K A D I A K. 



409 



by '2 feet 4 inches wide, and the largest only 4 inches 

 broader, and 26 feet 7 inches in length. The large 

 baidarkas, which the Russians have appropriated, can 

 carry 70 men 



Their sports and pastimes are analogous to those 

 of the Oonala.-hknni, and the pursuits which they fol- 

 low uncontrolled, arc divided according to the diffe- 

 rent -easons of the year. Hunting and fishing continue 

 until the end of October, when they return to their 

 winter dwellings November is spent in visiting, and 

 in dancing with masks and painted faces. They dance 

 with a knife in the right hand, and a rattle made of 

 hoops to which a numl>er of the red beaks of the sea 

 parrot are suspended, in the left, producing an effect 

 like castagnets. Their music is the tambourine, and 

 their songs are warlike. The men are so fond of gam- 

 ing, that they often lose all their property. Com- 

 pared with the Oonalashkans, the inhabitants of Ka- 

 diak betray a considerable inferiority in every thing. 

 But they are scarcely to be viewed as the same people 

 with those generations who dwelt here even in the 

 preceding century. Their customs are abrogated, and 

 their numbers are greatly reduced. 



These islanders are particularly indolent and inac- 

 tive ; they sit on the beach, gazing for hour* toge- 

 ther at the sea : no conversation prevails among them ; 

 and so little spirit for improvement, that ages may 

 elapse, without their taking advantage of the benefits 

 held up before their eyes. 



The population of this inland is very small, compared 

 with its size ; and it it doubtful whether it ever wa* 

 great. How could numbers find subsistence under a 

 rigorous climate, where agriculture wa* utterly un- 

 known, and the only supplies obtained arose from the un- 

 certain produce of the cnace or fishing ? Yet there can 

 be no question that the population has declined. In the 

 year 1805, by an accurate calculation, it was found to 

 amount to about 40OO 



The opinions of the uati\ c* concerning their origin, 

 are extremely extravagant. They Ixlieve that one of 

 their original parent* was a dog, the other a female of 

 rank, and that their ancestor* were whelps, which peo- 

 pled the island. 



It is affirmed by some author*, that the Russians 

 were acquaint. Kadiak in the year 17.50. It 



was visited in 17i-', by > 'ottoff, in the course 



of his voyages to the more remote Aleutan islands; 

 and, in 1783, Gregory Shelikoff formed a settlement 

 upon it At that time, and previously, the inhabitants 

 were called Kanagist, or Konaghi, though now it is 

 aid thrv denominate themselves Soo-oo-it According 

 to Shelikoff*. account, a body of not less than 4000 op- 

 posed hi* landing ; and, having afterwards had an en- 

 counter with them, he took above 1000 prisoner*. 

 Later narratives affirm, that hi* opponent* did not ex- 

 ceed 400, instead of 4< 10. W ith much difficulty he sue- 

 in appeasing the natives, and by moderate mea- 

 i induced the inhabitant* of this and the neigh- 



uring islands, to the number of 50,000, to acknow- 

 ledge the authority of hi* nation. Rut, notwithstand- 

 ing hi* endeavour* to varnish over the conduct of the 

 "in*, they are represented a* having forcibly re- 

 I the native* to obedience; having usurped their 

 ns ; and either he, or his luccessort, made them- 

 r of all their property, even to their large 

 boat, leaving them onlj small ones He ii accused of hor- 

 itrocitie* such as ranging n mber of the misera- 

 ble islander* in a line, to try bow many of their bodies 



VOL. ill. I-AT II. 



a rifle ball would pass through. It is undoubted that 

 devastation has ever followed the footsteps of the Rus- 

 sians in the Pacific Ocean, and where they have es- 

 tablished themselves, the natives are found in a state 

 of abject slavery, daily diminishing in numbers. 



Kadiak is the chief Russian settlement in the 

 Northern Pacific, and the great depot of all the furs 

 from the neighbouring islands, and the coast of Ameri- 

 ca. On the north-east coast, there is a small town call- 

 ed Alexandria, with an excellent harbour, defended 

 by a small fort. The houses are built of logs, and 

 thatched with grass. Most of the windows are covered 

 with the divided intestine of seals well oiled, and some 

 with talc. There are a church, a school with about 50 

 native scholars, and a barrack for the Russian convicts, 

 storehouses, and other buildings. When Shelikoff took 

 possession of Kadiak, and subjugated the natives, he 

 obtained a number of the daughters of the chiefs as 

 hostages. About 200 were in the settlement in 1790; 

 but the number seems to have decreased as the danger 

 has lessened. Alexandria is the residence of a governor, 

 who has the controul of the colonies on the coast of 

 America. Measures have been taken for the instruc- 

 tion of the rising generation in reading, writing, ac- 

 counts, and mathematics ; but the means of providing 

 subsistence for the pupils has been omitted. While re- 

 maining at home with their parents, they followed a si- 

 milar course of life ; by withdrawing them from it 

 scarcity has ensued. A late traveller sagely remarks, 

 that being " educated and taught accomplishments af- 

 ter the Kuropoan fashion, in a few years there will not 

 be a young Aleutan remaining who will go barefooted 

 winter anil .-ummer, defying the cold, in pursuit of 

 whales, sea-dog*, sea-lions, and sea-otters. What will 

 the Company then do with their learned Aleutans ?' 



The settlements in the Northern Pacific are institut- 

 ed for the benefit of a company of merchants n Peters- 

 burgh. A number of fur-hunters, many of them said 

 to be abandoned characters, are in their employment ; 

 who, together with the subordinate officers, would soon 

 bring the colony to ruin, were they not controulcd. 

 They have been accused of wantonly putting the na- 

 tive* to death in a barbarous manner. The stewards and 

 overseers order as many of thrin as they choose for 

 whatever services are required in hunting or fishing; 

 and after tillage was introduced, they were compelled 

 to draw the plough. The Russians, their wives, and 

 children, are thence held in abhorrence ; and, whenever 

 an o|)|x>rtunity offers, they are massacred in retaliation 

 of the injuries inflicted by them. The prosperity of 

 the settlement, therefore, advances slowly, whcrea* the 

 highest benefits would result from adopting a wise and 

 liberal system. Lat. 57* N. (c) 



K Al.Ml'FER, ENOCLBCRT, a learned German tra- 

 veller and naturalist, was bom at Letngo, a town of the 

 county of I.ippe in Westphalia, on the Kith of Septem- 

 ber, 1651. He discovered an early attachment to the 

 study of natural history, medicine, and various lan- 

 guage*. After having completed his elementary edu- 

 cation at different schools, he studied, during four 

 years, at the university of Koningsberg in Prussia. 

 His desire of travelling into foreign parts, induced him, 

 in lb83, to embrace the opportunity of accompanying 

 the Swedish embassy to Persia, in the capacity of se- 

 cretary ; and he remained in that country for some 

 years after the embassy returned to Sweden. Al- 

 though he had as yet obtained no medical degree, he 

 accepted the situation ot a phybicum in Georgia ; 

 3 r 



Kadiak, 



Kiiempfer. 



