it would have run, to reach the ideal mountains, if, instead of being a chain such as these ideal mountains were supposed to be, they are sporadic. disconnected peaks, or even formations of some extent, with sotne scinblance of continuity, if, instead of forming a generally uni- form Iarrier, which was continued around, and generally parallel with all of the coust, they, except for comparatively short stretches, are discontinued, and, instead of being parallel to, wre perpendicular to large extents of the coast. then merely because they are mountains, and the other motntains do not exist, they cannot be substituted for them,
The negotiations were broken off without anything further being said as to the mountains.
Ina letter of April 11, 1824, to Mordvinof, Coant Nesselrode makes plain what character of protection Russia demanded. He said:
For this only one expedient presents itself: to extablizh at some distanve from the coast a frontier-line which shall not be infringed bw our establishments and trippers, as also by the hunters of the [ludson's Bay Company. The Vlenipotentiaries on both sides equally recognized the necessity of this measure; but the width of the coast-line necessary for the safe existence and consolidation of our Colonies, the tlirection of the frontier, and even its starting point on the Continent of America, still form subjects of negotiation, and the British Amiasador has declared that for eontioning them he must seek new instructions from his Court. IT shall not repeat that in these negotiations with England we took, and will continue to take, into equal eousideration on the one side the requirements and interests of the establish- ments of the Russian-American Company, and, on the ether, the degree of its rights of possession in the interior of the Continent of America, and the ineasure of the tacthods for firmly securing to the Company the possession of these territories.
As I have said above, for the peaceful existence of our Colonics wore than all is it necessary to determine with accoracy the frontier, the extent of the country between the coast, and this froutier must be sufficient and be in correspemdence with the condition to what these establishments will, in all probability, in time attain, and le their means of own defence.[1]
Ie suys. it is necessary to determine the frontier with acenrney, and that it must be a suflicient defence not only for present, ut for future establishments.
We now advance the next step, as shown by the record, toward a detinite designation as to what the Russians had in view in their pro- posal as to the mountains, and how Mr, Canning understood it.
- ↑ U. S. C. App., 167.
