CHAPTER I.
Discovery, Occupation, and Transferpp. [1-12]
The Legend of Bering’s Voyage.—The Discovery of Russian America, or Alaska,in July, 1741.—The Return Voyage and Shipwreck of the Discoverer.—TheEscape of the Survivors.—They Tell of the Furs and Ivory of Alaska.—TheRush of Russian Traders.—Their Hardy Exploration of the AleutianChain, Kadiak, and the Mainland, 1760-80, inclusive.—Fierce Competitionof the Promyshlineks finally Leads to the Organization and Dominationof the Russian American Company over all Alaska, 1799.—Its RemarkableSuccess under Baranov’s Administration, 1800-18, inclusive.—ItsRapid Decadence after Baranov’s Removal.—Causes in 1862-64 whichLed to the Refusal of the Russian Government to Renew the Charter ofthe Russian American Company.—Steps which Led to the Negotiationsof Seward and Final Acquisition of Alaska by the U. S. Government,1867.
CHAPTER II.
Features of the Sitkan Regionpp. [13-35]
The Vast Area of Alaska.—Difficulty of Comparison, and Access to her Shoressave in the Small Area of the Sitkan Region.—Many Americans as Officersof the Government, Merchants, Traders, Miners, etc., who have VisitedAlaska during the last Eighteen Years.—Full Understanding of AlaskanLife and Resources now on Record.—Beautiful and Extraordinary Featuresof the Sitkan Archipelago.—The Decaying Town of Wrangel.—TheWonderful Glaciers of this Region.—The Tides, Currents, and Winds.—TheForests and Vegetation Omnipresent in this Land-locked Archipelago.—IndigenousBerries.—Gloomy Grandeur of the Cañons.—The SitkanClimate.—Neither Cold nor Warm.—Excessive Humidity.—Stickeen GoldExcitement of 1862 and 1875.—The Decay of Cassiar.—The PicturesqueBay of Sitka.—The Romance and Terror of Baranov’s Establishment therein 1800-1805.— The Russian Life and Industries at Sitka.—The Contrastbetween Russian Sitka and American Sitka a Striking One.
CHAPTER III.
Aboriginal Life of the Sitkanspp. [36-66]
The White Man and the Indian Trading.—The Shrewdness and Avarice of theSavage.—Small Value of the entire Land Fur Trade of Alaska.—TheFutile Effort of the Greek Catholic Church to Influence the Sitkan Indians.—TheReason why Missionary Work in Alaska has been and isImpotent.—The Difference between the Fish-eating Indian of Alaska andthe Meat-eating Savage of the Plains.—Simply One of Physique.—TheHaidahs the Best Indians of Alaska.—Deep Chests and Bandy Legs fromCanoe-travel.—Living in Fixed Settlements because Obliged To.—Large“Rancheries” or Houses Built by the Haidahs.—Communistic Families.—GreatGamblers.—Indian “House-Raising Bees.”—Grotesque TotemPosts.—Indian Doctors “Kill or Cure.”—Dismal Interior of an Indian“Rancherie.”—The Toilet and Dress of Alaskan Siwashes.—The UnwrittenLaw of the Indian Village.—What Constitutes a Chief.—The TribalBoundaries and their Scrupulous Regard.—Fish the Main Support ofSitkan Indians.—The Running of the Salmon.—Indians Eat Everything.—TheirSalads and Sauces.—Their Wooden Dishes and Cups, and Spoonsof Horn.—The Family Chests.—The Indian Woman a Household Drudge.—Shehas no Washing to Do, However.—Sitkan Indians not GreatHunters.—They are Unrivalled Canoe-builders.—Small-pox and Measleshave Reduced the Indians of the Sitkan Archipelago to a Scanty Number.—AbandonedSettlements of these Savages Common.—The Debauchery ofRum among these People.—The White Man to Blame for This.
CHAPTER IV.
