What is more important for an active and ambitious person? Wealth, fame, fulfillment of a dream, a name on a map? The 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, a 22-year-old graduate of the Amsterdam Cadet Corps, became a lieutenant in the Russian fleet. He took part in both wars of Peter I - with Turkey and with Sweden. He rose to the rank of captain-commander. Just before his death, Peter the Great sent an expedition to the Far East, the head of which was appointed Bering. According to the emperor's secret instructions, Bering was tasked with finding an isthmus or strait between Asia and North America. During this, the 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 supposed to cross Siberia and from Kamchatka head to North America to explore its coast. In total, including 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 winter on the island that now bears his name, he died on December 8, 1741. Alas, Bering did not have time to describe the expedition - this is for him made by his surviving assistant Sven Waxel. But the maps of the two Russian expeditions were subsequently used by all European cartographers. The first navigator to confirm the accuracy of Bering's research, the famous James Cook, paying tribute to the Russian commander, proposed naming the strait between Chukotka and Alaska after Bering - which was done. Is it a lot or a little – a name on a map? The book contains documents and reports from participants in the First (1725-1730) and Second (1734-1742) Kamchatka expeditions, detailing the progress of research in difficult, sometimes deadly conditions of expeditions in little-explored areas 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 includes review works by the historian of the Russian fleet and maritime geographical discoveries V. N. Berkh and the German geographer F. Gelvald. The electronic publication includes all the texts of the paper book and basic illustrative material. But for true connoisseurs of exclusive publications, we recommend a gift classic book. It provides visuals that complement the narrative with hundreds of maps, black-and-white and color ancient paintings and drawings, which will allow the reader to vividly imagine the environment in which the events of these heroic expeditions took place. The publication is printed on beautiful offset paper and elegantly designed. This edition, like all the books in the “Great Travels” series, will adorn any, even the most sophisticated library, and will be a wonderful gift for both young readers and discerning bibliophiles.

A series: Great Journeys

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

FIRST KAMCHATKA EXPEDITION (1725–1729)

Vasily Berkh. The first sea voyage of Russians, undertaken to solve a geographical problem: is Asia connected to America and completed in 1727–1729. under the command of Vitus Bering

ABOUT On the first voyage made by the famous Captain Bering, we had very insufficient information. Our venerable historiographer Miller placed in the monthly works of the Academy of Sciences, 1758, a brief and unsatisfactory description of the Bering voyage. There is no doubt that he gleaned this information from Bering’s own journal, for there is little disagreement in the most important incidents.

Around 1750, when the Marine Expedition still existed at the Academy of Sciences, all maritime journals were requested from the Admiralty. Subsequently, some of them were returned. It was believed that Bering’s journal was also among those not returned, because according to the description sent, it was not listed.

Having received, at the request of His Excellency Mr. Vice Admiral Gabriel Andreevich Sarychev, permission to inspect the archives of the State Admiralty Department, I began it with delight and hope to open many interesting manuscripts and was not disappointed in my expectations.

While sorting through various old papers with the manager of the drafting room, A.E. Kolodkin, we came across a notebook with the following title: “Journal of the life of the Kamchatka expedition of midshipman Peter Chaplin from 1726 to 1731.” At first glance, we concluded that Chaplin probably sailed with the surveyor Gvozdev, the first Russian to see the shores of America.

But, having examined it more carefully, we saw that this is the most complete and detailed journal of the first Bering expedition. Filed with it was an incomplete journal kept by Lieutenant Chirikov, who almost completely agreed with the above.

Delighted by such an important find, I compiled from Chaplin’s journal, Miller’s news and various notes of our famous hydrographer, Admiral Alexei Ivanovich Nagaev, a proposed narrative about the voyage of Captain Bering.

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

Vasily Berkh

The Voyage of Captain Bering

Z Our renowned historiographer Miller says that Emperor Peter I, wanting to decide the question of whether Asia would unite with America, ordered a special expedition to be equipped for this purpose and, shortly before his death, wrote instructions in his own hand for Captain Bering, who was appointed to it.

The execution of this matter, Miller continues, was entrusted to Admiral General Count Apraksin, and after the death of the emperor, officials appointed from St. Petersburg set off on this expedition.

Midshipman Chaplin's log does not agree with the latest conclusion.

Fulfilling the order of Emperor Peter I to send an expedition under the command of V.Y. Bering, the emperor’s associate, admiral general, president of the Admiralty Board, Count Fyodor Matveevich Apraksin (1661–1728), asked the governor of Kazan and Siberia, Prince Mikhail, for assistance in this endeavor Vladimirovich Dolgorukov (1667–1750).

Letter from F. M. Apraksin to M. V. Dolgorukov about providing assistance to the expedition of Vitus Bering:

1725, February 4. St. Petersburg.

My lord, Prince Mikhailo Volodimirovich.

In the hope of you, as my benefactor, I ask: Captain Bering (with the entrusted command) departed from here to Siberia of the navy, who, upon arrival in Yakutsk, was ordered to make boats and follow them to carry out the assigned expedition, as the instructions given to him command, whom you deign to accept favorable. And in order to meet his needs for that expedition, order him to provide all kinds of assistance so that the action can be carried out without fail, since there is a considerable task involved, which I again diligently ask, please, please apply your labor to it and carry it out with caution. However, I remain forever,

Your obedient servant, Admiral Apraksin.

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

Expedition composition

Captain 1st rank

Vitus Bering

Lieutenants:

Alexey Chirikov

Martyn Shpanberg

Peter Chaplin

Semyon Turchaninov

Surveyors:

Fedor Luzhin

Navigators:

Richard Engel

Georges Morison

Hieromonk

Hilarion

Ignatius Kozyrevsky

Commissioner

Ivan Shestakovy

Boyar son

bot: Kozlov

mastmaker: Endogurov

Sailors:

The above-mentioned officials were appointed to this expedition, some of whom were sent from St. Petersburg, and others were attached to Tobolsk and Okhotsk.

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

The instructions given to Captain Bering were 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 boats [to sail] near the land that goes north according to hope, because they don’t know the end, it seems that that land is part of America.

And in order to look for where it came into contact with America, and to get to which city of European possessions, or if they see a European ship, to find out from it, as they call it, and take it in writing, and visit the shore yourself, and take a genuine statement, and, putting it on the line, come here.

Historiographer Miller says that the reason for sending this expedition was the desire of the Paris Academy to find out whether America is united with Asia - the Academy, regarding this to the emperor as its fellow member, asked His Majesty to order to investigate this geographical problem.

In the decree from the Senate dated September 13, 1732, on the second departure of Captain Bering to Kamchatka, it is said about the first expedition: according to the requirements and desires of both the St. Petersburg, Paris and other academies, the blessed and eternally worthy of memory Emperor Peter the Great sent for the Curisites to inquire from his shores, whether the American shores meet the shores of Asia.

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

On May 15, everyone set off on their further journey on 4 boardwalks and 7 boats. During their entire voyage along the Irtysh and other rivers, they kept real naval reckoning.

The added distance is an ancient, now no longer used, precision; Since swimming or the distance covered is taken from the meridian, it was calculated in order to also take it from the equator. Chirikov says in his journal: it is being repaired to check the Mercator map and find out whether it was composed correctly.

On May 22, Captain Bering ordered rudders to be made for the boats, which were called sopts; and midshipman Chaplin was ordered to go ahead to Yakutsk with 10 crew members and accept 10 rubles of money from Commissar Durasov for travel expenses.

On September 6, Chaplin arrived in Yakutsk and appeared before 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 could prepare 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 planks, 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 planks. On this date, he continues, the captain sent instructions to the governor, so that he, having prepared 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 send the monk Kozyrevsky to him.

Monk Kozyrevsky represented a very important person during the conquest of the eastern countries of Siberia. He was the first to visit the nearby Kuril Islands in 1712 and 1713 and brought information about the others. Having served for many years in Kamchatka, Okhotsk and Anadyrsk, he became a monk in 1717 and founded a monastery in Nizhnekamchatsk.

In 1720 he arrived in Yakutsk, and, as Miller says, his reports, made in Kamchatka to the local clerks, and then to the Yakut Voivodeship Office, as well as to Captain Bering, are very noteworthy.

It is not known whether Kozyrevsky, called Ignatius in monasticism, sailed with Bering, but from Miller’s notes it is clear that in 1730 he was in Moscow and that in the “St. Petersburg Gazette” 1730, March 26, it was published about the services he provided to the fatherland; and therefore it is very likely that he left Siberia with him.

On June 7, Lieutenant Shpanberg set off from Yakutsk on 13 ships; his entire crew included 204 people. From the arrival of Captain Bering in Yakutsk, the nobleman Ivan Shestakov was sent to him for special assignments, who later went to war against the Chukchi, with his uncle, the Cossack head Afanasy Shestakov.

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

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

Lieutenant Chirikov remained in place in order to monitor the speedy departure of the remaining things.

Lieutenant Chirikov says in his journal that there are 300 Russian households in the city of Yakutsk, and 30,000 Yakuts roam in the vicinity of the city. There was darkness over the city from fires, which was due to lack of rain; for in the city of Yakutsk there is always little rain, and for this reason little grass grows; Just like this summer, there was no grass, except in those places where the river flooded the floodplain.

It also snows little and the frosts are severe. And the reason for the little rain and snow requires reasoning; At first it seems contrary to the climate of this place. The latitude of Yakutsk according to observation is 62°08". The compass declination is 1°57" to the west.

Report from Vitus Bering to the Yakut Voivodeship Office on the preparation of guides and horses for the advancement of the expedition from Yakutsk to Okhotsk

As we intend to set off from Yakutsk by land, we demand that in the previous week of May 20, 200 horses be prepared with saddles, saddle pads and other things that are necessary, and, as usual, five horses each have one person for guides and reins, two people for departure artisans, and so that they go together with the clerk leaving for Kamchatka, Yakov Mokhnachevsky, with whom he and the artisans intend to go from Lama to Kamchatka, and so that this clerk does not leave Lama before our arrival. The same sailor Kondraty Moshkov should have been sent with us. And on the previous June 27, so that 200 horses were collected with everything belonging to the above, with which he intends to leave from here, and on July 4, so that 200 horses were collected with everything belonging, with which Lieutenant Chirikov will go.

And on the date described above, we demand the reins to the Osogon volost of Barhai, Life with his brother Sugul Mapyev spring, Bechura Sor, the shaman’s son, who lives at the mouth of the Natator. And so that at the current meeting of horses, it was announced to the Yakut owners that they themselves or whom they believe should appear to take money and to return the horses from the Lama, and for every ten horses, that there should be one spare horse or as many as they themselves want for any case. And the horses on the road near Aldan from the Buturu and Meginsk volosts, by the 1st of July on the Notora River, to collect the horses, if hired or inter-house carts are given from here, for which they will be paid against the proper hire, and so that it is announced to the above-described foreigners, the least will be paid to them according to the custom of local hires, so that they would have spare horses. And if it happens on the way that the horse gets stuck or goes lame, so that there is no stop, and payment of money, if they demand in advance, that there be guarantees for them, so that they carry this luggage.

Litter: Sent with Midshipman Chaplin.

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

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

Lowest servant of the State Admiralty Board. 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 among the inhabitants of Yakutsk-city, and in the middle of April it multiplied greatly, because everyone who had never been there before was sick.

And this disease has not happened in Yakutsk, according to local residents, for more than 40 years: which is confirmed by real grief; for the inhabitants did not have it at 50 years old; and those who were 45 years old or less, it was for everyone. And they stayed for two weeks, and others longer. On April 29, 58 bulls, 4 cows and two poroza [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 completed this journey without any special adventures, not to mention the obstacles and displeasures that he inevitably had to endure while 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; there are 11 courtyards; Russian residents who have more food from fish than from bread. There are quite a few tribute-bearing foreigners under the supervision of the prison. In Lamut the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is called Lamo.

On October 1, having arrived in Okhotsk, Captain Bering found that the newly built ship was already sheathed to the deck; and the work stopped only for lack of resin. Seeing that the barns that were there were extremely dilapidated, he occupied 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 slightest details of it should be pleasant for lovers of Russian antiquities. If many of them now seem strange, they are nevertheless worthy of respect, for they demonstrate the gradual progression of things, from the first beginning to the present perfection.

Here is a brief extract from Captain Bering’s reports to the Admiralty Board: from Tobolsk they followed 4 planks along the Irtysh and Ob rivers to Narym. From Narym we followed the Ketya River up to the Makovsky fort, where we arrived on July 19th. There are no peoples on these rivers from Narym.

From the Makovsky fortress they had a route by land and arrived with all the servants and materials in Yeniseisk on August 21. Having moved 70 versts from Yeniseisk, we set off up the Yenisei and Tunguskaya rivers on four planks, 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 width of the Tunguska River is about 4 versts, occasionally there are Russian villages along it, the banks are very high. Lieutenant Shpanberg, and with him soldiers and craftsmen taken from Yeniseisk, were sent from Ilimsk to the mouth of the Kuta River, which flows into the Lena, to prepare timber for the construction of ships, which should proceed to Yakutsk and from there to the Yudom Cross.

At Ust-Kut, 15 ships were built and launched, with a length from 39 to 49 feet, a width from 8 to 14 feet, a depth with all cargo from 14 to 17 inches, and another 14 boats. They left Ust-Kut on May 8, 1726 with 8 ships, and left 7 ships with Lieutenant Chirikov.

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

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

They ate belts, leather, and leather pants, and soles. And the horses that arrived ate grass, getting out from under the snow; due to their late arrival in Okhotsk, they did not have time to prepare hay, and it was impossible: everyone was frozen from deep snow and frost. And the rest of the ministers arrived on dog sleds to Okhotsk.

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

Throughout November, the team was busy cutting down wood to build a house, barns and for other needs. On the 19th there was extremely great water that caused damage to the city. It is remarkable that the wind blew from the north throughout the month.

On December 2, says Chaplin, Mr. Captain went 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 difficult situation, he decided to walk to the Eudom Cross, and on this way, as Miller says, such hunger overtook him that he and the whole team ate scrips, belts and even boots.

From Midshipman Chaplin's journal it is clear that on December 21 (1725) a report was received from him, in which he informed that he was going to the Eudom Cross on 90 sledges, and left a 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. Throughout December the wind also blew from the north and NNO.

Report of Lieutenant M.P. Shpanberg to V.Y. Bering about the difficult conditions of the journey from Yakutsk to Okhotsk

past July 6th 1726 According to the instructions given to me, 13 plank ships loaded with materials and provisions, on which there are 203 servants and Yakut servicemen, are entrusted with the signing of Mr. Captain Bering. And according to this instruction, it was shown to me to have a route with the rivers Lena down, Aldan, Maya and Yudoma up as much as possible, and for unloading ships, where it will be impossible to navigate through shallow water or frost, 300 horses will be sent and it will be written to me upon his arrival, - to the captain, to Aldan, where there is a crossing. And in the transportation of materials and provisions, I will carry out repairs according to my position with zeal.

Of certain people, the leader Fyodor Kolmakov asked if he knew about the route by rivers, and he said, not only the route by rivers, but on all these rivers, the banks, stones and other places, he knows everything.

July 7 At noon, on the aforementioned ships, they set off from Yakutka along the Lena River, which they sailed to the mouth of the Aldana River until the 10th of July at 6 o’clock in the morning and made poles, rudders, etc. And that same day at 8 o’clock in the evening we went up Aldan, pulled the ships with a towline, and arrived at the crossing on the 15th of August. And, having seen the crossing of the land road along which provisions go on horseback, which is very difficult through Aldan without ships, he ordered one small plank ship to be unloaded and two large and one small trays to be left for transportation. And according to the instructions, having accepted 10 cattle from the apprentice Kozlov for food for the servants, he ordered the commissar to divide them among the people, leaving the Yakut service people behind the illness.

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

On the 17th, 2 people fled.

On the 18th, at the mouth of the Yuna River, a servant ran alone, but I released the leader, who was unfit for illness, and gave him one small tray; with him he sent a report to Mr. Captain about the fugitive 4 people.

On the 19th, one leader escaped.

On the 21st, at eight o'clock in the evening, we arrived at the mouth of the Mai River and walked along this river until the 2nd of September, on which there are shivers [rocky shallow rapids] and the ascents are much more difficult and fast.

On the 2nd of September we entered the mouth of the Yudoma River, which is very shallow, fast and steep, along which it is impossible for people finding it to pull one ship in places, for this reason it was sent by time from 4 ships to one, and on thick rapids and rises and from all ships to they sent one, and in such places they walked one mile a day and so raised the ships. They walked along this river until the 13th of September and great shoals came, and small ice began to flow along this river, which is called slush in the local area, and it was impossible to go further beyond the shoals. For this reason, I found a place where I could stand with the ships, on the right side of the river or bay, and stood in the evening at 7 o’clock with all the ships safely.

From the aforementioned 2nd to the 13th of September, during the course of it, 10 servicemen fled in different numbers, released due to French and other diseases.

On the 14th of September, I reviewed the Yakut servicemen, of whom, according to my inspection and, moreover, by the testimony and signing of fairy tales at the hands of non-commissioned officers, 14 servicemen appeared for various illnesses, to whom, having given ports and one small boat, I released them to Yakutsk.

