USA > Alaska > History of Alaska : 1730-1885 > Part 47
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1 Between 1801 and 1804 the company accumulated about 800,000 skins, many of which were spoiled through want of care in dressing. Tikhmenef, Istor. Obos., i. 93-4.
2 Id., app. part ii. 201. The letter was dated from Novo Arkhangelsk.
3 Sixteen years later the widow of this man petitioned the company for a pension, basing her claim on the assertion that her husband had 'opened to the Russian American Company, and to the Russian empire, the valuable trade
478
FOREIGN VENTURES AND THE ROSS COLONY.
was ordered to observe closely all parts of the coast which he might visit, to mark the number and charac- ter of the inhabitants, and to procure information of all hunting-grounds which might in the future be util- ized by the company without the assistance of for- eigners. He was instructed also to observe the sea- ports that were frequented by Americans for purposes of trade, and to ascertain the prices of provisions and other products of the country.
The Boston sailed from Kadiak on the 26th of Octo- ber, and after calling at San Diego, proceeded to the bay of San Quintin in Lower California, where O'Cain4 made his headquarters, sending out hunting parties in various directions, until the 1st of March of the following year. The number of furs secured was eleven hundred, and Shutzof reported that the Amer- ican captain, trading on his own account with the mis- sionaries and soldiers, had obtained seven hundred additional skins at prices ranging from three to four piastres. Thus was inaugurated a series of hunting expeditions beyond the borders of the Russian col- onies, which continued for many years with varying success.
In August 1806 O'Cain returned to Alaska, arriv- ing at Novo Arkhangelsk on board the Eclipse. Touching at the Hawaiian Islands on his voyage, he had found there a crew of Japanese sailors who had been picked up at sea. He now proposed to the chief manager to supply him with a cargo of furs for Can- ton, and that, having taken on board the shipwrecked sailors, he should proceed thence to Japan, with a view to opening the Japanese ports to the Russians. As the captain had before proved faithful to his trust, Baranof consented, and a few weeks later the vessel set sail, with a cargo5 valued at three hundred and of California.' Archives Russian American Company, 1819 (Letter Books, vol. iii.)
4 For further mention of O'Cain's voyage, see Hist. Cal., ii. 25-6, this series. 5 Including 1,800 sea-otter, 105,000 marten, 2,500 beaver, and other skins. Khlebnikof, Shizn. Baranova, 111. The terms of the contract between O'Cain and Baranof are given in Id., 109-10.
479
OTTER-HUNTING CONTRACTS.
ten thousand roubles. The expedition proved a com- plete failure. The furs were sold at Canton at low prices, and Chinese goods purchased with the pro- ceeds.6 On entering the harbor of Nangasaki under Russian colors, the ship was immediately surrounded with hundreds of row-boats and towed to the anchor- age ground. Soon afterward a Dutch official came on board, and finding that neither captain nor crew were Russian, ordered them to haul down their flag. As the Japanese would not listen to his proposals, O'Cain informed them that he was in need of provi- sions and fresh water. Supplies were delivered to him in abundance free of charge; but on the third day after his arrival, he was towed out to sea under a strong guard, with orders never to enter a Japanese port again. The Eclipse was then headed for Petro- pavlovsk, where half her cargo was transferred to the care of the Russian commissioner, and sailing thence for Kadiak, was wrecked on the voyage at the island of Sannakh. Only the captain and four others were saved, and with the assistance of some natives from Unalaska, made their way to St Paul.7
The result of O'Cain's hunting expedition to the coast of California had been so satisfactory that Bar- anof resolved to profit by every opportunity of repeat- ing the experiment. Through captains Ebbets and Meek it had become known among American skip- pers that money could be made in this way, and several of the north-west traders were only too willing to make the attempt. In May 1808 a contract was entered into with Captain George Ayres, of the ship Mercury from Boston. Ayres was furnished with twenty-five
6 Baranof, in his reports, hints at sharp practice on the part of O'Cain. The price obtained for sea-otter skins was only 13} piastres each, while martens brought only 40 cents, beavers 3 piastres, etc. The whole cargo was sold for 155,000 roubles, just one half the estimated value. With this sum the captain purchased 3,000 sacks of rice, 280 chests of tea, and 25,000 pack- ages of various Chinese goods. Id., 112.
" An account of this shipwreck is given by Campbell, one of the survivors, in his Voy. round World, 42 et seq. (Edinburgh, 1816). He calls St Paul ' Alexandria.'
