Egor Petrovich Kovalevsky discovery in Africa briefly. Egor Petrovich Kovalevsky in East Africa

The engineer and diplomat, he turned out to be the first Russian "specialist" in Africa, who had invaluable help.

The possibility of expedition to Africa appeared in 1846, when two Egyptian engineers arrived in Russia, "to get acquainted with the production of the gold mining industry." Kovalevsky accompanied them on the ride to the Urals. There was a plan there - to send a Russian engineering mission to Sudan, who in those years belonged to Egypt ... By the end of 1847, the expedition was already in Cairo.

Neil, the greatest of the rivers of Africa, one of the full rivers of the world, the origins of which have not yet been open. The wheeled steamer under the green Egyptian flag is noisy, but slowly moving up the river. Finally, Aswan appeared, the southernmost cities of Egypt. Here, the expedition is transplanted in Dhahabia - Nile Barki, who have changed little since they were transported by stone blocks and statues for the temples of the pharaoh era. On Dahabia, travelers rise up the river from the first threshold. Nubia begins - the gateway to tropical Africa.

In the town of Korozko, the expedition stops. Here Neil turns cool to the West and two caravan paths come to it. The Kovalevsky detachment is unloaded to the shore and is equipped with a caravan, in which one camels about hundreds. Water in the Burdyukov became completely disgusting for the taste and smell. The heat is suffocating, but AbaBda walk cheerfully. "Is it a heat? Now winter, although on the outcome. Whether it will be in the summer! "

At the town of Abu-Khameda, the caravan went to the Nile coast. Further, over the shore of the Great River, the caravan moved to the south and after four days arrived in the town of Berber, where the expedition replanted again on Dhabia and during the backward wind on February 20 reaches Khartoum. But Sennar is a town, consisting of shacks, barely with 25 thousand inhabitants; A quarter of a century ago he was the capital of the powerful Sultanate of Funga, spreading his power to most of Sudan. The Turks destroyed the Sultanate, burned and plundered the city, moved the capital to Khartoum. Sennar, who had a hundredsmatic population in the best times, remained a secondary provincial town.

A wet gallery forest comes to change the steppe vegetation - the reeds, trees, intertwined by Lianov, sising wild animals, birds, snakes. River lions, shouts of monkeys, roofing, laughter of Hopes, are heard from the shore.

Finally, the Baroque flotilla reached the town of Rossaires, where the path was blocked by another threshold. Immersing the equipment on the fabric animals again, the expedition moved to the foot of the Mountains of the Cosanana - the ultimate goal of the travel. In the town of Keri Kovalevsky examined a huge equipment of equipment for gold mining, created on the orders of the Egyptian Hediva Mohammed-Ali. The engineering mission was supposed to find industrial gold deposits, to build a factory for flushing and cleaning and organize prey. IN short term She fulfilled its task, and the remaining and intact reserves from the government warehouse in Keri were put into business. The Egyptian engineers of Mohammed-Ali and Duturi, who took practice in the Urals at one time, together with Kovalevsky and Russian masters, successfully headed the first in tropical Africa with a gold coating factory.

Although the work on the construction of the factory was carried away by day and night, E. P. Kovalevsky found time to spend a variety of scientific research. He matures a plan to make an expedition in the upper river Tumat, where Europeans has never stepped out. The "Turkish" ruler of the region resisted this idea of \u200b\u200bhis restless guest, but in the end, agreed to provide security and guides.

On March 13, a detachment of more than 1 thousand soldiers made a campaign. In the way, Kovalevsky produced geological and geographical surveys, ethnographic observations and, by the way, opened a new golden area. The most traveler was convinced that the origins of the Nile are incorrectly indicated on the maps. Now he could justify the hypothesis that the origins of the Great River should be sought significantly southwest than they thought before (this hypothesis was confirmed as a result of further research). Having reached the borders of Ethiopia, the expedition turned back. But she was not the only one; Kovalevsky and his companions committed a few more journeys in the surrounding mountains and valleys of golden streams.

In April 1848, Kovalevsky and both Russian masters accompanied by the detachment of the troops moved on the way back. During the transition through the Beyud Desert, Kovalevsky is seriously ill. A little lived of him reported on his hands to Mero. Hence the part in Barkov, part of the horses travelers returned to Aswan. Again Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Ukraine, St. Petersburg.

In Russia, Kovalevsky reads scientific reports on his journey, constituting the reports of the king and in 1849 publishes a book that sustained many publications - "Journey to internal Africa." In addition to their own observations, he used the materials of St. Petersburg libraries, an unpublished manuscript of the Azerbaijani traveler Zayn Al-Abidida, conversations with Porphyria Asspensky, whom Kovalevsky visited in Jerusalem. He created one of the most interesting books about Africa, who ever appeared in Russian. Unfortunately, she has not been reprinted over 100 years, and all its publications have long become a bibliographic rarity.

In addition to Africa, Kovalevsky amounted to Mongolia and China - on the basis of materials collected by him while traveling to Beijing in 1853

Years of life 1811 - 1868

Egor Petrovich Kovalevsky (1811 - 1868)

In 1847, E. P. Kovalevsky was seconded by the Russian government to Egypt at the request of the Egyptian side to send an experienced mining engineer to continue gold searches.

The route of the Kovalevsky expedition went on the Nile, the Blue Nile and the Tumat River in the Blue Nile (Fig. 2.3). From the city of Berbera to Khartoum, the expedition moved along the river, then on the Blue Nile to the village of Roserosos (Roseires). Hence the pedestrian route along the Tumat River. Traveling to the upper reaches of this river and west of them ended the expedition of the Russian traveler. On the way back the route almost completely repeatedly, with the exception of the site passing through the Great Nubian desert (Fig. 2..).

