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Island of the Blue Foxes

Page 31

by Stephen R. Bown


  whale carcasses on, 228–229, 246

  winter (1741–1742), 214–235

  Bering Strait, 48, 50, 269–270

  Betge, Matthias, 154

  Billings, Joseph, 138

  binomial nomenclature, 90

  Bird Island, 162

  birds, Steller’s observations on, 247

  Blane, Gil, 172

  blubber

  sea cow, 251

  whale, 163, 228–229, 246

  blue foxes. See foxes

  Bolshaya River, 105–106, 206

  Bolshaya Zemlya, 55, 130, 184

  Bolshaya Zemlya, 130

  Bolsheretsk, 44, 98, 105, 113, 265–266

  Bougainville, Louis Antoine de, 3

  boyars, 10–11

  burda, 255

  Cape Elias, 139

  Cape Suckling, 131

  Catesby, Mark, 142

  Catherine I (Empress of Russia), 23

  Academy of Sciences and, 54

  death, 55

  First Kamchatka Expedition, 26, 36–37

  personal appearance, 8 (fig.)

  Catherine the Great (Empress of Russia), 271

  Centurion, 169

  Chaplin, Peter, 41

  Chentsov, Osip, 193

  Chikhachev, Lieutenant, 116, 183

  China

  Amur River annexation from, 98

  trade with, 31, 267, 272

  Chirikov, Aleksei

  addition to First Kamchatka Expedition, 36–37

  charting of Pacific coastline, 48

  command of St. Paul, 107, 116, 120, 146

  contact with Americans, 150–151

  credit given for discovering America, 267, 268

  death, 262

  dissatisfaction with Bering, 94, 96

  Golovin’s note to, 95

  Great Northern Expedition, 4, 56, 58, 64

  on halting the First Kamchatka Expedition, 49

  loss of shore excursion boats and men (July 1741), 148–152

  Pacific voyage to America, 146–156

  on phantom islands, 115, 118

  promotions, 51, 59, 262

  relationship with Bering, 113

  relationship with Spangberg, 93–95

  report of Pacific voyage by, 184–185

  return to Yakutsk for supplies, 44

  scurvy, 183–185, 262

  search for the St. Peter, 262

  from St. Petersburg to Siberia on Great Northern Expedition, 74

  from Tobolsk to Yakutsk on Great Northern Expedition, 75, 78

  trading with Aleuts, 181–183

  in Yakutsk on First Kamchatka Expedition, 41

  in Yakutsk on Great Northern Expedition, 81

  from Yakutsk to Okhotsk on Great Northern Expedition, 78

  Chirikov Island, 144, 146, 153

  chronometers, 191

  Chugach, 134

  Chukchi Inuit, 48, 50, 60, 161

  Clark, William, 3

  classification system, of Linnaeus, 90

  clavichord, 77–78

  clothing, Peter the Great reforms and, 12

  Cook, James, 3, 25, 48, 66, 191

  Copper Island, 196

  Coronation Island, 148

  Cossacks, 73, 109, 112, 114

  Croyère, Louis Delisle de la, 93, 147

  arrival in Yakutsk, 91

  in Bolsheretsk, 106, 108

  death, 184, 268

  joining Great Northern Expedition, 63–64

  on Pacific voyage, 117

  planning for Pacific voyage, 114–115

  Cruys, Cornelius Ivanovich, 28

  Davidov, Ivan, 193

  Davidson, George, 273

  dead reckoning, 174, 192, 194, 196

  Delisle, Joseph-Nicolas, 64, 114, 268

  Dememtiev, Avram, 148–149

  Dergachev, Ilya, 201

  desertions

  First Kamchatka Expedition, 41–43

  Great Northern Expedition, 75–76, 92

  Devier, Anton Manuilovitch, 101

  Dezhnev, Semyon, 48, 269

  dogsled caravan, 71 (fig.)