The Alpine Zone of Mount St. Eliaspp. [67-81]
The Hot Spring Oasis and the Humming-bird near Sitka.—The Value andPleasure of Warm Springs in Alaska.—The Old “Redoubt” or RussianJail.—The Tread well Mine.—Futility of Predicting what may, or whatwill not Happen in Mining Discovery.—Coal of Alaska not fit for SteamingPurposes.—Salmon Canneries.—The Great “Whaling Ground” ofFairweather.—Superb and Lofty Peaks seen at Sea One Hundred andThirty-five Miles Distant.—Mount Fairweather so named as the Whalemen’sBarometer.—The Storm here in 1741 which Separated Bering andhis Lieutenant.—The Grandeur of Mount St. Elias, Nineteen ThousandFive Hundred Feet.—A Tempestuous and Forbidding Coast to the Mariner.—TheBrawling Copper River.—Mount Wrangel, Twenty Thousand Feet,the Loftiest Peak on the North American Continent.—In the Forks ofthis Stream.—Exaggerated Fables of the Number and Ferocity of theNatives.—Frigid, Gloomy Grandeur of the Scenery in Prince WilliamSound.—The First Vessel ever built by White Men on the NorthwestCoast, Constructed here in 1794.—The Brig Phœnix, One Hundred andEighty Tons, No Paint or Tar—Covered with a Coat of Spruce-Gum,Ochre, and Whale-oil, Wrecked in 1799 with Twenty Priests and Deaconsof the Greek Church on Board.—Every Soul Lost.—Love of theNatives for their Rugged, Storm-beaten Homes.
CHAPTER V.
Cook’s Inlet and its Peoplepp. [82-97]
Cooks “Great River.”—The Tide-rips, and their Power in Cook’s Inlet.—TheImpressive Mountains of the Inlet.—The Glaciers of Turnagain Canal.—OldRussian Settlements.—Kenai Shore of the Inlet, the Garden-spotof Alaska.—Its Climate best Suited to Civilized Settlement.—The Old“Colonial Citizens” of the Russian Company.—Small Shaggy SiberianCattle.—Burning Volcano of Ilyamna.—The Kenaitze Indians.—TheirPrimitive, Simple Lives.—They are the Only Native Land-animal Huntersof Alaska.—Bears and Bear Roads.—Wild Animals seek Shelter inVolcanic Districts.—Natives Afraid to Follow Them.—Kenaitze Architecture.—Sunshinein Cook’s Inlet.—Splendid Salmon.—Waste of Fishas Food by Natives.—The Pious Fishermen of Neelshik.—Russian Gold miningEnterprise on the Kaknoo, 1848-55.—Failure of our Miners toDiscover Paying Mines in this Section.
CHAPTER VI.
The Great Island of Kadiakpp. [98-126]
Kadiak the Geographical and Commercial Centre of Alaska.—Site of the FirstGrand Depot of the Old Russian Company.—Shellikov and his RemarkableHistory, 1784.—His Subjection of the Kaniags.—Bloody Struggle.—HeFounds the First Church and School in Alaska at Three Saints Bay,1786, One Hundred Years ago.—Kadiak, a Large and Rugged Island.—TheTimber Line drawn upon it.—Luxuriant Growth of Annual and BiennialFlowering Plants.—Reason why Kadiak was Abandoned for Sitka.—TheDepot of the Mysterious San Francisco Ice Company on Wood Island.—OnlyRoad and Horses in Alaska there.—Creole Ship and Boat Yard.—ToughSiberian Cattle.—Pretty Greek Chapel at Yealovnie.—Afognak, the LargestVillage of “Old Colonial Citizens.”—Picturesque and Substantial Village.—LargestCrops of Potatoes raised here.—No Ploughing done; EarthPrepared with Spades.—Domestic Fowls.—Failure of Our People to RaiseSheep at Kolma.—What a “Creole” is.—The Kaniags or Natives of Kadiak;their Salient Characteristics.—Great Diminution of their Numbers.—Neglectof Laws of Health by Natives.—Apathy and Indifferenceto Death.—Consumption and Scrofula the Scourge of Natives in Alaska;Measles equally deadly.—Kaniags are Sea-otter Hunters.—The PenalStation of Ookamok, the Botany Bay of Alaska.—The Wild Coast of thePeninsula.—Water-terraces on the Mountains.—Belcovsky, the Rich andProfligate Settlement.—Kvass Orgies.—Oonga, Cod-fishing Rendezvous.—TheBurial of Shoomagin here, 1741.—The Coal Mines here Worthless.
CHAPTER VII.
