New-York tribune., 1886-01-22
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
BANCPoFTs HISTORY OF ALASKA


san Francisco: A. L. Bancroft & Co.
Tho voIne of the wide and deep researches made
nv Mr. bancroft into the history of all the region
washed by tho Pacific is strikingly shown III '"e
History of Alaska which forms the latest Voiuo VI
his SERIES Several atteInDts have been maze III 'o
same direction but in the absence OF the correa'eu
records which explain and illuminate mouerh
events in the far north the history OF Alaska sco
but dull and dreary narrative OF depressing "i'"
almost protlcss sgles against cold ana SaVEgeo
Mfr. bancroft, by employing his vast resources az"
profiting by the light thrown on TINS uarh SunJ'C
from his provious investigations. has oeen en""'0u
to construct of the strangest hlstorlca' P""o
ramas extant, wherein may bo traced IN su'icien' ~
detail tho processes of nation-making under dihi-
entities such as have perhaps never Teen encouhteo"
elsewhere.
He has brought before a strange wild pctare'
The movement to be followed is the northerly ex-
pansion of Russia We sea the Cossacks presseo
upon by tho advancing settlers of less nomadic te'
perament chaiing under the growth of law ana
conveItion then pushing full of dlsoontent iurther
into the wilderness. In the van, appointed ny
natural selection to tho post OF pioneers 90 INC
promyshleaiki. kind of Russian v'yaeour' vi
copyeurs des bOis restless. mercurd, Tough haroy'
and migratory by instinct like the loninihGS 'nat
make their way to the North Sea. lho moNeihcn'
begins in tho sixteenth century. and proceeds WIN
curious rhythm. flrsI inc PIVui) '"i0"i>''
the way. fralew fashion. Then como the CossacHs
not in masses. but in groups and small pan!sS
Armod with gunpowder, the invaders easily suouuo
the native Il ibes of Siberia, through whlcn region
the routo lies Tho march rcscmbic3 that oil u
Chinese army. Whenever an important riNcr "
reached q long halt takes lace. Inc streaih is GA
plored up and down. The choice sites on lts oanh'
are colonized The country is well secured oy SCI
Element following conquest, before another "u-
vance is made. OF course there Is inuch SUFFERING
inflicted Where nations are to be made and new
countries settled the weakest always 20 10 the wall
Cossacks and prpmysh eniki respect no aoorlglh"i
ricbts But being themselves only few removes
from sayagery they do not paralyze and destroy
the natives as the modern white man does. ne
Cossack and the northern savaGes couiu n'e
together They possessed the samo contrai quait'eo
in common So the Cossack conquered and held
sway, but did not exterminatc
In due time the hunting passion which was III .no
bottom of the movement the pursuit of the sable
principally carried the a0vcnturers to the cohhe'
of Siberia and beyond, and presently to the SHORES
of the North Pacific Then they discovered a new
kind of game and there unconsclously to them
selves they laid the foundations OF all the 1uture
history of Alaska On tue heels of the CosSach
camo the Russian merchants and traders, Them
solvn. at that T; ne q rough hard-drinking. bar
barous. energet- and enduring people Thence
forward until the establishment OF tho Russian
American Company, the bleak northern region WIT
messed an intermnable succession OF commercial
cypeditious in search of The future OF most OF
them was not such to encourage similar vent
ures. Judging from Mr.. Bancrofts wonderfully
full records the wreck charts OF those northern
waters could they be faithfully drawn. would
show an aggregate of disasters during century ana
half scarcely to be surpassed elsewhere Inc
proportion of vessels wrecked is astonishing. Inc
iutricacy of the navigation accounts for much oil
the disaster, but it is evident that lhexpcrence
must also have boen an influential factor' leV
tbourh so many vessels were lost. the crews seem
generally to have saved their lives, and tho ire
ouepcv of their survival under the most dihcult
circumstances indicates their hard hood and strong
VITALITY Indeed, these were the men ont OF whom
pioueers are always made. They lived like the
natives in haif-buried huts of sod or logs amld
damp smoke and lth, upon salt or rotten tsh' sea'
and whale meat and OIL. often subjected TO long
fasts exposed during their fishing and hunting e1-
peditions to the btterest cold nsuicienty clothed
wanting bread frequently nine months n-the year.
in short leading lives such as no tramp IN the low
est dregs of modern civilization has to face.
The inherent barbarIsm which still moves civil
lied powers to grasp at every "nappropr'ated acre
on the face of the planet then even more ramp
ant and there is something comic i'll the rapaclty
with which England, France, Spain, ana Russia
were at the same time trying to got possession oi
the northern coast. Expedition after expedition
went over the same ground and claimed 1t over ana
over again as the possession of this or that Christian
or Most Christian Majesty. Bat Russia had done
the preliminary work: had subduod the native
tribes; had explored large area; had established
settlements or trading posts here and there; and
when the time was ripe the Russian American Com
many appeared 10 take charge OF and administer
tho region and to hold it for the Car after the
manner in which great trading corporations nave
held countries all over the world, timo out OF nina
The history of the RuSslap- American Company If
not the pleasantest ealing a grccdicr' more
selfish less scrupulOus more ungrateul corporation
rerhaps never exlated Its treatment OF Baranof
TO whom il owed everything, was most dscredlt
able Mr. Bancrofts fresher and fuller information
casts ney light upon this administrator. and be
painsby the examination. lie was, being essentially
man of his time, rough, 50, not very ocrnpu'
Ions and too fond Of drink. But it must be borne
in mind that in those days all the world drank ana
fiat Russia, now the most ihtempeIate coun'
try iu the world. was thon still more addicted t.
yodki or rum, which seems to have been the l"voT-
ite tipple at the north But Barauof was born
manager aud ruler. and under his skiliul and
iudicious administration his company grew to very
large proportions and became wealthy far beyond
cxoectation HIS ambition indeed led him to dream
of tho eaptnre of the Sandwich Islands of CalitOr
mia OF the conquest Of thesJapancse trade. OF Tho
extension of the Russian American Company''
dominion as far az that of the East India Company
The sant of a navy perhaps contributed most to th'
failure of These schoiDes which in themselves ant
at the time were certainly hot chimercal. The OLD
governor planned and toiled often bahcd and sci
back by the casting away of his ships, or the raids
of fierce native tribes. such serious and lasting
misfortnnes as the Stka massacre, the failure O
the periodical supply ships, threatening the colony
with famine. His lifo full of care and trouble
but he nearly always succeeded in sending honi
such quantities of peltry as insured fat dividends
and this too when he and his men wcrc perhaps re-