79 • 8 r, Charles 
 
 'u6s ' the cession of iius- 
 
 - j.i iiiitiixca to the United 
 >ocites
 
 LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 from 
 CARL SANDBURG'S LIBRARY
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OP 
 
 HOl^. CHARLES SUMNER, 
 
 OF MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN AMERICA 
 
 TO 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Thirteen governments founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretense 
 of miracle or mystery, and wJiicJi arc destined to ajjread over tJie northern part of that whole quarter of 
 the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind.— c/o/ki Adams'a Preface to Ida 
 Defense of American Conatitutiona, dated at Groavenor Square, London, January 1, 1787. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 
 
 18G7.
 
 V
 
 
 ^^^t^i.^-^-n> /C^W- 
 
 SPEECH. 
 
 
 Mr. President: You have just listened to 
 the reading of the treaty by which Russia cedes 
 to the United States all her possessions on the 
 North American continent in consideration of 
 $7,200,000, to be paid by the United States. 
 On the one side is the cession of a vast country 
 with its jurisdiction and its resources of all 
 kinds: on the other side is the purchase-money. 
 Such is this transaction on its face. 
 
 BODNDAEIES AND CONFIGUBATION. 
 
 ^ In endeavoring to estimate its character I 
 / am glad to begin with what is clear and beyond 
 ^ question. I refer to the boundaries fixed by 
 ^ the treaty. Commencing at the parallel of 
 '/(i 54° 40' north latitude, so famous in our history, 
 ' the line ascends Portland channel to the mount- 
 ains, which it follows en their summits to the 
 point of intersection with the 141° west longi- 
 X* tude, which line it ascends to the Frozen ocean, 
 * or, if you please, to the north pole. This is 
 \ the eastern boundary, separating this region 
 from the British possessions, and it is borrowed 
 V" from the treaty between Russia and Great 
 ', Britain in 182o, establishing the relations 
 '^between these two Powers on this continent. 
 It will be seen that this boundary is old ; the 
 test is new. Starting from the Frozen ocean 
 ^ the western boundary descends Behring straits, 
 -v midway between the two islands of Krusenstern 
 . and Ratmanov, to the parallel of G5° 30'', just 
 below where the continents of America and 
 ^ Asia approach each other the nearest ; and 
 ^ from (his point it proceeds in a course nearly 
 southwest through Behring straits, midway 
 between the island of St. Lawrence and Cape 
 Chonkotski, to the meridian of 172° west longi- 
 tude, and thence, in a southwesterly direction, 
 traversing Behring sea, midway between the 
 island of Attou on the east and Copper island 
 on the west, to the meridian of 11»'>° west longi- 
 tude, leaving'the prolonged group of the Aleu- 
 tian islands in the possessions now transferred 
 to the United States, and making the western 
 
 boundary of our country the dividing line which 
 separates Asia from America. 
 
 Look at the map and see the configuration of 
 this extensive region, whose estimated area is 
 more than five hundred and seventy thousand 
 square miles. I speak by the authority of our 
 own coast survey. Including the Sitkan archi- 
 pelago at the south, it takes a margin of the 
 main land, fronting on the ocean thirty miles 
 broad and three hundred miles long, to Mount 
 St. Elias, the highest peak of the continent, 
 when it turns with an elbow to the west, and 
 then along Behring straits northerly, when it 
 rounds to the east along the Frozen ocean. 
 Here are upwards of four thousand statute miles 
 of coast, indented by capacious bays and com- 
 modious harbors w'ithout number, embracing 
 the peninsula of Alaska, one of the most re- 
 markable in the world, fifty miles in breadth 
 and three hundred miles in length ; piled with 
 mountains, many volcanic and some still smok- 
 ing: penetrated by navigable rivers, one of which 
 is among the largest of the world; studded with 
 islands which stand like sentinels on the coast, 
 and flanked by that narrow Aleutian range 
 which, starting from Alaska, stretches far away 
 to Japan, as if America were extending a 
 friendly hand to Asia. This is the most general 
 aspect. There are details specially disclosing 
 maritime advantages and approaches to the 
 sea which properly belong to this preliminary 
 sketch. According to accurate estimates the 
 coast line, including bays and islands, is not 
 less than eleven thousand two hundred and 
 seventy miles. In the Aleutian range, besides 
 innumerable islets and rocks, there are notless 
 than fifty-five islands exceeding three miles in 
 length ; there are seven exceeding forty miles, 
 with Ounimak, which is tlje largest, exceeding 
 seventy-three miles. In our part of Behring 
 sea there are five considerable islands, the 
 largest of which is St. Lawrence, being more 
 than ninety-six miles long. Add to all these 
 the group south of the peninsula of Alaska,
 
 4 
 
 including tlie Shumagins and the magnificent 
 island of Kodiak, and then the Sitkan group, 
 being archipelago added to archipelago, and 
 the whole together constituting the geograph- 
 ical complement to the West Indies, so that the 
 northwest of the continent answers archipelago 
 for archipelago to the southeast. 
 
 DISCOVERY OP RUSSIAK AMERICA BY BEHRING, UNDER 
 INSTRUCTIONS FROM PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 The title of Russia to all these possessions 
 is derived from prior discovery, which is the 
 admitted title by which all European Powers 
 have held in North and South America, unless 
 we except what England acquired by conquest 
 from France; but here the title of France was 
 derived from prior discovery. Russia, shut 
 up in a distant interior and struggling with 
 barbarism, was scarcely known to the other 
 Powers at the time they were lifting their flags 
 in the western hemisphere. At a later day the 
 same powerful genius which made her known 
 as an empire set in motion the enterprise by 
 which these possessions were opened to her 
 dominion. Peter the Great, himself a ship- 
 builder and a reformer, who had worked in 
 the ship-yards of England and Holland, was 
 curious to know if Asia and America were 
 separated by the sea, or if they constituted 
 one undivided body with different names, like 
 Europe and Asia. To obtain this information 
 he wrote with his own hand the following in- 
 structions, and ordered his chief admiral to 
 see them carried into execution : 
 
 "One nrtwo boats with deckstobe built at Kamts- 
 cbatka, or at any other convenient place, witii which 
 inquiry should be made in relation to the northerly 
 coasts, to see whether they were not contiguous 
 with America, since their end was not known; and 
 this done, they should see whether they could not 
 somewhere find an harbor belonsiniito Europeans' or 
 an European ship. Thej' should likewise set apart 
 some men who should inquire after the name and 
 situation of the coasts discovered. Of all this an 
 exact journal should be kept, with which theyshquld 
 return to Petersburg." — Mailer's Voyages from Asia to 
 America, by Jeffreys, p. 45. 
 
 The Czar died in the winter of 1725 ; but the 
 Empress Catharine, faithful to the desires of 
 her husband, did not allow this work to be 
 neglected. Vitus Behring, a Dane by birth, 
 and a navigator of some experience, was made 
 commander. The place of embarkation was 
 on the other side of the Asiatic continent. 
 Taking with him officers and ship-builders the 
 navigator left St. Petersburg by land 5th Feb- 
 ruary, 1725, and commenced- the preliminary 
 journey across Siberia, northern Asia, and 
 the sea of Okhotsk to the coast of Kamtschatka, 
 which they reached after infinite hardships 
 and delays, sometimes with dogs for horses, 
 and sometimes supporting life by eating leather 
 bags, straps, and shoes. More tlian three 
 years were passed in this toilsome and perilous 
 journey to the place of embarkation. At last 
 on the 20th of July, 1728, the party was able to 
 set sail in a small vessel, called the Gabriel, 
 and described as "like the packet-boats used 
 in the Baltiek." Steering in a northeasterly 
 direction, Behring passed a large island, which 
 
 he called St. Lawrence from the saint on 
 whose day it was seen. This island, which is 
 included in the present cession, may be con- 
 sidered as the first point in Russian discovery, 
 as it is also the first outpost of the North 
 American continent. Continuing nortliward, 
 and hugging the Asiatic coast, Behring turned 
 back only when he thought he had reached the 
 northeastern extremity of Asia, and was satis- 
 fied that the two continents were separated 
 from each other. He did not penetrate further 
 north than G7^ 30'. 
 
 In his voyage Behring was struck by the 
 absence of such great and high waves, as, in 
 other places, are common to the open sea, and 
 he observed fir trees swimming in the water, 
 although they were unknown on the Asiatic 
 coast. Relations of inhabitants, in harmony 
 with these indications, pointed to "a country 
 at no great distance toward the east." His 
 work was still incoi^plete. and the nfivigator 
 before returning home put forth again for this 
 discovery, but without success. By another 
 dreary land journey he made his way back to 
 St. Petersburg in March, 1730, after an absence 
 of five years. Something was accomplished 
 for Russian discovery, and his own fame was 
 engraved on the maps of the world. The 
 straits through which he sailed now bear his 
 name, as also does the expanse of sea which 
 he traversed on his way to the straits. 
 
 The spirit of discovery continued at St. 
 Petersburg. A Cossack chief undertaking to 
 conquer the obstinate natives on the northeast- 
 ern coast, proposed also " to discover the pre- 
 tended country on the Frozen sea." He was 
 killed by an arrow before his enterprise was 
 completed. Little is known of the result ; but 
 it is stated that the navigator whom he had 
 selected, byname Gwosdew, in 1730 succeeded 
 in reaching a "strange coast" between sixty- 
 five and sixty-six degrees of north latitude, 
 where he saw people, but could not speak with 
 them for want of an interpreter. This must 
 have been the coast of North America, and 
 not far from the group of islands in Behring 
 straits, through which the present boundary 
 passes, separating the United States from 
 Russia, and America from Asia. 
 
 The desire of the Russian Government to 
 get behind the curtain increased. Behring 
 volunteered to undertake the discoveries that 
 remained to be made. He was created a com- 
 modore, and his old lieutenants were created 
 captains. The Senate, the Admiralty, and the 
 Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg all 
 united in the enterprise. Several academicians 
 were appointed to report on the natural history 
 of the coasts visited, among whom was Stel- 
 ler, the naturalist, said to be "immortal" from 
 this association. All of these, with a numer- 
 ous body of officers, journeyed across Siberia, 
 northern Asm, and the sea of Okhotsk, to 
 Kamtschatka, as Behring had journeyed before. 
 Though ordered in 1732, the expedition was 
 not able to leave the western coast until 4th 
 June, 1741, when two well-appointed ships
 
 set sail in company "to discover the continent 
 of America." One of these, called the St. 
 Paul, v/as under Commodore Behring ; the 
 other, called the St. Peter, was under Captain 
 Tschirikow. For some time the two kept 
 together; but in a violent storm and fog they 
 were separated, when each continued the 
 expedition alone. 
 
 IBehring first saw the continent of North 
 America on ISth July, 17-il, in latitude 58° 28''. 
 Looking at it from a distance "the country 
 bad terrible high mountains that were covered 
 with snow." Two days later he anchored in a 
 sheltered bay near a point which he called 
 from the saint day on which he saw it, Cape 
 St. Elias. He was in the shadow of Mount 
 St. Elias. On landing he found deserted huts, 
 fire-places, hewn wood, household furniture, 
 an arrow, edge-tools of copper with " store of 
 red salmon." Here also several birds un- 
 known in Siberia were noticed by the faithful 
 Steller, among which was the blue jay, of 
 a peculiar species, now called by his name. 
 Steering northward, Behring found himself 
 constrained by the elbow in the coast to turn 
 westward, and then in a southerly direction. 
 Hugging the shore, his voyage was constantly 
 arrested by islands without number, among 
 which he zigzagged to find his way. Several 
 times he landed. On one of these occasions 
 he saw natives, who wore "upper garments 
 of whale's guts, breeches of seal-skins, caps 
 of the skins of sea lions, adorned with various 
 feathers, especially those of hawks." These 
 "Americans" as they are called were fisher- 
 men, without bows and arrows. They regaled 
 the Russians with "whale's flesh," but declined 
 strong drink. One of them, on receiving a 
 cup of brandy, "spit it out again as soon as 
 he tasted it and cried aloud, as if complaining 
 to his countrymen how ill he had been used." 
 This was on one of the Shumagin islands, near 
 the southern coast of the peninsula of Alaska. 
 
 Meanwhile, the other solitary ship, proceed- 
 ing on ite way, had sighted the same coast loth 
 July, 1741, in the latitude of 5G°. Anchoring 
 at some distance from the steep and rocky 
 cliffs before him, Tschirikow sent his mate with 
 the long boat and ten of his best men, provided 
 with small-arms and a brass cannon, to inquire 
 into the nature of the country and to obtain 
 fresh water. The long boat disappeared in a 
 small wooded bay, and was never seen again. 
 Thinking it might have been damaged in land- 
 ing the captain sent his boatswain with the 
 small boat and carpenters well armed to fur- 
 nish necessary assistance. The small boat dis- 
 appeared also, and was never seen again. At 
 the same time great smoke was observed con- 
 tinually ascending from the shore. Shortly 
 afterwards two boats filled with natives sallied 
 forth and lay at some distance from the vessel, 
 when, crying "J^/ai, Agai,^'' they put back to 
 the shore. Sorrowfully the Russian navigator 
 turned away, not knowing the fate of his com- 
 rades and unable to help them. This was not 
 far from Sitka. 
 
 Such was the first discovery of these north- 
 western coasts; and such are the first recorded 
 glimpses of the aboriginal inhabitants. The 
 two navigators had different fortunes. Tschi- 
 rikow, deprived of his boats, and therefore un- 
 able to land, hurried home. Adverse winds 
 and storms interfered. He supplied himself 
 with fresh water only by distilling the ocean 
 or pressing rain from the .sails. But at last 
 on the 9th October he reached Kamtschatka, 
 with his ship's company of seventy diminished 
 to fort3'-nine. During this time Behring was 
 driven, like Ulysses, on the uncertain waves. 
 A single tempest raged for seventeen days, so 
 that Andrew HossellDerg, the ancient pilot, who 
 had known the sea for fifty years, declared that 
 he had seen nothing like it in his life. Scurvy 
 came with its disheartening horrors. The 
 commodore himself was a sufferer. Rigging 
 broke. Cables snapped. Anchors were lost. 
 At last the tempest-tossed vessel was cast upon 
 a desert island, then without a name, where the 
 commodore, sheltered in a ditch and half-cov- 
 ered with sand as a protection against cold, 
 died 8th December, 1741. His body after 
 his decease was "scraped out of the ground" 
 and buried on this island, which is called by 
 his name, and constitutes an outpost of the 
 Asiatic continent. Thus the Russian navi- 
 gator, after the discovery of America, died in 
 Asia. Russia, by the recent demarcation, 
 does not fail to retain his last resting-place 
 among her possesiions. 
 
 TITLE OF RUSSIA. 
 
 For some time after these expeditions, by 
 which Russia achieved the palm of discovery, 
 imperial enterprise slumbered in those seas. 
 The knowledge already acquired was continued 
 and confirmed only by private individuals, who 
 were led there in quest of furs. In 1745 the 
 Aleutian islands were discovered by an adven- 
 turer in search of sea otters. In successive 
 voyages all these islands were visited for simi- 
 lar purposes. Among these was Ounalaska, 
 the principal of the group of Fox islands, con- 
 stituting a continuation of the Aleutian islands, 
 whose inhabitants and productions were mi- 
 nutely described. In 17G8 private enterprise 
 was superseded by an expedition ordered by 
 the Empress Catharine, which, leaving Kamts- 
 chatka, explored this whole archipelago and the 
 peninsula of Alaska, which to the islanders stood 
 for the whole continent. Shortly afterwards 
 all these discoveries, beginning with those of 
 Behring and Tschirikow, were verified by the 
 great English navigator. Captain Cook. In 
 1778 he sailed along the northwestern coast, 
 "near where Tschirikow anchored in 1741;" 
 then again in sight of mountains "wholly cov- 
 ered with snow from the highest summit down 
 to the sea-coast," "with the summit of an ele- 
 vated mountain above the horizon," which he 
 supposed to be the Mount St. Elias of Behr- 
 ing ; Hhen by the very anchorage of Behring; 
 then among the islands through which Behring 
 zigzagged, and along the coast by the island
 
 6 
 
 of St. Lawrence until arrested by ice. If any 
 doubt existed with regard to Russian discov- 
 eries it was removed by the authentic report of 
 this navigator, who shed such a flood of light 
 upon the geography of this region. 
 
 Such from the beginning is the title of Rus- 
 sia, dating at least from 1741. The coast of 
 British Columbia, next below, was discovered 
 by Vancouver in 1790, and that of Oregon, still 
 further down, by Gray, who, sailing from Boston 
 in 1789, entered the Columbia river in 1790; 
 so that the title of Russia is the earliest on the 
 northwestern coast. I have not stopped to 
 quote volume and page, but I beg to be under- 
 stood as following approved authorities, and I 
 refer especially to the Russian work of MiiUer, 
 already cited, on the Voyages from Asia to 
 America; the volume of Coxe on Russian Dis- 
 coveries with its supplement on the Compara- 
 tive View of Russian Discoveries; the volume 
 of Sir John Barrow, on Arctic Voyages; Bur- 
 uey'' s. Riissian and Northeastern Voyages; and 
 the third voyage of Captain Cook, unhappily 
 interrupted by his tragical death from the natives 
 of the Sandwich islands, but not until after 
 his exploration of this coast. 
 
 There were at least four other Russian expe- 
 ditions by which this title was confirmed, if it 
 needed any confirmation. The first was ordered 
 by the Empress Catharine in 1785. It was 
 under the command of Commodore Billings, 
 an Englishman in the service of Russia, and 
 was narrated from the original papers by Mar- 
 tin Sauer, secretary of the expedition. In the 
 instructions from the Admiralty at St. Peters- 
 burg the Commodore was directed to take 
 possession of "such coasts and islands as he 
 shall first discover, whether inhabited or not, 
 that cannot be disputed, and are not yet sub- 
 ject to any European Power, with consent of 
 the inhabitants, if any," and this was to be 
 accomplished by setting up "posts marked 
 with the arms of Russia, with letters indicat- 
 ing the time of sovereignty, a short account of 
 the people, their voluntary submission to the 
 Russian sovereignty, and that this was done 
 under the glorious reign of the great Catharine 
 the Second." (Billings's Northern Russia, 
 Appendix.) . The next was in 1803, in the 
 interest of the Russian American Company. 
 There were two ships, one under the command 
 of Captain Lisiansky, and the other of Captain 
 Krusenstern, of the Russian navy. It was the 
 first voyage round the world by the Russian 
 Government, and lasted three years. During 
 its progress these ships visited separately the 
 northwest coast of America, and especially 
 Sitka and the island of Kodiak. Still another 
 enterprise organized by the celebrated minister 
 Count Romanzoff, and at his expense, left 
 Russia in 1815, under the command of Lieu- 
 tenant Kotzebue, an officer of the Russian 
 navy, and son of the German dramatist, whose 
 assassination darkened the return of the son 
 from his long voyage. It is enough for the 
 present to say of this expedition that it has 
 left its honorable traces on the coast even as 
 
 far as the Frozen ocean. There remains the 
 enterprise of Liltke, at the time captain, and 
 afterward admiral in the Russian navy, which 
 was a voyage round the world, embracing espe- 
 cially the Russian possessions, commenced in 
 182G, and described in French with instructive 
 fullness. With him sailed the German natu- 
 ralist Kittlitz, who has done so much to illus- 
 trate the natural history of this region. 
 
 A FKEXCn ASPIRATION ON THIS COAST. 
 
 So little was the Russian title recognized for 
 some time, that when the unfortunate expedi- 
 tion of La Perouse, with the frigates Boussole 
 and Astrolabe, stopped on this coast in 1787, 
 he did not hesitate to consider the friendly 
 harbor, in latitude 58° 30^, where he was 
 moored as open to permanent occupation. 
 Describing this harbor, which he named Port 
 dcs Francais, as sheltered behind a breakwater 
 of rocks, with a calm sea and with a mouth 
 sufficiently large, he says that nature seemed 
 to have created at this extremity of the world 
 a port like that of Toulon but vaster in plan 
 and accommodation; and then considering that 
 it had never been discovered before, that it was 
 situated thirty-three leagues northwest of Rem- 
 edios, the limit of Spanish navigation, about 
 two hundred and eighty-four leagues from 
 Nootka and a hundred leagues from Prince 
 William sound, the mariner records his judg- 
 ment that "if the French Government had 
 any project of a factory on this coast no nation 
 could have the slightest right to oppose It." 
 (La Perouse, Voyage, Tom. 2, p. 147.) Thus 
 quietly was Russia dislodged. The frigates 
 sailed further on their voyage and never re- 
 turned to France. Their fate was unknown, 
 until after fruitless search and the lapse of a 
 generation their shipwrecked hulls were acci- 
 dentally found on a desert island of the south- 
 ern Pacific. The unfinished journal of La 
 Perouse recording his visit to this coast had 
 been sent overland, by way of Kamtschatka 
 and Siberia, to France, where it was published 
 by a decree of the National Assembly, thus 
 making known his supposed discovery and his 
 aspiration. 
 
 EARLY SPANISH CLAIM. 
 
 Spain also has been a claimant. In 1775 
 Bodega, a Spanish navigator, seeking new 
 opportunities to plant the Spanish flag, reached 
 the parallel of 58° on this coast, not far from 
 Sitka; but this supposed discovery was not 
 followed by any immediate assertion of domin- 
 ion. The universal aspiration of Spain had 
 embraced this whole region even at an early 
 dajf, and shortly after the return of Bodega 
 another enterprise was equipped to verify the 
 larger claim, being nothing less than the ori- 
 ginal title as discoverer of the straits between 
 America and Asia and of the conterminous 
 continent under the name of Anian. This 
 curious episode is not out of place in this brief 
 history. It has two branches: one concerning 
 early maps on which straits are represented 
 between America and Asia under the name of
 
 Anian ; the other concerning a pretended 
 attempt by a Spanish navigator at an early day 
 to find these straits. 
 
 There can be no doubt that early maps exist 
 with northwestern straits marked Anian. There 
 are two in the Congressional Library in atlases 
 of the years 1717 and IGSO; but these are of 
 a date comparatively modern. Engel, in his 
 M^moires Geographiques^ mentions several 
 earlier, which he believes to be genuine. There 
 is one purporting to be by Zaltieri, and bearing 
 date 15GG, an authentic pen-and-ink copy of 
 which is now before mo from the collection of 
 our own Coast Survey. On this very interest- 
 ■ ing map, which is without latitude or longi- 
 tude, the western coast of the continent is 
 delineated with straits separating it from Asia 
 not unlike Behring straits in outline, and with 
 the name in Italian Stretto di Anian. South- 
 ward the coast has a certain conformity with 
 what is now known to exist. Below the straits 
 is an indentation corresponding to Bristol bay ; 
 then a peninsula somewhat broader than that 
 of Alaska; then comes the elbow of the coast; 
 then lower down three islands, not unlike 
 Sitka, Queen Charlotte, and Vancouver; and 
 then, further south, is the peninsula of Lower 
 California. Sometimes the story of Anian is 
 explained by the voyage of the Portuguese 
 navigator Caspar de Cortereal in 1500-1505, 
 when, on reaching Hudson bay in quest of a 
 
 Eassage round America, he imagined that he 
 ad found it, and proceeded to name his dis- 
 covery "in honor of two brothers who accom- 
 panied him." Verj- soon maps began to re- 
 cord the straits of Anian ; but this does not 
 explain the substantial conformity of the early 
 delineation v.-Ith the reality, which seems truly 
 remarkable. 
 
 The other branch of inquiry is more easily 
 disposed of. This turns on a Spanish docu- 
 ment entitled "Relation of the Discovery oi 
 the Strait of Anian, made by me Captain 
 Lorenzo Ferren Maldonado," purporting to 
 be written at the time, although it did not see 
 the light till 1781, when it was published in 
 Spain, and shortly afterward became the sub- 
 ject of a memoir before the French Academy. 
 If this early account of a northwest passage 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific were authen- 
 tic the whole question would be settled, but 
 recent geographers indignantly discard it as 
 a barefaced imposture. Clearly Spain once 
 regarded it otherwise; for her Government in 
 1789 sent out an expedition "to discover the 
 strait by which Maldonado was supposed to 
 have passed in 1588 from the coast of Labra- 
 dor to the Great Ocean." The expedition 
 was not successful, and nothing more has been 
 heard of any claim from tliis pretended discov- 
 ery. The story of Maldonado has taken its 
 place in the same category with that of Mun- 
 chausen. 
 
 REASONS I'OK THIS CESSIOM BY RUSSIA. 
 
 Turning from this question of title, which 
 time and testimony have already settled, I meet 
 
 the inquiry, why does Russia part with posses- 
 .sions thus associated with tlie reign of her 
 greatest emperor and filling an important chajv 
 ter of geographical history? On this head I 
 have no information which is not open to others. 
 But I do not forget that the first Napoleon in 
 parting with Louisiana was controlled I)y three 
 several considerations : first, he needed tlie 
 purchase-money for his treasury ; secondly, he 
 was unwilling to leave this distant unguarded 
 territory a prey to Great Britain in the event 
 of hostilitieswhich seemed at hand ; and thirdly, 
 he was glad, according to his own remarkable 
 language, " to establish forever the power of 
 the United States and give to England a mari- 
 time rival destined to humble her pride. ' ' Such 
 is the record of history. Perhaps a similar 
 record may be made hereafter with regard to 
 the present cession. It is sometimes imagined 
 that Russia, with all her great empire, is finan- 
 cially poor, so that these few millions may 
 not be unimportant to her. It is by foreign 
 loans that her railroads have been built and 
 her wars have been aided. All, too, must 
 see that in those " coming events," which now 
 more than ever " cast their shadows before," 
 it will be for her advantage not to hold out- 
 lying possessions from which thus far she has 
 obtained no income commensurate with the 
 possible expense for their protection. Perhaps, 
 like a wrestler, she now strips for the con- 
 test, which I trust sincerely may be averted. 
 Besides I cannot doubt that her enlightened 
 emperor, who has given pledges to civilization 
 by an unsurpassed act of Emancipation, would 
 join the first Napoleon in a desire to enhance 
 the maritime power of the United States. 
 
 These general considerations are reenforced 
 when we call to mind the little influence which 
 Russiahas thus far been able to exercise in this 
 region. Though possessing dominion over it for 
 more than a century this gigantic Power has 
 not been more genial or productive there than 
 the soil itself. Her government there is little 
 more than a name or a shadow. It is not even 
 a skeleton. It is hardly visible. Its only rep- 
 resenative is a fur company, to which has been 
 added latterly an ice company. The immense 
 country is without form and without light; 
 without activity and without progress. Distant 
 from the imperial capital, and separated from 
 the huge bulk of Russian empire, it does not' 
 share the vitality of a common country. Its life 
 is solitary and feeble. Its settlements are only 
 encampments or lodges. Its fisheries are only 
 a petty perquisite, belonging to local or per- 
 sonal adventurers rather than to the commerce 
 of nations. 
 
 In these statements I follow the record. So 
 little were these possessions regarded during 
 the last century that they were scarcely recog- 
 nized as a component part of the empire. I 
 have now before me an authentic map, pub- 
 lished 1)}' tlie Academj' of Sciences at St. Pe- 
 tersburg in 1770, and reproduced at London 
 in 1787, entitled "General Map of the Russian
 
 8 
 
 Empire," where you will look in vain for Rus- 
 sian America, unless we except that link of 
 the Aleutian chain neai'est to Asia, which 
 appears to have been incorporated under the 
 Empress Anna at the same time with Siberia. 
 (See Coxe's Russian Discoveries.) Alexander 
 Humboldt, whose insight into geography was 
 unerring, in his great work on New Spain, 
 published in 1811, after stating that he is able 
 from official documents to give the position of 
 the Russian factories on the American conti- 
 nent, says that they are "nothing but sheds 
 and cabins employed as magazines of furs." 
 He remarks further that "the larger part of 
 these small Russian colonies do not communi- 
 cate with each other except by sea," and then, 
 putting us on our guard not to expect too much 
 from a name, he proceeds to say that "the new 
 denomination of Eussian America or Russian 
 possessions on the new continent must not 
 make us think that the coasts of Behring's 
 Basin, the peninsula of Alaska, or the country 
 of Tchuktchi have become Russian provinces 
 in the sense given to this word, when we speak 
 of the Spanish provinces of Sonora or New 
 Biscay." (Humboldt, Essai Politique sur La 
 Nouvelle Espagne, Tom. I, pp. 344, 345. ) Here 
 is a disflnction between the foothold of Spain 
 in California and the foothold of Russia in 
 North America, which will at least illustrate 
 the slender power of the latter in this region. 
 
 In ceding possessions so little within the 
 sphere of her empire, embracing more than 
 one hundred nations or tribes, Russia gives up 
 no part of herself, and even if she did the con- 
 siderable price paid, the alarm of war which 
 begins to fill our ears, and the sentiments of 
 friendship declared for the United States would 
 explain the transaction. 
 
 THE NEGOTIATION, IN ITS ORIGIN AND COMPLETION. 
 
 I am not able to say when the idea of this 
 cession first took shape. I have heard that 
 it was as long ago as the administration of 
 Mr. Polk. It is within my knowledge that 
 the Russian Government was sounded on the 
 subject during the administration of Mr. Bu- 
 chanan. This was done through Mr. Gwin, at 
 the time Senator of California, and Mr. Apple- 
 ton, Assistant Secretary of State. For this pur- 
 pose the former had more than one interview 
 with the Russian minister at Washington some 
 time in December, 1859, in which, while profess- 
 ing to speak for the President unofficially, he 
 represented "that Russia was too far off to 
 make the most of these possessions ; and that, 
 as we are near, we can derive more from 
 them." In reply to an inquiry of the Russian 
 minister Mr. Gwin said that "the United 
 States could go as high as $5,000,000 for the 
 purchase," on which the former made no com- 
 ment. Mr. Appleton, on another occasion, said 
 to the minister that "the President thought 
 that the acquisition would be very profitable to 
 the States on the Pacific ; that he was ready to 
 follow it up, but wished to know in advance if 
 
 Russia was ready to cede ; that if she were, he 
 would confer with his Cabinet and influential 
 members of Congress." All this was unoffi- 
 cial ; but it was promptly communicated to the 
 Russian Government, who seem to have taken 
 it into careful consideration. Prince Gortscha- 
 kow, in a dispatch which reached here early in 
 the summer of 1860, said that "the offer was 
 not what might have been expected ; but that 
 it merited mature reflection ; that the Minister 
 of Finance was about to inquire into the con- 
 dition of these possessions, after which Russia 
 would be in a condition to treat." The prince 
 added for himself that " he was by no means 
 satisfied personally that it would be for the 
 interest of Russia politically to alienate these 
 possessions; that the only consideration which 
 could make the scales incline that way would 
 be the prospect of great financial advantages ; 
 but that the sum of $5,000,000 does not seem 
 in any way to represent the real value of these 
 possessions," and he concluded by asking the 
 minister to tell Mi-. Appleton and Senator 
 Gwin that the sum offered was not considered 
 "an equitable equivalent." The subject was 
 submerged by the presidential election which 
 was approaching, and then by the Rebellion. 
 It will be observed that this attempt was at 
 a time when politicians who believed in the 
 perpetuity of slavery still had power. Mr. 
 Buchanan was President, and he employed as 
 his intermediary a known sympathizer with 
 slavery, who shortly afterward became a rebel. 
 Had Russia been willing, it is doubtful if this 
 controlling interest would have sanctioned any 
 acquisition too far north for slavery. 
 
 Meanwhile the Rebellion was brought to an 
 end, and peaceful enterprise was renewed, 
 which on the Pacific coast was directed to- 
 ward the Russian possessions. Our people 
 there wishing new facilities to obtain fish, fur, 
 and ice, sought the intervention of the na- 
 tional Government. The Legislature of Wash- 
 ington Territory, in the winter of 18G6, adopted 
 a memorial to the President of the United 
 States, entitled "in reference to the cod and 
 other fisheries," as follows: 
 
 To his Excellency Andrew Johnson, 
 
 President of the United States : 
 
 Your memorialists, the Legislative Assembly of 
 Washington Territory, beg leave to show that abun- 
 dance of codfish, halibut, .and salmon of excellent 
 quality have been found along the shores of the Itiis- 
 sian possessions. Your memorialists respectfully 
 request your Excellency to obtain such rights and 
 privileges of the Government of Russia as will en- 
 able our fishing vessels to visit the ports and harbors 
 of its possessions to the end that fuel, water, and pro- 
 visions may be easily obtained, that our sick and 
 disabled fishermen may obtain sanitary assistance, 
 together with the privilege of caring fish and repair- 
 ing vessels in need of repairs. Your memorialists 
 further request that the Treasury Department be 
 instructed to forward to the collector of customs of 
 this Puget sound district such fishing licenses, ab- 
 stract journals, and log-books as will enable our 
 hardy fishermen to obtain the bounties now provided 
 and paid to the fisherman in the Atlantic States. 
 Your memorialists finally pray your Excellcncyto 
 employ such ships as may be spared from the Pacific 
 naval fleet in exploring and surveying the fishing
 
 9 
 
 banks known to navigators to exist along the Pacific 
 coast from the Cortes bank to Behrins straits, and 
 as in duty bound your memorialists will ever pray. 
 Passed the House of Represontativrs January 10, 
 18(56. EDWARD ELDIUDGL, 
 
 Speaker House of UepreHentaticcs. 
 
