PROGRESS OF THE COLONY
The courtly Chamberlain of the Tsar, Nicholas P. Resanof, son-in-law of
Shelikof who was the founder of the first Russian colony in America,
came to Sitka in 1805, via Petropavlovsk, Siberia, on the "Nadeshda,"
one of the first Russian ships to circumnavigate the world, and was a
special representative of the Russian American Company, of which
organization he was one of the founders.
In his report to the Company he tells us: "The fort is on the high hill,
or kekoor, on a peninsula in the gulf. On the left side of the kekoor
close on the peninsula is built an immense barracks with two projecting
blockhouses or towers. All the building is made from mast timber from
the top to the foundation, under which is a cellar. Besides this
building are two warehouses, a material magazine and two cellars, also
two large sheds for storing food, and under the sheds are the quarters
for the workmen. On the side opposite the fort is a shed for storing
cargo, at the right side is the kitchen, bath, and quarters for the
servants of the Company, clerks, etc., and on the shore are the
blacksmith shops and other workshops. On the top of the kekoor is a
building five sazhens[5] long and three sazhens wide, with two rooms. In
one I live, and in the other there are two shipmasters. There are still
some old Kolosh _yourts_, in which live the _kayours_ and the
Kodiak Americans (Aleuts, they are generally called).[6]
"Our guns are always loaded, everywhere are sentinels with loaded arms,
and in the rooms of each of us arms constitute the greater part of the
furniture. All the night the signals from post to post continue, war
discipline prevails; in a word, we are ready at any minute to receive
our dear guests, who generally profit by the darkness of night to make
an attack."
The additional number in the garrison owing to the arrival of the
Chamberlain and his suite made it more difficult to procure provisions
for the winter. The hostile Kolosh made hunting and fishing dangerous.
In the autumn there was but flour enough for an allowance of a pound a
week for one month for the 200 men in the fort. For other food supply
they were dependent on the fish caught in the bay, the dried
_yukali_ and sealion meat from Kodiak, and the dried seal meat from
the Seal Islands.
Baranof bought the ship "Juno," an American sailing ship of about 250
tons, from Captain George D'Wolf, of Bristol, Conn., with its cargo of
flour, sugar and other articles, for the sum of 68,000 piastres
(Spanish), equivalent to about the same number of dollars. This relieved
the immediate necessity, but before spring the supply became so low that
the scurvy, that dread malady of the seas and of outlying localities,
attacked the garrison. This scourge often fell heavily on the early
Russian expeditions, and in 1821 the Russian ship "Borodino" lost 40 men
through its ravages in a voyage from Sitka to Kronstadt.
In March, Resanof sailed for San Francisco in the "Juno" to purchase
breadstuffs and other supplies. He also wished to examine the coast with
the view of making other settlements farther south, at Nootka, at the
Columbia, or even farther south in California. He secured a cargo of the
products of the south and returned to Sitka in June.
On his southward journey Resanof reconnoitred the mouth of the Columbia
River, seeking a site for a future settlement. He was unable to enter
the river owing to contrary winds; and the condition of his crew,
debilitated by lack of proper food and suffering from scurvy, caused him
to hasten on. He heard that a party of U. S. soldiers were building a
fort there. This rumor doubtless came from the presence of Lewis and
Clarke near the present Astoria.
While on this visit to San Francisco Resanof met the Spanish beauty,
Dona Concepcion de Arguello, of whom one of the visitors said, "She was
lively and animated, had sparkling, love-inspiring eyes, beautiful
teeth, pleasing and expressive features, a fine form and a thousand
other charms," and he lost his heart to her. The romance of the Russian
courtier and the fair Californian furnished to Bret Harte the theme for
some of his most beautiful verse. Resanof, hurrying home to Russia to
gain the Imperial permission to his marriage, died at Krasnoyarsk,
Siberia, and Dona Concepcion waited for years for the coming of her
lover, not knowing that he lay dead under the Siberian snows. When the
news of his sad fate came to her she donned the habit of a nun and
devoted herself to charitable works.
This visit to California was the beginning of a trade that continued for
many years, through all the period of Russian occupation. During the
days of the gold discoveries in California large shipments of goods were
made from Sitka to San Francisco, and after the sale of the territory to
the United States great quantities of merchandise were shipped from the
warehouses of the Company to the California metropolis, amounting to
over a quarter of a million dollars in one year.
The breadstuffs for the colonies were procured from California, from San
Francisco and from Ross Colony, or from Peru, until 1840, when a
contract was made with the Hudson's Bay Company under which the supplies
were brought from the farms of the Nisqually or from Vancouver, in
Oregon Territory.
