Sea of Okhotsk

“ Okhotsk, Sea of, an immense sheet of water in Eastern Siberia, lying between the peninsula of Kamchatka and the mainland, with the Kurile Islands stretched across its mouth; is scarcely navigable, being infested by fogs. ”

“ The crew of a Japanese vessel, shipwrecked in the Sea of Okhotsk, had been saved by the Russians, about 1782, and taken to Irkutsk, in Siberia, where they lived for ten years. At length the governor of Siberia was directed, by the empress Catherine II, to send home these Japanese, and with them an envoy, not as from her, but from himself. Lieutenant Laxman, selected for this purpose, sailed from Okhotsk in the autumn of 1792, landed on the northern coast of Yezo, and passed the winter there. ”

“ Okhotsk and Ayan on the Sea of Okhotsk, Petropavlovsk on the east shore of Kamchatka, Nikolayevsk, and Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan, and Dui on Sakhalin are the only ports of Siberia.
Climate.—The climate is extremely severe, even in the southern parts. This arises chiefly from the orographical structure; the vast plateau of Central Asia prevents the moderating influence of the sea from being felt. The extensive lowlands which stretch over more than one half of the area, as well as the elevated plains, lie open to the Arctic Ocean. ”

“ From Kamtchatka Sergy went to the Commander Islands, where a number of seals were caught in his presence. It is the only spot in the world where seals gather in masses in summer; in winter they emigrate to the South Pole.
On his way back Sergy was overtaken by a terrible storm in the Sea of Okhotsk. His steamer arrived at Vladivostock covered with ice.
In August my husband made a second long voyage beyond the Baikal Lake. Since his departure I have not known an hour of peace. I followed him in my thoughts through the [456] washed-away roads by a recent flood. ”

“ Spangberg was sent by river with thirteen rafts loaded with materials, and a force of 204 workmen to reach Yudomskaya Krest by way of the tributaries Aldan, Maya, and Yudoma, and thence across a ridge down to the river Urak, which flows into the Sea of Okhotsk. The overland [Pg 24] expeditions, consisting of 800 horses, were sent in various directions. Bering himself started out on August 16, with 200 horses, and after a journey of forty-five days, reached Okhotsk. The journey was a very difficult one. The horses sought in vain for food under the deep snow. ”

“ They might also accumulate wealth from other sources in their land, from the immense deposits of iron and graphite, (for the famous Alibert mine is in this district) , from clay for the manufacture of porcelain, the forests, and269 also the coal of the island of Tarakai. Moreover, the sea of Okhotsk would furnish them with an easy outlet, and communication with the markets of the world, whilst the Russian ships from St. Petersburg, could not leave the Baltic, if opposed by Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, or indeed even by England and Holland. ”

“ This vessel ought to be built at Kamchatka, as at this place more available timber is found than at other places [on the east coast] ; moreover, provisions for the crew, fish and other animals are easily obtained. Besides, greater assistance can be obtained from the Kamchadales than from the inhabitants of Okhotsk. (3) It would not be without advantage to find out the sea-route from Okhotsk or Kamchatka to the mouth of the Amoor and farther on to the Japan Islands, as we there have hopes of finding inhabited regions. ”

“ Among the most important is the seal industry, which is specially developed on the Commandorskie and Pribyloff Islands, the former belonging to Russia, the latter to America. From 1871 to 1891, 730,539 seal skins came into the market from Russian territory alone. Besides seals, the northern and eastern waters of Russia are very rich in sea calves, whales, sea lions and other marine animals.
The supply of fish in Siberia, and particularly in the rivers falling into the Pacific and Northern Oceans, is almost inexhaustible. The Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan abound in fish. ”

“ We had by no means a bad passage to the Kuriles, which form a natural barrier enclosing the immense area of the Okhotsk Sea from the vast stretch of the Pacific. Around this great chain of islands the navigation is exceedingly difficult, and dangerous as well, from the ever-varying currents as from the frequent fogs and sudden storms. But these impediments to swift and safe navigation are made light of by the whalemen, who, as I feel never weary of remarking, are the finest navigators in the world where speed is not the first consideration. ”

