St Matthew

St Matthew is an isolated island in the Bering Sea, with treeless hills and shores exposed to cold winds and fog. Seabirds nest along its cliffs, while the surrounding waters and ice are home to marine mammals. Far from the Aleutian chain and the Alaskan mainland, the island offered a difficult destination for hunters crossing the northern sea.

In 1809 the Russian-American Company sent a hunting party under Kulikov to spend the long winter on St Matthew. According to one account, poor preparations left the men stricken with scurvy; Kulikov and more than half the party died. After his death Arkhimandritov took command. The survivors returned to Unalaska in 1810, bringing Arctic fox pelts, walrus ivory and bear skins obtained on the island.