The Quest of the Otterpp. [127-144]
Searching for the Otter.—Exposure and Danger in Hunting Sea-otters.—TheFortitude, Patience, and Skill of the Captor.—Altasov and his Band of CruelCossacks.—Feverish Energy of the Early Russian Sea-otter Traders.—TheirShameful Excesses.—Greed for Sea-otter Skins Leads the Russians to Explorethe Entire Alaskan Coast, 1760-1780.—Great Numbers of Sea-otterswhen they were First Discovered in Alaska.—Their Partial Exterminationin 1836-40.—More Secured during the Last Five Years than in allthe Twenty Years Preceding.—What is an Otter?—A Description of itsStrange Life.—Its Single Skin sometimes Worth $500.—The Typical Sea-otterHunter.—A Description of Him and his Family.—Hunting the Sea-otterthe Sole Remunerative Industry of the Aleutians.—Gloomy, Storm-beatenHaunts of the Otter.—Saanak, the Grand Rendezvous of theHunters.—The “Surround” of the Otter.—“Clubbing” the Otter.—“Netting”the Otter.—“Surf-shooting” Them.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Great Aleutian Chainpp. [145-187]
The Aleutian Islands.—A Great Volcanic Chain.—Symmetrical Beauty ofShishaldin Cone.—The Banked Fires in Oonimak.—Once most DenselyPopulated of all the Aleutians; now Without a Single Inhabitant.—SharpContrast in the Scenery of the Aleutian and Sitkan Archipelagoes.—Fog,Fog, Fog, Everywhere Veiling and Unveiling the Chain Incessantly.—Schoolsof Hump-back Whales.—The Aleutian Whalers.—Oddand Reckless Chase.—The Whale-backed Volcano of Akootan.—StrikingOutlines of Kahlecta Point and the “Bishop.”—Lovely Bay of Oonalashka.—NoWolf e’er Howled from its Shore.—Illoolook Village.—The “CurvedBeach.”—The Landscape a Fascinating Picture to the Ship-weary Traveller.—Flurriesof Snow in August.—Winds that Riot over this AleutianChain.—The Massacre of Drooshinnin and One Hundred and Fifty of hisSiberian Hunters here in 1762-63.—This the only Desperate and FatalBlow ever Struck by the Docile Aleutes.—The Rugged Crown and NoisyCrater of Makooshin.—The Village at its Feet.—The Aleutian People theBest Natives of Alaska.—All Christians.—Quiet and Respectful.—Fashionsand Manners among them.—The “Barrabkie.”—Quaint Exterior andInterior.—These Natives Love Music and Dancing.—Women on theWood and Water Trails.—Simple Cuisine.—Their Remarkable Willingnessto be Christians.—A Greek Church or Chapel in every Settlement.—GeneralIntelligence.—Keeping Accounts with the Trader’s Store.—Theyare thus Proved to be Honest at Heart.—The Festivals or “Prazniks.”—ThePhenomena of Borka Village.—It is Clean.—Little Cemeteries.—FadedPictures of the Saints.—Atto, the Extreme Western Settlementof the North American Continent.—Three Thousand Miles Westof San Francisco!—The Mummies of the “Cheetiery Sopochnie.”—TheBirth of a New Island.—The Rising of Boga Slov.
CHAPTER IX.
Wonderful Seal Islandspp. [188-253]
The Fur-seal Millions of the Pribylov Islands.—Marvellous Exhibition ofMassed Animal-life in a State of Nature.—Story of the Discovery ofthese Remarkable Rookeries, July, 1786.—Previous Knowledge of themUnknown to Man.—Sketch of the Pribylov Islands.—Their Character,Climate, and Human Inhabitants.—A Realm of Summer-fog.—The Seal-lifehere Overshadows Everything, though the Bird Rookeries of SaintGeorge are Wonderful.—No Harbors.—The Roadsteads.—The AttractiveFlora.—Only Islands in Alaska where the Curse of Mosquitoes is Removed.—NativesGathering Eggs on Walrus Islet.—A Scene of Confusionand Uproar.—Contrast very Great between Saint Paul and Saint George.—GoodReason of the Seals in Resorting to these Islands to the Exclusionof all other Land in Alaska.—Old-time Manners and Methods of the RussiansContrasted with Our Present Control.—Vast Gain and Improvementfor Seals and Natives.—The Character of the Present Residents.—TheirAttachment to the Islands.—The History of the Alaska Commercial Company.—TheWise Action of Congress.—The Perfect Supervision of theAgents of the Government.—Seals are more Numerous now than at First.—TheMethods of the Company, the Government, and the Natives inTaking the Seals.
CHAPTER X.
