Forwarding see Transport forwarding agreement.

Kamchatka salmon (mykizha) Kamchatka salmon, or mykizha - (Salmo mikiss) is a rare endemic species of Far Eastern noble salmon, belonging to the same genus of real salmon as salmon with trout (other salmon of the Far East: chum salmon, chinook salmon, sima, etc. , - relate

First Kamchatka expedition

Curious by nature and, like an enlightened monarch, preoccupied with the benefits for the country, the first Russian emperor was keenly interested in travel descriptions. The king and his advisers knew about the existence of Anian - that was the name of the strait between Asia and America - and hoped to use it for practical purposes. At the end of 1724, Peter I remembered "... what he had been thinking about for a long time and that other things prevented him from undertaking, that is, about the road through the Arctic Sea to China and India ... Will we not be happier in researching such a path than the Dutch and the British? ..." and without postponing, drew up an order for an expedition. Its chief was the captain of the 1st rank, later the captain-commander, forty-four-year-old Vitus Jonassen (in Russian usage - Ivan Ivanovich) Bering, who had already served in Russia for twenty-one years.

The tsar handed him a secret instruction written in his own hand, according to which Bering had to "... in Kamchatka or in another ... place to make one or two boats with decks"; sail on these bots "near the land that goes to the north ... to look for where it came together with America ... and to visit the coast ourselves ... and, putting on the stake, to come here."

The land going north (north) is nothing more than the mysterious "Land of Juan da Gama" - a large land mass, supposedly stretching in a northwestern direction near the coast of Kamchatka (on the king's German map "Kamchadalia" 1722 of the year). Thus, in fact, Peter I set for the Bering expedition the task of reaching this land, walking along its coast, finding out whether it connects with North America, and tracing the coast of the mainland south to the possessions of European states. The official task was to resolve the issue of "whether America converged with Asia" and to open the Northern Sea Route.

The first Kamchatka expedition, which initially consisted of 34 people, set off from St. Petersburg on January 24, 1725. Moving through Siberia, they went to Okhotsk on horseback and on foot, on ships along the rivers. The last 500 km from the mouth of the Yudoma to Okhotsk, the heaviest loads were dragged, themselves harnessed to sledges. Terrible frosts and hunger reduced the composition of the expedition by 15 people. The pace of movement of travelers is evidenced by at least the following fact: the advance detachment led by V. Bering arrived in Okhotsk on October 1, 1726, and the group of Lieutenant Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg, a Dane in Russian service, that closed the expedition, got there only on January 6, 1727. to live until the end of winter, people had to build several huts and sheds.

The road through the vastness of Russia took two years. Along this entire path, equal to a fourth of the length of the earth's equator, Lieutenant Aleksey Ilyich Chirikov identified 28 astronomical points, which made it possible for the first time to reveal the true latitudinal extent of Siberia, and therefore the northern part of Eurasia.

The expedition members traveled from Okhotsk to Kamchatka on two small ships. For the continuation of the sea journey, it was necessary to build and equip the “St. Gabriel ", on which on July 14, 1728 the expedition went to sea. As the authors of "Sketches on the History of Geographical Discoveries" note, V. Bering, having misunderstood the tsar's plan and violating the instructions that ordered first to go from Kamchatka to the south or east, headed north along the coast of the peninsula, and then northeast along the mainland ...

“As a result,” it says further in “Sketches ...”, more than 600 km of the northern half of the eastern coast of the peninsula were filmed, the Kamchatsky and Ozernaya peninsulas, as well as the Karaginsky Bay with the island of the same name, were identified ... East Asia. Along most of the coast, they noted high mountains, and in summer covered with snow, approaching in many places directly to the sea and towering over it like a wall. " In addition, they discovered the Gulf of the Cross (not knowing that it had already been discovered by K. Ivanov), the Bay of Providence and the island of St. Lawrence.

However, "The Land of Juan da Gama" was still not shown. V. Bering, seeing neither the American coast nor the turn to the west of the Chukchi coast, ordered A. Chirikov and M. Shpanberg to state their opinions in writing, whether the presence of a strait between Asia and America can be considered proven, whether we should move further to the north and how far ... As a result of this "written meeting" Bering decided to go further north. On August 16, 1728, the sailors passed through the strait and ended up in the Chukchi Sea. Then Bering turned back, officially motivating his decision by the fact that everything was done according to the instructions, the coast does not extend further to the north, and "no one approached the Chukotsky, or Vostochny, corner of the earth." After spending another winter in Nizhnekamchatsk, in the summer of 1729, Bering again made an attempt to reach the American coast, but after walking a little more than 200 km, due to strong wind and fog, he ordered to return.

The first expedition described the southern half of the eastern and a small part of the western coast of the peninsula for more than 1000 km between the mouths of Kamchatka and Bolshoi, revealing the Kamchatka Bay and Avachinskaya Bay. Together with Lieutenant A.I. Chirikov and midshipman Peter Avraamovich Chaplin Bering drew up the final map of the voyage. Despite a number of errors, this map was much more accurate than the previous ones and was highly appreciated by D. Cook. A detailed description of the first marine scientific expedition in Russia was preserved in the logbook, which was kept by Chirikov and Chaplin.

The Northern Expedition would not have achieved success without auxiliary campaigns led by Cossack Colonel Afanasy Fedotovich Shestakov, Captain Dmitry Ivanovich Pavlutsky, geodesist Mikhail Spiridonovich Gvozdev and navigator Ivan Fedorov.

It was M. Gvozdev and I. Fedorov who completed the opening of the strait between Asia and America, begun by Dezhnev and Popov. They examined both sides of the strait, the islands located in it, and collected all the materials needed to put the strait on the map.

Bykasov V.E. First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions: People, Events, Historical Assessment // News of the Russian Geographical Society. 2004. T. 136. Iss. 3.P. 72–80.

V. E. BYKASOV

FIRST AND SECOND KAMCHATKA EXPEDITIONS: PEOPLE, EVENTS, HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT

The famous First and Second Kamchatka expeditions have their own long and glorious prehistory, during which the Russians, moving "to meet the sun" from one unknown "land" to another, reached the Pacific Ocean. So, in 1639, the detachment of I. Yu. Moskvitin, passing from the lower reaches of the Aldan to the Ulya River, came to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk south of present-day Okhotsk. In 1647, S. A. Shelkovnikov's detachment founded the Okhotsk prison, the first Russian port on the Pacific coast. Two years later, in 1649, the detachment of Semyon Dezhnev, after the collapse of their kochi in the area of ​​the southern coast of the Anadyr Bay, founded the Anadyr prison. In 1651, the detachment of M.V. Stadukhin, leaving the Anadyr prison, reached the mouth of the river. Penjiny, where two sea koch were built (4). following on these mounds along the Taigonos Peninsula, the Cossacks of the detachment were the first Russians to see the northwestern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Or, as M. V. Stadukhin himself reported (5), the southern "nose" east of Gizhiga ("Chendon").

Several years later, fugitive Cossacks Leonty Fedotov and Savva Anisimov Seroglaz (Sharoglaz) penetrated into Kamchatka, in the area of ​​the Lesnaya River (Voyemli - Lomannaya) and, possibly, the Rusakova River. There they could have been found in 1658 (6) by a detachment of I. I. Kamchaty, who quite possibly visited the Kamchatka River itself. In 1662-1663, wintering on the river. Kamchatka was led by the detachment of the clerk of the Anadyr prison, the Cossack foreman I.M. Rubts (5). In 1695-1696, on the instructions of the Anadyr Pentecostal V. Atlasov in northern Kamchatka, up to the village. Tigil, a detachment of serviceman Luka Morozko passed. And in 1697-1699, Vladimir Atlasov himself, having walked with a detachment of 60 service Cossacks and 60 yasak Yukaghirs on reindeer across the entire peninsula, finally annexed Kamchatka to the Russian Empire (2).

Thus, the campaign of Vladimir Atlasov ended the more than half-century epic of Russia's access to the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, he not only managed to make the first and fairly complete description of the nature of the peninsula, but also reported the first data about the Kuril Islands and confirmed the opinion that had already been established since the voyage of de Vries (1643) about the proximity of Japan to the eastern borders of Russia. However, the annexation of Kamchatka, simultaneously with the solution of a specific one - the imposition of fur yasak on the local population - posed new problems as well. Among them, the intrastate task of finding shorter and more reliable routes to the peninsula was highlighted in order to deliver people and goods to Kamchatka and the collected yasak back with less effort and loss and much faster. And no less, if not more, an important task of the foreign policy (geopolitical) plan is to establish direct trade relations with Asian - with Japan - countries across the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

This new understanding of the problems of the extreme North-East of the Russian Empire was first of all manifested in the interest of Peter I, at whose insistence already in 1702 the Siberian order ordered the Yakut provincial chancellery to send "eager people" to Kamchatka to navigate the way to Japan through the Kuril Islands. However, due to a number of circumstances (the war with Sweden), this interest did not turn into practical matters at that time.

This interest was not realized a little later. First after when, at the end of September 1703, 22 Cossacks led by Rodion Presnetsov came to the shores of Avacha Bay - one of the best and most beautiful harbors in the world (5). And then after 1711 and 1713, when the detachments of the Cossacks, first led by Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky, and then led by I. Kozyrevsky, visited the northern Kuril Islands, made their first maps and replenished the stock of information about Japan with new data.

Nevertheless, the idea of ​​finding sea routes to Kamchatka, and, from there, to Japan, China and the East Indies, did not leave the first emperor of Russia. And in 1714, by order of the tsar, experienced shipbuilders K. Moshkov, N. Treska, I. Butin, J. Neveitsyn, K. Ploskikh, F. Fedorov, I. Kargopol and others were sent to Okhotsk, through Yakutsk. which in 1716, 75 miles from the mouth of the river. Kukhtui, and the first Russian sea-going vessel Vostok boat was built in the Pacific Ocean (length 8.5 fathoms, width 3 fathoms, draft at full load of 3.5 fathoms). And after the sailors N. Treska and K. Sokolov in 1714-1717, having sailed from Okhotsk on this boat, reached Kamchatka, they conducted research on a part of the West Kamchatka coast from the mouth of the river. Tigil up to, possibly, the mouth of the river. Krutogorova and, having overwintered on the peninsula, returned to Okhotsk, Peter I personally handed the surveyors I.M. Evreinov and F.F. Luzhin on January 2 (hereinafter, all dates are indicated in the old style, B.V.) 1719 instructions, in which he commanded them to go from Okhotsk to Kamchatka and further to the Kuril Islands and Japan. In pursuance of which I. M. Evreinov, F. F. Luzhin and the seaman K. Moshkov on the same boat "Vostok" in 1721 reached the central part (presumably the island of Simushira) of the Kuril Islands and received new information about Japan. What I.M. Evreinov reported to the tsar at a meeting in Kazan on November 30, 1722 (8).

It can be assumed that most likely it was this report that had a decisive influence on the Tsar's opinion when choosing options for the further development of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. And there were several such options. So, back in 1713, the ship master FS Saltykov proposed to build ships at the mouths of Siberian rivers so that by sea, bypassing Kamchatka, reach China and other lands. He, and in the same year, proposed to build ships in Arkhangelsk and move from here to the Asian shores. And quite shortly before the report of I.M. Evreinov, in 1772, the scientist-hydrographer and future governor of Siberia F.I.Soimonov, taking into account the enormous difficulties in the administrative, state, material-supply and trade relations of the central regions of Russia with the Pacific outskirts, proposed Peter I to send several ships from Kronstadt, around Asia to Kamchatka and further to America (to California), which, in his opinion, would be much more capable and break even than overland communication, not to mention the prospects that are opening up.

However, the first Russian emperor chose a different (including, probably, and because the passage through the Baltic was impossible to hide from prying eyes) - through Okhotsk to Kamchatka and further - the option. On December 23, 1724, he signed a decree on "equipping" the Kamchatka expedition with a very wide range of tasks and problems to be solved. This is how these tasks were determined by the tsar's own handwritten instructions (8), drawn up by him on the very eve of his death.

« 1725 January 6. - Instruction of Peter I to V.Y. Bering on the tasks of the First Kamchatka expedition:

1. It is necessary to make one or two boats with decks in Kamchatka, or in another place there.

2. On these bots (to swim) near the land, which goes to the north, and by aspiration (they do not know the end of it) it seems that that land is a part of America.

3. And in order to look for where this met with America, and to get to which city of European possessions; or if they see what kind of ship is European, visit from him, as this bush is called, and take it for a letter, and visit the shore ourselves, and take a subscription list, and, putting on the line, come syudy».

Fleet captain V. Bering, a Dane in the Russian service, an experienced and well-proven military sailor, was appointed as the head of the expedition. And the main tasks of the expedition, in modern terms, were to establish the presence (or absence) of a strait between Asia and North America, to assess the possibility of reaching China, Japan and the East Indies across the Arctic Ocean, to determine the distances between Asia and America, as well as to reach those lands in America, which already have European settlements. The expedition, which included 69 people, departed from St. Petersburg in February 1725, but reached Okhotsk only a year and a half later (October 1, 1726) - the way was so long and difficult. And a year later, on July 1, 1727, the shitik "Fortuna" left Okhotsk under the command of M. P Shpanberg, on board of which there were 48 people, including ship masters G. Putilov and F. Kozlov. A month and a half later, on August 18, the rest of the expedition members on the same "Fortune" and in a boat built in 1720 sailed from Okhotsk and arrived in Bolsheretsk in early September.

Throughout the winter, the expedition staff transported, with the help of local authorities and local residents, property and equipment to Nizhne-Kamchatsk, not far from which the Saint Gabriel boat was laid. In the summer of 1728, the firstborn of the Kamchatka Navy (length - 18.3 m, width - 6.1 m, depth of the hold - 2.3 m), built under the leadership of F. Kozlov, was launched. And on July 14, the boat, with 44 crew members on board, left the mouth of the river. Kamchatka into the sea and headed along the eastern coast of the peninsula to the north. The commander of the ship was V. Bering himself, the closest assistants were Lieutenants A. I. Chirikov and M. P. Shpanberg, as well as midshipman P. A. Chaplin and sailor K. Moshkov.

Unfortunately, the drawings and maps available at that time could not provide sufficient confident navigation along the intended route. And constant fogs, rains and low clouds forced the sailors to stay close to the coast, which required special caution and led to frequent maneuvering and, hence, to the loss of time. But most importantly, all this led to the fact that even after passing, as it turned out later, the strait between Asia and America, the crew did not see the American coast. This not only diminished the success of the expedition, but later gave reason to accuse V. Bering of improperly following the instructions, because her main goal, as many, starting with G. Steller (9) researchers, were assured of, was precisely to establish the presence (or absence) strait between two continents.

However, most likely, in this case, both G. Steller and all other adherents of this view of the goal of the expedition were not entirely right. Firstly, because the famous Dutch geographer Nicholas Witsen wrote about the existence of the strait between Asia and America as a real fact back in 1705 (6). He could only know about this from specific materials, some of which were provided to him personally by Peter I. And it is possible that among these materials there could be data from the same I. Rubets. And, secondly, because if the search for America and finding ways to the countries of Southeast Asia were not the main tasks of the First Kamchatka expedition, the organization of the Second Kamchatka expedition literally immediately after the completion of the work of the First (among the goals of which, by the way, sailing to the strait even did not appear) it is simply impossible to explain.

But back on board the St. Gabriel. The decision to turn back was not very easy. On August 13, 1728, when the boat was in the Chukchi Sea, V. Bering convened an officers' council, at which it was necessary to decide whether to return back, on which M. Spanberg insisted, or to continue sailing further, to the mouth of the river. Kolyma in order to finally be convinced of the existence of the desired strait, on which A. Chirikov stood. However, there was really little time for both, and V. Bering decided to return to Kamchatka. On August 16, the ship turned back and already on September 2, 1728, it entered the mouth of the river. Kamchatka. Thus ended the first 34-day voyage of the Russians from Kamchatka to the Bering Strait.

After wintering, on June 5, 1729, the ship again went to sea in search of land, which, according to the assurances of local residents, lay opposite the mouth of the river. Kamchatka. However, in the fog, the Bering Island - that is, exactly the land that the bot was looking for and past which the bot passed - was never noticed, and therefore "Saint Gabriel" headed for the First Kuril Strait. Passing by Avacha Bay, the crew plotted landmarks on the map, allowing them to more accurately determine its location. Then, on July 3, the bot arrived in Bolsheretsk, and 20 days later returned to Okhotsk.

Thus, the First Kamchatka Expedition ended. Its results, in spite of everything, turned out to be very significant. In particular, in the very first printed message about the achievements of the expedition, published in the St. Petersburg Gazette of March 16, 1730, it was reported that the Saint Gabriel bot under the command of V. Bering had reached 67 ° 19 ′ north latitude, and that : " Tamo there is a truly northeastern passage, so that from the Lena ... by water to Kamchatka and so on to Japan, Khina (China) and the East Indies it would be possible to reach". That is, even then there was no doubt that one of the goals - the opening of the strait - the expedition still managed to achieve.

In general, both the voyage to the Bering Strait itself, and the cartographic and navigational material that was obtained at the same time (the entire coast was plotted from the mouth of the Bolshoi River to Cape Lopatka and from Cape Lopatka to Cape Kekurny in the Bering Strait, while midshipman P.A.Chaplin in 1729 compiled a map of the northeastern part of the Bering Strait itself), served as the basis for further research of Russian sailors in this part of the Pacific Ocean. The first of which, in time, was supposed to be the navigation of the navigator J. Gens on the boat "St. Gabriel" to the Anadyr mouth. But due to bad weather, this voyage, which began on July 20, 1731, did not take place. And therefore, the second (from 23 July to 28 September 1732) Russian voyage from Kamchatka to the Bering Strait and to the American shores took place only a year later, when an expedition led by surveyors I. Fedorov and M. Gvozdev set off on the same "St. Gabriel" to the "Big Land", located east of the mouth of the river. Anadyr. And I must say that this time the sailors not only saw the shores of both continents and communicated with their inhabitants, but also partially put them on the map.

And yet, referring to the results of the First Kamchatka Expedition itself, it should be said once again that its results did not satisfy the Senate. And above all because the expedition did not manage to reach the shores of North America. In this connection, the Senate considered it necessary to organize (by the way, before receiving news from I. Fedorov and M. Gvozdev, which meant only the bottom - there was simply no need for data confirming the existence of the strait between Asia and America, B.V.) a new expedition to the shores of Kamchatka, the plan of which was developed and, then, carried out, under the leadership of the President of the Admiralty Collegium N. F. Golovin and with the participation of the compiler of the Atlas of the Russian Empire IK Kirillov (3).

By the decree of Empress Anna Ioanovna, signed in April 1732, V. Bering, now the captain-commander, was again appointed the head of the expedition. The range of tasks facing the expedition was truly grandiose. This is the study and mapping of the entire coast of the Arctic Ocean from the mouth of the Pechora River to the Bering Strait in order to establish the possibility of reaching the shores of Kamchatka in this way, and drawing the borders of Russia from the White Sea to the Amur, and finding sea routes to Japan and America. But most likely the most basic of them, and therefore carefully classified, was the task of establishing direct trade relations with the countries of the Asian and American continents. Although on February 16, 1733, the Admiralty Board, at the request of A. I. Chirikov, considered it possible “ find unknown American shores, but do not go to the neighboring "European possessions", as this may make it possible to be late to return to Kamchatka "in one flight" (8).

That is, the future expedition was prescribed such a wide coverage of the geographical objects studied by it and the scale of the tasks to be solved that in subsequent times it was often called the Great Northern Expedition. Which, in general, corresponds to the truth, since in order to achieve these tasks, the decision of the Senate was prescribed to build 10-12 ships, on which, in the vast area from the Kara Sea to the Pacific Ocean, under the general leadership of V. Bering, many sea ​​detachments. So the Kamchatka expedition proper was represented by only two - the North Pacific (under the leadership of V. Bering himself and A. Chirikov) and the South Pacific (under the leadership of M. P. Shpanberg) - detachments. Of which the first was to find a way to the northern part of the American mainland, and the second to go to Japan and draw up a map of the Kuril Islands.

But in addition to this, the expedition also included a detachment of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the participants of which were academicians G.F. Miller and I.G. Gmelin, associate G.V. Steller, students S.P. Krasheninnikov, A. Gorlanov, A. D. Krasilnikov, F. Popov, as well as A. Tretyakov, L. Ivanov, D. Odintsov, Z. Medvedev and other collaborators (3). And the work of this detachment made an invaluable contribution both to history (for example, the discovery in 1736 by G. Miller in the Yakutsk archive of S. I. Dezhnev's "unsubscribe" about the opening of the strait between Asia and America), as botany (works by I. Gmelin, G. Steller, S. P. Krasheninnikov), both in ethnography (the same G. Steller and S. Krasheninnikov), geography (there is nothing to talk about), and in some other scientific disciplines. The expedition also included miners, craftsmen for the construction and equipment of sea vessels, and officers and sailors. In general, the total number of the expedition was about 1000 people.

In February 1733, after a long preparation, a detachment under the command of M. P Shpanberg left the capital. A second detachment soon followed. And they united in Okhotsk only in the summer of 1737, where, over the next three years, the construction of two packet boats was carried out for sailing to America. However, while their construction was going on, the Okhotsk detachment (single-mast brigantine "Archangel Mikhail" 21 long, 6.5 wide and with a hold depth of 2.6 m; hold 1.8 m; 16-oar sloop "Bolsheretsk 17.5 long, 3.9 wide and with a hold depth of 1.6 m) under the leadership of M.P.Spanberg in 1738-1739 managed to sail along the Kuril ridge to the shores of Japan and return back, as a result of which almost all of the Kuril Islands and the eastern shores of the island of Honshu were mapped.

In the summer of 1940 the packet boats "St. Peter" and St. Paul "(length 24.4, width 6.7, depth of the hold 2.9 m), built under the leadership of A. Kuzmin and Rogachev, were launched. And after the final preparation for the voyage, the packet boats (under the command of V. Bering and A. Chirikov, respectively), accompanied by the Okhota galleot and the Nadezhda double-dinghy, left Okhotsk on September 8. On October 6, the packet boats entered Avacha Bay, chosen ahead of time and prepared for the winter storage of the expedition ships, and the provisions ships were forced to stop for the winter in the Bolsheretsk harbor, from where the cargoes were transported on sleds to the Petropavlovsk port.

The next year, on June 4, the packet boats left Avacha Bay and headed towards 46 ° north latitude in order, according to the instructions received from the Senate, to find the "Land of Juan de Gamme" the basis of these instructions was placed at this latitude between Kamchatka and America. True, at the officers' council,

before going to sea, A.I. Chirikov objected to this venture, considering it a waste of time. However, the majority of votes chose this particular route of sailing to the shores of America. That, as it turned out, was one of the reasons for the subsequent tragic events.

