20 COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Pigott frequented the Behring Sea from 1819 to 1822, and 

 was not merely an accidental visitor to Kamtchatka in 

 1819. He was one of many traders who had visited i)laces 

 on both shores of the Behring Sea, and he had puslied his 

 trading on the American coast as far as Kotzebue Sound, 

 north of Behring Straits. The following are extracts 

 from the correspondence. 



In a Report to the Russian-American Company, dated, 

 apparently from Sitka, January, 1821, it is stated : 



Ibid., pp. 62, 63. On the 29th September [1820] the Americaa brig " Pedlar" arrived 

 at this port. Her captain is Meek, a brother of Meek who is well 

 known to you. She had on board Mr. Pigott, with whom you are 

 well acquainted. He was.the supercargo or owner ; for the cargo was 

 under his control, and he directed the movements of the ship. He 

 had come from Kamtchatka in eighteen days. 



# * * » # 



There were at that time two men-of-war on the roadstead, and this 

 fact aftbrded me frequent opportunities of meeting Pigott, for he was 

 acquainted with the officers of both of them. They had met beyond 

 Behring Straits in Kotzebue Sound, and had been anchored there 

 together. He said, in a hesitating way, that he had been trading there. 



# * * # » 



I must confess that I waa tcrong when I said, in a letter to Michael 

 Michailovitch, that a single man-of-war would he sufficient to put an end 

 to this traffic. To tell the truth, I did not believe it at the time; but 

 I was afraid that a whole squadron, or at least a couple of frigates, 

 would come down upon us. This prospect frightened me, both as 

 Manager of the American Colonies and as a Russian. They would 

 have eaten up all our provisions, and cost the Emperor a lot of money, 

 without doing much good. 



!>■ * * ■< * 



What hope is there that a single frigate will be able to stop this 

 traffic on our shores, abounding in straits and excellent harbours, and 

 so ivell known to these Jinericans that they may be called the pilots of these 

 coasts? They will always be on good terms with the natives. . . . 



20 On the 1st February, 1820, the Governor General 



of Siberia wrote to Count JSTesselrode, Secretary of 

 State, a letter containing the following passages : 



BARTER BY UNITED STATES CITIZENS AT RUSSIAN ESTABLISHMENTS. 



(1.) We are familiar tcith the complaints made by the American Com- 

 Appendix, vol. j)aM;v in regard to the bartering carried on by citizens of the United States 

 ii P- 60. at their establishments, and in regard to their supplying the natives 



with fire-arms. These complaints are well founded, but nothing can be 

 done in the matter. It would be useless to apply to the United States 

 Government to stop the trading; the commercial rules of the United 

 States do not allow such interference on the part of their Government. 

 The only thing to be done is for the Company to endeavour to strengthen 

 the defences of the principal places in the Colonies, and for the Gov- 

 ernment, at least, not to favour this foreign trade. But tlie establishment 

 of a whale fishery on the eastern shores of Siberia would undoubtedly 

 favour it in a high degree. The establishment of a whale fishery 

 would be a pretext for, and an encouragement to, foreign trade. 



(2.) Although the fur industry in Kamtchatka and Okhotsk, which 

 has been declining from various causes, has now become unimportant, 

 nevertheless, the present trade and its prospects for the future are in 

 the hands of Russian traders. If an industry in tlie hands of foreign- 

 ers is established on the coast, the whole trade will certainly pass into 

 foreign hands. In this thinly-populated region it is impossible to 

 establish an effective supervision ; moreover, hoiv is the importation of 

 brandy, rum, tfc, to be x)r evented f 



