COMMERCE OF OCHOTSK, 
17 
conflux of the two rivers Ochota and Kuclitui. The 
Ochota washes its sandy gravelly beach every summer with ve¬ 
hemence, carrying away whole houses with it yearly ; so that 
the town has already lost three streets within a short time ; while, 
on the other hand, the beach receives an annual accession from 
the stones driven to it by the storms. The government having, 
therefore, resolved on transplanting the town to a safer situa¬ 
tion, no new houses are now erected, and the old ones, which 
were built upon the establishment of the place, are falling to 
decay. Ochotsk has a wooden church, a palisadoed fortress, 
and some nlagazines. The inhabitants consist mostly of persons 
in military and civil capacities : the latter of whom principally 
belong to the lately established judicature in the stadtholdership 
of Irkutsk. On this establishment, Ochotsk became a capital, 
comprehending the peninsulas of Kamtschatka, the Aleutian 
and Kurilian islands, and the whole coast from Ochotsk to the 
Tschukatish cape, within its jurisdiction. 
The trade of this place is carried on chiefly by merchants 
from other towns, who bring provisions and other merchandizes, 
of European or Asiatic manufacture, for the Russians, Tun- 
guses, Jakuts, Kosaks, and Tschukatians; all of whom, except the 
first, make their payments in skins. There are also trading com¬ 
panies, having their agents, who build small craft at Ochotsk or 
Kamstchatka, and dispatch them to the Aleutian islands, and 
North America, for the purpose of collecting furs. The crew 
are hired from all parts of Russia, and the command of the 
whole is entrusted to an experienced trader, entitled pere- 
dowschtschik, or forerunner, who has been on two or three 
such expeditions before. Besides this, the government pro¬ 
vides a mate and steersman to conduct the vessel. Their voyages 
frequently last ten years, and on their return, the produce is di¬ 
vided into certain portions, called pai. 
Having made the object of my mission known to the com¬ 
mander, I commenced my examination of the vessels, stores, 
and building materials; but found every thing so shattered and 
decayed as to be totally unfit for use. In my rambles among 
the woods, I was not much more successful, having found, 
within the compass of above 100 wersts, but few trees suffi¬ 
ciently large for building our vessels. Nothing could exceed 
the toilsomeness of this research, although it was considerably 
relieved by the kindness of my worthy friend, the collegiate as¬ 
sessor Koch, who accompanied me purely from the desire of 
aiding me \v ith his knowledge. We set off in the beginning of 
April, and were obliged to go 70 wersts in snow-shoes. Of 
these there are two sorts; those which are broad and covered 
underneath with reindeer skin, for the soft snow; and the others, 
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