Trip on Seniavin to survey coast of Kamchatka, the Okhotsk Sea, and the Shantar Islands. Travels from Kronstadt to Portsmouth, Rio, Valparaiso, Sitka, & Kamchatka. Stop in Sitka to observe the Russian colonies there under the Russian-American Company in New Archangel. Baron Wrangell was governor and the fort itself had been rebuilt after being destroyed by the Americans.
p. 48: If I say that we passed our time in Sitka very pleasantly, it should not be assumed that we found it a place of charm…. The vast distance from Europe and thus the dearth and difficulty of communication is one of the inconveniences of the place. Mail arrives once a year in August-September on vessels which come from Okhotsk bringing letters, newspapers and new company employees…. The library founded by Chamberlain Razanov, which is enlarged every year, is also a great resource.
Has quite a bit on the “savage American tribes” near Sitka.