The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-03-06
THE STORY OF PIRATE cove.
A True Tale Of Queer Little POp0f
Island.
How Band Of Two Hundred Wild and
Fiercs Marauders Of the Sea Was
Extermineted.
Written for THE SUNDAY CALL.


Pirates = two hundred of them big,
fierce fellows. who lusted for other mems
property and other mems blood. That was
the kind Of people they had on little P0poff
Island in those days."
1t was j. r. Daggett. President of the
Mcclellan Fishing aud Trading Company,
who spoke. and he knew what he was talk
ing about. for his corporation owns big
slice of Popoff Island, and he has dug into
Its history with great zeal.
''The pirates were all Aleuts," went on
Mr.. Daggett "and their rendezvous was at
PIRATE Cove in the northeastern part of
Popoff. which, as every body ought to know,
is ore of the Shumagin Islands, snuth of
the Western Alaskan Peninsula. If Robert
Louis Stevenson had known Of Pirate Cove
he could have made a better story than
Treasure Island There have been bret
mentions Of the history of the place from time
TO time, but nothing has ever been printed
concerning it that. has given any idea of
wha; its people were like or what they did,
or what was their fate. What comes to me
regarding them is from an old Aleut who is
called Father Golavin. He is 90 years old,
and lie lives on Korovin Island, seven miles
from Pirate Cove.
u
time ago-inaybe 100 years. They were
large men and very warlike. There were
only few in number at first, but they in
creased urtl there were about 200 Their
method Of life was simple. They lived in
huts called barabaries. The dwellings were
sort of dugout affair. lined with grass and
covered with grass. driftwood aud mud.
|, Their weapons were crude and their
boats were of the bidarka pattern, such as
are still used by the natives. They were low
and were made of skin and covered, save
where there were holes to admit the bodies
Of the oarsmen. Sometimes there were two
OF these holes and sometimes three. In
order that the water might not run into
them they were fitted with pieces of loose
skin that were gathered or puckered up
about the bodies Of the boatmen. The boats
were propelled by means of double bladed
oars, aud they SKINNED over the water very
neatly.
Now. about the cove itself. Take a
good look at this map and these photo
graphs and you will get a very good idea of
1t. You see it is almost round, with mar
row entrance from the sea, and is almost
surrounded by high hills, there being at
the south side of the entrance headland
$500 feet in height. The cove is about had
a mile wide, and its' entrance is about a
quarter OF a mile across. Vessels of small
tOHudSc Oniy-Shys Oh ZUU OF ZDU
tons or so-can be harbored there, but fur
such craft as can go in it affords very safe
anchorage.
ANY one can see at once if he stand where
he can overlook the cove that its rim or
shore surface is of volcanic origin. and /
doubt not from the rotundity of its outline
that ii was once the crater of volcano.
'On the high headlaud at the harbOr en-
trance the pirates used to keep lookout
night and day. From his high perch there
the Waterman could let his eye run far to
seaward, or, what was more to the point,
it could sweep across the Unga Strait,
which is between Popoff and the main
land, and could hardly fail to take note
of passing boat except in thick
weather. You see, the native fishermen
and hunters of fifty or one hundred years
ago used to take the same course when voy-
aging as they do now-that is to say, they
followed well along the coast through the
straits by the inland passage. Watching
the approach OF fieet of craft of hunters,
the pirates would take to their boats and
start ont on their mission of plumber and
death. AS soon as the peaceful boatmen
saw the gathering force of hoStiles, they
would start away at full speed, but they
would generally be overhauled and slain,
they might have aboard would be taken by
the pirates, together with their boats. In
the course of time the pirates accumulated
large stores OF furs, and they had great
Hect OF OOaIS.
Mr.. Daggett gave a thrilling account of
how the pirates nest was broken up by the
hunters. on whom they had preyed for
many years. The Aeuts gathered in a
great band, filing many boats, and ap-
preached tile cove stealthily by night. II
was very dark and those of the attacking
party crept silently cut Of their boats and
along shore until they came TO the pirates
village. They made their way to the doors
of their huts, and standing guard at their
entrance ready to kill them should they
emerge. they applied torches to their dwell
ings. The dry grass famed up merrily and
there was a grand barbecue of two hun
dred pirates, all of whom were most sue
eessfully roasted. Not single person of
the whole band was left to pursue his
piratical iOcllnatlons after that night of
massacre.
The eXterminators of the marauding band
danced on the beach in high glee until the
fires of the dwellings burned low, when
they strung the pirates boats together took
whatever they could find of their ill-gotten
property ana departed
From that day to this no native has ever
made Pirate Cove his dwelling place
1t was years and years after the slaughter
of the pirate band that the place was visited
by white men. The first to 60 there were
William Greenleaf and John Mackenzie.
two hunters. They had been cruising
about in the neighborhood, and although
they had visited many of the coves aud