The times., 1897-08-29
Discovered and Explored by
Behring i'm 1913.
GOLD SUSPECTED LONG AGO
Presideut Pierce Declined to Pur-
chase the Country in 1854, Not
ApprecintiDg Its Commercial and
Political Importance Russia's
Aim 60 Impair EngIand's Position.

tculars OF the discovery OF the American
coast north OF the fifty eighth degree OF
latitude, by Capt. Behring. W who W as sentvn
d voyage OF exploration in 1873 by tie
Empress Anne Of Russia.
He also discovered the greater part of
From tnat time Russian hunters and trap
pers from 0khotsk began to extend their
expeditions u. the northwest coast Of Amer.
les. Positive information exists boutforty
expeditions of this kind uring the last haif
of the eighteenth century The AGre JanoiI
Islands, a portion of the Aleutian arcnlpel
ago, were formally annexed TO RassIa in
1856 government exploration started
from OkliOtsk in 1873 under the command
of Capt. Billings To Capt. Tariteheif, one
of the members, is due important re
searches on the photography and ethnoIogy
of those countries.
The first attempt at a permanent settle
ment was due TO three Russian traders,
ShelekhUff and the Golihoffs, who fitted
cut three vessels to be sent 20 the land o.
Alaska, % islands known or unknown,
for the purpose Of trading III furs, Of eX-
pioring the country, and OF enter ring into
relations with the inhabitants Their first
expedition started in 1871 and the first
settlement was founded on the island OF
Radjak, or Kodak
The authority of the Russian government
was :l.us established on this and the ad-
5accnt islands In 1880 SheleE Ehoff, then
resi,iing al Irkcutsk, sent out The merchant
Baranoff TO govern the new colony. The
- Uar ,rIan F,r
years was the controlling mind OF the new
enterprise thus appeared for the first time
III its history. Shelekhoff died in 1795
and his widow continued the business.
which gradually increased, especially after
Combining with the Milnikoff Company.
The charter OF this joint company was
signed IN August, I79S, and confirmed at
st Petersburgin 1893. Novo ArkkangeIsk,
on the island OF sitka, now known as the
town of that name, was founded in 1893.
The boundaries To the lands granted to the
Company and defined in its rene wed charter
OF 1921 We're formally confirmed ana
acknowledged by the treaties with th.
United States in 1924 and Great Britain
in 1925.
The Russian American Trading Com
pany, enyious of the remarkable sue
pany, gradually pushed their opera
tions in all directions, and extended their
stations far beyond the original pres cribed
limits, having at last reached the coas {
OF California. This was prior to the in
dependence Of Mexico, and the necessary
privileges were conceded by the Spanish
government, which then owned California
Upon The expiration Of the charter the
s-rtvpFTrsfpnf pf r1fuS cd tn t,axsy
lt. Its reasons We're, first, that the COM
pany had failed TO meet the real objects
OF the Concession, which were To encouI-
age in.nli grafton to those regions and in
nuce tie settlement OF population which
would develop its mineral and agricultural
resources The interests OF the Company
pointed TO the discograging Of every in
Gustry ether than that which then yielded
enormous profits, the fur trade. Farming
would tend To clear away the forests and
thin out the fur animals IL was also in
furious to the fur traffic 10 divert the
natives into any other pursuit. Hence the
mineral and agricultural resources Of Rus
stan America Were studioIRly kept in the
background, and much matter was cir
culated in Europe about the terrors Of
the climate
In the summer OF 1854, during III.
Crimean war, the Russian government
considering the opportunit Y favorable
resolved on stepit had long contemplated
This was 70 hem in the British possessions
on the north west coast by conveying the
RusSlau territories to q people whose
activity and proximity would create a
powerful rival to England in the North
aciflc- Baron Stoekl at that time
formally proposed the sale Of the Whole
or Russian America to the United States
President Pierce declined the offer for
reasons never made public, but, which also
induced him at about the same time 10 de-
cline the gift of the whole Of the Re
public OF Honduras, which under the ad.
miHistration of President Cabanas, was
rendered tCthe United States through Senor
Barrundia, the special agent sent hfther
for thar purpose This proposed cessinn
OF Russian America was regarded a th..
first step toward the acquisition of all
tie northern part of the continent by the
American Republic. But at that time
Pierce feared complications with Eng
land, and then, too, Russian America
was considered worthless by many.
There were good reasons to assume in
1867 tilat the acquisition comprising nearly
100000 square miles would reward ex-
plorat:on by turning up a wonderful min
eral country. The imperial government was
long desirous that the Russian-A uerican
Company should explore the Interior The
company raised every practicable objec-
ton against this, urging mainly the
terrors or the climate and the savagerv of
the natives
Tie ghos ia the closet of the Hudson Bay
Company always was that gold might be
discovered in British Columbia, which
would rum their lucrative fur trade by the
desertion OF their employees TO the placers
At last Ia 1858 the dreaded discovery was
made, and the conpHny's factors hastened
TO assert that il was all hunbug, and with
It's traditional dislike of Immigration, ad.
vised strangers not 20 visit British Co
luinbia. This was also the policy of the
Russi2n-Atnericsn Company
The New York Herald in the spring OF
1867 contained the following about the
mineral wealth OF Alaska:
The discovery of gold has been steadily
20 the northward since the days of the
early Spaniards, who III the sixteenth CEN
tury imagined utat gold was confined to
the tropics No one suspected it's existence
I'm the north till the California marvel
awcEe the world TO the splendid reality.
From tnat time richer gold fields have been
continually developed north and north-
ward until those of British Columbia, far
north Of Fraser River, promise to outshine
al that has hitherto been discovered.
Mr. Collins states that gold mining has
already been commenced by American