ABSTRACT
On 12/23 January 1781 Samuel Bentham (SB) announced an intention of visiting Archangel and part of Siberia. Rivers were the main highways of Siberia and it made sense to have a vehicle that could take to the water as easily as it travelled over land. A centre for the Siberian trade in furs, SB found full employment here in acquiring information about the Kamchatka trade which he found under the direction of this government', about the industries of the Nerchinsk region, and about Russia's connection with the Chinese'. SB set off from Irkutsk on his return journey in late June or early July 1782. Initially he travelled by barque carrying imported Chinese goods through magnificent scenery down the Angara River. On the Angara River, SB reached Jeniseisk on 9/20 July 1782. Travelling upstream on the Eniseisk River he made Krasnoyask on 16/27 July.
