Photos from open sources
If fate throws you to the Eastern Sayan Mountains, you must they’ll tell the legend of Demina gold, a rich mine, where the gold bars are lying right under your feet, don’t be lazy just bend down. Legend? However, some people claimed to be there and saw everything with my own eyes.
Runaway Convict Story
The legend begins in the 60s of the XIX century, when Alexandrov penal servitude, located near Irkutsk, fled six prisoners. Usually fugitives headed towards the Siberian tract, however, the Cossacks sent in pursuit reported to the chief prison that six on ice crossed the Angara and went up on the snowy valley of the Kitoy River in the wilderness of the eastern Sayana. “Fools,” the officer grunted, “the taiga is harsh; loves”.
A few weeks later, four, unable to bear the hardships, went down to the Tunkinsky valley in the hope of being lost among the local population and were immediately captured. And two decided it was better to disappear in the taiga free people than in shackles in hard labor. One really perished in the taiga, he died in battle with the beast, drowned at the crossing across the river, crashed, torn off a cliff or frozen – it is not known but he did not go down and the police did not give up. The second was Dmitry Demin.
Gigantic power, possessing good health and taiga experience, Demin did not disappear. He built himself a winter house in Shumakskaya valley and began to engage in hunting and fishing alone, occasionally exchanging skins for bread and cartridges from hunters.
For two years Demin was hiding from people, and once he showed up in settlement Tunka, entered the house of the local assessor and threw him at table canvas bag. From a loose bag on a table rolled out a few yellow nuggets the size of pine nuts. For half a pound gold runaway convict bought himself freedom and the right to live in the village.
Demin built a house for himself, got married, started an economy. Occasionally left for several days in the taiga. Observing neighbors noticed that after each such trip, a new one appears in Dyomin’s household living creatures, and expensive utensils in the house. The neighbors tried to follow Demin, but he announced to the curious that who would follow it will remain in the taiga in the taiga – and the neighbors have curiosity as if by hand took off. So he lived, keeping the secret of his “bank”, without opening it to anyone, including his sons.
Golden Waterfall
The lamp of the child, barely illuminating the face of Christ on the old icon, in the next room sobbed without five minutes the widow of Dmitry Demin: her a husband, a hero who seemed to be worn out, will never be, preparing to retreat to eternity. Two sons of Dmitry Dyomin stood by beds and caught every word of father.
– The right tributary of Kitoy. Icy bowl, you can go down only by the rope. In the bowl is a waterfall, and under it are nuggets. Everything is yours. About one I just ask: go there only in case of emergency and never take in excess of the necessary. Work hard for everything. Gold is It clothes, it also destroys. Say hello!
Sons, began to baptize earnestly, turning to the icon.
The brothers forgot their godhood the very day after death. father’s. As the summer came, bought horses, provisions, equipment and went for a little treasure. However, at the very first crossing the horses died, the equipment was gone, and the brothers themselves survived just a miracle. Starving, ragged after a few days wandering around the taiga they returned home. Exhausted burst brothers in the upper room, and from an old icon Jesus looked reproachfully at them, raising his right hand in caution. No more brothers for gold walked, heeding the covenant of his father to achieve everything with his labor.
Searching for Siberian Eldorado
Rumors about Siberian Eldorado for many years haunted the inhabitants of Tunka and gradually came to Irkutsk. Industrialist Kuznetsov, the owner of the Nyurundukan mine, organized several expeditions, I personally tracked Demin’s entire path through his serifs and went to field. This is evidenced by his memorandum in Mining Administration, in which he asks for the right to development.
However, Kuznetsov did not receive such permission. Invested considerable funds in search and last few years living exclusively this dream, the industrialist was hard at the end of failure, fell down and soon has died. The orders of those years did not require the mandatory application of cards, Kuznetsov left no notes or plans. So the secret of finding the Dyominsky deposit was again lost.
Next, they will tell you how the German Schnell unsuccessfully searched for gold, and how mining technician Novikov found him during the Civil War, fighting in Kolchak’s army.
“All this is nonsense,” says Irkutsk scientist D.S.Gluk, grandchild Novikov’s nephew — I was once interested in this history, questioned relatives and even studied investigative materials from the archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to which I got access as a distant a descendant. Innocent Schnelle, who only had German surname, never searched for gold, his passion was Sayan jade. Vladimir Novikov was also far from gold digging and never served with Kolchak. But Deminskoe he really found gold. ”
Luck of Vladimir Novikov
In 1915, a company was organized in Irkutsk that was engaged in buying up meat from the population for the warring Russian army. He lived in the village. Shimki Novikov worked there as the head of the Shimkinsky point stocking of cattle. In 1917, the company supplied the army with meat. The Provisional Government, and since 1918 – the army of Kolchak. In the 1920s when the Reds came to Irkutsk, Novikov decided to stay away from sin sit a dashing time in a quiet place and went into the taiga. There to him and smiled luck.
He saw gold early in the morning. A stream flowed down a cliff and in sunny “golden fireflies” flashed. Novikov went down in the ice circus and stabbed with a knife two shtof (capacity about a liter) of gold. With with his booty in the spring of 1921 he returned to Shimki, where he surrendered authorities and passed by act more than 10 kg of yellow metal. After serving with April to December under investigation, he was released, if not posing a threat to the Soviet Government.
In 1926, they knocked on Novikov’s door. No, not that you thought: a certain NEPman Fisenko was ready to invest a lot of money in expedition to the Dyominsky field. May 29, 1927 on the road for gold went five people: Novikov, representatives Fisenko Shvedov and Narozhniy and brothers, prospectors hired as workers Leonov Kuzma and Vasily.
