Natural Science
Sakhalin
Activities
What distinguished Bronisław Piłsudski from other researchers was his long-term stay on the Sakhalin. It allowed him to conduct research and collect materials in various regions of the island. Within three years, he traveled 2,641 kilometers by a four-wheeled horse-drawn wagon for transportation of people and luggage and by sleigh, 95 kilometers on horseback, 491 by small boat on the sea, 566 by boat on rivers and lakes, 800 by dog or reindeer-pulled sleigh in winter, and last but not least, he walked 373 kilometers on foot. This gives a total of 4,966 kilometers. The length of Sakhalin is 950 km, its width from east to west at its widest point is 132 km, and at its narrowest point it is equal to 26 km. During his research, Piłsudski had to overcome obstacles that, according to Chekhov, prevented prisoners from escaping, “Untouched by a human foot, the Sakhalin taiga, mountains, constant precipitation, fog, barren spaces, bears, hunger, flies, and terrible frosts, and blizzards in winter – these are true friends of surveillance.”
Based on:
Kazuhiko Sawada, A Story of Bronisław Piłsudski. A Pole Named King of the Ainu People, Sulejówek 2021
From a letter to his sister Zuleczka, 17 September 1885: ...
From a letter to his sister Zuleczka, 17 September 1885: ...