Man from the Moon. “Man from the Moon” - the great traveler N.N. Miklouho-Maclay

He had a somewhat strange surname, but was a Russian man. In his honor, geographers will name a narrow coast of the northeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, about 300 km long. These are mostly tropical forests. The coast is inhabited: aborigines still live in the tropical jungle. Their tribes are called Papuans. I repeat: to this day this coast of the island in Oceania is called the Miklouho-Maclay Coast.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay did not have a noble origin and was always as poor as a church mouse. His father, a travel engineer, died early. Five orphans were left on the mother's shoulders. The boy Kolenka was second in line, but for some reason he considered himself the head of a large family. As a teenager, he tried to earn extra money wherever possible so as not to sit on his mother’s neck.

It’s amazing how quickly Nikolai, a shy and unsociable young man, managed to win the favor of the stern Admiral Fyodor Petrovich Litka, at that time the president of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, by telling him about the enterprise he had planned - a scientific expedition to the uncharted lands of the Pacific Ocean to study the life and customs of the wild peoples of those places How was he able to impress Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, who adored stories of exotic dangers and adventurous adventures, with his romantic stories? The Grand Duchess, however, liked the pleasant narrator. She settled Nikolai Nikolaevich in her home in Oranienbaum and forced him to repeat many times how on his previous African journey he fought off the bloodthirsty Arabs who were attacking him with a microscope. True, later Miklouho-Maclay became friends with them, began to treat the sick from their tribe, and in gratitude for their services, they even provided the Russian traveler with provisions!

He knew how to be resourceful and resilient, this shy young man. Otherwise, how could he have crossed the wild Egyptian deserts in a Berber costume and not become the prey of Muslim nomads?

That’s why, apparently, the old admiral decided that something good would come of this young man, and for Russian Empire undoubted benefit! If the young madman managed to gain the trust of influential people of the Empire so easily, then he will already know how to find a common language with the savages...

The Grand Duke was thinking about the same thing, primarily thinking about exploring new lands in Oceania and creating support naval bases for the Russian fleet! These islands will surely suit the Empire!

Who is he now, Miklouho-Maclay? Descendant of the dashing great-grandfather-ataman? Yesterday's graduate of the University of Jena, who suddenly received, like a lucky ticket, generous subsidies for a distant expedition, which became his cherished dream, which he should never give up!..

Europe by that time was shrouded in clouds of smoke from the Franco-Prussian war. The war is brutal and very bloody. And he, “scientist-naturalist Miklouho-Maclay,” as it was written on the ship’s passenger list, boarded the three-masted screw corvette “Vityaz” on October 27, 1870 and set off on a circumnavigation of the world, towards his dream. He is going to achieve his goal by any means.

The passenger is taciturn, while many of the ship's officers are at a loss as to the purpose of the strange expedition. It is only known that one of the points on the voyage route is the distant Pacific island of New Guinea. But will there be a stop at the island? Only three people know about this: Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, corvette captain Nazimov and a silent naturalist with a strange surname...

Moreover, this mysterious and shy natural scientist appears on deck less and less due to severe seasickness!

The traveler, as you know, painstakingly kept a work journal, and now he, dipping his pen into the inkwell, resolutely wrote in it: “September 7, 1871... Leaving Kronstadt, on the 316th day of the voyage we saw the shore of Fr. New Guinea".

Many of the Europeans' fears were unfounded. The islanders greeted the scientist and his companions quite friendly. The local residents - the Papuans - turned out, at first glance, to be quite trusting and simple-minded at the same time. Where did their bloodthirstiness and cruelty go? Most likely, these were components of some ancient custom or religious ritual!

Their wives with delicate chocolate skin, getting acquainted with the pale-faced newcomer, extended their hand with a tablet, albeit somewhat ceremoniously, and young islander girls in very short grass skirts (today these are known as miniskirts!), seeing an interesting scientist, snorted and they giggled together, shyly hiding behind the thick greenery of the bushes.

With noticeable apprehension they looked at the white-skinned, slender stranger, repeating, like a spell, some unknown words:

Karam tamo.

Nikolai Nikolaevich will soon master the strange language of the aborigines and smile kindly when he finally learns that the Papuans politely call him, a natural scientist, the man from the moon.

The traveler soon discovered that the savages preferred practical and useful gifts to others: nails, mirrors, knives, even fragments of bottles, which they now replaced with sharp shells adapted for shaving. In his travels, Miklouho-Maclay goes deeper into the island, climbs the mountains at great risk to his life, writes down a list of Papuan dishes in a journal, and makes drawings of their sacred sculptures and clay pots. Returning to the tribe, he begins to heal the sick...

But the scientist’s fundamental conclusion is obvious: these island savages also have the legal right, like civilized nations, to be called people, and this right, he is sure, was given to them from birth!

And one day, watching a little girl, he was surprised to note that she, like her Russian peers, was carefully knitting simple patterns on her fingers from a red ribbon tied at the ends, which the scientist had given her father yesterday!

“I stopped and looked at what she was doing. The girl repeated her tricks with a cord with a smug smile - it’s the same game as children play in Europe.”

What did the scientist succeed during his life in New Guinea? What did he advance?

The main capital, as he rightly believed, was his relaxed relationships with the natives, based on sincerity, trust and friendship, and not on force of arms! He was always against the cruel treatment of the natives - be it Indians or Papuans! The scientist became, as it were, their representative - the connecting thread of the natives with the rest of the world. And, of course, he dreamed that these lands discovered by him would become the possessions of the Russian crown...

