utheran clergyman, dined with the chief manager by general
invitation, Sir George Simpson tells us. The civilian masters of
vessels, accountants, engineers, clerks, and bookkeepers, dined at a
club which was organized by Mr. Etolin, and they lived at the old club
house a little to the east of the church.

A wedding was an elaborate affair, a bridal cake which figured in many
mystic signs, tea, coffee, chocolate and champagne; the ladies attired
in muslin dresses, white satin shoes, silk stockings, kid gloves, fans,
and other necessary appurtances. After the ceremony of an hour and a
half was consummated, the ball was opened by the bride and the highest
officer present, and the dancing lasted until three in the morning.

Easter was an event of much hilarity after the close of Lent, which was
strictly observed by all. From morning to night everyone ran a gauntlet
of kisses; when two persons met, one said, "Christ has risen," while the
other replied, "He has risen, indeed," and then followed the
salutations. These seemed not to have been distasteful to visitors,
although one remarks that most of the dames had been more liberal with
other liquids than of pure water. Throughout it all was a continuous
peal of bells, for the Russian is fond of bell-ringing. All carried
eggs, boiled into stones, and dyed, gilded or painted, which they
presented to their friends.

CHAPTER VII

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Sitka, under the Muscovite, existed because of the fur trade, and every
energy and interest centered on the gathering of peltries from every
available quarter. Sailing ships moved in and out of the harbor, taken
to their moorings or out to sea by the harbor tug; some from Michaelovsk
with the beaver and martin from the Yukon, others _en route_ to
California or to the Sandwich Islands; the supply ships from Kronstadt
around Cape Horn or returning via Canton and the Cape of Good Hope laden
with furs; still others bound for the Kuril Islands or Okhotsk. The
steamer "Nikolai" plied along the passages of the Alexander Archipelago,
exploring the inlets, surveying the bays and rivers, gathering furs,
always furs, for that was the reason for their living on this distant
shore.[15]

[Illustration: Sitka in 1860, Near the Close of the Russian
Administration.]

Near the entrance to the Kolosh village was the market where the natives
were permitted to trade. There they brought their game and fish, their
furs and baskets, to trade