USA > California > Sonoma County > The Russian settlement in California known as Fort Ross; founded 1812, abandoned 1841. Why the Russians came and why they left > Part 4
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"The Indians of Ross are so much like those of the mis- sions, that they may well be supposed to belong to the same race, however different their language. They appear indeed by no means stupid, and are much more cheerful and contented than at the missions, where a deep melancholy always clouds their faces, and their eyes are constantly fixed upon the ground; but this difference is only the natural result of the different treatment they experience. They have no permanent residence, but wander about naked, and, when not employed by the Russians as day laborers, follow no occupation but the chase. For the winter they lay up a provision of acorns and wild rye. The latter grows here very abundantly. When it is ripe they burn the straw away from it, and thus roast the corn, which is then raked together, mixed with acorns and eaten without any far- ther preparation. The Indians here have invented several games of chance. They are passionately fond of gaming, and often play away everything they possess. Should the blessing of civilization ever be extended to the rude inhab-
30
THE DEPARTURE OF DR. ESCHSCHOLZ FROM ROSS
itants of these regions the merit will be due to the Russian settle- ments, certainly not to the Spanish missions.
" After a stay of two days we took leave of the estimable M. Von Schmidt and returned by the same way that we came without meeting with any remarkable occurrence. Professor Eschscholtz remained at Ross, in order to prosecute some botanical researches, intending to rejoin us by means of an Aleutian baidar, several of which were short- ly to proceed to St. Francisco in search of otters.
" The Californian winter being now fairly set in we had much rain and frequent storms. On the 9th of October the southwest wind blew with the violence of the West-Indi- an tornado, rooted up the strongest trees, tore off the roofs of the houses, and occasioned great de- vastation in the cultivated lands. One of our thickest cables broke, and if the second had given way we would have been driven on the rocky shore of the channel which unites the bay with the sea, where a powerful current strug- gling with the tempest produced a frightful surf. Fortunately, the extreme violence of the storm lasted only a few hours, but in that short time it caused a destructive inun- dation: the water spread so rapidly over the low lands that our people had scarce time to secure the tent, with the astronomical apparatus.
" 'The arrival of Dr. Eschscholtz
and the haidars from Ross was still delayed, and I really began to fear that some misfortune had befallen them in the tempest; my joy there- fore was extreme when at last, on the 12th of October, the baidars, twenty in number, entered the har- bor undamaged, and we received our friend again safe and well. The little flotilla had indeed left Ross be- fore the commencement of the hur- ricane, but had fortunately escaped any injury from it, by taking refuge at a place called Cap de los Regas, till its fury was expended: but the voyagers had been obliged to biv- ouack on the naked rock, without shelter from the weather, and with very scanty provisions. Dr. Esch- scholtz, however, not in the slight- est degree disheartened by the diffi- culties he had undergone, was quite ready to join the voyage I had med- itated for the examination of the adjacent rivers."
CHAPTER X.
The greatest difficulty the Rus- sians had in maintaining their set- tlement in California was the absolute lack of interest the home government took in it. This was natural, as under the British treaty of 1824 made in London Russia had bound herself to make no set- tlement below 54° 40'.
The Russian-American Fur com- pany, owing to its remoteness from the home government, was a sort of imporium in imporio. Its charter gave it governmental powers within
31
THE CALIFORNIANS' WISDOM
very limited restrictions. Alex- ander Baranoff, who ruled it so long with a rod of iron, used to say, "Heaven and the Czar are far off." The powers exercised by the Rus- sian-American Fur Company were very despotic and had the force of imperial edicts within the juris- diction of the company. It was a favorite idea with the Russian- American Company, originating with Baranoff, to get possession of
was an outgrowth of this desire. He used as an argument with the Californians for a concession of territory that the occupation of the northwest coast of California by the Russians would be a fence against the Americans, of whom the Californians had much dread, even at that early day. The Cal- ifornians were, it is true, afraid of the Americans; but they were equally afraid of the Russians.
Fort Ross in 1890, looking South from the wharf
all California north of the bay and east of the Sacramento river for the purpose of raising and supplying grain to the fur hunters and Aleuts in the employ of the company on northwest coast.
This wish descended with the supreme control of affairs from Baranoff to his successors.
The expedition of baron Wran- gel in 1830, heretofore referred to
They feared the Greek, though he came with gifts in his hand. In this they were wiser than the Chi- nese of the present day, who are granting concessions on their coast and privileges in their territory of Manchuria to the wily red-bearded man of the north, which they will find it difficult to recover if they hereafter wish to do so, for the Russian has never yet been dis-
32
THE EFFECT OF WRANGEL'S MOVEMENT
placed where he once planted his aggressive foot and flag.
It was the intention of Baron Wrangel if he succeeded in attaining his object in Mexico to return to St. Petersburg with a concession of territory, which he hoped would cause his home government to take an interest in his scheme for the aggrandizement of his company and of his country by obtaining a foothold in California. The gov- ernment at St. Petersburg only authorized him to negotiate a com- mercial treaty with Mexico so far as it related to its business on the Pacific coast, but nothing more. This scant authorization greatly embarrassed Wrangel on his arrival in Mexico. . His principal aim was to get permission to colonize the north-west coast of California, but his power was limited to the negotiation of a commercial treaty.
