CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE ACCORDING GENESIS

HISTORY OF ALASKA.

CHAPTER VII.

FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.

1760-1767.

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 Andrei 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 Hering Island was reached, when in accordance with custom the ship was hauled up for the winter. In the June following Tolstykh again put to sea, steering at first southerly, then northward, arriving at Attoo Island the 5th of August. Three vessels were there trading, belonging respectively to Chebaievski, Postnikof, and Trapeznikof. Tolstykh had hoped to find the friendly chief Tunulgasan, whom he had met before, but the aboriginal had died, and his successor, Bakutun, told the new­comers 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 continued to the eastward, and on the 28th of August reached an island which was subsequently ascertained to be Adakh.

There was every indication of multitudes of sea­otters 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, subsequently 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 saving both crew and cargo.

As Tolstykh and Vassiutkinski claimed to have per­suaded the inhabitants of six islands to become subjects of Russia and to pay tribute, the voyage was duly reported to the empress, who subsequently re­warded 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 merchant Terentiy Chebaievski, and under the immediate superintendence of his clerk Vassili Popof. Berg claims to have found a notice in the papers of Zelonski to the effect 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 examination of the Aleutian chain and the adjoining continent, 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 deserving of success, but a chain of unfortunate circumstances 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 commanded by Drushinnin, owned by Kulkof, and the Sv Troitska, or Holy Trinity, commanded by Ivan Korovin. The third is known to have been commanded by Medvedef, a master in the navy. 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 furnished a report of it. From Attoo Drushinnin proceeded to Adakh, where another vessel, the Andreian i Natalia was then anchored, but as the natives all produced receipts for tribute signed by Tolstykh, Drushinnin contented himself with filling his water-casks and moved on.

From Adakh the Zakhar i Elizaveta proceeded to Umnak where a party of Glottof’s men were then hunting. The peredovchik Miasnikh was sent out with thirty-five men to explore the coast. They went to the north-eastern end of the island, and after meeting everywhere with indications of the recent presence of Russians, they returned to the ship about the middle 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 intercourse 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 close proximity to the native habitation, containing some twenty inmates. The relations between the promyshleniki and the natives appeared to be altogether friendly, and no trouble was apprehended until the beginning of December. On the 4th a party of five men set out in the morning to look after the fox­traps. 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 number 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 he 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 two 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 themselves 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 fox­traps, 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 enemies Korelin and the other fugitives landed, pulled 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, precipitous 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 off 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, were very acceptable as material for the construction of a small bidar.

From the 9th of December 1763 until the 2d of 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 Korovin. 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 vessel, after passing through additional vicissitudes.

The ship Sv Troitska, which Korovin commanded, was fitted out in 1762 by Nikofor Trapeznikof, and sailed from the mouth of the Kamchatka River on the 15th of September, with a crew of thirty-eight Russians and six Kamehatkans. 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 sustain­ing 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 between Umnak 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 succession, 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 returned 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, 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.

SCENE OF CONFLICT

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 and kept a strict watch. The following day about seventy savages made their appearance carrying bundles of sea-otter skins in order to throw the promyshleniki 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 even­ing, however, three natives of Kamchatka came to the house in a great fright, reporting that they belonged to Kulkof’s 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, pre­pared 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 retreated 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 con­stant 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 carried 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 Drushinnin’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 promyshleniki 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, ammunition, some sails, and a few sea-lion skins were all that could be saved. A temporary shelter and fortification was constructed of empty casks, sails, and skins, where the remaining sixteen, including three disabled by scurvy, the three hostages, and the faithful interpreter, 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 approached stealthily from the sea and when within a few yards of the miserable encampment discharged their spears and arrows with terrible effect, piercing the tent and the barricade of sea-lion skins in many 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 dis­heartened. In the mean time the gale had continued unabated, breaking up the stranded vessel and scat­tering the cargo upon the beach. Soon after daylight 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 suffering 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 burn 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. 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 sur­vived 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 arrived on the other side of Umnak Island, made his appearance with eight men. The so lately despairing promyshleniki were wild with joy, 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 promyshleniki.

A new vessel to which was given the old name of Andreian I Natalia was built in the Kamchatka River by Terentiy Chebaievski, Vassili and Ivan Popof, and Ivan Lapin, and sailed on the 1st of October 1762, under command of Glottof, wintering at Copper Island.