On the 15th, 4 servicemen escaped at night. On the same date, he ordered the production of 2 vessels, on which to load anchors, ropes, sails, guns and other necessary things that were more necessary, which cannot be transported with packs by land, and they loaded them, and another 5 boats were loaded with small materials with which he intended keep going as far as possible. And he entrusted the remaining 10 ships with provisions to the navigator Jars Morisenu at that place and ordered the construction of a barn 7 fathoms long, 5 fathoms wide for unloading and storing provisions and materials, and for people to have a winter hut. And on the same date I went on the above-described 2 ships, taking with me all the Yakut servants, and through great labor through the shallows and rifts and frost, on the 21st of September we arrived at the Gorbeya River, and it is impossible to go higher than that in any way. And seeing a convenient place near that river, Gorbey Island, he ordered materials to be unloaded from the ships and the same barn and two winter huts to be built. 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 one ship to be lowered down to the first winter hut to load government wine, church things, the treasury, etc., as well as servants’ belongings, and ordered all the servants to be at the Gorbeisky winter hut, and at the first winter hut he ordered 5 soldiers to be left to guard the provisions and supplies.

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

On the 1st of October, Ivan Beloy reported to me on behalf of the skipper that the Yakut service people did not want to go to work, whom he ordered to be sent for the most necessary work under guard, and those who were the breeders of this evil, he ordered to be put in stocks and to be at the same work.

On the 4th, for the above-mentioned objections, so that no more evil would happen, he ordered them to read the regulations and inflict a fine, flog 5 people with cats moderately, so that in the future it would be a model for others, and ordered the pads to be removed from 5 people. On the same date, he sent 24 servicemen on three sleighs and with them one sailor and two carpenters for guard duty to the said ship to pick up materials from that ship.

On the 5th of October, navigator Enzel arrived to me from the first winter quarters by dry route and with him 7 people, to whom he reported that he had unloaded the ships into the barn.

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

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

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

And I asked the leader, or pilot, from Yakutsk, Fyodor Kolmakov, about the journey to the Cross, how many days it would take, and he said: the journey from our winter quarters to Shchek is 4 days, from Shchek to the Povorotnaya River is 5 days, from Povorotnaya to the rapids is 9 days, from the threshold to the Cross is 4 days, and from the Cross to the Lama, although it’s quiet, 10 days. Moreover, 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 sledges described above they put the most necessary things: artillery, medicine, church things, rigging, cash treasury, ammunition. And I ordered the servants to give one and a half poods of food per person for the months of November and December, according to the instructions given to me, and the Yakut ministers, according to the instructions, were ordered to give only one pood per person for the month of October, and for other months it was not shown. And I, seeing their need, so as not to starve, ordered half a third of a pood to be given to each person for this journey for the months of November and December and ordered the stocks to be removed from three people. During the winter quarters he left for the guard: one navigator, 6 soldiers, one cooper for making small wine and oil vessels.

And they set off at midnight at 9 o’clock along the Yudoma River. There is a lot of snow along this river.

On the 5th of November, a carpenter from the Yenisei returned from the road to his winter quarters without our knowledge.

On the 19th, one serviceman died.

And until the 25th of November they walked to the Povorotnaya River and, having passed the Povorotnaya River, they became higher for one day, and from the aforementioned 4th there were great frosts and snowstorms on the way, 5 servicemen fled, and many others showed up sick, for this reason he left 40 sledges and volume for the guard: one soldier, one carpenter, one blacksmith, 2 servants, who were also sick and could not walk, and he ordered these sledges to be raised ashore and ordered to make booths for guarding.

On the same date I received a warrant [order, German] from Mr. Captain, in which he orders me to deal with heavy materials that cannot be carried with packs, as well as for the distribution of provisions to servants and serving 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 a message to Mr. Captain to serve him alone to help and to meet us on the road, and we set off.

On the 1st of December at night, 6 servicemen fled near the Talovka River and there was little food for people, and every day 20 or more people appeared sick and for this purpose they left anchors, guns and large ropes - a total of 20 sleds - and ordered to be pulled ashore and make a booth. From the above-described 1st to the 12th of December, they walked to Krivaya Luka, where they had a great need for provisions, so that people had nothing, and with which I had my own provisions: wheat flour, cereals, meat, peas - I distributed everything to the people and equally I had such a need for them. And seeing a considerable famine, I went forward from Crooked Luka to the Cross to send provisions to the people. There are distances to the Cross, for example, vert from 60, which at 10 o’clock, except for the night, crossed and at the same time sent 2 soldiers who were on guard, on 2 sledges of flour 4 pounds and ordered to hurry as much as possible. And before the provisions arrived to them, people ate from sled belts, bags, trousers, shoes, leather beds and dogs. And on those dates 2 people remained, and 2 Yenisei carpenters and 2 Yakut servicemen died from Talovka to the Cross on different dates.

On the 17th of December people arrived at the Cross, and I met the last ones 10 miles from the Cross and brought the last ones with me at about 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

On the 19th, he reviewed all the ministers and servicemen, of whom 11 ministers were sick, shivered and had other illnesses, 15 Yakut servants, and 59 healthy ministers and servants, and ordered the commissar to give everyone a pound of flour, and at the request of the Yakut servants he released them and gave them passports.

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

And until the 29th they walked in great need, there were severe frosts and there was not enough food, and they ate dead horses and all sorts of leather things that were missing on the road. For this reason, I went ahead to the Okhotsk prison, the least of the people who could go there was none, everyone was emaciated, and I walked day and night.

On the 31st of December, after lunch at 3 o'clock, I met from Okhotsk the captain sent to me from Mr. Captain to meet me with 10 sledges with provisions, on which meat and fish, and on the same date he sent 2 sledges and with them he returned on dogs to the people , to whom he ordered to immediately give meat and fish. And that night I ordered people to sleep and rest, and I myself went forward.

On January 1st, I met 40 sledges with meat and fish and ordered the commissar to distribute half a pound of meat to people, 6 kachamas of fish, and 2 1∕2 pounds of millet.

And the last of all the ministers gathered in the Okhotsk prison on January 16th, and how many ministers were sick and healthy, where they were found and died and fled, I am enclosing a personal register and a report card as well as materials where they were left, register 3 and about provisions expense based on information from Commissioner Durasov. And all the proper departures and all incidents during this campaign appear in the journal.

But the aforementioned leader Kolmakov, from the winter huts to the Cross and from the Cross to Okhotsk, did not know anything about the road, and what he told me, he kept lying, and when there was no trace and no road, then we got lost a lot and then, for lack of a road, we went a lot on 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 more moderate, the number of patients reached 18. It is remarkable that this month 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 off with midshipman Chaplin on 76 sledges to collect the materials left behind. On the 28th they arrived there and were informed by surveyor Luzhin that navigator Morison had died on February 2nd.

On April 6 they arrived safely in Okhotsk. It is very unfortunate that Chaplin was sent on this expedition; for through his absence we were deprived of information about what was happening at that time in Okhotsk.

At the end of April, the clerk Turchaninov announced that he knew something important about Captain Bering, or terrible at that time: word and deed. Captain Bering ordered him to be immediately placed under a strong guard, and after 5 days he was sent to Yakutsk to be transported to St. Petersburg.

Although the weather was very clear and warm from the first days of May, as the log shows, there were 16 sick people. At this time, some of the materials and provisions were brought; The south wind blew all this month.

The entire 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, surveyor Luzhin arrived from Yudoma Cross with all the other supplies and flour. Of the 100 horses that were with him, he brought only 11; the rest ran away, died and were eaten by wolves.

At the end of the month, they armed the ship with Galiet [Galiot] rigging, and loaded it with all the supplies and materials that were to be transported to Kamchatka. Throughout June the winds also blew from the south. According to Chaplin's observations, the latitude of Okhotsk turned out to be 59°13".

On the 1st of July, Lieutenant Shpanberg went to sea on a newly built ship and headed to Bolsheretsk, on which 13 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 servants and supplies; and after him, Quartermaster Borisov rode 110 horses and brought 200 sums of flour.

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

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

On August 4, the mentioned boat was launched, newly corrected. It's strange that neither Miller nor Chaplin say what it was called. On the 7th, a great number of ducks arrived at the seaside; on this occasion the whole team was sent there and they brought 3000 of them; and 5000, says Chaplin, flew back into the sea. On the 11th, Lieutenant Shpanberg arrived back from Bolsheretsk.

On August 19th, the entire crew moved onto the ships: Captain Bering and Lieutenant Shpanberg boarded the new one, and Lieutenant Chirikov, Midshipman Chaplin, 4 sailors and 15 attendants boarded the old one. It must be assumed that by the name of sailors Chaplin means the Okhotsk navigators and navigator students.

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

Having reached the roadstead, with a moderate north wind we set sail for SOtO and, following without any adventure, arrived on the 29th at the sight of the Kamchatka coast, at a latitude of 55°15". Not reaching it about 1 1∕2 versts, we anchored and sent for water to the river, which, as the sailors told them, was called Krutogorskaya. During the 5-day voyage, they carried out the most strict reckoning and observed, when time allowed, the altitude of the sun and the declination of the compass. Their path is indicated on the attached map.

On the afternoon of September 1 we weighed anchor and sailed near the shore to the south. Soon they saw Captain Bering's ship on StO at a distance of 20 miles. Following with calm winds, we 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.

At half past 8 o'clock there was full water, before the moon arrived on the midnight meridian in 4 hours 54 minutes. The latitude of this place is 52°42". The midday altitude 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 Bolshaya rivers is 6°31", the direction SO 4°38" to the ost. Swimming distance 603 miles; and Russian versts 1051.27, departure 460 miles. According to his journal, it is clear that the difference in longitude between Bolsheretsk and Okhotsk is 13°43", which is almost completely correct.

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

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

The entire month of September was spent transporting various things from ships to the prison, for which they used 40 Bolsheretsk, or, better said, Kamchatka boats. One can easily judge how difficult this transportation was, for Chaplin says: on each boat there were two men of other faiths, who carried them up the river with poles.

In the middle of the month, Lieutenant Shpanberg was sent with several boats up the Bolshaya and Bystraya rivers to the Nizhnekamchatsky fortress.

Lieutenant Chirikov says: in the Bolsheretsky fort of Russian housing there are 17 courtyards and a chapel for prayer. The latitude of the place is 52°45", compass declination 10°28" east. The manager was a certain Slobodchikov.

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

The climate in Bolsheretsk was very good, although from October 7th it sometimes snowed, but the river did not freeze, and on the 30th there was thunder. Snow fell very often throughout November; but at times it also rained. At half the month the local steward died; and on the 24th, says Chaplin, cannons were fired on Her Imperial Majesty’s name day. On clear days, sailors and soldiers were trained to use guns and target shooting.

In December there were already constant frosts. At this time, a dead whale was brought to the mouth of the Bolshaya River, and several sleighs were sent from the prison for fat, which on various trips brought up to 200 pounds of it. 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 sleds to Nizhnekamchatsk; and on the 14th, Captain Bering himself set off with his entire crew.

On January 25, we arrived safely in Verkhnekamchatsk, located 486 versts from Bolsheretsk. This fort, says Chaplin, stands on the left bank of the Kamchatka River, there are 17 courtyards in it; and there live service people and yasak foreigners, whose dialect differs from Bolsheretsk.

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

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

The Verkhnekamchatsky fortress, says Lieutenant Chirikov, was built on the left bank of the Kamchatka River, housing 15 courtyards and a chapel, 40 Russian service people, the manager was a certain Chuprov. The latitude of the place is 54°28". Compass declination is 11°34" east. Krasheninnikov, who wintered here in 1738, says: there are 22 philistine houses, and there are 56 servicemen and Cossack children.

On April 4th, during a meeting of the whole team, the bot was launched. Chaplin says: on this occasion the captain rewarded everyone with quite a bit of wine. According to observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 56°10". On May 30, Lieutenant Chirikov arrived here with the rest of the team. In March, April and May, the winds blew here mostly from the south.

On the 9th day of June, after the Divine Liturgy, the newly built boat was named “Saint Gabriel” and was safely launched into the water. The team involved in 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 gained, and the poor Kamchadals would not have to transport all the burdens across the whole of Kamchatka, from Bolsheretsk to Nizhnekamchatsk.

It is impossible to 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 the monk Kozyrevsky, who, sailing through those places, could provide him with detailed information about the countries there. Proof that this conclusion is sound is the fact that in 1729 Captain Bering sailed from Nizhnekamchatsk directly to Okhotsk.

The 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 fierce winds, and, moreover, late autumn time and unknown places, hindered him.

If autumn had really been the reason for Captain Bering’s winter in Bolsheretsk, then he could have made this journey very easily next year. We must assume that this immortal navigator had special reasons that are not at all known to us.

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

The following remained at the prison due to illness: the surveyor Luzhin, who was sent by Emperor Peter I in 1719 to the 6th Kuril Island to find gold sand, and 4 soldiers to guard the treasury and provisions.

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

The venerable Chirikov, having established himself on the mentioned observation of the Moon in Ilimsk, made an important mistake. His ship's reckoning is much more accurate: the log of his river voyage 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 the real one.

According to the most accurate observations, or from 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 it to be only 126°1".

But if you add to this 6°31",

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

These 6°31" are the difference between the ship's reckoning and the observation of the lunar eclipse in Ilimsk. Anyone who knows how difficult it is to observe this phenomenon, without blaming our famous navigator Captain Chirikov in the least, will marvel at the accuracy with which he kept the ship's reckoning.

July 14. Captain Bering sailed these days to the south in order to get around the Kamchatka Nose, which jutted out far into the sea. He began counting from the Nizhnekamchatka meridian, the latitude of which was indicated in his journal as 56°03", and the compass declination 13°10" eastern.

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

July 15. Clear weather, but the wind was so calm that only 18 miles were sailed before midnight. At 3 o'clock in the morning the entire coast, near which they were sailing, was covered with fog; when the sun rose, it was found out, and then the compass declination of 14°45" to the east was calculated from the amplitude. The total voyage that day was 35 miles on ONO.

July 16. Since noon, from which sailors usually count the day, a fresh wind was blowing from SSW, and the speed was 6 ½ knots, or Italian miles per hour. When the sun set, the compass declination was calculated to be 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 boat "St. Gabriel" and the preparation of the expedition for voyage

State Admiralty Board report

On the past 11th day of May, I dutifully reported to the State Admiralty Board from the Lower Kamchadal fort about our departure from the Okhotsk fort to the Bolsheretsk mouth and about the transportation by land from Bolsheretsk to the Lower Kamchadal fort of materials and provisions and about the structure of the boat, which report was sent to the Yakut chancellery.

Now I humbly report: on the 8th of June the boat was launched into the water without a deck and escorted to the mouth of the Kamchatka River to feed the artisans, and on the 6th of July the ship arrived safely from Bolsheretsk, which had been on the road for 16 days. On the same date, the boat was completed, and on the 9th day we loaded it, and with the first favorable wind, with God's help, we will go to sea to reduce the gear, and also for repairs. Due to short time, in order not to miss summer time, I am forced to go on one boat and leave the arriving ship from Bolsheretsk. And from the provisions available, what was put in the boat and what was left where, the register reported. The same number of those who found a hieromonk in my team, 11 Yenisei and Irkutsk carpenters, 3 blacksmiths were sent back to their previous teams, since it would be impossible to fit on one boat, and was forced to give a monetary salary for their passage and food in these empty places in January until the 1st day of 1729 years, also those who go with me on the journey, were given a salary until 1729 to buy a dress and pay off debts. And for the provisions, materials and cash treasury that came from us at the Lower Kamchadal fort, 3 people and sick people were left to guard the soldiers: surveyor Putilov and one soldier, and they were given instructions from us: if we don’t return back in 1729, why, God , save so that they give the remaining provisions and materials to the treasury with a receipt at the Kamchadal forts, and they themselves, taking the cash treasury, go to Yakutsk and give this money to the Yakut chancellery with a receipt. And from the 1000 rubles given to me from the Tsalmeister’s office, 573 rubles 70 kopecks were left for expenses, and I took this money with me for all sorts of needs that happened. And the original letters coming to us in May on the 3rd day, and those departing in March on the 31st of this year, 1728, were left at the Lower Kamchadal fortress with my team with the guard soldiers. And for the things that came from us, we built a barn next to the springs, where the church, about 6 versts from the Lower Kamchadal fort, had no government barns, but we didn’t dare build it at the fort, since it drowns with water all the years, and stands the waters of June from the first days until half of July.

At the same time, I humbly offer to the State Admiralty Board a report card on the condition of the crew and cash expenditures from 1727 from January until the 10th day of July, 1728.

According to observation, the compass declination was 16°59" east. The wind was moderate, temporarily foggy and gloomy. The log says that at 6 o'clock in the afternoon they saw a mountain white with snow, and a famous place on the shore.

According to the reckoning, it turns out that this was Ozerny Cape. In the morning we saw land directly to the north, which should be Ukinsky Cape, which on old maps is much longer and more protruding into the sea than on new ones.

