Sitka was originally settled by Russians in the early 1800's. They came to Alaska in search of sea otters which they slaughtered in great numbers to obtain their pelts. Sea otter fur is extremely soft because it is so dense: otters have no blubber layer under their skin to keep them warm. Instead they trap air in their fur which has between 700,000 and 1 million hairs per square inch. No other creature on earth has fur like this.