  unless 
other  sources  of  supply  should  begin  to  fail.  It  is  a 
little  significant,  however,  that  the  salmon-pack  should 
have  increased  from  about  8,000  cases  in  1880^  to 
36,000  in  1883,  the  yield  in  the  latter  year  being 
worth  about  $180,000,*  while  during  the  interval  the 

» JTitUlVa  Com,  and  Ind.  Pae.  Coast,  375.  There  were  also  shipped  in  1880 
600,000  lbs  of  salted  sabnon. 

'  San  Fran,  Bulletin,  April  12, 1884.  A  case  contains  four  dozen  one-poiud 
tins,  the  value  of  which  is  estimated  at  (1.25  per  dozen. 

<6e0) 


SALMON  IN  ALASKA.  661 

market  for  canned  salmon  had  become  greatly  over- 
stocked. More  than  36,000  cases  are  often  shipped 
by  a  single  cannery  on  the  Columbia,  although  the 
price  paid  per  fish  in  1883  was  on  the  Columbia 
seventy  cents,  and  at  the  Alaska  canneries  from  one 
cent  to  five  cents. 

The  average  weight  of  salmon  caught  in  Alaskan 
rivers,  after  being  cleaned,  exceeds  fifteen  pounds,' 
while  on  the  Columbia  it  is  less  than  twenty  pounds. 
The  flavor  of  the  best  fish  caught  in  the  former  local- 
ity is  only  excelled  by  that  of  Scotch  and  Norwegian 
salmon,  which  are  considered  superior  to  any  in  the 
world.  The  more  northerly  the  waters  in  which  salmon 
are  taken,  the  better  their  flavor.  The  king  salmon, 
the  largest  and  choicest  of  the  species  found  in  Alaska, 
not  unfrequently  attains  a  weight  of  eighty  and  some- 
times of  a  hundred  pounds/  its  range  being  from  the 
Alexander  Archipelago  to  the  Yukon.  It  is  known 
to  ascend  that  river  for  more  than  a  thousand  miles,* 
the  run  commencing  about  the  middle  of  June  and 
lasting  till  the  end  of  August.  So  choice  is  its  flavor, 
that  during  the  regime  of  the  Bussian  American  Com- 
pany, several  barrels  of  the  salted  fish  were  shipped 
each  season  to  St  Petersburg  for  the  use  of  the 
friends  of  the  company's  officials.' 

The  run  of  salmon  on  the  Yukon  is  immense,  but 
lasting  as  it  does  only  for  about  six  weeks,  is  at  pres- 
ent considered  of  too  brief  duration  to  warrant  the 
investment  of  capital.  The  fact  that  the  mouth  of  the 
Yukon   is   not  navigable  for  sea-going  vessels  is  a 

*Li  Morrises  Bept.,  Alaska,  113,  it  is  stated  that  at  Cook's  Inlet  they  av- 
erage 60  lbs,  and  tnat  some  have  been  caught  weighing  120  lbs.  The  state- 
ment would  be  true  if  it  were  applied  only  to  king  salmon,  but  is  much  above 
the  figures  for  the  average  catch. 

*  &yond  the  site  of  Fort  Yukon. 

* (T.  8,  Agric.  Kept.  (1870),  Ust  C(mg,  Sd  Sees.,  382-3.  The  more  common 
Bpecies  have  the  same  range,  but  their  run  commences  a  few  days  later  and 
they  remain  longer.  A  king  salmon  when  dried  will  make  on  an  average 
about  20  lbs  of  t/ita/t,  as  the  dried  fish  was  termed  by  the  Indians.  In  the 
report  the  weight  of  the  common  species  is  given  at  10  to  30  lbs,  and  when 
cleaned  and  smoked  2  or  3  lbs.  These  figures  are  too  low.  Probably  th& 
Aleut  process  of  curing  is  the  one  mentioned. 


062  FISHERIES. 

further  obstacle.  In  other  rivers  and  streams  of 
Alaska,  however,  salmon  are  almost  equally  abundant^ 
and  it  is  possible  that  the  proprietors  of  the  Colum- 
bia River  canneries  may  find  competition  from  these 
sources  increase  more  rapidly  than  they  anticipate. 

About  the  year  1868  a  cannery  was  built  at  Klowak, 
on  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  probably  the  first  one  in 
Alaska,  and  afterward  became  the  property  of  the 
San  Francisco  firm  of  Sisson,  Wallace,  and  Company, 
who  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  California,  taking 
the  name  of  the  North  Pacific  and  Trading  Company.* 
In  1878  Cutting  and  Company,  also  of  San  Francis- 
co, established  a  cannery  near  the  site  of  Fort  Sv 
Mikhail,  or,  as  it  is  now  termed,  old  Sitka,^  and  al- 
though they  did  not  commence  operations  until  late 
in  the  season,  their  first  pack  was  about  five  thousand 
cases.®  On  account  of  an  accident,  this  cannery  was 
afterward  removed  to  a  favorable  site  on  Cook  Inlet. 
In  1883  the  Alaska  Salmon  Packing  and  Fur  Com- 
pany was  incorporated,  among  its  purposes  being  the 
canning,  salting,  and  smoking  of  fish  at  the  lake  and 
harbor  of  Naha.  Small  canneries  have  also  been 
established  at  other  points,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that  they  should  find  the  industry  remunerative, 
while,  on  account  of  low  prices,  the  canneries  of  the 
Columbia,  with  their  superior  appliances,  have  almost 
ceased  to  be  profitable. 

The  chief  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  canneries  are 
the  shortness  of  the  season,  the  difficulty  in  obtaining 
labor,  the  great  cost  of  supplies,  the  want  of  commu- 
nication, and  the  fact  that  no  title  can  be  obtained  to 
land.  That  raw  fish  will  continue  to  be  cheaper,  be- 
cause more  abundant  and  more  easily  caught  than 

*  Morris  states  that  the  first  year's  operations  satisfied  the  finn  that  the 
enterprise  would  be  successful,  bept.,  115. 

^  Five  miles  from  the  present  town  of  Sitka. 

^Berry's  Development,  Aluaka,  MS.,  12.  Berry  states  that  the  firm 
did  not  lose  money  the  first  season.  In  Sen.  Ex.  Doe.,  46th  Cong,  fid  Ses8,<, 
105,  p.  13,  it  is  stated  that  the  total  shipments  for  1879  were  6,000  cases,  and 
a  large  quantity  of  salted  salmon  in  barrels.  At  that  date  there  were  two 
other  firms  in  operation. 


OODBANKS.  «ft3 

elsewhere  in  the  world,  there  is  little  doubt.  It  would 
seem  that  as  salmon  can  be  bought  from  the  natives 
in  Alaska  at  less  than  one  fifteenth  of  the  price  paid 
on  the  Columbia,  and  as  Alaska  salmon  is  preferred 
in  the  eastern  states  and  in  Europe  to  Columbia 
River  salmon,  these  difficulties  will  in  time  be  over- 
come. Moreover,  it  is  probable  that  the  demand  for 
canned  salmon  will  gradually  increase,  and  that  its 
present  low  marketable  value  will  not  long  continue, 
for  few  more  nourishing  and  palatable  articles  of  food 
can  be  bought  at  the  price,  and  the  entire  pack  of 
Alaska  would  not  yet  furnish  breakfast  for  the  popu- 
lation of  London  for  a  single  day. 

The  quantity  of  salmon  shipped  from  Alaska  is  of 
course  but  a  small  portion  of  the  annual  catch,  for 
this  is  the  staple  food  of  the  30,000  or  35,000  Ind- 
ians who  inhabit  the  territory.®  A  30  or  40-pound 
fish  will  weigh  but  four  or  five  pounds  when  prepared 
by  their  wasteful  process  for  winter  use,  and  it  is  es- 
timated that  they  take  10,000,000  or  12,000,000  sal- 
mons a  year,  probably  at  least  thrice  the  number  re- 
quired to  supply  the  demand  of  all  the  canneries  on 
the  Pacific  coast. ^^ 

The  cod-banks  of  Alaska,  like  the  salmon  fisheries, 
are  admitted  to  be  the  most  extensive  known  to  the 
world,  and  only  in  the  waters  near  this  territory,  and 
perhaps  three  or  four  degrees  farther  south,  is  the  ga- 
dus  morrhua,  or  true  cod,  known  to  exist  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  banks  extend  at  intervals  from  the  Shum- 
agin  Islands  northward  and  westward  to  the  ice-line 
of  the  Bering  Sea,  eastward  to  Cook  Inlet,  and  south- 
ward to  the  strait  of  San  Juan  de  Fuca,^^  those  near 

'According  to  the  censua  of  1880  the  entire  population  waa  33,426,  of 
whom  430  were  white  persons,  1,750  Creoles,  and  the  i*cmainder  Indiaus. 

><^The  Pacific  coast  pack  was  estimated,  for  1881,  at  44,440,000  lbs.  1111- 
teWs  Com,  and  Ind.  Pac,  Coaat,  380. 

**  U,  8,  Agric.  Jiept.^  1870,  375.  Dodge  states  that  the  cod  fisheries 
extend  to  Bering  Strait,  and  oven  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Morris's  Rept.  ,113.  A 
few  stragglers  may  find  their  way  through  the  strait  during  summer,  but  lat. 
59**  K.,  which  is  about  the  line  reached  in  mid-winter  by  floating  ice,  is  practi- 
cally the  limit. 


064  FISHERIES. 

the  Shumagin  Islands  being  considered  the  best,  or 
at  least  the  most  available.*^  East  and  west  it  may 
be  said  that  they  reach  for  20  or  25  miles  from  the 
shores  of  Asia  and  America,  the  area  of  the  Alaskan 
banks  already  known  being  probably  more  than 
100,000  square  miles.  They  are  much  more  shallow 
than  those  of  Newfoundland,  the  depth  of  the  former 
being  usually  20  or  30  fathoms,  though  the*  best  fish 
are  taken  in  70  or  80  fathoms/'  while  the  latter  aver- 
age from  60  to  120  fathoms. 

In  1867,  23  vessels  were  emploved  at  the  cod-banks, 
the  catch  for  that  year  exceedmg  2,500  tons  when 
salted,  and  its  value  being  about  $350,000,  against 
less  than  1,500  tons, 'worth  almost  the  same  amount, 
in  1866.  The  catch  of  1867,  which  was  then  consid- 
ered enormous  completely  glutted  the  market,  and 
caused  a  fall  in  price  of  about  40  per  cent.  It  is 
worthy  of  note,  however,  that  in  1869  nearly  3,700 
tons  offish  were  salted,  and  in  1870  over  5,300  tons, 
the  catch  for  each  year  selling  at  better  rates  than 
were  obtained  in  1867.^*  After  1870  the  take  aver- 
aged about  500,000  fish  per  year,"  the  industry  usu- 
ally giving  employment  to  a  dozen  or  fifteen  schoon- 
ers, some  of  which  were  engaged  for  a  portion  of  the 
year  in  the  salmon  fisheries.  Meanwhile  the  price 
gradually  fell  in  San  Francisco  to  about  five  cents  per 

^^  One  advantage  is  that  fishing  vesseb  can  always  lie  under  the  lee  of  one 
of  the  islands,  ana  thus  be  protected  from  the  swell  of  the  ocean;  another  it 
the  proximity  of  the  Shnmagiu  Islands  to  Kadiak,  where,  as  Davidson  sug- 
gests, a  curing  establishment  iniglit  be  opened  with  advantage.  Cotut  PiM, 
Afaaka^  46. 

"  Captain  White,  in  Morris's  Bept.  ,112.  The  captain  states  that  at  a  point 
700  miles  north-west  of  Sitka  his  crew  caught  2oO  fish  with  20  lines  in  two 
hours,  and  that  tlie  natives  fish  in  shallow  water,  where  thev  catdi  cod 
weighing  5  to  15  lbs,  because  deep-water  fishing  is  too  hard  work.  Willijim 
8.  Dodge,  in  Id,,  113,  relates  that  two  Kadiak  f^hermen  caught 22,000  cod  in 
six  mouths;  and  Sheldon  Jackson,  that  in  1879  tliree  San  Frandsoo  firms  se- 
cured 3,000  tons  off  the  Shumagin  Islands.  Alaslxij  45.  The  existence  of 
tliesc  cod-banks  was  well  known  to  the  Russians.  See  Davidson's  Coast  Fi- 
/(>',  Alaska,  44-8,  and  Sumner's  Cess.  Huss,  Amur.,  42-3. 

^*  Each  year's  catch,  between  1864  and  1870,  together  with  its  value,  is 
given  in  U.  S,  Agric.  Bept.,  1S70,  380. 

^^  Petrofs  Pop,  Alaslxi^  71.  At  the  Shumagin  Islands,  in  1873,  five  vessels 
c  uKcht  2:^,000  fish.  Alaska  Hendd,  Oct.  24,  1873.  In  1875  seven  vessels  took 
440^000  fish.  Id.,  Oct.  1,  1875. 


HAUBUT— HEBKIKG— MACKERBL.  005 

pound  at  the  close  of  1883,^*  and  to  still  lower  rates 
during  the  early  months  of  1884."  Small  quantities 
of  cod  are  also  shipped  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and 
elsewhere,^®  but  the  demand  is  practically  limited  to 
the  Pacific  coast  from  California  northward,  and,  as 
its  entire  population  does  not  yet  exceed  1,500,000,  it 
is  not  probable  that  this  immense  source  of  future 
wealth  will,  at  present,  be  much  further  utilized. 

Although  it  is  conceded  that  the  flavor  of  the 
Alaskan  cod  is  not  inferior  to  that  of  fish  caught  on 
the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  the  former  always  sells 
at  lower  prices  in  the  market,  the  difference  being 
sometimes  as  much  as  three  cents  per  pound.  This 
is  probably  due  to  defect  in  curing,*^  and  perhaps  in 
part  to  the  fact  that  Atlantic  cod  has  always  been  in 
favor  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

Among  the  other  food-fishes  with  which  the  waters 
of  Alaska  abound,  I  shall  mention  only  the  halibut, 
herring,  mackerel,  and  eulachon.^  The  range  of  the 
halibut  extends  from  Cape  Flattery  northward  to  the 
Aleutian  Islands.  The  true  halibut  is  smaller  in  size 
than  that  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  specimens  of  the 
bastard  halibut  are  not  unfrequently  taken  weighing 
from  300  to  500  pounds.  As  yet,  neither  has  been 
much  in  demand,  except  for  local  use,  but  the  flavor, 
even  of  the  bastard  halibut,  when  salted  and  smoked, 
is  preferred  by  many  to  that  of  salmon,  while  its  napes 
and  fins  are  a  standard  article  of  commerce. 

Herring  arrive  in  vast  shoals  at  the  Aleutian  Isl- 
ands, the  Alexander  Archipelago,  and  Norton  Sound 
during  the  month  of  June.    Those  caught  at  Unalaska 

'•The  price  on  Dec.  30th,  accordins  to  the  S.  F.  Chronicle,  was  four 
cents  for  cod  in  bundles  and  six  cents  for  Doned  fish. 

'^To  three  and  five  cents  for  the  two  descriptions.  3,  F.  Bulletin, 
March  10,  1884. 

^  In  1868  a  cargo  was  ient  to  Australia,  and  realized  eip;ht  cents  per  lb. 

'*  Petroff  thinks  it  may  be  caused  by  the  inferior  quality  of  the  salt  used 
in  the  process.  Pop.  Alcuka,  71.  It  is  more  probably  owing  to  the  fish  being 
kept  in  salt  for  several  months,  until  the  return  of  the  vessel  to  Sau  Francisco. 

'<*  Spelled  also  oolikou,  ulikou,  and  otherwise. 


m$  FISHEEIES. 

are  cor;s:dered  the  best,  but  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sitka  ther  are  perliaps  ino??t  abundant.  At  the  lauer 
p^^iiit  a  canoe  load  can  easily  be  secured  within  half  an 
hour.  Though  a  few  barrels  may  ooca&icHially  fin-i 
their  waT  to  San  Francisco,  the  AUjsW  herring  Las 
an  yet  no  comniercial  value  except  for  its  oil,  for  tLe 
pr^KJuction  of  which  an  establishment  was  in  operati«.>ii 
at  Prince  Fre^Jerick  S^^und  in  1883,  aboat  20,000  gal- 
lons Jj^.'ing  obtained  in  that  year."  It  is  admitted  that, 
in  bulk  aud  flavor,  those  taken  at  Unalaska  and  else- 
where are  quite  equal  to  imported  herring,  and  there 
a\}\)fsarH  no  jro^xl  reason  why  they  should  not,  if  prop- 
ei'ly  cured,  find  a  profitable  market  on  this  coast. 

Mackerel,  equal  in  size  and  flavor  to  those  captured 
in  Atlantic  waters,  are  found  in  the  bays  and  straits 
of  the  Aleutian  and  Shumagin  islands,  and  when 
shipfied  to  San  Francisco  have  met  with  ready  sale, 
s^^rnetinies  realizing  as  much  as  $24  per  barrel  It  is 
probable  that,  when  the  range  and  distribution  of  this 
favorite  food-fish  is  better  ascertained,  a  thriving  in- 
dustry may  be  established  in  connection  with  other 
branches  of  fishery. 

The  eulachon,  or  candle-fish,  as  it  is  ofien  termed,  a 
small  silvery  fish,  seldom  exceeding  fifteen  inches  in 
length,  and  in  appearance  resembling  a  smelt,  abounds 
in  river  and  stream  as  far  south  as  latitude  49**.  It  is 
most  abundant  in  Alaskan  waters,  where  for  the  three 
or  four  weeks  during  which  the  season  lasts,  the  run 
is  more  marvellous  even  than  that  of  salmon.  The 
eulachon  is  the  fattest  of  known  fish,  and  the  oil  tried 
out  from  it  is  sold  to  the  Indians  on  the  Naas  River 
near  the  Alaskan  border^  at  profitable  rates.**  When 
dried,  it  serves  as  a  torch,  burning  with  a  clear  bright 
flame.     Hence  its  name  of  candle-fish.     When  smoked 

'^BcNides  3,000  gals  of  whale  oil  and  12,000  of  dog-fish  oiL  This  Industry 
wa«  eHtabliHhe<l  by  the  North -west  Trading  Company  of  Portland.  The  com- 
pany hoM  another  station  at  Cordova  Bay,  where  it  was  proposed  to  oommenoe 
woilc  in  1882.  IlitteWa  Com.  and  Ind.  Pac.  Cowft,  357. 

'*^  The  eulachon  is  also  plentiful  in  the  Fraser  aud  Columbia  rivers. 

">  A)x>ut  81  per  gal.  in  1881.  Id,,  355.   fiitteU  states  that  the  oU  ] 
valuable  medicinal  qualities. 


THE  CANDLE-FISH.  667 

and  prepared  for  table  by  broiling  or  steaming,  it  is 
equal  in  flavor  to  the  finest  quality  of  eastern  mack- 
erel, and  when  pickled  and  shipped  to  San  Francisco, 
finds  a  ready  market. 

On  the  Nass  River,  eulachon  are  usually  caught  in 
wicker  baskets,  and  after  being  dried  or  smoked  are 
stored  up  for  future  use.  The  fishing  commences  about 
the  end  of  March;  and  in  connection  with  it  is  a  curious 
custom  which  prevails  elsewhere  among  the  natives 
and  in  other  branches  of  fishery.  The  nrst  eulachon 
caught  is  addressed  as  a  chief,  and  the  natives  gath- 
ering round  him,  tender  profuse  apologies  that  they 
should  be  compelled  to  destroy  his  kindred  in  order  to 
supply  their  wants.  Then  follows  a  feast,  with  speeches, 
songs,  dancing,  and  of  course  drinking,  after  which  fish- 
ing commences  in  earniest  and  continues  until  all  have 
procured  a  suflScient  stock. 

I  have  mentioned  only  the  varieties  that,  with 
the  exception  perhaps  of  the  white  fish,  have  or  are 
likely  to  have  any  commercial  value,  but  in  few 
parts  of  the  world  are  other  kinds  more  abundant. 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  tom-cod,  smelt, 
salmon-trout,  and  grayling,^  all  of  which  are  found  in 
Alaskan  waters,  the  first  three  being  of  excellent  qual- 
ity. 

The  value  of  all  the  Alaskan  fisheries,  in  which 
phrase  is  included  the  seal-hunting  grounds,  was  esti- 
mated in  the  census  of  1880  at  $2,661,640,  of  which 
sum  fur-seal  skins  and  other  pelagic  peltry  were 
valued  at  $2,096,500,  and  the  fisheries  proper  at 
$565,140.  "What  will  be  the  commercial  value  of 
these  fisheries,  when,  as  will  probably  be  the  case  at 
no  very  distant  day,  the  Pacific  states  and  territories 
are  peopled  with  15,000,000  instead  of  1,500,000  peo- 
ple, and  are  threaded  with  railroads  almost  aa  com- 

^  The  tom-ood  resembles  the  eastern  fish  of  that  name,  bat  is  much  better 
flavored.  Smelt  are  plentiful  near  Sitka  and  elsewhere.  Salmon-trout  of  ex- 
cellent flaror  are  taken  in  the  smaller  rivers  and  streams.  TThe  grayling  is  of 
poor  quality.  Pike  are  taken  in  the  lakes  and  ponds  of  northern  Alaska,  but 
Are  of  little  value  as  a  table-fish,  and  are  mainly  used  for  dog-feed« 


868  FISHERIES. 

pletely  as  are  now  the  western  states  of  America? 
j3ut  when  this  shall  happen,  there  will  doubtless  be 
more  frequent  communication  with  Mexico  and  Central 
and  South  America;  for  already  Pacific  coast  manu- 
factures have  found  a  foothold  in  all  these  countries, 
and  it  is  predicted  by  political  economists  that  the 
manufactures  of  this  ,  coast  will  exceed  both  mining 
and  agriculture  in  aggregate  wealth.  The  fur-se^ 
industry  is  the  only  one  at  present  utilized  to  any 
considerable  extent,  but  it  is  not  improbable  that, 
even  before  the  close  of  this  century,  the  fisheries  may 
become  more  valuable  than  are  now  the  fur-seal 
grounds. 

Of  whaling  enterprise  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Alaskan  coast,  mention  has  already  been  made;  but  a 
few  statements  that  will  serve  to  explain  the  enor- 
mous decrease  that  has  occurred  in  the  catch  within 
the  last  three  decades  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

Of  the  six  or  seven  hundred  American  whalers  that 
were  fitted  out  for  the  season  of  1857,  at  least  one 
half,  including  most  of  the  larger  vessels,  were  en- 
gaged in  the  north  Pacific.^  The  presence  of  so  vast  a 
fleet  tended  of  course  to  exhaust  the  whaling-grounds 
or  to  drive  the  fish  into  other  waters,  for  no  permanent 
whaling-grounds  exist  on  any  portions  of  the  globe 
except  in  those  encircled  by  ice  for  about  ten  months 
in  the  year.  In  the  seas  of  Greenland,  not  many 
years  ago,  whales  were  rarely  to  be  seen ;  in  1870  they 
were  fairly  plentiful.  The  sea  of  Okhotsk  and  the 
waters  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Aleutian  Islands 
were  a  few  decades  ago  favorite  hunting-grounds,* 
but  are  now  almost  depleted,  while  in  1870  the  coast 
of  New  Siberia  was  swarming  with  whales.     Schools 

^  Inclading  of  course  the  Bering  Sea.  ZabrishWs  Land  LawSj  882. 

^  Davidson  savs  that  in  1868  whales  were  as  plentiful  near  the  Aleutian 
group  as  in  the  Arctic,  but  that  the  shoal  waters  of  the  latter  greatly  facili- 
tated their  pursuit.  Sdent,  Exped.,  476.  It  would  seem  that,  if  they  were 
as  plentiful  off  th^  Aleutian  Ishmds  as  the  professor  would  hare  us  believe, 
they  would  have  been  taken  in  greater  number.  The  Aleuts  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  catching  them. 


WHALES.  069 

of  sperm-whale  are  occasionally  seen  between  the 
Alaska  Peninsula  and  Prince  William  Sound,  and  the 
hump-back  sometimes  makes  its  appearance  as  far 
north  as  Baranof  Island  Between  Bristol  Bay  and 
Bering  Strait  a  fair  catch  is  sometimes  taken,  but 
most  of  the  vessels  forming  what  is  termed  the 
north  Pacific  whaling  fleet,  now  pass  into  the  Arctic 
Ocean  in  quest  of  their  prey.^^  Probably  not  more 
than  eight  or  ten  of  them  are  employed  on  the 
whaling  grounds  of  the  Alaskan  coast. 

In  1881  the  whaling  fleet  of  the  north  Pacific 
mustered  only  thirty,  and  in  the  following  year  forty 
craft,  of  which  four  were  steamers,^  The  catch  for 
1881  was  one  of  the  most  profitable  that  has  occurred 
since  the  date  of  the  transfer,  being  valued  at  $1,139,- 
000,  or  an  average  of  about  $57,000  for  each  vessel,^ 
some  of  them  returning  with  cargoes  worth  $75,000, 
and  few  with  cargoes  worth  less  than  $30,000.  In 
1883  the  catch  was  inconsiderable,  several  of  the  whal- 
ers returning  *  clean/  and  few  making  a  profit  for 
their  owners. 

The  threatened  destruction  of  these  fisheries  is  a 
matter  that  seems  to  deserve  some  attention.  In  1 8  5 0, 
as  will  be  remembered,  it  was  estimated  that  300  whal- 
ing vessels  visited  Alaskan  waters,  and  the  Okhotsk  and 
Bering  seas."  Two  years  later  the  value  of  the  catch 
of  the  north  Pacific  fleet  was  more  than  $14,000,000.'^ 
After  1852  it  gradually  decreased,  until  in  1862  it 
was  less  than  $800,000;  for  1 867  the  amount  was  about 
$3,200,000;  in  1881  it  had  again  fallen  to  $1,139,000; 

^  Sen,  Ex.  Doe,,  4Sd  Cong,  gd  Seas. ,  34,  p.  2S,  It  is  there  stated  that  of 
28  right  whales  caught  near  the  ooftst  of  Alaska  during  one  season  eleven  were 
lost 

*  A  steam  whaler  was  despatched  from  San  Francisco  for  the  first  time  in 
1880.  /fiUeWs  Com.  and  Ind.  Pac.  Coast,  347. 

"Including  354,000  lbs  of  whalebone  worth  |2  to  $2.50  per  lb.,  21,000 
bbls  of  oil  at  about  35  cents  per  gallon,  and  15,000  lbs  of  ivory  at  60  cents 
per  lb.  Id,,  348. 

^  P.  584,  this  vol.    They  were  not  of  course  all  American  vessels. 

*>  The  fleet  for  that  year  consisted  of  278  ships.  Sen,  Ex,  Doc,,  42d  Cong. 
2d8e8B,,U,^.4. 


670  nSHEBIES. 

and  for  the  season  of  1883  there  was  a  still  further 
reduction.** 

The  whaling-grounds  of  the  north  Pacific,  though 
of  course  open  to  all  nations,  are  now  in  the  hands  of 
Americans,  and  were  so  practically  before  the  pur- 
chase.**  It  is  probable  that  the  United  States  will 
continue  to  enjoy  a  virtual  monopoly  of  this  industry, 
for  under  present  conditions  it  will  erelong  cease  to 
be  profitable. 

*'In  Id,,  4-5,  the  value  is  stated  of  each  year's  catch  between  1845  and 
1867. 

"In  1864  there  were  only  14  whalers,  in  1865»  18^  and  in  1866«  9  vessels 
sailing  under  other  flags.  Id,,  5. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SETTLEMENTS,  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

1794-1884. 

Sitka  dubino  the  Russian  Occupation— The  Town  Hal7  Desbrted — 
Social  Lite  at  the  CAprrAL—THE  Sitka  Libbart— Nswspapebs— 
Fort  Wranoell — ^Tonoass — Harrisburg — Settlements  on  Cook  In- 
let—Kadiak — Wood  Island— Spruce  Island— Three  Saints— Afog- 
NAK — The  Aleutian  Islands — ^Volcanic  Eruptions  and  Earth- 
quakes— Saint  Michael — Fort  Yukon — ^Agriculture — Stock-rais- 
ing— Timber— Ship-building — Coal-mining  —  Petroleum*  Copper, 
Quioksilvsr,  Lead,  and  Sulphur— Silver  and  Gold. 

In  May,  1794,  Vancouver  visited  a  settlement 
at  Cook  Inlet,  which  he  thus  describes:  "We  met 
some  Russians,  who  came  to  welcome  and  conduct 
us  to  their  dwelling  by  a  very  indifferent  path,  which 
was  rendered  more  disagreeable  by  a  most  intolerable 
stench,  the  worst  excepting  that  of  the  skunk  I  had 
ever  the  inconvenience  of  experiencing;  occasioned,  I 
believe,  by  a  deposit  made  during  the  winter  of  an 
immense  collection  of  all  kinds  of  filth,  offal,  etc.,  that 
had  now  become  a  fluid  mass  of  putrid  matter,  just 
without  the  rails  of  the  Russian  factory,  over  which 
these  noxious  exhalations  spread,  and  seemed  to  be^ 
come  a  greater  nuisance  by  their  combination  with 
the  effluvia  arising  from  their  houses." 

Cleanliness  and  comfort  were  little  regarded  by  the 
early  settlers  in  Alaska.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Rezanof,  calling  on  the  chief  manager  in  1805,  found 
him  occupying  a  hut  at  Sitka,  in  which  the  bed  was 
often  afloat,  and  a  leak  in  the  roof  was  considered  too 
trivial  a  matter  to  need  attention.     As  late  as  1841, 


672  AGRICDLTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

Simpson,  who  visited  the  settlement  during  his  Toy- 
age  round  the  world,  declared  it,  aa  the  reader  will 
remember,  the  dirtiest  and  most  wretched  place  that 
he  had  ever  seen.^  Nevertheless,  it  continued  to  in- 
crease rapidly.  On  the  site  where  the  first  colonists 
pitched  their  tents  and  lived  in  constant  fear  of  the 
Golosh,  there  stood,  in  1845,  besides  other  buildings, 
a  spacious  residence  for  the  governor,  a  well  furnished 
club-house  for  the  lower  officials,  barracks  for  labor- 
ers and  soldiers,  an  arsenal,  a  librarv,  an  observatory,* 
and  the  churches,  schools,  and  hospital  of  which  men- 
tion will  be  made  later.  A  wharf,  with  a  stone 
foundation,  and  on  which  were  several  storehouses, 
led  out  into  deep  water,  and  the  fort,  from  which 
floated  the  flag  of  the  Russian  American  Company, 
was  mounted  with  two  rows  of  cannon,  which  com- 
manded all  portions  of  the  town.' 

^  There  was,  however,  a  considerable  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the 
settlement  before  this  date.  Belcher  gives  a  detailed  description  of  Sitka  at 
the  time  of  his  visit,  in  1837,  in  which  he  notes  the  solidity  of  its  buUdmgs 
and  fortifications,  and  its  excellent  ship-yard  and  arsenal.  Ifarr.  Voy.  round 
World,  i.  05-9.  On  the  evening  before  &lcher's  departure,  Kouprianof ,  who 
was  then  chief  manager,  gave  a  ball  at  which  the  former  remarks  that  the 
women,  though  almost  self-taught,  danced  yith  as  much  ease  and  grace  as 
those  who  had  been  trained  in  European  capitals.  He  speaks  very  favorably 
of  Madame  Kouprianof,  and  states  that  the  wife  of  Baron  Wrangell was  the  first 
Russian  woman  who  came  to  Alaska.  Id. ,  i.  103-6.  Davis,  who  arrived  at  Sitka 
on  board  ih.e  Louisa  in  1831  (the  first  year  of  Wrangell's  administration),  speaks 
of  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  Russian  omcials  as  being  exceedingly 
beautiful.  Olimpaes  of  the  Past  in  Cal.,  MS.,  i.  2;  but  he  was  a  mere  hoj 
at  the  time,  and  probably  exaggerates,  for  in  the  8iika  Arcfdve$,  MS.,  of  this 
date  but  two  women  are  mentioned  as  living  at  Sitka. 

•  The  observatory  was  built  at  the  company's  expense,  and  its  reports  were 
published  by  the  academy  of  sciences  at  St  Petersburg.  Dok.  Kom.  Huss, 
Amer,  Kol,y  i.  98.  It  was  erected  on  one  of  the  islands  in  Sitka  Bay.  War^M 
Three  Weeks  in  Sithay  MS.,  28. 

*  Markof,  Russhie  na  Vostotehnom  Okeana,  54-^  (St.  Petersburg,  1856,  2d 
ed.)  Tikhmenef  states  that  the  number  of  guns  in  position  was  60,  and  that 
there  were  87  others  in  the  arsenal  and  elsewhere,  of  all  sizes,  from  80-ponnd 
mortars  down  to  one-pound  falconets.  Istor.  Ohos,^  il.  328.  Ward,  who  was 
at  Sitka  in  1853,  says  that  the  chief  manager's  residence  was  a  very  large 
two-story  building,  tiie  lower  part  of  which  was  used  for  his  private  apart- 
ments, offices,  etc.,  while  the  upper  floor  was  used  for  public  receptions,  balla, 
and  dinner-parties.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1853,  at  which  date  an  American 
bark  was  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  several  Americans  were  on  a  visit  to 
the  settlement,  a  salute  of  13  gims  was  fired,  and  in  the  evening  there  was 
a  dinner-party,  at  which  champagne  flowed  freely  and  complimentaty  speeches 
wcro  made.  Three  Weeks  in  SUka,  MS.,  13-14,  17-18.  Many  of  tho  officers 
and  oiBcials  in  the  company's  serncc  could  speak  English. 


SITKA.  673 

Such  was  Sitka  about  the  middle  of  the  present 
century,  when  its  inhabitants  mustered  about  one 
thousand  souls;  and  there  are  to-day  on  the  Pacific 
coast  few  more  busy  communities  than  that  which 
peopled  the  capital  of  Alaska  toward  the  close  of  the 
Russian  occupation.  After  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Russian  employes  who  departed  for  their  native  land, 
and   of   American   speculators   who   departed    with 


C.SpfnccrJ^i 


.v>'        -  "-y    ^  .      ,-r.r      "■*•'    '      "  ' 


S-    ^     '^ 


MVZOF 


-:  C.Ommnn^tf 


Bakahof  and  Kbuzof  Islands. 

empty  pockets,  the  settlement  gradually  fell  into  de- 
cay, and  soon  was  but  the  ghost  of  its  former  self.  In 
1875  the  population  had  decreased  to  one  half;  in  1883 
it  was  little  more;*  many  of  the  dwellings  were  tenant- 
less;  the  harbor  was  almost  deserted,  and  the  arrival 

«In  the  S.  F.  Bulletin  of  Oct.  3,  1882,  it  is  ffiven  at  560,  of  whom  250 
were  white  people  and  410  Indians.  Most  of  the  mtter  were  probably  Creoles. 
In  1869  the  Indian  Tillage  adjoin2kig  Sitka  contained  56  houses,  with  about  1,200 
inmates. 

Hist.  Alaska.    48 


674  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

or  departure  of  the  mail  steamer  was  the  sole  incident 
that  roused  from  their  lethargy  the  people  of  the 
once  thriving  town  of  Novo  Arichangelsk. 

With  the  exception  of  the  fort,  or  castle,  which 
crowns  a  rock  about  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  is 
reached  by  a  steep  flight  of  steps,  the  buildings  occupy 
a  low  and  narrow  strip  of  land  at  the  base  of  Mount 
Verstovoi.  On  Kruzof  Island,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
bay,  is  Mount  Edgecumbe,  the  prominent  landmark 
of  this  portion  of  the  coast.  In  the  bay  are  several 
islets,  which  partly  screen  from  view  the  portion  of 
Baranof  Island  on  which  Sitka  is  built,  until  the  ves- 
sel arrives  within  a  few  cables'  length.  On  landing, 
one  notices  unmistakable  signs  of  decay.  Many  of 
the  houses  are  falling  into  ruins;  and  some  of  them, 
being  built  of  logs  and  their  lower  portion  continually 
water-soaked,  are  settling  down  on  their  foundations. 
After  passing  the  fort  we  come  to  a  better  class  of 
buildings,  prominent  among  which  is  the  Greek  church,^ 
with  its  dome  and  roof  painted  an  emerald  green. 
Beyond  this  are  the  club-house,  the  principal  school- 
house,  and  the  hospital ;  then  come  a  score  or  two  of 
huts,  and  then  the  forest,  through  which  is  cut  for  a 
short  distance  a  path,  the  second  road  made  in  Alaska 
before  the  purchase.® 

Of  social  life  at  Sitka,  before  the  transfer,  some  in- 
teresting records  have  been  handed  down  to  us  by 
travellers,  and  by  the  annalists  of  the  Kussian  Amer- 
ican Company,  among  whom  were  several  of  the  com- 
pany's servants.  Officers  and  officials  had  cast  in 
their  lot  in  this  the  Ultima  Thule  of  the  known  world, 
far  removed  from  all  centres  of  civilization,  and  from 
all  civilizing  influences.  Some  were  of  noble  birth, 
and  had  passed  their  youth  and  early  manhood  among 
the  cultured  circles  of  St  Petersburg;  but  here,  amidst 

'Adjacent  to  this  building  is  the  Lutheran  chapel,  which  in  1877  was 
vacant. 

'  Whympefa  Alaskoy  97-8.  Other  roads  have  been  built  since  that  date. 
Until  1867  Sitka  had  no  regular  communication  with  any  point  outside  of 
Alaska.    In  the  following  year  it  was  made  a  port  of  entry. 


SOCIAL  LIFE.  675 

this  waste,  there  was  for  many  years  no  society,  no 
home  circle,  no  topic  even  for  conversation.  How 
best  should  they  beguile  the  long  years  of  their  ban- 
ishment, the  tedium  of  barrack  life,  the  drear  monot- 
ony of  their  voluntary  servitude?  No  wonder  that 
many  fell  victims  to  gambling  and  strong;  drink,  sank 
even  to  yet  lower  depths,  and  gradually  debased  them- 
selves oftentimes  below  the  level  of  the  savage. 

To  remedy  this  state  of  affairs,  and  especially  to  pro- 
vide comfortable  accommodation  for  unmarried  officers 
and  officials  of  the  higher  rank,^  Etholen,  during  the 
first  year  of  his  administration,^  established  at  Sitka 
a  social  club,  furnished  with  reading,  billiard,  card, 
and  supper  rooms.  Here  the  members  entertained 
visitors,  when  the  hospitalities  tendered  by  the  gov- 
ernor were  intermitted.  Until  the  transfer,  this  in- 
stitution was  conducted  on  the  system  adopted  at  its 
foundation,  and  wrought  much  benefit  in  the  colony, 
save,  perhaps,  in  the  cause  of  temperance — a  virtue 
which  the  Kussians  were  loath  to  practise.  "Rus- 
sian hospitality  is  proverbial,"  remarks  Whymper,  "and 
we  all  somewhat  suffered  therefrom.  The  first  phrase 
of  their  language  acquired  by  us  was  *petnatchit  cop- 
la' — fifteen  drops.  Now  this  quantity — in  words  so 
modest — usually  meant  a  good  half-tumbler  of  some 
unmitigated  spirit,  ranging  from  cognac  to  raw  vodh- 
ka,  and  which  was  pressed  upon  us  on  every  available 
occasion.  To  refuse  was  simply  to  insult  your  host. 
Then  memory  refuses  to  retain  the  number  of  times 
we  had  to  drink  tea,  which  was  served  sometimes  in 
tumblers,  sometimes  in  cups.  I  need  not  say  the  oft- 
described  samovar  was  in  every  household.  Several 
entertainments — balls,  suppers,  and  a  fSte  in  the  club- 
gardens — were  organized  for  our  benefit,  and  a  number 
of  visitors  came  off  daily  to  our  fleet  of  four  vessels."* 

^  The  distinction  of  'honorable 'and  'very  honomblo' — potchetnui  and  pol- 
npotcbetnui — ^waa  made  according  to  rank.  The  very  honorables  were  naval 
officers  and  the  higher  officials;  the  honorables,  petty  officers^  clerks,  book- 
keepers, and  the  like. 

•On  the  6th  of  November,  1840.    Tihhmenef,  Istor.  Ohos.,  ii.  244. 

^Alaeka,  101-2.    This  occurred  in  1865,  during  Maksutof's  administva- 


676  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

At  all  seasons  of  the  ye&r  the  tables  of  the  social 
club  and  of  the  higher  class  of  employes  were  sup- 
I^Iied  with  venison  or  other  game,  with  chickens,  pork, 
vegetables,  berries,  and  of  course  with  fish.  A  simi- 
lar diet  was  provided  for  the  lower  officials,  while  the 
staple  food. of  the  laborers  was  for  about  nine  months 
in  the  year  fresh  fish,  and  for  the  remaining  three, 
saltfish.^^ 

There  was  little  variation  in  the  routine  of  life  at 
Sitka.  Employes,  other  than  the  higher  oflRcials, 
were  required  to  rise  at  5  A.  M.,  and  to  work  in 
summer  for  about  twelve  hours  a  day;  at  reveille  and 
at  8  P.  M.  the  drums  beat;  at  9  lights  were  extin- 
guished, and  at  half-hour  intervals  during  the  night 
bells  were  tolled,  the  sentries  responding  at  each 
stroke."     For  the  higher  oflBcials  there  were  card- 

tion.  Simpson,  who  took  leaye  of  Etholin  in  1842,  remarks:  'The  farewell 
dinner,  to  which  about  thirty  of  us  sat  down,  exceeded  in  sumptuousness  any- 
thing that  I  had  yet  seen,  even  at  the  same  hospitable  board.  The  glass,  the 
plate,  and  the  appointments  in  general  were  very  costly;  the  viands  were  ex- 
cellent; and  Governor  Etholine  played  the  part  of  host  to  perfection.'  yarr. 
Jour,  round  Worlds  ii.  212.  On  festive  occasions,  as  on  the  emperor's  birth- 
day, etc.,  the  officials  and  native  chiefs  dined  with  the  governor,  after  divine 
service.  All  wore  full  dress  and  decorations.  Ward*s  l^hree  Weeks  in  Sitba^ 
MS.,  29etBeq. 

^^  The  Koloeh  supplied  the  market  with  deer,  fish,  clams,  and  berries. 
Wrangell,  Statist,  und  Ethnog.,  12-13.  Beef  and  mutton  were  ranly  seen,  even 
on  the  tables  of  the  higher  officials,  and  as  late  as  1876  could  not  be  had  az 


the  one  restaurant  then  open  at  Sitka,  though  according  to  the  Alaska  Times 
of  Oct.  31,  1868,  the  market  price  of  beef  was  15  to  30  cents  per  lb.  At 
the  latter  date  eggs  were  selling  at  $1.50  per  doz.,   and  scarce  at  that. 


Milk  was  $1  to  $1.50  per  gal.;  coffee  18  to  33  cents;  ham  and  fresh  pork 
25  cents;  and  fish  6  cents  per  lb.  In  this  year  speculation  was  rife  at 
Sitka,  town  lots  being  held,  says  Whymper,  at  |10,000.  In  May  1878  the 
Rev.  John  G.  Brady,  writing  from  Sitka  to  the  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  says: 
*  This  part  of  Alaska  abounds  in  food.  Yesterday  I  bought  four  cotlfish  for 
ten  cents,  and  a  string  of  black  bass  for  five  cents.  A  silver  salmon,  weighing 
thirty-eight  to  forty  pounds,  is  sold  for  fifteen  or  twenty  cents.  Last  week 
I  bought  fifteen  dozen  fresh  clams  for  ten  cents,  and  about  twenty  pounds  of 
halibut  for  the  same  price.  Ducks,  seese,  grouse,  and  snipe  are  abundant  and 
cheap.  A  good  ham  of  venison  will  oring  fifty  cents.*  J(tckaon*a  Aladoa^  20^ 
10. 

1*  Ward's  Three  Weeks  in  SUkUy  MS.,  44.  This  precaution  was  needed  to 
provide  against  surprise  from  the  Kolosh.  Even  after  the  pui-chaae  they 
were  admitted  only  at  9  A.  M.  in  order  to  exchange  their  peltry  for  other 
wares,  and  at  3  P.  M.  were  driven  ont  at  the  point  of  the  royonet  if  neces- 
sary. About  15  versts  to  the  south-east  of  Sitka  was  the  Ozerskoi  redoubt, 
built  as  a  protection  against  the  Kolosh  at  the  o^tlet  of  a  lake  seven  miles  in 
length.  In  1853  there  were  six  or  eight  houses,  and  a  dam  with  fish-traps 
had  been  constructed  at  the  mouth  of  the  lake,  the  catch  being  marketed  at 
Sitka.  Id.;  Tikhmen^,  Istor,  Olm.,  ii.  332-3. 


LIBRARY  AND  NEWSPAPER.  677 

parties,  dance-parties,  or  drinking-parties  at  the  club- 
rooms,  varied  occasionally  with  an  amateur  theatrical 
entertainment,  and  when  there  was  no  other  recourse 
the  evening  hours  were  passed  at  the  library. 

The  Sitka  library,  which,  it  will  be  remembered, 
Rezanof  founded  in  1805,  contained  in  1835  about 
1,700  volumes  in  the  Russian  and  other  languages, 
in  addition  to  400  periodicals  and  pamphlets,  and  a 
valuable  collection  of  charts.^^  Of  any  printed  local 
literature  before  the  purchase  we  have  no  records. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1868,  the  first  newspaper  con- 
cerning Alaska,  styled  the  Alaska  Herald,  was  pub- 
lished in  San  Francisco  by  a  Pole  named  Agapius 
Honcharenko,^*  and  contained  the  first  part  of  a  Rus- 
sian translation  of  the  United  States  constitution. 
It  was  issued  semi-monthly,  printed  in  Russian  and 
English,  and  about  twelve  months  after  its  first  ap- 
pearance, claimed  a  circulation  of  fifteen  hundred 
copies."  During  the  same  year  the  Alaska  Coa^st  Pilot 
was  published  by  the  United  States  Coast  Survey, 
and  also  the  Sitka  TimeSy  which  was  at  first  issued  in 
manuscript,  and  had  but  an  ephemeral  existence.^^ 

Near  the  mainland,  a  little  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  to  the  south-east  of  Sitka,  is  Fort  Wrangell, 

"  Wrangell,  StcUiat,  und  Ethnog.,  17.  Of  the  booka,  600  were  Russian,  300 
French,  130  German,  35  Enslish,  30  Latin,  and  the  rest  Swedish,  Dutch, 
Spanish,  and  Italian.  KMebnilcof,  ZapiaTa^  in  Materialuij  1 16. 

"  Who  gives  his  autobiography  as  follows:  *  I  was  bom  in  the  goyemment 
of  Kieflf  Aug.  19,  1832,  and  educated  in  Kieff.  In  1857  I  left  Russia  and  was 
appointed  to  service  with  the  Russian  embassy  to  Greece.  On  the  2d  of  Feb. 
1860,  I  was  arrested  in  Athens  for  advocating  the  liberation  of  serfs,  but  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  to  England  and  subsequently  to  America,  where  I  was  em- 
ployed by  the  American  Bible  Society.  I  came  to  San  BVancisco  in  1867.  I 
was  much  persecuted  by  the  representatives  of  Russia  abroad. '  Alaska  HaxUd, 
Dec.  15,  1868. 

^*  On  May  2,  1868,  the  first  number  of  H'ee  Press  and  Alaska  Herald  was 
first  issued,  and  Honcharenko's  name  does  not  appear  on  the  sheet.  On  June 
Ist  of  the  same  year  the  Herald  again  appeared  under  its  old  name,  with  Hon- 
charenko  as  proprietor,  and  in  May  1872  passed  into  the  hands  of  A.  A. 
Stickney.  The  Russian  articles  were  fi^uently  repeated  through  three  or 
four  numbers. 

**It  was  issued  weekly  in  MS.  by  T.  G.  Murphy,  and  contained  advertise- 
ments and  unimportant  local  items.  The  first  printed  number  was  published 
on  April  29,  1869,  and  the  la^t  on  September  13,  1870. 


678  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

built  on  an  island  of  the  same  name,  and  situated 
about  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  north  of  the  boun- 
dary line  of  British  Columbia,  at  the  head  of  ship 
navigation  on  the  route  to  the  Cassiar  mining  district. 
While  the  mines  were  prosperous,  this  was,  during  a 
few  months  in  the  year,  the  busiest  town  in  Alaska, 
the  miners  who  ascended  the  Stikeen^*  each  spring  to 
the  number  of  about  four  thousand,  and  returned  in 
the  autumn,  averaging  in  good  seasons  as  much  as 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  capita,  and  leaving  most 
of  their  earnings  among  the  store  and  saloon  keepers. 
The  fort  is  now  deserted,  and  the  town  nearly  so,  ex- 
cept by  Indians.  The  government  buildings,  which 
cost  the  United  States  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  were  sold  in  1877  for  a  few  hundreds.  The 
main  street  is  choked  with  decaying  logs  and  stumps, 
and  is  passable  only  by  a  narrow  plank  sidewalk. 
Most  of  the  habitations  contain  but  one  room,  with 
sleeping-berths  arranged  round  the  walls  and  a  stove 
in  the  centre,  and  many  of  them  have  neither  windows 
nor  openings,  except  for  the  chimney  and  a  single 
door.  Nevertheless,  in  these  comfortless  abodes  sev- 
eral hundreds  of  white  men  were  content  to  pass  the 
long  winter  months  in  former  years,  and  a  few  score 
still  remain,  who  have  not  yet  lost  their  faith  in  the 
mines. 

"Fort  Wrangell,"  writes  one  who  visited  that  set- 
tlement in  1883,  "is  a  fit  introduction  to  Alaska,  It 
is  most  weird  and  wild  of  aspect.  It  is  the  key-note 
to  the  sublime  and  lonely  scenery  of  the  north.  It  is 
situated  at  the  foot  of  conical  hills,  at  the  head  of  a 
gloomy  harbor  filled  with  gloomy  islands.  Frowning 
cliffs,  beetling  crags  stretch  away  on  all  sides  sur- 
rounding it.  Lofty  promontories  guard  it,  backed  by 
range  after  range  of  sharp  volcanic  peaks,  which  in 
turn  are  lost  against  lines  of  snowy  mountains.     It  is 

^*  As  far  as  Telegraph  Point,  a  distance  of  abont  130  miles.  Thence  a  land 
jonmey  awaited  them  of  about  180  miles  to  the  lower  and  240  miles  to  the 
npper  gold-fields.    This  was  usually  made  on  foot. 


