CHAPTER XIV.

ORGANIZATION OF MONOPOLY.

1787-1795.

 

 

The idea of a subsidized monopoly of trade and industry, to embrace all Russian discoveries and colonies 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 chapter. Once seized with this conception, Shelikof hastened forward the execution of it with all the ardor of his nature. He hurried from Kamchatka to Okhotsk and Irkutsk, travelling without intermission in the dead of winter until he reached the capital of eastern Siberia and delivered to General 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.

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 establishment of permanent settlements. After the presentation 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, Shelikof’s partner, had profited by a temporary sojourn of the empress at Kursk, and had presented to her a chart of Shelikof’s voyage. Her Majesty inquired into the com­pany’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 Russian 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 Shelikof and Golikof Company. Jacobi also recommended that the collection of tribute from the natives should be abolished and replaced by a voluntary 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 allow­ing 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 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 newcomers 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 Company was afforded special privileges the successes gained by the founders of the first settlement on the islands would be neutralized by the unrestrained actions 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 Avas to receive in case of Shelikof’s success the governor general does not say. The hundreds who had done more and suffered 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 commerce, 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 committee appointed in pursuance of this order presented a long report in March 1788, which seemed to have been wholly impressed with the ideas of Jacobi. After 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 hundred thousand rubles from the public treasury, without 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.

In pursuance of this report an imperial oukaz was issued September 28, 1788, granting the company exclusive control over the 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.

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-treatment of Aleuts having reached Okhotsk, traders and navigators are enjoined to treat with the utmost kindness 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 conformity 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 yourselves that your former deeds will escape punishment, but be convinced that sooner or later every transgression of the laws of God or our monarch will 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 Nishekamchatsk, this 15th day of June 1787. Grigor Kozlof-Ugrenin, colonel and commander of the province of Okhotsk.”

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, Ekaterina Alexeievna, having 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 the present Governor-general of Irkutsk, Major-general and Cavalier Klichke, to send 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 Russian hunters, but at the hand of our allied powers who may visit your shores. 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 through 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 petitions 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, knowing your sincere submission to her sceptre. You must show this order to all Russian vessels 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 return, 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 Empire, or if you have suffered compulsion or injury at their hands, I advise you to 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 offences and you will get satisfaction. Information has also reached me to the effect that the hunters receive from you furs of good quality 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, making 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. Furthermore 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 government, as well as of the best wishes of the Commander of the Province of Okhotsk and the district and township of Nishnekamtchatsk. Signed the 15th day of June 1787, by Grigor Kozlof-Ugrenin.’

Three copies still extant of the original document bear the following signatures: ‘Have read the original. Master Gavril Pribylof.’ ‘Have read the copy. Master Potap Zaikof.’ ‘Have read the copy. Foreman Leontiy Nagaief.’

When Kozlof-Ugrenin issued his two manifestoes he had not met La Pé­rouse and the other officers of the French north-western expedition, for the Boussole and Astrolabe did not reach the bay of Avatcha until September, 1787. La Pérouse and M. de Lesseps, his Russian interpreter, testily to the excellent character of Ugrenin, who appears to have been actuated by a sincere desire to improve the condition of all the inhabitants, Russians and savages, of the vast province under his command. At that time the government of that region was organized as follows: Since Cook’s visit to Kamchatka the country had been attached to the province of Okhotsk, under one governor, Colonel Kozlof-Ugrenin; under him Captain Shmalef was superintendent of the native Kamchatkans; Lieutenant Kaborof commanded at Petropavlovsk, with one sergeant and 40 Cossacks; at Nishnekamtchatsk there was a Major Eleonof, while at Bolsherctzk and Verklmeikamchatsk only sergeants were in command. The income derived from Kamchatka by the government was out of all proportion to the expenditure involved. In 1787 the tribute collected from the natives amounted to 300 sable-skins, 200 gray and red foxes, and a few sea-otters, while nearly 400 soldiers and many officers were maintained in the country.

The new order of things established by Kozlof did not cause any immediate change in the demeanor of the Russian promyshleniki, and it is doubtful whether the humane document addressed to the natives was ever read or translated to one of them. According 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 humanity 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. Ilis instructions to Samoilof, to whom he left the command of his colony on returning to Okhotsk, were admirably calculated to impress the reader with a sense of the wisdom, humanity, and disinterestedness of the writer, ordering as they did the good treatment of the natives, their instruction in Russian laws, customs, and religion, the establishment 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 in­tended chiefly for the sake of effect, since the company 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 predominant aim, the advancement of the company. For a time rival traders must be tolerated, but as soon as sufficient strength was acquired they should be excluded 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 affairs in the colony, but his powers were more local and confined 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 Russian. 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 persuasion 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 company and Baranof on the 18th of August 1790, and the instructions already issued to Samoilof and Delarof 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 Andreïevich Baranof was born in Kargopol, 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. Not meeting with success he emigrated to Siberia in 1780, and undertook the management of a glass factory at Irkutsk. He also interested himself in other industries, and on account of several communications 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 successful, but when in 1789 two of his caravans were captured by Chukchi he found himself bankrupt, and yielded to Shelikof’s importunate offers to go to America. He had a wife and children at his home in Kargopol, Russia, 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 selection 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 sufficiently 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 indulgences 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 sufferers 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 hospitality 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 associates.

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, Russian American history for that period would be 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 Britain. He was any day, drunk or sober, a match for the navigator who came to spy out his secrets.

