USA > Alaska > History of Alaska : 1730-1885 > Part 22
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C.Cross
Puerto de los Ramadiest
Klokachet Strait
Sea Lion Pt.
Mary R
Mt.Edgecumbe Mt.San Yacinte- Cabo de Engario
Sitka or Vorfolk Sde
Soun
Christian
Stakhin\R.
155
OF
130
WALES
135
Bucarelli Sd.
ISLAND
FORRESTER E.C
ANJA
San Blas
CRISTINA
Santa Magdelens
North Pt.
STA MARGARITA
0
San Agustar
Dixon's Entrance
Portla
C.Fox
Q-CHARLOTTEȚI.
CUADRA'S VOYAGE.
P.Takoo
B. Guadalupe
Ensda. Del
PRINCE
Canal
199
CUADRA TAKES POSSESSION.
seaward and kept upon a general north-westerly course. On the 13th of August indications of land were ob- served, though the only chart in their possession, that of Bellin, based upon Russian discoveries and to a great extent upon imagination, placed them at a dis- tance of one hundred and sixty leagues from the con- tinental coast. Cuadra's latitude, by observation, on that day was 55° 40'. During the next two days the signs of land became stronger and more frequent, and the navigators, in the belief that they were approach- ing the Tumannoi or Foggy' Islands of Chirikof, ob- served the greatest caution.
At last, on the 16th, came in view a mountainous · coast among whose many peaks was one they called San Jacinto, and the prominent cape jutting from it the Cabo de Engaño. Their description of both cape and mountain is so clear as to leave no doubt of their identity with the Mount Edgecumbe of Cook and the cape of the same name. That the original nomencla- ture has not been preserved is owing to Spain's neglect in not publishing the achievements of her explorers.
On the following day the goleta put to sea again, weathering Cape Engaño and following the coast in a north-westerly direction until another wide estuary was discovered and named the bay of Guadalupe, subse- quently known as Shelikof Bay or Port Mary. Here Cuadra anchored for the day, observing the wooded shores rising at an acute angle from the sea. In the morning of the 18th two canoes, containing two men and two women, emerged from the head of the bay, but at the sight of the vessel they hurriedly landed and fled. The explorers then put to sea again and proceeded in a northerly direction until a good anchor- age was found in latitude 57° 20', with a good sandy beach and convenient watering-places.
A landing was effected at the mouth of a stream, near a deserted hut and a stockaded enclosure, proba- bly used for defence by the natives. The instructions of the viceroy, concerning the forms of taking posses-
200
OFFICIAL EXPLORATIONS.
sion, were carried out so far as circumstances would permit.7
During the ceremonies no natives were in sight, but after returning to their vessel the Spaniards saw the savages take up the cross which they had planted and place it before their hut, as if to say "this is the better place."
On the 19th another landing was made, when the natives emerged from the forest waving a white cloth attached to a pole in token of peaceful intentions. The signal was answered by the Spaniards and the savages advanced slowly to the opposite bank of the stream. They were unarmed and accompanied by women and children. A few trifling presents were offered and received by one of the natives who waded into the middle of the stream. This friendly intercourse was, however, suddenly interrupted when the Spaniards began to fill their water-casks. The women and chil- dren were at once sent away and the men assumed a threatening attitude. The Spaniards prepared for defence while preserving an unconcerned air, and finally the savages retreated.
The place of this first landing of Spanish explorers upon Alaskan soil was called the anchorage "de los Remedios" and can be nothing else than the entrance to Klokachef Sound between Kruzof and Chichagof islands.8
7 The entry in the journal referring to this event was as follows: 'El mismo dia bajaron á tierra con los preparativos que ofrecia su poco tripulacion y ar- reglados á la instruccion tomaron posesion, dejando los documentos y la cruz colocados con la seguridad posible, habiendo arbolado en aquel puesto las ban- deras del Rey nuestro Señor.' Viajes al Norte, MS., 25.
8 In the journal of this voyage contained in the Viajes al Norte, the country is described as full of mountains, their base covered with pines like those at Trinidad, but barren or covered with snow toward the summit. The 'Yn- dios,' said to resemble those met with in latitude 41°, were clothed chiefly in furs. The latitudes as observed by Cuadra at Cape Engaño, Guadalupe Bay, and the Entrada de los Remedios, agrees with our positions for Cape Edgecumbe, Shelikof Bay, and the southern shore of Klokachef Sound, but the Spanish explorer places the longitude of the last anchorage some twelve miles to the westward of Cabo de Engaño. This would lead to the conclusion that the ceremony of taking possession took place just inside of Sea-lion Point, a very exposed position, while the description of the country coincides better with Kalinin cove, a few miles to the eastward. See Karta Vkhodov Novo Arkhangelskomu Porta, etc., 1809, 1833, and 1848.