Missing Expedition
In early August, the Leonov brothers returned. With downcast eyes they reported that companions died when crossing the river.
– And they died, and all the equipment was drowned, the true cross is true! – one of the brothers crossed himself sweepingly, turning to the corner, where the icon hung. – They barely saved themselves, wandered around the mountains for two months, without supplies, without matches, without weapons, miraculously survived!
– In your appearance it does not look like you are two months in the mountains they’ve strayed, – said the head of the Shimkin police suspiciously and ordered the Leonov brothers to arrest.
During a search in the Leonovs’ house, some of the tools were found expeditions and browning of Novikov with a monogram and four cartridges in clip of six.
December 18, 1927 in the village Tunka, chairman of the court read out sentence:
– Sentencing Vasily and Kuzma Lenov to the highest degree of social protection – to execution. Kuzma Leonov staggered. On the throat of Vasily Adam’s apple twitched. – However, in connection with the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution revolution replace the execution of 10 years in prison. Kuzma Leonov fell powerlessly into a chair and burst into tears. – We did not kill! Drown they are! – shouted Vasily Leonov, when the convoy led him out of the hall court.
The court did not have direct evidence of crime, but in the spring 1929 they appeared.
The policeman squatted and carefully examined the human remains on earth.
– They shot at the back of the head. Who do you think this is? – he raised head and looked at the hunter who found the corpse.
– And guessing is not necessary. Novikov is. See, he has a red beard? AND here, – the hunter lifted a homemade ring with initials from the ground “V.N.” is his ring. Novikov is.
Chasing the Golden Calf
But did the Soviet Government forget about the wonderful gold mine? Of course not. Back in 1928 in search of Dyominsky Gold went expedition prof. Lviv Fisenko led her, once sponsored by Novikov. Having on hand written Novikov a detailed description of the route, Fisenko promised to bring the expedition to “Novikov cups” for 10 days. However, once in place, Fisenko could not find the guidelines indicated by Novikov, and the expedition came back with nothing. The 1930 expedition also turned out to be to no avail. There was only one way out.
The investigator patiently watched as Vasily sitting opposite him Leonov, moving his lips, reads the materials of the investigation into the fact detect an unknown corpse. Having finished, Leonov postponed documents.
“Well, yes, we killed them.” So what? I already wind the term. – A field? You were there? – But what, there were. The whole week. Two pounds of gold mined. – How many? – the face of the investigator stretched out. -Two pounds, ”Leonov repeated calmly. “And where is it?” – So there and left, – Leonov grinned, – we didn’t go for gold, but just explore the road. Scouted. Investigator put in front Leonov a piece of paper, pulled the pen and inkwell: – Describe the road.
“… You need to climb up Shumak, about ten kilometers and here, from the corresponding edge, turn right, passing a dividing ridge between Shumak and Kitoy. After ten kilometers in this direction, you need to go down from the char, in places sheer, in the upper reaches of one of the right tributaries of Kitoy in the steep closed glacial circus called the Novikov Cup, where under a waterfall and is a deposit of gold … “, – read investigator.
“It is very, very vague. “About ten km …”, “from appropriate concession … “Can you show on the map?
– Where, chief, – Leonov smiled slyly, – we are people unlearned. In place, maybe I can show. Leonov looked at investigator and grinned: brother Kuzma died of consumption and now he the only one who knows the way to the treasured deposit.
Gold Rush in the Eastern Sayan Mountains
In 1931, a new expedition set off for the Sayan Mountains, led by Vasily Leonov. After several weeks walking in the mountains of the East Sayan He said that he was not able to find the deposit. Apparently issue the location of the Golden Falls was not in his plans. Vasiliy Leonov went back to the camp, which became the ultimate station of his life’s journey. Deminsky treasure slipped from his hands and turned into a legend again.
In 1934, the special large and skilled expedition: 14 people for 26 horses. 16 pads were inspected, but not of the deposit itself, no traces of the stay of Demin, Novikov or the Leonov brothers the expedition did not find. In the report, the head of the expedition Mitrofanov in despair wrote: “apparently fabulously rich in gold mining there is no and never was a deposit of the Kitoysko-Shumatsky char. ”
Was it or wasn’t it?
They will answer you:
1. Runaway convict Demin existed. In 1928, in Tunka showed the house where his many offspring lived.
2. In the local archive there is an act of handing over Novikov gold to the authorities, in The act features a gold nugget weighing 10 pounds (4.5 kg).
3. The death of Novikov’s expedition is an indisputable fact, documented.
4. In the mountains of East Sayan, the rich have repeatedly found gold deposits, though not as rich as in the legend and in the wrong place. So there is gold here.
So why is the deposit still not found?
The interlocutor-geologist unfolds the map:
– The search area is about 500 square meters. km mountainous, inaccessible relief, more than a hundred streams and rivers, dozens of ice circuses. To find among them, it’s the “Novikov’s cup” – more complicated than the needle in the stack hay, classic “go there, I don’t know where”, absolutely a hopeless venture, and he folds the map with a sigh. But still from time to time in Kitoi loaches alone and in groups mountaineering lovers appear with the skills of prospectors with hoping to find this Siberian “McKenna gold”.
“Again, again, gold beckons us, again, again, gold, as always will deceive us … ”
Klim Podkova for the magazine “All the Mysteries of the World”
Time
