USA > Alaska > History of Alaska : 1730-1885 > Part 18
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156
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE PROMYSHLENIKI.
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.43 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 resump- tion of exploration by the imperial government.
43 The cargo as given by Berg seems extraordinarily large, and it is probable that the Panof expedition consisted of two vessels, for Sgibnef states that a ship-builder named Bubnof constructed in 1767 two vessels, the galiot Sv Pavel, 56 feet long, at a cost of 5,737 rubles; and the galiot Sv Petr, of the same length, 19 feet beam and 9 feet depth of hold, at a cost of 6,633 rubles. The rigging for these ships was brought from Tobolsk, and 500 pounds of iron were carried all the way from Arkhangel, being two years en route. Sgibnef, in Morskoi Sbornik, cv. 47-8. According to Capt. Shmalef the Ioann Oustioushski made a third prosperous trip from which she returned in 1772 with a cargo yielding a net profit of 1,000 rubles to each share. Berg, Khronol. Ist., 83; Pallas, Nord. Beitrage, i. 276; Sarychef Putesh., ii. 37.
44 Berg, Khronol. Ist., app .; Grewingk, Beitrage, 315.
CHAPTER VIII.
IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES. 1764-1779.
SYND'S VOYAGE IN BERING STRAIT-STAHLIN'S PECULIAR REPORT-THE GRAND GOVERNMENT EXPEDITION-PROMOTIONS AND REWARDS ON THE STRENGTH OF PROSPECTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS-CATHERINE IS SURE OF DI- VINE FAVOR-VERY SECRET INSTRUCTIONS-HEAVY COST OF THE EXPE- DITION - THE LONG JOURNEY TO KAMCHATKA -DIRE MISFORTUNES THERE-RESULTS OF THE EFFORT-DEATH OF THE COMMANDER-JOUR- NALS AND REPORTS-MORE MERCANTILE VOYAGES-THE SHIPS 'SV NIKOLAÏ,' 'Sv ANDREÏ,' 'SV PROKOP,' AND OTHERS-THE FREE AND EASY ZAÏKOF-HIS LUCK.
I WILL briefly mention here a voyage by a lieuten- ant 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 win- tering 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.I 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 1 Zap. Hydr., x. 70-3.
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158
IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES.
multitude of imaginary islands extending up to lati- tude 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 Nishe- kamchatsk, but not until 1768 did his expedition return to Okhotsk.2
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 gov- erument 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
2 Stæhlin in his Account of the New Northern Archipelago, 12-15, gives a strangely garbled report of this expedition, as follows: 'The empress. .. ereet- ing a commercial company composed of Russian merchants for trading with the new islands, and to further promote this end, the admiralty office at Okhotskoi, on the sea of Penshinsk, had orders from her Majesty to assist this trading company of Kamchatka in the prosecution of their undertaking; to provide them with convoys, and to endeavor to procure all possible informa- tion relative to the islands and coast they intended to visit to the north and north-east beyond Kamchatka. In the year 1764 these traders accordingly sailed from the harbor of Ochotskoi with some two-masted galiots, and single- masted vessels of the kind in Siberia called dostchennikof (covered barges), under a convoy from the aforesaid admiralty office, commanded by Lieutenant Syndo. They passed the sea of Ochotskoi, went round the southern cape of Kamchatka into the Pacific Ocean, steering along the eastern coast, keeping northward, and at last came to an anchor in the harbor of Peter-Paul, and wintered in the ostrog or palisaded village. The next year they pursued their voyage farther northward, and in that and the following year, 1765 and 1766, they discovered by degrees the whole archipelago of islands of different sizes, which increased upon them the farther they went between the 56th and 67th degrees of north latitude, and they returned safely in the same year. The reports they made to the government chancellery at Irkutsk, and from thence sent to the directing senate, together with the maps and charts thereto annexed, made a considerable alteration in the regions of the sea of Anadir and in the situation of the opposite coast of America, and gave them quite a different appearance from that in the above-mentioned map engraved in the year 1758. This difference is made apparent by comparing it with the amended map published last year, 1773, by the academy of sciences, and is made still more visible by the accurate little map of the newly discovered northern archipelago, hereto annexed, which is drawn up from original accounts.' The 'accurate little map' referred to is perhaps the most preposterous piece of im- aginary geography in existence, a worthy companion of the charts of Croyère.
159
EXTENSIVE PREPARATIONS.
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 expedi- tion.3
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.4
The expedition, having been recommended to the special attention of the admiralty college with instruc- tions 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 com- panions.5 All were placed under the immediate com- mand 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
3 The results of this expedition were published by Coxe in 1780. He ob- tained his information principally from the historian Robertson, who had been granted access to the archives of the navy department by the empress. Pallas translated Coxe's account into his Nordische Beitrage, published in 1781; and in the same year a Russian translation appeared in the Academic Monthly and was republished in the selections from the monthly. Robertson, however, had no opportunity to look into the details of the organization and manage- ment of the expedition, and confined himself to results; consequently the actual details of the enterprise remained unknown until Sokolof investigated the subject, having access to the original journals and charts. Zap. Hydr., x. 17-71.
