USA > Alaska > History of Alaska : 1730-1885 > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74
53 According to the Neue Nachr. the Gavril touched at one of the Aleutian Isles on the 24th of August, but finding the vessels of Postnikof, Trapeznikof, and Serebrennikof, at anchor there, they pushed on to the eastward. Neue Nachr., 52.
54 Berg, Khronol. Ist., App. Here was another evidence of constant traffic between the islanders and the inhabitants of the Alaskan peninsula.
55 The Yulian, according to Neue Nachr., 53.
124
THE SWARMING OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
their stock of wood and water. They then proceeded to what they considered to be the island of " Alaksha," but whether this party actually wintered on the penin- sula of Alaska is not quite clear. As soon as a suit- able harbor had been found the ship was beached, and the crew proceeded to erect winter-quarters on shore. The inhabitants of the vicinity received the Russians in a friendly manner; they traded honestly, and gave their children as hostages.56 However, this peace and good-will were not of long duration. The lawless promyshleniki of Bechevin's soon gave the natives much trouble, fully justifying them in any retaliation.
In January 1762 Golodof and Pushkaref, with a party of twenty hunters, coasted in bidars in search of food, and landed upon an adjoining island.57 While indulging in their customary outrages they were sur- prised by a body of natives who killed Golodof and another Russian, and wounded three more. Shortly afterward the Russian camp was attacked, four men killed, as many wounded, and the huts reduced to ashes. In May the Cossack Lobashkof and one of the promyshleniki went to bathe in a hot spring situated about five versts from the harbor, and were killed by the natives.58 In return the Russians put seven of the hostages to death. The islanders again attacked the Russian camp, but were repulsed.
As it was evident that the natives had determined
56 The Russians received nine children as hostages, and in addition they engaged two men and three women to work for them. Neue Nachr., 53-4.
57 It is impossible to determine which island this was. In Neue Nachr. it is called Uniunga, a name not to be found on any chart. Berg calls it Ounga, but there is no evidence to indicate that the men of Bechevin's expedition pro- ceeded around the peninsula and north-eastward as far as the Shumagin Isl- ands. Neue Nachr., 54; Berg, Khronol. Ist., 43. The name of Ounungun, applied to the Unalaska people by their western neighbors, according to Pinart, may throw some light upon this question; it is probable that the locality of Golodof's and Pushkaref's exploits was not the peninsula at all, but Agun- alaksh, the Aleut name of Unalaska, which was subsequently abbreviated by the Russians.
58 Nene Nachr., 55. This is another point in support of the theory that tlie Garril landed on Unalaska. Five versts (three and a half miles) from the principal settlement on Unalaska Island are hot springs, aboriginally resorted to for curing rheumatic and skin diseases. Hot springs exist also near the settlement of Morshevoi on the south point of the peninsula, but they are within less than half a mile from the shore.
125
PUSHKAREF'S CRUELTIES.
upon the destruction of the entire company, the out- lying detachments were recalled. The ship was then repaired and the whole command returned to Umnak Island. There they took on board two natives with their families, who had promised to pilot them to other islands; but as soon as the vessel had gained the open sea a violent gale from the eastward drove her before it until on the 23d of September the mariners found themselves near an unknown coast, without masts, sails, or rudder, and with but little rigging. The land, however, proved to be Kamchatka, and on the 25th the helpless craft drifted into the bay of Kalatcheva, seventy versts from Avatcha Bay. Bechevin landed his cargo, consisting of 900 sea-otters and 350 foxes, valued at 52,570 rubles.59 The cove where the landing was effected subsequently received the name of Beche- vinskaia.
Charges of gross brutalities, committed during this voyage, have been made against Sergeant Pushkaref. On leaving the Aleutian Isles the crew of the Gavril, with Pushkaref's consent, took with them twenty-five young women under the pretext that they were to be employed in picking berries and gathering roots for the ship's company. When the coast of Kamchatka was first sighted a boat was sent ashore with six men and fourteen of these girls. The latter were then ordered to pick berries. Two of them ran away and were lost in the hills, and during the return of the boat to the ship one of them was killed by a man named Korelin.60 In a fit of despair the remaining girls threw themselves into the sea and were drowned. In order to rid himself of troublesome witnesses to this outrage, Pushkaref had all the remaining islanders thrown overboard, with the exception of one boy, Moise, and Ivan, an interpreter who had been in the service of Andreï Serebrennikof. Three of the
59 Berg, Khronol. Ist., app.
60 Neue Nachr., 56. Berg states that it was Pushkaref himself who had accompanied the women to the shore. Khronol. Ist., 45.