“ The surface of the snow grew a little too soft to make day travel quite comfortable. On this side of the mountains I found considerable float coal, especially in the beds of the creeks. The whole country was a sandstone formation, which, of course, meant no gold. At last, far in the distance, we saw the blue waters of the Okhotsk Sea flashing under the rays of the western sun, and we came down rapidly to the shore. I saw below us a few of the hour-glass huts, and at the mouth of a shallow stream a long promontory running far out into the sea. ”

“ To begin with, there are two more or less available routes across Siberia to Bering Straits, [Pg 343] which the reader may easily trace on a map of Asia. The city of Irkutsk is in both cases the starting-point, and the tracks thence are as follows:
No. 1 Route. To Yakutsk, following the course of the Lena River, and thence in an easterly direction to the town of Okhotsk on the sea of that name. From Okhotsk, northward along the coast to Ola and Gijiga, and from the latter place still northward to the Cossack outpost of Marcova on the Anadyr River. ”

“ In these warehouses the goods were stored, to be conveyed, in the following winter, on horseback across the Stanovoi Mountains to the mountain stream Urak, which, after a course of two hundred versts, reaches the sea three miles south of Okhotsk.
For this part of the expedition, new winter-huts on the Stanovoi Mountains, and magazines, river boats, and piers on the Urak had to be built. This river is navigable only for a few days after the spring thaw. Then it boils along at the rate of six miles an hour, often making a trip down its course a dangerous one. ”

“ The commander, Captain Alexei Chirikof, had sailed three thousand miles across the unknown Pacific from the shores of the Okhotsk Sea. Civilized eyes had never before rested on these shores and he was keen with the excitement of adventure and discovery as he dropped anchor. He sent a party ashore in the ship’s longboat to explore, and awaited the result. Days passed and no word or signal came, so the remaining boat was sent to recall the party and it was swallowed up in the labyrinth among the green islands. ”

“ The traveller who starts from the Okhotsk Sea with the intention of going across Asia by way of Yakutsk and Irkutsk must make up his mind to be independent of roads;—at least for the first fifteen hundred miles. The mountain passes, the great rivers, and the post-stations, will determine his general course; but the wilderness through which he must make his way has never been subdued by the axe and spade of civilisation. ”

“ A whale-boat was purchased at Tigil, and forwarded with a native crew to Lesnoi, so that in case we failed to get over the Korak steppes we might cross the head of the Okhotsk Sea to Gizhiga by water before the setting in of winter. Provisions, trading-goods, and fur clothes of all sorts were purchased and packed away in skin boxes, and every preparation made which our previous experience could suggest for rough life and bad weather. ”

“ During the summer months they all journey northwards along the coast, and congregate amidst the ice in the Arctic Ocean and the Okhotsk Sea. So regular are their migrations, and so close in-shore do they swim, that Eskimo and Indians alike keep watch at the proper season, and as they pass successfully attack them in their canoes. ”

“ These are brought from Kamschatka, the western part of Siberia, and the north-west coast of America, where the Russians have some settlements.
Alexis found Okotsk a much pleasanter place than he expected. The country around is quite fertile; the town is pleasantly situated on a ridge between the river and the sea, and the houses are very neatly built. Most of the people are either soldiers, or those who are connected with the military establishments; yet there are some merchants, and a good many queer-looking fellows from all the neighboring parts, who come here to sell their furs. ”

“ The sea of Okotsk appears like a little spot upon the map, but it is a thousand miles long, and five hundred miles wide. The vessel, therefore, was soon out of sight of land, but proceeding southward, she approached a rugged and rocky shore, in about a week. Alexis was now able to be on deck, and was told that they were about passing between the great island of Jesso, on the left, and the island of Saghalien, on the right. They soon entered a narrow strip of water, called the straits of Peyrouse, in honor of that celebrated navigator, who passed through them in 1788. ”