In the basin of the river Tumat E. P. Kovalevsky, numerous places of placer gold were opened. The researcher did not limit himself to the data of the Gold Intelligence Test. He sought to find out the position of the origins of the Nile. According to the dominant, at that time, the opinion of the NIL was supposed to take his beginning at the foot of the mountains located south of the river Tumat. But Kovalevsky, exploring this area, did not find the origins of the Nile. Moreover, he concluded that "this is physically impossible: from the northern slope of these mountains take the beginning of the river, currently to the north, like, for example, the Yabus and even the most tumata that would certainly meet on the way with a white Nile, if he were It was here, and would merge with him, and meanwhile they safely reach their goal after a long way to the north, i.e. Blind in the blue Neil ... ". Based on his personal observations, Kovalevsky concluded that the main river is not a blue Nile, but white.

On the territory of East Sudan, as in many other places along the path, E. P. Kovalevsky determined breadth and produced barometric measurements of heights. The indicators given in many paragraphs differ in much greater accuracy than indicators given by earlier researchers. Based on the measurements conducted by him, Kovalevsky was drawn up a map of the territory studied by him (application). Analyzing this card can be concluded that the researcher with large details reflected valleys of rivers, as well as many orographic objects, especially in the territory of modern Sudan and Ethiopia. The map also marked the main tribes inhabiting the territory (eg, Tuklavavi, Futi). Also, a certain extent is the generation of the activity of the population (for example, negros, processing iron ores). Large details showing settlements in the Nile Valley.

Kovalevsky also conducted botanical observations. They were few, however the greatest value It has that Egor Petrovich made a detailed description of Palma Douleb, and also noted that Tamaris and Acacias were typical for the valley of the Blue Nile.

His ethnographic observations had greater value. The researcher opposed racism, as well as the enslavement of the indigenous population of Africa, counting blacks no less worthy people than representatives of other races.

The result of the Kovalevsky expedition was the fact that it significantly clarified the geography of the Nile Valley. Great importance had its geological observations, representing the first attempt to give a summary of geological structure Nile Valley. Having studied the geological structure of the Valley of the River and its tributaries, Kovalevsky proved the gold-based rocks in the area and organized gold mining at several industrial factories. By simulating the construction of the factory, the traveler went on the dry bed to the origins of the Tumata in search of gold and the origins of the Nile. Three gold-containing placers, he found, but from plans to search for the origins of the Nile had to refuse, since the traveler defeated the sharp fever. Arriving, Kovalevsky went on the way back and in 1848 arrived in Alexandria.

The expedition of Egor Petrovich was a brief (the end of 1847 is the first half of 1848), but its geographical results were significant. Materials collected during this expedition were set out by a researcher in the work of "Traveling to Internal Africa" \u200b\u200b(1849). This work contains geographical, ethnographic, historical and other information.

First Russian Expedition to Africa (1847-1848)

African Odyssey Kovalevsky

In a small village, Yaroshevka is thirty kilometers from Kharkov, in a poor large familiar family of a survival adviser Peter Ivanovich Kovalevsky on February 6, 1809, Youth Son Yegor was born.

Sisters were four, sons - five. Two of them went in the footsteps of the Father, fifteen years dedicated to military service.

Both were killed: Ilya - in the Borodino battle of 1812, Peter - in the Caucasian front during Crimean war, In 1853, the Third Son, Vladimir, was an official.

Perhaps the eldest of the brothers, Evgraf, an outstanding geologist and statesman, settled in the soul of the hut thirst for wanderings ...

The younger - and already because the common favorite family, painful and impressionable, Egor, nevertheless, since childhood, he dreamed of traveling to distant countries. He received the first experience of the researcher, collecting the collection of rocks and herbaries on the ocean of the Yaroshevka.

In 1825, Egor Kovalevsky goes to Kharkov and enters the department of moral and political sciences of the Faculty of Philology of the University of Kharkiv, the founder of which was his cousin Uncle - Vasily Karazin. Geography and history courses read Professor P. P. Gulak-Artemovsky.

Deep knowledge of his lecture, as the contemporaries testified, did not contain, but were bright and exciting; They also strengthened the desire of Egor to devote their lives to travel.

In the form of the Kovalevsky student's list, with disciplines, mandatory for its separation, are the objects that were studied at other offices: physics, chemistry, physical geography, meteorology, botany, zoology ... In the future, it allowed him to conduct not just travel notes, but the real scientific studies of nature, the population and the economy of the countries on which the path of his expeditions passed.

Not a gift and the philological orientation of studies. Kovalevsky wrote and published a collection of poems, several rates and novels - but the All-Russian and foreign recognition was still due to travel notes.

His books "Wanderer on land and seas", "Journey to internal Africa", other works and articles dedicated to numerous expeditions were written so brightly, such a brilliant literary style, which caused approval not only from ordinary readers, but also from writers with world name. Letters with commendable reviews of Him Petrovich Kovalevsky sent L. N. Tolstoy, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, T. Schevchenko, I. S. Aksakov, V. F. Odoevsky, F. I. Tyutchev. ..

In 1828, Kovalevsky graduated from training at Kharkov University, and in early 1829 he left to St. Petersburg, where his brother Evgraf headed the Mountain Cadet Corps and served as director of the Department of Mountain and Salt Affairs.

There, working as an assistant to the departmental department, Egor regularly attended lectures of outstanding teachers cadet corps And for a relatively short time he received a specialty of a mining engineer. In 1830, Evgraf Petrovich was appointed head of the Altai Mountain District. Together with him in Barnaul, where the main thing was county Office, left Egor. This event can be considered the beginning of its wanderings.