For a while, our hero will leave New Guinea to... get married in Australia. Here, the day after his wedding to the beautiful Margaret Robertson, he suddenly learns that the Maclay Coast has been annexed by Germany: a powerful German squadron will approach the shore and the German flag will be solemnly raised over it. For half a century, the Maclay Coast will be called differently: Kaiser Wilhelm Land. The lightning capture of the coast will be approved by the German Reich Chancellor, Prince Otto von Bismarck.

Having woken up from the shock, Nikolai Nikolaevich is going to go to Russia.

Having stepped off the ramp of the battleship "Peter the Great", our hero gave a presentation at the Russian Geographical Society on September 29, 1882. This was followed by Public lectures in the hall of the St. Petersburg City Duma, a crush of the public at the doors of the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow, then the award of the Gold Medal of the Society of Natural History Lovers...

Finally, a promising meeting with the new Russian Emperor Alexander III and a reward for the traveler in the amount of 20 thousand rubles. Later, the scientist will propose to the Tsar to approve the organization of the Russian colony in Oceania and will even preliminarily recruit 160 volunteers. But the empire now has a new sovereign, a different geopolitics and different interests. The king's refusal will completely upset the plans of the natural scientist...

His health was seriously deteriorating: exhaustion of the body, chronic malaria, tropical fever, rheumatism and headaches were noticeable! The scientist will be treated by Professor Sergei Petrovich Botkin, but the patient has too little chance of recovery. We have to rely only on a miracle!..

Russia remembers its great son! In the South-Western district of Moscow, one of the streets was named after him back in 1971, and the new Vityaz cinema on the same street received the name of the corvette on which it once sailed to Oceania!..

Note!

For those interested in the life and scientific achievements of Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay, we recommend the following books:

Balandin R.K. N.N. Miklouho-Maclay: A Book for Students (People of Science). - M., 1985.

Greenop Frank Sydney. About someone who traveled alone. Translation from English. - M., 1989.

Egoryeva A.V. Russian geographer and traveler Miklouho-Maclay. - L., 1971.

Kolesnikov M.S. Miklouho-Maclay. - M., 1961 (series “Life of Remarkable People”).

Putilov B.N. N.N. Miklouho-Maclay: traveler, scientist, humanist. - M., 1985.

Putilov B.N. Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay: Pages of biography. - M., 1981.

For young readers: Chumachenko A.A. Man from the Moon: the story of the great Russian traveler Miklouho-Maclay. - Ulan-Ude, 1979.

In 1990, with the participation of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology named after N.N. Miklouho-Maclay and the Russian Academy of Sciences published a collection of works by the great traveler in six volumes. Previously, the five-volume collected works of Miklouho-Maclay were published only in 1950-1954.

The book contains travel diaries, articles and letters of the great Russian traveler, humanist scientist Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay. The central place is occupied by his stories about his stay on the Maclay Coast, about relationships with the Papuans, about the triumph of friendship, humanity, and mutual understanding. The book reveals the moral character of the Russian democratic scientist and his life principles, and presents a difficult, dramatic life path.

Miklouho-Maclay Nikolai Nikolaevich
Man from the Moon

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

Dear Nikolai Nikolaevich!

Thank you very much for sending your brochures. I read them with pleasure and found some things in them that interested me. What is interesting or not interesting, but touches and delights in your activity is that, as far as I know, you are the first to undoubtedly prove by experience that a person is a person everywhere, that is, a kind, sociable being, with whom one can and should only enter into communication goodness and truth, and not guns and vodka. And you proved this with a feat of true courage, which is so rare in our society that the people of our society do not even understand it. Your case seems to me like this: people have lived for so long under the deception of violence that they have naively become convinced, both those raping and those being raped, that this ugly relationship between people, not only between cannibals and non-Christians, but also between Christians, is the most normal thing. And suddenly one man, under the pretext of scientific research (please forgive me for frankly expressing my beliefs), appears among the most terrible wild ones, armed instead of bullets and bayonets with only his mind, and proves that all the ugly violence that lives our world, there is only the old outdated humbug (i.e. nonsense - B.P.), from which it is high time for people who want to live wisely to free themselves. This is what touches and delights me in your activity, and this is why I especially want to see you and enter into communication with you. I would like to tell you the following: if your collections are very important, more important than everything that has been collected so far in the whole world, then in this case, all your collections and all scientific observations are nothing in comparison with the observation about human properties that you made, having settled among the wild and entered into communication with them and influencing them with one mind, and therefore, for the sake of all that is holy, set forth with the greatest detail and the strict truthfulness characteristic of you all your human relations with man, which you entered into there with people. I don’t know what contribution your collections and discoveries will make to the science that you serve, but your experience of communicating with the wild will constitute an era in the science that I serve - in the science of how people can live with each other. Write this story and you will have done a great and good service to humanity. If I were you, I would describe in detail all my adventures, setting aside everything except relationships with people. Don't blame me for the clumsiness of the letter. I am sick and am writing lying down, in constant pain. Write to me and do not object to my attacks on scientific observations. I take these words back, and answer the essentials. And if you stop by, it would be nice.

Respecting you

L. T o l s t o y

Your Excellency, dear Count Lev Nikolaevich!

Let me sincerely thank you for your letter of September 25 and at the same time I ask you to forgive me for only now answering it. The letter was not only interesting for me, but the result of reading it will greatly influence the content of the book about my travels. Having considered your comments and found that, without prejudice to the scientific value of the description of my journey, at the risk of appearing to some too subjective and speaking too much about my own personality, I decided to include in my book much that I had previously, before receiving your letter, thought to throw out. I know that now many who do not know me well, reading my book, will shrug their shoulders in disbelief, doubt, etc. But that doesn’t matter to me. In order to motivate why I had to make my story longer, you, I hope, will allow me to print several excerpts from your letter in one of the additions to the 1st volume of my book, since it will be impossible for me to explain more briefly and simply the reason that forced me to insert several episodes characterizing my relations with the natives, since I am convinced that the most severe critic of my book, its truthfulness and integrity in all respects, will be myself.

