The Van Buren press., 1895-03-30
COLONY DESTROYED BY BEARS.
An Island Where = Settlement OF Russians
Was Wiped Out

From the quarterback of the United
States revenue cutter Corwin. lying of
Halls island; at the f1ortherly end OF
st. Matthew's island, Id Behfihg sea,
the captain and several officers were
looking toward the shore. Douglass,
the pilot had just pointed out some-
thing under the cliffs that looked like
low, half-fallen walls, and said they
were ruined barrabaras. The barra-
bara is the Aleutian house, built half
underground. Some Of the gentlemen
wished to explore the interior of the
island in hopes of finding signs OF val
liable minerals
"Mr. Douglass, how about going in
land here?' inquired the captain.
tWell, don't know, SIR" said the
pilot. II wouldn't care much to 60 at
this time of year, unless the party was
large and we'll armed. Any one can
see from here what a forbidding coun-
try it is, and it's sure to get worse
bears, and in the breeding season
they're mighty ugly"
"How does it happen that there are
so many polar bears on st. Matthew's
and Halls islands7" asked the captain.
"This must be about the southef /, limit
OF their range"
"Well, suppose, sir, they come
down from the arctic on the field ice,
following the seal and the walriis. The
winter pack reaches way south Of here,
and the bears make homes on the Is
land among rocks and caves. They
breed here, and as many mole come
every year from the north they natur-
ally get plenty. So long as they find
enough to eat they won't trouble any
body unless cornered, and once food
gets scarce they'll tackle anything.
One look at what's left of those barra-
baras has always been enough explora-
ton for me in these parts.
"There's sad story about those old
houses. SIR" continued the pilot. IA
good many years ago the Russians
thought they would form a settlement
here. So they sent ship with don't
know just how many people to make q
start. No doubt the settlers were
hard lot-convicts of one sort or an
other-the Russians often made such
use of their hard citizens. But that's
neither here nor there. They were
human beings and were put on shore
right here, and they built or dug,
whichever you like to say, these barra-
baras. Provisions for year were Civ
en- them, and they were told to skirm.
ish around and see what they could do
in the hunting line. Then the ship
sailed away, promising to call round
next year and see how they were get
ting along.
'And SO she did, but the settlers
were not doing anything that the Wis
itors could see. They hoisted no sig
nal and made no sign of life at all, and
when party from the ship landed a
grewsome sight it was they saw. The
tops were ripped off the barrabaras
and everything was knocked about
not q living thing could they find.
Some moldy provisions were left and,
worst of all, some human bones; NOT
whole skeletons lying as though the
people had been starved or had died
of disease, but just human bone.
spread about the floors, and some ot
'em outside on the ground.
"Not a bit of writing was found
nothing at all to say how or when the
trouble came. Water was plenty AND
provisions, too, and only the bearl
could account for the wiping out of the
little colony. They must have cor
raled the settlers in the dead of win
ter, when the pack ice is all around the
island. and hunger makes 'em fierce
and then they must have torn of the
roofs of the huts and made short worl
of the people. The ship sailed away
and the Russians never tried to colon
ize the island again. IN. Y. Sun.