FORT  TONGASS  AND  HARRISBURG.  679 

the  home  of  storms.  You  see  that  in  the  broken 
pines  on  the  cliff  sides,  in  the  fierce,  wave-swept  rocks, 
in  the  lowering  mountains,  and  in  the  sullen  skies. 
There  is  not  a  bright  touch  in  it — not  in  its  straggling 
lines  of  native  huts,  each  with  its  demon-like  totem 
beside  its  threshold ;  nor  in  the  fort,  for  that  is  dilap- 
idated and  fast  sinking  into  decay;  not  even  in  the 
flag,  for  the  blue  is  a  nondescript  tint,  and  the  glory 
of  the  stars  has  long  since  departed."  ^^ 

On  a  small  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Portland 
Canal,  and  close  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Alaska, 
is  Fort  Tongass,  the  first  military  post  established  by 
the  United  States  government  after  the  purchase. 
The  site  was  well  chosen,  containing  a  plentiful  supply 
of  timber  and  pasture,  while  fish  and  game  abound  in 
the  neighborhood. 

At  the  foot  of  a  perpendicular  bluff  fifteen  hundred 
feet  in  height,  and  about  two  hundred  miles  north  of 
Sitka,  is  the  town  of  Harrisburg,  or  Juneau,  the  lat- 
ter name,  and  the  name  now  commonly  in  use,  being 
that  of  one  of  the  discoverers  of  a  mining  district,^®  of 
which  mention  will  be  made  later.  In  1883  this  was 
probably  the  most  thriving  settlement  in  Alaska,  con- 
taining in  winter  about  a  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
before  that  date  the  mail  service  between  Port  Towns- 
end,  Wrangell,  and  Sitka  had  been  extended  to  Har- 
risburg, the  last  being  the  most  northerly  point  from 
which  the  United  States  mails  were  distributed. 

Passing  from  the  Alexander  Archipelago  westward 
to  Cook  Inlet  and  Kadiak,  we  find  at  the  former  point 
few  remaining  traces  of  Russian  civilization.  A  short 
distance  from  Port  Chatham  is  the  settlement  of  Sel- 
dovia,"  with  about  seventy  native  and  Creole  hunters, 

"  Overland  Monthly,  March,  1884. 

i^In  the  S,  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  1,  1883,  it  is  stated  thtfb  Jmio  (Juneau) 
was  one  of  the  discoverers  of  the  district,  and  that  it  was  also  called  Rock- 
well, the  name  of  the  acting  officer  of  the  Jamestoum. 

*'  Between  Port  Chatham  and  Seldovia  is  AlexandroYsk,  a  settlem^t  with 
about  40  hunters. 


680  AGRICULTUEE,  SHEP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

and  a  few  leagues  north  of  it  the  village  of  Ninilchik, 
where  dwell  thirty  Russian  and  creole  descendants  of 
the  colonial  citizens,  who  subsist  mainly  by  agriculture 
and  stock-raising.  Close  to  it  is  the  mouth  of  a  small 
river,  the  waters  of  which  discharge,  or  are  rather 
filtered  into  the  sea  through  the  bar  that  chokes  its 
outlet.  In  former  years  this  was  a  favorite  spawning- 
ground  for  salmon,  which  still  attempt  to  leap  the  bar 
in  vast  numbers,  many  of  them  failing  to  gain  the 
stream  beyond,  and  being  gathered  up  by  the  settlers, 
who  select  only  the  choicest.* 


\ 


\ 


N*^ 


n^'v,;-,,,  -.  ^  ^ 


c 


^     TPlMTYIS  "  ''V,       > 


vrc'    ^  V       <{'  o 


Map  ot  Kadiak  and  Adjacent  Islands. 

The  islands  of  Kadiak  and  Afognak,  *the  garden 
spots  of  Alaska,'  as  they  are  termed,  enjoy  more  sun- 
shine and  fair  weather  than  any  portion  of  the  terri- 
tory, with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  some  favored 
localities  on  Cook  Inlet  Here  are  found,  in  parts, 
rich  pastures  dotted  with  woodlands,"  and  covered, 
during  summer,  with  a  carpet  of  wild  flowers.  When 
the  Russians  were  compelled  to  remove  their  capital 
from  Saint  Paul  to  Sitka,  they  did  so  with  extreme  re- 

^  P€troff*8  Pop,  Alaska^  37,  where  is  a  description  of  other  setUements  in 
Cook  Inlet. 

"The  timber  is  much  inferior  to  that  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sitka. 
Davidson's  Set,  Exped.,  473. 


8T  PAUL. 

luctance,  for  the  former,  as  Dall  remarks,  "desefves  ' 
far  more  than  Sitka  the  honor  of  being  the  capital."^ 

The  village  of  Saint  Paul,  or  Kadiak,  contained  in 
1880  about  four  hundred  inhabitiants,^  a  large  propor- 
tion of  whom  were  Creoles.  Here  were  built  the 
stores  and  warehouses  of  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company,  the  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Company,^ 
and  the  barracks  formerly  occupied  by  the  United 
States  troops.  While  a  garrison  was  stationed  at  this 
point,  bridges  were  built  across  the  rivulets  that  inter- 
sect the  village,  and  culverts  to  drain  the  neighboring 
lakes  and  marshes;  but  so  little  enterprise  had  the  in- 
habitants that  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  soldiers  no 
attempt  was  made  to  keep  them  in  repair.  The  cul- 
verts were  washed  away,  and  the  bridges  allowed  to 
rot,  except  those  which  were  used  for  fire-wood.  The 
houses  are  built  of  logs,  the  crevices  being  filled  with 
moss,  but  are  clean  and  comfortable.  The  people  are 
probably  better  circumstanced  than  those  of  their  own 
status  in  other  portions  of  America.  Labor  is  in 
demand  and  fairly  paid;  food  is  cheap  and  abundant; 
there  are  no  paupers  in  their  tnidst,  no  lawyers  or 
tax  collectors;  and  all  are  at  liberty  to  make  use  of 
unoccupied  land. 

At  Wood  Island,  opposite  to  Saint  Paul,  is  a  thriv- 
ing settlement,  the  inhabitants  of  which  support  them- 
selves in  summer  by  hunting,  and  in  winter  by  ^cutting 

"  In  1874  the  Icelandic  Society  in  Milwaukee  sent  a  petition  to  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  asking  that  facilities  be  afforded  for  exploring  por- 
tions of  Alaska,  with  a  view  to  colonization.  Three  commissioners  were 
appointed  by  the  society,  and  a  sloop  of  war  placed  at  their  disposal,  in  which 
the  party  was  conveyed  to  Cook  Inlet.  Finding  there  no  suitable  location, 
they  were  taken  to  St  Paul.  Hero  they  found  plenty  of  pasture  and  tiUable 
land,  and  were  so  well  pleased  that  they  made  no  further  search.  Two  of 
them  remained  until  the  following  summer  to  make  preparations  for  the  recep- 
tion of  their  countr3rmen,  but  a  winter's  residence  in  their  adopted  country 
appears  to  have  disgusted  them.  The  winter  of  1874-5  was  exceptionally 
severe,  and  an  outbreak  of  measles  spread  havoc  amonff  the  natives.  The 
commissioners  returned  in  July,  and  nothing  came  of  the  matter.  Bancroft 
Library  Scraps,  232.  See  also  Sec,  U,  8,  Navy  JRept.,  43d  Cong,  2d  Sesa,,  p. 
14-15. 

^  Petroff  gives  the  population  at  only  288,  but  his  estimate  was  made 
lomewhat  earlier. 

**  Afterward  removed  to  St  Paul  Island. 


682  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  ANTD  MININa 

and  storing  ice.  In  order  to  develop  the  latter  indus- 
try was  built  the  first  road  constructed  in  Alaska, 
comprising  the  circuit  of  the  island,  a  distance  of 
about  thirteen  miles. 

A  few  versts  farther  to  the  north-west  is  Spruce 
Island,  on  which  is  a  village  containing  about  eighty 
Creoles.'  *'Here,"  says  Tikhmenef,  ''died  the  last  mem- 
ber of  the  first  clerical  mission,  the  monk  Herman, 
and  was  buried  side  by  side  with  the  Hieromonakh 
Joassaf.  During  his  life-time  Father  Herman  built 
near  his  dwelling  a  school  for  the  daughters  of  the 
natives,  and  also  cultivated  potatoes"! 

The  village  of  Three  Saints,  where,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, Shelikof  landed  from  a  vessel  of  that  name  in 
1784,  and  founded  the  pioneer  colony  in  Russian 
America,  now  contains  about  three  hundred  inhab- 
itants. There  were  in  Shelikof's  days  the  finest  sea- 
otter  grounds,  and  are  now  perhaps  the  finest  halibut 
grounds  in  Alaska. 

The  village  of  Afognak,  on  the  island  of  the  same 
name,  separated  by  a  narrow  channel  from  the  northern 
shore  of  Kadiak,  is  one  of  the  most  thriving  settlements 
in  Alaska.  Though  mountainous,  and  in  some  parts 
thickly  wooded,  the  cutting  of  timber  and  fire-wood 
being  one  of  the  chief  industries,  it  contains  many  spots 
suitable  for  pasture  and  agriculture.  Boat-building 
is  also  a  profitable  occupation.  Many  of  the  inhab- 
itants, who  now  muster  about  three  hundred  and  fifty, 
live  in  substantial  frame  houses,  this  being  one  of  the 
few  places  in  the  territory  where  any  considerable 
number  of  dwellings  other  than  log  huts  are  to  be 
found.^' 

The  principal  port  in  the  Aleutian  group  is  Illiuliuk, 
or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  Unalaska,^  on  the  island 

^  For  a  short  description  of  the  remaining  settlements  in  the  ELadiak  and 
other  districts  as  they  were  at  the  time  of  the  last  census,  see  Petrofs  Pop. 
Alaska,  passim.  Want  of  space  forbids  my  mentioning  any  but  the  more 
prominent  settlements,  and  those  about  which  there  is  something  of  interest 
to  relate. 

'^  Spelt  also  Oonalashka,  and  otherwise. 


UNALASKA.  683 

of  the  latter  name.  Its  main  recommendation  is  that 
it  possesses  one  of  the  best  harbors  in  Alaska,  and  it  is 
probable  that  it  will  always  remain,  as  it  is  to-day, 
the  chief  centre  of  trade  for  this  district.  Nevertheless, 
the  population  of  lUiuliuk  is  little  more  than  four  hun- 
dred, and  of  the  island  from  six  to  seven  hundred. 
Most  of  them  are  hunters  by  occupation,  for  so  rugged 
is  the  coast  and  so  deeply  indented  that  there  is  little 
rfX)m  for  other  pursuits.^  Brought  frequently  into 
contact  with  foreigners,  and  especially  with  Amer- 
icans, they  are  perhaps  among  the  most  enlightened 


(  _5 

^^ 

^^^co^ 

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.     -  -      =1 

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.o^^'-'^-^ssr^: • 

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^  ^^ 

-  J^-         ^v^^*^ 

^     ':^       S^'-?"     ''^,               ' 

t    - 

.    ►>'- 

--           .-</'                    '<                                     -                          : 

---'       '• 

+>                        ,                :^                       ::. 

,     ^ 

Aleutian  Islands. 

of  their  race.  More  than  half  of  them  can  read  and 
write,  and  it  is  said  that  on  festive  occasions,  as  on 
the  4th  of  July,  their  exploits  in  wrestling,  dancing* 
and  foot-racing  surpass  anything  that  can  be  witnessed 
elsewhere  in  the  territory. 

Under  the  volcano  of  Makushin,  in  a  small  settle- 
ment of  the  same  name  on  the  western  coast  of  Una- 
laska,  lived,  in  1880,  a  man  named  Peter  Kostromitin, 

'^  Id.,  and  Tikhmenef,  lator,  Ohos.,  ii.  303.  The  island  of  Sannakh  and 
its  vicinity  is  their  favorite  hunting  ground. 


684  AGRICULTUBE,  SfflP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

who  witnessed,  about  sixty  years  before  that  date,  a 
volcanic  eruption,  during  which  a  new  island  made  its 
appearance  to  the  north  of  Oumnak.^  On  the  10th 
of  March,  1825,  a  violent  disturbance  occurred  at 
Oonimak,  which  is  thus  described  by  Veniaminof: 
"After  a  prolonged  subterraneous  noise,  resembling  a 
cannonade,  which  lasted  almost  an  entire  day,  and  was 
heard  at  Unalaska,  the  north-eastern  mountain  chain 
of  Oonimak  opened  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  in  five 
or  more  places,  for  a  considerable  distance,  accoinpa- 
nied  with  eruptions  of  flame  and  great  quantities  of 
black  ashes,  which  covered  the  whole  extent  of 
Alaska®  to  the  depth  of  several  inches.  In  the 
neighboring  localities  on  the  peninsula  it  was  dark  for 
three  or  four  hours.  On  this  occasion  the  ice  and 
snow  lying  on  the  top  of  the  chain  melted,  and  a  con- 
siderable stream  flowed  from  it  for  several  days,  the 
width  of  which  was  five  to  ten  versts.  These  waters 
ran  down  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  in  such  volume 
that  the  sea  in  the  vicinity  was  of  a  mud  color  until 
late  in  the  autumn."*^  Some  of  the  islands  on  the 
coast  of  Alaska  are  unmistakably  of  volcanic  origin, 
and  it  is  the  received  opinion  of  geologists  that  the 
greater  portion  of  the  Alaskan  peninsula  is  being 
gradually  raised  by  Plutonic  action.  Nevertheless, 
though  between  1700  and  1867  many  earthquakes 
and  violent  eruptions  are  reported,^  none  of  them 
have  proved  very  destructive,  the  last  severe  earth- 
quake shock  having  occurred  in  1880,  and  being  se- 
verely felt  at  Sitka,  though  causing  no  damage  worthy 
of  mention. 


*"!  have  an  accomit  of  this  phenomenon  as  related  by  Kostromitin  in  his 
Early  Times,  MS.,  6-10,  but  it  will  not  bear  quoting.  There  ia  no  doubly 
however,  that  he  witnessed  it. 

^  The  peninsula,  of  course. 

*^  Zapiski  ob  Ost,  Ounalashk,  t  35-6.  In  /d ,  i.  37-9,  205-7,  are  accounts 
of  other  eruptions  and  earthquakes.  See  also  Tikhmenrf,  Istor,  06o«.,  it  295, 
312,  330,  and  Whymper'9  Alaska,  105. 

'^  A  list  of  them  is  given  in  DalVa  Alaska,  466-470.  Grewink,  the  Rus- 
sian geographer,  laid  down  between  Cook  Inlet  and  the  island  of  Attoo^  48 
active  volcanoes.    Davidson^a  Sci.  Exped,,  475. 


ST  MICHAEL.  685 

Of  the  Innuit  races  that  people  the  neighborhood 
of  Bristol  Bay  and  the  Kuskovkim  Galley,  no  men- 
tion is  required  in  this  chapter.  Sailing  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  from  the  Prybilof  Islands  we  find, 
close  to  the  southern  shore  of  Norton  Sound,  the 
old  port  and  trading  post  of  Mikhaielovsk,  or  as  it  is 
now  termed  St  Michael,'**  founded,  as  will  be  remem- 
bered, by  Tebenkof,  during  Wrangell's  administration. 
Here  was  the  chief  mart  of  trade  in  the  district  of 
the  Yukon,  for  no  sea-going  vessel  can  enter  the 
mouth  of  this  vast  river,  the  volume  of  whose  waters 
is  said  to  be  greater  than  that  of  the  Mississippi.  Of 
St  Michael,  Whymper  remarks:  "It  is  not  merely 
the  best  point  for  a  vessel  to  touch  at  in  order  to  land 
goods  for  the  interior,  including  that  great  tract  of 
country  watered  by  the  Yukon,  but  it  has  been  and 
is,  to  a  great  extent,  a  central  port  for  Indian  trade, 
and  for  the  collection  of  furs  from  distant  and  interior 
posts.  The  inhabitants  of  the  fort — all  servants  of 
the  company — ^were  a  very  mixed  crowd,  including 
pure  Russians  and  Finlanders,  Yakutz  from  Eastern 
Siberia,  Aleuts  from  the  islands,  and  Creoles  from 
all  parts.  They  were  not  a  very  satisfactory  body  of 
men;  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  said  that  some  of  them 
had  been  criminals,  who  had  been  convicted  at  St 
Petersburg,  and  offered  the  alternative  of  going  to 
prison  or  into  the  service  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  I  We  found  them — as  did  Zagoskin  years 
before — much  given  to  laziness  and  drunkenness. 
Fortunately  their  opportunity  for  this  latter  indul- 
gence was  limited,  usually  to  one  bout  a  year,  on  the 
arrival  of  the  Russian  ship  from  Sitka  with  their 
supplies;  while  the  'provalishik,' Mr  Stephanoff,  the 
commander  of  this  fort,  who  had  charge  of  the  whole 
district,  stood  no  nonsense  with  them,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  make  them  yield  assistance.  His  arguments 
were  of  a  forcible  character.     I   believe  the   knout 

*'  For  a  description  of  this  post  as  it  now  exists,  see  8»  F,  Chronicle, 
June  26,  1881,  and  ,S^.  F.  Bidleiin,  Aug.  16,  1881. 


/ 


699  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

formed  no  part  of  his  establishment,  but  he  used  his 
fists  with  great  effect !"** 

Since  the  purchase  little  attention  has  been  given 
to  the  Yukon  district,  or  to  the  territory  of  the  In- 
galiks."  At  St  Michael  and  an  adjoining  Innuit  vil- 
lage, at  Nulato,  and  at  Fort  Yukon,  the  total  popula- 
tion mustered,  in  1879,  only  three  hundred  and  eighty 
souls,  of  whom  all  but  eleven  were  natives.  The  site 
of  Fort  Yukon  on  the  verge  of  the  Arctic  zone, 
where  the  thermometer  sometimes  rises  above  100** 
of  Fahrenheit  in  summer  and  sinks  occasionally  to 
dd""  below  zero  in  winter,**  was  in  1867  one  of  the 
cleanliest  of  the  Russian  settlements.  At  this,  the 
northernmost  point  in  Alaska  inhabited  by  white  men, 
the  Russians  appear  to  have  established  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  natives.  "Each  male,"  says  Whym- 
per,  *'on  arrival  at  the  fort,  received  a  present  of  a 
small  cake  of  tobacco  and  a  clay  pipe;  and  those  who 
were  out  of  provisions  drew  a  daily  ration  of  moose- 
meat  from  the  commander,  which  rather  taxed  the 
resources  of  the  establishment."  Game  and  fish  were 
the  principal  diet  of  both  Russians  and  natives,  for 
during  the  greater  portion  of  the  year,  bread  and  veg- 
etables were  seldom  to  be  had,  though  it  has  fre- 
quently been  stated  that  vegetables  can  be  raised 
in  abundance  during  the  brief  hot  summer  of  the 
Yukon  valley. 

^Alaska,  152-4.  Dall,  who  passed  through  this  settlement  about  the  same 
time,  says:  *  StepAnoff  has  been  in  office  about  four  years.  He  is  a  middle- 
aged  man  of  crrcat  energy  and  iron  will,  with  the  Russian  fondness  for  strong 
liquor,  and  with  ungovernable  passions  in  certain  directions.  He  has  a  sol- 
dier's contempt  for  making  money  by  small  ways,  a  certain  code  of  honor  of  his 
own,  is  generous  in  his  own  way,  and  seldom  does  a  mean  thing  when  he  is  sober, 
but  nevertheless  is  a  good  deal  of  a  brute.  He  will  gamble  and  drink  in  the 
most  democratic  way  with  his  workmen,  and  bears  no  malice  for  a  black  eye 
when  received  in  a  drunken  brawl;  but  woe  to  the  unfortunate  who  infringes 
discipline  while  he  is  sober,  for  he  shall  certainly  receive  his  reward,  and 
StepdnofF  often  says  of  his  men,  when  speaking  to  an  American,  "You  can 
expect  nothing  good  of  this  rabble:  they  left  Kussia  because  they  were  not 
wanted  there.^'* 

^*  The  natives  that  inhabit  the  far  interior. 

*^Dairs  figures  are  112^+  and  69"--  as  extremes.  Alaaha,  105. 


PRODUCTS  OF  THE  SOIL.  687 

A  vast  amount  of  nonsense,  as  Whymper  remarks, 
has  been  published  and  repubUshed  in  the  United 
States  on  the  agricultural  resources  of  Alaska.  Dall, 
for  instance,  assures  us  that  potatoes,  turnips,  lettuce, 
and  other  garden  vegetables  were  raised  at  Fort 
Yukon,^  but  his  statement  lacks  confirmation. 

Berries  and  the  hardier  class  of  vegetables  are  the 
only  produce  of  which  the  soil  is  capable,  even  in 
favored  localities,  and  though  numberless  and  patient 
attempts  were  made  to  raise  cereals,  during  and  after 
the  Russian  occupation,  nearly  all  proved  a  failure. 
A  scant  crop  of  barley  may  mature  in  a  few  localities 
in  exceptional  seasons,  and  both  wheat  and  barley  will 
grow  in  many  portions  of  the  territory,  but  barley 
seldom  kernels,  and  wheat  never.*^  Potatoes,  cab- 
bages, turnips,  lettuce,  radishes,  and  horse-radish  are 
produced  in  many  parts  of  the  territory,  but  cabbages 
often  fail  to  heacL  On  Kadiak,  Afognak,  and  Prince 
of  Wales  islands,  at  Fort  Wrangell  and  Bristol  Bay, 
potatoes  of  fair  quality  can  be  raised  in  favorable  sea- 
sons, but  are  often  a  partial  or  total  failure,  and  when 
they  mature  are,  in  common  with  other  vegetables, 
for  the  most  part  watery.*® 

A  fair  crop  of  hay  is  often  secured  at  Kadiak'^  and 
at  some  other  points,  where  cattle  and  sheep  are  raised. 
Live-stock  were  supplied  to  some  of  the  Aleuts  free 
of  charge  early  during  the  company's  regime,  but  most 

"^  Oats  were  raised  near  Ninilchik  Bay  (between  the  redoubt  St  NikolaS  and 
Kachekinak  Bay)  in  1855.  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Obo8. ,  ii.  322-3.  Potroff  says  that 
in  1880  potatoes  and  turnips,  the  latter  of  excellent  quality,  were  raised 
there.   Pop,  Alaska^  37. 

"^Khlebnikof,  ZapisHt  in  JJ^cUerkdui,  126>7)  claims  that  mealy  and  ffood- 
flavored  potatoes  were  raised  at  Sitka  on  ffround  manured  with  sea-weea,  the 
crop  being  in  some  places  12  or  14  to  one,  but  there  is  no  confirmation  of  this 
statement.  Wrangell  states  that  in  1831,  2,424  pouds  were  raised  at  Sitka. 
Statist,  und  Ethnog.,  12-13;  but  says  nothing  as  to  their  quality.  According 
to  Peirqff^s  Pop.  Alaska,  76,  nearly  100  acres  of  potatoes  and  turnips  were 
raised  at  Afognak  in  1880.  Tikhmenef  says  that  attempts  to  raise  vegetables 
on  the  Prybilof  Islands  usually  failed.  Igtor.  Oboa.,  il.  310;  but  in  ElUott^aSeal' 
Islands,  Alaska,  12,  it  is  mentioned  that  lettuce,  turnips,  and  radishes  were 
raised  at  St  Paul  Island  in  1880. 

^'Golovnin,  in  MaUrialui,  54,  says  that  the  Aleuts  were  too  lasy  to  turn 
the  hay  or  place  it  under  shelter. 


638  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

of  them  perished  from  want  of  care.  The  Aleuts,  be- 
ing accustomed  to  a  diet  of  fish,  did  not  relish  milk  or 
flesh,  and  regarded  animals  as  a  nuisance.  The  cows 
were  kept  lu  corners  used  for  storing  salmon,  and 
knocked  down  with  their  horns  the  poles  on  which  the 
fish  were  suspended,  trampling  them  under  foot  ;*°  while 
pigs  undermined  the  natives'  huts  by  scratching  out 
the  earth  in  search  of  refuse,  and  goats  climbed  on  the 
roofs  and  tore  away  the  thatch. 

The  cattle  sent  to  Alaska  during  the  Russian  occu- 
pation were  of  the  hardiest  Siberian  stock,  but  even  in 
1883  the  herds  seldom  mustered  more  than  twenty 
head;  though  beef-cattle  are  often  sent  from  San 
Francisco  to  fatten  at  Kadiak  or  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
and  are  slaughtered  in  October.  Horses  and  mules 
are  of  course  little  valued  in  a  territory  where  there 
are  few  roads,  and  where,  as  in  Venice,  travel  is  al- 
most entirely  by  water.  Sheep  thrive  well  during  the 
short,  hot  summer,  especially  on  the  nutritious  grasses 
of  the  Kadiak  pastures,  and  at  this  season  their  mut- 
ton is  of  choice  quality ;  but  in  winter  they  are  crowded 
together  in  dark,  sheltered  corners,  whence  they  crawl 
out,  in  early  spring,  yveak  and  emaciated.*^ 

Among  the  resources  of  the  territory,  timber  will 
probably  be  an  important  factor  in  the  future,  though 
of  course  in  the  distant  future;  for,  so  long  as  the  im- 
mense forests  of  Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  and 
British  Columbia  are  available,  those  of  Alaska  can 

*^  As  early  as  1795  there  was  a  small  sapply  of  live-stock  in  Alaska,  and  in 
that  year  cows  were  sent  from  Kadiak  to  Unalaska.  No  butter  was  made  in 
the  Russian  colonics  until  1831,  when  20  ponds  were  produced.  Veniamiiwf^ 
Za[/iski,  Out.  OuncUaehk,  71.  In  1833  the  Russian  American  Company  had  5^ 
head  of  homed  cattle,  apart  from  those  at  the  Ross  colony.  JVrangdl^  Stai" 
iat.  nndEthnog.,  18.  In  1823  a  pair  of  pigs  was  landed  at  Chemobimb  Islaad 
(between  Sannakh  and  Deer  islands);  in  1826  they  had  increased  to  more 
than  a  hundred.  Chickens  were  kept  by  many  Russians  and  Aleuts,  but  in 
small  number.  Two  pairs  of  ducks  were  landed  at  Unalaska  in  1833,  and  in 
the  following  year  had  increased  to  100. 

^^A  few  years  ago  Falkner,  Bell  &  Co.  of  San  Francisco  sent  aboat  150 
sheep  of  the  hardiest  breed,  in  charge  of  a  Scotch  shepherd,  to  Colma,  Kadiak, 
a  spot  formerly  selected  by  the  Russians  for  farming  purposes.  The  flock 
thrived  repiiarkably  in  summer,  but  most  of  them  perished  during  winter. 


LUMBER.  669 

have  little  commercial  value.  There  are  at  present  no 
exports  of  lumber,  or  none  worthy  of  mention,  while 
several  cargoes  are  shipped  yearly  to  the  Aleutian 
Islands  from  Puget  Sound,  and  even  from  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

Forests  clothe  the  valleys  and  mountain  sides  of  the 
Alexander  Archipelago  and  the  mainland  adjacent, 
and  are  found  at  intervals  throughout  the  territory 
between  Cross  Sound  and  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 
Thence  the  timber  belt  extends  westward  and  north- 
ward at  a  distance  of  fifty  to  more  than  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  coast,  as  far  as  the  valley  of  the  Yukon. 
A  little  beyond  this  point  the  timber  line  practically 
ceases,  though  clumps  of  stunted  trees  are  met  with 
along  the  banks  of  rivers  that  discharge  into  Kotzebue 
Sound  and  even  into  the  Arctic. 

Spruce  is  the  most  abundant  timber  in  Alaska,  and 
attains  its  largest  growth  in  the  islands  of  the  Alex- 
ander Archipelago.  On  account  of  the  slow  growth 
of  the  trees,  the  boards,  after  being  put  through  the 
saw-mill,  are  found  to  be  full  of  knots,  and  when  sub- 
jected to  heat,  exude  gum  or  resin.  Hence  they  are 
not  in  demand  for  cabinet  or  other  work  where  paint 
or  varnish  is  applied.  The  hemlock-spruce  is  plen- 
tiful, and  its  bark  may  be  in  demand  for  tanneries, 
when,  as  is  already  threatened,  the  supplies  of  Cali- 
fornia oak  bark  become  exhausted.  The  white  spruce 
abounds  in  the  Yukon  district,  and  for  spars  has  no 
superior,  though  for  masts  most  of  it  is  too  slender.. 
Houses  built  of  this  material  will  last,  when  the  logs, 
are  seasoned,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  when, 
green  for  about  fifteen  years. 

The  most  valuable  timber  is  yellow  cedar,  which 
is  found  on  some  of  the  islands  in  the  Alexan- 
der Archipelago  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sitka, 
and  frequently  attains  a  height  of  one  hundred  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  five  or  six  feet.**     This  wood  is  in 

"Davidaon,  ScL  Exped,,  471,  saya  that  treea  haye  been  found  near  Sitka. 
175  feet  in  iieight. 

HlBX.  Alaixa.    M 


690  AGRICULTURE,  SfflP-BUILDING,  AKD  MINING. 

demand  by  ship-builders  and  cabinet-makers  on  account 
of  its  fine  texture,  durable  quality,  and  aromatic  odor. 
The  clumps  of  birch,  poplar,  maple,  willow,  and  alder 
found  in  some  parts  of  the  territory  have  little  value, 
though  the  inner  bark  of  the  willow  is  used  for  mak- 
ing twine  for  fishing-nets,  and  both  willow  and  alder 
bark  are  used  for  coloring  deer-skins.** 

There  were,  in  1880,  only  three  saw-mills  in  opera- 
tion throughout  the  territory — one  at  Sitka,  one  near 
the  northern  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  and  one 
at  Wood  Island.  All  of  them  were  closed  during  a 
portion  of  the  year.  The  first  two  were  established 
mainly  to  supply  the  limited  demand  for  lumber  at 
Fort  Wrangell  and  Sitka,  and  the  last  principally  for 
the  making  of  sawdust  for  use  in  packing  ice.  In  this 
and  other  branches  of  industry,  as  in  the  manufacture 
of  bricks,  flour,  leather,  machinery,  and  especially  in 
ship-building,  there  is  less  activity  in  Alaska  at  the 
present  day  than  there  was  during  the  Russian  occu- 
pation.** 

During  the  company's  second  term  ship-building 
was  a  prominent  industry.  In  1821,  the  company's 
fleet,  apart  from  a  few  small  craft,  consisted  only  of 
ten  sea-going  vessels,  whose  total  measurement  was 

^'  For  farther  particulars  as  to  the  timber  resonrces  of  Alaska,  see  Oohv- 
nin,  in  McUeriaXui,  110;  Morris's  JRept,  Alaska,  109-111;  Petrqjfs  Pop.  Alaska, 
6,  7:^. 

*^  In  1833  a  saw -mill  was  established  at  the  Ozerskoi  redoubt — the  second 
that  was  built  on  the  Pacific  coast — the  first  having  been  erected  by  the  Hud- 
son's  Bay  Company  on  the  Columbia.  Wrangeltf  Statist,  undEthnog.,  14.  Dur- 
ing Voievodsky's  administration  it  was  worked  by  steam  power.  Tikhmenef, 
Inior.  Obos.,  ii.  245.  In  1S53  there  was  a  saw-null  at  Sitka,  but  it  was  so 
badly  manafi^ed  that  lumber  cost  the  company  $25  to  $30  per  M,  though  the 
forest  was  dose  at  hand.  WartTs  Three  Weeks  in  Sitka,  Ms.,  12.  A  saw-mill 
was  also  erected  on  the  Kirenskoy  River  near  Sitka.  CMovnin,  in  Materialni, 
72.  At  Earluck,  Sitka,  and  Ooyak  Bay,  on  the  west  coast  of  Kadiak,  were 
small  tanneries.  Id.,  74;  Tikhmenef,  Istor.  Ohos,,  ii.  246;  Dai-idtton's  Set. 
Ex f ted.,  473.  There  was  also  a  flouring-mill  at  Sitka,  and  several  brick-yards 
and  machine-shops  in  various  parts  of  the  colonies.  With  the  exception  of 
lumber,  few  of  these  branches  of  manufacture  are  now  carried  on.  At  Atklia 
ffrass  cloth  and  other  articles  manufactured  of  grass  are  produced,  as  mats, 
baijkets,  and  cigar-holders,  of  superior  workmanship.  A  number  of  Indian 
carvings  and  manufactures  were  collected  for  the  centeimial  exhibition  by 
^Ir  J.  G.  Swan,  special  commissioner  for  Indian  afiisurs.  A  description  of 
them  is  published  in  his  Akutka  Jnd.  Mant{f.,  7-8. 


SHIP-BUILDING.  691 

1,376  tons.**  Between  that  date  and  1829,  the  Urvpy 
a  four-hundred-ton  ship,  and  several  smaller  craft  were 
built.^  In  1834  Wrangell  ordered  the  colonial  ship- 
yards to  be  abandoned,  with  the  exception  of  the  one 
at  Sitka,  where  all  the  conveniences  could  be  obtained, 
and  good  mechanics  were  employed/^  About  the 
year  1839  the  brig  Promissel,  and  between  that  date 
and  1842  the  steamer  Nikolai  /.,  of  sixty  horse-power, 
and  the  steam-tug  Aluir,  of  eight  horse-power,  the  first 
vessels  of  the  kind  ever  launched  on  colonial  waters, 
were  constructed  at  the  port.^  The  machinery  for 
the  Nikolai  I.  was  imported  from  Boston,  but  every- 
thing needed  for  the  tug  was  manufactured  at  Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  ma- 
chinist Muir,  after  whom  the  craft  was  named.*' 

Although  other  sea-going  craft  were  built  in  the 
colonies  between  1821  and  1842,  while  at  least  four 
were  constructed  for  the  company  elsewhere,  and  sev- 
eral purchased,  there  were  at  the  latter  date  only 
fifteen  vessels  belonging  to  Alaskan  waters;*^  many 

*  Between  1799  and  1821  five  vessels  were  purchased  by  the  company's 
agents  at  Kronsdadt,  eight  in  the  colonies,  and  fifteen  were  built  at  the  colo- 
nial dock  at  Okhotsk.  During  the  same  period  sixteen  were  wrecked,  five 
■were  condemned,  and  three  were  sold.  Tikhmenef^  Itftor.  Obos, ,  i.  235.  In  1 81 7- 
19  the  schooners  Plato/  and  Baranof  were  built  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  and 
the  brigantine  Bamanzqfaiid  brig  Buldahof  at  Bodega. 

*^LtUke,  in  McUerUdiU,  Istor,  Hum.,  part  iv.  135;  Tikhmen^,  Istor.  Obos,, 
i.  330.  The  latter  states  that  the  Urup  was  a  300-ton  ship,  and  that  three 
other  vessels,  the  schooner  Akizia,  50  tons,  the  brig  Pdii/em,  180  tons,  and 
the  sloop  SUba,  230  tons,  were  built  for  the  company  at  Okhotsk,  between 
1829  and  1832. 

*^  The  work  was  carried  on  under  the  superintendence  of  a  native  of  St 
Paul,  the  Creole  Netzvetoff,  who  had  learned  his  business  in  St  Petersburg. 
For  the  ribs,  a  kind  of  cypress  was  used,  which  was  called  dwhnoie  derevoy 
fragrant  wood,  and  was  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  on  account  of  its  den- 
sity, dryness,  and  remarkable  lightness.  The  outside  flanking  was  of  larch, 
and  the  upper  works  of  hemlock;  the  latter,  however,  is  not  very  durable,  as 
it  grows  in  damp  soil.   WrangcUy  Statist,  und  Ethnog.,  20. 

^  Simpson,  who  sailed  in  the  Nikolai  I.  to  Fort  Stikeen  and  back,  states 
that  she  made  six  to  seven  knots  an  hour,  and  had  most  of  her  machinery  on 
deck.  Narr.  Voy.  round  JVorUl,  ii.  184.  Besides  the  above-named  vessels, 
the  company  caused  to  be  built  at  Abo  the  sailing  ships  Nikolai  /.,  400  tons, 
and  Crown  Prince  Alexander,  300  tons. 

^'A  considerable  business  was  also  done  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  re- 
pairing vessels.  During  Wrangell*s  administration  an  American  ship  was 
retimbered  at  the  wharf,  and  for  some  years  later  there  was  no  other  dock  in 
which  vessels  sailing  in  neighboring  waters  could  be  repaired. 

*°  A  list  of  13  vessels  lying  at  Sitka  in  April,  1842,  is  given  in  Simpson^ a 
Jour,  round  World,  ii.  198-9.     Most  of  them  belonged  to  the  company. 


m  AGKICULTCRE,  SHIP-BUILDIXG,  AJO)  VCnXG. 

losses  having  occurred  from  shipwreck,**  and  some  after 
a  few  voyages  proving  worthless  except  for  store- 
ships.  It  was  found  that  vessels  could  be  purchased 
from  foreigners,  and  especially  from  Americans,  to 
better  advantage  than  they  could  be  built  in  the  col- 
onies, and  it  is  probable  that  the  managers  would 
have  saved  money  if  no  attempt  at  ship-building  had 
}>een  made  in  Russian  America,  except  perhaps  for  in- 
tercolonial traffic.  During  the  last  term  little  was 
attempted  in  this  direction.  In  1860  the  company's 
fleet  consisted  of  only  three  steamers,  four  sailing 
ships,  two  barks,  two  brigs,  and  one  schooner,^  or 
twelve  vessels  in  all,  of  which  but  two  were  constructed 
in  the  colonies.  The  schooner  was  built  at  Sitka  in 
1848,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  three  thousand  roubles 
per  ton;  while  one  of  the  barks,  purchased  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  during  the  same  year,  and  built  at  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  in  1845,  cost  only  about  eighteen  hun- 
dred roubles  a  ton,  and  the  other  sailing  craft  were 
purchased  at  about  the  same  rate. 

Since  the  time  of  the  purchase,  only  a  few  small 
coasting  vessels  have  been  built,^  though  attempts 
have  been  made  to  obtain  from  congress  grants  of 
land  and  the  riorht  of  cutting  timber  in  certain  locali- 


^1  The  navigation  of  some  portions  of  the  Alaskan  coast  is  exceedingly 
flangcrons,  and  the  danger  is  increased  by  the  want  of  reliable  charts.  At  the 
tiinc  of  the  purchase  tlic  charts  then  in  existence  were  merely  sectional,  in- 
cliuling  those  of  La  P<;ronse,  Vancouver,  Tebenkof,  Liitke,  Kaahcvarof, 
Tikhmenef,  and  others.  Tebenkof *8  were  probably  the  best,  though  far  from 
being  complete,  and  several  others  are  of  considerable  value.  Since  the  pur- 
chase, better  progress  has  been  made  in  this  direction,  but  the  work  has  been 
of  the  same  fragmentary  nature.  We  may  hope,  however,  that  at  no  distant 
(lay  we  shall  have  some  approach  to  accurate  charts  of  the  entire  Alaskan 
coast  The  coast-survey  chart  of  186S  is  aknost  worthless  so  far  as  inland 
navigation  is  concerned,  for  few  of  the  shoals  and  rocks  appear  on  it.  In 
Morris's  Rept.,  Alaska^  5G,  is  a  iiartial  list  of  the  wrecks  that  have  occurred 
in  south-eastern  Alaska  during  recent  years.  Two  U.  S.  ships  of  war  have 
also  been  lost  in  Alaskan  waters.  In  1878  there  was  not  a  single  li£;ht-house 
in  the  territory.  In  Id.^  21,  several  points  are  mentioned  where  light-houses 
should  be  erected,  and  further  mention  of  this  matter  is  made  in  U.  S.  Fi- 
nance  Bept.,  18GS,  391-4,  and  Sen,  Ex,  Doc.,  40th  Cong.  3d  Sess,,  53. 

^'  AJbo  a  steam-tug  completed  at  Sitka  in  1860.  The  list  is  given  in  Oolov- 
nin,  in  Maleruilui^  app.,  lo2-5,  where  the  armament  and  cost  of  each  arc  stated. 

^  And  a  small  stem- wheel  steamer  for  trade  on  the  Yukon  and  other  riv- 
ei-s,  built  in  18G9. 


COAL-MINES.  COS 

ties,"  ostensibly  for  ship-building  purposes.  To  pro- 
cure at  a  nominal  price  a  few  thousand  acres  of  the  best 
timber-lands  in  Alaska,  on  condition  of  building  a  ves- 
sel or  two,  would  doubtless  be  a  profitable  speculation, 
but  thus  far  no  sale  or  lease  of  timber-lands  has  been 
made.  It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  at  no  very- 
distant  day  ship-building  may  again  rank  among  the 
foremost  industries  in  Alaska,  for  coal,  iron,^^  and  suit- 
able timber  are  found  in  several  portions  of  the  terri- 
tory, within  easy  access  of  navigable  water. 

Liignitic,  bituminous,  and  anthracite  coal,**  but  es- 
pecially lignite,  are  found  in  many  portions  of  Alaska, 
from  Prince  of  Wales  Island  to  the  banks  of  the 
Yukon,  and  even  on  the  shore  of  the  Arctic  Ocean," 
the  best  veins  being  found  in  southern  and  western 
Alaska  and  the  adjacent  islands. 

Coal-mining  in  Alaska  was  first  begun  about  the 
middle  of  the  present  century  near  the  mouth  of  Cook 
Inlet,  or  Kenai  Bay,  at  a  point  that  still  bears  the  name 
of  Coal  Harbor.*®  Machinery  was  erected  and  run 
by  steam  power;  a  force  of  laborers  was  obtained  in 
Siberia;  several  experienced  miners  were  brought  from 

**  In  1874,  Senator  Hager  presented  a  petition,  signed  by  Thomas  Burling, 
W.  F.  Babcock,  John  Parrott,  and  others,  asking  for  the  privilege  of  cutting 
timber  for  ship-building  on  government  lands  in  the  neighborhood  of  Prince 
Edward  Island,  where  pine  and  yellow  cedar  are  plentiful.  They  offered  to 
pay  for  the  privilege,  and  to  purchase  the  land  as  it  was  cleared.  During  the 
same  year,  Keprescntative  Piper  introduced  a  bill,  granting  to  certain  parties 
the  right  to  purchaae,  at  $1.2o  per  acre,  the  island  of  Kou,  north  of  Glareuco 
StraiC  for  ship-bailding  purposes,  and  the  privilege  of  taking  up  as  much 
more  land  as  miffht  be  required.  This  modest  demand,  under  which  all  the 
heat  timber-UuMU  in  the  territory  might  have  been  appropriated,  was  after- 
ward limited  to  100,000  acres.  An  account  of  the  seoond  bill  introduced  by 
Piper,  on  Dec.  20, 1876,  is  given  in  Marria's  Rejit.  Akutka,  107-9. 

^  Iron  is  found  in  many  portions  of  Alaska,  but  no  deposit  has  yet  been 
discovered  that  will  pay  for  working,  under  present  conditions. 

^Dall  remarks  that  the  specimens  of  anthracite  coal  found  in  Alaska  may 
owe  their  quality  to  local  metaniorphism  of  the  rocks  by  heat,  rather  than  to 
the  jzenerai  character  of  any  large  deposit.  Alaska^  475. 

"  In  1878  a  vein  was  onened  beyond  Ca.pe  Lisbum  bv  Captain  Hooper  of 
the  revenue  marine,  who  claims  that  the  coal  mined  easily  and  was  fit  for  the 
use  of  steamers.  Petroff'tf  Pt>p.  AlaaLa,  74.  In  18G6  Dall  inspected  a  coal 
deposit  near  Nulato,  but  found  it  to  be  of  inconsiderable  extent.  Alaska, 
66-7.     In  Id.,  473-^,  is  a  list  of  the  principal  coal  districts  known  in  1870. 

^On  the  north  side  of  English  Bay. 


CD4  AGRICULTURE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

Germany,  ajid  every  available  man  in  the  Siberian 
line  battalion,  then  stationed  at  Sitka,  was  sent  to  aid 
in  the  work.  The  prospect  of  furnishing  the  com- 
pany's steamers  with  coal  obtained  in  the  colonies,  and 
of  selling  the  surplus  at  high  prices  in  San  Francisco 
and  elsewhere,  acted  as  a  powerful  incentive.  In  1857 
shafts  had  been  sunk  and  a  drift  run  into  the  vein  for 
a  distance  of  nearly  1,700  feet,  nearly  all  of  which 
was  in  coal.  During  this  and  the  three  following 
years,  over  2,700  tons  were  mined,  the  value  of  which 
was  estimated  at  nearly  46,000  roubles,  but  the  result 
was  a  net  loss.  The  thickness  of  the  vein  was  found 
to  vary  from  nine  to  twelve  feet,  carrying  70  per  cent 
of  mineral,  and  its  extent  was  practically  unlimited; 
but  the  coal  was  found  to  be  entirely  unfit  for  the  use 
of  steamers,  and  a  shipment  of  500  tons  forwarded  to 
San  Francisco  realized  only  twelve  and  a  half  roubles 
per  ton,  or  considerably  less  than  cost.*® 

It  was  hoped  that  as  greater  depth  was  attained 
the  vein  at  Coal  Harbor  would  improve  in  strength 
and  quality,  but  there  is  no  sufficient  evidence  that, 
in  this  or  other  portions  of  Alaska,  any  considerable 
quantity  of  marketable  coal  has  yet  been  produced 
except  for  local  consumption.  Nevertheless,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  it  exists,*^  though  whether  in  deposits 
large  enough  to  be  of  commercial  value  is  a  matter 

*>»  Tikhmenff,  Istor.  Oboa.,  ii.  250;  KoHtliHzo/,  ItepoH,  29-30;  Ihk.  Kom, 
linss.  Amer.  Kol.f  i.  04.  Oolovnin,  in  Mater inlui,  108-9.  According  to  the 
last  of  these  authorities,  it  was  already  known  that  coal- veins  existed  on  the 
Alaska  peninsala,  at  Kadiak,  the  smaller  islands  adjoining,  and  elsewhere. 
In  Bogers,  Letters,  MS.,  ii.,  we  find  the  following,  under  date  June  26,  1855: 
'  Liitke  says:  '*0n  dit  qu'il  y  a  dans  Itle  d'Akoun  des  conches  de  charbon  de 
terre. " '  In  the  Sitka  A  rchives,  MS. ,  1 857,  ii.  278,  it  is  stated  that  the  work  of 
getting  out  coal  was  very  difficult  on  account  of  local  circumstances. 

^  Captain  White,  in  Morrises  Kept.  Altiska^  103,  states  that  Cook  Inlet  coal 
is  well  suited  for  the  use  of  steamers,  that  it  leaves  a  clear,  white  ash,  and 
does  not  coke.  In  DaJVs  Alaska^  475,  are  analyses  of  coal  from  Cook  Inlet, 
Xanaimo,  Bellingham  Bay,  and  Coose  Bay.  The  analysis  of  Alaskan  coal 
wad  made  by  Professor  J.  S.  Newberry  of  the  school  of  mines,  Columbia  Col- 
lege, New  York.  It  was  found  to  contain  49. 89  per  cent  of  fixed  carbon,  39.87 
of  volatile  conbustible  matter,  1.25  of  moisture,  1.20  of  sulphur,  and  7.82  of 
ash.     Its  character  was  lignitic.     The  professor  remarks:  'This  coal  is  fully 

XI  to  any  found  on  the  west  coast,  not  excepting  those  of   Vancouver 
d  and  Bellingham  Bay. '    For  a  description  of  the  Nanaimo  mines  ( Vanc 
Isl.),  see  my  IJisl.  Brit.  Columb.,  569  et  seq. 


COAL-MINES.  695 

that  has  yet  to  be  determined.  Most  of  the  coal  so 
far  discovered  in  the  territory  belongs  to  the  tertiary 
system,  and  is  deficient  in  thickness  of  seam.  North 
of  Coal  Harbor,  deposits  are  found  almost  as  far  as 
Cape  Ninilchik,  but  here  as  elsewhere  they  seldom 
exceed  seven  feet  of  solid  coal  in  thickness,  and  are 
more  frequently  less  than  three  feet.  It  is  well  known 
that  a  vein  of  the  latter  kind,  when  situated  at  a 
distance  from  market,  is  almost  worthless. 

At  Oonga  and  several  other  points  persistent  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  work  the  mines  at  a  profit, 
but  as  yet  without  success.  The  coal  was  not  in 
demand  except  for  local  consumption.  When  used 
by  steamers,  it  was  found  to  burn  so  rapidly  as  to  eat 
into  the  iron  and  endanger  the  boilers,  so  that  many 
vessels  sailing  for  Alaska  bring  with  them  their  own 
fuel,  or  are  supplied  from  tenders  laden  in  British 
Columbia.^ 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  the  mining  pros- 
pect in  Alaska  is  far  from  discouraging.  Petroleum 
of  good  quality  has  been  found  floating  on  the  surface 
of  a  lake  near  Katmai  in  the  Alaska  Peninsula.  ^^ 
Long  before  the  purchase  native  copper  was  obtained 
from  the  Indians  on  the  Atna  or  Copper  River,  be- 
ing found  occasionally  in  masses  weighing  more  than 
thirty  pounds.  At  Karta  Bay,  on  Prince  of  Wales 
Island,  there  is  a  valuable  copper  mine,  which  was 
sold  a  few  years  ago  to  a  San  Francisco  company.® 

^  In  a  despatch  from  Santa  Bdrbara,  published  in  the  San  FrancUeo  Bulletin 
of  June  8,  1877,  it  is  stated  that  three  miles  from  the  Oonga  mine  Is  one  known 
as  the  Big  Bonanza  with  a  vein  30  feet  thick,  of  which  15  are  solid  coal; 
that  $10  per  ton  had  been  offered  for  the  coal  delivered  in  San  Franciso;  that 
it  was  considered  e<^ual  to  the  best  English  and  Scotch  coal;  and  that  the  en- 
tire coal-tields  of  this  district  comprised  1,280  acres,  and  would  suffice  to  sup- 
ply California  for  generations.  This  may  serve  as  a  specimen  gf  the  nonsense 
which  has  been  pablished  in  some  of  the  newspapers  of  this  coast  as  to  Alaskan 
industries,  though  many  valuable  items  have  appeared  in  them  at  intervals 
since  the  purcha^.  There  appears  to  be  little  probability  that  either  Alaskan 
coal  or  Alaskan  timber  will  find  a  more  general  market  on  the  Pacific  coast  so 
lon£  as  there  remain  nearer  and  better  sources  of  supply. 

*^  In  MottWh  Rept.  Alaska^  103,  it  is  stated  that  largo  deposits  of  petroleum 
have  been  found  on  Copper  River. 

^Id.^  102.  Morris  states  that  he  saw  sacks  of  the  ore  and  found  it  exceed- 
ingly rich.     Metallic  copper  is  found  on  Oonga  and  the  north  end  of  Admi- 


y 


698  AGKICULTUBE,  SHIP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

Cinnabar  is  known  to  exist  in  the  islands  of  the  Alex- 
ander Archipelago,  but  the  exact  locality  is  as  yet  a 
secret.  Lead  has  been  found  on  Baranof,  Wrangell, 
and  Kadiak  islands,  but  not  in  large  deposits.  Native 
sulphur  is  very  plentiful,  and  this  metal  is  nearly  al- 
ways found  in  solution  at  the  mineral  springs  with 
which  the  territory  abounds. 

