Russian schooner Nikolai facts for kids

The Nikolai (Russian: Николай) was a schooner ship owned by the Russian-American Company. In November 1808, it was sent by Chief Manager Alexander Baranov to explore the Oregon Country. During a big storm, the ship got stuck on the Olympic Peninsula coast. The crew had to leave the ship behind.

After the shipwreck, the crew faced challenges from the local Hoh people. The Hoh were worried about outsiders. The crew had very little food and had to find supplies from local villages to survive. Many crew members later lived with the Makah people, working for them in exchange for food and safety. Makah leaders promised to free them when another European ship arrived. An American ship visited Neah Bay in the spring of 1810. The Russian-American Company employees were then freed and returned to Novo-Arkhangelsk. Because the Nikolai failed to find a good spot for a new trading post, the Russian-American Company later decided to build Fort Ross in Alta California instead.

The schooner was named after Saint Nicholas (Святой Николай). It is sometimes called Sv. Nikolai.

Exploring the Southern Coast

The Nikolai was sent to explore the coast south of Vancouver Island. Its mission was to trade for sea otter furs with local people. They also hoped to find a good place for a permanent Russian trading post in the Oregon Country. The ship had 22 people on board. This included Russian traders, an Englishman, and seven Alutiiq people.

On November 13, 1808, a strong storm with huge waves pushed the ship onto a beach. This happened north of the Quillayute River and James Island. Members of the Hoh nation arrived that day to look at the stranded ship. Timofei Tarakanov, one of the officers, told his crew to try to avoid fighting with them.

They tried to talk with a Hoh leader using Chinook Jargon. However, a fight started, caused by the Russians. Three Hoh people were killed. Many of the Nikolai crew were hurt by rocks and spears. After the fight, the Russian crew took some guns, a pistol, and all their remaining supplies. They then destroyed the weapons left on the ship. The group then started to leave the area. They hoped to reach a place where their leader, Baranov, had said another Russian ship might visit.

Crew Stranded and Struggling

The Russians from the Russian American Company's ship St Nicholai are attacked by the natives

Hoh scouts watched the group as they traveled north along the coast. On November 19, they reached the mouth of the Hoh River. This was about 14 miles (22 km) from where their ship wrecked. The main Hoh village was across the river from where the Nikolai crew was. The next day, two canoes began to ferry some of the crew across the river. One larger canoe was purposely sunk by Hoh canoemen in the middle of the river. The seven Russians on that canoe swam back to the bank where the rest of their group waited. Another battle began, and one Russian was fatally wounded by a spear.

The Hoh people kept four passengers from the other canoe as hostages. These included two Alaska Natives, one Russian trader, and Anna Bulygina. Anna was the 18-year-old wife of the expedition leader, Nikolai Bulygin. After this event, the remaining Nikolai crew members began to wander through the coastal forests. Nikolai Bulygin was very sad about losing his wife. He asked Tarakanov to lead the group.

They quickly faced starvation. They found a village on November 27. The homes were empty except for one teenager. He told them that the villagers had run away when they knew the Russians were coming. Tarakanov later reported, "Each of us grabbed twenty-five fish in bundles." About 25 native warriors soon tracked down the men. No crew members were badly hurt in the fight that followed. But it pushed them further into the forest.

They eventually found another small village. However, the local people were not willing to give them the large amount of supplies they needed. Tarakanov said they felt they had the right to take what they needed by force. But they chose to trade instead. They traded glass and metal beads for bags of salmon and fish eggs. The crew kept looking for a good place to build a shelter for the winter.

Later, a small group of local people visited their shelter. The Russians took the son of a leader captive. They demanded 400 salmon and 10 bags of fish eggs for his release. A week later, about 70 local people brought the supplies and a canoe. The Russians gave the leader some clothing items as a sign of goodwill. Bulygin took command of the group again. They left the shelter on February 8, 1809. A local person led them to a river where they saw people connected to the capture of their four crew members. The Russians took two local people hostage. They demanded the return of their own people. The Russians learned that a neighboring leader had bought the four captives. But the relatives of the local hostages agreed to help get them back.

Life with the Makah

A week later, about 50 Makah people arrived, and Anna Bulygina was with them. Anna said that even though she was a captive, her owner, Yutramaki, was a good and honest man. He was well-known along the coast. He promised to free them when two European ships came into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the group agreed to live with the Makah. They were traded among leaders in different villages. The remaining crew members were also taken in by local groups. During the winter of 1809–1810, some Russian traders left their owners and went to Yutramaki because they were starving.

At first, the Makah leader did not want to return the Russians. But Tarakanov made their owners agree to feed them better. On May 18, 1810, an American merchant ship called Lydia visited Yutramakai's village at Neah Bay. A Russian from the Nikolai was on board. He had been sold further south along the Columbia River. Captain Brown of the Lydia worked with Yutramakai to free the scattered Nikolai crew. Captain Brown bought them by May 22. The Lydia then sailed to New Archangel and arrived there on June 9.

During their time stranded on the Olympic Peninsula, seven of the crew members died. This included Nikolai and Anna Bulygin.

Impact of the Journey

When Tarakanov and the remaining crew returned to Novo-Arkhangelsk, his report greatly influenced the company's future plans. Tarakanov described the area as difficult and unwelcoming. This led the Russian-American Company to focus their expansion efforts on Alta California instead. This is where Fort Ross was founded in 1812.

Historian Alton S. Donnelly explained that Tarakanov and his shipmates did not find a good harbor. They also did not find many new fur resources. And they did not meet any Native American groups eager to work for the Company. The journey of the Sv. Nikolai did not show the fertile farmlands of the interior, like the Willamette Valley. After 1810, neither Baranov nor the leaders who came after him showed much interest in the Oregon Country.