but as the coafts were very fteep and craggy, they made
to Amlach, lying at a fmall diftance, where they determined
to pafs the winter. They divided themfelves accordingly
into three parties; the firft, at the head of
which was Alexey Drufinin, went over to a fmall ifland
called in the journal Sitkin; the Coflac Shaffyrin led the
fecond, confifting of ten perfons, to the ifland Atach; and
Simeon Polevoi remained aboard with the reft of the
crew. All thefe iflands were well peopled; the men had
bones thruft through their ears, under lips, and griftle
of their nofes; anti the faces of the women were marked
with blackifh ftreaks made with a needle and thread in
the fkin, in the fame manner as a Coflac one of the crew
had obferved before upon fome of the Tfchutlki. The
inhabitants had no iron ; the points of their darts and'
lances were tipped with bone and flint.
They at firft imagined, that' Amlach was uninhabited;
but in one of their hunting parties they found a boy of
eight years old, w'hom they brought with them: they
gave him the name of Hermolai, and taught him the
Ruffian language, that he might ferve as an interpreter.
After penetrating further they difcovered an hut, wherein
were two women, four men, and as many boys, whom
they treated kindly, and employed in hunting, fiffiing,
and in digging of roots. This kind behaviour encouraged
others to pay frequent vifits, and to exchange fifh
and flefti for goat’s hair, horfes manes, and glafs beads.
They
They procured alfo four other iflanders with their wives,
who dug roots for them: and thus the winter pafled
away without any difturbance.
In the fpring the hunting parties returned; during
thefe excurfions one man alone was killed upon the ifland
Atach, and his fire-arms taken away by the natives.
June 1760, the fame parties were fent again to the fame
iflands. Shaffyrin, who headed one of the parties, was
foon afterwards killed, with eleven men, by the inhabitants
of Atach, but for what reafon is not known.—
Drufinin received the firft information of this maffacre
from fome inhabitants of Sitkin, where he then was;
and immediately fet out with the remaining hunters to
join their companions., who were left on board. Although
he fucceeded in regaining the veflel, their number
was by this time fo confiderably reduced that their
fituation appeared very dangerous: he was foon however
relieved from his apprehenfions by the arrival of the
merchant Betfhevin’s veflel at the ifland of Atchu ffj
The two crews entered into partnerlhip: the St. Vladimir
received twenty-two men, and transferred eleven
of her own to the other veflel. The former wintered
at Amlach, and the latter continued at anchor before
Atchu.
* Atach and Atchu.are two names for the fame ifland, called alfo by
the Ruffians Goreloi or Burnt Ifland.