Maclay Nikolai

(1847 - 1887). Graduated Course of Natural Sciences at St. Petersburg University, worked in Germany on a study of jaws bladder sharks and comparative anatomy of the brain. With the support of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society Maclay in 1871. went to the military corvette "Vityaz" to an unknown before the coast of New Guinea, since termed the Maclay Coast. Here the command "Vityaz" succeeded in arranging for the traveler with his two servants (a Swede, and Polynesians), a small house. Papuans treated Maclay very suspiciously, and his servants will soon become ill with fever, from which the Polynesian and died. Through 11 / 2 months after his arrival and he Maclay began to experience bouts of the disease, do not leave it until the departure. Only six months later attitude of the natives to Miklukho-Maclay has changed due to the fact that they wanted to use his "supernatural power" in threatening them against powerful neighbors. While the world was not broken, but the friendship between Miklukho-Maclay and the Papuans quickly gained strength and gave him the opportunity to study their habits and make some long-distance trips. When after 16 months for Miklukho-Maclay was a military clipper "Emerald", seeing the traveler turned into an ovation from the natives. On the way to Batavia (Java Island) Maclay studied on the island Manille living there Negritos. Recovered from fever, Maclay went back to New Guinea to its south-west coast, whose population enjoys a very bad reputation. Miklukho-Maclay was able to visit this place, unknown even to the natives, to collect interesting collections (including vertebrates, many of whom were dvuutrobki new species), to make observations on the population. In 1875, Mr.. Maclay made a trip to the Malay Peninsula, to compare its inhabitants the Papuans and the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. Following on the peninsula for about a year in the tireless, . sometimes hazardous travels, . Maclay went to the Western Islands of Micronesia and neighboring, . pursuing the same goals, then he landed on the shore of Maclay, . where he was kindly received by his former friends,
. Among them Maclay spent the whole of 1877, made several excursions into the interior of the island and along its shores (often in a native canoe) and visited a number of nearby islands, is not afraid to spend two days among cannibals near Cape Dupere. On the long journey from Maclay was no means, . and, most importantly, he has focused his attention on the ethnological studies of nearby tribes, . ethnological studies of nearby tribes, . the study of vertebrate brain and the anatomy of marsupials and meteorological observations,
. Good relations between Miklukho-Maclay and the natives have developed: the Papuans began to worship him, he loved them, and become intimately familiar with the brutal exploitation of the islanders visiting businessmen, made to protect them. She focused on the next few years of life Maclay after moving it to Sydney. In 1882, Mr.. He briefly returned to St. Petersburg, wanting to encourage Russia to take Maklaysky coast of New Guinea and made it the Russian colonies. This plan was considered unacceptable, and Maclay engaged in the development of its collection of observations, publication of which was to be held in the means of Emperor Alexander III. The place of his stay, he chose Sydney, where they had previously been arranged Biological Station. In 1885, Mr.. Maclay newly arrived in St. Petersburg, was brought to all its collections, one was an exhibition. Proceedings Maclay (76 works) published in "Proceedings of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society" for 1871 - 84 years, "Verhandlungen d. Berliner Gesellschaft der Anthropologie, Ethnologie u. Urgeschichte "and in the Batavian and Australian magazines. The papers and collections Maclay transferred his widow (a native of Australia), the Imperial Russian Geographic Society and the latter are placed in the museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Maclay had no time to bring their observations in order, remained after his notes and diaries are not printed. After 7 years after his death D.N. Anuchin took it upon themselves to dismantle the remaining mass of material, but their publication of necessary funds are not found. - Literature. P. Semenov, "History of half a century of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, h. II (St. Petersburg, 1896), with a list of articles placed in Moscow, "Izvestia Geographic Society; Anuchin," 25-anniversary of the death Maclay "(" Geography ", Moscow, 1913).