which we obtained at Avateha, and one or two baskets. As I was well aware of the exact meaning of this attention, I did not hesitate in receiving it, particularly as I had brought with me presents of tea, sugar, and other comforts.
He then took me through the fish and oil establishment, which was inches deep in hardened filth and seal-oil; and thence to the room containing peltry. I was much disappointed at the quality of the furs. They comprised sea-otter, sable, rat, squirrel, fox, wolf, bear, seal, and beaver, very large and heavy. The only desirable skins were those of the sea-otter and sable, and they were not first-rate. As it is strictly forbidden to sell anything, and our visit bound us in honour not to permit anything of the sort, I felt little inclination to remain in this valuable repository.
This establishment of the Imperial Russian Fur Company consists of the official resident, eight Russians, and fifty Aleutian and other allies. The houses are included in a substantial wooden quadrangle, furnished at its sea angles with two octagonal turrets, capped in the old English style, and pierced with loop-holes and ports; the summits of the lines are armed with spikes of wood. It is calculated to sustain a tolerable siege, under determined hands. The sleeping apartments, or "'tween decks," as we should term them, are desperately filthy. The whole range is warmed by Dutch-ovens, and the sides being eighteen inches in thickness, are