201
TRACK OF THE 'SONORA.'
The weather was cold and threatening during the sojourn of the Sonora in this bay, and both officers and the poorly clothed and sheltered crew began to suffer from scurvy. They took a west-north-westerly direction on the 21st, in order to ascertain whether their discovery was located on the west or east shore of the Pacific, a doubt engendered by the great differ- ence in longitude between the Russian discoveries as indicated on Bellin's chart and their own; and having by that time reached a latitude of 57º 58', or the vicinity of Cross Sound, they changed their course to the southward to examine carefully all the inlets of the coast.
On the 24th of August, in latitude 55° 14', the ex- plorers entered a magnificent sound extending far to the northward and abounding in sheltered anchorages. Cuadra was ill, but he ordered the piloto to take pos- session in the name of Spain, and for the second time the royal banner of Castile waved over Alaska. The sound was called Bucareli, a name still preserved on many maps. It is located on the west coast of the island subsequently named after the prince of Wales.9
After a careful inspection of the bay, during which not an aboriginal was to be seen, the Sonora once more stood out to sea, sighting six leagues from the harbor an island which was named San Blas, the same seen in 1774 by Juan Perez from Cape Santa Margarita, and named by him Santa Cristina. It is now known as Forrester Island. A landing was effected and water obtained, while the south point of Prince of Wales Island, named Santa Magdalena by Perez, was plainly in view.1º Contrary winds kept the little craft beating about until the navigators suc- ceeded in again making the coast in latitude 55° 50',
9 The piloto expressed the opinion that this bay was the scene of Chirikof's 'landfall,' and the place where his boat's crew perished was one of the northern arms of the bay in the latitude named by the Russian discoverer. The Span- iard did not seem to take longitude into the account at all. Viajes al Norte, MS., 30.
10 Viajes al Norte, MS., 31. Cuadra named it Cabo de San Agustin.
202
OFFICIAL EXPLORATIONS.
where a deep indentation was observed, with its western point in latitude 56° 3'. Thence a high mountainous coast was seen extending north-westerly to a point marking the southern limit of the broad estuary bounded by Cabo de Engaño in the north.11
From the 28th of August to the 1st of September the winds compelled the navigators to hug the shore in the vicinity of latitude 56° 30'. The crew, weak- ened by scurvy, were unable to combat the adverse winds. The vessel was swept by tremendous seas; spars and portions of the rigging were carried away; and when at last a steady strong north-wester began to blow, both commander and pilots concluded that further efforts to gain the desired latitude were use- less. The prow of the Sonora was turned southward and the swelling sails soon carried her far away from Alaska. 12
Orders for another Spanish expedition to the north coast were issued in 1776, but preparations were not completed till 1779, or until after Cook's important English explorations in this quarter.
The voyage of Captain Cook with the ships Reso- lution and Discovery has been discussed at length in an earlier volume, with reference to discoveries on the Northwest Coast south of the present boundary of Alaska. It is only necessary here to repeat briefly a few paragraphs from Cook's secret instructions from the ad- miralty and to take up the thread of narrative where I dropped it in the historic precincts of Nootka.13
11 The description furnished by the journal of these discoveries is not clear, but the ensenada may probably be identified with Christian Sound, or Clarence Sound, on our modern maps.
12 The log of the Sonora as copied in the Viajes al Norte places the expedi- tion in latitude 55° 4' on the 14th of August, and from that date till the 8th of September Cuadra's operations were confined to present Alaskan waters. The highest latitude, 57º 57', was reached the 22d, in the vicinity of Cape Cross, or the south point of Yacobi Island. Viajes al Norte, MS., 56-8. Ac- counts of this voyage can also be found in Heceta, Segunda Exploracion; Maurelle, Diario del Viage de la Sonora, 1775, No. 3 of Viages al Norte; Maurelle's Journal of a Voyage in 1775, London, 1781, in Barrington's Miscel- lanies. See also Hist. Northwest Coast, vol. i., this series. Juan Perez Cuadra's pilot died before reaching San Blas.
18 The instructions were signed by the ' Commissioners for executing the
203
MORE SECRET INSTRUCTIONS.