Of course, I will not object to your attacks on science, for which I have worked all my life and for which I am always ready to sacrifice everything.

I'm going to Sydney in a few days; I'll be back in May. In the summer or autumn, on the way to the Kyiv province, I will visit you in Yasnaya Polyana.

With deep respect, I am sending, unsolicited, my photograph in exchange for yours, which, if possible, please send before February 8th.

I

FIRST STAY ON THE SHORE OF MACLAY

IN NEW GUINEA FROM ST. 1871 DEC. 1872

SEPTEMBER 19, 1871*. At about 10 o'clock in the morning the high coast of New Guinea*** finally appeared, partially covered with clouds.

* The diary is verified according to the manuscript prepared

N. N. Miklouho-Maclay to print, but did not see the light of day during his lifetime.

Publications of the diary, starting from the 1923 edition, were edited many times, and not only the author’s style was violated, but sometimes the meaning of individual expressions. Our edition contains some abbreviations in the text - they are marked with angle brackets. - Ed.

All dates in the diary are in the new style. - Ed.

Copenhagen, Plymouth, os. Madera, os. S. Vincent (one of the Cape Verde Islands), Rio de Janeiro, Punto Arenas and St. Nicholas in

Strait of Magellan, Talcahuano, Valparaiso, os. Rapa Nua,

os. Mangareva, Papeiti (on the island of Tahiti), Apia (on the island of Upolu, one of the islands of Samoa), island. Rotumu and Port Praslin (on the island of New Ireland), we are on

On the 346th day we saw the coast of the island of New Guinea.

*** The Finistère Mountains (or, as the natives call them,

Mana-Boro-Boro), reaching a height of over 10,000 feet, extend parallel to the shore, that is, in the WSW direction, and represent a kind of high wall rising steeply from the sea, since highest peaks they are located about 40 miles away. The moist air, meeting this wall, rises and, cooling, forms clouds, which little by little cover the entire ridge at 10 or 11 am with the exception of the lower mountains (1500 or 2000 ft. height).

The clouds that accumulated during the day should clear up by night, with a rapid drop in temperature, with heavy rain, usually accompanied by a thunderstorm. Thus, by morning the clouds disappear from the mountains again,

and the Finistere ridge can be seen in all details.

The corvette Vityaz sailed parallel to the coast of New Britain from Port Praslin (New Ireland), our last anchorage. The opened coast, as it turned out, was Cape King William, located on the northeastern coast of New Guinea.

High mountains stretched in a chain parallel to the shore (...). In the passage between Rook Island and the shore were several low islands covered with vegetation. The current was favorable, and we made good progress. At about two o'clock the corvette "Vityaz" came so close to the coast of New Guinea that one could see characteristic features countries. On the tops of the mountains lay dense masses of clouds that made it impossible to distinguish their upper outlines; under the white layer of clouds, along the steep slopes of the mountains, a dense forest loomed black, its dark color very different from the light green coastal strip*. The shoreline rose in terraces or ledges (up to approximately 1000 feet in height) and presented a very characteristic appearance. The regularity of these terraces is more noticeable below at low altitudes. Numerous gorges and ravines filled with dense greenery crossed these terraces and thus connected the upper forest with the narrow coastal belt of vegetation. In two places on the shore smoke was visible, indicating the presence of a person. Elsewhere coastal strip became wider, the mountains retreated more inland, and the narrow terraces, approaching the sea, turned into vast clearings bordered by dark greenery. At about 6 o'clock in the evening, a small island covered with forest separated from the shore. Among the light green coconut palms on the island, the roofs of huts were visible, and people could be seen along the shore. A river flowed into the island, which, judging by the winding line of vegetation, flowed through the clearing. Not finding a convenient anchor place, we (90 fathoms passed) stopped sailing, and the corvette "Vityaz" began to drift. The evening was clear, starry, only the mountains remained covered, as during the day, by clouds that seemed to descend lower, connecting with the white veil of fog that spread along the coast near the sea. Lightning often flashed from the dark clouds on the peaks, but no thunder was heard.

* The light green color turned out to be the color of tall grass (different types

Imperata) in a clearing along the slopes of the mountains.

ARRIVAL

The anchor chain clanged. Steam whistled out of the steamer's chimney. A boat was lowered from the Vityaz, and three people jumped into it. The captain of the ship leaned over the side and, squinting in the sun, looked at them.

Nikolai Nikolaevich,” he shouted, “they should have captured more people!” Who knows them there, these Papuans. See how many of them there are on the shore. Something else will happen...

The man in the white hat, one of the three in the boat, raised his face.

White teeth flashed from under his black mustache. He smiled.

Don't be afraid, captain. Nothing will happen to me.

Do you have a gun? Where's your gun? I told you to grab your weapons!

The man in the white hat shook his head.

There are beads, there are ribbons, there is matter. Why do I need guns? I prefer to talk without gunpowder.

And, waving his hat, he sat down on the bench of the boat. The oars rose, described a semicircle, and cut the water. A narrow trail ran behind the boat rushing forward.

The captain wiped his forehead, shook his head and, not loudly, but quietly, through his teeth, muttered under his breath:

Only Miklouho-Maclay is capable of this! To the savages, to the cannibals - and like this: without a gun, without a revolver, without guards...

He angrily put his short pipe into his mouth and puffed, lighting it.

