CHAPTER II. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. 



The early discoveries arid explorations in and about the waters of Bering Sea 

 followed as a result of the occupation of the eastern coast of Siberia by the Kussiaus 

 in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The organized efforts to explore the 

 unknown seas beyond were begun in the reign of Peter the Great and were completed 

 after his death by his successor, the Empress Catherine. 



The first important expedition sailed in two vessels from Kamchatka in 1728 under 

 charge of Yitus Bering. One vessel discovered St. Lawrence Island and sailed through 

 the straits to the north; the other reached the continent of North America near the 

 mouth of the River Yukon. 



BERING'S SECOND VOYAGE. 



Thirteen years afterwards Bering set out with a. second expedition which reached 

 America at Kayak Island, in the vicinity of Mount St. Elias. Upon the homeward 

 voyage the Commander Islands were discovered, and the ship on which Bering sailed 

 was wrecked on the island now called Bering. Here Bering died, and, after wintering, 

 such of the crew as survived made their way to Kamchatka in the spring under the 

 direction of the famous naturalist, Georg Wilhelm Steller. 



DISCOVERY OF COMMANDER AND PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



This second voyage in 1741, making known the valuable fur resources of the 

 Commander Islands, stimulated the fur trade and led to many expeditions among 

 the islands of the Aleutian chain in search of other regions inhabited by fur seals. 

 During these voyages the herd of seals now known to resort to the Pribilof Islands 

 were encountered on their migrations through the passes of the Aleutian Islands, 

 and efforts were made to ascertain the shore to which they belonged. They were 

 followed to the northward and to the southward for this purpose, but without result 

 until, in 1786, Gerassim Pribilof, a navigator in the employ of one of the Russian 

 trading companies, finally succeeded in finding the group of islands which now bear 

 his name and are the home of the American fur seals. The island of St. George, so 

 called from the name of his vessel, was the first land found. In the following year 

 St. Paul Island was discovered. 



THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY. 



Immediately upon the discovery of the Commander Islands in 1741, and later upon 

 the discovery of the Pribilof Islands in 1786, numerous trading companies began to 

 develop their lucrative fur resources. The rivalry and competition which naturally 

 arose nearly resulted in the destruction of the fur-seal herds. To prevent this, the 

 entire fur trade of the Eussian colonies passed into the control of a single powerful 



23 



