Book Description

Excerpt from Tent-Life in Siberia: And Adventures Among the Koraks and Other Tribes in Kamtchatka and Northern Asia The attempt which was made by the Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1865-6 and '7, to build an overland line to Europe via Alaska, Behring's Straits, and Siberia, was in some respects the most remarkable undertaking of the present century. Bold in its conception, and important in the ends at which it aimed, it attracted I one time the attention of the whole civilized world, and was regarded as the greatest telegraphic enterprise which had ever engaged American capital. like all unsuccessful ventures, however, in this progressive age, it has been speedily forgotten, and the brilliant success of the Atlantic Cable has driven it entirely out of the public mind. Most readers are familiar with the principal facts in the history of this enterprise, from its organization to its ultimate abandonment; but only a few, even of its original projectors, know anything about the work which it accomplished in British Columbia, Alaska, and Siberia; the obstacles which were met and overcome by its exploring and working parties; and the contributions which it made to our knowledge of an hitherto untravelled, un-visited region. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.