IDENTIFICATION OF MS ix 



Beckmann sa^'s^ that Scherer lived for several years in St. 

 Petersburg prior to 1774 and there, he has reason to believe, 

 acquired the original manuscript of the " Beschreibung" through 

 Professor Fischer or from his library. If Scherer had the original 

 manuscript of Steller's description of Kamchatka it is not unlikely 

 that he also had the original of the journal in his possession at 

 that time. Having it, he would probably, especially in a short 

 passage, quote it literally, to judge by the unedited condition in 

 which he gave to the world the 450-page description of Kam- 

 chatka, a procedure for which Pallas^ takes him to task.^ 



Whatever its exact status, the manuscript found in 191 7 is of 

 great interest because it evidently is a faithful rendering of 

 Steller's words and thus makes it possible to restore the matter 

 which Pallas omitted or abridged. Pallas, however, deserves 

 much credit for editing the journal so well. In many places he 

 improved on the reading of the original ; in others he took liber- 

 ties which may have had some justification a century and a third 

 ago but do not have now. The pages reproduced in facsimile in 

 the body of the present volume afford typical examples of the 

 difference between corresponding portions of the manuscript 

 and Pallas' version (cf. Fig. i with Fig. 2 and Fig. 18 with 

 Figs. 19 and 20). 



The present is the first complete English translation of the 

 journal.^ Even in German the journal has not been easily acces- 

 sible, the existence in the libraries of the United States of only 

 two copies in book form and six in serial form having come to 



Although only the initials of J. B. S. are given on the title page of the 

 "Beschreibung" it is known from the review of the book cited in the 

 next footnote and from other sources that Scherer was the editor. 



5 Physikalisch-okonomische Bibliothek von Johann Beckmann, Vol. 6, 

 Gottingen, 1775, pp. 191-202; reference on p. 192. 



6 Preface to Steller's description of Bering Island. Neue Nordische 

 Beytrdge, Vol. 2, 1781, pp. 255-256 (translated, below, p. 189, footnote i. 

 at the beginning of Appendix A). 



' The deductions in this paragraph are by the editor: Dr. Colder did 

 not have occasion to see proofs. — Edit. Note. 



8 The translation published by William Coxe in the fourth edition of 

 his "Account of the Russian Discoveries Between Asia and America," 



