“Throughout his entire career, E.V. Toll showed himself as a true patriot of his Motherland, he can serve as an example of courage and heroism,” - this is how the merits of Baron Toll were highly noted by the lips of one of the most outstanding geologists and geographers, travelers and writers - Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev. The literary work of Obruchev the writer was largely and directly inspired by Toll’s deep faith in the existence of “Sannikov Land.”
Eduard Vasilyevich Toll was born on March 2 (14), 1858 in Tallinn (then Revel) into a Baltic-German intelligent family, despite the baronial title of its head, which did not have significant wealth, Eduard studied at a local school. After the death of his father, who had already passed the age of 70, in 1872 he and his mother moved to the city of Dorpat (Yuryev, now Tartu). Living in the famous university city predetermined the inquisitive young man’s life destiny as a scientist. In 1878, Toll entered the Faculty of Natural History at Yuryev University, where the traditions of the famous explorer of the Arctic and Siberia A.F. Middendorf were still alive. Toll persistently studied geology and mineralogy, was interested in medicine, not neglecting history; in 1879-1882 he became involved in a thorough study of zoology, then biology. The graduate of a famous university was a well-educated specialist in the natural sciences.
E. Toll was included in the scientific expedition of his former zoology teacher, Professor Max Braun, in the Mediterranean Sea. Along the coasts of Algeria and the Balearic Islands, he studied the fauna, became acquainted with geological deposits, and gained research experience and knowledge. Upon returning to Yuryev, he defended his PhD thesis in zoology and was left at the university. He expanded his knowledge in zoology, but did not forget about geology, which attracted the attention of the director of the geological museum, academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, participant in two expeditions to Siberia F.B. Schmidt.
Discovering the depths of Yana
In the mid-80s, an expedition was being prepared to Eastern Siberia, to the New Siberian Islands. In the spring of 1884, Toll received an invitation from its leader A.A. Bunge to actually become his assistant. Toll was first of all to conduct geological research on the banks of the Yana River in its upper reaches. Bunge and Toll departed for a two-year expedition on March 6, 1885, and on April 30 they arrived in Verkhoyansk, which became the starting point of the journey. By June 1, Toll, having traveled 390 kilometers down the Yana, returned to the city. The scientist completed a new stage of the journey on horseback, this time along the Yana Dulgalakhu tributary, to the southwest, to its source. From there, Toll proceeded through the Yandibul ridge to another tributary of the Yana - Bytyntai. Then he examined the cliff on the left bank of the Kholbuy River, where in 1877 the corpse of an ancient rhinoceros was found. Toll walked 1,500 kilometers in 38 days, collecting a large scientific collection.
On June 30, Toll joined Bunge, who by this time was also exploring another area of the Yana basin. Together they sailed on a boat downstream to the village of Kazachye, exploring along the way geological structure shores. In October, we returned to Kazachye for the winter and began to prepare for a trip to the New Siberian Islands - an entire archipelago with an area of about 38 thousand square kilometers. These islands were little explored, although their northern group, named after De Long, had already been discovered.
Heading towards the ocean. Arctic
With the advent of the bright days of the new year 1886, Toll on April 21 set off on two sledges to Chai-Povarna, the northern tip of the mainland. From here, on May 1, with the Yakut S. Koryakin and guide I. Boyarsky, he followed the ice through the Dmitry Laptev Strait to Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island. This is how Toll first set foot on the New Siberian Islands and began exploring them. He studied sections of the southern coast, the mysterious “rock ice” and its outcrops. Soon Bunge arrived on the island. They exchanged research results and discussed an action plan. We were again divided into two groups, now for six months. Toll crossed the island on sleds. Maly Belkovsky on the island. The boiler room and basically examined it, then - Fr. Faddeevsky, and later - New Siberia. I found out the movement of ice and its structure. In New Siberia he discovered layers of brown coal. He called the sandy area of Kotelny the Bunge Land.
In mid-August, Toll went to the north of Kotelny, hoping to see the legendary Sannikov Land from there. And this is what we read in Toll’s notes: “With a completely clear horizon, we clearly saw in the direction to the northeast 14-180 the contours of four table mountains, which were connected to the east by a depression.” Toll considered that this land was located 150-200 kilometers away, almost “at your fingertips.” The hope and passion to discover Sannikov Land and set foot on it grew even stronger. He did not say goodbye to them until the end of his days.
Best of the day
Toll continued to explore the expanses of Kotelny and Lyakhovsky until the beginning of November 1886. He named the ridge north of Balyktakh after Schmidt.
In December, they, together with Bunge, sent a telegram to the Academy of Sciences: “The expedition ended safely. All five islands were examined, especially New Siberia Tollem. All participants are healthy. Scientific production is rich. Yakutsk - Kirensk. Bunge, Toll.”
On January 28, 1887, Toll arrived with all the scientific material in St. Petersburg. He covered 12 thousand kilometers, of which 8 thousand were on sleighs and on foot.
Sannikov's land must be ours!
E.V. Toll became famous among specialists and the scientific community. He was enlisted as the curator of the mineralogical museum of the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Sciences. I began processing the collected geological material. Received a nine-month scientific trip abroad. In the summer of 1889, Eduard Toll married Emmeline Wilcon, who became his great love and good friend. Toll also made himself known in print - his book on the results of the expedition was published. However, from overwork and the effects of the expedition, he fell ill with neurasthenia, a speech disorder, and was unable to accept the offer of the Academy of Sciences to lead an expedition to explore the Anabar and Khatanga rivers. Having recovered, he spoke at the IX International Geographical Conference in Vienna, where he met with the young but already very famous Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who in 1888 was the first to cross Greenland on skis and intended to travel through Russian Antarctica. Their conversation was long, useful and pleasant.
Soon the Academy of Sciences planned a new polar expedition for 1893-94. Toll accepted the offer to lead it. The main goal for scientists was to search for the remains of mammoths on the Anabar River and its geological study. Although it was not possible to find entire mammoth corpses, the expedition was considered successful.
Soon E.V. Toll met and became close friends with S.O. Makarov, an oceanographer, naval commander, vice admiral, who made two trips around the world. They discussed various issues, including the Arctic. Toll accepted the admiral's offer to participate in the expedition on the icebreaker Ermak under the leadership of Makarov as a geologist. The expedition was supposed to sail to the Spitsbergen archipelago and explore it, but the breakdown of the icebreaker's propeller forced Toll to return to the Russian capital.
In June 1899, he was urgently summoned to the Academy of Sciences and at the end of the year he was officially appointed head of the Russian Polar Expedition of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The main goals of this last expedition were the discovery of the hypothetical Sannikov Land, its exploration, as well as the continuation of the study of the Arctic, the northern Russian coast and the New Siberian Islands, and work on building the Northern Sea Route.
biography of E. Toll
novel 05.12.2007 08:45:50
Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia
Edua#769;rd Vasi#769;lyevich Toll (March 2(14), 1858, Revel, - 1902), Russian geologist, Arctic explorer.
From a noble family of Baltic Germans, he had the title of baron. Born in Revel (now Tallinn). He graduated from school there. After the death of his father in 1872, the family moved to Dorpat (Tartu), where Eduard entered the university at the Faculty of Natural History. He studied mineralogy, geology, botany, zoology, and medicine.
The first expedition took place off the coast of North Africa. In Algeria and the Balearic Islands he studied fauna, flora, and geology. Returning to Dorpat, he defended his PhD thesis in zoology and was left at the university.
Toll's works attracted the attention of the famous polar scientist A. A. Bunge. He invited Toll on an expedition to the New Siberian Islands. In March - April 1885, having traveled about 400 kilometers along the Yana River, Toll arrived in Verkhoyansk. Having collected a lot of valuable materials, he returned to the village. Cossack and through the Laptev Strait moved to the New Siberian Islands.
