Dynamics of the fur trade on the middle Yukon River, Alaska, 1839 to 1868 Item Type Thesis Authors Arndt, Katherine Louise Download date 10/10/2021 05:58:52 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9413 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, ■while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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DYNAMICS OF THE FUR TRADE ON THE MIDDLE YUKON RIVER, ALASKA, 1839 TO 1868 A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Katherine Louise Arndt, B.A., M.A. Fairbanks, Alaska May 1996 ° 1996 Katherine Louise Arndt Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9632216 Copyright 1996 by Arndt, Katherine Louise AH rights reserved. UMI Microform 9632216 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. AD rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zed) Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DYNAMICS OF THE FUR TRADE ON THE MIDDLE YUKON RIVER, ALASKA, 1839 TO 1868 By Katherine Louise Arndt RECOMMENDED: f^AsG/fx Ksid fi \u ur/t Q . j 7 . Adyfeory Committed Chair Department Head APPROVED: f \ - f a I 'h & c s Dean, College of Liberal Arts De£n of the Graduate School Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This study examines the Russian-era fur trade of the middle course of the Yukon River, that section of the river which extends from Fort Yukon down to Nulato, Alaska. For a period of just over twenty years, 1847 to 1868, the Russian- American and Hudson’s Bay companies maintained rival establishments at opposite ends of this stretch of river and vied for die trade of die Native populations living in the region between. After reviewing the events leading up to the establishment of the first European posts in the region, the study focuses on the dynamics of the competition between the rival posts and the changing nature of Native, Russian, and British participation in the middle Yukon trade. Most historical summaries of the early (pre-1867) fur trade of the Middle Yukon rely upon a small number of published sources, resulting in a truncated and rather inaccurate version of the region's fur trade history. This study seeks to overcome that problem through utilization of two major archival collections, the records of the Russian-American and Hudson's Bay companies. Together, these sources make possible an account that is more even in temporal coverage and more balanced in its treatment of Russian, British, and Native trade activities. One of the striking features of the early Yukon drainage fur trade is the pivotal role of the Native traders in determining its spatial patterning. Though regional patterns were characterized by a certain overall stability in the period 1830 through 1868, they also underwent marked change. This study examines those changes with regard to the middle Yukon drainage and discusses the influence of material and social factors upon them. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii List of Figures vi Acknowledgements vii Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Background Information 1 Study Context S The Study Area 6 Study Objectives and Approach 10 Compiling an Account 11 Russian-British Competition 14 Comparisons IS Dates, Names, and Other Considerations 16 Chapter 2. The Russian-American Company Reaches the Kvikhpak 19 Background Information 19 Establishment of Mikhailovskii Redoubt 26 Initiation of Trade Out of Mikhailovskii 33 The Kvikhpak Odinochkas, Ikogmiut and Nulato 41 Chapter 3. Reorganizing the Northern Trade 49 Etholen Addresses die Northern Trade 49 WA|/«V»UUVUJ VI MVtttWUOUi Zagoskin’s Results and Recommendations 59 Expansion of Trade Out of Nulato 65 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V Chapter 4. The Hudson's Bay Company Readies the Yukon 71 Background Information 72 Establishment of Fort Yukon 81 The Russian "1117631” 86 Chapter 5. The Shifting Balance of die Yukon Fur Trade 94 Attack on Nulato 103 A Decade of Russian Retrenchment 109 The Competition 119 Changing Role of the Kutchin Traders 127 Chapter 6. The Trade of the 1860S 141 The Northern Trade 143 The Middle Yukon Trade, 1860 to 1865 149 The Middle Yukon Trade, 1865 to 1867 160 The End of an Era 175 Chapter 7. Dynamics of the Middle Yukon Trade: Discussion and Conclusion 184 Changing Spatial Patterns of the Middle Yukon Trade 184 Appendix 1. Native Socio-Territorial Groups Mentioned in Text 197 Appendix 2. Management Recommendations for the Nulato Post 208 Appendix 3. Russian-American Company Management Personnel, 1820 to 1868 216 Appendix 4. Hudson's Bay Comapny Management Personnel and Interpreters at Fort Yukon, 1847 to 1869 223 References Cited 224 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Alaska 8 Figure 2. The Study Area 9 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank- the Hudson's Bay Company for granting research access to their records, both those on microfilm at the Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa, which I consulted in 1981, and the original documents in the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Provincial Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg, which I examined in 1985. The staffs of those archives provided invaluable assistance in locating the materials relevant to my topic. A major part of this research would not have been possible without the facilities, able staff, and extensive microfilm, manuscript, and bode collections of the Alaska and Polar Regions Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson library, University of Alaska Fairbanks. The archives division of that department has been my research home for this and many other projects over the past fifteen years. I particularly thank past directors Paul McCarthy and David Hales and archivist Gretchen Lake for their efforts to assure the availability of the microfilm-reading equipment which has been so vital to my work. A number of individuals have shared information and expertise that facilitated research and/or enhanced the final manuscript. I wish especially to mention Dr. Kenneth Coates, Dr. Craig Mishler, and Dr. William Schneider for sharing unpublished papers; Rose Speranza for bringing the journals of Reverend Robert McDonald to my attention; the specialists at the Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, for assistance in putting Native group and place names into the practical orthographies developed for those languages; and James R. Marcotte for computer-drafting my maps. I thank my graduate committee—Dr. Lydia T. Black (chair), Dr. Richard A. Pierce, Dr. Wm. Roger Powers, and Dr. Peter P. Schweitzer—for their encouragement and suggestions. I especially thank Dr. Black and Dr. Pierce for sharing their time, ideas, libraries, research files, and much useful translation and vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. research advice in this and other projects. Dr. Black in particular has brought to my attention a number of manuscript collections I might otherwise have overlooked. Finally, I thank my husband, James A. Ketz, for introducing me to the topic of Russian-America, challenging me to try my hand at reading Russian manuscript material, and sharing in the many joys and difficulties of research along the way. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In this study I examine die Russian-era fur trade of the middle course of die Yukon River,