“ The summer at Okhotsk consists of three months of damp and chilly weather, which is succeeded by nine months of cold as raw as it is intense. The food of the inhabitants is fish, nothing but fish, of which they certainly have a large and varied choice, for there are at least fourteen varieties of salmon found here. From the absence of fresh vegetables, however, scurvy rages in winter. To the south of Okhotzk lies the island of Sakhalien. The climate is even worse here than at Okhotzk. ”

“ In addition to this we are obliged to make our own dog-sledges, and on these bring our provisions from Yudomskaya Krest to the Urak landing. There is, too, much other work in Okhotsk that must be done in preference to ship-building, for it is quite impossible to get anything in the way of food except the legal military provisions, consisting of flour and groats. I must state, in this connection, that in the summer some cattle are sent with the transports from Yakutsk. ”

“ In 1740, he reached Okhotsk, where vessels had previously been built for him. He sailed for Awatska Bay, where he founded the settlement of Petropaulowski, known in English as the Harbor of Peter and Paul. Sailing to the northward, he landed upon the American coast, giving name to Mount St. Elias, and then, returning to the westward, struck the continent of Asia, finding a strait fifty miles wide between the two continents at the point where they approach each other the nearest. This, in honor of its discoverer, is called Behring's Strait. ”

“ The Admiralty despatched to Irkutsk and Yakutsk two naval officers, Lieutenants Tolbukhin and Larionoff, to superintend the transportation of these goods. The number of laborers was increased to a thousand, the roads were improved, more attendants were provided, the Siberian authorities exhibited more energy than before, new river-boats were constructed, and pack-horses were collected from a large radius of country; by these increased means it was possible to collect all necessaries in Okhotsk by 1740. In the month of June the ships for the American expedition, the St. Peter and the St. ”

“ Spangberg and Bering built Okhotsk. At the junction of the Okhota and the Kukhta, on one of the narrow deltas, the so-called Kushka, they erected a church for the expedition, a number of houses for the officers, barracks, magazines, a large dock-yard, and other buildings. The old stockaded fort, four miles farther up in the country, was deserted. Around the military center of the expedition the town gradually formed and rapidly grew to become the Russian metropolis on the Pacific. It cost very great exertions to make the place inhabitable. ”

“ The Petropavlovsk sped onward, but faster, beneath the waves, sped the Octopus, guided by the fierce eyes, the strong hand, the glowing heart and brain of the small brown man erstwhile cabin steward of the Osprey.
Suddenly the great battle-ship quivered from stem to stern, as if she had struck upon a rock. The sea [Pg 164] rose on the starboard side in a tremendous wave, and a roar like a broadside of a frigate filled the air, followed by a rattling, crashing discharge from the magazines. A huge gap appeared in the hull of the ship. ”

“ Ochotsk is one of the dreariest places imaginable; at least no traveller who ever visited it has a word to say in its favor. Not a single tree grows for miles and miles around, and the wretched huts of which the town is composed lie in the midst of a swamp, which in summer is a fruitful source of malaria and pestilence. The River Ochota, at whose mouth Ochotsk is situated, does not break up before the end of May, and the ice-masses continue to pass the town till the 15th or 20th of June. ”

“ Losseff says that in this way, other things being favorable, Okhotsk was reached in three years. The brief account which has here been attempted gives but a faint idea of the labor, perseverance, and endurance requisite to make one of these expeditions. Barges and boats had to be built at three different places, roads had to be made along rivers, over mountains, and through forests, and piers, bridges, storehouses, winter-huts and dwellings had to be constructed at these various places. ”

“ Twelve wersts from Okotik, a tolerably large salt work was pointed out to me on the sea coast; the men employed in it were all malefactors or convicts. Beyond this house we left the sea at our left, and travelled for some time on the banks of the Okhota.
If the breaking up of this river occasion such alarm to the inhabitants of the town, its overflowings are not less fatal to the environs. Rising above the banks, the water not only floods the adjacent country, but becomes a torrent, that swells as it extends itself. It has been said to rise two feet above the tops of the highest trees. ”