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Chapter 1489 The Evenki Tribe

In July 1908, the Tunguska region was experiencing its hottest season, with temperatures exceeding 20 degrees Celsius and the air filled with moisture.

This area has a typical subarctic continental climate, with long, harsh winters and short, warm summers. July is the rainy season each year.

As another round of thunderstorms fell, a large caravan slowly made its way from the north towards the heart of Tunguska. Most of the caravan members were blond-haired, blue-eyed white people, while only the guides and drivers were local natives with yellow skin.

"Professor Muller! Professor Muller!" Someone ran up to the front of the convoy on the muddy dirt road and called out to an old man.

Hearing his shout, the old man, or rather Professor Müller, put down his pen and turned to look at the person who had shouted, who was running alongside the carriage: "What is it, Heinz?"

"Professor, the magnetometer is reacting more and more strongly. I think we've found the right place."

The young Heinz spoke excitedly, then wiped the mud off his face and handed a record to the other person.

Professor Muller took the record, his expression shifting from calm to surprise, and then from surprise to seriousness.

Although the recorded magnetic anomalies were not large, they exhibited a high degree of regularity, with an abrupt peak appearing every three hours before returning to normal, which did not seem like a natural phenomenon.

After thinking for a moment, Professor Müller told the guide in Russian, "Tell the driver to speed up; we must reach the Evenki camp within five days."

Heinz also looked at the guide. They had been ordered by the German Emperor to go to Tunguska to investigate the "earthquake," but upon arriving in Irkutsk, they received a different message: there was no major earthquake at all.

However, some traveling merchants revealed that a massive explosion occurred in the core area of ​​Tunguska, and that there was an Evenki tribe nearby, which is why the expedition team entered the forest during the rainy season.

The indigenous guide looked troubled and pointed to the bumpy dirt road, replying, "This is difficult, sir. The road is hard to travel unless..."

“Unless what?” Professor Muller pressed.

The guide changed the direction of his finger and pointed to the rushing river not far away. This river is the mother river of the Tunguska region and the largest river in central Siberia - the Yenisei River.

It is formed by the confluence of several rivers flowing through Tunguska, traversing the entire Siberian region from south to north, and finally emptying into the Arctic Ocean.

Compared to the rugged dirt roads formed entirely by the trampling of pedestrians and vehicles, it is much more convenient to travel by boat across the Yenisei River to the core area of ​​Tunguska.

A day later, Muller and his team rented a dozen flat-bottomed cargo ships at the last Belarusian settlement and sailed upstream along the Yenisei River.

With the help of boats, even without going with the current, the expedition team was still much faster and could reach their destination on time. This relieved the team members and even gave them time to appreciate the scenery on both sides of the river.

Looking out from the river, the larch and spruce trees on the bank resemble two dark green walls, and foxes and moose can be seen from time to time among the dwarf birches, rhododendrons, and blueberries under the trees.

On one of the cargo ships, Heinz held up his camera and kept pressing the shutter to record the terrain and flora and fauna on both sides of the river, which was also one of the expedition's tasks.

Muller, who was on the same boat, smiled when he saw this scene. He was about to say something when he was interrupted by the roars of animals. Everyone looked over and saw that several brown bears were fighting on the shallows.

These bears are enormous, almost as tall as two people when they stand up. When they bite, they swing their huge paws to attack each other, and mud, fur, and blood fly through the air.

A smaller brown bear was thrown to the ground, flailing its claws and struggling to get up, but was bitten in the neck by another brown bear.

The former fell and was swept away by the water, while the latter roared to the sky, sunlight shining on its wet fur, reflecting a copper-red halo.

The raw beauty and cruelty of nature were on full display at this moment, leaving Müller and the others speechless. Just as Heinz was about to take a picture to record it, a remark from the guide next to him caught his attention.

"Strange, why are these guys all showing up together?"

Heinz was taken aback. Brown bears are solitary animals and spend most of their time alone, only foraging in groups when competing for mates or when mother bears are raising cubs.

But these bears are all male, each with their own territory, and they rarely have the chance to meet even during the breeding season. There are no female bears to fight over, so why are they fighting?

Professor Müller also heard the guide's question. Gazing at the shimmering river, he turned and called out Heinz's name: "What do you think happened?"

Heinz frowned and thought for a moment, then replied somewhat uncertainly, "Perhaps there's a problem with these brown bears' territory, forcing them to flee and find new places to forage."

Professor Muller nodded and adjusted his glasses: "Yes, that's a very reasonable deduction. It might be related to the Big Bang."

"God! Look!"

While Heinz and Müller were talking, the fleet entered a tributary. The expedition member in charge of navigation exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the river ahead, and a foul odor wafted into the air.

