Vikings of the Pacific | Page 2

the remaining tenth, the contents are obtained in undiluted condition by going directly to the first sources. A few of these first sources are indicated in each section.
It is somewhat remarkable that Gray--as true a naval hero as ever trod the quarter-deck, who did the same for the West as Carrier for the St. Lawrence, and Hudson for the river named after him--is the one man of the Pacific coast discoverers of whom there are scantiest records. Authentic histories are still written, that cast doubt on his achievement. Certainly a century ago Gray was lionized in Boston; but it may be his feat was overshadowed by the world-history of the new American republic and the Napoleonic wars at the opening of the nineteenth century; or the world may have taken him at his own valuation; and Gray was a hero of the non-shouting sort. The data on {x} Gray's discovery have been obtained from the descendants of the Boston men who outfitted him, and from his own great-grandchildren. Though he died a poor man, the red blood of his courage and ability seems to have come down to his descendants; for their names are among the best known in contemporary American life. To them my thanks are tendered. Since the contents of this volume appeared serially in Leslie's Monthly, Outing, and Harper's Magazine, fresh data have been sent to me on minor points from descendants of the explorers and from collectors. I take this opportunity to thank these contributors. Among many others, special thanks are due Dr. George Davidson, President of San Francisco Geographical Society, for facts relating to the topography of the coast, and to Dr. Leo Stejneger of the Smithsonian, Washington, for facts gathered on the very spot where Bering perished.
WASSAIC, New York,
July 15, 1905.

CONTENTS

PART I
DEALING WITH THE RUSSIANS ON THE PACIFIC COAST OF
AMERICA--BERING, THE DANE, THE SEA-OTTER HUNTERS, THE OUTLAWS, AND BENYOWSKY, THE POLISH PIRATE
CHAPTER I
1700-1743
VITUS BERING, THE DANE
Peter the Great sends Bering on Two Voyages: First, to discover whether America and Asia are united; Second, to find what lies north of New Spain--Terrible Hardships of Caravans crossing Siberia for Seven Thousand Miles--Ships lost in the Mist--Bering's Crew cast away on a Barren Isle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
CHAPTER II
1741-1743
CONTINUATION OF BERING, THE DANE
Frightful Sufferings of the Castaways on the Commander Islands--The Vessel smashed in a Winter Gale, the Sick are dragged for Refuge into Pits of Sand--Here, Bering perishes, and the Crew Winter--The Consort Ship under Chirikoff Ambushed--How the Castaways reach Home . . . . . 37
CHAPTER III
1741-1760
THE SEA-OTTER HUNTERS
How the Sea-otter Pelts brought back by Bering's Crew led to the Exploitation of the Northwest Coast of America--Difference of Sea-otter from Other Fur-bearing Animals of the West--Perils of the Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
CHAPTER IV
1760-1770
THE OUTLAW HUNTERS
The American Coast becomes the Great Rendezvous for Siberian Criminals and Political Exiles--Beyond Reach of Law, Cossacks and Criminals perpetrate Outrages on the Indians--The Indians' Revenge wipes out Russian Forts in America--The Pursuit of Four Refugee Russians from Cave to Cave over the Sea at Night--How they escape after a Year's Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
CHAPTER V
1768-1772
COUNT MAURITIUS BENYOWSKY, THE POLISH PIRATE
Siberian Exiles under Polish Soldier of Fortune plot to overthrow Garrison of Kamchatka and escape to West Coast of America as Fur Traders--A Bloody Melodrama enacted at Bolcheresk--The Count and his Criminal Crew sail to America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106


PART II
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH ADVENTURERS ON THE WEST COAST
OF AMERICA--FRANCIS DRAKE IN CALIFORNIA--COOK, FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA TO ALASKA--LEDYARD, THE FORERUNNER OF LEWIS AND CLARK--GRAY, THE DISCOVERER OF THE COLUMBIA--VANCOUVER, THE LAST OF THE WEST COAST NAVIGATORS
CHAPTER VI
1562-1595
FRANCIS DRAKE IN CALIFORNIA
How the Sea Rover was attacked and ruined as a Boy on the Spanish Main off Mexico--His Revenge in sacking Spanish Treasure Houses and crossing Panama--The Richest Man in England, he sails to the Forbidden Sea, scuttles all the Spanish Ports up the West Coast of South America and takes Possession of New Albion (California) for England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
CHAPTER VII
1728-1779
CAPTAIN COOK IN AMERICA
The English Navigator sent Two Hundred Years later to find the New Albion of Drake's Discoveries--He misses both the Straits of Fuca and the Mouth of the Columbia, but anchors at Nootka, the Rendezvous of Future Traders--No Northeast Passage found through