HISTORY
OF ALASKA.
CHAPTER
XII.
FOREIGN
VISITORS.
1786-1794.
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 Pérouse 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 prospects. 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 these snowy
mountains of this northern mainland with their thin blackish fringe of sombre
spruceforest. At any rate, contrary to his instructions, which were to
explore the Aleutian Islands, La Perouse with wisdom shaped his course
south-eastward along the coast.
For
some time no landing could be effected, 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 opening of Yakutat or Bering Bay was thus passed unawares,
but a little to the southward La Perouse 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 anchorage.
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 entertained
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 newly
discovered port, called Ltua by the natives, was named rightly and modestly
Port des Français, which gave no undue, personal prominence to any one. Exploring
and surveying parties in boats were sent out at once, while the remainder of
the crews were employed 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 letter T, the foot forming its
outlet into the sea. The cross-bar consists of a deep basin terminating in
glaciers. La Pérouse 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 day, and soon they came in large numbers,
allured from a distance it was supposed. Contrary to his expectations La Pérouse
found the savages in possession 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 intertribal traffic originating with Hudson Bay
posts. It was convenient for the Englishman 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 expeditions 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 Pérouse purchased of the
chief an island in the bay, where he had established his astronomical station;
but though a high price was paid for the worthless 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 expedition. Three boats had been
sent out to make final soundings for a chart, including the passage leading
out to sea. As the undertaking was looked upon in the light of a pleasure
excursion, affording an opportunity for hunting, the number of officers
accompanying the party was larger than the duty required, seven in all, while
the crews consisted of eighteen of the best men from both vessels. On
approaching the narrow channel at the entrance of 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
Cenotaphe. Weighing anchor July 30th the squadron sailed along the coast
without making any observations, but on the 6th of August the weather cleared,
enabling La Pérouse to determine his position in the vicinity of Norfolk Sound. Puerto de Bucareli and Cape Kaigan were passed by, and unfavorable
weather foiled the attempt to run into Dixon Entrance, whereupon the expedition
passed beyond Alaska limits. Superficial as were his observations, La Pérouse
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 year 1786 much progress was made in the exploration of the Alaskan coast
between Dixon Entrance and the Alaska Peninsula. The Captain Cook and
the Experiment, under captains Lowry and Guise, sailed in June from
Nootka for Prince William Land, where they obtained a small lot of furs. More
extensive are the experiences recorded of John Meares. He sailed
from Malacca in the Nootka May 29, 1786. A companion ship, the Sea
Otter, 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 Aleutian 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. While taking in water, Meares and his officers were
hospitably entertained by the Russians on Unalaska under Delarof, yet the
Englishman delights none the less to sneer at their poverty while extolling
the ‘generous’ and ‘magnanimous’ conduct 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 William 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 present village of
Tatikhlek.
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 shallow grave under the snow; but as the survivors
became 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
crystal 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 savages, who kept themselves well informed, grew insolent 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 letter intrusted to some natives failed to
reach its destination. In the evening of the 8th of May, however, Captain
Dixon of the Queen Charlotte arrived in a whaleboat and boarded the Nootka,
which was still fast in the ice. Learning of Meares’ distress he promised all
necessary assistance.
Meares
now had one of his boats repaired, and proceeded to Portlock’s vessels, on the
north side of Montague Island, where relief was obtained. Portlock 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 bidding a
reluctant farewell to the east 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 approached 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 and Queen Charlotte left the inlet on
the 13th of August, 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 points previously
determined by Spanish and English explorers, 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 King 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 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
whaleboat and yawl were left high ashore by the ebb-tide to the eastward of
Nuchek Island, and in that helpless condition the crews were surrounded by two
hundred 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 Montague 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 Klokatchef 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.
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 and surveyed 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 Norfolk 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.
The
next exploration of Prince William Sound and the coast east of it took place
during the second voyage of the Trekh Sviatiteli, in connection with
Shelikof’s 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 addition to as full an armament and
equipment as circumstances would allow the expedition was supplied with a
number of painted posts and boards, copper plates and medals, “to mark the
extent of Russia’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 Nuehek
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 possession, 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
Hutehins, must have been at anchor in Spring Corner Cove about the same time,
and shortly after the Iphigenia, Captain Douglas, entered the same cove,
while Portloek 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.
