CHAPTER XIII. 



THE DISCOYEEY OF THE KURILE ISLANDS AND JAPAN 

 FROM THE NORTH. 



THE men that took part in these early Russian 

 explorations have not yet received their just dues. 

 Not one of them, however, needs rehabilitation so much 

 as Spangberg. He is entitled to an independent place 

 in geograjihical history, but has been completely barred 

 out. 0. Peschel and Prof. Ruge know him as Bering's 

 principal officer, but not as the discoverer of the Kurile 

 Islands and Japan from the north. And yet, just this 

 was his task. He was to sail from Kamchatka to Nipon, 

 chart the Kurile Islands, link the Russian explorations 

 to the West European cartography of northern Japan, 

 and investigate the geography of the intervening region, — 

 especially the cartographical monsters which in the 

 course of a century of contortion had developed from 

 De Vries's intelligent map of East Yezo, Iturup (Staaten 

 Eiland) and Urup (Kompagniland). We have already 



considered it fictitious." To the Baron's criticism I shall simply remark: I 

 have shown in the text that when he wrote the "Voyage of the Vega" he 

 was not familiar with the latest works on this question. Hence he has been 

 entirely unable to decide whether the old doubts concerning Chelyuskin's 

 results could be revived or not. I appeal to all students of these finer points 

 in the history of geography, who will certainly agree with my statement that 

 the Baron in this question has absolutely no other support than that of an 

 anonymous letter \— Author's Note to American Edition. 



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