HISTORY
OF ALASKA.
CHAPTER
VIII.
IMPERIAL
EFFORTS AND FAILURES.
1764-1779.
I will briefly mention here a
voyage by a lieutenant of the imperial navy named Synd,
or Syndo, though there is no proof of his having
touched any part of Alaska. Under orders of Saimonof,
then governor of Siberia, Lieutenant Synd, who had
been one of the youngest companions of Bering, sailed from Okhotsk in 1764,
upon a voyage of discovery in the direction of Bering Strait, in a vessel
called by way of variety the Sv Pavel. During the first season Synd did not get beyond the
mouth of the Kharinzof River on the west coast of
Kamchatka in the vicinity of Tigil. His craft proved
unseaworthy; and after wintering at his first anchorage he sailed again in
June 1765, in the ship Sv Ekaterina, and wintered at the Ouka River a little to the
southward of Karagin Island. He sailed northward the
following year, reached the vicinity of Bering Strait within a month, dotting
down upon his chart as he moved along a multitude of imaginary islands
extending up to latitude 64° 59', and reported a mountainous coast not far from
the land of the Chukchi,” between latitude 64° and 66°, which he conjectured to
be the American continent. On the 2d of September he began his return voyage,
following the coast down to Nishekamchatsk, but not
until 1768 did his expedition return to Okhotsk.
Another
and far more important expedition under the immediate auspices of the imperial
government was organized by Chicherin, governor of
Siberia, under instructions of the admiralty college. As early as 1763 Chicherin had reported to the imperial government the
latest discoveries among the Aleutian Isles by Siberian traders, pointing at
the same time to the necessity of having these discoveries verified by officers
of the navy, who might be appointed as commanders of the trading vessels and
instructed to keep correct journals of their exploring voyages. This report was
duly considered by the empress and resulted in the organization of the Krenitzin expedition.
The
empress issued a special oukaz instructing the
admiralty college to detail a number of officers of the navy, intrusting the command to the most experienced among them
versed in the science of navigation and kindred branches of knowledge.
The
expedition, having been recommended to the special attention of the admiralty
college with instructions to keep its destination secret, was at once set on
foot. The command was given to Captain-lieutenant Petr Kumich Krenitzin, who was to select his companions. All were placed under the immediate command of the governor of Siberia, and
were to proceed to the newly discovered islands on the vessels of traders, one
on each, without assuming any command, turning their attention solely to taking
astronomical observations and to noting all they saw. At the same time the
governor was informed that if he deemed it better to employ government vessels,
he might engage ships of the promyshleniki, or build
new crafts, and despatch Krenitzin and his chief assistant on two of the latter, independent of the trader’s
fleet.
Krenitzin was promoted to captain
of the second rank, and Lieutenant Mikhail Levashef,
whom the commander had chosen for his chief assistant, to be
captain-lieutenant. All the subalterns were advanced one step in rank, as had
been promised them. The command took its departure from St Petersburg the 1st
of July 1764, arriving in Tobolsk the 17th of September.
At this place the expedition was reenforced by ten cadets from the local school
of navigation, and also provided with additional supplies and stores. They left Tobolsk at the beginning of March 1765, arriving at
Yakutsk in July and at Okhotsk in October, after a difficult journey over the
tundra and mountains intervening between Yakutsk and the sea.
Upon,
the receipt of full reports of the expedition, the thrice gracious and
benignant Catherine expressed her thanks to Governor Chicherin for all his arrangements in a special rescript, hoping for complete success of
the undertaking. The empress also thanked the governor for “framing such wise
instructions.” In alluding to the departure of Krenitzin for the coast from Yakutsk she wrote: “May the Almighty bless his journey. I am
sure that you will not slacken your zeal in promoting the enterprise, and whatever
occurs during the journey worthy of note you will report to me at once. I am
now waiting with impatience news of his farther progress.”