The boat walked towards the shore confidently and quickly. It seemed to Miklouho-Maclay that the shore itself was floating towards his small boat. The yellow strip of sand was getting closer and closer. The mountains grew higher. The dark mass of dense greenery turned into a thicket of patterned palm trees. Strong, flexible branches of climbing plants hung from the coastal cliffs directly into the water. The wind carried the spicy and sweet aroma of unfamiliar flowers and herbs. Thin wisps of smoke rose between the trees in the distance. People lived there. There were people on the shore too. Miklouho-Maclay could already clearly distinguish them. They timidly huddled close to each other, silently waiting for the boat to approach. Dark naked bodies glistened in the sun like well-polished wood. There were colorful flowers stuck into her thick curly hair.

Miklouho-Maclay, standing in the boat, looked at the shore. His eyes carefully watched every movement of the people crowded on the shore. So here they are, his comrades, with whom he will live for so long face to face, eye to eye! Here they are, his future friends, and maybe enemies, who knows! They say they still eat human flesh. White people call them savages. They told him so much about their cruelty and deceit! And they themselves seem to be afraid of him. It’s good that he didn’t take any weapons or security with him! He came to them as a friend, and they should know that.

The people on the shore began to stir in fear. Rushing towards the bushes, they paused for two or three minutes, and then suddenly, as if on cue, they disappeared into the thicket of greenery. A coconut left by the Papuans lay on the shore. Did they really want to appease the aliens with this gift?

“I won’t go out: they are afraid of me,” said Miklouho-Maclay. “We’ll wait a few more minutes.”

And he calmly sat down on the bench again.

A black hand carefully parted the branches. Tall man, armed with a long spear, slowly stepped forward. He raised his spear high above his head and gestured to Maclay towards the sea.

“Come back! Get away from us! - his gesture said. “We don’t want you here.” We don't know you. You are a stranger. You are the enemy."

Maclay extended forward his hand with long strips of red shiny material. He waved them several times in greeting and threw them far in front of him into the white foam of the surf. The waves quietly pulled the ribbons behind them and threw them onto the stones.

Row back! - Maclay commanded his companions. “With us, they will never touch these scraps.” Let's sail further away and see what happens.

A strong swing of the oars threw the boat back. Several Papuans appeared on the shore again. Glancing timidly at the boat, they entered the water. Finally

the braver one hesitantly extended his hand to the red rags.

Row along the shore,” said Maclay. “Do you see the sandbank?” There's no one there, that's where we'll go out. Here we will only scare them.

The boat crashed softly into the sand. A narrow path started right from the shore.

Don't follow me. “I’ll be back soon,” Maclay said to his companions and quickly walked up the forest path.

FIRST FRIEND

Maclay parted the branches and looked around. A narrow path led him to a wide, well-trodden area. There were huts all around. Their roofs were made of palm leaves and their doors were open. There were no windows. The light penetrated into the dwelling only through the door, and, stopping at the entrance, Maclay hardly saw in the darkness a fireplace made of stones, a bamboo platform, apparently for sleeping, here and there on the walls there were bundles of feathers and shells, and in the depths, in the darkness , under the very roof, is a human skull. The skull was completely black with soot, and Maclay did not notice it right away.

Maclay walked a few steps away from the hut and stopped in the middle of the area.

There seemed to be not a soul around. Birds sang peacefully in the leaves of the trees. Insects were chattering in the grass. The shadows of the branches swayed on the trampled ground.

But people were obviously just here. The unfinished coconut with “milk” - a whitish liquid - was still lying on the ground. The oar thrown into the bushes was wet. Split bamboo lay at the entrance to the hut. Someone here just worked on it. An unfinished necklace of shells hung, caught on a bush: it had been dropped while running, and the shells were moving with a quiet noise, slowly sliding off the fibrous blade of grass on which they were strung.

Maclay stood listening to the singing of birds, the ringing of cicadas, and the sound of a fast mountain stream. A rustling behind him suddenly attracted his attention. He quickly turned around and saw a man. The man froze in place, then shuddered and started running.

Stop! Stop! - Maclay shouted and rushed after him, feeling his pockets as he ran.

Several scraps and ribbons came to his hand. Maclay pulled out one of the scraps and waved it high:

Stop! Don't be afraid! I won't do anything bad to you! I'm a friend! Do you hear? I'm a friend!

The running man seemed to understand him. He stopped and looked at Maclay.

Nikolai Nikolaevich slowly approached the Papuan and just as slowly, fearing to frighten him with an unnecessary movement, handed him a red rag. The Papuan carefully took it and examined it carefully, turning it over to one side or the other.

And suddenly, laughing, he quickly and deftly tied the piece of cloth onto his curly head.

Maclay eagerly peered into the Papuan's face. No, there was nothing scary about him!

Curious eyes looked at him from under hooded eyebrows. Large mouth, almost hidden by a beard and

Current page: 1 (book has 25 pages in total)

Miklouho-Maclay Nikolai Nikolaevich. Man from the Moon

MAN FROM THE MOON
Diaries, articles, letters of N. N. Miklouho-Maclay
Compilation, preparation of texts, commentary and afterword by B. N. PUTILOV

Instead of a preface

First stay on the Maclay coast in New Guinea from Sept. 1871 to Dec. 1872

From the article “Why I Chose New Guinea” (1871)

From the article "Anthropology and Ethnology of the Melanesians" (1886)

From the article " Brief message about my stay on the eastern shore of the islands. New Guinea in 1871–1872"

From a letter to his mother, Ekaterina Semyonovna (Ternate, February 1873)

From a letter to sister Olga (Ternate, February 1873)

From a letter to his mother (Hong Kong, April 1873)

From a letter to friend A. A. Meshchersky (Hong Kong, April 1873)

From a letter to the chairman of the Russian Geographical Society. book Konstantin Nikolaevich (Hong Kong, May 1873)