It was in Altai that Kovalevsky received the first experience of exploration of gold deposits; The experience that later gave him the opportunity to receive numerous proposals from the governments of many countries to look for gold and other valuable fossils. From 1830 to 1837, together with the elder brother and independently, Egor Petrovich is looking for gold in the Barabinsk steppes, in the mountains of Kuznetsky Alatau, Salair and Abakan ridges, in the area of \u200b\u200bTeletsk Lake - and opens four gold-bearing placers.

Kovalevsky headed Chernogortsev

In 1836, the 27-year-old Kovalevsky was produced in the captains of the corps of mining engineers.

This became a significant event, since the body was completed from "exclusively excellent mining engineers", which were sent only to important and responsible work. Mining engineers submitted to military discipline and military laws.

A year later, Captain Kovalevsky was seconded to the Montenegro in search of gold deposits for the "certificate, whether the new abundant source of income cannot be developed by the Montenegrin people."

The expedition was equipped in connection with the appeal of Prince and Metropolitan (spiritual and secular ruler) Montenegro Petrovich, - but its financing russian government He took over. Kovalevsky's gold did not find, however, opened rich deposits iron Ore And Korunda on the River Cinema.

An expecting a hero and archaeological discovery: at the venue of the Zeta and Morachi rivers, Yegor found the ruins of diocoles - the fortified city of the time of the Roman Empire. But the most dramatic events expected Kovalevsky in Montenegro not as a geologist, but as a military.

Montenegro led centuries-old, continuously war with Turkey for independence. And farmers in the fields, and the shepherds on pastures never parted with a weapon. Only two fifths of the population died with natural death, the rest of the battle on the battlefield. But not only the Turks tried to seize the country. Using the difficult position of Montenegro, in 1838, Austria invaded the country.

The Montenegrins decided that the Great Brotherly Slavic Country sent Kovalevsky to protect their homeland from the invaders - and insisted that he was headed by defense. Egor Petrovich tried to clarify that he was only a mining engineer, but everyone saw a Russian officer in it.

And Kovalevsky headed Chernogorstsev who defended their freedom. Remembering later this time, he wrote: "I am Russian, and I was connected by my name Russian. Whatever happens, I do not repent of what I did, otherwise I would be a traitor, not Russian. "

The gold descender turned out to be an excellent commander. Three hundred Chernogorstsev under the command of the Russian captain beat the attack of a four-thousand-old Austrian detachment. Austrians were forced to sign a peace treaty.

But, perhaps, this is only a legend invented by analogy with the feat of the three hundred Spartans of the King Leonid, who stopped the army of Persians. Most likely, the Austrians, like Montenegrin, learning about Captain Kovalevsky, also accepted him for the military envoy of the Russian government - and decided not to enter into battle, so as not to be angry with the Great Power.

In captivity of Hivintsev

In September 1838, Egor Petrovich left Montenegro, and after a few months he left St. Petersburg to Orenburg.

It was the beginning of a trip to Bukhara. Bukhara Emir asked the Russian government to help him in search of "minerals and precious stones." The expedition financed Russia again.

The places for which the Kovalevsky detachment should have undergone, heard troubled. The troops of the Hivinsky Khan robbed Russian caravans, captured Russians.

So happened to the people of Egor Petrovich. November 17, after the transition of the echo's river, they were captured to the Hivints. But in a few days, a dark at night, during the Lutsk Barana Kovalevsky ran from captivity along with his companions.

In less than three days, the obstacle of the 300 miles and hacking off the bobbers, the fugitives reached Ak-Buulak fortification, where the Russian garrison was located.

Three days later, the Hivintans attacked the Ak-Bulak fortification and besieged him. Kovalevsky, as the elder, by rank, accepted the command of defense - and, again, successfully completed the military task.

Over two thousand attackers could not make anything with 240 fortifications; In the end, they removed the siege and retreated. The purpose of the expedition was not achieved, but scientific results were still significant and discouraged the good glory to the warrior-geologist.

In Upper Egypt

In 1847, the Russian government responded to the request of the Egyptian Hediva (governor turkish Sultana) Mohammed Ali to send the Russian engineer "for the device and leadership of the development of gold-axes open in Upper Egypt."

The headquarters of the corps of mining engineers decided: to send to Africa Nether Petrovich Kovalevsky.

The path of the expedition began in Alexandria - the city, which is the name of its founder, Tsar Alexander Macedonsky. From Alexandria, the expedition on a small steamer on the Canal Mahmudi went to Nile. The Russians first were among the African desert.

This is how it describes her Kovalevsky in the book "Journey to Internal Africa": "Everything was dead.

The most horizon, on which the rays of the emerging sun fired, the horizon was pale, lifeless, seemed only to continue the desert, and therefore it was not visible to the end of her. The transition from life to death is stripped. "

At Nile Kovalevsky and his companions expected a greater steamer provided to their disposal of Mohammed-Ali. A day later, they reached Cairo.

Egypt's capital liked Herra Petrovich. All in her pleased with the eye: and bright gardens of gardens, and graceful minarets of numerous mosques, and carved accurate balconies with lace grids, and the streets covered from the sun where the canvas, where wooden canopies; In the afternoon they are shadows, and at night - mysterious ...

The master's pyramid of Heops, of course, who studied by Kovalevsky with all the scrupulousness of the engineer, did not receive praise from him: "I confess, I watched not with the delight, to which all the descriptions of traveling in Egypt, but with an invalid horror on this commander, testifying for five Thousands of years about the formation of pharaohs. "

Extremely figuratively and brightly describes the Kovalevsky nature of Northern Africa. Transferring his conversation with Mohammote-Ali, he briefly shows the difference between the climate in Cairo, that is, in Northern Egypt, and in Sudan: "Here, he said, by the way, I must indifferent to changing the underwear from sweat, and in Sudan barely worsens it, as already and dried and slander, as if paper, - Krak, Krak! "

But the description of the desert expansion process: "Where the coastal mountains are low or narrow, the sands of the desert are transferred through them to the fruit shores of the Nile, in some places, it is honesting any vegetation, spreading devastation and death. Someone worth a lone palm tree or mimosa bush; But soon everything will be absorbed by the remarks of the sands ... "

The desert appeared in all horror

On the steamer, the expedition got to Aswan. There travelers went to the shore, the sucked thresholds went around the land and the next day they continued on the Nile on Sailing Barkov, Dachabia.