Finding himself in the north of Kotelny Island, 150-200 kilometers away, he saw (or thought he saw) an unknown land. Toll was sure that this was the legendary land of Sannikov. The expedition ended in December 1886.
On January 28, 1887, travelers arrived in St. Petersburg. A geological description of the New Siberian Islands was compiled, and extensive collections of fossil animals and plants were collected - two and a half thousand exhibits.
In 1889, he married Emmeline Wilcon, his book was published, and in Vienna at the IX International Geographical Conference he met and became friends with Fridtjof Nansen.
In 1893, Toll led a new expedition. On the shores of the East Siberian Sea in the area of Cape Svyatoy Nos he excavated a mammoth; on the East Siberian Islands, fulfilling Nansen’s request, he set up food warehouses in the event of the death of Nansen’s “Fram”, which was preparing for a three-year voyage. In the north of Siberia, he described the Kharaulakhsky, Chekanovsky and Pronchishcheva ridges, mapped the Anabar Bay, studied the Khatanginsky Bay and the lower reaches of the Anabar River. While taking route surveys, he corrected and clarified the geographical maps of that time. The main task of the expedition was to find the remains of mammoths on the Anabar River and carry out geological research there.
In 1899, Toll invited A.V. Kolchak as a hydrologist on an expedition on the schooner “Zarya”, the purpose of which was to study sea currents in the Kara and East Siberian seas of the Arctic Ocean, as well as to study already known and search for new islands in this part of the Arctic, and if successful, the discovery of the “big continent” (“Arctida”, Sannikov Land), in the existence of which Toll sacredly believed.
On June 21, 1900, the motor-sailing “Zarya” left St. Petersburg. Kolchak spent two years and two difficult winters on this expedition. In the spring of 1902, when Toll went further north, Kolchak was sent to St. Petersburg in order to deliver the materials already collected by the researchers to the capital. The next year, Kolchak had to lead a new expedition, equipped to search for Toll and his companions who had disappeared in the ice. Kolchak managed to discover Toll’s last stop, his diaries and other materials from the missing expedition.
Toll's diary, according to his will, was given to his wife (widow). Emmeline Toll published her husband's diary in 1909 in Berlin. In the USSR, it was published in a greatly truncated form, translated from German in 1959.
Toll Eduard Vasilievich (1858-1902), Russian polar explorer. Member of the expedition of A. A. Bunge to the New Siberian Islands in 1885-1886. The leader of the expedition to the northern regions of Yakutia, explored the area between the lower reaches of the Lena and Khatanga rivers (1893), led the expedition on the schooner "Zarya" (1900-1902). He went missing in 1902 while crossing fragile ice in the area of the island. Bennett.
Toll graduated from one of the oldest Russian universities - Yuryevsky (Tartu). He made his first trip on a scientific expedition to the Mediterranean Sea.
In the 19th century, the search for Sannikov Land occupied the minds of many researchers. A native of Tallinn, geologist Eduard Vasilyevich Toll also set out to find this land...
In 1885-1886, Toll was an assistant to A.A. Bunge on an academic expedition to “explore the coast of the Arctic Sea in Eastern Siberia, mainly from the Lena along the Yana, Indigirka, Alazeya and Kolyma, etc., in particular big islands, lying not too far from this coast and called New Siberia..." In the summer of 1886, Toll traveled on sledges along the coast of the entire Kotelny Island for a month and a half and, in completely clear weather, on August 13 saw him and his companion in the north " the contours of four mountains, which in the east connected with the low-lying land." He decided that in front of him was Sannikov Land.
Toll suggested that this land was composed of basalts, just like some other islands of the New Siberian archipelago, for example Bennett Island. It was, in his opinion, 150-200 kilometers to the north from the already explored islands.
Seven years later, Toll's second expedition took place. This time he was its leader. The main goal was to excavate a mammoth discovered on the coast of the East Siberian Sea. Eduard Vasilyevich himself believed that the expedition could bring more diverse and important results than just mammoth excavations and achieved broader powers. Excavations of the remains of the mammoth were not so fruitful: only fragments of the fossil animal were discovered. Other results of the expedition were much more important.
Toll, continuing Chersky’s geological research in Northern Siberia, visited the Kotelny Islands and again saw Sannikov Land. Returning to the mainland, Toll rode reindeer across the Kharaulakh ridge to the Lena and explored its delta. Having crossed the Chekanovsky Ridge, they walked west along the coast from Olenyok to Anabar, and traced and mapped the low (up to 315 meters) Pronchishchev Ridge (180 kilometers long), rising above the North Siberian Lowland. They also completed the first survey of the lower Anabar (more than 400 kilometers) and clarified the position of the Anabar Bay. The expedition collected extensive botanical, zoological, and ethnographic collections.
The Russian Geographical Society highly appreciated the results of Toll's journey, awarding him a large silver medal named after N. M. Przhevalsky. The Academy of Sciences awarded Eduard Vasilyevich a cash prize. The name of the researcher became known; He participated in the work of the International Geological Congress in Zurich, greeting the navigator Fridtjof Nansen on behalf of the Society.
In Norway, Toll studied ice sheet glaciers characteristic of Scandinavia and dreamed of an expedition to Sannikov Land. Toll was sure that Sannikov Land really existed. This was indirectly confirmed by the research of the American captain De Long and the Norwegian Nansen.
In 1900, Toll was appointed head of an academic expedition organized on his initiative to discover Sannikov Land on the whaling yacht Zarya. Enthusiastic researchers set off on their journey. In the summer, Zarya sailed to the Taimyr Peninsula. Captain "Zarya" N.N. Kolomeitsev, due to disagreements with Toll, left the ship and in April 1901, together with Rastorguev, traveled about 800 kilometers to Golchikha (Yenisei Bay) in 40 days. On the way, he discovered the Kolomeytseva River flowing into the Taimyr Gulf, and his satellite in the Pyasinsky Gulf - Rastorguev Island. F. Mathisen became the new captain of Zarya.
In the fall of 1901, Toll sailed on the Zarya, rounding Cape Chelyuskin, from Taimyr to Bennett Island in clear water, and in vain looked for Sannikov Land north of the Novosibirsk archipelago. For the second wintering, he remained off the western coast of Kotelny Island, in the Zarya Strait. It was impossible to approach Sannikov Land because of the ice.
On the evening of June 5, 1902, Toll, astronomer Friedrich Georgievich Seeberg and two Yakut industrialists N. Dyakonov and V. Gorokhov went out on sleds with dog sleds dragging two canoes to Cape Vysokoy in New Siberia. From there, first on an ice floe drifting northward, and then on kayaks, they moved to Bennett Island to explore it. In the fall, Zarya was supposed to remove the detachment from there. Toll gave the captain the following instructions: “...If in the summer of this year the ice near the New Siberian Islands and between them and Bennett Island does not disappear completely and thus prevents the Zarya from sailing, then I suggest you leave the ship in this harbor and return from the entire crew of the ship on the winter route to the mainland, following the well-known route from Kotelny Island to the Lyakhov Islands. In this case, you will take with you only all the documents of the expedition and the most important instruments, leaving here the rest of the ship's inventory and all collections. In this case, I will try to return before the onset of frost to the New Siberian Islands, and then on the winter route to the mainland. In any case, I firmly believe in a happy and prosperous end to the expedition..." "Zarya" was unable to approach Bennett Island at the appointed time due to ice conditions and came to a deserted place at that time Tiksi Bay, southeast of the Lena Delta. A few days later, the steamship Lena approached the island, onto which the scientific material collected over two years by Toll’s expedition was loaded.
