In October, they arrive at Tara. Steller travelled through this town eight months ago, and he begins to weep. Why has he been forced back to this ugly place inhabited only by illiterate Tatars and incompetent officials? But it is in Tara that the court awaits him. A postal wagon comes bearing news: Lieutenant Waxell had learned of the charges against Steller, testified to his good character, and now all the charges have been dropped. Upon hearing this, Steller drops to his knees. He clasps his hands together and thanks the Lord and the lieutenant, and rather than staying to tempt fate, he leaves the town that same evening. He must get to St Petersburg, correct these misunderstandings and clear his name, he must deliver his report before another researcher reaches his island. So many lost days, weeks and months – he cannot afford to waste another moment.
He arrives at Tobolsk, and the town’s archbishop hosts a banquet in honour of his release. Sophisticated guests are a rarity in Siberia, and the archbishop enjoys conversation with this erudite man who is almost as well read as he. They talk about God and the medicinal qualities of herbs, they raise their glasses, but Steller is restless. He longs to return to his samples, the fossils,skins and seeds still waiting to be put in order, the plants abandoned in the frozen soil, but the archbishop is in no hurry to let his guest go. He hosts Steller for a full three weeks, but by then the naturalist’s patience has run out. He packs his belongings and orders his horses to be prepared for the journey, but on the morning he is due to set off he awakes to shivers. A fever ravages his body, sweat breaks out upon his brow and soaks his clothes. The archbishop prays, begs him to stay, but Steller shakes his head. What is a small fever compared to the hardships he experienced on his uninhabited island? He will not hear any argument to the contrary and instead climbs into his sled, his legs trembling.
He travels for three days and nights without stopping. On the morning of the fourth day, he is found freezing on the side of a road leading to Tyumen, his horses worn out with exhaustion.
The town’s physician is summoned to the inn. Lying on the gurney in front of him, he finds a febrile, emaciated man calling him strange names and speaking a mixture of Latin, German and Russian. The physician places a cloth on the man’s forehead and gives him tea steeped from herbs, but the fever will not drop, and Steller’s breath begins to rasp. The physician sends someone to fetch a priest, and a moment before he slips into darkness, Steller smiles. He is sitting by the campfire, the Cossack at his side. They raise mugs of the sea cow’s blubber and crack them together.
Steller is buried on the banks of the Tura River that same evening. At night, however, the layer of soil shovelled upon him is brushed away and the shroud wrapped around his body stolen. The thieves did not bother to cover the grave again, and in the summer, dogs can be seen running around the meadows with ribs and shinbones in their jaws.
The physician goes through the belongings that the naturalist left behind. Among them he finds a tightly bound parcel, and inside it pages of notes written in a feverish hand. He does the deceased one last favour and sends these papers to St Petersburg.
News of Steller’s death reaches the Academy of Sciences, and the event is noted in the minutes of the academic council as follows:
The Council has learned that Adjunct Steller departed this life during his return journey from Irkutsk Province, in the city of Tyumen, on the twelfth day of November.
They neglect to inform his wife.
List of Steller’s Surviving Manuscripts:
Incomplete list of minerals
List of minerals found near Irkutsk
A history of minerals
Beasts of the Sea: A Detailed Description of the Sea Cow and Other Inhabitants of Bering Island
Description of certain winter animals
Incomplete description of certain animals
Incomplete study of land and sea animals
Study of birds’ nests and eggs
Various observations regarding the description of birds
Observations regarding birds’ nests and eggs
Descriptions of various birds
A study of fish
General observations regarding the reproduction of fish
Incomplete study of certain fish
Description of the Arctic cisco
Incomplete study of certain bird species
Incomplete study of spiders and other insects
Study of insects
Glossaries of several languages
A study of the Koryak peoples