Near the city of Kuruska, they again went ashore. River here cool turns to the West and describes a big arc. Therefore, Kovalevsky to cut the path, went with a caravan right through the Nubian desert.

"The next day the desert appeared in all the horror of destruction and death," the traveler wrote. - The cozers of camels and bulls came across every ten steps, sometimes more often. Neither a worm, nor flies, nor the witnessed messages: as if there was never a life here!

Lowest, separate, scattered, up to half of the sand-lined mountains had a perfect, affecting the semblance of graves. Located on the boundless sandy plain, they gave it a kind of cemetery. I have not seen anything terrible in life! "

Travelers went to twelve-thirteen hours a day and strongly suffered from thirst and samu - the wind of the desert. Samum or, as he called Arabs, Hamsin, blows from the south or southeast for five spring days.

When he overtakes the caravan in the desert, even water in leather bags dries away from the heat and reduce air humidity. Moreover, Hamsin's approach is difficult to foresee ...

At half the way, near bitter-salt wells, the caravan filled its leather bags with water, "but she delighted a little travelers.

Kovalevsky so describes the taste of this fluid: "Take a glass clean water, stir the spoons in it two dirt, add salts and part of the roting egg, too much on the wormwood, and you will get water, in all the way that we are in lately drank in the desert. "

Ten days later, a difficult path through the Kovalevsky desert with his companions again reached the water of the Nile. The city of Berbera Russians moved along the shore on camels and donkeh to circumvent the thresholds, and then sat down again in Barki. The vegetation was becoming more diverse, and in the homes of even the poorest Arabs, wooden beds began to be found, though without bed linen.

Kovalevsky explains that the bed is there - the subject is not luxury, but extreme necessity: "On earth it is impossible to sleep: a lot of crawling insects, between which are very common scorpions, snakes, tarantulas and other poisonous reptiles, scare even careless natives."

Disregard for possible death

Berber is the first city of Sudan, who visited the Kovalevsky expedition. His distinctive feature They are drowned - round wicker houses with roofs. It is from Berbert, "Kovalevsky notes, there are cone-like roofs that protect against powerful seasonal rains.

On February 20, travelers reached the city of Khartoum, built at the Merge of White Nile (Bahr El-Abyad) with Blue Neil (Bahr El Azarak).

But for three hours for three roads, Kovalevsky noted that the river seems to consist of two streams: "WATER REDUCED at the right banks were white; At the left - bluish green. Two rivers did not want to merge into one. Coastal residents prefer the water of the blue nile or white water, and therefore from the right banks are usually sent for water to the left. "

Khartum Kovalevsky liked: "The houses are rather picturesque at home, surrounded by gardens, followed by little care: they grow by the grace of the gracious climate and periodic rains; On the streets purely, on the sole square is spacious; Blue Nile at the walls, white - in sight. In short, Khartoum, after Cairo and Alexandria, is hardly the best city in Egypt. "

He cites the simplest explanation of the title of the city: "Nile at Khartoum is bent in the form of an elephant trunk, and the city is named with an elephant trunk - Hartum."

From Khartoum to Russiaires - the capital of the province of Fazogli - travelers again walked along the Nile on Dakhabiy. It was on this segment that the most terrible travel events occurred. He was the path through the Nubian Desert, "but there the travelers fought only with thirst. In the phaseogli, people were hunted, beasts ... and fever.

Kovalevsky for some reason does not write anything in his book about the danger of attacking the expedition of local, aggressive tribes. However, it is known that during the stay of Friend Petrovich in Sudan between the Sudanese troops and the Gaul tribe, there were constantly collisions.

Over 27 years before, in these places, the eldest and beloved son of Mohammed Ali - Ishmail-Pasha died on the hands of Galla's warriors. He was burned alive in the city of Shender. Most likely, Kovalevsky's silence is explained by the fact that the expedition was accompanied by troops, which were sent by the ruler of Sudan Ibrahim Pasha - the son of Mohammed-Ali.

But the presence of troops did not have a threat. The traveler tells the traveler that only four days before their arrival in the city of Uad Medina, "Negros made a conspiracy to kill all whites, that is, multicolored, and retire to their mountains; But, despite the fact that in the garrison there were up to 1000 black and only 200 people of Arabs, Turks, etc., the plot failed. "

Perhaps such a disregard for possible death can be explained by the character of Egor Petrovich - a brave, devoted to his officer.
The Kovalevsky danger from predators is much paying much more attention - but it seems that it is rather not fear, but the interest of naturalist.

This is how it describes a meeting with crocodiles. "On February 22, we left Hartum. Ohibayy is the island against him, we saw several dozen crocodiles lying on the sun with an open mouth enjoying on it with an open caffener.

Hence, up the Nile, there are extremely many of them, but such that they devour people, little: they will in line. For example, this year was one at the Khartoum himself; At the pulp, the crocodile lives ten years old, who abducts several people during each summer. "

The locals, according to Covalevsky's testimony, belong to river predators surprisingly carelessly and "take some precautions against them" only where the crocodile cannibal appears. In other places, "residents do not pay on crocodiles and the slightest attention: bathe and swim in nile in them."

From the sources of the blue Nile to the White Nile ...

The consequences of such a negligence Egor Petrovich saw his own eyes. Hereas he describes the attack of the crocodile per person: "It was a windless; Arabs Brere knee-deep and deeper in the water, Touching the Bark Bark.

