Three Accounts of the Vasil'ev-Shismarev Expedition of 1819-1822

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Chapter 2

Berkh's Summary

Berkh wrote his account of this expedition as a summary in The Chronological History of all Voyages to the Arctic, and, therefor it is in somewhat dry, outline form. But this first and most complete account of the activities of both ships provides the context for the voyage of the Good Intent as described by Hillsen.

Captain-Lieutenants Vasilev and Shishmarev 1819

The famous reign of the Alexander I, so glorious in the annals of Russia so far as it concerns its political benefit to all of Europe, will also remain very memorable for its geographical discoveries.

Although Russia had a fleet from the beginning of the eighteenth century, her ships cruising the Baltic, the North, and the Mediterranean seas did not extend beyond the Arctic Circle. The Pillars of Hercules [at the Strait of Gibraltar] were the limits of their voyages. In 1803, they went beyond this point and made their first trip around the world. But because there are to be included in this work only voyages made to the northern arctic regions, in that case not mentioning various [other] voyages undertaken by the Russians during the period of 16 years, I direct my attention to the year 1819.

In that year a highest sovereign edict was made concerning the equipping of two expeditions. The first one, under

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and one from the port, to the same beach where we had cut timbers, the only place where it was possible to find rocks, and with great toil at that. We could barely gather about 3,000 poods [54 tons] of it. All these tasks detained us until the 25th, and that day became a holiday for all of us, and we left this region with the most unbearable climate visited by us. We went to California, or better, to New Albion, where an abundance of everything was waiting for us and a rest from the labor carried on for eight months.

While we were stationed in Sitka, there came in for repairs, an American brig under command of Captain Mike; from Okhotsk, a company schooner, "Baranov," under command of Lieutenant de Livron; and from Europe, a large three-masted vessel, "Borodino," under command of Captain Panafidin. This vessel, belonging to the [Russian-] American Company, came with various European and Chinese merchandise for the colony, and was supposed to take a cargo of furs from Sitka. On its way, it had called at Manila, where cholera broke out during its stay. Captain Panafidin, having lost several of his men, and even his medical officer, hired another one there and hastened to leave port in the hope that a change of air would end the sickness, but it only got worse, and he had lost more than 30 men by the time he arrived in Sitka. Here he had five more sick sailors, of whom four got well, but one died, and with that the sickness stopped. But upon our arrival at Kronstadt we learned that after he left Sitka, cholera began again.

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infantry, there is nothing to say. It was dressed almost the same way as the cavalry, but was weak and lazy. The first [the cavalry] was not free from the latter vice, common to all Spaniards, who spent all their free time from their tasks in dolce far niente [sweet doing of nothing]. There were no other inhabitants in California, except those mentioned above. The entire colony was inhabited by military men and monks. There was not a single genuine colonist of European descent, and for this reason, I presume, the province was completely neglected, producing no income whatsoever, but on the contrary, coating the Spanish government dearly. California never had direct communication with Europe except through Mexico. The governors were appointed by the viceroy, and the monks, the heart of California administration, were sent from the same place. They were chosen mainly from among the Mexican creoles [Indian-Spanish parentage]. For this reason, their ignorance was incredible. Many of them did not even know how to write, not to mention their ignorance of learning. Of the Latin language, so indispensable to the Catholic clergy, they only learned the liturgy by heart. To such people was entrusted the enlightenment of savage peoples! Their only merit was that they could give a superficial idea of the religion, but even here their instruction, filled with various superstitious dogmas, distorted Christianity to such a degree that it was impossible to recognize. However, their merit was in that they taught the settled Indians various skills