On the 26th of July 1763 Glottof again put to sea, and after a tedious and stormy voyage sighted Umnak 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 Russians 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 converse with them, and when on landing some habitations 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 per­suade the savages to pay tribute to the imperial government and to furnish hostages, but they refused. The natives here were of fiercer aspect, more intelligent and manly, and of finer physique than those of 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 discharge 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 offensive 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 provided with ingeniously contrived shields of wood and wicker-work intended to ward off 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 26th of October there was yet another attack. The elaborate preparations now made showed wonderful ability for savages. Seven large portable breastworks, concealing from thirty to forty warriors each, were seen approaching the vessel early one morning, and when near enough spears and arrows began to drop like hail upon the deck. The promyshleniki replied with volley 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 of 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 December 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 Glottof till April of the following year. Dour men then came to the encampment and were persuaded to sell some fox-skins, taking glass beads in payment. Ah, the vanity of humanity! 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 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 immediate 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 Holmberg’s researches in Kadiak we possess the deposition of a native of the island, which evidently refers to Glottof’s 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 intercourse with the Aglegnutes of Aliaska peninsula, with the Tnaianas of the Kenai peninsula, and with the Koloshes; and some wise men even knew something of the Californias; but ships and white men we did not know at all. When we espied the ship at a distance 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 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 cuttle­fish, 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 anchored 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 sickness 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 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 without 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 Russians? 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 carried 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 attempted 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 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 Russian camp there was a poisonous 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 in­jured them also in other ways. They put up fox­traps 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 destruction. The body of an unknown Russian was there; Glottof’s 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 Medvedef’s 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 approached the vessel and endeavored to persuade Glottof to land with only two men, for the purpose of trading, displaying at the same time a large number of sea-otter skins on the beach. When they found that their devices did not succeed, they retreated to a distance and began to fire with muskets at the ship, without, however, doing any damage. Later in the day a few natives came off in their canoes and paddled round the ship. As Glottof was desirous of obtaining information concerning the recent occurrences on the island, the bold natives were not molested, and finally one of them ventured on board the ship, partaking 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 dealing 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 country­men 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 additional members in idleness. In a few days he sent out Korovin with twenty men in a bidar to reconnoitre the coast of Umnak and search for fugitive Russians 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 Russians with musket-shots, and would not listen to overtures. At various places where Korovin attempted 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 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 Glottof. They proceeded to the western end of Unalaska and there learned from the natives that a Rus­sian 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 following, 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 part­ners declared the agreement with them void. The brave leader, whose indomitable courage alone had car­ried 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.

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 convenient 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 Korenef 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.

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 de­stroyed Drushinnin and Medvedef.

The bloodshed perpetrated by this band of avengers was appalling. A majority of all the natives con­nected 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 foundation 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.

At the end of his crusade, Solovief, having succeeded in subjugating the natives, established ‘friendly intercourse’ with them. A few of the chiefs of Unalaska tendered their submission. During the winter his men suffered from scurvy, and many died. Observing which the savages regained courage and began to revolt. The people of Makushin village were the most determined, but Solovief managed to entrap the chief, who confessed that he had intended to overpower the Russians and burn their ship. In June 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 arrived, 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 or­dered 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 promyshleniki claimed a miracle as the cause of the action, I should acquiesce. Nothing but the mighty power of God could have sanctified the heart of this benighted one under these bright examples of Christianity. In May Solovief began his preparations for departure, collecting and packing his furs for the voyage and repairing 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 Captain 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 Pavel, and crossed over to Bolsheretsk, where they remained till August. The Sv Petr was commanded by Tolstykh and carried a crew of forty-nine Russians, 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 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 winterquarters the 1st of September in a bay of Umnak. At first the natives were friendly, but as soon as tribute was demanded intercourse ceased for the winter, 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 antiscorbutic 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 established himself at Akutan, distributing small detachments 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 sea­otters, 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 government. In 1764, when the first black fox-skins had been 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 sent 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 intelligent 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 were 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 Petr i Sv Pavel, owned by the brothers 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 Ioann Oustioushki, 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 resumption of exploration by the imperial government.

CHAPTER VIII.

IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES. 1764-1779.