Kopylov V.E. (Tyumen)

Bering’s Colleague (the chapter from the book
"The Hail of Memory").

Who is Steller?
Two centuries ago Tyumen was honored to accept the world famous scientist George Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746). In any encyclopedia of the world, from British up to Soviet editions, the name Steller is mentioned by all means. In the same place separate clause describes also well-known Steller’s cow. Sometimes it is called sea-cow. The connection between the name of the scientist and the sea animal is simple: Steller was the last scientist who saw the rare animal in 1741 on shoaliness of Commander Islands. He described it in detail and sketched it in the marching diary. (illustration 3.). The sea cow was rather large mammal of size of 8-9 meters and weight over three tons. After G.Steller the animal was injuriously exterminated and completely disappeared in the middle of XVIII century.

Steller was born in Germany, in Franconia land in a small town Bad-Windcheim, his father worked in a local grammar school and was the organist of town church. Since then the town has kept the medieval shape, has a little changed, and Steller’s house is in its original form.

In the beginning of XVIII century the German young men who were talented in a scientific sphere, willingly went to Russia for promotion of their scientific career. G.V.Steller was not an exception. In 1737 at 28-years age he became an adjunct of the Russian academy of sciences, went on expeditions. One of them under direction of Bering (1741) became an hour of triumph of the scientist. He studied the life and customs of Kamchatka people, the flora and the fauna of Kamchatka, Aleutian and Commander Islands, Pacific coast of Alaska and collected the richest scientific material. Many exhibits collected by Steller were in due time sent to St.-Petersburg where they are stored nowadays though they are not completely processed.

On results of researches in Russia and Germany, basically after the death of the scientist, some books are published. Among them: "From Kamchatka to America", "About sea animals", "the Description of the land of Kamchatka" and others.

I have been collecting materials about Steller for a long time, I think from the middle of 70th, after casual opening for myself a new name on the pages of the Large Soviet Encyclopedia. Materials (though the folder under the name "Steller", unlike many others in my archive, was not chubby) were gradually collected: it is difficult to find documents of XVIII century. The most interesting in it were photocopies of Steller’s accompanying note with his autograph (picture. 4), written in Tyumen, and the list of scientist’s properties (GATO, d. 5005, l. 60, 1745) . The note dated March, 1746 was for the person who brought the collection of materials, collected by Steller during the expeditions for the Academy. The second document was made after the death of the scientist in November the same year. In total Steller lived in Tyumen for about half a month.

Coming back to St.-Petersburg through Tara, Tobolsk and Tyumen in November, 1746, G.V.Steller caught a cold and died in Tyumen. Here he was buried. As contemporaries marked, «on a high bank of the river Tura". The church did not give the sanction to Steller burial in one of orthodox cemeteries because of an accessory of the scientist to evangelists (Protestants). There was no Protestant cemetery in Tyumen.

Where in Tyumen was the adjunct of the Academy buried?
Three decades later after Steller’s death in 1776 the tomb of the compatriot was visited by the well-known naturalist P.S.Pallas - the Russian academician. He had an opportunity to see the tomb in its original form, with a massive stone above and without any inscription. Other German scientists and the travelers, who visited Tyumen after Pallas, have not found a lonely tomb any more: it was taken down by one of spring high waters of Tura River after collapse of a layer of the right bank.

After my first publications about Steller in local periodicals readers and opponents repeatedly asked me the same question: "Where is Steller buried?".

Really, where? I had to search for the answer earlier, at the end of the 70th. A detailed course of my reasoning - a material which is extremely volumetric, therefore it is necessary to stop only on final conclusions. At the beginning of the search I had to study carefully the plan of Tyumen of the first half of XVIII century. That time the city came to an end approximately on border of modern street Semakova. From mouth of Tyumenka downwards Tura River on the high bank of the river there were wooden churches, houses and stone Annunciation Cathedral. All wooden cities were almost completely burned in the catastrophic fire of 1766. It is obvious, that the lonely tomb of the person of other belief could not appear among houses and churches. It could not be kept and after a destructive fire. If P. Pallas all the same saw a tomb, in other place. Most likely, on high bank of Tura river above on its current, since a mouth of small river Tyumenka.

Here there was the land of Trinity male monastery constructed in 1715. In front of the monastery the spacious area settled down. The monastery with the area served as an entrance gate to city on the well-known Babinov’s road Solikamsk- Verhoture - Turinsk-Tyumen.

