How much is known about the first steamer on the Lena? Until recently, information about it was limited to a few phrases wandering from book to book, from article to article: "The first steam ship appeared on Lena in 1856 in connection with the emergence of the Bodaibo gold mines. They built it in Verkholensk and called it "Firstborn." The appearance of a "fire-breathing miracle with a long pipe" was greeted with exciting interest by the inhabitants of Prilenya. The second steamer, St. Tikhon Zadonsky, was built on Verkhnyaya Lena only ten years later... "