Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-01-05

Row the Islands OF st. George and st
Paul Were First Discovered.

Row the Islands OF st. George and st.
Paul Were First Discovered.
The great seal rookeries. of Alaska.
which are now so carefully guarded by
our Government, remained undiscov-
cred some time after Russians first
landed there. Siberian merchants
eagerly developed the fur trade. but
the failure to extend their field of opera
tions seriously checked their spirit of
enterprise. and for time only one
small vessel was dispatched to the
Aleutian Islands annually. Not till
1886 were the Fur Seal Islands discov-
cred, and the finding of this breeding
place was of the highest Importance.
The Russian hunters who first visited
the Fox Islands soon began to surmise
the existence of some islands in the
north by seeing the annual migration
of the fur-seals through the passes be-
tween certain of the islands. The seals
went northeast in the spring and south
ward in the autumn accompanied by
their young. This surmise was
strengthened by an Aleut tradition
that a young chief of Unimok had
once been cast away on a group of
islands in the north, which they called
Amik. After short stay he was
guided back by the high peaks of his
native place. He reported seals there
in fabulous numbers. but while furs
remained abundant on the groups
already known no native cared to ex-
pose himself in his frail boat to seek
new lands; but the rapid depletion OF
the hunting grounds after III led to
"A search for Amik. Yet, while it Law
within two days sail from the southern
Islands, the home of the fur seal was
song hidden from the fur-hunters by "A
friendly mist. In 1856 this search was
coined in by Gerassim Pribylof, who
had been hunting and trading
among the Alaskan islands for some five
gears with little profit. Sailing in
South Georgia he crlised for over three
weeks around the Amik group without
discovering them, although he was re-
ported a skillful navigator. But he
constantly found unmistakable evil
dence of the close proximity of land.
at last in the first days of June fate
favored the persistent navigator; the
mantle of fog was lifted and before
him doomed the high coast of the east
ern end of the most southern island.
The discovery was named st. George,
after Pribylof's vessel. AS he found
no anchorage he ordered all the hunt
ers to land, and supplying themselves
with provisions for the winter he stood
away for the Aleutian Islands to spread
such reports as would keep others from
following in his path.
The shores of st. George literally
swarmed with sea otter, which had
never before been disturbed by human
beings, and could be killed with the
greatest ease. Large numbers of wal
rus were secured upon the ice and upon
the adjacent small islands. Arctic
foxes could be caught by hand. With
the approach of summer the fur seals
made their appearance by thousands.
A year after St George was discov-
cred an unusually clear atmosphere
enabled the Russians TO see the island
of st. Paul for the first time. 1t was
thirty miles away, and as the sea was
smooth a native boat was sent at once
to examine the new discovery. The
exploring party landed upon this island
the same day and named il after the
saints of the day. St Peter and St
Paul. But in popular usage the first
half of the name was soon lost and it
came to be known as st. Paul.-Erom
H. H. BdRcroft's Works.