  Dolgorukov, Vasiliy Lukich, 37

  Dolgoruky, Ivan Alekseevich, 79

  Dutch East India Company, 15–16, 19–20, 30

  Dutch Golden Age, 20

  Dutch Republic, 19–21

  Dutch West India Company, 15–16

  earthquake, Bering Island, 235

  Elizabeth (Empress of Russia), 107–108, 261

  Emelianov, Ivan, 201

  energy, from waterwheels and windmills, 16

  England

  colonies of, 30

  Peter the Great’s visit to, 13, 21–22

  English East India Company, 15–16, 30

  Enlightenment, 11

  epilepsy, of Peter the Great, 13

  Eselberg, Andreyan, 201

  Eyak, 135, 138

  facial tics, of Peter the Great, 13, 19

  farming, Russian economy and, 16

  First Kamchatka Expedition, 25–52

  Bering selection to lead, 26, 32

  Bering’s report on, 56

  desertions, 41–43

  distance traveled by, 46–47

  hardships on local economy/population, 51, 73

  members of, 36

  objectives of, 35

  rescue mission, 43

  return journey, 51

  river travel, 37–40, 42

  from St. Petersburg to Tobolsk, 37

  supplies, 37, 40, 43

  from Tobolsk to Yakutsk, 37–39

  travel across Siberia, 33–36

  from Yakutsk to Okhotsk, 40–44, 70 (fig.)

  flora and fauna, study of, 3, 86, 89–90

  Flora siberica (Gmelin), 91

  Fog Island, 144

  Fortuna, 44

  foxes

  assaults by, 2, 203–205, 211, 215

  corpses eaten by, 2, 86, 204, 229

  eating of, 223, 228

  furs/pelts, 203, 270

  last view of by St. Peter crew, 256

  mindless slaughter of by St. Peter crew, 204

  on Nagai Island, 160

  sea-otter pelts tossed aside to, 207, 227

  shelters bolstered by corpses of, 214, 222

  Steller and, 199, 203–205, 209, 215, 223, 227, 239, 247

  trap washed up on Bering Island, 209

  France

  alliance with Ottomans, 14

  colonies of, 30

  Frederick III (elector of Brandenburg), 18

  fur seals, 237, 239–240, 245–246, 262

  furs/pelts

  fox, 203, 270

  fur seal, 270

  gambling and, 226–227

  sea otter, 247–248, 255, 270–271

  tax on Siberian, 33–34, 89

  trade in, 270–272

  Gama Land, 114–115, 117, 120, 150, 196, 219

  gambling and, 224–227

  Germany, Peter the Great visit to, 18–19

  Gmelin, Johann Georg

  arrival in Yakutsk, 91

  dissatisfaction of, 91–93

  Flora siberica, 91

  joining Great Northern Expedition, 63

  Steller and, 88–89, 93, 265

  on workers, 92

  Golder, F. A., 94

  Golovin, Nikolai

  Bering’s report to, 97

  note to Chirikov, 95

  planning for Great Northern Expedition, 58, 66–67

  Goodenough, Samuel, 90

  Great Embassy to Europe, 10–11, 14–22

  behavior of Russian ambassadors, 16

  in Dutch Republic, 19–21

  in England, 21–22

  in Germany, 18–19

  members of, 17, 63–64, 74

  recruitment of artisans and tradesmen, 22, 24

  return to Moscow, 22

  in Riga, 18

  Great Northern Expedition, 71 (fig.)

  Bering’s proposal for, 55–59

  command structure, 59

  cost, 3r />
  demands on local population, 73, 74, 96–97

  desertions, 75–76, 92

  fate of participants after the expedition, 261–270

  logistical problems, 72–75, 81, 93

  members of, 59, 91

  objectives, 4, 58, 60, 62

  planning for, 59–67

  quarreling factions, 85–101

  ramifications of, 270

  river travel, 75

  scientific goals, 3–4, 62–65, 89

  secrecy concerning, 267–268

  size of, 3–4

  St. Petersburg to Siberia, 72–84

  supplies, 59–60, 64, 75, 82, 103, 113

  from Tobolsk to Yakutsk, 75–76, 78

  treatment of laborers, 109–110

  as venomous circle of striving, conniving, and self-interest, 4–5

  from Yakutsk to Okhotsk, 97–98, 101

  See also Bering Island; Pacific voyage; St. Paul; St. Peter

  Great Northern War, 18, 23–24, 28

  Gvozdev, Mikhail S., 60–61

  Hesselberg, Andreyan, 116

  illness and death of, 216

  at sea council on deciding to hasten return, 155

  water retrieval from Nagai Island, 158–160

  hunting

  on Bering Island, 2, 189 (fig.), 237–240, 245–246, 270

  of fur seals, 238–240, 245–246, 270

  of sea cows, 250–252, 254

  of sea otters, 226–227, 237, 270–271

  Icy Sea, 35, 48, 79

  Iakutsk. See Yakutsk

  Ilim River, 39, 75

  Ilimsk, 39

  Imperial Guards, 13

  interpreters

  Chukchi, 161

  Kamchatkan, 48, 117, 162–163, 165

  Irkutsk, 34, 39, 74

  Irtysh River, 37–38, 75

  Ismailov, Lev, 31

  Ivanov, Aleksei, 206, 237, 240

  Ivanov, Alexei, 211

  ivory, walrus, 270–271

  Japan

  Bering’s proposal of trade relations with, 57

  promotion of trade with, 98

  Spangberg expeditions to, 98–100

  Kachikov, Joseph, 183

  Kamchatka

  Account of the Land of Kamchatka (Krasheninnikov), 70 (fig.)

