388 APPENDIX TO COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



62 [Received on the " Tshirikofif," October 2, 1822.] 



Board of Management of the Russian- American Company to Captain Matthew Ivanoviteh 

 Muravieff, Chief Manager of the Eamiau-American Colonies. 



[Concerning Pigott.] 

 (No. 149.) February 28, 1822. 



The Board were aware that Captain Pigott, who was at Kamtshatka, intended to 

 sail thence to our Colonics, and your despatch No. 8 of the 18th January, 1821, con- 

 firmed them in their belief that he proposed to visit waters belonging to Russia. He 

 has paid you a visit, as you report, under stress of weather, aud you have done right 

 in assisting him; but he would never have come to Novo Arkhangelsk if he had not 

 been forced to put in to that port; what he meant to do was to collect furs secretly 

 at other places. It was with this object, and in order to get a footing for this pur- 

 pose on the Aleutian Islands, or on the northern islands situated in the direction of 

 Behring Strait, that he made his proposal, of which you have already been informed, 

 with regard to whaling and fisliing for the benefit of Kamtshatka and Okhotsk; in 

 the meantime he has been asking permission from Dobello, M. Ricord's friend, to 

 trade with the Tshuktshes, and to use the Russian flag while so engaged. It is a 

 pity that you had not yet beeu informed of the right which has been officially declared 

 and announced in the Regulations which have been sent to you by the "Apollo," 

 of the Imperial navy ; if you had received these Regulations earlier, you would, 

 no doubt, have searched Pigott'sship. Don't let these impudent fellows off so easily 

 in future. This year a Government ship, the "Apollo" above mentioned, will visit 

 you; a second ship, the "Ajax," has been seriously damag-ed on the Dutch coast. 

 We hear that auother ship will be sent instead of her. Thanks be to God and our 

 Emperor for saving the Company from all trouble and expense in connection with 

 the dispatch of these Government ships. You will receive by this opi)ortunity replies 

 to the other inquiries contained in your despatch above referred to. 



(Signed) Michael Kisselkp. 



(Signed) Zelensky, Chief Clerk. 



Benedict Kramer. 

 Andrei Severin. 



January 1821. 



On the 29th September the American brig "Pedlar" arrived at this port. Her cap- 

 tain is Meek, a brother of the 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 Kamtshatka in eighteen days, and had encountered very stormy 

 weather. The sides of the ship were damaged, and the boats broken up. The sails 

 were also torn, and a great deal of further damage had been done. He brought 

 with him a letter of recommendation from M. Ricord to me. I knew of Pigott's rela- 

 tions with the American Company, but I could not refuse him permission to anchor 

 in the roadstead here and to repair his ship and build a boat with materials of his 

 own. If I had refused to allow him to do this, I should have been violating the 

 usage of friendly nations. I took care, however, to place rafts near his ship, and I 

 informed him that if he violated the rights of the (Jolony in any way, or had any 

 communications whatever with the Indians (even for the purpose of obtaining food), 

 he would be at once arrested, and his ship and her cargo confiscated. Of course, 

 this annoyed him, and he told me so. I replied that I was justified in being suspi- 

 cious of the open enemies of the Company. There were at that time two men-of-war 

 on the roadstead, and this fact afforded me frequent opportunities of meeting Pigott, 

 for he was acquainted with the officers of both of them. They had met beyond Beh- 

 ring Strait in Kntzebue Sound, an<l had been anchored there together. He said in a 

 hesitating way that he had been trading there, and complained that he had been 

 unsuccessful; but are his statements to be believed? 



He had a quantity of guns and ammunition with him, and sold some guns to the 

 officers of the meu-of-war. I asked him whether he had sold any guns in the north, 

 and he answered that he had not; but are we to believe him? On my asking him 

 whether he considered that his countrymen acted rightly in supplying fire-arms to 

 the Kolosh, he answered that it was not very proper conduct, but that the laws of 

 their country did not prohibit it, aud that as soon as one man found the trade profit- 

 able, others did not fail to follow his example. He said that in all probability no 

 nation would be able to stop the traffic by force so lougas the American laws did not 

 forbid it, and that they never would forbid it, because the limitation of free trade 

 would be a violation of the American Coustilution. No nation would attack them, 