But that was later, but for now - on June 13 - the packet boats reached the longitude where this mythical land was supposedly supposed to be. Not finding it, both ships headed from latitude 44 ° north-east. After 7 days, the packet boats lost each other in the fog and from that time they continued their voyage separately. Up to the point that each of them independently approached the American shores.

The first, on July 15, 1741, at 2 o'clock in the morning, the new land was discovered by "St. Paul", from the side of which high mountains were seen in the area of ​​the current Prince of Wales Island, under, according to updated data, approximately 55 ° 36 ′ north latitude ( 55 ° 11 ′ N and 133 ° 57 ′ W, 2). And a few hours later, the ship came close to the ground, "Which we admit without hesitation that this is a part of America"(7) The long-awaited event took place. The ship turned north and sailed along the coast in search of a suitable landing site in order to explore new land and, most importantly, to get fresh water and stock up on fresh food. However, luck turned away from the sailors. At latitude 58 °, the crew of the packet boat lost 15 men, a small boat and a small boat. And since ten days of searching and waiting did not lead to anything, then, as evidenced by the entry in the "Definition of Packet Boat Officers" by St. Pavel "on the return of the expedition to Kamchatka" dated July 26, 1741: "... for the misfortune that happened, but it is named that the yalbot and a small boat with the naval master Dementyev and 14 servants with him were lost, then do not continue your path, but return to Avachi on the real date"(8).

The return journey of the packet boat was extremely difficult. Suffice it to say that by the end of the journey, of the 61 remaining crew members on board, 51 people remained alive, and of all the officers - only A.I. Chirikov himself and navigator I.F. Elagin. And nevertheless, even with an acute shortage of food, water and fuel, in conditions of headwind, constant and strong storms and overcast clouds, the bot's crew continued to systematically monitor the state of the navigation situation and to map some of the Aleutian ridge islands. October 11, 1741 "St. Paul" entered the Avacha Bay.

As for the "St. Peter", then from its side the American coast was seen on July 17, in the region of 58 ° 17 ′ north latitude. True, G. Steller, an associate of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who was in the expedition, assured that he personally saw the earth for the first time on July 15 (9). However, the other crew members did not believe him. On July 20, the boat sailed to the island of Kayak (the island of "St. Elijah", as the ship's crew called it), to which a group of Cossacks, led by S. F. Khitrovo, was sent to replenish water supplies. After much persuasion and disputes, G. Steller was also landed on the shore, but only for six hours, and he produced the first ever scientific description of the nature of the Northwestern part of the North American continent.

Realizing that the time for returning to Kamchatka had already been lost, the commander decided not to linger at the newly discovered shores and on July 21, “Saint Peter” set off on the return journey, which was no less difficult than that of “Saint Paul”. On July 26, the sailors saw Kodiak Island, on August 2 they discovered the Tumanny Island (Chirikova), and the next day - the Alaska Peninsula. However, a massive illness that began even earlier, due to the lack of fresh water and food, led to the death of the first crew member, sailor N. Shumagin, in the area of ​​the Shumagin Islands.

After sailing from the Shumaginsky Islands, where during the forced stay on July 30 and 31, the first meeting of the expedition members with the aborigines took place and new materials were obtained about the nature of the region and its inhabitants, the packet boat fell into a strip of protracted and almost continuous storms with headwinds, which did not give opportunities to move forward. Nevertheless, even in these conditions, from the board of the sailing ship, it was possible to notice several islands from, most likely, the Rat group, and to plot them on the map.

Due to the constant lack of water and food, cold and scurvy, the sailors not only completely lost their strength (11 more people died), but also lost their bearings. So much so that finding themselves by chance near the future Commander Islands, they mistook them for Kamchatka (“ 4 days of November 1741 At 8 o'clock in the afternoon they saw the earth from us by compassZWtZ4 miles of German, on which the ground ridges are covered with snow, which tea is Kamchatskaya ", 1) and on November 7, 1741, they landed on the coast, with the intention of reaching either Petropavlovsk or Ust-Kamchatsk by land. Hastily digging out and equipping dugouts among the sandy coastal ramparts ( “This month, from the 6th day even to the 22nd, at different times, choosing favorable weather and winds, sick ministers were taken to the shore, and meanwhile there were great winds that it was impossible to go ashore. And which servants could, then in those days they made dwellings, dug holes and dug with sails. and from the 22nd day, as they all got to the shore and the packet boat was left at anchor without people, there is no one to keep the guard, so it’s the same, because the servants are almost all ailments from scurvy disease, and those who are immovable from their places, such people are 50 different ranks, which is why everyone was in extreme despair "(1), the sailors began to hunt sea animals, birds and arctic foxes. But before fresh air, fresh water and fresh food finally put them on their feet, 19 more people died, including (December 8, 1741) and Commander V. Bering himself.

In the summer of 1742, sailors, who by that time had already made sure that they were on an uninhabited island (“ In different months and dates, we received detailed information that we are arriving on an island that is majesty 18 German miles ... "(1), began in April, under the leadership of Lieutenant K. L. Vaksel and sailor S. Starodubtsev, to build the St. Peter from the remains of a packet boat broken by curtains and a hooker's fin (length 11, width 3.7, depth of the hold 1.5 m ). And on August 13 of the same year, 46 surviving people went on it to Petropavlovsk, where they arrived on August 26, only a few did not find the St. Paul packet boat there, which in the summer of 1742 set off on a new voyage to the shores of America. However, due to the illness of A.I. Chirikov, this campaign was limited only to sailing along the southeastern shores of Kamchatka. After a short return to Petropavlovsk, the boat went to Okhotsk, from where A.I. Chirikov left for St. Petersburg, where he made a detailed report and a map of his voyage to America. The sailors from "St. Peter" also tried to get to Okhotsk in the same year. However, leaving Avacha Bay on September 1, they were forced to return back due to a leak in the side of the vessel.

This was the end of the most significant marine geographic expedition of the 18th century. Undoubtedly, her main achievement is the discovery of North-West America, the Aleutian and Commander Islands, as well as sailing to the shores of Japan. However, one should not forget about the work of the northern detachments of the expedition, headed by Lieutenants S. Muravyov, M. Pavlov and geodesist Yu. Seliverstov (1734-1735), Lieutenant D.L. Ovtsin (1734-1735), Lieutenant S. G. Malygin (1736-1738), Vykhodtsev (1737), navigators F.A.Minin and D.V. Sterlegov (1738-1740) and navigator S.I. Chelyuskin (1741) in Karsk sea; with Lieutenant V. Pronchishchev (1735-1736), Lieutenant D. Ya. Laptev (1736-1737), Lieutenant Kh.P. Laptev (1739-1740), surveyor N. Chekin (1741 .), Lieutenant P. Lassenius (1735) and Lieutenant S.I. Chelyuskin (1735-1742) in the Laptev Sea; as well as with Lieutenants D. Ya. Laptev (1736-1741) and surveyor I. Kindyakov (1740) in the East Siberian Sea. Not all of them managed to bring the matter to the end. A very significant part of the participants in the campaigns did not withstand the unthinkable hardships and hardships. And nevertheless, putting on the cards almost everything - from the Kara Sea and to Chukotsk on the peninsula - the Russian coast of the Arctic Ocean, they have fulfilled their main task. How did the Pacific detachments fulfill it, paving the way to America and Japan, and specifying, on the basis of the most accurate astronomical observations for that time, the location of the Asian and North American continents and their individual parts relative to each other.

In general, as a result of the joint efforts of all expeditionary teams, more than 60 maps were compiled, on which the vast expanses of the northern part of Russia and the Far East found their real reflection. In turn, these maps formed the basis of the Atlas of the Russian Empire, the publication of 19 special maps of which in 1745 put Russia in one of the first places in the world in terms of the degree of geographic exploration of that time. And besides this, as a result of the work of the academic detachment of the expedition, a huge array of truly unique geographical, hydrographic, historical, ethnographic, botanical, zoological and other data was collected. On the basis of which, both during the expedition itself and later, the members of the academic detachment published "Description of the Land of Kamchatka" by S.P. Krasheninnikov, diaries and "Description of the Land of Kamchatka" by G.V. Steller, "History of Siberia", "Flora of Siberia" and I. Gmelin's “Journey through Siberia”, as well as numerous works and reports by G. Miller and many other members of the expedition. That is, the general scientific result of the Second Kamchatka Expedition is that, having laid the foundation for a systematic and systematic study of the history and nature of Siberia and the Far East, it made an enormous contribution to the development of regional geographic concepts of all geographical science as a whole.

And yet the most important achievement of the expedition lies not even in geographical discoveries as such, but in the fact that with the completion of its work, Russia has finally gained a foothold in the Pacific Ocean. And the best proof of this is the rapid development by Russian industrialists and merchants, first of the nearby (Komandorskie, in 1743), then more and more distant Aleutian Islands, and then the western coast (up to California) of North America. And thus, the Second Kamchatka Expedition contributed to the development of the productive forces of the entire Eastern Siberia, creating the preconditions for the emergence of the fur industry, agriculture, industrial production and trade in this region.

Thus, in terms of their designs, their execution, their results, and, finally, their consequences, both Kamchatka expeditions were unmatched. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that when assessing the results of both Kamchatka expeditions, there is a clear underestimation of their place and role in the formation and development of productive forces and production relations in Russia as a whole. Indeed, in assessing the role of the Kamchatka expeditions, quite often they limit themselves to emphasizing the importance of its geographical component, when the results of the expeditions are regarded as the greatest geographical achievements of Russia. Quite often (especially by foreign researchers) it is also said about the geopolitical (great-power) background of the goals and objectives of these expeditions. And very rarely is it mentioned about the forced breaking of the habitual way of life of the aborigines, carried out both during the expeditions themselves and after. Moreover, even speaking about this breakdown, it is explained (and excused) by the costs of introducing Siberia and its indigenous population to "modern" forms of production.

However, in reality, everything is much more complicated, because the period from the first appearance of the Russians on the Pacific coast and until the complete curtailment of the work of the Second Kamchatka Expedition marks the most important stage in the socio-economic life of not only Eastern Siberia, but all of Russia. Because it was precisely this period that turned out to be the time of the transition of the entire vast country from the traditional trade (collection of yasak from foreigners, fur tax from cities and provinces, corvée and quitrent from peasants, etc.) to the pioneering industrial development of relatively free people of fur, fish , forest and other natural resources. Or, in the terminology of our days, the time of the final transition of the national economy of Russia from the inexhaustible to the exhausting type of nature management. Well, to be more precise, immediately after the completion of the work of these expeditions, the stage of barbaric extermination, first of furs and the forests themselves, and then of other natural resources of the country, began throughout Russia. Which, due to the vastness of the territory and the presence of huge reserves of natural resources, although it dragged on for two and a half centuries, nevertheless, in our time, turned into not only the degradation and destruction of fish, forest and other natural resources, not only a radical restructuring of the entire natural structure, but also the lowering of Russia itself into the category of third-rate - with an unconditionally low standard of living - countries of the world.

Thus, if the First and Second Kamchatka expeditions mark the final exit of Russia to the Pacific Ocean, then this very exit has unambiguously approved Russia as a supplier of natural resources for other countries and peoples. Or, more specifically, the mastery of the "inexhaustible" fur, forest, fish, and in subsequent times and mineral, resources of Siberia and the Far East, made it possible for all subsequent rulers of Russia to mothball its development at the level of a semi-colonial power. The power, the power of which was determined and is still determined not by the dignity, intelligence and labor of its citizens, but by the volumes of furs, timber, fish, bread, coal, oil, gas, etc. sold abroad (and, moreover, at a low price). etc.

And thus, if we speak extremely harshly, the seizure of huge territories, concealing enormous reserves of various natural resources, without making Russia truly rich, did it more harm than good, because for many centuries it taught the nation and, first of all, its rulers to the thoughtless squandering of these very natural resources. And it taught us so much that even now, when the country is on the brink of bankruptcy, its elite cannot think beyond a primitive increase in the volume of production and sale of primary (at best, semi-finished products) natural raw materials. So, when assessing the results of the activities of the First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions, it is imperative to proceed from the fact that along with many, and truly great achievements, among its leading, although veiled by time and traditions, consequences include the final consolidation of the psychology of the temporary worker in the Russian community. ...

LITERATURE

1. From the logbook of the St. Peter "about sailing to the shores of America. Russian expeditions to explore the North Pacific Ocean in the first half of the 18th century. M. Nauka, 1984.S. 232-249.

2. Kamchatka. XXVII – XX centuries. Historical and geographical atlas. M .: Roskartografiya. 1997.112 s.

3. Maritime memorable dates. Ed. V. N. Alekseeva. M .: Voenizdat, 1987.398 p.

4. Field BP New about the discovery of Kamchatka: part one. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Publishing House "Kamchatka Printing House". 1997.159 s.

5. Polevoy BP New about the discovery of Kamchatka: part two. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Publishing House "Kamchatka Printing House". 1997.203 p.

6. Field BP Discovery of Kamchatka in the light of new archival finds. The third international historical and St. Innokenty readings dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the annexation of Kamchatka to Russia. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. "White Shaman", 1998. S. 5-8.

7. AI Chirikov's report to the Admiralty Board on sailing to the shores of America. Russian expeditions to explore the North Pacific Ocean in the first half of the 18th century. M. Nauka, 1984.S. 224-231.

8. Russian expeditions to explore the North Pacific Ocean in the first half of the 18th century. M. Nauka, 1984.320 p.

9. Steller GV Diary of sailing with Bering to the shores of America. 1741-1742. Moscow: JSC Publishing House "Pan", 1995.224 p.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Received by the editors

What is more important for an active and ambitious person? Wealth, fame, a dream come true, a name on the map? Geographical names "Bering Sea", "Bering Island" and "Bering Strait" - is this a lot or a little for a life spent in a foreign country, and a grave lost on an island blown by piercing winds? Judge for yourself. Vitus Jonassen Bering (1681-1741), a Dane who gained fame as a Russian navigator, was a 22-year-old graduate of the Amsterdam Cadet Corps and entered the Russian Navy as a lieutenant. He took part in both wars of Peter I - with Turkey and with Sweden. He rose to the rank of captain-commander. Already before his death, Peter the Great sent an expedition to the Far East, the head of which was Bering. According to the emperor's secret instructions, Bering was instructed to find an isthmus or strait between Asia and North America. During this First Kamchatka Expedition (1725-1730), Bering completed the discovery of the northeastern coast of Asia. Three years later, he was assigned to lead the Second Kamchatka Expedition, during which Bering and Chirikov were to cross Siberia and from Kamchatka to North America to explore its coast. In total, together with the preparation, the expedition took 8 years (1734-1742). During it, after many difficult trials and dangerous adventures, Bering reached America and on the way back, during a forced wintering on the island that now bears his name, he died on December 8, 1741. Alas, Bering did not have time to describe the expedition - for him it was made by surviving his assistant Sven Waxel. But the maps of the two Russian expeditions were subsequently used by all European cartographers. The first navigator who confirmed the accuracy of Bering's research, the famous James Cook, paying tribute to the Russian commander, suggested that the strait between Chukotka and Alaska be named after Bering, which was done. Is it so much or not enough - is the name on the map? The book contains documents and reports of the participants of the First (1725-1730) and Second (1734-1742) Kamchatka expeditions, detailing the progress of research in difficult, sometimes deadly conditions of campaigns in little-known regions of Siberia and the Far East. The publication, in addition to the documents of the expedition and the writings of its participants: S. Vaksel, G. Miller and S. P. Krasheninnikov, also included survey works of the historian of the Russian fleet and marine geographical discoveries V. N. Berkh and the German geographer F. Helwald. Electronic publication includes all texts of the paper book and basic illustrative material. But for true connoisseurs of exclusive editions, we recommend a gift classic book. In it, a visual series complementing the narrative is presented by hundreds of maps, black-and-white and color old paintings and drawings, which will allow the reader to vividly imagine the environment in which the events of these heroic expeditions took place. The edition is printed on fine offset paper, elegantly designed. This edition, like all the books in the Great Journeys series, will adorn any, even the most exquisite library, will be a wonderful gift for both young readers and discerning bibliophiles.

A series: Great travels

* * *

The given introductory fragment of the book Kamchatka expeditions (Vitus Bering) provided by our book partner - Liters company.

FIRST KAMCHATSKAYA EXPEDITION (1725-1729)

Vasily Berkh. The first sea voyage of Russians, undertaken to solve a geographic problem: whether Asia connects with America and made in 1727-1729. under the command of Vitus Bering

O the first voyage, made by the famous captain Bering, we had very insufficient information. Our venerable historiographer Miller published in the monthly works of the Academy of Sciences, 1758, a short and unsatisfactory description of the Bering voyage. There is no doubt that he got this information from his own Bering Journal, for there is little disagreement on the main incidents.

Around 1750, when the Naval Expedition still existed at the Academy of Sciences, all naval journals were demanded there from the Admiralty. Subsequently, some of them were returned. It was believed that among those who were not returned was also Bering's journal, because according to the description sent, it did not appear.

Having received, at the request of His Excellency Mr. Vice-Admiral Gavriil Andreevich Sarychev, permission to inspect the archive of the State Admiralty Department, I proceeded with it with enthusiasm and hope to open many curious manuscripts and was not deceived in expecting mine.

Sorting with the manager of the drawing room, AE Kolodkin, various old papers, we came across a notebook under the following title: "Journal of the Kamchatka Expedition of Warrant Officer Pyotr Chaplin from 1726 to 1731". At first glance, we concluded that Chaplin was probably sailing with the surveyor Gvozdev, the first Russian to see the shores of America.

But, having examined it more closely, we saw that it was the most complete and detailed journal of the first Bering expedition. There was an incomplete magazine attached to it, kept by Lieutenant Chirikov, who almost completely agreed with the above.

Delighted with such an important find, I compiled from Chaplin's journal, Millerov Izvestia and various notes of the famous hydrographer of our admiral Alexei Ivanovich Nagaev, a proposed story about the voyage of Captain Bering.

The journey of the first and famous navigator of our Bering is worthy of special respect. Although this venerable husband sailed 236 years after Columbus, he has an equal right with him to the gratitude of those who used him in the service. Bering subsequently opened a new country for them, which provided a rich source of industry and expanded the trade and navigation of the Russians.

Vasily Berkh

Captain Bering's journey

Z our famous historiographer Miller says that Emperor Peter I, wishing to decide the question of whether Asia is connected with America, ordered to equip a special expedition for this, and shortly before his death he wrote with his own hand instructions for the captain Bering, appointed in this.

The execution of this task, Miller continues, was entrusted to General-Admiral Count Apraksin, and already after the death of the Emperor, officials went on this expedition, appointed from St. Petersburg.

Midshipman Chaplin's journal is inconsistent with the latest conclusion.

Fulfilling the order of Emperor Peter I to send an expedition under the command of V.Y. Bering, an associate of the emperor, General-Admiral, President of the Admiralty Board Count Fedor Matveyevich Apraksin (1661-1728) asked the Governor of Kazan and Siberia, Prince Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgorukov (1667-1750).

Letter from F.M. Apraksin to M.V.Dolgorukov about rendering assistance to Vitus Bering's expedition:

1725, February 4. St. Petersburg.

My sovereign, Prince Mikhailo Volodimirovich.

In the hope of you, as my benefactor, I ask: Captain Bering (with the assigned command) went from here to Siberia of the navy, who, upon arrival in Yakutsk, was ordered to make bots and follow them for the execution of the assigned expedition, as the instructions given to him command, which you please accept favorably. And in his needs for that expedition, order him to repair any help, so that it will be performed irrevocably in the action, no small matter is closed into it, which I ask diligently about, please, please apply your labor to it and perform it with caution. I, however, abide forever,

your obedient servant, Admiral Apraksin.

January 24, 1725, says Chaplin, we set out from the Admiralty; there were 26 of us in total: Lieutenant Chirikov, a doctor, 2 surveyors, a midshipman, a quartermaster, a clerk, 10 sailors, 2 students of mast and boat business, a foreman with 3 carpenters, 2 caulkers, 2 sailboats and a blacksmith. When separating this there were 25 supplies with materials.

Expedition composition

Rank 1 Captain

Vitus Bering

Lieutenants:

Alexey Chirikov

Martyn Shpanberg

Peter Chaplin

Semyon Turchaninov

Surveyors:

Fyodor Luzhin

Navigators:

Richard Engel

Georges Morison

Hieromonk

Illarion

Ignatius Kozyrevsky

Commissioner

Ivan Shestakov

Boyar son

bot: Kozlov

mastmaker: Endogurov

Seafarers:

The above-named officials were assigned to the expedition, of whom part was sent from St. Petersburg, and the other was attached to Tobolsk and Okhotsk.

On February 8, he continues, we arrived in Vologda, and after us, Lieutenant General Chekin received the news of the death of the Emperor. On February 14, our Commander of the Navy, Captain Bering, arrived, and with him Lieutenant Spanberg, two navigators and 3 sailors.

The instruction given to Captain Bering was written by Emperor Peter I on December 23, 1724, and consisted of the following three points.

One or two boats with decks should be made in Kamchatka or elsewhere.

On these bots [to swim] near the land, which goes to the north by aspiration, they do not know the end of it, it seems that that land is a part of America.

And in order to look for where this met with America, and in order to get to which city of European possessions, or if they see which European ship, to visit from it, as this kust is called, and take a letter, and visit the coast ourselves, and take a genuine bill, and, putting at stake, come here.

The historiographer Miller says that the reason for sending this expedition was the desire of the Paris Academy to find out whether America is connecting with Asia - the Academy, regarding this to the emperor as its articulate, asked His Majesty to order the study of this geographical problem.

In a decree from the Senate of September 13, 1732, about the second departure of Captain Bering to Kamchatka, it is said about the first expedition: at the request and desire of both St. shores, whether the American shores converge with the shores of Asia.

On March 16, everything arrived safely in Tobolsk, and Midshipman Chaplin says that from his observation it turned out that the latitude of the place is 58 ° 05 "N, the declination of the compass is 3 ° 18", east. According to the observation of the astronomer Delil de la Crower in 1734, the latitude of Tobolsk turned out to be 58 ° 12 ", and his brother Nicholas in 1740 - 58 ° 12" 30˝.

On May 15, everyone set out on a further journey on 4 boards and 7 boats. During their entire voyage along the Irtysh and other rivers, they led a real sea reckoning.

The added distance is an ancient, now no longer used precision; since swimming or the distance traveled is removed from the meridian, it was calculated in order to also remove it from the equator. Chirikov says in his journal: this is being repaired to check the mercator map and find out if it is correctly composed.

On May 22, Captain Bering ordered to make rudders to the boats, which are called sopets; and ordered the midshipman Chaplin to go ahead to Yakutsk with 10 crewmen and take 10 rubles of money from Commissar Durasov for travel expenses.

