In the early 40s, stories began to be published in the Siberian Lights magazine under the heading "Notes of Experienced People." Soon, fascinating stories about the nature of the Far East and Siberia found their readers, and in 1950 they were published as a separate collection, which subsequently entered the tetralogy of G. A. Fedoseyev's “Path of Trials”.
about the author
The author of the book was born in the Kuban region (now Karachay-Cherkessia) in 1899. Father and elder brother died during the First World War. Grigory Anisimovich graduated from the Polytechnic Institute, became a surveyor engineer and in the 30s moved to Novosibirsk. He not only became a participant and leader of expeditions in Transbaikalia, Sayan, Okhotsk coast and Tunguska, but he also collected a huge collection of plants and transferred it to the Academy of Sciences.
Thanks to his articles on poaching the extermination of animals and fish, the facts of illegal hunting in the Eastern Sayans were revealed and the Tofalar reserve was organized. In the will, the author of the book “Path of Trials” Fedoseyev asked to bury his ashes in the Sayan Mountains. The writer died in 1968, his comrades-in-arms and friends fulfilled the last request and buried one of the urns with his ashes on the Eden Pass, which now bears the name of G. A. Fedoseyev.
Mysterious Taiga
Fedoseev’s works tell about the nature of Siberia and the Far East, about the life of the indigenous people, about the difficulties that had to be encountered in the expeditions. All works of the author are based on real events, and they do not have fictitious names. The last of the manuscripts, the story "Tagged", was prepared for publication after the death of the writer M. Hoffmann. Among the well-known works of Fedoseyev are short stories and novels “The Last Bonfire”, “Mysteries of the Forest”, “Search”, the book “The Path of Trials”, which will be discussed later.
Readers are waiting for real stories from the life of taiga researchers. Despite the fact that Grigory Anisimovich was not a professional writer, his works are read in one breath. We must give him his due - the descriptions of nature are simply mesmerizing. The work was created on the basis of the author's diary entries made during campfire campfires. The most amazing thing is that adventures worthy of a bestseller took place in the life of surveyors and topographers exploring the Priokhotskoy taiga.
Upper Zeya Expedition
The narration in the book “The Path of Trials” is conducted on behalf of the author. In the first part, he introduces the reader to the background of their expedition. For a long time the region of the Sea of Okhotsk attracted researchers, and now - topographers have been given permission. They still do not represent the boundaries of the taiga, nor the location of swamps and swamps, but from experience they know that in the fight against wildlife, you will have to rely only on your own strengths. At the headquarters of the expedition of Zeya, work is in full swing.
The desk of the chief engineer is littered with diagrams, photographs and projects, foremen are crowding around, determining routes along unpaved paths. It was time to get ready for the trip and it turned out that for their party in the inaccessible area at the junction of three ridges there was no guide from the local. A little later they received a message that only the eighty-year-old resident of Ulukitkan was in the upper reaches of Zeya.
On the very first evening they talked with him and his companion Nicholas until late at night. A blizzard erupted in the morning, but Ulukitkan said it was better to get into bad weather than ice. From that moment on, all the expedition members, without saying a word, recognized the old man as the eldest among them. Gradually, the reader of Grigory Fedoseyev’s book “The Path of Trials” also accepts this. The storyteller imperceptibly fades into the background, and the main character of the story becomes the wise and good-natured Evenk Ulukitkan.
The path of perseverance and struggle
Further, the author tells what incredible tests the researchers have to go through. What makes them give up comforts and follow the path of trials? Thirst for research? Yes. For the happiness of seeing the conquered space from the mountain, you have to pay sleepless nights, knocked down in blood. In addition to cold and fatigue in the taiga, other dangers await.
Tirelessly after the caravan is a pack of wolves. Clanging their teeth with hunger, they are waiting for the moment when tired deer and people will collapse exhausted in the snow. And here comes wisdom to the rescue. The experience of the conductor of Ulukitkan, who has seen a lot in his lifetime: “You must walk, still walk.” A tired old man walked on his own and forced others to go, saving them from the flood. The insidious gorge behind.
In search of
In the morning, the whole camp was awakened by the voice of Ulukitkan: "Trouble has come!" Alien deer have nailed to the herd, somewhere on the pass people die. How is this known to the old conductor? "When a person freezes, he cannot untie the belts on a deer, cuts with a knife." The blizzard broke out. But crackers, a first-aid kit, meat, and fur things flew into the knapsacks. We must go to the rescue. A colleague from a neighboring expedition was caught in the way by a storm, fleeing from a strong wind, he hid in the taiga with a wounded conductor, having built a simple shelter from fir branches.
A day later, when the blizzard subsided, they all together went to the pass. And stupefied. The angry face of a bear appeared from beneath the snow. Den. There is only hope for dogs - Kuchum and Boyka. Gathering at the campfire in the evening, everyone was fascinated by the wise hunter Ulukitkan. An experienced ranger, he told me that in the taiga every branch, every path can speak. The trials that befell the old man taught him a lot. “The eye must see everything,” he said, and continued the story that the Evenks used to divide the year not by twelve months, but into many periods in accordance with natural phenomena.
Spring road
The second part of the book begins with a description of nature. Spring came, and the harsh forest filled with the mysterious sounds of awakening nature. A radiogram was received from the party leader requesting that the joint of the Dzhugdzhursky and Stanovoi ranges be examined as soon as possible. It was decided to speak in a day, everyone was bending over the map. Ulukitkan jabbed a finger at her: "The pass must be sought at the top of Mai."
We got up early. The old man could not go to the pass due to a wounded leg. Remaining in the camp, he watched the “lucky ones" with an envious look and asked to turn the largest stone on top. Where eighty years ago, saving his children from starvation, his mother walked. Where his father stayed forever. And in the bluish distance lay wavy ridges of mountains and beckoned with their snowy whiteness.
On the way back
Day after day, the author of The Path of Trials describes the everyday life of cartographers and geographers. They, divorced from civilization for many months, are united by work. Wildlife and harsh taiga can not resist their mutual assistance, the devotion of the dogs, the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the old hunter. Ulukitkan, who has lived in the taiga all his life, predicts weather better than meteorologists, easily climbs mountains and goes skiing.
The words of the main character of G. Fedoseyev’s book “The Path of Trials” can be analyzed into quotes. Each phrase is a storehouse of wisdom. He charges with his energy, amazes with observation and logic. In situations where life was in danger, the author repeatedly recalled the old man's words. The last chapter, where the narrator loses a blind old man in the taiga, amazes to the core. And with what relief you find out that the old man was found and sent by plane to the hospital!
Summary “The Path of Trials” Fedoseyev cannot convey the feelings experienced by the expedition members. In the last pages, the author tells readers about his experiences, sad that Ulukitkan will not be able to return to the taiga. What was their surprise when the eighty-year-old man escaped from the hospital and went on foot "to the chief." Ulukitkan again led their caravan.
Reader Reviews
A wonderful book about wild taiga, about life in camp conditions. The life of these brave people, the heroes of the work, fascinates and delights. The traditions and life of the local population are described in an interesting way. Readers are attracted to the fact that the characters are real. Ulukitkan led many more detachments along impassable paths. The trials that fell to the lot of heroes cause a storm of feelings. After all, they do not pursue fame and money, but simply do their job.