Pavlutskiy

Finally, a Russian general named Pavlutskiy decided he could handle the Chukchis. In an incredibly stupid move, Pavlutskiy plowed into a narrow ravine to finish them off. Of course, the Cukchis were just sitting there in ambush, not daring to hope that the Russian general could possibly be dumb enough to trap himself in this way. But he was. The surprised Chukchis then killed the Russians, including Pavlutskiy, and confiscated their guns.

Although the Chukchis did not have a clue how to use their newfound weapons, they did have the foresight to capture some disaffected Russian serfs, who gladly passed along their firearms lore. The serfs didn't like the Russian army or the Cossacks any better tan the Chukchis did.

By this ime, the Russians finally decided that it would be smarter al around just to leave the Chukchis alone. They conquered Chukchi land by merely proclaiming they had conquered it, and that was that. This was sufficient for their purposes, apparently, becaue no one bothered to check. For their part, the Chukchis didn't care what the Russians proclaimed, especially because the 1837 treaty they negotiated stated that no Russians could enter the country and that the Chukchis were excused from paying any taxes.