 Passed the CouneilJan,..ry«^^g.^^^^g^ 
 
 President of tlie Council. 
 
 This memorial on its presentation to the 
 President in February, 18GG, was_ referred to 
 the Secretary of State, by whom it was com- 
 municated to Mr. de Stoeckl, the Russian minis- 
 ter, with remarks on the importance of some 
 early and comprehensive arrangement between 
 the two Powers in order to prevent the growth 
 of difficuliies, especially from the fisheries in 
 that region. 
 
 Shortly afterward:^ another influence was felt. 
 Mr. Cole, who had been recently elected to the 
 Senate from California, acting in behalf of cer- 
 tain persons in that State, sought to obtain from 
 the Russian Government a license or franchise 
 to gather furs in a portion of its American pos- 
 sessions. The charter of the Russian American 
 Company was abont to expire. This company 
 had already underlet to the Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany all its franchise on the main land between 
 64° 40' and Mount St. Elias; and now it was 
 proposed that an American company, holding 
 direct from the Russian Government, should be 
 substituted for the latter. The mighty Hudson 
 Bay Company, with its headquarters in Lon- 
 don, was to give way to an American Company 
 with its headquarters in California. Among 
 the letters on this subject addressed to Mr. 
 Cole and now before me is one dated at San 
 Francisco, April 10, 18G0, in which this scheme 
 is developed as follows: 
 
 " There is at the present time agood chance to organ- 
 ize a fur trading? company to trade bet ween the United 
 States and the Kus.-ian posses.sions in America, and 
 as the charter formerly Kranted to the Hudson Bay 
 Company has expired this would bo the opportune 
 momenttostartia." * * * * "I should 
 think that by a little management this charter could 
 be obtained from the Russian Government for our- 
 selves, as 1 do not think they are very willing to re- 
 new the charter of the Hudson Day Company, and I 
 think they would?ivc the preference to an American 
 company," especially if the company should pay to 
 the Russian Government iive percent, on the gross 
 proceedsof their traus.rctions. and also aid in civiliz- 
 ing and ameliorating the eondition of the Indians by 
 employing missionaries, if required by the Russian 
 Goverument. For the faithful performance of the 
 above we ask a charter for the term of twenty-five 
 years, to be renewed for the same lenfrth of time, if 
 the Russian Government finds the com|)any deserv- 
 ing. The charter to invest us with the right of trad- 
 ing in all the country between the British American 
 line and the Russian archipelago." * * » * 
 "Remember, we wish for the same charter as was 
 formerly granted to the Hudson Bay Company, and 
 we offer in return more than they did." 
 
 Another correspondent of Mr. Cole, under 
 
 date of San Francisco, _17th September, 18GG, 
 
 wrote as follows: 
 
 "I have talked with a man who has been on the 
 coast and in the trade for ten ycarspast, and he says 
 it is much more valuable tlian I have supposed, and 
 I think it very important to obtain it if possible." 
 
 The Russian minister at Washington, whom 
 Mr. Cole saw repeatedly upon this subject, 
 
 was not authorized to act, and the latter, after 
 .conference with the Department of State, was 
 induced to address Mr. Clay, minister of the 
 United States at St. Petersburg, who laid the 
 application before the Rus.?ian Government. 
 This was an important step. A letter from 
 Mr. Clay, dated at St. Petersburg as late as 
 1st February, 1867, makes the following reve- 
 lation : 
 
 "The Russian Government has already ceded away 
 its rights in Russian America for a term of years, and 
 the Russo-Ainerican Company has also ceded the 
 same to the Hudson Bay Company. This Ica-^^o ex- 
 pires in June next, and the president of the Russo- 
 Americau Company tells mc that they have been in 
 correspondence with the Hudson Bay Company about 
 arenewalof the 1-easeiur another term of twenty-fivo 
 or thirty years. Until he receives a definite answer 
 he cannot enter into negotiations with us or your 
 California company. My opinion is that if he can 
 get oQ' with the Hudson Bay Company he will do so, 
 when wo can make some arrangements with the 
 Russo-American Company." 
 
 Some time had elapsed since the original 
 attempt of Mr. Gwin, also a Senator from 
 California, and it is probable that the Russian 
 Government had obtained information which 
 enabled it to see its way more clearly. It will 
 be remembered that Prince Gortschakow had 
 promised an inquiry, and it is known that in 
 18G1 Captain Lieutenant Golowin, of the Rus- 
 sian navy, made a detailed report on these 
 possessions. Mr. Cole had the advantage of 
 his predecessor. There is reason to believe, 
 also, that tlie administration of the fur com- 
 pany had not been entirely satisfactory, so that 
 there were well-founded hesitations with regard 
 to the renewal of its franchise. Meanwhile, in 
 October, 18GG, Mr. de Stoeckl, who had long 
 been the Russian minister at Washington, and 
 enjoyed in a high degree the confidence of our 
 Government, returned home on a leave of 
 absence, promising his best exertions to \)T0- 
 mote good relations between the two countries. 
 While he was at St. Petersburg the applications 
 from the United States were under considera- 
 tion ; but the Russian Government was disin- 
 clined to any minor arrangement of the char- 
 acter proposed. Obviously something like a 
 crisis was at hand with regard to these pos- 
 sessions. The existing government was not 
 adequate. The franchises granted there were 
 about to terminate. Something must be done. 
 As Mr. de Stoeckl was leaving in Febnmry to 
 return to his post the ArChduke Constantine, 
 the brother and chief adviser of the emperor, 
 handed him a map with the lines in our Treaty 
 marked upon it, and told him he might treat 
 for this cession. The minister arrived in Wash- 
 ington early in March. A negotiation was 
 opened at once with our Government. Final 
 instructions were received by the Atlantic cable 
 from St. Petersburg on the 29th March, and at 
 four o'clock on the morning of the !30th March 
 this important Treaty was signed by Mr. Seward 
 on the part of the United States and by Mr. de 
 Stoeckl on the part of Russia. 
 
 Few treaties have been conceived, initiated, 
 prosecuted, and completed in so simple a 
 manner without protocols or dispatches. The
 
 10 
 
 •whole negotiation will be seen in its result, 
 unless we accept two brief notes, which con- 
 stitute all that passed between the negotiators. 
 These havean interest general and special, and 
 I conclude the history of this transaction by 
 
 reading them: 
 
 Department of State, 
 Washington, March 23, 1867. 
 
 Sir: With reference to the proposed convention 
 between our respective Governments for a cession 
 by Russia of her American territory to the United 
 States, I have the honor to acquaint 5'ou that I must 
 insist upon that cLnuse in the sixth article of the 
 draft winch declares the cession to be free and unin- 
 cumbered by auy reservations, privileges, franchises, 
 grants, or possessions by any associated companies, 
 whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any 
 other, &c., and must regard it as an ultimatum. 
 With the President's approval, however, I will add 
 8200,000 to the consideration money on that account. 
 
 I avail myself of this occasion to offer to you a 
 renewed assurance of my most distineuished consid- 
 eration. WILLIAM II. SEWARD. 
 
 Mr. Edward De Stoeckl, &c.. &c., &c. 
 
 [Translation.] 
 Washington, March 17 I 29, 1867. 
 Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor to 
 inform you that by a telegram dated 16 | 28th of this 
 month from St. Petersburg, Prince Gortchakow in- 
 forms me that his Majesty the Emperor of all the 
 Russias gives his consent to the cession of the Russian 
 
 Possessions on the American continent to the United 
 tates for the stipulated sum of $7,200,000 in gold, 
 and that his Majesty the Emperor invests me with 
 full powers to negotiate and sign the treaty. 
 
 Please accept, Mr. Secretary of State, the assurance 
 of my very high consideration. STOECKL. 
 
 To Hon. William II. Seward, 
 
 Secretary of State of the United States. 
 
 the treaty. 
 
 The Treaty begins with the declaration that 
 "the United States of America and his Majesty 
 the Emperor of all the Russias, being desirous 
 of strengthening, if possible, the good nnder- 
 standing which exists between them," have 
 appointed plenipotentiaries, who have pro- 
 ceeded to sign articles, wherein it is stipulated 
 on behalf of Russia that "his Majesty the 
 Emperor of all the Russias agrees to cede to 
 the United States by this convention, imme- 
 diately upon the exchange of the ratifications 
 thereof, all the territory and dominion now 
 possessed by his said Majesty on the continent 
 of America and in the adjacent islands, the 
 same being contained within the geographical 
 limits herein set forth;" and it is stipulated on 
 behalf of the United States that "in consid- 
 eration of the cession aforesaid the United 
 States agree to pay at the Treasury in Wash- 
 ington, within ten months after the ratification 
 of this convention, to the diplomatic represent- 
 ative or other agent of his Majesty the Em- 
 peror of all the Russias duly authorized to 
 receive the same, $7,200,000 in geld." The 
 ratifications are to be exchanged within three 
 months from the date of the Treaty, or sooner, 
 if possible. 
 
 Beyond the consideration founded on the 
 desire of "strengthening the good understand- 
 ing" between tlie two countries, there is the 
 pecuniary consideration already mentioned, 
 which underv/ent a change in the progress of 
 the negotiation. The sum of seven millions 
 
 was originally agreed upon; but when it was 
 understood that there was a fur company and 
 also an ice company enjoying monopolies under 
 the existing governm.ent, it was thought best that 
 these should be extinguished, in considera- 
 tion of which our Government added $200,000 
 to the purchase money, and the Russian Govern- 
 ment in formal terras declared "the cession of 
 territory and dominion to be free and unin- 
 cumbered by any reservations, privileges, fran- 
 chises, grants, or possessions, by any asso- 
 ciated companies, whether corporate or incor- 
 porate, or by any parties, except merely private 
 individual property-holders." Thus the Uni- 
 ted States receive this cession free of all in- 
 cumbrances, so far at least as Russia is in a 
 condition to make it. The Treaty proceeds to 
 say, that "the cession hereby made conveys 
 all the rights, franchises, and privileges now 
 belonging to Russia in the said territory or 
 dominion and appurtenances thereto." In 
 other words, Russia conveys all that she has 
 to convey. 
 
 questions arising under the treaty. 
 
 There are questions not unworthy of atten- 
 tion, v/hich arise under the treaty between Russia 
 and Great Britain, fixing the eastern limits of 
 these possessions, and conceding certain privi- 
 leges to the latter Power. By this treaty, signed 
 at St. Petersburg 28th February, 1825, after 
 fixing the boundaries between the Russian and 
 British possessions, it is provided that "for the 
 space of tenyears the vessels of the two Povvfers, 
 or those belonging to their respective subjects, 
 shall mutually be at liberty to frequent, with- 
 out any hinderance whatever, all the inland seas, 
 gulfs, havens, and creeks on the coast for the 
 purpose of fishing and of trading with the na- 
 tives;" and also that "for the space o^ ten 
 years the port of Sitka or Novo Archangelsk 
 shall be open to the commerce and vessels of 
 British subjects." (Hertslet's Commercial Trea- 
 ties, vol. 2, p 3G5. ) In the same Treaty it is 
 also provided that "the subject:s of his Britan- 
 nic Majesty, from whatever quarter they may 
 arrive, whether from the ocean or from the 
 interior of the continent, shall forcner enjoy 
 the right of navigating freely and v.ithout any 
 hinderance whatever all the rivers and streams 
 which in their course toward the Pacific ocean 
 may cross the line of demarcation." (Ibid.) 
 Afterv/ards a Treaty of Commerce and Naviga- 
 tlonbetv/een Russiaand GreatBrltain wassigned 
 at St. Petersburg 11th January, 1843, subject to 
 be terminated on notice from either party at the 
 expiration often years, in which it is provided 
 that " in regard to commerce and navigation in 
 the Russian possessions on the northwest coast 
 of America the convention of 2Sth February, 
 1825, continues in force." _ {Ibid., vol. G, p. 
 7(37.) Then ensued the Crimean war between 
 Russia and Great Britain, effacing or suspend- 
 ing treaties. Afterwards another Treaty of 
 Commerce and Navigation v/as signed at St. 
 Petersburg 12th January, 1859, subject to be 
 terminated on notice from either party at the
 
 11 
 
 expiration of ten years, which repeats the last 
 provision. {Ibid., vol. 10, p 10(53.) 
 
 Thus we have three different stipulations on 
 the part of Iiussia; one opening seas, gulfs, 
 and havens on the Russian coast to British sub- 1 
 jects for fishing and trading with the natives; | 
 the second making Sitka a free port to British 
 subjects ; and the third making British rivers 
 which flow through the Russian possessions 
 forever free to British navigation. Do the 
 United States succeed to these stipulations? 
 
 Among these I make a distinction in favor 
 of the last, which by its language is declared 
 to be ''forever,'' and may have been in the 
 nature of an equivalent at the settlement of the 
 boundaries between the two Powers. But 
 whatever may be its terms or its origin it is 
 obvious that it is nothing but a declaration 
 of public law as it has always been expounded 
 by the United States and is now recognized 
 on the continent of Europe. Vi'hile pleading 
 with Great Britain in 182G for the free navi- 
 gation of the St. Lawrence Mr. Clay, who 
 was at the time Secretary of State, said that 
 " the American Government did not mean to 
 contend for any principle the benefit of which, 
 in analogous circumstances, it would deny to 
 Great Britain." (Wheaton's Elements of 
 International Law, part 2, cap. 4.) During 
 the same year Mr. Gallatin, our minister in 
 London, when negotiating with Great Britain 
 for the adjustment of our boundaries on the 
 Pacific, proposed that " if the line should cross 
 any of the branches of the Columbia at points 
 from which they are navigable by boats to the 
 main stream the navigation of both branches 
 and of the main stream should be perpetually 
 free and common to the people of both nations. ' ' 
 At an earlier day the United States made the 
 same claim with regard to the Mississippi, 
 and asserted as a general principle that "if 
 the right of the upper inhabitants to descend 
 the stream was in any case obstructed it was 
 an act by a stronger society against a weaker, 
 condemned by the judgment of mankind." 
 {Ibid.) By these admissions our country is 
 estopped, even if the public law of the Euro- 
 pean continent, first declared at Vienna with 
 regard to the Rhine, did not offer an example 
 which we cannot afford to reject. I rejoice to 
 believe that on this occasion we shall apply 
 to Great Britain the generous rule which from 
 the beginning we have claimed for ourselves. 
 
 The two other stipulations are different in 
 character. They are not declared to be " for- 
 ever," and do not stand on any principle of 
 public law. Even if subsisting now they can- 
 not be onerous. I doubt much if ihey are sub- 
 sisting now. In succeeding to the Russian pos- 
 sessions it does not follow that the United 
 States succeed to ancient obligations assumed 
 by Russia, as if, according to a phrase of the 
 common law, they are "covenants running 
 with the land." If these stipulations are in 
 the nature of servitudes they depend for their 
 duration on the sovereignty of Russia, and are 
 
 personal or national rather than territorial. 
 So at least I am inclined to believe. But it is 
 hardly profitable to speculate on a point of so 
 little practical value. Even if " running with 
 the land" these servitudes can be terminated 
 at the expiration of ten years from the last 
 treaty by a notice, which equitably the United 
 States may give, so as to take cQ'ect on the 12th 
 January, 18(J'J. Meanwhile, during this brief 
 period, it will be easy by act uf Congress in 
 advance to limit importations at Sitka, so that 
 this " free port" shall not be made the channel 
 or doorway by which Britisli goods may be 
 
 introduced into the United States free of duty. 
 
 • 
 
 GENERAL CON'SIDERATIONS ON THE TREATY. 
 
 From this survey of the Treaty, as seen in its 
 origin and the questions under it, I might pass 
 at once to a survey of the possessions which 
 have been conveyed ; but there are other 
 matters of a more general character which 
 present themselves at this stage and challenge 
 the judgment. These concern nothing less than 
 the unity, power, and grandeur of the Repub- 
 lic, with the extension of its dominion and its 
 institutions. Such considerations, where not 
 entirely inapplicable, arc apt to be controlling. 
 I do not doubt that they will in a great measure 
 determine the fate of this treaty with the Amer- 
 ican people. They are patent, and do not de- 
 pend on research or statistics. To state them 
 is enough. 
 
 Advantages to the Pacific Coast. 
 
 (1.) Foremost in order, if not in importance, 
 I put the desires of our fellow-citizens on the 
 Pacific coast, and the special advai^tages which 
 they will derive from this enlargement of 
 boundary. They were the first to ask for it, 
 and will be the first to profit by it. While 
 others knew the Russian possessions only on 
 the map they knew them practically in their 
 resources. While others were still indifferent 
 they were planning how to appropriate Russian 
 peltries and fisheries. This is attested by the 
 resolutions of the Legislature of Washington 
 Territory; also by the exertions at different 
 times of two Senators from California, who, 
 differing in political sentiments and in party 
 relations, took the initial steps which ended in 
 this Treaty. 
 
 These well-known desires were founded, of 
 course, on supposed advantages ; and here ex- 
 perience and neighborhood were prompters. 
 Since 1854 the people of California have re- 
 ceived their ice from the fresh-water lakes ia 
 the island of Kodiak, not far westward from 
 Mount St. Elias. Later still their fishermea 
 have searched the waters about the Aleutians 
 and the Shumagins, commencing a promising 
 fishery. Others have proposed to substitute 
 themselves to the Hudson Bay Company ia 
 their franchise on the coast. But all are look- 
 ing to the Orient, as in the time of Columbus, 
 although like him they sail to the West. To 
 them China and Japan, those ancient realms 
 
 
 ^Ofs 
 
 UBOa.
 
 12 
 
 of fabulous wealth, are the Indies. To draw 
 this commerce to the Pacific coast is no new 
 idea. It haunted the early navigators. Meares, 
 the Englishman, whose voyage in the inter- 
 vening seas was in 1789, closes his volumes 
 with an essay, entitled "The trade between the 
 northwest coastof America and China," in the 
 course of which he dwells on the "great and 
 very valuable source of commerce'' afforded 
 by China as " forming a chain of trade between 
 Hudson bay, Canada, and the northwest coast," 
 and then he exhibits on the American side the 
 costly furs of the sea otter, which are still so 
 much prized in China; "mines which are 
 known to lie between the latitudes 40° and 60°. 
 north;" and also an "inexhaustible supply" 
 of ginseng, for which there is still such a 
 demand in China that even Minnesota, at the 
 headwaters of the Mississippi, supplies her con- 
 tribution. His catalogue might be extended 
 now. 
 
 iVs a practical illustration of this idea, it 
 may be mentioned that for a long time most 
 if not all the sea otter skins of this coast found 
 their way to China, excluding even Russia her- 
 self. China was the best customer, and there- 
 fore Englishmen and Americans followed the 
 Russian company in carrying these furs to her 
 market, so that Pennant, the English natural- 
 ist, impressed by the peculiar advantages of 
 this coast, exclaimed, "What a jDrofitable 
 trade with Ciiina might not a colony carry on 
 were it possible to penetrate to that part of 
 the country by means of rivers and lakes!" 
 But under the present Treaty this coast is 
 ours. 
 
 The absence of harbors at present belong- 
 ing to the Ifnited Slates on the Pacific limits 
 the outlets of the country. On that whole 
 extent, from Panama to Puget's sound, the 
 only harbor of any considerable value is San 
 Francisco. Further north the harbors are 
 abundant, and they are all nearer to the great 
 marts of Japan and China. But San Fran- 
 cisco itself will be nearer by the way of the 
 Aleutians than by Honolulu. The projection 
 of maps is not always calculated to present an 
 accurate idea of distances. From .measure- 
 ment on a globe it appears that a voyage from 
 San Francisco to Hong Kong by the common 
 way of the Sandwich islands is 7,140 miles, 
 but by way of the Aleutian islands it is only 
 6,060 miles, being a saving of more than one 
 thousand miles, with the enormous additional 
 advantage of being obliged to carry much less 
 coal. Of course a voyage from Sitka, or from 
 Puget sound, the terminus of the Northern 
 Pacific railroad, would be shorter still. 
 
 The advantages to the Pacific coast have two 
 aspects, one domestic and the other foreign. 
 Not only does the Treaty extend the coasting 
 trade of California, Oregon, and Washington 
 Territory northward, but it also extends the 
 base of commerce with China and Japan. 
 
 To unite the east of Asia with the west of 
 America is the aspiration of commerce now as 
 
 when the English navigator recorded his voy- 
 age. Of course whatever helps this result is 
 an advantage. The Pacific railroad is such an 
 advantage, for, though running v\'e3tward, it 
 will be, when completed, a new highway to the 
 East. This Treaty is another advantage, for 
 nothing can be clearer than that the western 
 coast must exercise an attraction which will 
 be felt in China and Japan just in proportion 
 as it is occupied by a commercial people com- 
 municating readily with the Atlantic and with 
 Europe. This cannot be done without conse- 
 quences not less important politically than com- 
 mercially. Owing so much to the Union, the 
 people there will be bound to it anew, and the 
 national unity will receive another confirma- 
 tion. Thus the whole countr)' will be a gainer. 
 So are we knit together that the advantages to 
 the Pacific coast will contribute to the general 
 welfare. 
 
 Extension of Dominion, 
 
 (2.) The extension of dominion is another 
 consideration, calculated to captivate the pub- 
 lic mind. Few are so cold or philosophical as 
 to regard with insensibility a widening of the 
 bounds of country. Wars have been regarded 
 as successful when they have given a new ter- 
 ritory. The discoverer who had planted the 
 flag of his sovereign on a distant coast has 
 been received as a conqueror. The ingratitude 
 which was shown to Columbus during his later 
 days was compensated by the epitaph that he 
 had given a new world to Castile and Leon. 
 His discoveries were continued by other navi- 
 gators, and Spain girdled the earth with her 
 possessions. Portugal, France, Holland, Eng- 
 land, each followed the example of Spain and 
 rejoiced in extended empire. 
 
 Our territorial acquisitions are among the 
 landmarks of our history. In 1803 Louisiana, 
 embracing the valley of the Mississippi, was 
 acquired from France for fifteen million dol- 
 lars. In 1819 Florida was acquired from Spain 
 for three million dollars. In 1845 Texas was 
 annexed v/ithout any purchase, but subse- 
 quently her debt was assumed to the amount 
 of seven and a half million dollars. In 1848 
 California, New Mexico, and Utah were ac- 
 quired from Mexico after war, and on payment 
 of fifteen million dollars. In 1854 Arizona 
 was acquired from Mexico for ten million dol- 
 lars. And now it is proposed to acquire Rus- 
 sian America. 
 
 The passion for acquisition, which is so 
 strong in the individual, is not less strong in 
 the community. A nation seeks an outlying 
 territory, as an individual seeks an outlying 
 farm. The passion shows itself constantly. 
 France, passing into Africa, has annexed Alge- 
 ria. Spain set her face in the same direction, 
 but without the same success. There are two 
 great Powers with Ti^hich annexation has be- 
 come a habit. One is Russia, which from the 
 time of Peter the Great has been moving her 
 flagfoi'ward in every direction, so that on every
 
 13 
 
 side her limits have been extended. Even now 
 the report comes that she is lifting her south- 
 ern landmarks in Asia, so as to carry her 
 boundary to India. The other annexationist 
 is Great Britain, which from time to time adds 
 another province to her Indian dominion. If 
 the United States have from time to time added 
 to their dominion tlicy have only yielded to the 
 universal passion, although I do not forget that 
 the4ate Theodore Parker was accustomed to say 
 that among all people the Anglo-Saxons were 
 remarkable for "a greed of land." It was 
 land, not gold, that aroused the Anglo-Saxon 
 phlegm. I doubt, however, if this passion be 
 stronger with us than with others, except, per- 
 haps, that in a community where ail jKirtici- 
 pate in government the national sentiments 
 I are more active. It is common to the human 
 family. There are few anywhere who could 
 hear of a considerable accession of territory, 
 obtained peacefully and honestly, without a 
 pride of country, even if at certain moments 
 the judgment hesitated. With an increased 
 size on the map there is an increased con- 
 sciousness of strength, and the citizen throbs 
 anew as he traces the extending line. 
 
 Extension of Republican Institutions. 
 
 (3.) More than the extension of dominion is 
 the extension of republican institutions, which 
 is a traditional aspiration. It was in this spirit 
 that Independence was achieved. In the name 
 of Human Rights our fathers overthrew the 
 
 ' kingly power, whose representative was George 
 the Third. They set themselves openly against 
 this form of government. They were against 
 it for themselves, and offered their example to 
 
 *^ mankind. They were Roman in character, and 
 turned to Roman lessons. With a cynical 
 austerity the early Cato said that kings were 
 "carnivorous animals," and at his instance the 
 Roman Senate decreed that no king should be 
 allowed within the gates of the city. A kin- 
 dred sentiment, with less austerity of form, 
 has been received from our fathers; but our 
 city can bo nothing less than the North Amer- 
 ican continent with its gates on all the sur- 
 rounding seas. 
 
 John Adams, in the preface to his Defense 
 of the American Constitution, written in Lon- 
 don, where he resided at the time as minister, 
 and dated January 1,1787, at Grosvenor Square, 
 the central seat of aristocratic fashion, after 
 exposing the fabulous origin of the kingly 
 power in contrast with the simple origin of 
 our republican constitutions, thus for a mo- 
 ment lifts the curtain of the future: "Thirteen 
 governments," he says plainly, "thus founded 
 on the natural autliority of the people alone, 
 and without any pretense of miracle or mys- 
 tery, and ichick arc destined to spread over the 
 northern part of that whole quarter of the^ 
 globe, is a great point gained in favor of the' 
 rights of mankind." (John Adams's Works, 
 vol. 4, p. 20:].) Thus, according to tliis pro- 
 phetic minister, even at that early day was the 
 
 destiny of the Republic manifest. It was to 
 spread over tlie northern part of tli(> Amer- 
 ican quarter of the globe; and it was to be a 
 support to the rights of mankind. 
 
 IJy the text of our Constitution the United 
 St,ates are bound to guaranty a "republican 
 form of government" to every State in this 
 Union; but this obligation, which is only ap- 
 jilicalde at homo, is an unquestionable indi- 
 cation of the national aspiration everywhere. 
 The Republic is something more than a local 
 policy ; it is a general principle, not to be for- 
 gotten at any time, especially when the oppor- 
 tunity is presented of bringing an immense 
 region within its influence. Elsewliere it has 
 lor the present failed: but on tliis account our 
 example is more important. Who can forget 
 the generous lament of Lord Byron, whose 
 passion for fi'GPdiTrti was not mitigated by his 
 rank as an hereditary legislator of England, 
 when he exclaims in memorable verse: 
 
 "The name of commonwealth is past and gone 
 O'er the three fractions of the groaning globe!" 
 
 Who call forget the salutation which the poet 
 sends to the "one great clime," wiiich, nursed 
 in fr«fedom, enjoys what he calls "the proud 
 distinction" of not being confounded with 
 other lands, , 
 
 "Whose sons mu.«t bow them at a monarch's motion. 
 As if his seustless scepter were a wand!" 
 
 The present Treaty is a visible step in the 
 occupation of the whole North American con- 
 tinent. As such it will be recognized by the 
 world and accepted by the American people. 
 But the Treaty involves something more. By 
 it we dismiss one more monarch from this 
 continent. One by one they hav^ retired; 
 first France ; then .Spain ; then France again ; 
 and nowllussia ; all giving way to that absorb- 
 ing Unity which is declared in the national 
 motto, E pluribus ttman. 
 
 Anticipation of Great Britain. 
 
 (4.) Another motive to this acquisition may 
 be found in a desire to anticipate the imagined 
 schemes or necessities of Great Britain. With 
 regard to all these I confess my doubts, and 
 yet, if we may credit report, it would seem as 
 if there was already a British movement in 
 this direction. Sometimes it is said that Great 
 Britain desires to buy if Russia will sell. 
 STFTleorge Simpson, governor-in-chicf of the 
 Hudson Bay Company, declared that without 
 the strip on the coast underlet to the former 
 by the Russian Company tlie interior would be 
 "comparatively useless to England." Here, 
 then, is a provocation to buy. Sometimes report 
 assumes a graver character. A German scien- 
 tific journal, in an elaborate paper entitled "The 
 Russian Colonies on the Northwest Coast of 
 America," after referring to the constant "pres- 
 sure" upon Russia, proceeds to say that there 
 are already crowds of adventurers from British 
 Columbia and California now at the gold rnines 
 ontheStikine, which flows from British territory
 
 14 
 
 tlirongh the Russian possessions, who openly 
 declare their purpose of driving the Russians 
 out of this region. I refer to the ArcTiiv filr 
 WissenschaftUche Kunde von Russlaiid, edited 
 at Berlin as late as 1863, by A. Erman, vol. 
 22, pp. 47-70, and unquestionably the leading 
 authority on Russian questions. At the same 
 time it presents a curious passage bearing di- 
 rectly on British policy from the British Colo- 
 nist, a newspaper of Victoria, on Vancouver's 
 island. As this was regarded of sufficient im- 
 portance to be translated into German for the 
 instruction of the readers of a scientific jour- 
 nal, I shall be justified in laying it beforeyou 
 restored from the German to English. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 "The information which we daily publish from the 
 Stikine river very naturally excites public attention 
 to a great extent. Whether the territory through 
 which the river Hows bo considered in a political, com- 
 mercial, or industrial light there is a probability that 
 in a short time there will be a still more general in- 
 terest in the claim. Not only will the intervention 
 of the royal jurisdiction be demanded in order to give 
 to it a complete form of government, but if the land 
 proves to be as rich as there is now reason to believe 
 it to be it is not improbable that it will result in 
 negotiations between England and Russia for the 
 transfer of the sea-coast to the British Crown. It 
 certainly is not acceptable that a stream like the 
 Stikine, which for one hundred and seventy to one 
 hundred and ninety miles is navigable for steam- 
 ers, which waters a territory so rich in gold that it 
 will allure thousands of men— certainly it is not 
 desirable that the business of such a highway should 
 reach the interior through a Russian door of thirty 
 miles of coast. The English population which occupies 
 the interior cannot be so easily managed by the Rus- 
 sians as the Stikine Indians of the coast manage the 
 Indians of the interior. Our business must be in 
 British hands. Our resources, our energies, our 
 undertakings cannot be fully developed in building 
 up a Russian emporium at the mouth of the Stikine. 
 We must have for our productions a depot over which 
 the British flag waves. By the treaty of 1825 the navi- 
 gation of the river is secured to us. The navigation 
 of the Mississippi was also open to the United States 
 before the Louisiana purchase, but the grovfing 
 Strength of the North made the attainment of that 
 territory either by purchase or by might an evident 
 necessity. Wo look upon the sea-coast of Stikine land 
 in the same light. The strip of land which stretches 
 along from Portland canal to Mount St. Elias with a 
 breadth of thirty miles, and which according to the 
 treaty of 1825 forms a part of Russian America, mjtsi 
 eventually become the property of Great Britain, either 
 as the direct result of the development of gold, or 
 for reasons which are now yet in the beginning, but 
 whose results arc certain. Forit is clearly undesirable 
 that the strip three hundred miles long and thirty 
 miles wide which is only used by the Russians for 
 the collection of furs and walrus teeth shall forever 
 control the entrance to our very extensive northern 
 territory. It is a principle of England to acquire 
 tcrritorv only as a point of defense. Canada, Nova 
 Sootia, Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, and the great 
 part of our Indian possessions were all acquired as 
 defensive points. In Africa, India, and China the 
 same rule is to-day followed by the Government. 
 With a Power like Russia it would perhaps bo more 
 difficult to get ready, but if we need the sea-coast to 
 help us in our business in the precious metals with 
 the interior and for defense then we must have it. 
 The United States needed Ploridaand Louisiana, and 
 they took them. We need the shore of New Norfolk 
 and New Cornwall. 
 
 " It is just as much the destiny of our Anglo-Norman 
 race to possess the whole of Russian America, how- 
 ever wild and inhospitable it may be, as it has been 
 the destiny of the Russian Northmen to prevail over 
 northern Ikirope and Asia. As the wandering .Jew 
 and his phantom in the tale of Eugene Sue, so will the 
 
 Anglo-Norman and the Russian yet look upon each 
 other from the opposite side of Behring straits. Be- 
 tween the two races the northern half of the Old and 
 New World must be divided. America must be ours. 
 "The present development of the precious metals in 
 our hyperborean Eldorado will most probably hasten 
 the annexation of the territory in question. It can 
 hardly be doubted that the gold region of the Stikine 
 extends away to the western source of the Mackenzie. 
 In this case the increase of the business and of the 
 population will exceed our most sanguine expecta- 
 tions. Who shall reap the profit of this? The mouths 
 of rivers have as well before as since the time of 
 railroads controlled the businessof the interior. For 
 our national pride the thought, however, is unbear- 
 able that the Russian eagle should possess a point 
 which owes its importance to the British lion. The 
 mouth of the Stikine mustbe ours, or at least an outer 
 harbor must be established on British soil from which 
 our steamers can pass the Russian girdle. Fort 
 ■Simpson, Dundas Land, Portland canal, orsome other, 
 convenient point, must be selected for this purpose. 
 The necessity of speedy action in order to secure the 
 control of tlie Stikine is apparent. If we let slip the 
 opportunity, so shall we permit a Russian State to 
 arrive at the door of a British colony." 
 
