THE FUR-SEAL ISLANDS OF ALASKA. 



149 



were under the same rnle as that I have just described as applicable to the natives ; their lot, according to 

 Paul von Krusenstern, a Russian who voyaged thither in 1801-1S05, seems to have been more uninviting even 

 than that of the wretched natives. 



Baranov's attempt to colonize California. — Prior to 1812, Sitka was the extreme southern limit of the 

 Russian-American Company. But old Baranov, greatly annoyed over the loss of supply ships from the Okotsk, by 

 wbich their bread, at Kadiak and Sitka, was cut off for years at a time, determined to settle at some place south, 

 where these necessaries to a comfortable physical existence could be raised from the soil ; so he asked of the 

 Spanish governor at Monterey permission to erect a few houses on the shore of the small bay at Bodega, California, 

 in order to "procure and salt the meat of the wild cattle" which overran that part of the country, north of the 

 harbor of San Francisco, for the "use of the governor's table at New Archangel" (Sitka). The Castilian was happy 

 to oblige a peer; but, in the lapse of three or four years after this permit was granted, the Russians had formed a 

 large settlement, built a fort, and had, in actuality, takeu possession of the country. The Spanish governor first 

 remonstrated, then commanded Baranov to move off, in the name of his most Catholic majesty, the king of Spain. 

 He discovered quickly, to his infinite chagrin, that the Russian had abused his confidence, and defied him. The 

 Spaniard could not enforce his order, and Kuskov, the Russian deputy in charge at Bodega, openly taunted and 

 resisted him. The Russian-American Company remained here practically unmolested, until 1842, when they sold 

 their fixtures to General Sutter, a Swiss American, for $30,000, and vacated California. 



Attempt to secure the Sandwich islands — In 1815 Baranov, instead of feeling chilled by the California 

 unpleasantness, theu in full headway, turned his ambitious eyes to the Sandwich islands, and actually despatched 

 a vessel, or rather two of them, under the direction of Dr. Shaeffer, a German surgeon, who landed on Atooi, with 

 one hundred picked Aleuts ; but they were, at the lapse of a year, so discouraged by the open opposition of the 

 Russian government to this scheme, that they abandoned the project. 



Rapid decay of the Russian- Am eric an Company after the death of Baranov. — In 1862, when the 

 third extension of the twenty years' lease had expired, the affairs of the Russian-American Company were in a bad 

 condition financially — deeply in debt, and the Imperial government was not disposed to renew the charter. This 

 state of affairs gave rise, in 1861-'67, to negotiation with other trading organizations for the lease, which finally 

 culminated in the purchase of Alaska by our government July, 1807. Such, in brief, was the Russian-American 

 Company; it flourished under Baranov, but declined steadily to bankruptcy twenty years after his removal, when 

 eighty years old, on account of extreme age, in 1818. In short, its great compeer, the Hudson Bay Company, was 

 very much earlier initiated in the same manner June, 1670; then it finally organized with the Northwest Company 

 under its present title, with renewed royal prerogatives and despotic sway over all British North America in 1821 ; 

 it too has declined to a commercial cipher to-day, with its autocratic rights abolished long since; in 1857, I think; 

 they were wholly rescinded; its subsidence was due, however, to the constant increasing white settlement of its 

 territory. 



33. METEOEOLOGICAL ABSTRACT FOR THE MONTHS, FROM SEPTEMBER, 1872, TO APRIL, 1873, 



INCLUSIVE. 



[Being interesting as the exhibit of an unusually severe winter. Made by Chas. P. Fisli, United States Signal Service, St. Paul island.] 



Character of observation. 



Mean of barometer, corrected 



Maximum of barometer, corrected 



Minimum of barometer, corrected 



Monthly range of barometer, corrected 



Greatest daily range of barometer, corrected. 



Least daily range of barometer, corrected 



Mean daily range of barometer, corrected 



Mean of exposed thermometer 



Maximum of exposed thermometer 



Minimum of exposed thermometer 



Monthly range of exposed thernioineter 



Greatest daily range of exposed thermometer 

 Least daily range of exposed thermometer..*. 



Mean of maxima of exposed thermometer 



Mean of minima of exposed thermometer 



Mean daily range of exposed thermometer . . . 



Character of observation. 



Me an relative humidity 



Max imum relative humidity 



Minimum relative humidity 



Prevailing wind 



Number of miles traveled by wind 



Mean daUy velocity of wind 



Mean hourly velocity of wind 



Maximum hourly velocity of wind 



Proportion of cloudiness 



Amount of rain-fall, in inches 



Greatest daily amount of rain-fall 



Amount of melted hail and snow {included in 

 rain-fdl) 



Nnmber of days on which precipitation oc- 

 curred 



Number of days on which hail or snow fell. .. 



Months of record. 



— 

 5 



go 



85.6 

 100 



56 

 N. 



9,138 

 304.6 



12.7 



33 



92 

 2.89 



0.85 



0.20 



30 

 4 



83.9 

 100 



65 



HT. 



11, 872 

 383 



16 



42 



84 

 3.08 

 0.58 



0.91 



29 

 15 



100 



00 



S. 



14, 539 

 484.6 



20.2 



74 



78.9 

 2.38 

 0.31 



27 

 17 



87.8 

 100 



70 



N. 



16,644 

 530. 5 



22.1 



53 



84 



2. 90 

 0.42 



2.38 



27 



24 