After ordering the commander to go from New Zealand to New Albion and avoid touching Spanish territory, the document goes on to say: "And if, in your farther progress to the northward, as hereafter directed, you find any subjects of any European prince or state upon any part of the coast you may think proper to visit, you are not to disturb them, or to give them any just cause of offence, but on the contrary to treat them with civility and friendship. Upon your arrival on the coast of New Albion you are to put into the first convenient port to recruit your wood and water, and procure refreshments, and then to proceed northward along the coast, as far as the lati- tude of 65, or farther, if you are not obstructed by lands or ice; taking care not to lose any time in exploring rivers or inlets, or upon any other account, until you get into the before-mentioned latitude of 65°." After being enjoined at length to make a thorough search for a navigable passage into Hudson or Baffin bays, Cook is further instructed as follows: " You are also, with the consent of the natives, to take possession, in the name of the King of Great Britain, of convenient situations in such countries as you may discover, that have not already been discov- ered or visited by any other European power ... but if you find the countries so discovered are uninhabited, you are to take possession of them for his Majesty, by setting up proper marks and inscriptions, as first dis- coverers and possessors." During the discussion of Cook's progress in viewing the coasts of Alaska I shall have occasion to refer to these instructions.14
On the 26th of April 1778 the expedition sailed out of Nootka Bay on its northward course, but vio- lent gales drove it from the land which was not made again until the evening of May 1st in latitude 55°
Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britian and Ireland, etc., Sandwich, C. Spencer, and H. Palliser, through their secretary, Ph. Stephens, on the 6th of July 1776.' Cook's Voy., i. introd. xxxiv .- xxxv.
14 Cook's Voy., i. introd. xxxii .- xxxv.
204
OFFICIAL EXPLORATIONS.
20', in the vicinity of Port Bucareli, discovered by Cuadra three years before.
On the 2d and 3d of May Cook passed along the coast included in Cuadra's discoveries of 1775, giving to Mount San Jacinto and the Cabo de Engaño the name of Edgecumbe. Puerto de los Remedios was named bay of Islands, and Cook correctly surmised its connection with the bay lying eastward of Cape Edgecumbe. In the morning of the 3d the two sloops had reached the highest latitude attained by Cuadra; a high mountain in the north and a wide inlet were called Mount Fairweather and Cross Sound respec- tively, by which names both are known to this day.15 Cape Fairweather has since been named Cape Spencer. On the 5th Mount St Elias was sighted above the northern horizon, one hundred and twenty miles away, and the following day the broad opening of Yakutat, or Bering, Bay was observed.16
Proceeding slowly along the coast with baffling winds, he on the 10th gave the name of Cape Suck- ling to the cape forming the southern extremity of Comptroller Bay, but owing to 'thick' weather Kyak Island, named Kaye by Cook, was not discovered until two days later.17 At the foot of a tree on the south point of Kaye Island a bottle was deposited containing a paper with the names of the ships and date of 'dis- covery,' and a few coins. For some reason the cere- mony of taking possession was omitted, though Cook must have believed in the existence of all the condi- tions mentioned in his instructions and relating to ' uninhabited' discoveries. 18
The name of Comptroller Bay was also applied to the indentation bearing that designation to-day. The
15 The 3d of May is marked in the calendars as 'Finding of the Cross;' hence the name applied to the sound.
16 Cook discusses at length the identity of this with Bering's landing. He does not, however, advance any very cogent reasons for his belief.
17 In another chapter of this volume I have stated my reasons for believing this to have been the scene of Bering's discovery and Steller's brief explora- tion of the country in 1741.
18 Cook's Voy., ii. 351-3.
205
COOK'S VOYAGE.
sight of the south point of Nuchek Island, named by him Cape Hinchinbrook, led Cook to indulge in hopes of finding a passage to the north beyond it, the tower- ing heights that border Prince William Sound not being visible at the time. A leak in the Resolution induced the commander to seek shelter, and the ships were anchored in one of the coves of Nuchek Bay, the Port Etches of later maps. A boat's crew sent out to hunt met with a number of natives in two skin canoes, who followed them to the immediate vicinity of the ships, but would not go on board.19 On the following day, the 13th, Cook sailed again in search of a safer anchorage, without discovering the land- locked cove on the north side of the bay subsequently selected by the Russians for their first permanent establishment in this region. The next anchorage was found some eight leagues to the northward at Snug Corner Cove, still known by that name. Here considerable intercourse with the natives took place. They were bold, inclined to thievery, and apparently unacquainted with fire-arms.20
After several vain attempts to find a northern pas- sage the two ships turned southward, and the largest island in the sound was discovered and named Mon-
19 The natives made the same sign of friendship described by the Spanish explorers in connection with the Alexander Archipelago, displaying a white garment or skin, and extending their arms. The people were evidently of Innuit extraction, but had adopted some of the practices of their Thlinkeet neighbors in the east, such as powdering the hair with down, etc. Comp- troller Bay, at the mouth of the Atnah or Copper River, so called by Cook in his Atlas, 1778, and also by Dixon and Vancouver; La Pérouse, 1786, Be du Controle; Sutil y Mex., Viage, B. Controlleur. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., iii. 394.