 Thus if we may credit this colonial ejacula- 
 tion, caught up and preserved by German 
 science, the Russian possessions were destined 
 to round and complete the domain of Great 
 Britain on this continent. The Russian "eagle" 
 was to give way to the British "lion." The 
 Anglo-Norman was to be master as far as 
 Behring straits, across which he might survey 
 his Russian neighbor. How this was to be 
 accomplished is not precisely explained. The 
 promises of gold on the Stikine failed, and 
 it is not improbable that this colonial plan 
 was as unsubstantial. Colonists become ex- 
 cited easily. This is not the first time in which 
 Russian America has been menaced in a 
 similar way. During the Crimean war there 
 seemed to be in Canada a spirit not unlike 
 that of the Vancouver journalist, unless we 
 are misled by the able, pamphlet of Mr. A. 
 K. Roche, of Quebec, where, after describing 
 Russian America as "richer in resources and 
 capabilities than it has hitherto been allowed 
 to be either by the English who shamefully 
 gave it up, or by the Russians who cunningly 
 obtained it," the author urges an expedition 
 for its conquest and annexation. His propo- 
 sition fell on the happy termination of the war, 
 but it exists as a warning, with a notice also 
 of a former English title, "shamefully" aban- 
 doned. 
 
 This region is distant enough from Great 
 Britain ; but there is an incident of past his- 
 tory which shows that distance from the metro- 
 politan Government has not excluded the idea 
 of war. Great Britain could hardly be more 
 jealous of Russia on these coasts than waa 
 Spain in a former day, if we may credit the re- 
 port of Humboldt. I quote again his author- 
 itative work, Essai Politique sur la Nouvelle 
 Espagne, (Tom. 1, page 345,) where it is re- 
 corded that as early as 1788, even while peace 
 was still unbroken, the Spaniards could not bear 
 the idea of Russians in this region, and when in 
 1790 the Emperor Paul declared war on Spain 
 the hardy project was formed of an expedition 
 from the Mexican ports of Monterey and San
 
 15 
 
 Bias against the Russian colonies, on which the 
 philosophic traveler remarks, in words which 
 are recalled by the Vancouver manifesto, that 
 "if this project had been executed the world 
 would have witnessed two nations in conflict, 
 which, occupying the opposite extremities of 
 Europe, fo'.ind themselves neighbors in another 
 hemisphere on the eastern and western bound- 
 aries of their vast empires." Thus notwith- 
 standing an intervening circuit of half the globe 
 two great Powers were about to encounter each 
 other on these coasts. But I hesitate to believe 
 that the British of our day in any considerable 
 numbers have adopted the early Spanish dis- 
 quietude at the presence, of Russia on this 
 contiueut. 
 
 The Amity of Russia. 
 
 (5.) There is still another consideration con- 
 cerning this Treaty which must not be disre- 
 garded. It attests and assures the amity of 
 Russia. Even if you doubt the value of these 
 possessions, the Treaty is a sign of friendship. 
 It is a new expression of that entente cordiale 
 between the two Powers which is a phenome- 
 non of history. Though unlike in institu- 
 tions, they are not unlike in recent experi- 
 ence. Sharers of a common glory in a great 
 act of Emancipation, they also share together 
 the opposition or antipathy of other nations. 
 Perhaps this experience has not been without 
 its effect in bringing them together. At all 
 events, no coldness or unkindness has inter- 
 fered at any time with their good relations. 
 
 The archives of the State Department show 
 an uninterrupted cordiality between the two 
 Governments dating far back in our history. 
 More than once Russia has offered her good 
 offices between the United States and Great 
 Britain; once also she was a recognized arbi- 
 trator. She offered her mediation to prevent 
 war in 1812, and again by her mediation in 
 1815 brought about peace. Afterwards it was 
 under her arbitration that questions with Great 
 Britain arising under the treaty of Ghent were 
 amicably settled in 1822. But it was during our 
 recent troubles that we felt more than ever her 
 friendly sentiments, although it is not improb- 
 able that the accident of position and of dis- 
 tance had its influence in preserving these 
 undisturbed. The Rebellion, which tempted 
 80 many other Powers into its embrace, could 
 not draw Russia from her habitual good will. 
 Her solicitude for the Union was early de- 
 clared. She made no unjustifiable concession 
 of ocean belligerency, with all its immunities 
 and powers, to rebels in arms against the 
 Union. She furnished no hospitality to rebel 
 cruisers ; nor was any rebel agent ever re- 
 ceived, entertained, or encouraged at St. 
 Petersburg; while, on the other )iand, there 
 •was an understanding that the United States 
 should be at liberty to carryprizes into Russian 
 
 Eorts. So natural and easy were the relations 
 etween the two Governments that such com- 
 plaints as incidentally arose on either side were 
 
 amicably adjusted by verbal explanations with- 
 out any written controversy. 
 
 Positive acts occurred to strengthen these 
 relations. As early as 18G1 the two Govern- 
 ments came to an agreement to act together 
 for the establishment of a connection between 
 San Francisco and St. Petersburg by an inter- 
 oceanic telegraph across Behring straits ; and 
 this agreement was subsequently sanctioned 
 by Congi'ess. Meanwhile occurred the visit of 
 the Russian fleet in the winter of 18G3, which 
 was intended by the Emperor and accepted by 
 the United States as a friendly demonstration. 
 This was followed by a communication of the 
 Secretary of State, dated 2Glh December, 1864, 
 in the name of the President, invitingthe Arch- 
 duke Constantino to visit the United States, 
 in which it was suggested that such a visit 
 would be " beneficial to us and by no means 
 unprofitable to Russia," but forbearing '*to 
 specify reasons," and assuringhim that coming 
 as a national guest he would receive a cordial 
 and most demonstrative welcome. Affairs in 
 Russia prevented the acceptance of this invita- 
 tion. Afterwards, in the spring of 186G, Con- 
 gress by solemn resolution declared the sym- 
 pathies of the people of the United States with 
 the Emperor on his escape from the madness of 
 an assassin, and Mr. Fox, at the time Assist- 
 ant Secretary of the Navy, was appointed to 
 take the resolution of Congress to the Emperor, 
 and, in discharge of this trust, to declare the 
 friendly sentiments of our country for Russia. 
 He was conveyed to Cronstadt in the monitor 
 Miantonomah, the most formidable ship of our 
 Navy ; and thus this agent of war became a 
 messenger of peace. The monitor and the min- 
 ister were received in Russia with unbounded 
 hospitality. 
 
 In relations such as I have described the 
 cession of territory seems a natural transaction 
 entirely in harm'ony with the past. It remains 
 to hope that it may be a new link in an amity 
 which, without effort, has overcome differences 
 of institutions and intervening space on the 
 globe. 
 
 SHALL THE TREATY BE RATIFIED? 
 
 Such are some of the obvious considerations 
 of a general character bearing on the Treaty. 
 The interests of the Pacific States ; the exten- 
 sion of the national domain ; the extension 
 of republican institutions ; the foreclosure of 
 adverse British possessions and the amity of 
 Russia; these are the points which we have 
 passed in review. Most of these, if not all, are 
 calculated to impress the public mind ; but I 
 can readily understand a difference of opinion 
 with regard to the urgency of negotiation at this 
 hour. Some may think that the purchase- 
 money and the annual outlay which must fol- 
 low might have been postponed for another 
 decade, while Russia continued in possession 
 as a trustee for our benefit. And yet some of 
 the reasons for the Treaty do not seem to allow 
 delay. 
 
 At all events, now that the Treaty has been
 
 16 
 
 signed by plenipotentiaries on each side duly 
 empowered, it is difficult to see liow we can 
 refuse to complete the purchase without putting 
 to hazard the friendly relations which happily 
 subsist between the United States and Russia. 
 The overtures originallj' proceeded from us. 
 After a delay of years, and other intervening 
 propositions, the bargain was at length con- 
 cluded. It is with nations as with individuals. 
 A liargain once made must be kept. Even if 
 still open to consideration it must not be liglitly 
 abandoned. I am satisfied that the dishonor 
 of this Treaty, after what has passed, would be 
 a serious responsibility for our country. As an 
 international question, it would be tried by the 
 public opinion of the world, and there are many, 
 who, not appreciating the requirement of our 
 Constitution by which a Treaty must have '"the 
 advice and consent of the Senate," would 
 regard its rejection as bad faith. There would 
 be jeers at us and jeers at Russia also ; at us 
 for levity in making overtures, and at Russia 
 for levity in yielding to them. Had the Sen- 
 ate been consulted in advance, before the Treaty 
 was si*;ned or either Power publicly committed, 
 as is often done on important occasions, it would 
 now be untler less constraint. On such a con- 
 sultation there would have been an opportunity 
 for all possible objections, and a large latitude 
 to a reasonable discretion. Let me add that, 
 while forbearing objection now, I hope that 
 this Treaty may not be drawn into a precedent 
 at least in the independent manner of its nego- 
 tiation. I would save to the Senate an import- 
 ant power that justly belongs to it. 
 
 A CAVEAT. 
 
 But there is one other point on which I file 
 my caveat. This Treaty must not be a prece- 
 dent for a system of indiscriminate and costly 
 annexation. Sincerely believing that repub- 
 lican institutions under the primacy of the Uni- 
 ted States must embrace this whole continent, 
 I cannot adopt the sentiment of Jefferson, who 
 while confessing satisfaction in settlements on 
 the Pacific coast saw there in the future noth- 
 ing but "free and independent Americans," 
 bound to the United States omy by "ties of 
 blood and interest" without political unity. 
 Nor am I willing to restrain myself to the prin- 
 ciple so tersely expressed by Andrew Jackson 
 in his letter to President Monroe, ' ' Concentrate 
 our population, confine our frontier to proper 
 limits, until our country, to those limits, is filled 
 with a dense population." But I cannot dis- 
 guise my anxiety that every stage in our pre- 
 destined future shall be by natural processes 
 without war, and I would add even without 
 purchase. There is no territorial aggVandize- 
 ment which is worth the price of blood. Only 
 under peculiar circumstances can it become the 
 subject of pecuniary contract. Our triumph 
 should be by growth and organic expansion in 
 obedience to "preestablished harmony," rec- 
 ognizing always the will of those who are to 
 become our fellow- citizens. All this must be 
 
 easy if we are only true to ourselves. Our motto 
 may be that of Goethe, ""Without haste, with- 
 out rest." Let the Republic be assured in 
 tranquil liberty with all equal before the law 
 and it will conquer by its sublime example. 
 More happy than Austria, who acquired pos- 
 sessions by marriage, we shall acquire them by 
 the attraction of republican institutions ; 
 
 "Bella gerant alii; tu, fclix Austria, nube; 
 Nam qu£3 Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus." 
 
 The famous epigram will be just as applicable 
 tons, inasmuch as our acquisitions will be under 
 the sanction of wedlock to the Republic. There 
 may be wedlock of a people as well as of a 
 prince. . Meanwhile our first care should be to 
 improve and elevate the Republic, whose sway 
 will be so comprehensive. Plant it with schools ; 
 cover it with churches ; fill it with libraries ; 
 make it abundant with comfort so that poverty 
 shall disappear : keep it constant in the asser- 
 tion of Human Rights. And here we may fitly 
 recall those words of antiquity, which Cicero 
 quoted from the Greek, and which Webster ia 
 our day quoted from Cicero, "You have a 
 Sparta; adorn it." 
 
 SOUECES OF INFORMATION ITPON RUSSIAN AMERICA, 
 
 I am now brought to consider the character 
 of these possessions and their probable value. 
 Here I am obliged to confess a dearth of 
 authentic information easily accessible. There 
 are few among us who read Russian, so that 
 works in this language are locked up from the 
 world. One of these, in two large and showy 
 volumes, is now before me, entitled "A Histor- 
 ical Survey of the Formation of the Russian- 
 American Company, and its progress to the 
 present time, by P. Teshmenew, St. Peters- 
 burg." The first volume appeared in 1860, and 
 the second in 18G3. Here, among other things, 
 is a tempting engraving of Sitka, wrapped in 
 mists, with the sea before and the snow-capped 
 mountains darkened with forest behind. Judg- 
 ing from the table of contents, which has beea 
 translated for me by a Russian, the book ought 
 to be instructive. There is also another Russian 
 work of an official character, which appeared 
 in 1861 at St. Petersburg in the Morskoi Sbor- 
 nich, or Naval Review, and is entitled "Ma- 
 terials for the History of the Russian Colonies 
 on the Coasts of the Pacific." The report of 
 Captain Lieutenant Golowin made to the Grand 
 Duke Constantine in 1861, with which we have 
 become acquainted through a scientific Ger- 
 man journal, appeared originally in the same 
 review. These are recent productions. After 
 the early voyages of Behring, first ordered by 
 Peter the Great and supervised by the Impe- 
 rial Academy at St. Petersburg, the spirit of 
 geographical research seems to have subsided 
 at St. Petersburg. Other enterprises absorbed 
 the attention. And yet I would not do injus- 
 tice to the voyages of Billings, recounted by 
 Saner, or of Lisiansky, Krusenstern, and 
 Langsdorf, or of Kotzebuc, all under the aus- 
 pices of Russia, the last of which may com-
 
 17 
 
 pare with any as a contribution to science. I 
 may add Llitke also ; but Kotzebue was a wor- 
 thy successor to IJehring and Cook. 
 
 Beside these oflicial contributions, most of 
 which are by no means fresh, there are mate- 
 rials derived from casual navigators, who, 
 scudding these seas, rested in the harbors there 
 as the water- fowl on its flight; from whalemen, 
 who were there merely as Nimrods of the 
 ocean; or from adventurers in quest of the rich 
 furs which it furnished. There arc also the 
 gazetteers and geographies ; but they are less 
 instructive on this head than usual, being 
 founded on information now many years old. 
 
 Perhaps no region of equal extent on the 
 globe, unless we except the interior of Africa 
 or possibly Greenland, is as little known. 
 Here I do not speak for myself alone. A 
 learned German, whom I have already quoted, 
 after saying that the explorations have been 
 limited to the coast, testifies that "the interior, 
 not only of the continent, but even of the island 
 of Sitka, is to-day unexplored, and is in every 
 respect terra incognita.'' The same has been 
 repeated of the islands also. Admiral Llitke, 
 w^hose circumnavigation of the globe began in 
 182-5, and whose work bears date in 18o-3, says 
 of the Aleutian archipelago, that "although 
 frequented for more than a century by Russian 
 vessels and those of other nations it is to-day 
 almost as little known as in the time of Cook." 
 Another writer of authority, the compiler of 
 the official work on the People of Russia, pub- 
 lished as late as 1S0"2, speaks of the interior as 
 '•a mystery." And yet another says that our 
 ignorance with regard to this region would make 
 it a proper scene for a chapter of Gullivers 
 Travels. 
 
 \Yhere so little was known there was scope 
 for invention. Imagination was made to sup- 
 ply the place of knowledge, and poetry pictured 
 the savage desolation in much-admired verse. 
 Campbell, in the Pleasures of Hope, while ex- 
 ploring "earth'g loneliest bounds and ocean's 
 wildest shore," reaches this region, which he 
 portrays: 
 
 "Lo! to the wintry winds the pilot yields. 
 His bark careering o'er unfathbmcd fields. 
 Now far he sweep?, where scarce a summer .«milc8, 
 On Behring's rocks, or Greenland's naked isles; 
 Cold on hi.s midnight watcli the breeaes blow. 
 From wastes that .slumber in eternal snow. 
 And waft across the wave's tumultuous roar 
 The icolfs long howl from Ounalauku' g nhorc." 
 
 All of which, SO far at least as it describes 
 this region, is inconsistent with the truth. 
 The poet ignores the isothermal line, which 
 plays such a conspicuous part on the P.'icific 
 coast. Here the evidence is positive. Port- 
 lock, the navigator, who was there toward the 
 close of the last century, after describing 
 Cook's inlet, which is several degrees north 
 of Ounalaska, 'records his belief "that the 
 climate here is not so severe as has been gen- 
 erally supposed ; for in the course of traffic 
 with the natives they frequently brought ber- 
 ries of several sorts, and in particular black- 
 
 2 
 
 berries equally fine with those met with in Eng- 
 land." (Voyage, p. 118.) Kotzebue, who was 
 here later, records that he found the weather 
 "pretty warm at Ounalaska." (Voy.ige, vol. 
 1, p. 275.) South of the Aleutians the climate 
 is warmer still. The poet ignores natural his- 
 tory also as regards the distribution of animals. 
 Curiously enough, it does not appear that tlicrf- 
 are "wolves ' on any of the Aleutians. Coxr. 
 in his work on Russian Discoveries, (p. 174,) 
 records that "reindeer, bears, tcolces, and ice- 
 foxes are not to be found on these islands," 
 But he was never there. Meares, who was in 
 those seas, says " the only animals on these 
 islands are foxes, some of which are black." 
 (Voyage, vol. 1, p. 10.) Cook, who v.-as at 
 Ounalaska twice, and once made a prolonged 
 stay, expressly says, "Foxes and weasels were 
 the only quadrupeds we saw ; they told us that 
 they had hares also." (Voyage, vol. 2, p. 518.) 
 But quadrupeds like these hardly sustain the 
 exciting picture. The same experienced navi- 
 gator furnishes a glimpse of the inhabitants as 
 they appeared to him, which would make us 
 tremble if the "wolves" of the poet were 
 numerous. He says that ''to all appearance 
 they are the most peaceable, inoffensive people 
 he ever met with;" and Cook had been at Ota- 
 heite. "No such thing as an offensive or 
 defensive weapon was seen amongst the natives 
 of Ounalaska." {Ibid., pp. 509, 515.) Then 
 at least the inhabitants did not share the 
 ferocity of the "wolves" and of the climate. 
 Another navigator fascinates us by a descrip- 
 tion of the boats of Ounalaska, which struck 
 him "with amazement beyopd expression;" 
 and he goes on to say, "If perfect .symmetry, 
 smoothness, and proportion constitute beauty, 
 they are beautiful beyond anything that I ever 
 beheld. I have seen some of them as trans- 
 parent as oiled paper." (Billings's Voyages, 
 p. 15.) But these are the very boats that buf- 
 fet "the wave's tumultuous roar," while "the 
 breezes" waft the " wolf's long howl." This 
 same navigator introduces another feature. 
 According to him the Russians sojourning there 
 "seem to have no desire to leave this place, 
 where they enjoy that indolence so pleasing to 
 their minds." (P. 101.) The lotus eaters of 
 Homer were no better off. The picture is com- 
 pleted by another touch from L'litke. Admit- 
 ting the want of trees on the island, the admiral 
 suggests that their place is supplied not only 
 by luxuriant grass, bilt by wood thrown upon 
 the coast, including trunks of camphor from 
 Chinese and .hipanese waters,, and "a tree 
 which gives forth the odor of the rose." 
 (Voyage, Tom. 1, p. 132.) Such is a small 
 portion of the testimony, most of which was 
 in print before the poet wrote. 
 
 Nothing has been written about this region, 
 whether the coast or the islands, more authen- 
 tic or interesting than the narrative of Captain 
 Cook on his third and last voyage. He saw 
 with intelligence, and described with clearness 
 almost elegant. The record of Captain Port-
 
 IB 
 
 lock's voyage from London to tlie northwest 
 coast in 1786, 1787, and 1788 seems to be 
 honest, and is instructive. Captain Meares, 
 whose voyage was contemporaneous, saw and 
 exposed the importance of trade between the 
 northwest coast and China. Vancouver, who 
 came a little later, has described some parts 
 of this coast. La Perouso, the unfortunate 
 French navigator, has afforded another picture 
 of the coast painted with French colors. 
 Before him was La Maurelle, a Frenchman 
 sailing in the service of Spain, who was on 
 the coast in 1779, a portion of whose journal 
 is preserved in the appendix to the volumes of 
 La Pcrouse. After him was Marchand, also 
 a Frenchman, who, during a voyage round the 
 world, stopped here in 1791. The voyage of 
 the latter, published in three quartos, is accom- 
 panied by an Historical Introduction, which is 
 a mine of information on all the voyages to 
 this coast. Then came the several successive 
 Russian voyages already mentioned. Later 
 came the Voyage round the world by Captain 
 Belcher, with a familiar sketch of life at Sitka, 
 where he stopped in 1837, and an engraving 
 representing the arsenal and light-house there. 
 Then came the Journey round ike luorM in 
 1841 and 1842 by Sir George Simpson, gov- 
 ernor-In-chief of the Hudson Bay Company, 
 containing an account of a visit to Sitka and 
 the hospitality of its governor. To these T 
 may add The Nautical Magazine for 18411, vol- 
 ume 18, which contains a few excellent pages 
 about Sitka; the Journal of the London Geo- 
 graphical Society for 1841, volume 11, and for 
 1852, volume K, where this region is treated 
 under the head of Arctic languages and animal 
 life ; Burney's Bussian and Northeastern Voy- 
 ages ; the magnificent work entitled Les Pcuples 
 de la Russie, which appeared at St. Petersburg 
 in 1862, on the tenth centennial anniversary 
 of tlie foundation of the Russian empire, a copy 
 of which is in the Astor Library; the very 
 recent work of Murray on the Geographical 
 Distribution of Mammals; the work of Sir 
 John Richardson, Fauna Boreali- Americana ; 
 Latham on Nationalities in the chapters which 
 treat of the population of Russian America ; 
 the Encyclopedia Br itannica; and the admira- 
 !ble Atlas of Physical Geography by Keith 
 Johnston. I mention also an elaborate article 
 Iby Holmberg, in the Transactions of the Fin- 
 land Society of Sciences at Helsingfors, said to 
 fcereplete with information on the Ethnography 
 lofthe Northwest Coast. 
 
 Perhaps the most precise and valuable infor- 
 imation has been contributed by Germany. 
 "The Germans are the best of geographers ; 
 'ibesides many Russian' contributions are in 
 t^German. Mliller, who recorded the discover- 
 '"ies of Behring, was a German. Nothing more 
 J;important on this subject has ever appeared 
 ^than the German work of the Russian Ad- 
 jsmiral Von Wrangel, Sfatisfisrhe und FAhno- 
 hgraphische Nachrichten uber die Russichen 
 \lBesitzung^n an der Nordwestkliste von America, 
 
 first published byBaerinhis Russian Beitrage 
 in 1839. There is also the Verhandlimgen der 
 Russisch- Kaiserlichen Mineralogischen Ges- 
 sellschaft zu St. Petersburg, 1848 and 1849, 
 which contains an elaborate article, in itself a 
 volume, on the orography and geology of the 
 northwest coast and the adjoining islands, at 
 the end of which is a bibliographical list of the 
 works and materials illustrating the discovery 
 and history of the west half of North America 
 and the neighboring seas. I may also refer 
 generally to the Archiv fllr Wissenschaftliche 
 Kunde von Riissland, edited by Erman, but 
 especially the volume for 1863, containing the 
 abstract of Golowin's report on the Russian 
 sian Colonies in North America as it appeared 
 originally in the Morskoi Sbornich. Besides 
 these there are Wappaus Handbuch von Geo- 
 graphic und Statistik von Nord Amerilca, pub- 
 lished at Leipsic in 1855 ; P6terman in his 
 Mittheilungen iiber wichtige neue Erforsch- 
 ungen aitj' dem gesammtgebiete der Geographic 
 for 1856, vol. 2, p. 486 ; for 1859, vol. 5, p. 41 ; 
 and for 1863, voL 9, pp. 70, 236, 277, 278: 
 Kittlilz JJenkw'drdigkeiten einer Reise nach 
 dem Riissischen America durch Kamtschatka, 
 published at Gotha in 1858 : also by the same 
 author The Vegetation of the Coasts and Islands 
 of the Pacific translated from the German and 
 puldished at London in 1861. 
 
 Much recent information has been derived 
 from the great companies possessing the mo- 
 nopoly of trade here. Latterly there has been 
 an unexpected purveyor in the Russian Amer- 
 ican Telegraph Company, under the direction 
 of Colonel Charles L. Bulkley, and here our 
 own countrymen come to help us. To this expe- 
 dition we are indebted for authentic evidence 
 with regard to the character of the country 
 and the great rivers which traverse it. The 
 Smithsonian Listitution and the Chicago Acad- 
 emy of Sciences cooperated with the Telegraph 
 Company in the investigation of the Natural i 
 History of the region. Major Kennicott, a 
 young naturalist, originally in the service of the 
 Institution, and Director of the Museum of the 
 Chicago Academy, was the enterprising chief 
 of the Youkon division of the expedition. 
 While in the midst of his valuable labors he died 
 suddenly in the month of May last at Nulato, on 
 the banks of the great river, the Kwich]iak, which 
 may be called the Mississippi of the North, far 
 away in the interior and on the confines of the 
 Arctic Circle, where the sun was visible all 
 night. Even after death he was still an ex- 
 plorer. From this remote outpost his remains, 
 after descending the unknown river in an Esqui- 
 maux boat of seal skins, steered by the faithful 
 companion of his labors, were transported by 
 way of Panama to his home at Chicago, where 
 he now lies buried. Such a» incident cannot 
 be forgotten, and his name will always remind 
 us of courageous enterprise, before which dis- 
 tance and difficulty disappeared. He was not 
 a beginner when he entered into the service of 
 the Telegraph Company. Already he had vis-
 
 19 
 
 ited the Youkon country by the way of the 
 Mackenzie river, and contributed to the Smith- 
 sonian Institution important information with 
 regard to its geo{];rai)hy and natural history, 
 some of which will be found in their reports. 
 Nature in novel forms was open to him. The 
 birds here maintained their kingdom. All 
 about him was the mysterious breeding-place 
 of the canvas-back duck, whose eggs, never 
 before seen by a naturalist, covered acres. 
 
 If we look to maps for information, here 
 again we find ourselves disappointed. Latterly 
 the coast is outlined and described with rea- 
 sonable completeness ; so also are the islands. 
 This is the contribution of navigators and of 
 recent Russian charts. But the interior is little 
 more than a blank, calling to mind "the path- 
 less downs," where, according to Prior, the 
 old geographers "place elephants instead of 
 towns." 1 have already referred to what pur- 
 ports to be a "General Map of the Russian 
 Empire," published by the Academy of Sci- 
 ences at St.* Petersburg in 1776, and repub- 
 lished at London in 1787, whore Russian 
 America does not appear. I might mention 
 also that Captain Cook complained in his day 
 of the Russian maps as "wonderfully errone- 
 ous." On his return English maps recorded 
 his explorations and the names he assigned to 
 different parts of the coast. These were re- 
 produced in St. Petersburg, and the Russian 
 copy was then reproduced in London, so that 
 geographical knowledge was very little ad- 
 vanced. Some of the best maps of this region 
 are by Germans, who always excel in maps. 
 Here, for instance, is an excellent map of the 
 Aleutian islands and the neighboring coasts, 
 especially to illustrate their orography and 
 geography, which will be found at the end of 
 tlic volume of Transactions of the Imperial 
 Mineralogical Society at St. Petersburg, to 
 •which I have already referred. 
 
 Late maps attest the tardiness of informa- 
 tion. Here, for instance, is an excellent map 
 of North America, purporting to be published 
 by the Geographical Institute of Weimar as 
 late as 1859, on which we have the Youkon 
 pictured, very much like the Niger in Africa, as 
 a large river meandering in the interior with- 
 out any outlet to the sea. Here also is a Rus- 
 sian map of this very region, as late as 1801, in 
 which the course of the Youkon is left in 
 doubt. On other maps, as in the Atlas of 
 Keith Johnston, it is pictured under another 
 name as entering into the Frozen ocean. But 
 the secret is penetrated at last. Recent dis- 
 covery by the enterprise of our citizens in 
 the service of the lelegraph Company fixes 
 that this river is an affluent of the Kwichpak, 
 as the Missouri is an affluent of the Mississippi, 
 and enters into Behring sea, by many months, 
 between the parallels of 04° and 05°. After 
 the death of Major Kennicott a division of his 
 party, with nothing but a skin boat, ascended 
 the river to Fort Youkon, where it bifurcates, 
 and descended H again to Nulato, thus estab- 
 
 lishing the entire course from its sources ia 
 the Rocky mountains for a distance exceeding 
 a thousand miles. I have before me now an 
 outline maj) just prepared by our Coast Siir- 
 rey, where this correction is made. But this 
 is only the harbinger of the maturcr labors of 
 our accomplished bureau when the coasts of 
 tliis region are under the jurisdiction of the 
 United States. 
 
 In closing this abstract of authorities, being 
 the chief sources of original information on 
 this subject, I cannot forbear expressing my 
 satisfaction that, with the exception of a single 
 work, all these may be found in the Congres- 
 sional Library, now so happily enriched by the 
 rare collection of the Smithsonian Institution. 
 Sometimes individuals are like libraries; and 
 this seems to be illustrated in the case of Pro- 
 fessor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, 
 who is thoroughly informed on all questions 
 connected with the Natural History of Russian 
 America, and also of George Gibbs, Esq., now 
 of Washington, who is the depositary of valua- 
 ble knowledge, the result of his own personal 
 studies and observations, with regard to the 
 native races. 
 
 CHABACTEB AND VALUE OF RUSSIAN AMERICA. 
 
 I pass now to a consideration of the char- 
 acter and value of these possessions, as seen 
 under these diflFerent heads: first, govern- 
 ment; secondly y population; thirdly, climate; 
 fourthly, vegetable products; fifthly, mineral 
 products; sixthly, furs; and seventhly, fish- 
 eries. Of these 1 shall speak briefly ir^ their 
 order. There are certain wofds of a general 
 character, which I introduce by way of preface. 
 1 quote from Blodgett on the Climatology of 
 the United States and of the temperate Lati- 
 tudes of the North American continent ; 
 
 " It is most surprising that so littlo is known of the 
 great islands and the long line of coast from Pulet's 
 sound to Sitka, ample as its resources must be even 
 for rccruitins the transient commerce of the Pacific, 
 independent of its immense intrinsic value. To the 
 region bordering the northern Pacific the finest mari- 
 time positions belong throughout its entire <-xtent; 
 and no part of the west of Europe exceeds it in the 
 advantages of equable climate, fertile soil, ^ind com- 
 mercial accessibility of the coast. The western slopo 
 of the Rocky mountain system may be included a? a 
 part of this maritime region, embracing an immense 
 area from the forty-fifth to the sixtieth parallel and 
 five degrees of longitude in width. The cultivable 
 service of this district cannot be much less than three 
 hundred thousand square miles." 
 
 From this sketch, which is in the nature of 
 a picture, I pass to the different heads. 
 
 Government. 
 
 I. The Russian settlements were for a long 
 time without any regular Government. They 
 were little more than temporary lodgments 
 for purposes of trade, where the will of the 
 stronger prevailed. The natives, who liad 
 enslaved each other, became in turn the slaves 
 of these .mercenary adventurers. C;iptain 
 Cook records " llie great subjection" of the 
 " natives at Ounalaska when he was there in
 
 20 
 
 1778, and a Russian navigator, twenty years 
 later, describes the islands generally as " under 
 the sway of roving hunters more savage than 
 any tribes he had hitherto met with." (Bill- 
 ings's Voyage, p. 274.) At Ounalaskathe Rus- 
 sians for a long time employed all the men in 
 t!ie chase, "taking the fruits of their labor to 
 themselves." 
 
 The first trace of government which I find 
 was in 1790, at the important island of Ko- 
 dii-.k, or the Great Island, as it was called, 
 where a Russian company was established 
 under the direction of a Greek by thename of- 
 Delaretf, who, according to the partial_ report 
 of a Russian navigator, "governed with the 
 strictest justice, as well natives as Russians, 
 and established a school, where the young 
 natives were taught the Russian language, read- 
 ing, and writing." (Billings, p. 171.) Here were 
 about fifty Russians, including officers of the 
 company, and another person described as 
 there "on the part of Government to collect 
 tribute." The establishment consisted of five 
 houses after the Russian fashion; barracks 
 laid out on either side somewhat like the 
 boxes at a coffee-house, with different offices, 
 ■which are represented as follows: "An office 
 of appeal to settle disputes, levy fines, and 
 punish offenders by a regular trial ; here Del- 
 areff' presides; and I believe that few courts 
 of justice pass a sentence with more impartial- 
 ity'; an office of receival and delivery, both for 
 the company and for tribute ; the commissary's 
 department; counting-house; all in this build- 
 incr, at one end of which is Delareff's habita- 
 tion." {Ibid., p. 173.) If this picture is not 
 overdrawn, and it surely is, affairs here did not 
 improve with time. 
 
