234 sinRRFA. 



tliiY)ijf,4i tilt; Aiciio i>oi;aii, the iiorili>-iii ,-'-.i moi--. in .-^iLeria was regardeil as aa uuutiaiuaMij 

 vision, and M. K. Sidorov did {^real !-orvico when, in 1853, he was the fii-st to prove the 

 erroneousness of tin: opinions of Connt Litku and Mr. Vynr, unfortunately however he did not 

 succeed in awak^'ninj,' tin; synipafhy of any of the scientilic societies. lie hased his arf^'uni'-'iits 

 upon the constant intercourse l)elween the inhabitants of the coast from the mouths of the 

 Pechora ami Olii, Imt nt;verthele<s, such a strong conviction prevailed that it was impossihie 

 to reach the Kara Sea, that the promise made hy Sidorov of a largo reward to tho first 

 vessel which would enter the Yenisei and bring back a cargo of graphite, was not sufficient 

 to tempt anybody. In 1862 he succeeded in persuading Kruzenstern to undertake an expedition 

 to the east, and although it did not terminate successfully, still it convinced those who took 

 part in it that the Kara Sea was almost free of ice. However no more advonturt'S were found 

 after Kruzenstern, >o Sidorov was obliged himself to take the initiative and determined to fit 

 out a polar expedition at his own expense, but not lindiiiii any of his own countrymen de-irous 

 of joining him, he went to Sweden where he made the acquaintance of Baron Nordenskjold. 

 Next a lively correspondence was entered into between them, Nordenskjold becoming ever more 

 and more interested in Sidorov's ideas about a sea route to Siberia. 



In 1869 Sidorov saileil on the steamer «Georgi» from Cronstadt, but near the mouths of 

 the Pechora let slip the favourable lime while saving the English steamer «NorfoIk». Resoluttdy 

 propagating his idea, Sidorov applied to the well known geographer Petermann to print in his 

 celebrated Mittheilungen an appeal to those desirous of accepting his ofier, namely a reward of 

 2,000 pounds sterling to him who should first make the sea passage from Europe to the estuary 

 of the Yenisei. Thanks to the wide circulation of Petermann's magazine, Sidorov's appeal attrac- 

 ted the attention of the Englishman Wiggins who loaded the steamer «Diana» for this expe- 

 dition. In 1874, he successfully passed through the Kara Sea and entered the mouths of the 

 Obi and Yenisei, after which he returned to England having practically demonstrated the 

 possibility of a north sea passage to Siberia. In 1875 the Swedish merchant Dickson fitted 

 out the yacht <;Experiment» under the command of Baron Nordenskjold, which also success- 

 fully reached the estuary of the Yenisei. The vessel made the return passage, while the Cap 

 tain, ascending the Yenisei in a boat to Yeniseisk, went back by land. In the following year 

 Baron Nordenskjold on the steamer «Himer», and Wiggins on the steamer «Famela» once more 

 safely sailed through into the estuary of the Yenisei. 



The late Sidorov having thus obtained the confirmation of the justice of his idea did not 

 himself however for a long time have the chance of making the passage. Only in 1376 did 

 he succeed in fitting out the vessel ^Northern Light» under the command of Schwanenberg, 

 which unfortunately suffered shipwreck among the Little Bregovsk Islands. In 1877 another 

 vessel belonging to Sidorov, built in Yeniseisk, the «Dawn» under the command of the same 

 Schw^anenberg, sailed from the estuary of the Yenisei and safely arrived in St. Petersburgh. 

 In the same year Trapeznikov's steamer the cLouisa» sailing from Hull, on the 18th of July 

 passed through the Kara Straits without mishap, and having entered the mouth of the Obi pene- 

 trated by the Irtysh to Tobolsk, with a cargo of iron and olive oil. At the same time Sibi- 

 riakov chartered the steamer cFrazer» in Bremen, which lauded safely on the 21st of August at 

 the mouth of the Yenisei a cargo of tobacco, sugar, machinery, et cetera. In 1878 the <.Fra- 