From a letter to friend A. A. Meshchersky (Buitenzorg, Java Island, July 1873)

From a letter to him (Buitenzorg, November 1873)

From a letter to him. (Amboina. Eastern Indonesia, January 1874)

From a letter to him (Gesir, Eastern Indonesia, February 1874)

Second trip to New Guinea

From a memorandum to the Governor General of the Netherlands Indies

Two voyages to the Malacca Peninsula 1874–1875

(From letters to the Russian Geographical Society)

To the Secretary of the Russian Geographical Society (Buitenzorg, December 1875)

From a letter to a friend A. A. Meshchersky (Pacific Ocean, March 1876)

To the Secretary of the Russian Geographical Society (Pacific Ocean, schooner "Sea Bird", May 1876)

From the diary of the second trip to the Maclay Coast (1876-1877)

From a letter to A. A. Meshchersky (September, Cape Bugarlom, November 1877, near Agomes Island)

From an article about the second stay on the Maclay Coast (1877)

From a travel report made to the Russian Geographical Society in 1882.

From a letter to the vice-chairman of the Russian Geographical Society P. P. Semenov (Singapore, January 1878)

From a letter to friend F. R. Osten-Sacken (Singapore, April 1878)

From a letter to sister Olga (Sydney, August 1878)

From a letter to Sir Arthur Gordon, British High Commissioner for the Western Pacific (Sydney, January 1879)

From the diary of a trip to the islands of Melanesia in 1879.

From a letter to Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (Sydney, June 1881)

From a letter to brother Mikhail (on the way to Russia, frigate "Duke of Edinburgh", April 1882)

From a letter to him (cruiser Asia, Alexandria, June 1882)

From a letter to the vice-chairman of the Russian Geographical Society P. P. Semenov (cruiser "Asia", Alexandria, July 1882)

From a letter to F.R. Osten-Sacken (confidential, cruiser Asia, Alexandria, July 1882)

From an interview with a correspondent of the newspaper "News and Exchange Newspaper" (St. Petersburg, September 1882)

From a speech in Geographical Society(I October 1882)

Third visit to the Maclay Coast (1883)

From a letter to Lord Derby, Secretary of State for the Colonies (Sydney, October 1883)

Telegram to the Marshal, Prince V.S. Obolensky (Sydney, November 1883)

From a letter to brother Mikhail (Sydney, November 1883)

From a letter to Admiral Wilson (Australia, March 1884)

From a letter to an English acquaintance Masgreb (Australia, March 1884)

Telegram to Chancellor Bismarck (Melbourne, January 1885)

From a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia N.K. Girs (Melbourne, January 1885)

From a letter to Emperor Alexander III (St. Petersburg, July 1886)

From a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs N.K. Girs (St. Petersburg, August 1886)

Letter to the editor of St. Petersburg newspapers (St. Petersburg, February 1887)

From a letter to brother Sergei (St. Petersburg, March 1887)

From a letter to Natalia Alexandrovna Herzen (?). (On the way to Australia, steamship Neckar, April - May 1887)

From a letter to an unknown person (May 1887)

From a letter to brother Mikhail (St. Petersburg, September 1887)

From a letter to him (January, 1888)

Afterword. B. N. Putilov

Notes

Editorial abstract: The book contains travel diaries, articles and

letters of the great Russian traveler, humanist scientist

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay. The central place is occupied

his stories about his stay on the Maclay Coast, about relationships with

Papuans, about the triumph of friendship, humanity, mutual understanding. IN

The book reveals the moral character of the Russian democratic scientist

and his life principles, a difficult, fulfilling

dramatic life path.

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

Letter from L. N. Tolstoy to N. N. Miklouho-Maclay, September 25, 1886

Dear Nikolai Nikolaevich!

Respecting you

L. T o l s t o y

Response letter from N. N. Miklouho-Maclay (St. Petersburg, January 29, 1887)

Your Excellency, dear Count Lev Nikolaevich!

Of course, I will not object to your attacks on science, for which I have worked all my life and for which I am always ready to sacrifice everything.

I'm going to Sydney in a few days; I'll be back in May. In the summer or autumn, on the way to the Kyiv province, I will visit you in Yasnaya Polyana.

With deep respect, I am sending, unsolicited, my photograph in exchange for yours, which, if possible, please send before February 8th.

I

FIRST STAY ON THE SHORE OF MACLAY

IN NEW GUINEA FROM ST. 1871 DEC. 1872

SEPTEMBER 19, 1871*. At about 10 o'clock in the morning the high coast of New Guinea*** finally appeared, partially covered with clouds.

* The diary is verified according to the manuscript prepared

N. N. Miklouho-Maclay to print, but did not see the light of day during his lifetime.

The diary has been published many times since the 1923 edition.

were edited, and not only the author’s style was violated, but sometimes

and the meaning of individual expressions. In our publication some

Abbreviations in the text are marked with angle brackets. – Ed.

All dates in the diary are in the new style. – Ed.

Copenhagen, Plymouth, os. Madera, os. S. Vincent (one of the Green Islands

Cape), Rio de Janeiro, Punto Arenas and St. Nicholas in

Strait of Magellan, Talcahuano, Valparaiso, os. Rapa Nua,

os. Mangareva, Papeiti (on the island of Tahiti), Apia (on the island of Upolu, one of

Samoa Island), os. Rotumu and Port Praslin (on the island of New Ireland), we are on

On the 346th day we saw the coast of the island of New Guinea.