 It seems that there were various small com- 
 panies, of which that at Kodiak was the most 
 considerable, all of which were finally fused 
 into one large Trading Company, known as 
 the Russian American Company, which was 
 organized in 1799, under a charter from the 
 Emperor Paul, with the power of administra- 
 tion throughout the whole region, including 
 the coasts and the islands. In this respect it 
 was not unlike the East India Company, which 
 has played such a part in English history ; but 
 it maybe more properly compared to the Hud- 
 son Bay Company, of which it v/as a Russian 
 counterpart. The charter was for a term of 
 years, but it has been from time to time ex- 
 tended, and, as I understand, is now on the 
 point of expiring. The powers of the com- 
 pany are sententiously described by the Ahna- 
 nach de Gotha for 1867, where, under the head 
 of Russia, it says that "to the present time 
 Russian America has been the property of a 
 covipany. ' ' 
 
 I know no limitation upon the company, ex- 
 cept that latterly it has been bound to appoint 
 its chief functionary, called "Administrator 
 General," from the higher officers of the Im- 
 perial navy, when he becomes invested with 
 what are declared the prerogatives of a gov- 
 
 ernor in Siberia. This requirement has doubt- 
 less secured the superior order of magistrates 
 which the country has latterly enjoyed. Among 
 these have been Baron Wrangel, an admiral, 
 who was there at the time of the treaty with 
 Great Britain in 1825; Captain Koupreanoff, 
 who had commanded the Azof, a ship of the 
 line, in the Black sea, and spoke English well; 
 Captain Etholine; Admiral Fujurelm, who, 
 after being there five years, was made gov- 
 ernor of the province of the Amoor; Admiral 
 Wodski and Prince Macksoutoff, an admiral 
 also, who is the present Administrator Gen- 
 eral. The term of service is ordinarily five 
 years. 
 
 Th':^ seat of government is the town of New 
 Archangel, better known by its aboriginal name 
 of Sitka, with a harbor as smooth and safe as 
 a pond. Its present population cannot be far 
 from one thousand souls, although even this is 
 changeable. In the spring, when sailors leave 
 for the sea and trappers for the chase, it has 
 been reduced to as few as one hundred and 
 eighty. It was not without a question that 
 Sitka at last prevailed as the metropolis. 
 Lutke sets forth reasons elaborately urged in 
 favor of St. Paul on the island of Kodiak. 
 (Voyage, Tom. 1, p. 153,) 
 
 The first settlement there was in 1800 by 
 Baranow, the superintendent of the company, 
 whose life was passed in this country, and whose 
 name has been given to the island. But the 
 settlement made slow progress. Lisiansky, 
 who was there in 1801, records that "from his 
 entrance into Sitka sound there was not to be 
 seen on the shore the least vestige of habita- 
 tion." (P. 115.) The natives had set them- 
 selves against a settlement there. Meanwhile 
 the seat of government was at Kodiak, of which 
 we have an early and friendly .glimpse. I 
 quote what Lisiansky says, as exhibiting in a 
 favorable light the beginning of that govern- 
 ment which has been transferred to the United 
 States: 
 
 " The island of Kodiak, with therest of the Russian 
 settlements along the northwest coast of America, are 
 superintended by a kind of governor generalor com- 
 mander-in-chief, who has agents under him. ap- 
 pointed, like himself, bj- the company at Petersburg. 
 The smaller settlements have each a Eussian over- 
 seer. These overseers are chosen by the governor, 
 and are selected for the office in consequence of their 
 long services and orderly conduct. They have the 
 power of punishing, to a certain extent, those whom 
 they superintend; but are themselves amenable to 
 the governor if they abuse their power by acts of 
 injustice. The seat of government is on the harbor 
 of St. Paul, which has a barrack, different store- 
 houses, several respectable wooden habitations, 
 and a church, the only one to be found on the 
 coast."— Ibid., p. 214. 
 
 From this time the company seems to have 
 established itself on the coast. Lisiansky 
 speaks of "a single hunting party of nine hun- 
 dred men, gathered from different places, as 
 x\laska, Kodiak, Kenay, Cook's inlet, and 
 commanded by thirty-six toyons, who are sub- 
 ordinate to the Russians in the service of the 
 ! American company, and receive from them
 
 21 
 
 their orders." {Ibid., 1'j3.) From another 
 source I learn that the inhabitants of Kodiak 
 and of the Aleutian islands were regarded as 
 •'immediate subjects of tl>e company;" the 
 males from eighteen to fifty being bound to 
 serve it for the term of three years each. 
 They were employed in the chase. The popu- 
 lation of Alaska "and of the two great bays, 
 Cook's inlet and Prince William sound, were 
 also subject to the company ; but they were held 
 to a yearly tax in furs without any regular ser- 
 vice, and they could trade only with the com- 
 pany. Otherwise they ware independent. This 
 seems to have been before the division of the 
 whole into districts, all under the company, 
 which, though primarily for the business of the 
 company, may be regarded as so many dis- i 
 tinct jurisdictions, each with local powers of i 
 government. 1 
 
 Among these were two districts which 1 
 mention only to put aside, as not included in 
 the present cession: (1.) The Kurile Mauds, 
 being the group nestling near the coast of Japan, 
 on tiie Asiatic side of the dividing line between 
 the two continents. (2.) The Boss settlement • 
 in California, now abandoned. 
 
 There remain five other districts: (1.) The 
 DiMrict o/Atcha, with the bureau at this island, 
 embracing the two western groups of the Aleu- 
 tians known as the Andreanowsky islands and 
 the Rat islands ; and also the group about Beh- 
 ring's island, which is' not embraced in the 
 present cession. (2.) The District of Oitna- 
 lasJca, with the bureau at this island, embrac- 
 ing the Fox islands, the peninsula of Alaska 
 to the meridian of the .Shumagin islands, 
 including these and also the Prybelov islands 
 to the north of the peninsula. (3.) The District 
 of Kodiak, embracingihe peninsula of Alaska 
 •east of the meridian of the Shumagin islands, 
 and the coast westward to Mount St. Elias, 
 with the adjacent islands, including Kodiak, 
 Cook's inlet, and Prince William sound; then 
 northward along the coast of Bristol bay, and 
 the country watered by the Xushagak and Kus- 
 kokwim rivers; all of which is governed from 
 Kodiak with redoubts or palisaded stations at 
 Nushagak, Cook's inlet, and Prince William 
 sound. (4.) The Northern District, embracing 
 the country of the Kwichpak and of Norton's 
 sound, under the direction of the commander 
 of the redoubt at St.* Michaels; leaving the 
 country northward, with the islands St. Law- 
 rence and St. Mathews, not embraced in this dis- 
 trict, but visited direct from Sitka, (o.) The 7)1.9- 
 trict of Sitka, embracing the coast from Mount 
 St. Elias, where the Kol^k district ends, south- 
 ward to the latitude of 5 1*^ 40'', with the adjacent 
 islands. But this district has been curtailed 
 by a lease of the Russian American Company in 
 1830, for the space of ten years, and subse- 
 quently renewed, in which this company, in 
 consideration of the annual payment of two 
 thousand otter skins of Columbia river, under- 
 lets to the Hudson Bay Company all its fran- 
 chise for the strip of continent between Cape 
 
 Spencer at the north and the latitude of 54° 
 40', excluding the adjacent islands. 
 
 The central government of all these districts 
 is at Sitka, from which emanates all orders and 
 instructions. Here also is the chief factory, 
 from which supplies are forwarded to diffor<;nt 
 places, and where the proceeds of the trade 
 are collected. 
 
 The operations of the Government may Ije 
 seen in its receipts and expenditures, including 
 its salaries and allowances. In the absence 
 of a complete sories of such statistics to tlie 
 present time, I mass together what I have been 
 able to glean in different fields, relating to par- 
 ticular years, knowing well its unsatisfactory 
 character. But each item has its instruction 
 for us. 
 
 The capital of the company, in buildings, 
 wares, and vessels, in 18o3, was said to be 
 3,G58,577 rubles. In 1838 the company pos- 
 sessed twelve vessels, amounting together to 
 fifteen hundred and fifty-six tons, most of which 
 were built at Sitka. According to Wappaus, 
 who follows Wrangel, the salaries of the officers 
 and workmen of the company in 1832 amounted 
 to 442,877 rubles. At that time the persons 
 in its service numbered 1,025, of whom 5-56 
 were Russians, 152 Creoles, and 317 Aleutians. 
 In 1851 there were in the service of the company 
 1 staff officer, 3 officers of the Imperial navy, 
 1 officer of engineers, 4 civil officers, 30 relig- 
 ious officers, and 686 servants. The expenses 
 of the company from 1826 to 1833, a period 
 of seven years, were 6,608,077 rubles. These 
 become interesting to us when it is considered 
 that, besides what was paid on account of furs, 
 and the support of the persons in the service 
 of the company, were other items incident to 
 government, such as ship-building, navigation, 
 fortifications, hospitals, schools, and churches. 
 From a later authority it appears that the re- 
 ceipts of the company, reported at St. Peters- 
 burg for the year 1855, was 832,74'J rubles, 
 against expenses, 683,892 rubles, incurred for 
 "administration in Russia and the colonies," 
 insurance, transportation, and duties. The 
 relative proportion-of these different expenses 
 does not appear. I have another report for 
 1857, where the revenue was 832,749 rubles, 
 with expenditures of 683,892 rubles, leaving 
 the difference for dividends, which were fixed 
 at ] 8 rubles a share. 
 
 These are explained by other statistics, which 
 I am able to give from the report of Golowin, 
 who furnishes the receipts and expenditures of 
 the company from 1850 to 1859, inclusive. The 
 silver ruble, which is the money employed in 
 the table, is taken at our Mint for seventy-five 
 
 cents. 
 
 Receipts from 1850 to 1859, incl\ij<ive. 
 
 Silver roubles. 
 
 Teatr.affic 4,l«.8(i9.79 
 
 Sale of furs 1,TU'J,1-J9 
 
 Com in ere i ill licenses *_',-UO,L''.'(i.fn 
 
 Other tralUcs 170.'.^}o.76 
 
 Total 8.5^^,531.13
 
 22 
 
 Expenditures from 1850 to 1859, inclusive. 
 
 Silver rouble/i. 
 
 Sustenance of the colony 2,288,207.20 
 
 Colonies churches 71,723.18 
 
 Benevolent institutions 143, 306.23 
 
 Piiueip.il administrative otEeers 1,536,430.49 
 
 Tea duty 1,764;559.85 
 
 Transportation and pagking of tea 586,901.72 
 
 Purchase and transportation of merchan- 
 dise 213,696.29 
 
 Ini^uranee of tea and merchandise 217,026.55 
 
 Loss during war and by shipwreck 132,820.20 
 
 Reconstruction of thecompany's house iu 
 
 St. Petersburg V6,976 
 
 Capital for the use of the poor 6,' 73.02 
 
 Revenue fund capital 135,460.40 
 
 Dividends 1,354,604 
 
 Total 8,528,551.13 
 
 Anal.vzing this table we shall arrive at a 
 clearer insiglit into the affairs of the company. 
 If its receipts have been considerable they 
 have been subject to serious deductions. From 
 the expenditures we may also learu something 
 of the obligations which we are about to 
 assume. 
 
 From another table I learn that during this 
 same period 122,006 rubles were received for 
 ice, mostly sent to California ; 20,399 rubles 
 for timber, and 0,250 rubles for coal. I think 
 it not improbable that these items are included 
 in the list of " receipts" under the term "other 
 traffics." 
 
 In Russia the churches belong to the Gov- 
 ernment, and this rule pi'evails in these dis- 
 tricts, where there are four Greek churches 
 and five Greek chapels. There is also a Prot- 
 estant church at Si,tka. I am glad to add that 
 at the latter place there is a public library, 
 which some years ago contained seventeen hun- 
 dred volumes, together with journals, maps, 
 atlases, and mathematical instruments. In 
 Atcha, Ounalaska, Kodiak, and Sitka schools 
 arc said to have been maintained at the expense 
 of the company, though not on a very compre- 
 hensive scale; for Admiral Wrangel mentions 
 only ninety boys as enjoying these advantages 
 in 1339. In Ounalaska and Kodiak there were 
 at the same time orphan asylums for girls, 
 where there were in all about thirty. But the 
 admiral adds that "these useful institutions 
 will, without doubt, be improved to the ut- 
 most." Besides these, which are confined to 
 |. particular localities, there is said to be a hos- 
 f' pital near everj' factory in all the districts. 
 
 I have no means of knowing if these terri- 
 torial subdivisions have undergone any recent 
 modifications. They will be found in the Bus- 
 sicken Besitzungen of Wrangel, published in 
 1839; in the (?eo5'J'oj>/i/e of WappUus in 1856, 
 and in the Archib von Bussland of 1803, con- 
 taining the article on the report of Golowin. 
 I am thus particular with regard to them from 
 a double motive. Besides helping to an under- 
 Ij standing of the existing government they may 
 afford suggestions of practical importance in 
 any future organization. 
 
 The company has not been without criticism. 
 Some of the pictures of it are by no means 
 
 rose color. These, too, may furnish instruc- 
 tion for the future. Early in the century its 
 administration was the occasion of open and 
 repeated complaint. It was pronounced harsh 
 and despotic. Langsdorf is indignant that "a 
 free-trading company should exist independent 
 of the Government, not confined within any 
 definite regulations, but who can exercise their 
 authority free and uncontrolled, nay, even 
 unpunished, over so vast an extent of coun- 
 try." In stating the case he adds that "the 
 Russian subject here enjoys no protection of 
 his property, lives in no security, and if op- 
 pressed has no one to' whom he can apply for 
 justice. The agents of the factories and their 
 subordinates, influenced by humor or interest, 
 decide everything arbitrarily." (Voyages, vol. 
 2, p. 70.) And this arbitrary j^ower seemed 
 to prevail wherever a factor}^ was established : 
 "the stewardship in each single establishment , 
 is entirely despotic; though nominally depend- 
 ing upon the principal factory these stewards 
 do just what they please, without the possibil- 
 ity of being called to account." [Ibid., vol. 2, 
 ^ p. 09. ) If such was the condition of Russians, 
 what must have been that of the natives? Here 
 the witness answers : " I have seen the Russian 
 fur-hunters dispose of the lives of the natives 
 solely according to their own arbitrary will, 
 and put these defenseless creatures to death 
 in the most horrible manner." (P. 70.) Kru- 
 senstern concurs in this testimony, and, if p(Js- 
 sjble, darkens the colors. According to him 
 "everyone must obey the iron rule of the 
 agent' of the American company; nor can 
 there be either personal property or individual 
 security where there are no laws. The chief 
 agent of the American company is the bound- 
 less despot over an extent of country which, 
 comprising the Aleutian islands, stretches from, 
 57° to 60° of latitude and from 130° to 190° 
 of east longitude;" and he adds, in a note, 
 "there are no courts of justice in Kodiak, nor . 
 any of the company's possessions." (Voyages, 
 vol. 2, p. 107.) Kotzebue, who came later, 
 while confessing his incompetency to speak on 
 the treatment of the natives by the company, 
 declares his "wounded feelings and commis- 
 eration." (Voyage, vol. 3, p. 314.) It is too 
 probable that the melancholy story of our own 
 aborigines has been repeated here. As these 
 criticisms were by Russian officers they must 
 have had a certain effect. I cannot believe 
 that the recent government, administered by 
 the enlightened magistrates of whom we have 
 heard, has been obnoxious to such terrible 
 accusations; nor must it be forgotten that the 
 report of Lisiansky, the other Russian officer, 
 who was there at the same time, is much less 
 painful. 
 
 Baranow, who had been so long superin- 
 tendent, retired in 1818. He is praised much 
 by Langsdorf, who saw him in 1806, and by 
 LUtke, who was at Sitka in 1828. Both attrib- 
 ute to him a genius for his place and a disin- 
 terested devotion to the interests of the com-
 
 23 
 
 pany, whose confidence he enjoj'ed to the end. 
 Although administering afifairs here for more 
 than a generation witliout rendering any ac- 
 counts, he died poor. He was succeeded by 
 Captain Haguemeister. Since then, according 
 to Liitke, an infinity of reforms has taken 
 place by which order and system have been 
 introduced into the government. 
 
 The Russian olficer, Captain Golowin, who 
 visited these possessions in 18G0, has recom- 
 mended certain institutional I'eforms, which afe 
 not without interest to ns at tiiis time. His 
 recommendations concern the governor and the 
 people. According to him the governor should 
 be appointed by the Crown with the concur- 
 rence of the company, removable only when 
 his continuance is plainly injurious to tlie col- 
 ony; he should be subject only to the Crown, 
 and his powers should be limited, especially in 
 regard to the natives ; he should provide pro- 
 tection for the colonists by means of cruisers, and 
 should personally visit every district annually ; 
 the colonists, Creoles, and sul)ject natives, such 
 as the Aleutians, should be governed by magis- 
 trates of their own selection ; the name of "free. 
 Creole" should cease; all disputes should be 
 settled by the local magistrates unless the par- 
 ties desire an appeal to the governor ; schools 
 should be encouraged, and, if necessary, pro- 
 vided at the public expense. Surely these sug- 
 gestions, wiiich are in the nature of a Reform 
 Bill, foreshadow a condition of self-government 
 in harmony with republican institutions. 
 
 It is evident that these Russian .settlements, 
 distributed through an immense region and far 
 from any civilized neighborhood, have little in 
 •common with those of European nations else-- 
 where, unless we except those of Denmark on 
 the west coast of Greenland. Nearly all are on 
 the coast or the islands. They are nothing but 
 ''villages" or "factories," under tlie protec- 
 tion of palisades. Sitka is an exception, due 
 unquestionably to its selection as the head- 
 quarters of the government, and also to the 
 eminent character of the governors who have 
 made it their home. The Executive Mansion 
 and the social life there have been described by 
 recent visitors, who acknowledged the charms 
 of politeness on this distant nortliwestern coast. 
 Liitke describes life among its fogs, and ofpe- 
 cially the attractions of the governor's house. 
 This was in the time of Admiral Wrangel, whose 
 wife, possessing a higli education, embellished 
 this wilderness by her presence, and exhibited 
 the example of a refined and happy household. 
 His account of .Sitkan hospitality differs in some 
 respects from that of the English writers who 
 succeeded. He records that fish was the staple 
 dish at the tables of functionaries as well as of 
 the poor, and that the chief functionary him- 
 self was rarely able to have meat for dinner. 
 During the winter a species of wild sheep, the 
 Musimon or Argalis, also known in Siberia 
 and hunted in the forests, furnished an occa- 
 sional supply. But a fi.sh diet did not prevent 
 liis house from being delightful. 
 
 Sir Edward Belcher, the English circum,- 
 navigator, while on his voyage round the 
 world, stopped there. From him we have an 
 account of th6 Executirc Mansion and fortifi- 
 cations, which will not be out of place in this 
 attempt to portray the existing goverumcnt. 
 The house is of wood, described as "solid," 
 one hundred and forty feet in length by seventy 
 feet widcj of two stories, with lofts, capped 
 by a light-house in the center of the roof which 
 is covered with sheet iron. It is about sixty 
 feet above the sea level, and completely com- 
 mands all the audhorages in the neighborhood. 
 Behind is a line of picketed logs twenty-five 
 feet in height. Hanked at the angles by block- 
 houses, loop-holed and furnished with small 
 guns and swivels. The fortifications when com- 
 plete "will comprise five sides, upon which 
 forty pieces of cannon will be mounted, prin- 
 cipally old ship guns, varying from twelve to 
 twenty-four pounders." The arsenal is praised 
 for the best ot cordage in ample stores and for 
 the best of artificers in every department. Tho 
 interior of the Greek church was found to be 
 "splendid, quite' beyond conception in such a 
 place as this. " The school and hospital had ' ' a 
 comparative cleanliness and much to admire, 
 although a man-of-war's man's ideas of clean- 
 liness are occasionally acute." But it is the 
 social life which seems to have most surprised 
 the gallant captaifl. After telling us that " on 
 Sunday all the officers, civil and military, dine 
 at the governor's," he introduces us to an even- 
 ing party and dance, which the latter gave to 
 show his English guest "the female society of 
 Sitka." and records that everything "passed 
 delightfully," especially that " the ladies, 
 although self-tauglit, acquitted themselves with 
 all the ease and elegance communicated by 
 European instruction." Sir Edward adds that 
 "the society is indebted principally to the gov- 
 ernor's elegant and accomplished lady, who is 
 of one of the first Russian families, for muck 
 of this poVsh. ' ' And he describes sympathet- 
 ically her long journey through Siberia with her 
 husband, "on horseback or mules, enduring 
 great hardships in a most critical moment, in 
 order to share with him the privations of this 
 barbarous region." But according to him 
 barbarism is disappearing ; and he concludes 
 by declaring that "the whole establishment 
 appears to be rapidly on the advance, and at 
 no distant period we may hear of a trip to 
 Norfolk sound through America as little more 
 than a summer excursion." (Belcher's Voy- 
 age, vol. 1, p. 107.) Is not this time near at 
 hand ? 
 
 Shortly afterwards. Sir George Simpson, 
 governor-in-chief of the Hudson Bay Company, 
 on his overland journey round the world, 
 stopped at Sitka. He had just crossed the 
 contuient by way of the Red river settlements 
 to Vancouver. He, too, seems to have, been 
 pleased. He shows us in the harbor ^' Rvq sail- 
 ing vessels, ranging between two hundred and 
 three hundred and fifty tons, besides a large
 
 , 24 
 
 bark in the offing in tow of a steamer," and he 
 carries us to the Executive Mansion, ah-eady 
 described, which reappears as " a suite of apart- 
 ments, communicating, a,ccording to the Rus- 
 sian fashion, with each other, all of the public 
 rooms being handsomely decorated and richly 
 furnished; commanding a view of the whole 
 establishment, which was in fact a little village, 
 while about half way down the rock twq bat- 
 teries on terraces frowned respectively over land 
 and water." There was another Administrator 
 General since the visit of Sir Edward Belclier ; 
 but again the wife plays her charming part. 
 After portraying her as a native of Helsing- 
 fors, in Finland, the visitor adds, "So this 
 pretty and lady-like Avoman had come to this 
 secliided home from the farthest extremify of 
 the empire." Evidently in a mood beyond 
 contentment, he says, " We sat down to a good 
 dinner in the French style, the party, in addi- 
 tion to our host and hostess and ourselves, com- 
 prising twelve of the company's officers;" and 
 his linal judgment seems to be given when he 
 says, "The good folks appear to live well. The 
 surrounding country abounds in the chevreuil, 
 [roebuck,] the finest meat that I everate, with 
 the single exception of moose, while in a little 
 stream within a mile of the fort salmon are so 
 plentiful that, when ascending the river, they 
 have been known literally Jo embari-ass the 
 movements of a canoe." (Simpsons' s Journey, 
 vol. 1, page 227.) Such is the testimony. 
 
 With these concluding pictures I turn from 
 the government. 
 
 Population. 
 
 II. I come now to the Population, which 
 may be considered in its numbers and in its 
 character. In neither respect, perhaps, can it 
 add much to the value of the country, except 
 so far as native hunters and trappers are needed 
 for the supply of furs. Professor Agassiz 
 touches this point in a letter which I have just 
 received from him, where he says: "To me 
 the fact that there is as yet hardly any popula- 
 tion would have great weight, as this secures 
 the settlement to our race." But we ought to 
 know, something at least of the people about 
 to become the subjects of our jurisdiction, if 
 not our fellow-citizens. 
 
 First. In trying to arrive at an idea of their 
 immbers, I begin with Lippincott's Gazetteer, 
 as it is the most accessible, according to which 
 the whole poiKilation in 1855, aboriginal, Rus- 
 sian, and Creole, was G1,000. The same esti- 
 mate appears also in the London Imperial 
 Gazetteer and in the Geographic of WappUus. 
 Keith Johnston, in his Atlas, calls the popu- 
 lation in 1852, 6G,000. McCalloch, in the last 
 edition of his Geographical Dictionary, puts 
 it as high as 72,875. On the other hand, the 
 Ahnaiiach de 6'o/Aa for the present year, re- 
 ceived only a few weeks ago, calls it in round 
 numbers 50,000. This estimate seems to have 
 been adopted sul)staBtially from the great work 
 entitled Les Peirples de la Piissic, which from 
 
 its character I am disposed to consider as the 
 
 best authority. 
 
 Exaggerations are common with regard to 
 the inhabitants of newly-acquired possessions, 
 and this distant region has been no excefition. 
 An enthusiastic estimate once placed its popu- 
 lation as high as four hundred thousand. Long 
 ago Schelekoff, an early Russian adventurer, 
 reported that he had subjected to the Crown of 
 Russia fifty thousand "men" in the island of 
 Kodiak alone. But Lisiansky, who followed 
 him there in 1805, says " the population of this 
 ioland, wlien compared with its size, is very 
 small." (Voyage, p. 193.) Afterthe " minutest 
 research' ' at that time he found that it amounted 
 only to four thousand souls. It is much less 
 now ; probably not more than fifteen hundred. 
 
 Of course it is easy to know the number of 
 those within the immediate jurisdiction of the 
 , company. This is determined by a census from 
 time to time. Even here the aborigines are the 
 most numerous. Then come the Creoles, and 
 last the Russians. ■ But here you must bear in 
 mind a distinction with regard to the former 
 persons. In Spanish America all born there 
 of European parentage are "Creoles;" in Rus- 
 sian America this term is applicable only to 
 those whose parents are European and native, 
 in other words "half-breeds." According to 
 Wrangel, in 1839, the census of dependents 
 of the company in all its districts was 240 Rus- 
 sians, 684 Creoles, and 8,882 Aleutians and 
 Kodiaks, being in all 9,812. Ofthese 4,918 were 
 men and 4,804 were women. Here the number 
 of Russians is small. There is another report 
 a little later preserved by Wappaus, which is 
 not materially different. In 1851, according 
 to the report of the company, there was an 
 increase of Russians and Creoles, with a cor- 
 responding diminution of aboi'igines ; being 505 
 Russians, 1,703 Creoles, and 7,055 aborigines, 
 in all 9,283. In 1857 there were 644 Rus- 
 sians, 1,903 Creoles, and 7,245 aborigines, in 
 all 9,792, of whom 5,733 were men and 4,659 
 were women. The increase from 1851 to 1857 
 was only 500, or about one per cent, annually. 
 In 18(j0"there were "some hundred" Russians, 
 2,000 Creoles, and 8,000 aborigines, amounting 
 in all to 10,540, of whom 5,382 were men and 
 5,158 were women. I am thus particular with 
 these details that you may see how stationary 
 population lias been even within the sphere of 
 the company. 
 
 The number of Russians and Creoles in the 
 whole colony at the present time cannot be 
 more than 2,500. The number of aborigines 
 under the direct government of the company 
 may be 8,000. There remain also the mass of 
 aborigines outside the jurisdiction of the com- 
 pany, and having only a temporary or casual 
 contact with it for purposes of trade. In this 
 respect they are not unlike the aborigines of 
 the United States while in their tribal condi- 
 tion, descriljcd so often as "Indians not taxed." 
 For the number of these outside aborigines I 
 prefer to follow the authority of the recent work
 
 25 
 
 already quoted, Les Peiiples de la Russie, ac- 
 cording to which they are estimated at between 
 forty and fifty thousand. 
 
 Sccondli/. In spcukiug of charadei' I turn to 
 a different class of materials. The early Rus- 
 sians here were not Pilgrims. They were mostly 
 runaways, fleeing from justice. Langsdorf says 
 that *'the greater part of the inferior oflicers 
 of the different settlements were Siberian crim- 
 inals, malefactors, and adventurers of various 
 kinds." (Vo)-ages, vol. 2, p. 07.) Theirsinglc 
 and exclusive business was the collection of 
 furs, from which they obtained the name of 
 Promlischleniks, or fur collectors. But the 
 name very early acquired a bad odor. Here 
 again we have the same Russian authority, 
 who, after saying that the inliabitants of the 
 distant islands are under the superintendence 
 of a Promlischlenik, adds, "which is, in other 
 words, under that of a rascal, by whom they, 
 are oppressed, tormented, and plundered in 
 every possible way." {Ibid., p. 70.) It must 
 not be forgotten that this authentic portrait is 
 not of our day. 
 
 The aborigines are all in common language 
 called Esquimaux; but they differ essentially 
 from the Esquimaux of Greenland, and they 
 also differ among themselves. Though popu- 
 larly known by this family name, they have as 
 many divisions and subdivisions, with as many 
 languages and idioms, as France once had. 
 There are large groups, each with its own na- 
 tionality and language, and there are smaller 
 groups, each with its tribal idiom. In short, 
 the great problem of language is repeated 
 here. Its forms seem to be infinite. Scientific 
 inquiry traces many to a single root, but prac- 
 tically they are different. Here is that confu- 
 sion of tongues which yields only to the pres- 
 ence of civilization, and it becomes more 
 i"emarkable, as the idiom is often confined to 
 so small a circle. 
 
 If we look at them ethnographically we shall 
 find two i)rinclpal groups or races, the first 
 scientifically known as Esquimaux, and the 
 second as Indians. By another nomenclature, 
 which has the sanction of authority and of 
 usage, they are divided into Esquimaux, Aleu- 
 tians, Kenaians, and Koloschians, being four 
 distinct groups. * The Esquimau.^ and Aleu- 
 tians are said to be Mongolian in origin. 
 According to a doubtful theory they passed 
 from Asia to America by the succession of isl- 
 ands beginning on the ^;oast of Japan and 
 extending to Alaska, which for this purpose 
 became a bridge between the two continents. 
 The Kenaians and Koloschians are Indians, 
 belonging to known American races; so that 
 these four groups are ethnographically re- 
 solved into two, and the two are resolved pop- 
 ularly into one. 
 
 There are general influences more or less 
 applicable to all these races. The climate 
 is peculiar, and the natural features of the 
 country are commanding. Cool summers and 
 mild winters are favorable to the huntsman 
 
 and fisherman. Lofty mountains, volcanic 
 forms, large rivers, numerous islands, and an 
 extensive sea-coast constitute the great book 
 of nature for all to read. None are dull. 
 Generally they are quick, intelligent, and in- 
 genious, excelling in the chase and in naviga- 
 tion, managing a boat as the rider his horse, 
 until the man and the boat seem to be one. 
 Some are very skillful with tools and exhibit 
 remarkable taste. The sea is bountiful and the 
 land has its supplies. From these they are sat- 
 isfied. Better still, there is something in their 
 nature which does not altogether reject the im- 
 provements of civilization. Unlike our In- 
 dians, they are willing to learn. ]5y a strange 
 superstition, which still continues, these races 
 derive their descent from dilferent animals. 
 Some are gentle and pacific ; others are war- 
 like. All, I fear, are slaveholders ; some are 
 cruel task-masters, others in the interior are 
 reputed to be cannibals. But the country back 
 from the sea-coast is still an undiscovered 
 secret. 
 
 (1. ) Looking at them in their ethnographical 
 groups I begin with the J^qut'maux, who popu- 
 larly give their name to tne whole. They num- 
 ber about seventeen thousand, and stretch along 
 the indented coast from its eastern limit on the 
 Frozen ocean to the mouth of the Copper river 
 in G0° north latitude, excluding the peninsula 
 of Alaska, occupied by the Aleutians, and the 
 peninsula of Kenay, occupied by the Kenaians. 
 More powerful races of Indian origin, following 
 the courses of the great rivers northward and 
 westward, have gradually crowded the Esqui- 
 maux from the interior, until they constitute a 
 belt on the salt water, including the islands of 
 the coast, and especially Kodiak. Their vari- 
 ous dialects are traced to a common root, while 
 the prevailing language betrays an affinity with 
 the Esquimaux of Greenland, and the interven- 
 ing country watered by the Mackenzie. They 
 share the characteristics of that extensive fam- 
 ily, which, besides spreading across the conti- 
 nent, occupies an extent of sea-coast greater 
 than any other people of the globe, from which 
 their simple navigation has sallied forth so as to 
 give them the name of Phoenicians of the North. 
 Words exclusively belonging to the Esquimaux 
 are found in the dialects of other races com- 
 pletely strangers to them, as Phojniciao sounds 
 are observed in the Celtic speech of Ireland. 
 
 Tlie most known of the Russian Esquimaux 
 is the small tribe now remaining on the island 
 of Kodiak, which from the beginning has been 
 a center of trade. Although by various in- 
 termixture they already approack the Indians 
 of the coast, losing the Asiatic type, their 
 speech remains as a distinctive sign of their 
 race. They are Esquimaux, and I describe 
 them in order to give an idea of this people. 
 
 The men are tall, with copper skins, small 
 black eyes, flat faces, and teeth of dazzling 
 whiteness. Once the women pierced the nos- 
 trils, the lower lip, and the ears for ornaments ; 
 but now only the nostrils are pierced. The
 
 26 
 
 aboriginal costume is still preserved, especially 
 out of doors. Their food is mostly from the 
 sea, without the roots or berries which the 
 island supplies. The flesh and oil of the whale 
 are a special luxury. The oil is drunk pure or 
 to season other food. Accustomed to pro- 
 longed abstinence, they exhibit at times an 
 appetite amounting to prodigy. In one night 
 six men were able to devour the whole of a 
 large bear. A strong drink made from the 
 strawberry and myrtle, producing the effect of 
 opium, has yielded to brandy. Sugar and tea 
 are highly esteemed ; but snufF is a delight. 
 Lisiansky, records that they would go out of 
 their way twenty miles merely for a pinch of 
 snuff. They have tools of their own, which 
 they use with skill. Their baidars, or canoes, 
 are distinguished for completeness of finish and 
 beauty of form. Unlike those of the Kolosch- 
 ians, lower down on the coast, which are hol- 
 lowed from the trunks of trees, they are of seal 
 skins stretched on frames, with a single aper- 
 ture in the covering to receive the person of 
 the master. The same skill appears in the 
 carving of wood, whalebone, and walrus 
 ivory. Their genert# mode of life is said- to 
 be like that of other tribes on the coast. To 
 all else they add a knowledge of the healing 
 art and a passion for gaming. 
 
