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^[[copied from original document at Treasury Dep]]

Western Union Telegraph Co.
Report Major Abasa

Eastern Asia

Okhotsk February 16/28, 1866

Aug 24th 1865 I left Port Petro Pavlowsky with Messrs G. Kennan and J. Dodd, desiring to proceed to Northward as rapidly as the limited means of the country and the advanced season would permit.

The reasons, which induced me to undertake the overland travel, have been stated already in my August report to the Engineer in Chief. I have also considered that an exploration of the peninsula of Kamchatka could be useful for us, should the overland route through Eastern Asia be found impracticable.
 
The route I determined to follow from Petropavlowsky was the eastern coast as far as village Elovka, where we had to cross the mountain range which traverses the peninsula from one end to the other, and to come out in Tigil, small port on the western or Okhotsk seacoast.

I have the preference to this route with the intention to avail myself of Kamchatka and Elovka rivers, both navigable for canoes and being the only points where timber suitable for our purposes could be found.

The road from Petropavlowsky to [[Sherom?]] village on the Kamchatka, where the river

Transcription Notes:
modern version of Petropavlowsky seems to be Petropavlovsk, a city on southern end of peninsula.