132 THE SEA. 



It seemed a few miles off; it was, although the wonderful clearness of the atmosphere 

 belied the fact, some thirty miles distant. An impregnable fortress of rock, streaked and 

 capped with snow, it defies time and man. Its smoke was constantly observed; its 

 pure snows only hid the boiling, bubbling lava beneath. 



With the exception of a few decent houses, the residences of the civil governor, 

 captain of the port, and other officials, and a few foreign merchants, the town makes 

 no great show. The poorer dwellings are very rough, and, indeed, are almost exclu- 

 sively log cabins. A very picturesque and noticeable building is the old Greek church, 

 which has painted red and green roofs, and a belfry full of bells, large and small, 

 detached from the building, and only a foot or two raised above the ground. It is to 

 be noted that the town, as it existed in Captain Clerke's time, was built on the sand- 

 spit. It was once a military post, but the Cossack soldiers have been removed to 

 the Amoor. 



There are two monuments of interest in Petropaulovski ; one in honour of Bering, 

 the second to the memory of La Perouse. The former is a plain cast-iron column, 

 railed in, while the latter is a most nondescript construction of sheet iron, and is of 

 octagonal form. Neither of these navigators is buried in the town. Poor Bering's 

 remains lie on the island where he miserably perished, and which now bears his name; 

 while of the fate of La Perouse, and his unfortunate companions, little is known. 



In 1855, Petropaulovski was visited by the allied fleets, during the period of our war with 

 Russia. They found an empty town, for the Russian Government had given up all idea 

 of defending it. The combined fleet captured one miserable whaler, razed the batteries, 

 and destroyed some of the government buildings. There were good and sufficient reasons 

 why they should have done nothing. The poor little town of Saints Peter and Paul was 

 beneath notice, as victory there could never be glorious. But a stronger reason existed 

 in the fact, recorded in a dozen voyages, that from the days of Cook and Clerke to our 

 own, it had always been famous for the unlimited hospitality and assistance shown to 

 explorers and voyagers, without regard to nationality. All is not fair in war. Possibly, 

 however, reason might be found for the havoc done, in the events of the previous year. 



In August, 1854, the inhabitants of Petropaulovski had covered themselves with glory, 

 much to their own surprise. On the 28th of the month, six English and French vessels 

 the President, Virago, Pique, La Fort, VEiirydice, and I'Obligado entered Avatcha Bay. 

 Admiral Price reconnoitred the harbour and town, and placed the Virago in position at 

 2,000 yards. The Russians had two vessels, the Aurora and Divina, to defend the harbour, 

 and a strong chain was placed across its narrow entrance. The town was defended by 

 seven batteries and earthworks, mounting fifty guns. 



It was not difficult to silence the batteries, and they were accordingly silenced. The 

 townspeople, with their limited knowledge of the English those English they had always 

 so hospitably received, and who were now doing their best to kill them thought their 

 hour was come, and that, if not immediately executed, they would have to languish exiles 

 in a foreign land, far from their beautiful Kamchatka. The town was, and is, defended 

 almost as much by nature as by art. High hills shut it in so completely, and the harbour 

 entrance can be so easily defended, that there is really only one vulnerable point, in its rear, 