Suddenly one of them disappeared and after that seemed to be on the water; And the moments did not go deep into, quickly, like lead.

Everyone guessed, what's the matter: the cry was raised, the noise, began to shoot, and Arab appeared again on the water, the bloody Feda dragged him; Hurryly threw the rope, and he swayed to Barka; Blood and water flowed from it.

It turned out that the crocodile grabbed it first above the knee; But probably confused in Feda, which the local residents will overtake the lower part of the body several times, and missed his sacrifice, leaving the traces of the teeth on the body; Another time grabbed him over the fingers of the same leg, but the shouts and noise scared it; The crocodile bit off three fingers, as if she cut off a knife. "

It is surprisingly the reaction to this incident from the Arabs: the victim himself from medical care Refused, saying that there is a kind of a badge, and most of all was distinguished by no loss of three fingers, but by the fact that the crocodile strongly blocked his Fedé.

Three Arabs suffered him home, and the rest went to the water to pull Dhabia, as if nothing had happened. "Nice land! - Kovalevsky sums up. - To the shore you can not approach the fear of Lviv and Gien; In water, it is impossible to remain in the fear of crocodiles. "

Lions, indeed, all the time were near and accompanied the expedition from the time she reached Sudan. "In the evening, it was to the shore, - writes Kovalevsky, - suddenly there was a lever of a lever; Another, finally, the third, and closer and closer, and closer, fled the shadow of one of them in the dark ...

Some of our were on the shore, and we were very afraid of them; Finally, in the opposite edge, they seemed a row of wandering people: these were ours. They heard the roar of Lviv as close as we, and decided to get around their water, risking it expensive on crocodiles: the visible danger is worse. "

And from people, and from the animals managed to defend. But the third danger is a tropical fever - nevertheless overtook travelers.

This is what Egor Petrovich writes to the headquarters of the mining engineers from the city of Kesan, located on the river Tumat (the left influx of the Blue Nile): "In the camp, a large half of the patients: it is a hard time before the rains, the thermometer in the sun shows constantly 350 on the reed, it comes to 390 . Already you can breathe. " One degree of the reomira scale is 1,250 s; Consequently, the temperature reached 440 - 490 Celsius!

In Kesan, Kovalevsky immediately began to build a gold mining factory. The deposit there was previously discovered by Egyptian engineers Dashuri and Ali, which Egor Petrovich teach exploration and gold mining in the Urals.

By simulating the construction of the factory, Kovalevsky, accompanied by troops, went on the dry bed to the origins of the Tumata in search of gold and the origins of the Nile. He found three gold-containing placer, but the Nile had to be refused from the source search plans. Brave traveler dumped acute fever ...

Correcting a little, Kovalevsky went on the way back - and on June 11, 1848 arrived in Alexandria. Mohammed-Ali was seriously ill, the country was led by his son - Ibrahim-Pasha. He expressed Herra Petrovich "special thanks" and awarded him by the Order Nichan El Iftigigar in the form of a gold medal with a diamond image of Montezel Sultan, crescent and stars.

The Russian government also awarded Kovalevsky "For the execution of the specially entrusted to him ... a foreign order" - the Order of Anne's second degree. One of the comrades Friend Petrovich, congratulating him with a reward, wrote that "to get such a reward, it seems that there was nothing to ride something." It is not known that Kovalevsky answered him ...

In the official report on the results of the expedition, the traveler wrote: "Neither the danger and deprivation, nor even the disease stopped me on the way. Knowing that the attention of scientist light was constantly drawn to the expedition entrusted to me (as shown reviews of journals and hopes of the ruler of Egypt, focused on me), I tried to support the dignity of the Russian and justify the selection of bosses. "

It was not the last journey of Egor Petrovich. An expedition to Central and Central Asia was still upcoming detailed descriptions which were essential for future researchers of these edges - N. Potanin, N. N. Przhevalsky, P. K. Kozlov, V. A. Obruchev and others.

Did not forget the Kovalevsky and his craft of a warrior. When in 1855, the Anglo-French troops began the siege of Sevastopol, he achieved a transfer to the existing army. For courage and heroism, manifested in the defense of the Black Sea Strip, Egor Petrovich was awarded a medal.

Next, life proceeds peacefully. From 1856 to 1861 Kovalevsky led the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1861 he was appointed senator and a member of the Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 1857 to 1865 Egor Petrovich held an assistant chairman of the Russian geographical society; In 1858 he was elected a member of the correspondent to the Academy of Sciences of Russia, and in 1859 it was an honorary member. Its own life Path Kovalevsky finished in 1868 in the rank of lieutenant-general of the corps of mining engineers.

Kovalevsky Egor Petrovich
(1811 - 1868)
Russian traveler, diplomat and writer. For eight years (1857 - 1865), he was an assistant chairman of the Russian geographical society, and from February 1865 he was his honorary member. During traveling in Africa (1847 - 1848), he made a great contribution to the permission of the Nile problem.