480
FOREIGN VENTURES AND THE ROSS COLONY.
bidarkas for the purpose of hunting in the vicinity of islands 'not previously known.' Baranof engaged to furnish the Aleuts with subsistence, and no party was to be sent out without an armed escort. For any na- tive hunter killed or captured while hunting, Ayres promised to pay 250 piastres toward the support of his family. The ship was to return within ten or twelve months, and the proceeds of the trip were to be equally divided, the furs being valued by the chief manager. For the labor of the Aleuts, Ayres was to deduct from his share three and a half piastres for each sea-otter, a piastre and a half for each fur-seal, and one piastre for each beaver.
The Mercury sailed from Kadiak on the 8th of July, Shutzof being in charge of the hunters. At Char- lotte and adjacent islands Ayres bought a number of sea-otter furs from the natives, paying for each a can of powder, and at the mouth of the Columbia8 Shut- zof purchased five hundred and eighty beaver skins. In September the vessel entered the harbor of Trini dad, but meeting with little trade, the captain sailed for Bodega Bay, and thence for San Francisco and San Diego. From the latter port hunting parties were sent out during the winter, and the ship re- turned the following year with more than two thou- sand skins.
Between 1809 and 1812 Baranof made six addi- tional contracts with American masters, the result being that over eight thousand sea-otter skins, pro- cured outside the limit of the company's possessions, were delivered to the chief manager as his share of the proceeds.9 These transactions were approved by
8 ' Here,' says Khlebnikof, 'the party met with two United States officials and a number of soldiers, who were already putting up barracks. The offi- cials had given medals to the savages, bearing the portrait of Washington.' Shizn. Baranova, 123. This occurred in August 1808, and as Lewis and Clarke left the mouth of the Columbia in 1806, and Astoria was not established until 1811, it remains to be shown who these officials were. Doubtless they were not United States officers and soldiers, but traders.
9 In 1809, Captain John Winship on the ship O'Cain was furnished with 50 bidarkas, the company's share being 2,728 sea-otter skins. In 1810, Nathan Winship of the Albatross hunted with 68 bidarkas, the company's
481
PLANS FOR NEW ALBION.
the directors, but the frequent purchases of entire cargoes of goods and provisions, for which payment was usually made in fur-seal skins, were regarded with less favor. Twice in succession shrewd Yankee skippers succeeded in selling their skins to the com- missioner at Kamchatka or Okhotsk at a higher val- uation than had been placed upon them by Baranof in the original transaction; and finally a peremptory order was issued by the board of directors to make no more payments in kind, but to give drafts on the home office at St Petersburg.
After his return from California, Rezanof had never ceased to urge on the chief manager the importance of establishing, on the shore of New Albion,10 a station for hunting, trading, and agricultural purposes. It is probable that his plans were even more ambi- tious than those contained in the company's private instructions to Baranof, and that he purposed gradu- ally to push forward the Russian colonies toward the mouth of the Columbia, and in time even to wrest from Spain a portion of California.
Baranof did all that lay in his power. In October 1808 Kuskof was sent to the coast of New Albion on board the ship Kadiak, the schooner Nikolai having been despatched southward a fortnight earlier. The latter was wrecked at the mouth of Gray Harbor, where she had been ordered to join her consort ; and though no lives were lost, the men were held captives by the Indians, a few of them being rescued by. an American vessel, in which they returned to Novo Ark-
share amounting only to 560 skins. In the same year Davis of the Isabella hunted with 48 bidarkas, the company receiving 2,488 skins. In 1811, Meek of the Amethyst was supplied with 52 bidarkas, the company's share of the result being 721 sea-otter. In the same year Blanchard of the Cath- erine hunted with 50 bidarkas, and returned 750 sea-otter. In 1812, Captain Wittemore of the Charon was supplied with hunters, and returned to the company 896 sea-otters as its share.
10 The term 'New Albion' was of somewhat vague significance. Its south- ern limit was anywhere between San Diego and Point Reyes, near which, it will be remembered, Drake landed in 1579, at the bay which now bears his name, and called the country 'New Albion.'
HIST. ALASKA. 31
482
FOREIGN VENTURES AND THE ROSS COLONY.
hangelsk two years later. Contrary winds prevented the Kadiak from entering the harbor, and Kuskof proceeded to Bodega Bay, where he arrived at the close of the year. Returning after a twelve months' voyage with more than two thousand otter skins,11 he laid before Baranof information of the greatest im- portance. He reported that sea-otter and fish abounded on the whole coast, that he had found many places well adapted for agriculture and ship-building, and that the whole country north of San Francisco Bay was unoccupied by any European power.