Among  the  lead  and  copper  deposits  is  sometimes 
found  a  small  percentage  of  silver,^  but  if  there  be 
any  valuable  silver  mines  in  the  territory  they  are 
not  yet  discovered. 

From  Grolovnin  Sound  it  was  reported,  in  1881,  that 
silver  ore,  assaying  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  ton, 
and  easily  worked,  had  been  discovered  so  near  to  tide- 
water, and  in  such  abundance,  that  vessels  could  be 
loaded  with  it  as  readily  as  with  ballast.  On  May 
5th  of  that  year  a  schooner  was  despatched  to  the 
sound  by  way  of  St  Michael,  and  on  her  return  it  was 
reported  that  the  value  of  the  mine  had  been  not  a 
whit  exaggerated,  but  that  it  was  thirty  miles  from 
tide- water. **^  Of  the  'mountain  of  silver'  that  was 
supposed  to  exist  in  this  neighborhood  nothing  fur- 
ther has  yet  been  heard. 

Gold-mining  has  been  a  little  more  successful.  In 
1880,  a  former  state  geologist  of  California  remarked 
that  "the  gold  of  Alaska  was  still  in  the  ground,  all  save 
a  few  thousand  ounces  gathered  here  and  there  from 
the  more  accessible  veins  and  gravel-beds  of  the  islands 
and  the  mountains  along  the  coast."^  In  1883  there 
were  in  operation  several  quartz  and  placer  mines, 
which  gave  fair  returns,  and  in  south-eastern  Alaska 

ralty  Islands.  •  The  blue  carbonate  occurs  on  the  Kuskovkim  and  near  Cai>e 
Romanzof ,  and  sulphnrets  on  the  north  coast  of  the  peninsula.  DcUTa  Alas&i, 
477. 

•*  A  piece  of  ore  taken  from  a  mine  near  Fork  Wrangell,  in  1873,  assayed 
26  per  cent  in  copper,  20  per  cent  in  lead,  and  about  |7  per  ton  ia  silTer. 
This  was  of  course  a  choice  specimen. 

'^S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  31,  ISSl.  The  truth  appears  to  be  that  near  the 
sound  were  base  metal  mines  containing,  in  spots,  a  fair  percentage  of  silver. 

'^Letter  of  John  Muir,  in  Id.,  Jan.  10,  1880.  The  letter  contains  an  in- 
teresting and  probably  reliable  account  of  the  mines  in  Alaska  at  that  date. 


GOLD  AND  SILVER.  697 

a  trace  of  gold  could  be  obtained  from  the  sands  of 
almost  every  stream  that  discharges  into  the  Pacific. 

Of  the  Stikeen  River,  or  Cassiar,  mines  brief  men- 
tion will  be  made  in  the  volume  on  British  Columbia, 
to  which  territory  they  belong. 

Harrisburg  was,  in  1883,  the  mining  centre  of 
Alaska.  On  Douglas  Island,  separated  from  the  town 
by  a  channel  two  miles  in  width,  are  several  promising 
quartz  and  surface  mines.  Among  the  former,  the 
Treadwell  claim,  owned  by  San  Francisco  capitalists, 
was  the  only  one  thoroughly  developed.  Four  tun- 
nels had  been  run  into  the  ledge,  and  a  large  body 
of  low-grade  ore  exposed.  A  five-stamp  mill  was  in 
operation,  and  several  bullion  shipments  were  made 
during  the  year. 

Of  the  Takoo  district,  on  the  Takoo  River,  a  few 
miles  from  Harrisburg,  great  expectations  were  held, 
but  as  yet  they  have  not  been  realized.^ 

On  the  30th  of  January,  1877,  the  Alaska  Gold 
and  Silver  Mining  Company*^  was  incorporated,  the 
location  being  about  fourteen  miles  to  the  south-east 
of  Sitka.  In  1880  rock  waa  extracted  from  the  ledge 
on  three  levels,  averaging  about  $12  per  ton,  and  at 
that  date  a  considerable  body  of  ore  had  been  exposed. 
"The  ledge  is  well  defined,"  writes  Walter,  a  practi- 
cal mining  engineer,  in  1878,  "runs  east  and  west, 
and  is  about  15  feet  wide,  with  a  fissure  vein  from 
3^  to  4  feet  in  width.  The  rock  is  bluish  gold-bear- 
ing quartz,  and  lies  in  a  slate  formation."  A  ten- 
stamp  water-power  miU  was  erected,®  and  the  returns 
were  for  a  time  satisfactory,  but  the  expense  of  oper- 
ating a  quartz  mine  under  such  conditions  as  at  pres- 
ent exist  in   the  territory   forbids   the    working  of 

''Mention  of  tbis  dlBtrict  ib  made  in  Id.,  Jnne  29,  July  7.  and  Aug.  11, 
1871. 

^  Their  claim  is  usually  called  the  Stewart  tunnel. 

^ Morris' $  Rejtt.  Alaska,  99.  During  a  conversation  held  at  my  Library 
on  Feb.  3,  1879,  M.  P.  Berry  stated  that  the  mill  did  not  do  much  in  the 
affgresate.  'They  have  plenty  of  rock,'  he  remarked,  *and  what  milling 
they  nid  showed  pretty  well.  But  the  wheel  did  not  carry  the  water  nor  the 
water  the  wheel/  DtvelopmenU  in  Alaska,  MS.,  11-12. 


608  AGRICULTURE,  SfflP-BUILDING,  AND  MINING. 

veins  that  in  more  favored  localities  would  be  tairly 
profitable.  That  valuable  gold  deposits  exist  is  not 
disputed;  but  in  a  mountainous  and  densely  wooded 
territory  such  as  is  Alaska,  and  especially  southern 
Alaska,  where  the  richest  veins  have  been  found, 
mines  are  neglected  which  elsewhere  on  this  coast 
would  not  lack  capital  for  their  development.^® 

''^  Amonff  other  points  gold  has  been  discovered  near  the  junction  of  the 
Yukon  and  Pelly  rivers.  Some  of  it  was  assayed  in  1883  by  H.  G.  Hanks, 
state  mineralogist  of  California,  i/vho  reported  that  about  one  tenth  of  its 
weight  consisted  of  a  coating  of  rust,  which  made  it  almost  indifferent  to  the 
action  of  quicksilver. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS.  AND  HOSPITALS. 

1795-1884. 

The  First  Chubches  in  Russian  America— A  Diocese  Established— 
Veniaminof — ^The  Sitka  Cathedral — Conversion  of  the  Indians 
— The  Clerot  Held  in  Contempt— Protestant  Missions— Schools 
—The  Sitka  Seminary— The  General  Colonial  Institute— Me- 
teorological—Diseases— Hospitals — The  Company's  Pensioners — 
Creoles — Bibliographical. 

Glottof,  it  is  claimed,  one  of  the  discoverers  of 
the  Aleutian  Islands,  baptized  at  Oumnak  in  1759 
the  first  native  admitted  into  the  fold  of  the  Greek 
church.  He  was  a  chieftain's  son,  and  a  large  cross 
was  erected  on  the  spot  where  the  ceremony  was 
performed;  but  timber  was  scarce  in  those  treeless 
regions,  and  soon  after  the  Russian  occupation  the 
wood  was  used  for  making  sleighs.^  Until  nearly 
half  a  century  after  Glottof 's  visit  neither  Aleuts  nor 
Koniagas  received  any  regular  religious  instruction, 
though  Shelikof,  as  will  be  remembered,  aflSrmed 
that  he  converted  forty  heathen  soon  after  the  con- 
quest of  Kadiak. 

The  labors  of  the  first  missionaries  sent  forth  to 
Alaska  have  already  been  related.  In  1795,  or  per- 
haps a  year  or  two  later,  a  chapel  was  built  at  Saint 
Paul — ^the  first  in  Russian  America,  At  Sitka  no 
church  was  built  until  1817,  religious  ceremonies  be- 
ing usually  performed  by  one  of  the  officials  of  the 

*  Veniamino/f  ZapisH,  151-2.  The  boy  was  taken  to  Petropavlovsk, 
where  he  learned  the  Rassian  language,  and  returned  with  the  dignity  of 
toy  on  over  all  the  islands  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Kamchatka. 


700  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS.  AND  H0SPITAU3. 

Russian  American  Company,  though  meanwhile  a 
priest  occasionally  visited  this  settlement,  and  bap- 
tisms were  not  infrequent.^  In  this  year  an  ecclesi- 
astic named  Sokolof  arrived,  and  a  temporary  build- 
ing was  at  once  erected,  the  altar  being  built  of  tim- 
bers cast  ashore  after  the  wreck  of  the  iVeva,  "among 
which,"  wrote  Baranof,  "shone  the  image  of  Saint 
Michael."  The  vessels  and  utensils  were  of  silver, 
fashioned  by  colonial  craftsmen,  and  the  robes  and 
draperies  of  Chinese  silk. 

In  1819  a  church  named  Saint  Peter's  was  built 
at  Saint  Paul  Island,  and  one  at  Saint  George  named 
after  Saint  George  the  Victor,  in  1833;  at  the  village 
of  Unalaska  a  church  was  dedicated  in  1826,'  and  in 
the  same  year  a  chapel,  named  Saint  Nikolai,  was 
built  at  Oumnak,  where,  as  Veniaminof  would  have 
us  believe,  sickness  attacked  the  Russians,  who  made 
sacrilegious  use  of  the  cross,  while,  for  many  years 
later,  the  Aleuts  did  not  dare  to  gather  sticks  or 
boards  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  sanctuary. 

A  clause  in  the  charter  granted  to  the  Russian 
American  Company  in  1821  provided  that  church 
establishments  should  be  supported  throughout  the 
colonies/  and  by  order  of  the  holy  synod,  in  1840, 

*  In  the  Alaska  Archives,  MS.,  1-13,  iB  a  list  of  all  the  baptiBins  performed 
at  Sitka  between  1805  and  1819. 

'  In  1808  a  log  chapel  was  built  at  Unalaska  and  torn  down  in  1826. 
Veniaminof,  Zapiski^  162. 

^  As  an  illustration  of  the  condition  of  the  colonial  clei^gy  at  the  end  of 
Chistiakof  's  administration,  may  be  mentioned  the  trial  for  sorcery  of  Feodor 
Bashmakof,  a  servitor  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  1829.  The  charge  was  pre- 
ferred  by  one  Terentv  Lestnikof  to  the  effect  that  Baahmakof,  a  native 
Kolosh,  baptized  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk  in  November  1805,  educated  at  the 
parish  school,  and  admitted  to  the  subordinate  priesthood  in  January  1827, 
had  been  observed  by  competent  witnesses  in  the  act  of  assisting  at  certain 
pagan  rites  intended  to  effect  the  cure  of  a  sick  native,  and  bad  been  seen 
*  to  go  through  the  motions  and  steps  of  chamans  or  sorcerers  in  the  service 
of  Satan,'  and  also  of  having  at  various  times  desecrated  an  orthodox  shrine 
by  taking  pagan  charms  into  the  holy  water  blessed  by  the  benediction  of 
the  priest,  and  of  receiving  payment  in  furs  for  such  sacrilegious  action.  In 
the  opinion  of  Veniaminof,  which  was  afterward  approved  by  the  holy 
synod,  Bashmakof  sinned  more  from  ignorance  than  from  malice,  and  be 
was  discharged  with  a  severe  reprimand.  Though  informed  that  he  ^-aa 
free  to  return  to  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  Bashmakof  voluntarily  entered  the 
convent  of  the  Ascension  at  Nerchinsk.  The  proceedings  in  this  case  dis- 
play a  remarkable  degree  of  leniency  on  the  part  of  the  higher  Bussiaa 


BISHOP  VENIAMINOF.  701 

at  which  date  there  were  four  churches  and  eight 
chapels  in  Russian  America,  they  were  formed  into 
a  diocese,  which  included  the  Okhotsk  and  Kam- 
chatka precincts,  the  first  bishop,  afterward  met- 
ropolitan of  Moscow,  being  Father  Veniaminof, 
whom  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  writing  in  1837,  describes 
as  "a  very  formidable,  athletic  man,  about  forty-five 
years  of  age,  and  standing  in  his  boots  about  six  feet 
three  inches;  quite  herculean,  and  very  clever."* 
*'When  he  preached  the  word  of  God,"  says  Kostro- 
mitin,  who  was  baptized  by  Father  Joassaf  in  1801, 
''all  the  people  listened,  and  listened  without  moving, 
until  he  stopped.  Nobody  thought  of  fishing  or 
hunting  while  he  spoke,  and  nobody  felt  hungry  or 
thirsty  as  long  as  he  was  speaking — not  even  little 
children."^ 

clergy,  and  are  in  remarkable  contrast  with  the  tribunals  of  the  Koman 
Catholic  church  in  similar  cases.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  Bash- 
makof's  retirement  to  one  of  the  most  desolate  cou vents  iu  Siberia  was 
entirely  a  voluntary  act.  Btuhmaio/^  Sorcery  Ti'tcU,  MS. 

*  Narr.  Voy.  round  World,  98. 

^  Early  Times  in  Aleut,  Islanth,  MS.,  5.  Miracles  were  ascribed  to  him 
by  the  superstitious,  among  whom  was  Kostromitin.  There  is  no  doubfc, 
however,  that  the  bishop  was  a  true  and  faithful  pastor,  though  his  writings 
show  that  he  himself  shared  the  superstition  common  to  his  church.  In  his 
ZapinH  ob  Ofitrovakh  OunalashkiTutkavo  Otdiala  Sostavleniwia,  or  Letters  con- 
cerning the  Islands  of  the  Unalasha  District,  published  at  the  expense  of  the 
Kussian  American  Q>mpany,  St  Petersburff,  3  vols.,  1840,  Veniaminof  shows 
that  he  had  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Aleuts,  their  language, 
customs,  and  history,  and  his  work  is  the  most  reliable  book  on  the  subject. 
It  includes  history,  meteorology,  geography,  natural  history,  and  ethnology; 
but  hstorical  material  seems  to  lu&ve  b«cn  scarce,  or  waa  perhaps  alighted 
by  the  author.  The  second  volume  is  devoted  principally  to  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  ancient  and  modem  Aleuts,  to  legends  and  tales  preserved 
among  them  by  tradition,  and  to  their  relations  with  the  Russian  American 
Comriany ,  and  contains  a  number  of  meteorological  and  statistical  tables.  The 
third  volume  is  confined  to  a  review  of  the  Aleuts  of  the  Atkha  District,'  the 
Kolosh,  and  their  respective  dialects.  The  work  on  the  Aleutian  Islands  was 
partially  reproduced  in  German,  in  ErenaUy  Archivfein  tvissenschaflHche  kunde 
von  Russlandy  ii.  459,  1842.  His  Ojmii  Gramatiki  Alexttsko-Lissievskavo  Ya- 
zuika,  or  Attempt  at  a  Grammar  of  the  Lissiev- Aleutian  Language,  8t  Peters- 
burg, 184G,  is  confined  to  one  dialect  of  the  Aleutian  language,  spoken  on 
the  Lissiev  group,  comprising  the  islands  between  159'*  and  1G9'*  w.,  and 
with  a  population  of  alx>ut  2,000  souls.  The  work  is  elaborate,  though  in 
some  cases  the  author  seems  to  liave  made  more  of  the  language  than  there 
really  was,  and  made  inflections  of  which  the  Aleuts  had  previously  known 
nothing.  To  indicate  the  pronunciation,  the  characters  of  the  Oiryllic  alpha- 
bet are  used.  The  vocabulary  annexed  to  the  volume  is  complete  but  not 
conveniently  arranged,  as  the  Russian  words  refer  only  in  numbers  to  the 
other  portion.  The  OukcKanie  Puti  v  Tkarstvie  Nehe^nnoie,  Po-outchenie  na 
AleutsLo-Lissievskom  Yazuika  ssokhiiiennoie  Svestchennikom  loannom  VeniaTn- 


702  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  HOSPITALS. 

During  Veniaminofs  administration  a  Lutheran 
clergyman  was  welcomed  at  Sitka/  and  the  same 
spirit  of  toleration  was  extended  later  to  the  Jesuits, 
several  Poles  of  that  order  being  transferred  from 
Canada.  On  the  13th  of  October,  1867,  the  first 
service  at  which  an  American  oflSiciated®  was  held 
at  Sitka,  the  congregation  being  composed  of  Rus- 
sians, Finns,  and  jfcolosh. 

In  1861  there  were  in  the  Russian  American  col- 
onies seven  churches  and  thirtv-five  chapels,  several 
of  them,  including  the  cathedral,  being  built  and  kept 
in  repair  by  the  Russian  American  Company.  All 
were  maintained  by  the  contributions  of  parishioners 
and  the  sale  of  candles  and  tapers.®  About  this  date 
the  aggregate  capital  of  the  churches  exceeded  two 
hundred  and  fifty-five  thousand  roubles,  the  funds  be- 
ing held  by  the  company's  treasurer  and  interest 
allowed  at  five  per  cent.^^ 

The  Sitka  cathedral  contained  three  altars,  which 
were  separated  from  the  body  of  the  church  by  a  par- 
tition, the  doors  of  which  were  gilt,  and  the  pilasters 
mounted  with  gold  capitals.  There  were  eight  silver 
candlesticks  more  than  four  feet  in  height,  and  a  sil- 
ver chandelier  hanging  from  the  centre  of  the  dome 

inovaimy  or  Ouide  on  the  Road  to  the  Heavenly  Kingdomyfor  ifuOructUm  in  the 
LisHtev- Aleut  Language,  Complied  by  the  Priest^  loann  Veniaminofs  was  pub- 
lished by  the  holy  synod  of  Russia,  and  was  a  translation  from  the  Russian 
into  Alent  by  Veniaminof ,  and  printed  in  Church-Slavic  characters,  which  are 
better  adapted  to  express  Aleutian  words. 

^  Simp8o7t*8  NatT.  Journey  round  World,  ii.  193.  In  1857  Mr  Winter, 
pastor  of  the  Lutheran  church  at  Sitka,  received  a  gift  of  1,200  roubles  from 
the  Russian  American  Company,  and  during  the  same  year  was  reengaged 
at  a  salary  of  2,000  roubles  a  year.  SUka  Archives,  1S57,  i.  316,  394.  In 
1853  his  flock  numbered  120  to  160  souls.  Ward's  Three  Weeks  in  Sitka, 
MS.,  70. 

'  Mr  Rayner,  an  army  chaplain. 

•  Golovnin,  in  Materialni,  75.  In  Dok.  Kom.  Rttss,  Amer.  KoL,  76,  and  in 
THkhmen^'f,  Jstor.  Obos.,  ii.  270,  nine  churches  are  mentioned. 

10  The  contributions  were  made  partly  in  money  and  partly  in  furs,  the 
company  allowing  the  church  7  roubles,  14  kopeks,  to  14  roubles,  29  kopeks, 
for  sea-otter  skins.  The  revenue  from  candles  amounted  to  5,500  roubles  a 
year.  The  company  incurred  an  expense  of  32,938  roubles  a  year  on  church 
account.  See  Oolovnin,  75,  where  are  given  the  sahuies  of  Uie  bishop  end 
officials.  The  residence  of  the  bishop  was  built  by  the  company  at  an  expense 
of  30,000  roubles.   Tikhmenef,  Isior,  Obos,,  u.  268. 


CONVEBSION  OF  NATIVES.  703 

which  was  supported  by  a  number  of  columns  of  the 
Byzantine  order.  On  the  altar  was  a  miniature  tomb 
of  the  saviour  in  gold  and  silver.  The  vestments  and 
implements  were  also  rich  in  gold  and  jewels.  The 
books  were  bound  in  gold  and  crimson  velvet,  and 
adorned  with  miniatures  of  the  evangelists  set  in  dia- 
monds. The  communion  cup  was  of  gold,  and  similarly 
embellished;  the  mitre  was  covered  with  pearls,  rubies, 
emeralds,  and  diamonds.  The  building  was  dedicated 
to  Saint  Michael." 

Veniaminof,  after  acquiring  the  Aleutian  language, 
translated  into  it  a  number  of  books  touching  on  the 
doctrines  of  his  church;  but  with  this  exception  few  of 
the  ecclesiastics  understood  the  native  dialects,  while 
the  interpreters  had  little  knowledge  of  Russian. 
Between  1841  and  1860,  4,700  Indians  were  bap- 
tized," and  if  we  can  believe  Veniaminof,  some  of 
them  were  converted.  "  I  do  not  mean,"  he  writes, 
'*  that  they  knew  how  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
and  to  bow,  and  mutter  some  prayer.  No  1  Some  of 
them  can  pray  from  their  soul,  not  exhibiting  them- 
selves in  the  church  and  before  the  people,  but  often 
in  the  seclusion  of  their  chamber,  with  closed  doors."  ^* 
The  bishop,  who  on  his  appointment  adopted  the  title 
of  Innokenty,  according  to  the  custom  of  his  church, 
labored  with  marked  success  among  the  Kolosh.  Be- 
fore his  arrival  they  had  resisted  all  efforts  at  con- 
version, those  who  were  baptized  submitting  to  the 
ceremony  only  because  they  received  presents  of  more 
or  less  value." 

"  Ward's  Three  Weeks  in  Sitha,  MS.,  29-31,  35-37.  The  cathedral  was 
roofed  with  iron,  and  the  belfry  and  chimes  cost  8,500  roables  in  silver.  Tikh- 
menrff  Istor.  Oboa.,  ii.  268.  The  church  at  St  Paul,  Kadiak,  is  built  of  hown 
timber,  the  interstices  heins  filled  with  moss.  The  interior  is  well  but 
plainly  furnished.  Olidden^s  Trip  to  Alaska,  MS.,  13. 

"A  list  of  the  converts  is  given  in  Oolovnin,  in  Materialni^  147-150. 
Tikhmenef  claims  that  in  1827  there  were  in  the  colonies  8,532  Christians,  of 
whom  more  than  7,000  were  Indians.  Istor,  Obos.,  i.  296. 

^'  As  a  proof  that  the  teaching  of  the  priests  was  not  without  effect,  it  is 
stated  in  Id,,  303,  that  in  1827  the  number  of  illegitimate  births  among  the 
Aleuts  was  seven,  while  from  that  year  till  1839  it  averaged  only  one. 

i«In  the  record  of  baptisms  at  Sitka,  in  the  Alaska  Archives,  MS.,  1-13, 
translated  from  original  documents  in  the  SUka  Church  Archives,  MS.,  men> 


704  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  HOSPITALS. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Greek  church  was  a 
failure  throughout  Russian  America.  We  have  seen 
in  what  disrespect  the  priests  were  held  by  their  own 
countrymen  in  the  time  of  Baranof,  and  it  is  nowhere 
recorded,  except  by  the  priests  themselves,  that,  with 
the  single  exception  of  Veniaminof,  the  teaching  of 
the  ecclesiastics  made  much  impression  on  the  natives. 
They  squatted  and  smoked  during  service,  listened, 
bowed,  crossed  themselves,  and  laughed  so  uproariously 
that  the  officiating  priest  was  often  interrupted  in  his 
solemn  duty.  They  cared  not  for  religion,  or  at  least 
not  for  the  doctrines  of  the  Greek  clergy.  "If," 
writes  Golovnin,  "the  object  of  a  missionary  be  only 
the  baptizing  of  a  few  natives  yearly,  to  show  the 
country  that  the  number  of  conversions  increases,  and 
in  visiting  so  many  times  a  year  such  of  the  villages 
as  are  situated  in  close  proximity  to  redoubts  and 
trading  posts,  then  the  colonial  missionaries  perform 
their  duty  with  more  or  less  zeal ;  but  if  the  mission- 
ary's duty  is  to  spread  among  the  pagans  the  teachings 
of  an  evangelist,  and  to  strive  by  word  and  example 
to  soften  their  hearts,  to  help  them  in  their  need,  to 
administer  to  their  physical  and  moral  diseases,  to 
persuade  them  gradually  to  lead  a  settled  and  indus- 
trious life,  and  above  all  to  labor  for  the  education  of 
the  children,  and  at  last  make  the  savages  themselves 
wish  for  conversion,  then  not  one  of  our  former  or 
present  missionaries  has  fulfilled  his  duty."^* 

In  1880  the  Russian  church  claimed  10,950  mem- 
bers, but  this  number  is  probably  at  least  2,500  in  ex- 
cess of  the  actual  figures.     The  bishop  of  the  diocese 

tion  is  made  of  these  presents,  which  consisted  usually  of  tobacco,  calico, 
knives,  cutlasses,  and  olankets.  Sometimes  a  rifle  was  given.  Care  was 
taken  that  the  convert  did  not  present  himself  a  second  time  for  baptism. 

^^  If  we  can  believe  Simpson,  Dall,  and  others  who  travelled  in  Alaska, 
negligence  was  not  the  only  fault  of  which  the  missionaries  were  guilty.  The 
Letter  remarks  that  all  whom  he  met  in  Alaska  were  inveterate  topers,  and 
mentions  the  case  of  one  who  had  been  engaged  for  seven  years  as  a  mission- 
ary on  the  Yukon,  and  who  thanked  Gk>d  tliat  he  then  had  an  opportunity  of 
returning  to  Russia,  where  a  glass  of  rum  could  be  had  for  25  kopeks.  Aiasba, 
226. 


MODERN  EFFORTS. 

usually  resides  in  San  Francisco,  wheiic 
affairs  and  supplies  the  funds  needed  1 
parishes.^^  Service  is  at  present  condu( 
both  in  the  Russian  and  Aleutian  langi 
more  distant  settlements  are  visited  on 
by  a  regularly  ordained  priest,  by  whom 
marriages  are  celebrated  and  the  sacrai 
tered  to  those  who  desire  it. 

When  Alaska  was  transferred  to  the  1 
it  was  expected  that  the  religious  traini 
ians  would  not  be  neglected,  but  ten  ye 
and  little  was  done.  In  1877,  howevc 
rian  mission  was  established  at  Sitka 
later  a  catholic  mission  was  establii 
Wrangell,^^  but  met  with  little  success, 
due  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  ( 
to  the  methodist  church  of  Canada,  1 
have  their  representatives  on  the  horde 
For  several  years  protestant  missiona 
denominations,  and  especially  the  presb 
amid  great  discouragement,  labored  ear; 
in  vain,  to  introduce  their  faith  among 
Alaska.  Meanwhile  their  efforts  in  th 
cation  have  been  no  less  persistent. 

*«0n  the  12th  of  July,  1882,  the  bishop  of  the  Greek 
within  twelve  miles  of  Fort  8t  Michael,  either  by  ace 
temporary  aberration.  The  body  was  found.  S.  F.  Ch 
30,  1882. 

^'' JackeoTi's  Alaska,  227.  *The  catholics  are  invadin 
Mr  McFarland  from  Fort  Wrangell  in  May  1879.  *  Am 
the  Olympia  a  week  ago  was  a  Komish  bishop  and  prie; 
tablishcd  a  mission.  The  bishop  inade  an  attack  on  Mr 
sabbath  morning.  He  was  trying  to  got  the  peoi)lc  to 
cross,  but  none  would  respond  save  Shustaks,  the  wickc 
the  bishop  angry,  and  he  broke  out  as  follows:  "  Why  « 
you?  Are  you  afraid  of  Mr  Young?  You  are  not  Mr 
is  not  a  true  minister,  anyway.  No  man  can  be  a  true 
wife.  Look  at  me;  I  am  a  true  minister;  I  am  all  the  .< 
and  I  don't  have  any  wife. "  *  Id.  The  reader  will  find  n 
unseemly  squabbles  in  my  History  of  British  Colianlna, 

*^  W^illiam  Duncan,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Societ; 
complicity  in  smuggling  operations  mention  has  been 
Indian  village  of  Metlahkatlah.  About  1877  it  cont'iiii« 
The  Her.  Thomas  Crosby  labored  principally  at  Fort 
and  schools  were  of  coui'se  established  at  both  points,  v 
302,  et  sea, 

UI8T.  AZ<A8KA.     4S 


706  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  HOSPITALS. 

Of  the  raembers  of  the  Greek  church  only  a  small 
proportion  among  the  natives  can  read  and  write, 
though  in  villages  where  parish  churches  have  been 
established,  perhaps  thirty  per  cent  of  the  inhabi- 
tants have  acquired  the  rudiments  of  an  education.  It 
was  claimed  by  Veniaminof  that  in  some  localities  all 
the  Aleuts  except  young  children  could  read  fluently, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  to  support  this  statement.  It 
was  not  until  1848  that  printed  books  were  issued  in 
the  Kadiak  language,  and  for  several  years  later  none 
were  circulated  among  the  Kolosh.  Those  which 
afterward  made  their  appearance  contained  only  trans- 
lations of  prayers,  hymns,  anthems,  of  two  of  the  gos- 
pels, the  decalogue,  and  a  small  collection  of  words 
and  conversational  phrases.^* 

For  half  a  century  after  the  Kussian  occupation, 
educational  matters  were-little  more  advanced  than  in 
the  days  of  Shelikof,  who  established  at  Three  Saints, 
in  1785,  the  first  school  in  Russian  America,  and  him- 
self instructed  the  pupils,  in  his  own  language,  in  arith- 
metic and  the  precepts  of  Christianity.  The  labors 
of  Fathers  Juvenal  and  German  in  this  connection 
have  already  been  mentioned.  In  1817,  and  probably 
for  some  years  later,  the  latter  was  still  in  charge  of  a 
mission  school  at  Yclovoi  Island.  In  1805  Rezanof 
established  a  school  for  boys  at  Saint  Paul,  and  dur- 
ing his  visit  a  girls'  school  was  opened  at  this  settle- 
ment,^ but  both  fell  into  decay  after  the  envoy's  de- 
parture, and  were  finally  closed. 

A  few  years  later  a  school  was  opened  at  Sitka  by 
Baranof,  but  the  instruction  was  very  inefficient  until 
1833,  when  Etholin  took  charge  of  it  and  somewhat 
improved  its  condition.  At  the  end  of  their  course, 
the  pupils  served  the  company  in  various  capacities.^ 

^•On  the  15th  of  April,  1857,  Voievodsky  promises  to  send  vocabularies 
from  all  the  stations  of  the  Bassian  American  Company.  Sitka  Archives, 
MS.,  1857,  i.  111. 

'-"*  In  charge  of  Mrs  Banner.  It  opened  with  16  Creole  girls,  fonr  of  whom 
were  sent  to  St  Petersburg  for  further  instruction.  TUchmm^,  lator,  Obofs,, 
i.  140. 

^^  Of  those  who  left  in  1837,  four  became  sailors,  four  clerks,  &ve  mechan- 
ics, and  three  apprentices  ou  board  ship.  Odovninf  in  McUerialiti,  80-1. 


EDUCATION.  707 

In  1839  an  institution  was  established  at  Sitka  at 
which  the  orphan  daughters  of  the  company's  em- 
ployds  were  educated  at  the  company's  expense.  In 
1860  there  were  22  inmates,  and  the  expense  for  that 
year  was  6,364  roubles.^-  About  the  same  date  a  simi- 
lar institution  was  opened  for  boys,  to  which  were 
admitted  orphans,  and  the  children  of  laborers  and  of 
inferior  oflScials.  All  were  taught  to  read  and  write, 
and  there  was  a  small  class  in  arithmetic  and  gram- 
mar. Their  training  of  course  included  religious  in- 
struction. In  1860  there  were  27  pupils,  most  of 
whom  were  intended  for  mechanical  pursuits.^ 

It  was  not  until  1841  that  any  attempt  was  made, 
even  at  Sitka,  to  provide  the  means  for  a  higher  class 
of  education.  In  tliat  year  a  church  school  was 
opened,  which,  in  1845,  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  a 
seminary.  "This  institution  was  kept  in  good  order/' 
writes  Ward  in  1853,  **the  dormitories  and  class- 
rooms being  plainly  but  neatly  furnished.  One  room 
contained  good  philosophical  apparatus,  including  air- 
pumps,  batteries,  pulleys,  levers,  etc.,  and  another  a 
good-sized  library  of  Slavonic  and  Kus.sian  books.  "^* 
The  course  included  the  Russian  and  English  lan- 
guages, the  elements  of  the  pure  mathematics,  me- 
chanics and  astronomy,  navigation,  history,  geogra- 
phy, and  book-keeping.''^ 

In  1858,  when  the  scat  of  the  bishopric  of  Kam- 
chatka was  transferred  to  Yakoutsk,  a  vicariate  beinsf 
established  for  the  colonies,  the  semmary  was  also  re- 
moved to  Yakoutsk.     Soon  afterward  a  school  was 

"  Apart  from  fuel  and  lights,  which  were  furnished  in  kind.  The  inati- 
tution  nad  a  special  fund  obtained  from  the  sale  of  the  }nipils*  handiwork, 
from  which  eacii  one  received  on  marriage  150  to  300  roubles  for  her  trous- 
seau. Id.,  84. 

'^On  the  1st  of  May,  1853,  this  school  had  33  pupils,  and  a  year  later  26. 
Sitka  Archive.^,  MS.,  ikvl,  ii.  Gl. 

»*  Three  Weckit  in  Siibi.  MS.,  25.  On  the  29th  of  October,  1857,  Voievod- 
sky  acknowledges  the  receipt  from  the  educational  bureau  of  the  holy  synod 
of  7,071  roubles,  50  kopeks,  in  silver,  to  bo  invested  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Beminan^  Sitka  Archives,  MS.,  1857,  i.  302. 

**  Ward  also  states  that  the  higher  classes  studied  Latin  and  Greek,  but 
thero  is  no  mention  of  this  in  the  Kussian  authorities. 


708  CHUECHES.  SCHOOU5,  AXD  HOSPirAJL& 

cstaMi-hed  under  the  name  of  the  Greneral  Colonial 
Institute-,  for  the  f^ms  of  officials  who  had  rendered 
faithful  M.-nicc  to  the  corapanv,  all  who  could  read 
and  write  the  Hassian  languai^e  and  understood  the 
first  four  rules  of  arithmetic  btrincr  admitted  free  to 
lectures  on  the  governors  recommendation.  The 
course  of  instruction  was  almost  identical  with  that 
of  the  three-cla.s.s  graduating  schools  in  Siberia,  and 
differe<i  little  from  the  curriculum  of  the  academy.^ 
Navigation,  commercial  branches,  and"  the  English 
language  were  taught  by  naval  officers  and  others  se- 
lected from  the  company's  employes.  The  children 
of  officials  were  usually  supported  at  the  company's 
(expense,  in  which  case  they  were  required,  after  grad- 
uating, to  enter  its  service  for  a  term  of  ten  years, 
receiving  a  small  salary ,^^  500  roubles  for  outfit,  and 
honorable  rank  at  the  end  of  six  years'  service.  In- 
struction in  theology  and  the  Church-Slavic  language 
was  also  given  to  those  destined  for  the  church,  their 
expenses  being  paid  from  the  church  funds.  Though 
the  sum  disbursed  by  the  company  for  the  support  of 
this  school  exceeded  24,000  roubles  a  year,^  in  addi- 
tion U)  3,750  roubles  contributed  by  the  holy  synod, 
there  were  at  its  opening  but  12  pupils,  and  in  1862 
the  number  was  only  27.  It  would  appear  indeed  to 
have  been  founded  mainly  for  the  benefit  of  the 
teachers,  who  received  13,450  roubles  out  of  the  funds 
furnished  by  the  company,  the  sum  expended  for  all 
other  purposes  being  less  that  11,000  roubles. 

The  most  successful  school  in  other  portions  of  the 
colonies  was  the  one  founded  at  Unalaska,  bv  Veni- 
aminof.     In  1860,  after  it  had  been  in  existence  for 

^  A  plan  of  the  studies  for  each  of  the  three  classes  is  given  in  KotUivtsof^ 
Jieport,  1860,  app.,  38. 

"  Only  100  to  350  roubles  (scrip)  a  year  according  to  Dally  Alaska^  352; 
but  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  Dallas  historical  summary  is  not  very  reliable. 
Ho  states,  for  instance,  that  the  compulsory  term  of  service  was  15  years, 
while  10  arc  mentioned  by  Golovnitif  in  Matertalui,  81,  and  Tikhmentf,  Istor, 
OboM.f  ii.  275. 

'^^Tlie  exact  amount,  according  to  Golovnin,  was  24,377  roubles  and  77 
kopeks.  Tikhmencf,  whose  work  was  published  in  the  same  year,  gives 
it  ut  7,000  roubles  silver,  which  would  be  20,250  roubles  in  scrip. 


EDUCATION. 

35  years,  there  were  93  pupils  of  both 
same  date  one  of  the  Kadiak  schools 
and  there  were  primary  schools  on  the  i 
in  the  Atkha  district,  at  the  Nushagc 
pak  missions,  and  at  Bering  Island,  1 
meagre  attendance.    There  was  also  a  s 
the  lower  Yukon,  but  with  no  pupils.^^ 
After  the  purchase,  even  the  few  tra 
enment  which  tlie  Russians  had  left  I 
danger  of  being  obliterated,  for  the  E 
were  closed,  and  for  years  there  were 
their  place.     In  1869,  Vincent  Colye 
the  board  of  Indian  commissioners,  visit 
mainly  through  his  exertions  the  sum  i 
appropriated   by  congress   for   school 
there  was  no  one  to  administer  the  f . 
mained  intact.    According  to  the  terms 
two  schools  were  maintained  among  1 
they  existed  only  in  name,  and  no  fui 
was  made  by  the  United  States  govc 
somewhat   remarkable    that   a   natior 
among  the  foremost  in  wealth,  culture, 
nation  whose  boast  it  is  that  educatic 
her  children,  should  have  left  the  inhfi 
territory  for  more  than  half  a  generi 
darkness.     To  quote  the  words   of  t 
don  Jackson,  superintendent  of  presbv 
in  the  territories,  "Russia  gave   then 
schools,  and  the  Greek  religion,  but  wl 
passed  from  their  possession  they  with  i 
ers,  priests,  and  teachers,  while  the  Ur 
not  send  any  others  to  take  their  plac< 

^  As  to  the  discipline  and  hoars  of  study  enlorced 
have  few  records.     It  is  probable,  however,  that  in  tli  • 
about  the  same  as  in  the  naval  school  at  Petropavlov»k 
at  5.30  and  retired  at  9.     At  C.30  there  was  inspect!  • 
breakfast  and  preparation  for  classes,  which  lasted  fror 
and  play  till  noon — the  dinner  hour,  which  was  foUowe  i 
of  play,  and  three  of  lectures  or  recitations.     At  5  a  m  i 
was  served,  and  at  8  supper,  the  interval  being  taken 
drill.  Morstkoi  Sboruik,  xxi.  44,  159-04.     In  the  colonic  i 
the  students  was  salt  iish. 


710  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS.  AND  HOSPITALS. 

day,  has  neither  courts,  rulers,  ministers,  nor  teachers. 
The  only  thing  the  United  States  have  done  for  them 
has  been  to  introduce  whiskey."*^ 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  presbyterian  mission,  a 
school  was  established  at  Fort  Wrangell,  which  ia 
1877  had  about  30  pupils,  and  a  home  for  the  rescue 
of  young  girls  who  would  else  have  been  sold  into 
prostitution  by  their  parents;  while  at  Sitka  a  school 
was  opened  on  the  17th  of  April,  1878,  50  scholars 
being  present  the  first  day,  and  60  the  following  year.*"^^ 
All  this  was  accomplished  with  very  slender  funds. 
About  the  same  date  there  were  twenty -two  children 
in  attendance  at  the  two  schools  which  the  United 
States  government  promised  to  support,  but  which 
are  in  fact  supported  at  the  expense  of  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company.^ 

During  infancy,  the  natives  of  Alaska  receive  little 
care  or  supervision  from  their  parents.  Until  seven 
or  eight  years  of  age  they  are  more  frequently  naked 
than  clad  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  often  sleeping 
almost  without  shelter  and  with  insufficient  covering. 
Under  these  conditions,  living,  as  they  do,  in  a  coun- 
try where  snow  is  perpetually  in  sight,  and  where  rain, 
sleet,  and  fog  are  almost  incessant,  they  grow  up  for 
the  most  part  a  weakly  and  puny  race.  Even  where 
the  skies  are  less  inclement,  this  is  still  the  case.  The 
climate  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  does  not  differ  essen- 
tially from  that  of  some  portions  of  northern  Scot- 
land,^^  and  yet  there  are  few  more  effeminate  speci- 

•°  U.  S.  Educ.  Rept.,  1877,  p.  xxxii.  The  above  is  an  extract  from  a  let- 
ter published  in  the  report. 

^^JackaoHs  Ahmka,  20G,  215,  217,  228,  251.  In  this  work  will  be  found  a 
full  and  interesting  account  of  the  operations  of  the  presbyterian  mission. 
The  home  had  at  iirst  a  sore  struggle  for  existence. 

'^  There  were  also  schools  at  Uuivlaska  and  Belkovsky,  but  the  attendance 
was  Iftss  than  ten  of  both  sexes.  There  were  no  schools  at  the  missions  of  the 
Yukon,  Xushagak,  and  Kenai.  In  a  village  surrounding  the  first  of  these 
r.ettlementa,  Petroff  states  that,  apart  from  the  attach<Ss  of  the  church,  he 
found  but  one  man  who  could  speak  the  Russian  language.  Pop.  AIomIxl,  79. 

''  The  mean  aunual  temperature  of  northern  ScoSand  varies  from  42*  to 
48',  and  of  the  Aleutian  district  from  30'  to  40**.  The  average  rainfall  in 
Unalaska  ia  iirobably  little  more  tliui  40  inches,  while  in  Stirlingshire  it  is 


POPULATION.  711 

mens  of  humanity  than  the  Aleut,  and  none  more 
hardy  than  the  Scotch  highlander. 

At  Sitka,  though  the  rains  are  excessive,  averaging 
nearly  83  inches  in  the  year,^  the  days  on  which  snow 
falls  are  seldom  more  than  thirty;  and,  remarks  Dall, 
"  the  average  of  many  years'  observations  places  the 
mean  winter  temperature  about  33  Fahrenheit,  which 
is  nearly  that  of  Mannheim  on  the  Rhine,  and 
warmer  than  Munich,  Vienna,  or  Berlin.  It  is  about 
the  same  as  that  of  Washington,  1,095  miles  farther 
south,  and  warmer  than  New  York,  Philadelphia,  or 
Baltimore.  At  Nulato  the  mean  winter  temperature 
is  14  below  zero,  at  Fort  Yukon  about  17,  while  at 
both  points  the  thermometer  reaches  100  in  summer." 

The  census  of  1880  gives  the  population  of  Alaska 
at  33,426,*^  and  this  is  probably  little  more  than  half 
the  number  of  inhabitants  living  during  the  early  period 
of  the  Russian  occupation.  Many  causes  were  at  work 
to  produce  this  result.  Slavery  in  its  worst  form  ex- 
isted among  the  Alaskans.  "A  full  third  of  the  large 
population  of  this  coast,"  writes  Simpson,  "are  slaves 
of  the  most  helpless  and  abject  description.  Some  of 
them  are  prisoners  taken  in  war,  but  the  majority 
have  been  born  in  bondage.  These  wretches  are  the 
constant  victims  of  cruelty,  and  often  the  instruments 
of  malice  or  revenge.  If  ordered  to  kill  a  man,  they 
must  do  it  or  lose  their  own  life."^  The  earth  huts 
of  the  Aleuts  were  without  ovens.  There  was  always 
a  scarcity  of  wood  and  often  of  food.     Sometimes 

43  inches,  in  Bute  about  46,  and  in  the  town  of  Inverness,  in  the  same  lati- 
tude as  Kadiak,  it  was  49.9  in  1821  and  47.59  in  1822.  DcdPs  Alaska, 
445-6. 

■*  The  average  of  twelve  years,  as  given  in  Davidson's  Set.  Exped.,  481-2. 
The  greatest  rainfall  during  this  period  was  95.8  inches  in  18G1,  and  the  least 
58.06  in  1853.  During  August,  September,  and  October,  1867,  there  were  52 
inches. 

■*0f  whom  24,161  lived  west  of  Prince  William  Sound,  600  near  the 
sound,  and  5,517  in  south-eastern  Alaska.  Petroff'sPop.  Alaaka,  85. 

^  SimpsoiCs  Narr.  Jour,  round  Worlds  i.  211.  The  custom  of  killing  slaves 
at  the  death  of  a  chief  prevails  among  tho  Kolosh,  and  in  lato  years  the  Rus- 
sians had  been  in  the  habit  of  purchasing  the  victims  selected  for  sacrifice. 
Bloodgood,  in  Overland  Monthly,  Feb.  18G9. 


712  CHURCHES,  SCHOOI^,  AND  HOSPITALS. 

their  only  diet  was  rotten  fish,  but  those  employed  by 
the  company  were  well  fed,  housed,  and  clad. 

Among  the  most  fatal  diseases  were  consumption, 
gastric,  bilious,  typhus,  and  other  fevers,  sj^philis,  and 
scrofula.'^  For  the  sick  there  were  hospitals  at  Sitka 
and  Saint  Paul.  In  1860  the  former  accommodated 
1,400  patients,  and  was  maintained  at  an  expense  of 
about  45,000  roubles;  the  latter  had  550  patients,  and 
the  outlay  was  in  a  greater  ratio.*^  There  was  also  a 
hospital  for  the  treatment  of  skin  diseases  at  the  sul- 
phur springs  near  Sitka.^     The  steam  bath  was  the 

S7  *In  former  times  syphilitic  diaesBes  were  very  general  among  the  Aleats, 
but  now  they  hardly  exist  on  the  islands.  Now  and  then  the  disease  is 
brought  to  Kadiak  by  crews  of  the  company's  Tessela  which  winter  there,  but 
it  is  met  with  more  and  more  rarely,  because  now  the  commanders  of  vessels 
are  strictly  enjoined  to  inspect  their  crew  on  arrival  in  port  At  Novo  Arkh- 
angelsk, on  the  contrary,  this  disease  is  yet  very  common  in  spite  of  all  pre- 
ventive measures  taken  by  the  colonial  government  It  is  communicated 
to  the  Eussians  by  the  Kolosh,  who  in  their  turn  are  infected  by  their  coun- 
trymen who  live  along  the  sounds,  where  it  is  carried  by  foreign  ships  which 
carry  on  a  contraband  trade  with  the  Kolosh.  The  Kolosh  look  at  this  dis- 
ease with  great  indifference;  they  believe  it  to  be  an  unavoidable  evil,  and 
take  no  measures  whatever  for  its  cure.  Nearly  all  the  women  who  practise 
prostitution  in  secret  around  the  environs  of  Novo  Arkhangelsk  are  affected 
by  this  disease.  At  one  time  the  syphilitic  disease  prevail^  to  such  an  ex- 
tent among  the  soldiers  and  laborers  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  that  for  its  possi- 
ble prevention  the  then  newly  an*ived  administrator  general  (governor)  felt 
compelled  to  resort  to  the  strongest  measures.  He  caused  to  be  torn  down 
at  once  all  huts  erected  near  the  harbor,  on  the  beach  as  well  as  in  the  woods, 
where  the  traflSc  of  prostitution  was  secretly  carried  on.*  Oohtmin,  in  Materia' 
lui,  87.  'After  consumption,  perhaps  the  largest  list  of  death  causes  will  he 
laid  at  the  door  of  scrofulous  diseases,  taking  the  form  of  malignant  ulcers, 
which  eat  into  the  vitals  and  destroy  them.  It  renders  whole  settlements 
sometimes  lepers  in  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  visitor;  and  it  is  hard  to  find  a 
settlement  in  the  whole  country  where  at  least  one  or  more  of  the  families 
therein  have  not  got  the  singularly  prominent  scars  peculiar  to  the  disease.* 
Petroff^a  Pop.  Alaska,  83.  In  1843-4,  there  was  another  outbreak  of  small- 
pox among  the  Aleuts,  but  as  most  of  them  had  been  vaccinated,  it  was  not 
very  destructive.  Simpson  states  that  hsemoptysis  was  a  common  complaint 
Jou7\  rouTul  Worlds  ii.  190. 

^Dok.  Kom.  Jivss,  Amer.  KoL,  ii.  136;  Kosllivtzqf,  in  Jfoferto/tti,  app., 
41-2.  'In  its  wards,*  writes  Simpson,  'and,  in  short,  in  all  the  requisite  ap- 
pointments, the  Sitka  hospital  would  be  no  du^grace  to  England.'  It  had  40 
beds.  Near  each  was  a  table  on  which  glasses  and  medicines  were  placed. 
The  diet  was  usually  salt  beef  or  fish,  the  soup  made  from  them,  mush  of 
rice  or  groats,  bread,  and  tea.  Of  1,400  patients  admitted  into  the  Sitka 
hospital  in  18G0.  only  22  died. 

^' There. were  three  large  springs  close  to  each  other.  The  temperature 
was  between  50  and  i52°  of  Ii<5aumer.  Oolovnin,  in  McU^ricduiy  92-3.  Dall  gives 
it  at  122**  of  Fahrenheit,  which  would  be  only  40  of  Reaumur.  AlaAka,  353. 
The  waters  were  impreguated  with  sulphur,  iron,  manganese,  and  chlorine, 
97  per  cent  of  the  mineral  matter  being  sulphur.     During  a  visit  to  Atkha  in 


C.1RE  OF  THE  SICK  AND  POOR,  713 

great  panacea  of  the  natives,  who  before  the  Russian 
occupation  had  no  medicine,  nor  even  knew  of  any 
medicinal  herb. 

Sick,  aged,  and  disabled  servants  were  provided  for 
by  the  company,  one  half  per  cent  of  its  profits  being 
appropriated  for  this  purpose  after  1802.  In  later  years 
a  tax  of  ten  roubles  was  levied  on  each  keg  of  liquor, 
and  of  one  rouble  on  each  pound  of  tea  sold  by  the 
company.  From  the  funds  thus  raised  the  deserving 
poor  were  pensioned  by  the  government,  and  in  18G0 
there  were  375  persons  in  the  receipt  of  pensions,  the 
aggregate  amount  of  which  was  30,000  roubles  a  year. 
The  pensioners  were  lodged  at  the  company's  expense, 
and  the  needy  were  also  supplied  with  food  from  the 
public  kitchen.  Those  who  wished  it  were  made  colo- 
nial citizens,  a  class  composed  mainly  of  Russians  and 
Creoles.  They  were  exempt  from  taxation,  and  had 
the  privilege  of  reentering  the  company's  service  at 
will.*« 

Creoles — by  which  term  is  always  meant  the  off- 
spring of  Russians  or  Siberians  and  native  women, 
none  being  the  children  of  natives  and  of  Russian 
women — ^had  all  the  rights  of  Russian  subjects,  and 
were  exempt  from  taxation  or  enforced  service.  Many 
were  educated  at  the  company's  expense,  and  were 
afterward  employed  in  various  capacities,  some  of 
them,  among  whom  was  Veniaminof,  being  trained  for 
the  priesthood.*^ 

The  churches,  schools,  and  hospitals  of  Alaska  under 
the  Russian  regime  were  supported  mainly  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Russian  American  Company.  At  pres- 
ent they  exist  on  charity— charity  so  cold,  that  when 

1873,  Dall  observed  springs  there  the  temperature  of  which  was  192^.  Near 
them  were  the  ruins  of  deserted  bath-houses.  Hept.  Coa»t  Sun^g  (1S73),  114. 

