Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-05-11
rae FUR TRADE ov Alaxxa

For years Spain, by her possess;on ~
Mexico and Central America donn;n.
ated the Pacific, and enriched her.sIs
/ with the commerce. OF the Indi,a t.
| vain England and other powers sonot.,
Tor some other route into the pac,f;e
than the long and dangerous one arou ID
Cape Horn. There existed al that tirn !,
general belief among eeo0ranhers
that from Hudson's Bay, or the North
sea, as the Arctic ocean was then o.II.
ed, and which was considered e.sily a.
cessible from the Atlantic, there inns.
be passage into the Pacific. which vs., :
known as the Straits of Anian. Dilieent
search on the Atlantic side, and orca
sional voyages In the Pacific, failed 20
reveal snch geographical feature. At
last, In lTZ8. Russian expedition IN.
Der behring sailed through the :, rats
which nov bear his name, ,vithoa, being
aware that they were out of the open
sea.
In l4i. Behring, after a long v,ya0e
In search of the American coast, sighted
the snowy crest of this giant poak, the
nrst glimpse the great explorer had
OF the continent of America, and
named II st. Elias. With his crew al :
nicted with scurvy, engendered BY i'm
proper Zoo ! and exposure during their
long veyaRe, and himself falling rapid
~ In health, Bchring sailed for home
without exploring the discovered land.
FOR months the vessel wandered aim.
lessiy about until Il was wrecked upon
small island of almost barren rock
rising abruptly from the water. Here
the crew passed the winter, subsistino
upon fish and the fur-bearing seal a" d
other amphibious animals they ver.
able to capture. On this bleak isle.
where the roar Of the surf beatir o
against its rocky cliffs never ceases. the
spirit of BehrinQ took its flight. He
and many of bis afflicted crew were
buried there by their surviving CO.. :
Fades before the return q
spring and sunshine gave them renewed
vigor and hope. Constructing then a
rHde craft from the timbers of their
wrecked vessel, the few Survivors
launched it upon the unknown waters,
and, turning the bow to the west ward.
finally reacned the Bay of Avatscha,
from which they had started year be-
fore. With them they took the skins
of the animals they had slain. using
them for clothing and blankets. These
proved to be very valuable, leading to
the dispatch Of several vessels to the
islands of the Aleutian group in search
of more. Thus began the fur trade OF
the Pacific. The little sea -girt island
is kHown TO the present day as Behring's
Isle. This was followed by the estsb
lishment of statious for the fur trade
on the islands and at various points on
the mainland. These furs we're chiefly
procured by purchase from the natives,
and were all sent by. vessel to the town
of Petropanlovski, in Kamschatka,
from which they we're forwarded by
dog sle iges TO Irkutsk, a distance OF
3450 miles. From there some OF them
were sent south some 1900 miles to
Pekin, China, and the others were for
warded across 1860 miles of dreary
waste to st. Petersburg. The poorest
uavigators aud least scientific explorers
of the Pacific were the Russians and
Sraniards. Oar English voyage was
worth dozen such ~ they frequently
made. Russians occupied ths coast
and islands of Alaska thirty years, en-
tertaining the belief that from Mount
st. Elias westward and northwestward
to the coast of Asia was vast sea of
islands while the Spaniards, after sev.
eral voyages from Mexico to Alaske,
u
coast line with the least approach to
accuracy. IL was left for the cele-
brated Captain Cook, who WAS dis
patched by England in search of the
Straits OF Anian, to demonstrate to the
Russians in 1878 that Alaska was vast
northwestern projection of the conti-
nsnt. frineed with thousands of islands
great and small, and to enlighten the
Spaniards upon the character of our
coast line, though only following the
course pursued by their own vessels q
few years before.
The Alaskan fur trade was concen-
trated in the hands of the Russian
American Trading Company by royal
charter in 1881, and WAS expanded
gradually until there were forty sta
tions established on the islands and
mainland, with headquarters at New
Archangel, or Sitka, as IL 10 nov called.
The charter was renewed In ls39, and
expired finally in 1868, and four years
later Alaska was purchased by the
United States. In 1870 the Government
leased to the Alaska Commercial Com
pany the exclusive privilege OF catching
fur seals in the new Territory, confining
them TO the two islands of st. Paul and
st. George, and limiting the number OF
seals to be killed annually TO lOONO.
This lease Was for twenty years. and has
six years yet to run. The yearly rental
is $4,000 and 81 tax upon each seal
taken, not rough to pay IN the twenty
yeare the purchase price, though the
company has realized that SUN many
times over. The Northwest Trad
ing Company has stations at various
points, where are collected furs OF all
kinds, aud where they are largely en-
gagged in packing fish and maaufactur.
ing oil. The fur bearing animals that
abonnd, such a. the wolf, fox, beaver,
ermine. marteu, otter, squirrel, pear,
and the numberless multitude OF fur
seals that swarm about the rocks ana
islands of the coast. furnish an annual
supply of fur that 10 exceedingly vaiu-
able. II was at first feared that the da-
structiou OF 10000 seals annually
would result in their practical extermi-
nation. but observation proves the con-
trnry 10 be the case. This industry,
PROPERLY handled. will b lucrativs
one for generations; and 10 ~ TO DC
hoped that at the expiration OF Us con
tract With this company the COVER nmsn'
will 30 manage IL as 20 derive greater
revenue. West Shore.