The chief manager finally resolved to delay no longer the execution of his plans in that direction, although he did not receive positive instructions to found such a colony until several years later. He gave orders to collect all the men who might be of use in forming a permanent settlement, including ex-convicts from the agricultural provinces of Russia, and others skilled in agriculture and stock-raising ; and in 1810 despatched Kuskof on a second trip to the coast of New Albion, with orders to make further explorations. This ex- pedition was unsuccessful. Calling at Queen Char- lotte Islands, his men were attacked by savages, and after losing eight of his hunters, he was compelled to re- turn to Novo Arkhangelsk,12 whence he was again sent in the same direction in the schooner Chirikof early in 1811. Of his voyage little is known,13 but anchoring in Bodega Bay, which he re-named Rumiantzof, he found its vicinity not adapted to his purpose, and se- lecting another location eighteen miles to the north-
11 For further details of this voyage and a map of Bodega Bay, see Hist. Cal., ii. 80-2, this series.
12 Tikhmenef, Istor. Obos., i. 208. Kuskof sailed on board the Juno two years before she was wrecked.
13 Khlebnikof, Zapiski in Materialui, 137-9, gives Jan. 22d as the date of the Chirikof's departure, and says that Bodega Bay was reached a month later, but that finding there a scarcity of sea-otter, Kuskof sent twenty-two bidar- kas to San Francisco Bay, where they met a party of Aleuts under command of Terepanoff with forty-eight bidarkas, and one belonging to Winship's ex- pedition with sixty-eight bidarkas. Kuskof's men secured 1,160 sea-otter and 78 yearlings within three months. In order to drive them away, the Spaniards placed guards at all the points where the Aleuts were accustomed to procure fresh water.
483
FOUNDING OF ROSS.
ward, purchased a tract of land from the natives. On his return to Novo Arkhangelsk he was ordered to proceed at once to this site with a large party of Rus- sians and Aleuts, and was furnished with an ample store of supplies for the use of the proposed settle- ment. Of the colony founded by Kuskof, in 1812, a full description is given elsewhere; 14 it remains only to make brief mention of it, and to give a few details as to the industrial progress of an enterprise which the company had long desired to establish.
During the year a fort, mounted with ten guns, was erected on a bluff about a hundred feet above the sea; other buildings were added, and on September 10th, or, according to the Russian calendar, on August 30th, the new colony was named Ross-the root of the modern word Russia. 15
Thus at length a foothold was gained on the shore of New Albion, but the result disappointed all ex- pectation. The hunting-grounds on the neighboring coast to which the Russians had access were soon ex- hausted; while as a site for ship-building and agricul- ture, it met with little success.16 Between 1812 and 1823 only about 1,100 large sea-otter skins and some 250 yearlings were secured, and of these at least two thirds were obtained during the first four years of this period, the seals rapidly disappearing from the neighborhood. In 1824, the treaty between Russia and the United States permitted the Russians to send
14 Hist. Cal., ii., cap. xiv .- xxviii., and iv., cap. vi., this series. On p. 300, vol. ii., is a map of the region.
15 The fort was surrounded with a palisade, enclosing a space of about 42 by 49 fathoms. The other buildings included the commandant's house, bar- racks, storehouses, magazines, barns, shops, bath-house, tannery, and wind- mill. All were not completed until 1814. Khlebnikof, Zapiski in Materialui, 138.
16 As early as 1818, Hagemeister writes in his report: 'As to agriculture in the colony of Ross, I am obliged to destroy the hopes that have been en- tertained. The main obstacle consists in not having competent workmen. Those sent from Novo Arkhangelsk are, with a few exceptions, the scum of the scum. The Aleuts are also unfitted for this kind of work, and long train- ing is necessary to prepare them for their new occupation. Meanwhile the Russian American Company loses the advantage that would be gained by employing them in seal hunting.' Zavalishin, Koloniy Ross, 21-2.
484
FOREIGN VENTURES AND THE ROSS COLONY.
out hunting parties to all portions of the Oregon coast and inland waters for a period of ten years; but this had no bearing on California. During this time about 1,800 sea-otter, 2,700 fur-seals, and a few yearlings were delivered by the Aleutian hunters as the com- pany's share. Nevertheless, even for the greater por- tion of this decade, the business was unprofitable.17
From 1816 to 1824 four vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 720 tons, were built at a cost of more than 150,000 roubles.18 An experienced ship-carpenter from Novo Arkhangelsk superintended their construc- tion, and for a time it was thought that the oak, pine, and cedar found in the neighborhood were well adapted for the purpose. The result proved most unsatisfac- tory, however. The wood was cut when in the sap; soon the timbers began to rot, and within six years after being launched not one of the ships was seaworthy.