20 These natives not only attempted to take away a boat from the ship's side, but upon the report of one of their number, who had examined the Discovery, that only a man or two were visible on her decks, the whole band of visitors hastily paddled over to the other vessel with the evident intention of taking possession of her. The appearance of the crew, who had been en- gaged on some duty in the hold, caused the savages to change their mind. Cook's Voy., ii. 359. Cook here also noticed for the first time that these natives had a few glass beads of light blue, a circumstance he wrongly con- sidered as an indication of intercourse with other tribes visiting the Hudson's Bay Company's posts in the far north-west. Blue glass beads were among the few articles of trade in the hands of the Russian promyshleniki, and doubtless found their way to Prince William Sound from Kadiak by way of Cook Inlet.
206
OFFICIAL EXPLORATIONS.
tagu, the Sukluk of the natives. The name of Prince William Sound was then applied to the whole inlet.
On the 21st Cape Elizabeth, the south-eastern point of Cook Inlet, was first sighted and named; and as the western shore of that great estuary was not vis- ible, the hopes of finding an open passage to the northward were once more revived. A gale, how- ever, prevented the explorers from rounding the cape, and necessitated a southerly course, which brought into view the point of land named Cape St Hermo- genes by Bering-the eastern cape of Marmot Island. Thence the course was northward, which opened be- fore the eyes of the explorer the broad estuary still bearing the name of the commander. Believing that Kadiak and Afognak islands, with Point Banks, formed but a part of the mountainous coast to the westward, with Cape Douglas in the foreground, Cook entered the inlet full of hope. Was not the Aliaska of Rus- sian maps represented as an island ? . And must not this wide passage lead the navigator into the Arctic Ocean between this island and the continent ? The discovery of an extension of the high mountains to the north of Cape Douglas did not discourage him.21 On the same day, however, the 27th of May, these high hopes were crushed, as far as Cook himself was concerned. The haze hanging over the land in the west suddenly disappeared, and what had been taken for a chain of islands stood revealed as the summits of a mountain range, connected everywhere and show- ing every characteristic of a continent ..
Though fully convinced of the futility of the attempt Cook continued to beat his vessels up the inlet.22 The strong ebb-tides, running at a velocity of four or five knots, greatly retarded their progress, and as
21 ' As it was supposed to be wholly unconnected with the land of Cape Elizabeth,' says Cook; ' for, in a N. N. E. direction, the sight was unlimited by everything but the horizon.' Cook's Voy., ii. 386; Juvenal, Jour., MS., 31-2.
22 'I was now fully persuaded that I should find no passage by this inlet; and my persevering in the search of it here, was more to satisfy other people, than to confirm my own opinion.' Cook's Voy., ii. 386.
207
AT COOK INLET.
the winds were either light or unfavorable, it became necessary to anchor the vessels every time the tide turned against them. The muddy water and the large quantities of floating trees led Cook to believe him- self within the mouth of a large river, and without fully ascertaining the fact, he sailed away from his new discovery unchanged in his opinion.23
The first natives were encountered on the 30th, and a larger party, including women and children, visited the ships the following day. The scene of this meeting was in the vicinity of West Foreland, or the present village of Kustatan. These savages were described by Cook as resembling the natives of Prince William Sound, speaking the same language and using the same kind of skin-covered canoes. From this fact we must infer that the Innuit in those days occu- pied more of the coast of Cook Inlet than they do to-day. It is probable, however, that these people were not permanent residents, but engaged in a hunt- ing expedition away from their home.24 Blue beads and long iron knives were found in the possession of all these peoples. We know that these articles came from the Russians, but Cook was loath to acknowl- edge the presence of another European power.25
On the first of June the boats sent out to explore returned after having entered the Turn-again arm of the inlet and the mouth of the Kinik River, and in
23 The coast of Cook Inlet rests upon a base of blue clay washed by the tides, and this fact contributed more to the discoloration of the water than the few rivers emptying into the inlet.
