The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1952-11-21
A Book Report


EHOW hIA OkA
FROM THE VOLGA TO THE YU-
KON (The Russian march to Alaska
and California;, by Daniel Henderson
Published by Tasting House; New
York City 10, 1914, $500.
We all learned, from grammar
school history books, that U. S. Sec
rtary of State Seward purchased Alas
ka from the Russian government for
81, 100000 in 1867. Perhaps we alb
sorbed little information to the eff
+ feet that this epoch making deal was
made for two purposes. First to avoid
further armed clashes between Rus
sian and American fur trappers, along
the Pacific coast from San Francisco
northward to Bering Strait. Secondly
to keep the British owned Hudson
Bay Fur Company from attempting
to take over this coastal strip.
What many of us did not know, or
little realized, is that the background
of this historical development was
more than 260 years in the making
during which time a clash somewhere
and sometime was always inevitable.
Our forebears started their first
settlement at jamestown, Virginia,
in 1907. Following this was a long
period of colonization and westward
march of conquest that was still go
ing strong when Alaska was taken
over from the Russians 260 years
later.
Sometime prior to our first set
Element in Virginia Ivan the Ter
rible, first Gar of Russia, had start
ed an eastward moving conquest of
Siberia. This book is the story of that
exploration and conquest and of it's
final clash with westward advancing
American civilization. These great
mass movements were nearly con-
temporary in time, were both spear
headed by trappers and traders and
were, IN many respects, similar in
methods and stages of development.
They both fought thru and sub
due native populations of nomadic
people who lived largely on game and
fish and who were not at first much
inclined to fight back. Possibly the
Mongols and Tarters of Siberia were
the spring board from whence came
the American Indians, by a similar
invasion dozens of centuries earlier.
Anyway, the Russians covered a larg-
er territory, operated in a colder and
harsher climate and were considerably
more brutal in methods. The story is
and informative and pos
slbly we'll worth remembering in these
times.
Young Gar, Ivan the Terrible,
found insufficient salt at his we'd
ding feast. He commissioned Grigor
Strogonov, a rich merchant and fur
dealer who lived somewhere west
of the Ural Mountains dividing line
between Russia and Siberia) to
furnish salt to the Roy
al household in Moscow. AS part of |
the deal Strogonov got a grant of |
land 100 miles long somewhere east
Of the mountains, thru which his fur
5rappers had found a couple of pas
sable routes. He was to colonize the
and and pay over to the Gar a per-
;entage of furs and other products
aiken out.
Vassil Yermak was leader of Cos
sack band of robbers and free-boot-
ers which had operated along the
Onleper and Volga rivers without
paying tax or toll, until the Gar
;ent troops to kill or capture them.
ney mad heard OF the StrOgonoV
and grant and knew it would be
much safer east of the Ural houn-
aims. They appeared at the Strogo-
lov frontier trading post, made deal
With him as to spoils, recruited their
orce to 500 men and in the follow
ng spring advanced eastward thru
he Urals.
Three years after his start Yer
max was so deep into Siberia that
lie dared not try to fight his way
Jack. He pushed on to conquer new /
RIDES and finally strong tribal
headquarters called Sibir (near pres
FrFFnA