USA > Alaska > History of Alaska : 1730-1885 > Part 40
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396
THE FOUNDING OF SITKA.
vessels, though the natives there possess large quan- tities of fire-arms and all kinds of ammunition, receiv- ing new supplies annually from the English and from the republicans of Boston and America, whose object is not permanent settlement on these shores, but who have been in the habit of making trading trips to these regions. It is to be hoped that the fruits of the discoveries of Russian navigators may not be enjoyed by European or other companies, de- priving us of our hard-earned advantages. I trust that God in his justice will allow us to enjoy the fruits of our enterprise, and as, with his help, I, an ignorant subject, have been able to add something to the vast dominion of his imperial Majesty, we must hope that we shall find the means to preserve our new possessions intact, and make them profitable.
"At the settlement of Yakutat I found nothing but trouble and disorder in every department. This was partly owing to the old difficulties between Polomosh- nois and your brother Stepan, who was appointed assistant manager in 1796. During the first winter thirteen of the twenty-five hunters and seven of the settlers died of scurvy, besides women and children. Polomoshnoi had written a whole ream of trash and nonsense which he forwarded to Kadiak, the whole report containing only what one settler had said of another, what the settlers had said of the hunters, and the threats made by the latter against his life. In conclusion, he asked to be relieved. The wish was com- plied with, and Nikolai Moukhin, who was thought to possess considerable administrative ability, was sent as his substitute. I had all the property forwarded to Yakutat on behalf of the settlers transferred to him, though it was almost impossible to obtain any clear statement with regard to it from the confused mass of papers left by Polomoshnoi. His reports spoke of many acts of cruelty and abuse committed by the hunters, and he had even gone so far as to appoint a
8 Baranof had not yet heard of Polomoshnoi's death.
397
BARANOF'S LETTERS.
commission to investigate the charges; but as the mem- bers of the commission were all ignorant settlers who were interested in the case, they did nothing beyond getting up a voluminous pile of testimony which amounts to nothing but empty words. Several times I was on the point of solving all difficulties by dis- banding the settlement; but better thoughts prevailed, and remembering the importance of the success of this experiment to the company and to the country at large, I did my best to restore order and reconcile the parties involved.
"The tribes living in the vicinity of our Sitka set- tlement at first met us in a very friendly manner, but of late they have displayed some distrust, and when our men had formed a procession during holy week in honor of the emperor, they thought we were preparing for a fight, and seized our interpreter, who happened to be in the native village. The procession was con- ducted with great solemnity and pomp, and after it had been disbanded, our men went through some mil- itary evolutions, all of which had been witnessed by the chiefs of the savages, who listened frowningly to our discharges of musketry and artillery; but all this dis- play did not induce them to give up the interpreter, and some property which they had stolen; and I found it necessary to assure them that we were not afraid of them. Therefore, on the third day I proceeded to the principal village with twenty-two men, landed fear- lessly on the beach, and placed two small cannon in front of their houses. Over three hundred armed men surrounded us, but we marched directly to the house where the prisoner was reported to be. We fired a few blank volleys to keep the crowd in awe, and seized a few men who seemed inclined to offer resistance. Our determined attitude held the people in check, and when we had accomplished our object and released the prisoner, they began to ridicule the affair, bandying words with our men, and offering them food. I re- joiced in having accomplished my end without blood-
398
THE FOUNDING OF SITKA.
shed, and made up my mind not to allow the slightest offence on their part to pass unnoticed in the future."
The admixture of business and piety in this despatch is somewhat noteworthy. "With God's help," he writes, "our men killed 40 sea-lions and 150 seals during the winter." Speaking of the hunter Mikhaïl, whom he had ordered to travel around Kadiak "for the purpose of taking a census of that island, and to make presents to the leading men among the Aleuts of tobacco and other trifles," he remarks, " I thought this course of action best, in view of the misfortune which had happened last year, as I wrote to you from Sitka; and with God's help, he succeeded so well in his mission that the necessary number of men were obtained in all districts, from the first to the last, even to hird-hunting parties."