July 18. Calm wind and clear weather. During all these days, Captain Bering sailed only 8 miles to the north. Having probably approached very close to Cape Ukinsky, he ruled for several hours in SSO and OSO. According to observation, the latitude of the place was 57°59", and the compass declination was 18°48".

The first [figure] is very consistent with the map and the ship's reckoning. The glorious Ukinskaya Guba, says Krasheninnikov, has a circumference of 20 versts, from here the dwelling of the sedentary [sedentary] Koryaks begins; and to this place the Kamchadals live.

July 19. Cloudy weather and calm wind. In the first 24 hours we sailed only 22 miles on the NOtN. Captain Bering, although he saw Karaginsky Island, did not know that it was an island; in his journal it says: a hill on the shore, from which it seems that the land is divided.

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

It is very unfortunate that our new geographers, when compiling maps, did not comply with the old ones and with the description of the Kamchatka shores. The reader will now search in vain for the Ilpinsky Cape, which, as can be seen from the above-mentioned description, extends 10 versts into the sea and is located 4 versts from the mouth of the Ilpinskaya River. This cape is now called Karaginsky, and for no reason; for between it and Karaginsky Island there is Kamenny Island.

Krasheninnikov says: this cape (Ilpinsky) near the hardened earth is very narrow, sandy and so low that water flows over it. At the head it is wide, rocky and mediocre high; Opposite it there is a small island in the sea, called Verkhoturov. We also don’t 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 fort on a nearby small, steep and rocky island, which he attacked. The Koryaks fought very bravely, killing Verkhoturov and most of his subordinates. Miller says: except for two or three people who went to Kamchatka in a boat, everyone was beaten.

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

We saw a mountain of a special kind. We saw a mountain right next to the sea. Such a position of the coast would give today's sailors an opportunity to remember all their benefactors and many of their superiors.

July 22. Midshipman Chaplin did not say a word about 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 Olyutorians, except in extreme need, do not catch, charging it with sin and fearing extreme misfortune from that. Since we do not have detailed information about the position of that shore, we cannot deny or affirm the truth of Steller’s words.

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

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

July 23. Moderate wind and clear weather. We, says Chaplin, sailed parallel to the shores at a distance of 20 miles. When the sun rose, the compass declination was calculated to be 19°37", and 3 hours after - 25°24" east. If, during the second observation, Captain Bering had sailed on a different tack, then the reason for this big difference could be explained; but the log shows that he sailed until 11 o’clock, when there was no wind, at NOtN3∕4N on the right compass.

The entire coast, past which they sailed, consisted of high mountains. One of them was covered in different places with snow and received the name Pestrovidnaya. During this day we sailed 48 miles, and according to observation the latitude of the place turned out to be 61°03".

July 24. Since noon the weather was warm and pleasant, the sailing continued to the shore, from which they had moved away the previous day due to calmness. In the evening the wind picked up and blew from behind the mountains in gusts.

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

July 26. Calm wind and clear weather, all day long we sailed parallel to the shore, being at a distance of 20 miles from it. In the evening we passed a bay that lay on the NWtN, which must be the mouth of the Khatyrka River. On this day, 80 miles were sailed and the compass declination was 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 our path parallel to the shore, we saw at two o’clock in the afternoon, as Chaplin says, “the land ahead on its course.” This should be Cape St. Thaddeus, which is placed differently on the new maps than Bering’s. But it seems that the Bering Map should be given greater faith; for he, going to NOtO, suddenly began to steer towards SOtO and went around this cape at a distance of 3 miles, being 15 miles from the previous coast.

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

It's remarkable 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 banks 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 some pretty tasty fish here, a kind of salmon. The depth of the sea here was 65 and 75 fathoms.

On the general map of Russia in 1745, Cape St. Thaddeus is indicated at longitude 193°50" from Deferro Island, or 176°02" from Greenwich. It is surprising that when compiling it they did not look into the Bering Journal. When he was at Cape St. Thaddeus, his longitude difference to the east is shown to be 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. Here the sea current from SOtS is noted to be 1 mile per hour. In this sea, Chaplin says, animals appear, many whales, with mottled skin, sea lions, walruses and sea pigs. That day we sailed 30 miles on the NtW, at noon we were 15 miles from the shore and saw a high, large mountain right next to the sea.

July 29. Moderate wind, cloudy weather and fog. The path continued parallel to the shore. Chaplin notes: the land on the bank is low, which was on the left; and up to this point along the shore there were all high mountains. Approaching the mouth of the Anadyr River, we found the sea depth was 10 fathoms, the soil was 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 receive fresh provisions and news about the position of the banks. The Anadyr fort, destroyed around 1760, existed for more than 100 years and was located on the left bank of the river, at a distance of 58 versts from the sea.

This day we sailed 34 miles on the NWtN. At midnight, Captain Bering ordered to set off and at dawn, disembarking, set off again; approaching the shore, which was 1 ½ miles on their left, they found the depth of the sea to be 9 fathoms.

July 30. The weather is cloudy, the wind is moderate. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, having approached the shore at a distance of 1 ½ miles, Captain Bering ordered to lay an anchor at a depth of 10 fathoms. As soon as they laid anchor, says Chaplin, Mr. Captain sent me to look for fresh water and inspect a place where it would be safe to boat.

Upon arrival on the ground, I did not find fresh water, and there was no convenient place to stand with the boat, unless it was possible on fresh water. It would be difficult to enter the bay; but we didn’t see any people on the shore. Upon Chaplin's arrival, Captain Bering weighed anchor and swam near the shore, where the sea depth was 12 fathoms.

July 31. The whole day was cloudy and foggy; but, despite the fact that the shores on the NW and NO were occasionally visible, Captain Bering continued his journey and sailed 85 miles on the NO in a whole day. The depth of the sea during the entire voyage was 10 and 11 fathoms. Around noon they noticed that the color of the water had completely changed, and when it became clear, 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 gradually increased. Captain Bering, seeing that he was only 3 miles from the high and rocky shore, sailed all that day to the S and SW in order to move away from it. Nothing remarkable happened during the entire day.

Chaplin says: at 2 o'clock in the morning, when the boat was turning to the other side, the wind broke the iron shoulder strap along which the main sheet walked. 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 on this date our church celebrates the origin of the tree of the honorable and life-giving Cross, it called the lip in which it was located the lip of the Holy Cross, and the river flowing into it the Big River.

August 2. Calm and cloudy weather continued until 8 o'clock in the evening, the sea depth was 50 fathoms, the soil was silt; from this time a moderate wind arose, and at midnight there was a shore on ONO at a distance of 5 miles, the depth of the sea here was 10 and 12 fathoms, the soil was stone. At noon the latitude of the place was observed 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 where he could stock up on fresh water; but, seeing that he could not make it here in his intention, he swam to the southeastern cape of this lip. Nothing remarkable happened that day.

August 4. The weather is cloudy and moderate wind. Having bypassed the southeastern cape of the Holy Cross Bay, Captain Bering sailed in parallel near the high Kamchatka coast and covered 36 miles on OSO that day. The depth of the sea was 10 fathoms and the soil was small stone.

August 5. Quiet wind and gloom. Continuing his journey near the shore all day, Captain Bering reached the bay, and since the shore sloped here to the southwest, he went in that direction. 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 shore to take fresh water, since we only have one barrel of water.

At 6 o'clock we approached the high stone mountains that stretched in the east and were as high as walls, and from the valleys lying between the mountains, into a small lip and laid an anchor at a depth of 10 fathoms, the ground was a small stone. Since on this date our church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, Captain Bering named this lip of the Transfiguration.

August 7. At noon, Chaplin was sent with 8 people to take fresh water and describe the shores. Arriving there, he found a stream flowing from the mountains covered with snow, and filled 22 empty barrels with sowing water. He also found empty dwellings, in which, according to signs, there had recently been Chukchi; 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. Moderate wind, cloudy weather. At noon, Captain Bering weighed anchor and sailed near the shore, which extended to SOtS and looked like stone walls. At 9 o'clock they came to the lip, which extends into the ground NNO and is 9 miles wide.

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

Captain Bering ordered the interpreters to call them onto the ship; but they, after hesitating for a long time, finally landed one person on the water; who swam to the ship on inflated bubbles and boarded it. This Chukchi said that many of his fellow countrymen lived along the shore 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 not far into the ground from here, an island can be seen.

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

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

August 9. Calm wind, cloudy weather. That day we swam around the Chukotka Nose and sailed only 35 miles at different points. According to a double calculation of the compass declination, it turned out to be 26°38" and 26°54" east. The latitude of the place according to observation is 64°10".

August 10. The weather is clear, the wind is calm. Captain Bering Chukotsky Nose sailed all these days, and although he traveled 62 miles at different points of reference, he made a difference in latitude of only 8. At noon it was 64°18".

Captain Cook says: “This cape received the name Chukotka from Bering; to which he had the right, for here he saw the Chukchi for the first time.” Cook places the southern tip of this cape at latitude 64°13", and Bering at 64°18".

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

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

Its latitudes and longitudes are determined so correctly that one must be surprised at this. In saying this, I am not referring either to the description of Millerovo or to its map below; but on the narrative of Dr. Campbell, placed in Horris's collection of travels; The map he published is much more accurate and detailed than Miller’s.”

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

At 7 o'clock, says Chaplin, they saw land on SO½O, and the middle of the island, previously seen, at that time was 4½ miles from us on STO. Judging by these words, one would have to conclude that this is again another island; but since we know that the island of St. Lawrence extends 90 miles in length and has several different elevations on it, we must assume that Chaplin considered the mountain to be 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: Agathonika, Titus, Diomede, Myron, Samuel, Theodosius, Micah, Andrey, etc.; when giving these names, he followed the Bering rule.

His Excellency G. A. Sarychev speaks about the island of St. Lawrence: several mountainous islands opened in front of the ship on ONO; but when we approached them, we saw that these islands were connected to each other by a low-lying coast and that this entire coast was a continuation of one island. Fleet captain G.S. 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, but, having consulted his journal and read the following note from Captain King, one can even excuse him for this blunder.

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

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

Captain King says: We rounded, July 3 (1779), the western extremity of what should be Bering's St. Lawrence Island. Last year we sailed near the eastern tip and called it Clerk Island; Now we have seen that it consists of different hills connected by very low land.

Although we were at first deceived by mistaking these mountains for separate islands, I still think that the island of St. Lawrence is really separated from Clerk's island, for we noticed between both a significant space on which there is no elevation above the horizon of the water.

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

August 12. Wind moderate and gloomy. On this day, Captain Bering sailed 69 miles, but changed the difference in latitude by only 21; for he went around the narrow cape, which is located north of the Chukotka Nose. At sunset, the compass declination was calculated from the amplitude to be 25°31" east. At noon the observed latitude was 64°59".

August 13. Fresh wind, cloudy weather. Captain Bering sailed all these days out of sight of the coast and changed the difference in latitude to 78°. In total, the voyage was 94 miles.

August 14. Calm wind, cloudy weather. In this day, 29 miles were sailed, and 8 ¾ miles of current were added to this, for Captain Bering noticed that it was going from SSO to NNW. At noon, Chaplin says, they saw high land behind them, and after another 3 hours high mountains, which, in tea, were 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, says Chaplin, quite a few whales were seen; and from the 12th day of this month the water in the sea was white, the depth was 20, 25 and 30 fathoms. In this day we sailed 58 miles and added the sea current of 8 ¾ miles.

August 16. The weather is cloudy, the wind is calm. From noon to 3 o'clock Captain Bering sailed on NO and, having traveled 7 miles, began to hold on StW1∕2W. Chaplin says: at 3 o’clock Mr. Captain announced “that he must return against the decree in execution,” and, turning the boat, he ordered to keep it on StO (by compass).

Lieutenant Chirikov's journal 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 was 30°17".

Since the longitude below Kamchatsk is 162°50" east of Greenwich, it turns out that the longitude arrived should be 193°7", which is almost completely consistent with the position of the coast known to us and does special honor to Captain Bering and Midshipman Chaplin, who wrote the journal 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 the 15th day of August, they arrived at 67 degrees 18 minutes of pole altitude to the Nose, beyond which the coast, as the aforementioned Chukchi showed, extended to the west. Therefore, the captain concluded with considerable probability that he had reached the very edge of Asia to the northeast; for if the coast from there certainly extends to the west, then Asia cannot be united with America.

Consequently, he followed the instructions given to him. For this reason, he suggested to the officers and other naval servants that it was time to go back. And if you go even further to the north, you must be careful not to accidentally get into the ice, from which it will not be possible to break out soon.

In autumn, the thick fog that occurs even then will take away the clear view. If the wind blows against you, it will not be possible to return to Kamchatka that same summer.

Captain Bering's journal 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 he 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 Sea.

It must be assumed that Captain Bering returned back because, having sailed more than 200 miles north of the Chukotka Nose, he did not see the shores either in the east or lower in the west. It is very unfortunate 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, being at that time in latitude 67°45", longitude 194°51". The next year, July 6 - at latitude 67°00", longitude 191°06". Clerk met very huge ice floes adjacent to the shores of Asia. Maybe at the end of August there is no ice in the middle of the Bering Strait.

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

Captain King says: our two-time voyage across the sea north of the Bering Strait has confirmed to us that there is less ice there in August than in July; probably in September and it’s even more convenient to swim there.

According to the information received by the army by Captain Timofey Shmalev from the Chukchi foreman, it is clear that when the Bering Strait is cleared of ice, many whales, walruses, sea lions, harbor 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, we can conclude from this testimony that ice accumulates in the Bering Strait in October and that it is possible to swim there until now.

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

Now the question arises: did the newest geographers have the right to call the islands lying in the Bering Strait Gvozdev islands? The glory of first finding them belongs undeniably 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 navigators to spot the shores of America, lying above the Arctic Circle. The immortal Cook, who covered the strait dividing America from Asia, named the islands lying in this strait, the islands of St. Diomede, after our first and famous navigator Bering.

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

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

August 18. Calm wind and clear weather. At noon we saw many whales, and at 5 o'clock we passed the bay, into which, Chaplin says, you can drink tea and protect yourself from the harsh weather. At sunset, the amplitude of the compass declination was found to be 26°20" east, and then the azimuth was 27°02". In 1779, a compass declination of 26°53" was observed here on Captain Cook's ships.

From midnight, Chaplin says, the weather was clear, the stars and the moon were shining, and there were pillars of light in the air opposite the north of the country (that is, the northern lights). At 5 o'clock in the morning they saw the island, which was called St. Lawrence, on ONO at a distance of 20 miles. Latitude numerable 64°10".

August 19. Calm wind and cloudy weather. On these days, Captain Bering walked around the Chukotka Nose and did not see the shores due to the darkness; According to the reckoning, the latitude was 64°35".

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

At 10 o'clock we set the topsail, at the same hour we looked at how the shore stretched: and we saw that behind us it stretched to O, and in front to WtN; then we saw 4 boats rowing from the shore towards us. We began to drift to wait for them. The Chukchi came to us on the aforementioned boats. These visitors were braver and kinder than before.

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

The Anadyr River is noon away from here; and all along the shore there are people of our kind living, but we don’t know others. These Chukchi brought reindeer meat, fish, water, foxes, arctic foxes and 4 walrus teeth for sale, which was all bought from them. That day we sailed only 37 miles, the latitude according to the reckoning was 64°20".

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

August 22. Fresh wind and cloudy weather. From the azimuth, the compass declination was calculated to be 20°00" east. The journal says: they saw the Angle of St. Thaddeus on WtS at a distance of 25 miles. It must be assumed that this name was given by Bering, for on August 21 they celebrate St. Thaddeus the Apostle; 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: St. Thaddeus Corner, which confirms the previous conclusion. During this day, 142 miles were sailed, and according to observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 61°34", which is quite consistent with the ship's dead reckoning.

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

August 24. Calm wind, clear weather. That day we saw the shores at a distance of 15 miles and sailed only 20 miles. The compass declination is calculated to be 13°53" East.

August 25. Strong wind and gloomy weather. To give the reader an idea of ​​the qualities of the ship on which Captain Bering sailed, it must be said that, lying in a close-hauled position, it had a speed of 1 ½ and 2 knots; and drift - from 3 ½ to 5 ½ points. During the whole day only 34 miles were sailed, and at noon the latitude was observed to be 61°20", which is very consistent with the reckoning.

August 26. Clear weather and fresh wind; 105 miles were sailed all day, and according to observation the latitude of the place turned out to be 60°18", the calculated one was 60°22", and from the amplitude and azimuth the compass declination was calculated to be 18°32" and 18°15".

August 27. Fresh wind, clear weather. The speed was from 5 to 7 knots all day, and at night at 4 o’clock it was shown as 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, he had not endured a single storm, and although he encountered contrary winds, they were mostly calm.

August 28. Cloudy weather, fresh wind. 98 miles were sailed throughout the day. At noon the observed latitude turned out to be 57°40", and the reckonable latitude was 9 north. Chaplin says: in this place we recognize the current of the sea in our time according to the corrected compass at SO3∕4S, and this has been corrected.

August 29. Calm wind, clear weather. The compass declination was calculated to be 16°27", and the latitude was observed to be 57°35". 54 miles were sailed throughout the day.

