Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/297

Rh one of these harbors is Petropavlovsk (Port of St. Peter and St. Paul), the principal place of trade in Kamtchatka. Once it had a population of two or three thousand. It was attacked by the allied fleets in the Crimean War, and suffered severely. After the war the naval headquarters were removed to Nicolayevsk, at the mouth of the Amoor."

"There is an interesting bit of history connected with the attack upon Petropavlovsk," Mr. Hegeman remarked, as the Doctor paused.

"In the autumn of 1854 a combined fleet of six English and French ships attacked Petropavlovsk, and were twice beaten off by some land batteries and a Russian frigate moored in the harbor. Their commanders determined to make an assault by land with a strong force of sailors and

marines. They attempted to take the town in the rear, but the Russian sharp-shooters created a panic among them, and drove the assailants over a steep bank about two hundred feet high.

"The English admiral committed suicide in consequence of his disappointment, and the fleet sailed away. Next year seventeen ships came there together, as the allies had determined to conquer the town at all hazards. The Russians abandoned the place and retired over the hills, but they left five or six hundred dogs behind them. The allied fleet remained