As for the natives his influence over them was unbounded, 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 insignificant 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 Sviatiteli, 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 Koshigin, 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.

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 afforded during the winter. The leader labored with the men and lived with them in the underground huts which they constructed. The dried salmon 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 which 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  10th of May they separated in Issanakh Strait, at the southern end of the peninsula. After an absence of five months Bocharof rejoined his comrades at Kadiak 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 establishments 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 completed 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 criminal 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 character affords a pleasant relief from the ordinary conduct of the Russians in America. Had there been more such men, I should have less to record of out­rage, 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 despatched 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 established a permanent station which he named Alexandrovsk. Otherwise the whole of this inlet was occupied 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 adjoining 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 rested the very existence of the scheme of colonization. To the east and north there were Russians, 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. Although 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 or 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 maintaining permanent forts or establishments or a large retinue of servants. As occasional visitors only, without 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 permanent residence, among warlike tribes, must be constantly 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 Sviatiteli 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 subsistence of the natives. Dissatisfaction was therefore general among the employes, including the natives, and this together with the sight of want among the conquering race served to rouse the insolence and hostility of tribes around.

Some of these troubles Baranof managed to over­come by his own energy and strength of will; for others he must obtain the cooperation of the company. 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 to build ships in America, and urged that no delay be allowed in forwarding material to him from Kamchatka. He saw the advantage to the company of exhibiting vessels built in their colony and the necessity of making himself independent of the vessels forwarded 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 Baranof’s 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 disposition, not superstitious, and no hypocrite.” With the same view of impressing upon the authorities the humane disposition of the company’s traders, he requested 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 the other hand, any profit made on the consignment should be transferred to the firm.”

During the autumn and winter of 1791 Baran of made himself thoroughly acquainted with the wants and capabilities of his new domain under the intelligent 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 Captain 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 gratified by the appearance of a chief from the northern side of the peninsula, whom Bocharof, during his voyage of exploration the preceding year, had presented 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 hostages. 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 proposition was evidently the result of fear of his neighbors rather than good feeling toward the Russians, nevertheless it was cheerfully accepted as the first indication of the possibility of a better understanding with the independent natives of the peninsula. An alliance of this kind was especially desirable on account of the importance at that time placed on the possession 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 number 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 expeditions were also despatched, one under Ismaïlof in the only large vessel left to them, the Sv Simeon, 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 forbidding Chugatsches concealed themselves from Baranof 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 Phoenix, Captain Moore, from the East Indies, and obtained information on foreign traffic in the Alexander archipelago, which served him greatly in forming plans for future operations. He conceived quite a friendship for the commander, from whom he received as a ‘present’ a native of Bengal.

Soon after his meeting with Moore, Baranof proceeded to Nuchek Island, near the mouth of Copper River, and encamped within a short distance of the cove where subsequently 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 furnishing 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 following 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 without being seen. In a moment the Russians had seized their arms and were firing on the savages. According 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 distance. 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 successful. One small cannon, a one-and-a-half-pounder falconet, 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 Ismaïlof’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. Knowing 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 discovered, 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.

This affair caused Baranof to change his plans. Instead of wintering in Prince William Sound as had been his intention, he turned to the gulf of Kenai 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 Orel, 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 description most essential for opening operations. Although despatched in the autumn of 1791, vessels had been compelled to winter in Kamchatka. 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 embarrassing 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 necessary to look to some more distant region. During his recent stay in Prinee William 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 called Voskressenski, or Sunday harbor, also known as Blying Sound, and not only furnished excellent timber, but a considerable rise and fall of the tide afforded exceptional facilities for building, launching, and repairing vessels. Shelikof’s 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 would 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 Kenaï peninsula echoed the vigorous blows of axe-men and the crash of falling trees. Nearly all the planks were hewn out of the whole log, a waste of time and material 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 Baranof even attempted to extract iron from some ore his men had picked 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 mixture of spruce gum and oil. The English ship-builder regarded with wonder and contempt the primitive dockyard, and without a purveyor possessed of the indomitable determination and activity of Baranof, he could never have earned the reputation of constructing the first ship on the north-westernmost coast of America.

To obtain provisions was difficult. 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 natives, entailing want and hardships upon them, while the ship-builders were reduced to the scantiest allowance to sustain them in their arduous task.

The lack of canvas was another serious inconvenience. 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 Company claimed to have done in the way of improvements and industrial enterprise in the colonies. It is astonishing to what expense and infinite trouble the company was willing to go for the sole purpose of effect. A far better ship could have been built without any serious difficulty and at much less cost either in Kamchatka or at Okhotsk. The problem of supplying the necessary 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 unnecessary. Baranof, who had no great liking for the foreigner, 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 islands, 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 sea­otters 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 Phoenix. While not so important or difficult a performance as those of Vasco Nuñez and Cortés, 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 America,” and had used it for a purpose 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 different qualities and color, presenting the most grotesque appearance.

By the 4th of September the Phoenix was despatched upon her first voyage to Kadiak, where Baran of 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. Nevertheless 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 Phoenix, and on the 20th day of April this first­born 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 navigation in the north Pacific. At Okhotsk the Phoenix 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 Shelikof Company then awaiting transportation from this port, and the soldiers stationed at the ostrog were at once called into requi­sition to assist in finishing Baranof’s 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 com­pany 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.