126
THE SWARMING OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
women had died before leaving the islands.61 An im- perial oukaz issued from the chancellery at Okhotsk to a company consisting of Orekhof, Lapin, and Shilof, who asked permission to despatch an expedition to the islands, enjoins on the promyshleniki the great- est care and kindness in their intercourse with the natives. The eleventh paragraph of the oukaz reads as follows: "As it appears from reports forwarded by Colonel Plenisner, who was charged with the inves- tigation and final settlement of the affairs of the Bechevin company, that that company during their voyage to and from the Aleutian Islands on a hunt- ing and trading expedition committed indescribable outrages and abuses on the inhabitants, and even were guilty of murder, inciting the natives to bloody re- prisals, it is hereby enjoined upon the company about to sail, and especially upon the master, Ismaïlof, and the peredovchik, Lukanin, to see that no such barbar- ities, plunder, and ravaging of women are committed under any circumstances." The whole document is of a similar tenor and goes far to prove that the au- thorities were convinced that the outrages reported to them had in truth been committed.62
From this time forward the authorities of Siberia evidently favored the formation of privileged companies, and the Bechevin investigation may be considered as the beginning of the end of free traffic in the Ameri- can possessions of the Russian empire.
61 Neue Nachr., 57; Berg, Khronol. Ist., 45.
62 Berg, Khronol. Ist., 45-52. The oukaz is signed by Captain-lieutenant Sava Zubof, and dated August 29, 1770. Berg found in some letters written by the collegiate chancellor Anton Ivanovich Lassef, a civil engineer of the government at Irkutsk, a notice to the effect that Bechevin suffered much during a penal inquisition with torture, conducted against him in 1764 by K*A*K*, probably Knias (Prince) Alexander Korzakof, who is mentioned as having been detailed on a government mission to Irkutsk about that time.
CHAPTER VII.
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
1760-1767.
TOLSTYKH'S VOYAGE-MOVEMENTS OF VESSELS-STAHLIN'S MAP-WRECK OF THE 'ANDREIAN I NATALIA'-CATHERINE SPEAKS - A COMPANY FORMED-COLLECTING TRIBUTE-THE 'NEUE NACHRICHTEN'-VOYAGE OF THE 'ZAKHAR I ELIZAVETA'-TERRIBLE RETALIATION OF THE UNA- LASKANS-VOYAGE OF THE 'SV TROITSKA'-GREAT SUFFERINGS-FATAL ONSLAUGHT-VOYAGE OF GLOTTOF-SHIP NOMENCLATURE-DISCOVERY OF KADIAK-NEW MODE OF WARFARE-THE OLD MAN'S TALE-SOLO- VIEF'S INFAMIES-THE OKHOTSK GOVERNMENT-MORE 'ST PETERS' AND 'ST PAULS'-QUEEN CATHERINE AND THE MERCHANT NIKOFOROF-END OF PRIVATE FUR-HUNTING EXPEDITIONS.
THE first vessel which sailed to the Aleutian Islands under protection of a special imperial oukaz was the Andreian i Natalia, owned and commanded by An- dreï 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.1
The Andreian i Natalia left Kamchatka the 27th of September 1760. In two days Bering Island was reached, when in accordance with custom the ship was hauled up for the winter. In the June following Tol- stykh again put to sea, steering at first southerly, then northward, arriving at Attoo Island the 5th of August.2
1 Tolstykh began his official report as follows: 'By virtue of an oukaz of her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, issued through the Chancellery of Bolsheretsk in Kamchatka, on the 4th day of August 1760, and in pursuance of an order deposited with Lieutenant Vassili Shmalef, I was permitted to put to sea with the Cossacks Petr Vassiutinski and Maxim Lazaref, detailed for this service.' Berg, Khronol. Ist., 53; Neue Nachr., 59; Shelikof, Puteshestvie, 134; Grewingk, Beitrag zur Kenntniss der nordwest- küste Amerikas, 315.