On September 6, Chaplin arrived in Yakutsk and appeared to the local governor Poluektov and the collector, Prince Kirill Golitsyn. In this city, he says, there are 300 houses. From here, Chaplin sent several people to Okhotsk, so that they prepared timber for the construction of the ship.

On May 9, Chaplin received an order from Captain Bering to prepare a thousand pairs of leather bags for flour.

On June 1, the commander arrived in Yakutsk on the boards, and with him Lieutenant Shpanberg, a doctor, two navigators, two surveyors, and other servants. On the 16th, Lieutenant Chirikov also arrived here, also on 7 boards. This date, he continues, the captain sent a guide to the voivode, so that he, having made 600 horses for flour, would send them to Okhotsk, dividing them into 3 parties. At the same time, Captain Bering demanded from the governor that he dispatched the monk Kozyrevsky to him.

Monk Kozyrevsky represented a very important person in the conquest of the eastern countries of Siberia. He first visited the nearby Kuril Islands in 1712 and 1713 and delivered information about the others. After serving for many years in Kamchatka, Okhotsk and Anadyrsk, he took monastic vows in 1717 and founded a monastery in Nizhnekamchatsk.

In 1720, he arrived in Yakutsk, and, as Miller says, his reports, which were repaired in Kamchatka to the local clerks, and then to the Yakut provincial Chancellery, and also to Captain Bering, are very noteworthy.

It is not known whether Kozyrevsky, who was called Ignatius in monasticism, sailed with Bering, but Miller's notes show that he was in Moscow in 1730 and that the St. Petersburg Vedomosti, 1730, March 26, published about the services he provided fatherland; and therefore it is highly probable that he left Siberia with him.

On June 7, Lieutenant Shpanberg departed from Yakutsk on 13 ships, the whole team was with him 204 people. From the arrival of Captain Bering in Yakutsk, the nobleman Ivan Shestakov was dispatched to him for special assignments, who later went to war against the Chukchi, with his uncle, the Cossack head Afanasy Shestakov.

On July 15, Chaplin says: the nobleman Ivan bought 11 bulls, for which he paid 44 rubles.

Having sent part of the materials and provisions from Yakutsk to Okhotsk, Captain Bering himself went there on August 16, with Chaplin and various servants.

Lieutenant Chirikov remained where he was in order to observe the prompt departure of the rest of the things.

Lieutenant Chirikov says in his magazine that there are 300 Russian households in the city of Yakutsk, and 30,000 Yakuts wander around the city. Over the city there was darkness from the fires, which was due to the lack of rain; because in the city of Yakutsk there is always little rain, and for this, the grass grows little; as well as this summer there was no grass, except for those places where the river understood [flooded the floodplain].

Also, there is little snow, and the frosts are severe. And the reason for the few rains and snows requires reasoning; This is seen as contrary to the climate of this place. The latitude of Yakutsk as observed is 62 ° 08 ". The declination of the compass is 1 ° 57" to the west.

Vitus Bering's report to the Yakutsk provincial office on the training of guides and horses to advance the expedition from Yakutsk to Okhotsk

As he intends to set off from Yakutsk by dry route, we demand that in the coming week of May, 20 days, 200 horses be made with saddles, saddlecloths and other things that should be done, and moreover, as usual, five horses have one person for guides and reins, two people for departure artisans, and so that they can go with the clerk going to Kamchatka, Yakov Mokhnachevsky, with whom he himself intends to go with the artisans from the Lama to Kamchatka, and so that the aforementioned clerk does not leave until our arrival from the Lama. So also the sailor Kondraty Moshkov so that he was sent with us. And on the forthcoming June 27, so that 200 horses were collected with everything belonging to the above, with which he intends to go from here himself, and on July 4, so that 200 horses were collected with everything that belongs to which Lieutenant Chirikov will go.

And in the above-described number we demand the reins to the Osogon volost Barkhai, Byta with the brother of Sugul Mapiev's spring, Bechur Sora, the shaman's son, who lives at the mouth of the Nator. And so that at the current gathering of horses, the Yakut owners should be announced that they themselves or whom they believe should come to take money and to return the horses from the Lama, and with every ten horses so that there is one spare horse or as much as they want for any occasion. And which horses on the road near Aldan from Buturu and Meginsky volosts, by July 1 on the Notora River, horses to collect, if hired or inter-yard carts are given from here, for which it will be paid against the proper hiring, and so that the above-described foreigners were announced, they will be paid to them, as usual, from the local rentals, so that they could have spare horses. And if it happens on the way that the horse will stick or lame, so that there is no stopping, but the payment of money, if they demand it in advance, that they have bail for them, so that they can carry this luggage.

Litter: Sent with midshipman Chaplin.

Vitus Bering's report to the Admiralty Board on his arrival in Okhotsk and his forced wintering here

Last September, on the 2nd of this 1726, he reported to the State Admiralty Collegium, being on the way from the Aldan ferry, which he sent a report to Yakutsk to Lieutenant Chirikov for sending to St. Petersburg. Now I humbly report: I arrived in the Okhotsk prison on October 1, and I went around the rest with provisions on the road and I hope that they will soon arrive in the Okhotsk prison. And with what difficulty I traveled along the road, I truly cannot write, and if God had not given frost and little snow, then not a single horse would have reached it. And how many horses fell and stuck from the whole team is still unknown. And I have no news from Lieutenant Shpanberg, how far they have reached the Yudoma River by ships, but tomorrow I am sending a tungus on a deer from here to inquire. And the old ship from Kamchatka has not happened this year, and the new ship has not yet been completed, and therefore I have to spend the winter here.

The lowest servant of the State Admiralty Collegium. Litter: Sent from Okhotsk to Yakutsk with Stepan Trifonov's man - with Vasily Stepanov.

In the last days of March (1726), a disease called measles appeared on the inhabitants of the Yakutsk-city, and in the middle of April it multiplied greatly, for everyone was sick, which had not been in it before.

And this disease in Yakutsk, according to local residents, has not happened for more than 40 years: which is evidenced by the real sorrow; for the inhabitants in 50 years did not have it; and who are 45 years old or less, all were. And they lay for two weeks, and the rest and more. On April 29, 58 bulls, 4 cows and two pigs [wild boars] were sent to Okhotsk.

Although Captain Bering traveled from Yakutsk to Okhotsk for 45 days, he traveled around many who had left before him. He traveled this path without any special adventures, not to mention the obstacles and displeases that he had to endure inevitably, riding a thousand miles on horseback along a very bad, swampy and mountainous road.

The Okhotsk prison, says Chaplin, stands on the banks of the Okhota River; housing there are 11 yards; the inhabitants are Russian, who have more food from fish than from bread. There are quite a few yasak foreigners under the jurisdiction of the prison. In Lamut, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is called Lamo.

On October 1, arriving in Okhotsk, Captain Bering found that the newly built ship was already sheathed to deck; and the work stopped only for lack of resin. Seeing that the barns that were here are extremely dilapidated, he engaged his servants with the construction of new ones.

Since the expedition of Captain Bering is the first sea voyage undertaken by the Russians, all the smallest details of it should be pleasant for lovers of Russian antiquities. If many of them seem strange now, they are nevertheless worthy of respect, for they are a gradual course of things, from the first beginning to the present perfection.

Here is a short extract from the reports of Captain Bering to the Admiralty-Collegium: from Tobolsk they followed the Irtysh and Ob rivers on 4 planks to Narym. From Narym they followed the Ketya River up to the Makovsky prison, in which they arrived on July 19 days. There are no peoples on these rivers from Narym.

From the Makovsky prison they had a road by dry route and arrived with all the attendants and materials in Yeniseisk on August 21. Having moved 70 versts from Yeniseisk, they went up the Yenisei and Tunguska rivers on four plank beds, and arrived in Ilimsk on September 29.

There are many large and small rapids on the Tunguska River; it is very fast and rocky, and it is impossible to go without pilots. The latitude of the Tunguska river is about 4 versts, occasionally along it there are Russian villages, the banks are very high. From Ilimsk sent to the mouth of the Kuta River flowing into the Lena, Lieutenant Shpanberg, and with him soldiers and artisans taken from Yeniseisk, to prepare wood for the construction of ships, which should follow to Yakutsk and from there to the Yudomsky Cross.

At Ust-Kut, 15 vessels were built and launched, length from 39 to 49 feet, width from 8 to 14 feet, depth with all cargo from 14 to 17 inches, and 14 more boats. From Ust-Kut they set off on May 8, 1726 with 8 ships, and 7 ships were left with Lieutenant Chirikov.

They arrived in Yakutsk on June 1, and the remaining ships - on June 16. On July 7, I sent 13 vessels with materials on a proper route with Lieutenant Spanberg; August 16 I set off on 200 horses to Okhotsk.

Report from Okhotsk on October 28: provisions were sent from Yakutsk by dry route, the latter arrived in Okhotsk on October 25 on 396 horses. On the way, 267 horses disappeared and died for lack of forage. During the journey to Okhotsk, people suffered great hunger from a lack of provisions.

Ate belts, leather, and leather pants, and soles. And the horses that arrived ate grass, taking out from under the snow, after a late arrival in Okhotsk they did not have time to prepare hay, and it was impossible: everyone froze over from deep snows and frosts. And the rest of the attendants arrived in sledges on dogs to Okhotsk.

So, out of 600 horses sent from Yakutsk, less than half reached Okhotsk. Lieutenant Shpanberg, who set out by water, did not reach the Kolyma Cross either, but was caught by frosts on the Yudoma River, near the mouth of the Gorbeya River. The student of Kozlov lost 24 horses during the journey, and he left the bags at the Yudomsky Cross. The doctor lost 12 horses, out of 11 bulls, only one survived. The horses left behind in Okhotsk also suffered a bad fate. Chaplin says: by that number (November 11), 121 of the remaining horses fell.

Throughout November, they occupied the team with logging, for the construction of a house, barns and other needs. On the 19th, there was extremely great water, which caused damage to the city. It is remarkable that the wind blew from the north during the whole month.

On December 2, Chaplin says, Mr. Captain moved to live in a newly built house.

The position of Lieutenant Spanberg was also very unpleasant: winter overtook him in a deserted and harsh place, where he could not receive the slightest benefit. In this distressful situation, he decided to walk to the Yudomsk Cross, and on this way, as Miller says, he was so hungry that he ate with the whole team of bags, belts and even boots.

From the magazine of the midshipman Chaplin it is clear that on December 21 (1725) a report was received from him, in which he announced that he was going to the Yudomsky Cross on 90 sledges, and left the navigator and 6 soldiers at the ships. The next day, various provisions were sent to meet him on 10 sledges, and then a day later another 39 people on 37 sledges. The wind also blew from the north and NNO throughout December.

Report of Lieutenant M.P.Spanberg to V.Y. Bering on the difficult conditions of the route from Yakutsk to Okhotsk

Of the past July 6th 1726 According to the instructions given to me and signed by Mr. Captain Bering, 13 ships of plankmen, loaded with materials and provisions, were entrusted with 203 servants and Yakutsk servicemen. And according to this instruction, it was shown to me to have a tract with the rivers Lena down, Aldan, Mayi and Yudoma up as possible, and for unloading ships, where it will be impossible to sail for shallow water or frost, 300 horses will be sent and it will be written to me upon his arrival, d - to the captain, to Aldan, where there is a crossing. And in the transport of materials and provisions to repair according to my post with joy.

Of the certain leader Fyodor Kolmakov, he asked about the path by rivers, whether he knew, and he said, not only the path by rivers, but on all these rivers the banks, stone and other places knew everything.

July 7 At noon, on the mentioned ships, they went from Yakutk along the Lena River, with which they sailed to the mouth of the Aldan River until July 10 at 6 o'clock in the morning and made poles, rudders, etc. And that day, at 8 o'clock in the evening, Aldan went up, pulled the courts with a rope, arrived at the crossing on the 15th of August. And, look at the crossing of the land road, along which provisions go on horses, which is very difficult through the Aldan without ships, he ordered to unload one small board ship and leave two large and one small trays for transportation. And according to the instructions, having accepted 10 cattle from the apprentice Kozlov for food for the servants, he ordered the commissioner to divide the people, and left the Yakut service people for the illness.

On the 16th of August, Mr. Captain reported on the arrival at this crossing and about 10 fugitive service people who fled on the Aldan River in different numbers. And on that same date, at 11 o'clock, they set off and one of the Yakut servicemen ran against the mouth of the Yunakan River.

On the 17th, 2 people ran.

On the 18th, at the mouth of the river Yuna, I fled alone as a servant, so I let go of the unfit leader because of his illness and gave him one small tray; with him I sent a report to Mr. Captain about 4 fugitives.

On the 19th, one man ran away.

On the 21st, at the eighth hour of the evening, we arrived at the mouth of the Mai River and walked along this river until September 2, on which there are rifts [rocky shallow rapids] and the ascents are much difficult and quick.

On September 2, they entered the mouth of the Yudoma river, which is very shallow, speed and shiverista, along which it is impossible for people who find on it to pull one ship in places, for that for the sake of time they were sent from 4 ships to one, and on more rapids and ascents and from all ships to one was sent, and in such places they walked one verst a day and so the ships were raised. They walked along this river until the 13th of September and great shoals came, and they began to sail along this river, small ice, which is called sludge according to the local name, and it is impossible to sail further behind the shallow. For that sake, I found a place where you could stand with the ships, on the right side of the kurya or the bay, and in the evening at 7 o'clock we were safely with all the ships.

From the mentioned September 2 to 13, during the course of the onoy, 10 servicemen fled in different numbers, released for French and other diseases.

On the 14th of September, I reviewed the Yakut service people, of whom appeared according to my review and, moreover, according to the testimony and signing of fairy tales at the hands of non-commissioned officers for various diseases of the servicemen, 14 people to whom, having given shorts and one small boat, he let them go to Yakutsk.

On the 15th, 4 servicemen fled at night. On the same date, he ordered the manufacture of 2 ships, on which to load anchors, ropes, sails, cannons, etc. move as far as possible. And he ordered the remaining 10 ships with provisions on that place to navigator Jars Morisenyu and ordered to build a barn 7 fathoms long, 5 fathoms wide for unloading and packing food and materials, and winter quarters for people. And I myself went on the same date on the 2 ships described above, taking with me all the Yakut servicemen, and through great work behind the shoals and rifts and frost arrived on September 21 to the Gorbeya River, and it is impossible to sail higher than this in any way. And he saw a convenient place near that river, Gorbei Island, and on this he ordered to unload materials from the ships and build the same barn and two winter huts. And on the way from 2 ships from the first winter quarters to Gorbeya, 6 service people fled.

On the 22nd of September, he ordered to lower one vessel to the bottom until the first winter hut for loading state wine, church things, money treasury, etc., as well as servants of belongings and ordered all the servants to be at the Gorbeisk winter hut, and ordered to leave 5 soldiers at the first winter hut to guard the food. and supplies.

On the 28th of September one navigator arrived from that ship, the carpenters 18, and the navigator reported to me that it was impossible to sail for ice and frost on that ship. And from the above-described 22nd day, they made a barn and a winter hut and prepared a birch forest for sledges.

On October 1, Ivan Belaya reported to me for the captain Ivan Belaya that the Yakut servicemen did not want to go to work, they were ordered to be sent for the most necessary work under guard, and those who were breeders to this evil, ordered to be put in stocks and be at the same job.

On 4 numbers for the aforementioned opposition, so that what evil would no longer happen, ordered them to read the regulations and inflict a fine, flog 5 people with cats in moderation, so that henceforth another sample, and ordered 5 people to remove the pads. On the same date, 24 servicemen were sent on three sleighs and with them one sailor, 2 carpenters to the aforementioned ship to take materials from that ship, for the guard.

On the 5th of October, navigator Anzel came to me from the first winter hut by dry road and with him 7 people, to whom he reported that he had unloaded the ships to the barn.

On the 7th, navigator Morisen arrived and brought with him luggage on 33 sledges from the above-described vessel of materials.

On the 8th, he sent a navigator and 24 people with him to the aforementioned ship for the remaining materials; on the same date, they made a barn and a winter quarters near Gorbei.

On the 11th, the navigator arrived with the remaining materials and reported that the vessel had been unloaded and secured. And until the 4th of November, 100 sledges were made.

And I asked a certain leader from Yakutsk, or a pilot, Fyodor Kolmakov, about the way to the Cross, how many days I had to walk, and he said: it’s 4 days to go from our winter quarters to Cheeks, from Cheki to Povorotnaya River 5 days, from Povorotnaya to the threshold of 9 days, from the threshold to the Cross 4 days, and from the Cross to the Lama, although quietly, 10 days. At the same time, the non-commissioned officers and all the teams of our servants testify, he, Kalmakov, told me that along the Yudoma river he knows all the places and tracts, and rivers to the Cross and from the Cross to Okhotsk. And on the above-described sleds they put the most necessary things: artillery, medicines, church things, rigging, money treasury, ammunition. And he ordered the servants to give out provisions for November and December according to the instructions given to me for one and a half poods per person, and the Yakut servants, according to the instructions, were ordered to issue only one pood per person for October, and for other months it is not shown. And I, seeing their need, so as not to starve to death, ordered to give out for this journey for November and December, half a third of a pound to a person and ordered three people to remove the stocks. At the winter quarters he left for the guard: one navigator, 6 soldier, one keeper for making small wine and oil vessels.

And they went on their way at 9 o'clock in the middle of the night by the river Yudoma. Snow is great along this river.

On November 5, one of the Yenisei carpenters returned from the road to the winter quarters without our knowledge.

On the 19th, one of the servicemen died.

And until the 25th of November they went to the Povorotnaya River and, after passing the Povorotnaya, they became higher for one day, and from the mentioned 4th day, there were great frosts and blizzards on the way, 5 servicemen fled, and many others appeared sick, for this he left 40 sledges and a volume for the guard: one soldier, one carpenter, one blacksmith, 2 servicemen, who are also sick and cannot work, but he ordered these sledges to be raised ashore and ordered to make booths for protection.

That same date I received an order [order, German] from Mr. Captain, in whom he commands me to deal with heavy materials that cannot be heard with packs, as well as for the distribution of food to servants and service people at the discretion of their needs, and I heard that 70 sums of flour were left at the Cross. On the same date, he sent with the news to Mr. Captain a serviceman alone to help and to meet us on the road, and set off.

On the 1st of December, at night, at the Talovka River, 6 servicemen fled and the people had little food, and every day there were 20 or more people who were sick, and for this they left anchors, cannons and large ropes - only 20 sledges - and ordered them to be pulled ashore and make a booth. From the above-described 1 to 12 December, they went to Krivoy Luka, where they had a great need for food, so that people had nothing, and which I had my own food: wheat flour, cereals, meat, peas - I distributed everything to people and equally with I had such a need for them. And seeing a considerable hunger, from Crooked Luke I went ahead to the Cross, in order to send food to people to meet. There are distances to the Cross, for example, vert from 60, which at 10 o'clock, except at night, crossed and at that time sent 2 soldiers who were on guard on 2 sledges of flour 4 pounds and ordered to hurry as soon as possible. And before the arrival of food to them, people from sleds ate belts, bags, pants, shoes, leather beds and dogs. And in those numbers 2 people remained and died from Talovka to the Cross in different numbers 2 Yenisei carpenters, 2 Yakut servicemen.

On the 17th of December, people arrived at the Cross, and the latter I met 10 versts from the Cross and the latter I brought with me in the afternoon at 5 o'clock all.

On the 19th, he reviewed all the ministers and servants, of whom the sick appeared, and other illnesses of the servants 11, 15 Yakut servants, and 59 healthy servants and servants, and ordered the commissar to give everyone a pood of flour, and released the Yakut servants, upon request, and released them. gave them the pashports.

On the 20th, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I set off to the Okhotsk fort from the Cross on 40 sledges and with us a treasury, a pharmacy and other small things.

And until the 29th they walked with a great need, severe frosts and provisions were in short supply, and they ate dead horses and all kinds of leather things that were on the road. For this sake I went ahead in the Okhotsk prison, there are fewer people who can be fed, there is no such thing, everyone was emaciated, and I walked day and night.

On the 31st of December, in the afternoon at 3 o'clock, I met from Okhotsk a corporal Anashkin sent to me from Mr. Captain to meet with 10 sledges with provisions, on which meat and fish, and on that date he sent 2 sledges and he himself returned with them on dogs to the people , whom he ordered to give immediately meat and fish. And that night I told the people to sleep and rest, and I myself went ahead.

On January 1, I met 40 sledges with meat and fish and ordered the commissioner to distribute meat for half a day to people, fish for 6 kachamas, millet for 2 1∕2 pounds.

And all the servants of this January 16th gathered in the Okhotsk prison, and how many servants of the sick and healthy, where they are found and died, and fled, I am attaching the personal register and the report card, as well as materials where they are left, register 3 and about food expense according to the news from Commissar Durasov. And all the proper departure and all sorts of cases in this campaign is shown in the journal.

And the aforementioned leader Kolmakov did not know anything from the winter to the Cross and from the Cross to Okhotsk, and what he told me, he lied, and when there was no trace and there was no road, then we lost a lot of fornication and then, in the absence of a road, we went a lot in the wrong way.

Lieutenant Spanberch.

On January 6, Lieutenant Shpanberg arrived in Okhotsk on 7 sledges and reported to Captain Bering that his team was following him. Although in January, as can be seen from Chaplin's journal, the frost was much milder, but the number of patients extended to 18. It is remarkable that this month, too, the wind blew, without any exception, from N and NNO.

Until February 14, the wind also blew from the north, and on that day Lieutenant Shpanberg set out with midshipman Chaplin on 76 sledges for the materials left behind. On the 28th they arrived there and learned from the surveyor Luzhin that the navigator Morison had died on February 2.

On April 6 they arrived safely in Okhotsk. It is a great pity that Chaplin was sent on this expedition; for through his absence we lost information about what was happening at that time in Okhotsk.

At the end of April, clerk Turchaninov announced that he knew an important thing about Captain Bering, or a terrible thing then: word and deed. Captain Bering ordered to put him immediately under a strong guard, and after 5 days he sent him to Yakutsk, to be escorted to St. Petersburg.

Although from the first days of May the weather was very clear and warm, but, as can be seen from the magazine, there were 16 sick people. At this time, some of the materials and provisions were brought; the south wind blew this whole month.

The whole month of June passed in preparations for sailing to Kamchatka. On the 8th, a newly built ship named "Fortune" was launched; and on the 11th, the surveyor Luzhin arrived from the Yudomsk Cross with all the rest of the supplies and flour. Of the 100 horses that were with him, he brought only 11, the rest fled, died and were eaten by wolves.

At the end of the month, the ship was armed with Galiot [Galiot] equipment, and all supplies and materials, which were assigned to be transported to Kamchatka, were loaded into it. Throughout June, winds also blew from the south. According to Chaplin's observation, the latitude of Okhotsk was 59 ° 13 ".