August 30. Fresh wind, clear weather. 100 miles were sailed throughout the day. From midnight the wind became so strong that the speed was 7 ½ knots. There were no sightings on this date; Chaplin says: from the 24th to the 31st no land was seen beyond the distance. The calculated latitude was 56°33", and longitude 1°38" east of the Nizhnekamchatka meridian.

August 31. Strong wind and gloomy weather. At 4 o'clock, says Chaplin, part of the land in WSW, 3 miles or less away, appeared through the fog. And when, behind the fog, they soon saw that the land extended in an arc to SOtS and NtW, then they lowered the brief, and set up the mainsail and foresail, not soon and with considerable difficulty, behind the great wind and waves.

And at that time it washed ashore at a distance of half a mile; The shore is rocky and steep without any difference, like a cliff, and very high. And we worked 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 mainsail and at the foresail; then the sails fell, the rigging was all mixed up, and due to the great excitement it was impossible to make out the rigging; For this reason, they lay anchor at a depth of 18 fathoms from the shore at a distance of 1 mile or even less; in the last part, for 2 hours, with great difficulty, until noon, we got ready for the trip with sails and other gear, although everyone was constantly working on it. This day we sailed 32 miles to the SW.

Judging by the latitude and description of the coast, it turns out that Captain Bering was anchored 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 fathoms high, and the others are slightly lower. These pillars were probably once torn off from the shore by the force of shaking or flooding, which often happens there; for not in ancient times a part of this coast was torn off along with the Kamchatka fort, 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 raise the anchor; but as soon as they turned a few fathoms of rope, it burst; and therefore, setting sail as quickly as possible, we set off for SSO. Chaplin's narration about the past 24 hours and this incident give us an idea of ​​what kind of gear Captain Bering had.

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

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

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

The sea current was observed all day long from the Kamchatka River to SSW½W on the right compass at 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 crew was occupied on clear days with training, and at other times with repairing rigging and various ship work. Winter arrived here in the last days of October.

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

However, the Kamchatka air may also have 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 from heat or frost, there are no dangerous diseases such as fever, fever and smallpox. There is no fear from lightning and thunder and, finally, there is no danger from poisonous animals.

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

On February 2, navigator Engel arrived, and with him 1 corporal, 2 sailors and 3 soldiers. With the onset of spring, Captain Bering ordered the ships to be prepared, and on June 1 the crew moved onto them. 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 the 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 sailor Bely to captain; but the journal 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 was sent directly to Bolsheretsk.

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

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

2) That on Karaginsky Island, lying on the eastern shore of Kamchatka, opposite the Karaga River (at latitude 58°), very thick spruce and pine logs were found among the inhabitants, which do not grow either in Kamchatka or in the surrounding areas. When asked where they got this forest from, 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 has been blown away from an inhabited place.

4) Every year many birds fly from the east, which, having been in Kamchatka, fly back.

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

6) Residents of the Anadyr fortress said that bearded people live opposite the Chukotka Nose, from whom the Chukchi receive wooden utensils made according to the Russian model.

In confirmation of this news, Bering added his own comments.

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

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

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

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

The clarity and certainty of all this evidence instilled in the famous Bering a desire to explore this country close to Kamchatka; and therefore, having set out on the sea, he went to the southeast.

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

June 7. Calm wind, clear weather and waves from NNO. Nothing worthy of note happened the entire day. According to the midday reckoning, the latitude of the place was 55°37". The difference in longitude from Nizhnekamchatsk to the east was 2°21".

June 8. Gloomy weather and strong wind from NNW lay under one mainsail all day and drifted 5 points. At noon the calculated latitude turned out to be 55°32". The difference in longitude was 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 observation, the latitude of the place turned out to be 54°40".

June 10. Calm wind and cloudy weather. Captain Bering sailed all day in sight of the Kamchatka coast; and since the wind had become even calmer since midnight, he sailed only 35 miles. Based on the amplitude, the compass declination is calculated to be 11°50" east; and the latitude of the place according to midday observation is 54°07".

June 11. Clear weather and calm wind. Chaplin says: they saw the mountain that is in Kronoki, they saw the mountain on Zhupanova, they saw the mountain on Avacha that is burning. During all these days we sailed in sight of the shores, being at a distance of 6 and 10 miles from them. In terms of azimuth and amplitude, the compass declination turned out to be 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 extended coast, from the long-term winds that persist between S and W, to the side of the spacious sea , lying between S and O.

June 12. Clear weather and calm wind. From midnight the wind became stronger, and a very thick fog set in. We sailed all day in sight of the shores; a total of 42 miles were sailed, including 12 miles of sea current at SOtO¼°.

June 13. Very thick fog and calm wind. During the day they turned three times; probably to move away from the coast. A total of 34 miles were covered, including the same amount of sea current as the previous day.

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

June 15. Moderate wind and gloomy weather; We sailed for a whole day at 8 points from the wind and had the same drift. The currents of the sea count for 12 miles.

June 16. Gloomy weather and calm wind. In the whole day we swam 38 miles, including 8 miles of current at SOt½O. The shores were not visible beyond the gloom. Countable latitude 51°59".

June 17. The same gloomy weather and calm. In a whole day we sailed 27 miles and could not see the shores due to the gloom. The currents of the sea are the same as in the previous day.

June 18. Cloudy weather and moderate wind from the SW, which forced Captain Bering to sail against his wishes to 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 further from his present path; and therefore he sailed straight to NtO and saw at noon the Zhupanovskaya hill at a distance of 15 miles. Its calculated latitude is very correct, and 9 miles of sea current were 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 his latitude was 54°4." It’s strange why Captain Bering stayed so close to the shore last day! At a distance from it, he could have met a different wind.

June 21. Gloomy weather and calm variable wind. We sailed 20 miles on NOtO all day, and Chaplin added 8 miles to the sea current to the west. The calculated latitude was 54°16".

June 22. Foggy weather and very calm wind; there was a very large sea from the SW, a consequence of a strong southerly wind. Chaplin says: for the most part they lay without sails and counted the sea current 4 miles to the W. The total voyage was 8 miles to the WNW.

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

At noon we saw the Kamchatka coast on the NNW at a distance of 13 miles and observed the latitude of the place to be 54°12", which is quite consistent with the dead reckoning. The daily voyage was 28 miles at WtS.

June 24. The weather is clear and calm wind from SSW. We sailed all day in sight of the shores. The total voyage was 30 miles on WtN, and the calculated latitude was 54°15".

June 25. Calm variable wind from SO and SSW; rainy weather. We stayed in sight of the coast all day and sailed 26 miles on the StW. At noon the latitude of the place was observed to be 53°53", which is very consistent with the reckoning.

June 26. Calm variable wind and temporarily clear. Although on this day Captain Bering walked around the Shipunsky Cape, this is not mentioned in the journal, but only says: at noon, the high Avachinskaya Mountain at WtS¼W at a distance of 20 miles. The calculated latitude is very consistent with the position of this mountain.

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

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

June 29. Calm wind and clear weather. In the whole day we sailed only 17 miles on the NWtW and, as Chaplin says, we saw a flat mountain with a hill on it. The calculated latitude was 52°06".

June 30. Clear weather and moderate wind. We sailed all day in sight of the coast and covered only 22 miles at SWtS. The calculated latitude was 51°38".

July 1 moderate wind and gloomy weather; but, despite this, Captain Bering walked around the Kamchatka blade that day. Chaplin says: at noon the southern corner of Kamchatka land is one and a half miles from us on the NWtN, and from there the sand stretches into the sea about a mile.

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

From this narrative it is clear that Captain Bering was the first to pass through the Kuril Strait; All ships sailing from Okhotsk to the eastern shores of Kamchatka until 1737 sailed with it. This 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 later, waves of terrible shaking followed and water surged onto the shore for 30 fathoms. From this flood, the local residents were completely ruined, and many died miserably.

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 side, being low-lying and sandy, it had no influence.

Steller says that on October 23 there were such strong shocks in Nizhnekamchatsk (where he was then located) that most of the stoves crumbled, and the new church, built of very thick deciduous wood, became so loose that the doorposts fell out. Residents of Kamchatka, he continues, told me that near burning mountains there are impacts much stronger than near extinct ones.

On July 3, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Captain Bering came to the mouth of the Bolshoi River and, having laid anchor, sent to inspect where it was more convenient to enter the river, for he was informed that its mouth changes annually. After this, a very strong wind arose in the sea; the rope was undermined, but the boat entered the river safely and found two ships in it: “Fortune” and an old one, on which the yasak treasury was transported from Kamchatka to Okhotsk.

On July 14, Captain Bering set sail and headed his way to Okhotsk. The voyage was completed 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 2 cannons to call the boat from the shore.

At the beginning of the 3rd hour there was a light wind, and we raised the anchor and went closer to the mouth of the river; and at 3 o’clock they lay at anchor at a depth of 5 fathoms and fired another cannon; the wind was calm and the weather clear. At 4 o'clock the navigator we sent arrived and reported that the water from the river was receding and it was impossible to go to the mouth. At 5 o'clock they raised the anchor and set sail from the shore, then lay at anchor again.

At 7 o'clock midnight they raised the anchor and maneuvered towards the mouth of the Okhota River; the weather was shining and there was little wind. On the 24th in the afternoon at 9 o'clock we went to the mouth on rising water and, firing 51 cannons, placed the boat near the shore. Mr. Captain ordered it to be un-equipped.

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

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

Servants were sent from the Yudom Cross by water, and Captain Bering went by land 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 and arrived safely in St. Petersburg on March 1.

The venerable and hardworking Chaplin concludes his journal with the following words: and ending with this, I sign from the navy, midshipman Peter Chaplin.

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

To the State Admiralty Board, from the fleet, Captain Vitus Bering, I humbly report about the chief and non-commissioned officers and privates who were with me on the Siberian expedition, that they, in my opinion, for the art of their position, for their efforts in the shown expedition, which few things happen, hard work is worthy of reward, and at the same time I am reporting a personal register with the meaning of each merit. And the greatest work was done in 1725 on the way, going up the rivers Ob, Ketya, Yenisei, Tunguska and Ilim, and in 1726 when building ships [on] the Lena River, at Uskut and on a trip up the Aldan, Mae and Yudoma rivers , and in the same 1726 and 1727, when crossing from Gorbaya to the sea on one’s own, without horses, boat supplies, ropes, anchors and artillery and other things, through a considerable distance in empty places, where from a lot of labor and from the scarcity of provisions, if They didn’t receive much more than God’s help; they all lost their lives.

Also in the transportation from Yakutsk to the sea by dry route of provisions through dirty and swampy places and in the construction of a ship at the Okhotsk fort, on which they crossed the sea from the Okhotsk fort to the mouth of the Bolshaya River. And in the transportation of provisions and other things through the Kamchatka land from the Bolsheretsky mouth to the Lower Kamchatka fort. Also, when building a boat in Kamchatka and in 1728, on a trip by sea to unknown places, where the peculiarities of the local places through the local air added a lot of difficulties. And on such a difficult journey, all the servants, due to the lack of sea provisions, did not receive enough food, and the chief officers did not receive any portions or money for it. And in 1729, in navigating the sea near the southern Kamchatka Angle and in the entire expedition, they had a lot of work and a lot of time, which requires a lengthy description to explain in detail, but I, having briefly proposed, humbly ask the State Admiralty Board not to leave your reasoning.

Lieutenant Commander Martyn Shpanberg – promoted to rank

Lieutenant Alexey Chirikov - "-

Navigator Richard Engel – »-

Physician Vilim Butskovskoy – salary award

Midshipman Peter Chaplin - promoted to naval non-commissioned lieutenant

Sub-skipper Ivan Beloy - sub-skipper salary

Quartermaster Ivan Borisov - to shkhimany

Sailors of the first article:

Dmitry Kozachinin – as a boatswain

Vasily Feofanov – »-

Grigory Shiryaev - "-

Afanasy Osipov - to shkhimanmaty

Saveliy Ganyukov - quartermaster

Evsey Selivanov – »-

Nikita Efimov – »-

Prokopiy Elfimov – »-

Nikifor Lopukhin - "-

Grigory Barbashevsky – »-

Afanasy Krasov – »-

Alexey Kozyrev – »-

Bot trade apprentice Fedor Kozlov – promoted to rank increase

Carpenter foreman Ivan Vavilov - promoted to carpenter commander

Carpenters:

Gavrila Mitrofanov - to become a carpenter's foreman

Alexander Ivanov – for notes

Nikifor Kheeskiy – »-

Caulker Vasily Gankin – »-

Sailboat Ignatius Petrov – »-

Blacksmith Evdokim Ermolaev – »-

Mastmaker 1st class student Ivan Endogurov – promoted to rank

Biographical information about Captain Bering and the officers who were with him

Captain-Commander Vitus Bering

If the whole world recognized Columbus as a skillful and famous navigator, if Great Britain exalted the great Cook to the height of 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, discovered a new and neighboring part of the world for the Russians, which provided a rich and inexhaustible source of industry.

But, unfortunately, we have only a very brief and superficial information about both the life and the exploits of this first navigator of ours. A writer of everyday life, proud of the honor of being the narrator of the Bering deeds, not finding materials, must 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, these are the seas: Kamchatka and Bobrovoe, which no one has ever touched before. he didn't swim.

Having explained the exploits of his first voyage, he turns 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 St. Elijah.

Here, he will tell his reader, the exploits of the second Bering voyage are the most famous exploits because they aroused the enterprise of the Siberian inhabitants, laid the foundation for trade, navigation and served as the basis for the settlement of Russians in America, for the formation of colonies.

Bering was Danish and joined the Russian naval service at the beginning of the 18th century. Miller says that in 1707 he was a lieutenant, and in 1710 - a lieutenant commander. It is not known on which seas he served in these ranks and whether he commanded the ships himself 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” purchased there was commanded by Captain Bering, and in March 1715 he was ready to go 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 from there the newly built ship “Selafail”.

Prince Dolgorukov says in another letter, from Copenhagen, dated November 5, 1715: I inform your Majesty that there is information that the command of Commander Ivan Senyavin, Captain Vitus Bering with the ship “Archangel Selafail” is in Norway. A report from Captain-Commander Ivan Senyavin dated December 5, 1715 shows that he and Bering arrived safely with their ships in Copenhagen on November 27; and with the third ship, Lieutenant-Commander Bays remained to spend the winter in Fleken.

Where Captain Bering was after this is unknown; and it is clear only from the letter of Captain-Commander Naum Senyavin to Emperor Peter I from Revel dated May 10, 1718 that the ship “Selafail”, due to its thinness and leakage, 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 Board brought me the following biographical materials about Bering.

On the 20th day of December 1723, they ran for naval chief officers from captain-lieutenant to captain, and the following were present: Admiral General Count Apraksin; vice admirals: Sievers, Gordon; Schoutbenachts [vice-admirals, German, Dutch]: Naum Senyavin, Lord Dufuss; captain-commanders: Ivan Senyavin, Gosler and Bredal; captains: Gay, Liters, Mukhanov, Vilboa, Mishukov, Kalmykov, Koshelev, Korobin, Trezel, Naryshkin, Gogstrat, Delap, Armitage Bering, Brant and Bence.

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 battleship.

This conclusion is evidenced by the following resolution of the State Admiralty Board dated January 25, 1724: at the request of the naval captain Vitus Bering, to send a decree to Schoutbenacht Lord Dufuss: order Bering, who is asking for leave from service to the fatherland, to take written notice against the regulations collegiate position of the 58th article and send this news to the collegium.

But the 58th article says: “If any of the naval and admiralty servants of the Russian nation asks for freedom from service, then the board must find out the reason for it.” Apparently, this article did not concern Bering as a foreigner.

It is not clear from the journals of the Collegium what reasons Bering presented for his dismissal from service; but on February 9 of the same 1724 it was written in the journal:

His Imperial Majesty deigned to arrive at the collegium and did the following: the collegium informed His Majesty that the naval captains Gay, Falkenberg, Bering and Dubrovin were asking for leave from the service of abshits [retiring, German], and at the same time Admiral General Count Apraksin reported to His Majesty that these captains, except Dubrovin, should be released, and that Dubrovin should, of course, be awarded an increase in salary.

To which His Majesty deigned to say: from now on, naval officers should be accepted into service and contracts should be made stronger; but he did not define exact decrees regarding the release of these.

Despite the fact that Emperor Peter I did not decisively decide whether to release these captains, the following decree was made on February 23: naval captains William Gay, Matthias Falkenberg, Vitus Bering, at their request and made extracts [extracts, lat.] from service His Majesty, to release them to their fatherland and give them passports from the Admiralty Collegium and a well-deserved salary for the day of vacation, as well as travel expenses, according to the decree, minus the cost of hospitalization, and for an additional month, give them from the cavalry affairs according to a statement from the office General-Kriegs-Commissar.

Chief Secretary Tormasov took this resolution to the president of the board, Count Apraksin, for signature, but he refused because he was ill and could not sign it. Tormasov, returning to the board, sent this resolution to the vice-president Admiral Kreis, who, although he signed it, demanded that it be sent to Count Apraksin, and that he deign to tell the board why he was not signing it. Until then, stop with execution.

On February 25, Tormasov went again to Count Apraksin, proposing a decree to be signed on the 23rd. The count answered him that he was so ill that he could not even go to Moscow for the coronation of Empress Catherine I, much less sign collegiate decisions drawn up on dates when he was not even present.