Boeharof
earefully surveyed the inner harbor, the Brook Cove of Portloek, and named it
St Constantine and St Helena, after the day of arrival. On the 27th of May the Trekh
Sviatiteli returned to the coast of Montague Island. Some trading was done
here despite 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 remaining 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 thoroughly 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 Thlinkeet
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 successful 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 presents 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 protection 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 inscribed “ 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 eastward 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 third day, when the
vessel entered Ltua Bay or Port des Français. Trade was quite active here for
some days, and in the mean time Ismaïlof carried out his secret instructions by
establishing marks of Russian occupation at various points, and perhaps
destroying the monument left by La Pérouse.
The
results of Ismaïlof’s explorations during the summer of 1788 were of sufficient
importance to stimulate Delarof to further attempts in the same direction,
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 Pérouse and others concerning the spread of Russian settlements
in the far north, and the influx of English and other trading vessels, the
Spanish government in 1787 ordered 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 Carlos, under Alférez Estevan Jose Martinez and the pilot Gonzalo Lopez
de Haro, set sail from San Blas, 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.
Without
touching any intermediate point they arrived before Prince William Sound May
17th, anchoring 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.
Meanwhile Haro, who had lost sight of the consort vessel, sailed close along
the east coast of Kadiak, and notified 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 proposed to found a station
at Nootka in the following year. In the interest of ruler and employers this
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 cheeked 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 Zaikof, the commandant. Martinez considered the season
too far advanced to explore the coast eastward, or even to seek Nootka, and
all speed was thereupon made for the south, the Princesa stopping at
Monterey, in California, to recruit, while Haro lingered for a time round the
islands with half an intention to do something more toward the fulfilment of
the orders from Mexico, and then hurried straight to San Blas 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.
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 extend 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 Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo, was directed to complete what
Martinez had left undone by examining the coast from latitude 60° southward. He
was provided with Russian and English interpreters. He set sail from Nootka on
May 4, 1790, in the paquebot 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 Valdes. After more than one detention from fogs and gales Fidalgo passed
round to Cook Inlet in the beginning 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 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 relieve 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 coming upon
them off this place they passed on to Monterey and thence to San Blas.
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 Descubierta and Atrevida, on a scientific exploring 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 Mulgrave, thence to explore in boats for
Maldonado’s passage, 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 latitude and
longitude, whereupon he turned toward New Spain.
Malaspina’s
report, together with those obtained from Russian and other navigators, was
deemed sufficient to dissipate the belief in a passage north of Port Bucareli;
but from this point down a careful examination 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 Blas, under Lieutenant Jacinto Caamano, commanding 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 represented on the Northwest Coast in the
person of Etienne Marchand, captain of the Solide, who had left
Marseilles at the close of the previous year 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 Queen Charlotte Island, where his most
valuable explorations 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 Northwest Coast, 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 numerous channels all along the
Northwest Coast, determined the English government to send an expedition to
this region. The explorations of Cook west and north of latitude 60° were
deemed conclusive, but below this point they required to be completed and verified.
This commission was entrusted to George Vancouver, who departed from England in
April 1791 in the sloop Discovery of twenty guns, accompanied 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 Portland Inlet and sent boats to examine its two
branches. The dawning hope of here finding Fonte’s passage was quickly
dissipated, and the boats proceeded northward through Behm Canal. On
descending its southwestern 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 party now passed into Duke of Clarence
Strait—named by Caamaño after Admiral Fonte—and returned to the ships.
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
Caamano, 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 fallacy of the pretended discoveries said to have been made by
De Fuca and De Fonte.” He had demonstrated 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
Archipelago 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 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 Russians, 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 Chatham proceeded to survey the main coast to Yakutat
Bay, there to await the Discovery.
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 maintained.
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 Ismaïlof’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 employés. The aboriginal population
appeared exceedingly scanty, especially 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
companies,” whose members appeared to live highly contented 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 Purtof, 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 Canal which almost touches the headwaters of the mighty
Yukon, and 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
celebrated the conclusion of their task, the exploration of the Northwest
Coast for a passage.
Vancouver
had achieved a veritable triumph. He had 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 intercourse 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 communication
navigable for shipping, existing within the north Pacific, and the interior of
the American continent, 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 applied
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 September
the following year.
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