When Krenitzin arrived at Okhotsk he found to his great
disappointment that the vessels intended for his use were not ready, the keels
only having been laid and a few timbers selected for the frames. All labor had
been suspended for lack of timber. When Chicherin was
informed of this he instructed Krenitzin to
temporarily supersede Captain Rtishchef, second in
command of Okhotsk, and to superintend in person the construction of his
vessels. If he should find it impossible to complete the ships, he was authorized
to engage others from the traders. Through Colonel Plenisner, Krentzin also encountered obstacles to his progress.
At
last, in August 1766, the ships were completed and launched, a brigantine
called the Sv Ekaterina and a hooker, the Sv Pavel; two others, old vessels, had also
been fitted out, the galiot Sv Pavel and the Gavril. The squadron sailed from Okhotsk the 10th of
October. The third day out, at a distance of only ten leagues from Okhotsk, all
the vessels became separated, from each other. On the 17th Krenitzin first sighted land in latitude 53° 45', and the following day the brigantine
was discovered to be leaking badly, rendering it necessary to run for the land.
A gale arose, and the result was a total wreck twenty-five versts north of Bolsheretsk, near the small river Ontok,
the crew reaching the shore in safety the 24th. Levashef,
on the hooker Sv Pavel, sighted the
coast of Kamchatka on the 18th, and on the 22d approached the harbor of Bolsheretsk, but waited to take advantage of a spring tide
to cross the bar. On the following day a storm came up, causing the vessel to
break from her cables. Levashef attempted to put to
sea, but failing he finally ran the ship ashore on the 24th, about seven versts
from Bolsheretsk River. The crew and the greater part
of the cargo were landed. The Sv Gavril succeeded in entering Bolsheretsk harbor, but was
overtaken by the same storm and cast upon the beach. The galiot Sv Pavel drifted out of her course into
the Pacific, and after more than two months of agony the thirteen survivors,
among whom was the commander, found themselves on one of the Kurile Islands
with their vessel a wreck. Such was the beginning, and might as well have been
the end, of the empress’ grand scientific expedition.
The
shipwrecked crews passed the winter at Bolsheretsk,
where they were joined during the following summer by mate Dudin 2d, and the
survivors of the crew of the wrecked galiot. The
hooker Sv Pavel and the Sv Gavril were repaired, Levashef taking command of the former with a crew of fifty-eight, while Krenitzin sailed in the latter with a crew of sixty-six.
Each vessel was provided with a large bidar. Sailing from Bolsheretsk the 17th of August 1767, the expedition arrived at Nishekamchatsk on the 6th of September. Here another winter must be passed. The Sv Gavril was unfit for navigation, and Krenitzin concluded to take the galiot Sv Ekaterina, Synd,
commander, jusf returned. Chichagof, about
the meeting with whom the admiralty college had been so anxious, had in the
mean time already accomplished two journeys, 1765-6, also attended by
misfortune. The winter was passed by the men in boiling seawater for salt, and
in making tar out of spruce. They also constructed two large bidars and some watercasks, and in the spring all hands were busy fishing.
By the first of April the ice began to disappear from the river, and on the 1st
of July both vessels were ready for sea. The Krenitzin expedition was not only unlucky, but it seemed to carry a curse with it. One of
the crew of the Sv Pavel, a Cossack
named Taborukin, landed in Kamchatka not quite cured
of an attack of small-pox and infected the whole neighborhood. In two years
the population was more than decimated.
On
the 21st of June the ships were towed out of the mouth of the Kamchatka River,
and on the 22d they spread their sails, steering an easterly course and
stopping at Bering Island for water. Owing to contrary winds their progress
was slow, and on the 11th of August, in latitude 54° 33’, the two
ships became separated during a strong south-south-west gale and thick weather.
On the 14th of August Krenitzin sighted the islands
of Signam and Amukhta; on
the 20th of the same month he reached the strait between Umnak and Unalaska,
called by him Oonalaksha. Here he met with the first
Aleuts, whom he was to know only too well in the future. These natives were
evidently acquainted with Russians, for on approaching the vessel they cried “zdorovol” good health; they also asked, “Why do you come?