Until the time of the arrival of the "Neva", 1804, all trading goods
were brought across Siberia to Okhotsk, and thence by sailing vessel to
the colony, or were purchased from the American or English trading ships
which came to the coast for furs. To the natives the English who came to
these waters became known as "King George Men," and the Americans were
called "Boston Men," the latter being from the great number of ships
that sailed from the great shipping port of New England. From these
traders goods were purchased by Baranof at lower rates than those cost
which were brought from Russia. John Jacob Astor was one of the first to
engage in the trade. He sent the ship "Enterprise" to Sitka in 1810, and
the "Beaver" in 1812. From Washington Irving we have the description,
through the account of the Captain, of the "Hyperborean veteran
ensconsed in a fort which crested the top of a high rock promontory,"
which is well known to all readers of stories of western life, and in
which the impression of the character of Baranof as given to the reader
is very erroneous. The traders exchanged their goods with the Russians
for furs, sometimes going to the Pribilof Islands to receive the
seal-skins; sailed to China, where the furs were traded for silks,
nankins, and teas; they then voyaged on around the world to their home
port.
The sloop-of-war "Diana," the first Russian warship to reach Sitka,
arrived in 1810 under the command of Captain Vasili M. Golofnin, who was
widely known for his adventures while a captive in the Kingdom of the
Nipponese, where he was carried about in a bamboo cage and exhibited to
the populace. His description of his visit to Sitka is entertaining, and
of it he says:
"In the fort we met nothing so unusual or costly as to be worthy of
special remark; the fort consisted of solid log towers, and high strong
palisades, with apertures or embrasures, in which were set guns and
carronades of different calibres. The interior construction, barracks,
storehouses, house of the commander and other buildings were made of
thick logs and were very solid, these being very common in this place,
around which grows, so to say, within reach of a windlass, a multitude
of most beautiful trees suitable for structures of every description.
"In the house of Mr. Baranof were ornaments and furniture in profusion,
of masterly workmanship and costly price, brought from St. Petersburg
and from England, which corresponded with his position as the head
official of a great company. What astonished us most was an extensive
library in nearly all European languages, and many pictures of
remarkable merit. I must confess, that I badly judge in painting, and
only could know, that in the uncultivated wild border of America, there
would be none except Mr. Baranof to value and understand them, unless
there might happen to be educated travelers, or masters of United States
trading vessels visiting this place, there would be no one to appreciate
the fine art. Mr. Baranof, noting my astonishment, explained the riddle,
saying, that the pictures attracting our attention were gifts of the
Company and of distinguished persons in St. Petersburg, for the
establishing of a library, and the Directory sent them out. On these
works he commented with the following remarkable view: 'Better that our
directors had sent us a doctor, for in all the Company's colonies there
is not one doctor, nor one doctor's assistant, nor one doctor's pupil.'"
Golofnin soon left Sitka to return to St. Petersburg. His successful
voyage, together with that of the "Neva" and the "Nadeshda," encouraged
the shipment of goods by sea from Russia, and from that time onward
ships came regularly, laden with supplies of every kind for the post,
and returned with rich cargoes of peltry.
By 1825 surgical and astronomical instruments of the best quality were
sent to the colony, an apothecary shop of three rooms provided
medicines, and four Creole boys, under the charge of a doctor, attended
to the dispensing of the potions. A hospital was in connection and the
sick received fresh food, tea, sugar, and medicines, free, upon the
order of the doctor.
An observatory, equipped with the most improved magnetic and
meteorological instruments was later provided and there was kept a
record of natural phenomena, while a museum of objects of interest from
the surrounding country was open for the instruction of all.
The library was brought from St. Petersburg in 1806 by Resanof. Mr.
Khlebnikof tells us that it contained more than 1,200 volumes, valued at
7,500 rubles, and they were in the Russian, French, German, English,
Latin and other languages.
When Mr. Resanof was preparing for his journey he addressed letters to
many of the leading men of St. Petersburg, soliciting their contribution
of books to promote the beginning of education in the far off possession
of the Czar. Many sent a response in writing accompanied by one or more
volumes, and the letters so sent were richly bound in a separate volume
and placed with the library in the building at Sitka. Among the patrons
were the Metropolite Ambrosia, Count Rumiantzof, Count Stroganof,
Admiral Chichagof, Minister of Justice Dimitrief, Senator Zakarof and
others. The sentiments were varied, but many agreed in voicing the
desire to "sow the seed of science in the breasts of the peoples so far
outlying from the enlightenment of Europe." Some of them reflected the
personal character of the donors: The Metropolite Ambrosia sent books
for church services; the Minister of Marine sent plans of ships; and
Count Rumiantzof contributed works on husbandry.[7]
Mr. Kyril Khlebnikof, the accountant of the Company, who was in charge
of the counting house at Sitka from 1818 to 1832, to whom we are
indebted for many valuable writings relating to the early history of the
settlements, tells us that when Mr. Baranof left the colony the
buildings had become badly decayed and much new construction had to be
done. In 1827 there had been built, three sentry houses, a battery of
thirty guns on the kekoor, and below them magazines, barracks and other
buildings, a bakery, wharf, arsenal, etc. In the shops were blacksmiths,
coppersmiths, locksmiths, coopers, turners, rope spinners, chandlers,
painters, masons, etc.
