DESTRUCTION OF SITKA 195 



Constantine became shareholders in the corporation, and 

 the Loan Bank of St. Petersburg was directed to loan 

 250,000 silver rubles to the Company at eight percent. 

 As the operations of the Company became more wide- 

 spread, their vessels commanded by Russian naval officers 

 constantly explored new portions of the coast. The trad- 

 ing post established at Old Harbor, Sitka Sound, by Bar- 

 anoff in 1799 did a good business, and in the spring of 

 1800 Baranoff formally took possession in the name of 

 Russia of the region now comprised in southeastern 

 Alaska. In contrast with the relatively mild native of Es- 

 kimo stock with whom the Russian had dealt to the west- 

 ward, the pugnacious and turbulent Tlinkit of the Sitkan 

 Archipelago kept the settlers and traders constantly on the 

 defensive. In May, 1802, the Sitkan natives attacked the 

 Russian post and massacred the entire party excepting a 

 few who took to the woods and were rescued by Barbour, 

 the master of a British trader. Attacks were also made 

 on Russian hunting parties in various parts of the Archi- 

 pelago. During the same year the Stikine River was 

 discovered by the American ship Atahualpa of Boston. 



An expedition under Krusenstern and Lisianski in the 

 ships Nadeshda and Neva sailed for the colonies in Au- 

 gust, 1803. The colonial officials pushed their explora- 

 tions some distance up the Copper River and sent hunting 

 and trading parties to Oregon and California. 



In 1804 Lisianski in the Neva joined Baranoff before 

 Sitka, where the native stronghold was defended energet- 

 ically against the Russian cannon. It was evacuated by 

 the Tlinkit when their ammunition was exhausted and 

 the Russians immediately laid the foundation of a fortified 

 post on the very defensible peninsula which had been oc- 

 cupied by the natives. As the Archangel Gabriel, to 

 whom the post at Old Harbor had been dedicated, had 

 not protected it against the heathen, the new post was de- 



