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The faulty record of the navigation of a time that counted by dead reckoning, and without a knowledge of the currents of those seas, does not tell us the exact location of the anchorage, but beyond a reasonable doubt it was in Sitka Sound, and the Russian seamen died at the hands of the Sitka Kwan of the Thlingits. In this manner Sitka first became known to the White Man's World.
Of the men who remained ten had to stand guard constantly, for the Thlingits were not to be trusted. Barracks, storehouses, quarters for the commanding officer, were constructed; a bath house also, for the Russian must have his bath, and the whole was surrounded by a stockade and strengthened by blockhouses.
Their troubles were not all with the elements, for during the winter the scarcity of provision and other causes brought scurvy to add to their discomfort. The natives, called Thlingits at the present, were known as the Kolosh by the Russians. They were divided among themselves in their feelings toward the new settlers in their midst.
After it was over he descended the long flight of steps leading from the Commandant's quarters and strode across the parade ground with the dignity becoming to the hereditary chief of the Chilkats, the proudest kwan of the Thlingits.
Over the door of the house was painted the family totem, for the Sitkas did not raise the house totem in a pole in front as did many of the kwans of the Thlingits, and as the Hydahs do. In these houses were held the potlatches, or gift parties, which were made by the wealthy chiefs.
The presence of the military had guaranteed safety from attack by the Indians to the people of the town, and the officers had been a pleasant addition to the social life; with their departure both were lost. The animosity of the Thlingits had been kindled by many wrongs, some real and others fancied. They saw in the new order of things an opportunity to recompense themselves for past grievances.
Forward on the deck were planted cannon, shotted with shrapnel, trained so as to rake the afterdeck, and beside each was a gunner's match. On the first day, for two hundred yards of broadcloth, he purchased a hundred prime sea-otter skins, worth $50 each in Canton. Barter was going merrily on, when a scream from amidships startled the crew. The Thlingits sprang to their boats.
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