Eastbound Through Siberia

Georg Wilhelm Steller was a German scientist who lived from 1709 to 1746, and worked as a botanist, zoologist, and physician. He was part of the second crew for the Great Northern Expedition.Margritt A. Engel is Professor Emerita of Languages at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is translator of Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741–1742 and Steller's History of Kamchatka.Karen E. Willmore is Professor Emerita of Languages at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is translator of Steller's History of Kamchatka.Jonathan C. Slaght is the Russia and Northeast Asia Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is editor and translator (with Vladimir K. Arsenyev) of Across the Ussuri Kray: Travels in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains.

"Eastbound through Siberia is a significant contribution to the body of travel literature on Russia, in particular because it is so early and covers eastern Siberia (British travel literature, for example, is only extensive after the 1770s and predominantly covers European Russia). The Second Kamchatka expedition was important for charting unknown territory and Steller was a prominent member of that expedition."—Janet Hartley, author of Siberia: A History of the People"Steller had a practiced eye for distinguishing the most important characteristics of plants. And he must have had an extraordinary memory, because he could remember if he had already seen a plant species and thus recognize those species that were new to the scientific community. During the very short time of two and a half months in 1739, he recorded over 1,050 plant species. Today Steller's works are considered of particular interest from the standpoint of human-caused changes to the flora because they provide a baseline against which the present distribution and frequency of plants can be measured, as well as the first appearance of invasive species. Eastbound through Siberia not only showcases Steller the botanist but also reveals him as an admirable human being with a great sense of humor who managed to keep an upbeat attitude in the most trying circumstances."—Eckehart J. Jäger, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Biology, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle, Germany"A wonderful report on Eastern Siberia from the early 18th century, this is a major addition to the primary literature on Steller, the naturalist-explorer who was too busy doing comprehensive research and died too early on his return trip from Kamchatka to have his portrait painted or even drawn. This volume will stand out for its quality and rich detail in years to come."—Han F. Vermeulen, author of Before Boas: The Genesis of Ethnography and Ethnology in the German Enlightenment"The lengthy treks of Vitus Bering's expeditions across Siberia on the way to and from the Sea of Okhotsk have always been overshadowed by the discoveries in the Pacific. Yet they are important in their own right. This meticulous translation of a rich ethnographic source produced by an exceptional observer of the natural world makes an important contribution to our understanding of eastern Siberia in the eighteenth century."—Ilya Vinkovetsky, Simon Fraser University"Whether he is jumping ice floes, drying out by a fire, glimpsing the soaring aurora borealis, or mired in mud, traveling with Steller as he botanizes his way across Siberia is part wilderness adventure, part open air museum visit, and a valuable historical window into the early eighteenth-century. Watching this Enlightenment scholar working to understand the unknown Eurasian space is engaging reading throughout; Engel and Willmore have done a great service in making this fascinating text available in English."—Erika Monahan, author of The Merchants of Siberia: Trade in Early Modern Eurasia"Eastbound through Siberia, a work newly translated to English by two emerita language professors from the University of Alaska Anchorage, adds fascinating details to the life of Steller and his travels and discoveries just before joining Bering in Kamchatka to set sail. . . . This new addition to understanding the life of Steller and 18th-century conditions in Siberia will be welcomed by historians, ethnographers, naturalists and armchair adventurers."—Nancy Lord, Anchorage Daily News"What emerges is a remarkable window into lifeboth human and animalin 18th century Siberia. Due to the secret nature of the expedition, Steller's findings were hidden in Russian archives for centuries, but the near-daily entries he recorded on journeys from the town of Irkutsk to Kamchatka are presented here in English for the first time. RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in Georg Steller and/or Russian history."—Ian Paulsen, Birdbooker Report"I want to acknowledge the miracles the translators have performed with this material, synthesizing and rearranging it in ways that make sense of Steller's probable intentions for later editing."—Ryan Jones - University Of Oregon, H-NET Reviews Humanities & Social Sciences

• ContentsForeword: The Steller Legacy / Jonathan C. SlaghtTranslators' PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionInstructions for Georg Wilhelm Steller from February 18, 1739, from Yeniseysk / Johann Georg Gmelin and Gerhard Friedrich MüllerPart I: Description of Irkutsk and Its Surroundings1. About Irkutsk and Its Surroundings2. About Irkutsk Itself3. About the Public Offices4. About the Clergy5. About the Chinese Trade and Chinese Trade Goods6. About Customs and Lifestyle in Irkutsk7. About Transbaikalia8. Report from the Uda River Part II: Travel Journal from Irkutsk to Kamchatka9. From Irkutsk to Ust'Ilginskaya (3/4-13)10. From Ust'Ilginskaya to Kirensk (3/14-5/1)11. From Kirensk to Yakutsk (5/2-24)12. In Yakutsk and Yarmanka (5/25-6/19)13. From Yarmanka to the Amga River (6/20-7/2)14. From the Amga to the Yuna River (7/3-21)15. From the Yuna River to Yudoma Cross (7/22-8/8)16. From Yudoma Cross to Okhotsk (8/9-13)17. In Okhotsk (8/14-26)18. Salmon Fishing and Preserving (8/27)19. From Okhotsk to Bol'sheretsk (8/28-9/16)AfterwordAppendix A: Georg Wilhelm Steller's Life 11-20 – '18Appendix B: Schnurbuch Account Ledger Appendix C: Letter to Johann Daniel SchumacherAppendix D: Plants Named After StellerGlossary of Foreign WordsGlossary of PeopleBibliographyIndex