At the Ozerskoe Redoubt, on Deep Lake, were barracks and a fort, a
flouring mill, a tannery, and other buildings. A zapor, or fish trap, in
the stream took sixty thousand fish each year.
[Illustration: The Bakery and Shops of the Russians--Later the Sitka
Trading Co.'s Building.]
The workmen got out timber from the forest for the building of ships,
they cut fuel and burned charcoal in large quantities; kept the
buildings in repair and did other duties required on the factory. The
work of the gardening was chiefly done by the Aleuts, who were paid a
ruble a day for their services.
The Russian Captain Lutke came to Sitka about this time and he tells us
that there were many pigs and chickens raised by the inhabitants, and
that a pig might be had for 5 to 7 rubles, a hen for 4 to 5 rubles, and
eggs at from 3-1/2 to 10 rubles per dozen. The chief drawback to the
chicken industry was the presence of the great black ravens that carried
away the young chicks and sometimes even the old hens. The ravens were
such successful scavengers that they were called the New Archangel
police, and he says they even bit the tails off the young pigs, so that
all the hogs of the place were tailless.
He mentions the abundance of deer on the islands and also says that
mountain sheep were killed by the Aleuts and brought to the fort. He
must have confused the sheep with the goats, for the sheep never
approach the coast so closely, and he speaks of the wool being used for
weaving the blankets for the ceremonial dances of the Kolosh. This would
indicate that the animal in question was the mountain goat. A later
writer says that 2,700 game animals were brought into Sitka for sale
during the winter of 1861-62.
A shipyard was established as soon as the necessary buildings to house
the garrison were completed. It occupied a part of the present parade
ground near the Russian Barracks and included a portion of the present
street. Many vessels were built in the yard during the Russian
occupation, the first, being the tender "Avoss," launched in 1806,
followed by the brig "Sitka," built by an American shipbuilder named
Lincoln, and for which he was paid 2,000 rubles as a royalty upon the
completion of the ship. A frigate of 320 tons was the largest vessel
built before 1819, and at that time construction was discontinued until
1834, when work was resumed and continued until the close of the Russian
regime.
The "Politofsky" was one of the last vessels to be built at Sitka, and
it was sold by Prince Maksoutoff to H. M. Hutchinson and Abraham Hirsch
for $4,000 in 1867. The next year it was sold to Hutchinson, Kohl & Co.,
and later was sold to a firm that ran it to Puget Sound, and from Alaska
to San Francisco. It was built of Alaska cedar timber, the _dushnoi
dereva_ or scented wood of the Russians, and was spiked with
hand-made copper spikes. It was taken to Alaska in the gold rush of
1898, and found its last resting place, very appropriately, in the land
where it was built, in the harbor of St. Michael, the old Russian port
on Bering Sea.
The fear of shipwreck, and of death at sea hung over every soul of the
community. The long voyages in uncharted and unlighted waters with
sailing ships--more than six months at the shortest from
Kronstadt--often three months or more against baffling winds from
Okhotsk--the voyages to the redoubts and _odinoshkas_ (detached
posts with one man only) of the Bering Sea and of the Gulf of Alaska, to
collect the fur catch of the year and bring it to Sitka; the long
journey via Canton on the return to Russia--all held many dangers for
the sailing ships of those days. The "Phoenix," the first ship built on
the Alaskan shores, foundered with all on board, including the Bishop
and his retinue, in 1799, on the return voyage from Okhotsk; the "St.
Nicholas" went ashore on the coast of Washington in 1808, and those who
survived the waves were held in bondage for years by the savages of that
coast.
During the latter part of August, 1812, the ship "Neva" left
Okhotsk--contrary winds delayed her in the Sea of Okhotsk--storms beat
her back along the Aleutian Islands till it was November before land was
sighted in Alaska. The storms damaged the rigging and ship until it was
necessary to put into Voskresenski Harbor (Resurrection Bay) for
repairs. She arrived off Sitka about December 1st. After four or five
days Mt. Edgecumbe was sighted but a storm drove the ship to sea where
she beat about for weeks before again nearing the port. Scurvy afflicted
the passengers and crew and added to the general distress. On January
8th, 1813, Mt. Edgecumbe again appeared. In trying to make the harbor
the ship grounded on the rocks under the cape on the morning of the 9th
and speedily broke to pieces under the terrific pounding of the seas.[8]
Some of the people on board reached shore after incredible suffering and
hardship.
