i8o 



Sport and Life. 



formed, having for their object the establishment of trading posts 

 in Alaska. The history of the great fur hunting -corporations of 

 the Rocky Mountains, who for years waged bitter war with each 

 other, repeated itself also in these northern latitudes, till, finally, in 

 the last year of the century, a grand amalgamation of the Russian 

 companies was effected. By imperial ukase the Tsar Paul con- 

 firmed the consolidation and gave the " Russian-American Com- 

 pany " full and exclusive privileges for twenty years over all 

 Russian discoveries in North America, and took the company under 

 his protection. It is characteristic of Russian ways to find, as 

 Bancroft mentions, that throughout the company's first charter 

 these discoveries are spoken of as being situated in the north- 

 easterly instead of in the north-westerly part of America. The 

 boundary to the south was the 55th degree N. lat. The company 

 was of high standing, many of the great nobles and two princes of 

 the Imperial House were members of it, while the local administra- 

 tor, who was called governor, was practically the supreme ruler of 

 the country. The operations of the company were very successful, 

 and at the expiration of the term a renewal for a second, and 

 subsequently for a third term of twenty years each, was obtained. 

 The profits and the number and kind of peltry are particularised 

 as follows : 



* Or about 27,500,000 sterling. 