^  There  were  no  beggars  in  Alaska  until  after  the  purchase.  The  Aleuts 
supported  their  own  poor.  On  returning  from  their  expeditions,  the  hunters 
always  gave  a  part  ot  their  spoils  to  the  young,  sick,  and  aged,  who  were  told 
to  go  and  help  themselves  from  the  bidarka,  the  owner  of  which  was  content 
with  what  rcmaiued.  It  was  a  rare  thing  among  them  for  any  one  to  ask  as- 
sistanco.     Ho  received  it  as  his  right.  Golovnin^  in  Matcrialui,  93-4. 

**  Tikhmene/,  Ixtor.  Obos.,  apn.  part  i.  55;  JJok,  Kom,  Buss,  Arner,  KoL, 
i.  108-9;  Yermoloff,  L'Amiriqut  liusse,  95. 


714  CHUBCHES,  SCHOOLS.  AND  HOSPITALS. 

the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  was  voted  by  congress 
for  educational  purposes,  there  were  found  none  to  ad- 
minister it.  What  shall  we  do  with  the  people  of 
Alaska  now  that  they  are  manumitted?  Let  them  sit 
and  gaze  seaward  with  a  steadfast  stare,  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  the  steamer  which,  bearing  the  United  States 
flag,  brings  to  them  month  by  month  their  supply  of 
hootchenoo ! 

"Thirteen  governments,''  wrote  John  Adams,  in 
1786,  **  founded  on  the  natural  authority  of  the  people 
alone,  without  a  pretence  of  miracle  or  mystery,  and 
which  are  destined  to  spread  over  the  northern  part  of 
that  whole  quarter  of  the  globe,  are  a  great  point  gained 
in  favor  of  the  rights  of  mankind."  "Your  best  work 
and  most  important  endowment,"  said  Charles  Sum- 
ner, addressing  the  United  States  senate  in  1867, 
"will  be  the  republican  government,  which,  looking  to 
a  long  future,  you  will  organize  with  schools  free  to  all, 
and  with  equal  laws,  before  which  every  citizen  will 
stand  erect  in  the  consciousness  of  manhood.  Here 
will  be  a  motive  power,  without  which  coal  itself  will 
be  insufficient.  Here  will  be  a  source  of  wealth  more 
inexhaustible  than  any  fisheries.  Bestow  such  a  gov- 
ernment, and  you  will  bestow  what  is  better  than  all 
you  can  receive,  whether  quintals  of  fish,  sands  of 
gold,  choicest  fur,  or  most  beautiful  ivory. "*^ 

*^  *  If,*  remarks  J.  Roaa  Browne,  *  Mr  Secretary  Seward  had  accomplished 
nothing  more  in  the  course  of  his  official  career  than  the  acquisition  of 
ALoska,  he  would  for  that  act  alone  be  entitled  not  only  to  the  thanks  of 
every  citizen  of  the  Pacific  coast,  already  awarded  Jiim,  but  to  the  gratitude 
of  millions  yet  unborn,  by  whom  the  boundless  domain  of  the  west  is 
destined  to  bo  peopled.  *  Report  on  the  Mineral  ResQurcen  of  the  States  and 
Territories  Wfj^t  of  t/ie  Rocky  Mountains^  598.  It  would  l)e  difficult,  at  this 
juncture,  to  find  out  in  what  respect  the  millions  bom,  or  to  be  bom,  have 
thus  far  been  so  greatly  benefited  by  the  transfer. 

Elsewhere  I  have  given  a  brief  bibliography  of  Alaska  up  to  the  year 
1 8C7.  After  the  purchase  there  are  no  complete  records.  The  United  States 
government  documents  and  a  number  of  publications  have  been  consulted  for 
the  closing  chapters  of  this  volume.  Among  the  newspapera,  the  San  Fran- 
cisco BulleVn,  Call,  Chronicle^  and  Alta,  the  Portland  West  Shore,  Bee^  Her- 
ald,  Orerjonian,  and  Deutche  Ztiiumjy  and  the  Alaalca  Herald  may  be  specially 
mentioned.  Among  the  government  documents  that  furnish  information 
is  the  report  of  William  Gouvfrneur  Morris,  late  collector  at  Sitka.  The 
report  is  somewhat  biased,  and  contains  many  errors,  of  which  I  will  quote 
one.     *Tl)e  Kussians  exercised  over  the    inhabitants  of   Alaska  despotic 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  715 

sway,  and  held  them  in  absolute  subjection.  Thoy  treated  them  as  brates, 
and  flogged  them  unmercifully  for  theft  and  petty  misdemeanors.  They 
punished  crime  promptly  with  severe  corporal  chostiBement  or  imprison- 
ment, and  regarded  the  Indians  as  not  more  than  one  degree  removed  from 
dumb  beasts.  They  held  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  their  subjects. 
They  had  over  two  thousand  soldiers,  employes,  and  retainers  ready  to  do 
the  bidding  of  the  local  supreme  authority.  Ships  of  war  wci-e  always  at 
hand  to  bombard  the  villages  into  submission.'  p.  126.  The  reader  \i-ill  re- 
member that  no  Eussian  vessel  of  war  appeared  in  Alaskan  waters  until  the 
year  1850.  p.  684,  this  vol.  Notwithstanding  errors,  the  report  is  very  able, 
and  many  were  sorry  to  hear  that  the.decea8e  of  William  Gouvemeur  Morris 
occurred  early  in  1884.  The  report  of  Vincent  Cclyer  on  the  Indian  Tribes 
and  their  Surroundings  in  Alaaka  Territory  fximishes  valuable  information, 
as  do  those  oi  L,  A.  Beardslee  on  the  Condition  of  Affairs  in  Alaska,  in  Sen, 
Ex.  Doc.,  44th  Cong,  M  Scss.y  105,  and  of  Bryant  and  Mclntyre^  in  Sen.  Ex, 
Doc.^  4l8t  Cong.  2d  Seas.,  32.  Henry  [V.  EdiGtfs  lieport  on  the  Seal  Islands  of 
Alanka  in  the  Tenth  Census  of  the  United  States  is  probably  the  most  reliable 
publication  on  the  Pribylof  Islands,  notwithstandiug  the  abuse  that  has  been 
Jreely  bestowed  on  that  gentleman.  From  Davidson's  Coast  PVot  qf  Alaska, 
Sheldon  Ja/^kson*s  Alaska,  and  Missions  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast ^  and  IJit- 
teirs  Commerce  and  Industries  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  items  of  interest  have  also 
been  gathered.  Among  the  most  valuable  works  published  on  Alaska  during 
recent  years  are  those  of  Alphonse  L.  Pinart,  including  the  Voyages  d  la 
Cdte  Nord-Ouest  de  VAmirique;  Voyage  d  la  Cdte  Noixt-Otiest  d*Am6riqiie 
d'Ounakuhka  d  Kadiak;  and  Notes  sur  les  Koloches,  As  their  contents 
are  of  a  scientific  nature,  no  use  has  been  made  of  them  in  this  volume. 

For  further  references  to  authorities  consulted  for  the  last  five  chapters, 
see  M<yrrU'  Sept.  Alaska,  4-7,  10-19,  21-30,  36-41,  55-6,  6^-63,  83-4,  90-4, 
103-32;  Colyer's  Bept.  Ind,  Aff.,  537-9,  542,  554,  656,  568-9,  572,  590; 
Bryant  and  Mclntyre's  Bept,  Alaska,  2-41;  ElliotVH  Seal  Islamls,  Alaska, 
20-2,  24-7, -105-8;  U.  8,  Sen.  Doc.,  40th  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  Nos.  42,  53;  41si 
Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  67,  68;  42d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  12;  44th  Cong.,  ht  Sess.,  12,  33, 
48;  44th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  14;  House  Ex.  Doc.,  40th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  80,  105; 
41st  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  36;  4l8t  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  108,  122;  42d  Cong.,  1st  Sess., 
6;  42d  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  20,  197;  44ih  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  43,  83;  40th  Cong.,  2d 
Sens.,  155,  217;  4Slh  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  146;  Senate  Jour.,  40th  Cong.,  2d  Sess., 
pp.  1097,  1221;  42d  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  122^;  43d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  923;  44th  Cong., 
1st  >Sens.,  1047;  House  Jour.,  41st  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  1334-5;  4I2d  Cong.,  2d 
Sess.,  1166:  43d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  1362,  1427;  44lh  Gong.,  1st  Sess.,  1561;  4^th 
Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  1508-9;  Sen.  Bepts.,  41st  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  No.  47,  pp.  228-30; 
House  Comm.  Bepts.,  40th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  No.  37;  40th  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  35; 
44ih  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  623;  House  Misc.  Doc.,  40th  Cong,,  2d  Sess.,  Nos.  130-1, 
IGl;  42d  Cong.,  Ist  Sess.,  5;  Mess,  and  Doc.,  1867,  i.  pp.  475-88;  1868-9 
(abridgment),  852-8;  Coast  Survey  Bept.,  1867-8,  pp.  41,  187,  264;  1872,  49; 
1873,  59-60,  122;  1874,  42;  1875,  5-6,  64-6,  78;  Agr.  Bept.,  1868,  pp.  172-8P; 
Fin.  Bept.,  1868,  pp.  391-4;  Sec.  Int.  Bept.,  44th  Cong.,  Ist  Sess.,  i.  pp.  704-7; 
Post.  Bept.,  44th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  p.  41;  Land  Off.  Bept.,  1869,  pp.  201-7; 
Bept.  on  Ind.  Aff.,  1868,  pp.  308-17;  1869,  41-2,  105-9;  Educ.  Bept,  41st 
Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  pp.  336-7,  345;  43d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  424;  44th  Cong.,  1st  Sess., 
463-6;  Cong.  Globe,  1867-8,  app.,  pp.  567-5;  1868-9,  i.  100,  340-3;  1860-70, 
app.  658-9,  675;  1871-2,  app.  695;  1872-3,  app.  274;  Hansard's  Pari.  Deb., 
ccxv.  1487-8,  ccxvi.  1157;  Sumner's  Cess.  Buss.  Amer.,  8-13,  28-48;  Seivard^s 
Our  N.  Pac.  StcUes,  3-16;  Zabriskie,  Land  Laws,  874-84,  887;  Petroff^s  Pop. 
Aliska,  15-86;  Davidson  Scient.  Exped.,  471-7,  481-2;  Smithsonian  Bept., 
1867, 43-4;  Whymper's  Alaska,  86-8,  103-6;  253,  258,  274-5;  J acks^m's  Alaska, 
15-24,  41-6,  49-50,  129-30,  140-327;  DaWs  Alaska,  56-7;  102-5,  181-2,  192-3, 
204,  226,  251;  HittelVs  Com.  and  Ind.  Pac.  Con.^t,  330-6,  375-6;  Broicne's 
Mineral  Bes.,  597-604;  Bovhaud,  Les  Begions  Nom^lles,  6;  BrocketVs  Our 
Western  Empire,  1271-5,  1277,  1279,  1281;  McCahe's  Our  Country  and  Its 
Bes.,  1081-2;  Picn-eponVs  Fifth  Avenue  to  Alaska,  149-217;  Niebaum's  State- 


716  CHURCHES.  SCHOOI^,  AND  HOSPITALS. 

mnU,  MS.,  3-18,  23-5,  44-61;  Berrj/a  Devel,  in  Jlasha,  MS.,  2-13,  16-17; 
JiancrofVa  Library  Scraps,  10-21,  25-9,  30-7,  56-63,  C5-(5,  72-3,  SO,  125, 123, 
134-45,  191-2,  190,  198,  211,  229,  232,  266-7;  Iloncliarenho,  Scrap-book,  i. 
10,  14,  26,  34,  43,  45,  47,  51-4,  60,  74-6,  80-1,  8a-«,  99-101,  145;  ii.  2,  8, 
10-14,  23-4,  32-7,  112-13,  115;  Aiyny  and  Navy  Journal,  May  1,  18G9;  liar- 
27er's  Mag.,  July,  1HQ7,  170-85;  JV.  r.  Forest  and  Stream,  July  24,  Aug.  14, 
Dec.  18,  1879,  Mar.  4,  13,  Anr.  22,  May  13,  June  24,  July  8,  Aug.  29,  1880, 
Jan.  6,  20,  27,  1881;  Alw^ka^IIerald,  June  1,  15,  Aug.  1,  15,  Sept.  1,  Nov.  1, 
Tec.  1,  15,  1868,  Feb.  1,  Mar.  1,  June  15,  July  1,  15,  Sept.  1,  Oct.  1.  22,  Nov. 
20,  1869,  Feb.  1.  Oct.  1,  1870,  July  15,  Aug.  18,  Oct.  20,  Nov.  1,  1871,  Feb.  15, 
July  24,  1872,  Oct.  24,  Nov.  25,  1873,  Mar.  1,  May  28,  1874,  Jan.  15,  Mar. 
15,  Apr.  1,  Oct.  1, 1875;  S'dha  Timea,  Apr.  30,  May  14,  June  4,  July  30,  Aug. 
13,  Sept.  1,  11,  25,  Oct.  23,  Nov.  13,  Dec.  4.  1869,  Jan.  15,  Mar.  6,  Apr.  16, 
June  11,  1870;  S,  F.  Overland  Monthly  (1869),  ii.  175-86,  (1870)  v.  297-301; 
Com,  Herald,  Apr.  14,  1868,  Jan.  30,  Apr.  30,  1869,  Apr.  22.  29,  1870,  Nov. 
5,  1874;  Mining  and  Sci.  Press,  Apr.  20,  1872,  Jan.  18,  June  28,  Aug.  2, 


Sept.  20,  27,  1873,  July  27,  1878;  Alfa,  June  1,  27,  July  2,  14,  20,  Aug.  1, 
Oct.  10,  Nov.  3,  14,  16,  25,  29,  1867,  Jan.  14,  Mar.  27,  Aug.  9,  Oct.  20,  Dec. 
18,  18G8,  Feb.  25,  27,  Mar.  19,  Sept,  1,  Nov.  17,  1869,  Mar.  22,  24,  Oct.  9, 


1870,  July  3,  1871,  Aug.  6,  Sept.  6, 1873;  Feb.  2,  1874,  June  21,  1875;  BuVe- 
tin,  July  13,  1867,  May  2,  18,  Aug.  1,  27,  1868,  Jan.  30,  Feb.  2,  Apr.  13, 
Dec.  10,  21,  1869.  Jan.  6,  1870,  Jan.  26,  Feb.  20,  June  15,  Oct.  6,  12,  1871, 
Aug.  1,  1872,  Nov.  3,  1873,  Feb.  16,  1875,  June  22,  1877,  Sept.  5,  1878,  Mar. 

18,  Apr.  10,  Oct.  30,  1879,  Jan.  10,  Feb.  2,  Mar.  23,  1880,  July  13,  21.  25, 
Aug.  11,  10,  26,  Sept.  23,  26,  27,  Oct  1,  25,  27,  31,  Nov.  25,  Dec.  21,  1881, 
May  11,  23,  24,  27,  1882,  Apr.  20,  May  3,  Aug.  1,  2,  Oct.  6,  Nov.  £8,  Dec.  29, 
1883;  Call,  Nov.  14,  1867,  Mar.  10,  Aug.  17,  Sept.  25,  Oct.  17,  1869,  Feb.  16, 
1870,  Mar.  25,  1871,  June  9,  Sept.  25, 1877;  Chronicle,  Sept.  2,  Nov.  25,  1868, 
Aug.  6,  1872,  July  21,  1873,  Nov.  19,  1874,  Sept.  16,  1875,  Sept.  28,  Dec.  14, 
1877,  Jan.  20,  1878,  Dec.  31,  1879,  Nov.  17,  Dec.  21,  1880,  June  26,  1881.  Oct. 
30,  1882;  Post,  Mar.  13,  1872,  May  2,  9,  24.  28,  July  1,  1873,  Jta.  2,  Sept. 
24,  Nov.  18,  1874,  Feb.  26.  Apr.  22,  1876,  Feb.  14,  Oct.  31,  1877;  Sacramento 
Union,  May  0,  Nov.  25,  1867,  July  17,  1868,  Mar.  27,  Apr.  14,  Oct.  18,  1869, 
July  9,  1870,  Sept.  0,  Oct.  5,  24,  1871,  Apr.  11,  1879;  Sacramento  Bee,  Feb. 
2,  1874,  Fel>.  22,  1879,  Aug.  21, 1880;  Portland  West  Shore,  May,  June,  1876, 
June,  1878,  Oct, Nov.,  1879,  Jan.,  1880;  Deutche  Zeitung,  Feb.  6,  1875,  Feb. 
22,  Mar.  1,  1879;  Oregonian,  Sept  28,  1877,  Feb.  22,  Mar.  22,  Apr.  19,  July 

19,  Aug.  23.  1879,  Dec.  3,  1883;  Telegram,  Feb.  6,  Mar.  17,  20,  May  5,  July 
9,  10,  16,  1870;  Olympia  Courier,  Mar.  24,  May  26,  Aug.  11,  18,  1882;  Stand- 
ard, Jan.  6,  Nov.  24,  1877;  Seattle  Intelligencer,  Feb.  7,  Apr.  24,  Dec.  4,  1880; 
Port  Townsend  Argus,  Mar.  13,  May  22,  July  31,  Sept  4,  1879;  Victoria 
BHtish  Colonist,  Jan.  8,  29,  Fob.  12,  1879. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

18da-1885. 

The  Organic  Act — A  Phantom  of  Civil  Government— Pkoposed  Indian 
Reservations — Educational  Matters — Appoii^tment  of  United 
States  Officials— Report  of  Governor  Einkead^His  Successor 
Appointed — Schwatka's  Voyage  on  a  Rapt— Everette's  Explora- 
tion— Stone Y*8  Expedition — Mining  on  the  Yukon  and  its  Tributa- 
ries— ^The  Takoo  Minf-s— The  Tread  well  Lode— Fisheries— Com- 
merce AND  Navigation. 

The  little  that  is  to  be  said  as  to  the  action  of  con- 
gress concerning  Alaska  during  the  opening  years  of 
the  present  decade,  and  for  several  previous  years, 
may  be  summed  up  almost  in  ten  words.  Appropria- 
tions were  made  for  the  salaries  and  expenses  of  agents 
at  the  fur-seal  grounds,*  and,  as  will  presently  appear, 
these  salaries  and  expenses  were  voted  with  no  nig- 
gard hand.  Yet,  during  the  long  period  that  had 
now  elapsed  since  the  purchase  of  Russian  America, 
petitions  without  number  had  been  presented  to  con- 
gress, asking  for  some  form  of  civil  government.  At 
one  time  the  few  Russian  residents  still  remaining  in 
Alaska  were  about  to  petition  the  tzar  to  secure  for 
them  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  Sta,tes,  as  guaranteed  by  the  treaty.  On 
another  occasion  the  commander  of  a  Russian  man-of- 

^On  the  3d  of  March,  1881,  the  stiin  of  $8,000  waa  appropriated  for  the 
Impair  and  preservation  of  public  buildings.  U,  8.  Stat,,  46th  Cong,  Sd  Scas.^ 
436.  In  1882  a  few  postal  routes  were  established,  as  will  be  mentioned 
presently.  With  these  exceptions,  nothing  was  done  in  congress  concerning 
Alaska,  the  salaries  of  the  agents  passing  among  the  appropriations  for  tlie 
miscellaneous  civil  expenses  of  each  year. 


/ 


718  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

war,  stationed  on  the  Pacific  coast,  had  determined 
to  visit  Sitka  in  order  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of 
his  countrymen,  to  whom  had  been  granted  neither 
protection  nor  civil  rights  of  any  description.  Each 
year  the  president  of  the  United  States  called  atten- 
tion to  the  matter,  and  almost  every  year  resolutions 
and  bills  were  introduced  in  the  senate  for  this  pur- 
pose, but  without  result.  Most  of  them  were  tabled; 
a  few  were  passed  to  committee,  and  all  were  rejected. 
It  was  admitted  that,  as  an  abstract  proposition,  the 
Russians  and  Creoles  of  this  Ultima  Thule  were  entitled 
to  protection;  but  abstract  justice  was  now  somewhat 
out  of  date  in  congressional  circles.  Moreover,  there 
were  many  conflicting  interests  to  be  considered,  some 
parties  desiring  that  settlement  should  be  encouraged, 
and  others  wishing  to  retain  as  much  of  the  mainland 
as  possible  for  a  stock-farm,  and  being  therefore  op- 
posed to  any  legislation  that  would  cause  an  influx  of 
settlers,  as  was  the  case  some  thirty  years  ago  with 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  Vancouver  Island  and 
New  Caledonia.  Meanwhile  the  outside  world  knew 
nothing  of  Alaska.  During  this  interregnum,  if  we  may 
believe  Major  Morris,  dozens  of  letters  were  addressed 
to  the  "  United  States  Consul  at  Sitka,"  and  many  gov- 
ernors of  states  and  territories  sent  copies  of  their 
thanksgiving  proclamations  to  the  "Governor  of 
Alaska  Territory,"  years  before  that  country  enjoyed 
the  presence  of  any  such  official.^ 

At  length,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1883,  Senator 
Harrison  introduced  a  bill  to  provide  a  civil  govern- 
ment for  Alaska,  which,  with  some  amendments, 
passed  both  houses,  receiving  the  president's  signa- 
ture on  the  17th  of  May,  1884.  Thus,  after  many 
years  of  waiting,  this  long-mooted  measure  took  eflfect. 

By  the  provisions  of  what  we  will  call  the  organic 
act,  Alaska  was  organized  as  a  civil  and  judicial  dis- 
trict, its  seat  being  temporarily  established  at  Sitka. 
A  governor  was  to  be  appointed,  who  should  perform 

*Scidmore'8  Alaska,  228. 


CIVIL  GOVERNMENT.  719 

generally  such  duties  as  belonged  to  the  chief  magis- 
trate of  a  territory,  and  make  an  annual  report  to  the 
president  of  his  official  acts,  of  the  condition  of  the 
district  with  reference  to  its  resources,  industries,  and 
population,  and  of  the  administration  of  civil  govern- 
ment therein,  the  president  having  the  power  to  con- 
firm or  annul  any  of  his  proceedings.  A  district 
court  was  to  be  established,  with  the  civil  and  crimi- 
nal jurisdiction  of  United  States  district  and  circuit 
courts,  the  judge  to  hold  at  least  two  terms  in  each  / 
year — one  at  Sitka,  beginning  the  first  Monday  iny^ 
May,  and  the  other  at  Wrangell,  beginning  the  first 
Monday  in  November — together  with  special  sessions 
as  they  might  be  required  for  the  despatch  of  busi- 
ness, at  such  times  and  places  as  were  deemed  neces- 
sary. The  clerk  of  the  court  was  to  be  ex  officio 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  district,  recorder  of 
deeds,  mortgages,  certificates  of  mining  claims,  and 
contracts  relating  to  real  estate,  and  also  registrar 
of  wills.*  A  marshal  was  to  be  appointed,  having  the 
general  authority  and  powers  of  United  States  mar- 
shals, with  the  right  of  appointing  four  deputies,  who 
were  to  reside  respectively  in  the  towns  of  Sitka, 
Wrangell,  Unalaska,  and  Juneau,  and  to  perform  the 
duties  of  constables  under  the  laws  of  Oregon. 

There  were  also  to  be  appointed  four  commission- 
ers, one  to  reside  in  each  of  the  four  towns  above 
mentioned,  and  having  the  jurisdiction  and  powers  of 

'  It  was  al86  a  part  of  the  governor's  duties  to  inquire  from  time  to  time  into 
the  operations  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Co.,  reporting  thereon  to  congress, 
and  mentioning  all  violations  of  the  contract  existing  oetween  the  company 
and  the  United  States.  How  the  governor  was  to  inquire  from  time  to  time 
is  not  explained  in  the  text  of  the  act,  but  on  this  matter  he  remarks  in  his 
report  to  the  president:  'The  fur-seal  islands  are  1,500  miles  to  the  westward 
of  Sltka.  To  reach  them  the  government  must  furnish  transportation  to 
enable  the  governor  to  make  such  inquiries...  .The  United  States  ship 
now  at  this  station  might  be  detailed  for  the  purpose,  carrying  such  officers 
of  the  civil  government  as  might  be  necessary  to  gain  tiie  required  informa- 
tion.' S,  F,  Bufletiny  Dec.  18,  1884. 

*  He  must  establish  offices  at  Sitka  and  Wrangell  for  the  safe-keeping  of 
all  official  records.  Separate  offices  mieht  also  be  established,  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  court,  at  Wrangell,  Unalaska,  and  Juneau,  for  the  recording^  of 
such  instmments  as  pertained  to  the  several  natural  divisions  of  the  district, 
their  limits  to  be  denned  by  the  court. 


720  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

commissioners  of  United  States  circuit  courts,  to- 
gether with  those  conferred  on  justices  of  the  peace 
under  the  laws  of  Oregon.  They  were  also  to  have 
jurisdiction,  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  district 
judge,  in  all  testamentary  and  probate  matters,  and 
for  this  purpose  their  courts  were  to  be  opened  at  stated 
terms  as  courts  of  record.^  The  general  laws  of  Ore- 
gon, as  they  were  then  in  force,  were  to  be  the  law  of 
the  district,  so  far  as  they  were  applicable,  and  did 
not  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  or  with  the 
laws  of  the  United  States.  But  the  district  court 
was  to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  equit}''  suits, 
in  all  capital  criminal  cases,  and  in  those  involving 
questions  of  title  to  land  or  mining  rights.  In  civil 
cases,  issues  of  fact  might  be  determined  by  a  jury  at 
the  request  of  either  party,  and  appeal  lay  from  the 
decision  of  the  commissioners  to  the  district  court, 
in  cases  where  the  amount  involved  was  $200  or 
more,  and  in  criminal  cases  where  the  sentence  waa 
imprisonment,^  or  a  fine  exceeding  $100. 

Alaska  was  created  a  land  district,  with  a  United 
States  land-office,  to  be  located  at  Sitka.  The  com- 
missioner residing  at  that  point,  the  clerk,  and  the 
marshal  were  to  hold  office  respectively  as  registrar, 
receiver  of  public  moneys,  and  surveyor-general  of  the 
district.  The  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to 
mining  claims,  and  the  rights  incident  thereto,  were  to 
be  in  full  force,  subject  to  such  regulations  as  might 
be  made  by  the  secretary  for  the  interior.^.   Nothing 

•  They  had  power  to  grant  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  the  writs  being  retain- 
able before  the  district  judge,  and  like  proceedings  could  be  taken  thereon  u 
though  they  had  been  granted  by  said  judge.  They  had,  moreover,  the 
powers  of  notaries  public,  and  must  keep  a  record  of  all  deeds  and  other  in- 
struments acknowledged  before  them,  relating  to  the  title  to  or  transfer  of 
property  within  their  district,  this  record  to  be  open  to  public  inspection. 
They  must  also  keep  a  list  of  all  fines  and  forfeitures  received  by  them,  paying 
over  the  amount  quarterly  to  the  clerk  of  the  district  court. 

^  The  jail  in  the  town  of  Sitka  was  to  be  repaired  and  made  suitable  for  a 
penitentiary.  For  this  purpose  f  1,000  was  appropriated.  U,  S,  8UU.,  48th 
Coiifj,  latSess.,  179. 

'  Provided  that  persons  then  in  possession  should  not  be  disturbed  in  the 
use  or  occupation  of  their  lands,  though  the  terms  under  which  they  might 
acquire  title  were  reserved  for  future  legislation.     Persons  who  had  located 


PROVISIONS  OF  THE  ORGANIC  . 

contained  in  the  act,  however,  was  to 
as  to  put  in  force  within  the  district  tl 
laws  of  the  United  States. 

The  governor,  judge,  district  attori 
shal,  and  commissioners  were  to  be  ap 
president,  and  to  hold  oflSce  for  four 
their  successors  were  appointed.  The 
governor  and  judge  were  to  be  each  §3, 
of  the  district  attorney,  clerk,  and  mars 
a  year.  The  commissioners  were  to  : 
usually  pertaining  to  their  oflSce,  and  t 
peace  in  Oregon,  together  with  such 
ing  instruments  as  are  allowed  by  tha 
addition,  a  fixed  salary  of  $1,000  a  yeai 
marshals  were  to  receive  salaries  of  $ 
sides  the  usual  fees  of  constables  in  Oi 

The  attorney-general  was  directed  i 
pile  and  cause  to  be  printed,  in  pan 
much  of  the  laws  of  the  United  State 
cable  to  the  duties  of  the  several  officia 
tary  for  the  interior  was  ordered  to  se 
oflScials  to  be  appointed  under  the  act, 
governor,  should  constitute  a  commissi 
into  and  report  upon  the  condition  of 
siding  in  said  territory,  what  lands,  if 
reserved  for  their  use,  what  provision 
for  their  education,  what  rights  of  occ 
tiers  should  be  recognized,"  and  othe 
might  enable  congress  to  determine  the 
conditions  to  be  imposed  when  the  la: 
United  States  should  be  extended  to  tl 
was  also  required  to  make  temporary  j 

mines  or  mineral  privileges  tinder  the  laws  of  the  U.  S. 
improved,  or  exercised  rights  of  ownership  over  such 
lowed  to  perfect  their  titles.  Lands  occupied  as  mi 
exceeding  040  acres  to  each  station,  with  the  improvemi 
to  be  continued  in  the  occupancy  of  the  societies  holdii 

®  Each  of  the  commissioners  was  required  to  file  a  b 
of  $3,000,  and  the  clerk  in  the  sum  of  $10,000. 

•The  sum  of  $500  was  afterward  appropriated  for  tl 
200  copies  of  the  compiled  laws,  to  be  distributed  amo: 
Sua.,  4Sih  Cong.  Ist  Sess,,  223. 
Hist.  Alaska.    46 


^ 


722  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AKD  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

education  of  all  children  of  school  age  without  regard 
to  race,  until  a  permanent  school  system  should  be 
established,  and  for  this  purpose  the  sum  of  $25,000 
was  appropriated.  Finally  the  manufacture,  impor- 
tation, and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  except  for 
medicinal,  mechanical,  and  scientific  purposes,  were 
forbidden,  under  the  penalties  provided  in  the  revised 
statutes  of  the  United  States.^*^ 

As  a  land  purchase,  Alaska  had  thus  far  proved  a  pay- 
ing investment,"  though  still  undeveloped;  and  yet  it 
was  but  a  phantom  of  a  government  which  congress  now 
somewhat  reluctantly  bestowed  upon  it,  a  government 
without  representative  institutions,  or  the  privilege 
of  sending  a  delegate  to  congress.  Meanwhile  Rus- 
sians, Creoles,  and  Americans,  who,  year  by  year,  had 
become  more  dissatisfied  with  the  shadow  of  repub- 
lican administration,  expressed  their  contempt  in  no 
measured  phrase  for  the  dilatory  action  of  the  national 
legislature.  Thankful  for  small  mercies,  however,  they 
still  waited  and  hoped,  believing  that  south-eastern 
Alaska  would,  even  in  their  generation,  contain  set- 
tlers enough  to  warrant  the  erection  of  a  territory, 
though  phantom  rule  might  yet  prevail  in  the  unpeo- 
pled solitudes  of  the  north.  At  least  one  step  was 
gained,  now  that  the  drear  interregnum  of  military 
occupation  or  revenue-cutter  rule,  in  the  land  which 
the  attorney-general  declared  to  be  Indian  territory, 
had  given  place  to  the  semblance  of  civil  law. 

As  to  the  condition,  training,  and  proposed  reserva- 
tions for  Indians  mentioned  somewhat  neatly  in  the 
text  of  the  act,  it  is  probable  that  the  natives  would 
be  only  too  glad  to  be  left  alone  as  severely  in  the  fu- 
ture as  they  have  been  in  the  past.  Considering  that 
they  received  no  portion  of  the  purchase  money  of  their 
native  soil,  and,  as  yet,  have  reaped  no  benefit  from  that 

'^Section  1955.  For  text  of  the  act  providisff  a  civil  government  for 
Alaska,  sec  U.  S.  Stat.,  4Sth  Cong.  IstSess.,  24-8;  Scidmare' 8 Alaska,  92Z-^Q. 

^^  The  interest  on  $7,200,000  invested  in  U.  S.  four-per-cent  bonds  at  $1.23 
would  be  about  $235,000.  The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  pays  for  its 
lease  and  royalty  about  $317,000  a  year. 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  723 

purchase,  save  the  art  of  manufacturing  hootchenoo, 
it  would  appear  that  this  favor  might  at  least  be  con- 
ceded. After  the  close  of  the  military  occupation, 
Indian  outbreaks  were  of  rare  occurrence,  as  I  have 
already  mentioned,  and  in  almost  every  instance  were 
provoked  by  the  misconduct  of  the  white  population.^^ 
What  will  be  the  result  should  they  be  placed  on 
reservations,  and  under  such  treatment  as  seems  in 
store  for  them,  is  a  question  that  the  future  may  solve. 
At  present  they  are  the  most  contented  of  all  the 
native  tribes  under  American  domination.^ 

^^  See  pp.  618-24,  this  vol.  The  latest  instance  of  any  serious  tronble  witli 
the  natives  occurred  in  October  1882.  On  the  23d  of  that  month  the  super- 
intendent of  a  fishing  station  at  Killisnoo,  belonging  to  the  Northwest  Trad- 
ing Company,  arrived  at  Sitka  and  requested  protection  from  Capt.  Merri- 
man,  the  commander  of  the  U.  S.  steamer  Adams,  He  reported  that  on  the 
previous  night,  while  the  company's  whaling-boat  was  fishing  at  Hootsnoo 
(Kootzenoo)  laguon,  a  bomb,  shot  from  the  boat  at  a  whale,  accidentally  killed 
one  of  the  native  crew,  who  happened  to  be  a  shaman.  For  this  the  Indians 
demanded  200  blankets,  and  at  the  same  time  seized  the  boat,  nets,  whaling 
gear,  and  steam-launch  belonging  to  the  company,  overpowering  the  two 
white  men  in  the  boat,  whom  they  held  as  prisoners.  The  tribe  of  Hoodsi- 
noos,  to  which  the  shaman  belonged,  then  threatened,  if  payment  was  not 
made,  to  burn  the  company's  store  and  buildings,  destroy  all  their  boats,  and 
put  to  death  their  captives.  As  the  Adams  was  too  large  for  such  service, 
the  Corwin  was  despatched  to  the  scene  of  the  disturbance  with  Mcrriman  on 
board;  whereupon  the  prisoners  and  property  were  at  once  surrendered  and 
some  of  the  ringleaders  captured.  But  in  addition,  Mcrriman  demanded 
400  blankets  as  a  punishment,  and  also  as  a  guarantee  for  future  good  be- 
havior. This  being  refused,  their  canoes  were  destroyed;  and  the  tribe  being 
still  refractory,  their  summer  camp  at  Killisnoo  was  burned.  The  cutter  tiicii 
steamed  out  of  the  Kootzenoo  lagoon,  and  a  few  hours  later  shelled  their  main 
village,  a  party  of  marines  landing  under  cover  of  the  guns  and  setting  fire  to 
the  nouses,  excepting  those  of  mendly  Indians.  Reports  of  Lieut  M.  A. 
Healy,  commanding  the  Corwiriy  and  Collector  Wm  C.  Morris,  in  House  Ex. 
Doc.,  9,  parts  2-4, 47 ih  Cong.  !8d  Sess.,  9.  With  this  exception,  I  find  no  men- 
tion of  any  serious  Indian  disturbance  during  recent  years.  In  tlio  spring  of 
1885  a  party  of  30  mining  prospectors,  bound  for  sornc  point  on  the  Yukon,  was 
stopped  by  the  Chilkats,  who  demanded  toll  for  admission  into  tlieir  country. 
S.  F.  Chronicle,  May  30,  18So.     But  no  trouble  arose  out  of  this  matter. 

"'They  are  very  cheerful  and  fond  of  dancing,'  remarks  J.  C.  Glidden,  who 
in  the  winter  of  1870-1  was  in  charge  of  a  vessel  bound  for  Kadiak  and 
Afognak,  *  especially  when  they  have  plenty  of  kvass.  More  than  half  a 
century  has  elapsed  without  a  murder  being  committed  on  these  islands,  and 
when  one  was  committed,  the  inhabitants  were  horritied  at  the  deed.  A  visit 
to  some  of  our  cities  would  cause  them  to  regard  such  deeds  with  the  equa- 
nimity of  civilized  communities.* 

In  a  Trip  to  A  laska,  by  J.  C.  Glidden,  MS. ,  I  have  been  supplied  with  a  very 
interesting  manuscript,  though  one  which  I  cannot  use  to  advantage  in  this 
volume,  as  the  subject-matter  refers  mainly  to  topics  of  wliich  I  ha\e  treated 
in  my  Native  Ra/*^f<.  During  his  visit  the  author  attended  divine  service  at 
the  chapel  at  St  Paul,  Kadiak,  built,  as  the  reader  will  remember,  about  the 
year  179o,  and  the  first  in  Russian  America.     His  observations  are  worthy  of 


7-24  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTBICT. 

In  considering  the  other  provisions  of  the  Harrison 
bill,  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  one  respect  they  were 
most  liberal.  For  the  salaries  of  the  government  offi- 
cials of  Alaska,  with  its  h'^ndful  of  white  inhabitants, 
there  was  appropriated,  in  1884,  the  sum  of  $20,500, 
while  for  each  of  the  territories  of  Washington,  Wy- 
oming, Idaho,  Montana,  and  New  Mexico  the  appro- 
priation for  the  same  purpose  was  less  than  $14,000.^* 
Aloreover,  there  were  appointed,  ostensibly  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  seal  fisheries  of  Alaska,  four  government 
agents,  whose  joint  salaries  and  expenses  amounted 
for  this  year  to  $13,350,  the  chief  agent  receiving  a 
larger  stipend  than  fell  to  the  share  of  the  governor;" 
and  to  enable  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  use 
revenue  steamers  "for  the  protection  of  the  interests 
of  government,"  was  voted  a  further  sum  of  $15,000. 
But  outside  of  the  seal  islands  the  government  had 
no  interests  to  protect,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  apart  from 
the  rent  and  royalty  paid  for  these  islands,  the  income 
derived  from  the  entire  district  was  altogether  inap- 
preciable. 

Thus  we  have,  as  the  expenses  of  the  so-called 
government  of  this  district,  an  appropriation  for  the 
year  of  1884  of  about  $50,000,  or  nearly  four  times 
the  amount  voted  for  any  territory  in  the  union,  and 
this  for  the  salaries  and  allowances  of  less  than  a 
score  of  officials,  four  of  whom  receive  the  lion's  share 
for  keeping  watch  over  the  Prybilof  Islands,  and 
whose  operations  have  as  yet  resulted  merely  in  the 

note.  *  It  is  built  of  hewn  timber,'  he  says,  *  the  interstices  being  filled  with 
moss.  The  interior  was  well  but  plainly  finished.  There  were  no  seats,  all 
the  audience  standing  durine  the  services,  which  were  conducted  in  Russian 
by  a  priest  whom  we  termed  ** the  second  mate  of  the  church."  The  utmost 
decorum  prevailed.  Each  individual,  upon  entering,  went  down  on  the  hands 
and  knees,  putting  the  top  of  the  head  on  the  floor.  This  was  repeated  a 
number  of  times.  Upon  rising  and  during  service  they  crossed  themselves 
frequently.  All  were  dressed  m  their  best  apparel,  that  of  the  young  children 
being  elaborately  ornamented  with  glass  beads.  Near  the  close  of  the  services 
the  priest  placed  a  large  book  upon  a  desk,  on  the  cover  of  which  was  a 
metallic  cross.  All  the  worshippers  reverently  kissed  the  sacred  symbol  as 
tlicy  filed  past  it  in  line;  those  who  were  not  tall  enough  to  reach  it  being 
lifted  to  tho  requisite  height  by  their  parents  or  friends. 

1*  U.  S.  Stat.,  4Sth  Cong.  Ut  .9«?^s.,  178-9. 

^*  Three  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Id.,  206. 


OFFICIALS  AND  SCHOOLS.  725 

finding  of  one  slight  discrepancy  in  the  tale  of  skins, 
and  that  due  to  the  mistake  of  one  of  the  agents.^^ 
After  all,  it  is  a  far-away  country,  and  government 
could  well  enough  afford  to 'be  liberal.  Nevertheless, 
why  it  is  that  the  services  of  four  highly  paid  agents 
and  of  a  revenue-cutter  should  be  at  all  needed  in 
counting  the  tale  of  skins  has  never  yet  been  explained. 
It  would  appear  that  such  surveillance  is  wasted  on 
a  company  which  has  paid  within  the  past  fifteen 
years  about  the  sum  of  $5,000,000  into  the  United 
States  treasury,  and  that,  too,  when  it  is  directly 
against  the  interests  of  the  company  to  slaughter 
more  than  the  prescribed  number  of  fur-seals.  Con- 
cerning the  duties  of  these  agents,  however,  the 
statute  is  singularly  reticent.  Alaska  has  been  usu- 
ally regarded  by  government  servants  as  a  place  in 
which  to  save  monej",  wear  out  old  clothes,  and  as  there 
were  no  amusements,  no  newspapers,  and  but  a  single 
monthly  mail,^^  to  study  fortitude  in  the  endurance  of 
their  high  honors,  and  to  show  themselves  indeed 
patriots  on  small  pay. 

The  appropriation  of  $25,000  for  educational  pur- 
poses has  thus  far  been  of  no  practical  benefit,  for,  as 
with  the  one  of  double  that  amount  made  some  years 
before,  it  seemed  no  one's  business  to  administer  it. 
No  public  schools  were  established  as  contemplated 
by  the  provisions  of  the  act,  and  up  to  the  close  of 
1884  neither  reports  nor  suggestions  had  been  made 
as  to  the  disposition  of  the  fund.  In  July  1884  a 
further  sum  of  $15^000  was  appropriated  by  congress 

"Seep.  651,  this  vol. 

*'  In  an  act  making  appropriations  for  the  postal  service,  approved  July 
5,  1884,  it  is  provided  that  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  18So,  the  post- 
master-general  may  contract  under  a  miscellaneous  advertisement  for  the  mail 
service  of  Alaska,  as  no  newspapers  are  published  in  that  territory.  U.  S.  Stat. , 
4Sth  Cong,  1st  Sess,^  157.  By  act  of  Aug.  7,  1882,  postal  routes  were  estab- 
lished from  Willard  to  Juneau,  from  iloonyah  to  Juneau,  from  Jackson  to 
Wrangell,  from  Haines  to  Juneau,  from  Boyd  to  Juneau,  and  from  Jackson 
via  Roberts  to  Wrangell.  Id.,  47th  Conrj.  1st  Sean,,  351.  In  1881  there  were 
only  three  post-offices  in  Alaska,  and  those  of  the  fourth  class.  In  ISSO  the 
total  number  of  letters  mailed  was  6,812,  and  the  total  number  of  pieces  of 
mail  matter  of  all  desoriptions  7,592.  Post  master- General^ 8  liepC,  in  House 
Ex.  Doc.,  1,  pt  4,  4nh  Cong.  IstStaa,,  pp.  80-1,  88. 


726  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDIQAL  DISTRICT. 

for  the  support  and  education  of  Indian  children  of 
both  sexes  at  industrial  schools.  In  this  matter  ac- 
tion was  at  length  taken,  though  of  a  somewhat  neg- 
ative character.  Through  Mr  Kendall,  the  presby- 
terian  board  of  missions  at  Sitka  applied  for  a  portion 
of  the  fund.  On  the  recommendation  of  the  com- 
missioner for  Indian  afiairs,  the  application  was 
granted/®  and  a  contract  was  made  with  the  society 
lo  provide  for  and  educate  one  hundred  children  at 
the  rate  of  $120  a  year  per  capita,  such  contract  to 
be  annulled  at  two  months'  notice.^® 

Within  less  than  a  decade  more  has  been  done  by 
this  society  to  advance  the  cause  of  education  in 
Alaska  than  was  otherwise  accomplished  during  all 
the  years  of  American  domination.**    Were  it  not 

"  In  bis  letter,  the  commissioner  states  that  in  consequence  of  the  total 
neglect  of  goYernment  to  provide  for  the  education  of  the  Alaska  Indians, 
they  have  been  solely  indebted  for  such  schools  as  exist  to  religious  societies, 
and  for  most  of  them  to  the  society  represented  by  Mr  Kendall.  For  the 
€<«tubli8hmcnt  and  support  of  its  schools,  that  society  had  expended  during 
tho  j)a8t  year  over  $20,000,  and  for  mission  work  $5,000.  It  had,  therefore, 
the  tirat  claim  to  assistance  from  the  appropriation.  Scidmore^s  Alaska^  234. 

*'  Id. ,  235.  It  was  the  original  intention  to  establish  a  government  in- 
dustrial school  after  the  model  of  the  institution  at  Carlisle,  Pa. 

*"ln  his  letter  to  the  commissioner,  dated  New  York,  Dec.  31,  1882,  Shel- 
don Jackson  states  that  there  were  seven  good  English  schools  in  the  Alex- 
ander Archipelago,  six  of  which  were  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  board, 
three  of  them  having  boarding  and  industrial  departments.  At  Haines,  in 
tho  Chilkat  country,  near  the  head  of  the  Lynn  canal,  a  school  was  estab- 
lisiied  in  1880,  a  boarding  department  being  added  two  years  later,  when  the 
total  attendance  was  about  75.  At  Willard,  30  miles  up  the  Chilkat  River, 
n  bmnci)  school  was  opened  with  native  teachers,  and  an  average  attendance 
of  GO.  Among  the  Hoonid  tribe,  a  school  was  opened  in  1881,  at  a  station 
iiamod  Boyd,  100  miles  south  of  Haines.  Among  the  Auks,  at  the  northern 
portion  of  Admiralty  Island,  and  at  Tseknuksanky,  on  the  mainland  nearby, 
bchools  were  opened  between  1880  and  1882.  At  Jackson,  in  the  southern 
part  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  a  school  was  opened  in  the  spring  of  1882, 
with  an  attendance  of  60  to  90.  The  institution  established  at  Fort  Wrangell 
in  1877,  as  already  mentioned,  had  in  1882  from  75  to  90  pupils,  of  whom  50 
were  young  girls  provided  for  at  the  expense  of  the  mission,  and  thus  res- 
cued from  a  life  of  prostitution,  into  which  they  would  otherwise  have  been 
sold  by  their  parents.  The  Sitka  school,  opened  in  1878,  had,  in  1880,  130 
pupils.  In  July  of  this  year  the  school  was  moved  to  tho  old  hospital  build- 
ing. In  November  some  of  the  j^upils  a|)plied  to  the  teacher  for  permission 
to  live  at  the  school-house,  for  at  home,  tliey  said,  there  was  so  much  carous- 
iiiL,'  and  disturbance  that  they  could  not  study.  The  teacher  answered  that 
there  was  neither  food,  betiding,  nor  accommodation  for  them.  StiU  they 
|M  ij^isted,  and  leave  being  granted,  seven  Indian  boys,  about  13  or  14  years 
of  a^o,  bringing  each  his  blanket,  took  up  their  quarters  in  a  vacant  room 
proN  kK'iI  for  them.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  boarding-school  at  Sitka.  In 
'\l)ruary  1881  Capt.  Glass  established  a  rule  making  attendance  at  the  day- 


I 


GOVERNOR  KINKEAD.  727 

for  the  efforts  of  the  board  of  missions,  there  would 
probably  have  been  no  efficient  school,  and  perhaps 
no  school  of  any  kind,  in  the  territory,  apart  from 
those  maintained  by  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company. 
It  is  claimed  that  the  natives  are  quick  to  learn  and 
eager  to  be  taught,  not  from  any  moiral  sense,  for,  ex- 
cepting perhaps  the  Chinese,  there  is  no  living  nation 
in  which  the  moral  idea  is  so  utterly  dormant,  but 
because  they  appreciate  the  practical  benefit  of  an 
education.  At  the  school  maintained  by  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  at  St  Paul  Island,*^  one  of  the 
pupils  displayed  such  zeal  and  ability  that  he  was  sent 
at  the  expense  of  the  company  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion at  the  state  normal  academy  in  Massachusetts, 
and  after  completing  his  five  years'  course  with  credit, 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  schools  at  the  Seal  Islands. 

In  the  autumn  of  1884  the  officials  who  had  been 
appointed  by  the  president  reached  their  several  sta- 
tions. John  H.  Kinkead,  ex-governor  of  Nevada, 
v/ho  had  formerly  resided  at  Sitka  as  merchant  and 
postmaster,  was  chief  magistrate ;^^  Ward   McAUis- 

bchool  compulsory.  Forcing  the  natives  to  cleanse,  drain,  whitewash,  and 
number  the  dwellings  in  their  village,  he  took  an  accurate  census  of  the  in- 
mates. He  then  caused  a  tin  label  to  be  tied  round  the  neck  of  each  child, 
on  which  were  two  numbers,  one  of  the  house  where  he  lived,  and  the  other 
of  the  child.  If  a  pupil  was  found  on  the  streets  during  school  hours,  the 
numbers  on  his  tag  were  reported  to  the  teacher  by  a  native  ];)oliceman,  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose;  and  unless  his  absence  was  satisfactorily  explained, 
the  parent,  or  chief  Indian  of  that  house,  was  fined.  In  a  few  weeks  the 
attendance  ran  up  to  250. 

**  In  1881,  45  pupils  were  enrolled  at  this  school,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  42.  Schools  were  also  maintained  by  the  company  at  Unalaska  and 
Kadiak.  House  Ex.  Doc,  1,  pt  5,  47th  Con ff,  2d  Sesn.,  pp.  278,  282. 

*^  John  Henry  Kinkead,  a  native  of  Fayette  co.,  Penu.,  where  he  was 
bom  in  1826,  crossed  the  ])lains  from  St  Louis  to  Salt  Lake  City  in  1849,  and 
thei-e  engaged  in  business  for  several  years,  proceeding  to  California  in  1854, 
after  which  date  he  had  occasion  to  travel  extensively  over  the  Pacific  coast. 
In  1800  we  find  him  in  Carson  City,  on  the  eve  of  tlie  admission  of  Nevada 
as  a  territory.  Of  the  part  that  he  played  in  connection  with  the  political 
annals  of  that  state  mention  is  made  in  its  place.  In  1 867  Kinkead  was  a 
member  of  the  expedition  which  sailed  for  Sitka  on  board  the  John  L. 
Stephens  a  few  weeks  after  the  purcliase.  My  description  of  the  transfer, 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Ossipcey  though  written  previous  to  my  interview 
with  Gov.  Kinkead,  coincides  with  the  account  ho  gave  me.  In  1871  he 
rcturaed  to  Nevada,  residing  at  Unionville,  Humboldt  co.,  until  1878,  when 
lie  was  elected  governor  of  the  state. 