4 A portion of the oukaz reads as follows: 'We promise our imperial good- will not only to the commander of the expedition but to all his subordinates, and assure them that upon their safe return from their voyage every participant shall be advanced one step in rank and be entitled to a life pension in propor- tion to the salary received during the voyage. On account of the distance to be traversed and the hardships to be encountered, I grant to each member of the expedition double pay and allowance of subsistence from the time of de- parture to the day of return; this extra allowance to continue for a period of two years.' Sokolof, Irkutsk Archives. With the final instructions the gra- cious sovereign forwarded to Governor Chicherin a gold watch for each of the officers in command.
5 In order to mislead the public with regard to the objects of the expedi- tion the admiralty college gave it the official name of 'An Expedition for the Exploration of the Forests on the rivers Kama and Brela.' Sokolof, Zap. Hydr., 75.
160
IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES.
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.6
Krenitzin was promoted to captain of the second rank, and Lieutenant Mikhaïl 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 Sep- tember.7 At this place the expedition was reënforced 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 Ökhotsk in October, after a difficult journey over the tundra and mountains in- tervening between Yakutsk and the sea.8
6 The instructions of the governor began with these words: 'Fully aware of your knowledge and your zeal for the glory of her Imperial Majesty, and the benefit of your country, the admiralty college expects you to employ all your ardor and perseverance in the prosecution of this enterprise.' There was also a 'secret addition' to these instructions. Believing that the expedition about to be despatched along the Arctic coast of Siberia under command of Chichagof, to search for the north-east passage, would finally reach Kamchatka and meet there the vessels of the Krenitzin expedition, the admiralty college thought it necessary to establish a code of signals known to the commanders of both squadrons. These signals consisted of an extraordinary arrangement of the sails, frequent lowering and hoisting of flags, and discharges of cannon. In their endeavors to provide for all contingencies the framers of these instruc- tions also suggested that in times of fog, and in theabsence of fire-armsor ammu- nition, the vessels should approach each other as nearly as possible, when the command was to shout threetimes 'agaï !' in a manner similar to the shout of ' hurrah !' by troops, and if the other vessel should answer with the same cry, three times re- eated, the crew of the first was again to shout, 'Boshe pomogi ! ' God help you, also three times, and await from the other vessel the reply, 'Da, pomoshet i nam !' yes, he will help us. Then when all these sig- nals had been correctly answered the crew of the first vessel was to shout, ' Umnak Island!' three times, and await an answer from the other crew of ' Onnekotan Island !' three times repeated. Irkutsk Archives; Sokolof, Zap. Hydr., x. 76-7. Sokolof also mentions that the expedition was fitted out with 12 quadrants and the charts of Bering, of the merchant Shishkin, and of Vertlugof; those of the last two covering respectively the Aleutian Islands and north-eastern Siberia and Japan.
7 The subaltern officers consisted of seven mates, Dudin Ist, Dudin 2d, Shebanof, Krasheninnikof, Chinenoi, Stepanof, and Sralef; one corporal, and four quartermasters. Zap. Hydr., x. 77-8.
8 At Yakutsk Krenitzin received another batch of instructions from the
161
THE ROYAL BENEDICTION.
Upon the receipt of full reports of the expedition, the thrice gracious and benignant Catherine ex- pressed her thanks to Governor Chicherin for all his arrangements in a special rescript, hoping for com- plete success of the undertaking. The empress also thanked the governor for " framing such wise instruc- tions." 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 wait- ing with impatience news of his farther progress."9
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 Kre- nitzin 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 au- thorized to engage others from the traders. Through Colonel Plenisner, Krentzin also encountered obstacles to his progress.10
prolific pen of Chicherin, advising the commander toobtain from the merchants who had already visited the Aleutian Isles, a detailed description of their discoveries, and to locate them on his charts; to turn his special attention to the large and populous island of Kadiak, which should be circumnavigated if possible and thoroughly explored in order to ascertain whether it was an island or mainland. Irkutsk Archives; Sokolof, x. 78-9; Sarychef, ii. 37; Pal- lus, Nord. Beitr., i. 282.
9 The imperial rescripts are in Irkutsk Archives; Zapiski Hydr., dated Oct. 11, 1764; April 11, July 11, and Oct. 12, 1765.