As Steller could not be buried on territory of the monastery and on its area, there is the only variant: the tomb was behind the monastery. Behind it the high bank of Tura River lasts on distance of only one-two hundred meters. Further upstream the river the bank becomes more flat. Hence, the place where Steller could be buried is limited by a platform of rather small size (between the monastery and former power station with a water-fence: ill. 5). There is a probability to find the sepulchral stone in the river-bed if local geophysics will undertake searches with the help of gravimeter. By the way, I have tried, but it wasn’t successful, to involve in search local switch-seeker with framework in hands...

As Tyumen has not kept the material certificate of the scientist’s burial place, disputes on the place of the tomb renewed repeatedly. Some old residents of city approved, that they saw a tombstone with an inscription "Steller" on Tekutevskoye cemetery in 30th years of XX century. Recently the same data have published in "Tyumen news" and "Tyumen truth today". I think, it’s absurd because Tekutevskoe cemetery exists only since 1885, for one and a half centuries after G.V.Stellera's death the remains of the scientist could not be carried to the cemetery as by this time the church interdiction was still kept. And there was nothing to carry to the cemetery!

As for the inscription "Steller" on many disfigured gravestones of the cemetery it could be read not only mentions about Steller, but also about Peter the Great...

In local periodicals Tyumen regional specialist S.Gashev has stated the assumption, at first sight quite plausible. He considered, that the most probable Steller’s burial place was in the suburbs of city, near burned down Ilinskiy monastery, that near to the metal bridge through Tura river and building of former Palace of Culture of Oilmen.

So, the riddle of Steller’s burial place till the latest time remained not resolved, while... Here it is necessary to make some deviation from the consecutive statement of the theme.

New about George Steller
As the arguing parties completely have settled the reasons, and to find the new facts from Steller’s biography that stayed in Tyumen more 2, 5 centuries ago, is almost hopeless, maybe, it is necessary to look for them in other place?

A long time ago, at the beginning of 70th, I found out, that in the USA there was a popular scientific book of American writer Margaret Bell about life way of Steller. In the autumn in 1994 I visited two universities: in Houston, state of Texas, and in the city of Baton Rouge, that is in Louisiana. As it has appeared, Steller’s merits are highly honored in scientific circles of the USA. Unfortunately, because of short-term stay in the country I could not get or to look through the monograph of M. Bell.

On the results of the trip I have published detailed article in one of local newspapers. V.V.Polischuk who lived in Tyumen responded to this article and then met with me. It turned out, that he was going to visit the USA and his trip was to longer than mine. So I addressed to him with the request to look in libraries of Pittsburg, an ultimate goal of travel of Polischuk, if not for the book itself, then its exact requisites.

And then my meeting with Vladimir Vladimirovich Polischuk after his returning from the USA took place. Results of searches have surpassed my greatest expectations. In the USA there is rather extensive literature on G.V. Steller. The American historians of Alaska, as a rule, do not bypass the name of the Russian scientist, Tyumen is also often mentioned. Publications about Steller in the USA began to appear since 20th years of our century. It is possible to mention clauses of the American geographical society (1925), works of the Harvard and Cambridge universities (1936) and T.L.Andryus's monograph (1940). R.Fortyun (Alaska), K.Ford (Boston) and V. Hundt (New York) wrote about the scientist in post-war years. In 1967-1992 O.V.Frost was most intensively and seriously engaged in G.V.Steller’s file. The anonymous manuscript "the Life of Mister George Wilhelm Steller ", written in 1748 is stored in library of the Congress in Washington.

After careful and firstly unsuccessful searches V.V.Polischuk has found Margaret Bell’s book. In my translation it sounds so: «Contact with the fire. The researcher of Alaska G.V.Steller ", New York, 1960. It is interesting to mention that only in the American bibliography I for the first time have found the article of the Russian historian P.Pekarskiy from his book " History of the Imperial Academy of Sciences ", SPb., 1870, with some data about Steller.

X-copies of articles and books about Steller which V.V.Polischuk gave me have been processed and translated from English into Russian. Data which managed to be taken, especially from the manuscript of 1748, have essentially added the knowledge and the facts about the Tyumen period of the life of the scientist, absent in the Russian publications. So, adjunct of Russian Academy of Sciences Steller was not lucky in Tyumen both during his life and after his death. Being in Siberia, G.V.Steller has four times proceeded through Tyumen: first in Bering's command, then twice under an escort as the prisoner and last visiting of city in November, 1746 became fatal for the scientist. Contrary to numerous statements, Steller did not take a great interest in alcohol (in the American literature - «he drank moderately "), and within years and months of traveling with B.Bering did not drink strong drinks at all. The gone through troubles on the way from Kamchatka to St.-Petersburg, offensive suspicions and groundless investigation of the Irkutsk Governor seriously broke nervous system of the scientist. Only in Tara he received the document on the full rehabilitation. Having stopped in Tobolsk for three weeks in a society of the concerned people Steller, being pleased with his freedom, probably, for the first time before departure has exceeded the norm of alcohol admissible for him.