In  Kinkead' 6  Xt-cada  and  Alaska,  MS.,  the  author  has  furnished  me  with 


/ 


728  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

ter,^  district  judge;  E.  W.  Haskell,  district  attorney; 
Andrew  T.  Lewis,  clerk  of  court;  M.  C.  Hilly er,^* 
marshal;  and  as  commissioners,  John  G.  Brady  at 
Sitka,  Henry  States  at  Juneau,  George  P.  Ihrie  at 
Wrangell,  and  Chester  Seeber  at  Unalaska.  * . 

On  the  1st  of  October,  1884,  some  three  weeks 
after  his  arrival,  Governor  Kinkead  made  his  report 
to  the  president.^  On  the  15th  of  September  the 
commander  of  the  United  States  naval  forces  ^  relin- 

a  manuscript  which,  when  compared  with  other  sonrces  of  information, 
varies  so  little  that  his  statements  cannot  but  be  accepted  as  true.  Among 
other  topics,  he  touches  on  education,  mining,  agriculture,  and  the  present 
condition  of  the  native  tribes  in  Alaska.  'The  Indians  appeared  to  have  a 
very  good  idea  of  business,'  ho  remarks.  'The  women  were  in  a  better  con- 
dition and  better  treated  than  those  of  any  other  tribes  of  the  United  States 
that  I  have  seen,  the  men  generally  carrying  tlie  children  and  other  burdens, 
and  apparently  afifectionate  to  their  wives  and  children,  the  women  mostly 
doing  the  trading  with  the  whites.*  As  to  the  future  of  Alaska,  he  is  of 
opinion  tiiat  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the  territory  is  better  adapted  to  the 
support  of  a  moderate  white  population  than  Norway  or  Sweden. 

During  the  period  of  the  occujiation  of  Sitka  by  U.  S.  troops,  all  the  wood 
supplied  the  garrison  was  cut  and  delivered  by  Indian  labor. 

'^^  Formerly  assistant  U.  S.  attorney,  a  resident  of  San  Francisco,  and  a 
relati\'e  of  Hall  McAllister,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  highly  respected 
attorneys  in  that  city. 

*'  Munson  C.  Hillyer,  a  native  of  Granville,  Ohio,  was  brother  of  Curtis 
J.  Hillyer  and  Edgar  W.  Hillyer,  the  former  an  eminent  lawyer,  and  the 
latter,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  U.  S.  jud^Q;e  in  Nevada.  Munson  came  to 
Cal.  in  early  times  and  became  a  flour  merchant,  and  later  a  mining  supcrin> 
tendent — a  man  of  broad  experience,  warm  heart,  and  having  many  friends. 

=**  The  report  was  presented  at  Washington  on  the  17th  of  I)ec.  &  F,  Bid- 
letin,  Dec.  18,  1884. 

^^  Lieut  H.  E.  Nichols,  commanding  the  U.  S.  steamer  Ptnia,  her  comple- 
ment consisting  of  7  officers,  40  seamen,  and  30  marines  for  shore  duty  at 
Sitka.  Nichols  had  for  several  years  done  good  service  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Alexander  Archipelago,  while  in  command  of  the  Hassler,  his  surveys 
having  been  made  the  oasis  for  several  of  tlie  new  charts  published  in  the 
Alaska  Coast  Pilot  of  1883,  and  compiled  by  William  H.  Dall.  The  Pinta  is 
somewhat  famous  in  tlie  annals  of  the  U.  S.  navy,  though  her  fame  is  a  little 
unsavory.  One  of  fifteen  despatch-boats  built  during  the  war,  she  was  sta- 
tioned for  several  years  at  the  Brooklyn  navy-yard.  In  1882,  after  an  uncon- 
scionable sum  had  been  spent  in  repairing  her  at  Norfolk,  a  board  of  officers 
coiulemned  the  work,  and  pronounced  the  boat  unseaworthy.  A  second  sur- 
vey was  then  called,  and  a  trial  trip  being  ordered,  it  was  found  that  she 
could  make  but  four  knots  an  hour.  Soon  afterward  the  Pinta  was  sent' to 
Boston,  where  she  distinguislicd  herself  by  running  down  the  brig  Taih^-H*'), 
her  officers  being  in  consequence  brought  before  a  board  of  inquiry.  Finally 
a  man  was  found  daring  enough  to  peril  his  life  by  taking  her  ix>und  Cape 
Horn,  her  armament  being  sent  ashore  until  she  reached  California.  Arriv- 
ing at  the  Mare  Island  navy-yard  after  a  six  months'  voyage,  she  was  again 
repaired,  and  her  guns  being  mounted,  this  much-tinkered  vessel  was  ordered 
to  Sitka.  Among  the  naval  officers  in  command  at  Sitka  before  the  appoint- 
ment of  Nichols  may  be  mentioned  Captain  Beardslee,  who,  in  charge  of  the 
Jameatownf  cruised  in  all  parts  of  the  Alexander  Ai'chipclago,  kept  the  Indians 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  SUGGESTIONS.  729 

quished  to  him  all  civil  authority,  his  duties  in  that 
direction  being  now  at  an  end.  The  complete  organ- 
ization of  the  civil  government  was  delayed  for  a  time 
by  the  absence  of  the  district  judge  and  the  commis- 
sioner for  Sitka,  the  former  being  detained  at  San 
Francisco  through  illness.  Meanwhile  the  board  of 
Indian  commissioners  assumed  judicial  authority,  set- 
tling disputes  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  parties  inter- 
ested.*^ The  governor  expressed  the  opinion  that 
mining  bade  fair  to  rank  foremost  among  the  resources 
of  the  territory,  and  that  within  the  next  decade  the 
output  of  precious  metals  in  Alaska  would  form  no 
unimportant  factor  in  the  finances  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment. This  industry  has  languished,  he  says, 
mainly  for  the  reason  that  no  title  to  mining  lands, 
other  than  that  of  force,  has  thus  far  been  recognized. 
For  the  same  reason  the  grazing  and  agricultural  ca- 
pabilities of  the  territory,  which  he  considered  full 
of  promise,  were  yet  undeveloped.  He  urged  that 
timber  tracts,  building-lots,  agricultural  areas,  and 
mining  lands  be  made  subject  to  legal  titles,  for,  with- 
out such  titles,  the  progress  of  settlement  must  be 
slow  and  uncertain. 

He  recommended,  also;  that  mail  facilities  be 
increased.     There  should  be   at  least  semi-monthly 

in  snbjection,  and  afterward  made  a  valaable  official  report,  which  has  already 
been  quoted  in  these  pages.  To  him  succeeded  Captain  Glass,  an  officer  of 
marked  ability,  who  by  his  firmness  and  humanity  won  the  respect  of  the 
natives,  and  made  several  treaties  of  peace  between  hostile  Indian  tribes, 
maintaining  a  protectorate  over  the  various  settlements  until  relieved,  in 
1881,  by  Commander  Lull  in  the  steamer  IVachuwU.  In  the  autumn  of  18^2 
Captain  Merriman,  in  charge  of  the  AdamSf  was  detailed  for  the  Alaska  sta- 
tion, and  discharged  his  manifold  duties  as  umpire,  judge,  referee,  and  pre- 
server of  tlie  peace,  with  considerable  tact  and  discretion.  Not  infrequently 
he  was  called  upon  to  save  the  lives  of  persons  doomed  to  death  for  witch- 
craft, and  to  prevent  thu  slaughter  of  slaves  at  funerals  and  potlatches.  Mcr- 
riman  was  superseded  in  command  of  the  Adams  by  Capt.  J.  B.  Coghlau, 
who,  fiuding  the  Indians  peaceable,  devoted  his  leisure  to  a  survey  of  the 
most  frequented  channels  of  the  inside  passage,  marking  off  with  buoys  the 
channel  through  Wrangcll  Narrows  and  Peril  Straits,  and  designatiug  un- 
known rocks  m  Saginaw  Channel  and  Neva  Strait.  In  August  1N84  the 
Adams  was  replaced  by  the  Pinto,  Scidmore^s  Alaska,  219-23;  tiacramento 
Unioih,  ilay  20,  1881. 

'^  The  governor  also  reinstated  the  Indian  police,  discharged  by  Captain 
Nichols,  after  being  carried  for  some  years  on  the  pay-rolU  of  tlio  navy,  as 
he  considered  them  necessary  to  inspire  due  respect  lor  the  civil  autliority. 


730  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

communication  with  Port  Townsend,  and  a  monthly 
mail-steamer  should  run  between  Sitka  and  Unalaska, 
touching  at  several  intervening  ports.  The  distance 
between  these  ports  is  twelve  hundred  miles,  but  as 
there  is  no  direct  communication,  persons  wishing  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  district  court  tribunal  estab- 
lished at  the  capital  must  travel  by  way  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  return  by  the  same  route,  the  entire 
journey  being  nearly  eight  thousand  miles.  The  dis- 
tricts of  Kadiak  and  Kenai,  which  were  altogether 
ignored  in  the  organic  act,  should  be  placed  under  the 
protection  of  the  civil  authority;  for  in  those  districts 
were  several  hundred  Russians  and  Creoles,  who  were 
j)eaceable,  industrious,  and  eager  to  share  in  the 
benefits  of  American  progress. 

The  customs  service  could  not  be  efficiently  carried 
on  with  the  means  then  at  command.  For  this  purpose 
it  was  necessary  that  at  least  one  revenue-cutter  should 
be  constantly  employed  in  cruising  among  the  chan- 
nels and  inlets  of  the  coast.  At  this  time  illicit  traffic 
prevailed  in  many  portions  of  the  territory.  The 
boundary  line  between  the  Portland  canal  and  Mount 
St  Elias  should  be  speedily  and  definitely  settled  by 
a  joint  survey  of  the  British  and  American  govern- 
ments, for  several  of  the  highways  leading  into  Brit- 
ish Columbia  lie  partly  within  the  limits  of  Alaska, 
among  them  being  the  one  leading  to  the  Stikeen 
River  mines. 

On  the  subject  of  education  the  governor  remarked 
that  Alaska  was  entirely  without  schools  for  white 
children,  the  missionary  schools  being  attended  only 
by  natives.  The  former  were  growing  up  in  total 
ignorance,  though  their  parent^s  were  most  anxious  to 
give  them  education,  and  would  gladly  pay  for  the 
services  of  teachers. 

Finally,  with  regard  to  traffic  in  spirituous  liquor, 
he  stated  that  the  military  commander  of  the  division 
of  the  Pacific  had  the  right  to  grant  permits  for  its 
introduction  into  the  territory.    Whether,  or  to  what 


SALE  OF  LIQUORS.  731 

extent,  the  commander  exercised  that  power,  he  was  not 
aware;  but,  with  or  without  permission,  a  very  large 
quantity  of  liquor  found  its  way  into  Alaska.  The  law 
forbade  its  introduction,  except  for  certain  purposes, 
but  did  not  forbid  its  sale  after  it  was  introduced,  and 
liquor  was  openly  sold  in  all  the  principal  settlements; 
though,  on  account  of  the  severe  penalties  enforced  by 
the  naval  and  customs  authorities,  little  of  it  was  dis- 
posed of  among  the  natives.**  The  utmost  vigilance 
on  the  part  of  officials  could  not  entirely  prevent  this 
traffic,  for  countless  devices  were  practised  whereby  the 
law  was  evaded;  but  in  order  to  regulate  it,  the  gov- 
ernor suggested  the  appointment  of  an  executive  coun- 
cil, with  full  power  to  act  in  the  matter.  He  also 
recommended  that  saloon-keepers,  tradesmen,  and 
others  should  contribute,  by  a  license,  tax,  or  other- 
wise, to  the  support  of  government,  paying  at  least 
enough  to  maintain  the  police  and  to  keep  the  streets 
and  sidewalks  in  repair.^ 

It  will  be  observed  that,  while  the  governor  made 
some  excellent  suggestions  as  to  what  congress  ought 
to  do,  he  said  nothing  about  what  he  himself  intended 
to  do.  As  ruler  of  a  country  so  vast  in  extent,  and 
containing  such  varied  and  conflicting  interests,  he  was 
necessarily  intrusted  with  discretionary  powers.  He 
appears  to  have  fully  understood  the  needs  of  the 
country,  and  had  he  continued  in  power,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  he  might  have  made  some  effi^rt  to  sup- 
ply them.  He  did  not  remain  long  enough  in  the  terri- 
tory, however,  to  frame  any  important  measures,  or 
at  least  to  carry  them  into  effect,  although  it  was  pro- 
vided in  the  organic  act  that  he  should  reside  within 
the  district  during  his  term  of  office. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  inauguration  of  President 
Cleveland,  Kinkead  was  requested  to  send  in  his  resig- 

"The  governor  stated  that,  through  the  efforts  of  the  same  authorities,  the 
manufacture  of  hootchenoo  had  been  almost  entirely  broken  up  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Sitka  and  other  parts  of  the  archipelago. 

^The  text  of  the  governor's  report,  with  some  slight  omissions,  will  be 
found  in  the  iS.  F,  Buikiia,  Dec.  18,  1SS4. 


7 


732  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

nation,  A.  P.  Swineford  of  Michigan  being  appointed 
in  his  stead  on  the  9th  of  Mav,  1885. 

In  the  exploration  of  the  interior  of  Alaska  and 
the  survey  of  its  coasts,  bays,  and  rivers,  .considerable 
progress  has  been  made  during  recent  years,  consider- 
injj  the  immense  area  to  be  explored.  Numerous 
expeditions  have  been  undertaken  in  addition  to  those 
mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,*^  and  many  charts 
have  been  published,  some  of  them  valuable,  and 
others  so  utterly  worthless  that  the  captain  who 
should  follow  them  would  run  his  vessel  at  various 
points  into  the  mountains  of  the  mainland.  Reports 
without  number  have  been  made  by  navigators  as  to 
the  difficulties  encountered  among  these  intricate 
channels  and  dangerous  harbors,**  but  no  reliable 
charts  of  the  entire  coast  have  as  yet  been  made. 

In  the  summer  of  1883  Lieutenant  Schwatka  and 
six  others  ^  traversed  the  upper  Yukon  by  raft  from 
its  source  to  Fort  Selkirk,  a  distance  of  about  five 
hundred  miles,  their  object  being  to  gather  informa- 
tion as  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  that  region,  and  for 
geographical  exploration.  The  middle  Yukon,  as  far 
as  the  junction  of  that  river  with  the  Porcupine,  and 
the  lower  Yukon,  extending  from  this  point  to  the 
delta,  had  already  been  explored,  as  we  have  seen,  by 
the  servants  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  who 
occasionally  ascended  the  stream  from  the  direction 
of  St  Michael  sometimes  possibly  as  far  as  the  present 
site  of  Fort  Reliance,  and  thence  made  their  way 
parti}'-  overland  to  the  Lynn  canal.  In  the  summer 
of  1883  the  lieutenant  set  forth  to  explore  the  river 

»^Seo  pp.  628-9,  this  vol. 

'^  Among  others  may  be  mentioned  the  case  of  J.  C.  Glidden,  who,  in  the 
summer  of  I S70,  was  in  command  of  a  vessel  voyaging  to  tho  gulf  of  Kusha- 
gak,  between  the  parallels  of  68"  25'  and  59*  ^  N.  and  the  meridians  of  158* 
5'  and  158**  43'  w.  according  to  Kussian  surveys.  He  reports  its  entrance  ob- 
structed by  bars  and  quicksands,  which  rendered  its  navigation  difficult  and 
dangerous,  though  a  pilot  could  usually  be  obtained  at  Cape  Konstantin. 
Trio  to  Alaska,  MS.,  1,  6-7. 

■*  Dr  Wilson,  Topographical  assistant  Homan,  Sergeant  Gloster,  Cori)oral 
Shircliff,  Private  Roth,  and  a  Mr  IJclntosh.  Century  Mag,,  1885,  739,  819. 


SCHWATKA'S  EXPEDITION.  733 

from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  the  basin  of  the  upper 
Yukon  being,  as  he  thought,  a  terra  incognita. 

Leaving  Chilkat  on  the  7th  of  June  with  thirteen 
canoes  towed  by  a  steam-launch  belonging  to  the 
Northwest  Trading  Company,  he  passed  through  the 
Lynn  canal  and  the  Chilkoot  Inlet,  arriving  at  the 
mouth  of  a  swift-running  stream,  some  ninety  feet 
in  width,  called  by  the  Indians  the  Dayay.  Here  he 
took  leave  of  the  launch,  and  at  this  point,  as  he 
claims,  his  exploration  commenced,  though  in  fact  he 
was  on  ground  perfectly  familiar  to  the  Russians,  even 
in  the  days  of  Baranof.  Reaching  the  head  of  navi- 
gation on  the  10th,  the  canoes  were  unloaded  and 
their  three  or  four  tons  of  freight  packed  on  the  backs 
of  seventy  Indians,  the  party  reaching,  the  same 
night,  the  head  waters  of  the  stream,  under  banks  of 
snow,  and  at  the  foot  of  a  pass  about  three  thousand 
feet  in  height,  which  the  lieutenant  named  Perrier 
Pass,^  and  where,  he  says,  "long  finger-like  glaciers 
of  clear  blue  ice  extended  down  the  granite  gulches  to 
our  very  level." 

The  ascent  was  a  difficult  one  and  not  unattended 
with  danger.  In  places  the  mountain  side  appeared 
almost  perpendicular,  and  a  few  stunted  juniper  roots 
protruding  through  a  thin  covering  of  snow  afforded 
the  only  support.  The  footsteps  of  the  guides  were 
turned  inward  and  planted  deep,  thus  giving  a  firm 
hold,  and  the  remainder  followed  in  their  tracks,  some 
of  them  using  rough  alpen-stocks,  for  the  least  slip 
would  have  dashed  them  down  the  precipitous  slope 
hundreds  of  feet  into  the  valley  below.  Arriving  at 
the  summit  without  mishap,  the  party  found  them- 
selves in  a  drifting  fog,  slich  as  many  of  my  readers 
may  have  observed  hanging  in  summer  for  days  at  a 
time  over  Snowdon  or  Ben  Nevis,  both  of  which 
mountains  are  but  three  or  four  degrees  south  of  the 

"  Why  he  so  called  it  he  does  not  state.  I  do  not  find  the  pass  named  or 
even  marked  in  any  of  the  maps  published  before  1883,  though  it  is  certain 
that  the  lieutenant  was  not  the  first  white  man  who  made  i&  nacent  of  the 
Dayay  River  or  portage. 


7^  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

point  where  they  now  stood.  Descendhig  the  pass, 
the  lieutenant  afterward  came  in  sight  of  two  large 
lakes  connected  by  a  channel  about  a  mile  in  length, 
and  which  he  named  lakes  Lindermann  and  Bennett." 

On  the  shore  of  the  latter  he  built  his  raft,  some 
fifteen  by  forty  feet,  with  decks  fore  and  aft,  space 
being  left  for  oars  at  the  bow,  stern,  and  sides,  so  that 
when  laden  it  could  be  pulled  in  still  water  at  a  rate 
of  more  than  half  a  mile  an  hour.  Behind  the  for- 
ward deck  was  hoisted  a  nine-foot  mast,  a  wall-tent 
serving  for  a  sail,  and  for  a  yard  its  ridge-pole,  while 
the  projecting  logs  that  supported  the  deck  were  used 
as  belaying-pins.  In  this  strange  craft,  built  in  the 
ice-cold  water  of  the  lake,  the  lieutenant  launched 
forth  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  June  on  his  ex- 
ploration of  the  upper  Yukon. 

The  outset  of  the  voyage  was  by  no  means  propi- 
tious. The  wind  at  first  blew  gently  from  the  south, 
and  hoisting  sail,  he  made  from  two  to  three  miles  an 
hour;  but  the  wind  freshened  into  a  gale  and  the  gale 
increased  to  a  cyclone,  threatening  to  carry  away  the 
mast,  while  the  waves  swept  the  frail  bark  fore  and 
aft,  deluging  all  on  board,  so  that  rowing  became  im- 
possible. 

On  the  following  afternoon  the  party  reached  the 
northern  end  of  Lake  Bennett,  and  thence,  without 
special  adventure,  made  their  way,  by  the  route  known 
as  the  Indian  portage,  to  a  point  which  Schwatka 
terms  the  grand  canon  of  the  Yukon,  where  are 
rapids  some  five  miles  in  length,  in  places  shoal 
and  dangerous  even  for  the  navigation  of  a  canoe. 
At  first  the  waters  pour  in  troubled  foam  between 
basaltic  pillars,  about  seventy  feet  apart,  then  widen 
into  a  basin  filled  with  eddies  and  whirlpools,  and 
again  pass  through  a  second  canon,  almost  the  coun- 
terpart of  the  first.  Thus  the  river  tiows  onward  for 
several  miles,  after  which  it  narrows  almost  into  a 

'^  Both  of  these  lakes,  which  form  a  part  of  the  Indian  portage,  are  marked 
on  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  map  of  1869. 


DOWN  THE  YUKON.  735 

cascade,  less  than  thirty  feet  wide,  and  with  waves 
running  five  feet  high.  So  swift  and  turbulent  is  the 
stream  at  this  point,  that,  as  the  lieutenant  relates, 
its  waters  dash  up  the  banks  on  either  side,  falling 
back  in  solid  sheets  into  the  seething  caldron  below. 

Stationing  a  few  men  below  the  cascade  to  render 
assistance,  as  the  raft  shot  past  them,  Schwatka 
turned  its  head  toward  the  outlet  of  the  grand  canon 
of  the  Yukon,  through  which  he  passed.^* 

The  party  had  now  overcome  their  greatest  difficul- 
ties. Repairing  the  raft,  on  the  5th  of  July  they 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Tahkeena  Ri  ver,^  and  thence, 
without  further  incident  worthy  of  note,  voyaged 
down  the  stream  to  Fort  Selkirk,  completing  the 
journey  mainly  by  raft  down  the  middle  and  lower 
Yukon,  and  thence  proceeded  to  St  Michael,  where 
they  were  met  by  the  revenue-cutter  Corwin?^ 

In  1884  and  1885  several  expeditions  were  under- 
taken by  order  of  General  Miles,  then  in  charge  of 
the  department  of  the  Columbia,  which  includes 
Alaska.  In  February  of  the  former  year  Doctor 
Everette  set  forth  from  Vancouver  Barracks  for  the 
purpose  of  exploring  a  portion  of  the  Yukon,  and  the 
section  of  territory  near  the  head  of  Copper  River. 
Procuring  Indian  guides  at  Juneau,  he  proceeded  to 
Chilkat,  and  there  remained  for  three  months,  study- ' 
ing  the  language  of  the  tribe.  Thence,  reaching  the 
head  waters  of  the  Yukon  by  way  of  the  Lynn  canal 
and  the  Dayay  River,  following  about  the  same  route 
as  was  taken  by  Schwatka's  party  in  1883,  he  voyaged 
down  the  stream,  in  a  boat  of  his  own  construction, 
as  far  as  the  first  fur-trading  station.  Here  he 
awaited  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  from  the  Bering 
Sea,  and  being  abandoned  by  his  pack  Indians,  and 
unable  to  obtain  a  supply  of  provisions  for  winter  use, 
he  had  no  alternative  but  to  complete  his  journey  on 
board  that  vessel,  arriving  at  St  Michael  during  the 

•*The  lieut  christened  his  craft  the  Hesolute, 

••Now  nsually  called  the  Tahk. 

•»  CaUury  May.,  Sept.  Oct.l8So,  739-51,  819-29;  Scidmore's  AlaskOy  p.  120. 


736  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICUL  DISTRICT. 

autumn,  and  reaching  San  Francisco  on  the  29th  of 
August,  1885. 

Thus,  as  he  claims,  Doctor  Everette  made  a  running 
survey  of  the  entire  stream,  from  which,  and  from  the 
information  furnished  by  fur-traders,  he  prepared 
charts  of  the  river,  of  his  route,  extending  over 
twenty-six  hundred  miles,  of  the  Yukon  Lake  system, 
of  the  greater  portion  of  the  Tennanah  River,  of  the 
entire  Kuskokvim  River,  and  of  many  smaller  streams 
in  a  region  which  had  not  yet  been  explored  except  by 
fur-traders,  together  with  itineraries  on  a  tabulated 
scale,  accompanying  the  charts  and  showing  every 
point  of  interest  between  Chilkat  and  St  Michael. 
The  doctor  also  states  that  he  collected  statistics 
concerning  all  the  explorations  made  on  the  Yukon 
since  the  year  1865,  together  with  a  mass  of  in- 
formation setting  forth  the  name,  occupation,  date  of 
arrival  and  departure  of  every  missionary,  miner,  and 
trader  who  had  been  on  the  Yukon  since  the  date  of 
the  transfer.  Finally,  he  collected  the  dialects  of  all 
the  leading  tribes  in  Alaska,  from  Chilkat  through 
the  interior  to  St  Michael,  thence  north  to  Kotzebue 
Sound,  and  from  that  point  southward  to  the  Aleutian 
Archipelago.*^ 

In  the  summer  of  1885  the  Corwin  was  again  em- 
ployed in  explorations  on  the  Alaskan  coast,  and  it 
was  proposed  that  her  trip  should  extend  as  far  north- 
ward as  Kotzebue  Sound.  At  Chatham  Inlet  Lieu- 
tenant Caldwell  was  sent  to  explore  the  Kowak  River 
as  far,  if  possible,  as  its  head  waters,  and  a  second 
expedition,  in  charge  of  Engineer  Lonegan,  was  or- 
dered to  explore  the  Noyataz.  In  the  spring  of  1885 
Lieutenant  Stoney,  Ensign  Purcell,  Engineer  Zane, 
Surgeon  Nash,  and  some  ten  others,  set  forth  to 
explore  the  Putnam  River  on  board  the  schooner 
Viking  J  a  steam-launch,  having  been  built  for  that 
purpose  at  Mare  Island.     Procuring  Indian  guides 

^*S.  p.  Chronicle,  Aug.  30,  1S85.  The  statement  published  in  this  issue 
was  pn)nouncc(l  to  be  correct  by  Dr  Everette,  who  called  at  my  Library  a  few 
days  lat<>r. 


LATE  EXPLORATIONS.  787 

and  dogs  at  St  Michael,  where  they  arrived  after  a 
tedious  voyage  caused  by  light  and  contrary  winds, 
they  proceeded  to  St  Lawrence  Bay,  and  there  ob- 
tained a  supply  of  furs  and  warm  clothing.  The 
season  was  an  open  one,  St  Michael  being  clear  of  ice 
at  the  end  of  May,  and  it  was  hoped  that  at  least  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  the  stream  could  be  ex- 
plored before  the  expedition  went  into  winter  quarters 
about  the  1st  of  October,  after  which  the  work  of 
exploration  was  to  be  carried  on  by  means  of  sledges. 
When  the  launch  could  proceed  no  farther  she  was  to 
be  employed  in  conveying  provisions  for  the  winter 
camp,  and  her  engines  and  boilers  were  afterward  to 
be  used  in  running  a  saw-mill,  by  which  timber  could 
be  cut  for  the  construction  of  frame  houses.  In  May 
1886  Captain  Stoney  proposed  to  descend  the  river, 
returning  to  San  Francisco  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year.^ 

During  recent  years  frequent  explorations  of  the 
interior  have  been  made  by  raining  prospectors,  espe- 
cially in  the  direction  of  the  Yukon  River  and  its 
tributaries.  In  1878  and  1880  parties  left  for  the 
head  waters  of  that  stream,  and  through  the  influence 
brought  to  bear  by  Captain  Beardslee  of  the  James- 
town  were  kindly  received  by  the  Chilkats,  who,  being 
assured  that  they  would  not  interfere  with  their  fur 
trade,  guided  them  through  their  territory,  indica- 
tions of  gold  and  large  gravel  deposits  being  dis- 
covered. In  1882  a  band  of  forty-five  prospectors 
from  Arizona  left  Juneau  for  the  same  point,  and 
returning  in  the  autumn,  reported  discoveries  of  gold, 
silver,  nickel,  copper,  and  coal  in  the  district  be- 
tween the  Lewis  and  Copper  rivers.  During  this 
year  three  prospectors  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of 
Stewart  River,  which  they  ascended  in  canoes  for 
two  hundred  miles.    They  found  navigation  somewhat 

^8.  R  Chronicle,  Feb.  5,  1885;  S.  F.  Call,  Aug.  26,  1885.    News  of  the 
progress  of  this  expedition  was  brought  by  Lieut  Purcell,  who  retamed  to 
ksuL  Francisco  Aug.  23,  1885,  being  disabled  through  sickness. 
Hut.  AIiAsju.    47 


738  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTKICT. 

easy,  there  being  stretches  of  100  miles  where  no 
portage  was  needed,  and  none  of  the  portages  exceed- 
ing half  a  mile.  During  their  trip  they  examined 
more  than  a  hundred  streams,  in  all  of  which  gold 
was  discovered,  though  the  ground  and  even  the  beds 
of  streams  where  was  running  water  were  frozen. 
Hence,  they  said,  it  was  impossible  to  work  the 
deposits;  but  the  fact  that  one  of  the  party  proceeded 
to  San  Francisco  to  purchase  a  schooner  and  load  it 
with  miners'  supplies  for  that  quarter  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  this  was  not  the  case.  Between  1880 
and  1883  more  than  two  hundred  prospectors  visited 
the  Yukon  district,  the  Chilkats  keeping  control  of 
the  travel,  and  charging  six  to  ten  dollars  for  each 
hundred  pounds  of  baggage  conveyed  over  the  port- 
age between  the  river  and  the  lakes.*° 

The  maps  of  the  upper  Yukon  district  made  since 
the  purchase  have  not  changed  materially  the  charts 
made  by  the  Russians.  Among  them  is  one  prepared 
by  a  native  named  Kloh-Kutz  *^  for  Professor  David- 
son, which  has  been  made  the  basis  for  an  official 
chart.  From  the  maps  and  publications  of  two  doc- 
tors of  the  names  of  Krause,  belonging  to  the  geo- 
graphical society  of  Bremen,  who  recently  explored 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Yukon  portages,  the  coast 
survey  has  gathered  information  of  considerable  value. 

The  Takoo  mines,  and  especially  those  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Harrisburg,  or  Juneau,*^  and  the  quartz 

^^  Dr  Everette's  opinion  as  to  the  mining  outlook  in  the  Yukon  district 
was  unfavorable.  First,  he  believed  that  no  mother  vein  exists  in  that  region, 
while  the  placer  diggings  contain  only  fine  flour  gold  which  it  is  very  difficult 
to  save.  One  party  from  Juneau  obtained  about  $2,000  from  a  bar  on  the 
upper  Yukon  in  1884,  but  they  exhausted  the  diggings,  and  were  later  pros- 
pecting on  the  White  and  Stewart  Rivers.  Second,  the  ground  only  partially 
thaws  during  the  brief  summer  of  interior  Alaska,  the  ice  opening  in  May  and 
closing  in  again  during  October.  Third,  it  is  impossible  to  procure  provisions 
sufficient  for  the  winter  at  the  fur-trading  posts,  while  freight  via  Chilkat  to 
the  head  of  the  Yukon  is  $20  per  hundred  pounds.  8,  F.  Chronicle,  Aug.  30, 
1885.  The  doctor  claims  to  be  versed  in  mineralosy,  and  to  have  had  practi- 
cal experience  in  the  placer  mines  of  the  Black  Hills  and  the  quartz  mines  of 
New  Mexico. 

**The  father  of  Klohkutz,  a  chief  fur-trader,  was  among  the  band  of 
Chilkats  who  burned  Fort  Selkirk  in  1851,  in  consequence  of  the  interference 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  with  their  trade.  Scidmore^a  Alaska^  121. 

^  The  name  Juneau  was  formally  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  miners  held  in 


ALASKA  GOLD  MINES.  739 

veins  on  Douglas  Island,  have  attracted  the  most  at- 
tention within  recent  years,  and  are  the  only  districts 
that  require  further  mention.  The  bars  and  shores 
of  Takoo  River  have  been  searched  for  miles  beyond 
the  Takoo  Inlet,  and  in  most  of  the  adjacent  streams 
fine  gold  has  been  discovered,  carried  down  by  the 
glaciers  that  now  lie  amid  the  ravines  and  fiords  of 
this  region. 

In  1879  Professor  Muir  expressed  his  belief  that 
valuable  quartz  leads  would  be  found  on  the  mainland 
east  of  Baranof  Island,  and  that  the  true  mineral  belt 
would  follow  the  trend  of  the  shore.  His  prediction 
was  soon  verified.  In  the  following  autumn  a  pros- 
pecting party  left  Sitka  in  charge  of  Joseph  Juneau 
and  Kichard  Harris,  and  encamping  on  the  present 
site  of  the  town  of  Juneau,  followed  up  a  large  creek 
which  discharges  into  the  channel  near  that  point. 
Here  they  found  rich  placers  and  several  promising 
ledges.  On  their  return  to  Sitka,  with  sacks  full  of 
specimens,  a  rush  was  made  for  this  district,  and  dur- 
ing the  winter  a  camp  was  established,  which  after- 
ward developed  into  a  town,  among  its  inhabitants 
being  a  number  of  miners  from  Arizona  and  British 
Columbia.  From  the  placers  in  this  neighborhood  it 
is  estimated  that  about  $300,000  had  been  obtained 
up  to  the  close  of  1883.**  The  correct  figures,  how- 
ever, cannot  be  ascertained  even  approximately,  for, 
on  account  of  the  heavy  express  charges,  many  of  the 
miners,  proceeding  to  Wrangell,  Victoria,  San  Fran- 
cisco, or  wherever  they  pass  the  winter,  carry  with 

May  1882,  though  both  are  still  used.  In  1884  the  town  contained  about  t'K) 
houses,  and  there  was  an  Indian  village  on  both  sides  of  it.  Scidmore^s  Alaska, 
82-3. 

^As  an  instance  of  the  little  that  is  known  in  Washington  concerning  the 
resources  of  Alaska,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June 
30,  1880,  the  total  bullion  product  of  Alaska  was  estimated  by  the  director  of 
the  mint  at  $6,000,  and  for  the  ensuing  year  at  §7,000.  House  Ex.  Doc,  47th 
Cong.  Ut  Sess.f  xiv.,  p.  269.  In  Sculmore^s  Alaska,  85,  the  product  of  tlie 
placer  mines  in  the  Takoo  district  alone  is  given  for  1881  at $135,000,  for  1882 
at  $250,000,  and  for  1883  at  $400,000.  These  figures  are  doubtless  too  high. 
During  the  seasons  of  1881-3  there  were  probably  some  200  miners  at  work 
in  this  district,  and  estimating  their  average  earnings  at  $800  each  per  season, 
we  have  a  total  of  about  $500,000  for  the  three  years. 


/ 


740  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

them  their  own  gold-dust.  In  1884  the  surface 
deposits  showed  signs  of  exhaustion,  and  many  of 
the  claims  were  abandoned,  though  some  that  were 
still  partially  worked  yielded  fair  returns.  Mean- 
while prospecting  was  continued,  and  tunnels,  run 
a  short  distance  into  several  quartz  ledges,  disclosed 
a  moderate  amount  of  low-grade  gold  ore,  but  noth- 
ing that,  under  existing  conditions,  would  pay  for 
working. 

In  1885  the  most  prominent  mine  in  Alaska,  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  on  the  Pacific  coast,  was 
the  Treadwell,  or  as  it  is  now  usually  termed,  the 
Paris  lode,  at  Douglas  Island,  discovered^  and  re- 
corded in  May  1881,  and  deeded  in  November  of 
that  year  to  Mr  John  Treadwell.  The  property  was 
afterward  transferred  to  an  incorporation  styled  the 
Alaska  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  of  which,  in  1885, 
Mr  Treadwell  was  superintendent,**  and  under  whose 
direction  $400,000  had  been  expended  on  the  develop- 
ment of  the  property .*•  The  results,  however,  fully 
justified  the  outlay/^ 

A  short  time  after  the  company  took  possession  of 
its  property  two  tunnels  were  run  into  the  ledge,  and 
thence  and  from  the  surface  ore  was  extracted  and 
worked  in  a  five-stamp  mill,  for  the  purpose  of  thor- 
oughly testing  the  mine.  The  returns  being  satisfac- 
tory, a  third  tunnel  was  run,  at  a  vertical  depth  of  250 
feet.  An  uprise  of  275  feet  at  the  foot-wall,  having 
been  made  to  the  surface,  is  now  used  for  an  ore  chute; 
The  width  of  the  ledge  was  found  to  be  450  feet,  the 

**By  Pierre  Joseph  Emsara.  Freebom*a  Alaska  MiU  and  Mining  Co,, 
MS. 

^EeceiviDg  this  appointment  under  the  first  organization,  when  James 
Freeborn  waa  chosen  president,  tho  directors  being  J.  D.  Fry,  E.  M.  Fry,  H. 
L.  Hill,  and  H.  H.  Shinn.  In  October  18S5  the  proprietors  were  Senator  J. 
P.  Jones,  Messrs  Freeborn,  Treadwell,  Uill,  Shinn,  J.  D.  Fry,  and  E,  M. 
Fr\',  all  of  these  gentlemen,  with  the  exception  of  the  first,  who  held  a  slrth 
interest  in  the  property,  being  still  officers  of  the  company.  Id, 

*®  By  the  company.  Id,  In  Kinkcad's  Nevada  and  Alaska,  MS.,  15,  tho 
total  outlay,  including  what  was  expended  before  the  transfer  of  tho  property 
by  Mr  Treadwell,  is  given  at  $500,000. 

"  In  the  S.  F.  Chronicle.,  Nov.  17,  1884,  it  is  stated  that  there  was  at  this 
date  $12,000,000  in  sight.     I  give  the  statement  for  what  it  is  worth. 


GOLD  YIELD.  741 

ore-body  averaging  $8.50  per  ton  in  free  gold  and  five 
per  cent  of  sulphurets,  with  an  assay  value  of  $100  per 
ton.  Thereupon  the  company  decided  to  erect  a  120- 
stamp  mill,  with  a  capacity  of  300  tons  per  day,  and 
with  48  Frue  concentrators  and  24  Challenge  ore- 
feeders,  the  mill  being  completed  in  the  summer  of 
1885.  Between  June  19th  and  September  19th  of 
that  year  the  aggregate  yield  amounted  to  $156,000,*^ 
though  for  various  reasons,  the  principal  one  being  an 
unusually  dry  season,  and  the  fact  that  during  the  sum- 
mer the  snow  and  ice  disappeared  altogether  from  the 
neighboring  mountains,  the  mill  stood  idle  for  one  third 
of  this  period.*®  About  the  close  of  1885,  or  early  in 
the  following  year,  the  superintendent  proposed  to. 
erect  two  additional  furnaces,  and  to  place  electric 
lights  in  the  mine,  mill,  and  surrounding  works.*^ 

Adjoining  the  Paris  ledge,  and  a  continuation  of 
the  same  vein,  was  the  Bear  ledge,"  believed  to  be 

*"For  the  month  ending  July  19th,  $55,000,  and  for  the  other  two  months 
$60,000  and  $41,000  respectively,  the  yield  being  entirely  from  free  gold  and 
apart  from  sulphurets.  Freehorn'a  Alaska  Mill  and  Mining  Co.,  MS. 

*•  Soon  afterward  a  despatch  was  received  from  the  superintendent,  stat- 
ing that  there  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  water,  that  the  works  were  all  in 
running  order,  and  tiiat  the  next  bullion  shipment  would  probably  be  the 
largest  yet  made  from  the  mine.  Id. 

*"The  frame- work  of  the  mill  was  built  of  lumber  cut  by  the  company's 
saw-mill,  which,  up  to  September  1885,  had  turned  out  some  2,250,000  feet, 
the  remainder  beinff  used  for  chlorination-works  and  the  usual  buildings 
needed  for  a  mine  of  this  description,  among  them- being  boarding-houses  for 
the  men,  of  whom  nearly  300  were  employed  at  good  wages,  the  Indians 
receiving  $60  per  month,  and  white  men  in  proportion.  A  tramway  had 
been  constructed  for  hauling  ore  from  the  chute  to  the  mill,  and  hydraulic 
machinery  has  been  forwarded  for  that  purpose,  which  has  greatly  reduced 
the  cost  of  transporting  the  ore.  The  mine,  some  ICO  miles  north-east  from 
Sitka,  ia  350  yards  from  the  shore  of  Gastineaux  Channel,  and  the  mill  8(30 
feet  from  the  foot  of  the  chute.  The  president  states  that  during  two  seasons 
the  company  was  robbed  at  least  to  the  amount  of  $120,000  by  surface-minera, 
who  washeu  off  the  top  of  the  ledge,  and  as  there  were  no  laws,  or  none  in 
force,  did  very  much  as  they  pleased.  » 

In  Frefborn*8  Alaska  Mill  and  Mining  Co.,  MS.,  I  have  been  famished 
by  the  president  of  the  company  with  a  terse  and  reliable  statement  as  to  tlie 
condition  and  working  of  this  mine,  from  which  the  above  facts  and  figures 
are  taken. 

In  this  connection  may  bo  mentioned  recent  advices  from  Kadiak,  under 
date  Sept.  22,  1885,  according  to  which  this  section  of  Alaska  bad  been 
totally  neglected  by  the  United  States  and  district  authorities.  From  the 
civil  government  at  Sitka  nothing  had  been  heard,  and  the  people  were  still 
without  of&cial  notification  of  its  existence  18  months  after  the  passage  of  the 
act  creating  Alaska  a  civil  and  judicial  district.  S.  F,  BuUetin,  Oct.  6,  1885. 

^^  Owned  in  1884  by  Carroll  and  his  partners. 


742  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

also  a  valuable  property,  though  as  yet  the  latter 
has  been  but  little  developed.  Elsewhere  among 
the  mountains  that  ridge  Douglas  Island  from  end 
to  end  are  quartz  lodes  innumerable,  some  of  which 
seem  promising  enough  to  warrant  the  investment 
of  capital.  That  the  most  permanent  mines  so  far 
discovered  in  Alaska  should  be  found  on  an  island 
—  the  island  surveyed  by  Vancouver  more  than 
ninety  years  ago — ^is  somewhat  of  an  anomaly  in  min- 
ing annals;  but  Alaska,  with  her  inland  seas,  her 
glaciers,  her  midnight  suns  in  midsummer,  her  phantom 
auroras  in  midwinter,  and  her  phantom  government 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  is  the  land  of  anomalies. 

At  present  it  may  be  said  that  the  mining  interests 
of  Alaska  are  mainly  centred  in  Douglas  Island. 
Elsewhere  there  may  be  large  deposits  of  ore,  but  none 
of  them  have  yet  been  extensively  worked.  Those  in 
northern  and  central  Alaska  are  too  remote  to  be  made 
available,  and  the  lodes  discovered  near  Sitka  have 
proved  of  little  value,  the  gold-bearing  ore  being  of  low 
grade  and  the  veins  broken  in  formation.  In  a  country 
where  travel  is  difficult  and  the  cost  of  transportation 
excessive,  only  those  mines  can  be  made  to  pay  which 
are  situated  near  the  coast,  unless  they  be  exception- 
ally rich.  Moreover,  on  account  of  the  forests  and 
the  dense  growth  of  moss  which  hide  the  surface, 
Alaska  is  a  very  difficult  country  to  prospect.  As  a 
rule,  outcroppings  are  rarely  found,  and  leads  are 
usually  discovered  by  following  float  ore  and  tracing  it 
up  stream  to  the  main  body.  That  the  territory  will, 
however,  at  some  future  date,  contain  a  not  inconsider- 
able mining  population,  is  almost  beyond  a  peradven- 
ture.  Provisions  are  much  cheaper  than  in  most  of 
the  mining  districts  of  British  Columbia,  and  fish  and 
game  can  be  had  for  nothing.  The  main  drawback 
appears  to  be  that  in  Alaska  miners  are  not  content 
with  such  earnings  as  would  elsewhere  be  considered 
a  reasonable  return  for  their  labor. 


FISHERIES.  743 

Concerning  the  fisheries  of  Alaska,  a  few  items  re- 
main to  be  added  to  those  which  have  been  already 
mentioned.  The  cannery  established  by  Cutting  and 
Company,  at  Kasiloff  River,  on  Cook  Inlet,  in  1882, 
has  been  fairly  successful,  considering  the  diflBculty  in 
establishing  a  new  enterprise  of  this  description,  the 
pack,  after  the  first  year,  averaging  some  20,000  cases. 
The  varieties  packed  are  the  king  salmon,  the  silver 
salmon,  and  what  is  known  as  the  red  fish,  the  last 
being  similar  to  the  red  salmon  of  the  Fraser  River. 
The  Kasiloff  is  not  a  navigable  stream,  its  source  being 
a  lake  about  twenty  miles  from  its  outlet.  Vessels 
freighted  with  goods  for  the  cannery,  or  waiting  for 
the  season's  pack,  are  compelled  to  lie  in  an  open  road- 
8tead,  where  there  is  a  heavy  fall  and  rise  of  the  tide. 
Notwithstanding  this  drawback,  however,  the  firm  is 
satisfied  with  results  so  far,  considering  the  depressed 
condition  of  the  market.  The  Alaska  Salmon  Pack- 
ing and  Fur  Company,  at  Naha  Bay,  has  also  been 
measurably  successful,  though  in  1885  the  pack  was 
only  of  salt  salmon.  At  that  date  there  were  two 
other  canneries  in  operation,  one  at  Bristol  Bay,  named 
the  Arctic  Packing  Company,  and  the  other  at  Karluk 
on  Kadiak  Island,  the  pack  of  the  latter  for  1885  being 
about  36,000  cases. 

The  total  pack  of  Alaska  salmon  was  estimated  for 
the  year  1885  at  about  65,000  cases,  and  the  fact 
that,  in  the  face  of  extremely  low  prices,  this  industry 
has  not  only  held  its  own,  but  increased  considerably, 
while  on  the  Columbia  there  has  been  a  considerable 
decrease  in  the  output,  is  significant  of  its  future  suc- 
cess. Thus  far,  however,  profits  have  been  very  light. 
The  amount  of  capital  needed  to  establish  and  con- 
duct the  business  is  disproportionately  large.  Pay- 
ments for  material  must  be  made  at  least  four  or  five 
months  before  the  product  is  laid  down  in  San  Fran- 
cisco or  in  other  markets,  and  it  is  found  necessary  to 
carry  a  large  surplus  stock  of  stores.  The  cost  of  the 
passage  of  employes  is  paid  at  all  the  Alaska  canneries, 


744  ALASKA  AS  A  CH'^IL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT. 

together  with  their  wages  while  journeying  to  and  fro; 
and  the  repair  of  machinery  is  an  unusually  expens- 
ive item.  The  prospects  of  the  business  depend,  of 
course,  mainly  on  the  continuance  of  heavy  runs  of  fish 
on  the  Columbia  River,  and  it  is  stated  that  the  enor- 
mous catch  year  by  year  has  already  begun  to  tell 
very  seriously  on  the  run/*  The  supply  of  salmon  in 
the  waters  of  Alaska  is  practically  unlimited,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  take  is  more  than  offset  by  the 
destruction  of  fur-seals,  which  devour  the  food-fish 
that  frequent  her  shores,  as  salmon,  smelt,  and  mack- 
erel, each  one  consuming,  it  is  said,  no  less  than  sixty 
pounds  a  day. 

At  Killisnoo,  on  the  island  of  Kenashoo,  originally 
a  whaling-station,  the  Northwest  Trading  Company 
had,  in  1885,  a  large  establishment  where  codfish 
were  dried,  and  herring  and  dog-fish  oil,  and  fish  guano 
manufactured.  Large  warehouses  and  works  were 
built,  near  which  was  a  village  of  Indians  employed 
as  fishermen,  and  receiving  two  cents  apiece  for  the 
catch  of  codfish,  boats  being  provided  by  the  com- 
pany. About  $100,000  was  invested  in  this  enter- 
prise, the  oil- works  alone  having  cost  $70,000.  The 
cod  in  these  waters  average  about  four  pounds  in 
weight,  and  as  many  as  eight  thousand  are  sometimes 
taken  in  a  single  day,  producing  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred boxes  of  the  dried  fish.  Of  herring,  as  many 
as  five  hundred  barrels  are  occasionally  caught  at  a 
single  haul  of  the  seine,  each  barrel  yielding  about 
three  gallons  of  oil. 

Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  fisheries  of  Alaska 
alone  might  furnish  the  basis  of  a  considerable  com- 
merce; but  under  such  conditions  as  now  exist  in  that 
district,  there  is  little  field  for  commercial  or  in- 
dustrial enterprise,  and  it  may  be  said  that  com- 
merce, in  its  legitimate  sense,  does  not  exist.  Im- 
ports of  duty-paying  goods,  which,  as  I  have  said, 

"Cwttewjf  and  Co.* a  Alaska  Salmon  Fisheries^  MS.  In  this  manuscript  I 
have  been  fumiahed  with  a  brief  and  impartial  account  of  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  Alaska  canneries. 


COMMERCE.  746 

for  the  twelve  months  ending  March  1,  1878,  were 
$3,295,  amounted,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1882,  to  $8,484;  and  meanwhile  domestic  exports 
showed  a  slight  increase.^  For  the  latter  year,  if  we 
can  believe  ofiicial  reports,  the  entire  foreign  trade 
was  with  British  Columbia,  though,  during  that  year, 
fifteen  American  vessels,  with  an  aggregate  measure- 
ment of  9,461  tons,  and  twenty-nine  foreign  vessels 
of  8,073  tons,  entered  Alaskan  ports,  while  the  clear- 
ances were  twelve  American  vessels  of  8,993  tons, 
and  twenty-nine  foreign  vessels  of  8,156  tons.** 
Meanwhile  the  ship-building  industry  had  fallen  some- 
what into  decadence.  In  1882  there  was  built  a 
single  vessel,  probably  a  fishing-smack,  with  a  meas- 
urement of  6.43  tons — somewhat  of  a  contrast,  com- 
pared with  the  days  of  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany, when,  as  we  have  seen,  a  fleet  of  sea-going 
ships  was  launched  in  Alaskan  waters. 

A  country  where  there  is  no  commerce,  where  there 
are  few  industries,  where  there  are  no  schools  except 
those  supported  by  charity,  where  no  title  can  be  had 
to  land,  where  there  are  no  representative  institutions 
and  no  settled  administration,  and  where  the  rainfall 
is  from  five  to  eight  feet  a  year,  does  not,  of  course,  hold 
out  any  very  strong  inducements  to  settlers.  Of  690 
persons  who  arrived  at  Alaskan  ports  during  the  year 
ending  June  30, 1880,  583  were  merely  passengers,  the 
remaining  107  being  miners  from  British  Columbia. 
For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1882,  matters  were 
still  worse,  the  total  arrivals  mustering  only  27,  of 
whom  17  were  miners,  while  the  departures  for  that 
year  were  387.^*  These,  however,  are  merely  the  re- 
turns forwarded  from  the  customs  districts,  and  I  give 
them  for  what  they  are  worth. 