 Opposite to Kodiak, on the main land to 
 the east, are the Tshugatchi, a kindred tribe, 
 speaking the same language, but a different 
 dialect. To the north is a succession of kin- 
 dred tribes, differing in speech, and each with 
 local peculiarities, but all are represented as 
 kind, courteous, hospitable, and merry. It is 
 a good sign that merriment should prevail. 
 Their tribal names are derived from a neigh- 
 boring river or some climatic circumstance. 
 Thus, for instance, those on the mighty Kwich- 
 pak have the name of Kwichpakmutes, or 
 "inhabitants of the great river." Those on 
 Bristol bay are called by their cousins of Nor- 
 ton sound Akhkonghmutes, or "inhabitants of 
 the warm country;" and the same designation 
 is applied to the Kodiaks. Warmth, like other 
 things in this world, is comparative, and to an 
 Esquimaux at 64° north latitude another five 
 degrees further south is in a " warm country." 
 These northern tribes have been visited lately 
 by our Telegraphic Exploring Expedition, who 
 report especially their geographical knowledge 
 and good disposition. As the remains of Major 
 Kennicott descended the Kwichpak they were 
 not without sympathy from the natives. Curi- 
 osity also had its part. At a village where the 
 boat rested for the night the chief announced 
 that it was the first time white men had ever 
 been seen there. 
 
 (2.) The Aleutians, sometimes called West- 
 ern Esquimaux, number about three thousand. 
 By a plain exaggeration Knight, in his Cyclo- 
 pedia of GcograpTiy, puts them at twenty thou- 
 sand. Their home is the archipelago of vol- 
 canic islands, whose name they bear, and also a 
 portion of the contiguous peninsula of Alaska. 
 
 The well-defined type has already disappeared ; 
 but the national dress continues still. This is 
 a long shirt with tight sleeves, made from the 
 skins of birds, either the sea-parrot or the 
 diver. This dress, which is called the parka, 
 is indispensable as clothing, blanket, and even 
 as habitation during a voyage, being a com- 
 plete shelter against wind and cold. They, 
 toOj are fishermen and huntsmen ; but they 
 seem to excel as artificers. Their instruments 
 and utensils have been noted for beauty, 
 and their baidars were pronounced by Saner 
 "infinitely superior to those of any other isl- 
 and." Still another navigator declares them 
 to be "the best means yet discovered to go 
 from place to place, either upon the deepest 
 or shallowest water. In the quickest, easiest, 
 and safest manner possible." (Langsdorf's 
 Voyage, vol. 1, p. 43.) These illustrate their 
 nature, which is finer than that of their neigh- 
 bors. They are at home on the water, and 
 excite admiration by the skill with which they 
 manage their elegant craft, so that Admiral 
 LUtke recognized them as Cossacks of the sea. 
 
 Ounalaska is the principal of these islands, 
 and from the time they were first visited seems 
 to have excited a peculiar Interest. Captain 
 Cook painted it kjndly; so have succeeding 
 navigators. And here have lived the Islanders 
 who seem to have given to navigators a new 
 experience. Alluding especially to them, the 
 reporter of Billings's voyage says: "The capa- 
 city of the natives of these islands infinitely 
 surpasses every idea that I had formed of 
 the abilities of savages." (P. 273.) There is 
 another remark of this authority which sjiows 
 how they had yielded, even in their favorite 
 dress, to the demands of commerce. After 
 sa3'ing that formerly they had worn garments 
 of sea otter, he pathetically adds, "but not 
 since the Russians have had any intercourse, 
 with them." (P. 155.) Poor islanders! Ex- 
 changing choice furs, once their daily wear, 
 for meaner skins. 
 
 (3.) The Kenaians, numbering as many as 
 twenty-five thousand, take their common name 
 from the peninsula of Kenay, with Cook's inlet 
 on the north and Prince William sound on the 
 south. Numerous beyond any other family in 
 Russian America, they belong to a wide- 
 spread and teeming Indian race, which occu- 
 pies all the northern interior of the continent, 
 stretching from Hudson bay in the east to 
 the Esquimaux in th» west. This is the great 
 nation called sometimes Athabascan, or from 
 the native name of the Rocky mountains, on 
 whose flanks they live, Chepewyan, but more 
 properly designated as Tinneh, with branches 
 in southern Oregon and northern Calitbrnia, 
 and then again with other offshoots, known as 
 the Apaches and Navajoes, in Arizona, New 
 Mexico, and Chihuahua, more than thirty par- 
 allels of latitude from the parent stem. Of 
 this extended race, the northwestern branch, 
 known to travelers as Loucheux, and In their 
 own tongue as Kutcliin, after occupying the
 
 27 
 
 inner portion of Russian America on the You- 
 Icon and the Porcupine reached the sea-coast at 
 Cook's inlet, where it appears under the name 
 of Kenaians. 'J'he hitter are said to boar about 
 the same rehitlon in language and intollcctual 
 deveIo])ment to the entire group as the islanders 
 of Kodialc bear to the Esquimaux. 
 
 The Kenaians call themselves in their own 
 dialect by yet another name, Thnainas, mean- 
 ing men ; thus by a somewhat boastful designa- 
 tion asserting manhood. Their features and 
 complexion associate them with the red men 
 of America, as does their speech. The first 
 to visit theui was Cook, and he was struck by 
 the largeness of their heads, which seemed to 
 him disproportioned to the rest of the body. 
 They were strqng-chested also, with thick short 
 necks, spreading faces, eyes inclined to be 
 small, white teeth, black hair, and thin beard. 
 Their persons seemed to be clean and decent, 
 without grease or dirt. In dress they were 
 thought to resemble the people of Greenland. 
 Their boats had a similar aflinity. But in these 
 particulars they were not unlike the other races 
 I have already described. They were clothed 
 in the skins of animals with the fur outward, 
 or sometimes in the skins of birds, over which, 
 as a protection against rain, was worn a frock 
 made from the intestines'of the whale and re- 
 sembling the gold-beater leaf, as was observed 
 by Behring in his early voyage. Their boats 
 were of seal skin stretched on frames, and 
 were of different s*zes. In one of these Cook 
 counted twenty women and one man, besides 
 children. At that time, though thievish in pro- 
 pensity, they were not unamiable. Shortly 
 afterwards they were reported by Russian trad- 
 ers, who had much to do with them, as "'good 
 people,'' who behaved " in a very friendly man- 
 ner.',' (Billing's Voyage, p. 197.) I do not 
 know that they have lost this character since. 
 
 Here, too, is the accustomed multiplicity of 
 tribes, each with its idiom, and sometimes dif- 
 fering in religious superstition, especially on the 
 grave question of descent from the dog or the 
 crow. There is also a prevailing usage for the 
 men of one tribe to choose their wives from 
 another tribe, when the tribal character of the 
 motherattaches to the offspring, v/hicliisanother 
 illustration of the law of slavery par^Ms sequilur 
 ventrem. The late departure from this usage is 
 quoted by the old men as a sufficient reason for 
 the mortality which has afflicted the Kenaians, 
 although a better reason may be found in the 
 ravages of the small-pox, unhappily introduced 
 bj the Russians. In 1838 ten thousand per- 
 sons on the coast are reported to have fallen 
 victims to this disease. 
 
 (4.) Last of the four races are the Kolo- 
 scliians, numbering about four thousand, who 
 occupy the coa.st and islands from the mouth 
 of the Copper river to the southern boundary 
 of Russian America, making about sixteen set- 
 tlements. They belong to an Indian group 
 extending as far south as the Straits of Fuca, 
 and estimated to contain twenty-live thousand 
 
 souls. La P6rouse, after considerable experi- 
 ence of the aborigines on the Atlantic coast, 
 asserts that those whom he saw here are not 
 Esquimaux. (Voyage, Tom. 2, p. 205.) The 
 name seems to be of Russian origin, and is 
 equivalent to Indian, llere again is another 
 variety of languages and as many sopai^ite na- 
 tions. Near ^MountSt. Eliasarethe Jacoutats, 
 who are the least known; then came thcTlilin- 
 kitfs, who occujjy the islands and coast near 
 Sitka, and are known in Oregon undcnlie name 
 ofStikines; and thenagainwehavcllii! Kaigans, 
 who, beginning on Russian territory, overlap 
 Queen Charlotte's i.sland, beneath the British 
 flag. All these, with their subdivisions, are 
 Koloschians; but every tribe or nation hag 
 four different divisions, derived from four dif- 
 ferent animals, the whale, the eagle, the crow, 
 and the wolf, which are so m-uiy heraldic de- 
 vices, marking distinct groups. 
 
 There are points already noticed in tlie more 
 northern groups which are repeated hero. As 
 among the Kenaians husband and wife are 
 of different animal devices. A crow cannot 
 marry a crow. There is the same skill in the 
 construction of canoes f but the stretched seal 
 skin gives place here to the trunk of a tree 
 shaped and hollowed so that it will sometimes 
 hold forty persons. There are good qualities 
 among the Aleutians which the Koloschians 
 do not possess, but they have, perhaps, a 
 stronger sense. They are of constant cour- 
 age. As daring navigators they are unsur- 
 passed, sailing six or seven huifdred miles in 
 their open canoes. Some are thrifty, and show 
 a sense of property. Some have developed an 
 aptitude for trade unknown to their northern 
 neighbors or to the Indians of the United States, 
 and will work for wages, whether in tilling the 
 ground or other employment. Their superior 
 nature discards corporal punishment, even for 
 bo5'S, as an ignominy not \o be endured. They 
 believe in a Creator and in the immortality of 
 the soul. But here a mystic fiible is woven 
 into their faith. The spirits of heroes dead 
 in battle are placed in the sky and appear 
 in the Aurora Borealis. Long ago a deluge 
 occurred, when the human family was saved 
 in a floating vessel, which, after the subsidence 
 of the waters, struck on a rock and broke in 
 halves. The Koloschians represent one half 
 of the vessel, and the rest of the world the 
 other half. Such is that pride of race which 
 civilization does not always efface. 
 
 For generations they have been warriors, 
 prompt to take offense and vindictive, as is 
 the nature of the Indian race — always ready 
 to exact an eye for an eye and a tooth for a 
 tooth. This character has not. changed. As 
 was the case once in Italy, the dagger is an 
 inseparable companion. Private quarrels are 
 common. The duel is an institution. So is 
 slavery still, having a triple origin in war, pur- 
 chase, or birth. The slave is only a dog, and 
 mlist obey his master in all things, even to 
 taking the life of another, lie is without civil
 
 28 
 
 rights ; lie cannot marry or possess anything ; 
 he can eat only the offal of another, andhis 
 body, when released by death, is thrown into 
 the sea. A chief sometimes sacrifices his 
 slaves, and then another chief seeks to outdo 
 him in this inhumanity. All this is indignantly 
 described by Sir Edward Belcher and Sir 
 George Simpson. But a slave once a freed- 
 man has all the rights of a I^oloschian. He.re, 
 too, are the distinctions of wealth. The rich 
 paint their faces daily; the poor renew the 
 paint only when the colors begin to disappear. 
 These are the same people who for more 
 than a century have been a terror on this 
 coast. It was Koloschians who received the 
 two boats' crews of the Russian discoverer in 
 1741, as they landed in one of its wooded 
 coves, and no survivor returned to tell their 
 fate. They were the actors in another tragedy 
 at the beginning of the century, when the Rus- 
 sian fort at Sitka was stormed and its defenders 
 put to death, some with excruciating torture. 
 Lisiansky, whose visit was shortly afterward, 
 found them "a shrewd, bold, though perfidious 
 people," whose chiefs used "very sublime 
 expressions," and swore oaths, like that of 
 Demosthenes, by their ancestors living and 
 dead, " calling heaven, earth, sun, moon, and 
 stars to witness, particularly when they want 
 to deceive." (Voyage, p. 16.) Since then the 
 fort has been repeatedly threatened by these 
 warriors, who multiply by reenforcements 
 from the interior, so that the governor in 1837 
 said, "Although seven hundred only are npw 
 in the neighborhood seven thousand may arrive 
 in a few hours." (Belcher's Voyage, vol. 1, 
 p. 94.) A little later their constant character 
 was recognized by Sir George Simpson, when 
 he pronounced them "numerous, treacherous, 
 and fierce," in contrast with Aleutians, whom 
 he describes as "peac&ful even to cowardice." 
 And yet this fighting race is not entirely indo- 
 cile, if we may credit recent report, that its 
 warriors are changing to traders. 
 
 Climate. 
 
 III. Prom population I pass to CZma^e, which 
 is more important, as it is a constant force. 
 Climate is the key to this whole region. It is 
 the governing power which rules production 
 and life, for nature aud man each must con- 
 form to its laws. Here at last the observations 
 of science give to our inquiry a solid support. 
 
 Montesquieu has a famous chapter on the 
 influence of climate over the customs and 
 institutions of a people. Conclusions which 
 in his day were regarded as visionary or far- 
 fetched are now unquestioned truth. Climate 
 is a universal master. But nowhere, perhaps, 
 does it appear more eccentric than in the south- 
 ern portion of Russian America. Without a 
 knowledge of climatic laws the weather here 
 would seem like a freak of nature. But a brief 
 explanation shows how all its peculiarities are 
 the. result of natural causes, which operate 
 with a force as unerring as gravitation. Heat 
 
 and cold, rain and fog, to say nothing of snow 
 and ice, which play such a part in this region, 
 are not abnormal, but according to law. 
 
 This law has been known only of late years. 
 Even so ingenious an inquirer as Captain Cook 
 notices the mildness of the climate without 
 attempting to account for it. He records that 
 in his opinion "cattle might exist in Ounalaska 
 all the year round without being housed," 
 (Voyages, vol. 2, p. 520;) and this was in 
 latitude 53° 52'', on the same parallel with Lab- 
 rador, and several degrees north of Quebec; 
 but he stops with a simple statement of the 
 suggestive fact. This, however, was inconsist- 
 ent with the received idea at the time. A 
 geographer, who wrote just before Cook sailed, 
 has a chapter to show that the climate of Que- 
 bec continues across the continent, and by a 
 natural consequence that America is colder 
 than Asia. I refer to the Mdmoires Geograph- 
 iques of Engel, (page 196.) He would have 
 been astonished laad he seen the revelations 
 of an isothermal map, showing that precisely 
 the reverse is true; that the climate of Quebec 
 does not continue across the continent; that 
 the Pacific coast of our continent is warmer 
 than the corresponding Atlantic coast, and that 
 America is warmer ihan Asia, so far at least 
 as can be determined by the two opposite coasts. 
 Such is the unquestionable truth, of which there 
 are plentiful signs. The Flora on the Ameri- 
 can side, even in Behring straits, is more vig- 
 orous than that on the Asiatic side ; the Ameri- 
 can mountains have less snow than their Asiatic 
 neighbors. Among many illustrations of the 
 temperature I know none more direct than 
 that furnished by the late Hon. "William Sturgis, 
 of Boston, who was familiar with the northwest 
 coast at the beginning of the century, in a lec- 
 ture, on the Oregon question in 1845. After 
 remarking that the climate there is "altogether 
 milder and the winter less severe than in cor- 
 responding latitudes on this side of the conti- 
 nent," he proceeds to testify that, "as_ a 
 proof of its mildness, he had passed seven win- 
 ters between the latitudes of 51° and 57°, fre- 
 quently lying so near the shore as to have a 
 small cable fast to the trees, and only once was 
 his ship surrounded by ice sufficiently firm to 
 bear the weight of a man." But this intelli- 
 gent navigator assigns no reason. To the com- 
 mon observer it seemed as if the temperature 
 grew milder traveling with the sun until it 
 dipped in the ocean. 
 
 Among the authorities open before me I 
 quote two, which show that this difference of 
 temperature between the Atlantic and Pacific 
 coasts was imagined, if not actually recognized, 
 during the last century. Portlock, the English- 
 man, who was on this coast in 1787, after say- 
 ing that during stormy and unsettled weather 
 the air had been mild and temperate, remarks 
 that he is "inclined to think that the climate 
 here is not so severe as has been generally 
 supposed." (Voyage, p. 188.) La Perouse, 
 the Frenchman, who was here the same year,
 
 29 
 
 and had been before in Hudson bay, on the 
 other side of the continent, says still more 
 explicitly that "the climate of this coast ap- 
 peared to' him infinitely milder than that of 
 Hudson bay in the same latitude, and that the 
 
 [lines which ho Imd measured here were much 
 arger. ■' ( Voyage, vol. 2, p. 187.) Langsdorf, 
 when at Sitka in ISOfi, records that Mr. John 
 D. Wolf, a citizen of the United States, who 
 bad passed the winter at the settlement, "is 
 much surprised at finding the cold less severe 
 than at Boston, Rhode Island, and other Prov- 
 inces of the United States which lie.more lo the 
 South." (Voyages, vol. 2, p. 101.) . 
 
 All this is now explained by certain known 
 forces in nature. Of these the most important 
 is a thermal current in the Pacific, correspond- 
 ing to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic. The 
 latter, having its origin in the heated waters 
 of the Gulf of Mexico, flows' as a river through 
 the ocean northward, encircling England, bath- 
 ing Norway, and warming all within its influ- 
 ence. A similar stream in the Pacific, some- 
 times called the Japanese current, having its 
 origin under the equator near the Philippines 
 and the Malaccas, amid no comftion heats, 
 after washing the ancient empire of Japan 
 sweeps northward until, forming two branches, 
 one moves onward to Behring straits and the 
 other bends eastward along the Aleutian isl- 
 ands, and then southward along the coast of 
 Sitka. Oregon, and California. Geographers 
 have descril)ed this "heater," which in the 
 lower latitudes is as high as 81° of Fahrenheit, 
 and even far to the north it is as high as 50°. 
 A chart now before me in Findlay's Pacific 
 Ocean Directory portrays its course as it 
 warms so many islands and such an extent of 
 coast. An oflicer of the United States Navy, 
 Lieutenant Bent, in a paper before the Geo- 
 graphical Society of New York, while exhibit- 
 ing the influence of this current in mitigating 
 the climate of the northwest coast, mentions 
 that vessels on the Asiatic side, becoming un- 
 wieldy with accumulations of ice on the hull 
 and rigging, run over to the higher latitude on 
 the American side and "thaw out." But the 
 tepid waters which melt the ice on a vessel 
 must change the atmosphere wherever they 
 flow. 
 
 I hope you will not regard the illustration 
 as too familiar if I remind you that in the 
 economy of a household pipes of hot water are 
 sometimes employed in tempering the atmos- 
 phere by heat carried from below to rooms 
 above. In the economy of nature these ther- 
 mal currents are only pipes of hot water, mod- 
 ifying the climate of continents by carrying 
 heat from the warm cisterns of the South into 
 the most distant places of the north. So also 
 there are sometimes pipes of hot air, having a 
 similar purpose; and these, too, are found in 
 this region. Every ocean wind, from every 
 quarter, as it traverses the stream of heat, 
 takes up the warmth and carries it to the 
 coast, so that the oceanic current is reenforced 
 by an aerial current of constant influence. 
 
 But these forces are aided essentially by the 
 configuration of the northwest coast, with a 
 lofty and impenetrable barrioadt of mountains, 
 by which its islands and harbors are protected 
 from the cold of the north. Occupying the 
 Aleutian islands, traversing the peninsula of 
 Alaska, and running along the margin of the 
 ocean to the latitude of 04° 40'', this mountain 
 ridge is a climatic division, or, according to a 
 German geographer, a "climatic shed," such 
 as perhaps exists nowhere else in the world. 
 Here are Alps, some of them volcanic, with 
 Mount St. Elias higher than Mont Blanc, 
 standing on guard against the Arctic Circle. 
 So it seems-even without the aid of science. 
 Here is a dike between the icy waters of Beh- 
 ring sea and the milder Southern ocean. Here 
 is a p.artition between the treeles.s northern 
 coast and the wooded coast of the Kenaians 
 and Koloschians. Here is a fence which sep- 
 arates the animal kingdom of this region, leav- 
 ing on one side the walrus and ice-fox from 
 the Frozen ocean and on the other side the 
 humming bird from the tropics. I simply 
 repeat the statements of geography. And now 
 you will not fail to observe how by this con- 
 figuration the thermal currents of ocean and air 
 are left to exercise all their climatic power. 
 
 There is one other climatic incident here, 
 which is now easily explained. Early navi- 
 gators record the prevailing moisture. All are 
 enveloped in fog. Behring names an island 
 Foggy. Another gives the same designation 
 to a cape at the southern extremity of Rus- 
 sian America. Cook records fog. La Perouse 
 speaks of continued rain and fog in the month 
 of August. And now visitors, whether for 
 science or business, make the same report. 
 The forests testify also. According to Physical 
 Geography it could not be otherwise. The 
 warm air from the ocean encountering the 
 snow-capped mountains would naturally pro- 
 duce this result. Rain is nothing but atmos- 
 phere condensed and falling in drops to the 
 earth. Fog is atmosphere still held in solution, 
 but so far condensed as to become visible. 
 This condensation occurs when the air is chilled 
 by contact with a colder atmosphere. Now, 
 the.se very conditions occur on the northwest 
 coast. The ocean air, as it comes in contact 
 with the elevated range, .is chilled until its 
 moisture is set free. 
 
 Add to these influences, especially as re- 
 gards Sitka, the presence of mountain masses 
 and of dense forests, all tending to make this 
 coast warmer in winter and colder in summer 
 than it would otherwise be. 
 
 Practical observation has verified these con- 
 clusions of science. Any isothermal map is 
 enough for our purpose ; but there are others 
 which show the relative conditions generally 
 of diff'erent portions of the globe. I ask 
 attention to those of Keith Johnston, in his 
 admirable atlas. But I am glad to present a 
 climatic table of the Pacific coast in compari- 
 son with the Atlantic coast, which has been 
 recently compiled, at my request, from the
 
 30 
 
 archives of the Smithsonian Institution with 
 ' permission of its learned secretary, by a col- 
 laborator of the Institution, who visited Rus- 
 sian AuJerica under the auspices of the Tele- 
 
 graph Company. In studying this table we 
 shall be able to comprehend the relative posi- 
 tion of this region in the physical geography of 
 the world: 
 
 St. Michaels, Russian America 
 
 Lat. 6:P 28' 45' North. 
 
 Fort Youkon, Russian America 
 
 Lat. (near) G7'^. 
 
 Ikogmut. Russian America 
 
 Lat. 61° 47'. 
 
 Sitka, Russian America ,. 
 
 Lat. 57° 03'. 
 
 Paget sound, Washington Territory, 
 Lat. 47° 07'. 
 
 Astoria, Oregon 
 
 Lat. 40° 11'. 
 
 San Francisco, California 
 
 Lat. 37° 48', 
 
 Nain, Labrador 
 
 Lat. 57° 10'. 
 
 Montreal, Canada East 
 
 Lat. 45° 30'. 
 / 
 
 Portlrfnd. Maine 
 
 Lat. 43° 39'. 
 
 Fort Hf\railton, New York 
 
 Lat. 40° 37'. 
 
 Washington, District of Columbia... 
 
 Mean Temperature in Dc 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 grees 
 
 Precipitation in Rain or Snow. 
 Depth in Inches. 
 
 a 
 
 02 
 
 U 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 3 
 02 
 
 a 
 
 s 
 -.^^ 
 
 < 
 
 -t-3 
 
 
 .2 
 
 c. 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 3 
 < 
 
 
 C 
 
 Q 
 
 28.75 
 
 52.25 
 
 27.00 
 
 7.00 
 
 27.48 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 14.22 
 
 • 
 
 59.67 
 
 17.37 
 
 23.80 
 
 16.92 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 19.62 
 
 49.32 
 
 36.05 
 
 0.95 
 
 24.57 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 39.65 
 
 53.37 
 
 43.80 
 
 32.30 
 
 42.12 
 
 18.32 
 
 15.75 
 
 32.10 
 
 23.77 
 
 89.94 
 
 48.88 
 
 63.44 
 
 51.30 
 
 39.38 
 
 50.75 
 
 7.52 
 
 3.68 
 
 15.13 
 
 20.65 
 
 46.98 
 
 51.16 
 
 61.36 
 
 53.55 
 
 42.43 
 
 52.13 
 
 16.43 
 
 4.85 
 
 21.77 
 
 44.15 
 
 87.20 
 
 55.39 
 
 58.98 
 
 58.29 
 
 50.25 
 
 55.73 
 
 6.65 
 
 0.09 
 
 2.69 
 
 13.49 
 
 22 .52 
 
 23.67 
 
 48.57 
 
 33.65 
 
 0.40 
 
 26.40 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 41.20 
 
 68.53 
 
 44.93 
 
 16.40 
 
 42.77 
 
 7.66 
 
 11.20 
 
 7.42 
 
 .72 
 
 27.00 
 
 40.12 
 
 63.75 
 
 45.75 
 
 21.52 
 
 42.78 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 - 
 
 47.84 
 
 71.35 
 
 55.79 
 
 32.32 
 
 51.82 
 
 11.69 
 
 11.64 
 
 9.88 
 
 10.31 
 
 43.22 
 
 54.19 
 
 73.07 
 
 53.91 
 
 33.57 
 
 53.69 
 
 10.48 
 
 10.53 
 
 10.16 
 
 10.05 
 
 41.24 
 
 It will be seen from this table that the win- 
 ters of Sitka are relatively warm, not differing 
 much from those of Washington, and several 
 degrees warmer than those of New York ; but 
 the summers are colder. The mean tempera- 
 ture of winter is 32° 30^, while that of sum- 
 mer is 53° 37'. The Washington winter is 
 38° 57'; the Washington summer is 73° 07'. 
 These points exhibit the peculiarities of this 
 coast — warm winters and cool summers. 
 • The winter of Sitka is milder than that of 
 many European capitals. Itis much milder than 
 that of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Stockholm, 
 Copenhagen, Berne, or Berlin. It is milder 
 even than that of Manheira, Stuttgard, Vienna, 
 Sebastopol in the Crimea, or Turin. It is not 
 much colder than that of Padua. According 
 to observations at Sitka in 1831 it froze for 
 only tn-o days in December and seven days in 
 January. Jn February the longest-frost lasted 
 five days ; in March it did not freeze during 
 the day at all, and rarely in the night. During 
 the ne.xt vi'inter the thermometer did not fall 
 below 21° Fah;enheit; in January, ISoJ, it 
 reached 11°. On the other band a tempera- 
 
 ture of 50° has been noted in January. The 
 roadstead is open throughout the year, and 
 only a few land-locked bays are frozen. 
 
 The prevailing dampness at Sitka makes a 
 residence there far from agreeable, although 
 it does not appear to be injurious to health. 
 England is also damp, but Englishmen boast 
 that theirs is the best climate of the world. 
 At Sitka the annual fall of rain is eighty-nine 
 inches. The mean annual fall in all England is 
 forty inches, although in mountainous districts 
 of Cumberland and Westmoreland the fall 
 amounts to ninety and even one hundred and 
 forty inches. In Washington it is forty-one 
 inches. The forests at Sitka are so wet that 
 they will not burn, although frequent attempts 
 have been made to set them on fire. The 
 houses, which are of wood, suffer from the 
 constant moisture. In 1S28, there were twenty 
 days when it rained or snowed continuously ; one 
 hundred and twenty when it rained or snowed 
 part of the day, and only sixty-six days of 
 clear weather. Some years only forty bright 
 days have been counted. Hinds, the natural- 
 ist, records only thirty-seven •' really clear and
 
 31 
 
 fine days." A scientific observer who was 
 there last year counted sixty. A visitor for 
 fourteen days found only two when nautical 
 observations could bo made; but these were as 
 fine as he had ever known in any country. 
 
 The whole coast from Sitka to the peninsula 
 of Alaska seems to have the same continuous 
 climate, whether as regards temperature or 
 moisture. The island of Kodiak and the re- 
 cess of Cook's inlet are outside of this climatic 
 curve, so as to be comparatively dry. Lanp:s- 
 dorf reports the winters "frequently so mild 
 in the lower parts of Kodiak that the snow 
 does not lie upon the ground for any length 
 of lime, nor is anything like severe cold felt." 
 The Aleutian islands, further west, are some- 
 what colder than Silka, although the difference 
 is not great. The summer temperature is sel- 
 dom above G6° ; the winter temperature is more 
 seldom as low as 2° below zero. The snow 
 falls about the beginning of October, and is 
 seen sometimes as late as the end of April ; but 
 it does not remain long on the surftice. The 
 mean temperature of Ounalaska is about 40°. 
 Chamisso found the temperature of spring 
 water at the beginning of the year to be 38° 
 50'. There are some years when it rains on 
 this island the whole winter. The fogs prevail 
 from April till the middle of July, when they 
 seem for the time to be driven further north. 
 The islands northward toward Behring straits 
 are proportionately colder, but you will not 
 forget that the American eoast is milder than 
 the opposite coast of Asia. 
 
 From Mr. Bannister I have an authentic 
 statement with regard to the temperature 
 north of the Aleutians, as observed by himself 
 in the autumn of 18Go and the months follow- 
 ing. Even here the winter does not seem so 
 terrible as is sometimes imagined. During 
 most of the time work could be done with 
 comfort in the open air. It was only when it 
 stormed that the men were kept within doors. 
 In transporting supplies from St. Michaels to 
 Nulato, a distance of two hundred and fifty 
 miles, they found no hardship, even when 
 obliged to bivouac in the open air. 
 
 On Norton sound and the Kwichpak river 
 winter may be said to commence at the end of 
 September, although the weather is not severe 
 till the end of October. The first snow falls 
 about the 20th or 2oth September. All the 
 small ponds and lakes were frozen early in 
 October. The Kwichpak was frozen solid about 
 the 20ih or 2oth of this month. On the 1st 
 November the harbor at St. Michaels was still 
 open, but on the morning of the 4th it was frozen 
 solid enough for sledges to cross on the ice. In 
 December there were two thaws, one of them 
 accompanied by rain for a day. The snow was 
 about two feet deep at the end of the month. 
 January was uniformly cold, and it was said 
 that at one place sixty-five miles northeast of 
 St. Michaels the thermometer descended to 58° 
 below zero. February was uausually mild all 
 over the country. Jn the middle of the month 
 there was an extensive thaw, with showers of 
 
 rain. Abouthalf of the snow disappeared, leav- 
 ing much of the ground bare. March was pleas- 
 ant, without very cold weather. Its mean tem- 
 perature was 20° ; its minimum was 3° below 
 zero. 
 
 Spring commences on the Kwichpak the 1st 
 May, or a few days later, when the birds return 
 and vegetation begins to appear. The ice did 
 not entirely disappear from the river till after 
 the 20th May. The sea ice continued in the 
 bay of St. Michaels as late as 1st June. The 
 summer temperature is much higher in the in- 
 terior of the country than on the coast. Parties 
 traveling on the Kwichpak in June complained 
 sometimes from the heat. 
 
 The river Youkon, which, flowing into the 
 Kwichpak, helps to swell that stream, is navi- 
 gable* ibr at least four, if not five, months in 
 the year. The thermometer at Fort Youkoii 
 is sometimes at CJ° below zero of Fahrenheit, 
 and for three months of a recent winter it stoo<i 
 at 50° below zero without variation. In sum- 
 mer it rises above 80° in the shade ; but a hard 
 frost occurs at times in August. The southwest 
 wind brings warmth ; the northeast wind bring- 
 cold. Some years there is, no rain for month.*, 
 and then again showers alternate with sunshine. 
 The snow packs hard at an average of two and 
 a half feet deep. The ice is four or five feet 
 thick; in a severe winter it is si.x feet thick. 
 Life at Fort Youkon under these rigors of 
 nature, although not inviting, is not intoler- 
 able. 
 
 Such is the climate of this extensive region, 
 so far as is known, along its coast, among its 
 islands, and on its great rivers, from its south- 
 ern limits to its most northern ice, with con- 
 trasts and varieties such as Milton describes: 
 
 "For hot, cold, moist and dry, four champions fierce 
 Strive here for mastery." 
 
 Vegetable Products. 
 
 IV. Vegetable AWwc/sdepend upon climate. 
 They are determined by its laws. Therefore 
 what has been already said upon the one pre- 
 pares the way for the consideration of the other; 
 and here we have the reports of navigators and 
 the suggestions of science. 
 
 From the time this coast was first visited 
 navigators reported the aspects which nature 
 assumed. But their opportunities were casual, 
 and they were obliged to confine themselves to 
 what was most obvious. As civilization did 
 not exist, the only vegetable products were indi- 
 genous to the soil. 'J'hese were trees, berries, 
 and plants. At the first landing, on the dis- 
 covery of the coast by Behring, Steller found 
 among the provisions in one oft he Indian cabins 
 "a sweet herb dressed for food in the same 
 manner as in Kamtschatka." That "sweet 
 herb" is the first vegetable production of which 
 we have any record on thi.s coast. At the same 
 time, although ashore only six hours, this nat- 
 uralist "gathered herbs and brought such a 
 quantity to the ship that the describing of them 
 took him a considerable time." This descrip-
 
 32 
 
 tion it is said was adopted afterwards in the 
 Flora Siberica. 
 