On July 1, Lieutenant Shpanberg went out to sea on a newly built ship and directed the way to Bolsheretsk, on which 13 people from Yenisei and Irkutsk merchants also went to trade in Kamchatka. Two days after his departure, Lieutenant Chirikov arrived in Okhotsk, with the rest of the attendants and supplies; and after him the quartermaster Borisov on 110 horses and brought 200 soums of flour.

On the 10th, a bot came from Bolsheretsk with a yasak treasury, and on it two commissars arrived, sent in 1726 to collect yasak from all of Kamchatka. This boat was the one on which the first voyage from Okhotsk to Kamchatka was made in 1716. The commissars informed Captain Bering that the ship could no longer be used without repair. A week after that, a Pentecostal man came from Yakutsk on 63 horses and brought 207 soums of flour.

On the 30th, the soldier Vedrov arrived on 80 horses and brought 162 soums of flour. On this day, a sergeant was sent with a report to the State Admiralty Board. On the 23rd, another 18 soums of flour were brought. On the 24th, a servant arrived on 146 horses and brought 192 soums of flour. On the 30th Sergeant Shirokov arrived on 20 horses and brought 50 bulls. All June there were winds from the south and east.

On August 4, the mentioned bot was launched, revised again. It's strange that neither Miller, below [and not] Chaplin, say what his name was. On the 7th, a great number of ducks arrived at the seaside; on this occasion the whole team was sent there and brought them 3000; and 5000, says Chaplin, flew back to sea. On the 11th, Lieutenant Shpanberg arrived back from Bolsheretsk.

On August 19, the whole crew moved to the ships: Captain Bering and Lieutenant Shpanberg boarded the new, and the old Lieutenant Chirikov, Midshipman Chaplin, 4 sailors and 15 servants. It must be assumed that Chaplin understands the navigators of the Okhotsk and navigational students by the name of sailors.

On August 22, 1727, both ships entered sail. Since Chaplin was on the ship of Lieutenant Chirikov, we do not have a Bering voyage log; however, the reader will see that they were not far from each other.

Coming to the roadstead, with a moderate northerly wind, we went to SOtO and, following without any adventure, arrived on the 29th in the view of the Kamchatka coast, at a latitude of 55 ° 15 ". to the river, which, as the sailors told them, is called Krutogoroskaya. During the 5-day voyage they carried out the most rigorous reckoning and observed, when time allowed, the height of the sun and the declination of the compass.

September 1 in the afternoon we weighed anchor and went near the coast to the south. Soon we saw Captain Bering's ship at StO at a distance of 20 miles. Following with quiet winds, they caught up with it the next day and on the 4th arrived at the mouth of the Bolshoi River. Chaplin writes: we entered the Bolshaya River with our ship at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and Captain Bering at 6 o'clock.

There was full water at half 8 o'clock, before the arrival of the moon on the midnight meridian in 4 hours 54 minutes. The latitude of this place is 52 ° 42 ". The midday height of the sun was 39 ° 51", and its declination was 2 ° 33 "north.

Chaplin writes in his journal: the difference in width between the mouths of the Okhota and Bolshoi rivers is 6 ° 31 ", point SO 4 ° 38" to the east. Swimming distance 603 miles; and Russian versts 1051.27, departure 460 miles. According to his own journal, it can be seen that the difference in longitude between Bolsheretsk and Okhotsk is 13 ° 43 ", which is almost completely true.

At noon on September 6, Captain Bering with Lieutenant Spanberg and a doctor left the ship, and went to prison with the entire crew on 20 boats.

On the 9th, Lieutenant Chirikov also went there. In the Bolsheretsky prison, according to Chaplin's observation, the latitude of the place is 52 ° 45 ", and the declination of the compass is 10 ° 28" east.

Throughout September, they were engaged in the transportation of various things from ships to the prison, for which they used 40 Bolsheretsk, or, better to say, Kamchatka bots. One can easily judge how difficult this transportation was, for Chaplin says: on each boat there were two people of the Gentiles, who led them up the river with poles.

In half a month, Lieutenant Shpanberg was sent with several boats up the Bolshoi and Bystraya rivers to the Nizhnekamchatka prison.

Lieutenant Chirikov says: in the Bolsheretsk prison of Russian dwelling there are 17 courtyards and a chapel for prayer. Latitude 52 ° 45 ", compass declination 10 ° 28" East. The manager was a certain Slobodchikov.

On October 6, the aforementioned bots arrived from Nizhnekamchatsk, and the sailor who arrived on them reported to Captain Bering that, while walking along the Bystraya River, they had lost two anchors and 3 soums with flour. On the 26th, Chaplin says, Mister Captain ordered by order to declare me a midshipman on command, through which the order was announced. It should be noted that at that time midshipmen did not have officer ranks. The junior naval officer was a 12th class non-commissioned lieutenant.

The climate in Bolsheretsk was very good, although from October 7, it sometimes snowed, but the river did not become, and on the 30th there was a thunder. Snow fell very often throughout November; but it also rained at times. At half of the month the local ruler died; and on the 24th, says Chaplin, for the day of the namesake of Her Imperial Majesty, they fired from cannons. On clear days, sailors and soldiers were trained in gun and target shooting.

In December there were already constant frosts. At this time, a dead whale was brought to the mouth of the river, and several sledges were sent from the prison for fat, which on different trips brought it up to 200 poods. Nothing can be said about the winds in the Bolsheretsky prison: they were variable all the time.

On January 4, various supplies and captain's luggage were sent on 78 sledges to Nizhnekamchatsk; and on the 14th, Captain Bering himself set out with the whole crew.

On January 25, we arrived safely in Verkhnekamchatsk, 486 versts from Bolsheretsk. This jail, says Chaplin, stands on the left bank of the Kamchatka River, housing 17 yards in it; but service people and yasak foreigners live, whose dialect differs from the Bolshevik language.

Captain Bering spent seven weeks in this prison, observing the departure of various things to Nizhnekamchatsk, where he and the rest of the team left on March 2. On the 11th, everyone arrived there safely, and Chaplin says: the prison is on the right side of the Kamchatka River, there are 40 households in it; and spreads along the coast about a mile.

7 versts from this on SOTO there are hot (sulfur) springs, where there is a church and 15 courtyards; Lieutenant Spanberg lived here: for he was not very healthy. From Verkhnekamchatsk to Nizhnekamchatsk 397 versts; consequently, all the burdens and sea provisions unloaded in Bolsheretsk had to be transported 833 versts.

The Verkhnekamchatka prison, says Lieutenant Chirikov, was built on the left bank of the Kamchatka River, housing 15 yards and a chapel, 40 Russian serving people, the manager was a certain Chuprov. The latitude of the location is 54 ° 28 ". The declination of the compass is 11 ° 34" East. Krasheninnikov, who wintered here in 1738, says: there are 22 philistine houses, and 56 servicemen and Cossack children.

On April 4, at the meeting of the entire team, the bot was laid. Chaplin says: on this occasion, the captain was pleased with all of the wine. According to observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 56 ° 10. "Lieutenant Chirikov arrived here with the rest of the team on May 30. In March, April and May the winds blew here mostly from the south.

On June 9, after the Divine Liturgy, the newly built boat was named "Saint Gabriel" and was safely launched into the water. The team in charge of this case was given two and a half buckets of wine as a reward.

Many readers will find it strange why Captain Bering did not sail from Okhotsk directly to Avacha or Nizhnekamchatsk. If he had done this, then two years of time would have been won, and the poor Kamchadals would not have had to transport all the burdens across the whole of Kamchatka, from Bolsheretsk to Nizhnekamchatsk.

One cannot think that Bering did not have information about the Kuril Islands and the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. We saw above that he demanded to him the monk Kozyrevsky, who, floating in those places, could provide him with detailed information about the countries there. The proof that this conclusion is sound is the fact that in 1729 Captain Bering sailed from Nizhnekamchatsk directly to Okhotsk.

An extract from the first Bering voyage, compiled by our famous hydrographer, Admiral Nagaev, says: although Captain Bering intended to go around the Kamchatka land to the mouth of the Kamchatka River, only severe winds hindered, and, moreover, late autumn time and places were unknown.

If autumn were really the reason for Captain Bering's wintering in Bolsheretsk, then he could have made this path very easily next year. It must be assumed that this immortal navigator had special reasons that are not at all known to us.

On July 9, everyone got over to the boat, and on the 13th, setting all sails, they sailed from the mouth of the Kamchatka River into the sea. All the servants were on the boat: captain, and lieutenants 2, midshipman, and doctor, and quartermaster 1, sailor 1, sailors 8, foreman 1, apprentice 1, drummer 1, sailboat 1, soldier 9, cableman 1, carpenters 5, Cossacks 2 , 2 interpreters, 6 officer servants - a total of 44 people.

They remained in prison because of illness: the surveyor Luzhin, who was sent by Emperor Peter I in 1719 to the 6th Kuril Island to find golden sand, and 4 soldiers to guard the treasury and provisions.

Lieutenant Chirikov says: and before that this is a place near the mouth of the Kamchatka River, on the seashore, from which they intend to calculate the length from the first meridian by perception of the path, for the sake of it decently here calculate the difference in length from St. Petersburg. Relying on the observed eclipse of the Moon in Ilimsk in 1725 on October 10th, the entire length difference to this point is 126 ° 01 "49˝.

The venerable Chirikov, having established himself on the aforementioned observation of the moon in Ilimsk, made an important mistake. His ship reckoning is much more accurate: the log of his river navigation from Tobolsk to Ilimsk shows a difference in longitude of 36 ° 44 ", but according to observation it turned out to be 30 ° 13", which he took for real.

According to the most accurate observations, or according to the map of Captain Cook, who determined the position of the Kamchatka cape, the difference in longitude between St. Petersburg and Nizhnekamchatsky is 132 ° 31 ".

Chirikov believes this to be only 126 ° 1 ".

But if you add to this 6 ° 31 ",

then it will be exactly the same - 132 ° 32 ".

These 6 ° 31 "are the difference in reckoning versus observing an eclipse of the moon in Ilimsk. Whoever knows how difficult it is to observe this phenomenon, without blaming the famous navigator our captain Chirikov, will be amazed at how accurately he kept reckoning.

July 14. Captain Bering sailed these days to the south, in order to bypass the Kamchatka Nos, which protruded far into the sea. He began reckoning from the Nizhnekamchatka meridian, the latitude of which he indicated in his journal 56 ° 03 ", and the declination of the compass is 13 ° 10" east.

It is remarkable that the immortal Cook, approaching in 1779 very close to the Kamchatka Cape, also found its latitude 56 ° 03 ", and the declination of the compass 10 ° 00" is eastern. On this day, only 11 miles of Italian were sailed, which were used during the entire journey along the sea and rivers. The map attached with this indicates the voyage of every day.

July 15. The weather was clear, but the wind was so quiet that only 18 miles had been sailed until midnight. At 3 o'clock in the morning the entire coast, near which they were sailing, was covered with fog; during the rising of the sun, I found out, and then the amplitude of the compass was calculated at 14 ° 45 "to the east. The total voyage was 35 miles on ONO that day.

July 16. From noon, from which sailors usually count the day, a fresh wind blew from SSW, and the speed was 6 ½ knots, or Italian miles per hour. When the sun went down, the compass declination was calculated at 16 ° 59 "east. In the evening the wind died down, the horizon was covered with fog, and, as Chaplin says, there was moisture, that is, frost.

Vitus Bering's report to the Admiralty Board on the construction of the Saint Gabriel boat and the preparation of the expedition for sailing

State Admiralty Collegium report

On the 11th day of the past May, I dutifully reported to the State Admiralty Collegium from the Nizhny Kamchadal prison about our departure from the Okhotsk prison to the Bolsheretsk mouth and about the dry route from Bolsheretsk to the Nizhny Kamchadal prison of materials and provisions and about the structure of the bot, which was sent to the Yakutsk chancellery.

Now I humbly report: on June 8, the boat was launched without a deck and escorted to the mouth of the Kamchatka River to feed the artisans, and this July, on 6 days, the ship arrived safely from Bolsheretsk, which was 16 days on the way. On the same date, the boat was completed, and for 9 days we loaded it, and with the first good wind, with God's help, we will go to sea to reduce the tackle, and also to repair it. For a short time, so as not to miss the summer time, I have to go on one boat, and leave the arriving ship from Bolsheretsk. And from the provisions that were put into the bot and what he left where, he reported the register. The same number of the hieromonk, carpenters of Yenisei and Irkutsk, who are acquiring 11 people in my team, I sent blacksmiths 3 to their former teams, it’s impossible to fit on one boat, and I was forced to issue a cash salary in January until 1 day 1729 for their travel and food in these empty places. years, also that go with me on the road, to buy a dress and pay off debts, a monetary salary was issued until 1729. And for the provisions, materials and money treasury that arose from us at the Nizhny Kamchadal prison, 3 people and the sick were left to guard the soldiers: the surveyor Putilov and one soldier, and they were given instructions from us: if we do not return back in 1729, from which, God , save that they give the remaining provisions and materials to the treasury with a receipt at the Kamchadal prison, and themselves, taking the treasury, go to Yakutsk and give this money to the Yakut chancellery with a receipt. And from the data given to me from the Tsalmeister's office, out of 1000 rubles, 573 rubles and 70 kopecks remained for the expense, and he took this money with him for any needs that happened. And the genuine letters that come to us in May on the 3rd, and those outgoing in March until the 31st of this 1728, were left at the Nizhny Kamchadal prison to my command at the guard soldiers. And for the things that arose from us, we built a barn by the keys, where the church, at a distance of 6 versts from the Lower Kamchadal prison, there were no state barns before, and in the prison he did not dare to build, for all the years it drowns with water, and water costs June from the first days to half of July.

With this, I humbly offer the State Admiralty Collegium a report card on the status of the team and cash expenditures from 1727 from January to July on the 10th day of this 1728.

According to the observation, the declination of the compass was 16 ° 59 "east. The wind is moderate, temporarily fog and gloom. The log says that at 6 o'clock in the afternoon they saw a mountain, whitening with snow, and a famous place on the coast.

By reckoning, it turns out that it was the Cape of Lake. In the morning we saw the land right in the north, that there should be a Ukinsky cape, which on the old maps is much longer and more protruded into the sea than on the new ones.

July 18. The wind is calm and clear. During all these days, Captain Bering sailed only 8 miles to the north. Probably coming very close to Cape Ukinsky, he ruled SSO and OSO for several hours. According to the observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 57 ° 59 ", and the declination of the compass was 18 ° 48".

The first [figure] agrees quite well with the chart and the dead reckoning. The glorious Ukinskaya Bay, says Krasheninnikov, has a circumference of 20 versts, from here begins the dwelling of sedentary [sedentary] Koryaks; and up to this place Kamchadals live.

July 19. Cloudy weather and calm wind. On the first day we sailed only 22 miles on NOtN. Captain Bering, although he saw Karaginsky Island, did not know that it was an island; his journal says: a hill on the shore, from which, as it were, the division of the land.

July 20. Fresh wind and fog. On that day, Captain Bering sailed 92 miles on NOtO and, as can be seen from his log, passed the Karaginsky Cape, which is on the Kamchatka coast, at a distance of 22 miles.

It is a great pity that our new geographers, compiling maps, did not conform to the old ones and to the description of the Kamchatka shores. The reader will now look in vain for the Ilpinsky cape, which, as can be seen from the above description, is 10 versts into the sea and is 4 versts from the mouth of the Ilpinsky river. This cape is now called Karaginsky, and for no reason at all; for between this and the Karaginsky Island there is Kamenny Island.

Krasheninnikov says: this cape (Ilpinsky) is very narrow near the mother earth, sandy and so low that water overflows through it. At the head, it is wide, rocky and mediocrely tall; opposite it there is a small island on the sea, called Verkhoturov. We also do not know: Kamenny Island and Verkhoturov Island - are they two islands or one and the same?

According to Miller's notes, it is clear that in 1706 the clerk Protopopov, nicknamed Verkhoturov, set off from the mouth of the Olyutora River by sea to the Kamchatka River. Arriving at the mouth of the Tuplata River, he saw a Koryak prison on a nearby small, steep and rocky island, which he attacked. The Koryaks fought very bravely, and killed Verkhoturov and most of his subordinates. Miller says: except for two or three people who left in a boat to Kamchatka, everyone is beaten.

July 21. Fresh wind and fog. In a whole day we have sailed 100 miles, and the log shows that we have passed different capes; but Captain Bering, for reasons unknown to us, did not give them a name. He only says: they saw a mountain whitening with snow. We saw the famous mountain.

We saw a mountain of a special kind. We saw a mountain right next to the sea. A similar position on the shores would give today's mariners an opportunity to remember all their benefactors and many of their leaders.

July 22. Warrant officer Chaplin did not say a word about the Olyutorskaya Bay, which they sailed that day. Steller says: opposite the Olyutorskaya Bay, in the east, there is an island in the sea for two miles, where only black foxes are found, which the Olyutors do not catch, except for extreme need, imputing it for a sin and fearing from that extreme misfortune. Since we do not have detailed information about the position of that coast, we can neither deny, below we assert the validity of Steller's words.

Among the old papers I found the following Senate decree, from which it is clear that there should be islands in the Olyutorskaya Bay. The merchant Yugov could not understand by this name the Aleutian Islands; for the first information was received about these in Irkutsk in 1742.

Fresh breeze and temporarily clear. They sailed at a distance of 15 miles from high stone mountains, of which, as the log shows, one ends in a steep cliff. That day we sailed 100 miles and observed the latitude of the place 60 ° 16 ", and the declination of the compass is 16 ° 56" east. The numbered latitude was 14 minutes north of the observed one.

July 23. Moderate wind and clear weather. We, Chaplin says, sailed parallel to the shores at a distance of 20 miles. When the sun rises, the compass declination is calculated at 19 ° 37 ", and 3 hours after - 25 ° 24" east. If at the second sighting Captain Bering had gone on a different tack, one could explain the reason for this great difference; but the log shows that he swam until 11 o'clock, when calm came, on NOtN3 ∕ 4N according to the right compass.

The entire coast, past which they sailed, consisted of high mountains. One of them was covered with snow in different places, and received the name Pestrovidny. On this day, 48 miles were swam, and according to observation, the latitude of the place was 61 ° 03 ".

July 24. From noon the weather was warm and pleasant, the voyage continued to the shore, from which on the last day, due to calmness, we departed. By the evening the wind gripped and blew from behind the mountains in gusts.

July 25. In the afternoon it was raining with a strong wind, which had died down by evening; but the consequence was great excitement. In the morning we saw the coast in front of the bow, which consisted of a high detached mountain. According to the observation, the latitude was 61 ° 32 ", which was very consistent with the ship's reckoning. The declination of the compass was calculated at 24 ° 00" east.

July 26. Quiet wind and clear weather, all day sailed parallel to the coast, being at a distance of 20 miles from it. In the evening we passed the bay, which lay on NWtN, which must be believed to be the mouth of the Khatyrka River. On this day, 80 miles have been sailed and the compass declination has been calculated twice - 21 ° 05 "and 21 ° 10" east. The merchants Bakhov and Novikov entered this river in 1748; according to their description, the Khatyrka River is not wide, up to 4 fathoms deep and abundant in fish.

July 27. Quiet variable wind and sunshine. Continuing the path parallel to the coast, we saw at two o'clock in the afternoon, as Chaplin says, "ahead of the land on its course." This should be the Cape of St. Thaddeus, which on the new maps is laid out differently from that of Bering. But it seems that Bering's map should be given more faith; for he, going to NOtO, suddenly began to keep on SOtO and bypassed this cape at a distance of 3 miles, being 15 miles from the former coast.

Approaching the Cape of St. Thaddeus, says Chaplin, we could see a fall on the ground on NWtN, from which, we hope, rivers flow into the sea, but the water in the sea opposite this place is canceled out in color.

Wonderful how accurate Chaplin's description is. Captain King, who continued Cook's journal after his death, speaks of Cape St. Thaddeus: from the southern tip of this cape, the coast extends directly to the east and a large depression is visible. The eastern part of Cape St. Thaddeus is located at latitude 62 ° 50 "and longitude 179 ° east of Greenwich, which is 3 1∕2 degrees east of Russian maps.

The nearby shores must be very high, for we saw them at a great distance. At this cape we met many whales, sea lions, walruses and various birds. Taking advantage of the calm weather, we caught here quite tasty fish, a kind of salmon. The depth of the sea was 65 and 75 fathoms here.

On the general map of Russia in 1745, Cape St. Thaddeus is marked at a longitude of 193 ° 50 "from Deferro Island, or 176 ° 02" from Greenwich. It is surprising that when compiling it, they did not look into the Bering magazine. When he was at Cape St. Thaddeus, his difference in longitude to the east is 17 ° 35 ", and since the longitude of Nizhnekamchatsk is 161 ° 38" east of Greenwich, it turns out that his reckoning is very consistent with Cook's observation (179 ° 13 ").

July 28. Quiet wind and rain. There is a 1 mph sea current from SOtS. In this sea, says Chaplin, animals are shown, there are many whales on which the skin is variegated, sea lions (sea lions), walruses and sea pigs. That day we sailed 30 miles on NtW, at noon we were 15 miles from the coast and saw a high large mountain by the sea.

July 29. The wind is moderate, cloudy and foggy. The path continued parallel to the coast. Chaplin notes: the land on the bank is low, which they had on the left; and up to this place, along the coast, all were high mountains. Approaching the mouth of the Anadyr River, we found a sea depth of 10 fathoms, the ground is fine sand.

It must be assumed that Captain Bering did not know where he was; for otherwise he would have mentioned this in his journal and probably would have wanted to see those living there, from whom he could have received fresh provisions and news of the state of the coast. The Anadyr prison, destroyed around 1760, existed for over 100 years and was located on the left bank of the river, at a distance of 58 versts from the sea.

On this day, 34 miles were sailed on NWtN. At midnight, Captain Bering ordered to drift, and at dawn, having removed from it, he set off again; Having approached the coast, which was on their left hand in 1 ½ miles, they found the depth of the sea 9 fathoms.

July 30. The weather is cloudy, the wind is moderate. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, having approached the shore at 1 ½ miles of distance, Captain Bering ordered to anchor at a depth of 10 fathoms. We had just anchored, says Chaplin, then Mr. Captain sent me to look for fresh water and inspect the place where you can become a bot safely.

Upon arrival on the ground, I did not find fresh water, and there was also no convenient place to stand with the bot, unless it was possible on the arrived water. It would be difficult to enter the bay; but they did not see the people on the shore. Upon the arrival of Chaplin, Captain Bering weighed anchor and sailed near the coast, at which the depth of the sea was 12 fathoms.