On the Zarya the boatswain was Begichev, who had served in the navy since 1895. On August 15, 1903, he and several rescuers on a whaleboat from the yacht "Zarya" went out into the open sea and headed for Cape Emma on Bennett Island. As it was believed at that time, Toll and his companions were forced to spend the winter on Bennett Island and saving them was not so difficult...
Toll was supposed to leave information about the expedition at Cape Emma. Before reaching the cape, members of the rescue expedition found two Toll sites. And on Cape Emma, documents were immediately found: in a pile of stones folded by a man’s hand, there was a bottle with three notes. “On July 21, we sailed safely in kayaks. We will set off today along the eastern coast to the north. One party of us will try to be in this place by August 7. July 25, 1902, Bennett Island, Cape Emma. Toll.”
The second note was entitled "For those who seek us" and contained a detailed plan of Bennett Island. Finally, the third note, signed by Seeberg, contained the following text: “It turned out to be more convenient for us to build a house on the site indicated on this piece of paper. The documents are located there. October 23, 1902.”
In the spring, a search expedition found Toll's abandoned winter quarters. Rescuers found on the shore two arctic fox traps and four boxes containing geological collections collected by Toll. There was a small house nearby. A box was found there containing Toll's brief report addressed to the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. From this document it was clear: Toll did not lose faith in the existence of Sannikov Land, but due to the fog he was unable to see it from Bennett Island.
When food supplies were already running out, Toll and his three companions decided to make their way south... In November 1902, they began their return journey along young ice to New Siberia and disappeared without a trace.
On November 22, 1904, at a meeting of the Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences, they came to the conclusion that “all party members should be considered dead.” However, the commission appointed a prize “for finding the entire batch or part of it” and another prize, of a smaller size, “for the first indication of undoubted traces of it.” Alas, these prizes were never awarded to anyone...
According to a number of researchers, Sannikov Land still existed, but at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century it was destroyed by the sea and disappeared like the Pasilievsky and Semgiovsky islands, composed of fossil ice.
Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
Toll Eduard Vasilievich
Russian polar explorer. Member of A. A. Bunge's expedition to the New Siberian Islands in 1885-1886. The leader of the expedition to the northern regions of Yakutia, explored the area between the lower reaches of the Lena and Khatanga rivers (1893), led the expedition on the schooner "Zarya" (1900-1902). He went missing in 1902 in the area of Bennett Island.
IN early XIX century, Russian industrialist and traveler Yakov Sannikov saw southwest of Kotelny Island - one of the New Siberian Islands - mainland. However, he himself did not reach it - Sannikov’s path was blocked by huge ice holes that remained open for almost the entire year. A native of Tallinn, geologist Eduard Vasilyevich Toll set himself the goal of finding this land...
Toll graduated from one of the oldest Russian universities - Yuryevsky (Tartu). He made his first trip to the Mediterranean Sea: he accompanied his former zoology teacher, Professor M. Brown, on a scientific expedition. During this trip, Toll studied the fauna of the Mediterranean Sea and became acquainted with the geological structure of some islands.
In 1885-1886, Toll was an assistant to Alexander Alexandrovich Bunge in an academic expedition organized by the Russian Academy of Sciences for "studies of the coast of the Arctic Sea in Eastern Siberia, mainly from the Lena along the Yana, Indigirka, Alazeya and Kolyma, etc., especially large islands lying not too far from this coast and called New Siberia". Eduard Vasilyevich conducted a wide variety of research - geological, meteorological, botanical, geographical.
In the spring of 1886, Toll, at the head of a separate detachment, explored the islands of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky, Bunge Land, Faddeevsky (the spit in the north-west of Faddeevsky Island Toll called the Anzhu Arrow) and the western coast of New Siberia. In the summer, Toll traveled around the entire Kotelny Island on a sledge for a month and a half, and in completely clear weather on August 13, he saw him and his companion in the north "the contours of four mountains that connected to the low land in the east". He decided that this was Sannikov Land.
Toll suggested that this land was composed of basalts, just like some other islands of the New Siberian archipelago, for example Bennett Island. It was, in his opinion, 150-200 kilometers to the north from the already explored islands.
Seven years later, Toll's second expedition took place. This time he was its leader. The main goal was to excavate a mammoth discovered on the coast of the East Siberian Sea. Eduard Vasilyevich himself believed that the expedition could bring more diverse and important results than just mammoth excavations, and he turned out to be right in achieving broader powers. Excavations of the remains of a mammoth turned out to be not so interesting: only small fragments of the skin of the fossil animal, covered with hair, parts of the legs and the lower jaw were discovered. Other results of the expedition, which lasted a year and two days, were much more important.
In the spring of 1893, Toll, continuing Chersky’s geological research in Northern Siberia, visited the Kotelny Islands and again saw Sannikov Land. Returning to the mainland, Toll, together with the military sailor-hydrographer Evgeniy Nikolaevich Shileiko, rode reindeer through the Kharaulakh ridge to the Lena in June and explored its delta. Having crossed the Chekanovsky Ridge, they walked west along the coast from Olenyok to Anabar, and traced and mapped the low (up to 315 meters) Pronchishchev Ridge (180 kilometers long), rising above the North Siberian Lowland. They also completed the first survey of the lower Anabar (more than 400 kilometers) and clarified the position of the Anabar Bay - on previous maps it was shown 100 kilometers east of its true position. Then the travelers split up - Shileiko headed west to Khatanga Bay, and Toll - to Lena to send collections. Returning to Anabar again, he walked to the village of Khatanga and between the Anabar and Khatanga rivers for the first time explored the northern ledge of the Central Siberian Plateau (Khara-Tas ridge), and in the area between the Anabar and Popigaya rivers - the short Syuryakh-Dzhangy ridge. The expedition collected extensive botanical, zoological, and ethnographic collections.
The Russian Geographical Society highly appreciated the results of Toll's journey, awarding him a large silver medal named after N. M. Przhevalsky. The Academy of Sciences awarded Eduard Vasilyevich a cash prize. The name of the researcher became known; he participates in the work of the International Geological Congress in Zurich, the Russian Geographical Society sends him to Norway to greet the famous traveler and navigator Fridtjof Nansen on behalf of the Society at the celebrations organized in his honor.
In Norway, Toll studied ice sheet glaciers characteristic of Scandinavia. Returning to Russia, the scientist left his service at the Academy of Sciences and moved to Yuryev, where he began to write a large scientific essay on the geology of the New Siberian Islands and a work on the most important tasks in the study of the polar countries.
During these same years, the scientist conducted various studies in the Baltic states. Later he sailed on the first Russian icebreaker "Ermak". And all this time Toll dreamed of an expedition to Sannikov Land.
In 1900, Toll was appointed head of an academic expedition organized on his initiative to discover Sannikov Land on the whaling yacht Zarya. Enthusiastic researchers set off on their journey. On June 21, the small ship departed from Vasilyevsky Island.
Toll was sure that Sannikov Land really existed. This was indirectly confirmed by the research of the American captain De Long and the Norwegian Nansen.
In the summer, Zarya sailed to the Taimyr Peninsula. During wintering, the expedition members explored a very large area of the adjacent coast of the Taimyr Peninsula and the Nordenskiöld archipelago; at the same time, Fyodor Andreevich Matisen walked north through the Matisen Strait and discovered several Pakhtusop islands in the Nordenskiöld archipelago.
The captain of the Zarya, Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolomeytsev, left the ship due to disagreements with Toll and in April 1901, together with Stepan Rastorguev, walked about 800 kilometers to Golchikha (Yenisei Bay) in 40 days. On the way, he discovered the Kolomeytseva River flowing into the Taimyr Gulf, and his satellite in the Pyasinsky Gulf - Rastorguev Island. F. Mathisen became the new captain of Zarya.
