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Another loop trail continues across the Indian River footbridge past the Memorial to the Russian Midshipmen who died in the Battle of Sitka. PARK
DAY FOUR
The day began with a naval bombardment of cannon fire.
During pauses in the cannon fire the Russians made offers to the Kiks.ádi to end the battle. The Kiks.ádi rejected all offers.
The cannon fire resumed.
Late in the afternoon the Kiks.ádi made an offer to accept the Russian terms. They will leave Shís'gi Noow the next day.
The Kiks.ádi made this offer to prevent the Russians from attacking while the clan was involved in the last minute preparations to start the Survival March.
A special signal was arranged to indicate that the Kiks.ádi were ready to leave.
After dark the Kiks.ádi gathered for the last time in Shís'gi Noow. The remaining elders thanked everyone for defending the homeland of the Kiks.ádi against a hated, but formidable, enemy.
The House Chiefs formally addressed the people to thank them for their bravery in battle and for agreeing to go on the Survival March to the north.
The clan gathered together for one last song in Shís'gi Noow to signal the Russians that they were ready to leave.
It was a extremely sad song sung from the heart of everyone in the fort.
It expressed their pain and anguish at the outcome of this great battle, it expressed their grief at the loss of Shís'gi Noow and Noow Tlein, their tribal houses, their many canoes and their ceremonial regalia.
It gave vent to all the grief they still felt for the loss of so many friends and relatives. They remembered the lost warriors who were their grandfathers, fathers, uncles, husbands, brothers and sons as well as the grandmothers, mothers, aunts, wives, sisters and daughters who died in the naval bombardment.
They remembered the young house chiefs-to-be who died when the canoe carrying the gunpowder blew up.
The warriors mourned the loss of another chance to fight hand to hand combat with their hated enemies.
The song ended with a loud drum roll and a wail of anguish.
The Kiks.ádi made their final preparations and left Shís'gi Noow for the last time.
Where did they go?
How long did it take?
We do know that a strong Rear Guard stayed behind and harassed the Russians for several weeks to confuse them about the direction the Kiks.ádi had taken.
The legends and stories about the Survival March differ a great deal. No one knows the exact route for sure.
I researched the stories and interviewed many of the elders before reaching the conclusion that the only way to know for certain would be to "walk the walk" as the young people say.
After the Tlingits fled, the Russians burned the fort. [74]
The Russians were not sure where the Tlingits had gone. For a long time, all Russian hunting parties were on constant guard against attack. A few days after the battle, eight Aleuts were killed in Jamestown Bay and another was shot in the woods near the Russians' new fort. [75]
The Tlingits escaped by following Indian River to its head and crossing the mountains to Katlean Bay. There they constructed canoes and moved to "Olga Point" where they lived for a year before moving to "Deadman's Reach" and finally to Sitkoh Bay on Peril Straits. At Sitkoh Bay they built a new village called Choch-Kanu, Halibut Fort. [76]
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