10 Col. Plenisner, who commanded the military station at Okhotsk, quar- relled with Krenitzin and sent complaints to Irkutsk. The governor wrote to Krenitzin, instead of replying to the accuser, as follows: 'Perhaps Plenisner will cause you trouble. From my knowledge of you, and I had the honor of knowing you for some time at Tobolsk, I conclude that you will give him no provocation; but I do not know Plenisner personally. It seems to me that there is something in the air of Okhotsk that causes all officers stationed there to quarrel.' After assuring Krenitzin of his sincere friendship, the governor advised him to avoid all petty quarrels in order not to displease the empress, and concluded as follows: 'If Plenisner seriously interferes with your arrange-
HIST. ALASKA. 11
162
IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES.
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.11 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 sep- arated 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. Lev- ashef, 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 advan- tage of a spring tide to cross the bar. On the follow- ing 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
ments, I give you permission to report directly to her Imperial Majesty, and to the admiralty college, but I hope that God will not let it come to that, and that He will give you peace and good-will. Such is my sincere wish.' Irkutsk Archives; Zap. Hydr., x. 80; Morskoi Sbornik, cv. 49-50.
if The expeditionary force was distributed as follows: the Sv Ekaterina, commanded by Krenitzin, carried 72 men; the hooker Sv Pavel, commanded by Levaslief, 52; the galiot Sv Pavel, commanded by Dudin 2d, 43; and the Sv Gavril, commanded by Dudin Ist, 21. The cost of fitting out the expedi- tion reached the sum of 100,837 rubles, then a large amount of money. The empress wrote Chicherin on the subject of expense under date of May 28, 1764: 'Perhaps the execution of my plans will involve some expenditure of money, and therefore I authorize you to employ for the purpose the first funds coming into your treasury, sending a strict account of expenditure to the admiralty college.' Zap. liydr., x. 81.
163
THE SQUADRON SCATTERED.
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 Bol- sheretsk, 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 com- mand 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 Kren- itzin concluded to take the galiot Sv Ekaterina, Synd, commander, just returned.12 Chichagof, about the meeting with whom the admiralty college had been
12 For a description of bidars and bidarkas see Native Races, vol. i., this series. The galiot Sv Ekaterina had 3 mates, 1 second mate, 3 cadets, 1 boatswain, 1 boatswain's mate, 2 quartermasters, 1 clerk, 1 surgeon, 1 ship's corporal, 1 blacksmith, 1 carpenter, 1 boat-builder, 1 sail-maker, 1 infantry soldier, 41 Cossacks, 9 sailors, and 2 Aleuts-a total of 72. The hooker Sv Pavel, carried 4 mates, 4 cadets, 4 quartermasters, I surgeon, 1 ship's corporal, 1 locksmith, 1 carpenter, 1 turner, 1 soldier, 38 Cossacks, 5 promyshleniki, 2 Aleuts, and 1 volunteer, a Siberian nobleman. The provisions were dis- tributed as follows:
Galiot, St Ekaterina.
Pounds.
Hooker, Su Pavel.
Pounds.
Hard bread
51
Flour .
476
Flour
504
Groats
47
Groats
168
Salt
52
Salt
53
Butter
134
Butter
103
Meat
13
Meat
100
Dried fish, bundles of.
286
Dried fish, bundles of.
201
Salt fish, barrels
20
Salt fish, barrels
13
Brandy, buckets
27
Brandy, buckets
45
Casks of water ..
47
Casks of water.
34
Wood, fathoms
8
Wood, fathoms
6
Powder
20
Powder
17
The armament consisted of 2 copper half-pound falconets, 2 small iron falconets and 1 large iron cannon, 39 muskets, 6 musketoons, and 13 rifles. Irkutsk Archives ; Zap. Hydr., ix. 68-9.
164
IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES.
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 sea- water for salt, and in making tar out of spruce. They also constructed two large bidars and some water- casks, 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 neigh- borhood. In two years the population was more than decimated.13
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 con- trary 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 approach- ing the vessel they cried "zdorovo!" 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
13 Sgibnef, in Morskoi Sbornik, cii. 46-7.
165
THE RUSSIANS AT UNALASKA.
supply of fresh water with the assistance of the na- tives. On the following day 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.14
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.15
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
14 Krenitzin's instructions contained a statement that a good harbor had been discovered in that locality by Bechevin's vessel commanded by Golodof and Pushkaref in 1762. Neue Nachr., 52. It has already been intimated above that Bechevin did not actually reach the peninsula, then called Alaksha Island, but wintered on Unalaska, which abounds in good harbors. Accord- ing to Cook, Oonemak; La Pérouse, Ouinnak; Sutil y Mex., Viage, Isla Uni- mak; Holmberg, I. Unimak. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., iii. 450.
15 Levashef chose for his wintering place an anchorage at the head of the inner bay of Illiuliuk, sheltered by two little islands from the north wind, and near the mouth of two excellent trout-streams. The location of his camp can still be traced, the ground-plan of four great subterranean winter-huts being still plainly visible, though now covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses and shrubs.
166
IMPERIAL EFFORTS AND FAILURES.
proved as harmless as the spear-throwing. Insignifi- cant 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.16
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.17 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.
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