 By 1820 the town shrunk to only five houses; there were two Russian families, a Yakut postmaster, Orthodox missionary father Mikhail and his brother.Wrangel was surprised to find local church well-maintained although father Mikhail was 87 years old.He preached in the Arctic for sixty years, converted around 15 thousand natives, and was still able to cross his enormous parish on horseback and hunt wild game in the mountains.