2 He met a vessel returning to Kamchatka, probably the Sv Peter i Sv ( 127 )
128
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
Three vessels were there trading, belonging respect- ively to Chebaievski, Postnikof, and Trapeznikof. Tolstykh had hoped to find the friendly chief Tunul- gasan, whom he had met before, but the aboriginal had died, and his successor, Bakutun, told the new- comers that there were too many Russians on his island already, and they might as well pass on, but appeased with presents the monarch finally gave Tolstykh some of his own relatives as hostages, who were also to serve as interpreters and guides to other islands. After a sojourn of two weeks the vessel con- tinued to the eastward, and on the 28th of August reached an island which was subsequently ascertained to be Adakh.3
Pavel, with over 2,500 seaotters on board valued at 150,000 rubles. Neue Nachr., 68-9; Khronol. Ist., app .; Grewingk, 314.
3 In Neue Nachr., 61, the island is named Ajaga or Kajachu, names not to be found in any chart. Grewingk states that Tolstykh brought news of the islands Kanaga, Tchechina, Tagalak, Atchu, Amlag, and Atach. Grewingk, Beitrag, 315; Shelikof, Puteshestvie, 135. There was necessarily great con- fusion in the application of names to the newly discovered islands. On the map of Stæhlin, an offspring of Croyère's abortion published in English in 1774, the new northern archipelago was laid down in the most remarkable manner. By colorings the islands were divided into four groups, the largest of which was called Anadirsk group, and included Alaska, a large island ex- tending east and west in latitude 65°, and Unalaska, and Amchitla, Umnak, Sannakh, Yunaska, and a number of other islands with imaginary names. This group is placed in a wide passage between the continents of Asia and America. To the south-west and extending from latitude 60° to 55°, we find the Aleutian group comprising Amlia, Atkha, Bulldir, 'Kadiak,' and 'St Her- mogen.' To the north-west of this group, in latitude 60°, Stæhlin placed the Olutorskoi Islands, containing Kanaga, Ayak (Adakh?), and Copper Island. To the southward of the latter we find Bering Island, with two pretty large adjoining islands, and still farther south a group of imaginary discoveries to which the names bestowed by Bering upon the nearest Aleutian islands were applied. Stæhlin's introduction to this description of the archipelago is suffi- ciently original to merit a place in these pages. He begins as follows: 'It appears, from the accounts of our illiterate sea-faring men, that there is no essential difference, in any respect, between these several islands, and their inhabitants; and that they seem to be pretty much alike. It is needless to name every one of the islands which compose our new northern archipelago, as they are set down in the map hereto annexed, with their situation and size. As to the absolute accuracy of the two first articles, namely, the true situa- tion, as to geographical latitude and longitude, and their exact dimensions, I would not be answerable for them, until they can be ascertained by astronom- ical observations. Of these islands we know in general, and for certain, that those which are situated between latitude 50th to the 55th degree, resemble the islands of the Kurilei, with regard to the weather, the productions, as also in the figure, appearance, clothing, food, way of life, and manners ... of the inhabitants, whereas those from the 55th to the 60th degree, which are the islands of Olutora and Aleuta, are in all these particulars very like Kam- chatka. Those of the third division have a different aspect, and are situated
129
DISCOVERY OF ISLANDS.
