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RUSSIAN AMERICA. 



fourth, in the colonizing of the State property 

 with Russian peasants and soldiers who have 

 passed through their term of service. 



For the purpose of promoting Russification in 

 Poland Proper, the committee of administra- 

 tion at Warsaw resolved upon the following 

 measures : 1. To convert the Polish schools of 

 Marianopol into Russian establishments, where 

 the Russian language alone shall be used. 2. 

 To establish a class for instructing Russian in- 

 fant-school teachers at the College of Bielsk for 

 the Greek population. 3. To convert the Polish 

 school of Siedlec into a Russian one. 4. To 

 establish a Russian one at Zamosc. 5. To con- 

 vert the Polish school of Krubieszow into 

 Russian. 6. To order the use of the Russian 

 language only in the two schools for boys and 

 girls at Sulwalki. 7. To organize in the king- 

 dom of Poland mixed schools for the Jewish 

 population, in which the instruction shall be in 

 the Russian language. 8. To convert the two 

 schools of Lublin and those of Zomza, Praga, 

 and Warsaw, into mixed ones. 9. To introduce 

 the Russian language for all branches of teach- 

 ing in the Jews' infant schools. In August an 

 imperial ordinance decreed that the official 

 correspondence with the central authorities in 

 future be carried on in the Russian, and not in 

 the Polish language. 



The Polish exiles in Siberia, in August, or- 

 gnnized an insurrection, under the leadership 

 of Dombrowsld. The insurgents, according to 

 the Moscow Gazette, were well organized. There 

 were the cadres of five regiments, each regi- 

 ment having its camp, its arms, its powder, and 

 scythemen, armed with scythes, which were 

 not at all like those used in the last Polish in- 

 surrection, but which had been specially made ; 

 in short, the organization could not be better. 

 Revolutionary proclamations were found on 

 Dombrowski, as well as a considerable corre- 

 spondence with all parts of Russia and Siberia. 

 The movement was, however, promptly and 

 easily suppressed. 



An imperial ukase, issued on December 8th, 

 states that the relations of Russia with Rome 

 having been broken off, and the convention of 

 1857 with the Holy See, and all other arrange- 

 ments with the Roman Catholic Church having 

 consequently lost their value, the affairs relat- 

 ing to the Catholics in Russia are again to be 

 placed under the direction of the authorities, 

 who, in accordance with the existing laws, are 

 intrusted with the control of the public wor- 

 ship in Russia and Poland. 



RUSSIAN AMERICA. The tract of land 

 thus designated comprehends all that portion 

 of the North American coast and the adjacent 

 islands which are situated north of the parallel 

 of 54 40' north latitude, and all of the main- 

 land west of the meridian of 141 west longi- 

 tude. It is bounded north by the Arctic Ocean, 

 east by British America, south by the Pacific, 

 and west by the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, and 

 Behring's Strait, which separate it from the 

 Russian possessions in Asia, the distance across 



from Cape Prince of Wales to East Cape being 

 only thirty-six miles. With the exception of tha 

 narrow strip extending in a southeast direction 

 along the coast nearly four hundred miles, and 

 the Peninsula of Alaska, it forms a rather com- 

 pact mass, with an average length and breadth 

 of about six hundred miles each. Its greatest 

 length north and south, from the southern ex- 

 tremity of Alaska to Point Barrow, is about 

 one thousand one hundred miles; greatest 

 breadth, measured on the Arctic Circle, which 

 passes through Cape Prince of Wales, is about 

 eight hundred miles; the longest line that can 

 be drawn across the country, is from Cape 

 Prince of Wales to its southern extremity, lati- 

 tude 54 40', a distance of about one thousand 

 six hundred miles. Estimated area, 394,000 

 square miles. The part of the mainland south of 

 Mount St. Elias consists of a narrow belt, which 

 is continued along a mountain ridge parallel to 

 the coast, and has nowhere a greater width 

 than about thirty-three miles. 



The discovery of the northern coast is of re- 

 cent date. Captain Cook, in 1778, during his 

 last voyage, reached Icy Cape, latitude 70 20' 

 north, and longitude 160 46' west; and it was 

 supposed, from the large masses of ice there 

 met with, even in summer, that farther progress 

 was impossible. In 1826, however, Captain 

 Beechy proceeded east as far as North Cape, or 

 Point Barrow, latitude 71 23' 31" north, lon- 

 gitude 156 21' 32" west; while at the s;ime 

 time Sir John Franklin, then Captain Franklin, 

 traced the coast west from the mouth of the 

 Mackenzie to Return Reef, latitude 70 26' north, 

 longitude 148 52' west. The intervening space 

 between Point Barrow and Return Reef was 

 first explored in 1837, by Dease and Simpson, 

 officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. 



Commencing at 54 40' north latitude on the 

 Pacific, the mainland is marked by a succession 

 of islands to the Peninsula of Alaska, so that 

 open boats or small river steamers can navigate 

 safely between the islands and the mainland. 

 Many of these islands are covered with snJen- 

 did timber, and the waters abound in fish. The 

 coast of the mainland is also densely timbered. 



The first river of any importance that enters 

 the sea in Russian America is the Steeken, or 

 St. Francis, in about 56 of north latitude. This 

 river has been followed by exploring parties to 

 the cascades, where it breaks through the coast 

 range of mountains dividing British Columbia 

 from Russian America. It is found navigable for 

 boats fifty miles. After passing the cascades it 

 again becomes navigable for some distance tow- 

 ard the Rocky Mountains. Game and fish are 

 abundant, timber good, and gold mining has 

 already been commenced by a party of Ameri- 

 cans. Natives are quite numerous during the 

 fishing season, and are reported friendly, and 

 anxious to trade for merchandise. 



There are many small rivers along the coast, 

 and passes over the mountains into the Brit- 

 ish possessions, and parties of natives trado 

 with the interior tribes more to the east, and 