"In  the  report  on  commerce  and  navigation,  In  House  Ex.  Doc.,  7,  47th 
Cong,  M  Sess,^  24,  domestic  exports  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1882,  are 
stated  at  $:^,520;  and  in  Id.,  7,  46lh  Cong,  Sd  Sees,,  xvi.  24,  for  the  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1880,  at  $31,543. 

**M,  7,  47th  Cong.  Sd  Sess.,  736,  739. 

** Report  on  commerce  and  navigation,  in  Hoiise  Ex.  Doc.,  7,  4Sih  Cong, 
SdSeas,,  688,  703;  47th  Cong,  $d  Sesa.,  Id.,  7,  678,  696,  730. 


746  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  DISTRICT, 

While  Alaska  remains,  as  it  is  tcMlay,  little  more 
than  a  customs  district,  though  in  name  a  civil  and 
judicial  district,  no  better  results  need  be  anticipated. 
If  it  should  happen  that  in  the  year  1890,  when  the 
lease  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  expires,  its 
privileges  be  divided,  then  there  would  doubtless  be  a 
considerable  influx  of  population;  but  whether  such 
influx  would,  under  present  conditions,  be  of  benefit 
to  the  territory  or  to  the  United  States  is  a  somewhat 
doubtful  question.  Laying  aside,  however,  the  com- 
ments of  the  press,  and  of  disappointed  political  adven- 
turers, it  would  seem  to  an  impartial  observer  that  the 
claims  of  the  company  are  not  altogether  unworthy  of 
recognition.  Leasing  a  few  leagues  of  rock,  hanging 
almost  midway  between  thecontinents,they  have,  while 
making  larger  returns  to  stockholders  year  by  year 
than  were  made  by  the  Russian  American  Company 
in  a  decade,  paid  over  to  the  United  States  almost  the 
face  of  the  purchase  money,  and  by  their  forethought 
and  business  tact  furnished,  though  perhaps  incident- 
ally, means  for  wasteful  extravagance  in  other  sections 
of  the  territory.  It  is  probable  that  the  lessees  of 
the  Prybilof  Islands  were  at  first  no  less  sorely  dis- 
appointed with  their  bargain  than  were  the  purchasers 
of  the  Treadwell  lode,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that  in 
neither  instance  did  the  parties  foresee  the  difficulties 
that  lay  before  them.  The  fact  that  they  have  con- 
fronted and  overcome  those  difficulties,  and  while 
doing  so  have  laid  bare  some  of  the  resources  of 
Alaska,  is  one  that  needs  not  be  pleaded  against  them. 

What  there  is  to  be  pleaded  against  them,  save 
perhaps  their  success  as  a  business  association — the 
fact  that  in  1885  they  gathered  nine  tenths  of  the 
world's  supply  of  sea-otter  skins  and  three  fourths  of 
its  supply  of  fur-seal  skins,  their  chain  of  posts  ex- 
tending from  Kamchatka"  far  inland  to  the  wilder- 
ness on  the  purchase  of  which  the  secretary  of  state 

*•  Where  they  collect  a  few  sea-otter  skins,  a  large  number  of  sables,  and 
from  1,500  to  3,000  blue  fox  skins,  the  fur  of  the  last,  though  of  a  dingy 
slate  color,  being  considered  almost  as  valuable  as  that  of  the  white  fox. 


A  GOOD  BARGAIN.  747 

was  accused  of  wasting  $7,200,000;  that  when  they 
entered  upon  this  business  seal-skins  were  barely  sala- 
ble at  a  dollar,  and  have  since  found  a  ready  market 
at  from  twelve  to  twenty  dollars — the  reader  will 
judge  for  himself  from  the  statements  that  I  have 
laid  before  him.*^ 

Excepting,  perhaps,  Mr  Seward,  none  whose  names 
are  known  in  Alaskan  annals  provoked  about  the 
year  1870  so  much  of  cheap  ridicule  as  did  the  firm 
that  now  controls  the  seal  islands.  "What,  Mr 
Seward,"  asked  a  friend,  '*  do  you  consider  the  most 
important  measure  of  your  political  career?"  "  The 
purchase  of  Alaska,"  he  replied;  "  but  it  will  take  the 
people  a  generation  to  find  it  out."  * 

^^  Of  land  x>eltry  the  bulk  was  still  withered  in  1885  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Co.,  which  collected  250,000  to  3C@,000  mink  skins,  against  perhaps 
15,000  or  20,000  purchased  by  the  Alaska  Commercial  Co.,  the  latter  also 
gathering  8,000  or  10,000  beaver,  3,000  or  4,000  marten,  2,000  bear,  and  5,000 
or  6,000  lox  skins. 

**  Presenting  to  the  reader  the  facts  now  laid  before  him  and  the  con- 
clusions at  which  I  have  arrived,  it  remains  only  to  be  said  tbat  both  have 
been  stated  not  without  research  and  hesitation.  Whether  these  facts  and 
conclusions  are  such  as  he  will  indorse  is  a  matter  now  submitted  to  his  con- 
sideration. Concerning  the  annals  of  Alaska  after  the  transfer,  there  are  many 
conflicting  opinions,  and  even  as  to  the  military  occupation  there  is  some  lit- 
tle conflict  of  opinion.  Says  Capt.  J.  W.  White  of  the  revenue  service,  who 
was  ordered  to  Alaska  in  1867,  in  command  of  the  cutter  Lincoln,  besaring 
Professor  Davidson,  senior  coast  survey  officer,  and  in  charge  of  the  party: 
*As  I  understood  at  the  time  from  my  own  observations,  and  from  intercourse 
with  the  Russians  who  could  speak  English  and  understood  the  language, 
the  trouble  .there  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  Prince  Maksutof  did  not  hap- 
pen to  be  versed  in  the  English  language,  and  there  being  no  trustworthy 
interpreter  present,  did  not  know  what  he  transferred  to  the  United  States 
authorities.  His  people  would  go  to  him  and  say:  **This  was  m^  house;  the 
Russian  American  Company  donated  it  to  me.  I  am  informed  it  belongs  to 
the  American  government,  and  am  ordered  out  officially."  He  would  reply: 
"Go  out  officially,  then."  Who  the  parties  were  that  took  possession  of  the 
houses  I  don't  know.  They  might  have  been  government  officials,  or  per- 
haps mere  adventurers;  many  were  renegades  from  all  parts  of  the  world.' 
White's  Statement,  MS.,  5-6. 

Captain  J.  W.  White,  a  native  of  old  Virginia,  and  by  profession  a  sea-far- 
ing man,  though  first  employed  as  a  surveyor  on  the  northern  boundary  com- 
mission, entered  the  government  service  in  1855,  being  tlien  in  his  2Gth  year. 
During  the  civil  war  his  vessel  was  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac, 
and,  as  he  relates,  *would  drop  inside  the  enemy's  lines  at  night  and  pick  up 
the  mail-bags.'  In  command  of  the  U.  S.  steamer  Lincoln  he  voyaged  round 
the  Horn  in  1865,  and  returning  to  California,  superintended  the  build- 
ing of  all  the  life-boat  stations  on  the  Pacific  coast,  also  the  construction  of 
nine  steamers  for  the  government.  Ordered  to  Alaska  in  1867,  it  remains 
only  to  be  said  of  this  well-known  officer  that,  arriving  at  the  Prybilof  Islands 
at  a  somewhat  critical  juncture,  he  interfered  very  reluctantly,  though  at 
length  decisively,  to  stop  all  sealiug  then  and  there,  only  granting  the  natives 


748  ALASKA  AS  A  CIVIL  AND  JLT>ICIAL  DISTRICT. 

the  privilege  of  killine  what  they  needed  for  food,  and  recommended  that  St 
George  ana  St  Paul  be  made  a  government  reserve,  which  waa  accordingly 
done. 

As  with  the  five  preceding  chapters,  I  have  been  comj>ellcd  to  rely  mainly 
on  the  reports  of  congress,  magazmes,  newspapers,  and  in  this  instance  the 
United  States  statute  relating  to  Alaska,  in  presenting  to  the  reader  the  re- 
cent annals  of  the  territory 

With  the  exception  of  Alaska,  Its  Sottthem  Coast  and  the  Sithan  Arehipel- 
ago,  by  E,  Rvhamah  Scidmore,  I  am  not  aware  of  any  work,  apart  from  those  of 
a  scientific  nature,  published  within  the  last  two  or  three  years,  that  contributes 
anything  worthy  of  note  to  the  small  stock  of  information  which  the  Ameri- 
can public  now  possess  concerning  their  possessions  in  the  far  north-west. 
Most  of  the  above  work  was  first  published  in  serial  form  in  the  columns  of 
the  St  Lotiis  Olohe- Democrat  and  the  New  York  Times^  during  the  years  ^ 
1883-4;  to  which  are  added  the  author's  notes  of  a  trip  made  to  the  Sitkan 
Archipelago  during  the  summer  of  the  latter  year,  with  brief  jMungraphs 
containing  information  to  a  later  date. 

Subjoined  I  give  a  more  complete  list  of  the  authorities  consulted  in  the 
closing  chapter:  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  7,  46th  Cong.  Sd  Seas.,  pt  1,  1-25,  8(>-130, 
320-41,  GS8-90.  703,  740,  743,  834,  842;  Id.,  1,  pt  2,  47th  Cong.  1st  Sess., 
190-3,  604,  768-89;  Id.,  7,  pt  4,  80-1,  88;  Id.,  1,  pt5,  278,  361;  Id.,  2,  269; 
Id.,  1,  pt  5,  47(h  Cong.  £d  Sess.,  84,  212;  Id.,  pt  5,  278-82;  Id  ,  7,  pt  4, 4-24, 
90-135,  222-77,  680,  691-6,  736,  846,  888;  H.  Misc.  Doc.,  42,  47th  Cong.  Sd 
Sess.,  1-80,  93-6,  124-77;  H.  Com.  Repts,  47th  Coiig.  1st  Sess.,  236,  1106; 
//.  Jour.,  48th  Cong.  Ist  Sess.,  1282;  S.  Ex.  Doc.,  46th  Cong.  Sd  Sess.,  no.  12, 
p.  45,  67;  Id.,  48th  Cong.  1st  Sess.,  30;  U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  1882-3,  612; 
Id.,  18S3-4,  24,  26,  91,  157,  179,  206,  223;  U.  S.  10th  Census,  i  695-9;  Cir- 
cxdar  Bureau  Educ,  no.  2,  1882,  61-75;  KinhecuVs  Nevada  and  Alaska, 
MS.,  5,  15;  Burchard,  Report,  etc.,  1881,  169-71;  Id.,  1882,  184;  Id.,  1883, 
17-35;  Report  Direc.  of  the  Mint,  1881,  19;  Id.,  1882, 14;  Contemporaneous 
Biog.,  ii.  333-5;  Scidmore,  Alaska,  81  et  seq.,  93  et  seq.,  194-5,  246-7,  260, 
307;  The  Mines,  Miners,  etc.,  507;  Elliott  &  Co.  Hist.  Ariz.,  1,  206;  N.  Mex. 
Rf^isita  Cat.,  1883,  279;  Tucson,  Fronterizo,  Jan.  27, 1882;  Salt  Lake  Tribune, 
June  5,  1883;  San  Francisco  Alta,  Mar.  24,  1881,  Sept.  25,  Nov.  12,  1882; 
Bulletin,  1881,  Mar.  12,  30,  May  11,  21,  June  2,  13,  17;  1882,  Apr.  24;  1884, 
June  3,  July  29,  Aug.  19,  Dec.  18;  Call,  1884,  May  14,  July  30,  Oct.  28;  Post, 
May  5,  1885;  Chronicle,  1882,  Jan.  17;  1884,  June  30,  Oct.  28,  29,  Nov.  5, 10, 
17,  23;  1885,  Jan.  22,  26,  Feb.  5,  May  8,  30;  Sacramento  Record- Union,  1881, 
May  20,  21«  Aug.  26;  1883,  Deo.  31;  1884,  Feb.  18,  June  28. 


INDEX. 


Abo,  whaling  established  at,  584. 

"Abram,"  ship,  114. 

Acapulco,  Malaspina  at,  274. 

Achakoo  Island,  I^jnaUof  at,  268. 

Adakh  Island,  natives  of,  72;  Tolstykh 
at,  128;  expedt.  at,  131. 

"Adams,"  U.  S.  steamer,  723. 

Afifanassic,  missionary,  360. 

Affleck  Canal,  277. 

Afognak,  settlement,  208,  228,  229, 
682;  Ageic  at,  687,  688. 

Afognak  Island,  settlement  at,  230, 
287;  trees  on,  329;  chief  of,  349; 
fort  on,  414;  locality  favored,  680. 

Agatoo,  hunting  expedt.  at,  102;  na- 
tives attacked,  103. 

Aglegnntes,  natives,  144,  320;  fight 
with,  326,  346. 

Agriculture,  soil,  3;  experiments,  300, 
355;  settlements  for,  .352,  353,  390; 
at  Koss  Colony,  483-5. 

Aguirre,  Juan  Bautista,  in  Spanish 
expedt.,  218. 

Aiakhtalik,  village,  143,  308. 

Aiakhtalik  Island,  expedt.  at,  146;  vil- 
lage at,  230. 

Akamok  Island,  278. 

Akun,  209. 

Akun  Island,  villages  on,  562. 

Akutan,  expedt.  at,  154;  attack  on, 
105. 

Akutan  Pass,  353. 

Alaska,  geog.  division,  1,  2;  climate, 
2-6;  discovered  1740-1,  G.'i-74; 
Spanish  at,  197-20-2;  offl  cxplora- 
tions,  203-20;  colonies,  224-32, 
•  350-61,  490-509;  fur  trade,  232- 
54;  mission  work,  300-74;  as  a  U. 
S.  colony,  590-029;  commerce,  630- 
59;  fisheries,  000-70;  settlements, 
071-86;  a.;ric.  resources,  687-9; 
mining,  69.3-8;  as  a  civil  and  ju- 
dicial district,  717-48;  profits  of 
jnirohase,  722;  interior  explored, 
732-0. 


Alaska  Commercial  Co.,  actions  of, 
1869-84,  636-59;  charges  against, 
inquiry  into,  643^1 ;  lease  granted 
to,  644;  stores  of,  681 ;  payments  to 
govmt,  722;  claims  of,  746,  747. 

Alaska  Mill  and  Mining  Co.,  opera- 
tions of,  740-1. 

Alaska  Salmon  Packing  and  Fur  Co., 
743. 

Alaskan  Mts,  descrip.,  2,  3. 

Akiaka  Traders'  Protective  Asaoctn, 
actions  of,  649. 

Alava  Point,  origin  of  name,  277. 

"Albatross,"  voy.  of,  480. 

"Alert,"  ship,  at  Sitka,  406. 

Aleut,  origin  of  word,  106. 

Alien tian  Islands,  vegetation  of,  4; 
visitors  at,  111;  expedts  at,  130, 
137;  shipments  from,  242;  map, 
297, 683;  discovered,  375;  industries 
of,  627;  surveyed,  629;  whaling- 
ground,  668. 

Aleuts,  hunting  expedts,  235,  236, 
286;  despondency  of,  289;  treat- 
ment of,  291,  310,  313,  603;  tribute 
paid,  297,  639-41;  character  of, 
642. 

Alexander  I.,  visits  Erusenstem,  423. 

Alexander  Archipelago,foreign  traders 
in,  321,  3*25. 

"Alexandr,"  ship,  426,  414;  wrecked, 
494. 

"Alexandr  Nevski,*'  ship,  185,  187. 

Alexandrovsk,  trading  post,  262,  321, 
679;  Shclikof  Co.  at,3:W,335;  Bar- 
auof  at,  395;  Kussians  at,  522. 

Alexandrovsk  Fort,  named,  522. 

Alexeief,  Fedot,  expedt.,  death  of, 
22-4. 

Alexeief,  Ivan,  at  Unalaska,  291. 

Alin,  Luka,  partnership  with  Sheli- 
kof,  182. 

Aliseia  region,  Cossacks  subdue,  1646, 
21. 

Aliseia  River,  30. 

Alitak  Bay,  14.1. 

Aiiulik  Cape,  144,  145. 

<749) 


750 


INDEX. 


AUegretti,  Peter,  in  Billings'  expedt., 
283,  291,  294. 

Almirante,  Boca  del,  named,  218. 

Althorp,  Port,  Vancouver,  at,  279. 

Amchitka  Island,  181,  285. 

American  Russ.  Commer.  Co.  with- 
draws bid,  644. 

Americans  in  Alexander  Archipelago, 
321;  forestall  Baranof,  384;  en- 
croachments of,  398,  399. 

"Amethyst,"  voy.  of,  481. 

Amik  Island,  191. 

Aminak,  Arsenti,  deposition  of,  144-7. 

Amla  Island,  school  on,  709. 

Amlag  Island,  128. 

Amlia  Island,  122,  128,  260. 

Amoor  River,  silver  mines  on,  20. 

Amossof,  expedt.  of  1723-4,  30,  31. 

Amukhta  Island,  expedt.  at,  164. 

Anadir  River,  expedt.  at,  1648,  1728, 
22-4,  37;  Spanberg  at,  41;  Cos- 
sacks of,  292;  Baranof  at,  314;  trad- 
ing post  on,  316. 

Anadirsh,  expedt.  from  1669,  24. 

Anadirskoi,  Pavlutzki  at,  1730,  41. 

Ananli,  tribe,  23. 

Anchor  Point,  Cook  names,  208. 

Anchugof,  expedt.  of,  90. 

''Andreian  i  Natalia,"  ship,  wreck  ofj 
117,  127-9. 

"Andreian  i  Natalia,"  new  ship,  140; 
voy.  of,  168. 

Andreianof  Island.  576. 

Andreianovski  Islands,  origin  of  name, 
129,  181,  536. 

Andreief  station  destroyed,  675. 

Andreief,  Vassili,  in  expeilt.,  93. 

Angarka  river,  Billings  at,  295. 

Ankadinof,  Gerassim,  expedt.,  death 
of,  1868,  22-4. 

Anti-monopoly  Assoctn  of  Pac.  Coast, 
actions  of,  649. 

Anvik  river,  expedt.  at,  549. 

"ApoUon,"  sloop  of  war,  539. 

Api-axin,  Count,  instructions  to,  36. 

"Arab,"  voy.  of,  538. 

"Aranzazu,"  ship,  275. 

Arbusof,  Lieut,  attack  on  Kolosh, 
42I>-30. 

Arguello,  Alf.,  Ross  Colony  offered 
to,  4.'58. 

Arguollo,  Concepcion  de,  quarrel  with 
Rczanof,  457. 

"Arkhangel  Mikhail,"  ship,  60,  97; 
voy.  of,  170,  171. 

Armonus,  Moritz,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Artea^^a,  Ignacio,  expedt.  of,  1776, 
217  21;  takes  possession  of  latitude 
59  deg.  8  min.,  2*20. 

"Aithur,"  ship,  280. 


Ashley,  James  M.,  introdaces  bill  to 

organize  ter.,  620. 
Asiak  Island,  548. 
Askolkof,  Afanassiy,  in  hunting  ex* 

pedt.,  1759,  123. 
Astolabe,  ship,  255. 
Astor,  sends  expedt  to  Alaska^  468- 

71. 
Astrakhan,  English  at,  1573,  9. 
Asuncion,  pnerto  de  la,  named,  218. 
Atach  Island,  128. 

"Atahnalpa,"  Baranof  porchaBeSy  472. 
Atchu  Island,  128. 
Atkha  Island  discovered,  112. 
Atkha,  manufacture  at,  690. 
Atkha  Isknd,  expedt.  at,  121,  123; 

outbreak  of  natives,  122;  Shelikof 

at,  223;  agent's  cruelty,  448. 
Atlassof,    conquest   of    Kamchatka, 

1706,  24-6.        •* 
Atnah  River.     See  Copper  River. 
"Atrevida,"  ship,  274. 
Attoo  Island,  73,  93,  116,  127,  131, 

170,  173;  fight  at,  102,  104,  105. 
"Aurora,"  frigate,  571. 
Avatanok  Island,  village  on,  562. 
Avatcha  Bay,  expedta  at,  61,  65,  67, 

74,  93,   131,   290,   295;    coast  ex- 
plored, 95. 
Ayres  Geo.,  expedt.  to  CaL,  479-80; 

purchases  from,  529. 


B 


Babcock,  petition  of,  1874,  693. 

Baffin  Bay,  203,  216,  354. 

Bagial,  puerto  del,  named,  218. 

Ba^inef  Alexe'i.  in  hunting  expedt,  112. 

Baikal  Lake,  Russians  at,  20. 

Brainbridge,  Port,  named,  278. 

Baker  Point,  277. 

Bakof,  Afanassi,  in  expedts,  109,  283, 
2iH,  296. 

Bakulin,  in  expedt,  294,  296. 

Bakutun,  native  chief,  128. 

Halachcf,  Ivan,  in  expedt..  549. 

Ballemau,  Count,  at  St  Helena,  502. 

Balin,  Vassili,  hunting  expedt.,  108, 
117. 

K'lltimore,  Benyovaki,  at,  18'J. 

Bilushin,  Amos,  in  expedt,  336; 
treatment  of  natives,  340;  in  con- 
trol, 342;  commu.,  345. 

Baucas,  las,  Bay,  named,  274. 

Banks,  Point,  206,  208. 

Banks,  Port,  named,  259,  265. 

Banner,  Ivan  Ivanovich,  biog.  of,  416; 
at  St  Paul,  425,  448;  BanmoPa 
treatment  of,  515. 


INDEX. 


751 


Banner,  Mra,  in  charge  of  school,  706. 
"Baranof,"  ship,  voy.  of,  646. 

Baraaof,  Alexander,  Aleuts  in  service 
of,  238, 239;  confidence  of,  299;  treat- 
ment of,  302;  on  the  Anadir,  314; 
career  and  traits  of,  315-33;  pacific 
attitude,  337,  338;  policv,  340-4; 
offl  act*  of,  352-74,  413^20,  453- 
7,  491-3,  504-9;  troubles  with  mis- 
sionariea^ .  .360-74;.  founds  Sitka, 
"381-400;  sickness,  384;  desires  re- 
lief, 394,  493;  tour  of  colonies,  394- 
8;  Instructions  to,  414;  promoted, 
416,  462;  narrow  escape,  426,  427; 
defeat  of,  430;  conspiracy  against, 
/  463^;  contracts  for  Cal.  fnrs,  477- 
80;  found8~1Ros5  CoTony,"  4SI;  '  dis- 
pute with  Lozarcf,  504;  close  of  ad- 
mlnistratitH),  5)0-29;  death,  514; 
character,  514-20. 

Baranof  Island,   map  of,    676;    lead 
found  on,  696. 

Barber,  Capt.,  at  Port  Althorp,  280. 

Barclay,  Capt. ,  visit  of ,  244,  295,  296. 

Barentz,  Willem,  in  expedt.,  death, 
11-13. 

Baranovich,  Charles  V. ,  smuggling  by, 
635. 

Barber,  Capt. ,  conduct  at  Kadiak,  413; 
at  St  Paul,  461;  wrecked,  462. 

**Barfolomei  i  Vamabaa,"  ship,  voy- 
age of,  183. 

Barnabas,  Cape,  208. 

Barnard,  Lieut,  fate  of,  572-4. 

Bamashef,  in  expedt.,  136;  death  of, 
148. 

Barren  Island,  208,  287. 

Barton,  Ainer.  whaler  at  Novo  Ark- 
hangelsk, 583. 

Bashmakof,    Feodor,    trial    of,    700, 
701. 

Bashnakof,  Petr,  in  hunting  expedt., 
115;  wrecked,  118. 

Baskakof,  Dmitri,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Basaof ,  voyage  of,  1743, 99,  102;  death 
of,  101. 

Batakof,  in  expedts,  233,  293. 

Batavia,  Hagemeister  at,  527. 

Baturin,  Col,  in  conspiracy,  175,  178; 
escapes,  405. 

Baylio  Bazan,  harbor  named,  275. 

Beach  Cape,  265. 

Beard8lee,Capt.,  cruise  of,  728;  charts 
of,  629. 

Bear  ledge,  acct  of,  741. 

Bears,  black,  scarcity  of,  254. 

Beaton  Island,  277. 

VBeaver,"  ship,  472. 

Beaver  Bay,  Mcares  at,  260;  Rezanof 
at,  445. 


Beavers,  on  Cook  Inlet,  254;  ship- 
ment oi  furs,  659. 

Bechevin,  expedt.  of,  122,  165. 

Bede,  Point,  Cook  names,  208. 

Beechey  Cape,  553. 

Beechey,  Capt. ,  visit  of,  547,  572. 

Behm  Canal,  276,  277. 

Behm,  Masnus  Carl  von,  comdt  of 
Kamchatka  1772,  118,  182;  Cook's 
visit,  213. 

Beketof,  Ostrog  built,  1632,  18. 

Beliaief,  Alexei,  exy)lores  Attoo,  104; 
attacks  natives,  105,  106. 

Beliaief,  Larion,  in  hunting  expedt., 
102. 

Belkovisky,  school  at,  10. 

Belui,  Ivan  in  expedt.,  93. 

Bcnnet,  Capt.,  expedt.  of,  503,  504. 

Bennett  Lake  named,  734. 

Benijovski,  Count,  conspiracy  of,  153, 
175-182,  318;  fate  of,  182. 

Berensen,  William,  in  expedt,  93. 

Berezof,  natives  of,  tribute  from,  232. 

Berezovsky  reveals  conspiracy,  464. 

Bergman,  Isaac,  councilman  of  Sitka, 
601. 

Berg,  Vassili,  authority,  99. 

Bering  Bay,  204,  256,  648. 

Bering,  Lt  C,  in  expedt.,  283,  294. 

Bering  Island,  named,  92;  expedts  at, 
109,  114,  110,  120,  121,  127,  136, 
140,  164,  168,  173,  181,  190,  223; 
wreck  at,  114. 

Bering  Sea,  pass  into,  209;  survey  of, 
547. 

Bering  Strait,  157,  216,  292,  473,  532, 
636,  548,  553,  576. 

Bering,  Vitus,  voy.  and  expedts  of,  13, 
36-62,  64,  75-98;  docs  of,  43;  char- 
acter, 46, 48, 67;  family  of,  48;  char- 
acter investigated,  59;  separates  from 
Cherikof,  68;  death,  89. 

Bcrkhan,  Johann,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Berrer*8  Bay  named,  279. 

Berry,  Major,  requeftt  for  U.  S.  ship, 
619. 

Betge,  Matthias,  in  expedt.,  64,  90,  04. 

Biatzinin,  Andrei',  in  conspiracy,  179. 

Bielski,  Kasimir,  in  conspiracy,   179. 

Billings,  Capt.,  voy.,  and  expedts  of, 
13,  42, 190,273,  282-304;  promotion, 
2SsS,  291;  result  of  expedt.,  296-299. 

Biref,  Ivan,  in  expedt,  93. 

Blake,  survey  of,  576. 

Blanchard,  hunting  expedt.  to  Cal. 
1811,481. 

Blashhc,  Dr,  medical  service  of  561-2. 

Blishic  Island,  in  Atkha  district,  536. 

Blishui,  Island  group,  102. 

**  Blossom,  "^ip,  547. 


752 


INDEX. 


Bobrovoi  Bay,  Billiogs'  expedt.  ut, 

286. 
Bocas  de  Quadra,  277. 
Bocharof,  explor.  expedts,  230,  266- 

70,  3ia-20,  324,  340.  385. 
Bodega  Bay,  Ayres  at,  480;  Kuskof 

at,  482. 
Bolsberetsk,  ships  wrecked  at,  61, 162; 

school  at,  62;  expedts  at,  64,  163, 

170,  230,   290;  coast  explored,  95; 

conspirators  at,  177,  181. 
"Bolsheretsk,"  ship,  97. 
Bolsheretsk,  Ivan,  in  trading  co.,  186. 
"Bordelais,"  French  ship,   voy.   of, 

62-2-5. 
Borde,  Bontervillien  de  la,  death  of, 

259. 
Borde,  Marchanyille  de  la,  death  of, 

259. 
"  Boris  i  Gleb,"  ship,  1 12,  114. 
Bomovolokof,    Counsellor,   drowning 

of,  493. 
Borrowe,  Lt,  actions  at  Fort  Wran- 

ffeli,  614,  615. 
*'  Boston,"  ship,  voy.  of,  478,  602. 
Boston,  trade  with,  446,  454. 
*'Bou8soIe,"  ship,  255. 
Boutwell,  Geo.  s.,  testimony  of,  643, 

645. 
Bowles,  Capt,  in  N.  W.  trade,  406. 
Bradfield  Canal,  277. 
Brady,  John   G.,   Commr  at  Sitka, 

728. 
Bragin,  in  expedt.,    131-5;  map  of, 

172. 
Brandorp,  Jalien,  in  conspiracy,  179. 
Brant,  Mikhail,  in  expedt.,  04. 
Brauner,  Peter,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Brest,  La  Perouse  leaves,  255. 
Bristol  Bay,  200,  2S7,  521,  536,  562, 

68.3;  surveyed,  546;  agric.  at,  687; 

cannery  at,  743. 
Bristtw,  B.  U.,  examination  of,  643; 

testimony  of,  047.  650. 
**  Brutus,"  Amer.  ship,  525. 
BrOnnikof,  Sergei,  in  Billings' expedt., 

283;  death  of,  290. 
Brook  Cove,  203,  207. 
Broughton,  W.  R.,  Lieut,  in  Vancou- 
ver's expedt.,  270. 
Brown,  Capt.,  expedt.  of,  239,  277, 

279,  348,  349. 
Buaclie,  defence  of  Maldonado,  274. 
Bubnof,  ship-builder,  156.  ^^ 

Bucarcli  Sound,  201,  217. 
Bucarcli  Port,  250,  259,  275,  277. 
Biulishchcf,  Peter,  in  trading  co.,  186. 
Buj^'or,  Vassili,  at  the  Lena,  1628,  18. 
Buldakof,    Mikhail,    director    Russ. 

Amer.  Co.,  410. 


Bnlkley,  C.  S.,  Capt.,  expedt.    of, 

1865,  677. 
Bulldir  Island,  128. 
Bullion,  production,  739. 
Burakof,    Spiridon,   in   trading    oo.. 

186. 
Burenin,  owned  ship,  171. 
Burling  Thomas,  petition  qf,  693. 
Burrough  Bay,  277. 
Busa,  at  the  Yama  1638,  19. 
Bush,  voyage  to  Kamchatka,  1716,  31. 
Batzovski,  William,  in  expedt.,  93. 


Caamafio  Cape,  explored,  277. 

Caamafio,  Jacinto,  voyage  of,  1792, 
275. 

Caldera,  pnerto  de  la,  named,  218. 

Caldwell,  Lt,  explor.  expedt.  of,  736. 

California,  explor.  of  coast,  44;  coast 
N.W.  of  explored,  195;  Vancouver 
at,  277;  trade  with,  453,  687; 
"Juno "sent to,  456. 

California,  fur-hunting  in,  478-88; 
crop  failure,  1829,  537-6;  trade 
with  Siberia,  630. 

Callao,  Lozaref  at,  505. 

Camacho  Island,  named,  273. 

Camacho,  Joe^  in  Spanish  expedt., 
218. 

Camacho,  Teniente,  expedt.  pre- 
vented, 270. 

Camden,  Port,  named,  280. 

Campbell,  Capt.,  expedt.  of,  416,  462, 
479,  490-2. 

Canada,  furs  from,  242. 

Candle-fish,  description  of,  666-7. 

Canning-Stratford,  Lord,  at  conven- 
tion, 1825,  543. 

Canton,  Lisiansky  at,  430. 

Captain  Bay  surveyed,  296. 

Captain  Harbor,  expedt.  at,  164-5, 
190;  Ledyard  at,  212. 

"Captain  Cook,"  ship,  voyage  of,  243, 
260. 

Carmen  Island  named,  219. 

"Caroline,"  ship,  388. 

Caspian,  robbers  infesting,  9. 

"Catherine,"  voy.  of,  481. 

Catherine  I.,  tsar's  instructions  to, 
36. 

Catherine  II.,  orders  of,  252-3;  peti- 
tion to,  352;  death,  377. 

Catherineburg  arsenal,  37. 

Cedar,  yellow,  value  of,  089-90. 

C^notapbe,  L'Isle  du,  named,  259. 

Census  1880,  711. 

Chageluk  River,  natives  from,  550. 


INDEX. 


753 


Chaglokof,  in  expedt.,  1740,  64. 

Chalmers,  Port,  278. 

Chamisao,  scientist  with  Eotzebae, 
494. 

Chamisso  Island  discovered,  495. 

Chancellor,  Richard,  in  Russia,  8. 

Chaplin  at  Okhotsk,  97. 

"  Charon,"  voy.  of,  481. 

Chart,  Gvozdefs  land,  39. 

"Chatham,"  ship,  276,  348. 

Chatham,  Port,  679. 

Chatham  Strait,  279,  390,  437. 

Chebaievskoi,  Afanassi,  permit  to, 
101. 

Chebaievski,  Terentiy,  at  Attoo  Isl- 
and, 128;  hunting  expedt.,  1760, 
130;  built  ship,  140. 

Chebykin,  Ssava,  in  trading  co.,  186. 

Checherin,  Dennis  Ivanovich,  em- 
press* order  to,  130. 

Chekin,  Nikifor,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Cheluisken,  Semen,  in  expedt,  93. 

Cheredof,  Capt.,  in  commd  of  Kam- 
chatka, 111. 

Cherepanof,  Stepan,  hunting  expedt., 
1759  123 

"Cheruni  Orel,"  ship,  293,  295. 

Chemof,  expedt.  of,  553. 

Chernoff,  Ivan,  Kolosh  hostage,  438. 

Chemyshef,  Count,  examines  f  urtrade, 
308. 

"  Chichagof,"  voy.  of,  647-8. 

Chichagof  Island,  200,  279. 

Chichagof,  Lieut,  expedt.  of,  160,  194. 

Chicherin,  Gov.,  expedt.  arranged  by, 
158. 

Chikhachef,  Ivan,  in  expedt.,  1740, 64, 
93;  death,  73. 

Chile,  furs  from,  245. 

Chilkat  Inds.,  hostility  of,  1869,  612. 

Chilkat  River,  exploration  of,  629. 

China,  trade  with,  241>3,  469;  trade 
with  Okhotsk,  422. 

Chinese,  sea-otter  trade,  88. 

Chinenoi,  in  expedt.,  160. 

Chiiiiak,  trading  post  at,  230 

Chiniatsk  Cape,  208. 

Chiniatz,  native  from,  404. 

Chirikof,  Alexei,  expedts  of,  36,  48, 
49,  59,  61,  68,  74,  79,  93,  94;  dis- 
covers Alaska.  67-74;  character,  67; 
sick,  73;  in  Siberia,  96;  mishap  to, 
196. 

Chirikof  Bay,  258. 

Chirikof  Cape,  259. 

Chirikof  Island  named,  278. 

Chistiakof,  Lieut,  voy.  of,  637;  ap- 
pointed governor,  539;  rule  of,  539- 
48,  582-3. 

Choglokof,  Agafon,  in  expedt,  93. 
Hist.  Alaska.    48 


Cholcheka,  trouble  with,  609-11. 

Cholmondeley  Sound,  277. 

Clioris,  artist  with  Kotzebue,  494. 

Christian  Sound  named,  259. 

Chugachuik  Gulf,  300;  Baranof  on, 
325. 

Chugatsches,  attack  of,  187;  natives, 
228,  313;  station  in  country  of, 
230;  in  hunting  expeditions,  236-7; 
treachery  of,  268;  dread  of  Russians, 
325;  feud  with,  343;  in  Yakutat  ex- 
pedt, 345;  trading  with  Lebedef 
Co.,  346;  submission  of,  357;  forts 
in  territory  of,  414;  with  Bfuranof, 
438. 

Chugatsch  Mts,  350. 

Chugatz  Gulf,  345,  576;  decrease  of 
fur  yield,  528;  in  Kadiak  district, 
536. 

Chukchi,  land  of,  described,  21 ;  fight 
with,  1648,  23;  refuse  to  pay  trib- 
ute, 1711,  27;  fights  of,  1730-1, 
41-2. 

Chukchi,  country  of,  283, 291;  treach- 
ery of,  295-7,  315. 

Chukotcha  River,  30. 

Chukotsk  Cape  surveyed,  547. 

Chukotskoi  Noss,  cape,  27;  battle  at, 
1730,  42.       . 

Chuprof,  Nikolai,  in  hunting  expedt., 
1745,  102-5;  in  expedition,  1758, 
119. 

Chuprof,  Yakof,  in  hunting  expedt., 
101-5;  outrages  on  natives,  119. 

Churches,  first  built,  699;  diocese  es- 
tablished, 701;  cathedral,  70i-3. 

Churin,  Ivan,  in  conspiracy,  179. 

Cinnabar,  6%. 

Civil  government,  phantom  of,  718- 
20. 

Clarke,  Capt.,  journey,  death,  214-16. 

Clark  Bay,  Dixon  at,  265. 

Clark  Island,  Cook  names,  211. 

Clear  Cape,  267. 

Clergy,  condition  of,  700-1. 

Cleveland,  Capt.,  at  Norfolk  Sound, 
388. 

Climate,  rainfall,  711. 

Coal  found  in  ter.,  693-5. 

Coal  Harbor  named,  262;  Fidalgo 
visits,  273;  mining  at,  693-4. 

Cod-banks,  extent  of,  663,  664. 

Cod-fishery,  663-5. 

Coghlan,  Capt.,  I.  B.,  services  of,  729. 

Cole,  Senator,  efforts  of,  593. 

Collins,  Major,  project  of,  576. 

Colonization,  1783-7,  222-31;  1794-6, 
351-60. 

Columbia  River,  277;  Astor  abandons 
post,  472. 


7M 


INDEX. 


Oflyer,  yiooent,  Tint  of,  709. 
Commander  IsUod,  ezpedt.  at,  174^ 
108;    ezpedt.    at,   191;   in    Atkha 
diiftrici,  536. 
Cotnpauiea,  atrile    between,   1791-4, 

334-50. 
Comptroller  Bay,  2M;  Thiinkeeta  of, 

239;  adapted  to  agrieoltore,  38a 
Concl anion  bland,  277. 
Couclosion  Fort,  VancoDTer  at,  280. 

Conde  Island,  273. 

Congrete,  meaanres  of,  603-4. 

CooMtantine  and  Helen,  fort,  414. 

Cook,  interpreter  at  Sandwich  Island, 
498. 

Corjk,  Capt,,  voyage  of,  1778-9,  190, 
20-2-14,  219,  277,  498;  speculations, 
240;  opinions,  251;  at  Unalaska, 
280;  at  Montague  Island,  288;  but. 
▼eys  of,  296. 

Cook  Inlet,  206,  236,  240.  262^,  273, 
278,  291,  301,  315,  530,  562;  attack 
of  natives,  137;  station  established, 
228;  fort  abandoned,  229;  Meares 
at,  260;  settlement  at,  271;  Spanish 
ship  at,  287;  sea-otters  in,  314;  ex- 
pcdt.  to,  321, 681;  permanent  estab- 
lishmt  in,  334;  hostilities  in,  336-9; 
Russians  at,  522;  leading  indostry 
of,  627;  cannery  removd  to,  662; 
settlement  at,  671. 

Cook  river,  256. 

Copenhagen,  Kmaenstem's  expedt. 
at,  424. 

Copper,  695-6. 

Copper  Inland,  128;  abandanoe  of  fur, 
100;  expedition  at,  108;  Glottof  at, 
140;  visits  to  forbidden,  141;  bant- 
ers at,  168;  expedition  at,  170; 
Shelikof  at,  223. 

Cofjper  Uiver,  187,  191,208,  219,  278, 
326,  345,  346,  384,  451,  525,  576; 
copper  obtained  on,  695. 

Coronation  Island,  277. 

"Corwin,"  U.  S.  ship,  voy.  of,  619, 
73G,  737. 

Co8«ack8,  attack  of,  1573,  9;  centary- 
iiiarch,  1578-1724, 14-34;  character, 
10-17. 

Cowan,  Lt,  shooting  of,  617. 

Coxc,  Capt.,  at  Aleutian  Islands,  285; 
with  Prybilof,  298,  299. 

Cross,  Cape,  264,  279. 

Cross  Sound,  204,  220,  236,  259,  264, 
2G5,  274,  279. 

Croyere,  Use  de  la,  named,  259. 

Croybro,  Louis,  in  expedts,  52-61,  64- 
6,  94;  maps  of,  G5,  76;  death,  74; 
widow  marries,  96. 

"CruUer,"  frigate,  539. 


I  Croaif  Island,  576. 

t  CrymakoQ.  visit  to  Hagemeister,  ^1. 

Coadn  y  Bodega,  expedL  of,  197-202, 
204,  217-21;  map  of  voy.,  19& 

Coadra  Iskad,  named,  273. 

Currency  among  Inda,  635. 

Custom  service,  gov.  report,  730l 

Cutting  &  Co.,  cannmfia,  662,  743. 


Dan,  W.  H.,  Aliuia,  574  et  seq.;  ap- 
pointment of,  577;  anrvey  ok,  629; 
statement,  687. 

Dasfakof,  advice  to  Astor,  468. 

Daoerkin,  in  expedt.,  292,  293. 

Davidof,  Lt,  in  Rnss.  Amer.  Co.,  363; 
instructions  to,  450;  fate  of,  458, 
459. 

Davidson,  Geo.,  report  of,  629. 

Davidson,  Professor,  survey  of,  612, 
613. 

Davis,  expedt.  of,  481,  529. 

Davis,  Gen.,  oomd  of  troops,  600; 
trouble  with  Inds,  609-12. 

Dealarof,  Eustrate,  director  Bnse. 
Amer.  Co.,  416. 

De  Fonte,  discoveries  of,  277. 

De  Fuca,  discoveries  of»  277. 

De  Langle,  in  La  Perouse's  expedt, 
255. 

Delarof,  Eustrate,  expedt.  of,  185, 
187-90,  228;  entertains  Meares, 
260;  interview  with  Spanish,  271- 
3;  comd  of  colony,  286;  confi- 
dence of,  299;  character  of,  320^ 
321;  biog.,  314,  315. 

Delarof,  Port,  fort  at,  414. 

De  Leseepe,  with  La  P^ronse,  312. 

"Delphin,"8hip,  333,  355. 

Delusive  Island,  search  for,  102. 

Dementief,  in  expedts,  64,  93;  capture 
of,  69-71. 

Demianenkof,  disaster  of,  455,  456, 
515. 

De  Montamal,  death  of,  259. 

De  Monti  Bay,  named,  256. 

Denbigh,  Cape,  Cook  names,  210. 

Dennis,  L  C.,  deputy  collector,  620, 
625. 

Dennison,  W.  H.,  CoL,  narrow  escape 
of,  617. 

De  Pierrevert,  death  of,  259. 

Derby,  Cape,  Cook  names,  210, 

Deriabin,  late  of,  572-4. 

Dershabin,  Vassili,  in  expedt.,  549. 

"Descubierta,"  ship,  274. 

D'Escures,  death  of,  259. 

Desengaao,  Port,  named,  274. 


INDEX 


753 


Deshnef,  Simeon,  ezpedt.  of  1648-50, 

12.  22-4. 
Desburinakoi,  Origor,  in  trading  co., 
•  186. 

DcBpotism,  benefits  of,  113. 
Destruction,  Strait,  origin  of  name,  390. 
Desty,  Robert,  charses  against  Alaska 

Commer.  Co.,  648-9;  retracts,  650. 
Devi^re,   comdr   at    Okhotsk,    1741, 

61-2;  biog.,  61. 
Diakonof,    Vassily,    in    Billings'  ez- 
pedt, 283. 
"Diana,"  Rus.sloopof  war,  466-9, 571. 
Dioaiede  Islands,  38,  41. 
"  Discovery,*' sliip,  202,  276. 
Dixon,  Capt.,  voy.  of  1785-6,  240, 251, 

261-5;  fars  collected  by,  244. 
Dixon  Sound,  196,  530. 
Dixon  Strait,  275. 

"Dobraia  Namarenia,"  ship,  285, 526. 
Dodge,  Qrst  mayor  of  Sitka,  601;  acct 

of  mil.  occupation,  606,  607. 
Dokhturof,  Lieut,  sent  from  Batavia 

to  colonies,  527. 
Dolores,  pnerto  de  los,  named,  218. 
Donskoi,  Vassili,  in  expedt.,  549. 
Douglas,  Cape,  206,  208. 
Douglas,  Capt.,  mistake  of,  248;  at 

Spring  Comer  Cove,  267. 
Douglas  Island,  named,  280;  mining 

at,  697,  740-2. 
Douglas,  Sir  James,  actions  of,  557-8. 
Drake,  landing  of,  at  Point  Reyes, 

1589,  481. 
Drunkard's  Bay,  Lisiansky's  visit  to, 

434. 
Drushinnin  AlexeY,  voy.  and  expedt., 

114,  121,  131-3;  death,  133. 
Dudin  (1st},  in  expedt.,'  160. 
Dudin  (2d),  in  expedt.,  160. 
Duke  of  Clarence  Strait,  276,  277. 
Duke  of  York  Island,  277. 
Duncan  Canal,  277. 
Duncan,    Rev.  Wra,    smuggling  by, 

635. 
Durnef,  Radion,  hunting  expedt.  1757, 

114. 
Durygin,  in  trading  co.,  186. 
Dusliakof,  MikhaU,  in  trading  co.,  186. 


E 


East,  Cape,  210. 

East  India  Co.,  ship  of,  230;  privi- 
leges to,  245. 

Ehbcts,  Capt.,  voy.  of,  468-471. 

••  Eclipse,"  ship,  478;  wrecked,  479. 

EdKecoml)e,  Cape,  204,  259,  274.  275, 
350,  57a 


Edgecombe,  Moant,  265,  437,   49.% 

674. 
Education,  advance  of,   706-10;  ap- 
propriation for,   725;   miss,   work, 

726,  727;  gov.  rept  on,  730. 
Esoochshac  Bay,  Cook  names,  211. 
"  Ekaterina,"  ship,   352,    356,    404, 

426. 
•*  Elena,"  ship,  voy.  of,  637,  539. 
Eleonof,  Major,    conidt    at    Kishne- 

kamtchatsk,  312. 
Eliot,  voy.  toCal,  493,497;  captivity, 

494;  at  Sandwich  Isls,  499. 
''Eliza,"  ship,  389. 
Elizabeth,  Cape,  206,  208.  220,  271, 

273,  278. 
Elizabeth,  Empress,  instructions  to, 

36;  orders  of,  107;  report  to,  127. 
"  Elizaveta,"  ship,  97, 181,  385,  414, 

443;  voy.  of,   636,  637;  wreck  of, 

45.5  515. 
Elliott,  H.  W.,  statement   of,   652, 

653. 
Endogarof,  Lieut,  in  expedt.,  52,  93. 
Engafto.  Cabo  de,  199,  204,  259. 
England,  Kotzebue's  reception  in,  502; 

war  with  Russia,  570-2. 
English,   expedts   of,   8-10,    25$^G5, 

321,  348,  349;  in  Russ.  employ,  341, 

342;  aggressiveness    of,    247,   248, 

384,  396;  cUims  of,  40a 
*•  Enterprise,"  ship,  389,  469,  572. 
Erling.  left  at'IUiuliuk  Bay,  294. 
Eschscholtz  Bay,  named,  496. 
E^chscholtz,  Dr,  with  Kotzebue,  494; 

discovery  of,  436. 
Eselberg,  AndreXan,  in   expedt.,   64, 

93. 
Eskimos,  hostility  of,  653. 
Esquivel,  bahia  de,  named,  218. 
Estrella,  puerto  dela,  named,  218. 
Etches,  Port,  named,  263;  Portlock  at, 

264;  sUtion  at,  339. 
Etolin,  Lieut,   voy.   of,   538,   548-8; 

apptd  gov.,  559;  offl  acts  of,  562- 

6,583. 
Eudokia  Island,  discovered,  82. 
Everette,  Dr,  explor.  of,  735,  736;  on 

mining  outlook,  738. 
**  Experiment,'*  ship,  243, 260. 


ip, 
al,] 


Explorations,  official,  1773-9, 194-221, 


P 


Fairweather,  Cape,  256. 
Fairweather,  Mt,  204,  264. 
Falkland  Islands,  fum  from,  245. 
Falmouth,  Krusensteru's  expedt.  at, 
424. 


756 


INDEX. 


Famlloiics,  hanting-post  established, 

487-«. 

Famam,  Ra^&el,  journey  of,  472-3. 

Fedor,  attack  on  Kussians,  451. 

Fedorof,  Ivau,  in  expedt.,  17*27-30,37 
-40;  bioR.,  40;  explor.  of,  44. 

Feich,  Caspar,  in  expedt.,  1740,  64-93. 

**Feniks,"  ship,  36o;  wrecked,  394, 
395. 

Fidalgo  Volcano,  273. 

Fidalgo  Inlet  named,  278. 

Fidalgo,  Salvador,  explor.  expedt.  of, 
27:i-4. 

Figil,  coast  explored  1742,  95. 

Figueroa,  Gov.,  demands  of,  554. 

Filevski,  missionary,  58. 

"Finland,"  Amer.  ship,  525. 

Fischer,  Johann,  in  cx[>edt.,  94. 

Fifth,  abimdance  of,  4;  salmon,  228. 

Fisher,  in  expedt.,  52. 

Fisheries  1867-84,  660-70;  canneries, 
744;  salmon  supply,  745. 

Flassan,  death  of,  259. 

Flores,  Viceroy,  commu.  to  king,  272, 
273. 

Flores,  Canal  de.  named,  271. 

Flores,  Puerto  de,  named,  271. 

Florida  Blauca  named,  271. 

Fo^'gy  Island  discovered,  82;  Cook  at, 
208. 

Fomin,  at  Bristol  Bay,  562. 

Forrester  Island,  196,  201. 

*'  Fortuna,"  ship,  36,  38,  97;  ^vrecked, 
60. 

Fox,  black,  catch  of,  059. 

Fox,  blue,  catch  of,  659. 

Fox  Island,  J 15,  145,  191. 

Fox,  silver-gray,  catch  of,  059. 

Francaia,  Port  des,  243,  256,  257,  270. 

Franklin,  Sir  John,  search  for,  572. 

Frederick,  Port,  named,  279. 

FreelK>rn,  James,  preadt  of  mining 
CO.,  740;  statement  of,  740-1. 

French,  int.  in  N.  W.,  255,  275,  276; 
at  Petropavlovak,  296;  in  Alexan- 
andcr  Archipelago,  321;  visit  Nor- 
folk-Sound, 522;  conduct  of,  1854, 
571. 

Fry,  E.  M.,  director  of  mining  co., 
740. 

Fry,  J.  D.,  director  of  mining  co., 
740. 

Fuchs,  state  counsellor,  picture  of, 
449. 

Fugitive,  village,  434. 

Fuller,  I.  A.,  councilman,  601;  sur- 
veyor, 001. 

Furs,  lluss.  trade,  7-10;  yield,  581, 
5.S2. 