When the Mexican government had fully sounded the authority of Baron Wrangel it very properly declined any further discussion of the matter with one who bore such limited credentials. All he could do was to get an assurance that Mexico would favor a commercial treaty if properly negotiated be- tween accredited agents of the two governments. And declining fur- ther negotiation referred the sub- ject to the Mexican minister at London, who was instructed to con- sider any proposition that might be made by his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of all the Russians,
for the privileges asked by Baron Wrangel. No proposition was made of course. The St. Peters- burg government took no step in the matter, well knowing that it was bound hand and foot so far as the acquisition of country in Cal- ifornia went by its treaty stipula- tion with the United States.
One effect of the movement of Baron Wrangel was that it called the attention of the central government in Mexico, and the home colonial government in Cal- ifornia, to the importance of North California, and pending the nego- tiations between 1831-6, orders were issued for the establishment of a presidio in the town of Sonoma, which was done in 1833 under the direction of General Vallejo, who was made commandant of the frontier.
The new commander was in- structed to prevent any further en- croachments upon Mexican territo- ry by the Russians. With this view he established Black McIntosh and Dawson next to the Russian farm, in Bodega, and between 1833- 9 all the best lands in what is now Sonoma county was granted to Mexican citizens.
By this time fur hunting had be- come less profitable on the coast of California, and the otter was about exterminated in the bay of San Franciaco.
The hope of acquiring territory having failed with the failure of Wrangel's mission to Mexico, it
3.,
THE DEPARTURE OF THE RUSSIANS FOR CALIFORNIA
was determined by the Russian American Company to abandon Ross. This conclusion must have been a relief to the home govern- ment who had acquiesced in the occupation of Ross but had never made any claim of sovereignty, or attempt to acquire it. over the land.
Alexander Rotcheff, the last Rus- sian governor, in connection with Kostromitinoff, a special agent of the company, under instructions from the directors, commenced ne- gotiations in 1839 for the sale of the building, stock and mobilier of Ross. They first tried to sell it to the Hudson Bay Company, but this company did not want to buy. They next proposed to General Val- lejo to sell it to the Mexican gov- ernment. This proposal General Vallejo rejected with scorn, because, as he wrote to Governor Alvarado, " these buildings were built on Mex- ican soil with material from the same land, and belonged of right to the government, and. he adds, 'yes, most excellent senor; soon will the national flag wave glori- ously and triumphantly where was hoisted a foreign flag during five lustres; the imperial eagles will yield the field to the eagle of Mex- ico, which we shall see for the first time soaring and spreading his protecting wings over this portion of our glorious country-lopped off from the mother land by the fur- hunting Russians'"
While the hauty Castilian General Vallejo was so gaily sport-
ing the Mexican eagle from the flag-stuff of Ross in his vivid im- agination, the shrewd Rotecheff was negotiating with Captain Sutter for the purchase of the fort, and it soon after passed into his hands, to the great indignation of the Comman- date del Fronteria, who always contended that the Russians had nothing to sell and Sutter bad ac- quired nothing from them. This belief he would have enforced at the point of Mexican lances if be had had the lances and the lancers to bear them. It was not from a lack of courage that he let Sutter take possession but because he could not help it.
The Russians were now on the eve of their departure for Californis. They had begun their long journey toward it in the latter part of the century when Yermac. the Cossack rubber, crossed the Ural mountains with his band of marauders, which ended with conquest of Siberia. As early as 1730 the Russians had reached the Pacific Ocean. colon- izing the intervening six thousand miles of country, and in 1740 they crossed over Behring straits to the American continent and by the close of that century they had solidly established themselves on the northwest coast of America. They did not stop there but pushed down the coast, reaping a rich harvest of furs as they went, and finally, as has heretofore been told, took possession of Bodega Bay in 1$12, which they held until 1840.
34
THE RUSSIAN RETIREMENT
Strangely enough in this last year Wossnessensky, a naturalist at- tached to the zoological museum of St. Petersburg, arrived at Ross. He had been sent to the coast of eastern Asia and northwest Amer- ica by the Academy of Science and had been making collections on the Asiatic and American seashore.
From the mountain back of Ross which rises to a great height, a beautiful view of St. Helena moun- tain may be seen to the eastward. Its elevation above the sea level is 4,343 feet, and it is the most con- spicuous feature in the landscape of the four counties of Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Lake. It can be seen from far out at sea and also from the city of San Francisco. Wossnessensky doubtless saw it looming up in all its stately gran- deur from the Ross Ridge. To so adventurous a spirit as his, to see was to visit it; to visit it was to determine to ascend it. This he did on June 12, 1841 He named it St. Helena in honor of his im- perial mistress the Empress of
Russia and, planting a post on its highest point, he nailed to it a copper plate inscribed with the name he had given the mountain, his own name and that of his com- panion (Tschernech) with the date of the ascent and the word "Rus- sians" twice repeated, once in Russian, once in Latin. The moun- tain has ever since retained the name given to it in this notable christening, and will stand forever as an enduring monument of the most easterly and most southerly point touched by the Russians in their advance across Siberia and the Pacific Ocean to northwest America, and thence down the coast to California.
The Russians retired from Cal- ifornia, and later on from Alaska because, south of Siberia, there was a richer and even greater field for their aggressive ambition; and today that mighty empire holds the destiny not alone of Asia but of Europe in the hollow of its po- tential hand.
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