There was every indication of multitudes of sea- otters in this vicinity, and as soon as a convenient harbor had been found all hands were set to work on Adakh and the adjoining island of Kanaga. Parties were also despatched to other islands as far eastward as Atkha and Amlia, meeting everywhere a friendly reception. After a stay on these islands, subse- quently named after him the Andreianovski, of nearly three years, Tolstykh collected quite a valuable cargo of furs, and finally started homeward on the 14th of June 1764. He stopped at Attoo Island to land his interpreters and repair his vessel, which was leaking badly. Some shipwrecked Russians were also taken on board, and on the 27th of August the Andreian i Natalia took her final departure for Kamchatka. On the 4th day of September the coast was sighted, but Tolstykh lost his vessel in attempting to weather the cape of Kamchatka. He succeeded, however, in sav- ing both crew and cargo.4
As Tolstykh and Vassiutkinski claimed to have per- suaded the inhabitants of six islands to become sub-
between the 60th and 67th degree of north latitude. The former, which are like Kamtschatka, are full of mountains and volcanoes, have no woods, and but few plants. The more northern islands abound in woods and fields, and consequently in wild beasts. As to the savage inhabitants of these newly discovered islands, they are but one remove from brutes, and differ from the inhabitants of the islands lately discovered in the ... South Sea, being the very reverse of the friendly and hospitable people of Otaheite.' Stæhlin's New North. Archipelago, 16-20. The author begins his description of the islands with Ajak, which he represents as 150 versts in circumference, with high rocky mountains, valleys, dry slopes, plains, morass, turf, meadows, and 'roads,' adding astutely, 'so that you may easily go over all the island.' He also states that the inhabitants of Ajak cannot be numbered, because they move from island to island, crossing straits in bidars. In a note the rather remarkable explanation is given that 'bidars are large boats made of whales' ribs.' Id., 25. The account given by Stæhlin of Kadiak Island is evidently based on Solovief's experience in 1762, but on the chart the island is altogether out of place, being south of the Aleutian islands. The inhabitants are painted in the blackest colors, in accordance with Solovief's impressions. He every- where displays the grossest ignorance. The word torbassa, a Kamchatka expression for fur-boots or skin-boots, Stæhlin applies to snow-shoes, and kamish, signifying thread made of reindeer sinew, he defines as thread made of the fibre of a reed.
4 The reports of Tolstykh's voyage are conflicting; the Neue Nachr. gave his catch as only 1,880 full grown sea-otters, 778 yearlings, and 372 pups. Berg places it at 3,036 sea-otters, and 532 blue foxes, in addition to govern- ment tribute of 100 sea-otters, and values the cargo at 120,000 rubles. Khronol. Ist., 54, app .; Neue Nachr., 62.
HIST. ALASKA. 9
130
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
jects of Russia and to pay tribute, the voyage was duly reported to the empress, who subsequently re- warded Tolstykh and the two Cossacks.5
One vessel was despatched to the islands in 1760, but our information concerning it is meagre. It was built and fitted out under the auspices of the mer- chant Terentiy Chebaievski, and under the immediate superintendence of his clerk Vassili Popof. Berg claims to have found a notice in the papers of Zelon- ski to the effect that Chebaievski's vessel returned in 1763 with a cargo valued at 104,218 rubles.º
A plan had been formed by this combination of wealthy merchants for making a thorough examina- tion of the Aleutian chain and the adjoining con- tinent, and then to decide upon the most favorable locality for opening operations on a larger scale. The object of the expedition was well conceived and de- serving of success, but a chain of unfortunate circum- stances combined to frustrate their designs. Three of the ships fitted out by the partners were destroyed with all on board, and the fourth returned without even paying expenses.7 We have the names of only two of the three vessels destroyed, the Zakhar i Elizaveta
5 Berg states that among the papers of the former governor of eastern Siberia, Dennis Ivanovich Checherin, he found a rescript of the empress Catherine of which he gives the following copy: 'Dennis Ivanovich: Your communication concerning the subjection into allegiance to Me of six hitherto unknown islands, as well as the copies of reports of Cossack Vassiutkinski and his companions, I have read with satisfaction. Such enterprise pleases Us very much. It is to be deplored that the papers giving a more detailed description of the islands and their inhabitants have been lost during the wreck of the vessel. The promise of reward from Me to the merchant Tol- stykh, returning to him the tenth part of proceeds accruing to Our treasury from each sea-voyage, I fully approve, and hereby order you to carry out this design. You will also promote the Cossacks Vassiutkinski and Lazarof for their services to the rank of Nobles in your district. May God grant them good success in their projected voyage next spring and a safe return at its conclusion. You will impress upon the hunters that they must treat their new brethren and countrymen, the inhabitants of Our newly acquired islands, with the greatest kindness and without any oppression or abuse. March 2, 1766. Catherine.' Berg, Khronol. Ist., 66-7; Grewingk, Beitrag., 315.
6 Khronol. Ist., app .; Grewingk, Beitrag, 315. It was evident that Popof did not sail with this expedition, for we see him mentioned as an active partner in the more extensive enterprises undertaken in 1762 by Trapeznikof, Protassof, and Lapin, Berg's best and most frequently quoted authority of the history of that period. See also D'Auteroche, Voyage en Sibérie, ii. 113; Antidote, i. 1 Veniaminof, i. 118-131.