In the fall of 1901, Toll sailed on the Zarya, rounding Cape Chelyuskin, from Taimyr to Bennett Island almost in clear water, and in vain he searched for Sannikov Land north of the Novosibirsk archipelago. For the second wintering, he remained off the western coast of Kotelny Island, in the Zarya Strait. It was impossible to approach Sannikov Land because of the ice.
On the evening of June 5, 1902, Toll, astronomer Friedrich Georgievich Seeberg and two Yakut industrialists Nikolai Dyakonov and Vasily Gorokhov went out on sleds with dog sleds dragging two canoes to Cape Vysokoy in New Siberia. From there, first on an ice floe drifting northward, and then on kayaks, they moved to Bennett Island to explore it. In the fall, Zarya was supposed to remove the detachment from there. Toll gave the captain the following instructions: “...If in the summer of this year the ice near the New Siberian Islands and between them and Bennett Island does not completely disappear and thus prevents the Zarya from sailing, then I suggest you leave the ship in this harbor and return with the entire crew of the ship by the winter route to the mainland, following the well-known route from Kotelny Island to the Lyakhovsky Islands. In this case, you will take with you only all the documents of the expedition and the most important instruments, leaving here the rest of the ship's inventory and all collections. In this case, I will try to return to the New Siberian Islands before frost sets in, and then winter route to the mainland. In any case, I firmly believe in a happy and prosperous end to the expedition..."
Zarya was unable to approach Bennett Island at the scheduled time due to ice conditions. The captain did everything possible, but was forced to abandon further attempts. In addition, the deadline set by Toll himself had expired - the ship was supposed to approach the island before September 3.
In the fall, after unsuccessful attempts to get to Bennett Island, "Zarya" came to the then completely deserted Tiksi Bay, southeast of the Lena Delta. A few days later, the steamship Lena approached the island, onto which the extensive scientific material collected by Toll’s expedition over two years was loaded.
On the Zarya, the boatswain was naval sailor Nikifor Alekseevich Begichev, who had served in the navy since 1895. On August 15, 1903, he and several rescuers on a whaleboat from the yacht "Zarya" went out into the open sea and headed for Cape Emma on Bennett Island. As it was believed at that time, Toll and his companions were forced to spend the winter on Bennett Island, and saving them was not so difficult...
The transition turned out to be relatively easy and quick. The sea was open. There was no ice. A day later, on August 17, the whaleboat approached the southern coast of Bennett Island. Traces of Toll's expedition were found almost immediately: one of the expedition members used a hook to lift the lid of an aluminum pot lying on the coastal shallows. According to the agreement, Toll was to leave information about the expedition at Cape Emma. And the next day, after the first night on the island, several people went to this appointed place...
Before reaching the cape, members of the rescue expedition found two Toll sites. Traces of fires and chopped branches of driftwood that served as fuel were found on them. And on Cape Emma, documents were immediately found: in a pile of stones folded by a man’s hand, there was a bottle with three notes.
“On July 21, we sailed safely in kayaks. We will set off today along the eastern coast to the north. One party of us will try to be in this place by August 7. July 25, 1902, Bennett Island, Cape Emma. Toll.”
The second note was entitled "For those who seek us" and contained a detailed plan of Bennett Island. Finally, the third note, signed by Seeberg, contained the following text: “It turned out to be more convenient for us to build a house on the site indicated on this sheet. The documents are there. October 23, 1902.”
In the spring, on dogs pulling a whaleboat on a sled, Begichev crossed from the mouth of the Yana to Kotelny Island; in the summer, on a whaleboat he went to Bennett Island, where the search expedition found Toll’s abandoned winter quarters. Rescuers found on the shore two arctic fox traps and four boxes containing geological collections collected by Toll. There was a small house nearby; it was half filled with snow, which froze, turning into an ice block. On the rough plank floors were found an anemometer, a box with small geological samples, a tin of cartridges, a nautical almanac, blank notebooks, cans of gunpowder and canned food, a screwdriver, and several empty bottles. Finally, from under a pile of stones, a canvas-lined box was pulled out, containing Toll’s brief report addressed to the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. From this document it was clear: Toll did not lose faith in the existence of Sannikov Land, but due to the fog he was unable to see it from Bennett Island.
When food supplies were already running out, Toll and his three companions decided to make their way to the south... In November 1902, they began their return journey across the young ice to New Siberia and went missing. What made travelers take such a risky step as crossing sea ice on a polar night with only 14-20 days of food supply? Obviously, Toll was confident that the yacht "Zarya" would definitely come to the island, and then, when it turned out that there was no more hope for this, it was too late to engage in fishing: the birds flew away, the deer escaped pursuit onto the ice...
On November 22, 1904, at a meeting of the Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it was determined, in particular, "that in 1902 the temperature dropped to -21° by September 9 and until the time E.V. Toll left Bennett Island (November 8) invariably fluctuated between -18° and -25°. At such low temperatures in the space between the island Bennett and the Novosibirsk archipelago are piled up with high, insurmountable hummocks. The ice-covered and treacherously snow-covered gaps between the hummocks in the darkness of the polar night become even more dangerous than when traveling in the daytime. Vast holes, covered with a thin layer of ice crystals, are completely invisible in the thick fog. When moving through an ice hole, the kayak is covered with a thick layer of ice, and the two-bladed oars, when frozen, turn into heavy ice blocks. In addition, the ice “fat” is compressed in front of the bow of the kayak and makes movement even more difficult, and the frozen kayak easily overturns. Under such circumstances, a crack in ice only 40 m wide presented an insurmountable obstacle to the party’s passage.”
The commission came to the conclusion that “all party members should be considered dead.” And yet, despite this verdict, the commission appointed a bonus "for finding the whole party or part of it" and another award of smaller size, "for the first indication of undoubted traces of her". Alas, these prizes were never awarded to anyone...
According to a number of researchers, Sannikov Land still existed, but at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century it was destroyed by the sea and disappeared like the Pasilievsky and Semgiovsky islands, composed of fossil ice.
From the book All the Monarchs of the World. Western Europe author Ryzhov Konstantin VladislavovichEdward I King of England from the Pilntagenet family, who reigned from 1272 to 1307. Son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. J.: 1) from 1254 Eleanor, daughter of King Ferdinand III of Castile (b. 1244 d. 1290); 2) from 1299 Margaret, daughter of King Philip III of France (b. 1279, d. 1318)b. June 12, 1239 d. July 7
From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (KO) by the author TSBEdward II King of England from the Plantagenet family, who reigned from 1307-1327. Son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. J.: from 1308 Isabella, daughter of King Philip IV of France (b. 1292, d. 1358).b. 1284 d. 27 Sep. 1327 Edward ascended the throne as a twenty-three-year-old youth. According to
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8.6.1900 (21.6). – The Russian polar expedition departed from St. Petersburg under the leadership of Baron E.V. Tolya
Russian polar expedition 1900–1902 was equipped to explore the Arctic north of the New Siberian Islands and search for the legendary Sannikov Land. The expedition was led by Russian geologist and polar explorer Baron Eduard Vasilievich Toll (2.3.1858–1902). One of Toll's employees and closest assistants was a young research scientist, a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy.
The expedition was also important from the point of view of Russia’s economic and geopolitical interests in the Arctic (it has long been a dream to implement the Northern Sea Route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It became a continuation.