However, he added: since this resolution has already been signed by all members, it can be carried out and passports sent to him, which he, despite his illness, will sign. It is wonderful that Count Apraksin left for Moscow on March 3.

On February 26, a resolution was passed in the board: since the instructions to captains Gay, Falkenberg and Bering were already signed by the hand of the Admiral General, then the resolution should be put into effect on the 23rd.

According to the journals of the collegium, it is clear that on March 10, Captain Gay came 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 board immediately sent a decree about this to the police chief general.

On March 11, Bering submitted a petition to the board that although he was given a well-deserved salary, they withheld part for the extra 13th month; and therefore he asks to order it to be handed over to him. The board, despite its resolution of February 23, determined that since he, Bering, had been promoted in Russia with ranks and an increase in tracts, then such people were not ordered to receive a ten-month salary for the third month; and to whom it was given, and from those it was ordered to be subtracted.

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

On August 7, 1724, Captain and Prosecutor Kozlov announced to the Guard in the presence that on August 5, His Imperial Majesty, being at the all-night singing in the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, verbally ordered His Excellency the Admiral General and the Admiralty Board President Count Apraksin to do the following, about which he , Admiral General, ordered the board to propose the first thing: to accept Captain Bering into His Majesty’s service in the navy as before, with the first rank of captain.

According to the list of 1726, it is clear that Bering was promoted to the first rank on August 14, 1724, which is very consistent with the above, since promotion to this rank went through the Senate.

The board decided: calling on Captain Bering to tell him whether he wants to be in His Majesty’s service. And if he wishes, then he should take an oath of loyalty to the service, and decrees should be sent about this. This resolution serves as proof that Bering did not ask for service; otherwise they would not have asked him: does he want to be in it?

Having found so many interesting materials in the first 8 months of 1724, I imagined that I would find in the latter detailed news about Bering’s departure to Kamchatka and a complete report on the equipment of this famous expedition. But how great was my surprise when I found in them only two resolutions relating to him.

On October 4, at a meeting of the board of the navy, Captain Vitus Bering, who, by the verdict of the board, by force of a personal decree, was accepted into the fleet for service in the first rank, was read an oath printed in the Admiralty Charter, who, after reading it, signed it.

On December 23, according to a report from the navy captain Vitus Bering, this Bering was to be released to Vyborg for his needs on January 7th of the previous 1725.

Remembering that Miller said: the emperor entrusted his work (i.e., equipment for the expedition) to Admiral General Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin, I decided to sort through his papers and did not find a single word in them about Bering or his expedition.

It is surprising that when the final resolution on the departure of Captain Bering was placed in the journal of the collegium, that is, on giving him a year’s salary, runs and travel allowance in advance, not a word was mentioned about it. It must be assumed that this case was not carried out in court and was subsequently lost.

The curious reader would be very pleased to know: who recommended Bering? Why was he recruited again? Why was he promoted out of line to the first rank and so on. etc.? But he hardly ever finds out.

There is no need to mention Captain Bering’s first voyage, because readers will find detailed information about it here; but it only needs to be added that on August 4, 1730, he was promoted through the line to captain-commander.

Captain Bering, returning to St. Petersburg on March 1, 1730, presented the government with his journal and maps and, together with them, submitted both of the following proposals, expressed his readiness to go to Kamchatka again 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 organize the life and everyday life of the population of Siberia and Kamchatka in connection with the activities of the First Kamchatka Expedition

On the 4th day of December 1730, the governing Senate ordered me, the undersigned, to submit news that in Siberia, in the eastern region, it is recognized for the benefit of the state, which I humbly propose.

1. Near Yakutsk there lives a people called Yakuts, about 50,000 in number, and from ancient times they had the Mohammedan faith, but now they believe in birds, while others worship idols, and this people is not so stupid that they do not know about the Most High God.

If it is decided for the good, then one or two priests or such should be placed among them so that their children can be taught at school. And I admit that there are many who are willing to send their children to school. But they are afraid to send to the city of Yakutsk, for the sake of smallpox and other sorrows. Then, from among those people, 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 transport it from Tobolsk to distant cities, which causes an extra cost to be transported.

There is iron ore near the Angar River near the Yandinsky fort, as well as near the Yakut fort, and these people themselves smelt them into kritsy. And if someone could be identified who knows how to melt into rods, then one could be content without need in any task and in shipbuilding. And it will be against the best Siberian iron. And the Yakut people make cauldrons for themselves from that iron and line chests and use it for all sorts of other needs.

3. There are about 1000 service people in Yakutsk; and above them there is a Cossack commander, centurions and Pentecostals. And although there are these commanders over them, they only keep them under fear; More often than not, servicemen get drunk and lose not only their belongings, but, sometimes, their wives and children, which we ourselves saw in Kamchatka. And when they set off on the necessary journey, then they do not have clothes, but the gun is not working properly. And I found at Okhotsk and Kamchatka that they did not have guns, bows and arrows, but it was more appropriate for these service people to have rifles.

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

4. Near Okhotsk there are no cattle, but there is plenty of grass, also along the Ural River; And there are people passing through who are sent to Kamchatka temporarily and experience considerable need, also upon returning from Kamchatka.

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

5. In Kamchatka there is no cattle, but there is plenty of grass, and the servants want to be fired to bring cattle with horns on the sovereign's ships, and the Yakuts sell cows at the price of two rubles and two rubles and a quarter.

If it were ordered to drive young cattle, cows and pigs from Yakutsk to Okhotsk, and from Okhotsk to transfer them across the sea to Kamchatka or by land through Kolyma, and at each prison to determine one or two families of people from the Yakuts who will graze the cattle, especially Kamchatka Moreover, the people are customary, so it would be possible to plow the land there and sow all sorts of grain. During my time, a trial was carried out for every garden vegetable, and rye was also sown with me, and before us they sown barley, turnips and hemp, which was born, only for people to plow.

6. Liquid and thick resin was previously transported from the Lena River, and from Yakutsk to Okhotsk. What caused the loss in transportation?

And when we were in Kamchatka, we ourselves used larch wood to build ships, as much as we needed, and henceforth, in order to identify such people who could sit on resin, and on the Yudoma and Uda rivers there is also enough pine forest. Also, if the treasury had enough copper and cast iron boilers, then there would be no need to transport salt to Kamchatka, since the first year we cooked it ourselves, as much as needed, without need.

7. At Okhotsk and Kamchatka there are 4 seafarers, who in the winter are more likely to live, and after many years there are repairs to the ships there, so that they do not have tar. Also, when the commissars are transported from Okhotsk to Kamchatka, they assign service people to the ships instead of sailors and change them on each journey, and the local ships, which are built like karbuz [carbass] with one mast and are sewn plank to plank.

For this reason, if it were determined that there should be a commander over them, who would have diligence in repairing ships, also for the sea route, to teach young Cossack children every maritime custom, and according to our recognition, during the time you can freely teach, as much as necessary, for the passage from Kamchatka to Okhotsk, and if this had happened, then there would be no need to send them away, and 12 or 15 people on each ship would be enough for science.

8. Near the Olyutor River, in the bay opposite Karaginsky Island, there used to be a fort, but now that place is empty, and there is plenty of fish in that river.

If it had been ordered to settle hunters and servants in this place, then the Koryak people and Yukagirs would have been protected from the Chukchi, who come every year in the winter and ruin the said people, which is why they cannot pay the proper yasak.

9. On the Kamchatka River, near the Lower Fortress, there is one church and a monastery is being founded; and in the entire Kamchatka land there is only one priest, and at the Upper and Bolsheretsky forts there are no priests, and the local residents, who are Russian, really want a priest to be assigned to each fort. The Kamchatka people also complained to me, namely from the Tigil River and from the Khariusovaya, about the local servants being offended by the tribute paid to them by collecting excess money against the decree. And many service people said that for many years they lived in Kamchatka, but did not receive a salary, for the reason that a detailed decree under Yakutsk prohibits paying salaries, except for those who appear in Yakutsk, and from the mentioned people they collect per capita money, which is why there is a considerable need undergo. The people there, according to news from the Kamchatka peoples, have had a custom in Kamchatka since the beginning of the ownership of the Russian state: when yasak with sables and foxes is collected, then they voluntarily give the collectors one and sometimes two parts, in addition to the yasak allotted to them.

And if a ruler were determined for how many years, who would take care of this people so that they would not be offended, and in quarrels between them there would be a court, and from those peoples who live in places near the Kuril Nose, also in the northern region, are given If they were to pay tribute, and the service people who are found near Kamchatka should send them salaries from Yakutsk, then I would hope that a considerable profit would be made per year. And according to the current custom, commissars are sent every year to collect yasak, and in the spring the packs [again] return to Yakutsk, and the Kamchatka forts are left under the guard of service people, and every year the yasak collection is reduced. And if you [give] salaries to service people every year, then you can take this part to the treasury, and therefore there would be a double profit for the treasury, since 60 and 65 forty different animals are collected every year, and if you take these parts to the treasury, then there will be There are more than 120 magpies in the collection, and this will not be the slightest burden for this people.

10. And the Kamchatka people have a habit, when a person falls ill and lies for a while, although not to death, then they throw him out and give him little food, then he dies of hunger; when an old or young person does not want to live anymore, he goes out into the cold in winter and dies of hunger, and many crush themselves; and if someone happens to drown in the river, and many see it, then they do not help him and make it a great sin for themselves if they save him from drowning. And it is in vain that many people die from this habit of theirs.

For this reason, strict orders must be given not to throw sick people out of their homes and not to kill themselves. It is also necessary to appoint one or two priests or skilled people to teach them, since at every prison children are taken from the noble people there, for loyalty from them, and then you can teach those children as teachers, then I hope that many will be inclined to the Christian faith.

11. Russian merchants travel to Kamchatka with goods on the sovereign’s ship, but they have no distribution of what to take for transportation.

When I was there, some trading packs wanted to return on the sovereign's ship, and I ordered to take two foxes from each person, and from each bag, two foxes from their belongings, and these foxes were given to the sailor with a receipt. And he ordered those receipts to be announced in Yakutsk, so that from now on they, the sailors, would be included in their pay.

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

But in my opinion, it is necessary to send more craft people to Kamchatka than to export them from there, namely: carpenters and blacksmiths, spinners, mechanics, because when the need arises, then there is no need to transport them from distant cities.

13. Near the Tauisky fort near Okhotsk, in Penza Bay, also near the shore on Kamchatka land, often dead whales with baleen are thrown out of the sea; but the people there do not regard these mustaches as anything, and so they disappear, others use them for runners.

If it were commanded from this people to accept whalebones instead of yasak, a pound or two at a time, or whatever it is, then I hope that in time many hunters would be found to collect these baleens.

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

And if the wine sale were under the supervision of a manager, or if kissers were assigned to him, then those animals would be brought to the treasury for wine.

15. Last June 1729, a ship was sent from the Kamchatka River to the Bolsheretsky fort, near the Kamchatka land, and they saw foreign people walking near the shore, and it is recognized that they were truly Japanese people. And they showed iron, canes and paper that were found on a small island near Avachik, and henceforth, if it is commanded to build ships for this route, then they should be built with a depth of 8 and 9 feet; and no better place has been found for building ships except on the Kamchatka River.

For this reason, I ordered the local manager to send servants to look for where these people were found, and to bring them under guard, and if in the future the above-described Japanese people [are found], then, in my opinion, those people should be sent on our ship to their land and to explore the route, and whether it is possible to bargain with them or in some other way for the benefit of our state to look into, there are islands from the Kamchatka Angle to the very Japanese land, and not at a far distance from the island. And along the Kamchatka River, there is enough larch wood to build ships, and iron can be brought from Yakutsk by the Aldan, Maya and Yudoma rivers only at the time when these rivers disappear, and if that time is delayed, then ships cannot come from these rivers for shallow water, And For marine provisions, you can buy reindeer meat from the Koryak people, and instead of cow butter you can have fish oil without need, and you can make wine from the local sweet grass as much as you need.

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

1. While scouting out, I discovered that beyond the east (the east) the sea rises in waves below, and also on the shore of the island called Karaginsky, a great pine forest, which does not grow in Kamchatka, washed up. For this purpose, he recognized that America or other lands lying between it are not very far from Kamchatka, for example 150 or 200 miles. And if this were truly so, then it would be possible to establish trades with the newly acquired lands there for the profit of the Russian Empire, and this could be achieved directly if a vessel was built, for example, from 45 to 50 fins [with a cargo capacity of 250–280 m3].

2. This ship should have been built near Kamchatka, because the timber required for the construction can be obtained there in better quality and suitability than elsewhere, and also food for the servants of fish and trapping animals can be purchased there more efficiently and cheaper. And you can get more help from the Kamchadals than from ordinary people in Okhotsk. Moreover, the Kamchatka River, deep in the mouth, is better for ships to navigate than the Okhota River.

3. It would not be without benefit to explore the Okhotsk or Kamchatka water passages to the mouth of the Amur River and further to the Japanese Islands; We still have hope that special places can be found there. And establish some trades with them, also, if the opportunity allows, and start trades with the Japanese, so that the Russian Empire could henceforth not have a small profit, and due to the lack of ships in those places, it will be possible to take from the Japanese ships that come along. And besides, it is still possible to build one ship near Kamchatka of the same size as mentioned above, or even build a smaller one.

4. Dependency for this expedition, in addition to salary and provisions, and in addition to materials for wallpaper, ships, which cannot be obtained there, and must be brought from here from Siberia; it can cost 10,000 or 12,000 rubles with transport.

5. If it is decided 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 and by boat or by land explore the former lands under the high power of Russia dry empires.

Vitus Bering. December 1730.

The board, having accepted all these papers and consumable books from Captain Bering, determined: the books should be sent for certification to the Treasury office, and he, Bering, should be sent to the Senate, which was still in Moscow, to compile land maps, and midshipman Peter Chaplin should be sent with him, clerk Zakharov and two people he chooses.

The venerable Bering, burning with impatience to quickly begin to implement his new enterprises, could not remain quietly in Moscow. He asked the Senate to send him to St. Petersburg, and on January 5, 1732, the board received the following decree: Captain-Commander Bering was to be released from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and the completion of the accounts was entrusted to Commissar Durasov and Non-Commissioned Lieutenant Peter Chaplin.

On January 24, Captain-Commander Bering appeared at the board and submitted a Senate decree, which ordered the board: to reward him following the example of others sent on long-distance expeditions and to give him a well-deserved salary and runs.

On March 3, a resolution was passed in the board: to give 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 strange why the college did not carry out 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 personal reference that took place on February 18 about the admiral and vice-president of the Admiralty Board Sivers.

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

The Governing Senate agreed to this collegiate opinion, and on June 4 of the same year they gave Bering 1000 rubles.

Meanwhile, his aforementioned proposals did not remain without effect. Miller says that Chief Secretary Ivan Kirilov, known to the scientific world from the maps he published and from his superiors over the Orenburg expedition, cared especially about this matter. On April 17, 1732, a personal order was issued from Empress Anna Ioannovna to the Senate, so that it, together with the Admiralty Board, would consider Bering’s proposals.

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

Here are the names of these most respected members of the board: 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 prosecutor in the collegium.

At the beginning of 1733, Captain-Commander Bering set off; There were more than 200 people on his team of all ranks, different titles. The long distance of the journey, the slowness in transporting many supplies and the obstacles encountered in Okhotsk during the construction of 4 seaworthy ships were the reasons that not before 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, the other of which was commanded by Captain Chirikov. What Bering discovered on this voyage, I said above. On November 4, being on the way back, the Bering ship threw him onto the island known by his name, where he ended his life on December 8 from illness and exhaustion.

Miller speaks about this famous man: thus, having served at Kronstadt in the fleet from its very beginning and being present at all naval enterprises during the war with Sweden at that time, he added to the abilities appropriate to his rank and long-term art, which especially made him worthy of extraordinary business, some of which were double visits, assigned to him.

The only thing that should be regretted is that he ended his life in such an unfortunate way. We can say that he was almost buried during his lifetime; for in the pit in which he lay sick, the sand always crumbled from the sides and covered his legs, which he finally ordered no more raking, saying that it made him warm, but, however, he could not warm up.

So, the sand fell on him up to his waist; and when he died, it was necessary to tear him out of the sand so that his body could be decently buried.

Steller, Bering’s companion, speaking of him with similar praise, says: “By birth Vitus Bering was a Dane, by rule he was a true or humble Christian, and by conversion he was a well-bred, friendly and beloved person.

Having made two trips to India, he entered Russian service in 1704 with the rank of lieutenant and continued it until 1741 with honor and fidelity. Bering was used in various enterprises; but the most important of these is the leadership of both Kamchatka expeditions.

Those who are impartial will say about him that he always carried out the instructions of his superiors with exemplary zeal and zeal. 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 quick and decisive measures; but perhaps the ardent boss, with so many obstacles that he encountered everywhere, would have fulfilled his assignment much worse.

One can only blame him for his unlimited leniency towards his subordinates and his excessive trust in senior officers. He respected their knowledge more than he should have, and through this he instilled in them an arrogance that often carried them beyond the bounds of proper obedience to their superiors.

