While the results were negative to himself, far different
were they to Russia. It was Vancouver's voyage northward that stirred
the Russians up to move southward. In a word, if Vancouver had not
gone up as far as Norfolk Sound or Sitka, the Russian fur traders would
have drowsed on with Kadiak as headquarters, and Canada to-day might
have included the entire gold-fields of Alaska.
Again Vancouver wintered in the Sandwich Islands. In the year 1794 he
changed the direction of his exploring. Instead of beginning at New
Spain and working north, he began at Russian America and worked south.
Kadiak and Cook's Inlet were regarded as the eastern bounds of Russian
settlement at this time, though the hunting brigades of the Russians
scoured far and wide; so Vancouver began his survey eastward at Cook's
Inlet. Terrific floods of ice banged the ships' bows as they plied up
Cook's Inlet; and the pistol-shot reports of the vast icebergs breaking
from the walls of the solid glacier coast forewarned danger; but
Vancouver was not to be deterred. Again the dogged ill-luck of always
coming in second for the prize he coveted marked each stage of his
trip.
Pages:
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375