Graduate of the University of Dorpat, naturalist E.V. Toll in 1884–1886 took part in the expedition of the polar scientist A.A. Bunge, who explored the coast of the Arctic Ocean from the mouth of the Lena to the Yana, as well as the New Siberian Islands. Toll then discovered deposits of brown coal on the island of New Siberia. In addition, one day in August 1886, in clear weather, from the northwestern cliffs of Kotelny Island, the researcher saw the contours of a previously unknown island in the northeast direction at a distance of about a hundred miles; a steep coast with columnar mountains was visible. This was previously reported by the Yakut industrialist and Arctic explorer Yakov Sannikov, after whom this legendary land began to be called, marking it on the map with an approximate dotted line.
Patronage played a huge role in equipping the expedition. In his youth he was a naval sailor and could assess many important issues of equipment personally and competently. It was thanks to him that Toll received twice as much money as originally planned: 509 thousand rubles in March 1904 instead of the planned 240 thousand. The schooner "Zarya" made its trip to the Arctic with the Highest permission of the President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences under his personal pennant and with his portrait in the wardroom. There are many known examples of his personal care for the members of the expedition.
Upon returning from the New Siberian Islands in 1893, where Baron Toll equipped evacuation bases for the Norwegian navigator F. Nansen, Toll made a detailed report at the Academy of Sciences on the need to organize an expedition to discover the archipelago lying to the north of our New Siberian Islands. Toll emphasized that the results of the expedition would be of great importance from the point of view of the country’s national interests, because the researcher wanted to begin the voyages of ships along the Northern Sea Route with visits to Siberian rivers for the transport development of the Siberian expanses. In addition, Toll believed that the open coal seams of the island of New Siberia were very important from a geostrategic point of view: ships traveling from Arkhangelsk to Vladivostok along the Northern Sea Route could replenish coal reserves in the middle of their journey, and warships would be able to reach the port of Vladivostok not around Africa, but along the shortest and almost internal Russian route. The admiral was also a supporter of this idea. The decision was made by the information that became known that the same goal (discovery of Sannikov Land for setting up a base there) was at that time pursued by American neighbors who needed to be ahead of them.
On a suitable vessel, in the summer of 1898 or 1899, it was planned to sail from the west, rounding, to the mouth of the Lena, where they would arrange their first wintering. The following summer it was planned to make a trip to the north on dog sleds, find Sannikov Land in August and land an expedition there with a two-year supply of food. On the way back, some of the travelers were supposed to build a food warehouse on Kotelny Island and return to the mainland; the group of Sannikovs who remained on Earth was given the task of building a house for the winter and conducting various scientific research throughout the year; another group had to build a wintering house delivered on the ship. In the spring and summer of the third year of the expedition it was planned to conduct research on Bennett Island and in the summer, on a ship that came again from the mouth of the Lena, bypassing the New Siberian Islands from the east, to return to the base at the mouth of the Lena. During the navigation of 1903, after exploring the New Siberian Islands, the expedition was supposed to move east, go around and, passing through the Bering Strait, end its journey in Vladivostok.
The ship on which he was to make his sea voyage was recommended by Toll Nansen as similar to the famous Fram. This steam-powered sailing barque "Harald Harfager" was previously used for seal fishing near Greenland. The ship was purchased by Russia from Norway, refitted for new tasks, and was renamed the schooner "Zarya". Equipment for hydrological research was ordered from England, Sweden and Russia. Thanks to the efforts of Lieutenant Kolchak, the Russian polar expedition was better equipped for work at depth than Nansen’s Norwegian polar expedition.
Kolchak, not previously familiar with this type of scientific work, took a special course and practice at the Geophysical and Pavlovsk Magnetic Observatories near St. Petersburg; made a business trip to Norway to consult with Nansen, had an internship with him for some time, after which, on behalf of Baron Toll, Alexander Vasilyevich traveled to Moscow and Arkhangelsk in order to complete the recruitment of the team, met with the governor of Arkhangelsk, visited Onega and other Pomeranian places. As a result, Kolchak managed to hire three people, one of whom (Semyon Evstifeev) Toll later recognized as his best sailor.
In the top row: third from the left above Toll - Kolchak.
Second row: N.N. Kolomeytsev, F.A. Mathisen, E.V. Toll, G.E. Walter, F.G. Zeeberg, A.A. Byalynitsky-Birulya.
Bottom row – team members sit.
The main and auxiliary members of the expedition included scientists and specialists:
– head of the expedition, geologist, zoologist.
N.N. Kolomeitsev- Lieutenant, commander of "Zarya". Experienced participant in polar voyages.
F. Mathiesen– lieutenant, assistant commander and senior officer of the ship. Surveyor, cartographer, mineralogist, meteorologist and expedition photographer. He took part in the expedition in 1899.
A.V. Kolchak- lieutenant, second officer of the schooner, hydrographer, hydrologist, magnetologist, hydrochemist, topographer and cartographer. swam in Pacific Ocean, conducted hydrological and hydrochemical studies in the Seas of Japan and Korea. Was invited to the expedition by E.V. Toll, who drew attention to the scientific work of the lieutenant in oceanography.
A.A. Byalynitsky-Birulya– senior zoologist and photographer, employee of the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Took part in the expedition to Spitsbergen in 1899. Worked at the Solovetsky biological station, studied marine fauna White Sea.
F.G. Seeberg– Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, astronomer and magnetologist.
G.E. Walter– Doctor of Medicine, bacteriologist and second zoologist of the expedition, in 1899 he took part in a scientific and fishing expedition near the Murmansk coast and Novaya Zemlya.
K.A. Vollosovich– geologist
O.F. Tsionglinsky– student, political exile.
M.I. Brusnev– industrial engineer, political exile.
V.N. Katin-Yartsev– doctor, political exile.
The schooner's crew consisted of 13 people, including:
ON THE. Begichev- boatswain.
Eduard Ogrin- Chief engineer.
Semyon Evstifeev- helmsman sailor.
V.A. Zheleznikov- helmsman foreman.
Alexey Semyashkin P. Strizhev.
Ivan Malygin- helmsman sailor. Subsequently replaced S. Rastorguev.
Nikolay Bezborodov- helmsman sailor.
S.I. Rastorguev- musher, sailor helmsman.
Petr Strizhev- musher, sailor helmsman.
Sergey Tolstov- helmsman sailor.
Eduard Chervinsky- second driver.
Ivan Klug- senior fireman.
Gabriel Puzyrev- second fireman.
Trifon Nosov- third fireman.
Foma Yaskevich- cook.
At the beginning of May 1900, Kolomeitsev and Kolchak brought the schooner from Bergen to St. Petersburg, picking up the head of the expedition, Baron Toll, along the way from Memel. On May 29, I visited the schooner preparing for departure. The ship's commander wrote: “His Majesty examined the Zarya in detail and at the end turned to the head of the expedition, Baron Toll, with a gracious question whether anything was needed for the expedition. And the need was urgent. We didn't have enough coal. As a result of the royal mercy, coal was released to us from the warehouses of the naval department, as well as many materials that could not be obtained for sale. The Maritime Department opened its stores for us, which we took advantage of.”.
Just before the start of the expedition, Toll received from Nansen a package with documentation and materials on the Siberian Arctic: coordinates of individual islands, Nansen’s sketch of Colin Archer’s bay, where the Scandinavian advised Toll to spend the winter, recommendations to find out the location of river valleys in the northeastern part of Taimyr, etc.
On June 8, 1900, "Zarya" set off, but first went to Kronstadt, where the expedition was met by the military governor of the city. The admiral and his wife visited the Zarya and carried out an expedition on it before entering the roadstead. In Kronstadt, the highest quality coal, chronometers and explosives, and books for the library were loaded on board.