After several days two of the sailors wandering along the shore met a
Kolosh boy and persuaded him to take them to Sitka, where they arrived,
cold, exhausted, and almost starving. Boats were at once fitted out by
Mr. Baranof, the survivors were rescued, brought to Sitka, and their
sufferings relieved. From those on board the ship, 38 had perished,
including Kalinin, the commander, Boronovolokof, the intended future
chief manager of the Company, and five women passengers. In the cargo
was food and clothing, the messages of the year for the exiles, and rich
vestments and furnishings for the church that was soon to be built in
Sitka, all scattered for miles along the wild coast of Kruzof Island.
This was one of the worst disasters of the sea that visited the colony,
although many others are part of the records of the time.
It is said that Chief Katlean tore his hair with rage when he learned of
the wreck, because he did not find it and destroy the survivors out of
revenge for his defeat and expulsion from his home at Sitka.
There are many traditions among the residents of Sitka concerning the
wreck of the "Neva." Among them is that there was a vast treasure of
gold for the use of the garrison and the traders. This is erroneous, for
there was no gold used in the colonies, the trade being by barter or
conducted with scrip, called _assignats_, issued by the Company for
the purpose. The story of the gold has been so generally believed that
serious plans have been made for attempting the salvage of the treasure.
The term of office of Alexander Andreevich Baranof as the chief manager
of the Russian American Company came to a close in 1818. He had been 28
years in the colonies, leaving Russia in 1790 for the post of Three
Saints on Kodiak Island, which at that time constituted almost the only
Russian establishment in America, the other stations being little more
than outlying trading posts. He left their dominion an empire in extent,
reaching from the Seal Islands in Bering Sea, at the edge of the ice
pack of the Arctic, to Fort Ross, among the sunny hills of Golden
California. Captain Hagmeister came to relieve him, and in his 72nd year
the old chief manager, bent with the weight of years and of long and
arduous service, closed his accounts and set sail on the "Kutusof," one
of the Company's vessels, for his far-off home in Russia.
When the time arrived for Baranof to take his departure from the land he
had made his home for so many years, sorrowfully he took his leave of
the associates with whom he had so long shared the dangers and hardships
of the uncivilized land. Upon being relieved of the duties of his office
he first considered building a home at the Ozerskoe Redoubt and spending
the remainder of his days in the place he had learned to love. Later he
decided to return to his native land and sailed on the "Kutusof" for
Kronstadt. A delay at Batavia in the tropics proved too severe for his
advanced years. The day after leaving Batavia he died and was buried at
sea in the waters of the Indian Ocean.
Captain Leontius Andreanovich Hagemeister succeeded to the office of
chief manager but remained only a short time at Sitka, then sailed for
Russia, leaving Captain Simeon Ivanovich Yanovski in charge.
Captain Yanovski became enamored with the beautiful daughter of Baranof,
and if you search the old records of the Cathedral of St. Michaels at
Sitka you will find the entry as made of the marriage of Simeon Ivanof
Yanovski "with the late head governor of the Russian American
possessions, Collegiate Adviser and Cavalier Baranof's daughter Irina,
one of Creoles."
In 1830, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangell, scientist and explorer,
came to administer the office. He had sailed the frozen ocean along the
northern shores of Siberia as an explorer, and Wrangell Island,
Wrangell Strait, etc., on the maps of today perpetuate his name.
Under Baron Wrangell, as assistant to the manager, served Adolph
Carlovich Etolin, a native of Finland, who came to the colony as an
officer on the war sloop "Kamchatka" in 1817, who sailed in the service
of the Company to nearly every port from the Seal Islands of Bering Sea
to Chile, who made several voyages around the world, and who was made
chief manager in 1840. In 1846 he returned to Russia to accept the trust
of Commercial Counsellor in the head office of the Company in St.
Petersburg.
About fourteen miles to the southwest, across the bay and facing
Edgecumbe, with a beautiful view of the peak and islands, is the Hot
Springs, well known for their medicinal properties by the natives before
the advent of the Russians, and frequently resorted to by both as a
panacea for many ills. In the Place of Islands _(Chasti Ostrova)_
is reputed to be a spring with a sour taste, while almost within the
limits of the town of Sitka, Dr. Scheffer, a German physician who made a
sojourn in the place about 1815, claimed to have found a medical spring
whose waters were equal to some of the famed watering places of Germany.