Again, in a letter to Larionof, dated March 22, 1801, the chief manager thus expresses his gratitude : " The All-creator of the world, in his infinite mercy, has overlooked and forgiven our sins, and tempered the cruel blows of misfortune with success in sea-otter hunting. In the three years which have elapsed since the arrival of the last transport, we have col- lected over 4,000 skins of sea-otters-males, females, and yearlings, besides cubs. The skins secured at Nuchek and Sitka will probably amount to nearly 4,000, with the help of God. On the other hand, the trappers have had but little success, on account of the unfavorable weather during the winter; and, as you see from the statement, only 1,500 skins were obtained from that source, while in former years from 2,000 to 2,500 was the average number."9
Baranof's complaints of foreign encroachment ap- pear to have been well grounded. Within a few leagues of Sitka the captains of three Boston ships secured 2,000 skins, though paying very high prices, each one trying to outbid the other. For a sin-
9 In 1800 the skins obtained from Sitka amounted to 2,600, and for the whole colony to 3,500. Khlebnikof, Shizn. Baranova, 62.
399
AMERICANS AND ENGLISHMEN.
gle skin they gave cloth worth twenty-eight roubles, or three coats of frieze lined with cotton. In the same neighborhood two skins were formerly bartered for cloth valued at ten and a half roubles. " The Americans," writes the chief manager, " who have been acquainted with these tribes for two or three years, and have sent from six to eight ships each year, speak of the trade as follows: 'The Amer- ican republic is greatly in need of Chinese goods, the Chinese teas, the various silk materials and other products of that country, which had formerly to be purchased for coin, the Spanish silver dollar exclu- sively, but since these shores have been discovered, with their abundance of furs, they were no longer obliged to take coin with them, but loaded their ves- sels with full cargoes of European goods and products of their own country, which are . asier obtained than coin.'" After touching on the political complications that marked the close of the eighteenth century, Baranof continues: "The resources of this region are such that millions may be made there for our country with proper management in the future, but for over ten years from six to ten English and American ves- sels have called here every year. It is safe to calcu- late an average of 2,000 skins on eight, or say six vessels, which would make 12,000 a year, and if we even take 10,000 as a minimum, it would amount in ten years to 100,000 skins, which at the price at Canton of 45 roubles per skin would amount to 4,500,000 roubles."10
For the next year and a half, little worthy of record occurred in connection with the affairs of the Russian American Company. A number of agriculturists and mechanics, placed at the disposal of the company by Count Zubof, arrived at Kadiak, together with a reën-
10 Id., ii. app. part ii. 143-8. The total value of furs shipped by the She- likof-Golikof Company between 1786 and 1797 was only 1,479,600 roubles. Berg, Kronol. Ist., 169.
400
THE FOUNDING OF SITKA.
forcement of missionaries. The chief manager has little to report, save that he has succeeded in bringing into friendly relations with the Russians a number of tribes, among whom, as he supposed, were the Kolosh. The question of boundaries between the Russian and British American possessions had been mooted, how- ever, almost from the time that Spain ceded Nootkå to the English, and Baranof feared that his people might be driven from their settlements,11 although their right of discovery and occupation north of the 55th parallel left little room for dispute. He begs the governor of Irkutsk to intercede with the emperor, more especially in relation to the establishment of an agricultural settlement, for it was useless to select a site until some definite action was taken,12 and the colony at Cape St Elias was of no benefit.
11 The English claimed "tua Bay, and even the gulf of Kenaï and Prince William Sound.
12 In this despatch Baranof says: 'Our greatest need is now skilled naviga- tors, since of five vessels in American waters only one has an experienced master, and he is in poor health.'
CHAPTER XIX.
THE SITKA MASSACRE. 1802.
RUMORS OF REVOLT AMONG THE KOLOSH-THEY ATTACK FORT SV MIKHAIL- TESTIMONY OF ABROSSIM PLOTNIKOF-AND OF EKATERINA LEBEDEF- STURGIS' EQUIVOCAL STATEMENT-CAPTAIN BARBER AS A PHILANTHRO- PIST-KHLEBNIKOF'S VERSION OF THE MASSACRE-SECRET INSTRUCTIONS TO BARANOF-TIDINGS FROM UNALASKA-FURTHER PROMOTION OF THE CHIEF MANAGER-HE DETERMINES TO RECAPTURE SITKA-PREPARA- TIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION.