Will you live quietly and peacefully with our people?” They were assured that
the new arrivals would not only live in peace but make many presents. This was
the 1st of November, and the Aleuts returned to Unalaska. On the 22d Levashef’s craft also appeared and both vessels proceeded
together to a bay on the north side of Unalaska, Captain Harbor. Here they laid
in a supply of fresh water with the assistance of the natives. On the
following clay an Aleut reported that the inhabitants of Akutan and Unalga had killed fifteen of Lapin’s crew who had
wintered on Unga. Without investigating the report
both commanders hoisted their anchors and proceeded northward. On the 30th of
August they entered the strait between Unimak and the peninsula. The hooker
grounded, but was released next day without damage, and the search for a
wintering harbor was continued.
On
the 5th of September the two ships separated not to meet again until the
following spring. On the 18th of September Krenitzin succeeded in finding a beach adapted to haul up his vessel for the winter on
the island of Unimak, while Levashef proceeded to
Unalaska and anchored on the 16th of September in the innermost cove of Captain
Harbor, still known by his name.
About
the middle of October, before Krenitzin had succeeded
in erecting winter-quarters of drift-wood, the only material at hand, two large
bidars appeared filled with natives who demanded presents. They received some
trifles with a promise of additional gifts if they would come to the ship. In
the mean time the strangers had questioned the interpreter, anxious to discover
the strength of Krenitzin’s crew, when suddenly one
of the natives threw his spear at the Russians. Nobody was injured and the
savages retreated under a severe fire of muskets and cannon from ship and
shore. Fortunately the cannonade proved as harmless as the spear-throwing.
Insignificant as was this encounter, it proved the beginning of bitter strife.
All the subsequent meetings with the natives were of a hostile character. While
exploring the peninsula shore two Cossacks were wounded by spears thrown by
hidden savages, and one night a native crawled up stealthily to within a few
yards of the Russian huts, but was discovered, and fled.
In
the month of December scurvy appeared, the first victim being a Cossack who had
been wounded by the savages. In January 1769 the number of sick had reached
twenty-two, and in April only twelve of the company were free from disease, and
those were much weakened by hunger. The whole number of deaths during the
winter was thirty-six. During December and January the savages kept away, but
in February they once more made their appearance, and a few traded furs,
whale-meat, and seal-blubber for beads. On the 10th of May some natives brought
letters from Levashef, and the messengers received a
liberal compensation. On the 24th the galiot was
launched once more, and on the 6th of June Levashef joined Krenitzin’s party.
Levashef had also met with misfortune
during the winter. It is true that the natives did not attack him because the promyshleniki who had passed the preceding winter at
Unalaska had left in his hands thirty-three hostages, the children of chiefs,
but rumors were constantly afloat of intended attacks, making it necessary to
exercise vigilance. Lack of food and fuel caused great suffering among the
crew; it was impossible to live comfortably on board the ship, and the huts
constructed of drift-wood were frequently thrown down by the furious gales of
winter. The weather was very boisterous throughout the season, and in May the
number of sick had reached twenty-seven. Obviously they must return;
so on the 23d of June both vessels left their anchorage. During the voyage they
became separated, Krenitzin arriving at Kamchatka
the 29th of July, and Levashef on the 24th of August.
The
winter was passed by the expedition at Nishekamchatsk,
but as there were little provisions and no money the suffering was great. The
only available source of supply was the dried fish of the natives, which had
to be purchased at exorbitant prices. On the 4th of July both
vessels were ready for sea, when Captain Krenitzin attempting to cross the river in a dug-out, the frail craft capsized and he was
drowned. Levashef assumed command, and having
assigned Dudin 2d to the galiot he sailed from
Kamchatka the 8th, arriving at Okhotsk the 3d of August. Levashef returned to St Petersburg, arriving there the 22d of October 1771; seven years
and four months from his departure. The expedition was a praiseworthy effort,
but miserably carried out.