Fur  Seal  Iblands,  discovery,  185,  191. 


Fur-trade,  skins  collected,  100,  105- 
12,  115-25;  at  Copper  Isl.,  100;  on 
Olutorsk  River,  106;  first  monopoly, 
110;  shares  of  crew,  114;  first  black 
fox  skins,  120;  statement  of  Push- 
karef,  121;  end  of  private  expedts, 
156;  sea-otter  prices,  216;  1783-7, 
231-54;  exam,  into,  308;  expedt.  of 
Lukhainin,  314;  prices  paid  U.  S., 
638;  in  London,  651;  skins  collected 
1885,  747. 

Furuhelm  elected  gov..  585. 


G 

Gagarin,    Prince    Matvei  Petrovich, 

governor  of  Yakutsk,  27. 
Gagarin,  Vassili  Ivanovich,  at  Yakutsk, 

27. 
Galaktianof,  party  of  attacked,  340. 
Gall,  Francisco,  discovery  claimed,  79. 
Gama,  land  of,  66. 

Garcia,  Juan,  in  Spanish  expedt.,  218. 
Gardebol,  Simon,  m  expedt.,  94. 
Garfielil,  Delegate,  bill  of,  620. 
Gaston  Island,  named,  273. 
*'Gavril,"  ship,  voy.   of,  37,  38,  60, 

122,  123,  162. 
Geographical  result  of   Billings'  ex- 
ited t.,  296-8. 
Gennan,  Father,  at  Pavlovsk,  300,367. 
Gibson,  Lieut,  exploration  of ,  576. 
Gideon,  Father,  360. 
Gideon,  native,  fate  of,  462. 
Gigedo,  Kevilla,  Wceroy  of  Mex.,  195. 
Gilei'ef,  inland  expedt.,  293. 
Glacier  Bay,  279. 

Glass,  Capt.,  treatment  of  Inds,  729. 
Glass  factory  at  Irkutsk,  316,  .^94. 
Glazachef  establishes  iron- works,  118. 
Glazanof,  Andrei,  expedt.  of,  549-52. 
Glazof,  Ossip,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Glidden,  J.  C,  Trip  to  Alaska,  723; 

report  of,  732. 
Gloster,  Sergt.in  Schwatkaexpedt,732. 
Glottof,  Ivan,  Aleut  interpreter,  141, 

in  expedt.,  149.    ' 
Glottof,    Stcpau,    hunting     expetlt., 

1758-62,  120;  voy.  of,  1762-5,  131, 

140-9. 
Gmelin,  Johanu,  in  expedt.,  52-5,  94; 

biog.,  53. 
Gold  discoveries,  696-8,  737-40. 
Goldstone,  Louis,  exam,  of,  643;  bid 

of,  644-6;  letter  of,  647. 
Golikof,  Ivan  L.,  collector  at  Irkutsk, 

184;  fits  out  expedt.,  184,  185,  223; 

at  court,  306,  307;  rewards  to,  309; 

request  for  missionaries,  352. 


INDEX. 


767 


Golodof,  Nikofor,  in  hunting  expedt., 

1759,  123;  fate  of,  124. 
Goloni  Bay,  210. 
Golovin,  Marko,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Golovin,  Count,  of  Admiralty  College, 

45. 
"  Golovnin,"  ship,  546. 
Golovnin,    Capt.,    inspects    colonies 

1818,  306;  report  of.  358,  359,  531, 

532;   advice  to  Baranof,  513,  514; 

investigations  of,  578,  579. 
Golovnin  Sound,  silver  found,  696. 
Goose  Islands,  145. 
Gore,   Capt.,    takes    Cook's    expedt. 

home,  216. 
Gore  Island,  Cook  names,  21 1 . 
Gorlanof,  in  expedt.,  1740,  64. 
Gorlonof,  Alexe'i,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Gortschakof,  Prince,  despatch  of,  592. 
Goviatskoi,  Cape,  renamed,  306. 
Graham  Bay,  named,  262. 
"Gd  Duke  Konstantin,"  voy.  of,  659. 
Grayina  Bay,  named,  273. 
Gravina  Island,  277. 
Gray   Harbor,    *•  Nikolai"   wrecked. 


481 
Gray,  Thomas,  acct  of  Famum's  jour-    *'  Herald,"  ship,  572. 

ney,  473.  VL        Herdebal,  in  expedt.,  1727-30,  37. 

Grekof  Island,  Yaku tat  expedt.  at,  345k  ^< 
Gren,  Sim,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Grindall,  Port,  277, 


Ground-squirrel.     See  Fur-trade. 
Greville,  Cape,  208,  .306. 
Guadalupe  Bay,  discovered,  199. 
Guise,  Cai)t.,  voyage  of,  260. 
Guibert,  Port,  259. 
Guntlier,  Elias,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Gvozdef  MikhaW,  in  cxpedts,  37-40, 

44,  79,  94;  chart,  39;  biog.,40. 
Gwin,  Senator,  interviews  with  Russ. 

min.,  692. 


Haenke  Island,  named,  274. 

Hagemeister,  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk, 
462;  at  Sandwich  Islands,  490-2, 
498;  receives  Roquefeuil,  623-5; 
sails  for  Russia,  526-27;  succeeds 
Baranof,  510-12,  534;  expedt.  of, 
547;  praise  of,  531.  ^ 

Hagemeister  Island,  named,  547. 

Hagcr,  Senator,  petition  presented  by, 
61)3. 

Haidcn,  Port,  named,  547. 

*'  Halcyon,"  ship,  295. 

Halibut,  range  of  fishery,  665. 

Halibut  Island,  natives  of,  200. 

Hall,  Lieut,  in  Billings'  expe<lt.,  282- 
9;  efforts  against  scurvy,  203. 


Hamond,  Cape,  named,  270. 
Hanna,  Capt.,  expedt.  of,  242-3. 
Hanse,  the,  in  Baltic,  8. 
Haro,  Gonzalo  Lopez  de,  voyage  of, 

1788,  270-2. 
Harris,   Rich,   prospecting  party  of, 

739. 
Harrisbnrg,  descript.  of,  679;  mining 

centre,  697. 
Haskell,  E.  W.,  dist  atty,  728. 
Hawaiian  Islands,  Cook  at,  214;  Port- 
lock  at,  263-264;  Vancouver  at,  277; 

Krusenstem  at,  424;  O'Cain  at,  478; 

Kotzebue  at,  497. 
Hawkins  Island,  named,  278. 
Hayward,  with  Portlock,  264. 
Hazy  Islands,  259. 
Hebel,  Henrich,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Heceta,  Bruno,  expedt.  of,  197. 
Hector,  Cape,  259. 
Hcemskerk,  in  expedt.,  1595,  11. 
Heer,  Andreas,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Helstedt,   J.,    councilman   of  Sitka, 

601. 
Hens,  Jacob,  in  expedt.,  1727-30,  37, 

40,  44. 


Herman,  monk,  death  of,  082. 
^ermogen,  Cape,  named,  306. 
Herring  fishery,  665-6. 
Hill,  11.  L.,  director  of    mining  co., 

740. 
Hillyer,  M.  C,  marshal,  biog.,  728. 
Hinchinbrook  Island,   natives  from, 

187. 
Hinchinbrook,  Cape,  named,  205. 
Hinchinbrook  Island,  219,  267,  278; 

cross  on,  281. 
Hoffman,  Dr,  in  conspiracy,  175;  fate 

of,  176. 
Hoik  ham  Bay  named,  280. 
Holland,  expedt.  of,  1594-7,  10-12. 
Holraberg,  researches  of,  144. 
Homan,  in  Schwatka  expedt.,  732. 
Houcliarenko,  A.,  agitation  of,  602; 

publishes  newspaper,  677. 
Houtshnoo,  vilWe,  437. 
Hood  Bay,  named,  279. 
Hooper,  Capt,  visit  of,  526,  619;  opens 

coal  mine,  693. 
Hootchenoo,  village,  619,  624. 
Horticulture  at  Ross  Colony,  485-6. 
Houghton,  Port,  named,  280. 
Hovins,  Heinrich,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Howard,   Gen.,   recommendation  of, 

626. 
Hud*<on,  voyage  of,  1608-9,  12. 
Hudson  Bay,  passage  into,  203;  fur 

shipments,  242. 


758 


INDEX. 


Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  post  of,  190;  Boss 
Colony  offered  to,  4SS;  disputes  with, 
5oo-60;  contract  with,  565;  lease 
granted,  593;  surreodcr  possession, 
633;  fur  shipments,  C50. 

Hunt,  Wilson  B.,  at  Novo  Arkhan- 
geUk,  472;  on  Baranof  *b  character, 
517. 

ITunting,  methodof  conducting,  233-6. 

Hutcbins,  Capt,  at  Spring  Comer 
Cove,  2G7. 

IJitchiiisoa,  at  Sitka,  636. 

liutcbiuson,  Kohl,  &  Co.,  Knssian 
pmperty  sold  to,  636;  interest  sold 
Alaska  Commer.  Co.,  637,  664. 


Icy  Bay,  Yakutat  expedt.  at,  347. 

Icy  Cape,  210,  216. 

Igak,  Lisiansky  visit  to,  433. 

I;^natief,  Isa'i',  ivory  search  of,  21. 

Ilirie,  (>eo.  P.,  commr  at  Wrangell, 
728. 

Iliamna  Lake,  228. 

Iliamna,  volcano,  20S,  220. 

likhak,  Thlinkeet  chief,  269. 

Illiuliuk,  Ledyard  at,  212;  Rezanof  at, 
445. 

Illiuliuk  Bay,  expedt.  at,  165. 

Illiuliuk,  harbor,  Billin>^'  expedt.  at, 

•   291,  293;  surveyed,  296. 

Illiuliuk.  Port,  682,  683. 

''Ilmeu,"8hip,  49.3,  509. 

Ilyanma,  village,  340;  natives  of,  369; 
m<as3acre  at,  392-4;  expedt.  at, 
521. 

Imperial  efforts  and  failures,  1764-79, 
137-74. 

Indian  reservation,  proposed,  722-3. 

ludigirkallivcr,  19;  Cossacks  at,  1640, 
20-1;  island  on,  30. 

lunuit,  natives,  207. 

*'  Intrepid,"  ship,  182. 

"Investigator,"  at  Kotzebue  Sonnd, 
572. 

*'  loa  Krestitel,"  packet-boat,  97. 

"Il)higcnia,"8hip,  267. 

Irbit,  fair  at,  242. 

Irkutsk,  founded,  17;  native  educa- 
tion, 230;  Shelikof  at,  231,  310,  377; 
shipments  to,  242;  Billings  at,  283, 
285,  298;  glass  factory,  316,  394. 

Iron,  works,  118;  attempt  to  extract, 
330. 

Irtish  River,  ship  built  on,  56. 

Irving,  Washington,  on  Baranof's  char- 
acter, 517,  518. 

"IsabclU^"  voy.  of,  481,  506. 


Ishig,  Baranof 's  brother  at,  513. 

Ishinik,  native  warrior,  145,  146. 

Islands,  Bay  of,  named,  204. 

Isniailof,  GerraasimG.,  orders  to,  126; 
at  Kurilo  Isl,  182;  expedt.  of,  183, 
266-70,  278,  325;  visite  Capt.  Cook. 
213,  214;  in  Shelikof 's  voy.,  223;  at 
Trekh  Sviatiteli,  286. 

Issaief,  Mikhail,  in  trading  coy,  186. 

Issanakh  Strait,  Baranof  at,  320. 

Itcha  River.  32. 

Ivanof ,  Sotuik,  at  source  of  the  Yama, 
19. 

Ivanof,  A.,  in  expedt.,  64,  94;  pro- 
moted, 96. 

Ivanof,  Ignatiy,  fur-trade  monopoly, 
110. 

Ivanof,  Luka,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Ivashening,  Stepan,  in  expedt.,  93. 

Ivory,  deposits  of,  21. 


»' Jackall,"  ship,  279,  348-9. 

lacobi,  Ivan  B.,  report  of,  252;  in- 
structions, 266;  medal  sent  by,  268; 
approves  Shelikofs  scheme,  305-8. 

**  Jamestown,"  ship,  626. 

Jansen,  Niels,  in  expedt.,  64,  9.3. 

Japan,  O'Cain's  voy.  to,  478,  479;  re- 
ception of  embassy,  444, 445. 

Japan  current,  effect  on  climate,  4. 

Japanese  in  Kamchatka,  25. 

Japanovsky,  settlement,  450. 

"Jenny,"  ship,  at  Norfolk  Sound,  408. 

"loanu  Oustioushki,"  ship,  156. 

"loann  Predtecha,"  ship,  156. 

loassaf.  Bishop,  suptd.  of  missions, 
304;  mediations  of,  343;  offl  acts, 
360-5;  fate  of,  365,  414;  in  Russ.- 
Amer.  Co.,  459. 

Johnstone,  ^Iaster,  at  Prince  Freder- 
ick Sound,  280. 

Jones,  J.  P.,  mine-owner,  740. 

Judicial  dists,  to  be  established,  719. 

Juneau,  Joseph,  prospecting  party  of, 
739. 

"Juno,"  ship,  443,  454,  456;  wrecked, 
473-6. 

Juvenal,  missionary,  360;  career  and 
death,  365-74. 


Kabanof,  death  of,  403-5. 

Kaborof,  Lieut,  comdt  at  Petropav- 

lovsk,  312. 
Kachikof,  in  expedt.,  1740, 64;  death, 

73. 


^ 


INDEX. 


759 


"Kadiak,"8bip,  402,  481,  482,602. 

Kadiak  Island,  128,  206,  208, 236,  271, 
300,  676;  as  a  grazing  country,  3, 
4;  discovery  of,  141;  expedts  at, 
131,  171,  181,  213,  206,  273,  278, 
314,  320,  332,  334,  337,  376,  425, 
432,  492,  522,  547;  conflict  with 
natives,  187,  142,  143;  on  Cook's 
chart,  208;  settlement  at,  224,  280, 
295,  30,%  385;  climate,  300;  natives 
of,  302,  313, 345;  trees  on,  329;  agric. 
at,  351,  087,  088;  exiles  at,  355;  pop- 
i  nlation,  350;  massacre  at,  392;  ice 
trade,  587;  sea-otter  catch,  059;  map 
of,  080;  lead  foand,  090. 

Kadlikof,  Capt,  report  of,  683. 

Kadu,  native  with  Kotzebae,  601. 

Kagniak  Bay,  208. 

Kaigan,  Cape,  259. 

Kaigans,  treachery  of,  623-6. 

Kake  Indians,  troubles  with,  011-12. 

Kakna  River,  335,  342,  395. 

Kalatcheva  Bay,  expedt.  at,  125. 

Kalekhtah  Bay,  211. 

Kalekhtah,  expedt.  at,  134. 

Kalgin  Island,  seal  hunt  on,  308. 

Kalinin,  pilot  of  the  **Nova," 
drowned,  493. 

Kalistrat,  native,  fato  of,  402. 

Kaljushes,  native  hunters,  191,  238, 
347;  intercourse  with  traders,  240, 
241;  trouble  with,  320,  327,  340-4, 
349. 

Kamchatka,  occupation  of,  1700,  24- 
26;  expedts  at,  31-2,  35-02,  04, 
95,  112,  114,  127,  169,  303,  492; 
Aleut  baptized  at,  142;  small-pox 
ravages,  164;  shipments  from,  242; 
trading  post,  316;  coast  of,  377; 
conspirators  at,  405. 

Kameliameha,  native  king,  491,  492, 
497-9. 

Kamuishak  Bay,  trading  post  at,  230; 
ship  driven  into,  357. 

Kanaga  Island,  128,  129. 

Kaniak  Island,  expedt.  at,  346. 

Kaniat  Bay,  145. 

Kanishchef,  Fedor,  in  expedt.,  93. 

Kapitan  Bay,  expedt.  at,  135,  154. 

**Kapiton,''^8hip,  118. 

Karaoelnikof,  Favel,  in  hunting  ex- 
pedt., 102. 

Karaghinski,  hunting  expedt.  at,  100. 

Karagin  Island,  157. 

Karlak,  trading  poet,  230,  357;  tan- 
nery at,  090. 

Kannanof,  Lacar,  in  hunting  expedt. 
102. 

Karpof,  Feodor,  in  BiUings'  expedt. 
283. 


Karta  Bay,  copper  mine  at,  095. 

Kashelef,  Ivan,  in  expedt.,  93. 

Kashevorof,  Alexander,  on  Golovnin's 
report,  531;  expedt.  of  539,  552, 
553;  exposes  abuses,  579;  charts  of, 
092. 

Kaahima,  meaning  of,  145. 

Kashmak,  interpreter,  138. 

Kashunok,  mouth  of  Yukon,  SfiJ. 

Kassilof  River,  establishment  on,  334, 
335;   cannery  on,  743. 

Kataief  Krcst,  cross  erected,  29. 

Katlean.     See  Katleut. 

Katleut,  Sitkan  chief,  387-8. 

Katlcwah,  native,  369;  baptized,  372. 

Katmai,  Russians  at,  522;  petroleum 
found  at,  005. 

Katmak,  trading  post  at,  230. 

Katmala  Bay,  trading  ]iOst,  230. 

Kauai  Island,  king  of,  500. 

Kayak,  coast  of,  ,S80. 

Kayo  Island,  187,  204,  219,  288,  289. 

Kazitnerof,  Lev,  in  expedt.,  93. 

Kenai,  natives  of,  207,  228,  300,  345; 
station  in,  2.30;  attack  on,  394. 

Kenai'  Bay,  394,  414,  570;  coal-min- 
ing at.  693.    « 

Keuai,  Cajie,  fort  at,  414. 

Kenai  Gulf,  .321,  328,  .334.  338,  307, 
536;  trouble  with  natives,  39,'3;  Eng- 
lish claim  to,  400;  decrease  of  fur 
yield,  528. 

Kenai  xMtn,  350. 

Kenai  River,  Juvenal  at,  3C8. 

Kennicott,  journey  of,  570. 

Khalizof,  Master,  at  Novo  Arkhan- 
gelsk, 530. 

Kharinzobka  River,  32. 

Khariuzof  River,  expedt.  at,  157. 

Khitrof,  in  expedt.,  1740, 04,  80;  jour- 
nal,  67;  in  expedt.,  1741-2,  92,  93. 

Khlcbnikof,  version  of  massacre,  410- 
12;  with  Baranof,  420;  raucho  at 
Bo<lega,  489;  of  Russ.  Amer.  Co., 
612;  opinion  of  Baranof,  514,  515. 

Khmetevski,  Vassili,  in  expedt.,  93; 
wrecked,  97. 

Kholchevnikof,  Ivan,  in  hunting  ex- 
pedt., 102. 

Kholodilof,  Feodor,  expedt.,  1740, 108; 
1753-4,  115-110. 

Khotiaintzof,  mate,  death,  90. 

Khotiaintzof,  Nikita,  in  expedt.,  64, 
93. 

Khotumzevskoi,  baptizes  native  of 
Attoo,  105. 

Khramchemka,  mate  with  Kotzebue, 
494. 

Kliramchenko,  expedt.  of,  540. 

Khroma  River,  29. 


760 


INDEX. 


Khta-aluk  Island.  See  Nnchek  Island. 

Kbudiakof,  expedt.  of,  132-4. 

Khvostof,  Lieut,  in  Rubs.  Amer.  CSo., 
363,  414;  fate,  458,  459. 

Kiakhta,  Shelikof  leaves,  182;  over- 
land trade  to,  242,  306;  trade  with 
China,  422. 

Kif^ikhtowik,  expedt.  at,  649. 

Kilduvn  Bay,  Rijp  at,  1597,  12. 

Ki  iuaa,  native  from,  404. 

Jvitliula  Bay,  Lisiansky's  visit  to,  434. 

ivinaias,  natives,  191. 

Kinkaid,  C.  A.,  councilman  of  Sitka, 
COl. 

Kiiikead,  J.  H.,  apptd  gov.,  biog.,727; 
report  of,  728-32. 

Kindiarof,  Ivan,  in  expedt.,  94. 

King,  Capt,,  with  Cook,  208;  exam- 
ines Norton  Bay,  211. 

'*  King  George,"  ship,  244,  262-4. 

King  (icorge  Island,  279, 

King  George  Sound,  furs  collected  at, 
242,  243. 

King  Island,  discovered,  210. 

Kinik  River,  Cook  at,  207. 

Kirby,  journey  of,  676. 

Kircnbkoy  River,  saw-mill  on,  690. 

Kirilof,  supports  expedt.,  1731,  45. 

Kissclef,  at  Aleutian  Isles,  321;  at 
Prill ce  William  Sound,  344. 

Kishka  Island,  85. 

Kisslakovsky,  acting  master,  voy.  of, 
53G-7. 

Kitlitz,  Von,  report  of,  547. 

*'Klimcut,"  ship,  voyage  of,  184;  at 
Kadiak,  221. 

Klimuffsky,  Andrei',  Kolosh  hostage, 

Kloh,  Kutz,  native  map-maker,  738. 
Klokachcf  Sound,   entrance  to,  200, 

334. 
Klotchof,  Master,  voy.  of,  530-7. 
Klowak,  cannery  built  at,  062. 
Kluchevskaia,   eruption  of    volcano, 

161. 
Knagge,  Jacob,  in  expedt.,  549. 
Kobclef,  in  Billings' exiKjdt.,  292,  293. 
Koch,  death  of,  biog.,  492-3. 
Kodichcf,  wrecked,  61. 
Koiychak  river,  325. 
Kokovin,  in  expedt.,  133-5;  with  So- 
lo vicf,  151. 
Kolima,   Cossack   subdue,    1646,   21; 

expedts    from,    1868,    1711,    22-4, 

28,  29. 
Kolima  River,  19,  283. 
Kolinakof,  Alexander,  in  expedt.,  547. 
Kolomin,    Percdovchik,    at    Kadiak, 

314;   exi)odt.  of,  334-8;   commn  to 

Purtof,  345. 


Koloshes,  natives,  144;  attack  expedt., 
386,  387;  friendly,  400;  revolt  of, 
401;  massacre  their  children,  431; 
treaty  with,  438,  439;  trouble  with, 
463,  473,  574;  trade  with.  528;  re- 
moval of,  535;  liquor  traffic  among, 
559,  560;  small-pox  among,  560; 
education  of,  706. 

Kolychef,  Fedor,  in  expedt.,  93. 

Kompakooa  River,  32. 

Kondakof,  Gcraasin,  Kolosh  hostage, 
438. 

Koniagas,  natives,   191;  attack  Rus- • 
siaus,  225,  2*26. 

Konnygen,  Ivan,  statement,  574. 

Konovalof,  Grigor,  hunting  expedt., 
conduct  of,  335-42. 

'*  Konstantin,*'  sloop,  at  Kadiak,  386. 

Konstantine,  Fort,  357,  522. 

Konstantinovsk,  redoubt  built,  326; 
Koloshes  attack,  451,  452. 

Kooskolf,  with  Lisiausky,  428. 

Kopai,  pay  tribute,  1724,  30,  3J. 

Kopilof,  Andrei,  at  Pacific,  ia39,  2D. 

Korasakovsky,  expedt.  of,  521-2. 

Korelin,  Stepan,  rescue  of,  131;  in 
expedt..  132-135. 

Korcnef,  in  expedt.,  150. 

Koriaks,  treatment  of  expedt.,  106. 

Korostlef,  Dmitri,  in  expedt.,  64,  93. 

Korotaief,  Ivan,  in  trading  co.,  186. 

Korovin,  expedt.  of,  131,  135-40, 
148-9;  with  Solovief,  151;  letters, 
132. 

Korzakof,  Alexander,  Prince,  con- 
ducts inquiry  against  Bechevin,  126. 

Koshigin  Bay,  Baranof  wrecked,  318. 

Koshigin,  Yefim,  in  expedt.,  132. 

Kostromitio,  Peter,  statement  of,  603, 
683-4. 

Kotelnikof,  party  of,  captared,  340. 

Kotovchikof,  death  of,  328. 

Kotzcbue,  Otto  von,  expedt.  of,  494- 
502;  returns  to  Russia,  502;  family 
of,  503;  second  expedt ,  1823-0, 540, 
541. 

Kotzebue  Sound,  553,  572;  map  of, 
495. 

Kou  Island,  Oen.  Davis  expedt.  to, 
612. 

Kovima  River,  283,  284,  292,  295, 
296. 

Koyukans,  outbreak  of,  572-4. 

Koyukuk  River,  explored,  553. 

Kozantzof,  accusations  of,  58,  59. 

Kozlof,  Feoilor,  ship-builder,  47;  in 
expedt.,  93. 

Kozlof,  Kiril,  in  hunting  expedt.,  102. 

Kozlof •  Ugrenin,  Grigor,  comdt  of 
Okhotsk,  orders  of,  310-12. 


INDEX. 


761 


Kozmin,  ship-builder,  97. 

Kozniiug,  Andrei',  in  ezpedt,  93. 

Erashenr.ikof,  student,  61;  in  expedt., 
94.  160. 

Krasnoyarsk,  Resauofs  death  at,  460. 

Krassilnikof,  Andrei,  in  expedt.,  64, 
94. 

Krassilnikof,  S.,  iu  hunting  expedts, 
115-17,  120,  123,  155. 

Krcnitzin,  Petr  Kumich,  expedt.  of, 
1764-71,  159-67;  death  of,  167. 

Krestovsky  Bay,  expedt.  at,  428. 

Krissie  Island,  in  Atkha  district,  536. 

Krivishin,  Vassili,  in  trading  cc,  186. 

Krivorotof,  fits  out  expedt.,  185. 

Kronotzkoi,  Cape,  coast  explored, 
1742,  92. 

Kronstadt,  return  of  expedt.  to,  440; 
Kotzebue  leaves,  494;  supplies  sent 
from,  536;  expedts  from,  1821-40, 
566. 

**  Krotky,"  voy.  of,  547. 

Kruikof,  orders  to,  501. 

Krusenstern,  Cape,  named,  496. 

Krusenstern,  Lieut,  expedt.  and  pro- 
ject of,  421-5;  return  to  St  Peters- 
burg, 440-2. 

Krustief,  iu  conspiracy,  178. 

Krutogorova  River,  32. 

Kruzot  Island,  200,  437,  674;  map  of, 
C7G. 

Kuchekmak  Bay,  trading  post  at,  340. 

Kuichak  River,  Korasakoviiky  expedt. 
on,  521. 

Kuikhtak  Island,  discovery  of,  306. 

Kulikatof,  in  expedt.,  344;  punish- 
ment of,  448. 

Kulkof,  hunting  expedt.,  1759,  123; 
ship-owner,  131;  rewarded,  155;  in 
trading  co.,  186. 

Rumen,  Afanas8iy,in  conspiracy,  179. 

Kuprianof,  Gov.,  appt.  govr,  554. 

Kuprianof  Island,  280. 

Kurile,  district,  536. 

Kurile  Islands,  32,  44,  97,  181,  223, 
307,  310,  355,  377,  416,  445,  494, 
532,  545;  map,  545. 

Kurile  Straits,  576. 

Kuskof,  at  Kadiak,  biog.,  356;  ex- 
pdts,  387,  481,  483;  comd  at  St 
Konstantin,  395;  ship-building,  420; 
comd  at  Novo  Arkhangelsk,  4G1; 
promoted,  462;  founds  Ross  Colony, 
482. 

Kuskokvim,  expedt.  at,  522. 

Kuskokvim  lliver,  5,  209,  211,  536, 
546,  547,  553. 

Kuskovkim  Valley,  685. 

Knstatan,  Cook  at,  207. 

"Kutusof,"  ship,  504,  510,  511,  514. 


Knznetzof,  Arsenius,  expedt.  of,  184; 

in  trading  CO.,  186. 
Kuznetzof,  Dmitri,  in  conspiracy,  179. 
Kuznetzof,  Yefim,  with  Bassof,  101 . 
Kvass,  descpt.  of,  233. 
Kvichak  River,  in  Mikailof  district, 

536. 
Kvigin  River,  547. 
Kvikhpak,  school  at,  709. 
Kvigym  Painagmute,  expedt.  at,  552. 
IvTosdof,  Lt,  instructions  to,  450. 
Kvosdof,   Rezanofs    instructions  to, 

450. 
Kyak  Island,  78,  268;  map,  219. 
Kyginik,  native,  152. 


Lackman,  partner  of  Baranof,  394. 
"  Ladoga,    sloop  of  war,  539. 
Laduiguin,  Stepan,  trader,  363, 
"Lady,"  ship,  472. 
"LaFlavia,^'ship,  269. 
Laguuof,  in  expedt.,  1740,  64. 
Lakliamit,  natives,  191. 
Land  dist  created,  720. 
Langsdorflf,  G.  H.   von,  in   expedt., 

416,  424,  443;  voyages  and  travels, 

441-2. 
La    Perouso,    meets    Prybilof,    193; 

voyage  of,  1785-0,  213,  244,  255- 

9,   232,  3)2;    instructions  to,   256; 

charts  of,  692. 
Lapin,  Ivan,  statement  of,  121;  oukaz 

issued  to,  126;  expedt.  of,  1702,  130; 

forms  CO.,  153,  186;  fits  out  expedt., 

169;  at  St  Petersburg,  174. 
Laptief,  Lt  Dmitri,  in  expedt. ,  52, 93. 
Laptief,  Lt  Hariton,  in  expedt.,  52, 

93. 
Larion,  attack  on  Nulato,  573-4. 
Larionof,    Ivan,     petition    of,     332; 

troubles  of,  396;  agent  at  Unalaska, 

417   447  448. 
♦*Lark,"  ship,  wrecked,  231,  472. 
Lassenius,  Lt,  in  expedt.,  51,  93;  ap- 
pointment of,  52;  on  Lena  Uiver,  5J. 
Lassef,  Anton  Ivanovich,  at  Irkusk, 

1770,  126. 
Lau,  Johann,  in  expedt.,  64,  94. 
Lavashef,  expedt.  of,  194. 
Law  and  protection,  country  without, 

604-6. 
Lazaref,  Maxim,  in  expedt.,  115,  127, 
Lead  discovered,  696. 
Lebcdef,  C-ipt.,   voy.    of,   1745,    101. 

comdr  of  Kamchatka,  1 10. 
Lehedcf,    Kkaterina,    testimony    of, 

407-10. 


702 


INDEX. 


Lebedef,  Laetochkin,  fits  out  ezpedt., 
185. 

Leliedef  Co.,  organized,  186;  transac- 
tions  of,  290,  314,  334-339, 346,  357; 
troubles  with  Shelikoflf  O).,  339- 
•42,  376,  395;  fall  of,  343. 

Ledlanof  Sound,  420. 

Ledyard,  Corpl,  expedt.  of,  183. 

Ledyard,  John,  journey  of,  212-13. 

Leroan,  in  land  expedt.,  293. 

Le  Mesurier  Point,  277. 

Lena  Kiver.  Cossack's  reach,  1628, 18. 

Leontief,  killed  by  conspirators,  179. 

Leshcbinsky,  reveals  conspiracy,  464- 
5. 

Leskin,  Agapius,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Lestnikof,  Terenty,  charge  preferred 
by,  700. 

Levashef,  Capt.,  expedt.  of,  154,  159- 
67;  sufferings  of,  294. 

Lewis,  Andrew  T.,  clerk  of  court, 
728. 

Library  at  Sitka,  677. 

Lima,  Uagemeister  at,  511;  Koque- 
feuil  at,  522. 

•'Lincoln,"  ship,  628. 

Lindemianu  hake  named.  734. 

Linschoten,  in  expedt.,  1594-5, 10, 11. 

Liquor  traffic,  gov.  report,  730,  731. 

Lisonme,  Cape,  210. 

Lisiansky,  Capt.,  expedt.  of,  422-42; 
biog.,  441. 

L'Isle,  Joseph  de,  compiles  map,  51. 

Lissiev  Island,  in  Unaiaska  district, 
536. 

Live-stock,  688. 

Lllamua  Lake,  287,  325. 

Lobaskhef,  Prokop,  in  hunting  ex- 
pedt, 1759,  123;  fate  of,  124. 

Lobchof,  Grigor,  in  conspiracy,  179. 

London,  H.  B.  Co.  furs  at,  242;  Re- 
zanof,  452;  fur-dyeing  industry, 
658. 

Lonegan,  explor.  expedt.  of,  736. 

Lopatka,  Cape,  64. 

Lorokin,  Dmitri,  in  trading  co..  186. 

Los  H«medios,  Port,  256. 

Lussef,  in  Konovalof  expedt.  337. 

Loucks,  Lt,  actions  at  Fort  Wran- 
gell,  613. 

Lou  than,  Frank  K.,  experiences  of, 
612. 

Lower  Volga,  robbers  infesting,  9. 

Lowry,  Capt.,  voj'age  of,  260. 

Lozaref,  Capt.,  voy.  of,  504-^;  dis- 
putes with  Baranof,  504. 

Ltua,  natives  from,  239,  348. 

Ltua  Bay,  La  Perouse  at,  243;  de- 
scribed, 256,  257;  sea-otter  hunting 
at,  357;  English  claim  to,  400. 


Lukanin,  orders  to,  126;  with  IsaaaH- 
lof,  183;  treatment  of  natives,  291. 

Lukin,  in  expedt.,  551-2. 

Lursenino,  Johann,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Lushin,  Fedor,  mission  of,  1719-21, 
32,  44. 

Lfitke,  Capt.  ron,  expedt.  of,  1826, 
546-7;  chart  of,  692. 

Lynn  Canal,  explored,  279. 

Lynx.     See  Fur-trade. 


M 

Maager,  fate  of,  1869,  611-12. 

Macao,  Conspirators  arrive  at,  182; 
sale  of  furs,  244;  Marchand  at,  245. 

Mackerel  fishery,  666. 

Madagascar,  Benyovski  at,  182. 

Madre  de  Dios,  named,  218. 

Mahoney,  Frank,  councilman  of  Sitka 
18G7,  001. 

Mails,  gov.  report  on,  729. 

Main,  John,  in  expedts,  283,  293. 

Makar,  J^romonakh,  missionary,  3G0; 
acts  in  Unaiaska,  364-^. 

Makaria,  furs  sent  to,  242. 

Maksheief,  Alexei,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Maksutof,  Prince,  in  charge  of  affairs, 
579-80;  negotiations  with,  636. 

Makushin,  expedt.  at,  135;  village, 
152. 

Makushin,  volcano,  683. 

Malacca,  Meares  sails  from,  260. 

Malakhof,  expedt.  of'  525-6,  553. 

Malakhof,  Vassili,  agent,  395. 

Malaspina,  Alejandro,  voyage  of, 
1791,  274-5. 

Maldonado,  passage  explored,  274. 

Malevinskoi,  Yakof,  expedt.  and 
death,  140. 

Malmesbury,  Port,  named,  280. 

Maltzof,  Petr,  fur-trade  monopoly, 
110. 

Malygin,  Stepan,  Lieut,  in  exi>edt.,93. 

Maps,  £astern  Siberia,  19;  (jrvozdef's 
iknd,  39;  Kyak  Island,  78;  scene  of 
conflict,  137;  of  Bragins,  172;  Cua- 
dra's  voy.,  198;  Cook's  Toy.,  215, 
216;  Yakutat  settlement,  391;  Kot- 
zebue  Sound,  495;  Korasakovsky 
expedt.,  521;  Kurile  Island,  545; 
Glazanof  s  expedt. ,  55 1 ;  Nulato,  572; 
Baranof  Island,  673;  Kadiak  Isl- 
ands, 680;  Aleutian  Islands,  683. 

Marchand,  Etienne,  voy.  of,  1791, 245, 
275.  276. 

"Maria,"  ship,  443,  492;  wrecked, 
505. 

Markof ,  experiences  of,  669,  570. 


moEX. 


763 


Marmot  Island,  206. 

Marseilles,  Marchand  leaves,  275. 

Martinez,  £.  Jos^,  voyage  of,  1788, 
270-2. 

Mashin,  Lt,  condnct  of,  458;  at  Novo 
Arkhangelsk,  539. 

Maurelle,  Alf.,  expedt.  prevented,  270. 

Maurelle,  Antonio,  in  expedt.,  197. 

Maurelle,  Francisco,  in  Spanish  ex- 
pedt, 218. 

Mazarredo  Bay,  named,  273. 

McAllister,  Ward,  district  judge,  727, 
728. 

Mcintosh,  trader,  315. 

Mcintosh,  in  Schwatka  expedt. ,  732. 

McKnight,  G.  R.,  couucilmafti,  601. 

McLougblin,  I.,  comd  at  Stikeen,  557; 
fate  of,  558. 

Meares,  C«ipt.,  expedt.  of,  190;  collects 
furs,  244;  instructions  to,  247;  treat- 
ment of  natives,  248;  voyage  of, 
260-2. 

Mechanics  arrive  at  Pavlovsk,  352. 

Meder,  Magnus,  in  conspiracy,  179. 

Medvedef,  expedfc.,  131,  136;  letters 
from,  1.32;  search  for,  139-140;  fate 
of,  140;  remains  of  party  discovered, 
147. 

Medvedef,  Zakar,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Medvednikof,  Vassili,  fate  of,  402-3, 
407-11. 

Meek,  hunting  expedt.  to  Cal.,  1811, 
481. 

Mektar,  missionary',  360. 

Mendocino,  Gape,  Arteaga  sails  for, 
220. 

Menendez  Bay  named,  273. 

Merck,  Dr,  in  expedts,  2S3,  293. 

"  Mercury,"  ship,  285,  298,  479,  480. 

Mortens,  report  of,  547. 

Merriraan, Cap t.,  expedt.  of,  1882, 619; 
attack  on  natives,  723. 

Metlahkatlah,  population,  705. 

Meygin,  Lieut,  appointment  of,  52. 

Miatlef,  gov.  of  Sioeria,  1754,  43. 

Michael,  fort  erected,  390. 

Middleton  Island,  268. 

Mikaielovsk,  trading  post,  551,  685. 

Mikhaielovsk  Island  named,  548. 

Mikailof  district,  536. 

Miles,  Gen.,  orders  expedts,  735. 

Military  occupation,  evil  effects  of, 
606-9. 

Miller,  Gen.  John  F.,  presdt  Alaska 
Com.  Co.,  examined,  643;  testi- 
mony, 645, 640,  650. 

Minin,  Fedor,  in  expedt,  52,  93. 

Mining  Co.,  incorporated   1877,  697. 

Mintokh  Lake,  murder  of  party  at, 
572. 


Minukhln,    Ivan,    hunting     expedt 

1750-2,  112. 
Miranda,  volcano,  220,  271. 
Missionaries,  for  Kamchatka,  57,  58; 

efforts  of,  303,   304;  at  Pavlovsk, 

352;  report  on,  459. 
Mitchell,  Senator,  bill  of,  1875,  620. 
Moira  Sound,  277. 

Molef,  Alexander,  attack  on,  318-19, 
"Moller,"  voy.  of,  547. 
MoUer,  port  named,  547. 
Molvee,  supercargo  with  Lozaref,  504. 
Monoply,  inception  of,  290;  organized, 

1787-95,  305-33. 
Montague  Island,  189,  190,  262,  267, 

271,  278,  288,  326,  345,  391. 
Montagu  Sound  named,  205; 
Monterey,   Martinez   at,   272;    trade 

with,  540. 
Moore,   Capt,   meets    Baranof,   325, 

326. 
Moore,  Joseph  S.,  testimony  of,  647. 
Moral,  sanctuary,  499. 
Mordvinof,  Admiral,  agitation  of,  544. 
Morolief.     See  Vorobicf,  112. 
Morosko,  Luka,  left  Anadirsh,  1669, 

24. 
Morris,  Wm  G.,  request  for  U.  S.  ship, 

619;  death  of,  715. 
Moscow,  furs  sent  to,  242. 
Moss,  Mora  J.,  contract  of,  587,  nego- 
tiations of,  6.36. 
Motora,  on  the  Anadir,  1850,  23. 
Moukhin,  Nikolai,  sent  as  Baranofs 

substitute,  396. 
Muilnikof,  enterprise  of,  377. 
'*Muir,"  steam-tug,  built,  1812,  691. 
Mulgrave,  Cape,  210. 
Mulgrave,  Port,  256,  2G5,  274. 
Miiller,  Gerhard,  in  expedt,  52-5,  65, 

94;  biog.  53;  at  St  Petersburg,  98. 
Mulovski,  Capt.  proposed  expedt.  of. 

307. 
Muravief,    N.    N.,    gov. -general    E. 

Siberia,  43. 
Muravief,  Stepan,  Lieut,  in  expedt, 

52,  93. 
Murphy,  T.  G.,  newspaper  of,  677. 
Murza,  Botcha,  created  prince,  231. 
**  Myrtle,"  ship,  461. 


N 

Nacaa,  lisiansky  joins  Krosenstem 
at,  440. 

"Nadeshda,"  ship,  voyage  of,  60,  97, 
422-4,  443-5,  454. 

Nagal'ef,  Admiral,  chart  of,  101;  dis- 
covers Copper  River,  187-& 


764 


INDEX. 


Nagaicf,  Leontiy,  312, 

Nalia  Harbor,  cannery  at,  662. 

Nakvassin,  death  of,  403. 

Nanaimo,  coal  at,  694. 

Nangasaki,  Rezanof  at,  444. 

Naouinof,  wrecked,  97. 

Naplavkof,  conspiracy  of,  463-5. 

Narishkin,  Capt.,  of  naval  academy, 
1723.  45. 

Xaah,  surgeon,  in  ezpedt,  736. 

Nc'.tchik  &y,  native  name,  347. 

Natives,  tribute  paid  by,  112;  im- 
perial onkaz  on  treatment,  126;  of 
Nuchek  Bay,  205;  abuse  of,  247-51. 

Kaumof,  .Stepan,  buried  at  East  Gape, 
526. 

"Navarin,"  corvette,  571. 

Nay,  Comelis,  ezpedt.  of,  1594, 10, 11. 

Nazigak  Island,  208. 

Neiker,  Port,  259. 

Nerodof,  survivor  from  "Neva"  wreck, 
494. 

Nerstof,  Eosma,  hunting  expedt.,  108. 

Netzvetofif,  native  ship-builder,  691. 

Neue  Nachrichten,  131. 

"Neva,*'  ship,  leaves  Kronstadt,  422- 
4;  voyages  of,  462,  490,  610;  wreck 
of,  493. 

Neviashin,  Vassili,  in  trading  co., 
186. 


Ncvodchikof,  MikhaU,  iu  hunting  ez-^  ^Norc^fvinoff,    Admiral,    minister   of 


pedt.,  102, 104;  appointment  of,  107; 
visits  Aleutian  Islands,  111. 

Nevodchikof,  Pavel,  baptism  of  Tern- 
nak,  105. 

New  Albion,  trade  with,  453;  signifi- 
cance of  term,  481;  Kaskof  on  coast, 
481-3. 

New  Bedford,  ship  purchased  at,  637. 

New  Columbia  IsUnd,  named,  1881, 
619. 

New  Cornwall,  277. 

New  Eddystone  Rock,  277. 

Newenham,  Cape,  209,  222,  646. 

New  Georgia,  furs  from,  245. 

New  Houover,  277. 

Newspaper,  677.  \i\ 

New  Year  Island  named,  499. 

Niasnikh,  in  expedt.,  131-2. 

Nichols,  Lt  H.  E.,  services  of,  728, 
729. 

**  Niemen,"  transport,  571. 

Nikilinich,  Mikhail,  hunting  expedt., 
108, 

Nikita  boy  baptized,  369. 

Nikoforof,  huntins-ezpedt.,  120;  ves- 
sel of,  at  Umnak,  123;  rewards  to, 
155. 

Nikolai,  Russians  at,  522. 

*' Nikolai,"  wreck  of,  481. 


"Nikolai  I.,"  voy.  of,  559;  steamer 
built,  1842,  691. 

Nikolaievsk,  expedt.  from,  525. 

Nikolai,  Pavlovitch,  Grandduke,  Hot- 
zebue  reed  by,  502. 

Nikulinskoi,  Feodor,  in  trading  co., 
186. 

Nilof,  Afanassia,  betrothed  to  Ben- 
yovski,  180. 

Nilof,  Capt..  comdt  of  Okhotsk,  110, 
153;  comdt  of  Kamchatka,  177; 
treatment  of  conspirators,  177-BO; 
fate  of,  180. 

Ninilchik,  vilkge,  680. 

Ninilchik,  Cape,  coal  at,  695. 

Nishnek&mschatsk,  40,  97.  105,  108, 
111,  116,  118,  120,  158,  163,  171, 
183,  191,  235,  290,  312. 

Nishnekovinaa,  Billings'  expedt.  at, 
284. 

Nizovtzof, Grigor,  huntingezpedt,  111. 

•*Nootka,"  ship,  261. 

Nootka,  station  at,  271;  Spanish 
occupy,  273;  Malaspina  at,  274; 
Caamaiia  leaves,  275;  Vancouver 
at,  277,  281;  ceded  to  English,  400. 

Nootka  Sound,  Portlock  at,  263;  Rus- 
sian claim  to,  414;  sea-otter  plenti- 
ful, 528. 

Nordenskj<$ld,  voyage  of,  1879,  13. 


marine,  422, 
Norfolk  Sound,  246,  259,  264-5,  275, 

358,  385-90,  408,  437,  455.  522. 
Norshevoi,  settlement  of,  124. 
North  American  Co.,  354. 
North,  Capo,  Cock  names,  210. 
North  Pacific,  storm  in,  500,  501. 
Northumberland,  Cape,  277. 
Northwest  Trading  Co.,  establishment 

of,  764. 
Norton  Bay,  576. 
Norton  Sound,  descrpt.  of,  41;  Cook 

at,  210;  in  Mikhailof  district,  536; 

ezplored,  546--8. 
Noshkof,  ezplor.  of,  97. 
Nburavief,  M.  N.,  elected  chief  man- 
ager 1821,  534;  actions  of,  534-41. 
Novgorod,  decline  of,  8. 
Novikof,      Ivan,    hunting    ezpedt., 

1747-9,  109;  ezpedt.  of,  1772,  174. 
Novo  Arkhangelsk,  432,    437,    443, 

452.  454-«,  461,  463,  466-^,  478, 

492-3.  504,  511-2,  522^,  5-28,  534, 

637,  539,  646,  560-1,  667,  671,  575, 

587,  699,  691. 
Nucliek  Bay,  Panof  Co.  at,  188;  Cook 

at,  205;  Portlock  at,  263. 
Nuchek  Island,  187,  205,  267.  326-7, 

339,  342,  357,  386,  395,  414,  451. 


INDEX. 


765 


Nnlato,  fort  bailt  at,  553;  map  of, 
572;  maasacre  at,  1851,  572-4;  pop- 
ulation of,  686;  mean  temperature, 
711. 

Kunivak  Island,  211. 

Nushagak,  village  of,  340;  Russians 
at,  622;  schoolat,  709. 

Nusha^ak  River,  fort  built  on,  521; 
in  ^diak  district,  536;  ezpodt.  to, 
547. 

Kye,  Capt.,  trouble  with  Kolosh,  525. 


Oahu,  Kotzebue  at,  502. 

Ob  River,  Cossacks  at,  1578, 15;  ships 
built  on,  56. 

Obiukhof,  Venedict,  in  expedt.  1756- 
8,  117. 

Observatory  Inlet,  277. 

O'Cain,  expedt.  to  Cal.  and  Japan, 
477-9. 

"O'Cain,"  ship,  471;  Toyage  of,  480. 

Ochek  Lshmd,  268. 

Ochereclin,  Afanassiy,  expedt.  of, 
154. 

Ochcredin,  Boris,  fate  of,  154. 

Ochotskoi,  expedt.  from,  158. 

Odintzof,  Dmitri,  in  expedt.,  04. 

Otter,  sea,  catch  of,  and  value,  658, 
039. 

Okhotin,  Capt.,  meets  Benyovski, 
181. 

Okhotsk,  founded  1639,  17,  20;  ex- 
pedts  and  visitors  at,  36,  3^,  5G, 
57,  131,  157,  160,  169,  176,  182, 
231,  266,  283,  288,  295,  333,  ^lO, 
507;  troubles  at,  65;  impetus  to, 
96;  ship-building  at,  90,  97,  23ri, 
352;  govmt  of,  153;  education  at, 
230,  313;  prisoners  at,  301,  3.w;  in- 
surrection at,  1771,  318;  trial  of 
Konovalof,  342;  Chinese  trade,  4^^2; 
value  of  furs  exported,  477;  cl  »setl 
as  naval  station,  571,  whaung- 
grounds,  668. 

"Okhotsk,"  galiot,  97,  116. 

Okhotsk  Sea,  new  route,  53;  recon- 
noissance  in  1740,  95. 

Okoshinikof,  owned  ship,  169. 

*»Oktruitie,"ship,  506. 

Ola,  river,  32. 

01c3sof  deposed,  229. 

•*01ga,"8hip.  333,  356,417. 

Olutorskoi  Islands,  1'2S. 

Olutorsk  River,  Dcshnef  at,  1648,  23: 
tribe  on,  106,  107;  fur-trade,  106. 

Olutorski,  the,  attack  Russians«  1727, 
106,  107. 


Ommaney  Cape  named,  259,  576. 

Onslow  Point,  277. 

Ontok  River,  Krenitzen  wrecked, 
162. 

Ooiak  Bay,  171. 

Ookamok  Islands,  Russians -at,  522; 
in  JCadiak  district,  536. 

Ookivok  Island,  548. 

Oonimak,  volcanic  disturbance  at, 
684. 

Oonga,  coal  at,  695. 

Ooyak  Bay,  tannery  at,  690. 

Orekhof,  oukaz  issued  to,  126;  forms 
CO.,  153;  rewards  to,  155;  de- 
spatches expedition,  169r  at  St 
Petersburg,  174;  on  Aleutian  Isl- 
ands, 321. 

Orekhof  Co.,  at  Prince  William 
Sound,  339,  344. 

"Orel,"ship,  328,  341. 

Organic  Act,  provisions  of,  718,  719. 

Orlof  at  Bristol  Bay,  562. 

Orlova,  settlement,  171. 

*'Osprey,''  Eng.  man-of-war  at  Sitka, 
620. 

Ostrogin,  Feodor,  bravery  of,  323; 
agent  at  AlexandroSsk,  395. . 

**Othrytie,"ship,  built,  401. 

Otter-hunting  in  Cal.,  478-84. 

Otter  Bay,  sea-otter  plentiful,  528. 

Ouda  River,  wreck  at,  169. 

Oudsk,  ships  built  at,  97. 

Ouka  River,  expedt.  at,   157. 

Ouledovski,  expedt.  of,  149. 

Oumnak,  volcanic  eruption,  1825, 
684;  native  baptized  at,  1759,  699; 
chapel  built  at,  1826,  700. 

"  Ouroup,"  1829,  ship  built,  691. 

Ourumusir  Island,  Benyovski  at,  181. 

Ouru|)a,  settlement  bombarded,  571. 

**  Ourupa,"  voy.  of,  548. 

Ourupa  Island,  532,  545,  576. 