*** The Finistère Mountains (or, as the natives call them,

Mana-Boro-Boro), reaching an altitude of too 10,000 feet, stretch

parallel to the shore, that is, in the WSW direction, and represent the genus

high wall rising steeply from the sea, as the highest

their peaks are located about 40 miles from it. Wet

the air, meeting this wall, rises and, cooling, forms

clouds that little by little cover the entire

ridge excluding lower mountains (1500 or 2000 ft. height).

The clouds that accumulated during the day should clear by night, when

rapid drop in temperature, heavy rain, accompanied by

usually a thunderstorm. Thus, by morning the clouds disappear from the mountains again,

and the Finistere ridge can be seen in all details.

High mountains stretched in a chain parallel to the shore (...). In the passage between Rook Island and the shore were several low islands covered with vegetation. The current was favorable, and we made good progress. At about two o'clock the corvette "Vityaz" was so close to the coast of New Guinea that one could see the characteristic features of the country. On the tops of the mountains lay dense masses of clouds that made it impossible to distinguish their upper outlines; under the white layer of clouds, along the steep slopes of the mountains, a dense forest loomed black, its dark color very different from the light green coastal strip*. The shoreline rose in terraces or ledges (up to approximately 1000 feet in height) and presented a very characteristic appearance. The regularity of these terraces is more noticeable below at low altitudes. Numerous gorges and ravines filled with dense greenery crossed these terraces and thus connected the upper forest with the narrow coastal belt of vegetation. In two places on the shore smoke was visible, indicating the presence of a person. In other places, the coastline became wider, the mountains retreated further inland, and narrow terraces, approaching the sea, turned into vast clearings bordered by dark greenery. At about 6 o'clock in the evening, a small island covered with forest separated from the shore. Among the light green coconut palms on the island, the roofs of huts were visible, and people could be seen along the shore. A river flowed into the island, which, judging by the winding line of vegetation, flowed through the clearing. Not finding a convenient anchor place, we (90 fathoms passed) stopped sailing, and the Vityaz corvette began to drift. The evening was clear, starry, only the mountains remained covered, as during the day, by clouds that seemed to descend lower, connecting with the white veil of fog that spread along the coast near the sea. Lightning often flashed from the dark clouds on the peaks, but no thunder was heard.

* The light green color turned out to be the color of tall grass (different types

Imperata) in a clearing along the slopes of the mountains.

20 SEPTEMBER. During the night, a favorable current moved us 20 miles north. I went up on deck early, hoping to see the tops of the mountains clear of clouds before sunrise. And indeed, the mountains were clearly visible and represented few individual peaks, but a continuous high wall almost everywhere of the same height (...).

At about 10 1/2 o'clock, moving towards Astrolabe Bay (1), we saw two capes in front of us (...). It became quite warm: in the shade the thermometer showed 31° C. By 12 o'clock we were in the middle of the large Astrolabe Bay.

When asked by the commander of the corvette “Vityaz”, captain of the second rank Pavel Nikolaevich Nazimov, where on the bank I would like to be landed, I pointed to the higher left bank, suggesting that the right, low bank might turn out to be unhealthy. We peered at the shore of the bay for a long time, wanting to discover the huts of the natives, but apart from columns of smoke on the hills we did not notice anything, however, approaching even closer to the shore, senior officer P. P. Novosilsky shouted that he saw running savages. Indeed, in one place on the sandy shore it was possible to distinguish several dark figures that were either running or stopping.

I turned to the commander of the corvette with a request to give me four to go ashore, but when I learned that for safety it was also planned to send a boat with an armed crew, I asked to give me a boat without sailors, ordered my two servants, Ohlson and Boy (2 ), go down into the boat and went to meet my future neighbors, having previously grabbed some gifts: beads, red paper, torn into pieces and into narrow ribbons, etc.

Rounding the toe, I headed along the sandy shore to the place where we first saw the natives. About 20 minutes later I approached the shore, where I saw several native pirogues (3) on the sand. However, I was unable to land here due to strong surf. Meanwhile, a native armed with a spear appeared from behind the bushes and, raising the spear above his head, pantomimed to let me know that I should leave. But when I got up in the boat and showed several red rags, then about a dozen savages armed with various weapons jumped out of the forest. Seeing that the natives did not dare approach the boat, and not wanting to jump into the water myself to get to the shore, I threw my gifts into the water, hoping that the wave would wash them to the shore. The natives, seeing this, energetically waved their hands and motioned for me to leave. Realizing that our presence was preventing them from entering the water and taking things, I ordered my people to row, and as soon as we moved away from the shore, the natives raced into the water, and the red scarves were instantly pulled out. Despite, however, the fact that the red rags seemed to please the savages very much, who examined them with great curiosity and talked a lot among themselves, none of them dared to approach my boat. Seeing such failure to make a first acquaintance, I returned to the corvette, where I learned that savages had been seen elsewhere on the coast. I immediately set off in the indicated direction, but there were no savages there either; only in a small bay further on could the ends of pirogues pulled ashore be seen from behind a wall of greenery reaching right down to the water. Finally, in one place on the shore, between the trees, I noticed white sand, and quickly headed towards this place, which turned out to be a very cozy and beautiful corner; Having landed here, he saw a narrow path penetrating into the thicket of the forest. I jumped out of the boat so impatiently and headed along the path into the forest that I didn’t even give any orders to my people, who were busy tying the boat to the nearest trees. Having walked about thirty steps along the path, I noticed several roofs between the trees, and then the path led me to an area around which stood huts with roofs that went down almost to the ground. The village had a very neat and very friendly appearance. The middle of the site was well trampled with earth, and variegated bushes grew all around and palm trees towered, providing shade and coolness. The roofs of palm leaves, whitened with time, stood out beautifully against the dark green background of the surrounding greenery, and the bright crimson flowers of the Chinese rose and the yellow-green and yellow-red leaves different types Crotons (4) and Coleus (5) enlivened the overall picture of the forest, all around consisting of bananas, pandanus (6), breadfruit trees, areca and coconut palms. A tall forest surrounded the site from the wind. Although there was no living soul in the village, traces of the inhabitants who had recently left were visible everywhere: a smoldering fire sometimes flared up on the site, a half-drunk coconut lay here, an oar abandoned in a hurry; the doors of some huts were carefully blocked with some kind of bark and nailed crosswise with plates of split bamboo. At two huts, however, the doors remained open, apparently the owners were in a hurry somewhere and did not have time to lock them. The doors were two feet high, so that the doors appeared to be windows rather than doors, and formed the only opening through which one could enter the hut. I walked up to one of these doors and looked into the hut. It is dark in the hut - it is difficult to distinguish the objects in it: high bunks made of bamboo, on the floor there are several stones, between which a fire smoldered, serving as a support for a broken clay pot standing on them; on the walls hung bundles of shells and feathers, and under the roof, blackened with soot, was a human skull. The rays of the setting sun illuminated the beautiful foliage of the palm trees with a warm light; Unfamiliar cries of some birds were heard in the forest. It was so good, peaceful and at the same time alien and unfamiliar that it seemed more like a dream than reality.

