CHAPTEE XIL 



THE AECTIC EXPEDITION'S. — THE KOETHEAST PASSAGE. — 

 SEVERE CRITICISMS ON NORDENSKJOLD. 



THE Arctic expeditions made during the period from 

 1734 to 1743 have only in part any connection with 

 the object of this work. These expeditions were, it is 

 true, planned by Bering, and it was due to his activity 

 and perseverance that they were undertaken. He secured 

 vessels, men, and means, and had charge of the first unsuc- 

 cessful attempt; he was responsible to the government, 

 and in his zeal went just as far as his instructions would 

 allow him. But his own special task soon taxed his time 

 too heavily to permit him to assume charge of the Arctic 

 expeditions. They were not carried out until several 

 years after his departure from Yakutsk, — after he had 

 ceased to be their leader. We have already shown Ber- 

 ing's important relation to them, something which has 

 never before been done in West European literature. 

 Hence our object, namely, to give Bering his dues, may 

 therefore best be accomplished by giving a short account 

 of the results achieved by these expeditions. 



The world has never witnessed a more heroic geograph- 

 ical enterprise than these Arctic expeditions. In five or 

 six different directions— from the Petchora, the Obi, the 

 Yenesei, and the Lena — the unknown coasts of the Old 



107 