Egor Petrovich Kovalevsky belonged to those few whose passion was a journey as such. At the same time, he never wandered idle. A mining engineer, a skilled diplomat, a gifted writer, a researcher in nature, he would be eagerly taken for a wide variety of assignments, and most often he was accompanied by success and recognition.
After graduating from the University of Kharkov (Faculty of Philosophy), Kovalevsky specialized in the exploration and mining of gold in Altai. In 1839, the Russian government sent it to search for gold to Montenegro, and then with an important assignment to Bukhara, the capital of Khanate, almost closed for Europeans.
The mobility of Kovalevsky is amazing. Today is the southern outskirts of Europe, tomorrow - in the depths of Asia. Ural, Dalmatia, Afghanistan, Carpathians, Kashmir, Later Mongolia, China, Africa ...
In Africa Kovalevsky led the case not quite ordinary. The ruler of Egypt Mohammed-Ali was obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200breplenishing an indispensable treasury, finding mysterious country Ophir. There, as the legend argued, treasures were mined for King Solomon and the Egyptian pharaohs. The ancient Arabic manuscript prompted Mohammed-Ali to send people to search for a distant phaseoglu region. The messengers of the ruler of Egypt really found gold deposits, but very scarce.
Then the message was sent to the Russian king with a request to urgently send a knowledgeable mining engineer. So Kovalevsky was in Africa. Together with him in Egypt, the Siberian and Urals and Rudokops arrived in Egypt.
The conqueror of Arabia, Syria, Sennara and Kordofan spent time in conversations with Russian guests, asking them about the lives of Russia and its northern regions.
After preparing his expedition to Africa, Kovalevsky in the Urals taught two young enjoyed Egyptians in the art of searches and mining of gold. One of these disciples named Ali, accompanied Kovalevsky in the wandering on Africa.
The route of Kovalevsky's expedition was mainly on the Nile, his influx - the blue Nile and the Tumat river flowing into the last left. From Alexandria to Cairo, they drove the usual way along the Canal Mahmudie and the Rosett sleeve of the Delta Nile Kovalevsky, with his companions of Tsackovsky, Shtheiger Borodin and Fomin's gold miner, left Cairo on the Big Niel steamer on January 20, 1848. For the fifth day, they were in Aswan, from where the nail swimming continued on sailing barks - Dahabie. But they failed to go through the thresholds of the Nile above the city of Kuruska, so it was decided to go through the larger Nubian desert caravan.
In Nubia, Kovalevsky committed climbing the Libyan mountains, and then deepened to the greater Nubian desert, where, as he testifies, the hot air seemed to be a crimson. Along the entire path to the hot large Nubian desert lying around, the disappearance of travelers whiten by the sun skeletons of camels and bulls. The caravan walked without a break twelve to thirteen hours a day. Kovalevsky felt the desert "in all the horror of destruction and death." However, nomads told: quite good rain - and everything around is covered with greens. "So, this desert is doomed, this desert is doomed. If nature can silence it so quickly, it's a person, labor and time, can achieve the same."
Only for the tenth day the path ended the desert, and the river again received travelers. In Barkov, they slowly moved to the city of Khartoum, where the White Neal and the Blue Nile, merging their waters, give rise to the Nile.
Khartoum is the capital of Sennar and all Eastern Sudan. Here Kovalevsky engaged in studying the history of Sennar. Sennar - an area with the city of the same name - occupied the interference between the White and Blue Neil to their merger at Khartoum, forming a huge triangle. This triangle Kovalevsky called the Sennar Peninsula. Meadow with herbs in human growth, luxury steppes, virgin forests, where the lion's roar was heard, there was a look of this country. In the Sennar forests, he opened a new type of palm tree - douleb, collected seeds and roots of healthy plants.
Leaving the Blue Neal, the Russian squad went to the influx of this river - Tumata. On the banks of the Tumata to Kovalevsky did not have any Egyptian, not to mention the Europeans. He opened this country for science.
The region of the Tumata in its geological structure and the conditions for the occurrence of gold-containing rocks resembled Pyshma and Miass in the Urals. Russian geologists unmistakably found gold in greenflawed rocks, in the hollows and tributaries of the African River.
The Ural experience applied in distant Africa was fully successful. Russian Steiger opened the richest gold plane. In the very heart of Africa, it was built according to the sample of the Ural and Altai enterprises, a processing plant for gold mining.
But Kovalevsky dreamed of another success. The Arab saying solved one of the mysteries of Africa is very simple: "The origins of the Nile in paradise." By the time Kovalevsky traveled in Africa, they already knew that the Blue Nile begins in Ethiopia. Before leaving Cairo, Kovalevsky heard the travelers to the brothers Abbadi managed, finally find the origins of the White Nile, and not far from the sources of the blue.
Kovalevsky it seemed strange. But if the Abbadi brothers are right, then by the drying bed of the river Tumat, you can walk from the camp of the gold kits to the source of the Great River.
Russian discussed in vain from this junk, scaring a meeting with the warlike Abyssinian tribe of Galla. In the mountains around the first Biwak of his expedition, they flared out all night, then Gasli lights. Somewhere far rocked the drums, transmitting an alarming news about foreign things from the village of the village.
Soon, Egyptian soldiers captured three mountains, intending to turn them into slaves. Kovalevsky ordered to let go of the captives to the will. There must be a rumor about it away from the outskirts. Galla did not touch the aliens. The caravan was unhindered there, where weak springs were knocked out from under wet land. No one from Kovalevsky's satellites before seeing to see where the Tumat river follows.
"No one penetrated so far into Africa from this side," the Kovalevsky recorded in his diary. Before the trip of the Kovalevsky region of the Upper Nile, only on cosmographers cards was known. ancient Mira - Ptolemy (II century of our era) and al-Idrisi (1154), but the maps drawn up by them, of course, did not correspond to the needs of the XIX century geography.