131
NEUE NACHRICHTEN.
commanded by Drushinnin, owned by Kulkof, and the Sv Troitska, or Holy Trinity, commanded by Ivan Korovin. The third is known to have been com- manded by Medvedef, a master in the navy. The fourth vessel was the property of Trapeznikof, but who commanded her is not known.8
The Zakhar i Elizaveta sailed from Okhotsk the 6th of September 1762, wintered at Avatcha Bay, and proceeding the following July reached Attoo, where seven of the shipwrecked crew of the Sv Petr i Sv Pavel were taken on board. One of these was Korelin, who alone survived this expedition and fur- nished a report of it. From Attoo Drushinnin pro- ceeded to Adakh, where another vessel, the Andreian 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.9
From Adakh the Zakhar i Elizaveta proceeded to Umnak where a party of Glottof's men were then
8 Veniaminof, i. 118. The ship of Medvedef was lost at Umnak; the ship commanded by Drushinnin was manned with 34 Russians of whom three only returned. Among them was Bragin who is mentioned in Sarychef, ii. 37, as having wintered on Kadiak Island in 1765. Berg claims that Dru- shinnin's crew consisted of S natives of Kamchatka and 34 Russians, including the peredovchik Miasnikh. Khronol. Ist., 58.
9 Neue Nachr., 72-3. The Neue Nachrichten is a small octavo printed in German black letter and published in Hamburg and Leipsic in 1776. It bears no authorship on the title-page but the initials J. L. S. Most bibliographers have pronounced it anonymous, as the authorship is involved in some uncer- tainty. The library of congress has the work catalogued under Stählin or Strahlin. M. J. Von Stæhlin published an account of the new northern archipelago in the Petersburger Geographischer Kalender in 1774. This was translated into English in London, during the same year, in a small octavo vol- ume. There is, however, no reason to believe that Stæhlin was the J. L. S. of Neue Nachrichten, as many of his statements in the other work do not agree with the text of the latter. A man named A. L. Schlözer published in the year 1771, at Halle, Germany, a quarto volume of over 400 pages entitled Allgemeine Geschichte, Von dem Norden, treating on kindred subjects. It is probable that in Mr Schlözer we find the original J. L. S., as the first of the initials might easily have been inadvertently changed. It is a significant fact that in Shelikof's voyage we find whole passages and pages almost the verbal translation from the Nachrichten. Explanations and corrections of this volume were subsequently published under the auspices of Buffon in the Sept Epoques de la Nature, Grewingk., Beitrag and Pallas Nordische Bertrage., i. 273. Further than this, in Acta Petropolitana, vi. 126, J. A. L. Von Schlözer is mentioned as author of Neue Nachrichten, and corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
132
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
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 meet- ing everywhere with indications of the recent presence of Russians, they returned to the ship about the mid- dle of September. On the day of their return letters were also received through native messengers from the vessels commanded by Korovin and Medvedef, who had lately located themselves on the islands of Umnak and Unalaska. Drushinnin at once sent out a reconnoitring party to the latter island, and in due time a favorable report was received inducing the commander to move his craft to Unalaska, where he anchored the 22d near the northern end of the island. When the cargo had been landed and a foundation had been laid for a winter habitation, two of the chiefs of neighboring villages voluntarily opened friendly 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 Mikhaïl 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 promysh- leniki 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
133
SLAUGHTER OF THE RUSSIANS.
men set out in the morning to look after the fox- traps.10 Drushinnin, Shekalef, and Shevyrin then paid a visit to the native dwelling. They had just entered the low aperture when they were set upon by a num- ber of armed men, who knocked down Shekalef and Drushinin with clubs and then finished them with the knives they bought of them the day before. Shevyrin had taken with him from the house an axe, and when the excited savages turned their attention to him 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.11
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 fox- traps, a sure indication that they were no longer among the living. Under the shelter of night the Russians launched a bidar and pulled away out of the harbor, the natives watching their movements, but making no attempt to pursue. Once out of sight of their en- emies Korelin and the other fugitives landed, pulled
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.