As I approached another hut, I heard a rustling sound. Looking back in the direction from which the rustling was heard, I saw in the nearby steps a man who seemed to have grown out of the ground, who looked in my direction for a second and rushed into the bushes. I almost ran after him along the path, waving a red rag that I found in my pocket. Looking around and seeing that I was alone, without any weapons, and with signs asking me to come over, he stopped. I slowly approached the savage, silently handed him a red rag, which he accepted with visible pleasure and tied it on his head. This Papuan was of average height, dark chocolate color with matte black, curly, like a black man’s, short hair, a wide flattened nose, eyes peeking out from under the overhanging brow ridges, with a large mouth, almost, however, hidden by a protruding mustache and a beard. His entire costume consisted of a rag, about 8 centimeters wide, first tied in the form of a belt, then going down between his legs and attached to the back of the belt, and two slings that tightly clasped his arm above the elbow, a kind of bracelets made of woven dry grass. One of these baldrics or bracelets was tucked into green leaf Piper betel (7), behind the other on the left hand - a kind of knife made from a smoothly ground piece of bone (as I was later convinced, the bones of a cassowary (8)). Well built, with fairly developed muscles. The expression on the face of my first acquaintance seemed rather attractive to me; For some reason I thought that he would obey me, took him by the hand and, not without some resistance, led him back to the village. On the landing I found my servants Ohlson and Boy, who were looking for me and wondering where I had disappeared to. Ohlson gave my Papuan a piece of tobacco, which he, however, did not know what to do with, and silently accepted the gift, tucked it into the bracelet of his right hand next to the betel leaf. While we were standing in the middle of the site, savages began to appear from behind the trees and bushes, not daring to approach and ready to flee at any moment. They stood silently and motionlessly at a respectful distance, vigilantly watching our movements. Since they did not budge, I had to take each one separately by the hand and drag them, in the full sense of the word, to our circle. Finally, having gathered everyone in one place, tired, he sat down on a stone in the middle of them and began to give them various little things: beads, nails, fish hooks and strips of red cloth. They apparently did not know the purpose of the nails and hooks, but not one refused to accept them. About eight Papuans gathered around me; they were of different heights and presented some, albeit insignificant, differences in appearance. Skin color varied little; The sharpest contrast with the type of my first acquaintance was presented by a man above average height, thin, with a hooked, prominent nose, a very narrow forehead, compressed from the sides; his beard and mustache were shaved, a whole cap of red-brown hair rose on his head, from under which curled strands of hair descended to the back of his neck, completely similar to the tube-shaped curls of the inhabitants of New Ireland. These curls hung behind the ears and went down to the shoulders. Two bamboo combs stuck out in the hair, on one of which, stuck at the back of the head, there were several black and white feathers (cassowary and cockatoo) in the form of a fan. Large tortoiseshell earrings were placed in the ears, and in the nasal septum there was a bamboo stick the thickness of a very thick pencil with a pattern cut into it. On the neck, in addition to a necklace made of the teeth of dogs and other animals, shells, etc., hung a small bag, and on the left shoulder hung another bag, going down to the waist and filled with various kinds of things. This native, like everyone else present, had his upper arms tightly tied with woven bracelets, behind which were tucked various objects—some with bones, some with leaves or flowers. Many had a stone ax hanging on their shoulder, and some held in their hands a bow of respectable size (almost the height of a man) and an arrow more than a meter in length. With different colors of hair, sometimes completely black, sometimes dyed with red clay, and their hairstyles were different: some had hair standing like a cap on their heads, others had it cut short, some had the above-described curls hanging on the back of their heads; but everyone had curly hair, like blacks. The hair on the beard also curled into small spirals. The skin color represented several minor shades. The young ones were lighter than the old ones. Of these eight Papuans I met for the first time, four turned out to be sick: in two, elephantiasis(9) disfigured the leg, the third was an interesting case of psoriasis(10), spread throughout the body, in the fourth, the back and neck were covered with boils, (...) and on the face there were several scars (...).