BARANOF's hope that the Kolosh were at length finally pacified proved to be ill founded. Although he was not aware of it, disaffection had long been rife among the warlike nations of Sitka and of the main- land, in the vicinity of the Yakutat settlement. It is said that the hostile spirit was fostered by the Eng- lish and American traders, who supplied the savages with fire-arms, ammunition, and intoxicating drink. Rumors had reached the commanders of both Sitka and Yakutat that an organized attack was contem- plated on the Russian strongholds; but as the chiefs in their vicinity continued to profess friendship, and as traffic was carried on as usual, the agents paid little heed to the repeated warnings. No change was made in the daily routine about the settlement. Par- ties were sent out to cut timber in the forests, and to hunt on the islands and bays. Sentries were posted in accordance with Baranof's instructions, but as the force was small in either place, only the sick and disabled were selected for such duty, and it was therefore per- formed in the most inefficient manner. In the mean HIST. ALASKA. 26
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402
THE SITKA MASSACRE.
time, the savages had matured their plans. Allies had been secured from all the villages throughout the Alexander Archipelago, and from the populous valley of the Stakhin River, and during the summer of 1802 the blow was struck which swept from earth the in- fant colony.
The exact date of the Sitka massacre is not known; the only survivors were Russian laborers and natives, who were so terrified as to have taken no note of time. It is certain, however, that the event occurred in the month of June. The best statements of this incident are contained in depositions made by the few survivors in the office of the company's agent at Kadiak.1 They were rude, ignorant men, and their ideas and words are crude; but they are better for the purpose than mine would be, and I will not mar their testimony by another rendering.
Abrossin Plotnikof, a hunter, who was among those who were rescued, testified as follows: " In this present year, 1802, about the 24th day of June-I do not re- member the exact date, but it was a holiday-about two o'clock in the afternoon, I went to the river to look after our calves, as I had been detailed by the commander of the fort, Vassili Medvednikof, to take care of the cattle. On returning soon after, I noticed at the fort a great multitude of Kolosh people, who had not only surrounded the barracks below, but were already climbing over the balcony and to the roof with guns and cannon; and standing upon a little knoll in front of the out-houses was the Sitka toyon, or chief, Mikhaïl, giving orders to those who were around the barracks, and shouting to some people in canoes not far away, to make haste and assist in the fight. In answer to his shouts, sixty-two canoes emerged from behind points of rocks. Even if I had reached the barracks, they were already closed and barricaded,
1 These survivors were carried to Kadiak by Captain Barber, the com- mander of an English vessel, who, as will be seen, played a somewhat an- biguous role in the tragedy.
403
PLOTNIKOF'S STORY.
and there was no safety outside; therefore I rushed away to the cattle-yard, where I had a gun. I only waited to tell a girl, who was employed in the yard, to take her little child and fly to the woods, when, seizing my gun, I closed up the shed. Very soon after this four Kolosh came to the door and knocked three times. As soon as I ran out of the shed they seized me by the coat and took my gun from me. I was compelled to leave both in their hands, and jumping through a window, ran past the fort and hid in the thick underbrush of the forest, though two Kolosh ran after me, but could not find me in the woods. Soon after, I emerged from the underbrush, and approached the barracks to see if the attack had been repulsed, but I saw that not only the barracks, but the ship recently built, the warehouse and sheds, the cattle-sheds, bath-house, and other small buildings had been set on fire, and were already in full blaze. The sea-otter skins and other property of the company, as well as the private property of the commander Med- vednikof and the hunters, the savages were throw- ing to the ground from the balcony on the water side, while others seized them and carried them to the canoes, which were close to the fort."
After mentioning that there were sixteen men in the barracks, and giving the names of others who were absent on hunting or fishing expeditions, he continnes : "All at once I saw two Kolosh running toward me armed with guns and lances, and I was compelled to hide again in the woods. I threw myself down among the underbrush on the edge of the forest, covering myself with pieces of bark. From there I saw Nakvassin drop from the upper balcony and run toward the woods; but when nearly across the open space he fell to the ground, and four warriors rushed up and carried him back to the barracks on the points of their lances and cut off his head. Kabanof was dragged from the barracks into the street, where the Kolosh pierced him with their lances; but how the
404
THE SITKA MASSACRE.
other Russians who were there came to their end I do not know. The slaughter and incendiarism were continued by the savages until the evening, but finally I stole out among the ruins and ashes, and in my wanderings came across some of our cows, and saw that even the poor dumb animals had not escaped the blood-thirsty fiends, having spears stuck in their sides. Exercising all my strength, I was barely able to pull out some of the spears, when I was observed by two Kolosh, and compelled to leave the cows to their fate and hide again in the woods.