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, calmed down there in a warm room and fed himself with fresh food, he would have lived for several more years.

But since he had to endure hunger, thirst, cold and grief, the illness that he had long had in his legs intensified, moved towards his chest, produced Antonov’s fire and took his life on December 8, 1741.

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

The lieutenants tried to prove that our ship had been washed up on the Kamchatka shore, but he, feeling that they were thinking very unreasonably, 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 give everything trust in the Almighty providence.

The next day we buried the ashes of our dear leader; They interred his body according to the Protestant rite and placed it in the middle between his adjutant and the commissar. Before sailing from the island, they placed a cross over his grave and began the ship’s reckoning from there.”

Having finished 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 world, then curious readers will find in it a lot of additional news about this great and famous navigator. It was impossible to touch on them here because they are closely connected with the story of his second journey.

About the family of Captain-Commander Bering, one could only gather the following information: he was married; had three sons and one daughter, who was married to the St. Petersburg chief of police, 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 Board of June 1730, 2 days it is said: the deceased navigator Christian Bering's son Christian will be given an orphan's salary from September 1, 1728 to the specified period of October 28, 1729, for his upbringing, to be given to Captain Lumont. And henceforth, do not give that orphan’s salary to this Bering, since the indicated summers have already passed.

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 trip, he went there for two weeks. Steller says: On October 10, 1741, during a severe storm, Captain-Commander Bering ordered Lieutenant Waxel to announce to the team that it would make a voluntary money deposit: the Russians - for the newly built Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Avacha, and the Lutherans - for the Vyborg pickaxes.

According to the journal of the college (May 26, 1732), it is clear that the doctor Shtranman complained about Bering that he would not let her daughter Katerina leave him. Bering replied that she was with him by the will of her father; but the board, despite this, ordered him to let her go to her mother.

Bering was probably related or a very short friend to Vice Admiral Sanders; for according to the journals of the college (July 4, 1732) it is clear that the latter sent him to the college to announce to the members that due to his serious illness he could not go to Narva.

I recently learned that the daughter of the youngest Bering son, who is married to a retired navy captain Platen, living in Belgorod, has a lot of interesting information and documents about her grandfather; and therefore I hope, when publishing his second travel, to collect much more complete and detailed information about this famous man.

Lieutenant Martyn Shpanberg

Biographical information about the venerable captain Shpanberg is even more limited than about Bering. Without knowing when he entered the Russian naval service and not the name of the list of naval officials earlier than 1726, one can only say that according to it Shpanberg was designated 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 college journals I found only the following about him: in May 1794, the college, by imperial order, determined to send two packet boats to Lubeck to transport passengers, letters and various luggage. Lieutenants Shpanberg and Somov were appointed commanders of these ships.

On August 28th, the board ordered the commander of the flagship to send a decree: to order Lieutenant Shpanberg (who commanded it) from the frigate “St. Jacob” to be sent for a time to the Admiralty Board. On August 31st, to write to Vice Admiral Gordon in Kronstadt so that the frigate “St. Jacob”, designated instead of the packet boat, would not be sent to Lubeck without a decree from the board; and send Lieutenant Shpanberg to the Admiralty College.

It is unknown where Captain Shpanberg was upon returning from his trip. In the journals of the college, he is mentioned only once (May 1723), on the occasion of his departure to survey the forests near Lake Ladoga.

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

In 1738 and 1739, Captain Shpanberg 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 Cyrene prison, he received an order from the board to sail again to Japan and more accurately determine the longitude in which, they believed, he was mistaken.

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

In 1741, Captain Shpanberg again went to sea 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, also returning because his ship was leaking, to Kamchatsk, he 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 join him. Here is the resolution of the board on this subject.

On September 18, 1724, according to a report from the Life Guards Captain Kazinsky in Kronstadt, a decree was sent to the commander of the flagship, ordering the naval non-commissioned lieutenants Alexei Chirikov and Alexei Nagaev to be sent to the Academy for midshipman training, to be sent to the board 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 following resolution of the board is biographical material that does special honor to the venerable Chirikov.

January 3rd day, 1725, according to an extract from the office of General-Kriegs-Commissar, Non-Commissioned Lieutenant Alexei Chirikov, although his turn had not yet arrived, now write to lieutenant, in order that according to the newly established Admiralty regulations of the 1st chapter of the 110th article it is printed: if one of the Admiralty servants appears to be knowledgeable in naval navigation or at a shipyard in work and is more thorough in carrying out his work than others, their commanders should report this to the board.

The board should consider this, and, for their diligence, raise them with a rank or an increase in salary. And about the above-described Chirikov, in the past 1722, Schoutbenacht Sanders announced that Chirikov was the most skilled in training midshipmen and naval officers. And Captain Nazinsky showed to the guard that one hundred and forty-two midshipmen were taught various sciences through Chirikov.

Upon returning from his first trip, Chirikov was taken on the yachts to Empress Anna Ioannovna and remained on them until his second departure to Kamchatka. In 1741, he went to sea with Captain-Commander Bering, and was much happier than him, for he returned that same year to Peter and Paul Harbor, where he remained to spend the winter.

Chirikov's return to Kamchatka must be attributed to his excellent skill in navigation. Despite the severe storms that raged in the sea throughout September and October, despite the scurvy disease that spread throughout the entire crew and took the lives of all his lieutenants, he maintained the correct reckoning and ascended to Avachinskaya 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, sailing off the southwestern cape, headed his way to Okhotsk. If the venerable Chirikov had decided to sail around this entire island, he would have found his companions there, who at that time were building themselves a new ship.

From Okhotsk Chirikov set off by land to St. Petersburg, but received an order to remain in Yeniseisk until he received permission to continue or complete 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 promoted to captain-commander, and died in 1749. Miller says: Chirikov died, having earned himself the honor of not only a skillful and diligent officer, but also a just-hearted and God-fearing person; for which sake his memory will not fall into oblivion among everyone who knew him.

Midshipman Peter Chaplin

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

Bykasov V. E. The First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions: people, events, historical assessment // News of the Russian Geographical Society. 2004. T. 136. Issue. 3. pp. 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, having passed from the lower reaches of the Aldan to the Ulye River, reached the Sea of ​​Okhotsk south of present-day Okhotsk. In 1647, S. A. Shelkovnikov’s detachment founded the Okhotsk fort, the first Russian port on the Pacific coast. Two years later, in 1649, the detachment of Semyon Dezhnev, after the collapse of their nomads in the area of ​​the southern shore of the Gulf of Anadyr, founded the Anadyr fort. In 1651, the detachment of M.V. Stadukhin, leaving the Anadyr fort, reached the mouth of the river. Penzhiny, where two sea kochas were built (4). Following on these kochas along the Taygonos Peninsula, the Cossacks of the detachment turned out to be 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”).

A few years later, fugitive Cossacks Leonty Fedotov and Savva Anisimov Seroglaz (Sharoglaz) entered Kamchatka, in the area of ​​the Lesnaya River (“Voemli” - Lomannaya) and, possibly, the Rusakova River. There they could have been found in 1658 (6) by the detachment of I. I. Kamchaty, who quite possibly visited the Kamchatka River itself. In 1662-1663, wintered on the river. Kamchatka was led by a detachment of the clerk of the Anadyr fort, the Cossack foreman I.M. Rubts (5). In 1695-1696, on the instructions of the Anadyr Pentecostal V. Atlasov in northern Kamchatka, right up to the village. Tigil, a detachment of serviceman Luka Morozko passed through. And in 1697-1699, Vladimir Atlasov himself, having marched with a detachment of 60 serving 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 more than half a century 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 task - taxing the local population with a fur tribute - also raised new problems. Among which, the domestic task of finding shorter and more reliable routes to the peninsula was brought to the fore in order to deliver people and cargo to Kamchatka and the collected tribute back with less effort and losses and much faster. And no less, if not more important, is the important task of the foreign policy (geopolitical) plan to establish direct trade relations with Asian countries – with Japan, for example – through the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

This new understanding of the problems of the extreme North-East of the Russian Empire was primarily manifested in the interest of Peter I, at whose insistence, already in 1702, the Siberian order ordered the Yakut voivodeship office to send “willing people” to Kamchatka to navigate the route to Japan through the Kuril Islands. However, due to a number of circumstances (the war with Sweden), this interest did not turn into practical actions.

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

Nevertheless, the thought 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, Y. Neveitsyn, K. Ploskikh, F. Fedorov, I. Kargopol and others were sent to Okhotsk, through Yakutsk. which in 1716, 75 versts from the mouth of the river. Kukhtui, and the first Russian sea vessel on the Pacific Ocean, the boat “Vostok” (length 8.5 fathoms, width 3 fathoms, draft at full load 3.5 fathoms) was built. And after the sailors N. Treska and K. Sokolov in 1714-1717, having sailed on this boat from Okhotsk, reached Kamchatka, they conducted research on part of the West Kamchatka coast from the mouth of the river. Tigil to, possibly, the mouth of the river. Krutogorov and, having spent the winter on the peninsula, returned to Okhotsk, Peter I personally handed over instructions to surveyors I.M. Evreinov and F.F. Luzhin on January 2 (hereinafter all dates are indicated in the old style, B.V.) 1719, 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 navigator 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 data about Japan. This is 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, shipwright F.S. Saltykov proposed building ships at the mouths of Siberian rivers in order to reach China and other lands by sea, bypassing Kamchatka. In the same year, he proposed to build ships in Arkhangelsk and from here move to the Asian shores. And just shortly before I. M. Evreinov’s report, in 1772, the hydrograph scientist and future governor of Siberia F. I. Soimonov, taking into account the enormous difficulties in administrative-state, material-supply and trade relations between the central regions of Russia and the Pacific outskirts, proposed Peter I sent several ships from Kronstadt, around Asia to Kamchatka and further to America (to California), which, in his opinion, would be much more capable and cost-effective than land communication, not to mention the prospects it opened up.

However, the first Russian emperor chose a different one (including, probably, because it was impossible to hide the route through the Baltic from prying eyes) - through Okhotsk to Kamchatka and further - an 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 king’s own instructions (8), drawn up by him on the very eve of his death.

« January 6, 1725 – Instructions from 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 boats (sail) near the land that goes north, and according to hope (they don’t know the end) it seems that that land is part of America.

3. And in order to look for where it came into contact with America, and to get to which city of European possessions; or if they see a European ship, check on it, as this bush is called, and take it to the letter, and visit the shore yourself, and take the signature sheet, and, betting on the map, come here».

Fleet captain V. Bering, a Dane in Russian service, an experienced and well-proven military sailor, was appointed head of the expedition. And the main objectives 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, where there are already European settlements. The expedition, which included 69 people, set off from St. Petersburg in February 1725, but reached Okhotsk only a year and a half later (October 1, 1726) - the journey was so long and difficult. And a year later, on July 1, 1727, the ship “Fortune” left Okhotsk under the command of M.P. Shpanberg, on board of which there were 48 people, including shipwrights G. Putilov and F. Kozlov. A month and a half later, on August 18, the remaining members of the expedition on the same “Fortune” and on a boat built in 1720 sailed from Okhotsk and arrived in Bolsheretsk in early September.

All winter, the expedition, with the help of local authorities and local residents, transported property and equipment to Nizhne-Kamchatsk, not far from which the boat “St. Gabriel” was laid down. In the summer of 1728, the first-born of the Kamchatka naval fleet (length - 18.3 m, width - 6.1 m, hold depth - 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 north along the eastern coast of the peninsula. The commander of the ship was V. Bering himself, his 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 sufficiently confident navigation along the intended route. And constant fogs, rains and low clouds forced sailors to stay close to the coast, which required special caution and led to frequent maneuvering and, hence, loss of time. But most importantly, all this led to the fact that even after passing, as it later turned out, the strait between Asia and America, the crew never saw the American coast. Which not only detracted from the successes of the expedition, but also subsequently gave reason to accuse V. Bering of improper execution of the instructions, because its main goal, as many researchers, starting with G. Steller (9), 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 purpose of the expedition were not entirely right. Firstly, because the famous Dutch geographer Nicholas Witsen wrote about the existence of a 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 routes 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 First (among the goals of which, by the way, was sailing to the strait even did not appear) it is simply impossible to explain.

But let's get back on board the St. Gabriel. The decision to turn back was not an easy one. On August 13, 1728, when the boat was in the Chukchi Sea, V. Bering gathered an officer council, at which it was necessary to decide whether to return back, as M. Shpanberg 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, Bering Island - that is, exactly the land that the bot was looking for and past which the bot passed - was never noticed, and therefore the “St. Gabriel” headed towards the First Kuril Strait. Passing by Avachinskaya Bay, the crew marked landmarks on the map that would allow them to more accurately determine its location. Then, on July 3, the bot arrived in Bolsheretsk, and 20 days later returned to Okhotsk.

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

In general, the voyage to the Bering Strait itself, and the cartographic and navigational material that was obtained (the entire coast from the mouth of the Bolshoi River to Cape Lopatka and from Cape Lopatki to Cape Kekurny in the Bering Strait was mapped, while Midshipman P.A. Chaplin compiled a map of the northeastern part of the Bering Strait in 1729), which served as the basis for further research by Russian sailors in this part of the Pacific Ocean. The first of which in time was supposed to be the voyage of 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, never took place. And therefore the second (from July 23 to September 28, 1732) voyage of the Russians 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 “Bolshaya Zemlya”, located east of the mouth of the river. Anadyr. And, it must be said that this time the participants in the voyage not only saw the shores of both continents and communicated with their inhabitants, but also partially put them on the map.

And yet, turning to the results of the First Kamchatka Expedition itself, it should be said once again that its results did not satisfy the Senate. And primarily because the expedition never managed to reach the shores of North America. In connection with which the Senate considered it necessary to organize (by the way, even before receiving news from I. Fedorov and M. Gvozdev, which only meant the bottom - there was simply no need for data confirming the existence of a strait between Asia and America, B.V.) a new expedition to the shores of Kamchatka, the plan of which was developed and then implemented under the leadership of the President of the Admiralty Board N.F. Golovin and with the participation of the compiler of the “Atlas of the Russian Empire” I.K. Kirillov (3).

By decree of Empress Anna Ioanovna, signed in April 1732, V. Bering, now captain-commander, was again appointed head of the expedition. The range of tasks facing the expedition was truly enormous. This includes studying and mapping 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 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 important 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 could make you late to return to Kamchatka “at the same age” (8).

That is, the future expedition was prescribed such a wide coverage of the geographical objects it explored 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 ordered the construction of 10-12 ships, on which, in a vast space from the Kara Sea to the Pacific Ocean, under the general leadership of V. Bering, many people were to work naval detachments. So the Kamchatka expedition itself 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 had to find a way to the northern part of the American continent, and the second to go to Japan and draw a map of the Kuril Islands.

But in addition to this, the expedition also included a detachment of the Russian Academy of Sciences, whose participants were academicians G. F. Miller and I. G. Gmelin, adjunct 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 employees (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 Yakut archive of S.I. Dezhnev’s “unsubscribe” about the discovery of the strait between Asia and America), as well as to botany (the works of I. Gmelin, G Steller, S.P. Krasheninnikov), both in ethnography (the same G. Steller and S. Krasheninnikov), geography (there is nothing to talk about here), and in some other scientific disciplines. The expedition included ore miners, craftsmen in the construction and equipment of sea vessels, officers, and sailors. In general, the total number of the expedition was about 1000 people.

In February 1733, after lengthy preparation, a detachment under the command of M.P. Shpanberg left the capital. Soon the second detachment followed. And they united in Okhotsk only in the summer of 1737, where over the next three years the construction of two packet boats for sailing to America was carried out. However, while their construction was underway, the Okhotsk Sea detachment (one-masted brigantine “Archangel Michael” with a length of 21, a width of 6.5 and a hold depth of 2.6 m; a three-masted double-boat “Nadezhda” with a length of 24.5, a width of about 6 and with a depth hold 1.8 m; 16-oar sloop "Bolsheretsk length 17.5, width 3.9 and with a hold depth of 1.6 m) under the leadership of M. P. Shpanberg 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, hold depth 2.9 m), built under the leadership of A. Kuzmin and Rogachev, were launched. And after final preparations for the voyage, the packet boats (under the command, respectively, of V. Bering and A. Chirikov), accompanied by the galleot “Okhota” and the double boat “Nadezhda”, left Okhotsk on September 8. On October 6, the packet boats entered Avachinskaya Bay, which had been chosen ahead of time and prepared for the winter laying of the expedition ships, and the provision ships were forced to stop for the winter in the Bolsheretsk harbor, from where the cargo was transported on sleds to the port of Petropavlovsk.

