Wichita eagle., 1889-09-15


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THE BLACK DIAMOND-JOHN HAWKINS
The vessels concerned are all small craft
! and no interest is attached to them, except
for the issues involved. The Black Diamond
and the Triumph are only two-nasted
| schooners; the revenue cutter Richard Rush
is 161 feet long, 26 feet broad, AZ feet deep,
305 tons burden and was built in 1874 in
! Boston. She carries four guns. The schooner
Minnie and the Pathfinder, both of which
were seized after the Black Diamond and the
| Triumph, Were sent to Sit1a. The interests
! involved are national, and at this time some
| thing about the sealing ground viii be Of
! interest
| In 1t25, under the commission of Peter the
| Great an expedition was organized, crossed
| the continent from st. Petersburg TO Kam-
| chatka, where a vessel was constructed
and in July, 1928, sailed for explorations to
north and east That vessel was the Gabriel
and her master was Vitus Behring On the
| expedition Behring crossed the waters of the
Sea Of Kamchat5a, and discovered and
named the island st. Lawrence In 1888
second expedition was organized under the
auspices of the government and the commits
[
TO the rank OF admiral at its head, repeated
| the journey across Siberia, and in June, 174l,
sailed for new discoveries In July of that
year Behring sighted the American CONT
nent, some authorities claim at the fifty
eighth degree of north latitude, others at the
fifjeth degree. The latter is probably cor
rect, as it rests on the authority Of Stellar,
who accompanied the expedition, nd Behr-
the American coast as the forty-fifth paral-
lei, in accordance with his Instructions. He
discovered several of the Aleutian islands
and the Komanderof group OF coupiet On
the larger Of this couplet, which bears his
name, he died on Dec. 10, 1741, after having
suffered shipwreck.
Behring's discoveries started an interest in
the new region, and in 1743, 1145, 1147 and
1fz9 a COsSack sergeant named BosSof made
four consecutive voyages from the mainland
OF kamchatka TO the Behring and Copper isl
andS IL vessels of his own construction. Ia
1915 a sailor named Nevidchinof, who had
served under Behring, crossed the channel
which connects the North Pacific ocean with
the Behring sea and discovered the islands
of Attoo and AgatoO, the former of which is
now boundary mark. In 1144 small Rus
sian merchant vessel reached the island of
aka and some of the smaller islands sur
rounding it.
Ten years later Glottoff advanced as far as
the island of 0unak, aud subsequently dis
covered Ounalasla and the whole of that
group of the Aleutian chain known as the
Fox Islands He made u map of his explora-
tons, which includes eight Islands east of
OunalaSza
In 1860 Russian merchant Adreian Toll
styk. landed on the island of Adak explored
l. and some of the surrounding islands and
made a report of his discoveries TO the Rus
sian crown. This group was named after
him, the Adreian Islands The next year a
ship belonging 10 a Russian merchant named
Bechevin made the coast of the Ahrska Pc
ninsula, and in the autumn of 1862 Glottof,
VINO discovered Ounalaska and the Fox
group, reached the island of Kodiak. In 11GS
two captains of the imperial navy, k nItZen
and Levashoff, sailed from kamchatka in
two government vessels, and the former
passed the succeeding winter at Kodiak and
the latter at Ounalasl.a. Twenty-Five years
succeeding the death of Behring the Russian
ensign waved along the entire Aleuuan chain,
from Behring Island to the mainland of the
North American continent.
Then came the seal fisheries. Expeditions,
stimulated by the large remuneration of the
fur traffic, were constantly fitted out at the
ports along ne shores Of the Sea OF Okotsk
and the mouth OF the hmoor river for voy-
ages of trade and exploration iii the new
In 1872 there were not less than
twenty-five companies, employ ng a consider
able feet of small vessels. Under the aus
pices of one OF these companies Shekeloff, a
of BylSk, founded the first perma-
ncnt settlement on the Island of Kodiak in
1874 From this point exploring expeditions
were sent out. one OF which crossed the strait
between Kodiak and the mainland which
bears Shekelotf's name, and explored the coast |
OF the mainland Is far as Cooks Inlet, upon
the shores OF which. in 1886, a--seJtiement was