  crossing of peninsula, 44–45

  dogsled caravan across, 71 (fig.)

  new St. Peter as transport vessel to and from Okhotsk, 256

  population, 45–46

  promoting Russian settlement of, 4

  terrain and climate, 45

  See also First Kamchatka Expedition; specific locations within

  Kamchatka River, 50, 57

  Kayak Island, 131–138, 157

  Ket River, 38

  Kharitonov, Nikita, 177

  Khitrov, Sofron, 116

  Alaska coast and islands, 143–144, 152

  assessment of St. Peter (Jan 1742), 23, 233

  Bering Island and, 205–206, 208–209, 211–212, 254

  Bering Island sketch, 123 (fig.)

  on fur seals, 246

  gambling and, 226

  Kayak Island, 131

  Nadezhda command, 105, 107, 109, 111

  return voyage, 178, 194–195, 197–198

  sea council meetings, 139, 155, 194–195, 221

  shore party at Turner and Nagai Islands, 158, 160–162

  sketch of Bering Island, 123 (fig.)

  Steller and, 161–162, 198, 202, 208, 212, 221, 226

  Wingham Island, 132–134, 137

  Khotyaintsov, Nikita, 211

  Kiakhta, 272

  Kirilov, Ivan, 58, 67, 95

  Klyuchevskoy volcano, 47

  Kodiak Island, 144, 152

  Kolesov, Yakutskian, 108

  Kolyma River, 48

  Korb, Johann Georg, 16

  Krasheninnikov, Stephan Petrovich

  Account of the Land of Kamchatka (Krasheninnikov), 70 (fig.)

  assigned to accompany Croyère, 93

  on terrain from Yudoma Cross to Okhotsk, 81

  working with Steller at Bolsheretsk, 108

  Kremlin, 9 (fig.)

  Kuril Islands, 60, 98, 100, 106, 114

  Lagunov, Ivan, 120, 229

  Lake Baikal, 39, 74, 78

  Laptev, Kharlam, 80

  Larinof, 101

  Lassenius, Peter, 80

  latitude, calculation of, 190

  Lefort, Johann, 55

  Leibniz, Gottfried, 54

  Lena River, 38–39, 42, 57, 75–76, 78, 80

  Lepekhin, Thomas, 142

  on Bering Island, 198–203, 206–207, 239

  hike from Avacha Bay to Bolsheretsk, 265

  on Kayak Island, 133–136

  on Nagai Island, 158

  relationship with Steller, 206–207

  scurvy, 206

  sea cow dissection, 123 (fig.)