"I passed the night not far from the ruins of the fort. In the morning I heard the report of a cannon and looked out of the brush, but could see nobody, and not wishing to expose myself again to further danger, went higher up the mountain through the forest. While advancing cautiously through the woods, I met two other persons who were in the same condition as myself: a girl from the Chiniatz village, Kadiak, with an infant on her breast, and a man from Kiliuda village, who had been left behind by the hunting party on account of sickness. I took them both with me to the mountain, but each night I went to the ruins of the fort with my companions, and bewailed the fate of the slain. In this miser- able condition we remained for eight days, without anything to eat and nothing but water to drink. About noon of the last day we heard from the moun- tain two cannon-shots, which raised some hope in me, and I told my companions to follow me at a little distance, and then went down toward the river through the woods to hide myself near the shore, and see whether there was a ship in the bay. When I reached the beach I saw behind a small island a ves- sel which looked to me like our Ekaterina, but when I came to our harbor which overlooked the entire bay I found that it was not the Ekaterina, but an English ship.
"I then ascended the rock where a tent had been
405
RESCUE OF THE SURVIVORS.
set up when the chief manager was present, and shouted for help. Some Kolosh, who were near the river, heard my voice, and six of them had almost reached me before I saw them, and I barely succeeded in escaping from them and hiding in the woods. Thus I had been chased three times by the savages. They drove me to another point on the beach, near the cape, where again I hailed the ship, and to my great joy a boat put off from the vessel to the place where I was standing. I had barely time to jump into it when the Kolosh in pursuit of me came in sight again, but when they saw I was already in the boat, they went away again. The commander of the vessel was in the boat, and when we had got on board, I gave him a full account of the sad disaster, and asked him to save the girl with her infant son, and the man whom I had left ashore, and showed them the place where I had told the girl and man to hide. The captain at once despatched an armed yawl, and fortunately we hit upon the very spot where they were hiding, and they were taken into the boat and brought on board the ship. The boat was sent off again immediately to the other side of the bay, and soon returned, to my great astonishment, with Batu- rin, another Russian, whom I recognized with un- speakable joy, and we soon related to each other our experience.
"We asked the commander of the ship to escort us to the site of the destroyed fort, to see if anything had been spared by the savages. He very kindly consented had the yawl manned again, got in him- self, and took me with him. When we arrived at the ruins he examined the bodies of the dead, all of which were without heads, except Kabanof, and we buried them. Of property, we found nothing but the melted barrel of a brass gun, and a broken cannon, which we picked up and brought to the ship. When we had been on board the ship three days, two bidarkas came from the shore with the Sitkan chief, Mikhaïl, and
406
THE SITKA MASSACRE.
his nephew. The former asked the captain if there were any Russians on board, and whether he wished to trade. The captain said nothing of our presence, and with friendly words coaxed him on board, together with his nephew, and the Kolosh girl who had been in Kuzmichef's service at the settlement. At our request, the captain seized the chief and his nephew, and ordered them to be kept in confinement, ironed hand and foot, until all the persons captured at the time of the destruction of the settlement had been given up. The chief told his men who had remained in the bidarkas to go and bring them. After that they began to restore our servant-girls and children, not all at once, however, but one by one. Finally, the captain told the chief that if he did not give up at once all the prisoners in his hands, he would hang him, and in order to frighten him, the necessary preparations for the execution were made.
"In the mean time two other English ships entered the bay and anchored close to each other. With the captain of one of them we were somewhat acquainted, as he had once wintered with his vessel near our fort. This was the Abetz.2 The Kolosh put off to the two ships in many canoes, and when the commander of the Abetz learned of our misfortunes, he held a consulta- tion with the captains of the other vessels. As the savages approached in their canoes he fired grape-shot at them from the cannon, destroying several. Some of the occupants reached the shore, while many were drowned. Several of the Kolosh the captain of the Abetz kept as prisoners, and by that means succeeded
2 Probably the Alert, Captain Ebbets, from Boston. Plotnikof was evi- dently unable to distinguish captains' and ships' names, or even nationalities. The ship commanded by Barber must have been the Unicorn, mentioned in the list of vessels wintering on the coast in 1801, in Sturgis' Narr., MS., 7, as hailing from London. The Alert first appears in the Sturgis list in 1802, but as it registered there with 2,000 sea-otter skins on board, the vessel must have reached the coast previous to that time. In the list of north-west traders made by James G. Swan, I find the ship Alert, Captain Bowles, in 1799, while it occurs again in 1801 under command of Captain Ebbets. The Unicorn, Captain Barber, must have escaped Mr Swan's notice, though she made several visits to the coast.
