Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Chapter IV.
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flour to Okhotsk, and gave the voivode orders to keep
in readiness six hundred horses to forward other
necessaries for the expedition.
From this point the expedition traveled an entirely
untrodden path, and the 1026 versts (685 miles) to
Okhotsk were a severe test of its endurance. Even in
our day, this journey can be made only under the
greatest difficulties. The region is rough and mountainous,
and intersected by deep streams without bridges or
other means of crossing. The traveler must traverse
dangerous swamps and tundras, or cut his way through
dense forests. In the winter the difficulties are doubled.
Horses, reindeer, and dogs soon become exhausted on
these unbroken roads. A space cleared in the snow,
where the cooking, eating, and sleeping are done, is the
only shelter. The temperature falls to — 46° R. (71°
Fahrenheit). Clothing must be changed daily to avoid
dampness, and when the poorgas (blizzards) sweep over
the snowy wastes, a few steps from camp are often
fatal. This is a description of that region in our day,
and it was hardly any more inviting over a hundred
and fifty years ago.
It was found necessary to divide the expedition.
The branching tributaries of the Lena offered
possibilities for transportation which had to be taken
advantage of. Hence, as early as July 7, Lieut. Spangberg
was sent by river with thirteen rafts loaded with
materials, and a force of 204 workmen to reach Yudomskaya
Krest by way of the tributaries Aldan, Maya, and
Yudoma, and thence across a ridge down to the river
Urak, which flows into the Sea of Okhotsk. The
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