  Steller’s Cave discovery, 239

  Lewis, Meriwether, 3

  Lind, James, 171–172

  Linnaeus, Carolus, 90

  London, Peter the Great’s visit to, 21–22

  longitude, calculation of, 191–192

  Lopukhina, Eudoxia, 11, 23

  Louis XIV (King of France), 14

  Lower Kamchatka Post, 45, 51, 195

  Magellan, Ferdinand, 128

  Maja River, 42

  Makovsk, 38

  Malaspina, Alessandro, 3

  Messerschmidt, Brigitte, 88

  Mikhailov, Peter. See Peter the Great

  Misty Islands (Smeeton), 154

  Mount Cgiginagak, 152

  Mount St. Elias, 129–130, 129n

  Müller, Gerhard Friedrich, 88

  arrival in Yakutsk, 91

  dissatisfaction of, 91–93

  joining Great Northern Expedition, 62–63

  official account of Great Northern Expedition, 268

  on Steller’s importance to expedition, 217

  Munker, 28

  Nadezhda, 98, 105–107, 109

  Nagai Island, 158, 161–162, 167

  Narozhnitski, Antonij, 266

  nature, cataloging of, 89–90

  navigation, 190–192

  Navy, Russian

  Bering and, 28, 32

  decision making, 113

  Peter the Great and, 14, 16, 24, 26–28

  Northeast Passage, 79

  northern Manatee. See Steller’s sea cow

  Ob River, 37–38, 57, 75, 78–79

  Okhota River, 98, 105

  Okhotsk, 270

  First Kamchatka Expedition, 4, 34–35, 40–44, 51

  Great Northern Expedition, 78, 82–84, 98, 100, 102–105

  growth of, 272

  new St. Peter as transport vessel to and from Kamchatka, 256

  population of, 82

  sailing by St. Paul and St. Peter to Avacha Bay, 106–107

  sailing by St. Paul from Petropalovsk (July 1742), 262–263

  shipbuilding at, 43–44, 98, 102–103, 244

  Skornyakov-Pisarev as administrator in, 61–62, 65, 78, 82–84

  Okhotsk River, 57

  Okola-vaem River, 110

  The Origin of Species (Darwin), 89

  Orthodox Church, 11, 23, 34, 272

  Osterman, Andrey, 58

  ostrogs, 34, 46, 108

  Ostvin, Nikita, 201

  Ottoman Empire, 14

  overhunting, on Bering Island, 226–227, 270

  Ovtsin, Dmitry

  on Bering Island, 224, 226, 232–233, 241–242

  as Bering’s adjuvant, 195, 224

  career after the expedition, 264–265

  demotion of, 79, 94, 195

  exploration of rivers and Arctic coast, 79–80

  Pacific voyage to America

  commemorate stamp, 189 (fig.)

  Kayak Island, 131–138

  preparation for, 110–117

  St. Paul, 115–120, 146–152

  St. Peter, 124–145

  Paul I, 272

  pelts, See furs
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  Peter II, 55

  Academy of Sciences founding, 23, 53–54

  beard laws and tax, 22

  beard-trimming incident (1698), 9 (fig.), 11

  currency reforms, 22

  dislike of official or formal functions, 17

  dress and personal-grooming reforms, 12, 22

  exploration of Siberia, 30–32

  Great Embassy to Europe, 10–11, 14–22

  Great Northern Expedition, 3

  Great Northern War, 18, 23–24

  great purge, 12–13

  illness and death, 24–26, 32, 36

  interest in geography, 25

  modernization/Westernization of Russia, 10–12, 14–16, 22–25, 53–54

  navy and shipbuilding, 14–15, 19–22, 24, 26–28

  personal appearance, 8 (fig.), 13–14, 23

  personality traits, 11, 15, 22, 53

  as Peter Mikhailov, 15, 17

  St. Petersburg founding, 9 (fig.), 24

  tobacco legalization, 23

  Petropavlovsk, 262–263

  Chirikov in, 185, 262

  evolution of town, 112

  fur trade and, 270

  growth of, 272

  naming of, 107

  return of new St. Peter to, 257–259

  St. Paul return to (October 1741), 177

  St. Peter and St. Paul initial arrival at, 107

  Waxell in, 263

  “phantom Islands,” 115, 118

  Piilse, Anna Christina, 29

  Piilse, Eufemia, 29

  Plautin, Lieutenant, 116, 183

  playing cards, 224–226

  Plenisner, Friedrich, 117

  on Bering Island, 198–199, 201–204, 207, 239, 252

  hike from Avacha Bay to Bolsheretsk, 265

  on Nagai Island, 158

  on Nagai island, 168

  sea cow dissection, 123 (fig.)

  sketches by, 252

  Popkov, Vasili, 201

  Popov, Alexei, 193

  post offices, 105

  Pronchishchev, V. M., 80

  Prussia, 18

  Riga, 18

  river travel

  First Kamchatka Expedition, 37–40, 42

  Great Northern Expedition, 75

  Romanov, Peter Alexeyevich. See Peter the Great (Emperor of Russia)

  Roselius, Boris, 211

  Russian America, 271–273

  Russian America Company, 272

  Russian court

  under empress Anna, 55

  western European view of behavior, 16–17

  Safavid Empire, 14

  salmonberry, 142

  Sarychev, Gavril, 138

  saturnan, 245

  Saumarez, Philip, 171

  Saunders, Thomas, 29, 66, 95

  Savelev, Sidor, 150

  science, in western Europe, 16, 20

  scurvy, 167–173

  in Age of Sail, 170–171

  on Anson’s circumnavigation (1740–1744), 169–170

  antiscorbutic plants, 168, 175, 198–200, 215, 217, 236

  Bering and, 154, 167, 175, 218–219, 269

  Bering Island and, 2, 86, 201, 206, 210–219, 223, 225–226, 228–231

  causes and cures, 171–173

  Chirikov and, 183–185, 262

  fear of, 128, 171, 206

  Hesselberg and, 216

 

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