July 31. All day this was cloudy and foggy weather; but in spite of the fact that the shores were occasionally shown at NW and NO, Captain Bering continued his way and swam 85 miles at NO in the whole day. The depth of the sea was 10 and 11 fathoms during the entire voyage. At about noon, they saw that the color of the water had completely changed, and when they found out, they saw land in the entire northern part of the horizon at a very close distance.

August 1. Gloomy and foggy weather with rain, the wind increased gradually. Captain Bering, seeing that he was only 3 miles from the high and rocky coast, sailed all day on S and SW in order to move away from it. Nothing remarkable happened during the whole day.

Chaplin says: at 2 o'clock in the morning, when they turned to the other side of the boat, in the wind, they broke the iron shoulder strap along which the main sheet was walking. Finding themselves in the morning at a distance of 16 miles from the coast, they began to approach it again.

Bering, following the custom of the century in which he lived, gave names to the newly discovered bays, islands and capes according to the calendar. Since our church celebrates the origin of the ancient and life-giving Cross in this number, he called the lip in which he was, the lip of the Holy Cross, and the river flowing into it - the Big River.

August 2. Calm and cloudy weather continued until 8 pm, the depth of the sea was 50 fathoms, the ground was silt; from this time a moderate wind came, and at midnight there was a coast on ONO at a distance of 5 miles, the depth of the sea was here 10 and 12 fathoms, the ground was stone. At noon, the latitude of the observation site turned out to be 62 ° 25 ".

August 3. Moderate wind and gloom. Captain Bering spent two days sailing in the Bay of the Holy Cross to find a convenient anchorage and a river on which to stock up on fresh water; but seeing that he could not make it here in his intention, he swam to the southeastern promontory of this lip. Nothing remarkable happened that day.

August 4. The weather is cloudy and the wind is moderate. Bypassing the southeastern promontory of the Holy Cross Bay, Captain Bering sailed in parallel near the high Kamchatka coast and sailed 36 miles on OSO that day. The depth of the sea was 10 fathoms and the ground was a shallow stone.

August 5. Quiet wind and gloom. Continuing the whole day along the path near the coast, Captain Bering reached the bay, and since the coast here deviated to the south-west, he went in the direction thereof. Nothing remarkable happened that day either.

August 6. Moderate wind and cloudy. Following close to the shore, Captain Bering examined each depression with special attention. Chaplin says: from 1 to 9 o'clock we maneuvered near the coast to take fresh water, we still have only one barrel of water.

At 6 o'clock, they approached the high stone mountains, stretching in the east and high as walls, and from the depressions lying between the mountain, into a small lip and anchored at a depth of 10 fathoms, the ground is a small stone. Since our church, the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, celebrates this number, Captain Bering called this lip the Transfiguration.

August 7. At noon, Chaplin was sent with 8 people to take fresh water and describe the shores. Arriving at him, he found a stream flowing from the mountains covered with snow, and filled 22 empty barrels with this water. He also found empty dwellings, in which, according to signs, the Chukchi had recently been; in many places he saw well-trodden roads. Chaplin says: this is followed by a drawing of the lip; but, unfortunately, it was impossible to find it.

August 8. The wind is moderate, the weather is cloudy. From noon, Captain Bering weighed anchor and sailed near the shore, which stretched to SOtS and looked like stone walls. At 9 o'clock they came to the lip, which extends into the ground at NNO and is 9 miles wide.

At 7 o'clock in the morning we saw a boat rowing to the ship, in which 8 people were sitting. Captain Bering's ship had two Koryak interpreters, who were ordered to enter into conversation with them. The wild ones announced that they were Chukchi, and asked where and why this ship had come.

Captain Bering ordered the interpreters to call them to the ship; but they, after hesitating for a long time, finally landed one man on the water; who, on inflated bubbles, swam to the ship and ascended it. This Chukchi told that many of its inhabitants live along the coast and that they had heard about the Russians for a long time.

To the question: where is the Anadyr River - he answered: far to the west. On a red day, the Chukchi continued, moving away from here not far into the ground, an island is visible.

Having received several gifts from Captain Bering, he sailed to his boat.

The Koryak interpreters heard that he was trying to persuade his comrades to swim closer to the ship, about which they, having talked among themselves, decided to approach; but after staying with him for a very short time, they sailed back. Their interpreters told that the language of the Chukchi differs a lot from the Koryak language; and therefore they could not take away all the necessary information from them. The Chukchi boat was made of leather. The latitude of the place where they spoke with the Chukchi is 64 ° 41 ".

August 9. Quiet wind, cloudy weather. That day they swam around the Chukotka Nos and swam only 35 miles in different directions. By double calculating the declination of the compass, it turned out to be 26 ° 38 "and 26 ° 54" east. The latitude of the place according to the observation is 64 ° 10 ".

August 10. The weather is clear, the wind is quiet. Captain Bering Chukotsky Nos sailed all day, and although he walked 62 miles at different points, he made a difference in latitude of only 8 '. At noon it was 64 ° 18 ".

Captain Cook says: “This cape was named Chukotka from Bering; to which he had the right, because here he saw the Chukchi for the first time ”. The southern tip of this cape is considered by Cook at latitude 64 ° 13 ", and Bering at 64 ° 18".

But the magazine does not say a word about the Chukotka Cape; it was probably designated by this name on the map with which Captain Cook had a copy; in the drawing room of the State Admiralty Department it was impossible to find it.

“I must,” says Cook, “give just praise to the memory of the venerable Captain Bering: his observations are so accurate and the position of the shores is so correctly designated that nothing better could have been done with the mathematical tools he had.

Its latitudes and longitudes are determined so correctly that one should be surprised at this. In saying this, I am not referring either to Millerovo's description, below to his map; but on the account of Dr. Campbell in Horris' collection of travels; the map he published is much more accurate and more detailed than Millerova. "

August 11. Quiet wind, cloudy weather. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, they saw an island on the SSO, which Captain Bering called Saint Lawrence, for according to the civil calendar there was another 10 day, on which the holy Martyr and Archdeacon Lawrence is celebrated.

At 7 o'clock, says Chaplin, we saw land on SO½O, and the middle of the island, which we had seen before, was at this time 4 ½ miles from us at StO. Judging by these words, one would have to conclude that this is another island again; but since we know that the island of St. Lawrence is 90 miles in length and there are several different elevations on it, then we must assume that Chaplin took the mountain for an island.

Lieutenant Sindt, who sailed here in 1767, mistook this island for 11 different ones, which he marked on his map under the names: Agafonika, Titus, Diomedes, Miron, Samuel, Theodosius, Micah, Andrew, etc .; when giving these names he followed the Bering rule.

His Excellency G. A. Sarychev talks about the island of St. Lawrence: in front of the ship on ONO several mountainous islands were discovered; but when we approached them, we saw that these islands were interconnected by a low-lying coast, and that this entire coast was an extension of one island. The captain of the fleet GS Shishmarev also confirms this conclusion: on the map he compiled, there are no others near the island of St. Lawrence.

Although it seems surprising how Lieutenant Sindt could mistake the island of St. Lawrence for 11 different ones, after consulting his journal and reading Captain King's note below, one can even excuse him for this gross mistake.

Sindt had a very unfavorable voyage: all the time very strong and mostly contrary winds were blowing, which were accompanied by snow and hail from the first days of September, and therefore, not daring, probably, to approach the shores, and he could not see the lowlands of St. Lawrence Island.

He saw the islands of Micah and Theodosius at a distance of 20 miles, and others even further. On August 9, he walked right up to the island of St. Matthew, discovered by him, and on the way back he saw this and near him lying at a distance of 23 and 25 miles.

Captain King says: On July 3 (1779) we circled the western end of the island, which should be Bering St. Lawrence. Last year we sailed near the eastern end and called it Clerk Island; now we have seen that it consists of various heights, connected by a very low earth.

Although at first we were deceived into mistaking these mountains for separate islands, I think that the island of St. Lawrence is really separated from the island of Clerk, for we noticed between the two a considerable space in which there is no rise above the water horizon.

At noon the latitude of the place was 64 ° 20 ". The depth of the sea from the island of St. Lawrence to the Chukchi Cape was 11, 14, 15, 16 and 18 fathoms.

August 12. The wind is moderate and gloomy. On that day, Captain Bering sailed 69 miles, but changed the latitude difference by only 21 '; because he bypassed a narrow promontory, which is located to the north of the Chukotka Nos. At sunset, the compass declination was calculated from the amplitude of 25 ° 31 "East. At noon, the observed latitude was 64 ° 59".

August 13. Fresh wind, cloudy weather. Captain Bering sailed all day out of sight of the coast and changed the latitude difference 78 '. All in all, the voyage was 94 miles.

August 14. Quiet wind, cloudy weather. On that day, 29 miles had been sailed, and 8 ¾ miles of current was added to this, for Captain Bering noticed that it was going from SSO to NNW. At noon, says Chaplin, they saw the high land behind them and after another 3 hours high mountains, which, for tea, would be on the mainland. At noon the latitude of the place was 66 ° 41 ".

August 15. The wind is calm, the weather is cloudy. At noon, Chaplin says, they saw quite a few whales; and from the 12th day of this month the water was in a white sea, depths of 20, 25 and 30 fathoms. On this day, 58 miles have been sailed and the current of the sea has been added to 8 ¾ miles.

August 16. The weather is cloudy, the wind is quiet. From noon to 3 o'clock, Captain Bering sailed on NO and, having covered 7 miles, began to hold on StW1 ∕ 2W. Chaplin says: at 3 o'clock, Mister Captain announced “that it is necessary for him to return against the order in execution,” and, turning the bot, ordered to keep to StO (by compass).

The journal of Lieutenant Chirikov says the same thing and in exactly the same words. The latitude from which Captain Bering turned back is 67 ° 18 ". The difference in longitude he made from Nizhnekamchatsk to the east is 30 ° 17".

Since the longitude below Kamchatsk is 162 ° 50 "east of Greenwich, it turns out that the longitude that has come should be 193 ° 7", which is almost completely in accordance with the position of the coast known to us and does a special honor to Captain Bering and midshipman Chaplin, who wrote the log of his voyage ... When Captain Bering sailed to the shores of America in 1741, he was mistaken in longitude by 10 °.

Our first historiographer, Miller, says: finally, on August 15, they came at 67 degrees 18 minutes of the height of the pole to the Nose, beyond which the coast, as the mentioned Chukchi showed, stretched to the west. Therefore, the captain concluded with a good deal of probability that he had reached the very edge of Asia to the northeast; for if the coast from there certainly stretches to the west, then Asia cannot be united with America.

Consequently, he followed the instructions given to him. Why did he suggest to the officers and other naval officers that it’s time to return. And if you go even further to the north, you must be careful not to fall into the ice by accident, from which it will not be possible to break through soon.

In autumn, the thick fog, which was already occurring then, will sweep away the free view. If the opposite wind blows, then it will not be possible to return to Kamchatka that summer.

Captain Bering's log contradicts this conclusion: we saw that he was in the middle of the strait, and not only on the 16th, but even on the 15th did not see the shores. According to the latest news, Cape Serdtse-Kamen lies at latitude 67 ° 03 ", longitude west of Greenwich 188 ° 11", that is, 4 ° 6 "west of the present Bering site.

It must be assumed that Captain Bering turned back because, having sailed over 200 miles north of the Chukotka Nos, he did not see the shores either in the east or lower in the west. It is a great pity that he did not say a word about whether he saw the ice or not.

Captains Cook and Clerk, who were in these places, did not see ice, in 1778 on August 15 they were at this time at latitude 67 ° 45 ", longitude 194 ° 51". The next year, July 6 - at latitude 67 ° 00 ", longitude 191 ° 06". The Clerk met very huge ice floes adjacent to the shores of Asia. Perhaps, at the end of August, there is no ice in the middle of the Bering Strait.

It is remarkable that the surveyor Gvozdev, who was in 1732 at the end of August near the shores of America at latitude 66 ° 00 ", did not see any ice at all.

Captain King says: our two voyages across the sea, lying north of the Bering Strait, confirmed us that there is less ice in August than in July; probably in September and it is even more comfortable to swim there.

According to the information received by the army by Captain Timofei Shmalev from the Chukotka foreman, it is clear that when the Bering Strait is cleared of ice, many whales, walruses, sea lions, sea seals and various fish swim to the north. These animals, the foreman continued, remain there until October, and then return back to the south.

Consequently, it can be concluded from this testimony that ice accumulates in the Bering Strait in October and that until now it is possible to swim there.

We left Captain Bering at 3 pm as he sailed back south. Continuing the path with a fresh wind, in which there was a speed of more than 7 miles per hour, at 9 o'clock in the morning we saw a high mountain on the right hand, on which, says Chaplin, the Chukchi live, and in the sea after this the island on the left. Since the holy martyr Diomedes is celebrated on this day, Captain Bering named the island he saw after him. On this day, they sailed 115 miles, and the numbered latitude was 66 ° 02 ".

Now the question is posed: did the newest geographers have the right to name the islands lying in the Bering Strait, Gvozdev islands? The glory of the first acquisition of these belongs indisputably to Bering. We know that the surveyor Gvozdev sailed to the shores of America in 1730, and we believe that the western cape of this country, which he saw at that time, should bear his name.

Gvozdev was the first of all European sailors who saw the shores of America lying above the Arctic Circle. The immortal Cook, who covered the strait dividing America from Asia, names the islands lying in this strait after the first and famous navigator of our Bering, the islands of St. Diomede.

August 17. The weather is cloudy, the wind is fresh. We sailed in parallel near the coast and saw on it a lot of Chukchi and in two places their dwellings. Seeing the ship, the Chukchi ran to a high stone mountain.

At 3 o'clock, with a very fresh wind, they passed very high land and mountains; and from them came the low earth, behind which there is a small lip. On that day, 164 miles were sailed, and according to observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 64 ° 27 ".

August 18. Quiet wind and clear weather. At noon, many whales were seen, and at 5 o'clock they passed the lip, into which, Chaplin says, with tea, you can enter and save yourself from the fierce weather. When the sun went down, the amplitude of the compass declination was 26 ° 20 "east, and then in azimuth 27 ° 02". In 1779, a declination of the compass on the ships of Captain Cook was observed here at 26 ° 53 ".

Since midnight, Chaplin says, the weather was clear, the stars and the moon shone, against the north of the country there were light pillars in the air (that is, the northern lights). At 5 o'clock in the morning, an island called Saint Lawrence was seen on ONO at a distance of 20 miles. The numbered latitude is 64 ° 10 ".

August 19. Quiet wind and cloudy weather. On that day, Captain Bering went around the Chukotka Nos and did not see the shores behind the gloom; the latitude was 64 ° 35 "by reckoning.

August 20. Calm and fog. From midnight to 5 o'clock, Chaplin says: the weather is the same with wet fog, we lay behind calm without sails. At 2 o'clock the depths of the sea were 17, at 4 o'clock - 15 fathoms. There is a stone at the bottom. From 5 o'clock to half of 7 the weather was the same, we lay without sails. At 6 o'clock, the depth is 18 fathoms. At 8 o'clock they found out little, and we saw the shore half a mile away. A small wind blew from N, and they set up the mainsail and foresail.

At 10 o'clock we set up a topsail, at the same hour we watched how the coast stretches: and we saw that behind us stretches to O, and in front to WtN; then saw 4 boats rowing from the shore towards us. We began to drift to wait for them. The Chukchi came to us on these boats. These visitors were bolder and kinder than the previous ones.

Approaching the ship, they entered into conversation with the interpreters and said that they had known the Russians for a long time; and one of them added that he had also been to the Anadyr prison. We, they continued, go to the Kolyma River on reindeer, but we never make this way by sea.

The Anadyr River is far away from here at noon; and along the whole coast there are people of our kind, we do not know others. These Chukchi brought reindeer meat, fish, water, foxes, polar foxes and 4 walrus teeth for sale, which was what they bought. Only 37 miles sailed that day, the latitude was 64 ° 20 ".

August 21. Cloudy weather and fresh wind. That day we sailed 160 miles on SW1 ∕ 2W and at noon saw the Gulf of Transfiguration, where they anchored on August 6, at NtW at a distance of 7 miles.

August 22. Fresh wind and cloudy weather. The azimuth calculated the declination of the compass 20 ° 00 "east. The journal says: they saw the Angle of St. Thaddeus at WtS at a distance of 25 miles. It must be assumed that this name was given by Bering, for on August 21 St. Thaddeus is celebrated; the only wonder is why, having seen this cape before, he left it without a name.

On the academic map of 1745, this cape is named: the Corner of St. Thaddeus, which confirms the previous conclusion. On that day, 142 miles were sailed, and according to observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 61 ° 34 ", which is very consistent with the ship's reckoning.

August 23. Quiet wind and clear weather. According to the amplitude, the compass declination was calculated at 18 ° 40 "east. The latitude of the place turned out to be 61 ° 44" according to the observation, and since it did not agree with the reckoning, Chaplin said: here the sea current is at NOtO. Only 35 miles have been sailed during the whole day.

August 24. Quiet wind, clear weather. On that day, we saw the shores at a distance of 15 miles and swam only 20 miles. The compass declination is calculated as 13 ° 53 "East.

August 25. Strong wind and gloomy weather. In order to give the reader an idea of ​​the qualities of the vessel on which Captain Bering sailed, it must be said that, lying in side haul, it had a stroke of 1 ½ and 2 knots; and the drift - from 3 ½ to 5 ½ points. During the whole day, only 34 miles had been sailed, and at noon the latitude was 61 ° 20 "as observed, which is very much in accordance with the reckoning.

August 26. Clear weather and fresh wind; In the whole day, 105 miles had been swam, and according to observation, the latitude of the place was 60 ° 18 ", the number was 60 ° 22", the compass declination 18 ° 32 "and 18 ° 15" was calculated from the amplitude and azimuth.

August 27. Fresh wind, clear weather. The run was all day from 5 to 7 knots, and at 4 o'clock at night it showed 9 knots, which is even doubtful! From midnight until the next noon it was very cloudy and raining; and therefore there were no observations. It is remarkable how much the weather favored the famous Bering; until then it had not endured a single storm, and although it encountered opposite winds, it was mostly quiet.

August 28. Cloudy weather, fresh breeze. In the whole day, 98 miles have been sailed. At noon, the latitude turned out to be 57 ° 40 "according to the observation, and the reckoning one was 9 'to the north. Chaplin says: in this place we recognize the current of the sea when we were on the corrected compass on SO3 ∕ 4S, and the sim was corrected.

August 29. Quiet wind, clear weather. The compass declination is calculated at 16 ° 27 ", and the latitude is 57 ° 35" by observation. In the whole day, 54 miles have been floated.

August 30. Fresh wind, clear weather. 100 miles swam all day. From midnight the wind became so strong that the speed was 7 ½ knots. There were no sightings to this number; Chaplin says: from the 24th to the 31st, they did not see the land beyond the range. The numbered latitude was 56 ° 33 "and the longitude 1 ° 38" east of the Nizhnekamchatka meridian.

August 31. Strong wind and gloomy weather. At 4 o'clock, Chaplin says, a piece of land at WSW appeared through the fog, 3 miles or less. And how, behind the fog, they did not soon consider that the earth stretches like an arc to SOtS and NtW, then the brief was lowered, and the mainsail and foresail were set, after the great wind and excitement, not soon and with considerable burden.

And at that time it brought to the shore at a distance of half a mile; the coast is rocky and steep without any difference, like a cliff, and extremely high. And we labored to move away from the shore against the wind until ten o'clock in the afternoon.

And at 10 o'clock the halyards broke at the grotto and at the fore; then the sails fell, the gear was all messed up, and because of the great excitement it was impossible to make out the gear; For that sake, we anchored at a depth of 18 fathoms from the coast at a distance of 1 mile or less; in the last part, 2 hours, with great difficulty, until noon, corrected themselves for the march with sails and other tackle, although everyone worked incessantly about this. On this day, he sailed 32 miles on SW.

Judging by the latitude and description of the shores, it appears that Captain Bering was at anchor near Cape Stolbovoy. Krasheninnikov says: on the southern side of the Stolbovaya River there are three stone pillars on the sea, of which one is up to 14 yards high, and the others are slightly lower. These pillars were probably torn off by the force of a shock or flood from the coast, which often happens there; for not in ancient times a part of this coast was torn off together with the Kamchatka prison, which stood on the cape on the edge of it.

September 1. Gloomy weather and moderate wind. At 1 o'clock, Captain Bering ordered to anchor; but as soon as they twisted a few fathoms of the rope, it burst; and therefore, having set the sails rather, went to SSO. Chaplin's account of the past days and this incident give us an idea of ​​what tackle Captain Bering had.

If at that time the wind had become even stronger, then inevitably, with such a steep and weighty coast, everyone would have to perish. Since from Yakutsk to Okhotsk it was necessary to make most of the journey on horseback, the ropes and even thin gear were developed along the bindings and then twisted again.

Even the anchors were split into several parts and welded again in Okhotsk. All Okhotsk ships were supplied with such gear and anchors until 1807, when the venerable V.M. Golovnin was sent from Kronstadt with rigging and various supplies for the Okhotsk and Kamchatka ports.

September 2. The weather is cloudy and the wind is fresh. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Captain Bering entered the Kamchatka Bay and maneuvered through the fog until dawn. In the morning at 7 o'clock it was completely clear, and we, Chaplin says, having set all the sails, sailed safely at the mouth of the Kamchatka River, and anchored.

The current of the sea was observed all day from the Kamchatka River on SSW½W on the right compass 10 miles per day. Here they found their old ship "Fortune", but their log does not indicate how long ago and under whose command it arrived here.

One can easily imagine that during the winter in this remote and secluded place, nothing worthy of attention happened. The team was occupied on clear days by training, and at other times by fixing the rigging and various ship works. Winter came here in late October.

We must do justice to the care of Captain Bering. The log shows that there were only three patients at all times: Lieutenant Shpanberg, a surveyor and one sailor. The first was so unwell that he asked Bering for leave in Bolsheretsk, for he feared that during the voyage, from the dampness and sea air, his illness would intensify.

However, the Kamchatka air, perhaps, also contributed to the health of the team, for Krasheninnikov and Steller, who wintered here in 1738, 1739 and 1740, say: the air and water there are extremely healthy, there is no concern either from heat or frost, there are no dangerous diseases such as fever, fever and smallpox. There is no fear of lightning and thunder and, finally, there is no danger from poisonous animals.

On October 3, Captain Bering gathered the entire team and, having read the manifesto on the accession to the throne of Emperor Peter II, he swore everyone in. This manifesto was brought to Bolsheretsk by navigator Engel on an old ship and sent it with a sailor to Nizhnekamchatsk. It is remarkable that Emperor Peter II took the throne on May 7, 1727, therefore, the news was received 17 months later.

