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Andrew Cook request me to forward the following, since he is away
from his subscribing connection this week
Please excuse a late contribution on Dutch Harbour, as I have been
away from my reference works. I don't think I have so far seen
anyone citing Donald J Orth, Dictionary of Alaska Place Names (US
Dept of Interior, Geological Survey Professional Paper 567:
Washington 1967, revised 1971):
'Dutch Harbor [...] It was so named by the Russians because it is
believed that a Dutch vessel was the first to enter the harbor;
Father Veniaminov ([Ioann Veniaminov, Zapiski ob ostrovakh
Unalashkinskago otdiyela (Notes on the islands of the Unalaska
District), St Petersburg, Imperial Academy of Sciences, 3 vols in 2]
1840, v 1, p 188) reported that earlier navigators called it
"Holland Harbor". Its Aleut name was published by Lt Sarichev, IRN
([G A Sarichev, Atlas Svernoy chasti Vostochnago Okeana, sostavlen v
chertezhnoy Gosudarstvennago Admiraltezhkago Departamenta, s Novg
yshikh opisey i kart, Pod Rukovodstvom Viche-Admirala i Gidrografa
Sarycheva (Atlas of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, compiled
in sheets by the Imperial Navy Department from the latest reports
and maps, under the direction of Vice-Admiral and Hydrographer
Sarychev), St Petersburg, 33 sheets] 1826, map 14, dated 1792), as
"Udakhta", which may be derived from the words "uddaq" and
"daxtakuqing". According to R H Geoghegan [The Aleut language, the
elements of Aleut grammar with a dictionary in two parts containing
basic vocabularies of Aleut and English, ed Fredericka I Martin, US
Dept of Interior, Washington 1944], these words mean "bay" and "to
rest". Sarichev may have used this name because he spent the winter
of 1791-92 in this bay (Lutke, 1836 [F P Lutke, Voyage autour du
monde, execute par ordre de Sa Majeste l'empereur Nicolas 1er, sur
la corvette Seniavine, dane las annees 1826-1829, St Petersburg 1836], p 282).'
As Sarichev visited 'Udakhta' harbour over 40 years before
Veniaminov published, it might be useful to ask an expert in Aleut
whether the local pronunciation of 'Udakhta' is such as might allow
the inference of its possible corruption by visiting non-Aleut
speakers to 'Dutch', or whether the 'Holland Harbor' of Veniaminov's
'earlier navigators' should take precedence. I regret I do not have
enough of Russian to tackle Veniaminov directly.
Hope this helps Dee
Andrew Cook
Peter van der Krogt
List-owner MapHist
List-info: http://www.maphist.nl
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