THE WEST SHORE.
235
THE DISCOVERY OP AT.ARTr a,
SPAIN had taken possession of Florida, Mexico, Cen
tral America, Peru and Chile, had colonized Lower
California and established an enormous trans-Pacific
commerce with the Indies; France had colonized Canada;
the English, Dutch and Swedes had planted flourishing
colonies on the Atlantio Coast, and the great Hudson's
Bay Company had become firmly settled in its possession
of the country surrounding the great inland sea from
which it derives its name, before the first vessel's prow
cleaved the waters of the North Pacific In 1578 Sir
Francis Drake had sailed as fnr north on the coast of
" New Albion " as the forty-third parallel, possibly the
forty-eighth, and in 1G03 Martin de Aguilar had reachod
and attempted to enter the Rogue, or Umpqua, River on
the Oregon coast; but north of that all was blank. For
more than a hundred years thereafter not the least effort
was made by these rival .nations to establish thomsolvos
on the Pacific Coast north of the Spanish possessions in
California. Not a vessel cast its Bhadow upon the waters
of the North Pacific, nor a Caucasian eye gaze upon the
mountain peaks that Btand like anciont sentinels along
our coast Suddenly interest in this region was revived,
and the initial steps were taken by a Power previously
supixwed to have no interest whatever in the American
question.
The sudden rise of Russia from oblivion to a high
rank among the Powers of the world, a revolution wrought
by the genius of the enlightened monarch, Peter the
Great, is one of the marvels of history. Gradually he
extended his power eastward across the snowy wastes of
Siberia until his dominions were washed by the waters of
the Pacific beating upon the peninsula of Kamtchatka.
The fur trade of this vast solitude became a valuable one,
and added to the great revenue of the Czar. Having
reached the Pacific he became eager to extend his power
still further eastward until it touched the western con
fines of the dependencies of England, France and Spain
in America. How far that was, or what was the nature
of the region coveted, neither he nor any one else had the
faintest glimmering of knowledge. It might be a great
ocean of valueless water, a sea filled with islands, a conti
nent of ice, or a land of plenty, " flowing with milk and
honey." ' No one knew, but this powerful autocrat pro
posed to find out His first step was to discover a water
way into the Pacific from the Arctic Ocean which washod
his dominions on the north, just such a passage as the
English mariners had searched for in vain, though he
expected to reach it by going east instead of to the west
He ordered vessels to be constructed at Archangel, on
the White Sea, for the purjxwe of coasting in the Arctic
eastward along the shores of Siberia until an owning was
discovered into the Pacific. Other vessels were to bo
constructed on the coast of Kamchatka, which wero to
take an opposite course and endeavor to pass northward
into the Arctic. Peter died before his plans were exe
cuted, and the project was held in abeyance for several
years.
The Empress Catherine was a worthy successor of her
noble husband, and when firmly settled upon tho throno
she turnod hor attention to completing the work ho had
begun. In 1728, in accordance with her instructions,
vessels were built on tho coast of Kamtchatka, which
wero dispatchod in search of tho desired passage letwoon
tho Arctio Ocoan and tho Pacific In command of tho
expedition was Vitus Bohring, a Danish navigator of
skill and oxporionco, in whoso ohargo tho former explora
tion was to have boon placed by Peter. Russia was not
a maritime nation and hor seamen wero in no manner
Bciontifio navigators, hnnce tho selection of this skillful
Dane for tho command of so important an expedition.
Bohring sailed on tho 14th of July, and followed tho
coast northorly in his little vessel until he found it
trending steadily to tho westward From this fact ho
becamo convinced that ho had already ontorod tho Arctic
and was sailing along tho northern coast of Asia; and
being unprepared for a long voyage, or the xsibility of
being compelled to spend tho winter in the ice, he
roturned at onco to tho xirt of embarkation. The highest
point reachod was (!7 degrees 18 minutes, but tho longi.
tudo is not given. Neither going nor returning through
the straits did ho espy tho const lino of America, foggy
and cloudy weather obscuring it from view, and const
quently ho reported ujnm his return Unit a great omui sen
lay to tho eastward of Asia, joining the Paeiflo Ocean
with the Arctic Tho next year he endeavored to cross
this ocean and reach tho shore of America by sailing
directly eastward In this attempt he was baffled by
head .winds and was driven by a galo into tho Gulf of
Okotsk. Ho abandoned the effort and returned to fit
Petersburg to rojort his discoveries. During tho few
succeeding years a numlier of smaller oxeditiomi wero
mado by Russian subjects, one of these lieing driven
uKn the Alaskan count in 1732, and it was discovered
that not an omn sea, but a strait, connected tho two great
oceans. Upon this was bestowed tho name of tho Danish
explorer, tho pioneer navigator of tho North Pacific
Catherine died and after tho consequent delay her
suncessortho Empress Anno, fitted out an oxedition for
tho purposo of exploring on a moro extended sonlo than
had previously Iston done. This consisted of two vessels,
Bohring being in command of one, and Alexel Tchirikof,
a Russian who hail Imon his lieutenant on tho first voy.
age, of tho other. Anno died lstforo tho expedition was
ready to sail, but Elizabeth, who succeeded to tho throne,
ditl not interfere with tho plans which had lieen laid, mid
tho two consorts sailed from the Bay of Avabtche on tho
4th of Juno, 1741. They wero soon separated in a gale,
and wero not again united Tchirikofs veswj, the SI.
Paul, returned on tho 8th of Oetolsr in a sad plight
Sho had reached a group of islands in latitude 60 de
grees, where sixteen of tho crow, who landed to mako a
roconnoissauco, wero slaughtered by tho Indians. Bo
sides these, twenty -ono moro succumUtd to tho ravages of
tho scurvy before tho vessel found her way lmek to jsrt
Sad as wero tho misfortunes that befel tho crew of tho
St. riul, they were slight compared with tho disasters
which crowded njxrn their comrades on IsMird the 67.