Amphibian Millionspp. [254-353]
Difference between a Hair-seal and a Fur-seal—The Fur-seal the most Intelligentof all Amphibians.—Its singularly Free Progression on Land.—ItsPower in the Water.—The Old Males the First Arrivals in the Spring.—TheirDesperate Battles one with Another for Position on the BreedingGrounds.—Subsequent Arrival of the Females.—Followed by the “Bachelors.”—WonderfulStrength and Desperate Courage of the Old Males.—Indifferenceof the Females.—Noise of the Rookeries Sounds like the Roarof Niagara.—Old Males fast from May to August, inclusive; neither Eatnor Drink, nor Leave their Stations in all that Time.—Graceful Females.—Frolicsome“Pups.”—They have to Learn to Swim!—How they Learn.—AstonishingVitality of the Fur-seal.—“Podding” of the Pups.—BeautifulEyes of the Fur-seal.—How the “Holluschickie,” or Bachelor Seals,Pass the Time.—They are the only ones Killed for Fur.—They Herd aloneby Themselves in spite of their Inclination; Obliged to.—They are theChampion Swimmers of the Sea.—A Review of the Vast Breeding Rookeries.—NativesGathering a Drove.—Driving the Seals to the SlaughteringFields.—No Chasing.—no Hunting of Seals.—The Killing Gang atWork: Skinning, Salting, and Shipping the Pelts.—All Sent Directto London.—Reasons Why.—How the Skins are Prepared for Sacks,Muffs, etc.
CHAPTER XI.
The Alaskan Sea-Lionpp. [354-373]
A Pelagic Monarch.—Marked Difference between the Sea-lion and the Fur-seal.—TheImposing Presence and Sonorous Voice of the “Sea-king.”—TerribleCombats between old Sea-lion Bulls.—Cowardly in the Presenceof Man, however.—Sea-lions Sporting in the Fury of Ocean Surf.—It hasno Fur on its Huge Hide.—Valuable only to the Natives, who Cover their“Bidarrah” with its Skin.—Its Sweet Flesh and Inodorous Fat.—Notsuch Extensive Travellers as the Fur-seals.—The Difficulty of CapturingSea-lions.—How the Natives Corral them.—The Sea-lion “Pen” at NortheastPoint.—The Drive of Sea-lions.—Curious Behavior of the Animals.—Arrivalof the Drove at the Village.—A Thirteen-mile Jaunt with theClumsy Drove.—Shooting the old Males.—The Bloody “Death-whirl.”—TheExtensive Economic Use made of the Carcass by the Natives.—ChineseOpium Pipes Picked with Sea-lion Mustache bristles.
CHAPTER XII.
Innuit Life and Landpp. [374-411]
“Nooshagak;” Wide Application of an Innuit Name.—The Post and River.—CountlessPools, Ponds, and Lakes of this District bordering Bristol Bay.—TheEskimo Inhabitants of the Coast.—The Features and Form ofAlaskan Innuits.—Light-hearted, Inconstant, and Independent.—TheirDress, Manners, and Rude Dwellings.—Their Routine of Life.—Large andVaried Natural Food-supplies.—Indifferent Land Hunters, but MightyFishermen.—Limited Needs from Traders’ Stores.—Skilful Carvers inIvory.—Their Town Hall, or “Kashga.”—They Build and Support noChurches here.—Not of a real Religious Cast, as the Aleutians are.—TheDogs and Sleds; Importance of Them here.—Great Interest of the Innuit inSavage Ceremonies.—The Wild Alaskan Interior.—Its Repellent Featuresalike Avoided by Savage and Civilized Man.—The Indescribable Miseryof Mosquitoes.—The Desolation of Winter in this Region.—The ReindeerSlaughter-pen on the Kvichak River.—Amazing Improvidence of theInnuit.—The Tragic Death of Father Juvenals, on the Banks of the GreatIlyamna Lake, 1796.—The Queer Innuits of Togiak.—Immense MuskratCatch.—The Togiaks are the Quakers of Alaska.—The Kuskokvim Moutha Vast Salmon-trap.—The Ichthyophagi of Alaska.—Dense Population.—DailyLife of the Fish-eaters.—Infernal Mosquitoes of Kuskokvim; theWorst in Alaska.—Kolmakovsky; its History.
CHAPTER XIII.