 Trees were noticed even before landing. 
 They enter into descriptions, and are often intro- 
 duced to increase the savage wildness of the 
 scene. La Perouse doubts '"if the deep val- 
 lies of the Alps and the Pj-renees present a 
 picture so frightful and at the same time so 
 picturesque, which would deserve to be visited 
 by the curious if it were not at one of the 
 extremities of the earth." (Tom. 2, page 
 191.) Lisiansky, as he approached the coast 
 of Sitka, records that "nothing presented 
 itself to the view but impenetrable woods reach- 
 ing from the water side to the very tops of the 
 highest mountains, so wild and gloomy that 
 they appeared more adapted for the residence 
 of wild beasts than of men." (Page 145.) 
 LUtke portrays the "savage and picturesque 
 aspect"' of the whole northwest coast. (Tom. 
 1, page 101.) 
 
 As navigators landed they saw nature in 
 detail; and here they were imjiressed by the 
 size of the trees. Cook finds at Prince Wil- 
 liam sound "Canada and spruce pine, some 
 of them tolerably large." La Perouse alludes 
 to trees more than once. He describes pines 
 measuring six feet in diameter and one hun- 
 dred and forty feet in height, and then again 
 introduces us to "those superb pines fit for the 
 masts of our largest vessels." Portlock notices 
 in Cook's inlet "wood of different kinds in 
 great abundance, such as pine, black birch, 
 witch hazel, and poplar ; many of the pines large 
 enough for lower masts to a ship of four hun- 
 dred tons burden;" and then again at Port 
 Etches he noticed "trees of the pine kind, 
 some very large, a good quantity of alder, a 
 kind of hazel, but not larger than will do for 
 making handspikes. ' ' Meares reports ' ' woods 
 thick," also "the black pine in great plenty, 
 capable of making excellent spars." Van- 
 couver reports in latitude 60° 1^ "a woodland 
 country." Sauer, who was there a little later, 
 in the expedition of Billings, saw trees six feet 
 in diameter and one hundred and fifty feet in 
 height, "excellent wood for ship-building." 
 In Prince William sound the ship "took in a 
 variety of fine spars," and he proceeds to say, 
 "The timber comprised a variety of pines of 
 immense thickness and height, some entirely 
 tough and fibrous, and of these we made our 
 best oars." Lisiansky says that at Kodiak 
 "for want of fir he made a new bowsprit of 
 one of the pine trees, which answered admir- 
 ably." Lutke testifies to the "magnificent 
 pine and fir" at Sitka, adding what seems an 
 inconsistent judgment with regard to its dura- 
 bility. Belcher notices Garden island, in lati- 
 tude 60° 2V, as "covered with pine trees;" 
 and then again at Sitka speaks of a "very 
 fine-grained bright yellow cypress as the most 
 valuable wood, which, besides being used in 
 boats, was exported to the Sandwich islands 
 in return especially for Chinese goods." 
 
 Turning westward from Cook's inlet the 
 forests on the sea line are rarer until they 
 
 entirely disappear. The first settlement on 
 the island of Kodiak was on the southwestern 
 coast, but the want of timber there caused its 
 transfer to the northeastern coast, where there 
 ai'e "considerable forests of fine tall trees.'* 
 But where trees are wanting grass seems to 
 abound. This is the case with Kodiak, the 
 peninsula of Alaska, and the Aleutian islands 
 generally. Of these Ounalaska, libeled by the 
 immortal verse of Campbell, has been the most 
 described. This well-known island is without 
 trees ; but it seems singularly adapted to the 
 growth of grass, which is often so high as to 
 impede the traveler and to over-top even the 
 willows. The mountains themselves are for a 
 considerable distance clothed with rich turf. 
 One of these scenes is represented in a print 
 which you will find among the views of the 
 vegetation of the Pacific in the London rejiro- 
 duction of the work of Kittlitz. This peculi- 
 arity was first noticed by Cook, who says, v.-ith 
 a sailor sententiousness, that he did not see 
 there "a single stick of wood of any size," 
 but "plenty of grass very thick and to a great 
 length. ' ' Llitke records that after leaving Bra- 
 zil he met nothing so agreeable as the grass of 
 this island. 
 
 North of Alaska, on Behring sea, the forests "^ 
 do not approach the coast, except at the heads 
 of bays and sounds, although they abound in 
 the interior, and extend even to within a short 
 distance of the Frozen ocean. Such is the 
 personal testimony of a scientific observer who 
 has recently returned from this region. In 
 Norton's sound Cook, who was the first to visit 
 it, reports "a coast covered with wood, an 
 agreeable sight," and, on walking in the coun- 
 try, "small spruce trees, none more than six 
 or eight inches in diameter." The next day 
 he sent men ashore "to cut brooms, which 
 he needed, and the branches of spruce trees 
 for brewing beer." On the Kwichpak and its 
 affluent, the Youkon, trees are sometimes as 
 high as a hundred feet. The supply of timber 
 at St. Michaels is from the drift wood of the ' 
 river. Near Fort Youkon, at the junction of 
 the Porcupine and the Youkon, are forests 
 of pine, poplar, willow, and birch. The pine 
 is the most plentiful; but the small islands in 
 the great river are covered with poplar and 
 willow. Immense" trunks rolling under the 
 fort show that there must be large trees nearer 
 the headwaters. 
 
 But even in northern latitudes the American 
 coast is not without vegetation. Grass here 
 takes the place of trees. At Fort Youkon, 
 in latitude 67°, there is "a thin, wiry grass." 
 Navigators notice the contrast between the 
 opposite coasts of the two continents. Kotze- 
 bue, while in Behring straits, where the two 
 approach each other, was struck by _ black, 
 mossy rocks frowning with snow and icicleson 
 the Asiatic side, while on the American side 
 "even the summits of the highest mountains 
 were free from snow, and the coast was covered 
 with a ^reen carpet." (Voyage, vol. 1, p. 
 249.) But the contrast with the Atlantic coast
 
 33 
 
 of the continent is hardly less. The northern 
 limit of trees is full seven degrees higher in 
 Russian America than in Labrador. In point 
 of fact, on the Atlantic coast, in_ latitude o7° 
 58', which is that of Sitka, there'are no trees. 
 All this is most suggestive. _ 
 
 Next after trees early navigators speak oflen- 
 est of harries, which they found in profu- 
 sion. Not a sailor lands who does not find 
 them. Cook reports "berries" on Norton 
 sound, and "a great variety" at Ounalaska. 
 Poi-tlock finds at Port Etches "fruit bushes in 
 great abundance, such as bilberry, raspberry, 
 strawberry, and currant, red and black." At 
 Prince William sound " any quantity might be 
 gathered for a winter stock." Meai-es saw 
 there "a few black currant bushes." Billings 
 finds at Kodiak "several species of berries, 
 with currants and raspberries in abundance, the 
 latter white, but extremely large, being bigger 
 than a mulberry." Langsdorf finds all these 
 at Ounalaska, with whortleberries and cran- 
 berries besides. Belcher reports at Garden 
 island "strawberries, pigeon berries, whortle- 
 berries, and a small cranberry in tolerable 
 profusion, without going in search of them." 
 All these I quote precisely, and in the order 
 of time. 
 . Next to berries were jjlants for food ; and 
 
 these were in constant abundance. Behring, 
 on landing at the Shumagin islands, observed 
 the natives "to eat roots which they dug out 
 of the ground, and scarce shaked off the earth 
 before they eat them." Cook reports at Ouna- 
 laska "a great variety of plants, such as are 
 found in Europe and other parts of America, 
 
 f)articularly Newfoundland, one of which was 
 ike parsley aud eat very well, either in soups 
 or salads." La P6rouse, who landed in lati- 
 * tude 58^ 37, finds a French bill of fare, in- 
 cluding celery, chicory, sorrel, and "almost 
 all that exists in the meadows and mountains 
 of France," besides several grains for forage. 
 Every day and each meal the ship's kettle was 
 filled with these supplies, and all eat them in 
 soups, ragouts, and salads, much to the ben- 
 efit of their health. Portlock reports at Port 
 Etches, besides water- cresses, "just above the 
 beach, between the bay and the. lake, a piece 
 of wild wheat, about two hundred yards long 
 and five yards broad, growing at least two feet 
 high, which with proper care might certainly be 
 made a useful article of food;" at Cook's inlet 
 he reports "ginseng and snakeroot." Meares 
 reports at Prince William sound "snakeroot 
 and ginseng, some of which the natives have 
 always with them as a medicine." Billings finds 
 at Kodiak "ginseng, wild onions, and the edi- 
 ble roots of Kamtschatka;" and then again in 
 Prince William sound he finds "plenty of gin- 
 seng and some snakeroot." Vancouver finds 
 at Cape Phipps "wild vegetables in great abun- 
 dance." Langsdorf adds to the list at Ouna- 
 laska "Siberian parsnip, or sweet plant." 
 These, too, I quote precisely, aud in the 
 order of time. 
 
 Since the establishment of Europeans on this 
 
 coast an attempt has been made to introduce 
 the nutritious grains and vegetables known to 
 the civilized world; but without very brilliant 
 success. Against wheat and rye and against 
 orchard fruits there are obstacles of climate, 
 perhaps insuperable. All these require sum- 
 mer heat; but here the summer is compara- 
 tively cold. The northern limit of wheat is 
 several 'degrees below the southern limit of 
 these possessions, so that this friendly grain 
 is out of the question. Rye flourishes further 
 north, as do oats also. The supposed northern 
 limit of these grains embraces Sitka and grazes 
 the Aleutian islands. But there are other 
 climatic. conditions which are wanting at least 
 for rye. One of these is dry weather, which is 
 required at the time of its bloom. Possibly 
 the clearing of the forest may produce some 
 modification of the weather. For the present 
 barley grows better, and there is reason to be- 
 lieve that It may be cultivated successfully very 
 far to the north. It has ripened at Kodiak. 
 There are many garden vegetables which have 
 become domesticated. Lutke reports that at 
 Sitka potatoes flourish ; so that all have enough. 
 Langsdorf reports the same of Kodiak. There 
 are also radishes, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas, 
 and carrots— making a very respectable list. 
 The same, perhaps, may be found at Ounalaska. 
 On Norton sound I hear of radishes, beets, 
 and cabbages. Even as far north as Fort 
 Youkon, on the parallel of G7°, potatoeg, peas, 
 turnips, and even barley have been grown : but 
 the turnips were unfit for the table, being rot- 
 ten at the heart. A recent resident reports 
 that there are no fruit trees, and not even a 
 raspl)erry bush, and that he lost all his potatoes 
 during one season by a frost in the latter days 
 of July; but do not forget that these potatoes 
 were the wall-flowers of the Arctic Circle. 
 
 Thus it appears that the vegetable pro- 
 ductions of the country are represented practi- 
 cally by trees. The forests which overshadow 
 the coast from Sitka to Cook's inlet are all that 
 we can show under this head out of which a 
 revenue can be derived, unless we add ginseng, 
 which is so much prized by the Chinese, and 
 perhaps also snakeroot. Other things may 
 contribute to the scanty support of a house- 
 hold ; but timber will in all probability be an 
 article of commerce. It has been so already. 
 Ships from the Sandwich islands have come 
 for it, and there is reason to believe that this 
 trade may be extended indefinitely, so that 
 Russian America may be on the Pacific like 
 Maine on the Atlantic, and the lumbermen of 
 Sitka may vie with their hardy brethren of the 
 East. 
 
 Here a question occurs. These forests as 
 
 described seem to afford all that can be desired. 
 
 The trees are abundant, and they are perfect ia 
 
 in size, not unlike 
 
 "The tallest pine 
 Ilewn on Norwegian hills to bo the must 
 Of some great admiral." 
 
 But a doubt ari3es.as to their commercial value. 
 Here we have the inconsistent testimony of
 
 34 
 
 Llitke. According to him the pines and firs 
 which he calls ''magnificent" constitute an 
 untried source of commercial wealth. Not only, 
 California, but other countries poor in trees, 
 like Mexico, the Sandwich islands, and even 
 Chili will need them. And yet he does not 
 conceal an unfavorable judgment of the timber, 
 which as seen in the houses of Sitka, suffering 
 from constant moisture, did not seem to be 
 durable. (Voyage, Tom. 1, pp. 105, 151.) Sir_ 
 Edward Belcher differs from the liussian ad- 
 miral, for he praises especially the timber of 
 "the higher latitudes, either for spars or plank." 
 (Voyage, vol. 1, p. 300.) Perhaps its dura- 
 bility may depend upon the climate where it is 
 used, so that the timber of this region may be 
 lasting enough when transported to another 
 climate. In the rarity of trees on the islands 
 and mainland of the Pacific the natural supply 
 is in Russian America. One of the early navi- 
 gators even imagined that China must look this 
 way, and he expected that "the woods would 
 yield a handsome revenue when the Russian 
 commerce with China should be established." 
 American commerce with China is established. 
 Perhaps timber may become one of its staples. 
 
 A profitable commerce in timber has already 
 begun at Paget souad. By the official returns 
 of 1866 it appears that it was exported to a 
 long list of foreign countries and places. In 
 which I find Victoria, Honolulu. Callao, Tahiti, 
 Canton, Valparaiso, Adelaide, Hong Kong, 
 Sydney, Montevideo, London, Melbourne, 
 Shanghae, Peru, Coquimbo, Calcutta, Hllo, 
 Cape Town, Cork, Guaymas, and Siam; and 
 that in tlris commerce were employed no less 
 than eighteen ships, thirty barks, four brigs, 
 twenty-eight schooners, and ten steamers. The 
 value of the lumber and spars exported abroad 
 was over half a million dollars, while more 
 than four times that amount was shipped coast- 
 wise. But the coasts of Russian America are 
 darker with trees than those further south. 
 The pines in which they abound do not flourish 
 as low down as Paget sound. Northward, they 
 are numerous and easily accessible. 
 
 In our day the Flora of the coast has been 
 explored with care. Kittlitz, who saw It as a 
 naturalist, portrays it with the enthusiasm of 
 an early navigator ; but he speaks with knowl- 
 edge. He, too, dwells on the "surprising 
 power and luxuriance" of the pine forests, 
 describing them with critical skill. The trees 
 •which he identifies are the Pinus Canadensis^ 
 distinguished for its delicate foliage ; the Pinus 
 Mertensiana, a new species, rival of the other 
 in height; and Pinus Palustris, growing in 
 swampy declivities, and not attaining height. 
 In the clearings or on the outskirts of thickets 
 are shrubs, being chiefly a species of Biibus, 
 with flowers of carmine and aromatic fruit. 
 About and over all are mosses and lichens 
 invigorated by the constant moisture, while 
 colossal trees, undermined or uprooted, crowd 
 the surface, reminding the scientific observer 
 of the accumulations of the coal measures. 
 Two different prints in the Loudon reproduc- 
 
 tion of the work of Kittlitz present pictures 
 of these vegetable productions grouped for 
 beauty and instruction. I refer to these and 
 also to the Essay of Hinds on the Regions of 
 Vegetation, the latter to be found at the end of 
 the volumes containing Belcher's Voyage. 
 
 In turning from the vegetable products of 
 this region, it will not be out of place if I refer 
 for one moment to its domestic animals, for 
 these are necessarily associated with such prod- 
 ucts. Some time ago it was stated that cattle 
 had not flourished at Sitka owing to the want 
 of proper pasturage and the difiiculty of making 
 hay in a climate of such moisture. Hogs are 
 more easily sustained, but feeding on fish, 
 instead of vegetable products, their flesh ac- 
 quires a fishy taste, which does not recommend 
 it. Nor has there been greater success with 
 poultry, for this becomes the prey of the crow, 
 whose voracity here is absolutely fabulous. A 
 Koloschian tribe traces its origin to this Bii'd, 
 which lu this neighborhood might be a fit pro- 
 genitor. Not content with swooping upon 
 hens and chickens it descends upon hogs to 
 nibble at their tails, and so successfully "that 
 the hogs here are without tails," and then it 
 scours the streets so well that it Is called the 
 scavenger of Sitka. But there are other places 
 more favored. The grass at Kodiak is well 
 suited to cattle, and It is supposed that sheep 
 would thrive there. The grass at Ounalaskais 
 famous, and Cook thought the climate good for 
 cattle, of which we have at least one illastra- 
 tion. Langsdorf reports that "a cow grazed 
 there lu.xuriously for several years, and then 
 was lost in the mountains." That grazing 
 animal is a good witness. Perhaps also it is 
 typical of the peaceful inhabitants. 
 
 Mineral Products. 
 
 V. In considering the Mineral Products I 
 shall first ask attention to such indications as 
 are afforded by the early navigators. They 
 were not geologists. Indeed, geologj' was at 
 that time unknown. They saw only what was 
 exposed. And yet during the long interval that 
 has elapsed not very much has been added to 
 their conclusions. The existence of iron is 
 hardly less uncertain now than then. The 
 existence of copper is hardly more certain now 
 than then. Gold, which is so often a dangerous 
 ignis fatuus, did not appear to deceive them. 
 But coal, which Is much more desirable than 
 gold, was reported by several, and once at least 
 with reasonable certainty. 
 
 The boat that landed from Behring, when 
 he discovered the coast, found among other 
 things "a whetstone on which it appeared that 
 copper knives had been sharpened." This 
 was the first sign of that mineral wealth which 
 already excites such an interest. At another 
 point where Behring landed * ' one of the Amer- 
 icans had a knife hanging by his side, of which 
 his people took notice on account of its unu- 
 sual make." It has been supposed that this 
 knife was of iron". Next came Cook, who, 
 when in J'rince William sound, saw "copper
 
 35 
 
 and iron." In his judgment the iron came 
 through the intervention of Indian tribes from 
 Hudson bay or the settlements on the Cana- 
 dian lakes, and his editor refers in a note to. 
 the knife seen by Behring as coming from the 
 same quarter; but Cook thought that the cop- , 
 per was obtained near at home, as the natives, 
 when engaged in barter, gave the idea "that 
 having so much of this metal of their own 
 they wanted no more." Naturally enough, 
 for they were not far from the Copper river. 
 Maurelle, the French officer in the service of 
 Spain, landed in sight of Mount St. Elias in 
 177'J, and he reports Indians with arrow-heads 
 of copper, "which made the Spaniards sus- 
 pect mines of this metal there." La Pcrouse, 
 who was also in this neighborhood, after men- 
 tioning that the naturalists of the expedition 
 allowed no rock or stone to escape observa- 
 tion, reports ochre, schist, mica, very pure 
 quartz, granite, pyrites of copper, plumbago, 
 and coal, and then adds that some things an- 
 nounce that the mountains contain mines of 
 iron and copper. He reports further that the 
 natives had daggers of iron and sometimes 
 of red copper; that the latter metal was com- 
 mon enough with them, serving for ornaments 
 and for the points of their arrows ; and he then 
 states the very question of Cook with regard to 
 the way in which they acquired these metals. 
 He insists that " the natives know how to forge 
 iron and work copper." Spears and arrows 
 "pointed with bone or iron," and also "an 
 iron dagger" for each man, appear in Van- 
 couver's account of the natives on the parallel 
 of 54° 59', just within the southern limits of 
 Russian America. Lisiansky also saw at Sitka 
 " a thin plate of virgin copper," found on Cop- 
 per river, three feet in length and at one end^ 
 twenty inches in breadth, with figures painted on 
 its sides, which had come from the possession 
 of the natives. Meares reports " pure malle- 
 able lumps of copper in the possession of the 
 natives," sometimes weighing as much as a 
 pound, also necklaces, all obtained in barter 
 with other natives further north. Portlock, 
 while in Cook"s inlet, in latitude 50° 20', at a 
 place called Graham's harbor, makes another 
 discovery. Walking round the bay he saw 
 "two veins of Kennel coal justabovethe beach, 
 and with very little trouble several pieces were 
 got out of the bank nearly as large as a man's 
 hand." If the good captain did not report 
 more than he saw this would be most important, 
 for from the time when the amusing biographer 
 of Lord Keeper North described that clean 
 flaky coal which he calls "candle," because 
 often used for its light, but which is generally 
 called Kennel, no coal has been more of a 
 household, favorite. He reports further that 
 "returning on board in the evening he tried 
 some of the coal, and found it to burn clear and 
 well." Add to these different reports the gen- 
 eral testimony of Meares, who, when dwelling 
 on the resources of this country, boldly includes 
 "mines which are known to be between the 
 latitudes of 40° and G0° north, and which may 
 
 hereafter prove a most valuable source of com- 
 merce between America and China." 
 
 It is especially when we seek to estimate the 
 mineral products that we feel the want of care- 
 ful explorations. We know more of t lie rovinj^ 
 aborigines than of these stationary citizens ot 
 the soil. We know more of the trees. A tree 
 is conspicuous. A mineral is hidden in the 
 earth, to be found by chance or science. Thus 
 far it seems as if chance only had ruled. The 
 Russian Government handed over the country 
 to a trading company, whose exclusive interest 
 was furs. The company only followed its busi- 
 ness when it looked to wild beasts with rich 
 skins rather than to the soil. Its mines were 
 above ground, and not below. There were also 
 essential dithculties in the way of any explor- 
 ations. The interior was practically inaccess- 
 ible. The thick forest, saturated with rain and 
 overgrown with wet mosses, presented obstacles | 
 which nothing but enlightened enterprise could 
 overcome. Even at a short distance from the 
 port of Sitka all effort had failed, and the inner 
 recesses of the island, only thirty miles broad, 
 were never penetrated. 
 
 The late Professor Henry D. Rogers, in his 
 admirable paper on the Physical Features of 
 America, being a part of his contribution to 
 Keith Johnston's Atlas, full of knowledge and 
 offine generalization, says ofthis northwest belt 
 of country that it is "little known in its topog- 
 raphy to any but the roving Indians and the 
 thinly-scattered fur-trappers." But there are 
 certain general features which he proceeds to 
 designate. According to him it belongs to what 
 is known as the tertiary period of geology, in- 
 tervening between the cretaceous period and 
 that now in progress, but including also granite, 
 gneiss, and ancient metamorphic rocks. It is 
 not known if the true coal measures prevail in 
 any part, although there is reason to believe that 
 they may exist on the coast of the Arctic ocean 
 between Cape Lisburne and Point Barrow. 
 
 Beginning at the south we have Sitka and 
 its associate islands, composed chiefly of vol- 
 canic rocks, with limestone near. Little i." 
 known even of the coast between Sitka and 
 Mount St. Elias, which, itself a volcano, is the 
 beginning of a volcanic region occupying the 
 peninsula of Alaska and the Aleutian islands, 
 and liaving no less than thirty volcanoes, some 
 extinct, but others still active. Most of the 
 rocks here are volcanic, and the only fossilifer- 
 ous beds are of the tertiary period. North of 
 Alaska, and near the mouth of the Kwichpak, 
 the coast seems to be volcanic or nutamorphic, 
 and probably tertiary, with a vein of lignite 
 near the head of Norton's sound. At the head 
 of Kotzebue's sound the cliffs abound in the 
 bones of elephants and other extinct mam- 
 mals, together with those of the musk ox and 
 animals now living in the same latitude. From 
 Kotzebue's sound northward the coast has a 
 volcanic character. Then at Cape Thompson 
 it is called sub-carboniferous, followed by 
 rocks of the carboniferous age, being lime- 
 stones, shales, and sandstones, which extend
 
 36 
 
 from Cape Lisburne far round to Point Bar- 
 row. At Cape Beaufort, very near the seven- 
 tieth parallel of latitude, and north of the 
 Arctic Circle, on a high ridge a quarter of- a 
 mile from the beach is a seam of coal, which 
 appears to be of the true coal measures. , 
 
 From this general outline, which leaves 
 much in uncertainty, I come now to what is 
 more important. 
 
 It is not entirely certain that Iron has been 
 found in this region, although frequently re- 
 ported. The evidence points to the south, and 
 also to the north. Near Sitka it was reported 
 by the Russian engineer Doroschin, although 
 it does not appear that anything has been done 
 to verify his report. A visitor there as late as 
 last year saw excellent iron, reported to be 
 from a bed in the neighborhood, which was 
 said to be inexhaustible, and with abundant 
 wood for its reduction. Then again on Kotze- 
 bue's sound specimens have been collected. 
 At 66° o'y Kotzebue found a false return in his 
 calculations, which he attributes to the disturb- 
 ing influence of "iron." " A resident on the 
 Youkon thinks that there is iron in that neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Silver also has been reported at Sitka by 
 the same Russian engineer who reported iron 
 there ; and, like the iron, in "sufficient quantity 
 to pay for the working." 
 
 Lead was reported by the Russian explorer, 
 Lieutenant Zagoyskin, on the lower part of 
 the Kwichpak ; but it is not known to what 
 extent it exists. 
 
 Copper is found on the banks of the Copper 
 river, called by the natives Mjednaja,_ meaning 
 copper, and of its affluent, the Tshitachitna, 
 in masses sometimes as large as forty pounds. 
 Of this there can be little doubt. It is men- 
 tioned by Golowin in the Arcliio of Erman as 
 late as 1863. It was undoubtedly from this 
 neighborhood that the copper was obtained 
 which arrested the attention of the early navi- 
 gators. Traces of copper are also foundin 
 other places on the coast ; also in the mountains 
 near the Youkon, where the Indians use it for 
 aiTow-heads. 
 
 Coal seems to exist all along the coast; 
 according to Golowin " everywhere in greater 
 or less abundance." . Traces of it are reported 
 on the islands of the Sitkan archipelago, and 
 this is extremely probable, for it has been 
 worked successfully on Vancouver's island 
 below. It is also found on the Kenaian penin- 
 sula, Alaska, the island of Unga,. belonging to 
 tlie Shumagin group, Ounalaska, and far to the 
 north at Beaufort. At the latter place it is 
 ■ ' slaty, burning with a pure flame and rapid 
 consumption," and it is supposed that there 
 are extensive beds in the neighborhood better 
 in quality. For an account of this coal I refer 
 to the scientific illustrations of Beechey's 
 Voyage. The natives also report coal in the 
 interior on the Kwichpak. The coal of Ouna- 
 laska and probably of Alaska is tertiary and 
 not adapted for steamers. With regard to that 
 of Unga scientific authorities are divided. That 
 
 of the Kenaian peninsula is the best and the 
 most extensive. It is found on the eastern 
 side of Cook's inlet, half way between Cape 
 Anchor and the Russian settlement of St. Nich- 
 *olas, in veins three quarters of a yard or more 
 in thickness, and ranging in quality from mere 
 carljoniferous wood to anthracite. According 
 to one authority these coal veins extend and 
 spread themselves far in the interior. It appears 
 that this coal has been more than once sent to 
 California for trial, and that it was there pro- 
 nounced a good article. Since then it has been 
 mined by the company, not only for their own 
 uses, but also for export to California. In 
 making these statements I rely particularly upon 
 Golowin in the Arcliw of Erman, and also upon 
 the elaborate work of Grewingk, in the Trans- 
 actions of the Mineralogical Society of Peters- 
 burg for 1848 and 1849, (p. 112,) where will 
 be found a special map. of the Kenaian penin- 
 sula. 
 
 Gold is less important than coal, but its dis- 
 covery produces more excitement. The report 
 of gold in any quarter stimulates the emigrant 
 or the adventurer who hopes to obtain riches 
 swiftly. Nor is this distant region without such 
 experience. Only a few years ago the British 
 colony of Victoria was aroused by a rumor of 
 gold in the mountains of the Stikine river, not 
 far in the interior from Sitka. At once there 
 was a race that way, and the solitudes of this 
 river were penetrated by hunters in quest of 
 the glittering ore. Discomfiture ensued. Gold 
 had been found, but not in any sufficient quan- 
 tities reasonably accessible. Nature for the 
 present set up obstacles. But failure in one 
 place will be no discouragement in another, 
 especially as there is reason to believe that 
 the mountains here contain a continuation of 
 those auriferous deposits which have become 
 so famous further south. The Sierra Nevada 
 chain of California reaches here. 
 
 Traces of gold have been observed at other 
 points. One report places a deposit not far 
 from Sitka. The same writer, who reports iron 
 there, also reports that during the last year he 
 saw a piece of gold as large as a marble, which 
 v,-as shown by an Indian. But the Russian 
 engineer, Doroschin, furnishes testimony more 
 precise. He reports gold in at least three 
 different localities, each of considerable extent. 
 The first is the mountain range on the north 
 of Cook's inlet and extending into Alaska, 
 consisting principally of clay slate with per- 
 meating veins of Diorite, the latter beiugknown 
 as a gold-bearing rock. He observed this in 
 the summer of 1851. About the same time 
 certain Indians from the Bay of Jakutat, not 
 far from Mount St. Elias, brought him speci- 
 mens of Diorite found in their neighborhood, 
 making, therefore, a second deposit. In the 
 'summer of 1855 the same engineer found gold 
 on the southern side of Cook"s inlet, in the 
 mountains of the Kenay peninsula. Satisfying 
 himself, first, that the bank occupied by the 
 redoubt of St. Nicholas, at the mouth of the 
 Kaknu river, is gold-bearing, he was induced to
 
 37 
 
 follow the development of Diorite in the upper 
 valley of the river, and as he ascended found 
 a gold-bearing alluvion gradually increasing, 
 with scales of gold becoming coarser and coar- 
 ser, instead of being scarcely visible as at first. 
 
 It does'not appear that the discoveries on 
 Cook's inlet were pursued ; but it is reported 
 that the Hudson l?ay C(^m[>any, holding the 
 country about tlie Bay of dakutat under a lease 
 from the Russian compiuiy, have found the 
 Diorite in that neighborhood valuable. This 
 incident has given rise to a recent controversy. 
 Russian journals attacked the engineer for 
 remissness in not exploring the Jakutat coun- 
 try. He has defended himself by setting out 
 v/hat he actually did in the way of discovery, 
 and the essential diificuUy at the time in doing 
 more ; all wliich will be found in a number 
 just received of the work to which I have so 
 often referred, the Archiv von llussland by 
 Erman for 18CG, volume 25, page 229. 
 
 Thus much for the mineral resources of this 
 new-found country as they have been recog- 
 nized at a few points on the extensive coast, 
 leaving the vast unknown interior without a 
 word. 
 
 Furs. 
 
 VI. I pass now to Furs, which at times have 
 vied with minerals in value, although the sup- 
 ply is more limited and less permanent. Trap- 
 pers are ''miners" of the forest, seeking furs 
 as others seek gold. The parallel continues 
 also in the greed and oppression unhappily 
 incident to the pursuit. A ilussian officer who 
 was one of the early visitors to this coast 
 remarks that to his mind the only prospect of 
 relief for the suffering natives "consists in the 
 total extirpation of the animals of the chase," 
 which he thought from the daily havoc must 
 take place in« a very few years. This was at 
 the close of the last century. The trade still 
 continues, though essentially diminished, an 
 important branch of commerce. 
 
 Early in this commerce desirable furs were 
 obtained in barter for a trifle, and when some- 
 thing of value was exchanged it was much out 
 of proportion to the furs. This has been the 
 case generally in dealing with the natives, until 
 their eyes have been slowly opened. In Kamt- 
 schatka, at the beginning of the last century, 
 half a dozen sables were obtained in exchange 
 for a knife, and a dozen for a hatchet; and the 
 Kamtschatkadales wondered that their Cos- 
 sack conquerors were willing to pay so largely 
 for what seemed worth so little. Similar inci- 
 dents on the northwest coast are reported by 
 the early navigators. Cook mentions that in 
 exchange for "beads" the Indians .it Prince 
 William sound "gave whatever they had, even 
 their fine sea otter skins," which they prized 
 no more than other skins, until it appeared 
 how much they were prized by their visitors. 
 Where there was no competition prices rose 
 slowly, and many years after Cook the Ras- 
 sians at Kodiak, "in return for trinkets and 
 tobacco," received twelve sea otter skins and 
 fox skins of different kinds to the number of 
 
 near six hundred. These instances will show 
 in a general w.ay the spirit of this trade even 
 to our own day. On the coast, and especially 
 in the neighborhood of the factories, the dif- 
 ference in the value of furs is recognized, and 
 a proportionate price is obtained, which Sir 
 Edward Belcher found in 1837 to be "for a 
 moderately good sea otter skin from si.x to 
 seven blankets, increasing to thirteen for the 
 best, together with sundry knickknacks." But 
 in the interior it is otherwise. A recent resi- 
 dent in the region of the Youkon assures mn 
 that he has seen skins worth several hundred 
 dollars bartered for goods woi'th only fifty cents. 
 
 Beside whalers and casual ships with which 
 the Esquimaux are in the habit of dealing, the 
 commerce in furs on both sides of the continent 
 north of the United States has for a long time 
 been in the hands of two corporations, being the 
 Hudson Bay Company, with its directors in 
 London, and the Russian American Company, 
 with its directors in St. Petersburg. The former 
 is much the older of the two, and has been the 
 most flourishing. Its original members were 
 none other than Prince Rupert, the Duke of 
 Albemarle, Earl Craven, Lord- Aslitey, and 
 other eminent associates, who received a char- 
 ter from Charles II in 1G70 to prosecute 4 
 search after a new passage to the South sea 
 .and to establish a trade in furs, minerals, and 
 other considerable commodities in all those 
 seas and in the British possessions north and 
 west of Canada, with powers of government, 
 the whole constituting a colossal monopoly, 
 which^stretched from Labrador and Baffin bay 
 to an undefined west. At present this great 
 corporation is known only as a fur company, 
 to which all its powers are tributary. For 
 some time its profits have been so considera- 
 ble that it has been deemed advisable to hide 
 them by nominal additions to the stock. With 
 the extinction of the St. Petersburg corpora- 
 tion under the present treaty the London cor- 
 poration will remain the only existing fur 
 company on the continent, but necessarily 
 restrained in its operation to British territory. 
 It remains to be seen into whose hands the 
 commerce on the Pacific side will fall now that 
 this whole region will be open to the unchecked 
 enterprise of our citizens. 
 