Everyone instinctively looked up, then gasped in unison. The river, dozens of meters wide, was covered with dead animals—not just various freshwater fish, but also minks, squirrels, rabbits, wolves, brown bears, and even tigers. The bow of the boat thudded against the animal carcasses, producing heavy thuds. The stench was unbearable, and the expedition members covered their mouths and noses.

Heinz snapped out of his daze, put on gloves, and scooped up a squirrel and a rabbit. He observed them carefully for a moment and then told Muller what he had discovered.

“Professor, they’ve been boiled by the river. There must have been a fire in the forest ahead.”

He paused for a moment, then continued to speculate: "The fire must have been huge. Some animals, like those brown bears, escaped, while others jumped into the water to escape the fire. However, the river water was too hot, causing them to be scalded to death."

Muller looked grave. Could water hot enough to scald an animal to death? The fire must have been very large and lasted a long time, otherwise the flowing river water wouldn't have maintained such a high temperature for so long.

The onlookers seemed to see countless animals running wildly through the forest under a raging fire, like the fiery judgment in the Book of Isaiah. The expedition members, including Heinz, lost interest in talking and all shut their mouths.

In silence, the fleet sailed upstream for more than ten kilometers. The stench grew stronger and stronger, and the scenery on both banks gradually changed, turning from lush greenery to dark gray.

Many burned trees fell in one direction, and wisps of smoke could still be seen rising in the distance, indicating that the fire was still burning deep in the forest.

Over the next two days, the expedition team gradually ventured deeper into the core area of ​​Tunguska. The number of animal carcasses in the river increased, and the signs of destruction on the banks became more and more obvious, with no signs of life visible.

Heinz had some doubts; perhaps the Evenki tribe was wiped out, and no one could have survived such a horrific fire.

On the morning of the fifth day, the fleet finally docked. The expedition members placed the important equipment on the horses that had been transported on the same ship, and the group walked to the Evenki camp.

After walking for a while, the group found that the situation on land was even more serious. The ground was covered with a layer of ash that was half a meter deep, and even the hard rocks had become extremely brittle, crumbling into powder at the slightest touch.

The road conditions were so bad that what should have been a three- or four-hour journey took the expedition most of the day.

Before sunset, the expedition finally approached the Evenki tribe. To Heinz's delight, human footprints were found nearby, indicating that the Evenki were still alive!

“Evie, Kemi! (Someone is approaching)”

As the expedition approached, someone on the hillside shouted in Tungusic, and then a group of Evenki people dressed in indigenous clothing ran out from behind the hill.

Heinz and his companions stealthily reached for their weapons to prevent the natives from harming the expedition, but they soon realized that the Evenki people meant no harm and even welcomed their arrival.

“Buga! Buga!①”

Among the Evenki, an elderly man with colorful ribbons and copper plates sewn onto his coat smiled and hugged the guide. The two chatted for a few words in Tungusic.

After the conversation ended, the guide turned to Muller and explained, "Sir, this is the tribe's elder. Life has been very difficult for the tribe since the explosion, and he hopes to exchange furs with us for some supplies."

“Of course.” Muller smiled gently and gestured for the guide to translate his words to the elder.

“We brought a lot of salt, ironware and cloth. I can trade with the tribe at the cheapest price, but they must help us with scientific research.”

Establishing contact with indigenous people using supplies was a common tactic used by Western expeditions. In this way, expeditions were able to obtain a great deal of useful information, resources, and wealth.

The guide relayed Muller's meaning to Elder Evenki, who pondered for a moment and then gently patted his knee with his palm facing down—a gesture of agreement from the Evenki.

A few minutes later, the elder led the expedition back to the camp, where dozens of leather tents were nestled on the leeward side of the hillside, with women and children coming and going from time to time.

"Honorable guest, please take a rest."

Instead of immediately making a deal, the elder invited Muller and the others to sit down by the fire pit in the center of the camp and had tea, milk, and reindeer cheese served to them.

In the culture of the Evenki, fire is the most sacred thing, and inviting guests to sit around the fire is the highest form of etiquette among the Evenki.

Muller listened to the guide's introduction and drank the reindeer milk without hesitation. Unexpectedly, a strong fishy smell hit his head, but he still forced himself to swallow the milk despite feeling nauseous.

"Hahaha~~"

The elders and the rest of the Evenki laughed good-naturedly, which immediately eased the somewhat awkward atmosphere. Several Evenki children even made faces at the edge of the crowd.

After finally finishing the reindeer milk, Muh explained the purpose of his visit to the elder: "Could you tell me what exactly happened here a few days ago?"

①A common greeting among the Evenki people, which can mean "hello" as well as "safe arrival" or "welcome".