February 2 navigator Engel arrived, and with him 1 corporal, 2 sailors and 3 soldiers. With the onset of spring, Captain Bering ordered to prepare ships, and on June 1 the crew moved to these. On the boat "Gabriel" there was a captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 midshipman, 1 doctor, 1 navigator - a total of 35 people with lower ranks; and on Fortuna - bot apprentice 1, mastmaker apprentice 1, surveyor 1, blacksmith 1, carpenter 1 and 7 soldiers. It would be interesting to know: which of them commanded the ship?

Chaplin does not say a word about this, but only mentions that the surveyor was very ill. On the 2nd, Captain Bering promoted the sailor Bely to under-skippers; but the magazine does not say why; and on the 5th both ships set out to sea. Chaplin's journal does not say whether the Fortuna sailed with the Gabriel or sent directly to Bolsheretsk.

Our venerable historiographer Miller says that during his stay in Nizhnekamchatsk, Captain Bering heard about America's proximity to Kamchatka. The most important and indisputable evidence was as follows.

1) That about 1716 a foreigner brought to Kamchatka lived, who said that his fatherland was to the east of Kamchatka and that several years ago he and his other foreigners were captured at Karaginsky Island, where they came to fish. In my fatherland, he continued, very large trees grow, and many large rivers flow into the Kamchatka Sea; for riding on the sea we use the same leather kayaks as the Kamchadals.

2) That on the Karaginsky island, lying on the eastern coast of Kamchatka, opposite the Karaga river (at latitude 58 °), very thick spruce and pine logs were found among the inhabitants, which do not grow in Kamchatka, lower in nearby places. To the question: where did they get this forest, the inhabitants of this island answered that it was brought to them by the east wind.

3) In winter, during strong winds, ice is brought to Kamchatka, on which there are clear signs that it was carried away from the inhabited place.

4) A lot of birds fly in from the east every year, which, having visited Kamchatka, fly back.

5) Chukchi sometimes bring marten parks for sale; and there are no martens in all of Siberia, from Kamchatka up to the Yekaterinburg district, or the old Isetskaya province.

6) Residents of the Anadyr prison said that bearded people live opposite the Chukotka Nose, from whom the Chukchi receive wooden dishes made to the Russian pattern.

In support of this news, Bering added his own remarks.

1) That on the sea along which he sailed to the north, there are no such huge ramparts, which he met on other large seas.

2) That on the way they often met trees with leaves, which they had not seen in Kamchatka.

3) Kamchadals assured that on a very clear day one can see the land to the east.

And finally 4) that the depth of the sea was very shallow and not commensurate with the height of the Kamchatka shores.

The clarity and certainty of all these proofs have made famous Bering want to see this country, which is close to Kamchatka; and therefore, going out to sea, and he went to the southeast.

June 6 calm wind and cloudy weather. Captain Bering spent the whole day, maneuvering from the Kamchatka Bay, and, bypassing the Kamchatka Cape in the morning, sailed on OtS according to the above intention.

June 7. Quiet wind, clear weather and waves from NNO. Nothing happened during the whole day, worthy remarks. By reckoning noon was the latitude of the place 55 ° 37 ". The difference in longitude from Nizhnekamchatsk to the east was 2 ° 21".

June 8. Gloomy weather and strong wind from NNW all day lay under one mainsail, and had a drift of 5 points. At noon it turned out to be a reckoning latitude of 55 ° 32 ". The difference in longitude is 4 ° 07".

From the time of the turn until the next noon, Captain Bering sailed 150 miles and saw the Kamchatka coast in the morning. According to the observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 54 ° 40 ".

June 10. Quiet wind and cloudy weather. Captain Bering sailed all day in view of the Kamchatka coast; and since the wind had become even quieter since midnight, it sailed only 35 miles. The compass declination is calculated from the amplitude of 11 ° 50 "East; and the latitude of the place according to noon observation is 54 ° 07".

June 11. Clear weather and calm wind. Chaplin says: they saw the mountain in Kronoki, they saw the mountain on Zhupanova, they saw the mountain on Avacha, which burns. All these days we were sailing in view of the shores, being from them at a distance of 6 and 10 miles. In azimuth and amplitude, the compass declination was 8 ° 31 "and 8 ° 46" east.

The latitude of the place was calculated from the observation of 53 ° 13 ". From the end of this day to the 20th of this month, Chaplin admits, the current of the sea changed from the ordinary one, which usually flows along the stretch of the coast, from the long-term winds between S and W, to the side of the vast sea lying between S and O.

June 12. Clear weather and calm wind. From midnight the wind grew stronger, and a very thick fog came. All day they sailed in view of the coast; a total of 42 miles sailed, including 12 miles of sea current at SOtO¼ °.

June 13. Very thick fog and quiet wind. Turned three times during the day; probably for distance from the coast. In total, 34 miles have been sailed, including the same current of the sea as on the previous day.

June 14. Gloomy weather with rain and quiet wind. Throughout the day, Captain Bering sailed at 8 points from the wind and had a drift of 2 ½ points; the current of the sea was counted as much as before, and the numbered latitude was 52 ° 58 ".

June 15. Moderate wind and gloomy weather; sailed the whole day at 8 points from the wind and had the same drift. The currents of the sea are counted as 12 miles.

June 16. Gloomy weather and quiet wind. We sailed 38 miles all day, including 8 miles of current at SOt½O. The banks did not see the gloom. Numerous latitude 51 ° 59 ".

June 17. The same gloomy weather and calm. In the whole day we sailed 27 miles and did not see the shores behind the gloom. The current of the sea is counted the same as in the previous day.

June 18. Cloudy weather and moderate wind from SW, which made Captain Bering sail against his wishes on the NW. At noon, the latitude of the place turned out to be 52 ° 14 ", that is, 24 'north of yesterday.

Chaplin counted 9 miles of sea current in the same direction.

June 19. Rainy weather and fresh wind from SSW. This unfavorable wind diverted Captain Bering even more from the real path; and therefore he sailed directly to NtO and saw at noon Zhupanovskaya volcano at a distance of 15 miles. Its numbered latitude is very correct, and 9 miles of the current of the sea was also taken into account.

June 20. The same wind from the south with gloomy and foggy weather. On this day, Captain Bering ruled on NOtO, and at noon its latitude was 54 ° 4. It is strange why Captain Bering kept so close near the coast on the last day! At a distance from it he could meet another wind.

June 21. Gloomy weather and quiet variable wind. During the whole day we sailed 20 miles on NOtO, but Chaplin added 8 miles of sea current to W. The numbered latitude was 54 ° 16 ".

June 22. Foggy weather and very quiet wind; there was a lot of excitement from the SW, a consequence of the strong southerly wind. Chaplin says: for the most part we lay without sails and put in the account the current of the sea 4 miles at W. The total voyage was 8 miles at WNW.

June 23. Clear weather and gentle wind from SSW. According to two observations, the compass declination was 11 ° 50 "and 10 ° 47" east.

At noon, the Kamchatka coast was seen at NNW at a distance of 13 miles and the latitude of the site was 54 ° 12 ", which is quite reckoning. The daily voyage was 28 miles at WtS.

June 24. The weather is clear and the wind is quiet from SSW. All day we sailed in view of the coast. The total voyage was 30 miles on WtN and the target latitude was 54 ° 15 ".

June 25. Quiet variable wind from SO and SSW; rainy weather. During the whole day we were in view of the coast and sailed 26 miles on StW. At noon, the latitude of the place according to the observation was 53 ° 53 ", which is very much in accordance with the reckoning.

June 26. Quiet variable wind and temporarily clear. Although captain Bering circled Shipunsky Cape that day, the journal did not mention this, but only says: at noon, high Avacha Mountain on WtS¼W at a distance of 20 miles. The numbered latitude is quite consistent with the position of this mountain.

June 27. Clear weather, fresh wind from W and strong swell and waves. During the whole day we sailed 90 miles on SSW and observed the latitude of the place 52 ° 03. "Although they did this whole voyage in view of the shores, Chaplin says: only at 5 o'clock after midnight they saw a mountain and another near it on NWtW. These should be hills , Swivel and Fourth.

June 28. Clear weather and calm wind. According to observations, it turned out: latitude of the place 52 ° 01 ", declination of the compass 7 ° 42". At 5 o'clock in the morning, Chaplin says, the shore was 5 miles away.

June 29. Quiet wind and clear weather. All day we swam only 17 miles on NWtW and, as Chaplin says, we saw a flat mountain with a slide on it. The countable latitude was 52 ° 06 ".

June 30. Clear weather and moderate wind. During the whole day we sailed in sight of the coast and covered only 22 miles on SWtS. The countable latitude was 51 ° 38 ".

July 1 moderate wind and gloomy weather; but, in spite of this, Captain Bering bypassed the Kamchatka paddle that day. Chaplin says: at noon the southern corner of Kamchatka land is from us at NWtN, a mile and a half away, and from this the sand stretched into the sea about a mile away.

July 2. The weather is cloudy, moderate wind. On this day we sailed 70 miles at N 2 ° 55 "to W and saw both Kuril Islands. Chaplin says: on the third island, that is, Alaid, which on old maps is designated under the name of Anfinogen, we saw a high mountain at SSW¾W, 24 miles away. According to two observations, it turned out: the declination of the compass is 11 ° 00 ", the latitude of the place is 52 ° 18".

From this narration it is clear that Captain Bering passed the first Kuril Strait; All ships sailing from Okhotsk to the eastern shores of Kamchatka until 1737 sailed on this. That year there was a strong earthquake, after which a ridge of stones appeared between the first and second straits.

Krasheninnikov says: about a quarter of an hour after that, waves of a terrible shaking followed and the water surged on the bank of 30 fathoms. From this flood the local residents were completely ruined, and many died in disaster.

This earthquake lasted more than 13 months, and began on October 6, 1737. The Kuril Islands and the eastern coast of Kamchatka have changed from this in many places; and on the western, as low and sandy, it had no influence.

Steller says that on October 23 there were such strong blows in Nizhnekamchatsk (where he was then) that most of the stoves collapsed, and the new church, built from a very thick deciduous forest, was so loosened that the door frames fell out. The inhabitants of Kamchatka, he continues, told me that near burning mountains there are blows much stronger than near extinct ones.

July 3 days at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Captain Bering came to the mouth of the Bolshoi River and, having laid the anchor, sent to inspect where it is more convenient to get into the river, for he was informed that the mouth of this river changes every year. After this a very strong wind came to the sea; the rope was blown up, but the boat safely entered the river and found two ships in it: "Fortune" and the old one, on which the yasach treasury was transported from Kamchatka to Okhotsk.

On July 14, Captain Bering entered under sail and directed his way to Okhotsk. The voyage was accomplished safely, and on the 13th they anchored in the Okhotsk roadstead. Chaplin says: in the afternoon at 2 o'clock they made a flag show and fired from 2 cannons to call the boat from the shore.

At the beginning of the 3rd hour there was a slight wind, and we raised the anchor and went closer to the mouth of the river; and at 3 o'clock they lay down at anchor at a depth of 5 fathoms and fired more from the cannon; the wind was quiet and the weather was clear. At 4 o'clock, a navigator sent from us arrived and reported that the water began to recede from the river and it was impossible to go to the mouth. At 5 o'clock we raised the anchor and went from the coast, then lay down again at anchor.

In the midnight at 7 o'clock we raised the anchor and maneuvered to the mouth of the Okhota River; the weather was bright and the wind was small. On the 24th in the afternoon, at 9 o'clock, we went to the estuary on the water that had arrived and, firing from 51 cannons, set the boat near the shore. Mister captain ordered this to be dismantled.

Having read the sailing log of the famous and first navigator of our Bering, one cannot but give him justice that he was a very skillful and experienced officer. The accuracy with which his logbook was kept, and frequent observations also deserve special attention. If we add to this the labors, obstacles and shortcomings that he met every hour, then we must agree that Bering was a husband who did honor to Russia and the century in which he lived.

Captain Bering's return journey can only be mentioned lightly, for he does not represent anything interesting. On June 29, Bering set off on 78 horses to the Yudomsky Cross and met the Cossack head Afanasy Shestakov on the way, who was traveling by a personal decree to conquer the Chukchi and discover the land lying north of the Kolyma River, on which, in his opinion, the Shelags live.

The ministers were sent from the Yudomsky Cross by water, and Captain Bering went by dry road and arrived in Yakutsk on August 29. From here he sailed along the Lena River, but on October 10 the river froze, and he continued his journey in a sleigh through Ilimsk, Yeniseisk and Tara to Tobolsk. Having lived in this city until January 25, 1730, Bering set off again on the road, and arrived safely on March 1 in St. Petersburg.

The venerable and hardworking Chaplin concludes his journal with the following words: and with this, I sign from the Navy, Warrant Officer Pyotr Chaplin.

Reporting Vitus Bering to the Admiralty Board with a petition for rewarding the participants of the First Kamchatka Expedition

To the State Admiralty Collegium, from the Navy, Captain Vitus Bering, I humbly inform about the chief and non-commissioned officers and privates who were with me in the Siberian expedition, which, in my admission, for their art from their post, for their application in the shown expedition, which little happens, hard work is worthy of reward, and at the same time I provide a personal register with the meaning of each dignity. And they carried a lot of work in 1725 on the way, going rivers up the Ob, Ketyu, Yenisei, Tunguska and Ilim, and in 1726 during the construction [on] the Lena river, at Uskut and on the march up the river Aldan, May and Yudoma , and in the same year 1726 and 1727, when crossing from Gorbeya to the sea on oneself, without horses, boat supplies, ropes, anchors and artillery and other things through a considerable growth in empty places, where from a lot of work and from the impoverishment of provisions, if only they didn’t get the much-hoped-for help from God, they all lost their belly.

Also in the ferry from Yakutsk to the sea by dry route of provisions through muddy and swampy places and during the construction of a ship at the Okhotsk prison, on which they crossed the sea from the Okhotsk prison to the mouth of the Big River. And in the ferrying of provisions and other things through the Kamchatka land from the Bolsheretsky mouth to the Lower Kamchatka prison. Also, during the construction of a boat in Kamchatka and in 1728 on a sea voyage to unknown places, where the peculiarities of these places through the air there added a lot of difficulties. And in such a difficult way, all the servants, in the absence of sea food, received incompletely, and the chief officers did not receive a portion or money for it. And in 1729, in bypassing the sea near the southern Kamchatka corner and throughout the expedition, they took a lot of work and at a lot of time in need, which requires a lengthy description to explain in detail, but I, having briefly suggested, humbly ask the State Admiralty Board not to leave the State Admiralty Collegium with gracious reasoning.

Lieutenant-Commander Martyn Spanberg - for promotion

Lieutenant Alexey Chirikov - "-

Navigator Richard Engel - "-

Doctor Vilim Butskovskoy - salary award

Warrant Officer Pyotr Chaplin - naval non-commissioned lieutenant

Podshipper Ivan Belaya - podshipper's salary

Quartermaster Ivan Borisov - to the shchimans

Sailors of the I article:

Dmitry Kozachinin - in boatswains

Vasily Feofanov - "-

Grigory Shiryaev - "-

Afanasy Osipov - in shhimanmata

Savely Ganyukov - Quartermaster

Evsey Selivanov - "-

Nikita Efimov - "-

Procopius Elfimov - "-

Nikifor Lopukhin - "-

Grigory Barbashevsky - "-

Afanasy Krasov - "-

Alexey Kozyrev - "-

Apprentice bot business Fyodor Kozlov - to increase the rank

Carpenter's foreman Ivan Vavilov became carpentry commander

Carpenters:

Gavrila Mitrofanov - in the carpentry foreman

Alexander Ivanov - in the notes

Nikifor Heesky - "-

Caulker Vasily Gankin - "-

Sailboat Ignatius Petrov - "-

Blacksmith Evdokim Ermolaev - "-

1st grade pupil Ivan Endogurov - for promotion

Biographical information about Captain Bering and officers who were with him

Captain-Commander Vitus Bering

If the whole world recognized Columbus as a skillful and famous navigator, if Great Britain extolled the great Cook to the top of the glory, then Russia owes no less gratitude to its first navigator, Bering.

This worthy husband, having served in the Russian Navy for thirty-seven years with glory and honor, deserves, in all fairness, excellent respect and special attention. Bering, like Columbus, opened to Russians a new and neighboring part of the world, which provided a rich and inexhaustible source of industry.

But, unfortunately, we have only very brief and superficial information about life, as well as about the exploits of this first navigator of ours. An everyday writer proud of the honor of being the narrator of the Bering Deeds, not finding materials, should turn his reader to the map.

Here, he will say, the northern coast of Kamchatka, the eastern part of Asia, the island of St. Lawrence, the islands of St. Diomede and the strait separating the New World from the Old - these are the places with which Bering introduced us, here are the seas: Kamchatka and Bobrovoe, for which no one is he did not swim.

Explaining the exploits of his first voyage, he directs his gaze to the shores of America and sees a long chain of Aleutian islands, the Shumaginsky Misty islands, the northwestern part of America and the famous Mount Saint Elijah.

Here, he will tell his reader, the exploits of the second Bering voyage are the most famous feats that aroused the entrepreneurial spirit of Siberian inhabitants, laid the foundation for trade, navigation and served as the basis for the establishment of Russians in America, for the formation of colonies.

Bering was a Dane and joined the Russian naval service at the beginning of the 18th century. Miller says he was a lieutenant in 1707 and a lieutenant commander in 1710. It is not known on which seas he served in these ranks and whether he himself commanded ships or was under command.

Among the papers of our famous hydrographer, Admiral Nagaev, I found copies of letters from Prince Dolgorukov to Emperor Peter I from Copenhagen. From these it is clear that the ship "Perlo" bought there was commanded by Captain Bering, and in March 1715 he was ready to sail to sea.

It must be assumed that Bering, having arrived with this ship in Kronstadt, was immediately sent to the city of Arkhangelsk in order to bring the newly built ship "Selafail" from there.

Prince Dolgorukov says in another letter, from Copenhagen, on November 5, 1715: I inform your Majesty, there is a statement that the command of Commander Ivan Senyavin Captain Vitus Bering with the ship "Archangel Selafail" is found in Norway. In the report of Captain-Commander Ivan Senyavin of December 5, 1715, it is clear that he and Bering arrived safely with their ships in Copenhagen on November 27; and with the third ship, Lieutenant-Commander Beis remained for the winter at Flecken.

Where was after this Captain Bering is unknown; but it can only be seen from the letter of Captain-Commander Naum Senyavin to Emperor Peter I of Revel dated May 10, 1718, that the ship "Selafail", due to its thinness and leaks, was brought into the harbor and unloaded by the lieutenant, for its commander, Captain Bering, is in St. Petersburg.

The journals of the State Admiralty Collegium brought me the following biographical materials about Bering.

1723 December 20 days were repaired to naval chief officers from lieutenant captains to captains, and were present: Admiral General Count Apraksin; vice admirals: Sievers, Gordon; Shautbenakhts [Vice Admirals, German, Heads]: Naum Senyavin, Lord Dufouss; captain-commanders: Ivan Senyavin, Gosler and Bredal; captains: Gay, Leaters, Mukhanov, Vilboa, Mishukov, Kalmykov, Koshelev, Korobyin, Trezel, Naryshkin, Gogstrat, Delap, Armitage Bering, Brant and Bens.

The venerable Bering probably believed that he had the right to the rank of captain of the 1st rank, for we saw that back in 1715 he commanded a ship of the line.

This conclusion is evidenced by the following decree of the State Admiralty Board of January 25, 1724: at the request of the navy, Captain Vitus Bering, send a decree to the Shautbenacht Lord Dufuss: order Bering, who asks for leave from service to the fatherland, to take written news against the regulations collegiate position of the 58th article and send this news to the college.

But in the 58th article it is said: "If one of the naval and admiralty servants of the Russian nation asks for freedom from service, then the collegium must find out the reason for it." Apparently, this article did not concern Bering as a foreigner.

The Collegium's journals do not show what reasons Bering presented for his dismissal from service; but on February 9 of the same 1724 it is written in the journal:

His Imperial Majesty deigned to come to the Collegium and did the following: the Collegium reported to His Majesty that the naval captains Gay, Falkenberg, Bering and Dubrovin were asking for a leave of absence from the service of Abshits [quitting, German], and at the same time, Admiral-General Count Apraksin reported to his Majesty that these captains, except Dubrovin, should be released, and Dubrovin, of course, should be rewarded with an increase in salary.

To which His Majesty deigned to say: henceforth it is necessary to accept naval officers in the service and contracts to mend stronger; but he did not specify the exact decrees on the leave.

Despite the fact that Emperor Peter I did not decisively decide whether to release these captains to resign, the following resolution took place on February 23: the navy captains Ulyam Gey, Matthias Falkenberg, Vitus Bering, at their requests and extracts [extracts, lat.] From the service His Majesty, let them go to their fatherland and give them passports and a well-deserved salary from the Admiralty College for the day of the vacation, as well as for travels on the road, by decree, minus the hospital, and for an additional month to issue from the Tsalmeister affairs according to the statement from the office General Kriegs Commissioner.

This resolution was carried by chief secretary Tormasov to the president of the collegium, Count Apraksin, for signature, but he refused that he could not sign due to illness. Tormasov, returning to the collegium, sent this decree to the vice-president, Admiral Kreis, who, although he signed it, demanded that it be sent to Count Apraksin again, and so that he deigned the collegium to respond why he didn’t sign it. Until that time, stop performing.

On February 25, Tormasov went to Count Apraksin for the second time, offering to sign the decree on the 23rd. The count replied that he was so ill that he could not even go to Moscow for the coronation of Empress Catherine I, and still less sign collegiate definitions drawn up on such dates when he was not even present.

However, he added: as this decree has already been signed by all the members, then it is possible to enforce it and send passports to him, which he, despite his illness, will sign. It is remarkable that Count Apraksin left for Moscow on March 3.

On February 26, a resolution was held in the collegium: since the requests for captains Gay, Falkenberg and Bering were already signed by the hand of the admiral-general, then the resolution on the 23rd should be put into action.

According to the journals of the collegium, it is clear that on March 10 Captain Gay came to the Collegium to complain to the Collegium that the passports given to him, Falkenberg and Bering were not registered in the police chief's office without a collegiate decree. The Collegium immediately sent a decree about this to the Chief of Police.

On March 11, Bering filed a petition to the college that, although he was given a well-deserved salary, they kept a part for the additional 13th month; and therefore he asks to order to give it to him. The collegium, in spite of its decree of February 23, determined that before he, Bering, had been promoted in Russia by the ranks and an increase in the treaty, such a salary was not ordered to be paid for the third for ten months; but to whom it was given, and from those it was commanded to subtract.

We saw above that on March 10, Captain Bering received a passport. According to the 85th article of the regulations on collegiate positions, every foreigner who has received a passport is obliged to leave Russia in 8 days; but it is not known whether Bering traveled to his fatherland or lived in St. Petersburg. The college journals do not mention him at all until August.