 This remarkable commerce began before the 
 organization of the company. Its profits may 
 be inferred from a voyage in lt72, described 
 by Coxe, between Kamtschatka and the Aleu- 
 tians. The tenth part of the skins being handed 
 to the custom-house, the remainder was distrib- 
 uted in fifty-five shares, Containing each twenty 
 sea otters, sixteen black and brown foxes, 
 ten red foxes, three sea otter tails, and these 
 shares were sold on the spot at from eight hun- 
 dred to one thousand rubles e.ach, so that 
 the whole lading brought about fifty thousand 
 rubles. The cost of these may be inferred 
 from the articles given in exchange. A Rhs- 
 sian outfit, of which I find a contemporary rec- 
 ord, was, among other things, "seven hundred 
 weight of tobacco ; one hundred weight of glass
 
 38 
 
 beads; perhaps a dozen spare hatchet* and a 
 few superfluous knives, of very bad quality ; 
 an immense number of traps for foxes ; a few 
 hams; a little rancid butter." With such im- 
 ports against such exports the profits must 
 have been considerable. 
 
 , From Langsdorf we have a general invent- 
 ory of the furs at the beginning of the centur}'^ 
 in the principal magazine of the Russian com- 
 pany on the island of Kodiak, collected on the 
 islands, the peninsula of Alaska, Cook's inlet. 
 Prince William sound, and the continent gen- 
 erally. Here >vere "a great variety of the 
 rarest kinds of fox skins," black, blackish, 
 reddish, silver gray, and stone fox, the latter 
 jjrobably a species of the Arctic ; brown and 
 red bears, "the skins of which are of great 
 value," and also" the valuable black bear;" 
 the zisel marmot and the common marmot; 
 the glutton ; the l3'nx, chiefly of whitish gray; 
 the reindeer; the beaver; the hairy hedgehog; 
 the wool of a wild American sheep, whitish, 
 fine, and very long, but he could never obtain 
 sight of the animal that produced this wool ; 
 also "sea otters, once the principal source of 
 wealth t» the company, now nearly extirpated, 
 a few hundreds only being annually collected." 
 The same furs were reported by Cook as found 
 on this coast in his day, including even the 
 wild sheep. They all continue to be found, 
 except that I hear nothing of any wild sheep 
 save at a Sitkan dinner. 
 
 There has been much exaggeration with re- 
 gard to the profits of the Russian corporation. 
 An English writer of authority calls them "im- 
 mense," and adds that formerly they were'much 
 greater. I refer to the paper of Mr. Petermann, 
 read before the Geographical Society of Lon- 
 don in 1852. _ (Journal, vol. 22, p. 120.) The 
 number of skins reported at times is prodigious, 
 although this fails to reveal precisely the prof- 
 its. For instance, Pribolow collected within 
 two j'ears on the islands north of Alaska, which 
 bear his name, the skins of 2,000 sea otters, 
 0,000 dark ice foxes, 40,000 sea bears or ursine 
 seals, together with 1,000 poods of walrus ivory. 
 The pood is a Russian weight of thirty-six 
 pounds. LUtke mentions that in 1S03 no less 
 than 800,000 skins of the ursine seal were 
 accumulated in the factory at Ounalaska, of 
 which 700,000 were thrown into tlie sea, partly 
 Ijecause they were badly prepared and partly 
 in order to keep up the price, thus imitating the 
 Dutch, who for the same reason burnt their 
 spices. Another estimate masses the collection 
 for a series of years. From 1787 to 1817, for 
 only a part of which time the company existed, 
 the Ounalaska district yielded upwards of 
 2,500,000 seal skins; and from 1817 to 1838, 
 during all which time the company was in 
 power, the same district yielded 579,000 seal 
 skins. Assuming what is improbable, that 
 these skins were sold at twenty-five rubles 
 each, some calculating genius has ciphered out 
 the sum-total of proceeds at more than eighty- 
 five million rubles: or, calling the ruble seventy- 
 five cents, a sum- total of more than sixty-three 
 
 million dollars. Clearly the latter years can 
 show no approximation to any such doubtful 
 result. 
 
 Descending from these lofty figures, which if 
 not exaggerations are at least generalities and 
 relate partly to the earlier periods, before the 
 time of the company, we shall have a better 
 idea of the commerce if we look at authentic 
 reports for special periods of time. Admiral 
 Von Wraugel, who was for so long governor, 
 must have been well informed. According to 
 statements in his work, adopted also by AVap- 
 pUus in his Geographic, the company from 182G 
 to 1833, a period of seven years, exported the 
 skins of the foUowinganimals: 9,853 sea otters, 
 with 8,751 sea otter tails, 40,000 river beavBrs, 
 0,242 river or land otters, 5,243 black foxes, 
 7,759 black bellied foxes. 1,(333 red foxes, 
 24,000 polar foxes, 1,093 lynxes, 559 wolver- 
 ines, 2,970 sables, 4,335 swamp otters, 69 
 wolves, 1,201 bears, 505 muskrats, 132,100 
 seals, 830 poods of whalebone, 1,490 poods of 
 walrus ivory, and 7,122 sacks of castoreum. 
 What was their value does not appear. Sir 
 George Simpson, the governor-in-chief of the 
 Hudson Cay Company, who was at Sitka in 
 1841, represents the returns of the company 
 for that year as follows: 10,000 fur seals, 1,000 
 sea otters, 2,500 land otters, and 20,000 wal- 
 rus teeth, without including foxes and mar- 
 tens. There is still one other report for the 
 year 1852, as follows: 1,231 sea otters, 129 
 young sea otters, 2,948 common otters, 14,486 
 fur seals, 107 bears, 13,300 beavers, 2 wolves, 
 458 sables, 243 lynxes, 1G3 moleskins, 1,504 
 bags of castoreum, 684 black foxes, 1,590 
 cross foxes, 5,174 red foxes, 2,359 blue Arc- 
 tic foxes, 355 white Arctic foxes, and also 31 
 foxes called white, perhaps Albinos. 
 
 Besides these reports for special years, I am 
 enabled to present from the Russian tables of 
 Captain Golowin another, covering the period 
 from 1842 to 1800, inclusive, being as follows: 
 25,602 sea otters, 68,826 "otters," probably 
 river otters, 101,042 beavei'S, 73,944 foxes, 
 55,540 Arctic foxes, 2,283 bears, 6,445 lynxes, 
 26,384 sables, 19,076 muskrats, 2,536 ursine 
 seals, 338,604 marsh otters, 712 "pairs of 
 hare," 451 martens, 104 wolves, 46,274 casto- 
 reums, 7,309 beavers' tails. Here is an inex- 
 plicable absence of seal skins. On the other 
 hand, sables, which belong to Asia and not to 
 America, are mentioned. The list is Russian, 
 and perhaps embraces furs from the Asiatic 
 islands of the companj'. 
 
 From a competent source I learn that the 
 value of skins at Sitka during the last year 
 was substantially as follows : sea otter, $50 ; 
 marten, $4; bearer, $2 50; beai-, .$4 50; black 
 fox, $50; silver fox, $40; cross fox, $25; red 
 fox, $2. A recent Price Current in New York 
 gives the prices there in currency, as follows: 
 silver fox, $10 to $50; cross fox, $3 to $5; 
 red fox $1 to $1 50; otter, $3 to $6; mink, 
 $3 to $6; beaver, $1 to $4; muskrat, twenty 
 to fifty cents ; lynx, $2 to $4 ; black bear, $6 to 
 $12; dark marten, $5 to $20. These New York
 
 39 
 
 prices vary from those of Sitka. The latter 
 will be the better guide to a comprehension of 
 the proceeds at Sitka, which of course must be 
 subject to deduction for the expenses of the 
 company. Of the latter I say nothing now 
 as 1 have considered them in speaking of the 
 existing government. 
 
 The skins, it appears, are obtained in three 
 difiFerent ways: first, through the hunters em- 
 ployed by the company ; secondly, in payment 
 of taxes imposed by the company; and thirdly, 
 by barter or purchase from independent natives. 
 But with all* these sources it is certain that the 
 Russian company has enjoyed no success com- 
 parable to that of its British rival; and still 
 more, there is reason to believe that latterly its 
 profits have not been large. 
 
 Amid all the concealment or obscurity which 
 prevails with regard to the revenues of the com- 
 pany, it is easy to see that for some time there 
 must be a large amount of valuable furs on this 
 coast. The bountiful solitudes of the forest and 
 of the adjoining waters have not yet been ex- 
 hausted ; nor will they be until civilization has 
 supplied substitutes. Such, indeed, is a part 
 of that humane law of compensation which con- 
 tributes so much to the general harmony. For 
 the present there will be trappers on the land, 
 who will turn aside only a little from its prizes 
 there to obtain from the sea its otter, seal, and 
 walrus. It cannot be irrelevant, and may not 
 be without interest, if I call your attention 
 briefly to those fur-bearing animals, which are 
 about to be brought within the sphere of re- 
 publican government. If we cannot find their 
 exact census we may at least learn something 
 of their character and value. 
 
 The comparative poverty of vegetation in the 
 more northern parts of the continent contrasts 
 with the abundance of animal life, especially 
 if we embrace those tenants of the sea who 
 seek the land for rest. These northern paral- 
 lels are hardly less productive than the tropics. 
 The lion, the elephant, and the hippopotamus 
 find their counterpart in the bear, the walrus, 
 and the seal, without including the sables and 
 the foxes. Here again nature by an unerring 
 law adapts the animal to the climate, and in 
 providing him with needful protection creates 
 also a needful supply for the protection of man ; 
 and this is the secret of rich furs. Under the 
 sun of the tropics such provision is as little 
 needed by man as by beast, and therefore 
 nature, which does nothing inconsistent with 
 a wise economy, reserves it for other places. 
 
 Among the furs most abundant in this com- 
 merce are those of the Fox, in its different spe- 
 cies and under its different names. Its num- 
 bers were noticed very earl}', and gave the name 
 to the eastern group of the Aleutians, which 
 were called Lyssie Ostrowa, or Fox islands. 
 Some of its furs are among the very precious. 
 The most plentiful is the lied, or as it is some- 
 times called American ; but this fur is not 
 highly prized. Then comes the Arctic, of lit- 
 tle value, and of different colors, sometimes 
 blue, and in full winter dress pure while, whose 
 
 circumpolar home is indicated by his name. 
 The Cross Fox is less known, but much more 
 sought from the fineness of its fur and its color. 
 Its name is derived from dark cruciform stripes, 
 extending from the head to the back and at 
 right angles over the shoulders. It is now 
 recognized to be a variety of the red, from 
 which it differs more in commercial value than 
 in general character. The Black Fox, which is 
 sometimes entirely of shining black with silver 
 white at the tip of the tail, is called also the 
 Silver Fox, when the black hairs of the body 
 are tipped with white. They are of the same 
 name in science, sometimes called Argenialtis, 
 although there seem to be two different names, 
 if not different values, in commerce. This 
 variety is more rare than the Cross Fox. Not 
 more than four or five are taken during a sea- 
 son at any one post in the fur countries, al- 
 though the hunters use every art for this pur- 
 pose. The temptation is great, as we are told 
 that "its fur fetches six times the price of any 
 other fur produced in North America." Sir 
 John Richardson, who is the authority for this 
 statement; forgot the Sea Otter, of which he 
 seems to have known little. Without doubt 
 the Black Fox is admired for its rarity and 
 beauty. La Hontan, the French commander 
 in Canada under Louis XIV, speaks of its 
 fur in his time as worth its weight in gold. 
 
 Among the animals whose furs are less 
 regarded are the Wolverine, known in science 
 as f/tdo or glutton, and called by Buffon the 
 quadruped vulture, with a dark-brown fur, 
 which becomes black in winter, and resembles 
 that of the bear, but is not so long nor of so 
 much Value. There is also the Lynx, belong- 
 ing to the feline race, living north of the great 
 lakes and eastward of the Rocky mountains, 
 with a fur moderately prized in commerce. 
 There is also the Muskrat, which is abundant 
 in Russian America, as it is common on this 
 continent, whose fur enters largely into the 
 cheaper peltries of the United States in so 
 many different ways, and with such various 
 artificial colors, that the animal would not 
 know his own skin. 
 
 Among inferior furs I may include that very 
 respectable animal, the Black Bear, reported 
 by Cook "in great numbers and of a shiny 
 black color." The Grizzly Bear is less fre- 
 quent and is inferior in quality of fur to all the 
 varieties of the bear. The Brown Bear is sup- 
 posed to be a variety of the Black Bear. The 
 Polar Bear, which at times is a formidable 
 animal, leaving a foot-print in the snow nine 
 inches long, wag once said not to make an ap- 
 pearance west of the Mackenzie river, but he 
 has been latterly found on Behring straits, so 
 that he, too, is included among our new pop- 
 ulation. The Black Bear, in himself a whole 
 population, inhabits every wooded district from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Carolina 
 to the ice of the Arctic, becoming-more numer- 
 ous inland than, on the coast. Langsdorf early 
 remarked that he did not appear crti the Aleu- 
 tians, but on the continent, near Cook's inlet
 
 40 
 
 and Prince William sound, wliicli are well 
 -wooded. He has been found even on the 
 isthmus of Panama. Next to the dog he is the 
 most cosmopolitan and perhaps the inost intel- 
 ligent of animals, and amongthoseof the forest 
 he is the most known, even to the nursery. 
 His showy far once enjoyed great vogue \n ham- 
 mercloths and muffs, and it is still used in mili- 
 tary caps and pistol holsters; so that he is 
 sometimes called the Army Bear. Latterly the 
 fur has. fallen in value. Once it brought in 
 London from twenty to forty guineas. It will 
 now hardly bring more than that same number 
 of shillings. 
 
 The Beaver, amphibious and intelligent, has 
 a considerable place in commerce, and also a 
 notoriety of its own as the familiar synonym 
 for the common covering of a man's head, 
 and here the animal becomes historic. By 
 royal proclamation in 1G38 Charles I of Eng- 
 land prohibited the use of any material in the 
 manuflicture of hats "except beaver stuff or 
 beaver wool." This proclamation was the 
 death warrant of beavers innumera.ble, sacri- 
 ficed to the demands of the trade. Wherever 
 they existed over a wide extent of country, in 
 the shelter of forests or in lodges built by their 
 extraordinary instinct, they were pursued and 
 arrested in their busy work. The importation 
 of their skins into Europe during the last cen- 
 tury was enormous, and it continued until one 
 year it is said to have reached the unaccount- 
 able number of six hundred thousand. I give 
 these figures as I find them. Latterly other 
 materials have been obtained for hats, so that 
 this fur has become less valuable. But the 
 animal is still hunted. A medicine supplied 
 by him, and known as the Castoreum, has a 
 fixed place in the Materia Medica. 
 
 The Marten is perhaps the most popular of 
 all the fur-bearing animals that belong to our 
 new possessions. An inhabitant of tl»e whole 
 wooded region of the continent, he finds a 
 favorite home in the cold forests of the You- 
 kon, where he needs his beautiful fur, which 
 is not much inferior to that of his near relative, 
 the far-famed Russian sable. In the trade of 
 the Hudson Bay Company the Marten occupies 
 the largest place, his skins for a single district 
 amounting to more than fifty thousand annu- 
 ally, and being sometimes sold as sable. The 
 Ermine, Avhich is of the same Weasel family, 
 is of little value except for its captivating name, 
 although its fur finds its way to the English mar- 
 ket in enormous quantities. The Mink, also of 
 the same general fiimlly, was once little re- 
 garded, but now, by a freak of fashion in our 
 country, this animal has ascended in value 
 above the Beaver, and almost to the level of 
 the Marten. His fur is plentiful on the Youkon 
 and along the coast. Specimens in the Museum 
 of the Smithsonian Institution attest its occur- 
 rence at Sitka. 
 
 The Seal, amphibious, pol}^gamous, and in- 
 telligent as the beaver, has always supplied 
 the largestVultitude of furs to the Russian 
 Company. The early navigators describe its 
 
 appearance and numbers. Cook encountered 
 them constantly. Excellent swimmers, ready 
 divers, they seek rocks and recesses for repose, 
 where, though watchful and never sleeping long 
 without moving, they become the prey of the 
 hunter. Early in the century there was a waste- 
 ful destruction of them. Young and old, male 
 and female, were Indiscriminately knocked 
 on the head for the sake of their skins. Sir 
 George Simpson, who saw this improvidence 
 with an experienced eye, says that It was hurt- 
 ful In two ways: first, the race was almost ex- 
 terminated; and secondly, the market was 
 glutted sometfmes with as many as two hundred 
 thousand a year, so that prices did not pay the 
 expense of carriage. The Russians were led to 
 adopt the plan of the Hudson Bay Company, 
 killing only a limited number of males who 
 have attained their full growth, which can be 
 done easily, from the known and systematic 
 habits of the animal. Under this economy 
 seals have multiplied again, vastly increasing 
 the supply. 
 
 Besides the common seal there are various 
 species, differing in appearance, so as to justify 
 different nam.es, and yet all with a family char- 
 acter, including the sea leopard, so named from 
 his spots; the elephant seal, from his tusks and 
 proboscis; and the sea lion, with teeth, mane, 
 and a thick cylindrical body. These are of 
 little value, although their skins are occasion- 
 ally employed. The skin of the elephant seal 
 Is strong, so as to justify its use in the harness 
 of horses. There is also the sea bear, or Ursine 
 Seal, very numerous in these waters, whose 
 skin, especially if young, is prized for cloth- 
 ing. Steller speaks with grateful remembrance 
 of a garment which he made from one while 
 on the desert island after the shipwreck of 
 Behring. 
 
 Associated with the seal, and belonging to the 
 same family, is the -IFalrus, called by the British 
 the sea-horse, the morse or the sea-cow, and 
 by the French Bete a la Grande Dent. ^ His 
 two tusks, rather than his skin, are the prize of 
 the hunter. Unlike the rest of the seal family, 
 he Is monogamous and not polygamous. Cook 
 vividly describes an Immense herd asleep on 
 the Ice, with one of their number on guard, and 
 when aroused roaring and baying aloud, while 
 they huddled and tumbled together like swine. 
 At times their multitude is so great that before 
 being aroused several hundreds are slaughtered, 
 as game in a park. Their hide Is excellent 5?r 
 carriage braces, and Is useful about ship. But 
 it is exclusively for their ivory that these heca- 
 tombs are sacrificed. A single tooth weighs 
 sometimes several pounds. Twenty thousand 
 teeth reported as an annual harvest of the 
 Russian Company must cost the lives of ten 
 thousand walruses. The ivory compares with 
 that of the elephant, and is for some purposes 
 superior. Long ago. In the days of Saxon his- 
 tory, a Norwegian at the court of Alfred exhib- 
 ited to the king "teeth of price and excel- 
 lency" from what he called a horse whale. 
 LTnquestionably these were teeth of walrus.
 
 41 
 
 I mention the Sea Otter last; but in beauty j 
 and value it is the first. In these respects it J 
 far snrjiasses the river or laud otter, which 
 though beautiful and valuable must yield tiie | 
 palm. It has also more the manners of the ' ^ 
 seal, with its fondness forsea-washed rocks, and |j 
 with a maternal afl'ection almost human. The t! 
 Sea Otter seems to belong exclusively to the || 
 north Pacific. Its haunts once extended as far 
 as the bay of San Francisco ; but long ago it 
 ceased to appear in that southern region. Cook 
 sav/ it at Isootka sound. Vancouver reports it [ 
 at Chnthani strait "in immense numbers, so i 
 that it was easily in the power of the natives to j 
 procure as many as they chose to be at the 
 trouble of taking." Butthese navigators, could | 
 they revisit this coast, would not find it in these j 
 places now. Its present zone is between the i 
 parallels of C0° and 65° north latitude on the ' 
 American and Asiatic coasts, so that its range ' 
 is "very limited. Evidently it was Cook who \ 
 first revealed the Sea Otter to Englishmen. 
 In the table of contents of his third voyage are ! 
 the words, Description of the Sea Otter; and in : 
 the pages that follow there is a minute account 
 of this animal, and especially of its incompar- | 
 able fur, which is pronounced "certainly softer i 
 and finer than that of any other we know of." j 
 Not content with description the famous navi- 
 gator adds in remarkable words, "therefore, ■ 
 the discovery of this part of North America, 
 where so valuable an article of commerce may , 
 be met with, cannot be a matter of indiffer- I 
 ence." These words stimulated the commer- ' 
 cial enterprise of that day. Other witnesses 
 followed. Meares, describing his voyage to | 
 this coast, placed this fur high above all other 
 furs; "the finest in the world, and of exceed- , 
 ing beauty," and La Perouse made it known 
 in France as '«' peltry the most precious and 
 common in those seas." Shortly afterwards all 
 existing information v.'ith regard to it was elab- 
 orately set forth in the Historical Introduction 
 to the Voyages of Marchand, published at Paris 
 under the auspices of the Institute. 
 
 The Sea Otter was known originally to the 
 Russians in Kamtschatka, where it was called 
 the sea beaver ; but the discoveries of Behring 
 constitute an epoch in the commerce. His 
 shipwrecked crew, compelled to winter on the 
 desert island which now bears his name, found 
 this animal in flocks, ignorant of men and 
 innocent as sheep, so that they were slaughtered 
 without resistance to the number of more than 
 eight hundred. Their value became known. 
 Fabulous prices were paid by the Chinese, some- 
 times, according to Coxe, as high as one hun- 
 dred and forty rubles. At such a price a single 
 Sea Otter was more than an ounce of gold, 
 and a flock was a gold mine. The pursuit of 
 gold was renewed. It was the Sea Otter that 
 tempted the navigator, and subsequent discov- 
 ery was under the incentive of obtaining the 
 precious fur. MliUer. calling him a beaver, 
 says in his history of Russian Discove.ry, " the 
 catching of beavers enticed many people to go 
 to these parts, and they never returned with- 
 
 out great quantities, which always produced 
 large prices." All that could be obtained were 
 sent to CLina, which was the objective point 
 commercially for this whole coast. Tlie trade 
 became a fury. Wherever the animal with 
 exquisite purple-black fur appeared he was 
 killed ; not always without effort, for he had 
 learned something of his Imntsman and was 
 now coy and watchful, so that his pursuit was 
 often an effort, but his capture was always 
 a triumph. The natives, who had been ac- 
 customed to his furs as clothing, surrendered 
 them. Sometimes a few beads were their only 
 pay. All the navigators speak of the unequal 
 barter. "Any sort of beads" were enough, 
 according to Cook. The story is best told by 
 Meares who says "such as were dressed in furs 
 instantly stripped themselves, and in return for 
 a moderate quantity of spike nails we received 
 sixty-five sea otter skins." Vancouver describes 
 the "humble fashion" of the natives in poor 
 skins as a substitute for the beautiful furs appro- 
 priated by their "Russian friends." The pic- 
 ture is completed by the Russian navigator 
 when he confesses that "after the Russians 
 had any intercourse with them" the natives 
 ceased to wear Sea Otter skins. In the grow- 
 ing rage the Sea Otter nearly disappeared. 
 Langsdorf reports them as "nearly extirpated, 
 since the high prices for them induces the Rus- 
 sians for a momentary advantage to kill all 
 they meet with, both old and young. Nor can 
 they see that by such a procedure they must 
 soon be deprived of the trade entirely." This 
 was in 1804. Since then the indiscriminate 
 massacre has been arrested. 
 
 Meanwhile our countrymen entered into this 
 commerce, so that Russians, Englishmen, and 
 Americans were all engaged in slaughtering 
 Sea Otters and selling their furs to the Chinese 
 until the market of Canton was glutted. Lis- 
 iansky, on his arrival there, found "immense 
 quantities in American ships." By and by the 
 commerce was engrossed by the Russians and 
 English. And now it passes into the hands of 
 the United States with all the other preroga- 
 tives belonging to this territorj'. 
 
 Fisheries. 
 
 VIT. Icomenovftothe Fisheries, thelasthead 
 of this inquiry, and not inferior to any other in 
 importance; perhaps the most important of 
 all. What even are Sea Otter skins by the side 
 of that product of the sea, incalculable in 
 amount, v/hich contributes to the sustenance 
 of the human family? 
 
 Here, as elsewhere, in the endeavor to esti- 
 mate the resources of this region, there is 
 vagueness and uncertainty. Information at 
 least is wa^iting; and yet we are not entirely 
 ignorant. Nothing is clearer than that fish in 
 great abundance are taken everywhere on .the 
 coast, around the islands, in the bays, and 
 throughout the adjacent seas. On this head 
 the evidence is constant and complete. Here 
 are oysters, clams, crabs, and a dainty little 
 fish of the herring tribe called the oolachan,
 
 42 
 
 contributing to- the luxury of the table, and so 
 rich in its oily nature that the natives are said 
 to use it sometimes as a "candle." Besides 
 thesC; which I name now only to put aside, are 
 those jri'eat staples of commerce and mainstays 
 of dailv subsistence, the Salmon, the Herring, 
 the Halibut, the Cod, and behind all the Whale. 
 This short list is enough, for it offers a con- 
 stant feast-, with the Whale at hand for liglit. 
 Plere is the best that the sea affords for the 
 poor or the rich ; for daily use or for the fast 
 days of the church. Here also is a sure sup- 
 port at least to the inhabitants of the coast. 
 
 But in order to determine the value of this 
 supply we must go further and ascertain if these 
 various tribes of fish, reputed to be in such 
 numbers, are found undtersuch conditions and 
 in such places as to constitute a permanent 
 and profitable Fishery. This is the practical 
 question, which is still undecided. It will not 
 be enough to show that the whole coast may 
 be subsisted by its fish. It should be shown 
 further that the fish of this coast can be made 
 to subsist other places, so as to become a val- 
 uable article of commerce. And here uncer- 
 tainty begins. The proper conditions of an 
 extensive Fishery are not yet understood. It 
 is known that certain Fisheries exist in certain 
 waters and on certain soundings, but the spaces 
 of ocean are obscure, even to the penetrating 
 eye of science. Fishing banks known for ages 
 are still in many respects a mystery, which is 
 increased where the Fishery is recent or only 
 coastwise. There are other banks, which fail 
 from local incidents. Thus very lately a Cod 
 Fishery was commenced on Rochdale bank, 
 sixty-five miles northwest of the Hebrides ; 
 but the deep rolling of the Atlantic and the 
 intolerable weather compelled its abandonment. 
 
 Before proceeding to consider the capacit,y 
 of this region for an extensive Fishery itis 
 important to know such evidence asexists with 
 regard to the supply, and here again we must 
 resort to the early navigators and visitors. 
 Their evidence, reenforcedby modern reports, 
 is an essential element, even if it does not 
 entirely determine the question. 
 
 Down to the arrival of Europeans on this 
 coast the natives lived on fish. This had 
 been their constant food, with small additions 
 from the wild vegetation of the country. In 
 summer it was fish freshly caught; in winter 
 it was fish dried or preserved. At the first 
 landing on the discovery Steller found in the 
 deserted cellar which he visited -'store of red 
 sa??rtou," andthe sailors brought away ''smoked 
 fishes that appeared like carp and tasted very 
 well."' This is the earliest notice of fish on 
 this coast, which are thus directly associated 
 ■with its discovery. The next of interest which 
 appears is the account of a Russian navigator 
 in 17G5, who reports on the Fox islands, and 
 especially Ounalaska, " Cod, perch, pilchards, 
 smelts." Thus early Co^ appears. 
 
 If we repair to Cook's Voyages we shall find 
 the accustomed instruction, and here I shall 
 quote with all possible brevity. At Nootka 
 
 sound he reports fish "moi'e plentiful than 
 birds," of which -the principal sorts in great 
 numbers were '"the common Herring, but 
 scarcely exceeding seven inches in length, and 
 a smaller sort, the same with the anchovy or sar- 
 dine,"' and now and then ^'asmallbroicnish Cod, 
 spotted with white." Then again, he reports 
 at the same place •' Herrings and sardines and 
 small Cod,'' the former "not only eaten fresh, 
 but likewise dried and smoked.'' In Prince 
 William sound he reports that "the only fish 
 got were some torsk and Halibut, chiefly brought 
 by the natives to sell." Near Kodiak he re- 
 ports that ••having three hours calm his peo- 
 ple caught upward of a hundred Halibuts, some 
 of which weighed a hundred pounds, and none 
 less than twenty pounds," and he adds, natu- 
 rally enough, "a very seasonable refreshment." 
 In Bristol bay, on the northern side of Alaska, 
 he reports '•tolerable success in fishing, catch- 
 ing Cod, and now and then a few flat-fish'." 
 In Norton sound, still further north, he re- 
 ports that in exchange for four knives made 
 from an old iron hoop he obtained of the na- 
 tives ' • near four hundred pounds weight of fish 
 caught on this or the preceding day ; some trout, 
 and the rest in size and taste between the mul- 
 let and a Herring.'' On his return southward, 
 stopping at Ounalaska, he reports "plenty of 
 fish, at first mostly Salmon, both fresh and 
 dried; some of the salmon In high perfection; 
 also salpion, trout, and once a Halibut that 
 weighed two hundred and fifty-four pounds;" 
 and in describing the hi>blts of the islanders 
 he reports that '-they dri/ large quantities of 
 fish in summer, which they lay up in small 
 huts for winter's use." Such is the testimony 
 of Captain Cook. 
 
 No experience on the coast is more instruct- 
 ive than that of Portlock, and from his report 
 I compile a succinct diary. July '20, 1786, at 
 Graham's harbor. Cook's inlet: -'The Rus- 
 sian chief brought me as a present a quan- 
 tity of fine Salmon, sufficient to serve both 
 ships for one day."' July 21: "In several 
 hauls caught about thirty Salmon and a few 
 flat-fish;"' also further, ''The Russian settle- 
 ment had on one side a small lake of fresh 
 water, on which plenty of fine Salmo7i were 
 caught." July 22 : " The boat returned deeply 
 loaded with fine Salmon.'' July 28, latitude 
 60° 09': '-Two small canoes came off; they had 
 nothing to barter but a few dried Salmon." 
 July 30: •'Plenty of excellent fresh Salmon 
 obtained for beads and buttons." August 3: 
 •'Plenty of fine Salmon." August 9, at Cook's 
 inlet: ''The greatest abundance of fine Sal- 
 mon." August 13: ''Hereabouts would be 
 most desirable situation for carrying on a 
 Whale Fishery, the whales being on the coast 
 and close in shore in vast numbers, and there 
 being convenient and excellent harbors quite 
 handy for the business." After these entries 
 the English navigator left the coast for the 
 Sandwich islai^ds. 
 
 Returning during the next year, Portlock 
 continued to record his observations, which I
 
 43 
 
 abstract in brief. May 21, 1787, Port Etches, 
 latitude 00° 21': "The harbor affords very fine 
 crabs and muscles." June 4: "A few Indians 
 came alongside, bringing some llaliJiitt and 
 Cod.''' June 20: " Plenty of flounders, crabs 
 also plenty and fine. Several fishing along- 
 side tor flounders caught Cod and Ilalibul.^' 
 June 22: "'Sent the canoe out some distance 
 in the bay, and it soon returned with a Jine 
 load of Cod and Ualibnt. This induced me to 
 send her out fre(iucntiy with a fishing party, 
 and they caught considerably more than was 
 sufficient for daily consumption."' June 30: 
 " In hauling the seine caught a large quantity 
 of Herrings and some Salmon; the Herrings, 
 though small, were very good, and two hojs- 
 heads of them were salted for sea store. ' ' J uly 
 7: " We daily caught large quantities of Sal- 
 mon, but, the unsettled state of the weather not 
 ]>ermitting us to cure them on board, sent the 
 boatswain with a party on shore to build a house 
 to smoke them in.'" July 11: "The seine was 
 frequently hauled, and not less than two thou- 
 .•sand Salmon caitg/it at each haul. The weather, 
 however, preventing us from curing them as 
 well as could have been wished, we kept only 
 a sufficient quantity for present use and let the 
 rest escape. The Salmon were now in such 
 rf numbers along the shores that any quantity 
 wliatever might be caught with the greatest 
 ease." All this testimony of the English 
 navigator is singularly explicit, while it is. in 
 complete harmony with that of the flussian 
 visitors and of Cook, who preceded. 
 
 The report of Meares is similar, although 
 less minute. Speaking of the natives generally 
 he says "they live entirely upon fish, but of 
 all others they prefer the Whale." Then again, 
 going into more detail, he says "vast quanti- 
 ties of fish are to be found, both on the coast, 
 and in the sounds or harbors. Among these are 
 the Halibut, Herring, sardine, silver-beam, sal- 
 mon, trout, Cod, all of wliich we have seen in 
 the possession of the natives, or have been 
 caught by ourselves." The Herrings he de- 
 scribes as taken in such numbers ' ' that a whole 
 village has not been able to cleanse them." 
 At Nootka the Salmon was of a very delicate 
 fiavor, and "the CocZ taken by the natives of the 
 best quality." Frencii testimony is not want- 
 ing, although it is less precise. Tlie early 
 navigator, who was on the coast in 1779, re- 
 marks that "the fish most abundant is the »S'aZ- 
 mo/»." La Perouse, who was there in 1787, 
 mentions a large fish weighing sometimes more 
 than a hundred pounds, and several other fish, 
 but he preferred "the Salmon and Trout, v;h\ch. 
 the Indians sold in larger numbers than could 
 be consumed." A similar report was made by 
 Marchand, the other French navigator, who 
 finds the sea and rivers al)ounding in "excel- 
 lent fish," particularly Salmon and Trout. 
 