Meanwhile,
fresh information had reached St Petersburg of the successes of the Russian promyshleniki on the Aleutian Islands, telling the empress
and her learned society a hundredfold more of Alaska than they were ever to
learn from their special messengers. Tolstykh reported that during a cruise among the islands in his ship Andreian i Natalia, 1760 to 1764, he subjugated six
islands and named them the Andreienof group, as we
have seen. Another report stated that four vessels of one company had been despatched in 1762 to Unalaska and Umnak. Glottof reported that he had wintered at Kadiak in 1763. In
1766, as already stated, the merchant Shilof arrived
at St Petersburg and was presented to the empress.
An
important change of government policy now took place in the treatment of the
Aleuts. Upon Krenitzin’s representations the
collection of tribute by the promyshleniki and
Cossacks was prohibited by an imperial oukaz. The
business of fitting-out trading expeditions for the Aleutian Isles continued
about as usual, notwithstanding the terrible risks and misfortunes. Of hunting
expeditions to discovered islands it is not necessary to give full details.
In
the year 1768 a company of three merchants, Zassypkin, Orekhof, and Moukhin, despatched the ship Sv Nikolai to the islands, meeting with great success; the vessel returned in
1773 with a cargo consisting of 2,450 sea-otters and 1,127 blue foxes. The Sv Andrei—Sv Adrian according to Berg—belonging to Poloponissof and Popof, sailed from Kamchatka in 1769. In 1773 she was
wrecked on the return voyage in the vicinity of Ouda River. The cargo, consisting of 1,200 sea-otters, 996 black foxes, 1,419 cross
foxes, and 593 red foxes, was saved. The same year sailed from Okhotsk the Sv Prokop, owned by the merchants Okoshinikof and Protodiakonof.
She returned after four years with an insignificant cargo of 250 sea-otters,
20 black and 40 cross foxes. In 1770 the ship Sv Alexandr Nevski, the property of the merchant Serebrennikof, sailed for the islands and returned after a
four years’ voyage with 2,340 sea-otters and 1,130 blue foxes. Shilof, Orekhof, and Lapin, in
July of the same year, fitted out once more the old ship Sv Pavel at Okhotsk, and despatched her to the islands
under command of the notorious Solovief. By this time
the Aleuts were evidently thoroughly subjugated, as the man who had slaughtered
their brethren by hundreds during his former visit passed four additional
years in safety among them, and then returned with an exceedingly valuable
cargo of 1,900 sea-otters, 1,493 black, 2,115 cross, and 1,275 red foxes. He
claims to have reached the Alaska peninsula, and describes Unimak and
adjoining islands.
The
next voyage on record is that of Potap Zaikof, a
master in the navy, who entered the service of the Shilof and Lapin company, and sailed from Okhotsk on the 22d of September 1772, in the
ship Sv Vladimir. Zaikof had with him a peredovehik named Shoshin and a crew of sixty-nine men. At the outset this expedition was attended with
misfortune. Driven north, the mariners were obliged to winter there, then after
tempest-tossings south they finally reached Copper
Island, where they spent the second winter.
Zaikof made a careful survey of the
island, the first on record, though promyshleniki had
visited the spot annually for over twenty-five years. Almost a year elapsed
before Zaikof set sail again on the 2d of July 1774,
and for some unexplained reason twenty-three days were consumed in reaching Attoo, only seventy leagues distant. Having achieved this
remarkable feat he remained there till the 4th of July following. The progress
of Zaikof on his eastward course was so slow that it
becomes necessary to look after a few other expeditions which had set out since
his departure.