On August 7, 1724, the Captain and Prosecutor of the Guard Kozlov announced in the presence that on August 5th, his Imperial Majesty, being at the all-night singing in the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, orally to his Excellency, the Admiral-General and the Admiralty Collegium, the President, Count Apraksin, ordered the following, about which he , admiral general, ordered the collegium to propose the first: to accept captain Bering into the service of his majesty in the navy, as before, to the first rank as captain.

According to the list of 1726, it can be seen that Bering was promoted to the first rank on August 14, 1724, which is very consistent with the above, because the production to this rank went through the Senate.

The collegium determined: having called on Captain Bering, to announce to him whether he wishes to be in His Majesty's service. And if he wants to, then in fidelity to the service lead to the oath, and about it where the decrees should be sent. This ruling serves as proof that Bering did not ask for service; otherwise, they would not ask him: does he want to be in it?

Having found so many interesting materials in the first 8 months of 1724, I imagined to find in the latter the detailed news of Bering's departure to Kamchatka and the complete production of the equipment of this famous expedition. But how great was my surprise when I found in them only two decrees pertaining to him.

On October 4, at the meeting of the collegium of the sea fleet, captain Vitus Bering, who, by the verdict of the collegium, by the force of a personal decree, was admitted to the first rank in the navy, was read a printed oath in the Admiralty charter, which was signed after reading it.

December 23, according to the report of the navy captain Vitus Bering, who Bering for his needs to release to Vyborg on January 7 to the 7th of the upcoming 1725.

Remembering that Miller said: the work of this (that is, the equipment of the expedition) was commissioned by the emperor to Admiral-General Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin, I decided to sort out his papers and did not find in them not a single word about Bering or his expedition.

It is surprising that when the final decree on the dispatch of Captain Bering was placed in the journal of the collegium, that is, on giving him a salary in advance for a year, runs and a road trip, not a word was mentioned before about him. It must be assumed that this case was not carried out in the collegium and was subsequently lost.

A curious reader would be very pleased to know: who recommended Bering? Why was he recruited into the service again? For which they made him out of line in the first rank, and so on. and so on? But hardly when he knows it.

There is no need to mention the first voyage of Captain Bering, for the readers will find here detailed information about it; but you just need to add that on August 4, 1730, he was promoted to the rank of captain-commander.

Captain Bering, returning to St. Petersburg on March 1, 1730, presented his journal, maps to the government in his report, and, together with them, having submitted both of the following proposals, expressed his readiness to go to Kamchatka a second time and survey the position of the American shores. Between the papers of Admiral Nagaev, I found these two curious acts under the following title: two proposals from Captain Bering.

Vitus Bering's proposal to the Senate on measures to arrange the life and life of the population of Siberia and Kamchatka in connection with the activities of the First Kamchatka Expedition

1730 of this December 4 days from the ruling Senate ordered me, the undersigned, to submit the news that in Siberia, in the eastern region, it is being recognized for the benefit of the state, about which I propose below.

1. Near Yakutsk there is a people called Yakuts, close to 50,000, and they had the Mohammedan faith from antiquity, and now they believe in birds, and others worship idols, but these people are not so stupid that they do not know about God above.

If it will be reasoned for the good, then one or two priests should be placed between them, or such that their children would be taught at school. And I admit that there are a lot of hunters to send children to study. And they are afraid to send to the city of Yakutsk, for the sake of smallpox and other sorrow. Then from that people between them to identify priests or teachers, and I hope that a considerable number can be brought into the Christian faith.

2. In Siberia, when there is a need for iron, then they are transported from Tobolsk to distant cities, which is why extra kosht is involved in the transportation.

At the Angar River near the Yandinsky prison there is iron ore, also near the Yakutsk one, and these people themselves are melted into kritsa. And if it is determined who knows how to melt in rods, then it would be possible to be content unnecessarily in any business and in the ship structure. And this will be against the best Siberian iron. And the Yakut people make cauldrons of that iron for themselves and upholstery chests and use it for all sorts of other needs.

3. There are about 1000 servicemen in Yakutsk; and there is a Cossack head above them, centurions and Pentecostals. And although there are some commanders over them, they are only kept not under fear; before the servicemen drink and lose not only from their belongings, but, temporarily, their wives and children, which we ourselves saw in Kamchatka. And when they set out on the right path, then they do not have a dress, but the gun is not working properly either. And I found at Okhotsk and Kamchatka that they did not have a gun, bows and arrows, and it was more necessary for these servicemen to have rifles.

And for better distribution and order, as every serviceman should be in a regular regiment, and according to the custom there, every serviceman should have a horse, a warm dress, a gun and ammunition at Yakutsk; at Okhotsk and Kamchatka one should have warm clothes, a gun and ammunition, bows and arrows, skis, dogs instead of horses.

4. At Okhotsk there are no horned cattle, and there are enough grasses, also along the Ural River; and passing people happen, who are sent to Kamchatka temporarily, accept a considerable need, also upon their return from Kamchatka.

With this prison, it is possible to determine from the Yakut families three or four or more that could have cattle and horses: then the passing people could get food from that, and horses for transporting the treasury from Okhotsk to the Yudoma River.

5. There is no cattle in Kamchatka, and there is enough grass, and the servicemen want to be fired to bring the horned cattle on the sovereign ships, and the Yakuts' cows are sold at a price of two rubles and two rubles and a quarter.

If it were commanded to drive young cattle, cows and pigs from Yakutsk to Okhotsk, and transfer from Okhotsk across the sea to Kamchatka or by dry route through the Kolyma, and at every prison, identify one or two families of people from the Yakuts who graze cattle, no more Kamchatka the people are also common, then it would be possible to plow the land there, and sow all kinds of bread. When I was still there, a test was made about every vegetable garden, and rye was sown in my presence, and before us they sowed barley, turnips and hemp, which was born, only plowed by people.

6. Tar, liquid and thick, was previously transported from the Lena River, and from Yakutsk to Okhotsk. From what the loss in the carriage was caused.

And when we were in Kamchatka, we ourselves sat to the building of the ships from larch wood, as long as we need, and henceforth, in order to determine those people who could sit with resin, and on the Yudoma and Uda rivers there is also enough pine forest for that. Also, if there were enough copper and cast-iron boilers for the treasury, then there would be no need to carry salt to Kamchatka, since the first year we ourselves have cooked as much as necessary, unnecessarily.

7. At Okhotsk and Kamchatka there are 4 sailors, who in winter are more, as if they want to live, and after many years there is a repair to the ships there, so that they do not have resin. Also, when the commissars are ferrying from Okhotsk to Kamchatka, they assign service people to the ships instead of the sailors and change them every time, and the local ships, which are built like karbuz [karbases] on one mast and the board are sewn to the board.

For the sake of it, if it were determined to be above them, someone commander, who would have diligence in repairing ships, also teach young Cossack children every sea habit for the sea route, and according to our admission, during time you can freely teach, as much is necessary, for travel Kamchatka to Okhotsk, and if it happened, then there would be no need to send from here, and on each ship there are enough 12 or 15 people for science.

8. Near the Olyutorskaya river, in the bay opposite the Karaginsky island, there used to be a prison, but now that place is empty, and there are plenty of fish in this river.

If it were ordered to settle hunters and servicemen in this place, then the Koryak people and Yukaghirs would be protected from the Chukchi, who come every year in winter and ruin the mentioned people, which is why they cannot pay the proper yasak.

9. On the Kamchatka River, at the Lower prison, there is one church and a monastery is conceived; and in the whole Kamchatka land there is only one priest, and there are no priests at the Upper and Bolsheretsky prison, and the local residents, who are Russians, very much want a priest to be assigned to each prison. The Kamchatka people also complained to me, namely from the Tigil-river and from Khariusovaya, about the local servicemen in the offense that they are repaired with a yasak payment that they collect excess against the decree. And many servicemen said that in ancient years they lived in Kamchatka, but did not receive salaries, so that a detailed decree in Yakutsk forbids making salaries, except for those that appear in Yakutsk, and from the mentioned people they collect capitation money, which is why there is a considerable need are undergoing. The local people, according to news from the Kamchatka peoples, have a habit in Kamchatka from the beginning of the possession of the Russian state: when a tribute is collected with sables and foxes, then they voluntarily give the collectors one and two portions, in addition to the tribute laid on them.

And if a ruler was determined for how many years, who would have diligence about this people, so that he would not be offended, he also had a judgment between them in quarrels, and of those peoples who in places live near the Kuril Nos, also in the northern region, are given b were for a yasak payment, and the service people who are found in Kamchatka should be sent to them from Yakutsk salaries, then b hoped that a considerable profit will be made a year. And according to the current custom, commissars are sent every year for the yasak collection, and in the spring the packs [again] return to Yakutsk, and the Kamchatka forts are left under the protection of servicemen, and for every year the yasak collection is reduced. And if servants were given salaries all over the place, then this part could be taken to the treasury, and therefore the treasury would have double profits, 60 and 65 forty different animals are gathered every year, and if these parts are taken to the treasury, it will be there are more than 120 forties in the collection, and this people will not be at all burdensome.

10. And the Kamchatka people have a habit, when a person falls ill and lies a little, although not to death, then they throw him out and give little food, then he dies of hunger; when an old or a young person does not want to live any longer, he will go out into the cold in winter and die of hunger, and many of them press themselves; and if someone happens to drown in the river, and many see, then they do not repair help for him and make themselves a great sin, if they save him from drowning. And so in vain a lot of people die from this habit.

For the sake of this, one must command firmly, so as not to throw sick people out of their homes and not to kill themselves. It is also necessary to determine one or two priests or skillful people to teach them, even at every prison, children are taken from the noble people there, for fidelity from them, and then it is possible to teach the teachers of those children, then I hope that many will incline to the Christian faith.

11. Traders from Russians go to Kamchatka with goods on the sovereign's ship, but they have no distribution, what to take for transportation.

During my time, the trade packs wished to return on the sovereign's ship, and I ordered two foxes from each person, and from their belongings, from each sum, two foxes, and these foxes were given to the sailor with a receipt. And he ordered those receipts to be announced in Yakutsk, so that henceforth they, sailors, could be read into their salaries.

12. In Kamchatka, it happens from visiting commissars that they change unauthorized service people who have been found in Kamchatka for a long time and have homes, wives and children, including change and craft children.

And in my opinion, it is necessary to send more artisan people to Kamchatka than to export from there, namely: carpenters and blacksmiths, spinners, locksmiths, even when there is a need, then there is no need to transport from distant cities.

13. Near the Tauisky prison near Okhotsk, in the Penza Bay, also near the coast on Kamchatka land, it throws out from the sea often dead whales with whiskers; and the local people count these mustaches for nothing, and so they disappear, others use them for runners.

If it would be commanded from these people to accept a whalebone instead of a tribute, a pood or two, or as it will be located, then I hope that in time many hunters would be found to collect these mustaches.

14. In all three Kamchatka forts there is a wine sale on farms, and the Cossacks and Kamchatka people drink a lot of animals and other things, there was no money before our arrival at Kamchatka.

And if the wine sale was under the jurisdiction of the steward, or if kissers were assigned to that, then those animals would be brought to the treasury for wine.

15. Last year, in June 1729, a ship was sent from the Kamchatka River to the Bolsheretsk fortress, near the Kamchatka land, and foreign people were seen walking near the coast, and it is recognized that they were genuinely Japanese people. And they showed iron, canes and paper, which was found on a small island near Avachik, and henceforth, if it was commanded to build ships for this way, then they should be built 8 and 9 feet deep; and no better place has been found for the construction of ships, except on the Kamchatka River.

For this, I ordered the local steward to send the servants to look for where these people are found, and to bring them under guard, and if henceforth the Japanese people described above [are found], then, in my opinion, those people should be sent on our ship to their land and to see the way, and whether it is possible to have a bargain with them or in some other way for the benefit of our state what to look after, there are islands even to the very Japanese land from the Kamchatka Ugl, and not an island far from the island. And by the Kamchatka River, there is enough larch tree for the structure of ships, and iron can be brought from Yakutsk by the Aldan, Maya and Yudoma rivers only while these rivers disappear, and if that time is slowed down, then it is impossible to come by ships with these rivers for shallow water. for seafood you can buy reindeer meat from the Koryak people, and instead of cow oil you can have fish oil unnecessarily, and you can sit wine from the sweet grass there as long as you need it.

The lowest thought is not a decree, if sometimes the intention to send on an expedition is perceived, but especially from Kamchatka to the East

1. Ponezhe, ferrying out, I invented that further east (east) the sea rises in waves below, as well as on the coast of the island called Karaginsky, the great pine forest, which does not grow in Kamchatka, threw it out. To this end, he recognized that America or other, lying in between, lands not very far from Kamchatka, for example, have 150 or 200 miles. And if this is true, then it will be possible to establish bargaining with the local acquired lands to the profit of the Russian Empire, and it will be possible to search for it directly, if you build a ship, for example, from 45 to 50 flippers [with a cargo capacity of 250-280 m3].

2. This ship should have been built near Kamchatka, then that the quality and suitability required for the construction of the forest there can be better obtained than elsewhere, also for food for the servants of fish and hunting animals it is more capable and cheaper there. And you can get more help from the Kamchadals than from the inhabitants of Okhotsk. Moreover, the Kamchatka River, beyond the depth at the mouth, can be better navigated by ships than by the Okhota River.

3. It was not without benefit that the Okhotsk or Kamchatka water passages to the mouth of the Amur River and further to the Japanese Islands to ferry out; we still hope that deliberate places can be found there. And with those, to establish some bargaining, also if it is possible, and to start bargaining with the Japanese, so that it would not be a small profit for the Russian Empire in the future, but due to the lack of ships in those places it will be possible to pick up from the Japanese ships that come across. And besides, you can still have one vessel near Kamchatka as large as I mentioned above, or even less to build.

4. Dependency for this expedition, except for salaries and provisions, also except for materials for the wallpaper of ships, which cannot be obtained there, and from here they have been brought from Siberia; This can cost 10,000 or 12,000 rubles for transport.

5. If it will be reasoned for the good, the northern lands or the coast from Siberia, namely from the Ob river to the Yenisei, and from there to the Lena river, to the mouths of these rivers, you can freely ferry out on boats or by dry route, some of these lands under the high power of the Russian empire dry land.

Vitus Bering. December 1730.

The collegium, having accepted all these papers and account books from Captain Bering, decided: to send the books for testimony to the Treasury Office, and send him, Bering, to the Senate, which was still in Moscow, to compose land maps, and send midshipman Pyotr Chaplin with him, clerk Zakharov and two people whom he himself chooses.

The venerable Bering, burning with impatience to begin the execution of his new enterprises as soon as possible, could not remain calm in Moscow. He asked the Senate to send him to St. Petersburg, and on January 5, 1732, the collegium received the following decree: to release Captain-Commander Bering from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and assign the end of the accounts to Commissar Durasov and Non-Lieutenant Pyotr Chaplin.

On January 24, Captain-Commander Bering appeared in the collegium and submitted a Senate decree, which was prescribed to this collegium: to reward him, following the example of others sent on distant expeditions, and to issue a well-deserved salary and passes.

On March 3, a resolution was passed in the board: to issue Captain-Commander Bering his well-deserved salary from September 1, 1730 to January 1, 1732 and a grain salary for 4 orderlies at Moscow prices.

If it seems surprising why the board did not fulfill the Senate decree received in January before March, then it must be said that in February it was busy with a very important matter. In pursuance of the name cast about the admiral and vice-president of the Admiralty Collegium Sievers, which took place on February 18.

On March 22, the board passed a resolution on awarding Captain-Commander Bering. It says, among other things: Rear-Admiral Ivan Senyavin, sent to Astrakhan in 1726, was given 870 rubles in reward; and sent to his place of captain-commander Mishukov 500 rubles; and below the magazine and the map submitted by him by Bering testify to the difficulty of his expedition, then the collegium, considering its distance relative to Astrakhan, expects to give it twice, that is, a thousand rubles!

The ruling Senate agreed to this collegiate opinion, and on June 4 of this year Bering was given 1,000 rubles.

Meanwhile, his aforementioned proposals did not remain without action. Miller says that Chief Secretary Ivan Kirilov, known to the learned world for the maps he published and the authorities over the Orenburg expedition, was especially concerned about this matter. On April 17, 1732, a personal order followed from Empress Anna Ioannovna to the Senate, so that, together with the Admiralty Board, Bering's proposals were considered.

To the credit of the then members of the collegium, it must be said that, while approving the project of Captain-Commander Bering, they suggested that it would be much more useful to send it to Kamchatka by sea. It is not known why the proposal of these venerable men was not respected; its benefits are obvious. Siberian old-timers say that the Second Kamchatka Expedition was painful for the Yakuts, Kamchadals and all the inhabitants of the Arctic Sea, from Pustoozersk to the former Anadyr prison.

Here are the names of these most respectable members of the collegium: Admiral Gordon, Vice Admirals: Naum Senyavin, Sanders, Rear Admirals: Vasily Dmitriev-Mamonov, Gosler, Bredal, captain-commanders: Ivan Koshelev, Mishukov, Vilboa and Ivan Kozlov, who was about ten years old the prosecutor in the collegium.

At the beginning of 1733, Captain-Commander Bering set out on a journey; of all ranks, different ranks, there were more than 200 people in his team. The distance of the route, the slowness in the transportation of many supplies and the obstacles encountered in Okhotsk during the construction of 4 seagoing ships were the reasons that, not before in September 1740, he set out to sea from Okhotsk and, having reached the Peter and Paul harbor, remained there for the winter.

Finally, on June 4, 1741, Captain-Commander Bering set out at sea with two ships, of which the others were commanded by Captain Chirikov. What Bering discovered on this voyage, I said above. November 4, being on the way back, threw the Bering ship to the island known by his name, where he ended his life from illness and exhaustion on December 8.

Miller speaks of this famous husband: thus, having served in the fleet at Kronstadt from the very beginning and being with everyone in the then war with Sweden, the sea enterprises cases, which were two-fold, he was supposed to visit.

It should only be regretted that he passed away his life in such a miserable way. We can say that he was almost buried during his lifetime; for in the pit in which he was sick, the sand from the sides always, crumbling, piled up his legs, which he did not order to rake in the end, saying that he was warm because of that, but by the way, he could not get warm.

So, sand fell on him up to his waist; but when he died, it was necessary to pluck him out of the sand, so that the body might be buried in a decent manner.

Steller, Bering's companion, speaking of him with the same praise, says: “Vitus Bering was born Dane, according to the rules - a true or humble Christian, and according to his conversion - a well-mannered, affectionate and beloved person.

Having made two voyages to India, he entered the Russian service in 1704 with the rank of lieutenant and continued this service until 1741 with honor and loyalty. Bering has been used in various enterprises; but the most important of these is the command over both Kamchatka expeditions.

The impartial will say about him in agreement that with approximate zeal and zeal he always fulfilled the orders of his superiors. He often admitted that the Second Kamchatka Expedition was beyond his strength, and regretted why they had not entrusted the execution of this enterprise to a Russian.

Bering was not capable of swift and decisive measures; but, perhaps, an ardent boss, with just a multitude of obstacles, which he met everywhere, would have fulfilled what was entrusted to him much worse.

You can only blame him for unlimited condescension to subordinates and excessive power of attorney to senior officers. He respected their knowledge more than he ought to, and through that he gave them arrogance, which often translated them beyond the bounds of due obedience to the boss.

The late Bering always thanked God for his special mercy towards him and admitted with delight that in all his undertakings exemplary happiness favored him. There is no doubt that if he had reached Kamchatka, had calmed down there in a warm room and refreshed himself with fresh food, he would have lived for several more years.

But since he had to endure hunger, thirst, cold and grief, the disease that he had for a long time in his legs intensified, moved to his chest, made Antonov fire and took his life on December 8, 1741.

If the death of the venerable Bering was regrettable for his friends, they were so much surprised at the exemplary indifference with which he spent the last minutes of his life.

The lieutenants were trying to prove that our ship had been thrown to the Kamchatka coast, but he, feeling that they were thinking very unfoundedly, did not want to upset them with a contrary opinion, but exhorted those around him and advised them to endure their fate with patience, not to lose courage and to impose everything trust in the Almighty providence.

The next day we buried the ashes of our kind leader; they committed his body to the ground according to the Protestant rite and put it in the middle between his adjutant and the commissar. Before sailing from the island, they erected a cross over his grave and began reckoning from it ”.

Having graduated from the biographical information about our Russian Columbus, I consider it necessary to add that if time and circumstances allow me to publish his second voyage in the light, then curious readers will find in it a lot of additional information about this great and famous navigator. It was impossible to touch on them here because they are closely related to the story of his second journey.

About the family of Captain-Commander Bering, one could only collect the following information: he was married; had three sons and one daughter, who was married to the St. Petersburg chief police chief Baron Korf. His youngest son died around 1770, leaving behind a son and two daughters, who are still alive. Bering also had a brother Christian, who served as a navigator.

In the journal of the State Admiralty Collegium of 1730 June 2 days it says: the deceased navigator Christian Bering to his son Christian orphan salary from September 1, 1728 to the specified date of October 28, 1729, to give him up to captain Lumont for his education. And henceforth, that orphan's salary should not be given to this Bering, the above-mentioned years have already come out.

It must be assumed that he, Bering, or his brother had some kind of estate in Vyborg; we saw above that before setting off on his first journey, he went there for two weeks. Steller says: On October 10, 1741, during a fierce storm, Captain-Commander Bering ordered Lieutenant Waxel to announce to the team that she would make a voluntary money fold: the Russians for the newly built Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Avach, and the Lutherans for Vyborg. pickaxes.

According to the journal of the collegium (May 26, 1732), it is clear that the doctor Shtranman complained about Bering that he did not let her daughter Katerina leave from him. Bering replied that she was with him at the behest of her father; but the collegium, in spite of this, ordered him to let her go to her mother.

Probably Bering was akin or a very short friend of Vice Admiral Sanders; for the journals of the collegium (July 4, 1732) show that the latter sent him to the collegium to announce to the members that he, due to his serious illness, could not go to Narva.

I recently learned that the daughter of the younger Bering's son, who is married to a retired fleet captain Platen, who lives in Belgorod, has a lot of interesting information and acts about her grandfather; and therefore I hope, when publishing his second trip, to collect much more complete and detailed information about this famous husband.

Lieutenant Martyn Shpanberg

Biographical information about the venerable captain Spanberg is even more limited than about Bering. Not knowing when he entered the Russian naval service and not the name of the list of naval officials earlier than 1726, we can only say that according to this, Spanberg was designated the fourth lieutenant, promoted to this rank in 1720. According to the list of 1732, he was a captain of the 3rd rank, and according to the list of 1736, he was the first in the same rank.