But it was mainly with a view to agricultural pur- poses, as we have seen, that the site of the Ross col- ony was selected. Although it was no doubt the best one that the Russians found available, the loca- tion had many disadvantages. The spot was sur- rounded with hills, densely wooded at a distance of one mile from the sea; the level ground contained numerous gulches; the most fertile portions of it were difficult of access, some of them being at a distance of three versts from the fort; the summer fogs caused the ripening grain to rust, while squirrels and gophers spread havoc among the growing crops.
Farming was carried on by private individuals, as well as by the company's agents, but by neither with system. The ploughs in use were of all patterns- Russian, Siberian, Finnish, and Californian. The shares of many of them were merely a pointed piece
17 A statement of each year's catch is given in Tikhmenef, Istor. Obos., i. 357
18 The Rumiantzof, of 160 tons, completed in 1818 at a cost of 20,212 rou- bles; the Buldakof, of 200 tons, launched in 1820, the expense being 59,404 roubles; the Volga, of 160 tons, finished in 1822, at a cost of 36,189 roubles; and the Kiakhta, of about 200 tons, launched in 1834, at an expense of 35,248 roubles. Khlebnikof, Zapiski in Materialui, 149-50.
485
RUSSIANS IN CALIFORNIA.
of thick bar-iron, and where the soil was rocky and no plough could be used, Indians were employed to dig up the ground with spades. Each one farmed as seemed best in his own eyes, and the usual result was, of course, failure. Between 1815 and 1829 about 4,800 pouds of wheat and 740 of barley were sown, and over 25,000 pouds of wheat and 3,600 of barley harvested. Thus the average yield for both these cereals was little more than five-fold; while in 1823, the most prosperous of the intervening years, it did not exceed ten or eleven fold, and in bad seasons fell as low as two or three fold. Not until 1826 were any considerable shipments of grain made to Novo Arkhangelsk, and from that date to 1833 only 6,000 pouds were forwarded.19
During his visit to the colony in the latter year, Baron Wrangell selected a new site for agricultural purposes, near the mouth of the Slavianka (Russian) River, midway between the Ross settlement and Bodega Bay. About 400 pouds of wheat were sown, together with a small quantity of barley; and besides what was required for home consumption and for seed, there remained as the result of the harvest about 4,500 pouds of wheat and 450 of barley for shipment to Novo Arkhangelsk. The next year's crop was almost as satisfactory, but that of 1835 was a partial, and of 1836 a total failure. From the latter date until 1840 the surplus of wheat at both settle- ments amounted to about 10,000 pouds, in addition to a few hundred pouds of other cereals.
Other branches of husbandry were introduced, but with little better result, for there were none who thoroughly understood the business. The first peach- tree was brought from San Francisco in 1814, on board the Chirikof, and six years later yielded fruit.
19 In 1833 wheat yielded only 8 to 1. Vallejo, Informe Reservado, MS. In a few choice localities the yield was sometimes as high as 15 to 1 of wheat, and of barley 19 to 1. In Hist. Cal., ii. 636, this series, is a list of the pro- visions obtained by the company in California between 1817 and 1825.
486
FOREIGN VENTURES AND THE ROSS COLONY.
In 1817 the grape-vine was introduced from Lima, and in 1820 apple, pear, and cherry trees were planted. The vines began to bear in 1823, and the fruit trees not till five years later, and then in small quantity. Melons and pumpkins were planted by Kuskof, who also raised large quantities of beets, cabbages, potatoes, lettuce, pease, beans, radishes, and turnips. The two last were large in size but poor in flavor. Vegetables, however, gave the most abundant crop, and after supplying the wants of the colony and of vessels that touched at the Ross settlement, a sur- plus was available for shipment to Novo Arkhangelsk.20
The industry of stock-raising was somewhat more successful, though restricted by want of pasture, all the best land being under cultivation. The cattle were left to roam among the mountain ranges, and many were slaughtered by Indians or fell a prey to wild beasts.21 Nevertheless, between 1817 and 1829 the number of horned cattle that could be mustered at the settlement increased from 61 to 521, of horses from 10 to 253, and of sheep from 161 to 614. Dur- ing the interval a considerable quantity of live-stock was purchased from the natives, and a few at the San Francisco mission, but more were slaughtered for home consumption, for the use of the company's ves- sels, or for shipment to Alaska. During 1826 and the three succeeding years, more than 450 pouds of salt beef were forwarded to Novo Arkhangelsk. Tal- low was produced at the rate of 10 to 15 pouds a year. Of butter over 400 pouds were made between 1825 and 1829, two thirds of it being shipped to Novo Arkhangelsk. Hides were made into sole and upper leather, the tanner being an Aleut from Kadiak, who
20 Tikhmenef, Istor. Obos., i. 210, states that potatoes grew twice a year, and yielded eleven-fold, as many as 250 being found to the hill in some instances. This is not confirmed by Khlebnikof.