Lonely Northern Wastespp. [412-435]
The Mississippi of Alaska: the Yukon River, and its Thorough Exploration.—Itsvast Deltoid Mouth.—Cannot be Entered by Sea-going Vessels. ItsValley, and its Tributaries.—Dividing Line between the Eskimo and theIndian on its Banks.—The Trader’s Steamer; its Whistle in this LoneWaste of the Yukon.—Michaelovsky, the Trading Centre for this ExtensiveCircumpolar Area.—The Characteristic Beauties of an Arctic Landscapein Summer.—Thunder-storms on the Upper Yukon; never Experiencedon the Coast and at its Mouth.—Gorgeous Arches of Auroral Light;Beautiful Spectacular Fires in the Heavens.—Unhappy Climate. SaintMichael’s to the Northward.—Zagoskin, the Intrepid Young Russian Explorer,1842.—Snow Blizzards.—Golovin Bay; our People Prospectingthere for Lead and Silver.—Drift-wood from the Yukon Strews theBeaches of Bering Sea.—Ookivok, and its Cliff-cave Houses.—HardyWalrus-hunters. —Grantley Harbor; a Reminder of a Costly AmericanEnterprise and its Failure.—Cape Prince of Wales—facing Asia, thirty-sixmiles away.—Simeon Deschnev, the first White Man to see Alaska, 1648.—His Bold Journey.—The Diomede Islands; Stepping-stones between Asiaand America in Bering Straits. —Kotzebue Sound; the Rendezvous forArctic Traders; the Last Northern Station Visited by Salmon. InterestingFeatures of the Place.
CHAPTER XIV.
Morse and Mahlemoötpp. [436-465]
The Monotonous Desolation of the Alaskan Arctic Coast.—Dreary Expanse ofLow Moorlands.—Diversified by Saddle-backed Hills of Gray and BronzeTints.—The Coal of Cape Beaufort in the Arctic.—A Narrow Vein. PureCarboniferous Formation.—Doubtful if these Alaskan “Black Diamonds”can be Successfully Used.—Icy Cape, a Sand- and Gravel-spit.—RemarkableLand-locked Lagoons on the Beach.—The Arctic Innuits.—PointBarrow, Our Extreme Northern Land, a Low Gravel-spit.—The Buttercupand the Dandelion Bloom here, however, as at Home.—Back toBering Sea.—The Interesting Island and Natives of St. Lawrence.—TheSea-horse.—Its Uncouth Form and Clumsy Life.—Its Huge Bulk and Impotencyon Land.—Lives entirely by Clam-digging.—Bank Flavor of its Flesh.—TheWalrus is to the Innuit just as the Cocoa-palm is to the South SeaIslander.—Hunting the Morse.—The Jagged, Straggling Island of St.Matthew.—The Polar Bears’ Carnival.—Hundreds of them here.—TheirFear of Man.—“Over the Hills and Far Away,” whenever Approached.—Completionof the Alaskan Circuit.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Sitka Sound,Frontispiece.
Sea-cow,Facing Page[4]
Grand Glacier, Icy Bay,”[19]
Kootznahoo Inlet,”[23]
Glimpse of Sitka,”[32]
Stickeen Squaw Boiling Berries and Oil,”[58]
Mount St. Elias, 19,500 feet,”[73]
Mount Wrangel, 20,000 feet,”[77]
Valdes Glacier, Prince William’s Sound,”[78]
Mount Ilyamna, 12,060 feet,”[87]
Kenaitze Salmon Trap, Cook’s Inlet,”[95]
Creoles and Aleutes, Pencil Portraits,”[108]
Belcovsky, Village of,”[120]
Sea-otter Surround,”[140]
Clubbing Sea-otters,”[143]
A Glimpse of Shishaldin,”[146]
Aleutes Whaling,”[152]
Village of Oonalashka,”[156]
Volcano of Makooshin, 5,475 feet,”[160]
Oonalashkan Natives Cod-fishing,”[168]
Village and Harbor of Attoo,”[179]
North Shore of St. George Island,”[200]
Netting Choochkies,”[209]
Approach to St. George Island,”[227]
Hair-seals, Group of,”[255]
Fur-seals,”[258]
“Old John,” Portrait of an Aged Fur-seal,”[262]
Old Fur-seal Bulls Fighting,”[266]
Sundry Seal Sketches, from Author’s Portfolio,”[277]
Arrival of the Fur-seal Millions,”[296]
Natives Gathering a Drive,”[333]
Natives Driving Fur-seals,”[336]
Killing Gang at Work,”[339]
Group of Sea-lions,”[354]
Sea-lion Rookery at Tolstoi,”[358]
Natives Creeping upon Sea-lions,”[364]
The Sea-lion Pen at Novastoshnah,”[365]
Springing the Alarm,”[366]
Nooshagak,”[374]
Portrait of “Chami,” and the Favorite Position of Innuits,”[378]
Portraits of a Jesting Innuit Mother and the Son of Ahgaan,”[395]
The Saddle-backed Hair-seal, Histriophoca,”[400]
The Kuskokvim River below Kolmakovsky,”[403]
Kolmakovsky,”[406]
Tomb of Innuits,”[410]
Cape Prince of Wales,”[429]
Poonook Winter Village,”[443]
Group of Walrus,”[447]
Pinnacle Islet, near St. Matthew Island,”[461]
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT.