In the collegiate journals, I found only the following about him: in May 1794, the collegium decided, by the highest command, to send two packet boats to Lubeck to carry passengers, letters and miscellaneous luggage. These ships were appointed commanders, Lieutenants Shpanberg and Somov.

On August 28, the Collegium ordered the commander of the flagship to send a decree: to order Lieutenant Spanberg (who commanded him) from the frigate "Saint Jacob" to send for a while to the Admiralty Collegium. On August 31st, write to Vice-Admiral Gordon in Kronstadt, so that the frigate "Saint Jacob" instead of the packet boat, is not sent to Lubeck without a decree from the board; and send Lieutenant Spanberg to the Admiralty Collegium.

It is not known where Captain Spanberg was on his return from the trip. In the journals of the collegium, it is only mentioned about him once (May 1723), on the occasion of his sending him to survey the forests near Lake Ladoga.

But, in spite of this silence, it is clear that they knew how to appreciate the talents of the venerable Spanberg; for during the departure of the Second Kamchatka Expedition, he was appointed as the head of the detachment of those ships that were assigned to survey the Japanese shores, the inventory of the Kuril Islands and the Amur River.

In 1738 and 1739 Captain Spanberg sailed with three ships to the shores of Japan. In 1740, Captain-Commander Bering sent him to St. Petersburg for a personal explanation; but as soon as he arrived at the Kirenskaya prison, he received a decree from the collegium to sail again to Japan and determine, or rather, the longitude, in which, it was believed, he was mistaken.

Spanberg marked Japan on his map 15 ° east of the southern promontory of Kamchatka; and since Delisle showed on his map that it was on the same meridian with Kamchatka, they did not believe Spanberg and concluded that he was in Korea and took this country for Japan.

In 1741, Captain Shpanberg went out to sea again from Okhotsk; but there was such a strong leak in his ship that he had to go to Bolsheretsk for the winter. In 1742 he sailed near the Kuril Islands and, returning, also for the leak of his ship, to Kamchatsk, remained there until his death, which happened to him in 1745 or 1746.

Lieutenant Alexey Chirikov

Our information about this famous naval officer is very limited. One can only conclude that he was considered excellent, for the guard captain Kazinsky, who commanded the midshipmen, demanded him to come to him. Here is the resolution of the college on this subject.

On September 18, 1724, upon the report of the Life Guards Captain Kazinsky in Kronstadt, to the commander of the flagship, send a decree to order the navy non-commissioned lieutenants Alexei Chirikov and Alexei Nagaev to be assigned to the Academy, to train the midshipman, to send them to the college without delay.

Since we saw above that Vice Admiral Sanders was very close to Bering, he probably recommended Chirikov to him, who served on his ship in 1722 and trained midshipmen. The collegium's resolution below is a biographical material that does a special honor to the venerable Chirikov.

January 3rd day of 1725, according to an extract from the office of General-Kriegs-Commissar, Non-Lieutenant Alexei Chirikov, although it had not yet come before him, write to the lieutenant now, in order that according to the newly introduced Admiralty regulations of the 1st chapter of the 110th article printed: if any of the admiralty servants appears knowledgeable on the sea or at the shipyard at work and is careful in doing his job more than others, their commanders should inform the collegium about this.

The collegium must then consider, and these, for their diligence, raise the rank or increase the salary. And about the above-described Chirikov in the past 1722, Shautbenacht Sanders announced that Chirikov was the most skillful of all to train midshipmen and naval officers. And to the guard, Captain Nazinsky showed that the midshipman one hundred and forty-two people taught different sciences through Chirikov.

On his return from the first trip, Chirikov was taken on yachts to the Empress Anna Ioannovna and was on them until the second departure to Kamchatka. In 1741, he set out to sea with Captain-Commander Bering, and was much happier than him, for he returned the same year to the Peter and Paul harbor, where he stayed for the winter.

The return of Chirikov to Kamchatka must be attributed to his excellent art in navigation. Despite the fierce storms that raged in the sea all September and October, despite the scurvy disease that spread throughout the crew and took the life of all his lieutenants, he kept the correct reckoning and ascended to Avacha Bay on October 9.

In the summer of 1742, he went to look for Captain-Commander Bering and arrived very soon to the first Aleutian island, which he named Saint Theodore. From here he sailed to the north, saw the Bering Island and, having polished off the south-western cape, directed his way to Okhotsk. If the venerable Chirikov had decided to sail around the whole island, he would have found his companions there, who at that time were building a new ship for themselves.

From Okhotsk Chirikov set off by dry route to St. Petersburg, but received a decree to stay in Yeniseisk until he received permission to continue or finish the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Captain Chirikov lived in Yeniseisk until 1746, when he received the following decree, which I found in the papers of Admiral Nagaev.

Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Chirikov was granted the title of captain-commander, and died in 1749. Miller says: Chirikov died, earning himself the honor not only of a skillful and diligent officer, but also of a righteous and God-fearing person; why for the sake of his memory of all who knew him, will not come into oblivion.

Warrant Officer Pyotr Chaplin

Pyotr Chaplin, the venerable narrator of the Bering voyage, who wrote the entire five-year magazine with his own hand, is shown, according to the list of 1723, as one of the best midshipmen. When he is promoted to warrant officer, mentioned above. In 1729 he was promoted to non-commissioned lieutenant, and in 1733 to lieutenant. How he proceeded further by ranks is unknown; but above his name is written in the hand of our famous hydrographer, Admiral Nagaev: he died near the city of Arkhangelsk in 1764, and was a captain-commander.

Domestic sailors - explorers of the seas and oceans Zubov Nikolay Nikolaevich

2. The first Kamchatka expedition (1725-1730)

2. The first Kamchatka expedition

Peter the Great did not forget the Far Eastern outskirts of Russia, about which more and more new information came in his time.

It is quite reliable that Kamchatka was first visited back in 1696 by the serviceman Morozko (Staritsyn). The first, and an exceptionally complete, geographical description of Kamchatka was made by Vladimir Atlasov, who made a remarkable journey along the whole of Kamchatka, almost to Cape Lopatka (1697-1699). At the same time, Atlasov "saw, as it were, there is an island" (Kuril Islands. -N. 3.).

In 1700 Ivan Shamaev reported that “there is an island in the sea opposite the Karaga river, and on that island Ivan Golygin and his comrades, three people in canoes went to see foreigners, and to warm up to that island in canoes for a day ... , Ivana, Russian people have never been to that island ... "

Based on this message, DM Lebedev believes that the Karaginsky Island was not only known, but also visited by the Russians no later than 1700-1701.

In 1702, the seafarer Mikhail Nasedkin was sent to Kamchatka.

In his message, Nasedkin, by the way, said that "there is an island opposite the Kamchatka mouth, and what kind of people there are on that island, that he, Mikhailo, does not know ..."

Based on this message, D.M. Lebedev believes that the first, albeit vague, information about the Commander Islands was received by the Russians back in 1700, and these rumors reached Yakutsk no later than 1710.

In addition to information about Kamchatka, Nasedkin, no later than 1706, quite definitely talked about the Kuril Islands, which he saw from Cape Lopatka: "there is land in the sea beyond the overflows, and there is nothing to visit de that land".

The fact that the Far East at that time knew about the existence of the Bering Strait is evidenced by the testimony of Atlasov, given by him in Moscow in 1701, namely: that nose (i.e. in the Chukchi Sea - N. 3.) there is ice on the sea in summer, and in winter that sea is frozen, and on the other side of this nose (i.e. in the Bering Sea. - N. 3. ) there are ice in the spring, but not in the summer. And he, Volodymyr, had never been on this necessary nose. And the local Chyukchi foreigners, who live near that bow and at the mouth of the Anadyr river, said that there was an island opposite that necessary bow, and foreigners come from that island in winter, as the sea freezes ... "

It cannot be stressed enough that Atlasov had knowledge not only about the geography of Cape Dezhnev, but also about the ice regime of the Chukchi and Bering Seas.

Other information was also received.

In 1711, the Yakut Cossack Pyotr Ilyich Popov and the industrialist Yegor Vasilyevich Toldin went to the "Anadyr nose" (Cape Dezhnev - N. 3.) and learned that there is a strait between Asia and America, that there are islands in this strait on which live "toothed people" and that the Russians used to pass this strait on kochi.

In 1711, Danila Yakovlevich Antsyferov and Ivan Petrovich Kozyrevsky moved to the northern Kuril Islands (Shumshu and Paramushir (?). In 1713, Kozyrevsky, at the head of a Cossack detachment, again visited the first three Kuril Islands and made their schematic maps and descriptions. , he collected information about Japan and the sea routes to it.In 1713, the Cossacks Semyon Anabara and Ivan Bykov visited the Shantar Islands in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Travels to Kamchatka were made at this time only by land. Peter promised a great reward for opening the sea route to her.

In 1716, the Cossack Pentecostal Kuzma Sokolov and sailors Yakov Vlasov Neveitsyn and Nikifor Moiseev Treska sailed to Kamchatka on a 54-foot long Okhota boat built in Okhotsk, spent the winter on it and returned to Okhotsk. Sokolov made a map of his voyage.

Until that time, the charts compiled by seafarers were by eye and therefore very inaccurate. In 1719, Peter sent two surveyors to the Far East - Ivan Mikhailovich Evreinov and Fyodor Fedorovich Luzhin, who were early graduated from the Naval Academy founded in 1715 in St. Petersburg. Evreinov was sent "... to Kamchatka and further, where you are instructed, and describe the local places where America and Asia converged, which should be done very carefully, not only south and north, but also east and west, and put everything on the map correctly." ...

A. V. Efimov notes that Evreinov and Luzhin were assigned other tasks, namely: an inventory of the Kuril Islands and the collection of information about Japan.

In the fall of 1720, in a boat built in Okhotsk, Evreinov and Luzhin arrived in Kamchatka, where they overwintered, and in 1721 set off from Kamchatka to the southwest and described the fourteen Kuril Islands up to the island of Simushir, inclusive. Evreinov presented a report on the voyage, maps of Siberia, Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands to Peter in 1722.

The results of the work of Evreinov and Luzhin did not satisfy Peter. He dreamed of exploring sea trade routes to China, Japan and India. The Northern Sea Route was the shortest and passed entirely through domestic waters.

In vain did some historians later strive to show that Peter's interest in the North was aroused by letters from the famous philosopher and mathematician Leibniz or by requests from the Paris Academy of Sciences. The Russian people own both the very idea of ​​the Northern Sea Route and the projects for its practical development. The state benefits of this path were recognized by Peter's closest associates. Back in 1713, one of the most educated people of that time, Fyodor Stepanovich Saltykov, presented to Peter his famous "prepositions" about the measures necessary for the development of the northern outskirts of Russia.

A year and a half later, Saltykov presented more detailed considerations, in which there was a special chapter "On the search for a free sea route from the Dvina River even to the Omur estuary and to China."

It should be noted that in his second preposition "Profitable Statements", sent to Peter on August 1, 1714, Saltykov proposed for the exploration of the Northern Sea Route "to build ships in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina, Ob, on the Lena near Yakutsk, near the Holy Nose, as well as at the Amur estuary, if only this river is subject to Russia. "

Further, Saltykov advised “to describe along the other bank from the sea, from the Dvinsky mouth to the Ob mouth, and from the Ob to the Yenisei, and from the Yenisei to the Lensky and to the last river mouth, which is conveniently searched near the Amur River, and along the Amur mouth and along between Epon and China ”and wrote detailed instructions for all kinds of scientific research. As we will see later, many of Saltykov's proposals were included in the work plan of the Great Northern Expedition. FI Soimonov, a researcher of the Caspian Sea, reported to Peter the Great about the need to study the Northern Sea Route.

The study of the Northern Sea Route was really necessary. Much of what was done by Russian sailors in the 17th century was very inaccurate, and much has been forgotten. Suffice it to recall that the reports of Semyon Dezhnev were found in the Yakutsk archive only 90 years after his great geographical discovery.

However, Peter failed to carry out his plans. Three weeks before his death, in January 1725, Peter said to General-Admiral Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin: “Poor health (mine) made me stay at home; I remembered the other day what I had been thinking about for a long time and that other things prevented me from undertaking, that is, about the road through the Arctic Sea to China and India. On this nautical chart, the paved path called Anian was not laid in vain. On my last journey, in conversations, I heard from learned people that such an acquisition is possible. Having protected the fatherland with security from the enemy, one should try to find glory for the state through art and science. In exploring such a path, shall we not be happier than the Dutch and the British, who have repeatedly attempted to search the shores of the American ones? "

These words of Peter, like many of his other covenants, were remembered for a long time by his successors. AS Pushkin wrote: "The insignificant heirs of the northern giant, amazed by the brilliance of his greatness, imitated him with superstitious accuracy in everything that did not require new inspiration."

In fulfillment of his plan, Peter wrote with his own hand the instructions for the proposed expedition. This instruction said:

"one. It is necessary to make one or two boats with decks in Kamchatka, or in another place there.

2. On these bots (to swim - N. 3.) near the land that goes to the north, and by aspiration (they never know the end of it) it seems that that land is a part of America.

3. And in order to look for where this met with America, and to get to which city of European possessions, or if they see which European ship, visit from him, as this kust (coast) is called, and take in a letter and visit the coast ourselves , and take a genuine statement and, putting on the line, come syudy. "

Peter himself appointed the leaders of the expedition: a Dane in the Russian service, Captain 1st Rank Ivan Ivanovich (Vitus Ionssen) Bering, Dane Lieutenant of the Russian Service Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg and a pet of the Naval Academy Lieutenant Alexei Ilyich Chirikov. The midshipman (later midshipman) Pyotr Avraamovich Chaplin also took part in the expedition.

Peter was distinguished by his ability to choose people, but this time he was wrong. Bering was an excellent and executive naval officer, but as the head of a large enterprise, he was not up to par - he was lost, getting into unusual conditions, and was afraid to take responsibility in difficult times.

The last party of the expedition left Petersburg on February 5, 1725 and arrived in Yakutsk in early June 1726.

Most of the provisions and light loads were sent from Yakutsk in packs of horses. With great difficulty, having lost more than half of the horses (out of 600) along the way, this party reached Okhotsk in October. Heavier loads - cannons, anchors, sails, part of provisions - were sent on fifteen ships built in Yakutsk along the Lena, Aldan, May and Yudoma rivers to the Yudomsky cross. They hoped to deliver these goods by dry route to Okhotsk, or drag them through the portage to the Urak River, which flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk near Okhotsk. Then they were going to transfer the cargo by sea to Okhotsk. However, this detachment under the command of Spanberg was caught on the way in winter and only reached a point slightly above the mouth of the Yudoma. Spanberg, an extremely active person, but also extremely cruel, so as not to waste time, decided to transport heavy loads, "in the winter way on sledges, harnessing them with people."

The frosts were severe, the team was exhausted to the extreme, the provisions were all out, they ate “belts, shoes, carrion and their dogs ... Many died, including ... navigator Morison and surveyor Luzhin; others fled from the road to Yakutsk. " Part of the cargo had to be left on the way, they were delivered to Okhotsk only in the middle of the summer of 1727.

At this time in Okhotsk specially sent from Yakutsk as early as 1725 by artisans was finishing the construction of a shitik named "Fortune". In addition, there was a "lodge" in Okhotsk, on which the first voyage across the Sea of ​​Okhotsk was made in 1716, but this ship was in disrepair. Another lodge, built in 1720, was to soon return to Okhotsk from Kamchatka.

Map of Ivan Lvov, brought to Petersburg in 1726 by A.F. Shestakov (many titles and inscriptions omitted).

On July 1, 1727, Spanberg on "Fortuna" with part of the expedition's cargo, which was to be later transferred by dry route to Nizhne-Kamchatsk, left for Bolsheretsk and returned very quickly on August 11. On June 10, the "lodge of 1720" returned to Okhotsk and immediately began to be repaired.

On August 21, the shitik "Fortuna", on board which Bering and Shpanberg were, and the "lodge of 1720", commanded by Chirikov, went to sea and on September 4 arrived in Bolsheretsk.

With great difficulty, people with loads on ordinary dogs moved to Nizhne-Kamchatsk. Here, in April 1728, a boat (60 feet long, 20 feet wide, 7? Feet draft) was laid down and launched on 8 June, called "St. Gabriel. " On June 6, a seaman from the Arkhangelsk Pomors, Kondratam Moshkov, brought a shitik "Fortuna" from Bolsheretsk to Nizhne-Kamchatsk. It was supposed to take the shitik with you, but it required major repairs and, in order not to lose precious navigation time, this had to be abandoned. The "Lodia of 1720" was sent from Bolsheretsk to Okhotsk.

The stay in Nizhne-Kamchatsk was difficult. There was a shortage of provisions, they had to buy deer, fish with nets made of nettles, drive wine from the local sweet grass, evaporate salt from sea water.

A. Polonsky emphasizes that, being in St. Petersburg, Bering might not have known about the strait between America and Asia. The capital learned about this only after Academician Miller found the original documents of Dezhnev in 1736 during the Second Kamchatka Expedition. But in Siberia, both the authorities and local residents remembered this well. So, back in Yeniseisk, Bering wrote:

“If it was decided to go from the mouth of the Kolyma to Anadyr, where to go in every possible way, what the new Asian maps testify to, and the inhabitants say that as before, walked this way, it could have been done with a lesser cost. "

Finally, in Siberia it was known that “the seaman Prokopiy Nagibin, having learned in Anadyrsk about America's proximity to the Anadyr Cape (as in those days Cape Dezhnev was sometimes called. -N. 3.), back in 1720 asked to give him 200 people for research teams and yarns for nets to make fish for seafood, which was not respected ... ". Nagibin, not receiving the requested funds, built a ship for an expedition to America at his own expense. But this ship was attacked by the Chukchi on the Anadyr River in 1725 and Nagibin was killed.

There is no doubt that during his long stay in Yakutsk, Okhotsk and Nizhne-Kamchatsk, Bering could collect a lot of information about the areas of the forthcoming voyage, in particular, that Asia is not connecting with America. Naturally, Bering should have at least supplemented the already available information, but, as we will see later, he did not.

Finally, on July 13, 1728, almost three and a half years after leaving Petersburg, Bering at St. Gabriel "went to sea. On the way to the north, he entered the Anadyr Bay, on August 1 he visited the Holy Cross Bay, and on August 6 he entered the Transfiguration Bay, in which he stocked up with water.

The voyages of Bering and Chirikov on St. Gabriel "(1728 and 1729) (according to V. Berkh, the map has been simplified, many names have been removed).

Thus, Bering received from the Chukchi a new confirmation of the existence of the strait between Asia and America.

On August 9-11, while bypassing the Chukotka Nos, we saw the island of St. Lawrence, about which the Chukchi told Bering and which, as we will see further, had already been shown on the map of Lvov in 1726.

August 13 at 65 ° 30? With. sh. Bering called a meeting of officers on the further voyage. Spanberg proposed to go north until August 16 and, if an isthmus between Asia and America is not found, then at 66 ° N. sh. turn back.

A.I. Chirikov, on the contrary, suggested:

“There is no news yet, up to which degree of width from the North Sea, near the eastern coast of Asia, from the known peoples to the European inhabitants; and by this we cannot reliably know about the division of Asia and America by the sea, if we do not reach the mouth of the Kolyma River, or to the ice - it is already known that ice always circulates in the North Sea - for this sake we must certainly, by the strength of the decree given to your nobility, walk near the ground, if the ice does not hinder, or if the coast does not leave to the west, to the mouth of the Kolyma River, to the places shown in the indicated e.i.v. decree, and if the earth tilts further towards N, then it is necessary, on the twenty-fifth of this present month, in these places to look for places where it would be possible to winter, and especially against the Chukchi nose, on the land on which, according to the slope received from Chukchee, through Peter Tatarinov, there is a forest. And if there will be opposite winds before the indicated date, then at that time always look for a winter harbor ”. In this proposal, the modest Chirikov showed himself to be an intelligent and courageous sailor.

August 15, 1728 at 67 ° 18? With. sh., that is, already in the Chukchi Sea, Bering, for fear of wintering, decided to turn south. It is appropriate here once again to recall the instruction of Peter the Great, in which the surveyors Luzhin and Evreinov were ordered to find out whether America had converged with Asia, which must be done very carefully, not only south and north, but also east and west ... ”But Bering limited himself to sailing only on "Nord and south".

On August 17, on the way back, an island was seen, named in honor of the saint of that day, the island of St. Diomede, also already shown on the map of Lviv in 1726.

The next, in 1729 Bering, having sent "Fortuna" to Bolsheretsk, to "St. Gabriel ”went to the east to search for land, which, according to the stories of local residents, in clear weather can be seen from the shores of Kamchatka. Having passed about 200 versts and not seeing any land, Bering turned back, and, having rounded Kamchatka, arrived in Okhotsk on July 23. In 1730 Bering returned to St. Petersburg.

This was the end of Bering's First Kamchatka Expedition, which cost enormous amounts of money. Counting from leaving St. Petersburg to returning back, it lasted about five years, and during this time she worked at sea for only about three months.

It is curious that in 1728, as it is emphasized by A. V. Efimov, "two expeditions went to America - Bering and Melnikov, and not just one of Bering's expeditions, as it is customary to think about it."

Afanasy Melnikov in 1728, apparently in shitik, went to the Bering Strait to describe the islands and the way to the Great American Land. On the way, his ship was broken by ice and he hardly, only in 1729, reached Anadyr. In 1729 Melnikov made another unsuccessful attempt. Finally, in 1730, Melnikov reached Cape Dezhnev. Here he met two "toothed" Chukchi (the inhabitants of the island of Diomede were called toothed Chukchi according to their custom of inserting pieces of bone into the slots in the lips), who told him that it was possible to reach America along the Bering Strait by canoes in two days. However, the Chukchi refused to transfer him to America.

Melnikov's persistence is especially advantageous when compared to Bering's indecision. Perplexed questions involuntarily arise: Why did Bering not go east in the Chukchi Sea at least to the edge of the ice? Why Bering, seeing one of the Diomede Islands, did not try to explore it? Why did Bering go back to Kamchatka in an almost direct course and, thus, did not use the opportunity to survey areas unknown at that time? Why in 1729 did he not repeat the voyage to the Bering Strait and so hesitantly searched for the land to the east of the mouth of Kamchatka, which the local residents told him about? Indeed, from Cape Kamchatsky to the north-western cape of Bering Island, on which thirteen years later he was destined to die, only about 180 kilometers. And the discovery of the Commander Islands in 1729 could radically change subsequent events.

Even Lomonosov wrote: "It is a pity that, walking back (Bering.-N. 3.), followed the same path and did not go further to the east, with which, of course, he could have noticed the shores of North-West America."

Upon his return to St. Petersburg, Bering presented a sailing map and a short report. This report was first published in 1735 in the work of the French Jesuit du Alda "Description ... of China and Chinese Tartary." It was published in Russian only in 1847.