21 During Kuskof's residence at Ross colony, an ox returned to the settle- ment covered with blood, and with pieces of flesh torn out of its sides. The horns were also blood-stained. Oxen grew to an enormous size, one that was placed on board the Kutusof in 1817 giving 920 lbs. of clear meat. Khlebnikof, Zapiski in Materialui, 153.
487
GENERAL RESULTS.
had learned his business from the Russians. An attempt was also made to manufacture blankets, but the wool was of poor quality, and there was no one who understood how to construct a loom.
Between 1825 and 1830 the expense of maintain- ing the Ross settlement was about 45,000 roubles a year, while the average receipts were less than 13,000 roubles.22 In later years, though the shipments of produce were on a larger scale, the hunting-grounds became almost worthless. Meanwhile the outlay was largely increased, and during the last four years of its existence the colony was maintained at a total cost of about 288,000 roubles, while the returns were less than 105,000 roubles, leaving a net loss of more than 45,000 roubles a year.
Trade was carried on to a small extent with the Spaniards at San Francisco even before the treaty of 1824, though before that date the Russians were not allowed to enter the harbor for hunting purposes. At the Farallones, however, a station was established, which for a time was fairly profitable.23 From 1812
22 Consisting of 8,745 roubles' worth of produce and 4,138 of furs. Tikh- menef, Istor. Obos., i. 359.
23 The men sent to this station were relieved at intervals, as want of proper food, shelter, fuel, and wholesome water caused sickness and death among them. Zakhar Chichinof, who was one of a party sent to the Farallones in 1819, thus relates his experience: 'A schooner took us down to the islands, but we had to cruise around for over a week before we could make a landing. We had a few planks with us and some canvas, and with that scanty material and some sea-lion skins we built huts for shelter. We had a little drift-wood, and used to burn the fat of sea-lions and seals for cooking purposes. When we landed we had about 120 lbs. of flour and 10 or 12 lbs. of tea, and, as we were nine persons, the provisions did not last long, and we were soon reduced to sea-lion, seal, and fish. The water was very bad also, being taken from hollow places in the rocks, where it stood all the year round. We had no fire-arms; the sea-lions were killed with clubs and spears. The sea-lion meat was salted down in barrels and boxes, which we had brought with us, and in holes in the rocks. Once only, about six months after we landed on the islands, one of the company's brigs came and took away the salted meat and a lot of fur-seal skins, and then went on her way, leaving us about 100 lbs. of flour, a few pounds of tea, and some salt. About a month afterward the scurvy broke out among us, and in a short time all were sick except my- self. My father and two others were all that kept at work, and they were growing weaker every day. Two of the Aleuts died a month after the disease broke out. All the next winter we passed there in great misery, and when spring came the men were too weak to kill sea-lions, and all we could do was to crawl around the cliffs and gather some sea-birds' eggs, and suck them raw.' Adventures, MS., 6-8.
488
FOREIGN VENTURES AND THE ROSS COLONY.
to 1818, about 8,400 fur-seal skins were obtained there, and it is stated that, before their occupation by the Russians, as many as 10,000 were taken on these islands in a single autumn. Later the supply was gradually exhausted, but the ground was not finally abandoned until 1840, the few Aleuts left there in charge of a single Russian being employed in shoot- ing and drying sea-gulls for use at the Ross colony and in gathering sea-birds' eggs.24
One of the greatest obstacles to the prosperity of the Ross settlement was that the colonists held no secure title to their possessions. The land had been purchased from the Indians for a trifle; but the Spaniards had never recognized their ownership, and at this time laid claim to the entire coast as far as the strait of San Juan de Fuca. Of the disputes that arose on this point, an account is given in another volume.25 As early as 1820 the company offered to surrender the colony if restrictions on trade were re- moved, for they had already begun to despair of its success. In 1838, after the failure of Wrangell's mis- sion to Mexico, of which mention is made in connec- tion with my History of California, it became evident that the days of the colony were numbered. Already American immigrants had taken up land within ten leagues of the settlement, and others proposed to establish themselves still nearer to Ross. In vain an appeal was made to the vice-chancellor at St Peters- burg. His decision was that no claim could be ad- vanced, "other than right to possession of the land already occupied and of the buildings erected thereon."
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