407
EKATERINA'S STATEMENT.
in obtaining the release of a few more of the captured women. As soon as the Kolosh discovered what had been done, they would not visit the ships any more; but from the girls we learned that they held prisoner one of our men, Taradanof. We asked the captain not to release the chief; and when the Kolosh saw that he and his nephew were not set at liberty, they brought us Taradanof, four more women, and a large number of sea-otter skins. After taking Taradanof and the women on board, the captain released the chief and his nephew, though we entreated him not to do so, but to take them to Kadiak. Both at Sitka and on the voyage the captain supplied us with clothing and abundant food. The commanders of the other ves- sels also made us presents of clothing, as we had lost everything."
Of another statement concerning this affair, I will make an abstract. Ekaterina, wife of the Russian Zakhar Lebedef, testified as follows: "She was in the street of Fort Sv Mikhaïl at noon-the day and month she did not know-near the ladder which led to the upper story where the commander Medvednikof lived. She heard a Russian shouting, but could not distinguish the words. A man named Tumakaief ran from the kitchen and told her to hasten to the bar- racks, as the Kolosh were coming with guns. While he was still speaking, all the Russians and women who had been in the street ran into the barracks. The doors were then barricaded; but from the windows we saw an immense crowd of Kolosh approaching, and they soon surrounded the barracks, armed with guns and lances."
The witness then gives the names of those who were within the barracks, and also of those who were absent, agreeing in this part of her statement with Plotnikof, and continues: "When the Kolosh came up they at once rushed at the windows and began a continuous fire, while the doors were soon broken down in spite of those inside. Among the first who
408
THE SITKA MASSACRE.
were hit were the commander and Tumakof; others were also wounded, when the rest were ordered to the upper story, but though they kept up a constant fire, they could not do much. When the Kolosh broke into the building, Tumakof, though wounded, fired the cannon at the entrance and killed a few Kolosh; whereupon the remainder retreated a little. It was soon evident that there was not ammunition enough for the cannon in the lower story, and to get a new supply, one of the men broke through the ceil- ing between the upper and lower stories, when flames came through the opening and suffocating smoke. When the fire spread in the lower story the women were thrust into the basement; but soon afterward some of the Russians again fired the cannon, and the concussion broke the door leading from the basement into the street. The women then ran out and were seized by the Kolosh and carried to the canoes which lay close by. Thence they could see the Russians jumping down into the street when the fire drove them out. There they were caught and pierced with lances."3
3 Tikhmenef, Istor. Obos., ii. app. part ii. 174-9. The account of Sturgis, captain of the Caroline, for veracity is a fair specimen of the information given of the Russians by American and English ship captains of that day. Knowing the facts, it is not possible that the writer intended to tell the truth. 'In the year 1799,' he says, 'the Russians from Kamchatka had formed an establishment at Norfolk Sound, consisting of 30 Russians and 700 or 800 natives of Kadiak and Unalaska, for the purpose of killing sea-otters and other animals. They had built a strong fort, contrary to the wishes of the natives, who had notwithstanding conducted themselves in a peaceable manner, probably awed by the superior power of the invaders. Much to their discredit, the Russians did not adopt the same conciliatory conduct, but on some real or pretended suspicions of a conspiracy, pursued the most san- guinary course toward these people, some of whom were massacred, and others sent into captivity to Kadiak Island. Stimulated to revenge by the loss of friends and relatives, and finding their stores of wealth, and almost of subsist- ence, seized by strangers settled amongst them contrary to their wishes, the natives formed a plan to attack the fort, and either exterminate their oppress- ors at a blow or perish in the attempt. They succeeded, got possession of the fort by surprise, and instantly put to death several men in the garrison. . . Previous to this, the ship Jenny, of Boston, had been at Norfolk Sound, where seven of the men deserted and took refuge with the Russians. The natives knew this, and willing to make a just distinction between those whom they considered as commercial friends and their arbitrary oppressors, they sent a message requesting the Americans to make them a friendly visit at their village. Six of them accepted the invitation; the other was out with a
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