Since the sun had already set, I decided, despite the interest of the first observations, to return to the corvette. The whole crowd accompanied me to the shore, bearing gifts: coconuts, bananas and two very wild pigs, whose legs were tightly tied and who squealed tirelessly; everything was put in the boat. Hoping to further strengthen good relationship with the natives and at the same time show the officers of the corvette my new acquaintances, I invited the Papuans around me to accompany me to the corvette on their pirogues. After much discussion, five people fit into two pies, others remained and even seemed to be strenuously dissuading the more courageous from the bold and risky undertaking. I took one of the pirogues in tow, and we headed towards the Vityaz. Halfway, however, the bolder ones changed their minds, showing by signs that they did not want to go further, they tried to give up the tow, while the other, free pirogue quickly returned to the shore. One of those sitting in the pirogue that we were dragging along with us even tried to cut off the end that served as a tug with his stone axe. It was not without difficulty that they managed to drag them onto the deck; Ohlson and Boy almost forcibly lifted them onto the ladder. On deck I took the prisoners by the arms and led them under the deck; They were shaking all over with fear and could not stand on their feet without my support, probably believing that they would be killed. Meanwhile, it became completely dark, a lantern was brought under the poop, and the savages little by little calmed down, even cheered up when the corvette officers gave them various things and treated them to tea, which they immediately drank. Despite this kind reception, they with visible pleasure and with great haste descended the ladder into their pirogue and quickly paddled back to the village.

On the corvette they told me that in my absence the natives appeared again and brought with them two dogs, which they immediately killed and left their bodies, as a gift, on the shore.

21 SEPTEMBER. (...) In many places the coast is bordered by coral reefs and less often appears to be sloping and sandy, accessible to the tides and in this case serves as a convenient pier for native pirogues. Near such places are usually located, as I later learned, the main coastal villages of the Papuans. I made all these observations at dawn, on the bridge of the corvette, and was quite pleased with the general views of the country that I had chosen for exploration, perhaps for a long stay. After breakfast I went back to the village I had been to the previous evening. My first acquaintance, Papuan Tui, and several others came out to meet me.

On this day, there was to be a prayer service on the corvette on the occasion of the birthday of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and a cannon salute; I therefore decided to stay in the village among the natives, of whom there were several dozen today, so that with my presence I could alleviate some of the fear that the shooting could have caused on the natives.

But since there was still enough time left before the fireworks, I went to look for a place for my future hut. I did not want to settle in the village itself or even near it, firstly, because I did not know either the character or morals of my future neighbors; secondly, unfamiliarity with the language made it impossible to seek their consent; I considered it tactless to impose my presence; thirdly, I really dislike noise, I was afraid that near the village I would be disturbed and annoyed by the screams of adults, the crying of children and the howling of dogs.

I set off from the village along a path and after about 10 minutes I came to a small cape, near which a small stream flowed and a group of large trees grew. This place seemed quite convenient to me, both because of its proximity to the stream and because it was located almost on a path that probably connected neighboring villages. Having thus outlined the place of the future settlement, I hurried to return to the village, but arrived already during the fireworks show. The cannon shots seemed to puzzle them more than to frighten them. With each new shot, the natives either tried to run, or lay down on the ground and covered their ears, shook with their whole bodies, as if in a fever, and squatted. I was in a very stupid position: despite all my desire to calm them down and be serious, I could often stop laughing; but it turned out that my laughter turned out to be the most effective remedy against the fear of the natives, and since laughter is generally contagious, I soon noticed that the Papuans, following my example, began to grin, looking at each other. Satisfied that everything went well, I returned to the corvette, where Captain Nazimov invited me to go with me to make the final choice of where to build the hut. A senior officer and a doctor joined us. Although, in fact, my choice had already been made, it was not superfluous to look at other places that could turn out to be better. In the three places we examined, we especially liked one thing - a significant stream flowed here into the open sea, but, concluding from many signs that the natives are in the habit of coming here often, leaving their pies here, and cultivating plantations nearby, I announced to the commander my decision settle in the first place chosen by me (11).

Around three o'clock people were sent from the corvette, began clearing the area of bushes and small trees, the carpenters set to work building the hut, starting with driving piles under the shade of two huge Canarium commune(12).

22, 23, 24, 25 September. All these days I was busy building a hut. At about 6 a.m. I went ashore with the carpenters and stayed there until the flag was lowered. My hut is 7 feet wide by 14 feet long and is divided in half by a partition made of tarpaulin (dyed canvas). I assigned one half for myself, the other for my servants - Ohlson and Boy. Since there were not enough boards taken from Tahiti, the walls were only half made of wood, the lower ones, and for the upper ones, as well as the two doors, a tarpaulin was used again, which could be rolled up. For the roof, mats specially woven from coconut palm leaves were prepared; I entrusted this work to Boy. The floor, half the walls and the corner posts were made from timber bought in Tahiti and fitted onto a corvette. The piles, upper fastenings, and rafters had to be cut down and driven out here; but thanks to the kindness of the corvette commander there were many hands, the construction was successful. The natives, probably frightened by the firing on the 9th and the presence of a large number of people from the corvette, showed up little, 2-3 people and then rarely. The corvette officers began surveying the bay and at the same time visited five or six coastal villages, where for various small things (beads, buttons, nails, empty bottles, etc.) they collected a lot of different weapons and utensils and exchanged, among other things, more than a dozen skulls .

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay

The great Russian traveler Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay was born on July 17, 1846, died on April 14, 1888.

His life, full of wonderful deeds, great trials, dramatic events, retains a burning interest for us even now, a century later. About people like Miklouho-Maclay, A.P. Chekhov said: “Their ideological spirit, noble ambition, based on the honor of the motherland and science, their perseverance, no deprivation, dangers and temptations of personal happiness, an invincible desire for a once-planned goal, the wealth of their knowledge and hard work, the habit of heat, hunger, homesickness, fanatical faith in ... civilization and science make them in the eyes of the people ascetics, personifying the highest moral force ... "

Many books, articles, and essays have been written about Miklouho-Maclay. But he himself wrote best about his travels in his travel diaries, reports, and letters.

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