Being drunk he was arranged in sledge. Because of cold weather (November!) in road to Tyumen the passenger constantly warmed up itself with alcoholic drink from a bottle. Steller did not want to take rest and be warmed in roadside tavern. As result - the most severe cold, possibly, with a pneumonia. In Tyumen the patient was sheltered by a Protestant priest. Two ship doctors struggled for Steller’s life, they transit visited Tyumen, and probably, enough skilled on that time in view of their most extensive practice of doctoring by the ships. It was the doctor of Kamchatka expedition Teodor Lanzhe (in a number of publications - Lau, more often Lang) and doctor assistant Feodor Shefer. They, as well as Steller, came back to Petersburg from Irkutsk.

T.Lang took care of the patient, and after his death became the keeper of extensive luggage of the scientist consisting of four greater chests. The list of private things left after G. Steller was made at presence of city secretary Stepan Skalkin, auditor Klim Ivanov, soldier Ivan Pulnikov and police master Ivan Reshetnikov. Sudden Steller’s death in Tyumen was promoted by a depressing condition of the traveler experienced humiliation and his non-recognition as the scientist by official St.-Petersburg. Similarly to V. Bering at his last hour, Steller, under the certificate of eyewitnesses, did not wish to live more. He complained, that his career was unsuccessful, and activity of the naturalist - useless.

T.Lang organized Steller’s funeral. He turned the body with his own hands in the red cloak with gold stripes and incurred all efforts. He, after prohibition by local church authorities of Steller’s funeral on an orthodox cemetery, choose the burial place and observed the construction of the tomb on a slope (!) of abrupt bank of the river Tura. It is necessary to allocate especially words «on the slope of the bank ". If to agree with S.Gashev's opinion on Steller’s burial place outside city near to Ilinskiy monastery there is a question: why is it necessary to organize a burial place on a slope of high bank of Tura River if there were quite enough places outside the city on a flat platform?

Only the constrained conditions of funeral forced Tyumen Steller’s friends choose so unusual place of burial. And it could happen only on a narrow strip of the ground between walls of the monastery and the beginning of abrupt descent to the river, approached to a valley and a mouth of a small river Babarynka. Presence of the priest on funeral testifies to an appropriate ceremony of funeral: the priest would not admit funeral anywhere. The correct perception of words "on a slope of bank» removes also a subject of dispute on the size of a platform ostensibly insufficient for a burial place between walls of a monastery and breakage. The platform and in those days was narrow, therefore the tomb was built on a slope: the circumstance played a fatal role in destiny of the burial place.

As it follows from the American publications, at night after funeral Steller’s tomb was profaned by vandals with the purpose of possession an expensive red cloak... Steller’s body was left naked on a snow: the destiny was not kind to the scientist even after his death. The local residents, who were concerned with Steller, dug the body of the scientist again in the same place. On a tomb a heavy stone plate was put so that sad event of opening the tomb could not repeat any more.

24 years later a memorable burial place was visited, as it was already mentioned, by the well-known Peter Simon Pallas who traveled across Western Siberia and visited the burial place of the compatriot. The stone on Steller’s tomb as it can be seen from descriptions of Pallas, was still in safety. After returning to Germany Pallas edited and published G.V.Steller's notes in German. There was a special edition in Frankfurt in 1774.

On illustration 6, taken from the American publications, the skeleton of well-known Steller’s cow is embodied. The photo was made in 1940 in the Museum of Natural History of the United States. The skeleton was found in 1882 in Bering Island. Other birds and plants first found by him are called Steller’s. His name has got a mountain on Bering’s island, and also on Taymyr – a cape in gulf of Faddeya.

G.V.Steller met a lot of tragedies and difficulties during his short life. He felt, maybe, the greatest tragedy of the scientist: during his lifetime he never saw his long-term works published. He was the martyr of a science. Half a century later G.V.Steller's sad destiny in our region and under similar circumstances was repeated by other Russian researcher E.G.Laksman. But about him - a little bit later.

Though with significant delay, G.V.Steller's destiny became of great interest for his compatriots from native city Bud-Windcheim in 1996, before the 250 anniversary of Steller’s death. German journalist M. Hellvig went on traces of Bering’s expedition. He visited Tyumen as well.