South of the origins of Tumata lay a new country, open by Kovalevsky. From the east, it limited the top of Fadassi, behind which the Abyssinian Highlands raised. The southern border of the new country has a moon mountains. How many legends were folded about the lunar mountains, at the foot of which the origins of the Nile were placed since the time of Ptolemy! Kovalevsky rejected the erroneous statements of the ancients and believed that the origins of the Nile should be sought here.
Subsequently, it turned out that Kovalevsky was right in his assumptions - the lunar mountains were the main system of the mountains of internal Africa. Kovalevsky described the Tumatsky ridge outdoor, which was part of these mountains. It was crossed by Russian geologists in all directions. Here focused gold-bearing placers of internal Africa.
The new country to the south of the lunar mountains was named Kovalevsky Nikolaev.
The River Nebeta appeared on the map of the Russian opener. She proceeded on the "Nikolaev country".
"This name," Kovalevsky wrote about Neke, - can serve as an indication, to which places came the European traveler and to which nation it belongs. "
Under the assumption of Abbadi, the Nile should flow at the foot of the mountains located south of the origins of the Tumata. "But this is physically impossible: from the northern slope of these mountains take the beginning of the river, currently to the north, like, for example, the yabus and even the most tumata that would certainly meet on the way with a white nor, if he were here, and would merge with It is, and meanwhile, they safely reach their goal after a long way to the north, i.e. they fall into the blue Nile.
So, if the river, an open Abbadi really constitutes the source of the Nile, then he must make a steep turn and extraordinary efforts in the very, so to speak, his birth, when he is not fixed and not enriched with outsiders, to break through the mountains, which at the same turn should From everywhere to snew it in Abyssinia and in the land of Galla on the marked Abbadi latitude. If we assume that he proceeds to the southern side of the mountains and, already conceding them, breaks up to the north, he should meet in his way of his arrogance or Omo ... "Further Kovalevsky writes that D" Abbadi, apparently, accepted for the source of Nile A small river, too, by the name of the Bahr el-Abiad, but flowing on the right in the Blue Nile. Under this name, there is also a small lake, lying somewhat south.
Based on his personal observations, Kovalevsky concluded that the main river is not a blue Nile, but white.
Thus, Egor Petrovich was one of the first, if not the first to restored the proper belief in the geographical world, that the sources of the White Nile should be found not between 3 ° and 10 ° S.Sh., that is, where The map shows the lunar mountains, and much south.
The banks of the Necko were the extreme southern border of Kovalevsky routes through the Sennarsky Peninsula, the Earth of Black Galla in the Nikolaev country. He reached the edge of Abyssinian Highlands. No one did such bold travel at that time.
But the wandering and discoveries of the Russian geologist and the Ural Runes are not terminated on this.
In the same 1848, they were seen between the blue and white Nile in the mountains, as if visited the scarlet border, in the thickets of ebony and wild bananas. Near High Mountain Doul Kovalevsky visited the only fortress in the field of Sennara, the garrison of which consisted of Albanians, Tatars and the Balkan Slavs. White huts stood on the ground of black continent, and in them under the sky of Africa sounded the sounds of Slavic hussley.
On the way back to Alexandria, in the expanses of a small Nubian desert, Kovalevsky opened the River Abud, the left influx of the Nile. This discovery refuted the opinions of famous German geographers of Humboldt and Ritter, who argued that Nila had only one influx - the Atbara River.
Accompanied by Albanian connants and devotees-blacks, a detachment of Russian researchers drove into Alexandria. Kovalevsky drove bags with high-grade yellow gold tumata and scientific collections, including stone tools of the ancient ministries of Africa mined gold for pharaohs.
The studies of Kovalevsky made some clarity in the oriental of the western part of the Abyssinian Highlands East Sudan, or, as Kovalevsky, Sennarsky Peninsula called him, is an extensive territory in the form of a triangle, concluded between the lower currents of the White and Blue Nile rivers, was put on the card for their own observations. (This map is given as an application to the Kovalevsky book "Journey to Inner Africa.")
During the trip to Egypt, Nubia, Sudan, Abyssinia and Inner Africa, Kovalevsky conducted versatile scientific research. It determined the breadth and longitude of various locations, worked with a barometer, conducted meteorological observations, studied the composition of the water and deposits of the Nile, collected data on the geology of the Nile Delta.
Shortly after returning from the campaign, he wrote the work of the "Nile Geological Pool and Gold-Building Mosses of Internal Africa". And only much later - in 1872 - the book of Kovalevsky "Journey to Inner Africa" \u200b\u200bwas published. This book contains many wonderful information about people and nature of unknown European countries and is imbued with hot sympathy to the black inhabitants of Africa.
It is interesting to note the feature of many of the rivers of this part of Africa, which has repeatedly indicated in his book Egor Petrovich. In a dry season, these rivers (even significant, as a tumat, and especially small rivers - the Neck, Jabus) represent the dried beds, but it is enough to dull only a small deepening in line to get good drinking water. Consequently, the rivers flow under the sand layer. In the rain period of the year, these rivers are full-flowered.
In 1849-1851, Kovalevsky as a diplomatic representative traveled to China. With his assistance, a contract was signed by which the Jungaria was opened for Russian trade. The signing of the treaty to a large extent contributed to the geographical study of this part of Western China.
Kovalevsky wrote not one book during his remarkable life. He knew the world from the Adriatic to the deserts of Central Asia, from the lunar mountains to the North China.

