Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Chapter VIII.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
seems to us entirely incomprehensible. But Sokoloff,
who was himself a Russian naval officer, says on this
point, that the laws of the empire, which at that time
were in full force, required of every superior officer that
he should consult his subordinates before inaugurating
any new movement. In its instructions to Bering the
Senate expressly emphasized this decree of the law, and
it actually went so far as to order him, even in matters of
comparative unimportance, to seek the opinion of his
Academical associates, and always act in the strictest
accordance with his Russian colleague Chirikoff’s
propositions.
The chiefs of the different branches of the expedition
were of course subject to the same regulation. In this
way Bering was deprived of a sovereign chief’s power and
authority, and it afforded him but little reparation that
the government gave him the power to reduce or promote
an officer,—only naval officers, however. Necessary
regard for the needs of the service and for his own
principles forbade him to use this weapon in that arbitrary
manner which alone could have neutralized the
unfortunate influence of the government laws. Hence this
feature of his instructions, besides causing much delay,
became a source of the most incredible troubles and
aggravations, which, as we shall see later, laid him in his
grave on the bleak coasts of Bering Island.
Everything carefully considered, it could have
surprised no one if the Northern Expedition had collapsed
in its very greatness, and it was without any doubt due to
Bering that this did not happen. In many respects
Bering was unqualified to lead such an expedition into a
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
