So seductive were the
festivities of the day and the pleasures of the dance, that they were
not closed until a late hour of the night, or rather until an early
hour in the morning.
Among the numerous vessels of many nations at anchor in the harbour is
a Russian brig from Sitca, the central port of the Russian-American Fur
Company, on the northwestern coast of this continent. She is commanded
by Lieutenant Ruducoff of the Russian navy, and is here to be freighted
with wheat to supply that settlement with breadstuff. Sitca is situated
in a high northern latitude, and has a population of some four or five
thousand inhabitants. A large portion of these, I conjecture, are
christianized natives or Indians. Many of the crew of this vessel are
the aborigines of the country to which she belongs, and from which she
last sailed. I noticed, however, from an inscription, that the brig was
built at Newburyport, Massachusetts, showing that the autocrat of all
the Russias is tributary, to some extent, to the free Yankees of New
England for his naval equipment. On the 11th of October, by invitation
of Lieutenant Ruducoff, in company of Mr.
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