FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   494   495   496   497   498   499   500   501   502   503   504   505   506   507   508   509   510   511   512   513   514   515   516   517   518  
519   520   521   522   523   524   525   526   527   528   529   530   531   532   533   534   535   536   537   538   539   540   541   542   543   >>   >|  
he travelled thither the same year, in November, 1724, over the ice, but his description of the land differs widely from that of his predecessor, and Mueller appears to entertain great doubts of the truthfulness of the narrative[304]. On the ground of a map constructed by the Cossack, Colonel SCHESTAKOV, who, however, according to Mueller, could neither read nor write, this new land was introduced into DELISLE and BUACHE'S map, with the addition that the Schelag Kopai lived there, and had there been taken prisoner by the Russians. This is so far incorrect, as Kopai did not live on any island, but on the mainland, and never was prisoner with the Russians, although after having paid tribute to them, he tired of doing so, and killed some of Amossov's people, after which no more was heard of him. Mueller complains loudly of the incorrect statement regarding Kopai, but the learned academician commits a much greater mistake, inasmuch as he considers that he ought to leave the numerous accounts of hunters and Cossacks about land and islands in the Siberian Polar Sea completely out of account. All these lands are therefore left out of the map published by the Petersburg Academy in the year 1758[305]. It is in this respect much more incomplete than the map which accompanies Strahlenberg's book.[306] Before I begin to sketch the explorations of the great northern expedition, some account remains to be given of the discovery of Kamchatka. It appears from the preceding that Kamchatka was already reached by some of Deschnev's followers, but their important discovery was completely unknown in Moscow. Kamchatka is, however, already mentioned in the narrative of Evert Ysbrants Ides' embassy to China in 1693-95,[307] accounts of it had probably been obtained from the Siberian natives, who are accustomed to wander far and near. These accounts, however, are exceedingly incomplete, and therefore, VOLODOMIR ATLASSOV, _piaetidesaetnik_ (_i.e._, commander of fifty men) at Anadyrsk, is considered the proper discoverer of Kamchatka. While Atlassov was commander at Anadyrsk, he sent out in 1696, the Cossack LUCAS SEMENOV SIN MOROSKO with sixteen men to bring the tribe living to the south under tribute. The commission was executed, and on his return Morosko stated that he not only was among the Koryaeks, but had also penetrated to the neighbourhood of the river Kamchatka, and that he took a Kamchadal "ostrog," and found in it some manuscrip
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   494   495   496   497   498   499   500   501   502   503   504   505   506   507   508   509   510   511   512   513   514   515   516   517   518  
519   520   521   522   523   524   525   526   527   528   529   530   531   532   533   534   535   536   537   538   539   540   541   542   543   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Kamchatka

 

accounts

 

Mueller

 

commander

 

Siberian

 

discovery

 

incorrect

 

appears

 

prisoner

 
Russians

Anadyrsk

 
completely
 
Cossack
 

account

 
narrative
 

tribute

 

incomplete

 

Moscow

 
Ysbrants
 

embassy


mentioned

 

Deschnev

 

sketch

 
explorations
 
northern
 

expedition

 

Before

 

remains

 

followers

 

important


reached

 
manuscrip
 

preceding

 

unknown

 

ATLASSOV

 

sixteen

 

living

 

MOROSKO

 
ostrog
 

SEMENOV


Morosko
 
stated
 

return

 

executed

 

Kamchadal

 

commission

 

Atlassov

 
exceedingly
 

VOLODOMIR

 
piaetidesaetnik