The
ship Archangel Sv Mikkail, the property of Kholodilof, was fitted out in 1772, and sailed from Bolsheretsk on the 8th of September with Master Dmitri Polutof as commander, and a crew of sixty-three men. This
vessel also was beached by a storm on the coast of Kamchatka; after which,
passing the tardy Zaikof, Polutof went to Unalaska, where he remained two years, trading peaceably, and then
proceeded to Kadiak. On this last trip he set out on the 15th of June 1776,
taking with him some Aleutian hunters and interpreters. After a voyage of nine
days the Sv Mikkail anchored in a
capacious bay on the east coast of the island, probably the bay of Oojak on the shores of which the Orlova settlement was
subsequently founded. The natives kept away from the vicinity of the harbor for
some time, and a month elapsed before they ventured to approach the Russians.
They were heavily armed, extremely cautious in their movements, and evidently
but little inclined to listen to friendly overtures. Polutof perceived that it was useless to remain under such circumstances. He finally
wintered at Atkha, and the following year returned,
landing at Nishekamchatsk. The total yield of this
adventure was 3,720 sea-otters, 488 black, 431 cross, 204 red, 901 blue foxes,
and 143 fur-seals.
Thus Polutof accomplished an extended and profitable
voyage, while the trained navigator Zaikof was yet
taking preparatory steps, moving from island to island, at the rate of one
hundred miles per annum. The latter had on the 4th of July 1775
sailed from Attoo, leaving ten men behind to hunt
during his absence. On the 19th the Sv Vladimir reached Umnak, where another vessel, the Sv Yevpl, or St Jewell, owned by the merchant Burenin, and despatched in 1773
from Nishekamshatsk, was already anchored. Aware of
the bloody scenes but lately acted thereabout, Zaikof induced the commander of the Sv Yepvl to hunt on joint account. The agreement was that the Sv Yevpl should remain at Umnak with thirty-five
men, while the Sv Vladimir, with sixty men and fully
provisioned, was to set out in search of new discoveries. On rejoining, the
furs obtained by the two parties were to be divided. Zaikof sailed eastward on the 3d of August, and in three weeks reached the harbor
where Krenitzin wintered with the Sv Ekaterina. Here the commander of the expedition considered himself
entitled to a prolonged rest, and consequently he remained stationary for three
years, making surveys of the neighborhood while his crew attended to the
business of hunting and trapping.
On
the 27th of May 1778 the Sv Vladimir put to sea once more, steering for the bay where the companion ship was
anchored. Upon this brief passage, which at that time of the year can easily be
accomplished in three days, Zaikof managed to spend
fifty-three days. At last, however, the juncture of the two ships was effected
and the furs were duly divided, but after attending to these arduous duties the
captain concluded to wait another year before taking his final departure for Okhotsk.
Not until the 9th of May 1779 did Zaikof sail from
Umnak, and after brief stoppages at Attoo and Bering
islands the Sv Vladimir found herself
safely anchored in the harbor of Okhotsk on the 6th of September.
Two
of the owners of the Sv Vladimir, Orekhof and Lapin, proceeded to St Petersburg with a
present of three hundred choice black foxes for the empress. The gift was
graciously received; the donors were entertained at the imperial palace,
decorated with gold medals, and admitted to an interview with Catherine, who
made the most minute inquiries into the operations of her subjects in the
easternmost confines of her territory. The indebtedness of the firm to the government
for nautical instruments and supplies, timber, and taxes, was also remitted.
It
has been elsewhere mentioned that the promyshleniki and traders occasionally ventured upon voyages from the coast of Kamchatka to
the eastward islands in open boats or bidars. Two of these expeditions took
place in 1772, under the auspices of a merchant named Ivan Novikof.
The voyage of over a thousand miles from Bolsheretsk around the southern extremity of Kamchatka to the islands was twice safely
performed, the whole enterprise netting the owners 15,600 rubles. Considering
the higher value of money in those times and the insignificant outlay required
in this instance, the enterprise met with encouraging success.
From
this time to the visit of Captain Cook, single traders and small companies
continued the traffic with the islands in much the same manner as before,
though a general tendency to consolidation was perceptible. whole
valued at 300,416 rubles. Berg declares that at the prices established by the
Russian-American Company at the time of his writing, 1812, the same furs would
have been worth 1,603,588 rubles.
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