The next year, on June 4, the packet boats left Avacha Bay and headed to 46° north latitude in order, according to instructions received from the Senate, to find the “Land of Joao de Gama”, which is on the map of J. N. Delisle, placed in the basis of these instructions was placed at this latitude between Kamchatka and America. True, at the officers' consultation,

preceding going to sea, A.I. Chirikov objected to this idea, considering it a waste of time. However, by a majority of votes this particular route of sailing to the shores of America was chosen. Which, 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 supposed to be located. Not finding her, both ships headed from 44° north latitude to the northeast. After 7 days, the packet boats lost each other in the fog and from that time on they continued their voyage separately. 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, discovered the new land "St. Paul", from whose board high mountains were seen in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe present Prince of Wales Island, at, according to updated data, approximately 55 ° 36′ northern latitude ( 55°11′ N and 133°57′ W, 2). And a few hours later the ship came close to the ground, “which we recognize without hesitation as part of America”(7) The long-awaited event took place. The ship turned north and sailed along the coast in search of a suitable place to land on the shore in order to explore new land and, most importantly, 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 people, a yawl 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 officers of the packet boat “St. Pavel" about the return of the expedition to Kamchatka" dated July 26, 1741: “... due to the misfortune that happened, namely, that the boat and the small boat with the naval master Dementiev and with him 14 servants were lost, do not continue your path further, but return on this date to Avachi”(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 crew members remaining on board, 51 people remained alive, and of all the officers, only A. I. Chirikov himself and navigator I. F. Elagin. And yet, even with an acute shortage of food, water and fuel, in conditions of headwinds, constant and strong storms and continuous clouds, the crew of the boat continued to conduct systematic observations of the state of the navigation situation and map some of the islands of the Aleutian ridge. On October 11, 1741, “St. Paul” entered Avachinskaya Bay.

As for “St. Peter”, the American coast was seen from its board on July 17, in the region of 58°17′ northern latitude. True, G. Steller, an adjunct of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who was part of the expedition, assured that he personally saw the earth for the first time on July 15 (9). However, other crew members did not believe him. On July 20, the boat sailed to Kayak Island (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 debate, G. Steller was also landed on the shore, but only for six hours, who made the first scientific description of the nature of the Northwestern part of the North American continent in history.

Realizing that the time to return to Kamchatka had already been lost, the commander decided not to linger on the newly opened shores and already on July 21, “St. Peter” set off on the return journey, which was no less difficult than that of “St. Paul”. On July 26, the navigators saw Kodiak Island, on August 2 they discovered Tumanny Island (Chirikova), and the next day - the Alaska Peninsula. However, the mass disease 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 Shumagin Islands, where, during a forced stop 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 found itself in a belt of protracted and almost continuous storms with headwinds that did not allow opportunities to move forward. Nevertheless, even under these conditions, from the sailboat it was possible to notice several islands from, apparently, the Rat group, and put 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 orientation. So much so that when, by chance, they found themselves near the future Commander Islands, they mistook them for Kamchatka (“ 4 days of November 1741 At 8 o'clock in the afternoon we saw land from us by compassZWtZ4 German miles, on which the land ridges are covered with snow, which is supposed to be Kamchatsk,” 1) and on November 7, 1741 they landed on the shore, 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 servants were brought ashore, and meanwhile there were great winds that it was impossible to go ashore. And whatever servants could, in those days they made dwellings, dug holes and dug sails. and from the 22nd day, when everyone had already moved ashore and the packet boat was left at anchor without people, there was no one to maintain the guard, and there was no one to outfit, because the servants were almost all sick from scurvy, and those who were motionless from their places were 50 different people ranks, which is why everyone was in extreme despair"(1), the sailors began hunting sea animals, birds and arctic foxes. But before fresh air, fresh water and fresh food finally put them on their feet, another 19 people died, including (December 8, 1741) Commander V. Bering himself.

In the summer of 1742, the sailors, by that time already convinced that they were on a desert island (“ In different months and dates, detailed news was received that we were located on an island, which, by its majesty, is located 18 German miles ... "(1), began in April, under the leadership of Lieutenant K.L. Vaksel and sailor S. Starodubtsev, to build from the remains of a packet boat broken by curtains and the fin of the hooker “St. Peter” (length 11, width 3.7, hold depth 1.5 m ). And on August 13 of the same year, the 46 surviving people set off on it to Petropavlovsk, where they arrived on August 26, only a little short of finding there the packet boat "St. Paul", 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 trip was limited to only sailing along the southeastern shores of Kamchatka. After a short return to Petropavlovsk, the boat went to Okhotsk, from where A.I. Chirikov went to St. Petersburg, where he compiled a detailed report and map of his voyage to America. The sailors from the “St. Peter” also tried to get to Okhotsk in the same year. However, leaving Avachinskaya Bay on September 1, they were forced, due to a leak on the side of the ship, to return.

Thus ended the most significant of the maritime geographical expeditions of the 18th century. Of course, her main achievement is the discovery of North-West America, the Aleutian and Commander Islands, as well as the voyage to the shores of Japan. However, we must not forget about the work of the northern expedition detachments led by lieutenants S. Muravyov, M. Pavlov and surveyor Yu. Seliverstov (1734-1735), Lieutenant D. L. Ovtsyn (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 Karskoe 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 complete the job. A very significant part of the participants in the campaigns could not withstand the unimaginable hardships and hardships. And yet, having put almost everything on the map - from the Kara Sea and to the Chukotka Peninsula - the Russian coast of the Arctic Ocean, they completed their main task. How the Pacific detachments carried it out, paving the way to America and Japan, and clarifying, on the basis of carrying out 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 common efforts of all expeditionary forces, 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 geographical knowledge of that time. And in addition, as a result of the work of the academic team 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, members of the academic team 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 “Journey through Siberia” by I. Gmelin, 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 initiated 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 studies concepts of the entire 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 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 ones (Commander Islands, in 1743), then of the increasingly distant Aleutian Islands, and then of 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 fur trade, agriculture, industrial production and trade in this region.

Thus, in terms of plans, in terms of their execution, in terms of results, and, finally, in terms of consequences, both Kamchatka expeditions had no equal. And yet, it should be especially 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. And in fact, quite often when assessing the role of the Kamchatka expeditions, they limit themselves to emphasizing the significance of its geographical component, when the results of the expeditions are considered as the greatest geographical achievements of Russia. Quite often (especially by foreign researchers) they talk about the geopolitical (great power) background of the goals and objectives of these expeditions. And very rarely is it mentioned about the forced disruption of the habitual way of life of the aborigines, carried out both during the expeditions themselves and after. Moreover, even when talking about this disruption, 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 Russians on the Pacific coast to the complete winding down of the work of the Second Kamchatka Expedition marks the most important stage in the socio-economic life of not only Eastern Siberia, but throughout Russia. Because it was precisely this period that turned out to be the time of transition of the entire huge country from traditional trade (collection of yasak from foreigners, fur tax from cities and provinces, corvée and quitrent from peasants, etc.) to pioneering industrial development by relatively free people of fur and fish , forest and other natural resources. Or, in the terminology of our days, the time of the final transition of the Russian national economy from a non-exhaustive to an exhaustive type of environmental management. Well, to be very precise, immediately after the completion of the work of these expeditions throughout Russia, a stage of barbaric extermination began, first of furs and the forests themselves, and then of other natural resources of the country. Which, due to the enormity of the territory and the presence of huge reserves of natural resources, although it lasted for two and a half centuries, nevertheless, in our time it turned out not only to the degradation and destruction of fish, forest and other natural resources, not only to a radical restructuring of the entire natural structure, but also by lowering Russia itself into the category of third-rate countries in the world - with an unconditionally low standard of living.

Thus, if the First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions mark Russia’s final entry into the Pacific Ocean, then this exit itself clearly established Russia as a supplier of natural resources to other countries and peoples. Or, to put it more specifically, the mastery of the “inexhaustible” fur, forest, fish, and, in subsequent times, mineral resources of Siberia and the Far East, made it possible for all subsequent rulers of Russia to preserve its development at the level of a semi-colonial power. A power whose power was 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 also cheaply). d.

And thus, to put it very harshly, the mastery of huge territories, fraught with enormous reserves of various natural resources, without making Russia truly rich, brought 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 has taught us so much that even now, when the country is on the verge of bankruptcy, its elite does not think beyond a primitive increase in the volume of production and sale of primary (at best, semi-finished) natural raw materials. So, when assessing the results of the activities of the First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions, one must necessarily proceed from the fact that along with many, and truly greatest achievements, one of its leading, although veiled by time and traditions, consequences includes the final consolidation of the temporary worker psychology in the Russian community .

LITERATURE

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

2. Kamchatka. XXVII–XX centuries Historical and geographical atlas. M.: Roscartography. 1997. 112 p.

3. Maritime observances. Ed. V. N. Alekseeva. M.: Voenizdat, 1987. 398 p.

4. Polevoy B.P. New information about the discovery of Kamchatka: part one. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Publishing house “Kamchatka Printing Yard”. 1997. 159 p.

5. Polevoy B.P. New information about the discovery of Kamchatka: part two. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Publishing house “Kamchatka Printing Yard”. 1997. 203 p.

6. Polevoy B.P. Discovery of Kamchatka in the light of new archival finds. Third international historical and St. Innocent readings dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the annexation of Kamchatka to Russia. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. “White Shaman”, 1998. pp. 5-8.

7. Report of A.I. Chirikov to the Admiralty Board on the voyage to the shores of America. Russian expeditions to explore the northern part of the Pacific Ocean in the first half of the 18th century. M. Nauka, 1984. pp. 224-231.

8. Russian expeditions to study the northern part of the Pacific Ocean in the first half of the 18th century. M. Nauka, 1984. 320 p.

9. Steller G.V. Diary of a voyage with Bering to the shores of America. 1741-1742. M.: JSC Publishing House "Pan", 1995. 224 p.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Received by the editor

The plan of the expedition was as follows: through Siberia by land and along rivers to Okhotsk, from here by sea to Kamchatka and then sailing on ships in search of the strait.

On January 24, 1725, the expedition members left St. Petersburg. To notify the Siberian governor about the expedition and oblige him to provide assistance, on January 30, 1725, a decree of the empress was sent to Siberia, which contained some unclear points. For this reason, at the request of Bering, at the beginning of February of the same 1725, a second decree was sent, which listed all types of assistance needed by the expedition. In January 1727, the expedition reached Okhotsk. Even before Bering’s arrival in Okhotsk, a ship was built here for the expedition in 1725, which was launched in June 1727 and named “Fortune”. On this ship, the expedition members, along with all their equipment, moved from Okhotsk to Bolsheretsk, located at the mouth of the river, on September 4, 1727. Bolshaya on the western coast of Kamchatka. The sea route from Okhotsk to Kamchatka was discovered by the expedition of K. Sokolov and N. Treski in 1717, but the sea route from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean had not yet been discovered. Therefore, sailing around Kamchatka through the First Kuril Strait, which had not been explored, was dangerous. Cross the peninsula along the Bolshaya river, its tributary Bystraya and the river. Kamchatka also failed: Shpanberg, sent with property on 30 ships, was caught in the cold.

On January 24, 1725, Bering's companion Chirikov and his team left St. Petersburg. On February 8, he arrived in Vologda, where a week later Bering and other members of the expedition joined him. The number of all ranks participating in the expedition, both sent from St. Petersburg and those who joined in Tobolsk Okhotsk, extended to 20, and in total there were about 100 people under Bering’s command. Of these, as the most outstanding and who left their “journals”, it should be named, except for the mentioned Lieutenant Alexei Chirikov, midshipman, later midshipman Pyotr Chaplin and Lieutenant Martyn Shpanberg. - The expedition, called the first Kamchatka expedition, covered the distance from Vologda to Tobolsk in 43 days. After a month's rest, she continued her journey along the Irtysh on 11 planks. On May 23, Chaplin with a detachment of 10 people was sent forward towards Yakutsk. The team spent almost the entire summer of '25 on the road. Having wintered in Ilimsk, from where Shpanberg was sent, with a detachment of 39 people, to the Ust Kutsyu fortress, on the Yenisei, to build 15 barges, Bering sailed down the Yenisei on May 26, 1726 on new ships. On July 16, Bering arrived in Yakutsk and only on July 30, 1727, in the third year after departure from St. Petersburg, he finally arrived in Okhotsk, where the real journey was to begin. Having stocked up here with provisions and new ships, the expedition left Okhotsk on August 22 and arrived by sea in Bolsheretsk (in Kamchatka) two weeks later. From here she went by land to Nizhne-Kamchatsk, where she arrived on March 11, 1728, taking about 2 months for the entire journey (883 versts). Having loaded the boat “St. Gabriel”, built there, with provisions in Nizhne-Kamchatsk, Bering and his entire expedition boarded it and on July 13, 1728, left the mouth of the river. Kamchatka in the sea, keeping a northern direction between Asia and America. Immediately after lifting the anchor, the ship's commander and his navigators began an inventory of the shores along which they passed, recording the results of navigational and astronomical observations in the logbook with an accuracy of one hundredth of a minute, and the results of taking bearings on coastal objects (capes, mountains, etc.) d.) - accurate to the minute. Based on navigational and astronomical definitions, a map of North-East Asia and the adjacent islands was compiled. Having spent more than a month sailing between completely unfamiliar shores, Bering finally reached 67 ° 18 "N latitude and was convinced here, based on the testimony of the Chukchi, that further the coast extends to the west and that, therefore, “Asia cannot unite with America,” he considered his mission completed and, with the consent of all members of the expedition, who were afraid of “accidentally falling into ice,” turned back. All observations were carefully recorded in the logbook. During the voyage to the Bering Strait (1728) and then along the coast of Kamchatka (1729), the ship's commander and his navigators described the coast, making geographical discoveries every day. The inventory was carried out systematically, carefully and conscientiously. On some days, sailors took bearings of up to 8 landmarks. The recordings of bearings to the sighted coastal objects in the logbook are so detailed that they make it possible to reconstruct with sufficient accuracy what geographical discoveries were made. Most of these discoveries remained unknown, as did the records of the St. Gabriel's voyage through the strait between Asia and America.

Geographical discoveries and research are always accompanied by cartography, so the map is one of the main sources of the history of discoveries. Materials relating to the First Kamchatka Expedition mention three maps presented by Bering.

We learn about the first of them from the minutes of the Conference of the Academy of Sciences dated January 17, 1727, which talks about J. N. Delisle’s consideration of “Captain Bering’s map of Russia.” The second map, compiled by V. Bering and P. Chaplin depicting the route from Tobolsk to Okhotsk, was sent from Okhotsk in June 1727. The third (final) map of the expedition was attached to Bering's report.

We became aware of the fourth map only in 1971. The authentic map of V. Bering and P. Chaplin following the expedition was discovered by A. I. Alekseev in 1969 in the Central State Archive of Ancient Acts; it was later published by A. V. Efimov. This map shows the results of the First Kamchatka Expedition. The map of V. Bering and P. Chaplin of 1729 provided valuable information about the northeastern tip of Siberia and formed the basis for cartographic works, starting with the atlas of I.K. Kirillov, and had a huge influence on world cartography. The final map of the First Kamchatka Expedition became known to researchers soon after the end of the expedition. This document proves that during the First Kamchatka Expedition, for the first time, the coast of northeast Asia from the mouth of the river was completely correctly mapped. Hunting to Cape Kekurny (Chukotsky Peninsula). It is enough to compare the map of I. Goman of 1725, reflecting the achievements of geographical science at the beginning of the First Kamchatka Expedition, with the map of V. Bering and P. Chaplin of 1729 [Fig. 3] to make sure that Northeast Asia was first explored and mapped by Bering and his assistants.

The final map of the First Kamchatka Expedition was widely disseminated in Russia and abroad and was used in the compilation of maps by J. N. Delisle (1731, 1733, 1750, 1752), I. K. Kirillov (1733-1734), Zh. Dugald (1735), J. B. D'Anville (1737, 1753), I. Gazius (1743), authors of the Academic Atlas (1745), A. I. Chirikovsh (1746) , G. F. Miller (1754-1758).The first historical maps of the voyage of the St. Gabriel", compiled by A. I. Nagaev and V. N. Verkh.

The coastline of the northeastern part of the Asian continent on the Final Map of the First Kamchatka Expedition and on modern maps is largely similar. The map shows the discoveries made by Bering during the voyage of 1728: the Ozernoy, Ilpinsky, Olyutorsky peninsulas, capes Nizky, Kamchatsky, Opukinsky, etc. The Anadyr Bay with its entrance capes Navarin and Chukotsky is clearly shown. In this bay, the ship's commander and his navigator correctly marked the hall. Cross, metro station Thaddeus, buh. Gabriela, metro Otvesny, buh. Preobrazheniya, etc. The outlines of the Asian coasts north of the Gulf of Anadyr are also shown quite accurately on the map: capes Chukotsky, Kygynin, Chaplina, bay. Tkachen et al.

The Final Map shows that the Chukotka Peninsula (its easternmost point is Cape Dezhnev) is not connected to any land; in the Bering Strait the Diomede Islands are plotted, the island is correctly shown. St. Lawrence. The huge archipelagos that we see on Academic maps are absent on this map; The three northern Kuril Islands, the southeastern and southwestern coasts of Kamchatka are correctly mapped.

An important source of materials about the outcome of the voyages is the General Map of the Maritime Academy of 1746, which became well known only in recent decades. On the map of the Maritime Academy, the northeastern coast of Asia from the mouth of the river. The hunt to Cape Kekurny is laid out according to the Final Map [Figure 1,2,3] of the First Kamchatka Expedition and, in general, the achievements of the First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions are quite correctly summarized.