PAGE
Vignette: Haidahs Hunting Hair-seals,Title
Lodges in a Vast Wilderness,[16]
Baranov’s Castle (1817-26),[30]
Sitkan Chimes,[39]
Old Indian Chapel, Sitka,[41]
Haidah Rancherie,[46]
Section Showing Interior,[48]
Raking Oolochans, Stickeen River,[57]
Kenaitze Chief,[88]
Bear Roads, Oonimak Island,[90]
Kenaitze Rancherie, Cook’s Inlet,[92]
Oogashik, Village of,[119]
Sea-otter,[131]
Barrabkie, or Aleutian Hut,[135]
Aleutian Mummy,[185]
Aleutes Catching Halibut,[212]
Bobrovia, or Otter Island,[219]
Fur-seals Scratching,[271]
Fur-seals Rising to Breathe and Survey,[300]
Portrait of a Prebylov Sealer,[338]
A Skinned Carcass, and Skin therefrom,[342]
Interior of a Fur-seal Salt-house,[345]
Natives Driving Sea-lions,[368]
Sea-lion Bidarrah,[371]
Innuit Woman,[377]
Innuit Home on the Kuskokvim,[379]
The Big Mahklok, or Erignathus,[383]
The Innuit Kashga,[385]
Section of the Kashga,[386]
Innuit Dog, “Tatlah,”[388]
“Brulé,” or Burnt Districts,[409]
Steamer on the Yukon,[414]
Michaelovsky,[419]
Ookivok, or King’s Island,[426]
The Diomedes,[430]
Innuit Whaling Camp,[439]
Ringed Seal, Phoca fœtida,[441]
Walrus-hunter,[444]
Section of Innuit Winter House at Poonook,[446]
Newack’s Brother,[455]
Newack and Oogack, Pen Portraits of,[457]
Natives Giving the Walrus a Death-stroke,[459]
“Double Purchase” of the Innuits,[461]
MAPS.
Special Map of St. Paul Island,Facing page[215]
Special Map of St. George Island,”[226]
Special Map of Novastoshnah Rookery,”[314]
Special Map of Lagoon Rookery,”[315]
General Map of Alaska,[At end of Volume].

OUR ARCTIC PROVINCE.

CHAPTER I.
DISCOVERY, OCCUPATION, AND TRANSFER.

The Legend of Bering’s Voyage.—The Discovery of Russian America, or Alaska, in July, 1741.—The Return Voyage and Shipwreck of the Discoverer.—The Escape of the Survivors.—They Tell of the Furs and Ivory of Alaska.—The Rush of Russian Traders.—Their Hardy Exploration of the Aleutian Chain, Kadiak, and the Mainland, 1760-80, inclusive.—Fierce Competition of the Promyshlineks finally Leads to the Organization and Domination of the Russian American Company over all Alaska, 1799.—Its Remarkable Success under Baranov’s Administration, 1800-18, inclusive.—Its Rapid Decadence after Baranov’s Removal.—Causes in 1862-64 which Led to the Refusal of the Russian Government to Renew the Charter of the Russian American Company.—Steps which Led to the Negotiations of Seward and Final Acquisition of Alaska by the U. S. Government, 1867.

The stolid, calm intrepidity of the Russian is not even yet well understood or recognized by Americans. No better presentation of this character of those Slavic discoverers of Alaska can be made than is the one descriptive of Veit Bering’s voyage of Russian-American fame, in which shipwreck and death robbed him of the glory of his expedition. No legend of the sea, however fanciful or horrid, surpasses the simple truth of the terror and privation which went hand-in-hand with Bering and his crew.

Flushed with the outspoken favor of his sovereign, Bering and his lieutenant, Tschericov, sailed east from Petropaulovsky, Kamchatka, June 4, 1741; the expedition consisted of two small sail-vessels, the St. Peter and the St. Paul. They set their course S. S. E., as low as the 50th degree of north latitude, then they decided to steer directly east for the reported American continent. A few days later a violent storm arose, it separated the rude ships, and the two commanders never met in life again.