 Afterwards came the ilussian navigator Bill- 
 ings in 17!(2 : and here we have a similar 
 report, only different in form. Describing the 
 natives of Ounalaska the book in which this 
 visit is recorded says "they drjj Salmon, Cod, 
 and Halibut for a winter supply." At Kodiak 
 
 it says " Whales are in amazing numbers about 
 the straits of the islands and in the vicinity of 
 Kodiak." Then again the reporter, who was 
 the naturalist .Sauer, says " I observed the same 
 species of Salmon here as afc Okhotsk, and saw 
 crabs." Then again, "the Halibuls in these 
 seas are extremely large, some weighing seven- 
 teen poods, or si.x hundred and twelve pounds 
 avoirdupois. The liver of this fish, as also of 
 Cod, the natives deem unhealthy and never eat, 
 but e.xtract the oil f'om them." Then again, 
 returning to Ounalaska, the reporter says " the 
 other fish are Halibut, Cod, two or three spe- 
 cies of Salmon, and sometimes one very com- 
 mon in Kanitschatka between four and five 
 feet long." 
 
 From Lisiansky, another Russian navigator, 
 who was on the coast in 1804, I take two pas-^ 
 sages. The first relates to the fi.sh of Sitka. 
 "For some time," he says, " we had been able 
 to catch no fish but the Halibut. Those of the 
 species which we caught were. fine, some weigh- 
 ing eighteen stone, and were of an excellent 
 flavor. This fish abounds here from March to 
 November, when it retires from the coast till 
 the winter is at an end." The other passage 
 relates to the subsistence of the inhabitants 
 during the winter. " They live," he says, " on 
 dried Salmoii, train oil, and the spawa offish, 
 especially that of Herrings, of which they al- 
 ways lay in a good stock." 
 
 Langsdorf, who was there at the same time, 
 is more full and explicit. Of Ounalaska he 
 says, "The principle food consists offish, sea 
 dogs, and the flesh of whales. Among the fish 
 the most common and most abundant are ,'sev: 
 eral sorts of Salmon, Cod, Herrings, andHohj- 
 butt. The holybutts, which are the sort held 
 in the highest esteem, are sometimes of an 
 enormous size, weighing even several hundred 
 pounds." Then again of Kodiak he says, 
 " the most common fish, those which //-cs/ta^id 
 drij constitute a principal article of food, are 
 Herrings, Cod, Holybutt, and several sorts of 
 Salmon; the latterarc taken in prodigious num- 
 bers by means of nets or dams." Of Sitka he 
 says, "we have several sorts of Salmon, Holy- 
 biitt, whitings. Cod, and Herrings.''^ A goodly 
 variety. 
 
 Llitke, also a Russian, tells us that lie found 
 fish the standing dish at Sitka from the hum- 
 blest servant to the governor, and he mentions 
 Salmon, Herrings, Cod, andTurbot. Of Salmon 
 there are no less than four kinds, which were 
 eaten fresh when possible, but after June they 
 were sent to the fortress salted. The Herrings 
 appeared in February and March. The Cod 
 and Turbot were caught in the straits during 
 winter. Llitke also reports "fresh Cod" at 
 Kodiak. 
 
 I close this abstract of foreign testimony 
 by two English authorities often quoted. Sir 
 Edward Belcher, while on this coast in 18.j7, 
 records that " fish. Halibut, and Salmon of two 
 kinds were abundant and moderate, of which 
 tlie crews purchased and cured great quanti- 
 ties." Sir George Simpson, who was at Sitka 
 in 1841, says '■'Halibut, Cod, Herrings, floua-
 
 44 
 
 ders, and many other sorts of fish are always to 
 be had for the taking in unlimited quantities. 
 Salmon have been known literally to embarrass 
 the movements of a canoe. About one hundred 
 thousand of this fish, equivalent to fifteen hun- 
 dred barrels, are annually salted for the use 
 of the establishment;" Nothing could be 
 . stronger as statement, and when we consider 
 the character of its author nothing could be 
 stronger as authority. 
 
 Cumulative upon all this accumulation of 
 testimony is that of recent visitors. Nobody 
 visits this coast without testifying. The fish 
 are so demonstrative in their abundance that 
 all remark it. Officers of the United States 
 Navy report the same fish substantially which 
 Cook reported as far north as the Frozen ocean. 
 Scientific explorers, prompted by the Smith- 
 sonian Institution, report Cod in Behring straits, 
 on the limits of the Arctic Circle. One or 
 these reports, that while anchored near Ouni- 
 mak in 18G5 the ship, with a couple of lines, 
 caught "a great many fine Cod, most of them 
 between two and three feet in length." He 
 supposes that there is no place on the coast 
 where they are not numerous. A citizen of 
 Massachusetts, who has recently returned from 
 a prolonged residence on this coast, writes 
 me from Boston, under date of March 8, 1867, 
 that "the Whale and Cod fisheries of the north 
 Pacific are destined to form a very important 
 element in the wealth of California and Wash- 
 ington Territory, and that already numbers of 
 fishermen are engaged there and more are in- 
 tending to leave." From all this testimony 
 there can be but one conclusion with regard at 
 least to certain kinds of fish. ' 
 
 Salmo)i exist in unequaled numbers, so that 
 this fish, so aristocratic elsewhere, becomes 
 common enough. Not merely the prize of epi- 
 cures, it is the food of all. Not merely thej^as- 
 time of gentle natures, like Isaac Walton or 
 Humphrey Davy, who empioy in its pursuit an 
 elegant leisure, its capture is the daily reward 
 of the humblest. On Vancouver's island it is 
 the constant ration given out by the Hudson 
 Bay Company to the men in their service. At 
 Sitka ships are supplied with it gratuitously 
 by the natives. By the side of the incalculable 
 multitudes swarming out of the Arctic waters, 
 haunting this extended coast, and peopling its 
 rivers, so that at a single haul Portlock took not 
 less than two thousand, how small an allowance 
 are the two hundred thousand which the Sal- 
 mon Fisheries of England annually supply. 
 
 Herring seem to be not less multitudinous 
 than the Salmon. Their name, derived from 
 the German heer, signifying an army, is amply 
 verified. As on the coast of Norway they move 
 in such hosts at times that a boat makes its way 
 with difficulty through the compact mass. I do 
 not speak at a venture ; for I jjave received this 
 incident from a scientific gentleman who wit- 
 nessed it on the coast. This fish, less aristo- 
 cratic than the Salmon, is a universal food ; but 
 here it would seem to be enough for all. 
 
 The Halibut, which is so often mentioned 
 for its size and abundance, is less generally 
 
 known than the others. It is common in the 
 Fisheries of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. 
 In our country its reputation is local. Even 
 at the seaport of Norfolk, in Virginia, it does 
 not appear to have been known before 1843, 
 when its arrival was announced as that of a 
 distinguished stranger: "Our market yester- 
 day morning was enriched with a delicacy 
 from the northern* waters, the Halibut — a 
 strange fish in these parts, known only to epi- 
 cures and naturalists." The larger fish are 
 sometimes coarse and far from delicate, but 
 they furnish a substantial meal, while the 
 smaller Halibut is much liked. 
 
 The Cod is perhaps the most generally dif- 
 fused and abundant of all,- for it swims in all 
 the waters of this coast from the Frozen ocean 
 to the southern limit, and in some places it is 
 in immense numbers. It is a popular fish, 
 and when cured or salted is an excellent food 
 in all parts of the world. Palatable, digesti- " 
 ble, and nutritious, the Cod, as compared with 
 other fish, is as beef compared with other 
 meats, so that its incalculable multitudes seem 
 to be according to a wise economy of nature. 
 A female Cod is estimated to contain 3,400,000 
 eggs. Talk of multiplication a hundredfold. 
 Here it is to infinity. Imagine these million 
 eggs grown into fish, and then the process of 
 reproduction repeated, and you have numbers 
 which, like astronomical distances, are beyond 
 human conception. But here the ravenous 
 powers of other fish ai-e more destructive than 
 any efforts of the fisherman. 
 
 Behind all these is the Whale, whose corporal 
 dimensions fitly represent the space which he 
 occupies in the Fisheries of the world, hardly 
 diminished by petroleum or gas. On this ex- 
 tended coast and in all these seas he is at home. 
 Here is his retreat and play-ground. This is 
 especially the case with the Right Whale, or, ac- 
 cording to whalers, the "n'r^/ii whale to catch," 
 with his bountiful supply of oil and bone, 
 who is everywhere throughout this region, 
 appearing^tall points and swarming its waters. 
 At times the}' are very large. Kotzebue reports 
 the!a at Ounalaska of fabulous proportions, 
 called by the natives Aliamak, and so long 
 "that people engaged at the opposite end of 
 the fish must halloo very loud to be able to 
 understand each other." There is another 
 whale known as the Bow-Head, which is so 
 much about Kodiak that it is sometimes called 
 the Kodiak whale. Tiie valuable Sperm Whale, 
 whose head and hunch are so productive in 
 spermaceti, belongs to a milde'r sea, but he 
 sometimes strays to the Aleutians. The Nar- 
 whal, with his two long tusks of ivory, out of 
 which was made the famous throne of the early 
 Danish kings, belongs to the Frozen ocean ; 
 but he, too, strays into the straits below. Ag 
 no sea is now mare dausum, all these may be 
 pursued by a ship under any flag, except directly 
 on the coast and within its territorial limit. 
 And yet it seems as if the possession of this 
 coast as a commercial base must necessarily 
 give to its people peculiar advantages in this 
 pursuit. What is now done under difficulties
 
 43 
 
 •will be done then with facilities, such at least 
 BS neighborhood supplied to the natives even 
 with their small craJt. 
 
 In our country the Whale Fishery has been 
 a great and prosperous commerce, counted by 
 millions. It has yielded very considerable 
 gains, and sometimes large fortunes. The town 
 of New Bedford, one of the most beautiful in 
 the world, has been enriched by this Fishery, 
 and yet you cannot fail to remark the impedi- 
 ments which the business has been compelled 
 to overcome. The ship has been fitted on the 
 Atlantic coast for a voyage of two or three 
 years, and all the crew have entered into a 
 partnership with regard to the oil. Traversing 
 two oceans, separated by a stormy cape, it 
 reaches its distant destination at last in these 
 northern seas, and commences its tardy work, 
 interrupted by occasional rest and opportunity 
 to refit at the Sandwich islands. This now 
 will be changed, as the ship sallies forth from 
 friendly harbors near the game which is its 
 mighty chase. 
 
 From the Whale Fishery I turn to another 
 branch of inquiry. Undoubtedly there are 
 infipite numbers of fish on this coast; but in 
 order to determine whether they can constitute 
 a permanent and profitable Fishery there are at 
 least three different considerations which must 
 not be disregarded. (1.) The existence of banks 
 or soundings. (2.) Proper climatic conditions 
 for catching and curing the fish. (3. ) A market. 
 
 (1-.) The necessity of banks or soundings is 
 according to reason. Fish are not caught in 
 the deep ocean. It is their nature to seek the 
 bottom, where they are found in some way by 
 the fisherman, armed with trawl, seine, or 
 hook. As among the ancient Romans private 
 luxury provided tanks and ponds for the pres- 
 ervation offish, so nature provides banks, which 
 are only immense fish-preserves. Soundings 
 attest their existence in a margin along the 
 coast; but it becomes important to know if 
 they actually exist 'to much extent- away from 
 the coast, ^n this point our information is 
 already considerable, if not decisive.* 
 
 The sea and straits of Behring as far as the 
 Frozen ocean have been surveyed by a Naval 
 Expedition of the United States under Com- 
 mander John Rogers. From one of his charts 
 now before me it appears that, beginning at 
 the Frozen ocean and descending through Beh- 
 ring straits and Behring sea, embracing Kotze- 
 bue sound, Norton bay, and Bristol bay, to the 
 peninsula of Alaska, a distance of more than 
 twelve degrees, there are constant uninter- 
 rupted soundings from twenty to fifty fathoms, 
 thus presenting an immense extent proper in 
 thia respect for fishery. The fiimous Dogger 
 bank, between England and Holland, teeming 
 with Cod and constituting an inexhaustible 
 fishing ground, has ninety fathoms of water. 
 South of Alaska another chart shows sound- 
 ings along the coast, with a considerable extent 
 of bank in the neighborhood of the .Shumugins 
 and Kodiak, being precisely where all the evi- 
 dence shows the existence of Cod. These 
 baoks, uorth and south of Alaska, taken to- 
 
 gether, according to the indications of the 
 two charts, have an extent unsurpassed by any 
 other in the world. 
 
 There is another illustration full of instruc- 
 tion. It is a maj) of the world, in the new 
 work of Murray on Mammals, "showing ap- 
 proximately the one hundred fathom line of 
 soundings," prepared from information fur- 
 nished by the Hydrographic Department of 
 the British Admiralty. Here are all the sound- 
 ings of the world. At a glance you discern 
 the remarkable line on the Pacific coast, "be- 
 ginning at 40^ of latitude and widening con- 
 stantly in a northwesterly direction ; then with 
 a gentle concave to the coast, stretching from 
 Sitka to the Aleutians, which it envelopes with 
 a wide margin ; and then embracing and cov- 
 ering Behring straits to the Frozen ocean ; the 
 whole space, as indicated on the map, seem- 
 ing like an immense unbro"ken sea meadow 
 adjoining the land, and constituting plainly 
 the largest extent of soundings in length and 
 breadth known in the world, larger even than 
 those of Newfoundland added to those of 
 Great Britain. This map, which, has been 
 prepared by a scientific authority, simply in 
 the interest of science, is an unimpeachable 
 and disinterested witness. 
 
 Actual experience is better authority still. 
 I learn that the people of California have al- 
 ready found Cod banks in these seas, and not 
 deterred by distance have begun to gather a 
 harvest. In 1806 no less than seventeen ves- 
 sels left San Francisco for Cod Fishery on the 
 Asiatic coast. This was a long voyage, re- 
 
 auiring eighty days in going and returning. 
 'n the way better grounds were discovered 
 among the Aleutians, with a better fish ; and 
 then again, other fishing grounds, better in 
 every way, were discovered south of Alaska, 
 in the neighborhood of the Shumagins, with 
 an excellent harbor at hand. Here one ves- 
 sel began its work on the 14th May, and not- 
 withstanding stormy weather finished it on 
 the 24th July, having taken fifty-two thousand 
 fish. The largest catch in a single day was < 
 twenty-three hundred. The average weight 
 of the fish dried was three pounds. Old fisher- 
 men compared the fish in taking and quality 
 with that of Newfoundland. Large profits are 
 anticipated. While fish from the Atlantic side 
 bring at San Francisco not less than twelve 
 cents a pound it is supposed that Shumagin 
 fish at only eight cents a pound will yield a 
 better return than the coasting trade. It re- 
 mains to be seen if these flattering reports are 
 confirmed by further experience. 
 
 From an opposite quarter is other confirma- 
 tion. Here is a letter, which I have just 
 received from Charles Bryant, Esq., at present 
 a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, 
 but for eighteen years acquainted with these 
 seas, where he was engaged in the Whale Fish- 
 ery. After mentioning the timber at certain 
 places as a reason for the acquisition of these 
 possessions, he says : 
 
 "But the chiefost value, and this alone is worth 
 mor« thau the piUanoe aakeU for it, coBsiste ia Uf
 
 46 
 
 oxtensivcCod and Halibut fish grounds. To the cast- 
 ward of Kodiak or Aleutian islands are extensive 
 banks or shoals nearly if not quite equal in extent 
 to those of N<!wfoundland, and as well stocked with 
 fish. Also west of the Aleutian islands, which extend 
 from Alaska southwest hal f way to Kamtschat ka, and 
 inclosing that pnrt of land laid down as Bristol bay, 
 and west of it, is nn extensive area of sea varying 
 from forty fathoms in depth to twenty, where I have 
 found the supply of codfish and halibut unfailing. 
 These islands furnish good harbors for curing and 
 preparing fish, as well as shelter in storm." 
 
 la another letter Mr. Bryant says that the 
 shoals east of the entrance to Cook's inlet 
 widen as they extend southward to latitude 
 50° ; and that tliere are also large shoals south 
 of Prince William sound, and again off Cross 
 sound and Sitka. The retired ship-master 
 adds that he never examined these shoals to 
 ascertain their exact limits, but only incident- 
 ally, in fhe course of his regular business, that 
 he might know when and where to obtain fish 
 if he wished them. His report goes beyond 
 any charts of soundings which I have seen, 
 although the charts are coincident with it as 
 far as they go. Cook particularly notices sound-, 
 ings in Bristol bay and in various places along 
 the coast. Other navigators have done the 
 same. Careful surveys have accomplished so 
 much that at this time the bottom of Behring 
 sea and of Behring straits as far as the Frozen 
 ocean, constituting one immense bank, is com- 
 pletely known in its depth and character. 
 
 Add to all this the official report of Mr. Gid- 
 
 dings, acting surveyor of Washington Territory, 
 
 made to the Secretary of the Interior in 186G, 
 
 where he says : 
 
 "Along the coast, between Cape Flattery and Sitka, 
 in the Russian possessions, both Cod and Halibut are 
 very plenty, and of a much larger size than those 
 taken at the cnpe or farther up the straits and sound. 
 No one who knows these facts doubts that if vessels 
 similar to those used by the banlt fishermen from 
 Massachusetts and Maine were fitted out here and 
 were to fish on th& various banks along/ this coast it 
 would even now bo a most lucrative business. The 
 Cod and Halibut on this coast, up near Sitka, are 
 fully equal to the largest taken in the eastern waters." 
 
 From all this evidence, including maps and 
 personal experience, it is easy to see that the 
 ' first condition of a considerable Fishery is not 
 wanting. 
 
 (2.) Proper climatic conditions must exist 
 also. The proverbial hardihood of fishermen 
 has its limits. Elsewhere weather and storm 
 have compelled the abandonment of banks 
 which promised to be profitable. On a por- 
 tion of this coast there can be no such rigors. 
 South of Alaska and the Aleutians, and also 
 in Bristol bay, immediately to the north of 
 Alaska, the fislpng grounds will compare in 
 temperature with those of Newfoundland or 
 Norway. It is more important to know if the 
 fish when taken can be properly cured. This 
 is one of the privileges of northern skies. 
 Within the tropics fish may be taken in abun- 
 dance, but the constant sun does not alloAV 
 their preservation. The constant rains of Sitka, 
 with only a few bright days in the year, must 
 preventthe work of curing on any considerable 
 scale. But the navigators make frequent men- 
 tion of dry or preserved fish on the eoast, and 
 it is understood that fish are now cured at 
 
 Kodiak. It had for a long time been customary 
 on this island to dry seal flesh in the air, which 
 could not be done on the main land. Thus the 
 opportunity of curing the fish seems to exist 
 near the very banks where they are talcen. But 
 the California fishermen carry their fish home 
 to be cured, in which they imitate the lisher- 
 men of Gloucester. As the yearly fishing prod- 
 uct of this port is larger than that of any other 
 in North America, perhaps in the world, this 
 example cannot be without weight. 
 
 (3.) The market also is of prime necessity. 
 Fish are not caught and cured except for a 
 market. Besides the extended coast, where an 
 immediate demand must always prevail in pro- 
 portion to an increasing population, there is an 
 existing market in California, which is attested 
 by long voyages to Kamtschatka for fish and 
 by recent attempts to find fishing grounds. ' 
 San Francisco at one time took from Okhotsk 
 nine hundred tons offish, being about one eighth 
 of the yearly fishing product of Gloucester. Her 
 fishing vessels last year brought home from the 
 Shumagin banks fifteen hundred tons of dried 
 fish and ten thousand gallons of cod liver oil. 
 There is also a growing market in Wasliington 
 and Oregon, too, unless I am misinformed. 
 But beyond the domestic market, spreading 
 from the coast into the interior, there will be 
 a foreign market of no limited amount. Mex- * 
 ico. Central America, and the States of South 
 America, all Catholic in religion, will require 
 this subsistence, and being southern in climate § 
 they must look northward for a supply. The 'i^ 
 two best customers of our Atlantic fisheries are 
 Hayti and Cuba, two Catholic countries under 
 a southern sun. The fishermen of Massachu- 
 setts began at an early day to send their Cod to y 
 Portugal, Spain, and Italy, all Catholic coun- 
 tries under a southern sun. Our "salt" fish 
 became popular. The Portugese minister at 
 London in 1784, in a conference with Mr. 
 Adams on a commercial treaty with the United 
 States, mentioned "salt fish" among the ob- 
 jects most needed in his countrj^^and added, 
 "the consumption of this article in Portugal is 
 immense, and he would avow, that the Ameri- 
 can salt fish was preferred to any other on 
 account of its quality." (John Adams's Writ- 
 ings, vol. 8, p. 339.) Such facts are more than 
 curious. 
 
 But more important than the Pacific States 
 of the American continent are the great empires 
 of Japan and China, with uncounted populations 
 depending much on fish. In China one tenth 
 subsist on fish. Notwithstanding the consider- 
 able supplies at home, it does not seem impos- 
 sible for an energetic and commercial people 
 to find a market here of inconceivable magni- 
 tude, which will dwarf that original fur trade 
 with China that was once so tempting. 
 
 From this Survey you can all judge this ques- 
 tion of the Fisheries, which I only state with- 
 out assuming to determine. You can judge if 
 well-stocked fishing banks have been found 
 under such conditions of climate and market 
 as to supply a new and important Fishery. 
 Already the people of California have antici-
 
 47 
 
 pated the answer, and their enterprise has 
 arrested attention in Europe. The Journal of 
 Pcterman, 'J'he Geographi^che Millhciliingcn, 
 for the present 5'ear, which is tlie authentic 
 German record of geograpliical science, bor- 
 rows from a San Francisco paper to announce 
 these successful voyages as the beginning of a 
 new commerce. If this be so, as there is reason 
 to believe, these coasts and seas will have a new 
 value. The future only can disclose the form 
 they may take. They ni.ay be a Newfoundland, 
 a Norway, a Scotland, or perhaps a New Eng- 
 land, with another Gloucester and another 
 New Bedford. 
 
 • 
 
 Influence of Fisheries. 
 
 An eminent French writer, an enthusiast on 
 fishes, Lacep6de, has depicted the influence of 
 Fisheries, which he illustrates by the herring, 
 calling it "one of those natural products whose 
 use has decided the destiny of nations." With- 
 out adopting these strong words it is easy to see 
 that such Fisheries as seem about to be opened 
 on the Pacific must exercise a wonderful influ- 
 ence over the population there, while they give 
 a new spring to commerce and enlarge the na- 
 tiout'il resources. In these aspects it is impos- 
 sible to exaggerate. Fishermen are not as 
 other men. 'i'hey have a character of their 
 ^ own, taking its complexion from their life. 
 In ancient Home they had a peculiar holiday 
 with games, known as Fiscatorii Ludi. The 
 first among us in this pursuit were the Pil- 
 grims, who even before they left Leyden looked 
 to fishing for a support in their new home, 
 on which King James remarked: " So God 
 have my soul, 'tis an honest trade ; 'twas the 
 apostles' own calling." As soon as they 
 reached Plymouth they began to fish, and not 
 long afterwards appropriated the profits of the 
 Fisheries at Cape Cod to found- a free school. 
 From this Puritan origin are derived those 
 Fisheries which for a while were our chief 
 commerce, and still continue an important 
 element of national wealth. The Cod Fisheries 
 of the United States are now valued at more 
 than two million dollars annually. Even they 
 are inferior to the French Fisheries, whose 
 annual product is more than three million dol- 
 lars : and these again are small by the side of the 
 British Fisheries, whose annual product is not 
 far from twenty-five million dollars. Such an 
 interest must be felt far and near, commer- 
 cially and financially, while it contributes to 
 the comfort of all. How soon it may prevail 
 on the Pacific who can say? But this Treaty 
 is the beginning. • 
 
 Of course it is difficult to estimate what is 
 so uncertain, or at least is prospective only. 
 Our own Fisheries, now so considerable, were 
 small in the beginning; they were small even 
 when they inspired the eloquence of Burke in 
 that most splendid page never equaled even 
 by himself. But the Continental Congress, in 
 its original instructions to its commissioners 
 for the negotiation of peace with Great Brit- 
 ain, required as a fundamental condition, 
 next to Independence, that these Fisheries 
 
 should be preserved unimpaired. While this 
 proposition was under discussion Eibridge 
 Gerry, who had grown up among the fisher- 
 men of Massachusetts, repelled the attacks 
 upon their pursuit in words which are not out 
 of place here. "It is not so much fishing." 
 he said, "as enterprise, industry, eniidoy- 
 ment. It is not so much fish ; it is gold, the 
 produce of that avocation. It is the em[)loy- 
 ment of those who would otherwise l)o idle, 
 the /ood of those who would otherwise be 
 hungry, the wealth of those wiio would otlier- 
 wisc be poor." After debate it was resolved 
 by Congress that "the common, right of taking 
 fish should in no case be given up." Fob this 
 principle the eldest Adams contended with 
 ability and constancy until it was fixed in 
 the treaty, where it stands side by .side with 
 the acknowledgment of Independence. 
 
 In the discussions which ended thus tri- 
 umphantly the argument for the Fisheries was 
 stated most compactly by lialph Itard, of 
 South Carolina, in a letter to John Adams, 
 dated at Paris, 24th September, 1778; and 
 what he said then may be repeated now : 
 
 "Since the advantages ofcomincrce have boon well 
 understood, the fisheries have been looked upon by 
 the naval Powers of Europe as an object ofthcpreat- 
 est importance. The French have been inireasiiii; 
 their- fishery ever since the treaty of Utrecht, which 
 has enabled them to rival Great Britain at .sea. The 
 fisheries of llolhind were not only the first rise of the 
 Republic, but have been the constant support of all 
 her commerce and navigation. This branch of trade 
 is of such concern to the Dutch that in their jjublic 
 prayers they are said to request the Supreme Beint' 
 that it would please llim to bless the Government, 
 the lords, the States, and also the fisheries. The fish- 
 ery of Newfoundland appears to me to be a mine 
 of infinitely greater value than Mexico and Peru. 
 It enriches the proprietors, is worked at less ex- 
 pense, and is the source of naval strength and pro- 
 tection." — John Adams's Works, vol. 7, p. 45. 
 
 I have grouped these allusions that you may 
 see how the Fisheries of that day, though com- 
 paratively small, enlisted the energies of onr 
 fathers. Tradition confirms this record. The 
 sculptured image of a Cod hanging from the 
 ceiling in the hall of the Massachusetts House 
 of Representatives, where it was placed dur- 
 ing the last century, constantly recalls this 
 industrial and coHimercial staple with the great 
 part which it performed. And now it is my 
 duty to remind you that these Fisheries, guarded 
 so watchfully and vindicated with such con- 
 quering zeal, had a value prospective rather 
 than present, or at least small compared with 
 what it is now. Exact -figures, covering the 
 ten years between 1765 and 1775, show that 
 during this period Massachusetts employed 
 annually in the Fisheries 605 vessels amounting 
 to 25,620 tons, and only 4,405 men. In contrast 
 with this interest, which seems so small, al- 
 though atthe time considerable, are the present 
 Fisheries of our country; and here again we 
 have exact figures. The number of vessels in 
 the Cod Fishery alone in 1861, just before the 
 blight of the war reached this business, was 
 2, 75,5 amounting to 137, 665 tons, and with 19,271 
 men, being more than four times as many vessels 
 and men, and more than five times as much 
 tonnage*, as for ten years preceding the Revo-
 
 48 
 
 lution was employed annually by Massachusetts, 
 representing at that time the fishing interest of 
 the country. 
 
 Small beginnings, therefore, are no discour- 
 agement to me, and I turn with confidence to 
 the future. Already the local Fisheries on this 
 coast have developed among the generations 
 of natives a singular gift in building and man- 
 aging their small craft so as to excite the fre- 
 quent admiration of voyagers. The larger 
 Fisheries there will naturally exercise a corre- 
 sponding influence on the population destined 
 to build and manage the larger craft. The 
 beautiful baidar will give way to the fishing- 
 smack, the clipper, and the steamer. All 
 things will be changed in form and propor- 
 tion ; but the original aptitude for the sea will 
 remain. A practical race of intrepid naviga- 
 tors will swarm the coast, ready for any enter- 
 prise of business or patriotism. Commerce 
 will find new arms; the country new defend- 
 ers ; the national flag new hands to bear it 
 aloft. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Mr. President, I nOw conclude this examina- 
 tion. From a review of the origin of the Treaty, 
 and the general considerations with regard to 
 it we have passed to an examination of these 
 possessions under different heads, in order to 
 arrive at a knowledge of their character and 
 value : and here we have noticed the existing 
 Government, which was found to be nothing but 
 a fur company, whose only object is trade; 
 then the Population, where a very few Russians 
 and Creoles are a scanty fringe to the aborig- 
 inal races; then the Climate, a ruling influence, 
 with its thermal current of ocean and its eccen- 
 tric isothermal line, by which the rigors of that 
 coast are tempered to a mildness unknown in 
 the same latitude on the Atlantic side; then, 
 the Vegetable Products, so far as known, chief 
 among which are forests of pine and fir waiting 
 for the ax ; then the Mineral Products, among 
 which are coal and copper, if not iron, silver, 
 lead, and gold, besides the two great products 
 of New England, "granite and ice;" then the 
 Furs, including precious skins of the Black Fox 
 and Sea Otter, which originally tempted the 
 settlement, and have remained to this day the 
 exclusive object of pursuit ; and lastly, the 
 Fisheries, which, in waters superabundant with 
 animal life beyond any of the globe, seem to 
 promise a new commerce to the country. All 
 these I have presented plainly and impartially, 
 exhibiting my authorities as I proceeded. I 
 have done little more than hold the scales. If 
 these have inclined on either side it is because 
 reason or testimony on that side was the weight- 
 ier. 
 
 WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE. 
 
 As these extensive possessions, constituting a 
 corner of the continent, pass from the imperial 
 Government of Russiathey will naturally receive 
 a new name. They will be no longer Russian 
 America. How shall they be called? Clearly 
 
 any name borrowed from classical history or 
 from individual invention will be little better 
 than a misnomer or a nickname unworthy of 
 such an occasion. Even if taken from our 
 own history it will be of doubtful taste. The 
 name should come from the country itself. It 
 should be indigenous, aboriginal, one of the 
 autochthons of the soil. Happily such a 
 name exists, which is as proper in sound as in 
 origin. It appears from the report of Cook, 
 the illustrious navigator, to whom I have so 
 often referred, that the euphonious name now 
 applied to the peninsula which is the conti- 
 nental link of the Aleutian chain was tlie sole 
 word used originally by the native islanders 
 " when speaking of the American continent in 
 general, which tliey knew perfectly well to be a 
 great land." It only remains that, following 
 these natives, whose places are now ours, we, 
 too, should call this "great land" Alaska. 
 
 Another change must be made without delay. 
 As the settlements of this coast came Eastward 
 from Russia, bringing with the Russian flag 
 Western time, the day is earlier by twenty-four 
 hours with them than with us, so that their Sun- 
 day is our Saturday, and the other days of the 
 week are in corresponding discord. This must 
 be rectified according to the national meridian, 
 so that there shall be the same .Sunday for all, 
 and the other days of the week shall be in cor- 
 responding harmony. Important changes must 
 follow, of which this is typical. All else must 
 be rectified according to the national meridian, 
 so that within the sphere of our common coun- 
 try there shall be everywhere the same generous 
 i-ule and one prevailing harmony. Of course, 
 the unreformed Julian calendar, received from 
 Russia, will give place to ours ; Old Style yield- 
 ing to New Style. - 
 
 An object of immediate practical interest 
 will be the survey of the extended and indented 
 coast by our own officers, bringing it all within 
 the domain of science and assuring to naviga- 
 tion much-needed assistance, while the Repub- 
 lic is honored by a continuation of national 
 charts, where execution vies with science, and 
 the art of engraving is the beautiful hand- 
 maid. Associated with this survey, and scarcely 
 inferior in value, will be the examination of 
 the country by scientific explorers, so that Us 
 geological structure may become known with 
 its various products, vegetable and mineral. 
 But your best work and most important endow- 
 ment will be the Republican Government, 
 which, looking to a long future, you will organ- 
 ize, with schools free to all and with equal 
 laws, before which every citizen will stand erect 
 in the consciousness of manhood. Here will 
 be a motive power, without which Coal itself 
 will be insufficient. Here will be a source_ of 
 wealth more inexhaustible than any Fisheries. 
 Bestow such a government, and j'ou will bestow 
 what is better than all you can receive, whether 
 quintals of fish, sands of gold, choicest fur, or 
 most beautiful ivory.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 C001 
 
 SISn THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN AMERICA 
 
 3 0112 031843060