21 Still higher up the inlet Cook saw a native propel his kyak with a double- bladed paddle, and as this implement is used only by the natives of the Aleu- tian Islands, and occasionally by those of the northern shores of Bering Sea, it becomes all the more probable that the advance of the Russians to Kadiak, and their presence among the Shumagin Islands, had already instigated the sea-otter hunters to undertake long journeys in search of their quarry. Cook's Voy., ii. 389-92. On the other hand, the natives encountered on the Kenai Peninsula, on the occasion of taking possession of the country, were evidently Tinnehs, or Kenai proper, to judge from the description of their ornaments, clothes, and weapons, and from the fact that they had dogs and werc apparently without canoes.
25 Cook mentions that the natives called iron goone. Now chugun, or rather chugoon, is Russian for cast-iron, though also used for all iron articles by the ignorant classes. Cook's Voy., ii. 392.
208
OFFICIAL EXPLORATIONS.
the afternoon Lieutenant King was despatched to take possession of the point at which the above- mentioned arm branches off to the eastward. Some lords aboriginal were present, but it is nowhere written that King asked their permission to take possession of the country, as the admiralty had ordered.
On the 4th of June the latitude of the Iliamna volcano was ascertained, but the mountain was not named.26 On the 5th of June the two ships emerged from the inlet that had been entered with such flatter- ing hopes, and proceeded southward along the coast of the continent in search of an opening to the west- ward and northward. The season was fast advancing and much remained to be done, so they hastened forward. Shuiak Island, Afognak, and Kadiak were placed on their chart as one continuous coast and part of the continent, while names were given only to the prominent headlands.27 On the 16th Foggy Island, the Tumannoi of Bering, was made, and on the 19th the two ships were passing through the Shumagin group, the largest island of which Cook erroneously put down as Kadiak on his chart. In this vicinity the Discovery was approached by several canoes and a letter enclosed in a case was delivered by one of the natives, who bowed and took off his cap in good European fashion. The document was written in Russian and dated 1778.28 Unable to understand
26 The only local names about the inlet which we can trace to Cook are: Cape Douglas, Mt St Augustine (Chernobira Island), Turn-again River, Point Possession, Anchor Point, Point Bede, Cape Elizabeth, Barren Islands. The inlet was named Cook River by order of Lord Sandwich, the explorer having left a blank in his journal. Cook's Voy., ii. 396.
27 The north point of Shuiak was named Point Banks; the easterly point of Afognak, Cape Whitsunday, and the entrance to the strait between the latter island and Kadiak, Whitsuntide Bay. The description of this locality does not, however, agree with the published sketch. Cook's Voy., ii. 404, and Chart of Cook River, 353. Cape Chiniatsk was named Cape Greville and is still thus indicated on English and American sailing-charts. Cape Barnabas. and Two-headed Cape correspond with the east point of Sitkhalidak Island and Nazigak Island at the entrance of Kaguiak Bay. The island Sitkhinak was named Trinity on the 14th of June, and subsequently the south point of Kadiak obtained the same designation. Cook's Voy., ii. 407-9.
28 In the body of the note there was also a reference to the year 1776, the date of a Russian expedition to Kadiak. Cook's Voy., ii. 414.
209
NO STRAIT THERE.
its contents, Cook paid no attention to it. These natives as well as those subsequently met with at Halibut (Sannakh) Island used the double-bladed paddle, a certain indication that they were Aleuts, hunting for the Russians.29
Passing Unimak with its smoking volcanoes and failing to notice the best pass into Bering Sea, be- tween Unimak and Akun, the explorers at last man- aged to cross into the narrowest and most dangerous of all these passes, between Unalga and Unalaska. After a long search for an anchorage the vessels were safely moored in Samghanooda Bay, opening into Unalga Strait. Intercourse with the natives was at once opened, and one of them delivered another Rus- sian note. The principal object in seeking this anch- orage was water, and hence the stay there was brief; but from the manners of the people and articles in their possession, Cook felt assured at last that he was on ground occupied by the Russians. The necessary business was quickly despatched, and on the 2d of July the two ships stood out to sea again with every prospect of an open field of exploration in the north. The north coast of the Alaska peninsula was followed till the north shore of Bristol Bay loomed before them, and made another change of course necessary. Cook's disappointment was great. Not until the 16th of July was hope again revived by the sight of Cape Newenham, the southern point of the estuary of the Kuskokvim. 30
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