On September 2, 1728, Bering was already at the mouth of Kamchatka, where he spent the winter, and on June 5 of the following year he went by sea to the east, but, not meeting land at a 200-verst (according to his calculation) distance from the shore of Kamchatka, he turned back and went around the Lopatka and on July 3 entered Bolsheretsk. After 20 days I was already at the mouth of the river. Hunting, from where he headed back to St. Petersburg, which he arrived on March 1, 1730. Here he presented the government with his journal, maps and two proposals, in which, among other things, he expressed a desire to equip a new expedition to explore the north. and sowing eastern coast of Siberia.

The Admiralty Board, which examined his journal and maps, although it did not entirely trust Bering’s discovery, nevertheless, due to the “difficulty of the expedition,” requested him the rank of captain-commander and a monetary reward of 1000 rubles. The Senate and Admiral approved it. board and Bering's "proposals", and this approval was followed (December 28, 1732) by the highest permission to appoint a new expedition, known as the second Kamchatka expedition.

While England, France and Holland shared the colonial legacies of Spain and Portugal, a new world power was rapidly rising in eastern Europe. Having victoriously completed the war with Turkey, Russia, under the leadership of Peter I, reached the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov. To establish direct ties with the West, it remained to return the Russian lands captured by Sweden, and thus break through to the Baltic. The Northern War, which lasted more than 20 years, ended in complete victory: according to the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721, Russia received lands in Karelia and the Baltic states with the cities of Narva, Revel, Riga and Vyborg. And immediately after this, as a result of the Persian campaign, the western coast of the Caspian Sea with Derbent and Baku was conquered. Russia strengthened its positions in the west and south. What happened in the east?

Kamchatka is the farthest Russian territory. Chukotka, of course, is further east, but to get to Kamchatka by land, and not by water or air, you must first go through Chukotka. Therefore, Kamchatka was discovered later than the other mainland territories of Russia. For a long time, this achievement was attributed to the Cossack Pentecostal Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov, who came here from Anadyr in 1697 at the head of a large detachment. Atlasov imposed tribute on the local population, built two forts, and on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Kamchatka River erected a large cross, a symbol of the annexation of a new land to Russia. However, Atlasov, whom A.S. Pushkin called the “Kamchatka Ermak,” went to the peninsula in the footsteps of Luka Staritsyn (Morozko), who had visited there several years earlier.

There is evidence of Russian explorers staying in Kamchatka in more distant times. According to some historians, almost 40 years before Atlasov, Fyodor Chukichev and Ivan Kamchatoy traversed a significant part of the peninsula; the largest local river was named in honor of the latter, and only then the peninsula itself. Kamchatka researcher S.P. Krasheninnikov claimed that even earlier, in 1648, a storm brought Fedot Popov and Gerasim Ankidinov, Semyon Dezhnev’s companions, here.

But it was after Atlasov’s campaign that the annexation of Kamchatka to Russia began. Moreover, thanks to him, it became known in Moscow that some large land lay to the east of Chukotka. Neither Atlasov nor the others saw her, but in winter, when the sea froze, foreigners came from there, bringing “sable” (in fact, it was an American raccoon). Simultaneously with the news about the land east of Chukotka, Atlasov brought to Moscow information about Japan, and at the same time the Japanese Denbey, captured by the Russians in Kamchatka.

During the reign of Peter I, Russian science moved forward by leaps and bounds. The need for its development was dictated by practical needs, economic and military. Thus, by order of Peter I, the beginning of the geographical study of the country and cartography was laid. A large group of travelers and surveyors trained at the Navigation School and the Maritime Academy began exploring the vast country. In 1719, on behalf of the Tsar, Ivan Evreinov and Fyodor Luzhin surveyed Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands and compiled their maps.

Peter I attached paramount importance to the study of trade routes, in particular to India and China. In this sense, Atlasov’s information about Japan was of undoubted interest. However, the king was even more interested in information about the mysterious large land near Chukotka. Peter I corresponded with many scientists, including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. The latter was extremely interested in the question: are America and Asia separated or converge somewhere? And the place where the two continents can meet is located just east of Chukotka. Leibniz repeatedly wrote to Peter I about this. Note that Dezhnev’s discovery went unnoticed for a long time - even in Russia.

Sending Evreinov and Luzhin to Kamchatka, Peter I gave them the task of determining the location of America. For obvious reasons, surveyors were unable to solve this problem. In December 1724, shortly before his death, the emperor wrote instructions for the First Kamchatka Expedition, which was to find out whether Asia was connected to America in the north. To do this, it was necessary to get to Kamchatka, build one, or better yet two, deck boats there and set off on them in a northerly direction. Having found America, the expedition had to move south along its coast - to the first city founded by Europeans, or to the first European ship they encountered. It was necessary to map all open lands, straits and settlements, collect information about the peoples who inhabited the northeast of Russia and the northwest of America, and, if possible, begin trade with America and Japan.

Peter appointed Vitus Bering, a Dane who had been in Russian service for more than 20 years, as the head of the expedition. Vitus Jonassen Bering, born in 1681 in Horsens, was trained in the naval cadet corps in Holland, sailed in the Baltic and Atlantic, and visited the East Indies. Having been invited to Russia by Peter I, he participated in the Russian-Turkish and Northern Wars. Bering's assistants were Martin (Martyn Petrovich) Shpanberg, also a native of Denmark, and a graduate of the Maritime Academy, Alexey Ilyich Chirikov.

The expedition was equipped immediately, but... First, several groups reached Vologda, then more than a month to Tobolsk. They again walked through Siberia in several detachments - sometimes on horseback, sometimes on foot, but mostly along rivers. In the summer of 1726 we reached Yakutsk. From here they had to walk more than 1000 km to Okhotsk - through the mountains, through swamps, and even with tools, sails, anchors for ships that were planned to be built for a sea voyage. The horses could not bear the hardships of the journey, and every one of them fell. Now the loads were carried on planks up the Maya and Yudoma, and when winter came - on sledges.

Only in January 1727 did the expedition reach Okhotsk. Even earlier, Bering’s group arrived there, traveling lightly. Here, a shitik (boat with sewn sides) “Fortune” was already waiting for travelers. In September, the expedition members, along with all their equipment, moved on the Fortuna to the western coast of Kamchatka, to Bolsheretsk, then by dog ​​sled to the eastern coast. In March 1728, the expedition arrived in Nizhnekamchatsk.

Here the boat “Saint Gabriel” was built, which in July 1728 set off to the north. From the first day of the voyage, the navigators recorded the results of navigational and astronomical observations in the logbook, and took bearings of mountains, capes and other coastal objects. Based on all these measurements, maps were drawn up. On the way to the north, the expedition discovered Karaginsky and Anadyrsky bays, Providence Bay and Cross Bay, and St. Lawrence Island.

On August 16, “Saint Gabriel” reached 67° N. w. A day earlier, in the west, the sailors saw mountains - apparently, it was Cape Dezhnev. Thus, for the first time since Dezhnev, Bering’s expedition passed through the strait between Asia and America, this time from the south. The travelers did not see the opposite, American coast: the distance between the continents at the narrowest point of the strait is 86 km. Since there was open sea ahead, and the Asian coast went to the west, Bering decided that the existence of the strait could be considered proven, and turned back. Only Chirikov suggested continuing the voyage in a westerly direction, to the mouth of the Kolyma, in order to finally verify the validity of this assumption. But Bering and Shpanberg, anticipating worsening weather conditions, insisted on returning. On the way back, one of the Diomede Islands was discovered. Already at the beginning of September, “Saint Gabriel” reached the mouth of Kamchatka, where the travelers spent the winter. In June of the following year, Bering went to sea and headed straight east. So he thought of reaching America. Having traveled about 200 km in thick fog and not meeting land, he turned back, circled Kamchatka and arrived in Okhotsk. In two years, Bering and his satellites photographed more than 3,500 km of coastline.

At the beginning of March 1730, the expedition members returned to St. Petersburg. In the capital, Bering presented the materials of the voyage to the Admiralty Board - a journal and maps. The final map of the expedition was widely disseminated in Russia and abroad. Although it contains many errors (the outlines of Chukotka are distorted, the Gulf of Anadyr is too small, etc.), it is much more accurate and detailed than all the previous ones: it contains the islands of St. Lawrence and Diomede, the Kuril Islands, the coast of Kamchatka, and most importantly, the Chukotka Peninsula from the north and east is washed by water. As a result, this map became the basis for later maps by J. N. Delisle, I. K. Kirilov, G. F. Miller, as well as the Academic Atlas (1745). James Cook, half a century later following Bering's route along the coast of northeast Asia, noted the accuracy of the cartographic work carried out by the expedition.

However, its main goal - the American coast - was not achieved. Moreover, the Admiralty considered that the evidence presented by Bering of the absence of a land connection between the two continents was unconvincing. At the same time, he received the highest permission to lead a new expedition to the Pacific Ocean. By the way, in 1732, navigator Ivan Fedorov and surveyor Mikhail Gvozdev on the “St. Gabriel” again passed through the strait and compiled its map. Unlike Bering, they approached American soil - Cape Prince of Wales.

The sea in the north Pacific Ocean and the strait between Asia and America, at the suggestion of James Cook, were named after Bering, because Dezhnev’s records had been gathering dust for a long time in the Yakut archive. Maybe this is a kind of justice: Dezhnev discovered, but did not know what, and Bering did not discover, but he knew what he was looking for.

FIGURES AND FACTS

Main character

Vitus Jonassen Bering, a Dane in Russian service

Other characters

Peter I, Russian Emperor; Martin Shpanberg and Alexey Chirikov, Bering's assistants; Ivan Fedorov, co-navigator; Mikhail Gvozdev, surveyor

Time of action

Route

Through all of Russia to Okhotsk, by sea to Kamchatka, from there to the north, to the strait between Asia and America

Target

Find out if Asia and America are connected, reach American shores

Meaning

Secondary passage of the Bering Strait, numerous discoveries, mapping the coast of northeast Asia

The results of the expedition for the Russian were colossal. Bering has come a long way. The gradual development of the eastern outskirts of the empire began. During the expedition, Kamchatka was studied and mapped, cities and peoples, relief, hydrography and much, much more were studied..., but in St. Petersburg they were very dissatisfied with the results of Bering’s voyage. At that time, the Admiralty was headed by people with broad views, “chicks of Petrov’s nest.” They believed that the “non-union” of Asia and America, after Bering’s first expedition, “is doubtful and unreliable to establish for certain” and that it was necessary to continue research. Bering, through his actions during the First Kamchatka Expedition, showed that he could not lead such research. But he was supported by influential “Bironovites”. Bering was already familiar with the area, and he was asked to draw up a project for a new expedition.

This project at the Admiralty Board, headed by Admiral Nikolai Fedorovich Golovin, with the participation of the Chief Secretary of the Senate Ivan Kirillovich Kirilov, Captain-Commander Fedor Ivanovich Soimonov and Alexei Ilyich Chirikov, was radically revised and expanded.

As we have seen, Bering's First Kamchatka Expedition was not crowned with new geographical discoveries. It only partially confirmed what Russian sailors had known for a long time and what was even included on Ivan Lvov’s map of 1726. The only thing that the expedition proved with complete clarity was the great difficulty of transporting more or less heavy cargo to Okhotsk and Kamchatka by land. And Okhotsk for a long time played for the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, in which the interests of the state were increasingly growing, the same role that Arkhangelsk played for the White Sea.

It was necessary to look for cheaper sea routes. Such routes could be the Northern Sea Route, skirting Asia from the north, and the southern route, skirting Africa and Asia or South America from the south.

At this time, it was already known that almost the entire Northern Sea Route, albeit in parts, was traversed by Russian sailors in the 17th century. This had to be checked, it had to be put on the map. At the same time, the Admiralty Board discussed the issue of sending an expedition to the Far East by the southern sea route, but this issue was not resolved then. The vast expanses of Eastern Siberia were relatively recently annexed to Russia. It was necessary to collect more or less accurate information about this vast country.

Finally, information reached the Admiralty Boards that somewhere around 65N. North America comes relatively close to the northeastern bulge of Asia. About the position of the western coast of North America between 45 and 65 latitudes. nothing was known. The extent of Japan to the north was known only up to 40N latitude. It was assumed that to the north there were large and undefined Ezzo Land and Company Land, and between them the Island of the States, allegedly seen in 1643 by the Dutch navigators De Vries and Skep. To the east of them between 45 and 47N latitudes. "Land of da Gama" was drawn, allegedly discovered in 1649 by the unknown navigator Zhuzno da Gama. It was necessary to check the existence of these lands, to bring their inhabitants into Russian citizenship, if these lands exist. The main thing was to find sea routes to already known rich countries in North America and Japan and, if possible, establish trade relations with them.

On February 23, 1733, the Senate finally approved the plan for the new expedition. Vitus Bering was again appointed its head, despite the fact that his voyages in 1728 and 1729. have already shown his inability and indecision. But if Bering was appointed to the First Kamchatka Expedition because he “was in the East Indies and knows his way around,” then he was appointed to the Second Kamchatka Expedition partly because he was already in Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. In 1732, under the leadership of the President of the Admiralty Collegiums, Admiral N.F. Golovin developed a new instruction for Bering, providing for the construction of three double-boats with decks, each having 24 oars, to explore the northern seas; it was decided to build one in Tobolsk on the Irtysh and two in Yakutsk on the Lena. The two ships were supposed to travel to the mouths of the Ob and Lena rivers, and then by sea near the shore to the mouth of the Yenisei towards each other. And on the third double boat, sail east to Kamchatka. It was also planned to explore the seashore from the city of Arkhangelsk to the Ob River.

But the main task of V. Bering’s expedition was still the discovery of the western shores of North America and the strait separating it from Asia.

After the Senate approved the instructions at the end of 1732, active preparations for the Second Kamchatka Expedition immediately began. It was now headed by Captain-Commander V. Bering. Almost a thousand people were sent on the expedition. In addition to the crews of the future six sea vessels, along with the navigators and sailors, there were shipwrights, caulkers, carpenters, sailboats, doctors, surveyors, and soldiers for security. Several professors from the Academy of Sciences were also included in the “Kamchatsk” expedition (as it was officially called).

In the spring of 1733, convoys with anchors, sails, rope and cannons pulled from St. Petersburg along the last sled route. Among the leaders of the future detachments was the commander of the detachment assigned to explore the coast west of the Lena River, Lieutenant Vasily Vasilyevich Pronchishchev, with his young wife Maria, who decided to accompany her husband on the upcoming many-year wanderings in northern Siberia.

Table 1 Catalog of cities and significant places marked on maps during the First Kamchatka Expedition.

Cities and famous places		Length from Tobolsk to the east
City of Tobolsk
Samarovsky pit
Sorgut town
Narym town
Ketskoy fort
Losinoborsky Monastery
Makovsky prison
City of Yeniseisk
Kashin Monastery
At the mouth of the Ilima River, the village of Simakhina
Gorook Ilimsk
Ust-Kutsk fort
Kirinsky fort
City of Yakutsk
Okhotsk fort
Mouth of the Bolshoy River
Upper Kamchatka fort
Nizhny Kamchatka fort
Mouth of the Kamchatka River
Corner of Saint Thaddeus the Apostle
Bay of the Holy Cross Gestal Corner
This is the gulf of the spanning angle
Bay of Holy Transfiguration
Chukotka corner to the island
Saint Lawrence Island
Saint Deomides Island
The place from which you returned
Kamchatka land to the south

The famous English navigator J. Cook, 50 years after Bering, in 1778, walking along the same path along the shores of the Bering Sea, checked the accuracy of the mapping of the coasts of northeast Asia carried out by V. Bering, and on September 4, 1778 he made the following entry in his diary: “Paying tribute to Bering’s memory, I must say that he marked this coast very well, and determined the latitude and longitude of its capes with such accuracy that it was difficult to expect, given the methods of determination that he used.” Having made sure that Bering put the northwestern coast of Asia on the map absolutely correctly, Cook wrote down the following about it on September 5, 1778: “Having ascertained the accuracy of the discoveries made by the said gentleman Bering, I turned to the East.

F.P. Litke, who 100 years later, in 1828, sailed along the coasts mapped by Bering, checked the accuracy of his navigational, astronomical and other definitions of coastal points and gave them a high assessment: “Bering did not have the means to make inventories with the accuracy that is required now; but the line of the coast simply outlined along its route would have a greater resemblance to its real position than all the details that we found on the maps.

V.M. Golovnin admired the fact that Bering gave names to the discovered lands not in honor of noble persons, but of ordinary people. “If the modern navigator managed to make such discoveries as Bering and Chirikov made, then not only would all the capes, islands and bays of America receive the names of princes and counts, but even on bare stones he would seat all the ministers and all the nobility; and compliments he would have made his own known to the whole world. Vancouver, to the thousand islands, capes, etc., which he saw, distributed the names of all the nobles in England and his acquaintances... Bering, on the contrary, having opened a most beautiful harbor, named it after the names of his ships: Peter and Paul; he named a very important cape in America Cape St. Elijah... a group of fairly large islands, which today would certainly receive the name of some glorious commander or minister, he called Shumagin Islands because he buried a sailor named after him who died on them ".