Translated into English by Irina Vladi L. Wender. The contemporaneous copy of the original handwritten document is archived in the Russian State Library (Moscow, Russian Federation), Manuscript Division, f. 204. k.32. d. 39. fols. 1–2v.
He, Ivan Kyglaia, and one of the escapees, Philip Atash’sha from Kaguyak [village on Kodiak Island, Alaska], decided on a different plan of escape. They stole a canoe and came to the same place, San Pedro, where they were originally captured. Then they moved to Catalina Island, and from there to Santa Barbara Island. From there, they moved to San Nicolas Island. It all happened in a very short time as the weather was very nice. The native people of San Nicolas Island were happy of their arrival and their stay on the island. They hunted cormorants and used their meat for food and their skins for clothing the Indians and themselves. Philip Atash’sha died after a year on San Nicolas Island. In the fall of last year, 1818, two Spanish three-masted ships stayed at San Nicolas Island for three days—there was very little wind. Every day the Spaniards came to the island on rowboats, the Indians gathered for them some vegetation in the grass that had a fruit similar to berries with a rather pleasant taste. When the Spaniards arrived, Kyglaia went into hiding and Indians assisted him in that.
Last updated: November 16, 2017