Egor Petrovich Kovalevsky is famous as the head of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russian Empire. However, the contribution made by him in the development of the Eastern Direction foreign Policy Russia was laid at the very beginning of its multifaceted activity.

In 1846, Kovalevsky was accompanied by the Urals of Egyptian engineers sent to Russia with Pasha Mohammed Ali to study the mining, and in 1847 he himself went to Egypt for the device there. Golden crafts. "This task (was) was given to him at the special request of Mohammed Ali, who wants to explore the golden sands to operate them with the mind and knowledge of the case. Appointing this case of such an outstanding officer who has already managed such enterprises in Russia, E. and. In. Sovere The emperor collapsed to give Mohammed Ali great mercy, and we have no doubt that Pasha will be able to appreciate it and submit to the city of Kovalevsky all the necessary funds so that he successfully achieves his goal. " Kovalevsky took advantage of this trip to provide services to the young Russian geographical society, whose members were elected in the same year: in 1847-1848. Kovalevsky conducted geographical and geological studies in East Africa, according to the results of which he one of the first pointed out the correct geographical position The origins of the Bahr el-Abead / White Nile river. Kovalevsky described his African expedition in the book "Journey to internal Africa", published in 2 parts.

However, this book did not become the only monument to stay her author on the African continent. For the Russian foreign policy department, the official reports of Kovalevsky, namely, were much larger than: "A brief report E.P. Kovalevsky on the expedition to Africa, submitted by Chancellor K.V. Nesselrod", note "The current political and commercial condition of Eastern Sudan and Abyssinia", As well as "Project of Russia's trade with Egypt and the shores of the Cherry Sea." These documents disclose the research depth shown by our traveler, and the breadth of its intentions to strengthen the Russian presence in the region under consideration. Below we give passages from the named "Report", which are the most important for coverage of the political aspect of the stay of Kovalevsky in East Africa.

"At the end of December 1847 I came to Cairo. Cooking for the expedition began operational. Muhammed Ali, for whom the opening of gold planes was a favorite idea of \u200b\u200ball life now focused on all his hopes in me. During the two-week of my stay in Cairo, I was very often The vice-king and, dare to think, enjoyed it special to himself. He spoke to me about the Barriege of Nile, who ranked him especially, strengthening Alexandria, about the establishment of the Cadastre and often asked my advice; he often laughed at the intrigues of the British and French, of which At that time, some troubled about the device. railwayOther - channels through Suez stakes, meanwhile, as Mohammed Ali firmly decided not to allow neither one nor and was separated from two entries among themselves with one promises. He responded with enthusiastic gratitude about the Milutions of the Emperor's sovereign, who sent him his officer to consume to achieve his beloved goal and very often proudly spoke by the European Consuls about his connection with the Russian yard. I returned to Alexandria on another path, through the Nubian desert and Dongola. I caught the ruler of Egypt, Ibrahima Pasha! I brought him gold mined on the factory designed by me; He wrapped him with his hands on his hand with visible pleasure and had an obvious joy. Ibrahim-Pasha is a positive mind, but not so brilliant as his father; Now he tries to popularize himself in every way, but the people remember His cruelty and, accustomed to the eastern pomp of their rulers, takes simplicity for the misfortune, with what Ibrahim-Pasha lives. It is impossible not to confess that there is a big place here. It seems that Ibrahim Pasha's thought is the deviation of Egypt from Turkey. He actively forms new troops and strengthens Alexandria. Before leaving, my Alexandria Ibrahim-Pasha instructed to ask for your beggar to bring to the attention of the emperor's sovereign that deep gratitude, then the favor that nourishes him to the Russian monarch. It was impossible not to notice from the words of him that from this side he is very afraid of obstacles in the performance of his ideas.

Of all the foregoing, your shyness will evolve that neither danger and deprivation, nor even the disease stopped me on the way. Knowing that the attention of the scholar light was constantly addressed to the expedition entrusted to me (as the magazines and the hopes of the ruler of Egypt, focused in me), I tried to support the dignity of Russian and justify the selection of bosses. I take the courage to calculate here the results that we have reached my expedition, already partially known to your desire from the correspondence of mine with Mohammed Ali and Ibrahim-Pasha. Three gold-containing placers were opened, a gold mill was built and the strengthening, taken to the works of this kind of native of this kind, in proof of which gold mined in a factory was brought by the ruler of Egypt. For geography, a huge space of the country of blacks from the origins of the Blue Neal to the White Nile was purchased, no Europe was never penetrated, despite all the efforts of the London geographical society. Mealometric many heights were measured and determined by sextan the latitude of many items. Land map has been removed until now unknown, collected collections in many sectors natural Sciences And, finally, despite all the concerns of the Governor of Eastern Sudan, who introduced me a squad, I showed, penetrating it so far into Africa, what dangers and deprivations can overcome Ibrahim-Pasha soldiers than he was extremely pleased. "

In the named "note" Kovalevsky reports activities in the Khartouume of the "Spiritual Mission of Roman Propaganda" under the leadership of Jesuit Raillo, who did not have so much spiritual affairs, how much business: "Raillo bought a big house, builds another and discharges the colonists who want to settle in White and Blue Nile. " But this is "more political and commercial than a religious enterprise," it ended in sad: Raillo in 1848 he died of hot, and the members of his spiritual mission were killed. Much attention to Kovalevsky pays Ethiopia, which in the 40s years XIX c., According to the author, it was "divided into several separate possessions, one of the other independent, one with the other younger." Everything that refers in the "note" to Ethiopia is becoming even more important due to the fact that in its book "Journey to Internal Africa" \u200b\u200bKovalevsky writes little about this country.

In the "note" he sets out even the history of penetration into Ethiopia of European colonizers. To establish trade between Russia and Egypt, Kovalevsky offered to organize a regular shipping message between Odessa and Alexandria. In his opinion, Black Sea postal ships, kiced between Odessa and Constantinople, could cope with this task. However, against the named "Project" made Moscow Governor A.A. Zakrevsky, who believed that Russian goods would not be able to withstand competition with British and French. Zagrevsky believed that if Russian merchants found a profitable trade with Egypt, they would have already established communication with him. For trade with Egypt, there was not enough of some capital, they needed knowledgeable people who could devote themselves to this case. There were no such people at that time.

The merchants who are not familiar with the region and its demand were not solved to invest their capital into a new business. The proposal of Kovalevsky on the establishment of a trading house on African trade in Moscow, according to Zakrevsky, did not deserve attention. The opinion was prevailed that the remoteness of Moscow from the ports of the Black Sea. In the absence of good ways of communication, it will create great difficulties in the trade of Moscow merchants with Egypt, therefore the "project" of Kovalevsky was rejected. Nevertheless, Kovalevsky's journey to Eastern Africa has become an important event In the development of Russian-Egyptian political and economic relations, and also enriched the Russian and world geographic science.

PV Gusterin, Researcher Russian Institute of Strategic Studies