Oushakof,  Moissei,  explorations  of, 
94-5. 

Ouvarof,  actions  of,  451-2. 

Ovsiannikof,  Stepan,  in   expedt.,  94. 

Ovtzin,  Lieut,   52,  56,  64,  92-3,  96. 

Owhyee,  Do  SchelTer  at,  41)9. 

Ozerskoi,  attack  of  Kolosh,  574-5. 

Ozerskoi  redoubt,  saw-mill  at,  690. 


Palikof,  Dmitri,  hunting  expedt.,  1758, 

120-4. 
"  Pallas,"  ship,  284. 
Palliscr,  H.,  203. 
Panfilof,  Creole  interpreter,  144. 
Pankof,  reward  from  emperor,  448. 


766 


INDEX. 


Panof.  156,  176,  178,  321. 

Panof  Bros,  fit  out  expedt,  185-6. 

Panof  Co.,  fiffht  with  natives,  188,  0; 

sloop  owned  by,  221 ;  Aleuts  search 

for,  286;  on  Prince  William  Sound, 

344. 
Pantojo,  Juan,  in  Spanish  expedt., 

218. 
Paranchin,  put  ashore  on  Kurile  Isl> 

ands,  182. 
Paris  ledge,  aoct  of,  740,  741. 
Parker,  James  C,  1869,  trial  of,  617. 
Parrott,  John,  petition  of,  693. 
Parrott  &  Co.,  of  Alaska  Commer.  Co., 

646. 
Paspelof,  death  of,  328. 
Passace  Canal  named,  278. 
Paul  I.,  character,  grants  onkaz  to 

Ru88.  Amer.  Co.,  378-80;  orders  to 

naval  oflicers,  392. 
Pavlof,    MikhaX,    Lieut    in  expedt., 

62-93. 
Pavlovsk,    settlement  at,    324,    414; 

Baranof  at,  328,  384;  Juvenal  at, 

367;  Lisianskyat,  425. 
Pavlutski,  Dmitri,  in  expedt.,  37-8; 

death  of,  41-2. 
Paxin,  Ivan,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Pazniakof,  Peter,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Peking,  Russian  influenoe  at,  245. 
Pelly  River,  gold  discovered,  698. 
Penashigak,  adventures  of,  145-6. 
Peredovchiki,  regulations  of,  233. 
Perenago,  Vassili,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Perez,  Juan,  expedts.  o^  1774-9, 196- 

202. 
Perez  Strait  named,  276. 
Peril  Strait     See  Destruction  Strait, 

390. 
Permakof,  Yakov,   discovers  island, 

1710,28;  death  of,  29. 
Perrier  Pass  named,  733. 
Persia,  Russian  trade  with,  10. 
Pestehourof,  Alexei,  Capt.,  Rub.  com- 

mis.  at  Sitka,  599. 
Peter  the  Great,  purposes  of,  35;  ex- 
pedt. to  Kamchatka,  36;  death  of, 

36. 
Peters,  capt.  of  English  ship,  230. 
Petrie  Sound  named,  260. 
Petrof,  Afanassi,  builds  ostrog,  killed, 

106. 
Petrof,  Matvel',  in  expedt,  93. 
Petrof,    Ivan,    descript    of    climate, 

1880,  5;  chart  compiled,  79;  visit 

to  Samghanooda  Bay,    1878,   211; 

statement  of,  358. 
Petrof,  mate  with  Kotzebue,  494. 
Petrof,  master  of  the  "  Maria,"  405. 
Petroleum,  695. 


Philip,  agrioultaral  experiments  of« 

355. 
Philippine  Islands,  trade  with,  433» 
*»  Phoenix."  ship,  325,  331-3. 
Pinart,  Alphonse,  attempt  ascent  of 

Mt  Shishaldin,  629. 
**  Pinta,"  U.  S.  steamer,  728. 
Pisaref,   Stormakof,  oomdr  Okhotsk 
1731,  45,  8,  57;  biog.,  45;  accusa- 
tions of,  58;  relieved,  61. 
Pitt  Archipelago,  277. 
Plenisner,  Col.,  64,  90,  126,  153,  16I» 

176-7. 
Plioo,  native  of  Unalaska,  145-6. 
Plotnikof,    AbroBsim,    testimony  of, 

402-7. 
Plotnitzki,  Kiril,  builds  ship,  07. 
"  Plover  "  at  Kotzebue  Sound,  672. 
Plunting,  MikhaU,  48,  52,  59,  64,  73, 

93. 
Podushkin,    Lieut,    oomdr    of    the 
"Neva,"  493;  comdr  of  the  **0t- 
krytie,"  606. 
Pogibshie     Strait,    see    Destruction 

Strait,  390. 
Point  Reyes,  landing  of  Drake  1589» 

481. 
Polevoi,  Alexei*,  in  trading  co.,  186. 
Polevoi,  Simeon,  in  huntmg  expedt 

1759,  121-2. 
Polomoshnoi,  actions  and  death  of, 

390-1;  troubles  at  Yakutat,  396. 
Poloponissof,  expedt.   sent  by,   166» 

169. 
Poloskof,  expedt.  of,  164. 
Polossof,  Lt,  in  Billings'  expedt.,  283. 
Polutof,  Dmitri,   expedt.   of,    170-1; 
fate  of,  187-90;    visit  to  Kadiak, 
1776,   213;    treatment  of    natives, 
288. 
"Polvfem,"  voy.  of,  553. 
Ponandin,  Lieut,  expedt.  of,  627. 
Ponobasew,  expedt.  of,  194. 
Ponomaref,   Save,   map  by,    120;   in 
hunting  expedition,   1758^2,    120; 
collects  tribute,  136. 
Popof,  ii^  conspiracy,  4G4-5. 
Popof,  Alexander,  baptized,  142. 
Popof,  Alexeief,  attacked  by  natives, 

190. 
Popoff,  Andrei*,  admitted  to  citizen 

ship  1868,  602. 
Popof,  Fedor,  in  expedt,  94. 
Popof,  Ivan,  built  ship,  140;  expedt 

of,  156. 
Popof,  Loonti,  in  conspiracy,  179. 
Popof,  Peter  Elianovich,  deposition 

of,  27. 
Popof,  Vassili,  hunting  expedt,  1760, 
130,140. 


INDEX. 


7«7 


Popof,  Tefim,  in  trading  co.,  186. 

Portillo,  Canal  de,  named,  218. 

Portland  Canal,  277. 

Portland  Inlet,  Vancoaver  at,  276. 

Portlock,  huntinff  expedt.,  236;  fnrs 
collected  by,  244;  trade  with  na- 
tiyes,  249;  at  Cook  Inlet,  1786,  251; 
voyage  of  1786-6,  262-4. 

Port  Mary  Bay,  199. 

Posharkof,  Yassili,  exploration  of, 
1643-6,  20. 

Possession,  Point,  Cook  names,  208. 

Postal  rontes  established,  725. 

Postels,  report  of,  547. 

Postnikof,  hunting  expedt.,  1759,  123; 
at  Attoo  Island,  128. 

Povalishin,  Lieut,  fate  of,  430. 

"Predpriatie,"  voyage  of,  1823-6, 
540. 

Predtetcha  Co.  on  Prybilof  Island, 
354. 

Prianishnikof,  Fed  or,  in  expedt.,  04. 

Price,  Admiral,  suicide  of,  671. 

Prince  Edward  Island,  timber  on,  693. 

Prince  Ernest  Sound,  277. 

Prince  Frederick  Sound,  1883,  herring- 
oil  estab.  at,  666. 

"Prince  of  Wales,"  ship,  267. 

Prince  of  Wales  Island,  references  to, 
196,  201,  218,  236,  277,  523-4,  662, 
687,  690,  695. 

"Princesa,"  ship  left  Nuchek,  267, 
270-2. 

Prince  William  Sound,  187,  190-1, 
206,  209,  220, 228,  236.  239-40,  243, 
249,  256,  260,  271,  274,  287,  301, 
321.  323,  329,  339-40,  343,  385-7, 
390,  400,  530. 

Prokofief,  statement  of,  541. 

•*Prokop  i  Zand,"  ship,  109. 

Promchishchef,  Vassil,  in  expedt.,  93. 

"Promissel,"  1839,  ship  built,  691. 

Promyshleniki,  Cossack  advance 
guard,  18;  swarming  of,  1743-67, 
99-156;  system  of,  235-7;  treat- 
ment of  natives,  286,  295;  end  of 
rule,  297-8;  priests  among/  352. 

Pronchishchef,  Lieut,  appointment  of, 
52;  on  Lena  River,  1735,  56. 

Protassof,  Yakof,  130,  136,  184,  186. 

Protection,  Port,  277. 

Protestant  clergy  at  Sitka,  702;  mis- 
sion established,  1877,  705. 

Protodiakonof,  owned  ship,  169;  fitted 
out  expedition,  174. 

Protopof,  Alexe'i',  in  conspiracy,  179. 

Prybilof  discovers  Fur  Seal  Islands, 
185;  left  at  Ulinlink  Bay,  294;  report 
of,  298:  discoveries  of,  321;  death  of, 
356. 


Prybilof ,  Gerassim,  expedt.  of,  192-3; 

in  Billings'  expe<lt.,  290. 
Prybilof  Islands,  references  to,  211, 

292,  472,  605,  536,  547,  562,  582, 

598,  638,  641.  64^7,  652. 
Puget,  Lieut,  at  YakuUt  Bay,  239, 

348. 
Purcell,  Ensign,  in  expedt.,  736. 
Purchase  money  paia  for  territory, 

697-8. 
Purtof  assisted  by  Puget  and  Brown, 

239;  hunting  party  of,  279. 
Pushkaref,  Gavril,  with  Bering,  121; 

in    hunting    expedt.,    1759,    123; 

cruelties  of,  125;  expedt.  of,  166. 
Pustozersk,  traders  of,  232. 
Putman  River,  explored,  736,  737. 
Putof,  expedt.  to  Yakutat  Bay,  344r^; 

resolute  conduct  of,  346. 


"Qaeem  Charlotte,''  ship,  244,  261, 

262-^. 
Queen  Charlotte  IsUnd,  196, 259, 265; 

explored,   276,  276;  native  attack 

on  Kuskof,  482;  sea-otter  abound, 

528. 

R 

Rada,  Cabo  de,  settlement  at,  271. 

Radionof,  at  Kadiak,  357. 

Raymond,  Charles  W.,  expedt.  of, 
1869,  629. 

Real,  Marina,  puerto  de  la,  named, 
218. 

Refugio,  puerto  del,  named,  218. 

Regla,  Isia  de  la,  Arteaga  takes  pos- 
session of,  220. 

Remedios,  Spanish  land  at,  200. 

Repin,  of  Lebedef  Co.,  349. 

Repin,  Ivan,  news  sent  by,  451. 

"Resolution,"  ship  of  Capt.  Cook, 
202. 

Revenue,  custom  receipts,  1869-78, 
626:   1868-73,631-2. 

Revilia  Gigedo  Island,  276. 

Revilla  Gigedo  Bay  named,  273. 

Rezanof  supports  Shehkof 's  petition, 
377-9;  ambassador  to  Japan,  423; 
vlbIU  Alaska,  440,  443-60;  visits 
Cal.,  457;  complaints  of  naval  offi- 
cers, 457-8;  death  of,  460. 

Ricord,  Lieut,  with  Golovnin,  470. 

Rijpf  Comelis,  expedt.  of,  1595-^,  11, 
1-2. 

Robeck,  surgeon.  283;  at  Illiuliuk 
Bay,  294;  at  Petropavlovsk,  296. 


763 


INDEX. 


<'  Robert  and  Ann/*  ship,  182. 

Hock  well.    See  Uarrisbarff. 

Ilodianhr,  agent  at  NucheK,  390. 

Rodichef,  Kmilia,  in  ezpedt.,  93. 

R<»dncy,  Carje,  2i>2. 

Ro;?achcf,  ship-builder,  97. 

Iloqucfcuil,  Caimile,  voyage  of,  522-5. 

lltiaixnof.  Count,  equips  vessel  for 
north-east  passage,  494. 

lioscuburg,  Lieut,  temporary  gov., 
5b0;  contract  of,  587. 

Ross,  with  Capt.  Meares,  262. 

Ross  Colony  founded,  result  and  fail- 
urc,  483-0;  conference  at,  497;  Rus- 
sians at,  522. 

Rossilius,  in  ezpedts,  1740-2,  64, 
90. 

Rossysky,  mate  with  Lozaref,  504. 

*'Rr«tislaf,"  ship  built  at  Yakutat, 
420. 

Rousseau,  L.  H.,  Genl,  U.  S.  commis. 
at  Sitka,  18C7,  599;  orders  of,  1869, 
C.36. 

Roth,  private  in  Schwatka  expedt., 
732. 

Rowan,  Capt.,  at  Kadiak,  389. 

Rtishchcf,  in  expedts,  1740,  04,93;  de- 
tained in  Siberia,  90;  superseded, 
101. 

Rudakof ,  temporary  gov. ,  580. 

Rudnef,  Gavnl,  in  expedt.,  93.       , 

Rumiautzof,  Count,  meeting  at  office 
of.  410. 

Runiiantzof  Bay  named,  482. 

'*Rurik,"voy.of,  1816,494-501;  voy. 
of,  1821,  530-7. 

Russia,  claim  to  N.  W.  Amer.,  98; 
supremacy  in  N.  W.,  194. 

Rusbian  American  Co.,  Aleuts  in  ser- 
vice of,  2.*J7;  prices  paid  for  furs, 
241;  organized  171)0-9,  375-84  V 
new  clmrtcr,  410;  losses,  487,  509; 
capital  and  earnings,  627,  528;  sec- 
ond ijcriod,  1821-42,  530-07;  last 
period,  1842-00,  568-509;  revenue 

1841-02,  :m, 

Jlus  >jau  Finland  Whaling  Co.  estab- 

liblicd,  r)84,  585. 
lt:;.-hian  River,  Russian    colony  on, 

4b3. 
IwU'-.tiians  in  XVI.  century,  &S;   fur 

trade  of,  7-10;  commu.  with  Cook, 

208,  20:),  212. 
Rvan,  P.  B.,  constable  for  Sitka  1867, 

GOl. 
ll\bc:ihkoi,  Andrei,  hunting  expedt., 

*174G,  107-8. 
Rybiiiskoi,    Ivan,   hunting    expedts, 

1717-41),    109,    112;    builds    ship, 

123. 


S 


Saghalin  Islands,  Rezaaof  at,  445. 
"  .Saginaw,"  U.  S.  ship,  612. 
Saimonof,  Gov.,  at  Tobolk,  1759,  43; 
*  proknror  of  senate,  1723,  45;  orders 

expedt,  157. 
St  Augustine,  Mt,  Cook  names,  208. 
St  Constantine  Cove  named,  267. 
St  Dionys  Foi-t  named,  556;  salutes 

Eng.  flag,  557. 
St  EUas  Cape,  fort  at,  229,  414;  lo- 
cated,  288;   ship-building  at,  300; 

colony  at,  352,  353,  356,  400. 
St  Elias  Mtn,  78,  219,  5:16;  sighted 

by  Cook,  204;  by  La  Perouse,  255. 
"St  George,"  ship,  335. 
St  George,  condition  of,  641-2. 
St  George   Island  named,   192;   dis- 
cover^  290;  settlement  at,  334; 

fortat,414;  seal  catch,  638;  church 

built,  700. 
St  Helena,  Kotzebue  at,  502. 
St  Helena  Cove  named,  267. 
St  Ilcrniogen  Island,  128. 
St  Hermogenes,  Cape,  206. 
St  John  Mtn  named,  85. 
St  Konstantin,  fort   established  at, 

395. 
St  Lawrence  Bay,  210,  291,  292.  293. 
St    Lawrence  Island,   37,   211,  501, 

548. 
St  Mukrius,  land  named,  85. 
St  Matthew  Island,  211,  292,  547. 
St  Michael,  descript.  of,  680b 
St  Nicholas,  Fort,  335,  414;  warnings 

sent  to,  337-8;  Konovalov  at,  342. 
St  Paul,  settlement,  385;  fort  at,  414; 

visitors  at,  437,  445,  448,  461,  479; 
,    hospital,  468;  population,  461,  402; 

removal   from,    680,    681;   church 

built,  699;  school  at,  700. 
St   Paul  Harbor,  Lisiansky  at,  425. 
St  Paul   Island,    discovery    of,    193, 

290;  Bennetat,  503;  fur-seal  catch, 

038,  040. 
St  Petersburg,  political  changes  at, 

175;  H.  B.  Co.  furs  at,  342;  acts  of 

authorities,  376;    shares  in  Russ. 

Amer.  Co.,  381. 
"Sv  Alexci,"  ship,  185,  187. 
"Sv  Aexius,"8hip,  190. 
"8v  Andrei,"  ship,  voyage  of,  169. 
**  Sv  Audrel'  Pervosvanuni,"  ship,  voy- 
age of,  109,  184. 
"Sv  Ekatcrina,"ship,  voyage  of,  157, 

102,  163. 
'•SvGavril,"ship,  97. 
**  Sv  Georgiy,"  ship,  voyage  of,  185, 

191-3. 


INDEX. 


769 


"By    loann,"   at    Nishekamchatsk, 

1764,  111. 
<«8v  loann  Predteohay*'  ship,  voyage 

of,  185. 
"By  loann  Bylakoi,"  ship,  voyage  of, 

185. 
"  Sv  Ivan,"  reinforcement  l^,  341. 
••Sv  Mikhail,"  ehip,  187,  223,  324. 
Sv  MikhaiO,  Fort,  attack  on,  402-13; 

cannery  at,  662. 
'*Sv  Nikolai,"  Bhip,  voyage  of,  114, 

169,  184. 
••Sv  Pavel,"  ship,  voy.  of,  64,   67, 

97, 162, 153, 154, 157,  183,  314,  334, 
"  Sv  Petr,"  ship,  64,  66-8,  97,  153. 
"Sv  Petr  i  Sv  Pavel,"  ship,  123,  131, 

156;  secored  by  oonapirators,  180, 

181. 
*'Sv  Prokop,"  ship,  voyage  of,  169, 

185. 
"Sv  Simeon,"  ship,  223.  326. 
**  Sv  Simeon  i  Anna,"  ship,  112. 
"Sv  Tro'itska,"  ship,  voyage  of,  131, 

135-8. 
"Sv  Vladimir,"    ship,    voyage   of, 

170-4. 
"Sv  Yevpl,"  ship,  voyage  of,  171-3, 

185. 
Sahnon  Packing,  1880-3,  660-1. 
Samghanooda  Bay,  Cook  at,  209,  211. 
Samoilof,     instructions    to,    2^30, 

31^13;  in  Lebedef  Co.,  350. 
Samsonof,  cadet  with  Lozaref,  604. 
San  Alberto,  bahia  de,  named,  218. 
San  Antonio,  Arteaga's  expedt.  at,  219. 
San  Antonio,  puerto  de,  named,  218. 
San  Bias,  Santiago  sails  ftrom,   195, 

197;  Martinez  at,  270;  Caamafioat, 

275;  WrangeU  at,  554. 
San  Bias  Isl^uid  named,  201. 
"San  Carlos."  ship,  270. 
San  Cristdbal,  canal  de,  named,  218. 
Sanderson,  contract  of,  587. 
San  Diego,  O'Cain  at,  478;  Ayres  at, 

480. 
Sandwich,  Lord,  203. 
Sandwich    Islands,   Hagemeister  at, 

490-2;  Kotzebue  at,  497-500;  trade 

with,  538. 
San  Fernando  Islands  named  218. 
San  Francisco,  Ayres  at,  480;  Kotze- 

bae  at.  497;  Lazaref  at,  505;  trade 

with,  1817-25.  540;  expedt.  from, 

628-9;  sheep  from,  688. 
San  Ignacio  Island,  named,  218. 
San  Jacinto.  Mt,  199,  204,  259. 
San  Juan  Bantista  Island  named,  218. 
San  Juan  de  Fuca,  Spanish  claim  to, 

488.     ' 
San  Luis  Obispo,  Eliot  captured  at,  494. 

HnT.  Al^ABKA.     49 


Sannakh  Island,  128,  286,  479,  683; 

hostilities  at,  141;  natives  oif,  209. 
San  Nicolds.  puerto  de^  namc^i,  218. 
Santa  Barbara,  Eliot  taken  to,  494. 
Santa  Catharina,  Krusenstem's   ex- 
pedt. at,  424. 
Santa  Cristina  Island,  201. 
Santa  Cruz,  trade  with,  1817-26, 640. 
Santa  Cruz  Bay,  Arteaga  names,  217. 
Santa  Magdalena  Point  named,  195. 
Santa  Margarita  Point  named,  195. 
Santa  Kita  Island  named,  218. 
"Santiago,"  Spanish  ship,  195-7. 
Santiago,  Port,  219,  273. 
Sapochnikof,  Y.  I.,  expedt.  of,  183; 

at  Unga,  214. 
Sarambo,  Dionys,  Lieut,  expedt.  of, 

656-7. 
Sarana,  liquor  from,  67. 
Sarychef,  Admiral,  mistake  of,  79. 
Sarychef,  Lieut,  in  Billings'  expedt., 

282-96;  efforts  against  scurvy,  298; 

charts  of,  297. 
Sauer,    Martin,   at   Prince   WiUiam 

Sound,  190;  prediction  of.  252;  in 

expedt.,  283-303;  at  lUiuliuk  Bay, 

294;  report  of,  301. 
Savelief,  Sido.  in  expedt,  1740,  64-93; 

captured,  70-1. 
Saw-mills  in  operation,  1880.  690. 
Schaffer,  Ueinrich,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Schehl.  Elias.  in  expedt.,  94. 
Schelting,  Aiexe^  m  expedt.,  40,  61, 

52,  93. 
Scheffer.  Dr,  actions  of,  498-9, 603-9. 
Scherbinin,  Mikhail,  in  expedt..  93. 
Schischmaref,  Lieut,  with  Kotzebue, 

494. 
School  in  Kamchatka  1741,  62;  first 

started,  227;  established  by  Sheli- 

kof,  313. 
Schveikovsky.  lieut.  with  Lozaref, 504. 
Schwatka,  Lt,  voyage  of,  732-5. 
Scurvy,  sufferings  from,  261,  294,  298, 

302,357. 
Scutdoo.  outraffe  by.  1869,  614-16. 
Seals,  wholesa^  slaughter.  445,  446, 

646;  in  Cal.,  487,  488;  habits,  driv- 
ing,    and     slaughtering,      654-8; 

slaughtered,  1868,  658. 
Seal  fisheries,  threatened  exhaustion  of, 

376;  act  to  prevent  destruction,  638. 
Seal  Islands.  Russians  at,  522. 
Seal  oil.  yield  and  value,  639. 
"Sea  Otter,"  ship,  260. 
Sea-otter,  abundance  of,  4,  73,  314; 

Chinese  trade,  88,  216;  expedts  for, 

99-100,  350;    at  Gore  Island,  211; 

at  Ltua  Bay,  357;  at  Norfolk  Sound,. 

358. 


770 


rNDEX.A 


\ 


Seeber,  Chester,  oommr  at  UnalaskA, 
728. 

Selawik,  liyer,  6. 

Selden,  Gapt.,  report  of,  620. 

Seldovia,  settlement,  679-80. 

Selifontof,  Yassili,  in  expedt.,  9i. 

Semichi  Island,  85. 

Semidi  Islands,  in  Eadiak  district, 
636. 

Seniavin,  recommendations  of,  47-9. 

•'Seniavin,"  voy.  of,  547. 

Seniavin,  Cape,  named,  547. 

Serebrenuikof,  Andrei,   of   Moscow, 
100;  expedt.  of,  1735,  115-23. 

Serebrennikof,  N.,  owned  ship,  169;  in 
conspiracy,  179. 

Seward,  Mr,  yisit,  598,  599;  opinion 
of  Alaska,  747. 

Seymor  Canal  named,  280. 

Shadovski  quarrels  with  Pissref,  57. 

Shakmut,  chief  of  Dyamnae,  369, 370. 

Shalatirof,  voyage  of,  13;  death  of, 
284. 

Shantar  Islands,  expedt.  to,  1742,  40; 
explored,  97. 

Shapldn,  Vassili,  in  trading  co.,  186. 

Sharipof,  Yakof,  in  hunting  expedt., 
1769,  123. 

Shashin,  fate  of,  411. 

Shavrigin,  Ivan,  in  expedt.,  94. 

Shdanof,  Andrei,  in  hunting  expedt., 
1759,  123. 

Shebanof,  in  expedt.,  160. 
y  Sheffer,  Dr,  with  Lozaref,  504;  biog., 
607. 

Shehorbakof,  Matvel',  fur-trade  mo- 
nopoly, 110. 

ShekJiurdin,  in  hunting  expedt.,  103, 
105. 

Shekalef,  Petr,  in  expedt.,  death  of, 
132,  133. 

Shelages,  tribe,  31. 

Shelikof,  Grigor  Ivanovich,  first  men- 
tioned, 18*2-85;  fits  out  expedt., 
\84;  voy?  of,  222-31;  character  of, 
241,  299-^00;  plans  and  projects  of, 
266,  295,  297,  305=9..  352-4;  es- 
tablishment of,  286,  295;  at  court, 
B07;  rewards  to,  309;  Baranof  with, 
315,  317;  organizes  central  office, 
354,  355;  death,  365,  377;  settle- 
ments made  by,  335;  petition  for 
granty  376. 

Shelikof,  Madame,  manager  of  Ross. 
Amer.  Co.,  359,  360,  377,  382, . 

Shelikof  Bay,  199. 

Shelikof  Co.,  Baranof  at  head,  320; 
quarrels  with  Lebedef  Co.,  339-42, 
357,  376;  Golovin's  report.  358, 359; 
operations  of,  527r 


Shelikof  Sonnd,  260. 

Shelikof  Strait,  271,  287., 

Shemchnshaykof,  Kiril,  in  expedt.; 
94. 

Shestakof,  Afanassiy,  at  St  Peters- 
burg, 37;  expedt  of,  37-40;  result 

Shestakof,  Ivan,  expedt.  of  1729,  38. 
Shetilof,  Vassili,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Shevyrin,   in   hunting  expedt; ,   103, 

104,  114,  120-4. 
Shields,    ship-builder,    279,  328-33; 

expedts  of,  331,  358;  treatment  of, 

415,  416. 
Shinganof,  Andre,  in  expedt.,  1740, 

64,93. 
Shilkin,  Ivan,  hunting  expedts,  109, 

112,  118-19. 
Shilo^  oukaz  issued  to,  126;  forms 

CO.,    153;  at  St  Petersburg,   155; 

reed  by  empress,  168;  fits  out  ex- 
pedt., 169. 
Shilof  &  Lapin  Co.,  ZaXkof  in  services 

of,  170. 
Shinn,  H.  H.,  director  of  mining  co., 

740. 
Ship-building,  difficulties  of  Baranof, 

328-31;  at  Ross  Colony,  484. 
Shircliff,  Corp.,  in  Schwatka  expedt, 

732. 
Shishaldm  Mtn,  629. 
Shishkin,  Peter,  map  by,  120. 
Shitikas,  descript,  100. 
Shmalef,  Capt,  on  Cook's  expedt, 

213;  commu.  with  Billings,  283, 284; 

comd  at  Petropavlovsk,  296»  312. 
Shoalness,  point,  211. 
Shoetzof,  expedt.  to  Cal.,  477-8,  480. 
Shosbin,  in  expedt,  170. 
Shuiak  Island,  on  Cook's  chart  208; 

expedt  to,  228;  trading  post  at,  230. 
Shukof,  Feodor,  hunting  expedt,  108, 

117. 
Shuluk  Sound,  205. 
Shumagin,  death  of,  83 
Shumagin  Island,  256,  286,  314,  536,' 

576;  explored,  214;  surveyed  1871- 

2,  629;  cod  banks  at,  664. 
Shuralef,  fits  out  expedt,  185. 
Sibaief,  Ivan,  in  conspiracy,  1791. 
Siberia,  descript,    16;    man  of,   19; 

famine  1743,  96-9;   merchants  of, 

107;  special  privileges,  376;  trade 

with  CaL  1883,  630. 
Sibiriaks,  fear  of  Spimberg,  50. 
Sidorof  reveals  conspiracy,  464. 
Sievers,  recommendations  of,  47-9. 
Signam  Island,  expedt.  at,  164. 
Silver  mines  on  the  Amoor,  20. 
*'Simeop,"shii>,  183. 


INDEX. 


771 


Simeon,  Father,  agricaltural  experi- 

menta  of,  355. 
Simpson,  Sir  George,  actions  of,  558- 

60;  NarraHue  of,  1841-2,  567. 
Simasir  Island,  colony  formed,  545-A. 
Siflson,  Wallaoe,  &  Co.,  cannery  of, 

662. 
Sitka,  founding  of,  1798-1801,  384- 
400;  massacre  at,  1802,  401-20; 
recaptured  1803-5,  421-42;  U.  S. 
in  possession  1867,  55^-600;  offi- 
cials, 601;  riot  at,  609-11;  ont- 
rages  on  natives,  617-18;  mail  ser- 
vice to,  628;  settlement,  672-7; 
social  Ufe  at,  674-7;  saw-miU, 
690;  charch  services  at,  699-700; 
school  at,  706. 

'*  Sitka,''  ship,  461;  wrecked,  462. 

Sitka  Bay,  236, 629. 

Sitkans,  treaty  with,  387-8. 

Sitkhalidak  IsUnd,  208,  434,  435. 

Sitkfain  Island,  Drushinnin  stationed 
at,  121. 

Sitkhinak  Island,  208. 

Siwau,  1869,  actions  and  fate  of,  613. 

Skaonshleoot,  treachery  of,  412. 

Skilakh,  lake,  discontent  of  tribes  at, 
343. 

Skinunskoi,  Capo,  wreck  at,  153. 

Skobeltzin,  Peter,  in  expedt,  94. 

Sknratuf,  Alexe)f;  lieat,  in  ezpedt., 
52,  93. 

"  Slava  Rossie,"  ship,  285-95. 

SUvianka  River.    See  Russian  River. 

Sledge  Island,  Cook  names,  210. 

Slobodchikof,  Pavel»  expedt.  to  Cal., 
471. 

Small-pox  among  natives,  350;  epi- 
demic, 560-3. 

Smith,  Leon,  fate  of,  614. 

Smuggling,  633^. 

Snettisham,  Port,  named,  280. 

Snug  Comer  Cove,  Cook  at,  205;  dis- 
covered, 260. 

Soil,  descript.,  3. 

Sokolof,  Kosma,  at  Okhotsk  1714,  31. 

Solmanof,  Stepanof,  in  conspiracy,  178. 

Solovief,  Feodor,  monopoly  of,  110; 
impressions,  129;  expedt,  149-53, 
169;  infamies  of,  150-1;  fate,  154. 

Somof,  Vassili,  in  expedt,  94. 

'  *  Sonora, "  ship  in  Spanish  expedt,  197. 

Sookin,  Lieut,  conauct  of,  457. 

Sopohnikof,  expedt.  of,  155. 

Sopronof,  in  conspiracy,  175. 

South  Shetland,  furs  from,  245. 

Spain,  explor.  expedts,  1773-9,  194- 
202,  217-21;  expedt.  to  N.  W., 
270-5;  frigate  at  Cook  Inlet,  287: 
claims  of,  444. 


Spanberg,  Capt.  M.,'  expedts.  of,  36, 

41-59,    93,  96;    biog.,   50;   recon- 

noiBsance  of,  95. 
Spencer,  Cape,  203,  204,  279,  556. 
"Sphanef,"  ship  buUt,  97. 
Spiridof,  Sergei,  in  expedt.,  93.1 
Spring  Comer  Cove,  267. 
Sprace,  abundance  of,  689. 
Sprace  Island,  village  at,  682. 
Sralef,  in  expedt,  160. 
Stadukhin,  MikhaKl,  expedt  of  1650, 

23. 
Stadukhin,  Vassili,  expedt  of  1711,29. 
Stshlin,  maps  of,  128,  211. 
Sta^l,  Frederich,  in  expedt.,  53. 
Stakihn  River,  402. 
Staniukovich,  Capt,  expedt  of  1828, 

647. 
States,  Hy.,  commr  at  Junean,  728. 
Steller,  G.  W.,  in  expedts,  1740-1, 

52-4,    61,    64,    66,  88-9,  92,  204; 

bioff.,  53;  joins  Bering,  65;  at  Kyak, 

80-1. 
Stepanof,  in  expedt,  160;  in  conspir- 
acy, 176. 
Stephanoff,   comdr  at    St    Michael, 

685. 
Stephens,  Ph.,  203. 
Sterlegof,  Dmitri,  in  expedt,  93. 
Stevan,  J^rodiakon,  missionary,  360. 
Stewart,  Port,  277. 
Stewart  River,  mining  on,  737-8.' 
Stikeen  Fort,  attack  on,  558-9 
Stikeen  River,  English  trading  post 

on,  555-6;  surveyed,  576. 
Stock-raising  at  Ross  colony,  486-7. 
Strebykhin,  Matvel,  1711  commander 

of  Anadirsh,  27. 
Stroganof,  Anika,  salt-works  of,  15. 
Stoney  Lt,  explor.  expedt.   of,   736, 

737. 
Stuart  Island,  546,  538,  576. 
Studentzof,  attack  by  natives,  119. 
Stungel,  Baron,  commd.  at  Petropav- 

lovsk,  230-1. 
Stupin,  Ivan,  in  expedt,  93. 
Sturgis,  statement  of,  408-9. ' 
Suckling  Cape,  named,  204;  nuntera 

lost  at,  386. 
Sukhotin,  Ivan,  Lieut,  in  expedt.,  93. 
Sukli  Island,  576. 

Sunda  Straits,  burial  of  Baranof,  514. 
Snnkof,  Serge^  in  expedt,  93. 
Sushetno  River,  explored  1843,  576. 
Sutkhumokoi,  Russians  at,  522. 
Sutter,  John     A.,     purchases    Ross 

colony,  489. 
"  Suvarof,"  ship,   504;  voy.  of,   510, 

511. 
Svistunof,  Ivan,  in  expedt,  94., 


772 


INDEX 


-t 


Sweden,  war  with  Russia,  285.* 
Swineford,  A.  P.,  apptd  govr,  7d2i 
Sykes  Point,  277. 
Sylva,  Dr,  with  Lozaref,  504. 
Synd,  Joann,  in  ezpedt.,  64,  93;  pro- 
moted, 96;  ezpedtB  of,  153, 157, 158. 


Tabornkin,  in  ezpedt.,  164. 
Tagalak  Island,  128. 
Takoo  Mines,  738,  739.' 
Takoo  River,  fort  bnilt  on,  557;  min- 
ing on,  697. 
Talin,  behavior  to  Baranof,  391  .** 
Tamary,  King,    troubles  with,  499, 

506-9. 
Tamena,  visit  to  Hagemeister,  491. 
Tanaga  Island,  Billings*  expedt.  at, 

290. 
Taniskv  ostrog,  32. 
Tatikhlek,  village  of,  260. 
Tatitliatzk,  Rnssians  at,  345. 
Tayatoot,  natives,  145. 
Taylor,  Thomas,  suit  against  Alaska 

Commer.  Co.,  650. 
Tchechina  Island,  12a 
Tchinklt&nd    Sound,    Indian  i  name," 

275. 
Tchitchinoff,   Zakahai,  sufferings  on 

Farallones,    487;    AdveiUurea    of, 

MS.,  520. 
Tebenkof,  Lieut,  expedt.  of,  548;  gov. 

1852,  offl    acts,   576,  584;   founds 

port,  685;  charts  of,  692. 
TegaldA  Island,  village  on,  562. 
Tehukotsk,  Cape,  354. 
Temnak  taken  from  Attoo,  105. 
Teneriffe,  Krusenstem's   exrf^dt.   of, 

424. 
Tereshkin,  Yukagir  Ivan  Vassilievich, 

deposition  of,  1711,  27. 
Terpigoref,  survivor   from i** Neva" 

wreck,  494. 
Terra  del  Fuego,  furs  from,  245.' 
Thlinkeets,    fierceness,    239;    inter- 
course   with     Russ.,   268-9;    sack 

Yakutat,   300;    promises    of,   350; 

surprise  hunters,  384. 
Three   Saints,  settlement,    320,  324, 

414;  first  church  at,  362;  storehouses 

at,  389;  school  at,  706. 
Three  Saints  Bay,  228,  230,  434,  435. 
Tigil  Biver,  31,  157. 
Tikhmenef,  character  of  Rezanof,  460, 
Timber,  resources  of,  688-90. 
Timofeief,  journey  to  Pacific,  9. 
Tinnehs,  natives,  207. 
Tnaianas,  natives,  144. 


Tobolsk,  Fort,  17;  expedts  at,  38,  56, 

160. 
Togiak  River,  Korasakovsky  expedt. 

at,  521. 
Tolbukhin,   investigation   by,    1739, 

59. 
Toldin,  Yegor  Vassilievich,  1711,  de- 
position of,  27. 
Tolstykh,  Ajidrel,  hunting   expedt., 

1749,  108,  111.  116;  expedt.,  1760- 

4,  127-30,  153,  168. 
Tomari,  Kins,  domain  of,  506. 
Tomsk,  founded,  17;  Siberian  contin- 
gent at,  96. 
Tongass,  suffering  at  settlement,  560. 
Tongass  Fort,  U.   S.  military  poet, 

679. 
Torckler,  trade  of  at  Petropaulovsk, 

296. 
Toyunok,  outrage  on  party  from,  336. 
Trading  Bay,  Portlock  at,  262. 
Traitor  Cove,  origin  of  name,  277. 
Trapezuikof,  Arluiip,  permit  to,  101; 

monopoly,  110. 
Trapezuikof,    Nikofor,  partner  with 

Bassof,  100;  hunting  expedts,  1746, 

1752-8,  62,  108,  111,  112,  114,  117, 

120,  130,  131;  voy.  of,  112;  enter- 

prise,  135. 
Trauemicht,  sends  expedt.,  1711,  28. 
Treadwell,  mine  owner,  740. 
Tredwell  mine,  account  of,  740-2. 
Treaty,  signed  and  ratified  1867,  594. 
"Trekh  Sviatitch,"  ship,   183,  223, 

266,  352,  355-7;  wrecked,  318. 
Tretiakof,  Alexef,  in  expedt.,  94. . 
Treveuen,  Lieut,  with  Cook,  307. 
Tribute,  coUectmg  of,  130,  168,  231- 

7;  from  Aleuts,  294;  end  of  system, 

297-8. 
Trinidad,  Cape,  145. 
Trinity  Island,  208,  271. 
Trocadero,  Cafios  de  la,  named,  218. 
Trupischef,  Tryfon,  orders  to,  1730, 

38. 
Tschemich,  rancho  at  Bodegi^  489. 
Tubinskoi,  Mikhail,  in  trading  co., 

186. 
Tugidak  Island,  natives  from,  366. 
Tumakaif,  fate  of,  407-11. 
Tumannoi  Island,  discovered,  82;  Cook 

at,  208. 
Tunguse,  order  preserved  among,  232. 
Tunulgasan,  native  chief,  118,  128. 
Turn-acain  River,  Cook  names,  208. 
Tuyurskoi,  in  expedt,  184. 
Two-headed  Cape,  20a 
Tyrin,  Stephen,  bunting  expedt.,  1747~ 

9,  109,  112. 
Tzaklie  Island,  288. 


INDEX. 


773 


Uganak,  trftdina  po«t  at,  290. 
Ugak  Bay,  trading  post  at,  230. 
Ulga  Island,  village  on,  662. 
Umnak  Island,  expedts  at,  123,  131, 

136,  147,   154,  164,   168;  Eorovin 

wrecked,  138;  ooaat  surveyed,  148; 

ZaXkof  at,  173. 
Unkovsky,  Lieut,  with  Lozaref,  504. 
Unalaska,  trade  with  natives,    120; 

expedt.  and  visitors  at,  132,  164-^, 

168, 171, 182, 183, 233, 260. 272, 295, 

500,  547;  massacre  at,  133-40,  145, 

154;  natives  submit,  152;  church, 

700;  school,  708-9;  rainfall,  710. 
Unalaska  Island,  72,  128,  296,  576; 

expedts  at,   137,   285,  291;  black 

foxes,  141;  village,  562. 
Unalakleet,  village  of,  574. 
tJnalga,  attack  of  natives,  165. 
Unalga  Island,  village  on,  562. 
tJnalga  Strait,  209. 
Unga  Island,  300;  Molef  escapes  to, 

319. 
"Uniwrn,"  ship,  at  Sitka,  406. 
Unimak,  expedt.  165;  village,  562. 
Unimak  Strait,  Zaikof  residence  at, 

213. 
Unimak,  volcano,  209,  272. 
Unimaks,  the  chief  of,  at  Amik,  191. 
United     American     Co.,     confirmed 

by  imperial  decree,  378^3;  name 

changed,  379. 
United  States,  treaty  with,  642. 
United  States  officials,  appointment 

of,  727,  728. 
Unmak,  villages  at,  662. 
Ust-Yana,  commanders  of,  1710,  28. 
Ust-Yanskoie  Simovie,  expedt.  fivm, 

1712,  29. 


Vagin,  Merknri,  expedt.,  death  of, 
1711-12,28-9. 

Valde's  Bay,  named,  273. 

Vallenar  Pbint,  277. 

Vancouver,  Geo.,  voyage  of,  1791-4, 
276-81,  348,  498;  observations,  79; 
hunting  parties,  239;  on  competi- 
tion, 24&-50;  on  Kaknu  river,  335; 
charts  of,  692. 

Vancouver  Island,  244,  532. 

Varonin,  Luka,  in  expedts,  283,  293. 

Vaasilaief,  expedt.  of,  1829,  546,  547. 

Vassili,  in  conspiracv,  178. 

Vassilievich,  Ivan,  Tartar  yoke,  5. 

VasRiutinski,  Petr,  in  expedt,  127, 
129,  130. 


Velikopokki,  Andrei, in  expedt.,  93. 
Veniaminof,  missionary  career,  364-^; 

statement,  684;  bishop,  701-4. 
Vereshchagin,  Ivan,  in  expedt.,  92. 
Verkhneikamchatsk,  312. 
Verkhnoi  Kovima,  Billings  at,  284. 
Verstovoi,  expedt.  at,  388. 
Verstovoi,  Mt,  674. 
Vilegin,  visits  Kopaf,  1724,  31. 
Viliuya Kiver,  "Juno"  wrecked  on, 

474. 
ViDzent,  Thomas,  in  expedt.,  93. 
"Vladimir,"  ship,  120,  155. 
Voievodsky,  Capt.,  elected  gov.  1860, 

585. 
Volkof,  Ivan,  in  conspiracy,  179. 
Von  Verd,  mate  to  Bering,  47. 
Vorobief,  Alexe^  in  hunting  expedt., 

112. 
Vosikof,  Mikhail,  in  expedi,  93. 
Voskressenski,  "The  Orel"  at,  331; 

ship-building  at,  341,  351,  355. 
Voskressenski  Bay,  Yakutat  expedt. 

at,  345;  Baranof  at,  357,  395. 
Vosnessensky  Island,  Pinart  at,  629. 
"Vostochnui  Gavril,'*ship,  97. 
Vsevidof,  Andre!^  hunting  expedt., 

108. 
Vtoruikh,  death  of,  108. 
Vtroushin,  Luka,  expedt.  of,  144. 
Vnikhodzef,  Mikba^  in  expedt.,  94. 


W 

Walker,  fate  of,  1869,  611-12. 

Walker  Cove,  277. 

Walton,  William,  lieut  in  expedt.,  61, 

52,  93. 
Warren  Island,  277. 
Waxel,  Lt,  in  expedts,  1740-2, 52, 64, 

79-96;  ioumal,  67;  cart,  79. 
Wedge  Island,  277. 
Weidel,  Friedrich,  in  expedt.,  94. 
Wells,  Port,  ramed,  278. 
Westdahl,  Ferdinand,  statement  of, 

577-8. 
Western  Fur  and  Trading  Co.,  stores 

of,  681. 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Co.,  opera- 

tions  of,  576-8. 
Whale  Bay,  259,  265. 
Whale,  bump-back,  669. 
Whale,  sperm,  669. 
Whaling,  descript.  and  value,  682- 

3,  668-670. 
Whidbey,  Lieut,  passed  up  Stephens' 

Passage,  280. 
White,  Capt.  J.  W.,  acct  of  natives, 

619;  actions,  637;  statement,  747. 


T74 


INDEX. 


White  Point,  named,  265. 

Whitsunday,  Cape,  208. 

Whvmper,  at  St  Michael,  685. 

WilliamB,  Haven,  &  Co.,  of  Alaska 
Oommer.  Co.,  646. 

Williamson,  Lieut,  at  Cape  Kewen- 
ham,  209. 

Willoughby,  Sir  Hugh,  Toyage,  1553, 
8. 

Wilson,  Dr,  in  Schwatka  expedt., 
732. 

Windblath,  Major,  in  oonspiraoy,  175, 
178. 

Winshin,  John,  hunting  expedt.  to 
Cal.,  1809,  480. 

Winship,  Nathan,  hunting  expedt.  to 
Cal.,  1810,  480-1. 

Winter,  Lutheran  pastor  at  Sitka, 
702. 

Wittemore,  hunting  expedt.  to  CaL, 
1812.  481. 

Woahoo,  Dr  Schefifer  at,  499. 

"Wolcott,"  ship,  620. 

Wolf,  Capt.,  supplies  purchased  of, 
529. 

Wood,  yoy^e  of,  1676,  13. 

Wood,  W.  H.,  mayor  of  Sitka,  1867, 
601. 

Wood  Island,  ice  trade,  587;  settle- 
ment, 681,  682;  saw-mill,  690. 

Wormskloid,  scientist  with  Kotzebue, 
494. 

Wosdwith,  Capt.,  joins  adversaries  of 
Scheffer,  508. 

Wolves.    See  Fur-trade. 

Wrangell,  Baron,  travels  of,  22;  rec- 
ommend, of,  463;  in  CaL,  485;  mis- 
sion to  Mex.,  1838, 488;  apptd  govr, 
548;  offl  acts  of,  648^56,  691. 

Wrangell,  Fort,  troubles  at,  613-16, 
623^;  description,  677-9;  agric. 
at,  687;  school,  710. 

Wrangell  Island  renamed,  619;  lead 
found,  696. 

Wymea,  fort  erected  at,  508. 


Yago,  Dmitri,  fur-trade  monopoly, 
110. 

Yakhoutof,  Ilia,  in  expedt,  94. 

Yakovlef,  Petr,  investigations  of, 
141. 

Yakoutsk,  school  at,  707. 

YakuUt,  disasters  at,  252,  300,  451, 
455,  516;  agric.  at,  300;  oonvict  col- 
ony, 358;  settlement  at,  396.  401; 
ahip-building  at,  420. 


Yakutat  Bay,  expedts  at,  204,  265, 
344,  350;  <*Threkh  SvUtiteli"  at, 
268;  colony,  352;  Baranof  at,  356; 
suflferings  on,  357;  map,  390;  forts 
on,  414. 

Yakutat  tribe,  239;  engagements  with, 
32^7. 

Yakutsk  founded,  17,  18;  expedts  at, 
56,  57, 160,  284, 298;  conspitacy  at, 
176. 

Yana,  expedt.  from,  28-9. 

Yana  River,  19;  island  on,  30. 

Yanovsky,  Lieut,  Hagemeister's  repre- 
sentative, 511;  report  of,  522;  acting 
chief  manager,  534. 

"  Yasatchnoi,^'  ship,  284. 

Yatof,  Radion,  in  hunting  expedt.,  102. 

Yeames,  Lamb,  ship-builder,  2^. 

Yelagin,  in  expedt.,  1740,  64,  65,  74, 
93;  explorations,  1739,  95;  pro- 
moted, 96. 

Yelovoi  Island,  school  at,  706. 

Yenissei  River  information  of,  1595, 
11;  ship  built  on,  56. 

Yenisseisk,  founded,  17;  contingent 
at,  96. 

•*Yeremy,"ship,  112. 

"Yermak,"  ship  built  at  Yakutat,  420. 

Yermak,  Timofeief,  visits  Stroganof, 
1578,  15. 

Yermola,  baptized,  122. 

Yevdokia,  shitika  built,  102. 

Yevreinof,  Ivan,  expedt  1719-21,  32, 
33,44. 

Young,  Capt.,  cruising  for  Russ. 
Amer.  Co.,  525. 

Yugof,  EmUian,  traffio  monopoly, 
death,  110,  111. 

Yukon,  Fort,  population  of,  686;  tem- 
perature, 711. 

Yukon  River,  211,  530,  550,  553, 576, 
629;  source  of,  4,  5;  shoals,  41; 
salmon  run,  661,  662;  mining  on, 
698,  737,  738;  Schwatka  explore, 
732-5;  Everett  explore,  735-6. 

"Yulian,"  ship,  120. 

Yullits,  natives,  191. 

Yunaska  IsUnd,  128. 

Yurlof,  death  of,  108. 

Yurlof,  AndreJian,  in  expedt,  93 

Yurlof,  Moissei,  in  expedt,  93. 

Yushin,  Kharlam,  64,  93. 


Zadskoi,  Heraclius,  in  conspiracy,  179. 
Zagoskin,    Lieut,    expedt.  of^  1842* 


INDEX. 


775 


ZaSikof,  Potop,  ezpedts  of,  1772-5, 
1783, 170, 173, 186, 191,  219;  report 
of,  141;  in  trading  co.,  186;  at  un- 
alaska,  214,  272;  meets  Vancouver, 
278;  map,  214. 

ZaJCkof,  Stepan,  expedt.  of,  185;  chief 
at  St  NioolaSy  342;  character  of, 
343. 

"  Zakhar  i  EUsaveta,"  Toyage  of,  123; 
130-5. 

Zakhmilin,  bravery  of,  328. 


Zand,  in  expedt.,  1741-2,  90. 
Zane,  engineer,  in  expedt.,  736. 
Zasheiverak,  Banner  inspector  at,  416. 
Zavailof,  Ellas,  in  trading  co.,  186. 
Zokharin,  Lient,  with  Eotzebne,  494. 
*'Zo68ima  i  Savatia,'*  ship,  voyage  of, 

184. 
Zabof,  Oonnt,  settlers  sent  by,  399. 
Znbof,  Sava,  Capt.-li6ut,  signs  oukaz, 

126. 
Zybin,  Capt,  comdt  at  Okhotsk,  163. 


\ 


^ 


/VM 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

•nii*  book  is  doc  on  the  last  <Lne  camped  h«l»w.of 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  arc  iubie<t  lo  immediate  tecall. 


^AV    St9877'V 


pp-^— 


tBC.CIR.JlW'i'''" 


MftY  2  4  1978 


NOV    2'67-9P««_j7(^ 


uoAN  oprr. 


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■O^O*      Jtt26- 


'fB4^r69-5^ 


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4AQV271993- 


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YC   88020 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


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