The first small breakdown occurred in the waters of the Gulf of Finland, and they began to fix it in . Here Toll got off the ship and went to Norway, where he decided to once again consult with Nansen. Next, the expedition leader went to Bergen, where Zarya had already arrived. Here, hydrological and hydrochemical equipment delivered from Nansen was loaded on board, as well as 1,500 pounds of dried fish for dogs and another 50 tons of coal.
On July 10, the schooner passed the North Cape and found itself in open Arctic waters. On July 11, "Zarya" stopped at the roadstead of Aleksandrovsk-on-Murman to load previously purchased coal. Coal could not be superfluous - it meant the life of the ship and crew in the Arctic in unforeseen conditions. Also on board were 60 sled dogs with two mushers - Pyotr Strizhev and Stepan Rastorguev, who were taken on the expedition instead of two sailors. The ship received a draft of 18½ feet, which later made maneuverability somewhat difficult; during rough seas, the deck even flooded with water.
Unfortunately, the entire first half of the expedition took place in an atmosphere of conflict between the head of the expedition, Toll, and the commander of the Zarya, Kolomeytsev, who had different ideas about discipline on the ship.
On July 18, "Zarya" left Catherine Harbor and on July 25 approached Vaygach Island. At Cape Greben, a meeting was scheduled with a Pomeranian schooner specially purchased for the expedition, whose task was to deliver coal from Arkhangelsk to the Yugorsky Shar Strait to Varnek Bay. However, the schooner did not arrive, having been damaged when it encountered ice, and Toll decided not to wait for it and to go around Cape Chelyuskin as soon as possible, which, according to calculations, allowed the expedition to winter in eastern Taimyr - the least explored territory on the entire Northern Sea Route.
Having reached the place near Gafner Bay on April 18, where they had set up a food depot in the fall, Toll and Kolchak discovered that a compacted hard snowdrift 8 meters high was preventing them from excavating it. The plan to reach Cape Chelyuskin had to be abandoned. On the way back, food began to run out, the dogs were exhausted, no longer wanting to move without the help of people. Toll and Kolchak often harnessed the sledge themselves. They walked about 20 km a day, but by the beginning of May they could no longer walk more than 12 km a day. The dogs began to die of hunger. Kolchak, who became attached to the dog named Seal, suggested not to shoot it, but to take it to “Zarya” half-dead on a sled on which one was already lying. Once, travelers had to sit in a tent for a whole day because of a snowstorm. On the 41st day of the campaign, May 18, they, exhausted and hungry, still made it to the base.
As a result of this campaign, inaccuracies in Nansen’s map and the old ones were established. geographical maps The Great Northern Expedition, which described these shores in 1734-1742. Toll greatly appreciated Kolchak, and “for a thorough examination of geographical objects and sea waters in the Kara Sea region,” in gratitude for the hardships and risks endured together, he named after him one of the islands discovered by the expedition in the Taimyr Gulf.
In August 1901, Zarya was freed from ice captivity. On August 19, the schooner crossed the longitude of Cape Chelyuskin. In honor of this event, the stern flag and pennant with the St. Andrew's cross and the letter "K" under the royal crown, the personal pennant of the President of the Academy of Sciences, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, were raised. A group photo was taken on the shore with a large guria (cone-shaped pile of stones) built in the background. Kolchak and Seeberg conducted astronomical, magnetic, and hydrological research here. Having given a salute in honor of S.I. Chelyuskin, the researchers went further to the east. Zarya became the fourth ship after Nordenskiöld's Vega with its auxiliary ship Lena and Nansen's Fram to circumnavigate the northernmost point of Eurasia.
Having passed Cape Chelyuskin, the ship entered uncharted waters where no one had ever been: the expeditions of Nordenskiöld and Nansen moved much further south. The schooner headed northeast towards the supposed location of Sannikov Land. Toll promised a prize to the first person to see it.
At approximately latitude 77°20’ near Kotelny Island, the path was blocked by solid ice. Since visibility was zero and the search for Sannikov Land in such conditions was impossible, Toll ordered to move to the northernmost Bennett Island in the archipelago, where he wanted to spend the winter in order to go to the desired Earth next year.
On the night of August 29, a rare storm occurred, the ship lay on board, a wave covered the quarterdeck, and the dogs floundered in the icy salty water. No one would have seen Bennett Island if the fog had not suddenly cleared. “It is now absolutely clear that it was possible to pass by Sannikov Land 10 times without noticing it,” Toll wrote in his diary that evening. The ice did not allow the Zarya to approach the shore, and Toll decided to return to Kotelny Island, and on the way once again try to go far north from the New Siberian Islands. This time the polar explorers managed to reach a point with coordinates 77.32° N. w. 142.17° E. etc., but no signs of land were observed; further on there was impassable ice covered with fog.
On September 3, the schooner entered Nerpichya Bay off the western shore of Kotelny and two days later barely made its way to its anchorage. A house made of driftwood had already been built on the shore, and Toll was met by K.A.’s auxiliary party. Vollosovich, who reached there separately from the east. "Zarya" anchored to repair the machine and the pump, in which water began to boil from the salt accumulated on the walls.
This was where we had to finish the second navigation. The voyage in 1901 lasted 25 days, of which only 15 were running. The distance covered during this time was 1,350 miles, 65.7 tons of coal were consumed. There were still 75 tons of coal left, for 1,549 miles of voyage under favorable conditions.
Vollosovich's auxiliary party had the task of geological research and organization of food warehouses on the New Siberian Islands along the route of the main expedition to the south in the event of the loss of the ship. In March 1901, Vollosovich from Ust-Yansk left for the New Siberian Islands with a sleigh group of 11 people with 5 sledges drawn by 14 dogs each, and with 20 deer. The party included the exiled natural science student Tsionglinsky, the exiled technologist Brusnev, and musher-fishermen. In the spring and summer of 1901, heavy supplies were delivered to the islands for eight food warehouses. In addition, in November 1901, Vollosovich’s party left on Kotelny Island two well-fortified and protected from arctic foxes and polar bears barns with provisions and reindeer skins. After exploring the New Siberian Islands, Vollosovich and his party moved to Zarya for the winter as a member of the main expedition.
Covered in ice not far from the coast, Zarya was turned into a geophysical and meteorological station. Kolchak, as during his first winter on Taimyr, tried not to waste time: to explore the island, he left the ship at any opportunity. The expedition soon built a house for magnetic research, a meteorological station and a bathhouse around Vollosovich’s home, built from driftwood carried by Siberian rivers.
Toll began conducting scientific conversations with the crew, turning the Zarya into a “floating university.” Kolchak, Birulya, and Seeberg gave presentations on their specialties. In the evenings in the wardroom they argued on philosophical topics with the active participation of Kolchak. True, during this winter he suffered inflammation of the periosteum with a high fever.
Vollosovich began to experience neurasthenia, and Toll allowed him to leave, since during this winter the expedition was no longer in such isolation as during the first. On January 15, together with Vollosovich, Toll also went to the first dwelling on the coast in order to attract several local residents to the planned trip to the north of the archipelago. On March 30, the head of the expedition returned to base. By this time, a telegram from the President of the Academy of Sciences arrived with instructions for the expedition to limit itself to exploring the New Siberian Islands and to finish the voyage this year at the mouth of the Lena.
However, Toll was greatly disappointed that Sannikov Land was never discovered. Despite the successes achieved in describing the coast, the depth measurements that Kolchak made throughout the expedition, the results of the expedition began to seem too small to the leader. Therefore, Toll decided, at the beginning of the polar day, to send Mathisen in search of this mysterious Earth, and after his return, he himself would go on a sleigh and kayak expedition to Sannikov Land, if it was found, if not, then to Bennett Island to spend the third winter there. Toll thought that at least a thorough examination of this unexplored island would allow him to adequately report in St. Petersburg on the results of the expedition and write it into the history of science. Seeberg was planning to go with Toll. Toll planned to take Dr. Walter on the hike, but in December the doctor died of a cardiac disorder. (At the end of April, a new doctor arrived, political exile V.N. Katin-Yartsev, exiled for his participation with the RSDLP. In 1918, Admiral Kolchak would meet him in Harbin, where the revolutionary doctor would flee from the Bolshevik regime.)
At first, they planned to set off in February-March 1902. Mathisen was the first to be sent to search for Sannikov Land; he returned on April 17 and reported that, having walked 7 miles from the mouth of the Reshetnikov River, he ran into a hole in the ice and turned back. Mathiesen also visited the spit of Faddev Island, Figurina Island and Bunge Land.
On April 29, Birulya with three Yakuts went to the island of New Siberia. They were given the task of waiting there by the end of summer for the arrival of the Zarya, which was supposed to pick them up on the way to Bennett.
In early May, Kolchak and Strizhev went to Belkovsky Island, crossing a 30-kilometer strait. Kolchak traveled around the island, photographed it and put it on the map, and rock samples were also collected. South of Belkovskoye, Kolchak discovered a small rocky island and named it after his musher Strizhev. In the northern and westward Kolchak, like his predecessors, ran into a hole.
On May 23, Baron Toll, astronomer Seeberg, Even Nikolai Protodyakonov (nicknamed Omuk) and Yakut Vasily Gorokhov (nicknamed Chichak) went north on three sledges, carrying with them a supply of food for a little more than 2 months. Initially, Toll was going to take the reliable Kolchak on his campaign, but the ship could not be left without an experienced officer.
It was supposed to explore Bennett Island, previously visited only by the De Long expedition in 1879, and carry out ice reconnaissance with the aim of further searching for an unknown land. After finishing the work, the polar explorers were to be picked up by Zarya. Toll traveled on dogs to the northern shores of the islands of Kotelny and Faddeevsky, after which he crossed to the island of New Siberia and on June 21 stopped there near Cape Vysokoy, from where a week later they went to Bennett Island. The travelers sailed on the ice floe for four days, after which they switched to a kayak and on July 21 landed on the shore of the island near Cape Emma. The journey took 2 months, and provisions were running out. Toll was now faced with the task of not only research, but also food and the return journey. Kolchak subsequently spoke about this: “Indeed, his enterprise was extremely risky, there were very few chances, but Baron Toll was a man who believed in his star and that everything would work out for him, and he went on this enterprise”...
Researcher Sinyukov believes that Toll simply had no other choice, since he “gave too many advances to the Academy of Sciences, the press, and colleagues, and could no longer return without the discovery of Sannikov’s Land.” The huge financial resources issued to Toll on credit forced the baron to take extreme desperate steps.
Before leaving, Toll left Mathisen with lengthy instructions, as well as a package with the inscription “Open if the expedition loses its ship and begins its journey back to the mainland without me, or in the event of my death.”, which contained a letter addressed to Mathisen, transferring to him all the rights of the head of the expedition and a list of actions that the commander had to take to save the people.
“The time limit when you can abandon further efforts to remove me from Bennett Island is determined by the moment when the entire fuel supply for the vehicle, up to 15 tons of coal, is used up on the Zarya.” After this, it was necessary to deliver the collected collections through Siberia to St. Petersburg and immediately begin organizing a new expedition. In this case, Toll hoped to independently reach the New Siberian Islands, and then to the mouth of the Lena.
On July 1, having escaped from the ice with the help of explosions, the Zarya entered the outer roadstead, but was immediately covered in ice, which began to drag the ship to the northeast. The schooner's coal reserves were depleted. Only on August 3 did this involuntary journey with ice end, and the freed schooner, having carried out the necessary ship work, set off on August 8 in the direction of Bennett Island. However, because of the ice, they were able to get no closer than 90 miles to the island. We tried to swim at least to New Siberia to film Biruli’s party. In the shallow strait, the ship was damaged and a leak appeared, but Zarya continued to break through the ice, all the time changing course between the islands in search of free passage. However, already on August 17, ice forced Mathisen to turn back.
By August 23, Zarya remained at the minimum coal quota that Toll spoke about in his instructions. And Mathisen, having lost hope of improving the condition of the ice, refused to remove the people remaining on New Siberia and Bennett Island, he decided to follow to Tiksi Bay. After all, even if Mathiesen could approach Bennett, there would be no coal left for the return journey.
Mathisen could not turn south without consulting Kolchak. As historian P.N. writes Zyryanov, Kolchak, most likely, also saw no other way out; subsequently he never criticized this decision of Mathisen and did not dissociate himself from it. Among the authors who wrote on the topic of Toll’s death, only the Soviet professor V.Yu. Wiese believed that “this decision cost the lives of Toll and his companions,” essentially blaming Mathisen for this. Other experts understood that with an insufficient supply of coal and provisions and the resulting damage to the hull, the crew of the Zarya would most likely have died. And Toll himself left Mathisen the order to go to Tiksi after reducing the coal reserves to the limits necessary for the return. None of his contemporaries who knew the circumstances of the case condemned Mathisen.
On August 25, the Zarya, crippled by ice, barely reached the mouth of the Lena and approached Tiksi Bay. The lack of coal did not even allow for a third wintering. On August 30, the Lena, the same auxiliary steamer that once rounded Cape Chelyuskin along with Nordenskiöld, entered Tiksi Bay. Fearing freezing, the captain of the ship gave the expedition only three days to prepare. Kolchak went on the Lena in search of a more convenient anchorage for the Zarya, and found it behind a small island, which he named after Brusnev. The Zarya was taken there, where all the most valuable collections and equipment were loaded onto the ship. Brusnev remained there in the village of Kazachye, waiting for Toll and Biruli.
On September 2, "Lena" moved away from the pier. "Zarya" with one person on board saluted the flag for the last time. However, the ship soon ran aground, and due to the limited amount of food, it was necessary to introduce a common ration for everyone. Kolchak was elected “food dictator”. At the same time, Mathisen and Kolchak developed a plan to assist the groups of Toll and Bylynitsky-Birulya: if these groups did not appear on their own on the mainland, in early February, Brusnev was supposed to go to the New Siberian Islands to meet them, to New Siberia, having previously prepared 6 good sled and bought more dogs. If Toll and Birulya returned to the mainland on their own, the riding reindeer prepared by Brusnev, on which the polar explorers could reach Cossack, should have been waiting for them at Chai Povarnya near the Holy Nose in the fall.
On September 30, 1902, the steamship Lena approached Yakutsk, and its passengers went ashore. From Yakutsk to Irkutsk we rode through the taiga on post horses. In early December, Kolchak reached St. Petersburg, where he immediately began preparing an expedition to rescue his comrades remaining in the Arctic.
On May 5, 1903, under the leadership of Kolchak, a 7-month rescue and search expedition began with a difficult 90-day sea sled and boat voyage at the limit of human capabilities and without losses. The total number of the expedition was 17 people, all of them were subsequently awarded (as were the participants of Toll's expedition). Kolchak managed to find the sites of Toll’s group and his notes, including the last (dated October 26, 1902) note in the form of a report addressed to the President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences with brief description islands, a list of tools and collections. The note ended with the words: “We are leaving today for the south. We have provisions for 14-20 days. Everyone is healthy. October 26, 1902."
The expected fate of Toll's group was as follows. On July 21 they reached Bennett Island. Considering the Zarya's scheduled arrival in mid-August, the leader apparently decided to concentrate all his efforts on exploring the island. Its geological structure was studied. Toll saw and wrote down that washed up bones of mammoths and other animals were found in the valleys of the island; he also described the modern fauna, which consisted of bears, walruses, deer (a herd of 30 heads), and flocks of geese flying by.
Toll's group built themselves a dwelling from driftwood, which could also serve as fuel. It was much worse with provisions. Kolchak wrote that “due to some misunderstanding, Baron Toll’s party did not take advantage of the convenient time for hunting and did not make any reserves,” apparently because they hoped for the arrival of the Zarya. To meet current food needs, deer were hunted. 3 bears were also killed, the meat of which would have been enough for several months, but it was abandoned on the ice.
When it became clear from the state of the ice that “Zarya” would not come, it was too late to shoot and harvest the birds, and besides, at the site of the camp, Kolchak’s expedition discovered no more than 30 shotgun cartridges. The deer left Bennett Island to the south in the fall, and people had to leave after them.
Kolchak’s expedition examined all the islands of the Novosibirsk group, but no traces of Toll’s group were found anywhere. Apparently, she died while crossing the ice from Bennett Island to New Siberia. The food supplies left for her in the southern direction remained untouched.
Biruli's party, without waiting for the arrival of "Dawn" at the end of summer, built a suitable dwelling for wintering on the western coast of the island of New Siberia, and in November 1902, when the ice finally stood up, they made a safe transition from the island to the mainland, arriving in Cossack at the beginning of December.
The scientific and practical results of the expedition turned out to be very important, since previous expeditions led by Nansen and Nordenskiöld did not conduct systematic surveys and depth measurements, and the maps of the coasts and islands they compiled were only approximate. The Russian expedition marked the beginning of a comprehensive study of the Arctic seas and coasts. Based on the results of the expedition's work, a geological map of the Taimyr Peninsula and islands was compiled. A brief physical-geographical and biological sketch of the northern coast of Siberia contains information about climate, hydrography, geology, animals and flora Taimyr and New Siberian Islands.
Scientific results also included research in the fields of meteorology, oceanography, terrestrial magnetism, glaciology, physical geography, botany, geology, paleontology, ethnography, and auroras. Using materials from the expedition, Lieutenant Kolchak carried out fundamental research on the ice of the Kara and East Siberian seas, which represented a new step in the development of polar oceanography. Kolchak revealed the movement pattern arctic ice for the entire polar basin. These discoveries were important throughout the subsequent development of the Arctic right up to the present day.
Under Soviet rule, the history of the expedition was distorted, the roles and merits of Toll and, first of all, the “White Guard” Kolchak, as an oceanographer and brave Arctic explorer, were hushed up. His scientific works, which received recognition from world science, were kept silent. Soviet scientists, of course, used his works, but usually without citing the author. In 1939, Kolchak Island was renamed, giving it the name of that same deserted sailor from the Zarya, Rastorguev.
(Material used in abbreviation and with additions from Wikipedia.)
See articles in the Holy Rus' calendar about Russian explorers of high latitudes and distant Siberian lands:
The story of Baron Toll began long before his birth. At the beginning of the 19th century, more precisely, in 1810, a traveler and St. John's wort Yakov Sannikov sent a report to the Imperial Russian Geographical Society about the next discovery of a new land. One clear sunny day, while hunting for arctic fox on the northern tip of Kotelny Island, he clearly saw land on the horizon. By that time, Yakov was already reputed famous traveler, he had three to his name open islands, so they did not doubt Sannikov’s words. Moreover, the discovery was confirmed by the testimony of his companion.
New Siberian Islands. Somewhere in the north of Kotelny Island we saw Sannikov Land. Source: wikimedia.org
Legends and Dreamers
In general, Sannikov had long assumed that there was uncharted land north of Kotelny. There have been legends about her since ancient times. The northern Yakuts had legends about the Onkilon people, who once left their camps and, together with deer and dogs, went to the North, supposedly to warm, fertile lands. Hunters who returned from hunting spoke about this. And migratory birds, instead of flying south, flocked to the north in schools, then returning from there with their offspring.
Be that as it may, the state was in no hurry to organize an expedition to search for a new land. Baron Toll did it for him. Using his own money, he and the same enthusiasts got to Kotelny. He, like Sannikov, managed to see the mysterious land: four mountains turning into a lowland.
Due to difficult weather conditions, which are not uncommon in those parts, the expedition was unable to reach the land they saw. Toll returned empty-handed. But from the day when still unattainable mountains appeared on the horizon, the search for the mysterious country of the Onkilons became for the baron the work of his entire subsequent life.
“Dawn” in the Nerpalakh lagoon, December 14, 1901, scan from Kuznetsov’s book “In Search of the Land of Sannikov.” Source: wikimedia.org Directive from above
Eduard Vasilyevich’s message to the Russian Academy of Sciences about the land he discovered gave impetus to the ambitions of the Russian Maritime Department. The report became interested at the very top: the emperor himself gave the order to organize the first official polar expedition. For a long time they could not find the money required to equip the expedition: then the Russian budget was bursting at the seams.
It is unknown how much more the government would have poured from empty to empty, perhaps the expedition would not have taken place at all. But Nicholas II on the last day of 1899, by his decree, he allocated 200 thousand rubles to organize the campaign, withdrawing them from the pocket of the Academy of Sciences.
This was all that the king could do for the pioneers. They did not have the main thing: a ship that could withstand a sea voyage in the harsh conditions of the Far North.
And again Toll invested his own savings in a risky enterprise. He bought from the Norwegians the seal-killing sailing-steam schooner "Harald the Fairhair", which was renamed "Zarya". The purchase and conversion of the vessel into a barque schooner cost 60,000 rubles - an amount that was unaffordable even for the baron at that time. Therefore, we had to attract philanthropists. The interest in the new lands for Russia was so great that they collected an amount approximately equal to that allocated by the Academy. A well-thought-out and fully equipped expedition set off from Kronstadt on June 21, 1900.
The crew of Eduard Toll's expedition. Third from left in the top row is the future Admiral Kolchak. Source: wikimedia.org He who must not be named
Two dozen people took part in the expedition. But in Soviet times they preferred not to mention one of them. This man was engaged in measuring depths: he was a specialist in hydrogeological and magnetic surveys. His name was Alexander Kolchak. Subsequently, he will become an admiral opposing the entire country. And that year, in the Greek port of Piraeus, Toll practically lured the green lieutenant into an expedition from the battleship Petropavlovsk, which was sailing from the Baltic to the Far East. Kolchak shared with the baron all the hardships of an extreme journey through the Arctic. They survived the winter together in Taimyr and reached Kotelny twice. Only a little over a year later (in September) they managed to reach the place where it seemed that the land Toll had seen should be.
Although the shallow depths indicated that land was somewhere nearby, the travelers were unable to see it. Dense fogs appeared, and the search was once again postponed. The team had to winter again at Kotelny.
Mysterious disappearance
The following spring, Toll made another attempt to reach the mysterious land. But by the time of his return, the schooner had not arrived at the meeting place: ice blocks damaged the Zarya. Lieutenant Kolchak turned to the Academy of Sciences with a request to entrust him with a rescue mission. And from the beginning of May to the beginning of December 1903, an active search took place in the area where the baron disappeared.
But all efforts to find Toll’s team were in vain: only a geological collection and a note written in his hand were found. From the note they learned that the team went to the south of Bennett Island in October 1902. Whether he reached the land of Sannikov or died without achieving his dream is unknown.
Toll's site was found by Soviet researchers in the thirties. And in the seventies, according to the instructions of Baron Toll, which he left in his diary, they found a cache with perfectly preserved products. The stew turned out to be completely edible, which the researchers checked on site.
